Western States Update

UPDATE: 12/10/11 Apparently the lottery gods had other plans for me this year.  9.1% wasn't enough of a chance so I'll have to wait until next year to try again.

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A number of applicants were removed after qualification verifications and the draw increased from last years estimate of 218 names to 265 names.  So now I am nearly a sure thing with a 9.1% chance of getting drawn. HA!

What you do in those moments when all hope seems lost.....

I ♥ to run post.

Not all of us have running stories that include Olympic trials and world championship races. Most of us fight our running battles in community 10k runs, in marathons, or just in our daily workouts. But the lessons are the same...

Heart Rate Stuff.....

WARNING: I don't claim to be a professional. These are my experiences that worked for me. I have read arguments that say this is not the best way to train or lose weight. All I know is I did and I thought I would share...........


A friend and I were talking about a food plan in relation to our running and this was part of the email....

.........When I was losing weight I always worked out in the morning. I got up, had a cup of coffee, and went and did my thing. Came home, then had breakfast. So I was fueling back up after a nights rest and my workout. If you worked out after dinner I think it would be unreasonable to think you wouldn’t have SOMETHING to eat afterwards and before bed.

I read once upon a time that while you are trying to build your cardiovascular system it is good to exercise on an empty stomach because you are trying to train your body to burn fat stores. If you wake up and eat breakfast and then workout your body will use the most readily available fuel source for energy….the breakfast you just ate. The article said this works best when you are exercising between 60 and 90 minutes in the fat burning zone or, 75% of maximum heart rate. The 60 to 90 minutes was because there is a ramp up period where your body gets into the ZONE. The longer you are in the ZONE, the more you train your body to rely on fat stores. This doesn’t really work when you do speed or tempo workouts because you are above the aerobic level and your body will burn glycogen over fat.

The other trick was the coffee. Since it is a stimulant, a cup of coffee before the workout would rev up the metabolism according to the article.

This is basically what I did every day I was losing weight. THEN I found running. I found myself running faster than I should to stay in the fat burning zone and I had a lot harder time losing. PLUS, I was always hungry as can be afterwards. I believe this is because I was burning up all my glycogen during the workouts and the gas tank was empty. Before I found running I was burning fat and still had my glycogen to fuel me the rest of the day. Moral of the story, slow down to lose weight. In the meantime, you develop a great cardiovascular system and are able to perform at a higher level with the same input over time.

The first time I recorded my HR was 2/4/10 during a 1 hour run. I had a 150 heart rate at an 8:20 pace over the course of that hour. Fast forward to 9/11/10 on my last long run before the St. George marathon. I ran 20 miles at basically the same heart rate of 152 at a 7:09 pace. Cutting over a minute off of my pace and holding it for an additional 90 minutes made me a believer!

Not sure if I have ever sent you this link but this is the guidance I used while building up over that summer. http://www.duathlon.com/articles/1460  Elite athletes have the same aerobic and anaerobic limitations as everyone else but with proper training to develop your cardiovascular system you can get a faster pace with the same HR. It’s hard to imagine the elite marathoners cruising along at a 4:45 pace and a 155-165 heart rate, but they do……  If they weren't, they would bonk.  Just like the rest of us when are in the anaerobic zone for too long (see my Boston splits from mile 9-16 followed by the bonk).

Food for thought.

This data is from three separate 20 mile runs in the summer of 2010 on the same course and starting at the same time in the morning.  The last one is the one I referenced above.  The 7/10 run looks like a disaster next to the others.  I had a Clif bar for the first and last time on that day and was barely hanging on at the end.  The 7/31 run was a great improvement and I was very happy with my time.  The bad thing that day was I felt like I had absolutely nothing left at the end of 20 miles which would have made for a disappointing finish at a marathon.  One interesting note is my time was 27 minutes fast with a LOWER average HR, 158 v. 159.  The 9/11 run was my last 20 miler before St George and it gave me a lot of confidence going into the race.  I needed an average pace of 7:29 to qualify for Boston, so 7:09 through 20 helped clear my mind and keep me focused.  I only shaved off a few minutes but did it at 152 HR, down from the 158 from 7/31.  As a result I felt like I could have kept going the additional 6.2 miles at that pace.  Another note, on the 9/11 run there was frost on the ground and it was cold most of the way, which was a big boost to help regulate my core temperature and HR.

This is a comparison of Boston to St George. I stayed very level at St George with my HR throughout and it showed in my pace at the end. I actually decided to let up a bit at the end since my main goal was to BQ, not push myself to the brink of exhaustion to shave off 2 or 3 minutes. Another note, it was 88 degrees when I crossed the finish line....  Boston on the other hand, I didn't do such a good job on. I was very happy with my time actually. The bad part was, I had been sick with a cold in the days leading up to the race, so it was a monumental effort. That said, it is easy to see why I tanked at the end. I crossed my AT during mile 9 and remained there for 8 miles total.  After mile 16 was where the bonk started.  From there my pace slowed along with my HR.  By the time I crossed the finish line I felt like I was doing the ultra-shuffle.....and it was one of the happiest moments ever!



Heartbreak Hill?

Saw this on FB and thought it was interesting......

