What's the best diet for an athlete?

I'm thinking about tweaking my diet.

I eat healthily, but noticed today I haven't had real live vegetables for about a week. My standard dinner is often a tin of tune and a can of beans. OK, so i mix oilive oil, turmeric, oregano and rosemary in the tuna... but eve so. This is like convenience wholefood eating.

So I may give the Stone Age eating style another go. I'm naturally inclined that way, and the latest stimulus comes from Dr Loren Cordain - author of The Paleo Diet and co-auhtor of The Paleo Diet for Athletes.

Dr Corain's latest e-newsletter reports

"Athletes use the Paleo Diet while training: As an athlete training for London 2012, Ursula James is following the Paleo Diet with the help of The Paleo Diet Implementation Program. On Ursula's blog she talks about being inspired to hear that Bryan Volpenhein, 3-time Olympian rower and chef, also followed Paleo while training and he felt leaner and recovered quicker. The Paleo Diet for Athletes has helped athletes achieve breakthrough performances, improve endurance, train more intensely, increase muscle mass and leanness, recover more quickly, and eliminate upper respirator y infections. Ursula also shares some the changes she made in her choice of foods, such as a great source for alternative flours like almond meal flour, on her blog."

Naturally I bombed over to Ursula's blog to check this out. "The big push for a change in diet is ultimately athletic performance, but also changing to become a healthy lightweight for rowing", she says. Now that hit home; in running, the quickest way to improve your time is to lose 4lb or so :) . Look how lean our running Gods the Kenyans are.

"Watching Michael Phelps eat so much ‘take away’, junkie-food was unbelievable! That he could perform at such a level eating that! All us athletes should be so lucky. But lightweight rowing requires more attention to have you get your calories." Same for us runners.

So.. let's, see if I can do this...it's basically fruit, veg, lean meat/fish and nuts. No bread, no milk.

Read your way to better performance: new book is the best ever written on the Lydiard system

Simply the best book ever on the training system that has probably transformed more runners into champions than any other.

I got a copy of Running the Lydiard Way in 1978 and it went everywhere with me, 24 hours a day for at least two years, while Arthur's way changed me from an average club hack into a county-class runner. I don't know where Keith Livingstone's book is going to take me, but I've already started carrying it around.

Finally, 30 years on, we get an update and a full explanation of what the Lydiard system really is and how it works. Very exciting!

Even better, Keith writes as a New Zealander born and bred right there in Lydiard land, being himself coached by Olympic medallist Barry Magee, one of Arthur's originals. So here is the true word on Lydiard, direct from original sources.

It's become fashionable to bash Lydiard these days; many of us who had direct contact with the "master coach" have tried and failed to correct the complete tosh that is often claimed as being "Lydiard training" - the most common myth being that he advocated a minimum of 100 miles a week at barely above jogging pace. Here at last is chapter and verse on EXACTLY what Arthur intended, with plenty of real-life examples of how Arthur and his runners adapted the basic system to individualise it for runners of different capabilities.

You'll see, for example, how to use sessions of long slow distance therapeutically, to help recover form. Keith has also done a great job of providing the missing science; although Arthur has been hailed as the greatest running coach of all time, Keith reminds us that Arthur was actually a milkman; he worked things out by experimenting on himself and then with trial and error plus intuition. 30 years on, and with the benefit of the latest research, we can see why Arthur's system works so well -- and also what we need to tweak to make it even more effective.
To that end, Keith brings in the research of Dr Jack Daniels on Vo2 and "V dot" pacing that clarifies what some of Arthur's sessions were out to achieve; he incorporates the "mass-specific" model of strength training developed by Barry Ross; and he includes contributions from Nick Bideau, coach of Craig Mottram, and NZ triathlon coach Chris Pilone, who guided Hamish Carter to 2004 Olympic gold.

A brilliant book, endorsed by Barry Magee and marathon great Lorraine Moller, co-founder of The Lydiard Foundation -- this is a must-have.

Fame at last: I'm a Colorado Runner of the Year

It's fame and glory time: this month's Colorado Runner magazine features me and Dwight Cornwell as winners of our age divisions in the Colorado Runner Racing Series - headlined on the front cover as "Colorado Runners of the Year".

All the interviews were edited for reasons of space, which left out a mention of training partner Patty Murray as well as one of my key training secrets. The unexpurgated version is below.

Picture shows me and team-mate Susan Brooker in the Aetna 10-miler. This year it was a 15-race series starting in January and ending in November.There were 4 5ks, an 8-mile trail race, 2 half-marathons, 2 10milers, 2 10ks, 1 12k and 1 25k trail race, all over Colorado, some at 8,000-feet plus. I ran 9 scoring races, winning 4 and getting 2 2nds and 3 3rds.

I opened the Series in January by running 20:05 for third place in the Oatmeal Festival 5K in Lafayette, CO. I clinched the series by winning the Eerie Erie 5k in 19:02.

That put me more than 200 points clear of second-placed Heath Hibberd, from Montrose, a trail running specialist who handed me some severe defeats in the longer events of the Series. Third place was Devin Croft, from Littleton. We were all 55.

Tell me a little about yourself: your age, where you live, what you do for a living, etc
I live the life of a professional elite athlete only without the recognition, the sponsorship and the million-dollar winnings; I also have to work and I turned 56 in December, but apart from that it is a very similar lifestyle. I moved to Boulder from London four years ago in pursuit of a more laid-back place to live and had no idea what I was getting into.

Why do you run?
Because I'm too scared to stand and fight.

How do you train?
Carefully.
My 2nd year in Boulder I had a blisteringly successful year, taking 11 minutes off my 10k time, and I've been recovering ever since. I'm really greatful for advice from Lorraine Moller, who made me throw my Garmin away and taught me that training has to be fun. She put me on the road back. I since found my true "home" with Ric Rojas, who has been my day-by-day coach this year and has opened my eyes to a doing more with less style of training that suits me down to the ground. I have driven him crazy by constantly switching goals.
Most of my emphasis is on recovery after training, rather than the training itself; this involves lying on the sofa and drinking lots of tea. I believe that groaning and complaining a lot are key.
Do you have a favorite place to train?
At home, indoors, doing repeats up three flights of stairs with my two cats.

What is your favorite race?
Any race where I perform better than expected. Also almost any race where I come home with something more than yet another race t-shirt. I need to be able to stagger in the front door saying "Look what i won today, honey!"

Do you have any advice for other runners?
The absolute best way to fail is to copy what everyone else is doing, and/or take advice from people who don't really know why they get the results they do.
Apart from that, something from Ric: often the most important thing is showing up - consistency in training inevitably brings results. Look at the Racing Series: to do well you have to stay healthy and be consistent enough to turn in reasonable perfmances from January to November.

What did you enjoy most about running this year?
1) Running fast and effortlessly along a trail out near Wonderland Lake and being blessed with having a eagle glide at the same pace and just below me for 100 yards. 2) Occasionally being able to train with triple national champion and world's medallist Patty Murray - which is very similar to running with an eagle, but requires more effort on my part.

What are your goals for 2009?
1) To decide that I am a 1500m/mile/5k specialist and stick to it. 2) To develop some sort of facial grimace and/or a signature grunting noise so that my friends in Ric Rojas Running will accept I really AM trying.

Is there anything about you that other runners might be interested to know?
I am British born and bred and regularly hallucinate that I am Seb Coe, Steve Ovett or Steve Cram, sometimes Lasse Viren, and more often than I like to admit, Paula Radcliffe. I am plagued by an inbuilt drive to relentlessly explore new ideas about running (as well as my specialist field of complementary and alternative medicine). I benefit here from ongoing discussions with and feedback from team-mates Dwight Cornwell (winner of the 60-64 age group) and sprinter Steven Sashen, while Ric somehow succeeds in keeping me grounded in reality.

Absolutely Marbleous: high times at the Lead King Loop

This was the hardest race I've ever run.

It wasn't just the 15.5 miles - severely over-distance for a miler/5k-er like me - but that the combo of gruelling uphill sections and technical descending often on loose rocks that were training to become scree meant there was no let up, anywhere. Oh, except maybe on the log over the river.

Within half a mile of the Beaver Lake Lodge at 7,300 feet the course started up. And up. My GPS told me we topped out at 10,800 feet after a little over 5 miles of ascending. This on a jeep "road". Imagine a classic zig-zag Tour de France climb crossed with the hell section of Paris-Roubaix. Yes eventually I took walk breaks. We all did. Well not the leaders of course. Check out the pictures on the Colorado Runner website here - and bear in mind that these were taken by 25k winner Bernie Boettcher; he carried a camera with him. Now there's a guy confident in his downhilling ability.

But don't get me wrong: this was a fantastic race in outstanding scenery, marked by severe good humour and laid-backness among competitors and support crew volunteers alike.

As I staggered and swayed up to the final feeding station with little more than a mile to run, I had to ask, "Are we nearly there yet?" This provoked a riot of information... most important being the most welcome, "Yes and it's all downhill from here1" Yeah, I've been hearing that for miles. "No really". And in short order I was offered water, Gatorade, beer.. and a cigarette!

In total contrast to a certain race a few weeks ago, organizer Craig Macek and his team impeccably marked and marshaled a 25k course in mountain country so that no one got lost or starved. Splashing across a shallow stream around the 6-mile mark I was temporarily startled when I registered out of the corner of my eye an impassive figure in drab forest gear, on horseback, rifle in scabbard by the saddle. Time warp. He may have been a "marshal", or maybe a hallucination; it was that kind of race.

Oh and there was schwag unbounded. Cancel everything I ever said about those irritating prize draws. Where Craig and co got the goodies from I have no idea, but they were top quality and there were lots of them. Having got fourth place in my age group, rather than my usual third, I was out of the running for the grand chunks of solid Marble marble. But, no sweat... I scored a stupendous $150 voucher for a full-on dinner for two at Olives Restaurant in the impossibly swish St Regis Hotel in Aspen. Someone got a leather jacket; someone else a pair of skis. Dwight Cornwell, whose win in the 60-64 division clinched the Series title, was presented with a gorgeous spruce tree!

Way to go
There are just two races to go in the Colorado Runner Racing Series and - glory be! -- they are both 5ks!
Next up is the Eerie Erie on October 25 (in Erie, of course. On November 16 the Panicking Poultry 5k in Boulder brings an end to the 16-race series begun in January.
We're waiting for the official Lead King results; latest standings will be updated on the Colorado Runner website here.

Who's safe?
Results are now up and I did get my usual third in the 55-59 age-group: excellent! However, I am still not home and dry, and in many of the divisions, the final overall Series winners won't be decided until the final race. For some runners, though, the long campaign is over. These are the men and women who, with two races left, can't be caught and are winners of the Colorado Runner Racing Series:

Masters Women: Karen Smidt, 42, Brighton (2nd in the LKL)
50-54 Female: Cynthia Flora, 51, Littleton (3rd in the LKL)
55-59 Female: Jan Huie, 59, Colorado Springs - has more than 1000 points and is so far ahead she didn't have to run the Lead King Loop, although she made the trip.
60-64 Male: Dwight Cornwell, 62, Fort Collins (1st in the LKL with an age group course record 2:42:35, 14 minutes ahead of the next guy)
60-64 Female: Stephanie Wiecks, 61, Palmer Lake (1st in the LKL)
65+ Male: Jim Romero, 68, Denver, 15 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor in the LKL and another one with more than 1000 points.

Now that's more like it! 10 miles of hard fun at the Aetna Park to Park

Definitely from the ridiculous to the sublime: the getting-a-bit battle weary Colorado Runner Racing Series points chasers moved to Denver to find a welcome contrast to our last race, which was such a fiasco that the "results" were dropped from the series.

* Picture: me (on the right) with team-mate Susan Brooker, winner of the women's masters race. Photo by David Merrill, www.FotoJack.com.

The Aetna Park to Park 10-miler had everything; this is a race on its way to the major league. We got 40 Portaloos at the start, a mobile espresso bar, hundreds of marshals backed up by more police officers than I've seen all year; we got a superb USATF certified course that included long stiff climbs, screaming descents and plenty of corners as it took us from City Park, to Cheeseman Park (mind the geese!), on to Alamo Placita Park to finish in Washington Park. We got medals and flowers. We got goodie bags that doubled as kit bags that were transported to the finish for us. We got the unmatched efficiency of Benji Durden and his timing crew, who had the results up almost as soon as we'd finished. Two hours after getting home I got an email telling me the results were already up on the Net. Like it! We got food - lots of it, including chocolate chip cookies AND popcorn. Plus an Expo to wander round. All we didn't get was an awards ceremony.

