Running status update; increasing distance and intensity

 

Diamondhead, the local volcano I run around

As I see it I'm still a beginner runner, so passing on status is still about communicating how moderately developed training goes, and routine changes in that experience.  But I am up to running 15 to 20 miles per week.  My typical route is around Diamondhead, the iconic local Honolulu volcano, a 5 mile distance, with two significant hill climb sections.

Why communicate this?  Ego, I guess, the usual answer, to brag about progress.  But for people thinking of getting into running, or ramping up light training, it may be helpful.  I'm not training for races, to be clear on context, but eventually I could run one.  I just tried out extending my daily run from 8 km to 12 (5 miles to 7 1/2), so I could run a 10k easily enough, or even a half marathon (21 km), but I would have to add even longer runs to prepare for that longer race version.  For now it's not about that social exposure or the experience of testing my conditioning in a time trial.

all metric; I'm definitely not running 6 minute miles

For the longest time, for years, I kept individual run distance or weekly total very limited, at 2 miles per run, doing that three times per week.  I would add extra intensity, fast 800 meter section at the end, instead of ever adding distance.  After a couple of years I doubled that run length, but after disruption from a mild injury I dropped that, only really extending length again a year or so ago (but it's easy to lose track; maybe it was further back).  

The point here is that running for exercise can take a lot of different forms.  My earlier practice replicated what treadmill experience is like, 20 or so minutes on a set course, with potential to change intensity instead of ever adding distance.

A main challenge is increasing either distance, intensity, or frequency at my age, 54, since recovery time is a concern.  I can gradually increase demands if I'm only running about every other day, 3 to 4 times per week, but I can't foresee how getting up to a 40 or 50 mile weekly distance would ever be possible (standard marathon training, according to some).  Maybe with another year or two of gradual increase, but that pace of slow change can be hard to relate to.  But I have already experienced slow transition, over the past year, building up to 10 km runs over months, when that had been closer to a weekly total.

A hill climb input has been interesting, and challenging, changing things in relation to only running flat local routes back in Bangkok, for the 5 months prior.  I lived in Honolulu in Sept. and Oct. 2022, so this local route I started doing back then, but it was new to me.  Adjusting to that demand, normalizing the experience, and increasing pacing took weeks during this stay.  

the view on the ocean side of Diamondhead, nice and relaxing

I guess I'm recommending patience then, gradual increase in new demands.  Prior to moving back here, in March, I seemed right at the cusp of adding "speed work," a different kind of input, while experimenting with longer distance and more runs per week.  The hill experience has replaced that; I didn't get back to running shorter intervals faster just yet.

I've experienced mild injuries twice in 4 1/2 years of running, nothing too severe, but that's why I've been avoiding quicker changes in demands.  Swimming, hiking, and doing a good bit of walking here have been nice for mixing up activity exposure, which seems to help with running recovery instead of offsetting it.

Subjective experience change across the longer term experience have been interesting; I find I like running more and more, as it becomes more familiar.  Pushing the pace to put in faster than average outing times isn't so unpleasant, but my normal range has been limited, spanning 45 to 47 minutes for that nearly 8 km route.  That works out to 9 1/2 minute miles, or a half hour 5k pace, not so fast.

I was always concerned that if I ran with any sort of time tracking--I run with a phone app minding the pace now, and announcing it by km, not a version of sports watch--that I would see half the outings as failures, as slower than average, but with times in such a narrow range it kind of doesn't matter.  I run a little slower when I go out in early mornings, not being a morning person, but it's cool being out there then, so I don't mind.  Adding a short walking section at the top of the most difficult hill actually speeded up the times; I can run a little closer to failure point knowing that a 20 second recovery walk will follow that.

Where is this going, one might wonder.  Sure it can relate to "getting in shape," but with what final limit, or goal?  It's a bit abstract, but when I was younger I ran cross country and track, and ran 10k road races in the 42 to 44 minute time-frame.  It would be nice to be able to replicate that.  I was really training more for 5k distances then, and if I could run a 19 minute 5k that would match that capability.  I wasn't much of a natural distance runner, or a competitive high school racer; 17 minutes would be an ok time, much faster.  Since flat course, daily runs of 10k were at a one hour pace two months ago, which I ran 3 or 4 times a week, I could surely run at least close to a 45 minute 10k now, if not faster.  I'm just not doing races or any work-out based time trials to find out.

As with other parts of my life right now I don't know where it's headed.  I'll return to Bangkok, and to flat route running, within the next month or so.  How quickly I return to Honolulu depends on job hunting progress; maybe in July, or maybe towards the end of August, when my kids return to school.  I'm working remotely now at my Bangkok job, and it would make sense to experience that employment in local form for awhile.

If I did run a 42 or 44 minute 10k race, or decent half marathon time, I'm not sure if I'd taper off training.  Time demands versus return factor in; I'm staying in great shape for spending 3 or 4 hours a week on the hobby, including limited transit time and showering (walking a half a block to the local park).  I'm not sure that I need to be this fit for the next 20 years, that it would be helpful.

