In the San Francisco Bay Area I'm just another sorta fast guy trying to stay within sight of some real elites. But I was fortunate enough to have a successful high school career in Tennessee where I was also competitive on the national scene. That fact that I got to do a couple of interviews on the internet this past year, is certainly not the result of anything I've accomplished recently (as in the past decade).
Dave Milner - who is a buddy of my high school teammate Jeff Edmonds - edits tnrunning.com, a website reporting on runners who live in Tennessee or originally hail from there. I'm a little embarrassed to see my name up there with Phoebe Write and Andrew Bumbalough, who are both developing into full blown world class runners. That said, I appreciate Dave sending me some questions, and reporting on what this has-been has been up to!
http://www.tnrunning.com/interviews/where_are_they_now/Gifford-Feb11.html
Friday, April 1, 2011
Interview on The Logic of Long Distance
I meant to write this post two months ago... after I knocked off one or two items on my blogging to-do list. But since my recent thoughts have been making their way onto the web 2.0, I realized it's time to post this.
I met Jeff Edmonds when I showed up for the first cross country practice as a 7th grader at Baylor (high school). At the time he was the captain and lead runner of our Jr High squad, and I was the newbie. Over the next four years, we were teammates, friends, and at times rivals. Jeff was the guy I chased in practice as I was getting faster and learning how to be a runner. When I was fast enough to actually train with him our workouts, and even our normal runs could get intense, because neither of us liked to ever back down!
Jeff graduated two years ahead of me, but we both experienced high school success, followed by the ups and downs of college running. After college we found ourselves focusing on our career, and in his case, educational goals (Jeff earned PhD in philosophy two years ago). Right around the time we each turned 30, we started lacing our shoes up more often, and both found ourselves cranking out the miles and racing again. I don't get to see Jeff very often - living on opposite sides of the country - but we've really enjoyed sharing our experiences and refound passion for distance running over the past few years.
Jeff has a very cool blog - The Logic of Long Distance. He combines two of his passions - running and philosophy - into a single forum. Often he'll discribe the triumphs and frustrations of his own running through the thoughts & writings of other philosophers.
Another feature of his blog is to interview runners non-professional runners who are still out there training hard trying to run fast. Jeff acted like I was doing him a favor by answering his questions, but he was the one doing me a favor. I had a lot of fun thinking back over my high school, college, and current careers, and putting my thoughts in worlds. I think in times when I get stuck in a rut with my training or racing, it's good to go back and see what I was doing and what mindset helped me run fast in the past.
I'm not posting the intereview here, because I'd encourage you to check out The Logic of Long Distance if you've never done so before.
http://thelogicoflongdistance.blogspot.com/2011/01/interview-jamey-gifford.html
I met Jeff Edmonds when I showed up for the first cross country practice as a 7th grader at Baylor (high school). At the time he was the captain and lead runner of our Jr High squad, and I was the newbie. Over the next four years, we were teammates, friends, and at times rivals. Jeff was the guy I chased in practice as I was getting faster and learning how to be a runner. When I was fast enough to actually train with him our workouts, and even our normal runs could get intense, because neither of us liked to ever back down!
Jeff graduated two years ahead of me, but we both experienced high school success, followed by the ups and downs of college running. After college we found ourselves focusing on our career, and in his case, educational goals (Jeff earned PhD in philosophy two years ago). Right around the time we each turned 30, we started lacing our shoes up more often, and both found ourselves cranking out the miles and racing again. I don't get to see Jeff very often - living on opposite sides of the country - but we've really enjoyed sharing our experiences and refound passion for distance running over the past few years.
Jeff has a very cool blog - The Logic of Long Distance. He combines two of his passions - running and philosophy - into a single forum. Often he'll discribe the triumphs and frustrations of his own running through the thoughts & writings of other philosophers.
Another feature of his blog is to interview runners non-professional runners who are still out there training hard trying to run fast. Jeff acted like I was doing him a favor by answering his questions, but he was the one doing me a favor. I had a lot of fun thinking back over my high school, college, and current careers, and putting my thoughts in worlds. I think in times when I get stuck in a rut with my training or racing, it's good to go back and see what I was doing and what mindset helped me run fast in the past.
I'm not posting the intereview here, because I'd encourage you to check out The Logic of Long Distance if you've never done so before.
http://thelogicoflongdistance.blogspot.com/2011/01/interview-jamey-gifford.html
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Winter Training and the Redding 10 Miler
Winter time is the perfect season for building a mileage base. After a break from the fall cross country and road racing season, it's time to re-charge and start building that endurance up with long runs, workouts, and overall mileage. However the season comes with challenges like shorter days and bad weather (of course if rarely gets worse than rain and 50 degrees in the Bay Area). In my case, I also have to balance training with my skiing habit as we head up to Kirkwood to hit the slopes most weekends this time of year. I do have access to a treadmill up there, and if it's not dumping snow (which it often is) I can get out on the roads for a run, but that's assuming I'm not completely trashed from a long day of skiing. This winter, instead of trying to force myself to log decent mileage before heading out to ski, or worse after skiing, I decided to shift from being a weekend warrior to a week day warrior!