Profiles of some of the more well known 100 Mile Races compared to Boston Marathon’s Heartbreak Hill at the bottom.   The first hill at the Bear accounted for about 3,500 feet of gain and 9 feet of loss in the first 4.5 miles.....at the second aid station in Leatham Hollow I had 6,000 feet of gain and 5,400 of loss.  Luckily I was still fresh and only had 81 more miles to go!!...........

2 years ago....

This is a repost from March 5th, 2011.  It was 2 years ago today, December 6th, 2009, that I ran my first marathon with my wife Michelle at my side the entire way.
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My sister Rachelle inspired me to set my goal to run a marathon originally. When I started losing weight, I did two things primarily for exercise. I swam for an hour each morning during the week and I would go for a 20-mile bike ride on Saturday and Sunday. In August 2009, after losing about 90 pounds, I developed an umbilical hernia that needed surgery. After surgery, the doctor told me I couldn't swim until the incision healed. He suggested I try running which I reluctantly tried. I didn't really enjoy it at first but learned to tolerate it!

Rachelle had set a goal in the summer to train for a marathon over the fall. She wanted to get in shape to run the 2010 St George marathon the following year and asked me if I would like to follow the training with her. Here is my response to her via email on October 21, 2009, "By the way, when is the St George Marathon? When you asked me about it I thought you were crazy!"

Somewhere along the way, I learned to love running. I think the reason I didn't enjoy running in the beginning was it was too hard on my body since I was so overweight. As I ramped up the running, the weight continued to come off and I felt better than ever. I agreed to train for our personal marathon with Rachelle. She lives in California, so we would email or call back and forth so she could tell me what was on the training plan for the week. The long runs really scared me at first but I figured if she could do it I could do it right? We stayed on the same schedule for the most part but I ran mine a couple of weeks before her in December. After running for just over 3 months, I was able to finish in 4 hour and 18 minutes. My wife Michelle rode her bike along side of me and it was 20 degrees with a 15-degree wind chill from start to finish. Amazingly, I had a fairly even pace the entire time. Instead of hitting 'the wall’, I felt like I had more energy at the end. In the last mile, it felt as though I had someone pushing me to the finish and it seemed like the fastest mile of the day.

Rachelle was super excited for me, just as I was for her when she ran hers just after Christmas. Afterwards I told people I ran a marathon and the first question was always, "Which one?” Then I would tell people that it wasn't a ‘real marathon’, just me on the greenbelt. Somehow, that felt like less of an accomplishment when I put it that way. In my eyes, the distance and accomplishment is the same whether you are running in Boston or on the greenbelt. So, after a while, I started telling people it was the "1st Annual Ryan Anderson Invitational"...and there was only 1 invitation.

In the email where I told her she was crazy, I also told Rachelle, "You inspire me to accomplish great things that I could not envision without your example. Keep up the good work and I’ll try and keep up the pace!"

Thank you for inspiring me Rachelle.

P.S. Thanks also for giving me that lucky shirt you're wearing in this photo!

Problems and Attitudes.......

If you want to get over a problem, stop talking about it. Your mind affects your mouth, and your mouth affects your mind. It’s difficult to stop talking about a situation until you stop thinking about it.

Your attitude belongs to you and it's your choice if you want to have a good one.

I found these on Joyce Meyer's Twitter page.  Not sure who is the original author..........

Western States Lottery

Well, my odds in the lottery are about 7.1%.  Not great but better than nothing.  They draw the list of successful applicants on December 10th!

Great quote, Great picture

I realize that I have been blessed with health and strength to overcome not only the miles on the road, but also to overcome the hard times in life when you want to throw in the towel. When I cross the line now, it is a celebration of the fact that I didn't quit.

Tasya Lacy, U.S. Navy Human Resources Officer
 
This was an unrelated picture but I really liked it too!
 

Body and Mind by Davina!

When asked why and how we do the things we do, refer to Davina'a wise words.

"It is your feet that move you forward. - It is your spirit that gives you strength and pushes you on."
~Davina Jackson

Hypernatremia with over-hydration

I was thinking about some things that went right and some things that didn't at the Bear this year after visiting with Amy King this week.  She just ran her first 100k and did really well.  She was able to do a pretty good self assessment of what worked for her and what didn't.

One thing that worked for me this year was having a proper balance of hydration and electrolytes throughout the Bear for the most part.  I think I was a little dehydrated in the night because I wasn't thirsty with it being so cold.  That will be one of my areas for improvement next time.  Just because it's cold doesn't mean you don't lose fluid.

Last year when I paced with Sam at the Javelina Jundred I had no idea about electrolyte replacement.  I had never had an S-Cap before that day.  I drank like a fish and popped S-Caps like they were M&Ms (I had lots of those too by the way!)

Anyway, I thought I would post the link to the Succeed website to remind everyone of the symptoms of the different conditions as well as my pictures to show what hypernatremia with over-hydration looks like. This is the top right box at the bottom of the link.


Mile 93 at the Bear (Hydration OK Electolytes OK)



After pacing at Javelina Jundred for 50 miles (Hydration High Electrolytes High)

 Being familiar with the symptoms can help with diagnosing problems.  I was able to eat and drink normally throughout the Bear.  Keeping things balanced also kept me from experience any digestive / nausea problems.  There is a lot of great information on the Succeed website besides what I have here.