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Will you take the challenge?

Hello friends,

I just started reading Run the Edge. After reading the introduction, I immediately slowed myself down. Sometimes I can just tell that a book deserves to be savored. This book is one of those. I HIGHLY recommend you click the link and order a copy now.

It’s about running, life, and other things that are supremely important. I’ll give an in-depth review after I’ve finished it, but I’ve already realized one big idea. I love the thrill of a challenge.

Tim Catalano talks about a Summer of Challenges he experienced while coaching a cross country team. He disclaims some of the foolish/dangerous things his runners did, but I love the idea of a group challenging itself.

Isn’t that a big reason we run: the challenge of self-improvement?

Over the next six weeks (or maybe more?), I’m going to issue a couple of challenges. Each week will feature one challenge to be more adventurous and one challenge to make our world a better place. I hope you’ll join me.

If you’re interested, become a fan of Big Daddy Wilkinson on Facebook. Give me a suggestion for new challenges. Let me know how you’re doing on each of my challenges.

If you complete 10 challenges, I’ll find some sort of prize for you (other than that wonderful sense of accomplishment).

So, here’s the first set of challenges (to be completed before Christmas):

Challenge Number One: Run an eggnog mile. No, really, it’ll be fun. Here’s how you do it:

  • Drink a cup of eggnog. I think a Dixie cup will be enough, but a bigger cup is fine if you really like the stuff.
  • Run a quarter mile on the track.
  • Repeat until you’ve completed four eggnogs and four laps.
  • If you “lose your nog,” you need to repeat the lap.

To maximize the fun of this challenge, gather your running buddies and make it a race. The winner gets the rest of the eggnog. Or a plate of Christmas cookies if that’s unappealing.

Challenge Number Two: How many minutes did you eggnog mile take? For each minute, you need to donate one non-perishable to the local food bank.

So, are you up for the challenge?

17th December 2011
Events
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Christmas Wish List

It’s that time of year. Everyone is out looking for that perfect gift. Everone is asking what’s on your list.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved going through the Sears catalogue when I was a kid. I’m sure I had a hefty wish list. But this season, I’m having a hard time thinking of things to ask for.

We’re so blessed that we have not one Christmas tree at our house but two full evergreens lit up and decorated. I truly have much more than I need.

Instead of material things, I came up with an alternative list.

  1. Experiences: I’d love to do things with my loved ones more often. Ideally, they would all train for race we could do together. Sleigh rides and explorations in the woods would be fun, too.
  2. Good Health: I’ve been blessed with good health and injury-free running lately. I’d love to find a couple more healthy seasons wrapped up under the tree.
  3. Hard Track Workouts: Does everyone love the feeling of depleted muscles after a rocking interval sesson? I do. Let’s come up with some new ones together.
  4. Ice and Snow: Please don’t put these under the tree, but I’d like a lot of  them outside. I love to freeze my eye lashes and goatee.
  5. Inspiration: Sure, this could be found in a new training log or a new running book, but it could also come from a new running buddy or a new trail to run.
  6. Fun Races: They could be trail races, obstacle courses, beer runs, relays, whatever. I’d love to explore a new place via a new race.

So, here’s my Christmas wish list. It’s short on products, but long on fun. If you really want to buy me something boxable, I do like this Saucony hoodie.

 

9th December 2011
Uncategorized
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Battle of the Gloves

Cold hands = Painful run
Thankfully, Gazelle can help. We have a great glove selection. Here’s a run down of the main options (I didn’t do all of our gloves because it would take too long).

