Pool-running etiquette

Believe it or not, there is such a thing.

It doesn't seem like there should be. After all, how hard can it be?  It's not like you're sharing a track and jostling for lane 1.  Thing is, you're actually in close proximity to others for an extended period of time, doing something that's pretty tedious and potentially miserable.  If everyone adheres to certain rules, it's just a bit more pleasant.  Ergo:

• If you're sharing a lane, try not to be more than 2 across, unless it's a very wide lane or your group has the lane to yourselves.
• If you're running with a buddy, you're going to be chit chatting face to face for a while.  Brush your teeth!  Mouthwash! (fortunately, I've never had this issue with any of my pool-running buddies).
• If you have a large group of people, it works better to circle than to go back and forth -- the latter ends up turning into a slow motion aqua version of the "red rover" game.
• Know your audience, seriously.  Don't discuss your sex life with total strangers.
• If you get there early, don't take your buddy's favorite pool-running belt.  We tend to be pretty possessive about that stuff.
• When your friend is trying to gather the courage to get into the pool, splashing water at her (or him) does NOT help.
• If you are a swimmer, do NOT "buzz" the pool-runners, or swim under them.
• If you are a splashy swimmer, try to give the pool-runners extra clearance.  Believe it or not, many of us were hoping to keep our hair dry.
• Despite all of the above, seriously, don't get too wound up in it.  It's just pool-running.

Any others?

Training log - Week ending 9/25/11

This week was 56 miles of “real running” and 19 “miles” pool running plus 2000m of swimming -- training log is here.

This week was dedicated to developing better mental habits. Focus, mental toughness, cutting the bullshit and the excuses. In the last few months I’ve shifted towards being that what I hate – someone who has an excuse for everything, be it humidity, asthma, allergies, circulation problems, etc. While external conditions and limitations do have to be acknowledged and allowed for, there’s a line that can be crossed over to justification, and I’ve crossed it, with a mental whine train developing every time something is a bit tough or challenging.

I don’t want to be the person with an excuse, I want to be the person who performs. Progress towards that goal started this week.

In other news, I also got my nutritional analysis back and had a 30 minute chat with the nutritionist. And, whadya know – I’m apparently pretty good. I was worried that I wasn’t getting everything I needed nutritionally from my diet, but apparently I actually am one of the few people who does – this is due mostly to the fact that I don’t eat processed foods, and my normal diet is very high in fruits and veggies.

The two adjustments to make are:
a) up the carbohydrate intake a bit (my current diet is a bit high on protein and low on carbs – which probably also explains why my sweat always smells like ammonia -TMI), and
b) improve my post-workout nutrition. The latter is amusing, as I’m pretty big on consuming my post-workout egg and bottle of vitamin water right after the workout, and I sometimes get kidded for this. Well, apparently I need to do MORE than one egg, and a bit more carbs as well. I also apparently need to do this after ALL my workouts (I usually just do after hard ones).

Dailies

Monday: In the morning, 70 minutes of very easy pool-running for “7 miles”. Stretching and foam-rolling at night plus yoga.

Tuesday: In the morning, 11 miles easy (8:15 pace) plus some very brief strength training. At night I got a sports massage. (note – the 11 miles was NOT the best idea 48 hours post-half, which is why I ended up swimming on Wednesday morning, and kept my run to a short Wednesday night jog).

Wednesday: In the morning, 2000m of swimming breathing drills. 7 easy miles (8:16) plus stretching and injury prevention work at night.

Thursday: In the morning, 70 minutes of easy pool-running for “7 miles”, plus weight training. Foam-rolling/stretching at night.

Friday: In the morning, 10 miles on the track, including a 4 mile tempo in 27:03 (6:49 pace) – splits were 7:01/6:50/6:41/6:31. Dewpoint was 71, but I told myself it wasn’t an excuse, and it wasn’t. Followed up with 20 minutes of easy pool-running for “2 miles”.

Saturday: In the morning, 10 miles easy (8:44 pace). Weight training, injury prevention exercises, and foam-rolling at night.

