One year is ending, a new one will soon be beginning. And it’s during this time when many people set goals to better themselves. While I don’t necessarily use the new year myself as a time to set goals (I implement goals as soon as I can reasonable pursue them), I thought now was a good time to write a blog post on goals and share what I found works for me regarding goal setting. While what works for me may not work for you, I hope this post at least inspires you to find something new and find what does work for you!
Many times the goals set at New Years are fitness related in order to achieve better health—which is great because without having optimal health I venture to say the vast majority of us work less at other goals and pursuits we have in life. Not to mention the fact that physical health can also affect our mental and emotional health too.
So let me get this post started. I’ll list a few main points and then discuss each more in-depth.
• Write down your goal(s)
It sounds simple but the act of putting pen to paper makes it a bit more official. I often think that the thought of my goal(s) in my head as a concept, and the act of actually writing down of the goal as an initial step in the journey to achieving it. I also suggest sticking to the paper and pen format too. It’s just my belief that it’s a little more tactile and thus productive than typing it on your digital device(s). That’s not say you can’t also add it to your device (it’s another means of “making it official”), but I find it’s just not the same as pen to paper. Either way, by moving from the thought/idea/concept in your head to writing down your goal(s), you now have a way hold yourself accountable!
• Break down your goal(s)
Cutting your goal down to smaller and more attainable achievements helps to take the enormity of the goal back to something that doesn’t seem as overwhelming sometimes—especially if you have a really big goal or if you’re a type A person. These smaller units become more achievable and make it easier to see positive progression which in turn makes you feel better about your overall progression toward your goal. Similarly, setting different degrees of a goal can also be helpful. For instance, say your goal is to lift a certain amount of weight. You could set mini goals of lifting say 70% of that weight, 85%, and finally the actual goal weight. This way in case something gets in the way (injury, work, other personal commitments) of you achieving your ultimate goal, you can still have a sense of accomplishment in achieving these smaller goals, and knowing while it may take longer, you are at least in progress with your goal.
• Envision
This is a big one for me personally! While training, envision yourself achieving your goal. For 2016, my big personal goal was to run my first ultramarathon, which as it turns out was going to be a 12 hr event. This was incredibly far more than I had ever taken on before and something I needed to put major time and effort into my training. Even during the initial training stages, I would envision myself being in my goal race while I was out training for it. It was good practice in that come race day, I had experience in knowing what to change when something isn’t going as I had planned. It was as much mental as it was physical—which I feel if you’re honest with yourself you’ll agree that’s the truth when trying to meet any goal that’s physical in nature. Finally, believe in that envisioning! Trust me on this point, you will be much more successful when you believe in that envisioning. It may take awhile to learn this skill but consistency is the key. To me, this envisioning is a powerful tool toward success!
• Develop a mantra
This is another act I highly recommend! Inevitably you’ll have some lows come along in your journey and having a mantra to say to yourself I’ve found to be a great way to get back on track and work toward positive progression. It can be one word, one sentence, or whatever you want it—just be sure you believe it! That is the key—believing it!
Don’t borrow a friend’s mantra unless it actually works for you. I’d really suggest finding your own honestly. Both you and your goal are unique—so why shouldn’t your mantra be unique too? One of my main mantra’s (in life) is “I trust that I am prepared.” This mantra holds me accountable constantly. Initially I adopted it in training for my first marathon, then applied it professionally when going back to college to get a new degree, and then again personally when training for my first ultramarathon. I successfully achieved all of these so you can see it works for me. While working toward my goal, if I don’t feel like I’m at the point where I should to be totally prepared to achieve my goal, then I know I have change what I’m doing or work harder or work smarter. And that leads me to my final main point.
• Review your goal(s) periodically
I also find this act to be instrumental in successful goal achievement. My personal suggestion is to review both your main goal and any sub-goals you established. In reviewing your goals, you once again hold yourself accountable for your progress, which I always feel is good. Related to my last previous main point, it also allows you to at the very least see, if not actually make, the necessary changes for positive progression. I feel reviewing your goal(s) also helps you weed out what isn’t working and thus allows for quicker growth by enabling you to focus on what is working.
I’d encourage you to at least try and see if a few of these work for you. You never know. Life constantly changes so just because it didn’t work before doesn’t mean it can’t be tweaked and work for you now—or just use it as a starting point. As long as you make forward progress that is the key! Good luck—you can do it! Get to it and accomplish something you didn’t think you were capable of!
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Ultramarathon training and preparation
My last few posts have been race reviews and my thoughts on my experiences with running my first two ultramarathons. First was my 12 hour event, followed by a 40 mile race. Both of these were big jumps for me transitioning into the ultra world and essentially tests to see if I think I have what it takes to eventually pursue my ultimate running dream—running a 100 miler.
In those posts, I didn’t really go into any details regarding my preparation in training for these two important events. With some inquiries about how I did train for these events, I thought it was worthwhile to share my approach—so that’s the focus of this one.
With any long race, I think a lot of runners get asked the question somewhere along the line of “isn’t that hard?” Well to some degree the answer is yes. But mostly, if you trained properly, then the answer should lean toward no. I’ve heard and read of many people saying they want to run—and I’ll use the commonly mentioned marathon—only to do so and say they can barely walk for a week and then think running is horrible. In all likelihood, for whatever reason, they just failed to put in the work beforehand (in my opinion.) To have a good race experience, you really do have to have dedication in your training. From my past experiences, I have found this to be very true—and if you follow it I think you will be very well rewarded and surprise yourself on race day.
I’ll be honest about my training—it was only semi-structured. To be a tad more specific, each effort had it’s purpose and certain aspects of training had a focus, but scheduling how to work each of those efforts into my work week was…juggled, to say the least. During the vast majority of my training, I was working two jobs split between first and second shift, sometimes close to 60 hrs/wk. And there were a few weeks where I had worked 7 days a week, so long runs (run/hikes) didn’t exist. I didn’t stress about this. I knew I had an erratic work schedule and that fitting in long efforts would be challenging. It was just what had to be done. So while I like structure in my training, and these races were important to me, with my work situation at the time I was just going to have “wing it” to some degree on this whole ultra training thing.
My first two ultras were only 3 weeks apart—so in effect training for the first was the same as training for both. The longer race was first too, so I couldn’t use the first as a tune-up for the second. Tackling a 12 hour event—I went big(ger) for my first ultra.
Having these races already on my calendar for a long time, my training started very early in the year. Having a solid 8 months to build up my mileage was important since it would reduce the risk of me getting injured in pushing myself farther than I ever have before. After all, the quicker you ramp up your mileage, the more likely you are to develop an injury. While this is common sense, it is often forgotten.
Knowing these ultra’s I wanted to complete would be hours on end, I really didn’t focus my training on mileage. My main focus was building up the time I was spending on my feet. I think that is an important concept and one of the key points I’d like to stress. While I did have a mileage goal in mind (40-50 miles) for my first 12 hr ultra, I was realistic in knowing it would take me the vast majority if not all the 12 hrs to complete that goal. Plus there was the fact I had never ran/walked/hiked for anywhere near that timeframe either. I knew the miles would rack up for me—but only if I keep moving! If I’d stop because I was too tired after 6 or 8 or whatever hours, well then obviously mileage stops as well. So you can see how time and NOT distance becomes so important. On my long weekly efforts, I would only increase about 45 minutes to the total time I would complete, safely adding only 2–3 miles depending on terrain. My goal was to work up to a the equivalent of a full work day (8 hrs) of near constant movement (some combination of running, power hiking, etc.) I got in a few efforts around this time and figured that would be a good test for race day and that on race day I’d be able to dig a little deeper to complete the 12 hours.
Then within that focus of time for my training, it was just covering as many miles as I comfortably could without wearing myself out. I knew there was no way I could run the entire time for these ultras—and I was totally fine with knowing that. Very early in the year, my training did consist of solely running. My base for starting was around 7 miles. As I transitioned away from just running, one of main focuses was finding a good run/walk ratio. This is my second key point and was something that really challenged me! I experimented with different number of minutes walking and at different intervals for those walks, but most of that flies out the window so to speak when you’re on trails. The constant elevation changes would force me to hike when I “should” be running and other times the terrain would present me with opportunities to run when I was scheduled to walk. In experimenting with this run/walk ratio, what I eventually learned was two things—two very important things. Those were: 1) let the terrain ahead of you dictate whether you run or walk, and 2) listen to your body. These two items make up another key point and one I would definitely recommend for anyone training for an ultra distance event. What I found was discovering that perfect run/walk ratio only works if you’re running flat surfaces—which on most any trail ultra you are not! So I would follow my aforementioned two learned rules and then if my run/walk ratio worked within following those rules, I would apply it. If not, oh well. Expanding on my mentioning of terrain, I learned to play the hand you’re dealt so to speak. You see the hills in front of you won’t get any less steep no matter how much you wish and the rocky sections won’t suddenly become smooth either. So if you find yourself seeing your heart rate (HR) keep climbing and climbing (I’ll discuss this key point too shortly) but you feel like you’re barely moving, then honestly just ditch the running. What I’ve found is I can power hike just as fast on steeper inclines and keep your HR lower and conserve energy—trust me, you’ll need it. I also wouldn’t worry if I had long stretches of running because of a long downhill section during a time when I thought I should take a break with walking. Why not let gravity help you out? Unless you’re in actual pain, there’s no reason not to let gravity be your friend and cover the same distance using less energy.
I also tailored my training to the type of terrain I would face, and another point I can’t stress enough. Knowing the events I wanted to do were on trails, that is what I trained on. There was no way I wanted to be unprepared come race day. As much as I could, I sought out hilly, technical trails which would constantly challenge me—and they did! Not only would it prepare me mentally for that terrain, but I knew it would strengthen the stabilizing muscles in my feet and ankles, delaying the time these areas would fatigue. I know when I first started trail running I would feel a soreness afterward in my ankles so I knew strengthening was important for truly long distance. A few times out of necessity I trained on hilly roads, but believe me, it is just not the same. I would always suggest training on as close to the same surface and type of terrain as you’ll face on race day as much as you can.
Another item that helped me a lot was stair climbing. One of my jobs I averaged 7 to 8 miles of walking each workday. I believe this job helped me with my ultra training. Even though I obviously wasn’t running, I was spending long durations of time on my feet—again, my main goal. Also in this job was the availability of stairwells. Walking—or sometimes even jogging or running—as many flights of stairs as I could was also a substitution for any lack of running and a secondary method of hill training. For me, any day less than 15–20 flights of stairs was a disappointment. If I tackled 30+ flights—OK, now we’re talking’. Hit about 50 flights of stairs—now that was good day! Sure, it was hard, but I knew in the long run this was going to help strengthen me. I don’t have that job anymore and it will be interesting to see in the future if I notice a difference. I miss those stair workouts and really suggest if you have the opportunity to incorporate stair climbing into your training that you do so. It will really prepare you for steep climbs!
Now I’ll touch on the aforementioned topic of heart rate. Another aspect of my training that I incorporated was heart rate monitoring—and more specifically within that was what is known as zone 2 training. I had both read and heard about this concept in researching running and upon learning about it, thought it made sense and was applicable to what I was trying to accomplish. By no means though do you have to follow zone 2 training.
Many HR monitoring watches come with preset (or you create your own) training zones relating to a percentage of your maximum HR. A lower number zone relates to a smaller percentage of your max HR. The different types of workout you do fall into different zones—for instance a tempo run would fall in zone 3 or 4 since you’re running a bit faster and would have a higher HR or a speed workout on the track might fall in zone 4 or even 5 depending on the purpose of the workout. The thinking behind utilizing this method of training is since a ultramarathon consists of long distance running done at a slower pace, training should be kept at a slower pace and stay within zone 2. There’s little benefit to having a higher HR from running faster when realistically most runners while not be able to keep up that faster pace the entire time of their event. Eventually you become more efficient with your running within zone 2 and you do become faster.
One of the easiest and most common ways to determine your zone 2 is the formula: 180 minus your age. The result is the number you want to keep your HR below for distance training. If you are a seasoned runner who has been staying in shape then there is a slight deviation allowable to add 5 beats per minute to the result of your number but if you are new(er) to this training or newer to running in general then just stick to the basic formula.
I will attest to zone 2 training being difficult at least in its initial stages, and this is something I heard from many others. It was difficult to keep my HR that low. What I thought was slow running was actually raising my HR about what my max should be for zone 2—especially for hills and inclines. This showed me I likely wasn’t as fit as I thought I was. While this was frustrating, I did slow down (the vast majority of the time) and continue following this training regimen. There were many times where I needed to slow down to a walk (or hike depending on terrain) in order to keep my HR within zone 2. I will tell you that you do need to be patient with this regimen and it will take time to see results. For me it took a few months, which is rather common. However, if you stick to following zone 2 training for your distance running then you will see results and be able to run at a faster pace and still keep your HR lower.