Without having the weekends to log long runs and workouts, I had to be disciplined about scheduling a primary workout, long run, and secondary workout on the week days. This usually meant Tuesday workout, Wednesday long run, then Friday secondary workout. Once I got in the routine, my training really built on itself and everything fell into place. I ran my first 60 mile week in almost a year in mid January, then proceeded to run at least 60 for six out of seven weeks through the end of February (60, 65, 61, 71, 70, 50, 66). My workouts - which were mostly on the track - included a mix of longer, steady pace type intervals, 5k pace work, and even some speed. My legs didn't feel fresh for a lot of the workouts, but I almost always felt strong. There were a couple workouts where I felt really tired early on, but I could drop shoulders, relax my stride, and still make a quality session out of it.
I decided my focus for the upcoming season would be the 5k distance. That didn't mean I wouldn't race longer distances, but last year lacked a big picture as I tried to cater toward too many individual races and distances. Does running higher mileage to focus on a shorter distance seem contradictory? Not necessarily... My view is running better mileage (which still isn't "high mileage" in the grand scheme of things), will get me through longer workouts at a quality pace, which will ultimately allow me to handle faster paces into the 3rd mile of the 5k.
Before the 5k races cranked up, I headed up to Redding to run the first PA race of the season - the NorCal 10 miler. Normally I'd approach a 10 mile race much like a half marathon - good overall mileage (check), consistent long runs (check), and long tempo runs (somewhat missing in favor of more time on the track). Even if training wasn't focused on this distance, I felt confident that my strength could translate into a solid race. I allowed myself an easier week - even without the race, it's not a terrible idea to get my legs back under me every so often.
The plan for the 10 mile race was to hang back and run comfortably for 4 miles, then try to start moving my way up after that. I also decided that I wasn't going to look at my splits until at least half way through the race. I figured at this point knowing my splits would either psych me out if I was too fast, or psych me out if I was too slow.
As the race got underway there was a lead pack, then a few stragglers (including a couple teammates), then I was in the first chase pack. I fought the urge to jostle or surge by telling myself to relax. The first 3 miles were pretty uneventful. Looking at splits wasn't even an issue because the first mile marker we saw was the 5th. Somewhere around mile 3 I was pulling away from most the guys in my initial pack as I caught up with teammate Jonah, and close to teammate Matt. In the 5th mile as we left the bike trail to loop through a neighborhood, I tried to reel in Mike from the River City Rebels and two guys he was running with less than 5 seconds ahead. A slight attempt at a surge sent me from feeling pretty good, to feeling tired for the first time. Shortly after that, they started to slip away, and Jonah caught back up with me. At the 5 mile mark, I decided not to look at my watch - since I was starting to hurt but had someone to run w/, although did click the split button to look at after the race (27:16 at 5 miles). The 6th mile included the roller coaster hills that we hit on the way out. I stayed with Jonah, though a couple times using the downhills to surge and catch up. The hills ended just before the 7 mile mark, but I was pretty stretched at that point and Jonah started to pull away. In the 8th mile I just tried to keep Jonah from pulling further away. At the 8 mile mark, I finally looked at my watch for the first time - 44:15. I was a little disappointed to be just over 5:30 pace, but knew I needed to push harder to maintain that average pace. It was really hurting now, and I hit 9 miles at 49:52 - 5:37 for that mile. As the bridge we would cross to the finish got closer, Jonah had slipped too far away to have a shot. Then just before the bridge, I heard the one thing I didn't want to hear - footsteps. I was hurting, and had faith in my ability to kick, but didn't want it to come to that. I surged up the very slight slope onto the bridge. I was fully expecting to die toward the end of the bridge, but at that point there would be less than 200 meters to go, including an 180 degree turn, followed by a 90 degree turn. My pursuer had friends cheering for him, but I used it as motivation. Sure enough I was out of gas coming off the bridge, but got ready for one last kick just in case. I never needed it, as my move over the bridge opened the gap back up. I crossed the line in 55:16 for 13th place. My last mile was 5:23 - nothing amazing, but happy I was tough to suck it up when I was really hurting.
Splits were 27:16 for the first 5, then 5:42 (hilly), 5:33, 5:42, 5:37, 5:23.
Heading in I had hoped to run around 54 minutes, which was my split during my half marathon PR. Even falling short of my pre-race goal, it was a solid race on a tough course. I think I had several chances to pack it in during the 2nd half, but kept pressing. Even though I've had a faster 10 mile split, it's a PR for an actual 10 mile race, so have to be happy with that. Plus it's nice to run a race for the 3rd year in a road and clock my fastest time.
Next race will be a track 5K - possibly in 2 weeks, and definitely one in 3 weeks. Back to the track to work on that speed!
