Running and Meeting Strange Dogs

Want to start a fight? Let your dog off leash in a public area frequented by runners. Northwest Runner had a screed a while back about dogs, with the runner fairly vociferous in his complaining about them. I couldn't find the article online or I'd have linked over. Suffice to say that the author on that piece wanted all dogs on leashes as a minimum and, from the tone, would have preferred that dogs never be allowed near runners and their trails.

I tend to fall in the opposite camp regarding dogs. I like seeing them out there cavorting.

Yesterday, the two came together, dogs off leash and cavorting. I did my workout on the Colfax rail trail, logging the assigned time that the coach prescribed and not being in too big a hurry. Given the mushiness spots, speed wouldn't have been easy anyway. I ran out to the turnaround and got there a little early so I traipsed part way up the hill before starting the return trip.

I met the dog and her owner about a half mile from the end. I saw the owner first, a lady out for a gentle hike in the slow misting rain. I did my usual move to the side, make eye contact, smile routine as I approached. I've figured out that a 6'3" runner closing at even modest speeds can be a touch intimidating. It's the same reason I call out when passing from behind, especially in the dark.

The dog, a black lab with some grey on the muzzle, was in the tules at the edge of the river. It didn't know I was there until after I said howdy. When she did realize it, she came bombing out of the reeds, barking.

Note, barking not growling.

One advantage of being married to my sweetie is that she's the Director of the local Humane Society. I'm well-trained on meeting strange dogs.

Step one was to check ears, eyes, tail as she came charging up. Tail was flat, eyes normal, ears normal. Probably not an aggressive dog under normal circumstances. Still, the dog was doing her job of protecting "mom" and letting me know in very certain tones that she was on alert.

The walker heard the dog barking over whatever was playing from her ipod and stopped to call her dog. (Why do you go on a trail that has deer, a rushing river, soaring bald eagles and wear an ipod? Don't get it. . . .)

I stopped running. This is usually the second thing that pisses runners off, the first being the initial adrenaline shot of a dog running at them. The simple act of stopping does more to prevent bites than any other single action.

When I was running, I was a threat - or prey, depending on the mentality of the dog. Either way, stopping forces the dog to reorganize it's thoughts.

The next step was to talk calmly at the dog. This works with bears, too. "Hi there, puppy, how are you? Want to be friends?" It doesn't have to make sense, but you have to be calm. Cheerful is better. Avoid angry. the dog will read the aggression in your voice and react to it.

I offered my fingers (left hand, palm down, fingers curled, thumb tucked) for her to sniff. If the dog had been growling, I probably would have skipped this step. A barking dog is issuing a warning. A growling dog is issuing a promise. Big difference.

The dog had time to sniff my fingers before her owner snagged the collar. She gave me one more solid woof to make sure I understood not to mess with mom.

The walker looked terribly apologetic. I waved, said "I'm fine" - hopefully she could lip-read since the buds were still in her ears - and eased out on my way, starting slowly. In total, the exchange cost me less than 15 seconds.

Hopefully, from now on, that dog owner will realize she has an over-protective dog and will maintain tighter control over her, even if it means leashing her. Certainly, she should be more aware on the trail, and call her dog earlier to establish control. If her dog had bitten a runner, me or someone else, it would be headed for doggie jail, something none of us really want.

Linkfest

Mary Cain turned pro coming out of high school and everyone wondered how she would do. In some circles, she's been considered a disappointment, placing 5th in the 800m at the Armory and 8th in the mile at the Wanamaker. Mind you, this is a young runner competing against the best women in the country. Methinks some people have unrealistic expectations - give her four years and we'll chat. In the meantime, here's a great article that ran in the NY Times on Cain.

While Mary Cain trails for gold, are you getting enough iron? If you're female, possible not. What about that old canard about cooking in a cast iron pan to get extra iron? Does it work? The folks at RunnersConnect tracked down the answers to those questions. No, I'm not giving away the answer - head over and read Do You Absorb More Iron Cooking in a Cast Iron Pan?

According to the news blitz, done with Apple's usual sense of restraint and hype, the Apple Watch has arrived. Life will never be the same. Or something like that. Can you run with it? Running Times looked into it and here's their opinion - 8 Things Runners Need to Know about Apple Watch As for me, I'll pass. Sometimes a watch is too much and I hate the inaccuracy of my GPS. 

