Finding Ultra

I've been reading a lot of running-related books for inspiration lately. One book that I find particularly inspiring is Finding Ultra, by Rich Roll. Rich is a 40-something father of four who decided a few years ago that meandering through life as a fat, drunk, entertainment lawyer wasn't a sustainable lifestyle, even in Los Angeles. (Pics at left). Over the course of a few years he overhauled his diet, lost 50 pounds and ended up with a Day 1 stage victory in the 3-day double-ironman distance triathlon known as the Ultraman Hawaii World Championships. A "double-ironman" for those unfamiliar with the term, consists of a 6.2 mile open ocean swim, a 261.4 mile bike ride, and a 52.4 mile run. That sort of distance might be a little beyond what most of us aspire to, but I'm glad there are people out there who do it.

Rich attributes his success largely to the fact that he adopted a "plant-based" (vegan, for all intents and purposes) diet. Adoption of the diet led to significant weight-loss which permitted him to engage in the kind of intense training required to complete his race. I was a vegan when I ran my first marathon in 1993, and my experience was similar. I clocked a 3:34.01 for the race, not bad considering where I was coming from. Over the year prior to my race I quit smoking and lost about 75 pounds, which made running a lot easier. When I started I could barely make it around the block but as the weight came off I was able to extend my runs with little effort. I've since changed my diet around a few times, but I always notice when I'm up a few pounds; I can feel it in my joints before I even think to step on a scale.

I've been toying around with the idea of training for this year's racing by going completely vegan, just to see whether I can drop this 10-15 pounds that stubbornly remind me that my metabolism ain't what it used to be. I might try the Mark Bittman route and go "vegan before dinnertime". I'm not really sure yet.

Maybe I identify with Rich Roll because his story is broadly similar to mine, I don't know. I do know that his podcast is totally blowing my mind. A few months back Rich and his wife Julie Piatt took their four kids and moved to the island of Kauai, where they took up residence at an organic farm community named "Common Ground". Common Ground is the brainchild of internet entepreneur Chris Jaeb, founder of the website Broadcast.com and creator of click advertising. (It's mission, near as I can tell, is to create a model for sustainable living in the digital age that is accessible to all through the advocacy of farm-to-table and local food networks.) Ostensibly about health and fitness, the podcast is really more a meandering thought experiment, where Roll and Piatt hold forth on topics ranging from nutrition to sustainable living to the challenges of forging strong male/female relationships and seeing the divine in other people. It's a pretty fascinating approach to podcasting, I can tell you that. Give it a listen. Rich's wife Julie is a dynamic personality in her own right and is a yogi, musician and chef, among other things. Her and Rich have a company called Jai Lifestyle which sells a few products that support their lifestyle, including a pretty good vegan cook-book.

I think tomorrow morning I'm going to get out there for a 10 miler. I need to spend less time writing about running, and more time doing some actual running. 

45 Years Old

Yesterday I had to stop after 4 miles on the dreadmill. Maybe it was the first day back to work or the fact that I'm dicking around with my diet, but I felt pretty blah. It happens. Bad days follow good just as the sun comes after the moon. I haven't been sleeping too well either. I'm hoping that after a few more days on a mostly vegan diet I'll finish whatever changeover my body needs to adjust to the new nutrient intake and be back to some semblance of normal. It is a little depressing reading about Scott Jurek blasting through the 100 mile Western States race fueled on a diet of raw lettuce and hummus while I'm feeling like abject crap grinding out a few miles on the treadmill, but our circumstances are pretty different so I'm not letting it get to me too much.

Today is my 45th birthday. I've always been pretty ambivalent about birthdays. There's nothing I can do to stop them so I don't see the point of getting that worked up about them. The passage of time is inevitable. Ageing is inevitable. What is most certainly not inevitable, is letting the passage of time or the aging of the body turn into an excuse for inactivity. Many of the really hardcore ultra-marathoners are middle-age and they regularly accomplish feats that would send most men my age who live a sedentary lifestyle right to the cardiologist.  As long as I can stand, I'll either be running or walking. I consider the time spent moving my body to be an  investment in my future. I don't want to spend the last few years of my life on medication, hobbling around with a cane. With any luck I'll die with my running shoes on, hopefully of old age. (Not as a hood ornament on an Escallade.)

One of my resolutions this year is to run an ultra. It might be Caumsett, it might be something later in the year, but I WILL do it, if only to prove to myself that I CAN do it. We live in an age of pre-digested experiences. With all of our modern technology and predilection to risk-aversion, our environment is so managed and controlled that it is as if we exist in a cliff-notes version of our own lives. How often do we get the chance to push the envelope? To see what we are really capable of? I think that the human brain really does it's best work when it is confronted with a challenge that initially seems insurmountable. Only be confronting the impossible do we learn what we are capable of achieving. So where can we find physical challenges these days that will test the limits of our endurance? I suppose with enough money and time you could join an Everest expedition or ski to the North Pole or some such thing. For most of us that isn't an option. I have three kids, a job, a family, etc., etc. However, the ultra-marathon is something that is relatively accessible to everyone who has 2 shoes and a place to put feet to pavement to train for it. I'm  going to give it a shot this year.

