Run For the Hills!

They say running hills is a pretty good substitute for speed work, like intervals or tempo runs.  I don't really know whether that's true, but I hope so.  That's because I really dislike doing speed work, but I love running in Barrington.  And Barrington is nothing if not hilly! 

I've been running the roads in Barrington at least one Saturday morning a month for about the last 15 years.  I've written about it plenty in this space.  It is a different, unique experience every season.  In the fall, the changing leaves are beautiful.  In the summer you really appreciate those trees for the shade they provide.  In the spring, you really get the chance to welcome the rebirth of all the living things along the way.  Especially the horses out grazing near the fences.  And in the winter, it might be most beautiful after a fresh snowfall. 

The streets generally also provide the best footing in winter.  Most of our other 'long run' courses are on paths that freeze over in the winter, making for hazardous running.  So it seems we tend to run Barrington more often in the winter months simply from a lack of other good options.

The last couple runs out there, however, were different experiences than we have ever had out there.  Normally you get through the loop of at least 12 miles and see a few other runners, who perhaps started earlier, going by in the other direction.   You might see a handful of cars going by on the generally deserted roads.  But the secret is now out! 

IIt seems all the training groups have discovered the benefits of Barrington, and there are now large groups of runners, and lots of company on the roads.  As we left the parking lot at Barrington High School on Saturday morning, we rushed out to try to get ahead of a group of about 70 runners from Fleet Feet's Boston Bound training group. 

Some of the leaders passed us shortly into the run anyway!  But it was almost like a race atmosphere, as opposed to the isolated, quiet run we were used to.  Some of the regulars we passed along the way had the same suprised looks on their faces as we did.  We just hope the local residents don't start to take issue with us.  I am not complaining, by the way.  I have lots of friends in that and some of the othertraining groups who have been out there lately.  I ran a few miles with some of them as my small group of running partners separated along the way. 

They come out here, of course, because of the hills.  For runners training for the Boston marathon's famed hills in April, there may be no better place to run in the area than Barrington.  On the occasions when I was also training for Boston, I really appreciated the hills there all the more.  A friend of mine from the group, Dave Zaro has posted a short video on the Boston Bound Facebook page if you're interested. http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1198798062834

No one among my friends is training for Boston this year, however.  A couple of us plan to run a flat marathon in Kenosha.  But the hills are still a great benefit.  They build strength, both physically and mentally.  It's kind of like swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle for a baseball player.  Once you swing the bat without the weight, you are able to get around much more quickly and easily.  By the same principal, training on hills should make running on flat ground quicker and easier. 

Of course, interval training would also help.  My personal speed work of choice for a marathon is mile repeats.  I have forced myself to get to the track to do them every other week or so at about :30-:45 faster than race pace.  I believe it makes a huge difference in my fitness and confidence.  The only problem is that I really don't like doing it very much, and I'm at the stage in running where I do it because I enjoy it.  So if I don't enjoy it, there is really not much point.

Well, there is a point, but that's another discussion for another time.  For now, I'm doing what I need to do to get ready to finish a spring marathon in somewhat respectable fashion.  I'm not looking for a pr, and not expecting much other than a fun experience.  And that's what the training is like in Barrington. 

I'll see you on the roads.....

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Spring Marathon Training

It was nearly impossible to find a parking spot within three blocks of Fleet Feet Sports in Old Town early Saturday morning.  That should have been my first clue.   By the time I parked and trekked over to Piper's Alley, I was reminded that marathon training, even in February, is a big deal these days. 

Inside the lobby there was a group of about 100 people dressed in winter running gear stretching and talking in small groups.  Then a leader took the microphone and gave them some final instructions about their planned run for the morning.  I saw some familiar faces and realized this was the group from Chicago Endurance Sports. They have different pace groups going different distances as they train for a couple of different races.

I moved on quickly though, looking for my running partner, Tom.  He and I decided to meet on this morning for a 10 miler on the lakefront path.  Since moving to the burbs a couple years ago, I have had few chances to run on the lakefront recently.  There are just too many other locations that are closer, more convenient, and more challenging.

But the lakefront is where I did most of my running for the last 15 years or so, and it sounded like fun to get back out there.  So I wandered into the store to find another group of about 70 runners getting ready for their group run.  This was the Boston-bound group sponsored by Fleet Feet.  My friends Dan Daley from CARA, and Samantha Morales from Fleet Feet run this group.  Samantha is pictured giving the group some last minute tips. She is a good person to listen to, as she has run plenty of marathons, and is a former track runner at my alma mater, Drake University.  I ran there many years before her.