Update on training. Ran a timed mile for Coach Fishman. It was slow, but better than I expected. The fun part? I picked out my pace ahead of time, based on my usual SWAG methodology. Plan was to hit the first lap on the money, accelerate for laps 2 & 3, and hold on to Lap 4 until I broke. So how close was I on the first lap? How about .3 of a second off pace. The clock in my head still works fine. Now to get the lungs back into shape. 

With the mostly snow-free winter, I wondering how soon the Seven Devils will open up. Looking forward to a jaunt around them this summer. 

A Run in the Washington Arboretum

In between bouts of work, I took some time today to visit the Mt. Baker area where my next book is being set. Beautiful area, and yes, I could see Rainier rising majestically over Seward Park.

I also found the Washington Arboretum in the process. Since a run was penciled in, I headed there. The dogwoods were blooming, along with trees that I didn't identify. Nicely maintained trails and occasional single track for the adventurous.

Pretty enough to slow me down to take a picture

When in doubt, grab the single track.  . .

Flowers floating in the upper canopy . . .

While roses grow gracefully below.

Not al the single track was easy . . .

What's Up, Coach?

My running has been slightly (radically) on the inconsistent side for the last year, so I've decided that I should take some steps to correct that.

My first inclination was to chuck the paying job as it interfered with all the other things I prefer to do. Since I still like to eat and the books are selling at a steady, predictable, and slow pace, that isn't really a good solution.

So, I sought help. I contacted a couple of coaches online to see if they would be willing to work with me. The two I singled out were Jeff Gaudette and Scott Fishman. Jeff I've brought up before on the blog as he puts out some articles that I really like.

He's also quite honest - I wasn't his type of athlete. My ultimate goals are beyond his programs and the goals themselves more gossamer than iron law.

I think Scott had some similar reservations - he wanted to make sure that he could help so we had about a twenty minute conversation to make sure that this was a good fit.

We decided that this could work (I think Scott will do fine on his end - if there's a breakdown, it will be me becoming overwhelmed with too many projects again,) so we're moving forward. I should be starting a new training program this week.

For the first time since high school, I have a coach. In fact, it's the first time I've ever had a running coach.

Should be fun.

A Cloak of Invulnerability

It dawned on me out on the trails this week, this small thing.

When I ran seventy miles a week, and worked at jobs that kept me fit and active, I held a presumption: I was invulnerable.

I could, with little thought or planning, agree to a twenty mile run, or a grueling hike. Just pop on the shoes and go, or load up the backpack - and I've always been the pack mule of the group - and head for altitude. No worries, got this, man, let's go.

That changed.

When I lost running, even just for that one year (though the decline took longer), I lost the confidence I had that I could go anywhere, whenever I wanted. I measure steps across parking lots by the amount of pain from my feet or knees I could take and parked accordingly.

I judged the weight of a carton of eggs, and rebalanced them to reduce the stress on damaged hands. I put death-grips on coffee mugs so I didn't drop them.

Thankfully, that period is behind me, at least for now.

And on that run Wednesday, I meant to go about eight miles. It's a bit of a rough trail, rocks hidden under grasses and leaves. Not a trail for making time, but one to get close to the real world and the real you.

I blew past the turnaround, went a couple more miles up the hills, before I turned back, with the "Uh-oh" feeling you get when you're pretty sure you've reached beyond yourself but you just had to push that extra bit.

I powered the last two miles, loping and covering ground. Some of that old feeling returned and, as I finished out the run, I savored it.

I no longer own a cloak of invulnerability. I'm sadly wiser than that now.

The return of confidence is welcome, though, even if I didn't realize it had gone missing. There is a special power in being able to say, "I can do that." and daring to try even more.

Links for the Lazy (Blogger)

It's a depressing time to be a runner - if you're a pro. The rest of us can just go for a run and say the heck with it.

I find this article completely unsurprising. The way to beat the WADA biological passport is to start early. Russian child athletes are doping at school, says sports minister.

Meanwhile, back in Glasgow, Emma Coburn's American Record of 9:11.42 has been rejected because she did not subject herself to a drug test immediately after the race. Even though the race does not require it, USATF does for records. Sad news for athletes that have unexpected break-outs, but hey, the USATF has to assume that everyone is doping. Emma Coburn's Apparent U.S. Steeplechase Record Won't be Ratified by USATF

Speaking of the USATF, Lauren Fleshman is a mite peeved with her governing body. Apparently, the USAFT ♥'s Nike and Nike does sponsor the national team, so much so, it airbrushed the  logos for other companies were out of the TV commercial they ran on NBC. Cropped: The USATF #YoureWelcome Commercial

On the good news side, John L. Parker has a prequel to Once a Runner coming out in July. Put me down for a pre-order for Racing the Rain . . . On the other good news side, I may have a chance to meet Parker in May. Love the art work on the cover.