Sunday: Long run of 18.5 miles averaging 7:45 pace. Held 8:00-8:15 pace for most of first 11 miles, then dropped to 7:30 pace for 2.5 miles, 7:20 for a bit under 2 miles, 6:50 pace for ~2.5 miles up the Cap Crescent trail, and 6:20 for final quartermile push uphill. Pretty happy with this – I deliberately turned my watch face to “daytime” and just ran by feel while practicing mental focus techniques – funny how that works. Followed with 30 minutes of easy pool-running for “3 miles”. I’m planning on a restorative yoga class tonight, plus foam rolling.

Training log - Week ending 9/18/11

This week was 41 miles of “real running” and 10 “miles” pool running plus 2000m of swimming -- training log is here.

This was a big cutback week, as I tapered for the Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon. The race was a PR, but still a disappointment, as I fell apart in the last mile (race report).

That makes three races now in a row where I’ve fallen apart before the finish. While the first two could be explained by hot and humid weather, and the third possibly by dehydration – it’s also pretty hard to deny that I’m forming bad mental habits.

Two things that I was once pretty proud of were my abilities to pace conservatively and close strongly. I’ve apparently got some work to do to regain the second. New mantra: “suck it up, buttercup.”

Dailies

Monday: In the morning, upper body strengthwork and 55 minutes of easy pool-running for “5.5 miles”. Stretching and foam-rolling at night.

Tuesday: In the morning, 9.5 miles on the track in great weather, including six 800m repeats, each with half-distance recovery. Splits were 3:03, 2:59, 2:59, 3:00, 2:57, 2:50. Kept it to 6 due to Sunday’s race. Followed with 20 minutes pool-running.

At night I took a “floor barre” class (basically ballet, but done on a mat rather than standing – it’s a core workout plus flexibility) followed by foam rolling.

Wednesday: 10.5 miles easy (8:24 pace), plus drills and strides, followed by injury prevention exercises. Yoga, foam rolling, and stretching at night.

Thursday: In the morning, some core work, 2000m of swimming breathing drills, and 25 minutes of easy pool-running for “2.5 miles”. Pilates at night.

Friday: 8 very easy miles at 8:23 pace, followed by pre-race ice bath.

Saturday: Off

Sunday: 1 mile warm-up jog, and then half-marathon race in 1:31:39 (based on watch – still awaiting official time).

Peers and pacing

So, when you run your first race, you go out too fast.  Everyone does.  It's a universal truth of running races.  In the excitement of the race, you lose a feel for what your body is actually capable of, and your competitive nature combines with a bit of herd instinct.  You fly past others for a brilliant five minutes or so, before your body says no, and you stop, catch your breath, and slog your way to the finish line.

This tendency isn't unique to new runners -- it's just that experienced runners are aware of it, while new runners are unpleasantly surprised.  All runners face the same issue: you never quite know what you are capable of when you stand on the starting line.  We aren't equipped with accurate fuel gauges, and the blend of race excitement and well-meaning-but-misplaced-positive-thinking can result in overestimating what you actually have in the tank.   It's a really bad idea to rely on how good you feel at the start.

[this is why I HATE going into races confident, and HATE it when people feel compelled to tell me I'm sure to PR, etc.  It encourages it me down the path of bad early pacing decisions.  My best races have all happened when I doubted my ability to even finish as I stood at the start.]

If you're smart, you recognize this, and figure out ways to address it.   One of the easiest ways to do this is to pace off of others.  The thought process goes like this:

"Hey... I remember that person -- he destroyed me last time.  I probably shouldn't run my first mile ahead of him again."

Assessing your pace by others is a useful tool.  And as you race more and more, there are more familiar faces to use as early benchmarks, and so you have multiple points of reference to help you keep the brakes on.   


[Of course, using others to judge your pace can backfire in the case of inexperienced males in their 20s, who employ a variant that is best described as do whatever you can do to stay ahead of all females at all points of the race at all costs.  These guys generally indulge in 2-3 spectacular surges, each followed by a rest break, before death marching the remains of the race.]