I know, I shouldn't bang on about all these "peripherals", but unless you were at the not-so Peachy 5-miler last time, you have no idea how much we enjoyed the pampering :) Oh and just one more thing for co-directors Alan Lind and Maureen Roben: given we're distance athletes permanently on the verge of immune system breakdown, I can't tell you two how much I appreciate having my drink handed to me by a volunteer wearing latex gloves... the norm is to get a drink with someone's who-knows-where-they've-been fingers round the rim.

And the word is getting out about this race. Entries just about doubled from around 600 last year to 1100 this Labor Day. Yes, its promotion to the Colorado Runner Racing Series helped, but so did the buzz from runners delighted with the inaugural event last year - plus this 10-mile epic is a nicely positioned test for anyone targeting a fall marathon.

The race itself? Well, I got hammered again. Heath Hibberd took 4 minutes out of me and Devin Croft 2, as I finished third in the 55-59 age group in 1:08:16. But I was well pleased to have kept my overall series lead over the longest distance I've raced this year. It might well have been a disaster, except for a serious pre-race strategy session I had with coach Ric Rojas and team-mate Susan Brooker.

A former Olympic trials marathoner, Susan knows how to plan a race. She ran the course the week before, so when we sat down with the course profile and her feedback I was treated to a good dose of reality. With Ric's prompting we worked out mile splits based on a conservative start. Boy, was I glad we did! Because the first mile is a totally inviting long straight downhill that most of the field couldn't resist. I would have been one of them...and like them, I would have paid the price on the huge hill between mile 4 and 5. But we stuck to the plan, held back and started easily at 7-minute pace; I was catching runners all the way through.

To give you some idea of the ups and downs, my mile split on the hill was 7:11; my split on a downhill stretch two miles later was 5:39!

The day after our planning meeting, we had a great track session at Potts Field dedicated to dialling in our proposed race pace with a set of mile repeats. Based on that and my performance on a 15-mile training run the previous Sunday, plus a comparison with the 7:00 pace I managed in the VERY hilly Greenland trail 8-mile in April, I devised a slightly more aggressive schedule of splits just in case I felt good at the top of the hill.

On the day I did. Susan kept to the plan. A 6:32 last mile brought her home in 1:09:24, about 14 seconds faster than the plan. She won the 45 to 49 Age Group by FOUR minutes -- and earned herself $100. I wasn't just impressed, but scared: if it had been a half-marathon she would have caught me.

It was a good hard race. There wasn't really anywhere you could relax and go on cruise control, as the course really grabs your attention, especially if you're trying to run the shortest line. The hills were longer than I'd anticipated; the opening miles not as flat as I'd thought. With two miles to go it felt great to burst downhill into Wash Park, where I've run so many 5ks that it feels like home.

How the guys at the front ran this in 51 minutes I have no idea. Hats off to Josh Eberly of Gunnison (27) who averaged a tad over 5 minutes a mile to win in 51:00, and to Jesus Solis of Littleton (24), second in 51:23. Unbelievable.

One of the performances of the day must be that of Longmont's Kelly Liljebald, who at 36 ran 1:01:50 (6:11 pace)to beat 26-year-old Maren Shepherd to be first woman home. Three others who stood out were Mark Bell of Denver, who at 51 got 29th overall with his 1:01:44...the next guy in his age group was near enough 5 minutes back; Hibberd, who was 42nd overall; and Erie's 61-year-old Dave Dooley, 50th overall in 1:06:12, who hauled out a similar 5-minute gap over Dwight Cornwell, the 62-year-old from Fort Collins who is leading the 60-64 division in the series.

We've got just 3 races to go before the Colorado Runner Racing Series is done for the year. It's been a long campaign since the January start, so some of us will be breathing sighs of relief. But not yet... the next race is a doozy.

Marble, at 7000 feet, is beautiful this time of year. So beautiful that we're going there to run 15 miles -- the first 5 of which take us up nearly 4000 feet. Um. Yes. Some of the guys are telling me that the only way up is to walk. They've also told me it could be snowing at the top and bad-weather clothing may be in order.

Believe it or not, the Lead King Loop is followed by 2 5k races to finish the series. I can't wait!

* Links to current standings and latest results are up at the Colorado Runner site here.

I have a cunning plan... to PowerCrank up my training

So I decided it would be a good idea to replace one of my week's 6-mile runs with something with less impact.

Although I do most of my training on trails, they have been almost as hard as tarmac throughout the summer, and for the fist time ever I've been getting the odd twinge in my knees.

The challenge was that I'm no Michael Phelps, so I won't be going anywhere near a pool. A nicely cushioned treadmill? I hate the damn things. So I thought I might as well dig out my bike and hit the roads...but, wait, that's out too. I started life as a bike-rider and I have to stay away from it otherwise the next thing you know I have a new set of streamlined clothes, shoes, pedals and a new bike and I'm fantasising about riding the Tour de France aged 60. Obsession that way lies. Most of the other things I considered -- from in-line skating to mad push scootering -- are all on Ric's banned list: activities that no runner should do for fear of serious injury.

That's where triathletes come in. These guys! High-tech and early-adopters. And one of the things there's a big buzz about in the triathlon world is PowerCranks.

PowerCranks appeal to the gadget geek and sports scientist in me :)

Simply put, they are cranks that you attach to your bike - but they are independent cranks. That's right, when you push down on one pedal the other pedal does NOT come up -- you have to actively lift it.

Pro cyclists such as Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso and American Tour de France hero and Beijing Olympian George Hincapie have adopted PowerCranks for training; the reason being that it is not only the fastest way to get that smooth and powerful elite rhythm, but that PowerCranking forces you to use the hamstrings and hip flexors more effectively -- and they strengthen. The results are documented increases (eventually) in power and VO2 max.

So what's a pair of bicycle cranks got to do with running? Just this. What I spotted was that loads of the triathletes who had used PowerCranks to improve their riding were also reporting alarming improvements in their running. 10k times were falling; form and gait were smoothing out.

The people at PowerCranks don't have many runners doing this type of cross-training yet, but those they do are impressed. Likewise, I was impressed by the rationale behind them, and also by the testimonial and video of masters sprinter and coach Aaron Thigpen, who says on the site, "4 months after starting with the PowerCranks I set a new age group record for 38-year-olds for the 100m dash, running it in 10.34. This time was 0.2 seconds faster than the record that had stood for 23 years."

You'll notice words like "eventually" and "4 months" in there. This is not just because PowerCranks are no quick fix, but also because they are such hard work when you first start to use them that they have reportedly humbled many an elite cyclist who has been tempted to show off at an expo. So forget jumping in and doing an hour on 'em; it's more like 30 seconds to start with!

After doing my due diligence, I asked the guys at PowerCranks if they'd give me a set to test. They agreed, so I'm now hunting for a Lemond Revmaster to fit them to, and I'll be cranking it up in the garage any day now.

It's an experiment that could end in tears (as in eyes and as in muscles), or it could be a solution with a built in bonus for my impact-lessening project. Watch this space -- and meanwhile this video of a runner talking about how PCs worked for him.

Chaos reigns at the not-so-Peachy 5-miler

Race 12 in the Colorado Runner Racing Series was a shambles from start to finish. Actually, from before the start to well after the finish.

The question we were all asking each other at the finish was not "How did you do?" but "How far did you run?" as a combination of inadequate course marking and insufficient marshals who knew where the course went led to almost all of the runners going off course.

The leaders, following the lead bike, ran the full 5 miles. My group ran 4.2; another bunch ran 4.5. Forget the times; the finishing order became a question of discussion, honesty and give and take. One poor young lad thought he had won his age group until he was asked a question about the feeding station; he couldn't answer it because he never got to it, so had to hand over his award -- a punnet of peaches,

OK, so the Peach Fest 5 Mile in Palisade, way out west near Grand Junction, is a nice laid-back local race, but just wasn't up to scratch for a Series event. We all like to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously, but this fiasco showed a complete lack of respect for runners involved in the chase for points. Many of the leading runners had invested in a round-trip of 400-500 miles, half of it in atrocious weather, plus the cost of an overnight stay.

I have no idea what the final "results" are going to reveal. But as far as we could tell working things out between us, all the age-group leaders -- including me -- managed to hold our positions. So from that point of view, the effort was worth it. And it was an effort. I was at the Wedding of the Year the night before, as my favourite training partner, national champion and world's double medalist Patty Murray married superfast 50-plusser Dave Albo. After the weddding I grabbed a couple of hours sleep and left the house at 2.45am for a horrendous 250-mile drive in torrential rain and, later, hailstones and snow on the high passes, arriving at the race at 7.30am for an 8am start.

I didn't need a warm-up so much as de-kinking after driving for so long and so hard. However, I needn't have bothered being quite so cavalier with the speed limits, trying to make up time after the bad weather delays, as the race was to start 20 minutes late. That was lucky for another reason, as there were only 2 (two) portaloos provided.

We were told the race was delayed because some trees had fallen across the course and a new route was being worked out. Hmm, we thought, must be mighty big trees to necessitate re-working and re-measuring the course. Whatever. Eventually we were dispatched to the far corner of the school playing field where there was no call to the start line -- well, that would have been difficult, as there was no start line -- no "set" or "go!", just a vague waving of a watch while we all milled about. Guys at the back were forced to walk while the field gradually realised we had started and began to point itself in the right direction.

Off we went on a brief tour of the neighbourhood, then onto a paved trail and then -- Big Surprise! -- we found ourselves in a cross-country race. I mean the real thing, with single rabbit-track like paths, bushes and clumpy grass underfoot, logs to jump, trees to duck under, the whole bit. Now bear in mind we'd been given no course description, no route map, no nothing. The course WAS marked with little yellow flags, but where to go and especially where to turn was not clear at all. And there was no one out there to put us right. We all just followed the runner in front - and it didn't work.

The event website did refer to "exciting single-track", but told us "The expansion of Palisade’s Riverbend Park presented a perfect opportunity to hold the event where it is 95% trail or path running and virtually traffic free." Well OK. But really this is an out-and-out cross-country course with a mile or so of paved road connecting the parkland to the 400m or so thick grass start and finish stretch... and mileage may vary.

As it happens, the course is a little gem and I would love to run the whole thing some day. But that's unlikely; I won't be back. The mood among the other old guys chasing Colorado Runner Racing Series points was "Please don't have this in the Series next year!"

The race organizer/announcer ensured us at the prize presentation, "Anyone who went off course -- it wasn't your fault!" Well he got that right. The semi-official explanation for part of the debacle was that police had removed some kind of gate/barrier that had been set up to make the route way clearer. I don't know. Once out on the country the route was complex; what it needed was more human beings to show us the way.

So, what I can tell you is that amid the chaos some familiar names emerged as division winners -- at least unofficially, allegedly, and just for now.... among them Steve Folkerts of Fort Collins (a 600-mile round-trip away) who we KNOW ran the full course at something like 5:40 pace, which was amazing. He is now well clear at the top of the Series open men. Tim Jones from Loveland (500 miles) again scored over local for the day Erik Packard to stay ahead as overall master.

In the 50-54 table John Victoria (500 miles) clawed back another ten points from current leader Robert Kessler (Highlands Ranch, 500 miles), and in the 55-59 race third-placed overall Devin Croft beat me and Heath Hibberd, so we THINK the standings remain about the same. Stephen Berger (Littleton, 500 miles) and Dwight Cornwell from Fort Collins (600 miles) finished in that order, leaving Dwight still well clear at the top.

The redoubtable Connie Ahrnsbark from Lakewood (450 miles) won the entire 60-69 age group at age 68 and has opened a useful gap at the top of the women's 60+ division.

These are just the results I managed to write down as they were announced; not surprisingly, there were no "official" results printed out and pinned up... so all these may change.

On the race website there's no mention of where the results will be available, so the best bet is to check on the Colorado Runner site here, where all the results and latest points tables get put up.

* Next up: the Aetner Park to Park 10-miler, on Labor Day, September 1. Glory be, it's in Denver!! Just 45 minutes down the road.