Saucony Ulti-Mitt

The Saucony Ulti-Mitt is available in black, ViziPro Pink, and ViziPro Green. The mitten part stores in the back of the glove when it is not needed. These hatchback gloves run a little large. I’m a medium in all the other gloves, but I had to go down to a small in the Saucony line. I thought the pink would be a different size, but they fit the same as the other colors. The Ulti-Mitt (besides using ViziPro and reflective logo) comes equipped with Saucony’s rechargeable LED. These little lights are super bright and recharge in your USB port in only 20 minutes. They also have a “convertible” thumb, so you MP3 junkies can use the bevel on your Ipod. Most of the gloves have added a plush “clothe wipe” for your nose. It sounds kind of gross, but that’s what it’s for. This glove is $45.
The Saucony Protectioin Glove also has the rechargeable LED, the ViziPro colors,

Saucony Protection Glove

and the reflective logo. Don’t worry. They threw in the nose wiping accessory, too. It feels a little thicker than the Ulti-Mitt, but it’s not a hatchback. Saucony did include small magnets in the collar of the gloves. This makes it easier to keep them together as a pair. They go for $50.

Pearl Izumi Shine Wind Mitt

The Pearl Izumi Shine Wind Mitt definitely fits snugger than the Saucony gloves do. It also comes up much higher on the wrist. This higher wrist comes with a small key pocket that seems relatively secure even though it doesn’t have snap, zipper, or velcro. The great thing about these hatchbacks (and really all hatchbacks) is that the shell that covers the fingers is wind resistant. This keeps your fingers warmer because they are protected from the wind and also because they are huddled together. These gloves are $30.

Pearl Izumi Select Softshell Lite Glove

The Pearl Izumi Select Softshell Lite Glove fits similarly to the Shine Wind Mitt, just without the finger covering. This didn’t seem like it would block the wind quite as well. It was very comfortable, though. It also features grippy accents on the palm and fingers and a plush fleece on the back of the thumb. The cost is $30.

Brooks Adapt Glove

The Brooks Adapt Glove fits a little loose (the picture to the left is a size medium). It features a “convertible” thumb as well as the hatchback covering. Brooks advertises the hatchback shell as water resistant, but I’m not sure if it blocks water any better than the other hatchbacks. They do make it highly visible with the Nightlife color and reflective logo. Brooks sews small magnets into the color of their gloves to make it easier to keep them together between uses. These gloves are $30.

Brooks Vapor Dry2 Gloves

The Brooks Vapor Dry2 Glove also has the Nightlife coloring. Like the Adapt glove, it also has a “convertible” thumb for MP3 control. They have a fleece nose wiping accessory and magnets in the collar. They cost $28.

Mizuno Breath Thermo Glove

The Mizuno Breath Thermo Glove fits a little loose, but I think it would work well as a liner or alone. It’s quite thin and has the feel of one of those cheap, cotton stretch gloves. It’s no simple cotton glove, though. It has Mizuno’s Breath Thermo thread woven into the fabric. If you’re not familiar with Breath Thermo, it reacts to moisture to create a small amount of heat. I really like it for $20.
The last glove in my review is the Mizuno Breath Thermo Fleece. This glove is thicker than the regulary Breath

Mizuno Breath Thermo Fleece

Thermo glove. It also fits much smaller. I found the palm and fingers to be too short. It would probably be a good option for someone with small hands. It also has the Breath Thermo thread woven into it. It costs $28.
12th November 2011
Product, Uncategorized
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The Wildlife Marathon

As I wrote last week, my goal for this past marathon was to make it hurt. In that regard, I was successful. I was definitely hurting for the last eight miles.

It was a small race, only 60 runners in the full. The race started in the small village of Concord, MI. We ran through the bucolic (fun word to use) burg and onto a paved rails-to-trails. The leaves had popped and the sun was shining. It was as pretty as could be.

I went a little fast on the first mile because I could still see the first place guy, but I settled in to my three-hour pace. Being a small race, I was basically alone, but there were a few folks running within sight. The first five miles were on this trail and were pretty flat. Other than nearly getting hit by a biker pacing the guy who won the half marathon, this part was pretty uneventful.

After leaving the bike path, we ran on some back roads. These roads were all rolling hills. I was feeling fine and clicking off 6:45 miles fairly easily. The small hills put a little more strain on the pace, but it was okay.

Around mile 10 or so, we left the paved back roads and started running on gravel roads. This is easier on the legs, but they also return less energy than paved roads. That means runners expend more energy running on gravel than on pavement. Also, the hills became a little more challenging.