Running too long, at too high an intensity will kill you. (Courtesy of the Daily Mail. While they aren't the only ones who write stupid headlines, they are an industry leader.) As for the study itself, even the authors admit that the data set is very limited. For a sensible analysis of the actual report, head here.

In the Ultrarunning world, Nichol Studer just did damage to the 100 mile trail record, winning the Rocky Raccoon in a stunning 14:45 for 100 miles.

That's all I have for today.

Run gently, friends. With or without the watch, fast or slow, enjoy getting out the door.

Strength Training

Contrary to popular folklore, weight training and running don't work against each other in building a faster, fitter body. I bring this up because: A) I've been getting into the gym and: B) someday I think I'll write a longish article for older runners.

In my case, I lost a tremendous amount of muscle when I was forced to take time off from exercising. The gout attacks didn't stop just the running, but pretty much all activity. Feet, knees, elbows, wrists, and fingers were all affected, usually two or three joints at a time.

So, I have headed back into the gym to rebuild the mass I lost. I'm not doing anything fancy. For the chest, bench presses and incline presses. For arms, curls, pull-ups, tricep extensions. For the back, upright rows and lat pull-downs. Legs, leg press. Where possible, I use free weights, mostly dumbells, and work the weaker side to exhaustion. Gradually, the sides are coming into balance.

The legs are where I went to get some help and hired a wonderful young lady named Sophia. Our goal hasn't been to get me driving the maximum possible weight. Instead, I've worked with weights much lower than I could so the proper technique gets built into the muscle memory.

We started with a series of light movement exercises, moved to dead lifts, then squats, and now cleans.

With the deadlifts and the squats, the initial hip inflexibility limited the depth of the exercise. by the second week though, I was able to drop past a 90 degree angle at the knee (remember, low weights!) while holding good form.

Cleans (where you lift the barbell, 'pop' it up at the midsection, and drop your shoulders under the bar before continuing to stand) have been comical. Fortunately, Sophie has been patient while I get past the over-thinking. It's coming along.

The upside of the weight work is that the leg strength I lost is returning, and doing so fairly quickly. The downside is the weight I'm gaining as the mass comes back. As I ramp my mileage (and that should go getter with additional muscle), I expect to burn down some of my accumulated fat. By most standards, I'm pretty skinny. By runner standards, I've got some work to do.

So far, the project is a success. I skipping a lift day today though, as the weather is much nicer than we could hope for in late January. I'm going to a run on one of my old hilly courses. That will be the test for how well the lifting is going.

Run gently, friends.

Slow Runners

Competitor magazine sent up a piece on FB about slow runners. Written by Jeff Guadette, a former NCAA D1 All-American and ace coach, the focus of the article, If You Run Slow, Who Cares?, is on the non-elite runners, so non-elite that they don't really dream of winning races or even age groups. These runners are looking to improve but already understand that they aren't elite 14:00 minute 5K runners.

Jeff makes some great points in the article, some of which I use when I coach. "There's always someone faster . . ." is one that I bet the Asotin JR kids are tired of hearing. Part of the stigma of being slow is the natural tendency for human beings to gain a position of advantage. I have seen the line between running and jogging set at 5:40 per mile, 6:00 per mile, 7:00 per mile, etc. Usually, the pace is set at whatever the speaker can run and everyone slower than him/her/it/whatever is a jogger. 'Cuz runners are cooler, or something, than joggers.

Personally, I don't get too wrapped up in the pace. (editor: 'cuz you're slow?) I worry about how hard I'm working or the kids are working. I derive a great deal more pleasure from a back of the pack runner giving his best effort than a young man with talent that won't work.

One of my epiphanous  moments as a runner came when I was still a football player and discus thrower. I had a coach that thought all members of the track team should run five miles a day, including the guy that spun in an eight-foot circle and lobbed artillery into the open fields. Fast forward a year and a half, and the discus thrower is running what will be his fastest 10K, a 35:56.

I finished that race utterly, and happily, exhausted. Eighteen minutes later, I watched a woman, probably in her forties, finish. Writ on her face was all the toil and effort and determination that I had experienced - except she had worked that hard fifty percent longer than I had.