'Flow like water': suffering downhill in the Evergreen 10k

"I thought you weren't running this", said John Victoria at the start line of the Evergreen Town Race. Hm, well if I'd known just how hard it was going to be, maybe I'd have stood by my original decision... so a word of explanation...



first, I had this race down as a "gimmick" event. I apologise; it isn't. Yes it is a downhill 10k, but it's not one of those super-fast courses that will give you a PR that will mock you for ever more, because it's at 8,000 feet. Not only Derek Griffiths, publisher of Colorado Runner, told me this and urged a re-think, but then Dwight and Em both told me that the downhill was not so fierce that it would wreck my legs.

The final straw was when I checked the Colorado Runner Racing Series points and realized my fellow 55-year-old Heath Hibberd has pulled out a superb series of wins and is now a strong contender to win the series. So I had to turn out :)

Evergreen was the 11th race of the Series, which started in January; there are five races to go.

So, does the altitude offset the downhill gain? Oh yes. Stir in 90-95 degree heat and this race became a desperate battle to keep going.

The first mile is VERY downhill, so comparisons are a little misleading, but I covered that one in 5:53; the last mile, with the heat and the distance taking its toll, took me 6:48.

Yes, distance. Don't laugh you marathoners, but I have been training for a mile and 5k. At the 5k point it took a big mental adjustment to accept I had the same distance to go!

It didn't help that around that point we caught the 5k race tail-enders, by then reduced to a walk. Then ahead of me, I watched women's masters contender Sheila Geere take a walk break, get going again, and then stop for good as the heat got to her. Big problem: my brain latched on to her example and started in on me, whining, that it would be OK to walk, or even to stop, the heat man, the heat....

You know how you can keep some delusions alive your whole life? Like "I could have ridden the Tour de France...blah blah"? I've entertained one about doing one of those ultra-distance desert runs. Kind of, "I could probably do that; I just don't want to". Not any more. I've let that one go. Here I was really suffering in a mere 10k that was a tad too hot.

We could have done with more water stations. On the two I hit it was one mouthful to rinse the dry mouth, the rest tipped over my head. Route-finding became complex on the winding road, sorting the pros and cons of keeping in the shade versus running the shortest distance through the corners.

"Fast downhill course -- extraordinary setting" is the Evergreen tag line. Yes, Evergreen is beautiful, and what took the sting out of the heat was first, plenty of shady trees and second, the continual presence of Bear Creek tumbling alongside us. My mantra became "Flow like water, soar like eagle". I focused on flow, trying to fall effortlessly like the creek. I decided to set my speed at the point where I could maintain good form and stay light on my feet. The mantra sounds Zen-like, but it was American Indian chanting I started hearing in my head. All part of the hallucination :)

So, you're probably wondering.... well, I finished in 40:07; Mr Hibberd beat me by two minutes, but in that last, horrible, staggering mile, I managed somehow to stay in front of Devin Croft, so I get to keep my Series lead, but Heath has whittled it down to a mere 40 points.

The competition is just as close in the 50-54; here Robert Kessler (38:16) handed out a rare defeat to John Victoria (39:13) to retain his lead. John was nursing a problem hamstring, but with this second place to add to his previous five wins, has also closed the gap to 40 points.

Closest of all is the open women's competition. Leader Kara Ford didn't run, so 29-year-old Kris Lawson has now closed to just 20 points thanks to a storming third-place 38:37 at Evergreen.

Top master Tim Jones extended his points lead by taking second at Evergreen as rival Erik Packard slipped to fifth. Karen Smidt scored again to stay clear as women's Master yellow jersey.

Cynthia Flora in the women's 50-54 grabbed another 100 points at the expense of second overall Jenney Weber, who didn't run. In the women's 60-64, Cathy Morgan also didn't show, and may regret it, as Stephanie Weeks won (by almost six minutes) and has taken over the Series lead by 130 points.

Still no let-up in the men's 60-64. Downhill ace Dwight Cornwell didn't have a particularly good day and couldn't take advantage of the slope; he suffered to hang on in front of Stephen Berger, 42:41 to 43:15, and maintain the Series status quo. Their epic is good to watch as they are a complete contrast in build and running styles.

In the 60+ divisions, 68-year-old Jim Romero won at Evergreen by more than 7 minutes (47:20) and consolidates his lead; Connie Ahrnsbark and Myra Rhodes were first and second and stay that way overall.

Every race from now on in is crucial for most of the Series leaders, myself included. Next up is the Peach Fest 5-miler in Palisade; then the Aetna Park to Park 10-miler in Denver, followed by the one we're all dreading, the spectacular Lead King Loop, a mountainous 25k at Marble.


* Impeccable organization was marked by en masse support from race beneficiaries the Alpine Rescue Team, flawless start-finish transportation with a fleet of buses, a bonzer post-race bash that included season's-best grub -- egg and cheese bagles, fantastic! -- AND quick results. A great addition to the Series (thanks Derek).

20-year-old PR goes: first Snow Jog of the year

Here's a diary entry I never thought I'd make:

Sunday: easy trail run in snow, 18.5 miles in 3:27:16.

This turned into a bit of an epic, but the cool thing is that I broke my long-run PR: I haven't run more than 18 miles for at least 20 years, maybe 25.

It was a tough run, much tougher than I thought it was going to be when I left the house well-rested and well-fed after sitting out two days of continuous snow. Beguiled by the sun and blue sky, and the diamond sparkle of the fresh powder, I just kept ticking off the miles at a very easy pace made even slower by the soft crunchy stuff underfoot. I didn't take any of the opportunities to cut the thing short. I should have done. By the time I was committed to the long loop, I realised I was starting to lose daylight.

The sun dipped behind the foothills on a long stretch leading me past the Bolder Reservoir. By mile 13 the temperature had dropped due to the lack of sun AND the proximity of the water and bits started to freeze. The water in the op of my bottle froze. My feet started to turn blocky. I couldn't feel my fin gers and my face -- well I was thinking Scott of the Antarctic by the point and wondering what frostbite on the nose really felt like.

By now the Snow Jog had become a sort of survival-on-the-pack-ice snowshoe shuffle. Without the snow shoes. I was sending telepathic (telepathetic?) calls for help to Abby, hoping she would "pick up" and meet me at the entrance to the Res, saving me an additional four miles home. No luck there.

The only thing that got me back was that once past the Res and the deeper back into "civilisation" I got, the warmer it got. So I didn't jump in the Yellow Cab waiting at the lights with 2 to go. No, I told myself, you call yourself an endurance athlete... so ENDURE damn it.

I noticed that when I paused to cross a couple of main roads I was swaying on my feet. Not good. But I made it. I shambled through the front door to Abby's relief. She'd picked up the trans mission but hadn't known where to find me. I have strict orders to carry a cell phone in future. Well, I did say I'd be 2 and half hours, not 3 and a half.

Since I got in I've done little except eat. My Garmin tells me I burned near enough 2500 calories; probably on the low side as the Garmin can't tell what the temperature was. I had a couple of Cliff bar jelly bite things en route, but of course this would be the day I decided to experiment by taking a bottle of oxygenated water rather than my normal sugar-protein Accelerade mix. Isn';t it odd that in one run we can burn off more calories than some people eat in their three meals a day?

Now, I smugly pleased with myself. A new record; never mind the time.

I guess this is winter then. It'll be Snow Jogging for me from now on.

'Faster! It's only pain'

One of the great quotes of all time.

I found it on Wikipedia, while looking up some info about the great Herb Elliott.

The context is: "Elliott credited his visionary and iconoclastic coach, Percy Cerutty, with inspiration to train harder and more naturally than anyone of his era. Cerutty was known to avoid the track, talk about role models outside athletics (like DaVinci and Jesus), and bring his athletes to the unspoiled seaside beauty of Portsea training camp south of Melbourne, where Elliott would sprint up sand dunes until he dropped. 'Faster,' said Cerutty, 'It's only pain.' "

* Source: Wikipedia

Henry dips under 20:00, is challenged by Shaheed

Former triple world record holder Henry Rono ran 19:20 for third in the M50 age group in the Jingle Bell 5k on a fast, flat course in Cincinnati, Ohio.

On his letsrun.com thread he said that when he saw a photograph of the race he thought he looked more like a heavyweight boxer than a Kenyan distance runner!

As a result, the story of his epic comeback has instead become a weight-loss discussion. Henry is currently 179lb -- down from 210lb at the start of the year, and has a target (racing) weight of 150lb. His weight "problem" has led some posters to question whether he is really serious about attacking the world mile record.

A typical comment is along the lines of "how can he be running two hours a day and have only lost 30lb? Is he eating like a horse, or is he not doing the training he says he is?"

Henry sounds as sincere -- and as frustrated with his weight -- as ever. And he remains focused on his record attempt. In a new twist, Masters mile world record holder Nolan Shaheed, the jazz trumpeter with a unique training routine, has challenged Henry to a showdown.

Shaheed's respect for Rono is on record -- among other places in a recent interview with Dan Empfield for the triathlon site Slowtwitch.

In a new post to Henry, Shaheed says: "I am glad to hear that you are endeavoring to set the record in the mile. As you know it's my endeavor too. It would be great for us to go for the record in the same race at the same meet at the same time. Maybe there is a race promoter out there who would be interested."

Henry goes for sub-19 5k

In his most serious race since starting training six months ago at 200lb, when he could hardly run a step, Henry Rono is gunning to go under 19 minutes this Saturday (December 9).

He's picked the Jingle Bell 5k in Cincinnati, Ohio for the attempt. It's a fast, flat course - and it's a sea level, which will allow Henry to take advantage of the merciless mountain training he has been doing in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Henry's commented in his letsrun.com reports: "The 180 day of training, phase II. I ran for 121 minutes. The legs are moving well. As I was running in the mountains, I was thinking and visualizing the 5k Jingle Bell race in Cincinnati next week. Thinking like this, six minutes pace and perhaps 5:50 minutes per mile. My arms moves left and legs right as the six months would allow me to do so.

"What do think of that? Is that sound a little bit weird or unrealistic to you? For sure I feel lighter in weights."

Requesting some advice on race strategy, Henry joked: "I will do it like this, close my eyes after one mile mark splits - then go through the last two miles as if I am going through a dark bridge tunnel - then at the end of a tunnel open my eyes after the tunnel and here is a bright light, which is a big apple ( under19 minutes)."

It's not what he says, it must be the way he says it....

...but as soon as I put the phone down from talking to Bobby McGee, I am bursting to go for a run.

It definitely isn't what he says, because for the life of me I can't recall him making any specific "motivational" or "inspirational" comments. We were having a conversation about a recent blood test I've had done. Bobby is one of the few coaches who wants his runners to have a serum ferritin test done, even if they look healthy. I put it off for a year. But now I am seriously gearing up for the mile I had one done and low and behold, I have some weird stuff going on with iron.

Serum ferritin is a good marker for your iron stores. Mine tested out at 50. A reasonable number to aim at is 200! Measurable range goes beyond 300. Anything above 400 and they'll be testing you for EPO. Runners, particularly forefoot strikers like me, have an occupational hazard called "footstrike anaemia". Repeated impact with the ground destroys red blood cells. This is Not Good, as iron-containing red blood cells transport oxygen.

An endurance athlete needs to be able to a) replace cells and b) maintain sufficient iron -- because that's the stuff that enables the blood cells to pick up oxygen in the first place.

Given that my serum ferritin is down at 50 even after a four-week lay-off, it is more than likely that I was training and racing this year with it down even lower. And I train and race at altitude. Hm. No wonder I was so tired sometimes I couldn't get off the sofa.

Bobby's translation of the figures is that I am replacing cells OK, but do not have enough iron in my system. So it's supplements for me. If they don't bring my level up in six weeks, then we'll have to investgiaget some more.

Of course, part of me is hoping that this will give me a turbo-charge going into the New Year. Better men than me have slogged along putting their tiredness down to hard training, then been revitalised by supplemental iron: Brendan Foster, Dick Beardsley, Alberto Salazar, for instance.

Anyway, with that cleared up, I suppose it's understandable that I would excited and inspired to go for (another) run... but no, there's something else going on. I don't know how he does it, but I'm not the only who Bobby is able to motivate "subliminally" !!

Inside scoop on YourRunning.com

Here's the official release!

Runners Have a New, Citizen Media Based Home in YourRunning.com

Latest online community from the Enthusiast Group:
Simon Martin is enthusiast-in-chief, Brad Feld blogs on marathoning

Boulder, Colorado (PRWeb) November 20, 2006 -- Runners, from world-class athletes to passionate enthusiasts, have stories to tell, photos to share and videos to show off, without waiting for a professional journalist to decide if it's publishable: YourRunning.com.