Around half way through the race, I started straining a little more. I kept chugging along at near a three-hour pace, but I started to re-evaluate my goals. I started thinking that a 3:10 finish would be pretty good. It would give me a new Boston-Qualifier. I ran for a few minutes with a guy who was doing his 70th marathon and would do his 50th state next week.

At mile 18, I saw my wonderful Curb Crew for the third time. They couldn’t tell, but this was also when I hit the wall. I took some solace in the fact that I was only 5k from the rails-to-trails which would be blessedly flat.

Hitting the wall is not very fun. It’s even less fun when you have eight miles left to go. I wanted to stop. I wanted to walk. I wanted to lie down. I thought about my last blog, though, and I pushed through the pain.

Pushing through the pain is much easier when you’re closing in on a PR. Last June in Duluth, I was hurting the last three miles, but I knew I had a chance to break 3:00. At the Wildlife Marathon in Concord, I wasn’t going to PR. I pushed as hard as I could. I was really just trying to fall off as little as possible. Glycogen depletion meant that I wasn’t going to be anywhere close to 7:00/mile. I made it hurt, though.

I did manage to pass a guy in these last few miles. It was his first marathon, and he had been running a sub-three pace. Now he was walking. I tried to encourage him, but I was struggling mightily. I never quit. I never gave up. I fought the pain and ran as fast as my body would allow.

I finally came to the finish line. My time could’ve been faster if I would have run the first half more conservatively. I’m glad I didn’t, though. If I ran races conservatively, then I never would have broken three hours. Sometimes you have to go hard and hang on. If you do, sometimes it leads to huge breakthroughs. Other times, you blow up. It’s a fine line between racing bravely and racing foolishly. I learned I could persevere through the pain even if my time goal was shot. That was enough for this race.

15th October 2011
Events
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Racing

George Sheehan, running philosopher-king, once said the difference between a jogger and a runner is the signature on a race registration form. His point wasn’t that racers run faster than joggers; they don’t always. He was noting the fact that races force us to examine our commitment. They give us the opportunity to push ourselves and measure ourselves. Bill McKibbon, in Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously, trains for 12 months in the attempt to give “one supreme effort.” He says, “I’d never competed, taken on that risk to my body and my ego.”

Most of us don’t. Very few of us have areas where we can compare ourselves to anything in an objective manner. I’m not saying we need to compare ourselves to others necessarily, either. I can’t objectively compare my teaching now to my teaching ten years ago (no matter what the standardized test makers or the politicians say). Sure, I think I’m better now than I was then, but it’s not like racing. Even in racing, the numbers on the clock or the place on the podium don’t tell the whole story. The act of competing against myself, the clock, and the other runners pushes me to another level.

This next level focuses my mind. McKibben talks about being totally focused for the full 57 minutes of his first race. This focus is what leads to the emotional breakthroughs. It is what reaveals our true self. McKibben quotes Emily Jenkin’s book, Tongue First: Adventures in Physical Culture. She writes about her eight years of teaching aerobics saying, “I had not emotional experiences whatsoever. Only a sense of control over my body, which I ultimately believe is illusory.” Racing gives us an opportunity for that emotional experience. Sometimes it is good: We push through the agony of mile two in a 5k. Other times it is negative: we stop and walk up that third hill and get passed by half the field.

The competition of a race allows us to test our limits, to give that supreme effort. Only in a race can we push through the gut-busting pain or choose to ease up. As an English teacher, I know that there can be no growth, no story without conflict. The race introduces that internal conflict.

I’m racing tomorrow, and I hope I commit enough to make it hurt. I also hope I have the mental strength to give that supreme effort.

I’ll let ya know.

8th October 2011
Uncategorized
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Stressin’

Before my blog begins, I want to once again invite you to the Runners’ Book Club, Vol. II. We’re reading My Life on the Run by Bart Yasso. Even if you can’t finish it before our meeting, I encourage you to read as much as you can and join us. Yasso’s book is funny and inspiring. Put it on your calendar: October 6 at 8th Street Grille.