Back

Took a few weeks off for the holidays-not from running, just blogging. Things were hectic around the house and the kids and Erin got sick one after another, leaving little time for navel-gazing. I'm afraid I had to take a couple of weeks off from long-runs as well. Hopefully I'll be able to dial back in this Saturday. I started reading Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run a few days ago. If you haven't yet read it I highly recommend it. Scott is an accomplished ultra-runner who eats a totally vegan diet which he in large part attributes his success to.

I was able to maintain 30+ mile weeks during the holidays and somehow actually lost a few pounds despite the constant parade of cookies and wine flowing past me on a daily basis. Despite my success on the sweet and fats diet, I'm heading into the New Year with an eye towards training fueled by a lower-fat plant-based diet rather than a paleo one.

Hopefully I'll have a more extended post up tomorrow. After 2 weeks away from my desk, I'm a little overwhelmed with work at the moment.

Diet and Exercise

Ripped off a 5 miler on the dreadmill yesterday. Ho hum. I suppose I should dedicate one of these hamster-wheel excursions to speed-work, but I am at heart a lazy runner, and I'd rather not run the risk of injury with a long-term goal of long-range miles. 

I usually do my mid-week runs at a pace between 6.7-7 miles per hour. I used to be faster on the daily slog, but about two years ago I started eating a low-carb paleo diet and my times went all to shit. I've since become less carb-phobic, but for whatever reason, I've had a hard time getting back to those 8 minute miles. The Paleo diet, if you've never heard of it, is based on the diet supposedly consumed by our paleolithic ancestors; lots of grass-fed meat, wild fish, vegetables, healthy fats and low carbs. No grains, industrial oils or sugars. This type of diet is worlds ahead of the Standard American Diet (SAD) in terms of nutrient density, but the macro-nutrient profile is all wrong for endurance athletes. 

When I started eating like a caveman, I did lose weight-about 15 pounds in less than two months-but I was so glycogen-deprived that my athletic performance tanked, my energy levels were non-existent and my memory got noticeably worse. I lasted about 2 years like this before I threw in the towel and started adding more carbs to the mix; sweet potatoes and white rice mostly, supplemented by the occasional pizza. Let's face it, unless you want to spend all your time obsessing about food, (which can lead to an eating disorder known as orthorexia), it isn't possible to eat clean 24/7. My current approach is more streamlined-steer clear of processed and junk foods, eat real food and try to avoid too much sugar. This is, in itself, enough of a challenge. As I write this, I'm looking at a piece of pecan pie about a foot away from my keyboard. Someone brought it in for Christmas and it looks damn good. The holidays. What can you do?

At this point I'm wondering whether such a lengthy period of carb-restriction  permanently screwed up my metabolism in some way. There's anecdotal evidence of this on the interwebs, but I haven't seen anything conclusive. All I know is that my weight shot up pretty quickly when I started eating more carbs, despite the fact that my calorie intake remained more or less the same and my exercise levels actually increased. As for the reduction in speed, I can't tell whether that's due to the diet or just the fact that I'm getting older. Maybe as my weekly mileage and long-runs increase, I'll find the answer.

Running Through The Fog

Running has always been therapeutic for me. The simple act of lacing up my shoes and heading out the door to put one foot in front of the other for a certain time or distance has literally saved my sanity and pulled me through some very dark times.  If you run regularly, you know what I mean. At its essence a good run (even a bad one) is moving meditation.  Solutions to problems long considered, often come in a flash of insight. I find that I can work out seemingly intransigent problems with a clarity of thought that is impossible to attain while sitting at a desk and staring into a computer screen.  I also find my thought processes slow down, as though I were engaged in seated Zen meditation.  This in turn, allows me to lower my anxiety levels and gain perspective on things. I have run through grief, and sadness, good times and bad, year in and year out, for over two decades. It is the thread that runs through my life and ties everything together.  I’m not a fast runner, I don’t take much pleasure in competition (well, a little pleasure), but I’d have a hard time going more than a couple of days without it.

Maybe something about the sheer physicality of the act of running helps clear the mind of all of that internal and external chatter. The “monkey-mind” as they call it in Buddhism. I don’t know how it works, but work it does. 