Without having the weekends to log long runs and workouts, I had to be disciplined about scheduling a primary workout, long run, and secondary workout on the week days. This usually meant Tuesday workout, Wednesday long run, then Friday secondary workout. Once I got in the routine, my training really built on itself and everything fell into place. I ran my first 60 mile week in almost a year in mid January, then proceeded to run at least 60 for six out of seven weeks through the end of February (60, 65, 61, 71, 70, 50, 66). My workouts - which were mostly on the track - included a mix of longer, steady pace type intervals, 5k pace work, and even some speed. My legs didn't feel fresh for a lot of the workouts, but I almost always felt strong. There were a couple workouts where I felt really tired early on, but I could drop shoulders, relax my stride, and still make a quality session out of it.
I decided my focus for the upcoming season would be the 5k distance. That didn't mean I wouldn't race longer distances, but last year lacked a big picture as I tried to cater toward too many individual races and distances. Does running higher mileage to focus on a shorter distance seem contradictory? Not necessarily... My view is running better mileage (which still isn't "high mileage" in the grand scheme of things), will get me through longer workouts at a quality pace, which will ultimately allow me to handle faster paces into the 3rd mile of the 5k.
Before the 5k races cranked up, I headed up to Redding to run the first PA race of the season - the NorCal 10 miler. Normally I'd approach a 10 mile race much like a half marathon - good overall mileage (check), consistent long runs (check), and long tempo runs (somewhat missing in favor of more time on the track). Even if training wasn't focused on this distance, I felt confident that my strength could translate into a solid race. I allowed myself an easier week - even without the race, it's not a terrible idea to get my legs back under me every so often.
The plan for the 10 mile race was to hang back and run comfortably for 4 miles, then try to start moving my way up after that. I also decided that I wasn't going to look at my splits until at least half way through the race. I figured at this point knowing my splits would either psych me out if I was too fast, or psych me out if I was too slow.
As the race got underway there was a lead pack, then a few stragglers (including a couple teammates), then I was in the first chase pack. I fought the urge to jostle or surge by telling myself to relax. The first 3 miles were pretty uneventful. Looking at splits wasn't even an issue because the first mile marker we saw was the 5th. Somewhere around mile 3 I was pulling away from most the guys in my initial pack as I caught up with teammate Jonah, and close to teammate Matt. In the 5th mile as we left the bike trail to loop through a neighborhood, I tried to reel in Mike from the River City Rebels and two guys he was running with less than 5 seconds ahead. A slight attempt at a surge sent me from feeling pretty good, to feeling tired for the first time. Shortly after that, they started to slip away, and Jonah caught back up with me. At the 5 mile mark, I decided not to look at my watch - since I was starting to hurt but had someone to run w/, although did click the split button to look at after the race (27:16 at 5 miles). The 6th mile included the roller coaster hills that we hit on the way out. I stayed with Jonah, though a couple times using the downhills to surge and catch up. The hills ended just before the 7 mile mark, but I was pretty stretched at that point and Jonah started to pull away. In the 8th mile I just tried to keep Jonah from pulling further away. At the 8 mile mark, I finally looked at my watch for the first time - 44:15. I was a little disappointed to be just over 5:30 pace, but knew I needed to push harder to maintain that average pace. It was really hurting now, and I hit 9 miles at 49:52 - 5:37 for that mile. As the bridge we would cross to the finish got closer, Jonah had slipped too far away to have a shot. Then just before the bridge, I heard the one thing I didn't want to hear - footsteps. I was hurting, and had faith in my ability to kick, but didn't want it to come to that. I surged up the very slight slope onto the bridge. I was fully expecting to die toward the end of the bridge, but at that point there would be less than 200 meters to go, including an 180 degree turn, followed by a 90 degree turn. My pursuer had friends cheering for him, but I used it as motivation. Sure enough I was out of gas coming off the bridge, but got ready for one last kick just in case. I never needed it, as my move over the bridge opened the gap back up. I crossed the line in 55:16 for 13th place. My last mile was 5:23 - nothing amazing, but happy I was tough to suck it up when I was really hurting.
Splits were 27:16 for the first 5, then 5:42 (hilly), 5:33, 5:42, 5:37, 5:23.
Heading in I had hoped to run around 54 minutes, which was my split during my half marathon PR. Even falling short of my pre-race goal, it was a solid race on a tough course. I think I had several chances to pack it in during the 2nd half, but kept pressing. Even though I've had a faster 10 mile split, it's a PR for an actual 10 mile race, so have to be happy with that. Plus it's nice to run a race for the 3rd year in a road and clock my fastest time.
Next race will be a track 5K - possibly in 2 weeks, and definitely one in 3 weeks. Back to the track to work on that speed!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Training and Racing - Thoughts from 2010
I think I’ve set a new pr for a belated blog post – reviewing last year 44 days into the new year. I think handful of short paragraphs would be more appropriate than a long essay.