One of the ways I learned to more easily stay within zone 2 was to alter how I breathed. While I realize some of you won’t be able to incorporate this, it was an effective method for me. To stay within zone 2, I would (in effect) force myself to breathe strictly through my nose. Obviously this restricted the amount of air I could take in within each breath. This lower volume of air would force me to slow down in order not to be out of breath. Thus the slower running kept my HR lower. Basically as long as I could solely breathe through my nose I was going to have a lower HR and stay within zone 2. Don’t get me wrong, this was not easy to do! I had to make a very conscious effort in my initial stages of trying this approach—but with practice I found this to be a very effective technique. At times, yes, I did need to breathe using my mouth but regardless I would always make a effort to keep my breathing controlled! I can’t stress enough using controlled breathing in order to follow zone 2 training. This is a great topic to read up on and one where you can do a search and find a ton of info on—perhaps a topic of a future blog post.
Transitioning back to other training techniques, something else I would do within my training efforts is I would envision myself being in an ultra. My suggestion is picture yourself adjust to all the feedback your body gives you. Learn to become confident in making changes as that feedback changes. Picture yourself having a good race and reaching that next aid station or the finish line. You’re going to experience lows in an ultra and the easier it is to break any negativity you have mentally or make changes based on how you feel physically the better off you’ll be.
For instance, in my 12 hr event, I started moderately too fast and only 20 miles into the race my quads basically felt like they were mostly spent. They were already tired and sore and I had over half my day still ahead of me. I remember the spot where I had to have a talk with myself—as if I was talking in third person. I told myself that I have to slow down or else you’ll never reach your goal or if you do you will feel worse than you ever expected to post-race. In my second ultra I was experiencing more prolonged discomfort in the back of my left knee and again I had to listen to my body and back off the running and do more walking/hiking. In each of these instances, it was adjusting my mindset in order to successfully complete the event—just as I had practiced in training.
Additionally, beyond the physical and mental prep with my training, was training and experimenting with other aspects of running I would face on race day. Within training, was learning what, how much, and when to eat. Same thing for hydration. Your training efforts is the time to experiment and nail down what works and what doesn’t—don’t be afraid to learn in your training so you have less stress and can have a better experience on race day! I also experiment with how I even carried my food and water, completing some efforts with my new hydration pack and others with my Fuelbelt to find out what worked best for me.
Overall, take some time and make a checklist of all the variables you can face on race day, and prep for these in your training—again, training is place to make mistakes and find out what work and what doesn’t. And if a mistake happens then learn from it and progress.
I realize this article is somewhat long—hey, just like an ultra! So I thought here at the end I’d try and pick out and list the best pieces of training advice and put them in quick list for you to sum up the article.
In those posts, I didn’t really go into any details regarding my preparation in training for these two important events. With some inquiries about how I did train for these events, I thought it was worthwhile to share my approach—so that’s the focus of this one.
With any long race, I think a lot of runners get asked the question somewhere along the line of “isn’t that hard?” Well to some degree the answer is yes. But mostly, if you trained properly, then the answer should lean toward no. I’ve heard and read of many people saying they want to run—and I’ll use the commonly mentioned marathon—only to do so and say they can barely walk for a week and then think running is horrible. In all likelihood, for whatever reason, they just failed to put in the work beforehand (in my opinion.) To have a good race experience, you really do have to have dedication in your training. From my past experiences, I have found this to be very true—and if you follow it I think you will be very well rewarded and surprise yourself on race day.
I’ll be honest about my training—it was only semi-structured. To be a tad more specific, each effort had it’s purpose and certain aspects of training had a focus, but scheduling how to work each of those efforts into my work week was…juggled, to say the least. During the vast majority of my training, I was working two jobs split between first and second shift, sometimes close to 60 hrs/wk. And there were a few weeks where I had worked 7 days a week, so long runs (run/hikes) didn’t exist. I didn’t stress about this. I knew I had an erratic work schedule and that fitting in long efforts would be challenging. It was just what had to be done. So while I like structure in my training, and these races were important to me, with my work situation at the time I was just going to have “wing it” to some degree on this whole ultra training thing.
My first two ultras were only 3 weeks apart—so in effect training for the first was the same as training for both. The longer race was first too, so I couldn’t use the first as a tune-up for the second. Tackling a 12 hour event—I went big(ger) for my first ultra.
Having these races already on my calendar for a long time, my training started very early in the year. Having a solid 8 months to build up my mileage was important since it would reduce the risk of me getting injured in pushing myself farther than I ever have before. After all, the quicker you ramp up your mileage, the more likely you are to develop an injury. While this is common sense, it is often forgotten.
Knowing these ultra’s I wanted to complete would be hours on end, I really didn’t focus my training on mileage. My main focus was building up the time I was spending on my feet. I think that is an important concept and one of the key points I’d like to stress. While I did have a mileage goal in mind (40-50 miles) for my first 12 hr ultra, I was realistic in knowing it would take me the vast majority if not all the 12 hrs to complete that goal. Plus there was the fact I had never ran/walked/hiked for anywhere near that timeframe either. I knew the miles would rack up for me—but only if I keep moving! If I’d stop because I was too tired after 6 or 8 or whatever hours, well then obviously mileage stops as well. So you can see how time and NOT distance becomes so important. On my long weekly efforts, I would only increase about 45 minutes to the total time I would complete, safely adding only 2–3 miles depending on terrain. My goal was to work up to a the equivalent of a full work day (8 hrs) of near constant movement (some combination of running, power hiking, etc.) I got in a few efforts around this time and figured that would be a good test for race day and that on race day I’d be able to dig a little deeper to complete the 12 hours.
Then within that focus of time for my training, it was just covering as many miles as I comfortably could without wearing myself out. I knew there was no way I could run the entire time for these ultras—and I was totally fine with knowing that. Very early in the year, my training did consist of solely running. My base for starting was around 7 miles. As I transitioned away from just running, one of main focuses was finding a good run/walk ratio. This is my second key point and was something that really challenged me! I experimented with different number of minutes walking and at different intervals for those walks, but most of that flies out the window so to speak when you’re on trails. The constant elevation changes would force me to hike when I “should” be running and other times the terrain would present me with opportunities to run when I was scheduled to walk. In experimenting with this run/walk ratio, what I eventually learned was two things—two very important things. Those were: 1) let the terrain ahead of you dictate whether you run or walk, and 2) listen to your body. These two items make up another key point and one I would definitely recommend for anyone training for an ultra distance event. What I found was discovering that perfect run/walk ratio only works if you’re running flat surfaces—which on most any trail ultra you are not! So I would follow my aforementioned two learned rules and then if my run/walk ratio worked within following those rules, I would apply it. If not, oh well. Expanding on my mentioning of terrain, I learned to play the hand you’re dealt so to speak. You see the hills in front of you won’t get any less steep no matter how much you wish and the rocky sections won’t suddenly become smooth either. So if you find yourself seeing your heart rate (HR) keep climbing and climbing (I’ll discuss this key point too shortly) but you feel like you’re barely moving, then honestly just ditch the running. What I’ve found is I can power hike just as fast on steeper inclines and keep your HR lower and conserve energy—trust me, you’ll need it. I also wouldn’t worry if I had long stretches of running because of a long downhill section during a time when I thought I should take a break with walking. Why not let gravity help you out? Unless you’re in actual pain, there’s no reason not to let gravity be your friend and cover the same distance using less energy.
I also tailored my training to the type of terrain I would face, and another point I can’t stress enough. Knowing the events I wanted to do were on trails, that is what I trained on. There was no way I wanted to be unprepared come race day. As much as I could, I sought out hilly, technical trails which would constantly challenge me—and they did! Not only would it prepare me mentally for that terrain, but I knew it would strengthen the stabilizing muscles in my feet and ankles, delaying the time these areas would fatigue. I know when I first started trail running I would feel a soreness afterward in my ankles so I knew strengthening was important for truly long distance. A few times out of necessity I trained on hilly roads, but believe me, it is just not the same. I would always suggest training on as close to the same surface and type of terrain as you’ll face on race day as much as you can.
Another item that helped me a lot was stair climbing. One of my jobs I averaged 7 to 8 miles of walking each workday. I believe this job helped me with my ultra training. Even though I obviously wasn’t running, I was spending long durations of time on my feet—again, my main goal. Also in this job was the availability of stairwells. Walking—or sometimes even jogging or running—as many flights of stairs as I could was also a substitution for any lack of running and a secondary method of hill training. For me, any day less than 15–20 flights of stairs was a disappointment. If I tackled 30+ flights—OK, now we’re talking’. Hit about 50 flights of stairs—now that was good day! Sure, it was hard, but I knew in the long run this was going to help strengthen me. I don’t have that job anymore and it will be interesting to see in the future if I notice a difference. I miss those stair workouts and really suggest if you have the opportunity to incorporate stair climbing into your training that you do so. It will really prepare you for steep climbs!
Now I’ll touch on the aforementioned topic of heart rate. Another aspect of my training that I incorporated was heart rate monitoring—and more specifically within that was what is known as zone 2 training. I had both read and heard about this concept in researching running and upon learning about it, thought it made sense and was applicable to what I was trying to accomplish. By no means though do you have to follow zone 2 training.
Many HR monitoring watches come with preset (or you create your own) training zones relating to a percentage of your maximum HR. A lower number zone relates to a smaller percentage of your max HR. The different types of workout you do fall into different zones—for instance a tempo run would fall in zone 3 or 4 since you’re running a bit faster and would have a higher HR or a speed workout on the track might fall in zone 4 or even 5 depending on the purpose of the workout. The thinking behind utilizing this method of training is since a ultramarathon consists of long distance running done at a slower pace, training should be kept at a slower pace and stay within zone 2. There’s little benefit to having a higher HR from running faster when realistically most runners while not be able to keep up that faster pace the entire time of their event. Eventually you become more efficient with your running within zone 2 and you do become faster.
One of the easiest and most common ways to determine your zone 2 is the formula: 180 minus your age. The result is the number you want to keep your HR below for distance training. If you are a seasoned runner who has been staying in shape then there is a slight deviation allowable to add 5 beats per minute to the result of your number but if you are new(er) to this training or newer to running in general then just stick to the basic formula.
I will attest to zone 2 training being difficult at least in its initial stages, and this is something I heard from many others. It was difficult to keep my HR that low. What I thought was slow running was actually raising my HR about what my max should be for zone 2—especially for hills and inclines. This showed me I likely wasn’t as fit as I thought I was. While this was frustrating, I did slow down (the vast majority of the time) and continue following this training regimen. There were many times where I needed to slow down to a walk (or hike depending on terrain) in order to keep my HR within zone 2. I will tell you that you do need to be patient with this regimen and it will take time to see results. For me it took a few months, which is rather common. However, if you stick to following zone 2 training for your distance running then you will see results and be able to run at a faster pace and still keep your HR lower.
One of the ways I learned to more easily stay within zone 2 was to alter how I breathed. While I realize some of you won’t be able to incorporate this, it was an effective method for me. To stay within zone 2, I would (in effect) force myself to breathe strictly through my nose. Obviously this restricted the amount of air I could take in within each breath. This lower volume of air would force me to slow down in order not to be out of breath. Thus the slower running kept my HR lower. Basically as long as I could solely breathe through my nose I was going to have a lower HR and stay within zone 2. Don’t get me wrong, this was not easy to do! I had to make a very conscious effort in my initial stages of trying this approach—but with practice I found this to be a very effective technique. At times, yes, I did need to breathe using my mouth but regardless I would always make a effort to keep my breathing controlled! I can’t stress enough using controlled breathing in order to follow zone 2 training. This is a great topic to read up on and one where you can do a search and find a ton of info on—perhaps a topic of a future blog post.
Transitioning back to other training techniques, something else I would do within my training efforts is I would envision myself being in an ultra. My suggestion is picture yourself adjust to all the feedback your body gives you. Learn to become confident in making changes as that feedback changes. Picture yourself having a good race and reaching that next aid station or the finish line. You’re going to experience lows in an ultra and the easier it is to break any negativity you have mentally or make changes based on how you feel physically the better off you’ll be.
For instance, in my 12 hr event, I started moderately too fast and only 20 miles into the race my quads basically felt like they were mostly spent. They were already tired and sore and I had over half my day still ahead of me. I remember the spot where I had to have a talk with myself—as if I was talking in third person. I told myself that I have to slow down or else you’ll never reach your goal or if you do you will feel worse than you ever expected to post-race. In my second ultra I was experiencing more prolonged discomfort in the back of my left knee and again I had to listen to my body and back off the running and do more walking/hiking. In each of these instances, it was adjusting my mindset in order to successfully complete the event—just as I had practiced in training.
