So I'm starting over with this blog. That's because I'm starting over with running in a way and I'm hoping to track what happens.
I've been running but my fitness hasn't improved. For nearly two years. In fact, I've lost fitness. After a multitude of tests and visiting with a few cardiologists, there is nothing wrong with my heart. And yet, no matter how slowly I jog, my heart rate soars after only a quarter to a half mile. No gentle increase in HR just a jump from 115 to 150 in less than a mile. And only higher from there.
It got to the point where I would bonk after only 2 or 3 miles because my HR was at 180 for most of the run. Crazy -- and frustrating.
I've done VO2 max tests at Ohio State University recently which didn't show much either. So I had just decided to start slowing down more and more in hopes of lowering the heart rate. It seemed to be working a little. I'd gotten up to 5+ miles on my LSD and 3 miles on my other runs. And I'd brought my heart rate down from the upper 170s to 150s and 160s mostly. I never see the 130s much less 120s, which is where I should be on LSDs (126-132). And my recovery rate is lousy. After walking and stretching, I can still be at 115 bpm.
I also started to pay better attention to fueling. And recently decided to contact a running friend about nutrition. This guy runs sub 3-hour marathons and bikes a bazillion miles a year. He's actually getting ready to start another career in nutrition. We've started with me doing a food journal. As part of our emails back and forth, I explained to him my heart rate issue. Turns out he has experienced the exact same thing. He said I have to develop my slow twitch muscles. He recommended a book "Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot" yes "compleat" not "complete." The book is on its way. In the meantime, I am following Dick's advice about how to do my workouts.
I am to keep my heart rate no higher than 126 and no lower than 118 for one hour 3 times a week. If that means walking most of the way, then so be it. One day a week I get to do a run 160+ bpm for 30 minutes. That will be no problem at all. But keeping my heart rate below 126 is impossible with the slowest of jogging.
I've done the 1-hour workout twice now. It is frustrating and boring walking so much, but I know it will pay off. Dick reminded me that while I enjoy my long slow runs, they aren't doing me any good. In fact, none of my runs have really been doing me any good. I work too hard all of the time.
This could take a few months to get to the point where I can run and keep my heart ratte down but it'll be worth it. Dick says that within 3 weeks or a month I should be running more than walking. This is not a whole lot of fun, but not being able to run more than 7 miles without getting sick or hurt over the past 2 years hasn't been fun either.
One more thing: my chirunning form has been great and makes running so much easier that I want to run more and more but my heart rate just won't allow it. If I can get the heart rate down, I know good things are in my future. I know I have a half marathon and full marathon in me, maybe more. I just have to bring it out. And this appears to be my only chance.
Showing posts with label Starting over again. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starting over again. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Lying or delusion?
I’m not sure whether I’ve simply been lying to myself or deluding myself. Either way, I haven’t been honest with myself about my running. Having been forced into this running break as I recover from a herniated disk, I realized just how off base my running has become.
I came back to running three years ago after an 8-year absence. I’d given up on ever running again after shinsplints, shredded knee cartilage and constant backaches drove me from it. Then I found ChiRunning and it gave me my running life back.
This time, I promised myself, my running wouldn’t be about the miles, the splits, the races – none of that goal stuff. Running would be what ChiRunning Danny Dreyer suggested, it would become a practice much like yoga, pilates or Tai Chi.
I failed miserably, and it wasn’t until this latest hiatus that I realized it. I became a certified ChiRunning instructor and told myself and my students how I run for the joy of feeling my body move. That was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.
I told myself I carried a Garmin to make sure I didn’t run too fast and or too far. I told myself running was not about burning calories. I told myself I wasn't being obsessive just because I made getting my workout my biggest priority and would feel like I failed if I didn't get the predetermined number of runs in. And above all, I told myself I wouldn't compare myself to other runners. The truth is I cared too much about weekly mileage totals and splits (as slow as they were), number of calories burned and how many workouts I got in each week -- and of course, how I didn't stack up to other runners.