In 2010 I ran less, ran fewer miles, raced less, and was overall slower than 2009. While none of that is positive, I did have some good moments, learned some valuable lessons, and finished the year on the right track.
Looking back at most of 2010, my training was hot & cold. At times I was pushing my training too hard, and other times cutting corners when what I really needed was consistency.
My first mistake was trying to jump right into a serious racing schedule after a long & busy season over the 2nd half of 2009. I only took one week off, and was right back into race specific workouts to run the New Year Eve race in Chattanooga. After that, I tried (unsuccessfully) to PR at the Kaiser Half Marathon in February, then the plan was to be ready for a 12k and 10miler in march, then in 5k shape for the April races, and then of course be a mountain running machine for the Dipsea Race in June.
It’s great to have big goals, but I really lacked a big picture. After a disappointing race at Kaiser, I let my training slack off a bit through February. Then after regrouping toward the end of March, a sprained ankle knocked me out for a month. A crash course training schedule got me ready for the Dipsea on 5 weeks of training. After that, an inconsistent summer ended with a calf injury. Finally in September, I focused on getting myself healthy, and slowly building my weekly mileage starting from an easy 30, up to 55 by the end of the fall.
There were a few bright spots. I was very happy with the Across the Bay 12K in March running a PR of 39:42, and finishing 16th in a competitive PA race. Then just 5 days later I ran my best 5K since college in 15:49 at a track meet. The Dipsea was a very solid and exiting race despite very limited preparation. Finally I capped off a limited cross country season with a good race at the PA Championships.
2010 vs 2009 comparisons
2028 total miles run (2272 in 2009)
273 days run (295 in 2009)
Averaged 5.6 miles / day (6.2 in 2009)
Averaged 7.4 miles per day that I ran (7.7 in 2009)
4 PRs (12K, 5K, mile, Dipsea) vs. PRs in just about every distance except the 5k for 2009
Best finish in a PA race – 16th: twice – Redding 10 miler, and Across the Bay 12K vs 3 different 6th place finishes in 2009)
Times I lost to a girl: once in 2010 (to Kate O’Neil at the Marin 10K) vs once in 2009 (to Kate O’Neil at the Kaiser Half Marathon)
Looking ahead: While I plan to race at a range of distances in the first half of 2011, my training is geared toward a single focus – improving my 5K performances. I’m well on my way to toward building a good mileage base, and this time around emphasizing track workouts over tempo runs (although still getting a couple tempos in each month). I’m also spending more time working on my speed. If I can improve this part of my running repertoire, I think it will pay dividends across the board.
In 2010 I ran less, ran fewer miles, raced less, and was overall slower than 2009. While none of that is positive, I did have some good moments, learned some valuable lessons, and finished the year on the right track.
Looking back at most of 2010, my training was hot & cold. At times I was pushing my training too hard, and other times cutting corners when what I really needed was consistency.
My first mistake was trying to jump right into a serious racing schedule after a long & busy season over the 2nd half of 2009. I only took one week off, and was right back into race specific workouts to run the New Year Eve race in Chattanooga. After that, I tried (unsuccessfully) to PR at the Kaiser Half Marathon in February, then the plan was to be ready for a 12k and 10miler in march, then in 5k shape for the April races, and then of course be a mountain running machine for the Dipsea Race in June.
It’s great to have big goals, but I really lacked a big picture. After a disappointing race at Kaiser, I let my training slack off a bit through February. Then after regrouping toward the end of March, a sprained ankle knocked me out for a month. A crash course training schedule got me ready for the Dipsea on 5 weeks of training. After that, an inconsistent summer ended with a calf injury. Finally in September, I focused on getting myself healthy, and slowly building my weekly mileage starting from an easy 30, up to 55 by the end of the fall.
There were a few bright spots. I was very happy with the Across the Bay 12K in March running a PR of 39:42, and finishing 16th in a competitive PA race. Then just 5 days later I ran my best 5K since college in 15:49 at a track meet. The Dipsea was a very solid and exiting race despite very limited preparation. Finally I capped off a limited cross country season with a good race at the PA Championships.
2010 vs 2009 comparisons
2028 total miles run (2272 in 2009)
273 days run (295 in 2009)
Averaged 5.6 miles / day (6.2 in 2009)
Averaged 7.4 miles per day that I ran (7.7 in 2009)
4 PRs (12K, 5K, mile, Dipsea) vs. PRs in just about every distance except the 5k for 2009
Best finish in a PA race – 16th: twice – Redding 10 miler, and Across the Bay 12K vs 3 different 6th place finishes in 2009)
Times I lost to a girl: once in 2010 (to Kate O’Neil at the Marin 10K) vs once in 2009 (to Kate O’Neil at the Kaiser Half Marathon)
Looking ahead: While I plan to race at a range of distances in the first half of 2011, my training is geared toward a single focus – improving my 5K performances. I’m well on my way to toward building a good mileage base, and this time around emphasizing track workouts over tempo runs (although still getting a couple tempos in each month). I’m also spending more time working on my speed. If I can improve this part of my running repertoire, I think it will pay dividends across the board.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
PA Championships
I think a race recap a month and a half after the actual race must be a new PR! Life has been busy lately - which certainly isn't a bad thing - but I wanted to get a few thoughts down before they completely fade from my memory.