Additionally, beyond the physical and mental prep with my training, was training and experimenting with other aspects of running I would face on race day. Within training, was learning what, how much, and when to eat. Same thing for hydration. Your training efforts is the time to experiment and nail down what works and what doesn’t—don’t be afraid to learn in your training so you have less stress and can have a better experience on race day! I also experiment with how I even carried my food and water, completing some efforts with my new hydration pack and others with my Fuelbelt to find out what worked best for me.
Overall, take some time and make a checklist of all the variables you can face on race day, and prep for these in your training—again, training is place to make mistakes and find out what work and what doesn’t. And if a mistake happens then learn from it and progress.
I realize this article is somewhat long—hey, just like an ultra! So I thought here at the end I’d try and pick out and list the best pieces of training advice and put them in quick list for you to sum up the article.
- Take your training seriously—don’t think that it’s all just going to “come together” on race day.
- Specificity—train as much as you can in conditions you’ll face on race day.
- Envisioning—picture yourself in a race while you train and learn to be confident in your ability to face different situations you encounter.
- Listen to your body—it’s giving you feedback for a reason and use that to get to the finish line.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Tackling Ultramarathon #2!
Hello readers! As I’m sure most of you do, you like hearing how other runners did at their races and hearing what their experience was like. You like hearing what went right, what went wrong, and everything in between. Well that’s basically what this post is: a summary of my latest race.
On Saturday I ran my second ultra marathon, completing the Trails for Tails Ultra Run and Relay. If you want to read more about the course itself you can find here in my race report. In my writing about my first ultra marathon I wrote the race report along with my experience of the event all in one report. I experimented with two separate posts this time and would appreciate any feedback or thoughts on which is better. As I stated before, this blog is a work in progress, and I would like to know what works better for readers.
This was my first time running this race. It was another local race that I’ve known about for years and kept my eye on. For my first few ultras I wanted to do something close so I wouldn’t have the stress of travel to deal with. The timing of the event also fit nicely into my training as I also just completed my first ultra 3 weeks prior and I would obviously be in shape and still have the fitness to complete this event. Coupled with the fact it was in September, I figured temperature would be much better for another ultra than one later or one early during summer months where it would be very hot.
For whatever reason, I felt very relaxed going into this race. Obviously with only one ultra I wasn’t a veteran but I guess since this race was short and had less elevation gain/loss I just wasn’t as concerned about this as much as my first ultra 3 weeks ago. And now having completed this event I’m not sure if the lack of concern on elevation gain/loss was a help or a hindrance.
I say this because this event kicked my butt pretty good! My first ultra was a 12 hour event with more elevation change and one where in my head I always was striving to get in 50 miles—which I did—and I didn’t even need the full 12 hours. This event was shorter (40 miles), and obviously would not take me as long to complete. Having been on the most of trails which the Trails for Tails event is held on, I knew there was nothing too great regarding elevation change. I guess those two factors lulled me into a false sense of security.
The course seemed to be tough for many factors. The first was likely pace. I had met another runner that I somewhat knew and in running with him was likely a little too fast too early for what I would have done otherwise. The pace seemed OK at the time but looking back was too quick with my level of experience for a distance this long. I had several mile splits below 10:00 miles—just too fast!
Secondly, I was not used to running on the shoreline section of the course. This part was soft, sloped, and somewhat rocky. That combination seemed to really fatigue my ankles quickly and bothered me throughout the rest of race any time I ran for an extended period. On later laps I learned to find slightly flatter sections on the shoreline as well as speedwalk more of it but it still bothered my ankle to a mild degree. I was not a fan of that shoreline section.
There also was some road running too which I think lulled me into a faster pace compared to if I was running on trails. It was this combination of factors that lead me to begin too quickly but at the same time challenge me that lead me to feel somewhat tired early on in the race. I could feel some tiredness and soreness already around mile 14 and it was then when I did the math in my head and realized that I still have a marathon distance ahead of me to get in the 40 miles I wanted to. That thought was slightly depressing. But it was a wake up call to truly slow down and start making changes.
I began consciously slowing down and walking any of steeper or longer inclines. I also started following my intended walk/run ratio that I should have started earlier. Following these I slowed down but I didn’t care. I didn’t even establish a time goal for this race (on purpose) so it was no use attempting to keep up the same pace I was at for the first one and half laps.
It was more than just my ankles that started to feel sore and tired though. I could feel some of that in my quads but additionally more so in my hamstrings. What bothered me the most was the back of left knee. Basically the more I kept running the more soreness I experienced. I resorted to more walking which wasn’t an issue but I could definitely feel it getting worse. This was a contrast from my first ultra where I seemed to have highs and lows but have periods of recovery. This race, physical issues just seemed to get progressively worse—period! To some degree I wonder if I was fully recovered from my other ultra 3 weeks ago. In my running in between these two races though I felt good and did not experience any issues. I had felt like recovery from that ultra went better than expected but perhaps I wasn’t recovered. The only other thing I can think of is I ran a 5K race hard six days prior to Trails For Tails, so in all likelihood I think that played a role in my recovery—having been OK up to that point but regressed after the hard 5K effort.
So as each of miles ticked by I just managed how I felt and what was ahead of me on the course. I ran downhills to take advantage of gravity and walked the vast majority of uphills—especially any of significance. And if I was feeling tired I likely extended my duration of walking before returning to running. I made sure to stop at the aid station and the start/finish line for food and liquid each time I arrived at each to make sure I didn’t get too hungry or thirsty. Thirst was my bigger issue as I found myself wanting to drink more on each lap. The aid station had a good variety of items which I also talk about in my race report. I think I grabbed something to eat every time I stopped at it which was necessary as my Garmin watch showed I burned almost 4500 calories.
Speaking of my Garmin, once again I had problems with it. At least it turned on for me for this ultra unlike my first. I thought it was fully charged (it showed it was) but just into my 4th lap the low battery warning came on. The watch still had some battery life in it and did last until mile 37 before it finally died on me. At least it got me through the vast majority of the race! Luckily just before starting that 4th lap I had stopped at my truck to grab my phone to eventually take pictures so I started the Mapmyhike app I have on it and was still able to have a sense of my pace.
With not a lot of runners in this event I ran a good bit of this race alone. I ran with other runners when I could but one thing I learned with distance running is you’ve got to run your own race. As I said about my earlier miles I had ran with someone who was mostly too fast for me and I couldn’t make that mistake again. Around lap 3, I was with some other runners off and on but they eventually passed me. It would have been stupid of me to keep up with them no matter how much it would have been nice to run with others.
I had every intention of finishing all 40 miles of this race. The soreness in the back of my knee definitely made this a challenge. I slowed down in my first ultra so all of me wouldn’t wear out. This time was different in that I had one part of me that was of more concern. Had I pushed too hard I feel like I could have possible done some damage, but the slowing down and walking more is what got me through to the end—because more so than my first ultra, when my knee was hurting I really was wishing in my head a few times for this just to be over. Now finishing this post nearly two days later I don’t believe I did any damage to my knee as I can walk, hike, go stairs, etc., but I will have to manage my return to running more closely. In the long run, having this issue was probably a good learning experience for me in knowing how to deal with a situation when it goes wrong.
The weather was very runner friendly this year for this race, cool in the morning with a high of 70 degrees and a light breeze blowing. It was cloudy all morning and then the sun came out in the afternoon which did warm it up. I was on my 5th and final lap at this point and the warmer it got the more I needed to drink.
In trying to wrap up thoughts on this race, I feel I learned a good bit from doing this event. I had to manage running 2 ultras within 3 weeks after never run one before. I was a delicate balance of running just the right amount to stay fresh but not too much that would make me tired. I think I got it mostly right with the exception of the fast 5K six days prior to this race. Going back to my knee, I learned how to manage what felt like something that if I’m not careful could really set me back. Again the slowing down really helped to ease the stress I was feeling in my knee. Most of all I learned not to think that any race of this length would be “simple.” I really feel like this experience put me in my place. It’s not that didn’t take this race serious but I think I had too much confidence in myself after my first ultra achieving or really surpassing my highest expectations.
I was happy with my finish for the race though. My official time for the 40 miles was 7 hrs 55 mins, which was good for 7th place overall. My final pace was 11:52 per mile, which was a full minute per mile faster than my first ultra. Considering the differences in elevation change when comparing the two, this pace sounds about right and one I’m content with considering my knee issue during the race.
Both my ultras so far I consider a success. I don’t know what will be next. Whatever it is, it will be another year. Whenever I complete another you will read about it here though! Stay tuned!
On Saturday I ran my second ultra marathon, completing the Trails for Tails Ultra Run and Relay. If you want to read more about the course itself you can find here in my race report. In my writing about my first ultra marathon I wrote the race report along with my experience of the event all in one report. I experimented with two separate posts this time and would appreciate any feedback or thoughts on which is better. As I stated before, this blog is a work in progress, and I would like to know what works better for readers.
This was my first time running this race. It was another local race that I’ve known about for years and kept my eye on. For my first few ultras I wanted to do something close so I wouldn’t have the stress of travel to deal with. The timing of the event also fit nicely into my training as I also just completed my first ultra 3 weeks prior and I would obviously be in shape and still have the fitness to complete this event. Coupled with the fact it was in September, I figured temperature would be much better for another ultra than one later or one early during summer months where it would be very hot.
For whatever reason, I felt very relaxed going into this race. Obviously with only one ultra I wasn’t a veteran but I guess since this race was short and had less elevation gain/loss I just wasn’t as concerned about this as much as my first ultra 3 weeks ago. And now having completed this event I’m not sure if the lack of concern on elevation gain/loss was a help or a hindrance.
I say this because this event kicked my butt pretty good! My first ultra was a 12 hour event with more elevation change and one where in my head I always was striving to get in 50 miles—which I did—and I didn’t even need the full 12 hours. This event was shorter (40 miles), and obviously would not take me as long to complete. Having been on the most of trails which the Trails for Tails event is held on, I knew there was nothing too great regarding elevation change. I guess those two factors lulled me into a false sense of security.
The course seemed to be tough for many factors. The first was likely pace. I had met another runner that I somewhat knew and in running with him was likely a little too fast too early for what I would have done otherwise. The pace seemed OK at the time but looking back was too quick with my level of experience for a distance this long. I had several mile splits below 10:00 miles—just too fast!
Secondly, I was not used to running on the shoreline section of the course. This part was soft, sloped, and somewhat rocky. That combination seemed to really fatigue my ankles quickly and bothered me throughout the rest of race any time I ran for an extended period. On later laps I learned to find slightly flatter sections on the shoreline as well as speedwalk more of it but it still bothered my ankle to a mild degree. I was not a fan of that shoreline section.
There also was some road running too which I think lulled me into a faster pace compared to if I was running on trails. It was this combination of factors that lead me to begin too quickly but at the same time challenge me that lead me to feel somewhat tired early on in the race. I could feel some tiredness and soreness already around mile 14 and it was then when I did the math in my head and realized that I still have a marathon distance ahead of me to get in the 40 miles I wanted to. That thought was slightly depressing. But it was a wake up call to truly slow down and start making changes.
I began consciously slowing down and walking any of steeper or longer inclines. I also started following my intended walk/run ratio that I should have started earlier. Following these I slowed down but I didn’t care. I didn’t even establish a time goal for this race (on purpose) so it was no use attempting to keep up the same pace I was at for the first one and half laps.
It was more than just my ankles that started to feel sore and tired though. I could feel some of that in my quads but additionally more so in my hamstrings. What bothered me the most was the back of left knee. Basically the more I kept running the more soreness I experienced. I resorted to more walking which wasn’t an issue but I could definitely feel it getting worse. This was a contrast from my first ultra where I seemed to have highs and lows but have periods of recovery. This race, physical issues just seemed to get progressively worse—period! To some degree I wonder if I was fully recovered from my other ultra 3 weeks ago. In my running in between these two races though I felt good and did not experience any issues. I had felt like recovery from that ultra went better than expected but perhaps I wasn’t recovered. The only other thing I can think of is I ran a 5K race hard six days prior to Trails For Tails, so in all likelihood I think that played a role in my recovery—having been OK up to that point but regressed after the hard 5K effort.
