Things Seen While Running: Premature Christmas Decorations Again

I saw my first premature Christmas decorations Saturday (11/13).  Last year I saw them on November 9 (post here), 4 days earlier.  I think the difference may be that the neighborhood I saw them in last year was a pay-someone-to-put-up-your-decorations neighborhood.  (I don't live in one of those neighborhoods.)  They probably have to get on the schedule early for those decorators.  

Of course, I've been seeing Christmas stuff in stores for while, since before Halloween.  But Friday night I saw a first, Christmas trees for sale at Borders Books, of all places.  One was purple and one was pink.  Yuck!  I don't get it.  Also on Friday, KLTY was playing a Christmas song every hour, which Zippy loved, and Chloe was listening to her new Christmas CD!  Ugh!  I love Christmas and I love Christmas music, but it's too much, too soon!  

One last thing: Chloe's CD has the worst Christmas song ever, "J-E-S-U-S, Holy Child."  The children sing, "There was a holy Christmas child and Jesus was his name-o, J E S U S" to the tune of BINGO!  Awful, just awful!

Merry early Christmas.

Yasso 800s revisited

I don't know if I'm dumb or just ignorant.  Probably a healthy dose of both. 

I have been running Yasso 800s for 2 years now.  Developed by Runner's World's Bart Yasso, Yasso 800s are a way to run intervals by which you can predict your marathon race time.  You run 10 800s, with a 400 jog break in between, and your average time on the 800s predicts your marathon time.  So if you run them in an average time of 3 minutes 20 seconds, you should be able to run a marathon in 3 hours 20 minutes. 

Bart Yasso, super runner and super nice guy.

 I had it down.  Like I said, I've been running them for more than 2 years.  I have, several times, run Yassos in less than my goal of 3:20.  But the other day, a friend of mine dropped a revelation on me.  You see, I initially based my Yassos on the brief article about them in Runner's World.  It repeatedly refers to running 800s, but never states whether that's 800 yards or meters.  (Actually, now that I look at it again, it says 800 meters right there in bold letters at the top.  Maybe they added that recently for morons like me!)  I'm an American, I don't use metric.  Why would I?  Eight hundred yards is .454545. . . mile, so I have been setting my Garmin for intervals of .46 mile. 

Well, if I had ever run on a track, I would know that when runners talk about 800s, 400s, 1600s, or whatever, they are referring to meters!  As my friend pointed out, I should be running 800 meters per interval, not 800 yards!  Eight hundred meters is .4971 mile, so this morning I reset my Garmin for intervals of .5 mile.  That extra 4/100 of a mile may not sound like much, but it adds 211.2 feet to each interval.

Like I've said, I have, on occasion, run 3:20 or faster Yassos, in anticipation of being in the ballpark for a 3:20 marathon.  I probably ran my Yassos today as fast as I've ever run, but since I ran 800 meters instead of 800 yards, I only averaged 3:31.  I think I'll still run with the 3:20 pace group at White Rock, hoping against hope that I'll find some way to finish in that time.  But more realistically, I would expect to be able to finish in the 3:31 range.  Run and learn. 

Ultramarathons and public policy

Today I was reading Reason, my favorite magazine, and ran across a column referencing JFK's 50 mile hikes.  Several months ago, I wrote about the historical origins of the modern 50 mile race (here).  In short, JFK wanted to promote fitness, so he adopted the military 50 mile hike concept for civilians.  All over the country, people were going on 50 mile hikes.  Ultimately, the movement died when he did, but the race that bears his name, the JFK 50 Mile Race, lives on; the 48th annual race will be run on November 20th.

Back to Reason.  Greg Beato's column, "The Fitness Divide," discussed JFK's emphasis on fitness.  He didn't want the U.S. to be less fit than any enemy who might invade us.  He wanted the government to "make a substantial contribution toward improving the health and vigor of our citizens."  His efforts, unfortunately, have lost out to the growing "national flabbiness."  The military and fire and police departments complain that their recruits are out of shape.  In 2009, "more than a third of America's adults qualified as obese."

Ironically, during this same time period, exercise in America has taken off.  "In 2009, a record 467,000 people completed a marathon in the U.S." and even in the mainstream media, reports of ultramarathons and other endurance events are commonplace.  How is this "fitness divide" possible?  Beato writes that, yes, conveniences like fast food and technological advances contribute to poor diets and sedentary lifestyles, but they also have given us record amounts of free time.  Who had time to train for a marathon if one was plowing the fields, washing clothes in a washtub, or taking hours to prepare every meal?

If fast food chains gave us 1,000-calorie milkshakes, they also freed up time to go jogging.  If VCRs gave us the couch potato, they also gave us aerobics videos.  If technology made it less necessary to expend energy in pursuit of daily subsistence, it also gave us Nike air soles, polypropylene running shorts, heart-rate monitors, and organic granola.