The Pacific Association Cross Country Championships is a highly competitive race that caps off our local XC season in late November. The race typically draws a handful of elite runners, and a large number of sub-elites who train in northern California. I first ran the race (poorly) way back in my freshman year of college, and have run the past three years.
My cross country training got off to a slow part thanks to a minor injury at the end of the summer. I spent most the fall just trying to gradually build my mileage back into 50 mpw range, rather than hammering some interval workouts. I jumped into three XC races in October and November to race my way into shape. The results weren't spectacular, but respectable for my fitness level.
The one race where I really wanted to run well and help out my West Valley TC team, was the PA Championships. In the couple weeks leading up to the race, I finally got a couple workouts in where I felt fast again, and I was feeling snappy on my runs.
The morning of the race, I felt nervous for the first time in a while. I was confident, but felt good to be jumping into a race where I thought I'd be ready to run. The weather was cloudy & cool, but steady rains the prior week left the course extremely muddy. Warming up, I realized that the thing I love about the Golden Gate Park course is that everyone else hates it. If you jogged the course you might not realize how challenging it is considering there's no major hills. It's just the type of course that's constantly changing - hard dirt, soft dirt, uneven grass, long gradual hills, short steep hills - so it's really tough to get in a rhythm over the 6 mile race.
When the gun went off, I tried to settle into a good but comfortable pace on the first of 3 loops. The field seemed larger than the last couple years, but I was feeling alright, and saw four of my teammates 5-10 seconds ahead who I know would be good people to key off of. About a mile into the race, I was feeling pretty good, but knew it was too early to charge forward and catch them. At the end of the first loop, I had caught two of my four teammates, and would work with them for the rest of the race. The mud was proving to be a big factor, and I was really glad I wore spikes. You could tell the guys who were wearing flats, because it seemed like they just stopped moving in certain spots.
As the race went on, I did a good job of avoiding mid-race analysis. I just tried to stay with my teammates, and keep rolling whenever I felt the pain creeping in. By the last lap, I was right behind veteran Todd Rose, and quickly improving newcomer Matt Kane. There were three other runners (who I didn't know) from other teams that were battling right with us. With just over a mile to go, Matt threw a surge to move ahead of us, and Todd was just behind them. As they started to pull away from the other three competitors, I knew I was in the number 5 spot for West Valley, so I needed to take every spot I could. At one point with about a mile to go, the pain really hit, but I told myself to just keep pushing and don't think too far ahead. As we charged up the last hill, there was only one runner left between Todd and me, but he was 15 yards ahead.
One advantage of running on this course so much - both in workouts and as part of normal runs, is knowing where you can attack, and particularly how long you can hold that final kick. Cresting the last hill, I kept my eyes on this guy's back & kept saying to myself I'm gonna get him, I'm gonna get him. As I headed down, and made a sharp left turn, I kept winding my kick up and moving faster, slowly cutting into the lead. With about 100 meters to go, we dropped into the meadow which was very muddy. At this point I'm digging for that last gear & closing the last bit of the gap. Just when I think I had him, he speeds up. For a split second I thought I'd run out of time, but then I found that last gear and passed him a couple strides before the line.
My final time was 33:30 (for ~ 6.1 miles) and 51st place. Most people ran around a minute slower than last year due to the conditions, so after only losing 45 seconds over last year was very encouraging. I also finished right with guys who had beaten me by huge margins only a couple weeks ago. It felt great to end a short training season with a satisfying performance.
The Pacific Association Cross Country Championships is a highly competitive race that caps off our local XC season in late November. The race typically draws a handful of elite runners, and a large number of sub-elites who train in northern California. I first ran the race (poorly) way back in my freshman year of college, and have run the past three years.
My cross country training got off to a slow part thanks to a minor injury at the end of the summer. I spent most the fall just trying to gradually build my mileage back into 50 mpw range, rather than hammering some interval workouts. I jumped into three XC races in October and November to race my way into shape. The results weren't spectacular, but respectable for my fitness level.
The one race where I really wanted to run well and help out my West Valley TC team, was the PA Championships. In the couple weeks leading up to the race, I finally got a couple workouts in where I felt fast again, and I was feeling snappy on my runs.
The morning of the race, I felt nervous for the first time in a while. I was confident, but felt good to be jumping into a race where I thought I'd be ready to run. The weather was cloudy & cool, but steady rains the prior week left the course extremely muddy. Warming up, I realized that the thing I love about the Golden Gate Park course is that everyone else hates it. If you jogged the course you might not realize how challenging it is considering there's no major hills. It's just the type of course that's constantly changing - hard dirt, soft dirt, uneven grass, long gradual hills, short steep hills - so it's really tough to get in a rhythm over the 6 mile race.
