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Archive for January, 2012

Jan 30

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Running Book Review

RunningThis novel, translated from French, is about the Czechoslovakian legendary Emil Zápotek, aka Czech Locomotive, who won three gold medals in the Helsinki Olympic Games. It’s a short novel (122 pages) and easy to read. Though the original author, Jean Echenoz, is supposed to be one of France’s greatest contemporary novelists, I cannot help but think Zápotek must have led more exciting life and the book does not capture it in entirety. It may be that the excitement was lost in the translation but I am not reading the book in French to find it out.

The book does touch on different aspects of Zápotek‘s life. His humble upbringing, modest but fun-loving personality, vigorous training method he invented for himself, stubbornness about other training methods, his wife who is also an Olympic champion, life after the competition under Soviet oppression, etc. Unfortunately, none of these aspects of his life is not depicted in details that I was hoping to learn, because Zápotek is such a legend, a hero, and an inspiration to many runners and athletes. I was looking forward to a story of verbal exchange with Jim Peters during the marathon, where Zápotek asked Peters how things were going. After Peters replied the pace was too slow, Zápotek simply took off and won the race in record time. Also, I would have liked to know more about a story where Zápotek gave one of his gold medals to Ron Clarke, an Australian distance runner.

I guess I need to try finding those stories somewhere else.

Jan 24

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Born to Run Book Review

Born to RunI read Born to Run about two years ago and it had an economic impact on me: Since I finished the book, I have bought three pairs of Vibram Five Fingers – the funky-looking footwear with toes, which one of the characters in this book wears. I did run in them and liked how I felt; however, the novelty worn out as they became popular and more attractive minimalist shoes came on the market. Anyway, this is a book review, not a Vibram review, so I will try not to digress too much if I can help.

The author, Christopher McDougall, touches on a few interesting topics in this book and seems to have done a range of interesting research, from anthropology, physiology, human revolution, ultramarathon races, and shoe business. However, the meat of this book, at least to me, is Chapter 25 when he describes about barefoot running and its benefits. Whether his and barefoot proponents’ theory about barefoot running is true or not in this modern world paved with asphalt and concrete covered with pieces of glass and rocks, among other hazardous materials to your feet, it caught my curiosity and hit my weakness about running shoes. So I bought two pairs of Vibram Five Fingers. While I ran in them, or wore them in the gym, I did not develop any injuries. When they came out with a new model ‘specifically designed for running’, I bought the new model. I took them to city streets and track. They felt great and my performance improved, though I cannot give too much credit to the shoes alone, because my training has become tougher and I did wear other shoes as well.

The author’s arguments make sense to me. We all, at least us runners, heard one argument: Cavemen did not have shoes and they did fine without them. While such argument is not very convincing, the author sites a few convincing research results and interviews with podiatrists and specialists. The trend where the foot and knee injuries among Americans have increased since shoe manufacturers started to sell cushy shoes in the 70s seem not just a coincident. No modern medical technologies or alternative exercises have reversed this trend. The human feet are designed to absorb impact. If you protect them too much, it loses such functionality and starts causing problems, not only to feet themselves but also to other parts of the body.

Whether barefoot/minimalist running is just a fad or here to stay, this book is a very entertaining read, and it goes pretty fast. I would think non-runners will also enjoy the book for its colorful characters, anthropological aspects, and a setting where this non-fiction takes place. I recommend this book.

Jan 18

NYC Marathon 2012 Application Accepted

NYC Marathon badgeThe application for NYC Marathon opened on Jan 2 for the race on Nov 4. Since I had cleared their qualifying standard for the 2012 race, I was surprised to see my registration status as ‘non-guaranteed entry drawing’. I quickly sent an email to the organizer and asked if it was some sort of an error – They replied that it would take about three weeks to verify the submitted qualifying time. So I waited. 16 days and $255 later, my status was changed to ‘Accepted’. OK, now it’s official.

If I want to run it again after this year, I’d have to run faster. Because of the increasing number of guaranteed entries in recent years, the organizer has changed the qualifying standards. I will have to either run 1:25 Half or 2:58 Full. I will decide after the race if I want to run this again and pay as much (or probably more).

Jan 18

Benefits of Trail Running As Marathon Training

Tennessee Valley Trail Last couple of weekends, I headed out to Marin Headlands to run some trails. So far, pretty much all of my marathon training is done on paved city streets, whether it is a flat course or hilly course. Every now and then, when I run 15+ miles, I make it out to Lands End. While it is a beautiful trail, asphalt awaits after a short run (about a mile and half). So, when my new running friend, Evan asked me to try some trails in Marin Headlands, I was totally up for it. The first weekend, we started in Tennessee Valley and ran 8-mile loop of steep ups and downs. The second weekend, we started at Fort Cronkhite and did a 12-mile loop of yet another steep ups and downs. Both days, the weather was perfect for running, and the panoramic views of Marin and the City were constant and awesome. This by far beats running on any city streets, which could get boring pretty quickly.