Stress gets a bad rap. Stress is what makes our training work. When you run, you’re stressing your body. The duress you place on your muscles is what makes them stronger. These stronger muscles only show up during the recovery period after the stress.

I’ve had a few poor runs lately, and I was kind of concerned. After all, my marathon is in a few weeks. Then I thought about how much stress I’ve been placing on my body.

Of course I’ve got the running miles, 50-60 per week. I have been a little discouraged, though, because I usually target 70 as my peak during a marathon build-up. Then I realized that I’m not only running. I canceled my car insurance and have been biking to work. So I’ve been running 50-60 miles and also biking 50-ish miles each week. That helped me to be a little more confident of my training.

Something was still nagging me, though. I still felt like my runs were flatter than they should be. It took my biannual taper clinic for me to figure it out. The physical stress is only half of the equation.

School just started again, and it coincided with some the peak of my training. So, I’ve hit my max mileage and added the mental/emotional stress of a new school year.

Many people don’t realize that your body accepts physical and emotional stress in similar ways. When you’re recovering from a hard workout, stress is stress. It doesn’t matter if it is a tempo run or new class to organize and plan for.

My goal in the upcoming weeks (my taper) is to eliminate as many physical and emotional stressors as possible. The physical stresses are easier to deal with. I’ll carpool a few days a week to reduce the bike miles, and gradually cut back my running miles like normal.

The mental stressors are a little bit trickier to avoid. Part of it will be planning a little further out in my classes. I’ll work on adding detail to my lesson plans for the next month or so. Having a plan will reduce some of this stress.

The big stress of this new school year is all of the change. There are a myriad of changes to structures and technology at school. I’ll work on looking at the positive changes to try to reduce the stress. Attitude is key. Maybe I’ll tack the Serenity Prayer up in a prominent place.

Finally, sleep is key to dealing with stress. During the remainder of my taper, I’ll strive to increase my sleep stores. This is when the body recovers from and rebuilds the damage caused by stress.

I hope reading about my stress strategies helps you examine your life and your training. Take it easy.

22nd September 2011
Events, Training, Uncategorized
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Things Happen

This has been a rough week for training. Last Saturday was spent traveling to, attending, and returning from a memorial service. That ruled out a long run. Then RunnerGirl did her long run on Sunday, so my long run got moved to Monday. Tuesday was spent in meetings for school. I left from the meetings for a fantasy football draft in Jackson. That left no time for running on Tuesday. I got back so late on Tuesday that running Wednesday morning would have been counter-productive due to a lack of rest. I had meetings until 4:00 (of course, I couldn’t leave right at 4) again and had to be at Gazelle by 5. When the Gazelle training concluded at 9:15, I just wanted to crash. I did finally sneak a couple of miles in before school meetings resumed on Thursday morning, but it was pretty short.

I’ll grab some miles this weekend, but my training volume this week will be pretty low compared to my usual marathon-training load. I need to keep telling myself that THIS IS OKAY. I’m not going to lose my base or my endurance because of one weak week.

The urge of most runners when they miss a workout from their training plan or have an off week or over indulge at a potluck (I’m guilty of that one this week, too) is to cram a bunch of extra hard workouts in to make up for it. Unfortunately, this is counter productive. Cramming extra workouts in is a recipe for injury. If injured, more workouts will be missed. It’s a downward spiral I’m trying to avoid.

So, what do I do? I’ve been off my plan for about seven days now. I guess I should probably just resume my plan and forgot those missed days/workouts. I don’t think I’ve missed so much that my fitness has regressed, so I don’t think I need to go back and repeat any of the previous workout.

Mental preparation has probably taken the biggest hit. I was hoping to have a really solid workout week before the rigors of starting a new school year hit me. That didn’t happen, so now I need to block it out of my mind and move on.

I hope your training is going better. Also, I hope you’re planning on attending The Runners’ Book Club, Vol II. We’re reading My Life on the Run by Bart Yasso. We’ll be discussing it on October 6.