When the gun went off, I tried to settle into a good but comfortable pace on the first of 3 loops. The field seemed larger than the last couple years, but I was feeling alright, and saw four of my teammates 5-10 seconds ahead who I know would be good people to key off of. About a mile into the race, I was feeling pretty good, but knew it was too early to charge forward and catch them. At the end of the first loop, I had caught two of my four teammates, and would work with them for the rest of the race. The mud was proving to be a big factor, and I was really glad I wore spikes. You could tell the guys who were wearing flats, because it seemed like they just stopped moving in certain spots.
As the race went on, I did a good job of avoiding mid-race analysis. I just tried to stay with my teammates, and keep rolling whenever I felt the pain creeping in. By the last lap, I was right behind veteran Todd Rose, and quickly improving newcomer Matt Kane. There were three other runners (who I didn't know) from other teams that were battling right with us. With just over a mile to go, Matt threw a surge to move ahead of us, and Todd was just behind them. As they started to pull away from the other three competitors, I knew I was in the number 5 spot for West Valley, so I needed to take every spot I could. At one point with about a mile to go, the pain really hit, but I told myself to just keep pushing and don't think too far ahead. As we charged up the last hill, there was only one runner left between Todd and me, but he was 15 yards ahead.
One advantage of running on this course so much - both in workouts and as part of normal runs, is knowing where you can attack, and particularly how long you can hold that final kick. Cresting the last hill, I kept my eyes on this guy's back & kept saying to myself I'm gonna get him, I'm gonna get him. As I headed down, and made a sharp left turn, I kept winding my kick up and moving faster, slowly cutting into the lead. With about 100 meters to go, we dropped into the meadow which was very muddy. At this point I'm digging for that last gear & closing the last bit of the gap. Just when I think I had him, he speeds up. For a split second I thought I'd run out of time, but then I found that last gear and passed him a couple strides before the line.
My final time was 33:30 (for ~ 6.1 miles) and 51st place. Most people ran around a minute slower than last year due to the conditions, so after only losing 45 seconds over last year was very encouraging. I also finished right with guys who had beaten me by huge margins only a couple weeks ago. It felt great to end a short training season with a satisfying performance.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Consistency
To say that consistency was my primary running goal the past couple months would sound like I've been reading Runners World just a bit too much. Don't get me wrong, RW is a great magazine, but it's just not exactly the guide book for competitive runners (Running Times is a better read along those lines). Since last spring, my running has been anything but consistent. From the end of March through August, there was a sprained ankle, recovery, a furious 4 weeks of training for the Dipsea, a week of down-time, a 1200 dash off no speedwork, unsuccessful mileage build-up, alternating weeks of 60 miles then being too run down to train well for a week or two, then finally a strained calf muscle. Whew - I'm out of breath. The lesson was that I kept wanting to jump straight into heavy training, but by skipping little steps I was falling more and more out of shape.
This blog has been quiet lately because there really hasn't been much to talk about. At the end of the summer, when I was frustrated & on the DL, I chatted with Jack - our West Valley coach - while he timed a workout for the rest of the team. Todd Rose, who was also nursing an injury, showed up with three Lagunitas IPA's (a very good Bay Area brewed beer if you've never tried it), and we had a nice training discussion. It because obvious to me that I had to be patient, not focus on speed, but methodically build my mileage back up, and yes... be consistent!
I was back jogging in early September, threw in a weekly workout in October, then was running a few XC races, and running up to 55 miles a week by early November. Nothing exciting, but I'm feeling like a runner again. My races results have been ok for someone racing their way back into shape, but not where I want to be (and certainly behind a year ago). My last race of the fall will be Sunday at the highly competitive PA Cross Country Championships. Sure I wish I was heading in off of a longer base buildup, more tempo runs, more speed, and faster race results, but it's coming around just at the right time, and I'm ready to give a good shot!
After the race - and a little bit of down time - I'm really excited about training hard, training smart, and being ready for some fast results in the Spring. I can’t wait to replace focus on consistency with a focus on intensity.
Here's a pic from my most recent race in Sacramento. Racing your way into shape is a little more painful!
This blog has been quiet lately because there really hasn't been much to talk about. At the end of the summer, when I was frustrated & on the DL, I chatted with Jack - our West Valley coach - while he timed a workout for the rest of the team. Todd Rose, who was also nursing an injury, showed up with three Lagunitas IPA's (a very good Bay Area brewed beer if you've never tried it), and we had a nice training discussion. It because obvious to me that I had to be patient, not focus on speed, but methodically build my mileage back up, and yes... be consistent!