So as each of miles ticked by I just managed how I felt and what was ahead of me on the course. I ran downhills to take advantage of gravity and walked the vast majority of uphills—especially any of significance. And if I was feeling tired I likely extended my duration of walking before returning to running. I made sure to stop at the aid station and the start/finish line for food and liquid each time I arrived at each to make sure I didn’t get too hungry or thirsty. Thirst was my bigger issue as I found myself wanting to drink more on each lap. The aid station had a good variety of items which I also talk about in my race report. I think I grabbed something to eat every time I stopped at it which was necessary as my Garmin watch showed I burned almost 4500 calories.
Speaking of my Garmin, once again I had problems with it. At least it turned on for me for this ultra unlike my first. I thought it was fully charged (it showed it was) but just into my 4th lap the low battery warning came on. The watch still had some battery life in it and did last until mile 37 before it finally died on me. At least it got me through the vast majority of the race! Luckily just before starting that 4th lap I had stopped at my truck to grab my phone to eventually take pictures so I started the Mapmyhike app I have on it and was still able to have a sense of my pace.
With not a lot of runners in this event I ran a good bit of this race alone. I ran with other runners when I could but one thing I learned with distance running is you’ve got to run your own race. As I said about my earlier miles I had ran with someone who was mostly too fast for me and I couldn’t make that mistake again. Around lap 3, I was with some other runners off and on but they eventually passed me. It would have been stupid of me to keep up with them no matter how much it would have been nice to run with others.
I had every intention of finishing all 40 miles of this race. The soreness in the back of my knee definitely made this a challenge. I slowed down in my first ultra so all of me wouldn’t wear out. This time was different in that I had one part of me that was of more concern. Had I pushed too hard I feel like I could have possible done some damage, but the slowing down and walking more is what got me through to the end—because more so than my first ultra, when my knee was hurting I really was wishing in my head a few times for this just to be over. Now finishing this post nearly two days later I don’t believe I did any damage to my knee as I can walk, hike, go stairs, etc., but I will have to manage my return to running more closely. In the long run, having this issue was probably a good learning experience for me in knowing how to deal with a situation when it goes wrong.
The weather was very runner friendly this year for this race, cool in the morning with a high of 70 degrees and a light breeze blowing. It was cloudy all morning and then the sun came out in the afternoon which did warm it up. I was on my 5th and final lap at this point and the warmer it got the more I needed to drink.
In trying to wrap up thoughts on this race, I feel I learned a good bit from doing this event. I had to manage running 2 ultras within 3 weeks after never run one before. I was a delicate balance of running just the right amount to stay fresh but not too much that would make me tired. I think I got it mostly right with the exception of the fast 5K six days prior to this race. Going back to my knee, I learned how to manage what felt like something that if I’m not careful could really set me back. Again the slowing down really helped to ease the stress I was feeling in my knee. Most of all I learned not to think that any race of this length would be “simple.” I really feel like this experience put me in my place. It’s not that didn’t take this race serious but I think I had too much confidence in myself after my first ultra achieving or really surpassing my highest expectations.
I was happy with my finish for the race though. My official time for the 40 miles was 7 hrs 55 mins, which was good for 7th place overall. My final pace was 11:52 per mile, which was a full minute per mile faster than my first ultra. Considering the differences in elevation change when comparing the two, this pace sounds about right and one I’m content with considering my knee issue during the race.
Both my ultras so far I consider a success. I don’t know what will be next. Whatever it is, it will be another year. Whenever I complete another you will read about it here though! Stay tuned!
2016 Trails for Tails Race Report
Today I’m posting yet another race report. Since I am new to running ultras, I thought this is a good way to give something back, because if you’re like me, you like knowing a little something about an event prior to doing it for the first time. I feel this helps with both preparation and having a better experience at the event.
This race report is for the Trails for Tails Ultra Run and Relay which benefits a no kill animal shelter. As I said in my post of my experience of the event, which can be found here, this was my first time running this race, with the race itself having been held for about 9 years now. Trails for Tails is held at Codorus State Park not far from Hanover, PA. This is smaller event, I’m guessing less than 50 runners were at the start however I’m sure there were more that showed up later to run their part if they were on a relay team.
The event is 40 miles in length consisting of 5 laps of an 8 mile course. The course layout is nice in that you can drop out at any of the 8 mile intervals if you’re not into or capable of running the longer distances. The course has a larger 4 mile loop and then a smaller loop connected by a road section maybe a 1/2 mile long. Overall there is a mix of surfaces you be running on, including grass, dirt, paved roads, and the rocky/sandy shoreline of Lake Marburg. This mix of surfaces broke up the monotony but might not be for everyone depending on your preferences. With the exception of the shoreline section, I really liked the course and the fact it varied. Even though I thought I had quite a bit of ankle strength, the softer sloped surface of the shoreline really seemed to fatigue my ankles quickly. By the second any subsequent laps, on the sloped shoreline there were just a few spots that I found didn’t have as much slope to it and stuck to it was much as could as I found the angled running is what really challenged my ankles the most. The course had its share of rocks and roots and elevation change too but nothing extreme about any of them. There were several small fallen trees to go over but they were easily manageable and a guard rail at one point to go over too. To sum it up, about the time you got used to running on one surface it switched to another. The same held true regarding elevation change. The course was very well marked I thought, using a combination of spray paint arrows on the ground, ribbon, and a few plates with arrows. Having never run the course, I was slightly concerned with finding my way but I wasn’t in the lead to have to worry, and regardless it was marked well.
The staff at this event was great. The RD (race director) even sent me an email earlier in the week confirming he received my registration and that I was entered in the event. I thought it was nice, and likely a result of it being a low(er) number of runners, but the RD and the other volunteer at the start/finish line of each lap even called me by my first name when cheering and acknowledging completion of another lap. Again, really nice since this was the first time I ran the event and they didn’t know me prior.
The aid station volunteers were great too!, very eager to assist you and ask you what it is you need or were looking for. I made sure to say thank you to them when I passed the aid station the last time as I thought they did a great job!
I’m guessing if you’re reading this you’re also wondering what items were at the aid station. There was a little of everything really. Candy for anyone with a sweet tooth (me included), chips (and pretzels?) for those craving something salty, and a variety of other items. Some of the other food on hand included: trail mix, apples, bananas, pickle slices, pb&j sandwiches cut into pieces, turkey sandwiches cut in half. Regarding hydration—water, gatorade, soda, and Heed was available. A fair amount of the same items were at the start/finish line too. This aid station was right around mile 4 on the course and runners pass it a second time on each loop about a 1/2 mile before the start/finish line.
In summary, I did like this event after initially being unsure about it from the first lap. Once I found the flat(er) surface along the shoreline I was able to navigate that section easier as I felt my ankles almost throbbing after running the first lap. I also thought I’d dislike the long out-and-back road section connecting the two loops but this is where you would most often see the other runners and it was fun to give and receive encouraging words to/from the other runners. I guess I see the small number of runners as the only “downfall” to this race. With the except of that out-and-back road section, I didn’t really encounter too many other runners on the course after my first lap. While I did a lot of solo training and for the most part don’t mind it, after awhile running alone can get boring. But there was plenty I liked: the variation of the course, the friendliness of everyone, and the great aid station volunteers!
I would suggest this event to other runners who are within driving distance. It is a very affordable event which was a positive and all the volunteers were very supportive and helpful. Without the significant elevation change, the course is also more friendly to newbie ultrarunners such as myself. That’s not to say it’s easy but my point is it’s not daunting. If you like the camaraderie of other runners and big races this one is likely not for you though.
Will I run this event again? That I don’t know—as I am just getting breaking into ultrarunning and ultramarathoning and not sure yet what direction I will be taking and also how the time of this event fits in with others I may want to do. I will be keeping it on my race calendar though!
This race report is for the Trails for Tails Ultra Run and Relay which benefits a no kill animal shelter. As I said in my post of my experience of the event, which can be found here, this was my first time running this race, with the race itself having been held for about 9 years now. Trails for Tails is held at Codorus State Park not far from Hanover, PA. This is smaller event, I’m guessing less than 50 runners were at the start however I’m sure there were more that showed up later to run their part if they were on a relay team.
The event is 40 miles in length consisting of 5 laps of an 8 mile course. The course layout is nice in that you can drop out at any of the 8 mile intervals if you’re not into or capable of running the longer distances. The course has a larger 4 mile loop and then a smaller loop connected by a road section maybe a 1/2 mile long. Overall there is a mix of surfaces you be running on, including grass, dirt, paved roads, and the rocky/sandy shoreline of Lake Marburg. This mix of surfaces broke up the monotony but might not be for everyone depending on your preferences. With the exception of the shoreline section, I really liked the course and the fact it varied. Even though I thought I had quite a bit of ankle strength, the softer sloped surface of the shoreline really seemed to fatigue my ankles quickly. By the second any subsequent laps, on the sloped shoreline there were just a few spots that I found didn’t have as much slope to it and stuck to it was much as could as I found the angled running is what really challenged my ankles the most. The course had its share of rocks and roots and elevation change too but nothing extreme about any of them. There were several small fallen trees to go over but they were easily manageable and a guard rail at one point to go over too. To sum it up, about the time you got used to running on one surface it switched to another. The same held true regarding elevation change. The course was very well marked I thought, using a combination of spray paint arrows on the ground, ribbon, and a few plates with arrows. Having never run the course, I was slightly concerned with finding my way but I wasn’t in the lead to have to worry, and regardless it was marked well.
The staff at this event was great. The RD (race director) even sent me an email earlier in the week confirming he received my registration and that I was entered in the event. I thought it was nice, and likely a result of it being a low(er) number of runners, but the RD and the other volunteer at the start/finish line of each lap even called me by my first name when cheering and acknowledging completion of another lap. Again, really nice since this was the first time I ran the event and they didn’t know me prior.
The aid station volunteers were great too!, very eager to assist you and ask you what it is you need or were looking for. I made sure to say thank you to them when I passed the aid station the last time as I thought they did a great job!
I’m guessing if you’re reading this you’re also wondering what items were at the aid station. There was a little of everything really. Candy for anyone with a sweet tooth (me included), chips (and pretzels?) for those craving something salty, and a variety of other items. Some of the other food on hand included: trail mix, apples, bananas, pickle slices, pb&j sandwiches cut into pieces, turkey sandwiches cut in half. Regarding hydration—water, gatorade, soda, and Heed was available. A fair amount of the same items were at the start/finish line too. This aid station was right around mile 4 on the course and runners pass it a second time on each loop about a 1/2 mile before the start/finish line.
In summary, I did like this event after initially being unsure about it from the first lap. Once I found the flat(er) surface along the shoreline I was able to navigate that section easier as I felt my ankles almost throbbing after running the first lap. I also thought I’d dislike the long out-and-back road section connecting the two loops but this is where you would most often see the other runners and it was fun to give and receive encouraging words to/from the other runners. I guess I see the small number of runners as the only “downfall” to this race. With the except of that out-and-back road section, I didn’t really encounter too many other runners on the course after my first lap. While I did a lot of solo training and for the most part don’t mind it, after awhile running alone can get boring. But there was plenty I liked: the variation of the course, the friendliness of everyone, and the great aid station volunteers!
I would suggest this event to other runners who are within driving distance. It is a very affordable event which was a positive and all the volunteers were very supportive and helpful. Without the significant elevation change, the course is also more friendly to newbie ultrarunners such as myself. That’s not to say it’s easy but my point is it’s not daunting. If you like the camaraderie of other runners and big races this one is likely not for you though.
Will I run this event again? That I don’t know—as I am just getting breaking into ultrarunning and ultramarathoning and not sure yet what direction I will be taking and also how the time of this event fits in with others I may want to do. I will be keeping it on my race calendar though!
Thursday, September 8, 2016
2016 Labor Pain 12 Hour Endurance Run Race Report
This past Sunday I participated in my first ever ultramarathon, the Labor Pain 12 Hour Endurance Run, which was held just outside of Reading, PA. In this post I’ll talk about both the race itself, in the format of a race report, and also add in my thoughts and feelings on competing in this event.
I have wanted to try an ultramarathon for awhile, somewhat because it sounds like a novelty and somewhat because I truly want to see what I can accomplish. The runner in me was (mostly) ready to try this for years but making the decision to go back to college to learn a new career put the ultra dream on the back burner. This year was first since completing my degree that seriously training for an ultra was realistic.
Although training for this was difficult, I had it in my head that this was going to be the year I test myself. The easier route to entering the ultra world is a 50K, which there is one local that I’d love to try, but for whatever reason this fairly local 12 hour event is what truly intrigued me and was what would really put me to the test and let me know what I’m made of. Also, it was a big enough step to let me know I want to seriously consider my true dream of pursuing a 100 miler.