There is a hitch, though.  Just as you never know exactly how much you have, you don't know how much those around you have either.  Pacing yourself against others can limit you.  Perhaps today is the day that you finally are faster than Suzy.  At some point, you have to shift to trusting how you feel, and not letting the fact that "she's supposed to be ahead of me" limit you from your true potential that day.  At the end of the race, it's best to be among complete strangers, ironically enough.

The trick lies in determining just when you need to shift from relying on others to relying on yourself.  Just exactly when can you trust that you really are having a good day?

I'm still working on that one.  I think we all are.  If you figure out, let me know.

Training log - Week ending 9/11/11

This week was 60 miles of “real running” and 13 “miles” pool running plus 2500m of swimming -- training log is here. Pretty good week despite our spate of rainforest weather (either heavy rain or 100% humidity), with three decent workouts. Next week will be a back-off, as I race the Philly Half on Sunday.

I’ve spent the last couple days logging my food and liquid intake to provide to the nutritionist that I retained to ensure that I’m eating everything I should. Wow. What a royal pain. I tend to eat a LOT, and it’s almost all mini-meals instead of 3 big ones, which makes for a LOT of different entries in the log. I also am not used at all to assessing serving sizes, so basically I’ve been measuring everything with a measuring cup. I’m done with the log after today, thank-deity-of-choice.

Poor woman who has to analyze it.

Dailies

Monday: In the morning, upper body strengthwork, 1500m of swimming breathing drills, and 35 minutes of easy pool-running for “3.5 miles”. Stretching and foam-rolling at night.

Tuesday: In the morning, 11.5 miles on the track in great weather, including five mile repeats, each with half-distance recovery. I kept them solidly aerobic – starting at around 5K pace and working my way down, so I could get in as many as possible, due to my half-marathon/10 miler focus. Splits were 6:28, 6:22, 6:18, 6:18, 6:16. Was actually kinda hoping/dreading to do 6 (had been pacing myself to do that, as the posted workout said up to 5-6), but it became clear that my coach wasn’t letting anyone do more than 5. Followed with 10 minutes pool-running.

At night I took a “floor barre” class (basically ballet, but done on a mat rather than standing – it’s a core workout plus flexibility) followed by foam rolling.

Wednesday: 12.5 miles aerobic (8:06 pace) on a flat route (in the rain – fun!), plus drills and strides, followed by injury prevention exercises. Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Thursday: In the morning, upper body strengthwork, 1000m of swimming breathing drills, and 45 minutes of easy pool-running for “4.5 miles”. Stretching and foam-rolling at night.

Friday: In the morning, 11 miles, including a 4 mile track tempo in 27:27 for 6:55 pace (splits were 7:00/6:48/6:55/6:44). I’m not happy about the uneven splits, but on the whole I’ll take it. Conditions were tough (temp and dewpoint of 71), and I had to dig deep for this one. Followed with 20 minutes of easy pool-running for “2 miles”.
Pilates session plus foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: In the morning, an easy 8.5 miles outside (8:34 pace). Weight training plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday: In the morning, a long progression run of 16.5 miles. Averaged 7:59 pace for the whole thing, split as 8:56 pace for first two miles (very hilly), then 8:08 for next 6 miles (mild net uphill), then 7:41 pace for next 4 miles (mild net downhill), then 6:51 pace for final 2 miles (mild net downhill), followed by cool down jog of 2.5 hilly miles at 8:16 pace.

(I normally make my long runs progression all the way home, but I was concerned about the risk of injury from pushing the pace at the end of a long run through a series of rolling hills, some quite steep).

I’m pretty happy with this run – I finished feeling strong and with some energy remaining in the tank. Followed with 20 minutes of cool-down pool-running for “2 miles.” I’m hitting a restorative yoga class tonight, plus some foam rolling.

Stuff that is NOT useful for pool-running

Due to this being nominally a pool-running blog, I have quite a few posts dedicated to things that are useful for pool-running.  However, there are quite a few things out there that are NOT necessary, IMHO.