I was back jogging in early September, threw in a weekly workout in October, then was running a few XC races, and running up to 55 miles a week by early November. Nothing exciting, but I'm feeling like a runner again. My races results have been ok for someone racing their way back into shape, but not where I want to be (and certainly behind a year ago). My last race of the fall will be Sunday at the highly competitive PA Cross Country Championships. Sure I wish I was heading in off of a longer base buildup, more tempo runs, more speed, and faster race results, but it's coming around just at the right time, and I'm ready to give a good shot!
After the race - and a little bit of down time - I'm really excited about training hard, training smart, and being ready for some fast results in the Spring. I can’t wait to replace focus on consistency with a focus on intensity.
Here's a pic from my most recent race in Sacramento. Racing your way into shape is a little more painful!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Dana's Marathon
Over the summer & into the fall there was a Gifford training hard for a big race, and no it was not me. Dana – my lovely wife in case you don’t know her – just completed her first full marathon at the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. This had been a big goal for Dana for a few years. Two years ago she was fit and ready to go, but an injury set her back less than three weeks from the Chicago Marathon. As she built up her fitness for this year’s Nike Marathon, there were a few aches and pains, but she was patient yet tenacious to get herself to the starting line fit and healthy.
Dana has supported and encouraged me while I’ve trained and raced the past three years, so I really enjoyed riding my bike around the city, cheering her on, and handing off GU & gatorade. She was smooth and comfortable early on, then really determined over the last few miles as a light rain started falling.
Dana wrote this recap of the race that I wanted to share. I’m proud of you Dana!
Nike Women’s Marathon Recap
I always knew that I wanted to run a marathon at some point in my life and today I am proud to say that I accomplished that longtime goal. It’s important to have goals and aspirations in life; it keeps us motivated, it lets us really live and experience life, and makes us more interesting individuals.
I really enjoyed my marathon training. It was fun exploring new running routes in SF and feeling the joy of pushing my body just a bit further each week. Jamey gave me tips along the way and boosted my confidence when pain crept into my body and doubt crept into my mind. Injury had prevented me from running previous marathons, but this time I had made it to the starting line in good health.
Here’s a breakdown of the day.
5:15 AM – Wake up, make some coffee, and try to eat an English muffin with peanut butter.
6:15 AM – Nervous gitters and I still haven’t used the bathroom (sorry to be graphic) but this is a red flag which means I will most likely have to stop somewhere on the course.
6:30 AM – Jamey drops me off at the start of the race. I gather with 20,000 runners (mostly women) at Union Square. As I stand in my corral, my heart is racing and I get teary eyed just thinking about all the strong women I’m surrounded by and that this is the moment where I begin to test myself and pursue my goal.
7:00 AM – Gun goes off and we start running. It is before sunrise so we’re running in the dark to the city lights of San Francisco. I like this moment and the next 4 miles will probably be the easiest of the course. We run to the Embarcadero and then through Fishermen’s Wharf. As we run by the SF Sourdough Company, the smell of fresh baked bread at 7:15 AM is overwhelming.
Mile 3 – I can’t settle into pace…heart is still racing with excitement as I try to figure out a conservative pace and realize that I’m probably running too hard at an 8:40 pace. Everyone has told me to go out slowly but I struggle to calm myself down and find my rhythm. I think of Jamey and how he always tells himself to “relax” when he’s in a race and feels anxious.
Mile 4 – I make the decision to take a pit stop now to avoid potential stomach disaster later. I lose 1 full minute! – it’s not easy to use a porta potty quickly! Then I climb the first hill of the race. I know this hill well due to all the sprints I’ve done up it in my boot camp class. I get to the top with ease.
Mile 5 – I see Jamey cheering me on for the first time. He was on his bike and biked around the course all day meeting me and cheering me on at various points. The sun has started to rise and I run towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Chrissy fields is my favorite place to run in San Francisco and is a regular part of my morning runs.
Mile 5-7 – The first big long climb up to GG Bridge and around the headland. I feel good, strong, and am settling into my pace. I see Jamey for the second time.
Mile 8 – Mostly steep downhill and I make up some time. My left hamstring and glut (which has been aggravating me) starts hurting. I remind myself that I’m doing it and pursuing my goal and that I’ve made it through the biggest climb of the course. Then I smile.
Mile 9 – Another steep climb but I know there’s another steep decline at the top. I look for the Ocean on the horizon and keep chugging through. Once I’ve finished this climb, I will have completed the 4 biggest climbs of the race.
Mile 10 – Turning into Golden Gate Park. I don’t like this section because it is 3 miles of gradual climbing. Mentally it’s hard to get through because you feel slower but visually it doesn’t look like you’re climbing. The good news is that there’s lots of race support and spectators on the course for the next 3 miles. Along the way I see the Nike Campaign signs that read “I Run to be…(fill in the blank)”. It motivated me to see all the different ways that sentence was completed. As a race participant, we had to complete that sentence in our race application.