The Boulder, Colorado-based Enthusiast Group has debuted the new YourRunning.com online community where runners can share their stories, advice, news, photos, videos and product reviews. This is the third online sports site opened by the company; the others are
YourClimbing.com and YourMTB.com, communities for climbing and mountain biking enthusiasts, respectively.

YourRunning.com, which has been opened to public use during its beta period, is based on the concept of "citizen media" -- which simply means that runners themselves are the authors of much of the content on the site.

"Sports enthusiasts have compelling stories and images to share, but they typically are under-covered by traditional media," says Steve Outing, founder and publisher of YourRunning.com and the Enthusiast Group. "It's nearly always the stars of any sport who get media attention. But everyday athletes and sports participants deserve coverage, too. They should have a media outlet of their own. That's what YourRunning.com and other Enthusiast Group sites are about."

YourRunning.com isn't all user-submitted content, however. Serving as head cheerleader -- encouraging and helping runners share their stories and images and offering expert advice -- is
Enthusiast-in-Chief Simon Martin, a Boulder, Colorado-based runner and journalist who regularly tops his age class. Martin is currently working with Olympic running coach Bobby McGee to attempt a run on the mile record for over-50 runners.

Martin writes a blog on YourRunning.com about his running life ("Simon Martin's Run Time"), produces a podcast about running, shoots photos and video, and answers questions in an Ask Simon forum.

"I'm excited to be a part of the new YourRunning.com community," he says. "The site makes it so easy for runners to talk, to share training ideas, epic stories, pictures, videos, start their own blogs.... I don't think there's ever been anything like it. In races and training we're often out there suffering -- I mean having enormous fun -- on our own, but it's other people who have
helped me get the most out of my running. I'm really looking forward to being part of a new network of like-minded enthusiasts."

Also with a regular presence on the site is Brad Feld, a well-known venture capitalist and enthusiastic marathoner who is working toward a personal goal of running 50 marathons by the time he turns 50. Feld, who is ranked as the most-linked running blogger by Technorati.com,
has started a regular blog for YourRunning.com.

YourRunning.com is about audience participation and interaction.
Every piece of content posted to the site allows visitors and users to comment and discuss, and they can share anything they wish, as long as it's on the topic of running. They can ask questions and get expert answers from Martin as well as get advice from other YourRunning.com
users. "This is not like your traditional running magazine or website," says Outing, who is a well known interactive media expert and columnist. "This is about runners sharing their passions with each other. It's two-way dialog, not traditional one-way, we-tell-you-how publishing."

The site routinely runs contests and promotions, rewarding the best inspiration tales, photos and videos, for example, with running-related prizes provided by sponsors. Use of the site is
completely free to its users.

* About the Enthusiast Group
The Boulder, Colorado-based company was founded in early 2006 by Outing and Derek Scruggs, an experienced Internet entrepreneur, with the goal of creating a network of citizen-media-based websites serving adventure and participant sports. YourRunning.com, YourClimbing.com and YourMTB.com are the first sites published by the company to open to the public. Sites covering additional adventure and participant sports are planned for roll-out later this year and early in 2007, and the company is seeking athlete editors. See
http://www.enthusiastgroup.com/were_looking_for_top_athlete_editors

The Enthusiast Group is funded by a group of 11 investors, including Omidyar Network (a mission-based investment group founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar), DB Medialab (the new-media arm of Norwegian national newspaper Dagbladet), and Brad Feld.

Join me at YourRunning.com

Yes, it's been a bit quiet here lately. I'm going to keep addding to this blog, but I'm also now online at a new running website www.Your Running.com

The new site has just gone live. Although it LOOKS like an ordinary website, it isn't. The guys behind it are really into what they call "citizen media", and their mission is to do high-tech-made-easy so that non-computer geeks like us can blog, post in forums, comment, share pictures, videos and even audio clips really easily -- and to do all that without having to go through a filter of so-called experts.

Come and join in -- and make sure you leave a comment at least!

Join the quest for a sub-5 mile

We're starting next week. An assessment day on November 18 kicks off a 45-week program that will take a small group of Masters runners from easy base training all the way to a peak of speed and power (now think positive, guys) just in time for the Pearl Street Mile in Boulder on August 16, 2007.

The program written by world-class coach Bobby McGee is designed for the "Beauties and Beasts" of Boulder -- that is, women over 40 and men over 50 -- but there's no reson why it shouldn't work for other ages... and to a certain extent for other speeds! So if you are, say, a 35-year-old who wants to break 6 minutes for the mile, then you can sign up with the rest of us.

As we launch this project, we've discovered that there are lots of people -- even those who are NOT from the glorious land of Bannister, Coe, Ovett and Cram -- who agree that there's something special about Mile racing. So Bobby has decided to open the program to folks in other parts. Of course, you won't benefit from his personal supervision, but you'll know what to do, and you can share progress and find out what the core group is doing via the Internet and email.

* Contact: Marci in Boulder at 1-303 946 3087; email bobbymcgee.admin@comcast.net
For details of The Pearl Street Mile, our main target race, see the Boulder Race Series website >here.

Armstrong breaks 3 hours: 'hardest physical thing I've ever done'

Seven times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong achieved his goal of finishing the New York marathon in under three hours.

BBC news reported: "Armstrong, who was paced for most of the race by greats Alberto Salazar and Joan Benoit Samuelson, recorded two hours 59 minutes 37 seconds.

'It was amazing', the 35-year-old said. 'It would have been three and a half hours without them'."

'That was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I've ever done', he said.

'In 20 years of pro sports, endurance sports, from triathlons to cycling, all the Tours, even the worst days in the Tours, nothing was as hard as that, and nothing left me feeling the way I feel now in terms of just sheer fatigue and soreness.

'I wanted to break three hours, but if you told me, you know, with three miles to go, you're going to do 3:05, I didn't care. I wouldn't have cared.'

As far as predictions went I was close, but Armstrong's finishing burst got him home with more time to spare than I thought -- 21 seconds faster than the 2:59:58 I had him down for.

Breaking the 5 minute mile 'barrier'

Go sub-5 and stun your age-group!

Announcing a unique opportunity for
Masters athletes to crack the 5-minute mile.

Be a part of Olympic coach Bobby McGee’s
new Magic Miling program designed to take a select group of committed runners under the 5-minute “barrier” by August next year.

We’re starting this month.
Come and explore your possibilities at an information and sign-up session with Bobby on Thursday November 9.

* 7pm-8.30pm, at Sequel Venture Partners, 4430 Arapahoe Ave, Suite 220, Boulder.
SE corner of Foothills and Arapahoe – the office park is called View Point. Lots of parking. Contact: Marci at 303 946 3087; bobbymcgee.admin@comcast.net

What will Lance do in the New York marathon?

Have you placed your bets in the Runner's World contest?

I have him down for 2:59:58.

Yes, he's 30lb heavier than a Paul Tergat and yes, his joints aren't used to the pounding, but this guy has got a very strong mind and a killer competitive instinct.

If Armstrong is way outside 3 hours then may decide to just have fun and run to finish without doing too much damage to himself. But if he gets within reach of a sub-3-hour run, I'm betting he will go for it.

What to do if you've 'no' talent

African runners made a clean sweep of the top ten places in last weekend's Chicago marathon -- except for Brian Sell, who grabbed sixth in a personal best 2:10:47.

Sell describes himself as "a redneck from the Cove that likes to run" and is a role model for anyone who wants to know how to succeed through sheer hard work.

After running 2:10:55 at Boston -- 4:59 pace for 26.2 miles -- he said: "After the race ... I started thinking about how I just ran 26 miles faster than I could run two miles in high school. I think that was a big thing. I just hope that people look at it and say, 'Hey if this yahoo can do it, then I can do it too.' That'd be cool if people thought that. It's just a matter of putting the miles in and working. It's not so much how much talent you have."

Putting the miles in, for Sell, means running an average of 110 miles a week. He's done that for the last five years.

* Source: interview with Brian Sell by Duncan Larkin. Posted September 28, 2006 on www.eliterunning.com

Henry replies

Warming up for a race by running up a mountain?

"Yes, this body requires hard core training to reach to the top, you know that.

I'm training through races. I have to shake my cardio that early morning with cold air into my lungs."

Henry

Feeling the wind in his face...

... that's our Henry, who is starting to get his speed back.

The great Rono has just run the Duke City 5K at altitude in Albuquerque, NM, finishing 30th overall out of 814 men and women in 20:52 (6:43 pace).

More importantly. he was 2nd in his age group (50-54) and finished strong, saying that at one point he felt like he was running at 5:00 pace.

What cracks me up is his warm-up routine. Yes, just like in the other couple of races he's done this year, he gets up at dawn and goes and runs up a mountain.

Specifically, this time, on his 141st day of training, he got up at 4am and ran for 96 minutes up and down Copper Hill. He got home, showered, left at 6.15am and was ready to race 5k at 7.10am.

Planning your year? Include an Injury Phase

Everybody "does" Periodization these days.

Maybe Arthur Lydiard was to blame. He seems have been the first to have formally divided the training and year into different phases leading to a final period (or two) of peak form for a goal race.

Right about now, anyone who is not still racing is either having a break or starting to think about the winter phase of base-building.

A ten-week (or so) phase of steady aerobic running at ever-increasing distances, but always within your limits, is what gave Arthur's boys the physical and mental resilience to endure the later fast training that brought them Olympic title-winning spped. In between was a transition phase of strength and power-building hill work so they didn't destroy themselves by moving straight from steady running to speed, and another phase to "freshen", or bring them to a boil.

Well, that's the basic theory. After years of not-very-careful research I can reveal that there is a missing element to this widely-accepted master-plan. No one schedules in the Injury Phase.

Now, there are runners who claim that they've never been injured. The rest of us, not reliant on hallucinatory drugs, accept that there's going to be some point during the year when the body-mind enforces a rest -- never mind what great and glorious plans we have. Injury is the body's way of getting our attention. Don't make it have to shout at you. Why not schedule your injury time?

Put a week or two put by to deal with tendonitis or a gastroc tear. Schedule in a couple of weeks pool running and ice-packing. Book sessions with your PT or other deep tissue sadist so you've got something to look forward to.

I planned a couple of easy weeks off at the end of the year. As soon as I stopped training, I started falling apart. I'm tired all the time. The little adductor strain I wanted to clear up has now soaked up three weeks of hard deep tissue work, acupuncture, low-level laser, ultrasound, infra-red and several tubes of DMSO and other smelly rub-on stuff. Then I sprained my ankle. Then the snow arrived and now I'm getting a sore throat and a headache.

And all this could have been avoided, if I'd just planned in one or two weeks of injury earlier in the year.

It's a bit like one of Bobby McGee's strategies for long races, where he says to plan in a bad patch. Well, being Mr Magical Running he doesn't actually refer to "bad" patches, more like slightly slower periods that give you an opportunity to regroup. The thing is, when your body-mind knows there's one coming, it relaxes and you can breeze through it. It's exactly the same when you plan an Injury Phase.

Testing Velocy "anti-gravity" shoes

I got involved as a Wear Tester for Velocy after seeing the company's advertisement in the September '06 Runner's World. That issue featured a three-page ad for Reebok that had a great picture of an elite runner -- clearly landing on her forefoot -- while selling shoes that claimed to potentiate the "natural" motion of the foot from heel strike through to toe-off. The issue also had a review of shoes: all aimed at heel strikers. Velocy stood out as the only manufacturer even aware that forefoot striking was something that should be encouraged.

Visiting the website, I signed up as a tester and they sent me a pair of Velocy Veloz 101s to test.

I liked them straight out of the box. For one thing, here's a man's shoe that isn't grey, white or black. The bright blue contrast stripes of the Veloz 101s made a nice change. The obvious second impression was that these shoes are, well, "substantial". They are solidly made. Very solid, as it turns out. They weigh in at 2lb a pair (in men's US 10.5), making them the heaviest training shoe I've run in this year. For comparison: Asics Gel Kayanos are 1.8lb on my scale and Adidas Supernova Cushion are 1.6.

The fit is generous in the length. Compared to these other shoes (all 10.5), the 101s were a bit on the large size and I could probably have worn a 10.