2nd September 2011
Training, Uncategorized
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Runners’ Book Club, Volume II

The first meeting of the Runners’ Book Club is in the books. We enjoyed Matt Long’s story and felt like it was well told. Long and Hudson, his co-author, did a great job of capturing the voice of a Brooklyn firefighter and the rhythm of the story and the flashbacks was very satisfying. If you haven’t read The Long Run, grab a copy and let me know what you think.

I heard from quite a few of you that you liked this idea but couldn’t make this month’s meeting. Hopefully, more of you can make it out for the next meeting. Let’s plan on October 6 at 7:00. I’ll get back to you on a location soon. I didn’t realize that the final edition of the Street Performers would be downtown Holland last night. Everything worked out okay, but if New Holland is having some sort of Octoberfest or something…

After a little discussion of possible reads, we’ve chosen My Life on the Run by Bart Yasso as the next edition in our Runners’ Book Club.

Get your copy of The Runners' Book Club's second selection.

If you’re not familiar with Yasso, he’s often called the Mayor of Running. He is a special editor at Runner’s World. He’s run thousands of races and competed on every continent. In some of the earlier days of Runner’s World, they would ask him to compete in the craziest races they could find and he would invariably accept the challenge.

This book tells many of the tales that he’s saved up over the years. It’s a very funny and inspirational book. I know you’re going to love it.

26th August 2011
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Fantasy Workout Draft

I am currently preparing for the Fantasy Football season. Fantasy drafts work like this: a group of people gather together and draft teams. Each player can be drafted by only one team, so the goal is to get the best value for each draft pick.

The best value means choosing a player who will produce better statistics than the players drafted before him. If I draft Ray Rice (the running back for the Baltimore Ravens), and he runs for more yards/scores more touchdowns than Adrian Peterson (the running back for the Minnesota Vikings and consensus number one pick in most fantasy football drafts), then I’ve gotten better value.

Sometimes leagues have different rules. They may award one point for each reception. This makes a player like Ray Rice more valuable than Adrian Peterson even though Peterson may run for more yards because Rice catches more passes. You have to know what is the most important for your league.

Running is the same way. When considering your workouts, trying to get the best value for your workouts means knowing what is the most important.

A marathoner’s fantasy draft of workouts would look like this:
1. Long Runs
2. Recovery Runs
3. Rest (Sleeper Pick*)
4. Tempo Runs
5. Core Work
6. Long Intervals
7. Form Running
8. Striders

A 5k runner’s draft list would look different.
1. Short Intevals
2. Tempo Runs
3. Core Work
4. Recovery Runs
5. Long Runs
6. Form Running
7. Rest
8. Striders

An athlete focusing on weight loss would also be different:
1. Easy Runs
2. Cross Training
3. Interval Training
4. Core Work
5. Rest
6. Long Runs

So, what are you training for? What’s your number one overall pick in your fantasy training draft? No, a run with Kara Goucher isn’t an option. Think about what you’re trying to get out of your running. Draft wisely.

*A sleeper pick is a choice that is under the radar, a player that many folks haven’t heard of or don’t value very highly. I chose “Rest” as my sleeper pick not only because it’s a sweet pun, but also because most distance runners short change themselves in this area. Rest times are when your body recovers and rebuilds itself. It’s when the actual growth from all your workouts takes place.

19th August 2011
Uncategorized
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Sidewalk Sales

Hey,

Just a quick blog to let you know that  we’ve got a ton of stuff ready for Sidewalk Sales. We’re still all about helping you find the best shoe for your foot, though. All of us are skilled at evaluating your gate and your foot. Find someone in a red shirt on Friday and ask their advice.

Sometimes customers see the endless tables chocked full of shoes and assume they need to fend for themselves. Please don’t make this mistake. We’re eager to answer any questions you may have, and we really want you to be in the right shoe.

We've got a shoe for you.

We’ve got a pretty big collection available, too. I saw thousands of running shoes from motion control to minamalist style. We’ve even got some Vibram’s on sale this year. Please, let us help you find the right one.

Even books are on sale. You can save 20% on The Long Run by Matt Long. Then you can read it and join our Runners’ Book Club in two weeks (August 25).

11th August 2011
Uncategorized
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