Mile 13 - I see Jamey again and he gives me a Gatorade to drink. At this point the ½ marathoners had already split from us and we become a much smaller running group of about less than 5000. Most people are just doing the ½ marathon.
Miles 14-16 –We loop back and now run back down through GGP once again heading towards the water. I’m feeling okay and know that two major sections of the race are almost finished. The bad news is that I’m no longer running very close to any other runners. It has really thinned out and it looks like I’m going to be on my own going forward. I see a few runners up ahead about 40 yards.
Mile 16-18 – Great Highway. It starts to drizzle rain. I look at Ocean beach and see big waves crashing into shore. The ocean looks wild and somewhat stormy. I know I have the hardest part ahead of me.
Mile 18 – I see Jamey again and grab more snacks. After this, I see Jamey frequently through out the rest of the race. But my mind gets kind of fuzzy since I’m focusing on the run. I know I’m running low on energy and need to eat. But, I take one bite of a Luna bar and my body wants none of it. I almost spit the bite out but force it down. The smell of food is repulsive even though I know I need it. I force down a few sport beans hoping they’ll carry me through the last 8 miles. Every marathon runner talks about hitting the wall in the last 6 miles of the race. For me, I start to feel The Wall begin to build itself. I’m hoping to finish before fully hitting it head on.
Mile 20 – The rain increases. I don’t mind but my shoes and socks start to get pretty wet and heavy. I’m tired, my legs hurt, but I know this is the part of the race that I’ve been training for. I knew this was going to be hard and that it was coming. They offer Ghirardelli chocolate and I laugh at the idea. Chocolate after the race, yes, chocolate in my final push just didn’t seem right (even though looking back I probably would have benefited from it). Prior to the race, my aunt Gail taught me a mental trick. She said to dedicate the last 6 miles to people you know would never give up on you in life and to just focus on that person. So mile 21 went to my good friend Joelle. Miles 22-23 went to Erin and Wendy. Miles 24-25 went to my mom and dad, and Mile 26 was for Jamey.
Mile 22 – I really start to feel the pain. My legs are burning. The rain is coming down. I’m getting chafed from the rain and I feel a big blister on my right foot. I just keep thinking 2 more miles around this lake and then 2 miles back through Great Hwy to the finish. I see Jamey and he yells “stay strong, only 4 more miles” and I keep repeating that to myself “stay strong, stay strong”.
Mile 25-26 – I crest the final hill but I’m sputtering, completely out of gas. That Wall that had been building was finally complete and I hit it straight on. I was bonking, I was hitting the wall. My legs are screaming at me, I have completely depleted my energy, its pure will power at this point. I see the 4 hour pace group go by and I make an effort to pick it up and join them. The effort lasts about 40 yards and I just can’t get my legs moving any faster. As I watch plan A go by (finish within 4 hours) I just let it go and focus on Plan B (don’t stop running). I feel like I’m at a shuffle and I must look horrible because at this time the spectators really start to cheer for me and motivate me on. I listen to the battle going on between my legs and my brain.
Legs: “Let’s just stop and walk a bit. I promise it will feel REALLY GOOD. Come on, just a few steps, it would be soo easy to walk right now.”
Brain: “Keep putting one foot in front of the other. You’ve come all this way and you’re not going to walk in the last two miles.”
Legs “But look at all those other runners around you, some of them are walking.”
Brain “Walking is contagious, be strong and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I know we’re going to miss your goal of a sub 4 marathon, but just keep moving, don’t stop, and let’s finish this thing.
Legs: “Pretty please let me stop.”
Brain: “Legs, you knew this was coming, this is what we trained for. This is it, so let’s do this. I promise I’ll give you a rest in 2 miles.”
Legs: “Okay, I’m giving you what I got but I’m not happy about this and I’m not going to move very fast.”
Brain: “Let’s just do what we can. We can see the finish now. Let’s finish this.”
Mile 26 – I cross the finish line with my arms in the air. I’ve done it. I smile and receive my Tiffany necklace from the handsome fireman in the tux. Then I make my way through the shoot grabbing snacks, water, my shirt, and I look for Jamey.
Although I would have liked to stay and enjoy the moment, the rain was coming down hard and I was beginning to shake with cold. Jamey and I find each other (it’s so good to see him again) and all I want to do is get home to a hot bath. I receive lots of phone calls and text messages from friends and family congratulating me and cheering me on. It was great.
Everyone always asks “would you do another one?” My answer to that is yes. I really did enjoy the training and the feeling of pushing my body to its limits. Next time, I’d like to run a flatter course that would give me the chance to really find my rhythm and let me settle into a pace. Nike was a beautiful course and it was in my backyard but each mile was completely different and I didn’t have two consistent splits throughout the entire 26.2 miles. My pace ranged from 8 minute miles to 10 minute miles so I really struggled to settle into my strides.
For now, I think I might go back to working on improving my time on the ½ marathon.
Thanks to all for your support and guidance along the way.
Dana
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