So back 6 months prior to now, when my longest run was only 6-7 miles, I began my training. I won’t go into a lot of detail about my training, I’ll just mention one aspect. As you might know, the training is the hard part—and the boring part. But it is what’s necessary to be successful on race day and make that a good experience. I found a quote I saved from Lance Armstrong that talks about training, “The more you suffer before the race, the less you will during and after." Let me just say that this is true! End of my commentary on training.
For the race itself, the Labor Pain 12 Hour Endurance Run consists of a 5 mile loop course that you run for as many laps as you can in 12 hours, or until you want to drop out after reaching whatever distance you want to cover. The course is run mostly on trails with just a few sections being run on grass or roads. Throw in going over a guard rail and a rock scramble right before the end of each lap and you really do have a little of everything practically. Your typical uphill and downhill sections were in this race but overall nothing TOO extreme—just enough to make it tough though! The course was very well marked, if you made a wrong turn it was likely your own fault!. Having never run a looped course, I wasn’t sure how it would go. But honestly it is nice for if you’re having a bad day and want to call it quits you can do so without worrying about get back to your vehicle. Unless something went terribly wrong this was not going to be me though!
I did arrive early enough though that I had enough time to get ready and be mentally prepared for this day. I got my race bib and handouts and returned to my vehicle and gathered everything I needed for the race. Soon enough runners were called to the starting line. Directions were given and then a countdown began. And just like that I was now in the biggest, longest, and most difficult race of my life to date! I would now find out just what I signed up for and what I’m really made of!
It took some seconds before everyone got moving but once everyone started there was an open stretch of driveway and road in the very beginning of the course for runners to get sorted out before shortly making a turn and going through someone’s yard—yes you read that correctly, the course does go through someone’s yard! Then it was uphill and finally headed into the woods, which was mostly singletrack so things came to halt here on the first lap but things again got sorted out and one was able to run again. The first mile or so was fairly easy before a long gradual uphill section of the course came and was one I learned to dread after about 3 laps of it. Luckily after that hill the course had a downhill section and then evened out for a good stretch with the aid station right at the half way mark of the course. I didn’t even bother to stop at the aid station on the first lap but did stop on each one after. Eventually another long(er) uphill section started with a steeper and more technical section at the top. From there it was a LONG mixed stretch of even and downhill running. This was great for making up time and being easier on the body.
It took me several loops to really remember the entire course, which sounds silly I guess but really when you’re attempting to stay out for the best part of 12 hrs there are so many other things on your mind—nutrition, hydration, fatigue, what’s aching or hurting. Managing all of these while staying in motion and shooting for a huge goal does wear on you from a mental perspective. Throw in all the body is telling you and it is easy to forget part of the course. Anyone that tells you a race this long isn’t at least partly mental is bs’ing you! I love running (and hiking) but I be honest, there were a few times where I was hurting and was ready for this to be over.
I didn’t truly feel like I had my strategy down until about 20 miles into the race. That was mostly because on my fourth (or fifth?) lap my quads were starting to kill me. I knew right there and then I needed to change what I doing or something will go seriously wrong. From there I consciously slowed down and basically power hiked any type of uphill. I knew by now there were other flat or downhill section later in the course where I could run again, but from here on out the uphills needed to managed better than what had the first few laps. This change did work and eventually I got a second wind in me where I felt good again and that I could push onward without the fear that I barely be able to walk after the race or the next day.
And that is a funny thing about ultras—the highs and lows. Eventually I started to tire again about the 7th lap into race (~32 miles) but again that somehow passed and I felt like pushing again. I remember really late in the race thinking “I think this is my 4th wind now”. And immediately after that thinking how funny it was to go right through your “2nd wind” and your “3rd wind” to a 4th! I’m still not convinced there’s a thing as a “4th wind” but I don’t know what else to call it!
During these laps the increased use of my muscles lead to minor cramping but thankfully nothing major. My cramping was felt in my calves mostly with just a little bit in my hamstring muscles. My quads were just sore off and on for most of the race and was what truly bothered me the most. Usually my feet get beat up and sore but somehow they did not on this race, which I am thankful for. That was a good surprise. The bad surprise was how much my ankles ached off and on. I guess since only probably half of steps were on solid surfaces these muscles had to work fairly hard for all the steps I took in 50 miles. The other surprise I had was the fact my chest was actually getting sore for I guess the hydration pack I was wearing might have been too tight and caused what I describe as a brush burn from it—never had this with the few times I wore my hydration pack.
As I completed each lap they felt just a tad bit harder which is compounded by the fact not everyone runs for all 12 hours so you encounter fewer people on each lap and at times you feel alone. I think most of us are familiar with the saying “misery loves company.” While I wasn’t in misery, I was always glad to see someone else still out there. I stuck to my plan in my head about how to last for 12 hours as best I could. My biggest piece of advice for anyone thinking of trying an ultra is: develop a sense of how you want to compete, but don’t be afraid to change it up on race day if the course (or your body or the weather) demands it. My basic strategy was to roughly run the first 2 laps and switch to a 4 minute run, 2 minute hike ratio in order to last 12 hours and not wear myself out. But I did realize in my training this would likely need modifying due to the terrain of the course—and that’s what I did running for longer if it was downhill or hiking for longer if it was uphill or I was cramping from running. Other pieces of advice are: drink before you are thirsty, eat before you are hungry, and above all else—listen to your body! As I spoke of in an earlier paragraph, had I not slowed down around lap 4 or 5 I’m almost certain lap 9 and 10 may have not been an option for me, I simply would have hurt too much to push onward.
It likely sounds funny to read, but I did have a lot of fun competing in this endurance running event. As I came across the start/finish line each time completing a lap I was realizing my ultimate goal of completing 50 miles was in reach. I had thought that milestone would only be achieved if everything went right, which it mostly did, but in all honesty I thought it would be way harder. I completed the 50 miles in 10:44:56. I actually had the option of heading out and attempting an 11 lap, but I told the ladies doing the timing that I was done. I do have some regrets about that. In just that moment I thought I would really have to push it to complete that 11th lap but I think even had I hiked it I still would have finished before the 12 hour cutoff. It was a split second decision—I was tired and low on water, and having met my highest goal I called it quits. Honestly the almost 11 hours I was out there seems all like a blur in retrospect.
Lastly, my final thought regarding this race: damn if I’m not looking forward to trying this again next year!
I have wanted to try an ultramarathon for awhile, somewhat because it sounds like a novelty and somewhat because I truly want to see what I can accomplish. The runner in me was (mostly) ready to try this for years but making the decision to go back to college to learn a new career put the ultra dream on the back burner. This year was first since completing my degree that seriously training for an ultra was realistic.
Although training for this was difficult, I had it in my head that this was going to be the year I test myself. The easier route to entering the ultra world is a 50K, which there is one local that I’d love to try, but for whatever reason this fairly local 12 hour event is what truly intrigued me and was what would really put me to the test and let me know what I’m made of. Also, it was a big enough step to let me know I want to seriously consider my true dream of pursuing a 100 miler.
So back 6 months prior to now, when my longest run was only 6-7 miles, I began my training. I won’t go into a lot of detail about my training, I’ll just mention one aspect. As you might know, the training is the hard part—and the boring part. But it is what’s necessary to be successful on race day and make that a good experience. I found a quote I saved from Lance Armstrong that talks about training, “The more you suffer before the race, the less you will during and after." Let me just say that this is true! End of my commentary on training.
For the race itself, the Labor Pain 12 Hour Endurance Run consists of a 5 mile loop course that you run for as many laps as you can in 12 hours, or until you want to drop out after reaching whatever distance you want to cover. The course is run mostly on trails with just a few sections being run on grass or roads. Throw in going over a guard rail and a rock scramble right before the end of each lap and you really do have a little of everything practically. Your typical uphill and downhill sections were in this race but overall nothing TOO extreme—just enough to make it tough though! The course was very well marked, if you made a wrong turn it was likely your own fault!. Having never run a looped course, I wasn’t sure how it would go. But honestly it is nice for if you’re having a bad day and want to call it quits you can do so without worrying about get back to your vehicle. Unless something went terribly wrong this was not going to be me though!
Some of my race gear: hydration pack, trail sneakers and sunglasses with polarized lenses
The race started a bit late, which I didn’t mind since I didn’t get to the race location as early as I wanted to. That was just one thing that didn’t go as planned. The other was I could not get my Garmin GPS watch to turn on. It is an older model that does need replaced and has been giving me problems but for the most part still starts up—as long as it is on the charger first! Well it decided not to cooperate for my biggest race ever! Kinda frustrating! I say this because I like have the heart rate, pace, lap splits, calories burned info—I’m just a nerd with that stuff. And knowing my overall pace during the race would have been nice because in my head I had rough ideas of what pace I’d need to reach 40, 45, and 50 miles. If I had that data I would post it here but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. So instead I ran wearing just my plain old Casio watch! There’s not even a stopwatch on it! I did fear my Garmin wouldn’t start so I didn’t stress about it, and in a way it was a little liberating running and not having all that data staring me in the face so to speak. I think by not having it I enjoyed the run more. Instead I ran by how I felt (perceived exertion) and listened to my body, which is what one should be doing. Like I said about me being a nerd with that data, sometimes I am a bit of a slave to my watch, looking at it too frequently.I did arrive early enough though that I had enough time to get ready and be mentally prepared for this day. I got my race bib and handouts and returned to my vehicle and gathered everything I needed for the race. Soon enough runners were called to the starting line. Directions were given and then a countdown began. And just like that I was now in the biggest, longest, and most difficult race of my life to date! I would now find out just what I signed up for and what I’m really made of!
It took some seconds before everyone got moving but once everyone started there was an open stretch of driveway and road in the very beginning of the course for runners to get sorted out before shortly making a turn and going through someone’s yard—yes you read that correctly, the course does go through someone’s yard! Then it was uphill and finally headed into the woods, which was mostly singletrack so things came to halt here on the first lap but things again got sorted out and one was able to run again. The first mile or so was fairly easy before a long gradual uphill section of the course came and was one I learned to dread after about 3 laps of it. Luckily after that hill the course had a downhill section and then evened out for a good stretch with the aid station right at the half way mark of the course. I didn’t even bother to stop at the aid station on the first lap but did stop on each one after. Eventually another long(er) uphill section started with a steeper and more technical section at the top. From there it was a LONG mixed stretch of even and downhill running. This was great for making up time and being easier on the body.
It took me several loops to really remember the entire course, which sounds silly I guess but really when you’re attempting to stay out for the best part of 12 hrs there are so many other things on your mind—nutrition, hydration, fatigue, what’s aching or hurting. Managing all of these while staying in motion and shooting for a huge goal does wear on you from a mental perspective. Throw in all the body is telling you and it is easy to forget part of the course. Anyone that tells you a race this long isn’t at least partly mental is bs’ing you! I love running (and hiking) but I be honest, there were a few times where I was hurting and was ready for this to be over.
I didn’t truly feel like I had my strategy down until about 20 miles into the race. That was mostly because on my fourth (or fifth?) lap my quads were starting to kill me. I knew right there and then I needed to change what I doing or something will go seriously wrong. From there I consciously slowed down and basically power hiked any type of uphill. I knew by now there were other flat or downhill section later in the course where I could run again, but from here on out the uphills needed to managed better than what had the first few laps. This change did work and eventually I got a second wind in me where I felt good again and that I could push onward without the fear that I barely be able to walk after the race or the next day.
And that is a funny thing about ultras—the highs and lows. Eventually I started to tire again about the 7th lap into race (~32 miles) but again that somehow passed and I felt like pushing again. I remember really late in the race thinking “I think this is my 4th wind now”. And immediately after that thinking how funny it was to go right through your “2nd wind” and your “3rd wind” to a 4th! I’m still not convinced there’s a thing as a “4th wind” but I don’t know what else to call it!
During these laps the increased use of my muscles lead to minor cramping but thankfully nothing major. My cramping was felt in my calves mostly with just a little bit in my hamstring muscles. My quads were just sore off and on for most of the race and was what truly bothered me the most. Usually my feet get beat up and sore but somehow they did not on this race, which I am thankful for. That was a good surprise. The bad surprise was how much my ankles ached off and on. I guess since only probably half of steps were on solid surfaces these muscles had to work fairly hard for all the steps I took in 50 miles. The other surprise I had was the fact my chest was actually getting sore for I guess the hydration pack I was wearing might have been too tight and caused what I describe as a brush burn from it—never had this with the few times I wore my hydration pack.