• Waterproof earphones  As I've noted previously, a waterproofed iPod is fantastic for pool-running.  It may just be your best friend.  But there's no need to waste $30+ on waterproof headphones for pool-running.  I've tried both waterproof headphones and ultracheap normal headphones.  The sound quality is the same in both (mediocre), and the waterproof headphones have not lasted any longer.  Save your money.
• Water shoes  Every once in a while, I'll speak to someone who will recommend water shoes for pool-running.  They've never been able to explain exactly how the shoes help, other than keeping your feet from being abraded when they make contact with the pool floor.   Since you're in deep water, the time your bare feet spend touching the concrete is limited to pool entry/exit, plus crossing the deck.  No need here.
• Water ankle weights  The theory here is that by using these weights, you increase the resistance against your feet and up the intensity of your workout.  Makes sense in a way.  Except for the fact that pool-running tends to overemphasize the hip flexors and underemphasize the glutes, as opposed to land running.  And weights are just going to amplify that discrepancy, making your pool-running less like land-running.  Skip the weights, and just move your legs faster to increase intensity.
• Water barbells  These are essentially dumbbells made of foam; by holding them in your hands to float, you increase the intensity of your workout, and also work on upper body strength.  Some people are big fans of them, because they increase intensity and make pool-running a full body workout.  The latter point is exactly my issue with these.  I want my pool-running to mimic land running as much as possible -- if I want increased intensity and upper body strength, I'll just swim instead.  Additionally, I think there's a risk that these encourage overuse of the upper body while running.  One of the things I'm always trying to work on is keeping my upper body as relaxed as possible while running; these dumbbells strike me as counterproductive and promoting bad running form.  (I'll note that many people disagree with me here.)
• Wall timer or watch  In all fairness, it's really easier to do interval workouts when you have access to something that shows time to the second.  And I LOVE my Garmin 310xt.  But a timer isn't essential.  If you don't have one, simply structure your interval workout by distance instead -- i.e. 20 laps is a tempo, or an interval is one and a half laps, with the recovery being the remaining half lap.  It really works quite well, as long as you take care not to "cheat" and cover the distance too quickly by doggie-paddling instead of pool-running.
• Noodles  Noodles are big with the aqua aerobics crowd.  I don't really see how a pool-runner would ever need such, though.  Of course, they are quite useful during the swim portion of a triathlon, so don't discount them for that purpose...

Training log - Week ending 9/04/11

This week was 55 miles of “real running” and 15 “miles” pool running plus 1500m of swimming -- training log is here.

Decent workout week, and definitely a bit stronger than the last few. The ragweed is still sending me for a loop, but hopefully that should end in a few weeks. I had very little issues on Sunday, despite a high pollen count, and I’m wondering if it’s due to my trying quercetin (on top of the Allegra I always take). A few more days will tell.

Apart from that, I also decided to start working with a nutritionist. I’ve always found both long runs and short intervals to be much easier than tempos – I have both speed and endurance, but stamina is my failing. I discussed it with my coach, and he suggested it might be either a nutrition or hydration issue. So, got a recommendation for a sports nutritionist, and I’m going to start logging my food and fluid intake this coming week.

Dailies

Monday: In the morning, upper body strengthwork, 1500m of swimming breathing drills, and 20 minutes of easy pool-running for “2 miles”. Stretching and foam-rolling at night.

Tuesday: In the morning, 9.5 miles on the track in fantastic weather, including a track pyramid workout – 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400, each with half-distance recovery. Splits were 92, 3:02, 4:36, 6:03, 4:29, 2:54, and 82. Followed with 20 minutes pool-running. At night I took a “floor barre” class (basically ballet, but done on a mat rather than standing – it’s a core workout plus flexibility) followed by foam rolling.

Wednesday: 8.5 miles very easy (8:54 pace) on a hilly route, plus drills and strides, followed by upper body strength training. Stretching and foam rolling in the evening.