I'm not the right person to pass on first person experience with running training, because I'm just not advanced enough, but watching videos on the subject has been interesting.  I'll share some random ideas I've encountered, most of which don't draw on my own exposure all that much.  A last post about running mentions some of those video sources, but once you watch a few running videos on Youtube the algorithm will keep mentioning them, as with any subject.  I had switched over to 10k distance in February in that writing, 3 months ago, but pace isn't so different then, just a little faster, with two hill sections added to the route.

Running with different types of training shoes:  pretty much everyone further along in experience--passing on advice in videos--just assumes that people are going to own a number of different shoes for different purposes, for running longer distances or faster, shorter training sessions, for racing, with more cushioning for slower "recovery runs," and so on.  I don't recover well while running, but I get what they mean.  

I happen to own two pair, related to really wanting to try out a specific shoe, and liking the idea of alternating to offset impact (shoes really do seem to affect running form and experience just a little).  I don't have any further useful advice to add; watching a lot of review videos fills in the rest, but fair warning, it makes you want to buy any number of extra pairs.

Asics Novablast 3; pretty nice

In the reviews and commentary once in awhile sources will mention what they recommend to people asking about owning just one shoe, and they're kind about not being negative about that, but reading between the lines this marks out one divide in their minds between newbies and more serious runners.  That's fine, really; you do need to become more serious if the goal is to put in good marathon times, not so much related to buying a lot of gear, but some of that would enter in.

Training theory:  I'm not relying on much of that, but again the easily accessible and broadly oriented videos on Youtube help pass on starting points, if not more advanced and comprehensive advice.  An example:  it's best to push on to running one longer outing once a week, or week and a half, since this conditions you better than repeating the same distance over and over, or doing medium lengths plus speed work or hill climbs, or whatever else.  What "long" means would vary by person, but the 10 to 15 mile range is often referenced, and there's no reason there would need to be much of a limit.  Recovering from a 15+ mile run would seem problematic, but it seems people trained to endure routine longer distances can run "slowly" for an extended time.  

Other parts about calculating specific workout paces is fascinating, based on current maximum oxygen use capacity, heart rate, lactic threshold (how fast your body can clear carbon dioxide and lactic acid), and whatever else.  Again, watch the videos.  

The minimum "buy-in" to try out these ideas would be a sports oriented tracking watch, to keep pace clearly identified, and to monitor heart rate, main input.  There are different versions of these, so relative cost would surely vary, depending on functionality.  If I was training for a race time goal I'd be into that, but I'm not, I'm just taking fitness pursuit to an odd place.  Of course use of very functional shoes comes into play, and some recovery devices (eg. foam roller), and bumping clothing functionality comes up.  I would experience a completely different cost to run if I were going out in cooler temperate weather to run; being based in the tropics simplifies all that quite a bit.

Effect on daily life:  surely it's just better, right, more energy, increased fitness, and athletic capability?  Kind of, but I've also been describing consistently trying to increase physical demands week to week, keeping that level stable when I'm normalizing the last increase.  I've been a bit sore for a lot of the past 4 1/2 years, and pushing it more over the last year adds extra fatigue.  It's not as bad as one might expect, because if you increase it all too fast you'd be injured, so natural limits enter in, at least in middle age.  I prioritize getting decent sleep more than ever; that takes extra time.  

I don't do much to add to recovery, not using any special devices (I had a foam roller and lost it), not getting massages (although Bangkok is the ideal place for that), or eating much for supplements or special diet, and definitely not longer run energy gels for fuel intake.  Again racing would change things, training for a specific goal, instead of just to get in shape, to progress capability.

Nutrition:  an extension of the last concerns, which I'm not quite on to needing to address with special inputs, but I'm getting there.  I don't normally eat nearly enough protein to sustain vigorous exercise, the recovery part, so I've taken up addressing that on a day to day basis.  My own solutions are easy:  add protein powder drinks (a limited supplement), eat extra eggs when I notice intake drops, drink a little milk (not much), and from time to time eat a good bit of veggie protein, making up large lentil soup or chili batches or whatever else.  I take a multi-vitamin, and supplement potassium and magnesium a little, really an outcome from experimenting with fasting.  

I'm not trying to add calories, or eat any certain amount of fat, or adjust carb inputs.  I eat a lot of nuts as snack food, which is partly about that being a healthy input, and just about liking them.  Dropping out most junk food isn't related, more an outcome of seeing a high cholesterol score last health check, which may or may not be so bad in relation to proportion of good to bad cholesterol type, but still I'm trying to become healthier.  One might expect that I would become thinner, especially for experimenting with fasting a few times, but not really noticeably so.  Swimming seems to tone me up a little, and that change stands out more.

with family

In closing running interest has transitioned to a much more extensive and interesting pursuit, even for staying limited in scope in some ways.  I'm curious about my heart-rate status related to exertion, but running by effort level seems fine, for what I'm doing.

I'll keep going, bumping distance and speed over the next months, trying out new training directions.  It's going to feel like a setback going back into Bangkok heat, but at least we're leading into the rainy season now, which is hot and rainy instead of really hot.  If enough changes I'll check in here about it.