I respected that. Still do.

I don't care if you're slow. Hell, even by my own standards, I'm slow. You're out there trying, and 90 percent of the people of this country are on the couch.

As the Coach of the San Diego Track Club, Paul Greer,  used to shout through his megaphone, "You're all winners!"

Run gently, friends - if you know anyone interested in running fiction, please consider recommending Finishing Kick or Trail of Second Chances to them.

Also, if you're a coach and want the team to read Finishing Kick, contact me for a deal on bulk pricing - I can save you some money.

Drop Off Runs

My last several long runs have been "Drop-off runs despite the fact that I have an angel in residence who will crew me if I ask. One of her ideas of quality time is to chase me out the door before dawn, drive ahead two miles, and wait for me to trudge into view before handing me a water bottle and a smile that says, "You're doing great."

So why, if I have crew, would I choose not to utilize it?

The easy answer is that I'm mental. The purpose of the long run is to create the physiological changes that allow for greater energy utilization. The body adapts by increasing the capillarization for blood flow allowing more nutrients - food, oxygen - to reach the working muscles. It also increases the number of mitochondria in slow twitch muscle fibers to aid in generating energy from the food and oxygen.

That happens if I have crew or not.

What changes is the option, every two miles to jump into a warm car, and think "That's enough for today."

Once I get dropped off, I'm on my own. I carry a little cash for emergencies but no phone. Also, I always get myself dropped off a little past my last long run distance. I've done enough of them that I know that my last long run is an excellent predictor of my endurance training distance. Generally, I plan on two miles farther each time until I reach my desired distance. The two mile mark is important. That's when my brain starts to tell the body to shut down, we're gone too far.

Matt Fitzgerald brings this up in his book Brain Training for Runners. (Great book, btw.) The brain, sensing that we've extend past our comfort zone, acts to "protect" us from damage by sharply curtailing the chemical signals that keep us happy while we're running. It part of our subjective feedback loop.

So, my current goal with the long runs isn't building the body. It's building the mind, conditioning the brain and my will to continue past the barriers that appear to be in front of me. My last two runs, I broke down two miles before the end. Both times, I managed to restart after breaking, forcing past the "I'm done" phase. Those first few strides were crap, sloppy and awkward, but they smoothed out.

The brain will learn, more can be done. Next week, I'll add another mile or two and go through the feel really good phase, the "this is work" phase, the "I'm done" phase, to the break-through phase.

As I rebuild my body, I'm rebuilding my brain and my will. Halfway around a 30 mile trail loop in the middle of nowhere, I'll need them to believe.

End of the World Run Recap

Some of these very cool shirts are available for sale - contact me or Tim Gundy for details.

The Mayans still aren't right - the world hasn't ended. In fact, race weather was in the 50's so all the kids and some of the adults ran in shorts and a tee shirt. Hardly December-like. More like, say, San Diego, minus the crowd, pollution, and the highways that will be backed up until the second of January.

Not a huge turnout - I think maybe the race is too close to Christmas and a lot of folks have left town. Still, the Asotin XC folks appreciate everyone who did come and hope to see the rest of you at a race or run soon.

Run gently, friends, and enjoy the great running weather we've got.

Volunteering at Races

Running, unlike the 'big' sports which pay employees, runs on volunteers at nearly every level. Almost all the workers at local XC meets are volunteers, as are the ones at most marathons. Even the high school coaches work nearly free - certainly under minimum wage given the hours they keep.

One exception is the Snake River Half-Marathon (filling fast, so enter soon!) which has been very generous in paying the Asotin XC teams to man the water stations at the 4- and 6-mile marks.

Generally, I figure that a race averages one volunteer per one hundred runners. Small local races actually have an easier time gathering volunteers as the spouses or parents of younger athletes jump in. I think bigger races come with a presumption that everything is paid for, so volunteers are less necessary. Certainly, the relays I've run have put their collective feet down and part of the entry is to provide two volunteers or cash to hire someone.

In Asotin, we have a core group that shows up to help and we've come to depend on them. But every race could use more help. The gentleman who does all the starting for the local HS track and cross country events has been doing it for nearly three decades.

The same thing happens at the club level. The same core of people tend to manage the group and the events year after year.

They could use a smidge of help, so I have a favor to ask of you. If you're a parent of an athlete, can you volunteer one time next year to help out the program? If you are in a running club, can you help with one race instead of running?