Ultra runners, like Kilian Jornet, live in the mountains and run the trails all the time. Also, elite marathoners train in high elevation of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, California, etc. and run trail often. So it must be good for marathon training.

Marin Headlands trailFor one and what’s obvious is the soft surface of trails. Hundreds of miles I run on asphalt and concrete streets are definitely causing some damages to my (aging!) body parts. Yet, ignorance, inconvenience and ego keep me running on the hard surface.

Secondly, the hills in Marin Headlands are not forgiving and at times seem endless. The first time, the total elevation gain was about 1,800 feet. The second time, it was over 2,600 feet. This definitely strengthens my glutes, calves and quads. I run hills in the city, too. But the hills in Marin Headslands are much more challenging.

Third, one does not have to worry about cars! Neither does one need to deal with traffic lights, bikers, and pedestrians. On the trail, you just keep running and you stop when you need to. There are other hikers, runners, or bikers, but they are hardly an obstacle and they all say ‘Hello!’.

Finally, it is a great change from everyday running on the city streets. Trail running provides different therapy from street running. The clean air, breath-taking scenery, serenity, and tranquility cleanse your mind and recharge for daily grinds of city street running.

So, there are plenty of benefits of trail running for marathon training, at least for me. I would definitely go out there and explore more trails. Burger and beer tastes much better after a trail run, too!

Jan 12

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Run Less Run Faster Book Review

Run Less Run FasterWho wouldn’t at least attempt to read this book if s/he is interested in running a marathon? As soon as I heard about this book, I got it from the local library and started to read. Run Less Run Faster: How can I resist such a tempting notion? This book goes against the traditional marathon training programs, where mileage is the king. Whether it is Jeff Galloway’s RUN-WALK-RUN or elite marathoners’ 140-mile weeks, I thought I had to run a lot of miles in order to successfully complete a marathon at a target time for a given race. But this program from Furman University only requires three days of running and two days of cross-training per week. And the three-day running barely totals to 30 miles max per week. This FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) 3Plus2 program was developed and tested with real runners of all ages, and it appears to have worked for a lot of runners. The book is full of praising letters from happy runners who actually followed the program and made vast improvements in their performance.

I cannot condense this book in one paragraph, but this program could be summarized as: 3 high-quality runs, each of which is followed by either a cross-training or a rest, improve runners’ VO2 Max, Lactate Threshold level, and Running Economy, all of which contribute to increase in running performance. If you want to know more about the program before you buy the book, this web site is a good resource.

So is this program for me? I am not convinced, because I have developed my own training over the years, and my training has similarity to this book, especially around track and tempo workout. Also, I have not hit the plateau of stagnating performance yet. When that day comes, I can happily come back to this program and give it a try. For others, I believe this book is worth reading whether you have your own training or not. Also, this book has suggested training program for 5K, 10K and Half Marathon, and a suggested training program geared specifically towards Boston Marathon. I guess that goes without saying.

Jan 1

New Year’s Day Run 2012

Frontrunners New Year's Day Run 2012 Absolutely gorgeous day in San Francisco on New Year’s Day 2012. A bunch of Frontrunners got together and ran across the Golden Gate Bridge and back for a four-mile run this morning. Though it was a quite windy on the bridge, the view was spectacular and there were a lot of people out there. On this New Year’s Day, I broke in my new Wave Universe 4. They fit great, hugging my feet perfectly with the least amount of supporting materials. I did not notice any differences between WU3 and WU4 today. I will run in them a bit more and write a detailed review sometime soon. After the run, we all went to Bob and Chris’ house for waffle brunch, which is a tradition. Great weather, great brunch, and great people!

New Year's Day Run 2012For 2012, I already have a quite long list of races I want to run in. The main ones are Boston, Stockholm and New York for marathons. For track, there are Western States Master’s and Pride Meet. I ran both track and road races last year and the training for both worked out very well and complimented each other. 1,160 miles of 2011 running definitely gave me a good base to build on for better times this year, and I want to run sub three-hour marathon in 2012. In order to achieve that goal, I need to increase the mileage by doing double at least a couple of days per week. It is probably too aggressive to try in Boston, because I have only four months to train. But if I can get closer to 3:05 in Boston and maybe run a fall marathon in 3:00 after another spring/summer of speed training, that would be ideal. I feel I know how to train to achieve the goal, but I also know it is not going to be easy. The prospect of running sub 3:00 marathon, however, is definitely exciting and I am sufficiently motivated to achieve the goal. I just need to avoid getting injured or sick, so that I don’t lose my fitness level. Happy New Year!

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