As I completed each lap they felt just a tad bit harder which is compounded by the fact not everyone runs for all 12 hours so you encounter fewer people on each lap and at times you feel alone. I think most of us are familiar with the saying “misery loves company.” While I wasn’t in misery, I was always glad to see someone else still out there. I stuck to my plan in my head about how to last for 12 hours as best I could. My biggest piece of advice for anyone thinking of trying an ultra is: develop a sense of how you want to compete, but don’t be afraid to change it up on race day if the course (or your body or the weather) demands it. My basic strategy was to roughly run the first 2 laps and switch to a 4 minute run, 2 minute hike ratio in order to last 12 hours and not wear myself out. But I did realize in my training this would likely need modifying due to the terrain of the course—and that’s what I did running for longer if it was downhill or hiking for longer if it was uphill or I was cramping from running. Other pieces of advice are: drink before you are thirsty, eat before you are hungry, and above all else—listen to your body! As I spoke of in an earlier paragraph, had I not slowed down around lap 4 or 5 I’m almost certain lap 9 and 10 may have not been an option for me, I simply would have hurt too much to push onward.
It likely sounds funny to read, but I did have a lot of fun competing in this endurance running event. As I came across the start/finish line each time completing a lap I was realizing my ultimate goal of completing 50 miles was in reach. I had thought that milestone would only be achieved if everything went right, which it mostly did, but in all honesty I thought it would be way harder. I completed the 50 miles in 10:44:56. I actually had the option of heading out and attempting an 11 lap, but I told the ladies doing the timing that I was done. I do have some regrets about that. In just that moment I thought I would really have to push it to complete that 11th lap but I think even had I hiked it I still would have finished before the 12 hour cutoff. It was a split second decision—I was tired and low on water, and having met my highest goal I called it quits. Honestly the almost 11 hours I was out there seems all like a blur in retrospect.
The sun was setting on a long day here at the start/finish area for the Labor Pain race.
Overall I ended up finishing in 36th place out of 290 runners. I am so astounded at this, never did I think that I’d finish this high! But that’s what I love about an event like this, everybody is pushing themselves and pushing for others to achieve what they likely thought they couldn’t! Prior to competing, I read that ultra running is a supportive community, and having now competed in a ultra, I definitely see this as true. This event turned out to be such a great experience for me. Yes, it was difficult but between the training and the actual event I learned I am capable of great things. It definitely did not discourage me from continuing to wonder about my dream of someday doing a 100 miler.Lastly, my final thought regarding this race: damn if I’m not looking forward to trying this again next year!
Monday, August 29, 2016
Fear of the Unknown
When facing a new challenge, there is always some degree of uncertainty. Right now I am indeed feeling this uncertainty. I am feeling both prepared and apprehensive at the same time. In less than a week, I will be running my first ultramarathon—a 12 hour event nonetheless. This should probably be a second step in ultramarathoning for me rather than a first (preferably a 50K or a 6 hr endurance race), but it was one of the few ultra's that are fairly local to me and the date of the event might allow me to find a second ultra this fall yet while I am still in shape.
I say I’m feeling prepared because I feel like I did the best training I could during the time while I was working 2 jobs for anywhere from 40 to 60 hours a week. Some weeks finding the time to work in a 6+ hour effort to build my endurance was a real challenge and not necessarily the thing I wanted to do the most. Realistically though I knew that to be successful in a race like this I was going to have to push myself in training or really pay come race day, which I was hoping to avoid. I knew the event would test me but I really like the idea of testing myself, because the reality with me is that this event is really to see how I do with a truly long event to see if I want to perhaps pursue the true goal I have in my head—and that is to try a 100K or 100 miler. I know that goal is lofty (if you’re a runner) or insane (for any of the non-running readers.) Regardless of what you call it, that’s what is in my head. Perhaps I will never attempt a 100 miler but this 12 hour event is the closest I can come to it in which I feel will let me know if I can.
I’m also feeling apprehensive because my body seems to not want to be cooperating with me. Even though I have cut back the volume (and to some degree the intensity) during the last few weeks for my taper, I am having trouble staying away from things like a stuffy head, runny nose, sneezing, etc. I hope all that is due to allergies but I’m not sure honestly. Regardless, the fact I can’t stay completely healthy is starting to stress me—at a time where I obviously want to lower my stress level. I am also trying to eat healthier and get more sleep too (with varying degrees of success), but neither seems to be helping me at this time.
And that is what is giving me this uncertainty. Despite a good effort to back off and rest like I should, it is at this time when my body seems to be failing me the most. I know race day will likely beat me up and that worries me about how long it will take me to recover. Right now I’m more worried about after the race than the race itself! I know to take it slow in the race, but to pull off 35, 40, 45, or even 50 miles in a day will leave me tired. Having put in training of covering 31ish miles on my feet in a day several different times, I feel those distances are possible in a 12 hr event surrounded by other like-minded racers. The problem is I don’t know how my body will react after 12 hrs of that effort. So I’m left with this fear of what lies after the race. Crazy to think that training for 12 hrs of near constant movement is the “easy” part. I don’t like being sick, but because of how my body has reacted lately I fear this my be the result of me attempting this goal. I sure hope not—and will do everything I can both on race day and leading up to the race day to prevent this, but right now this is where my self-doubt and uncertainty lies.
In summary I know that most everybody experiences this uncertainty and thus I'm not alone. And the fact I'm consciously taking steps to prevent sickness is easing my stress level, just not eliminate it though. I will find out how well (or how poorly) I do obviously, and learn from it, but right now it is all about stress management!
I say I’m feeling prepared because I feel like I did the best training I could during the time while I was working 2 jobs for anywhere from 40 to 60 hours a week. Some weeks finding the time to work in a 6+ hour effort to build my endurance was a real challenge and not necessarily the thing I wanted to do the most. Realistically though I knew that to be successful in a race like this I was going to have to push myself in training or really pay come race day, which I was hoping to avoid. I knew the event would test me but I really like the idea of testing myself, because the reality with me is that this event is really to see how I do with a truly long event to see if I want to perhaps pursue the true goal I have in my head—and that is to try a 100K or 100 miler. I know that goal is lofty (if you’re a runner) or insane (for any of the non-running readers.) Regardless of what you call it, that’s what is in my head. Perhaps I will never attempt a 100 miler but this 12 hour event is the closest I can come to it in which I feel will let me know if I can.
I’m also feeling apprehensive because my body seems to not want to be cooperating with me. Even though I have cut back the volume (and to some degree the intensity) during the last few weeks for my taper, I am having trouble staying away from things like a stuffy head, runny nose, sneezing, etc. I hope all that is due to allergies but I’m not sure honestly. Regardless, the fact I can’t stay completely healthy is starting to stress me—at a time where I obviously want to lower my stress level. I am also trying to eat healthier and get more sleep too (with varying degrees of success), but neither seems to be helping me at this time.
And that is what is giving me this uncertainty. Despite a good effort to back off and rest like I should, it is at this time when my body seems to be failing me the most. I know race day will likely beat me up and that worries me about how long it will take me to recover. Right now I’m more worried about after the race than the race itself! I know to take it slow in the race, but to pull off 35, 40, 45, or even 50 miles in a day will leave me tired. Having put in training of covering 31ish miles on my feet in a day several different times, I feel those distances are possible in a 12 hr event surrounded by other like-minded racers. The problem is I don’t know how my body will react after 12 hrs of that effort. So I’m left with this fear of what lies after the race. Crazy to think that training for 12 hrs of near constant movement is the “easy” part. I don’t like being sick, but because of how my body has reacted lately I fear this my be the result of me attempting this goal. I sure hope not—and will do everything I can both on race day and leading up to the race day to prevent this, but right now this is where my self-doubt and uncertainty lies.
In summary I know that most everybody experiences this uncertainty and thus I'm not alone. And the fact I'm consciously taking steps to prevent sickness is easing my stress level, just not eliminate it though. I will find out how well (or how poorly) I do obviously, and learn from it, but right now it is all about stress management!
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Tech review of the Fitbit Charge HR
Today I'm filling you in on the Fitbit Charge HR. This is my first tech review of a product, so I'm sure someday I'll look back and see lots of room for improvement, but we all have to start out somewhere. What I hope to achieve with this tech review is to provide readers with an overview of this product and what I found to work really well and what could use some improvement—essentially all my likes and dislikes. I also give a little general buying advice in my last section of this post. Keep in mind that I'm just one opinion out there in a sea of thousands found on the web. Research some other posts and videos of the product and of course don't forget to compare it to similar models before you spend your hard earned money!
Product Overview:
The Fitbit Charge HR is an activity tracker that retails for $150. With a little research, you might find this item for anywhere from $20-$25 less than the retail price, especially if you can find it on sale somewhere. A great place to start is Amazon, which is where I bought my device. Being the price conscious consumer I am, I was able purchase it for less than the retail price. It comes in three sizes to fit everyone's wrist and five different colors to suit at least most people's taste for style.
The Charge HR falls in Fitbit's product line as a mid-range product. Simpler products that don't measure heart rate are available for a lower price and on the opposite end of the scale are Fitbit's smart watches that track much more than the Charge HR. As an activity tracker, it measures time, steps, distance, floors climbed, calories burned, and active minutes. In addition to this, the charge HR measures continuous heart rate and monitors sleep. All of these activities can be seen through Fitbit's mobile app and online tools that they provide, and this is where you'll review the stats it records for you, as you can only review the current day's stats on the unit itself. The mobile app & online site is also where you can set preferences (set which watch face you like, order in which the stats appear, etc) and change units (miles vs kilometers) on the device.
Additionally, the Charge HR can receive notifications from your smartphone. I have not explored how to set up this feature on the Charge HR and have no desire to, so I will not be focusing on it at all with this review.
Likes:
The biggest thing I like about this device is it's value. I compared many activity tracking devices prior to my purchase basing what I wanted as far as features on the device compared to price. One of the biggest feature that I personally was looking for was a device which recorded stairs climbed. As a runner this feature is importance because I will sometimes use stair climbing as a substitute/cross training method instead of actual running. My research found only a few devices that would record stairs climbed. Couple that with the fact I also wanted to track/record heart rate, and suddenly the choices are severely limited. From my research, if you are looking for a device that records a lot of data and is at a competitive price, the Charge HR is probably one of your better bets.
Overall, the fit of the Charge HR is a positive. Although not super slim, the device is not that thick when compared to most of its competitors and it is not obtrusive when wearing it. I do mention a bit more on wearing the device later in my dislikes and miscellaneous sections. So far it seems to be a very well made product with little complaint on the durability of the device.
Another, key item I really like with Fitbit in general is their mobile app/online tools. I find the interface of their software not just useful but very intuitive for the user. As with any manufacturer's activity tracker, the mobile/online tool is where you'll be viewing the history of what the device is recording and if those suck, well then it's easy for users to be frustrated and not like the product(s). Fitbit does a great job with their software though and I've read others who have echoed similar.
Lastly, battery life has been great so far. On a full charge the Charge HR is supposed to last 5 days, varying slightly depending on how heavy you workout and use Exercise Mode. Having the device 2 weeks now I have only had to charge it 2 or 3 times so far since the initial charging of the device. I feel an average of five days is pretty good, as some reviews of comparable devices need charging more often.
Dislikes:
So far one of the main items that frustrates me is the sleep monitoring feature of the device. This is one of reasons I bought the device in the first place, so for right now I still not liking the accuracy of the device. With the old Fitbit One I used to own, that device I thought had a more intuitive system. For the One, you would press and hold the lone button on the device and it would start in sleep mode. Press the button again when you awake to end sleep mode. Simple right? Well with the Charge HR, it is supposed to know automatically when you go to bed—however so far I haven't found that to be the case. What I have found is that if you're inactive just prior to going to bed then there's a chance the device will falsely use the incorrect start time for your sleep. And I've had this happen on multiple occasions now. There is a way to correct it by going into the mobile app and editing your sleep start time manually after the device syncs with the app, but honestly I find this cumbersome and feel there should be another way to more accurately declare a sleep start time. This device only has one button on it as well and pressing and holding it starts the Exercise Mode instead.
Another key dislike so far is the distance recordings. I have continuously found the device to come up short on distance when compared (while walking) to my pedometer and (while running) compared to my Garmin 305 GPS running watch. As test for distance, in just a walk in my neighborhood, my Fitbit showed 0.61 miles while my pedometer showed 0.74 miles, for a 0.13 difference. I think that seems rather high in just a short walk. That difference in distance is probably around the distance of 2 football fields. During a work day, where I often walk quite far, the differences in distances is more pronounced. For instance, during a 12hr shift recently my pedometer measured 10.7 miles while my Fitbit only recorded 5.7 miles. Part of the difference I know stems from wrist position. Having your wrist in a fixed position, as I often do at work while pushing a wheelchair or stretcher accounts for some of the difference. However, I have seen several times when holding my arm up like you would to read your watch and keeping it there, the device still counts off my steps—so I'm still a bit baffled by when its recording my steps (and thus distance) and when its not counting my steps. Running gives me similar issues as it fall short for distance compared to my Garmin, showing 5.5 miles for a run my Garmin shows 6 miles, and showing 8.5 miles for a run where my Garmin shows 10 miles. Obviously my arm is moving the entire time while running so I don't have the static arm position argument as I do for walking when discuss distance differences. There is an option in the online tools to manually enter a stride length this device, which is what I want to try to see if the results are more comparable. I remember changing from the default with my old Fitbit One and it I did see a marked difference in the distances it recorded. For my pedometer, I had to manually input my stride length for it to calculate distance. I think better results will follow once I do this.