So now having made this confession – or realization – I try again once more. I won’t be running for several more weeks at least. And when I do return, it will be slow, slow, slow and not a lot of mileage to start I imagine. Not that my weekly mileage was ever that much to begin with.
I’m declaring here and now yet another effort to keep running in its place. That’s why I’m going to make biking, weights and eating healthy the primary way to help drop a few pounds, and put running into the same place I put yoga.
My Saturday morning yoga class is sacred time. For nearly 2 hours, I attempt to go within and simply focus on breathing (not all that successfully most of the time). I never (well, rarely) compare my ability to others, and even if I do, I don’t judge myself for not being as flexible or as strong. With yoga, there’s no focus on achievement just on the doing and being. And now I just want the same attitude in running.
I don’t consider myself a “yogi” because I do yoga; I just do yoga to do it. I want to run simply to run not to be a “runner.”
I want my running to be sacred time. I want to stop if I need to (no make that “want” to) – and not care or feel like I’ve failed. I want to run as slow or as fast as I want – and not care if it’s fast or slow compared to other runners. I want to run because it feels good not because I want to slim down. I want to run because it makes me happy not because I feel compelled to get a certain number of runs in this week.
I realize this philosophy will be met with disdain by many a runner, who live for the races, the splits, the weekly totals, the goals. But here’s the thing: None of that has worked for me. What’s the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? So it’s time – for me – to try something new. If only I can.
I came back to running three years ago after an 8-year absence. I’d given up on ever running again after shinsplints, shredded knee cartilage and constant backaches drove me from it. Then I found ChiRunning and it gave me my running life back.
This time, I promised myself, my running wouldn’t be about the miles, the splits, the races – none of that goal stuff. Running would be what ChiRunning Danny Dreyer suggested, it would become a practice much like yoga, pilates or Tai Chi.
I failed miserably, and it wasn’t until this latest hiatus that I realized it. I became a certified ChiRunning instructor and told myself and my students how I run for the joy of feeling my body move. That was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.
I told myself I carried a Garmin to make sure I didn’t run too fast and or too far. I told myself running was not about burning calories. I told myself I wasn't being obsessive just because I made getting my workout my biggest priority and would feel like I failed if I didn't get the predetermined number of runs in. And above all, I told myself I wouldn't compare myself to other runners. The truth is I cared too much about weekly mileage totals and splits (as slow as they were), number of calories burned and how many workouts I got in each week -- and of course, how I didn't stack up to other runners.
So now having made this confession – or realization – I try again once more. I won’t be running for several more weeks at least. And when I do return, it will be slow, slow, slow and not a lot of mileage to start I imagine. Not that my weekly mileage was ever that much to begin with.
I’m declaring here and now yet another effort to keep running in its place. That’s why I’m going to make biking, weights and eating healthy the primary way to help drop a few pounds, and put running into the same place I put yoga.
My Saturday morning yoga class is sacred time. For nearly 2 hours, I attempt to go within and simply focus on breathing (not all that successfully most of the time). I never (well, rarely) compare my ability to others, and even if I do, I don’t judge myself for not being as flexible or as strong. With yoga, there’s no focus on achievement just on the doing and being. And now I just want the same attitude in running.
I don’t consider myself a “yogi” because I do yoga; I just do yoga to do it. I want to run simply to run not to be a “runner.”
I want my running to be sacred time. I want to stop if I need to (no make that “want” to) – and not care or feel like I’ve failed. I want to run as slow or as fast as I want – and not care if it’s fast or slow compared to other runners. I want to run because it feels good not because I want to slim down. I want to run because it makes me happy not because I feel compelled to get a certain number of runs in this week.
I realize this philosophy will be met with disdain by many a runner, who live for the races, the splits, the weekly totals, the goals. But here’s the thing: None of that has worked for me. What’s the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? So it’s time – for me – to try something new. If only I can.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