I’ve posted about the therapeutic benefits of running before on my other running blog. I usually don’t think too much about it; it just seems like a given. Still, the tragedy in Connecticut on Friday has resulted in some pretty somber runs through grey late-fall skies here on Long Island. Almost six years ago I experienced the unexpected death of my spouse, so I have some idea of what it’s like to be blindsided by fate.  I learned then, as those parents are learning in a heartwrenchingly  real way now, that despite our best efforts, we can never protect our loved ones from the unknown or the unexpected. Life is too random and the future is wholly unpredictable.  I think that the best we can do in the face of such uncertainty is live like every minute is the last minute.  Don’t sweat the small stuff.  You never know what is going to happen tomorrow and you can’t do anything about it anyway,  but we sure as heck know what’s happening right now. Being present in each moment and really listening to each other is so important. Everything else is just running through the fog.  

The Daily Grind

Since I'm "lucky" enough to work in a sleek modern office building located in the swamps of New Jersey, (with easy access to several major highways), most of my mid-week running is done on the treadmill. I tried running around the parking lot of Giants Stadium a few times, but the wind is viscous, and crossing Route 3 on foot isn't for the faint of heart, so I mostly plod away in the building's gym while watching some obscure BBC show on my smartphone. I get the miles in, which is about about all I can say about that. It isn't training so much as it is maintaining. I do the real work on Thursday mornings, which is the day I typically work from home, or on the week-end.

When I trained for the 09 Philly Marathon, I would get up at 5am on Saturday to get my long run in by 8 or 9. There's nothing like finishing a 20 mile training run followed immediately by another 10 hours on your feet chasing three boys around the house. I don't know how a guy like Dean Karnazes finds the time and energy to do what he does. Apparently he's drafted his family into serving as his support crew and has somehow sold them on the idea that following him around in an RV while he runs 200 miles across Southern California is quality together-time. That wouldn't fly around my house, but I have to admire his powers of persuasion. It probably doesn't hurt that he makes his living from running, while you, me and the rest of the mid-packers have to spend it on shoes, entrance fees and travel to far-off races. This time around I'm really going to try to keep the long runs scheduled for Thursdays; at least I can sit down in front of the computer when I'm done, rather than sprinting around playing tag.

So far this week, I  ran 5 outside on Sunday and 5 yesterday on the dreadmill. Today will be 4 or 5. Tomorrow will also. Why did I start this blog, anyway? I think it had something to do with staying motivated. Maybe tomorrow I'll talk about diet.

New Challenges

I have no excuses. One post, then I disappear for months. It's really unbecoming of a running writer. Still, things have been busy and I have been feeling exceptionally lazy. I herein apologize for my slacking and resolve to do better. Resolve? Yes, it IS that time of the year, isn't it? Next year, quite early next year actually, I will turn 45. I have RESOLVED to do some kind of running event to celebrate another year past; another year of survival, another year closer to the grave.

What I have been entertaining, is the idea of running something somewhat longer than an ordinary marathon. (Been there, done that). I have been considering an ultra. The particular ultra I've been mulling over is fairly "short", as these things go. It's a 50k race, which converts to something like 31 miles. Intellectually, I know that this goal is attainable, despite the fact that I've been mostly plodding along lately at reduced speed and tepid mileage. And yet. Venturing beyond the mystical point of 26.2 is a path fraught with (mostly self-imposed) peril. I remember crossing the finish-line at the 2009 Philadelphia marathon, certain that I couldn't take another step. In fact, I groaned into Erin's ear, "babe, if I ever start talking about running another marathon, remind me of how shitty I feel right now." When I mentioned that I was contemplating taking on this challenge, she promptly reminded me. Being the egotistical SOB that I am, I went out the next day in the rain and ripped off 8 miles. Frailty of the human body, my ass!

Challenges are presented thusly: It's fair to say that I've packed a few pounds around the middle since last year. All that traveling for work and restaurant food will offset even the most aggressive running schedule. I'm topping out at 187, which is about 10 pounds over my 2009 Philly marathon weight. Either the lard goes, or my knees do, its one or the other. Also, time. I have no time. I have three active children and a long commute. I travel about 35 thousand miles a year. Who needs sleep, am I right? I figure as long as I can fit in one long run a week I will be able to make it. Time will tell.

One small glimmer of encouragement was provided by my showing in the Oyster Bay Turkey Trot 5k a few weeks back. Despite my relative lack of training, I placed first in my age group (out of 21 men, 40-44) with a time of 24:17.3 and 94th overall (out of 491 runners). I apparently won a medal, but I didn't stick around to collect it. I realize that there is a big difference between 5k and 50k, but I'll take any encouragement I can get. The picture above is a self-portrait taken at the starting line. It was cold. I was crabby and I just ran two miles to get to the starting line, because THAT's the way I roll.

Anyway, the race is in March, which means I have to up my long runs at a pretty steep pace. Last week, 8, this week, 10. So it goes.