The Even Better Way

I’ve come up with a plan to keep my winter run mileage in the respectable zone - at least once a week, I’ve decided, I’ll run to and from work. This is alot better than relying on the after-work hours to get the short runs in, since from November to March the only thing I feel like doing after work once I peel off all my winter cycling togs is eating dinner and relaxing. And writing this blog, of course.

The system works like this: on Day 1 I ride to work, carrying my running gear and extra work clothes in my pack. Then I run home at the end of the day. On Day 2 I run back to work, shower and get ready to take on the day. Then I ride home that night. The original plan was to do this tuesday through friday, but bad weather has limited the plan’s success somewhat. I’ve managed to do one round trip run 2 weeks out of the past 3, which isn’t bad and may be the best I can hope for over the deepest darkest winter when treacherous footing and crazy cold temperatures make running a challenge. One I’m not up for, it would seem... although thursday's run (November 24) was not too bad even though it was -10 with a windchill and snow and ice all over the place. Too icy to bike to work, that’s for sure , so a run was just the thing.

Besides maximizing my training time, one unforeseen plus from all this commuter running is that not only do I get to feel smug and superior to motorists every morning, as I do when I ride my bike to work, I also now get to look with disdain upon pedestrians as I stride past them, exuding good health and an economical running style. ‘Pah!’ i think as I lope along - ‘ you’re probably just walking to Starbucks, aren’t you? Whereas I have run, run to my job, a distance so great that you could not even comprehend it were I to tell you the number.’ Actually it’s about 7 km. Half an hour or so, depending on conditions, and just enough to work up a sweat but not so far that I’m trashed at the end of it.

The only downside so far is that running twice in roughly 12 hours is not alot of recovery time and right now my legs are pretty sore. Post 1/2 marathon kind of sore. But that may be partly a result of a gym workout yesterday on top of the running.

If I can keep this going and also get my long(ish) run in on the weekends then I should be in good shape come the spring.

Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing

November 3 was the lactate threshold (LT) test for your humble narrator, a test designed (as outlined already in these pages) to find out how efficiently (or inefficiently) I am able to deal with the inevitable build-up of lactic acid during prolonged or intense exercise.

The Drill went like this. Meet with local pro triathlete Nigel Gray at his home in north Toronto, be amazed at his very impressive Shoe Pile (much larger than my own Pile, which contains only around 10 pairs of various running shoes), and get ready to spend some time on a treadmill.

I've never run on a treadmill before, so it was kind of weird at first but before long I was right at home going nowhere. The test starts out with a 10 minute run at a very easy pace to get warmed up. From there Nigel would up the pace by .8 kmh every 3 minutes. At the end of each 3 minute interval I had to signal whether or not I felt I could complete the next 3 minutes at the higher pace. No bailing allowed, I had to go the whole distance. The whole time Nigel was monitoring my HR with his HRM and typing mysteriously into a laptop set up a short distance away. He could have been checking his email for all I know, but I'm sure he was doing something absolutely crucial to the success of my test.

The first few intervals were relatively easy. Not much noticeable increase in speed and Nigel and I carried on a conversation pretty comfortably. After about the 5th interval it began to get more difficult and conversation was limited pretty much to Nigel talking and me grunting out one-word responses.

Intervals 6 through 8 required some focus, as my breathing did become shorter and my heart rate continued to climb. At the 8th interval I was 'running' at 14.5 kmh with a HR of 171 bpm. "One more?" asked Nigel "or is that it?". I had to go for another one. By the 9th interval I felt like I was definitely into 5k pace or better but decided to tough it out for 3 more minutes, more so I wouldn't look like a pussy in front of a guy who had done more triathlons than I've done races of any kind.

I finished the 9th interval without exploding - final speed: 15.3 kmh, which is a 3:55 / km pace. Fast for me, faster even than my best 5k pace by a few seconds. HR was at 178 bpm.

As soon as the last interval was done a blood sample was taken, without me stopping. The treadmill was dialled down to a more comfortable pace for 3 more minutes and another sample was taken. Then, sadistically I thought, the speed was ramped up again! Twice! At the end of each of these last 2 intervals more blood was taken and finally I was permitted to slow to a warm-down pace for a few minutes before stumbling off the machine.

It's the strangest sensation getting off a treadmill - it's like the earth is moving under your feet from back to front. Very disorienting, especially when your head is pounding and you are on the verge of overheating. A few minutes in the back yard to cool down put me right again, though.

The results? Some lovely graphs, which Nigel was good enough to explain to me (patiently, as I'm sure I was not thinking straight at this point) showed my HR for various speeds, as well as my level of lactic acid at various HRs. The point of dialling down the pace after the first (maximum HR point) test was to test how well my body cleared the accumulated LA by backing off. The next blood samples taken at faster paces and higher HRs measured how well my body responded to another interval of increased exertion.

The results were well within acceptable range for a reasonably fit person, according to Mr. Gray. I can push myself and recover without any appreciable buildup of LA, so that's good. I was also given a range of heart rate zones to use during my training sessions, so I'll know by my HR just how hard I can push. It sort of confirmed my suspicion that I've been dogging it during many of my training runs - it looks like I can sustain a slightly higher pace than I've been used to. Dang. Why are there never any shortcuts?