Out on the road, the shoes felt hard underfoot. This is obviously due to the extended rigid forefoot support which does not have much covering/tread on it. I was concerned at the amount of impact being directly transmitted and it was a relief to get on a slightly softer cinder trail. As a natural midfoot/forefoot runner, I was immediately looking to see how these shoes would help me. I couldn't work out whether they were getting in the way or not. The impact factor continued to worry me. However, when I got back to the house, I realized that I was not suffering from the usual side-effects of a run on a hard surface. My sore Achilles tendon was not bothering me, and I had no calf pain in either legs. This was a good result, repeated as I got more suited to the shoes and was able to try to run faster in them. But there was a significant downside; maybe because of the size and weight, the shoes continued to feel "clunky", even after a few runs to get used to them, and I fell twice on familiar ground, almost turning an ankle on one of the falls. After that run, I stopped wearing them on trail runs because they felt too stiff and unresponsive to be safe for me.

I would love to tear the shoes apart to see what the inside technology is. The Velocy website explains that they have developed "Forward Gravity" technology to "shift the emphasis of support from the heel to the forefoot". As far as I can tell from the outside, the forefoot support is achieved by making the shoe almost completely rigid, so that the toe spring is maintained whatever the foot tries to do. The rigid, hard plastic under the arch extends right under the forefoot, is partly exposed and, where it is not, has a very thin layer of cushioning and tread. There is not the slightest suggestion of the transverse grooves that many manufacturers include as a nod to helping dorsiflexion.

As far as flexibility in the forefoot goes, these are the stiffest shoes I have ever worn that still claim to be running/training shoes. They are built more like street shoes with a training shoe tread. Certainly this provides more support for the forefoot; over long distance training this might save some energy. The effect of the rigid forefoot support is that when you toe off, instead of most of the shoe (and foot) getting left behind and having to be pulled through using muscle power -- as happens with "conventional" shoes -- the forefoot plate acts a little like a loaded spring and powers the rest of the shoe/foot into the toe off.

The cost is that this interferes with the natural movement of the foot, and in my case I found this a little off-putting. It may be that I just need more time to get used to them.

Giving Velocy this feedback, I also told them, in mitigation, that I am well clued up on various attempts to promote more efficient use of the feet. I have trained in Alexander Technique, Chi Running and the Pose Method. For walking and running, I have tried everything from Nike Frees to MTBs, to Puma High Streets and the Kevlar-equipped Vivo Barefoot, and have raced in old-style Nike Frees, conventional Asics racing flats, lightweight "trail" shoes (LA Sportiva Slingshots) and the minimalistic Nike Mayflies. I also emphasised that I was a natural fore-foot runner who has spent the last two years working on form and gait and developing a forward lean.

The Velocy patent pending technonology does not, in my opinion, do what the website says it will do: "allows humans to maintain a forward lean in the direction of movement like our animal counterparts". I can't say I noticed it helped me do that.

The Veloz 101s have this rigid forefoot technology coupled with what appears to be a "standard" amount of cushioning and support in the heel. Why? The only reason I can think of is that while the company is (rightly) critical of other manufacturers who focus on providing the majority of protection in the heel, they are still designing their shoes for heel strikers. I would like to see a more radical shoe designed for out and out forward-leaning, forefoot runners who only land momentarily on their heels.

The Velocy shoes may represent a new way of encouraging heel-strikers to adopt a more efficient foot strike, but the 101s do hold the foot rigidly and do not allow natural flexion or lateral movement. As a lightly built, low mileage, natural forefoot runner, maybe I am the wrong user for these shoes. I don't think I need the amount of control/help the 101s offer. For my gait, they just get in the way.

* See the Velocy range and technical explanation here.

Meanwhile, at Runner's World:

Saturday, August 12, 2006 1:53 PM
To:
Runner's World Letters

Is there embarrassment all round at Reebok?

What I'm talking about is their super-duper, full-color, fold out, three-page advertisement for shoes designed for heel-strikers that is illustrated by a great picture of an athlete who is blatantly NOT a heel-striker. (September).

Seriously. Why is the running shoe industry obsessed with heel strike? 90% of elite runners are midfoot/forefoot strikers (like the one in the ad)
Wouldn't manufacturers better serve customers by preaching proper biomechanics, gait and form?

Heel striking is braking. It's what you do when you want to slow down. Heel striking is biomechanically inefficient and leads to injury. Especially when shoes are padded so much that they allow runners to (temporarily) get away with heel striking with locked knees.

In the same issue you had what you called "Fall's Best New Shoes". Why did you not include in your review the new Velocy (advertised page 98 in the same issue), a shoe actually designed to encourage runners to run "with gravity" and get off their heels? It is the only genuine breakthrough technology we've seen all year.

Simon Martin,
Boulder, Colorado.
http://recordrun.blogspot.com

* RW didn't publish this, and I didn't get a reply, but Reebok are not using the same runner in their ads any more.

* Original piece about Velocy on this blog is here.

Henry's Quote of the Week

"You got it! up on top of the nail head!!!!
The way to go about it.
No hurry no soon for us old folks.
Yank loose and do it right before you know, the game is over for sure."

* Henry Rono -- responding to suggestions about doing speed work and the observation that none of us are getting any younger. From his ongoing, inspirational postings on letsrun.com. This quote appears on this page.

Aching for a rest

I don't usually have a problem with resting. Being naturally lazy helps. But I can't say I'm enjoying this downtime.

First there's the tiredness. The less I do, the more tired I feel. So instead of doing absolutely nothing, I have been doing a token amount of walking, 5 minute bursts on the ski machine, stretching, a bit of weights...oh yeah and OK, I did do a VERY easy five-mile run and half an hour on the ellipitcal. But that was just to check that my bits were still working.

But apart from that.... nothing. So why am I waking up aching every morning?

This isn't the full-blown, groan-inducing, everything-aches sensation that is kind of "normal" during training and racing.. But why should there be anything at all? I mean, I'm geting a bit of plantar fasciitis pain, a bit of Achilles pain, a bit of tightness still in the groin, and my abs and psoas still feel tight. Why?

Yes, I am "better than 50"(to use the cute phraseology of my bank), but I have never bought into the idea that the "normal" consequence of aging is that your body starts to fall apart.

I have a feeling that there's stuff in my diet that is provoking a low-rumbling allergy-inflammatory response. It is so weird to be feeling aches and stiffness without having done the training. So, this is agreat opportunity to fine tunemy fuel mix.

The other test is to sleep on the floor for a night or two. When I was doing aikido intensely and was the number-one uke for my teacher -- meaning I was the one who got demonstrated on and thrown to the floor a hundred times a night, three times a week -- I discovered that if I slept on a hard surface I didn't ache as much the next morning.

So maybe this just a cue for a new bed. I really fancy one of those Tempur-Pedic matresses. And they're "only" 2,000 bucks!

Crying like a baby...

So, on hearing that I had finally decided to bite the bullet and see Boulder's most celebrated physical therapist -- former world marathon champion Mark Plaatjes, my pal Marci said:

"I don’t envy you tomorrow – do you want me to come hold your hand while you writhe in pain and cry like a baby?!?"

"Huh", I said. "I can take it. (Do NOT remind me I said this.)"

And it was a piece of cake. Well, apart from me screaming, cursing, crying and kicking the table with the good leg :)

D'you know what? I have decided to NEVER get injured again!! The treatment is just too painful. Mark is built like a flyweight boxer, but he is hellishly strong. Smiling apologetically during the treatment, he told me he really doesn't enjoy inflicting pain. "If I could find another way of doing it, I would use it", he said. "But this is what works. I could go easier and have you come back ten times, or we can get it over with in a couple of sessions."

"How about we try for five?" I asked, ever the wimp.

No but seriously folks... I've had strong deep tissue treatment before, most notably on a calf tear, but this transcended all that. But he's right...everyone says it works. That's why I'd followed practically every elite (and otherwise) runner in Boulder to Mark's clinic.

There comes a point when all the laser, massage, Scenar, ice, ultrasound, trigger point, muscle balancing -- you name it, I've tried it -- just doesn't reach the spot. This is an irritating, minor injury I've been dealing with since just before the Bolder Boulder back in May. It hasn't stopped me running (or racing), but it has certainly limited me.

The good news reported to Mark's fingers was that the muscle tear had healed nicely. The bad news was that as I'd not taken time out nor got appropriate treatment, my body had gone on laying down collagen to protect the injury site. The problem is that this stuff does not get laid down in nice smooth layers following the line of the muscle. It congeals and cross-crosses in weird patterns to brace the site and restrict movement. That's the bad news: it means that there are several layers of scar tissue for Mark to work through. And the only way to do that effectively is to apply enough force with a suitably tough and sensitive set of fingers and thumbs to break down the scar tissue and smooth the muscle fibres into the right directions so that I get full range of motion and no pain.

A few months ago I was running downhill fast at Bobolink on loose terrain; I hit a rock and my foot slipped out from under me. I did feel a slight twinger as I corrected my balance, but just iced it and carried on with the rest of the week's training. As it began to heal, I unkowingly stressed it out a but more with track sessions.

This is kind of a weird injury for a runner to get, Mark told me. It's more common in bike-riders, because when you're sitting on a saddle the sartorius gets called on as an accessory hip flexor, to assist and help stabilise the bigger workhorse muscles of the thighs.

The longest muscle in the body, the sartorius is more like a thin band of fibre. It runs from the pelvis to the inside knee and is attached with a long tendon to the lower leg. It's also known as the "tailor" muscle, as you use it to pull your legs into position when you sit cross-legged on the floor to darn your socks.

I had ripped mine right where it crosses the adductors. So everything was sort of mashed and glued together with scar tissue.

With the warning that I might be sore for a couple of days ringing in my brain like a bad joke, I limped (literally) out of Mark's office. Even so, even with the soreness and the limp, I could feel it had freed up. Amazing!

It's a privilege to have access to Mark. One of the things that really impressed me was the speed at which he assessed what was wrong. Well, I guess he's seen a few hundred cases before... then on go the X-ray hands, he senses the tissue and puts his finger right on the spot.

And you know what's really great? I don't have to go back for two whole weeks. Enough time (I hope) to forget just how much it hurts!

* Mark Plaatjes, RPT, In Motion Rehabilitation, 2775 Pearl Street, Suite 201, Boulder, CO 80302, tel 1-303-247-0687.

Henry's Quote of the Week

"I didn't know my body fat was a rock in me. I'm breaking it down-little-by-little-until, I nail it down to the ground 145lbs. Once is there I will take a deep breath. I will say it is all-over, who ever holding on to the mile world record.
"He has to surrender it for me."

A champion speaks: Henry Rono, 119th day of training. (He has been fasting to accelerate weight loss.)

And talking of style.....

It doesn't get better than this....
in full flight down the finishing straight of the 1972 Olynmpic 1500 final, eventual winner Pekka Vasala of Finland and the legendary Kip Keino of Kenya, the race favourite.

Toledos: keep in touch

A special message for my former team-mates in Toledo Runners:

dudes, I have been "struck off" the email list so will miss your race reports, tales of injuries :) and invitations to have ice cream...

never fear, when I have something staggering to tell you I'll email you all privately -- feel free to do the same!

Calling all Magical Milers

A spin-off from the hunt for a coach is the formation of the Magical Milers Club.

This came about when I consulted Coach to the Champions Sir Bobby McGee for his opinions on coaches. We rapidly got side-tracked, as we both share a fascination with fast miling. Bobby declared himself interested in my own Mile Project and started cooking up ways he could help. At his suggestoion I've started gathering together a group of 4 or 5 runners -- probably all Masters -- who want to do a Very Fast Mile. Right now that means breaking the 5-minute "barrier".

Yes, never mind the 4-minute mile, we're past all that. But for men around 45 onwards and women in their 40s, getting under 5 minutes for one mile is special. What we're intending to do is target the Pearl Street Mile and track events around the same time -- that's August 2007. If we have to, we'll organise our own Invitational track meet with the specific intention of getting everybody in the group under 5 minutes.

Preparing for a mile is tough. But the good news is that you can prepare "as if" for a 5k until the last few weeks, then add very specific training.

I'm happy to say that the first person I approached about the Magical Milers, marathon great Benji Durden, immediately said he was "in" and is putting the word out. We've got a very fast woman interested, too. This is going to be fun!

Wanted: coach, must have experience and gsoh

It's ironic that a few days after wondering on this Blog, "Is the magic in the coach, the schedule, or the runner?", I find myself with no coach, no schedule and not running.

Gabino decided it was time for me to "graduate" from his group, having taken me as far as he could. So far that although I was in a group, I had been running most of my workouts on my own because of the pace I needed to hit. He gave me two leaving presents: the promise of an expenses-paid invitation from the organisers of the Carlsbad 5000, the world-class 5k road race held every year in April in California; and a referral to Steve Jones, the former world record-holder in the marathon, and one of Gabino's own coaches.