Both groups are several weeks into their training programs  Boston is in mid-April, and some of the other races are in the weeks after that.  For me, however, this was a bit of a wake-up call.  I decided to run a spring marathon a couple weeks ago, but haven't really changed too much of my regular training program.  In other words, I had yet to jump in with both feet.

I really didn't feel the need or desire to train for a spring marathon this year, but as the weeks have gone by since the late last fall, I found myself lacking motivation and structure to my running.  The best way I know to solve that is to schedule a race that you have to get ready for.  And a marathon definitely requires motivation and structure.   Not to mention a lot of miles. 

It can be tough to find good places to run long in the winter.  Some of our favorites in the summer include the Prairie Path, Waterfall Glenn, and Barrington.  Ice on the frozen path makes footing treacherous on most of those routes.  'The footing is generally good in Barrington, but it's a tough workout that you don't want to do every week.  So it was back to the Lakefront this week.

Back when I used to run there more frequently, it would be relatively easy to meet up with my friends and take off.  It's much more crowded now, and that's a good thing for the sport, but a bad thing for those who prefer solitary running I suppose.

In any case, I have chosen a relatively 'low-pressure' marathon to run.  Last year I had a big build-up for

Boston and had a great experience.  But I don't need to do that every year, not to mention I don't have a qualifying time anyway this year.  So after considering the Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati, and Illinois marathon in Champagne, I decided on the Wisconsin marathon in Kenosha.  It's May 1st.  Here's a link if you are interested.    http://www.wisconsinmarathon.com/

Maybe I'll see you on the Lakefront...

Born to Run?

Have you ever had an experience that makes you question everything you thought you knew?  Well, I've been running for more than three decades, and I thought I pretty much knew what I needed to know about the sport.  But after reading the book "Born to Run", I find myself questioning whether all I thought I knew is wrong.  That is the impact this book is having on lots of readers as it gets passed along, mostly by word of mouth, in the running community.

It is the story of the Tarahumara Indian tribe in the remote mountains of Mexico that may be home to the greatest ultra distance runners in the world.  Unlike the Kenyans, however, they almost never race.  They run for the joy of it, and there is much that we can all learn, or remember, from that. 

Author Christopher McDougall takes us along on his first visit to the area, and introduces us to unforgettable characters who happen to be real people.  McDougall's only link to the tribe is a runner who goes by the name Caballo Blanco (pictured on the right).  He is just about the tribe's only link to the outside world.  He is the one who sets up the race that is the central story of the book.  It's a 50 mile ultramarathon in the rugged mountains in Mexico where the Tarahumara live. 

McDougall helps recruit and arrange for the handful of American Ultramarathoners who take part in the race.  Among them are Ultra Champ Scott Jurek, and a character  known as 'Barefoot Ted' (shown on the left).  Ted McDonald is an ultramarathoner who runs really well, but is best known for his choice of footwear, or lack thereof.  As he nickname suggests, Ted usually runs without shoes, which flies in the face of common sense for many of us.  It also seems painful and dangerous!

But Ted, and just about everyone else in the book have just the opposite experience.  They find they run better, and are injury-free because they run without traditional running shoes.  When Ted wears shoes they are basically a thin rubber skin that helps protect his feet from puncture wounds.  The Vibram Five Fingers is one model he pushes.

If you are like me, you are thinking, "Um, no thanks".  About the last time I remember someone running barefoot seriously was South African middle distance runner Zola Budd in the 1984 Olympic race with Mary Decker Slaney.  We all know how that worked out for her.  But McDougall makes quite a compelling argument in favor of running without all the support we get from running shoes.  Along the way he also offers a pretty harsh indictment of Nike, which basically invented modern running shoes.

The basic idea is that the foot has more nerve endings, and bones than just about any other part of the body.  Our feet are an engineering marvel designed to support and adapt to all kinds of activities and terrain.  But when we put our feet in cushioned running shoes, we basically nullify our foot's natural ability.  We also alter our running form, because shoes heavily cushioned in the heel give us the ability to land on our heel, rather than the mid-foot, which McDougall says is the way nature intended.

Running shoes have basically been around only a little more than three decades in this country.  Custom Orthodics and other accessories for those shoes have been around an even shorter amount of time.  Before that, Americans still ran plenty. though the running booms had yet to happen.  But it can be argued that Americans were more competitive on the world stage before running shoes offered the chance to run on something other than a platform.  Certainly running shoes are worn by just about everyone around the world now, but in the case of the Kenyans, they don't generally wear them growing up.  McDougall argues they build up strength in their feet running barefoot for at least a decade before encasing them in shoes as they get out into the world more.