The policy question in all of this lies in the level of government intrusion in our personal lives.  I'm hearing more and more about taxes on sugar and other "unhealthy" foods, restrictions on advertising and marketing food to children, and other supposed anti-obesity measures.  The attitude seems to be, "We're soft because technology, processed food, and our consumerist way of life have made us soft, and only Congress can liberate us from obesity."  Of course I want people to be healthier and more active, but let's draw the line when it comes to legislating personal behavior.

Here's an ad from the President's Council on Physical Fitness:

Beato's column is in the December 2010 issue of Reason.  It's not posted online yet, but in a few weeks you should be able to read it at reason.com.

UltraMarathon Man: 50 Marathons - 50 States - 50 Days

Some people are just made different.  Dean Karnazes makes that point in this video: it's all about choosing your parents well.  Karnazes's ultrarunning feats astound anyone who's heard of him, and many have.  He's been featured on countless news shows, talk shows, published a couple of books, and run in races all around the world.  It's easy to look at him as a hero.

UltraMarathon Man chronicles one of his many bold feats: he ran, as the title suggests, a marathon in all 50 states over the course of 50 days, culminating in the New York Marathon.  Some of the marathons were organized races.  Most were put together by his crew, in which case they followed the course of the host city's established marathon.  Through the grapevine and his blog, Karnazes gathered a group to run with him at each site, sometimes hundreds of people, in one case only one.

One thing that struck me while watching this was how much fun it must be to run with Karnazes.  I have heard criticism of him as a self-centered self-promoter, but none of that came across in this video.  He shows lots of interest in the people he runs with, and shows genuine humility when people express their admiration.  He promotes not himself, but activity, exercise, getting people off the couch, fighting childhood obesity and general inactivity.  Who can argue with that? 

This feat, running 50 marathons in 50 days, has been replicated, probably by a number of people.  Karnazes does it right, though, with great support and planning, getting to every state in 50 days.  It's hard not be inspired by him. For someone who runs the occasional marathon, you have to ask, can I do more?  For someone who's never run one, you have to ask, why not try it?  Before I get too excited, though, Karnazes reminds me that his body chemistry and genetic make up have enabled him to have an extraordinary level of endurance.  Can I get there through nutrition and training?  That's the big question.  But after watching this movie, you'll be inspired at least to think about it!

My 50 milers

After my DNF at Palo Duro, I have been reflecting on my ultrarunning record.  I'm slowly crawling out of my post-DNF depression, but still rather disgusted with myself for quitting.  It especially hit home after reading about Bart Yasso's race at Comrades in South Africa and his long history of running through pain (article in Runner's World here).  He has lyme disease yet has continued to race and to inspire others.  But I got a little hot and discouraged so I quit. Wah, wah, big baby.

So here is my illustrious record of 50 milers:

• October 2009, Palo Duro: finished 13 minutes before the cutoff.  I probably would have laid down on the trail and quit if I hadn't met up with Brett, who was also running his first 50 miler.
• February 2010, Rocky Raccoon: finished in just over 11 hours.  Not a bad finish, but my ankle hurt so badly I went and had it x-rayed the next day.  Nothing there, I'm just a big baby.
• February 2010, Cross Timbers: a tough, hilly course, especially compared to the relative flatness of PD and Rocky.  I finished in about 15 hours, close to setting a course record.  The only slower time was set by a man in his 70s.  I probably would have quit this one, but I had to keep going to get back to my car.  I was probably not recovered from Rocky, 2 weeks before.
• March 2010, Grasslands.  I quit after about 19 miles.  It was cold, wet, and muddy.  I still felt like a wimp, even though only 7 of the 70 starters finished.
• October 2010, Palo Duro: quit 1/2 way through.

 Not exactly a steller 50 miler resume.  Part of my problem out on the course is the gradual loss of motivation.  I start thinking, I gave up a whole weekend for this?  I could be hanging out at home, playing with the kids, watching college football, working in the yard or around the house.  I missed soccer or football or judo!  I could take Kelly on a date!  And what's the point anyway? 

So, contrary to a recent post, I'm not going to plan on the 100k in Bandera and the 100 miler at Rocky.  I'm not saying I'll never do another 50 miler.  Part of me still wants to run a 100 miler, to try Western States or Leadville.  But part of me says, too, I could just go someplace pretty and run.  I don't need to pay a fee and get a number just to experience a nice trail.  The trail at Palo Duro is great; I love to run it, and it's got some great views.  But one lap gets you all the views and trails.  The next 3 are more of the same.

I'll start running again soon, and I'll probably sign up for another race soon.  I'm still planning on running White Rock since I'm already registered, but after that, I'm not sure what I'll run next.

Sign on the trail

One trademark of the Palo Duro Trail Run is the signs posted along the course with witty and/or inspiring tidbits.  Toward the end of the loop, just before entering the camping area where the start/finish is located, one sign reads: "Adversity doesn't build character; adversity reveals character."  I guess a little of my character was revealed Saturday.  I encountered a little bit of adversity and quit.  I didn't have any particular physical reason for quitting, just a general fatigue and overall malaise.  I didn't see the point of continuing.

Short Palo Duro Trail Run race report

DNF.  Dropped 1/2 way through.  I am a wimp.