Living in Boulder you'd think that finding a coach would be easy enough. Not so. Even assuming I can get hold of Jonesie for a chat, his group may be way too fast for me. And although Boulder is swimming in coaches, most of them are ex-elite athletes who know what worked for them and work that system. They are almost all marathon-orientated. Those that have the know-how to tune in the speed for a super-fast 5k don't know anything about preparing for the mile. Those who do, don't have groups.

So meanwhile, no schedule. I've been corresponding with Tony Benson, the "Run with the Best" coach in Australia (see links) who runs a mentoring and long-distance coaching scheme. The problem there is that he wants me to provide my year-long program so that he can offer advice and tweak as the year goes on. A year's schedule? I've been working week to week. I had a funny exchange with Dwight about that. We have such different motivational styles -- me being an "options" type, and he being "procedural". Dwight likes to see the whole year laid out so he knows exactly what he's doing day by day: it adds detail to the vision and makes it more real to him. Me -- it fills me with dread and stifles me. I want to keep my options open.

I do like to have very clearly defined goals, then an overview of how I am going to get them (the big picture). I deal with the details in smaller chunks. If I know I am going to be doing a phase of highly-specific pre-race training in, say, March 2007, I really don't need to know right now what specific workout I am going to be running on March 12.

The not-running is Bobby's fault. I was complaining at Drills last week that my groin and adductors felt completely seized up. Well, I should have mentioned it earlier, shouldn't I? The mystery, niggling, not-quite-an-injury that has been bothering me for months -- Mr McGee diagnosed the cause in two minutes flat and immediately recommended time off to let it heal -- the groin being a tricky area to deal with.

So. No coach. No schedule. No running. Yes, at some level it feels liberating. But I am finding the less I do, the more tired I feel. As for finding a coach, well it doesn't feel urgent any more. What's going to be more important is finding people to run with through a winter of base-building.

So, who's got the best style?

In the lead: Australian Craig Mottram -- the "jolly green giant" of middle-distance racing compared to the little, fast-striding Africans he habitually finds himself up against.

Thanks to Super-Coach Bobby McGee for sharing this one. He was sent the picture by an Australian coach -- Down Under they all think Mottram has a superb style. Bobby's comment: never mind Mottram, the guy behind him is a MUCH better model!

Check out the Australian's upper body. He looks as if he is so knackered that as he ties up he has gone past upright to the point where he is almost leaning backwards. And as I have certain "issues" with my arms, Bobby wanted particularly for me to clock what Mottram is doing with his. Let's just say they are not where they should be.

Compare and contrast with the great Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopa, world record-holder at 5,000 and 10,000m. Balanced, compact, forward-leaning, great flexibility.

Mottram has not beaten Bekele in three years...except ironically in this race where, running as team captain, he pushed himself to a PR of 7:32.19 to became the first Oceania athlete to defend a World Cup title.

Henry's Quote of the Week

"I have to hold-back my horses. you are right! Strong head can ruin the knees for sure."

Henry Rono.

'Scrawl it on the inside of your eyelids...'

Is the magic in the coach, the schedule, or the runner?

I'm beginning to think that the greatest gift a coach can bring to the table is the ability to encourage people to train consistently over time.

Yes, there is the technical aspect of knowing/feeling numbers and quality of reps and intervals and hills, but the most important thing is to keep people at it. That's where "the schedule" comes in. You get it once a week and know roughly what you'll be doing when... it makes it easier to find the time and to motivate yourelf knowing that there is a purpose to it AND a group of people waiting for you at 5pm!

In the group I have been training with, the schedule calls for 40-50 miles a week covered in 7 days (no rest day). But I've averaged 33 miles a week for the last year and don't know anyone else who has totally followed the program. Yet we've all improved.

Thanks Emilie, for the comments that helped me get clear about this. It follows on from Kevin Beck's words from the last post. Please follow the link in that post (below) and read his article... if you are a runner it'll do you so much good. Here's another snippet to encourage you (the emphases are his):

"Patience, trust, resilience, and the ability to learn from past experience are the greatest psychological determinants of success in long-distance running, just as they are in other realms. The greatest physical determinants are, regardless of your event, an aerobic base developed through years of accumulated mileage and - just as important - consistency (a by-product of resilience, both physical and psycho-emotional). Believe this philosophy, scrawl it on the inside of your eyelids, live it, and regardless of your inherent abilities, you'll look around one day and be pleasantly astonished at your own improvement and achievements.

Pared down to the essentials, then, hard work and confidence are all a distance runner truly needs. I have found that regardless of whatever permutation of miles, intervals, tempo runs, hill workouts, and long runs I settle on for any given stretch of training, the thing that matters most is nudging your total time spent training ever higher until you find your personal "sweet spot" and only then, when you're ready to attack a period of racing, become truly concerned with intensity."

All you need to know about training

"Run as much as you can as often as possible and run like hell when moved to do so."

Thanks to distance runner and coach Kevin Beck for this piece of essential wisdom -- included in his great article, "The secret you've been looking for..."

This training business is not all that complicated, now is it?

Running as ceremony

They ran to make rain, to honour the dead, to generate healing. They ran to send news and get reinforcements. They ran for power and for prayer.
Yep, the American Indians knew a thing or two about running, as I've just discovered after finding an out-of-print book on the subject.
One of the bits I liked most was this Navajo chant (a "Leg Song") that their runners used, that just about sums it all up:

"The mountain,
I become part of it...
The herbs, the fir tree,
I become part of it.
The morning mists,
The clouds, the gathering waters,
I become part of it.
The rain that sweeps across the earth,
I become part of it.
The wilderness, the dew drops, the pollen...
I become part of it."

* From "Indian Running: Native American history and tradition" by Peter Nabokov (Ancient City Press, New Mexico 1981).

Outbreaks of good sportsmanship

Colorado is the first place where I've lined up for a race -- a championship race at that -- and had someone next to me in the front row shake my hand and wish me a good race.
So maybe I shouldn't have been surprised at another outbreak of good sportsmanship at the Blockbuster 5k last week.
With about half a mile to go I'd just caught the guy in second place and we'd both been joined by another runner. In the confusion of trading pl;aces I led everyone slightly off course. In the process of getting bac k on course, the runner who had been third ended up 25 yards in front of me. To my astonishment he slowed down and waited for me. "Go on", I said, "you were catching me anyway". "No, no", he said "you were in front".
What then followed was a bizarre routine of "no, I insist, after you..." all conducted at speed, with one eye on the fast-approaching finishing line. We agreed to run in together... but at the line he pushed me in front.
He disappeared after the finish, but at least I can recognise him "officially" here: so thank you Paul Reich of Telluride - you are a gentleman!

Running with the moon

This month's full moon -- the Harvest Moon -- is a humdinger. It's close to the Earth and looking huge.
No wonder I have been able to stick in a few extra miles.
For a while now, I've been experimenting with co-ordinating my training with the moon's phases. I got the idea from the vascular surgeon Dr Irving Dardik. A founding chairman of the US Olympic Sports Medicine Council, Dardik was at one time banned from practising medicine because his peers thought his ideas on biological rhythms were too outlandish. But they make a lot of sense to me.
Dr Dardik designed an exercise programme that realigned patients with the natural cycles of the environment. With carefully timed periods of exercise, Dardik found he could nudge people's onboard biological computers back into synch and actually recreate a healthy system; he got some amazing results in people with chronic diseases.
Dardik's big idea is that life is a wave, not a straight line. Everything occurs in cycles. One week we're up, one week we're down. Birth rates, death rates, accident rates. Heart rates, even. Plot them on a graph, you'll see waves.
When I looked back at my training diaries I saw the same cyclic pattern.
This natural phenomenon is one of the reasons we have coffee breaks. Within the 24-hour sleep/wake cycle, there is an ultradian rhythm that produces natural peaks of activity and rest every 90-120 minutes. Waves within waves. We're healthier when we respect the ebb and flow of our energy.
One of the ways to "ride the wave" of biological rhythms, Dardik said, is to tune exercise to the phases of the moon. Full moon is a high energy time. New moon is a low energy time. Join the dots. After the new moon, you may find your energy starts to pick up, building to a peak of activity around full moon, when it starts falling off again towards the "trough" of new moon.
So...do your highest-mileage weeks (and races, if possible) leading up to, or at, full moon. Have your easy week around new moon. When we're heading into new moon, I don't push myself in training and I am hyper-vigilant for signs of impending injury.

* Information on Dr Dardik is hard to find. His Institute's website has been passive for more than a year. There is one book, by science writer Roger Lewin, that tells the full story: "Making Waves: Irving Dardik and his Superwave Principle" (Rodale, 2005) and that's it.

Doing what it takes

"There are always far more athletes who wish to be the best than there are athletes who are willing to do whatever it takes to get there".

So says Tony Benson, a Lydiard and Cerutty-inspired Australian coach, author of a great "how to train" book called "Run with the Best".

My friends Dwight and Kari Cornwell introduced me to Tony's work. I find myself reading bits of his book avery day; the last time I did that was with Arthur Lydiard's "bible" back in the '80s. Yet Tony's system strikes terror in my heart, as he is definitely a believer in high mileage. I averaged 33 miles a week in the last year which, according to Tony, pretty much means I am still in the "training to train" phase!

Tony bemoans the fact that Australian runners are no longer at the top. And he blames the Kenyans for it. Well, not the Kenyans, exactly, but people's fear of the Kenyans, Ethiopians and Moroccans and the limiting belief that these runners have special genetic gifts or training secrets that means that we can't get near them. The truth of it is -- they train harder!

Tony quotes British champion Bruce Tulloh, who after spending a year in Kenya in the 1970s, said that the Keyans were doing about half the training that Americans or Europeans were doing. Tulloh predicted that when they got disease and malnutrition under control, and were able to train properly, the Kenyans would dominate. Of course, he was proved right.

Tony tells us: "Kip Keino, acknowledged by all the Kenyans I spoke to as their all-time great...might not make the Kenyan top 100 any more. He trained 6-8 times a week. Modern Kenyans train 12-18 times per week." Yes, they are prepared to do what it takes.

As someone raised in the land that produced the likes of W.G.George, Alf Shrubb, Bannister, Pirie, Foster, Ovett, Coe, Cram and all, I am bit embarrassed that the only British runner I look up to these days is Paula Radcliffe. Is there something about our modern lifestyle that means Australian, British and American runners just aren't prepared to do what it takes any more? Or do we blame modern coaches?

Hmm. I am asking myself why I'm only prepared to do 30-40 miles a week. This has got to change.

* Quotes from "Australian Middle and Long Distance Running into the 21st Century", an article on Tony Benson's website. The full article (pdf) is here.

Pain and suffering anyone?

After a workshop at Fleet Feet Boulder I collared former world marathon record-holder Steve Jones and asked him my burning question of the time: how did he handle the pain involved in running a world-record performance? I mean, what strategy does he have for red-lining and being able to keep going?

I was expecting some revolutionary secret tip. Instead, Jonesy looked at me as if I was a bit crazy and said, "Well, it's got to hurt!"

The problem is that when every race hurts, you rapidly lose your appetite for racing. Gabino has taught me a little bit of what it means to suffer like a Mexican in races. He's passing on what he had to go through to beat the first wave of Kenyan runners arriving in the US hungry for prize money. "The Kenyans will go out at 4:02 pace", he told me. "They are in pain from the first mile and they are dying until the end -- that's why you see the fast times".

But who can race like that all the time? Certainly not the elites like Jonesy, who picked his races very carefully; nor the Kenyans, who were usually burnt out quite quickly. So I don't believe any more that racing is always about huge amounts of suffering: it doesn't have to hurt -- unless you are going for a world record or doing whatever it takes to win. I agree with Ahmee's comment: "Yet, a PR isn't nearly enticing enough to forgo a beautiful marathon venue or to push through barely tolerable pain (there are limits to my masochism). "

Lately I've been experimenting with running some low-key races and keeping my effort on the easy side of my pain threshold. As a result, I am able to focus on staying relaxed and looking good! I can monitor my form, my cadence and my breathing, and talk-feel my way into an ideal rhythm. I like it! In a 5k at the weekend I took it easy; with a mile to go I was still relaxed and waiting to be caught by the guys behind me (I was in third), but then realised I was actually gaining on the runner in second place. I caught him and went straight past, feeling strong and fast. I didn't suffer at all. Amazing!