I do have a minor dislike with wearing the device—specifically putting on the device. The small piece of rubber that's on the wrap-around part of the band just seems to be too big (see image 4) When trying to put device the on, it seems really hard to get the start of the excess band underneath that small plastic piece and keep everything secure. Conversely taking off the device seems to be difficult too because of this same situation. Other than that issue, the fit is fine.
Miscellaneous:
So here's just where I put some other tidbits of info that didn't seem to fit in my prior sections.
I'm putting my advice on heart rate in this section since I'm still somewhat unsure of my thoughts on it. On the good side, I think the Charge HR does a good job of recording resting heart rate. I've found it to be inline with what I know my resting heart rate to be and also compared with what my Garmin 305 shows when using a chest strap. When recording heart rate while exercising though, the water gets a little more murky. During a 6 mile trail run I compared the heart rate of the two device around a dozen times. They varied anywhere from 3 to 15 beats per minutes while running and 15-20 right after my run. In the grand scheme of things I guess that's really not that bad but it's the 15-20 beats per minute difference post run that bugged me. I'll have a few more words on heart rate in my summary at the end of this article.
The other item it records that I'm still torn on is stairs climbed. Again this seems to be affected by what you're wrist is doing while your climbing stairs (ie: swinging vs holding onto a handrail.) In a test of climbing 7 flights of stairs I got various results. In running up these 7 flights of stairs, if with the side I was wearing the device I was using the handrail to help pull me up the stairs, it only recorded one flight—pretty disappointing!!! However with running in a different stairwell where I would use the handrail with the arm I wasn't wearing the device on, it would record either 6 or 7 flights of stairs—a lot better! While just walking up the stairs and not using the handrails, the device recorded 8 flights of stairs—close, but yet again different! This I find simply frustrating. It's close—but only as long as your arm is swinging like in a normal walking motion is what I've found to be true. And with running and using Exercise Mode—well that's anyone's guess! On a 10 mile trail run it recorded just under 70 flights of stairs. So while a.) I didn't climb one actual stair, and b.) there was some degree of elevation gain and loss on this run, I can't imagine that I climbed the equivalent of nearly 70 flights of stairs. The MapMyHike app on my phone that I also used to record the run showed a net elevation gain of 496ft. I'd have to do some research on height gained per flight of stairs, perhaps the math works out. One thing I also don't know is the accuracy of the elevation gain on the MapMyHike app. Personally I'm not sure I believe the accuracy of that either. Overall regarding stairs climbed, it is going to give you a fairly accurate count when you walk stairs, which is what 99% of consumers will be doing. Me on the other hand, I'm in the other 1% who does something else like run stairs and then partially obsess over the accuracy of it when it doesn't seem to match—so take this section for what it's worth.
Next, while I like the device and gaining data about myself, I simply get tired of wearing it at times! It's not that the device is that heavy or bulky, but I just get tired of it being on my wrist sometimes. I think part of it is having it tightness of the device. Wear it too loose and heart rate will either not display or won't be very accurate. Wear it too tight and it feels restrictive. While I have found the notch on the wrist band that best falls in the middle of these two, after continuously wearing the device for over a day, I just need to take it off for awhile each day. Again, I like it a lot, but I just haven't gotten use to it being on my wrist constantly.
One other piece of advice I'd offer is to take the device off and wipe off any sweat if you're sweating from any workouts. From other reviews I read, this is advisable as sweat can decrease the life of the device if in fact any would penetrate the device. Having sweat on a few runs so far while wearing this device I can attest to sweat being on the device post workout and it is something that I myself will have to get in the habit of doing.
The Final Word:
In summary, even with its minor faults, I really like the Charge HR. I feel it has a great value like I stated initially, and that's what I like the most about this device. The Charge HR records all the metrics that I wanted it to, and I was able to get it at an affordable price. I feel that once I look into the preferences for this device a bit more, especially the sleep tracking and step/distance preferences, I will learn how to set the device to reading more accurately. And with that added accuracy, I will achieve a better value.
If you don't need or aren't interested in heart rate, then you can get a cheaper device that still records everything else. What you should do is make a list of what you want in an activity tracker and what price you're willing to pay. Then research device until you find what fits in those categories. It might take a little time and work but in the end you will be happier with your purchase. What you really want in any activity tracking is something that will ultimately motivate you to move more! As I wrote above, there's going to be some inaccuracies, not just with this device, but with every device. But if it helps you to be more active and become healthier then it's positive. If you're frustrated by the inaccuracies, dive deeper into the manual or others reviews of the product and see if setting can be changed to make the device work better. Just have fun with it.
I hope you found this review helpful and feel free to leave a comment on my post so I can improve and maybe it will inspire me to post future tech reviews. Thank you!
 |
| Image 1. Here's the device in it's original packaging. |
Product Overview:
The Fitbit Charge HR is an activity tracker that retails for $150. With a little research, you might find this item for anywhere from $20-$25 less than the retail price, especially if you can find it on sale somewhere. A great place to start is Amazon, which is where I bought my device. Being the price conscious consumer I am, I was able purchase it for less than the retail price. It comes in three sizes to fit everyone's wrist and five different colors to suit at least most people's taste for style.
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| Image 2. A look at the Charge HR out of the box. |
The Charge HR falls in Fitbit's product line as a mid-range product. Simpler products that don't measure heart rate are available for a lower price and on the opposite end of the scale are Fitbit's smart watches that track much more than the Charge HR. As an activity tracker, it measures time, steps, distance, floors climbed, calories burned, and active minutes. In addition to this, the charge HR measures continuous heart rate and monitors sleep. All of these activities can be seen through Fitbit's mobile app and online tools that they provide, and this is where you'll review the stats it records for you, as you can only review the current day's stats on the unit itself. The mobile app & online site is also where you can set preferences (set which watch face you like, order in which the stats appear, etc) and change units (miles vs kilometers) on the device.
Additionally, the Charge HR can receive notifications from your smartphone. I have not explored how to set up this feature on the Charge HR and have no desire to, so I will not be focusing on it at all with this review.
Likes:
The biggest thing I like about this device is it's value. I compared many activity tracking devices prior to my purchase basing what I wanted as far as features on the device compared to price. One of the biggest feature that I personally was looking for was a device which recorded stairs climbed. As a runner this feature is importance because I will sometimes use stair climbing as a substitute/cross training method instead of actual running. My research found only a few devices that would record stairs climbed. Couple that with the fact I also wanted to track/record heart rate, and suddenly the choices are severely limited. From my research, if you are looking for a device that records a lot of data and is at a competitive price, the Charge HR is probably one of your better bets.
Overall, the fit of the Charge HR is a positive. Although not super slim, the device is not that thick when compared to most of its competitors and it is not obtrusive when wearing it. I do mention a bit more on wearing the device later in my dislikes and miscellaneous sections. So far it seems to be a very well made product with little complaint on the durability of the device.
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| Image 3. The device at it's thickest point is ~3/8" thick. Not obtrusive while wearing it though. |
Another, key item I really like with Fitbit in general is their mobile app/online tools. I find the interface of their software not just useful but very intuitive for the user. As with any manufacturer's activity tracker, the mobile/online tool is where you'll be viewing the history of what the device is recording and if those suck, well then it's easy for users to be frustrated and not like the product(s). Fitbit does a great job with their software though and I've read others who have echoed similar.
Lastly, battery life has been great so far. On a full charge the Charge HR is supposed to last 5 days, varying slightly depending on how heavy you workout and use Exercise Mode. Having the device 2 weeks now I have only had to charge it 2 or 3 times so far since the initial charging of the device. I feel an average of five days is pretty good, as some reviews of comparable devices need charging more often.
Dislikes:
So far one of the main items that frustrates me is the sleep monitoring feature of the device. This is one of reasons I bought the device in the first place, so for right now I still not liking the accuracy of the device. With the old Fitbit One I used to own, that device I thought had a more intuitive system. For the One, you would press and hold the lone button on the device and it would start in sleep mode. Press the button again when you awake to end sleep mode. Simple right? Well with the Charge HR, it is supposed to know automatically when you go to bed—however so far I haven't found that to be the case. What I have found is that if you're inactive just prior to going to bed then there's a chance the device will falsely use the incorrect start time for your sleep. And I've had this happen on multiple occasions now. There is a way to correct it by going into the mobile app and editing your sleep start time manually after the device syncs with the app, but honestly I find this cumbersome and feel there should be another way to more accurately declare a sleep start time. This device only has one button on it as well and pressing and holding it starts the Exercise Mode instead.
Another key dislike so far is the distance recordings. I have continuously found the device to come up short on distance when compared (while walking) to my pedometer and (while running) compared to my Garmin 305 GPS running watch. As test for distance, in just a walk in my neighborhood, my Fitbit showed 0.61 miles while my pedometer showed 0.74 miles, for a 0.13 difference. I think that seems rather high in just a short walk. That difference in distance is probably around the distance of 2 football fields. During a work day, where I often walk quite far, the differences in distances is more pronounced. For instance, during a 12hr shift recently my pedometer measured 10.7 miles while my Fitbit only recorded 5.7 miles. Part of the difference I know stems from wrist position. Having your wrist in a fixed position, as I often do at work while pushing a wheelchair or stretcher accounts for some of the difference. However, I have seen several times when holding my arm up like you would to read your watch and keeping it there, the device still counts off my steps—so I'm still a bit baffled by when its recording my steps (and thus distance) and when its not counting my steps. Running gives me similar issues as it fall short for distance compared to my Garmin, showing 5.5 miles for a run my Garmin shows 6 miles, and showing 8.5 miles for a run where my Garmin shows 10 miles. Obviously my arm is moving the entire time while running so I don't have the static arm position argument as I do for walking when discuss distance differences. There is an option in the online tools to manually enter a stride length this device, which is what I want to try to see if the results are more comparable. I remember changing from the default with my old Fitbit One and it I did see a marked difference in the distances it recorded. For my pedometer, I had to manually input my stride length for it to calculate distance. I think better results will follow once I do this.
I do have a minor dislike with wearing the device—specifically putting on the device. The small piece of rubber that's on the wrap-around part of the band just seems to be too big (see image 4) When trying to put device the on, it seems really hard to get the start of the excess band underneath that small plastic piece and keep everything secure. Conversely taking off the device seems to be difficult too because of this same situation. Other than that issue, the fit is fine.
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| Image 4. That small piece hanging down is just long enough that getting the other part of the band under it is tough! |
Miscellaneous:
So here's just where I put some other tidbits of info that didn't seem to fit in my prior sections.
I'm putting my advice on heart rate in this section since I'm still somewhat unsure of my thoughts on it. On the good side, I think the Charge HR does a good job of recording resting heart rate. I've found it to be inline with what I know my resting heart rate to be and also compared with what my Garmin 305 shows when using a chest strap. When recording heart rate while exercising though, the water gets a little more murky. During a 6 mile trail run I compared the heart rate of the two device around a dozen times. They varied anywhere from 3 to 15 beats per minutes while running and 15-20 right after my run. In the grand scheme of things I guess that's really not that bad but it's the 15-20 beats per minute difference post run that bugged me. I'll have a few more words on heart rate in my summary at the end of this article.
The other item it records that I'm still torn on is stairs climbed. Again this seems to be affected by what you're wrist is doing while your climbing stairs (ie: swinging vs holding onto a handrail.) In a test of climbing 7 flights of stairs I got various results. In running up these 7 flights of stairs, if with the side I was wearing the device I was using the handrail to help pull me up the stairs, it only recorded one flight—pretty disappointing!!! However with running in a different stairwell where I would use the handrail with the arm I wasn't wearing the device on, it would record either 6 or 7 flights of stairs—a lot better! While just walking up the stairs and not using the handrails, the device recorded 8 flights of stairs—close, but yet again different! This I find simply frustrating. It's close—but only as long as your arm is swinging like in a normal walking motion is what I've found to be true. And with running and using Exercise Mode—well that's anyone's guess! On a 10 mile trail run it recorded just under 70 flights of stairs. So while a.) I didn't climb one actual stair, and b.) there was some degree of elevation gain and loss on this run, I can't imagine that I climbed the equivalent of nearly 70 flights of stairs. The MapMyHike app on my phone that I also used to record the run showed a net elevation gain of 496ft. I'd have to do some research on height gained per flight of stairs, perhaps the math works out. One thing I also don't know is the accuracy of the elevation gain on the MapMyHike app. Personally I'm not sure I believe the accuracy of that either. Overall regarding stairs climbed, it is going to give you a fairly accurate count when you walk stairs, which is what 99% of consumers will be doing. Me on the other hand, I'm in the other 1% who does something else like run stairs and then partially obsess over the accuracy of it when it doesn't seem to match—so take this section for what it's worth.