Thursday: In the morning, 12.5 miles outside, including a tempo on a local bike trail of 6 miles in 42:00 (neat) for 7:00 pace. Splits were 7:20, 7:07, 6:52, 6:56, 7:06, 6:39, which look pretty erratic, but actually match the moderate elevation changes in the trail. I was decently happy with this – not stellar, but I ran it well in control, with no struggling and a steady effort, while avoiding the temptation to race it.

[I usually run tempos on the track with my team on Fridays, but since the weather looked to be less humid on Thursday, I opted to solo this one a day early. I’ll also admit that tempos of more than 5 miles are much easier mentally on a trail than a track.]

Yoga plus foam rolling at night.

Friday: In the morning, 1:25 of easy pool-running with a friend for “8.5 miles.” Pilates session plus foam rolling in evening.

Saturday: In the morning, an easy 8.5 miles outside (8:30 pace). Weight training plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday: In the morning, a long progression run of 16 miles. Averaged 8:02 pace for the 16, split as 8:33 pace for the first 7 miles (then water break), then 8:06 for next 3.5, then 7:30 for a mile (a second water break), then 7:18 pace for final 4.5 miles. Pretty happy with this one, given the high humidity. Followed with 25 minutes of cool-down pool-running for “2.5 miles.” In the evening, foam rolling and stretching.

One and only shot - random friday facts

Since I didn't have time to do an interesting or relevant post, I'm doing "Random Friday Facts".  What the heck.

• I am a ridiculously hard blood draw.  No one ever finds a vein on the first time; it usually takes at least three tries, sometimes many more, with multiple people trying.  I'm the phlebotomy equivalent of the jar that WILL NOT OPEN.  More than once, I've been sent away and asked to come back another day for try two.
  Additionally, my veins are tiny, move around a lot, and have pretty low flow due to my circulation issues, meaning that even when they do find a vein, sometimes they can't get much out of  the vein before it collapses.  Last week it took 6 tries (two tries each arm, and then both hands) to finally get enough to run a routine CBC test.  It's a very good thing I'm not at all phobic about needles.
• I'm ambidextrous.
• I have a large comic book collection, mainly split between mainstream X-Men stuff and Vertigo stuff like Transmetropolitan, Preacher, the Invisibles, and Sandman/Lucifer.  I also have a lot of  Transformers toys from the 1980s, all tastefully displayed on Pottery Barn shelving.
• I find nearly all individual sports and competitions fascinating to watch -- I'll spend hours watching gymnastics, track and field, ice skating, triathlon, swimming, diving.  But I find team sports involving a ball or puck incredibly boring.
• I paint my toenails black because they're all black anyway.  I paint my fingernails black because I like the color, and I like matching all the other nonconformists.
• I have always struggled with anything requiring fine motor skills, including typing my shoes, threading needles, drawing, and handwriting.  My handwriting was so horribly bad in middle school that I  underwent tutoring and testing for neurological problems.  When those didn't pan out, I was allowed to take typing class as a 7th grader, and then I carried a word processor with me to take my tests in school (this predates computers, obviously).  I was told repeatedly in high school that I was never going to succeed in life with horrible handwriting, since typing was only an option in certain limited situations.
  Fast forward 20 plus years, and I can safely say that becoming a fast typist at an early age was probably the most useful thing I got out of high school.
• I learned how to drive stick shift on the Florida interstate system.  I used to fly from DC to Florida each week during the winter to compete in horse shows down there (high school Monday-Thursday; show Friday-Sunday).  My trainer would pick me up at the airport in Gainesville on Thursday night and drive me the hour to Ocala, where the horse show was.  One night, trainer decided there wasn't anything more fun to do, so she informed me that I would be driving us to Ocala.  It took me 20 minutes to get out of the airport parking lot.  But a bit over an hour later, I knew how to drive stick.
• My mother fell down the stairs when she was 9 months pregnant with me. I have a rather substantial dent in the top of my head that I’m convinced is the result of this.
• I HATE HATE HATE romantic comedies and chick flicks.