Meanwhile, back to marathon-bashing... and Ahmee's comments. No, you don't have to have gobbets of pain and suffering to be racing, but you do have to be pushing your limits in some way, surely? Otherwise, why race? Why make an exhibition of yourself in funny clothes on pubic roads for hours on end? In fact, the scenes of carnage at the end of the average marathon (and even half-marathon) are not to do with the fact that running 26.2 miles is hard, but because people don't prepare for them properly. For most of the people at the back end of the field, it will be the first time they have got anywhere near the distance. That is no way to train for anything, but I guess it helps them with the charade that it is some sort of unbelievable challenge.

Here's a guy who says it all better -- and more strongly -- than I can. The aptly named "The Rage" of www.10ktruth.com has been ranting about John "The Penguin" Bingham, a man who seems to thnk that finishing a 5k (that's just three miles), let alone a marathon, at walking pace, is a Very Big Deal.

"The key problem I have with Bingham in the context of running is that I don't see him interested in testing the limits of what he as an individual can really physically do…what it's like for Joe Average to really explore the boundaries of his comfort zone once he has committed to put down the channel changer, the pack of smokes and strayed more than 20 feet from the fridge. He overdoes 'the courage to start' thing to an extreme, almost as if a little anaerobic breathing might scare someone right back onto the couch again. I wish he would do more to encourage people to push themselves to another level. I believe this is what the human spirit is all about...not about making excuses like "...it was not comfortable, so I quit…"

"The Rage" concludes: "If mediocrity is his thing, fine. He can still encourage his followers to finish a marathon. Just leave out the 'run' part and I'm OK. Just to set the record straight, I didn't run my last marathon, either. I walked part of it. Of the six I have completed, I have run four…but I am still proud of all six. And I also admired every one of the people in the race, too. Runners, walkers...and joggers."

* Read the full Rage on the The Penguin here.

Marathon disease.. and those 'less athletic' runners

Ahmee posted some great comments about my rant on the marathon 'disease' (click on the comments button at the end of 'A nice cup of tea' section below to see her full post). She took me to task for being too hard on "less athletic" runners.

"I think that you just don't "get it" about why less athletic runners enjoy running, and not racing, for 26.2 miles. Masochism for its own sake is only part of enjoyment. Planning to run a marathon in five hours provides a sense of adventure, a domain where I can push my own humble limits, and a goal race that allows for many months of sociable training, plus an incentive to stay fit, strength train, eat right, and obsess about something not too disturbing", she said.

Maybe I wasn't as clear as a I should be. My "irritation", if we can call it that, is with people who think that being able to run 26.2 miles is special. So special, that if they do it they deserve a medal. Not to mention a t-shirt, a commemorative glass, a bag of freebies and a post-"race" celebration. Running 26.2 miles isn't special. Any more than walking it is. It's what our legs are there for.

Anyone planning to finish it in five hours, to match their friend's pace, to beat a PR -- and I don't care how slow it is -- them I can respect.

I do apologise if the tone of my post was that I think "less athletic" runners are a waste of road space. I didn't mean that at all. What is a "less athletic" runner, anyway? In my book it's someone who has not got the time or the inclincation to do enough training; that's all.

That reference made me laugh out loud. When I first turned up at a Bobby McGee drills session with a 27-minute 5k and a 48-minute 10k to show for myself, I certainly rated as a "less athletic", mid-pack runner. One year on, having improved those times by 10 and 11 minutes respectively through a year of hard, hard training, suddenly I am, what? "More athletic", I guess! I've even had thrown at me the priceless, no-brain comment, "It's easy for you, you've got talent!" That one had my coach Gabino Toledo almost on the floor with laughter. He was the only one with me when we trained in the dark at Centennial, heaving around bags of sand until my back went out; he was often the only one running with me in the snow and ice on those winter mornings, when the "less athletic" were tucked up warm and cosy in bed. Ha!

Ahmee also makes a great point about suffering and masochism, which I'll get to in the next post.

Congratulations if you ran today!

It doesn't matter how far or how slowly; well done for getting out and doing it!

This isn't one of those "we're all winners" spiels ("we're all whiners" is probably more accurate anyway), but just a recognition that we regularly manage to overcome inertia and that, once again, we truimphed: we actually got out of the house!

The thing is, this running lark takes so much time. I am writing this at 3.40pm, a point at which I can just about claim that the day's run is over and done with. But I started preparing for it at 7.30pm last night. That's when I started negotiations with my nearest and dearest for an early night instead of going out for dinner.

At 6am I was up and brewing the first of 3 cups of tea and preparing breakfast. OK. two bananas and some raisins doens't need much preparation. But I did have to prepare my drinks -- one for the run, one for after the run. Get the various bits of kit together, get in the car, get myself up the road to meet Dwight and Kari five miles up Magnolia at around 8,000 feet for a 7.30am start.

Two and something hours later, it's time to start the recovery process. Feet up while drinking the recovery drink (sometimes the most difficult part of the day). Then off the mountain for breakfast and lots of it. Ater breakfast, more tea, plus ice cream, then a nap. Massage legs. Ultrasound hurty bits. Apply DMSO. Cat decides it's time to sit on my chest and have a 20-minute wash while I laser other hurty bits. Pinned on the sofa by the cat, more tea, before reluctantly getting myself together for the ice bath. Hungry again. More food. OK... ready to go. "What shall we do today, sweetie?" Hmm. 3.50. There went Sunday.

A nice cup of tea...

I drink a lot of tea. It's part of my British genetic make-up. It's also about the only physiological thing I have in common with the Kenyans.

I've been drinking tea for 50 years. Well, OK, maybe a few less than that -- I wasn't actually weaned on the stuff. But during those years I've seen tea go from the Englishman's spirit-of-the-Blitz staple to a caffeinated drink that the health police said we shouldn't be drinking, and back to prized status as scientists discovered it is packed with antioxidant that are really, really good for us (especially runners).

One last drawback remeained to be cleared up. As a runner, hydration is very important. And tea, they told us, is a diuretic.

Now I know this is a bit extreme, but I like my tea. So I did a little experiment. I collected and measured my output of urine over two 24-hour periods with and without tea. I compared the quantity coming out with the quantity going in. There was no difference. Conclusion: tea is not a diuretic.

Today I was pleased to discover that scientists at Kings College London agree. "Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers", reported BBC news. And lead researcher Dr Carrie Ruxton actually said that the idea that tea was dehydrating was an urban myth.

"Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate", she said. "But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid.

"Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so its got two things going for it."

* Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk. Paper: EJ Gardner et al, Black tea – helpful or harmful? A review of the evidence. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006, advance online publication 19 July.

Marathon disease....it's getting worse

Marathons. People are obsessed with them. Not with racing them, just with finishing. As if putting one foot in front of another for 26.2 miles is the equivalent of climbing Everest or something.

Don't they get it? Humans are designed to cover long distances on foot. There's nothing special about it.

Those that have done a few soon get to realise that. They're left with two options: train like a proper runner and do a marathon in a decent time, or run longer: run 50 miles, or 100 miles instead. In the context of a world marathon record of 2:04 -- that's 13 mph for two hours -- the second option is a lot easier and much more likely to get you noticed.

Ultra-runner Dean Karnazes has got himself on Oprah following this strategy. His latest gimmick is to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days, for which feat he has already won a ton of sponsorship and full-colour 8-page (yes eight) advertising spreads in the running glossies. Amazing. The hype, not the performance. It's already been done.

" 'Normal Guy' Thompson Finishes 51 Marathons in 50 Days" headlines Runner's World news service this week. "Sam Thompson, hoping to raise awareness of Hurricane Katrina victims, finished his quest with 26.2 miles in Bay St Louis, Mississippi on Saturday, after 26.2 miles in New Orleans the day before. He even added the District of Columbia to one of his one-marathon-per-state days. 'He's a totally normal guy', says Thompson's girlfriend. 'He's just very driven. He's got a great deal of passion and intensity.'

Meanwhile, Chuck Engle, a 35-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, is running 52 marathons in 52 weeks -- at a decent speed. So far he's done 34. "The fastest was a 2:31:34 in Sarasota. The slowest was a 2:54:54 at Gateway to the Pacific in Elma, Washington, which was good enough to win. Last Sunday, Engle won the Silver State Marathon in Nevada in 2:44:52; the hilly course, a 5000-foot altitude, has a five-mile stretch of sand. 'It's such a euphoric feeling you get when you finish a marathon', states Engle. 'You cannot explain it to someone.' "

But never mind all that. The monks of Japan's sacred Mount Hiei run for seven years. In one 100-day stretch they cover 52.5 miles a day. This is while dressed in hand-made straw running shoes, with hat and stave, on mountain tracks as well as on roads. Kind of puts in perspective.

* Picture: "Ajari Sakai Yusai, veteran of two 1,000-day marathons, on the Imuro Valley Course". From "The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei" by John Stevens (Rider, 1988), now out of print.

Exactly...

Henry sums it all up again:

"Old in the body, young in the heart, rich in the spirit and that adds up to today training."

How not to run a mile race

5th in 5:14. Not what I wanted, but not too bad.

It all went a bit wrong.... I went out too fast and three of them sat on me for the first 400m. (Picture shows me going to the front right from the gun.) I had to practically start jogging to get anyone to come past me. When they did, I was trying to recover and settle in when at 800 metres ex-Olympian Colleen De Reuck looked round at us all and then attacked. I had nothing left and just had to hang on.

Scott Hajicek (51), a demon trail runner and 2:45 marathoner, passed Colleen to win in 5:05 (he is the white-haired bloke in the white vest about four runners behind me in the picture); Colleen ran 5:08; Kyle Hubbart (50 -- he won the 2-mile Sunrise Stampede in June in 11:08), got third; then Patty Murray, a former NCAA 10,000m Champion and Olympic Trials marathon qualifier, came hurtling past in the last 150m.

So.. I am not happy that I got so caught up with what Bobby McGee calls the "need to frantically reach for performance" that I lost awareness of the important stuff like rhythm, form, cadence, breathing and so on. Everything that would have let me be fully present.

Funnily enough I had worked out that 5:14 would probably win it, but this year's race was faster! Gabino said the big mistake was the start and that if I hadn't been the rabbit for the first 400 I would have had a better race; it's a question of experience. Because I was out front too early I never got settled in, and I switched to desperate survival mode.

Boulder Race Series Pearl Street Mile Beauty and the Beast Wave August 17, 2006 Results.

Any last words?

"You have the mind, take the body to the finish line. Good luck!!!!!"
Henry Rono

Missing Henry

There was an outside chance that The Man himself, Henry Rono, would run the Pearl Street Mile in Boulder tonight, but he was on his way back from a training camp for kids, and could not divert.

I'm disappointed, but also a bit relieved, as fit or not he would doubtless have run in his usual fearless, take-no-prisoners style.

All credit to the Kenyan maestro: he spent the last few days inspiring -- and being hammered into the dust by -- 7-12th graders at a Five-Star Cross Country Camp. It is great to see the Camp organisers make the point that Henry not only stunned the world by settng four world records in 80 days in 1978 (10,000, 5,000, 3,000 metres and 3,000 metres steeplechase), but that he ran without pacers and for two of them with hardly any spectators.

Henry, on the world record trail again, continues to inspire me and other masters athletes by publishing his daily training and sharing wisdom on a lets.run thread here.

Into the Danger Zone

With a race looming, my thoughts go to mental preparation: what's the best way to get wound up, but without over-doing it?

Should I go into a Zen-like trance, or stay relaxed and chatty; or go cold, seething and furious, like Olympic champion Peter Snell was said to do?

I just found out how Michael Johnson (above) handles it. The world's greatest runner ever over 200 and 400 meters, five times Olympic champion, nine times world champion, had this to say in an interview with former team-mate Todd Copeland:

"You're famous for your stare, or scowl, when get on the track and right before you get in the blocks. I've read that mindset sometimes starts the night before a race. You get into the "danger zone." Could you tell me what that mindset means to you. How do you use it? Is it something you work on?