Next, while I like the device and gaining data about myself, I simply get tired of wearing it at times! It's not that the device is that heavy or bulky, but I just get tired of it being on my wrist sometimes. I think part of it is having it tightness of the device. Wear it too loose and heart rate will either not display or won't be very accurate. Wear it too tight and it feels restrictive. While I have found the notch on the wrist band that best falls in the middle of these two, after continuously wearing the device for over a day, I just need to take it off for awhile each day. Again, I like it a lot, but I just haven't gotten use to it being on my wrist constantly.
One other piece of advice I'd offer is to take the device off and wipe off any sweat if you're sweating from any workouts. From other reviews I read, this is advisable as sweat can decrease the life of the device if in fact any would penetrate the device. Having sweat on a few runs so far while wearing this device I can attest to sweat being on the device post workout and it is something that I myself will have to get in the habit of doing.
 |
| Image 5. The underneath of the Charge HR. Suggestion: wipe off any post-workout sweat from this section. |
The Final Word:
In summary, even with its minor faults, I really like the Charge HR. I feel it has a great value like I stated initially, and that's what I like the most about this device. The Charge HR records all the metrics that I wanted it to, and I was able to get it at an affordable price. I feel that once I look into the preferences for this device a bit more, especially the sleep tracking and step/distance preferences, I will learn how to set the device to reading more accurately. And with that added accuracy, I will achieve a better value.
If you don't need or aren't interested in heart rate, then you can get a cheaper device that still records everything else. What you should do is make a list of what you want in an activity tracker and what price you're willing to pay. Then research device until you find what fits in those categories. It might take a little time and work but in the end you will be happier with your purchase. What you really want in any activity tracking is something that will ultimately motivate you to move more! As I wrote above, there's going to be some inaccuracies, not just with this device, but with every device. But if it helps you to be more active and become healthier then it's positive. If you're frustrated by the inaccuracies, dive deeper into the manual or others reviews of the product and see if setting can be changed to make the device work better. Just have fun with it.
I hope you found this review helpful and feel free to leave a comment on my post so I can improve and maybe it will inspire me to post future tech reviews. Thank you!
Monday, January 18, 2016
Resources to fill your running down-time
While it has been longer than I would have liked for me to write another post since my last one, I'm finally back again with (hopefully) some useful information that you can use toward improving as a runner.
The focus of this post is how to draw inspiration and knowledge from others. I will mostly be focusing on one method I use for this and relate it to ideas on getting you through this time of year known as winter, which usually challenges us on maintaining our running due to shorter days, colder temperatures, etc.
I've faced this difficulty myself with starting a new job, and working many hours between my two jobs. Mix in the colder temps lately and you'll see why my desire to progress my running has been a slow process. That doesn't mean it isn't possible to focus on other aspects of running!
Whenever I'm not running, this winter I have been turned to podcasts to inspire me to get out there and continue with my running despite days when I simply don't feel like lacing up my running shoes. There are tons of podcasts out there on running and in this post I'll share the ones I've found to be the most helpful and why. My theory is that while I may not be out there running as much in the winter and gaining muscle power, I might as well grow my brain power and learn from what others are putting out there. There is the added bonus that all this content and information in these podcasts is of course free! What better price is there than free? So I encourage you to take a listen to some of the podcasts I mention or find some others—whatever you personally find that works for you. My listing is just a suggestion, and admittedly many are geared toward distance running. That's what I find interesting, covers the type of information I aspire to learn, and the type of running that I aspire to achieve. However within these podcasts are lots of information that can be applied to your running regardless of how far you're running. Just find what you like and is geared toward your goals!
So here is where I'll start my list:
Trail Runner Nation– This is my favorite trail running podcast. I'd say it is my favorite because of the variety of topics covered in their episodes. While some podcasts cover similar topics in the same format, this one really mixes up the topics. The other thing I really like about this podcast is it's geared toward both newbies and experienced trail runners—something that some of the other podcast don't do. Many are geared toward hard core trail runners. You have to start small though before becoming hard core and this is a great podcast to get your elementary education or to take your trail running knowledge to the next level. Interviews with both runners and medical experts, discussions on the culture of trail running, nutrition, hydration, and race preparation are all topics covered by the hosts—which by the way are all trail runners themselves. This podcast does touch upon ultrarunning, but many of the tips are universal and can be applied even if you have no desire to run long distances.
Marathon Training Academy– You might think to yourself— "I'm not training for a marathon, so why would I want to listen to this?" For the same reason I state in my description of some of the other podcasts, it's simply because the content that is delivered in this podcast can be applied to your running regardless of distance—and I think this podcast really excels at that aspect! This podcast is a great place to start if you've never listened to running podcast before. This is easily one of my favorite running podcasts! I think I've listened to every single episode of this podcast (and they've produced over 150 episodes), mostly since the husband and wife hosts provide such a positive vibe in their deliverance of their material. The positivity and common sense approach they deliver their content is what keeps me listening. From beginner to experienced runner, listeners are treated to a great variety of topics covered and material that is applicable no matter where you are in your running. Many episodes focus on training tips but there are several episodes of interviews, which are equally as informative if not even more inspiring. If I had to suggest only one podcast for you to listen to, this would be the one!
UltraRunner Podcast– This podcast is geared toward ultrarunners, as the name implies, and many episodes are interviews with some of today's elite ultrarunners. I find the interviews intriguing since it gives insight as to what makes the best participants in the sport tick when it comes to distance running. A lot of great insight can be obtained on the mental aspect of toughing it out on races or when you're having a bad running day when listening to these elites being interviewed. I find the techniques and tips provided like gathering pieces of a puzzle and thus being able to see the entire picture—it's like having everything at your disposal as you're training for your own race! My theory is you can never have too many training tips—and you're bound to find them on this podcast. If you desire do learn about distance running, this is a great podcast to add to your list.
Talk Ultra– If you're not into ultrarunning and running long distances, then I doubt this podcast will interest you as much as the others do. If you do aspire to get into distance running, as I do, then this is another good one to listen to. It gives a lot of race reviews, which is likely a hit or miss with listeners, considering ultramarathoning is such a niche sport. Nonetheless, there's some interesting info in some of these episodes.
DC Rainmaker– If you're into technology as it relates to running, or cycling or general fitness, then this is the podcast for you. Reviews of running watches and fitness bands from manufacturers like Garmin, Polar, Fitbit, etc. are just a few of the items discussed on this podcast. If wifi scales and cycling power meters are on your shopping list, then you'll likely find info on them as well. Learn about sports technology industry trends and you'll be on your way to spending your money wisely for your tech gear. Head on over to his blog at www.dcrainmaker.com. While this podcast is OK, I love his blog which contains plenty of in-depth reviews with lots of photos each product being reviewed. If you've never been to the dcrainmaker.com blog, you don't know what you're missing!
Well, I hope this list is helpful to you. In conclusion, at the very least I hope this post serves as inspiration for you to find something to fill your time or give you something to listen to while you're out there running on the roads or trails. Like I said, find what works for you! If you do find a great podcast out there that you feel is above the rest, feel free to leave a reply and let me know what you found! And as always, feedback on this blog is always welcome and appreciated.
The focus of this post is how to draw inspiration and knowledge from others. I will mostly be focusing on one method I use for this and relate it to ideas on getting you through this time of year known as winter, which usually challenges us on maintaining our running due to shorter days, colder temperatures, etc.
I've faced this difficulty myself with starting a new job, and working many hours between my two jobs. Mix in the colder temps lately and you'll see why my desire to progress my running has been a slow process. That doesn't mean it isn't possible to focus on other aspects of running!
Whenever I'm not running, this winter I have been turned to podcasts to inspire me to get out there and continue with my running despite days when I simply don't feel like lacing up my running shoes. There are tons of podcasts out there on running and in this post I'll share the ones I've found to be the most helpful and why. My theory is that while I may not be out there running as much in the winter and gaining muscle power, I might as well grow my brain power and learn from what others are putting out there. There is the added bonus that all this content and information in these podcasts is of course free! What better price is there than free? So I encourage you to take a listen to some of the podcasts I mention or find some others—whatever you personally find that works for you. My listing is just a suggestion, and admittedly many are geared toward distance running. That's what I find interesting, covers the type of information I aspire to learn, and the type of running that I aspire to achieve. However within these podcasts are lots of information that can be applied to your running regardless of how far you're running. Just find what you like and is geared toward your goals!
So here is where I'll start my list:
Trail Runner Nation– This is my favorite trail running podcast. I'd say it is my favorite because of the variety of topics covered in their episodes. While some podcasts cover similar topics in the same format, this one really mixes up the topics. The other thing I really like about this podcast is it's geared toward both newbies and experienced trail runners—something that some of the other podcast don't do. Many are geared toward hard core trail runners. You have to start small though before becoming hard core and this is a great podcast to get your elementary education or to take your trail running knowledge to the next level. Interviews with both runners and medical experts, discussions on the culture of trail running, nutrition, hydration, and race preparation are all topics covered by the hosts—which by the way are all trail runners themselves. This podcast does touch upon ultrarunning, but many of the tips are universal and can be applied even if you have no desire to run long distances.
Marathon Training Academy– You might think to yourself— "I'm not training for a marathon, so why would I want to listen to this?" For the same reason I state in my description of some of the other podcasts, it's simply because the content that is delivered in this podcast can be applied to your running regardless of distance—and I think this podcast really excels at that aspect! This podcast is a great place to start if you've never listened to running podcast before. This is easily one of my favorite running podcasts! I think I've listened to every single episode of this podcast (and they've produced over 150 episodes), mostly since the husband and wife hosts provide such a positive vibe in their deliverance of their material. The positivity and common sense approach they deliver their content is what keeps me listening. From beginner to experienced runner, listeners are treated to a great variety of topics covered and material that is applicable no matter where you are in your running. Many episodes focus on training tips but there are several episodes of interviews, which are equally as informative if not even more inspiring. If I had to suggest only one podcast for you to listen to, this would be the one!
UltraRunner Podcast– This podcast is geared toward ultrarunners, as the name implies, and many episodes are interviews with some of today's elite ultrarunners. I find the interviews intriguing since it gives insight as to what makes the best participants in the sport tick when it comes to distance running. A lot of great insight can be obtained on the mental aspect of toughing it out on races or when you're having a bad running day when listening to these elites being interviewed. I find the techniques and tips provided like gathering pieces of a puzzle and thus being able to see the entire picture—it's like having everything at your disposal as you're training for your own race! My theory is you can never have too many training tips—and you're bound to find them on this podcast. If you desire do learn about distance running, this is a great podcast to add to your list.
Talk Ultra– If you're not into ultrarunning and running long distances, then I doubt this podcast will interest you as much as the others do. If you do aspire to get into distance running, as I do, then this is another good one to listen to. It gives a lot of race reviews, which is likely a hit or miss with listeners, considering ultramarathoning is such a niche sport. Nonetheless, there's some interesting info in some of these episodes.
DC Rainmaker– If you're into technology as it relates to running, or cycling or general fitness, then this is the podcast for you. Reviews of running watches and fitness bands from manufacturers like Garmin, Polar, Fitbit, etc. are just a few of the items discussed on this podcast. If wifi scales and cycling power meters are on your shopping list, then you'll likely find info on them as well. Learn about sports technology industry trends and you'll be on your way to spending your money wisely for your tech gear. Head on over to his blog at www.dcrainmaker.com. While this podcast is OK, I love his blog which contains plenty of in-depth reviews with lots of photos each product being reviewed. If you've never been to the dcrainmaker.com blog, you don't know what you're missing!
Well, I hope this list is helpful to you. In conclusion, at the very least I hope this post serves as inspiration for you to find something to fill your time or give you something to listen to while you're out there running on the roads or trails. Like I said, find what works for you! If you do find a great podcast out there that you feel is above the rest, feel free to leave a reply and let me know what you found! And as always, feedback on this blog is always welcome and appreciated.
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