He also points out that injuries like Plantar Faciitis (heel pain) never existed before running shoes hit the market.  I'm not sure how relevant that really is, however, because many of these injuries are not exclusive to runners.  But his point is well taken.  He also cites studies that suggest a relationship between injuries and the price of the running shoes you wear.  Contrary to what you would expect, the more you spend on your shoes (which probably means the more cushioned and supported they are), the more likely you are to get injured!

He also says the older the shoes, and the more the cushioning wears down, the better they are for you.  Wow.  Like I said at the beginning, this is contrary to all we have learned for years.  So what should we make of it?  Well, I am certainly not likely to start running barefoot through the streets of the western suburbs, especially in the winter.  But I certainly may try running some workouts on a grassy area a couple times a month this summer.

I was curious what impact this book and the barefoot running buzz is having on the running shoe industry, so I called Dave Zimmer, who owns Fleet Feet Sports.  Dave pointed out that Nike introduced their 'Free' model as a response to all of this several years ago.  He says most of the other running shoe makers are coming out with their own similar models in the next few months.  All of them are pretty basic, neutral shoes.  And he also (correctly) points out that the introduction of running shoes had a great deal to do with so many new people taking up the sport in the first place. 

The debate will rage on for some time, and I'm sure this is just the first of many entries I will have on the subject.

Anyway, the book wraps up with a thrilling account of the race, which ends up with a close finish between Jurek and the great Tarahumara, runner Arnulfo Quiroz.  It is an epic finish, and the telling of it suffers only a little because the author wrote about it from second-hand accounts.  Most of the rest of the story is a first person account, but because he was running the race, and far from the front, he couldn't be at the finish line himself.  I won't spoil it for you, but I recommend checking it out.  "Born To Run" is a pretty quick read, but it will have you thinking for a long time afterward.

See you on the streets....

 

Step it Up!

When my alarm went off at 6:15 Sunday morning, my wife rolled over and said maybe we should rethink our plan to take all four kids to the Kohls Step Up For Kids stair climb up the AON center.  This is an annual event for me, but this year I wanted to bring the kids along.  I thought they'd enjoy the view from the top.  So as we got up and ready, we rallied to get the kids dressed and into the car.  Oh, the challenges of family life!!

The AON stair climb has always been special to us.  ABC-7 is one of the sponsors, and I have the honor of recording the public service announcements for it every year.  As you probably know, the AON building is the second tallest in Chicago (after the Willis Tower).  Five years ago, I did the climb with our then 6 week old daughter Lorna in a front carrier.  So, I wanted to bring Lorna along this year to show her what it was all about.  She is five years old now, however, so I wasn't about to carry her!  Lorna is on the far right in the silhouette picture of the four kids we took from the top. 

Of course, the family outing meant I was rushing to get to the start on time.  I made it, but without time to pin on my number and timing tag.  They were kind enough to let me go ahead with out them, but I was left to time the effort on my own watch.  And considering how I kind of took it easy on the way up, it's probably good that my time isn't public.  As a matter of fact, it isn't even private, because I forgot to stop my watch when I got to the top.  Regardless, I was happy to finish, as you can tell from the picture my wife took.

The climb itself gets better every year.  There were nearly 2000 finishers this year, and they raised several hundred thousand dollars for Children's Memorial Hospital.  I got to meet a young man this year who owes his life to the work done by doctors at Children's 14 years ago.  He and his family were among the climbers, and he finished with an impressive time.

Of course, this blog is about running, not stair climbing.  But climbing stairs seems to be a great aerobic workout.  I ran a pretty good 12 miler on Saturday, but was breathing much harder after finishing the stair climb Sunday. 

It's probably similar to intervals on the track for getting your heart rate going.  And that leads me to what I saw on my way to meeting friends for that long run Saturday morning.  The York high school track team was doing speed work on the outdoor track which was covered by snow and ice.  Now that's dedication!  If anyone questions how they develop such great distance runners every year, that is part of the answer.

It's probably good inspiration for many of us who are having a hard time getting out the door as the winter drags on.  As for me, motivation is coming in the form of a spring marathon.  More on that in the next few weeks. 

In the meantime, congratulations to all who climbed and raised money Sunday!  You can find the results here: 

 http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?orgID=234623&rsID=89030

See you on the roads... or stairs!