It doesn't take much but your fellow runners will appreciate it and, if my experiences are any indication, you will, too.

Time out on timing this summer to lick a granddaughter's popsicle. It was her first 5K.

Oxygen is NOT overrated!

I did a workout years ago with a friend as we prepped for the Portland Marathon. He was supposed to be pacing me on a marathon paced run. Unfortunately, he's loads faster than I am (he ran a a sub-3:00 marathon to my 3:28) and the pace gradually drifted up to the point where I couldn't breathe. 

Not that I entered oxygen debt. I mean it more in the literal sense - I have exercise-induced asthma, the temperatures were in the low 30's, and the pace all combined to trigger an attack. 

Since I have my own little issues with breathing, I think it's important to pass on the knowledge to the junior high school kids I coach. Not the asthma part, the breathing part. 

Every year, I lead them through some exercises on breathing. Depending on how long the kids have been with me, we'll experiment with different things. This year, I had two runners that had been with us since the sixth grade and the rest were new to the sport. So I co-opted Thing 1 and Thing 2 to help the younger kids. 

First, at very low speeds we sent them around the Chief Looking Glass park with instructions to count how many steps they took per breath. A breath was a full cycle of inhalation and exhalation.

Then we sent them out to do it again, because combining activities for junior high kids leads to mass confusion - most of them lost count. And their form fell apart because they're not to the point where they can do two things at once - run and count - without one of them getting a little sideways.

At idling speed, Thing 1 (Carmen) was taking six strides per breath and Thing 2 (Maia) was taking eight. This was consistent with their training levels - Maia has been training hard for two years while Carmen is just starting to transition from running with sisters to training for races. 

The younger runners reported an average of four strides per cycle with a couple at six. 

We repeated the drill at several different speeds so they could get a feel for how their breathing changes at given paces. For a lot of them, it was an eye-opener. Natalie, one of the sixth-graders who also does martial arts, adapted the fastest. 

This comes to mind because I came across a book, Running on Air, that proposes to teach a runner how to breathe to maximize speed and endurance. Obviously, I've ordered it and it's on the way. I'll do a review once I read it.

The part that caught my attention was a proposition that the way we breathe and run is incorrect. Specifically, the use of even numbers which means that we always begin a breathing cycle on the same foot. Since belly-breathing loosens the core during an inhalation, this creates an imbalance that taxes the leg/side that begins the breathing cycle. 

Interesting idea, hence the ordering of the book. 

The other claim that was interesting was that the average runner uses about 60 percent of their lung capacity. Since breathing is always my limiting factor, it's an area where I have the greatest potential for improvement. I suspect that this is true of the kids I coach. 

The downside is that I don't think I can fully teach the ideas to the kids in the short junior high season. I can, however, introduce it to them and start the process. 

Might have to give up on a novel . . .

I'm in the midst of writing a couple of different novels. One, The Lonesome Mile, I had planned to set in Colorado. One of the  underlying themes of the story was the struggle that an aging miler faced with his own professional demise - and the allure of PED's to extend that life.

The coach in the story is a piece of work, a do-anything-to-beat-the-Kenyans type of guy. I don't know anyone like that, but that's why I write fiction.

Unfortunately, that whole story line blew up in the last month. First came the stunning announcement that Rita Jeptoo tested positive on her A sample. Then, the implosion of the Russian Federation athletes' doping scandal.

In a reprise of cold war rhetoric, Russian Athletic Federation president Valentin Balakhnichev said, “The federation believe the documentary was a provocation aimed at discrediting Russian sport.” 

So, national events have overtaken the basis for my novel. I can't claim to be surprised. I wrote about different aspects of the doping problem in This System Fails Kids. I also hinted at it in a more recent article, Here's how to get more media coverage for running - if you dare.

What I have to figure out now is whether this is still a story worth writing. My first guess is 'yes' but I'll have to do some modifications of the plot and perhaps shorten it to a long short story instead.

I do expect an avalanche of non-fiction to hit the shelves in short order. They'll give us the why's and how's, but I wonder how deeply they'll look at the emotional motivations of the cheaters and the systemic abuse of trust by the coaches of those athletes. If they don't, I probably will.

In the meantime, I'm working on a story that a pair of young ladies from Mead High School have asked for.

And we'll see. I really wish my story idea had stayed the stuff of imagination and fiction, not tawdry headlines, tarnished reputations, and tainted accomplishments.