MJ: That whole thing started in 1992 at the Olympic Trials when I faced my first really tough and difficult assignment, running in lane eight in the 200. Carl Lewis is just talking all kinds of crap, saying I'm not going to make the Olympic team. Basically, I knew that at that point I needed to get into a mindset where I'm so focused on running 200 meters as best as I can and not thinking about what Carl is saying, not thinking about the fact I'm a heavy favorite and I've got Mike Marsh running fast now and Carl is talking all of this stuff and on top of that I've been dealt lane eight. I need to get myself into a tunnel-vision mindset where I look at this and go, "Hey, it's 200 meters whether it's lane one, lane three, or lane eight, and I run 200 meters better than anyone else out here on this track."
It just happened where somebody after the semifinals - Carl's talking a lot of noise, and one of the reporters asked me about it. And I was like, "Hey, I'm in the danger zone."
That has always been a position for me where, basically, I just focus on what I've got to do at that point instead of thinking about what's going to happen if I lose this race, what are they going to say, what are the headlines going to say tomorrow after the race?

Just total concentration.

MJ: Yeah, just total focus on what has to be done over the next nineteen seconds.

Eliminating the whole world except for me and my lane.

MJ: Exactly. It starts usually when I go out to the track to start my warm-up because I need to be thinking. It's a very difficult thing to go out and sprint. People think it's easy, but it's not easy to do it well. It's not like when the gun goes off you just start running as fast and as hard as you can. There are different strategies involved. You've got a lot of zones to go through. You've got to concentrate on trying not to make a mistake. You're trying to make your body do something that's really not very natural. You've got to focus on that and think about that."

Found at Todd Copeland's Unofficial Michael Johnson Page. (now offline)

Is there embarrassment all round at Reebok?

No, they probably haven't even noticed.

Their super-duper, full-color, fold out, three-page advertisment for shoes designed for heel-strikers is illustrated by a fantastic picture of an athlete -- blatantly NOT a heel-striker.

The ad is in September's Runner's World magazine and is for their new "breakthrough" shoe the Trinity KFS...."the shoe that moves with you". Yeah, right.

This shoe is so special, apparently, because it incoporates the absolute latest technology that "manages the forces of impact" and is designed to "follow the foot through" heel impact, mid-foot stabilisation and toe off. Only...er... my foot doesn't land on the heel first. Neither do the feet of any elite runner I have ever watched.

The running shoe industry is obesessed with heel strike, as it is with "over-pronation", because they are problems that sell shoes. Reebok, like all the other manufacturers, keeps quiet about the fact that 90% of elite runners are midfoot/forefoot strikers, while 90% of slow runners are heel strikers. Wouldn't the industry better serve its customers by preaching proper biomechanics, gait and form?

Heel striking is braking. It's what you do when you want to slow down. Heel striking is biomechanically inefficient and leads to injury. Especially when shoes are padded so much that they allow runners to (temporarily) get away with heel striking with locked knees.

There should be red faces at Reebok. The runner in full flight bursting across their advert is about to land... and one thing's for sure: she is not landing on her heel!

Tucked away in RW is an advert for Velocy, a shoe brand actually designed to encourage runners to run "with gravity" and get off their heels. This shoe is not included in the issue's fall show review, despite the fact that it is the only genuine breakthrough we've seen all year.



I went to the Velocy website and got suitably excited. "Conventional footwear technologies focus on the heel. That's why virtually every major running shoe company focuses on 'cushioning' and 'shock absorption'. But what if heel technologies are not the answer? What if gravity is actually a friend and not a foe?" Yes Velocy! Thank you! At last.

Velocy are so new they are still finding their way to stores and are not even available on the Net yet. So instead of buying a pair unseen and untried, I found an application to be a Wear Tester. VP Angela Talbott told me today that they're appointing me one of their testers for the month. I should get the shoes in the next two weeks. Can't wait! Check 'em out on the Velocy website.

Run like a kangeroo?

Two Dutch coaches and scientists have come up with a way of teaching running technique that draws not only on their knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics, but also on the study of the natural motion of animals.

Surprisingly, one of their models is the kangeroo. Many runners spend a lot of time trying to eliminate "bounce" in favour of straight-line power transfer. These guys suggest this might not be helpful.

Most people think that running itself is a "natural" activity and we don't need to be taught how to do it. Wrong! We may start out running efficiently and gracefully as children, but soon lose the skill. I've been privileged to learn from great coaches such as Bobby McGee and Dr Nicholas Romanov, the originator of the Pose Method of running. Adapting my style according to their precepts has sliced whole minutes off my race times without any additional effort.

So, I am open to the idea that running should and can be taught. But kangeroos? I took this up with Functional Training guru Vern Gambetta, who is recommending a DVD on the new technique -- called the BK Method -- on his website.

I asked him why he was so enamoured of BK. "Apart from the fact that I'm not convinced the kangaroo is a particularly apt model for human running, I can't see anyone in middle/long distance running of any note who is using this method -- for example Gebreselassie, Tergat, Kosgei -- you name it", I told him.

One of the runners the Dutch coaches identify as being one of their stars is Ellen van Langen. Well, she won the Olympic 800 metres in 1992 and retired in 1998 after having been "plagued by injuries" (to quote Wikipedia). I don't think these guys had even thought of their method 14 years ago. What's more, Holland is not exactly a world leader in distance running. So why does Vern like BK so much that he is championing it in the US?

Vern replied that the blokes behind BK -- Frans Bosch and Ronald Klomp -- have also written a book on running, which seems to be what convinced him.

"The Kangaroo and animal locomotion are great sources of information for bettering human locomotion. (Read Principles of Animal Locomotion by R. McNeill Alexander). I recommend you read the book before making further judgment", he said.

"Here are two coaches, who are also sports scientists who went out on a limb and looked at running a bit differently. The whole issue of stiffness is explored quite. Also the mechanics that they speak about are what great runners do. They have put this in context. After you read the book and have questions email them to me. I am going to meet the authors in Holland in October. Also a further affirmation is when someone like Gary Winckler, the greatest sprint and hurdle coach in the world, thinks there is something there I listen."

OK. So I ordered the book (see link below -- I got the last one on Amazon, but they must be getting some more in!). Then I went to Bosch and Klomp's website on the DVD: beautifully produced, with loads of fascinating clips and some stunning visuals. Well worth a look. Of course, I had to get that too! So, I'll be reporting back.

Meanwhile, I don't think I'll be bounding down Pearl Street next week... but maybe afterwards I'll experiment a little.

'But it's only a mile....!'

Ah yes, tell people that your next race is the Pearl Street Mile and they can't understand what all the fuss is about.

"Oh! I could do that!" says Pam, the massage therapist.
"Could you do it in 5 minutes?" responds Emily, the chiropractor lucky enough to be treating my groin at the moment.

Racing one mile is hard. There is no room for error, no time to ease yourself into it, no possibility of clawing back a gap if your concentration slips. It is "be here now" stuff and I am desperately trying -- in a completely not-attached-to-outcome way, of course -- to access the Zen state necessary to be totally present, ready to suffer and so reach enlightenment: ie, win the thing.

"To be willing to do all that it takes -- deep desire -- requires the element of suffering", writes Dr Jerry Lynch, PhD, in "The Way of the Champion", the book I always read before a race.

"It is through suffering that you connect with your deepest athletic and personal self and have the vision of your ultimate greatness".

I wish I'd read that this morning before our final hard track session: 4 x 800 metres at mile race pace. Training for the mile hurts! No wonder most old gits like me drift towards the longer distances. Sure, there is an element of suffering in training longer and slower, but it is nowhere near as sharp.

Races that take between one minute and five minutes to complete take athletes into what sports physiologists call "the mystery zone". Elite performance in the mile requires both aerobic and anaerobic power.. So even although it's only a mile, you've still got to keep up your normal diet of steady running at distances from 5-15 miles or more, but on top of that you've got to do the eyeballs-out, fast fast fast stuff, too.

Nobody can tell you what the exact mix should be.
You get there by trial and error and, if you're lucky,
expert asessment and feedback from someone
who's been there and done it. Only a mile, but so hard to get right.

You can do the extraordinary -- Roger Bannister

Just found this great quote from Roger Bannister in a commencement address by Dr Steven Gabbe, MD:

'When I decided to speak about Roger Bannister, I wrote to him and asked what message he would want me to convey. He directed me to a quote and to his training schedule. First, the quote,

"However ordinary each of us may seem, we are all in some way special and can do things that are extraordinary, perhaps until then even thought impossible.

"When the broad sweep of life is viewed, sport, though instinctive, physical and ephemeral, illustrates a universal truth that most of us find effort and struggle deeply satisfying, harnessing almost primeval instincts to fight, to survive. It gives us all a challenge, a sense of purpose and freedom of choice. It is increasingly difficult to find this in our restricted twenty-first-century lives.

"The particular target we seek may not be important. But what is important is the profoundly satisfying effort in thought, feeling and hard work necessary to achieve this success."

"Four Laps, Four Minutes, Four Years"
Commencement Speech, May 19, 2006
Steven G. Gabbe, MD
Dean, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine,
found online here.

What IS the mile record for old gits, anyway?

Current 50-54 record is 4:27.9 set by Nolan Shaheed in 2000.

Henry Rono turns 55 in February 2007, so after that will be able to go for the 55-59 record, which is 4:40.4 (set by Australia's Jack Ryan in 1977).

The fly in the ointment is the great Nolan, who is now 55!
In March this year he set a new INDOOR world mile 55-59 record in 4:42.89. I think outdoor times are usually + 2 or +3 seconds, but we will have to see what he does.

I am watching this all very closely as I was born the same year as Henry (but 10 months later)
and, as is clear from these pages, I suffer from severe delusions of talent... whatever Henry sets will be the time I aim for in late 2007 :)

Pilates - or 'What the bleep are these muscles here?'

It's in fashion, so I've resisted it.
Hell, I did Pilates 20 years ago in London before anyone knew about it.
But then... "... and what with your core not being what it should be"... came an off-hand remark by my technical advisor, world class coach Bobby McGee (www.bobbymcgee.com)... which decided me I had to do something about it.

So, off to Pilates of Boulder fror asession with Richard Rossiter. I picked Richard because a) he's a man, b) he is not a dancer and c) he has a rich life that includes climbing, running, bike-riding and much else. He has also used his own Pilates practice to rehab himself back from the brink of wheel-chairdom after a front tyre blow-out on his road bike.

Today I am wondering what the bleep are these muscles at the back of my knees -- and why I have never used them before! Yeah, I may have thought Pilates was all about flavour-of-the-month core strengthening, but no, it is about much more than that.

After one session on the Reformer, a sort of rowing machine for the legs, I know I am going to see some sensational results in my running as the routine re-activates and strengthens muscles I have hardly been using.

When it came to the wunder-chair, a spring-loaded step-up device, I nearly couldn't finish the reps -- and my quads are toughened by MANY hill reps. Besides all that, the breathing technique is different - and I'll report back on what that's doing to my oxygsn uptake. "No belly breathing here", is Richard's take-home message.


* Pilates of Boulder

Fastest mile so far

Tonight's post-training conversation with my wife Abby:

"What's the fastest mile you've ever run?" Well, I haven't run it very often - but I did 5:30 about 20 years ago on the track at Crystal Palace in a relay event.

"What do you think you need to do to win the Pearl Street Mile?" In the Beauty and the Beast event? About 5:14.

"What did you do in training tonight? You were doing a one-mile time trial, right?" 5:03!!

'You can always do one more'

"There's only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won't die. Even though you feel like you'll die, you don't actually die.
"Like when you're training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more." --- Floyd Landis

Seeing Elvis

Just back from the 10 minutes x10x10 workout -- did it on grass at the futbol pitch -- what a great session!

This is a test of will-power as much as anything, and builds in the ability to surge even when you are "dead". As part of the cunning plan it is also constructed so that if you are aiming to run a mile in five minutes, say, then that is just what you will cover, at speed...

OK, so to translate the equation. You set your watch to bleep every ten seconds (or your GPS monitor to screech, which mine does).... you sprint for ten seconds, jog for ten seconds, sprint for ten seconds and so on -- until you have been running for ten minutes and/or are starting to hallucinate.

My coach Gabino Toledo, who sets this torture up, refers to this hypoxic state as "seeing Elvis" -- because, you know, sometimes you do!

Well this felt really good... especially I think as I was doing the workout on my own and it was getting dark... so I tapped into the British runenrs' racial memory of Pirie, Foster, Ovett, Coe -- all the hard nuts who often trained on their own, in the dark, while others slumped in front of tvs.

It has given me a lot of confidence for the Pearl Street Mile -- now only about two weeks away, as this teaches you to GO when you really, really don't want to, and I think that's the situation I am going to be in.

If Henry Rono can do it...

Kenyan runner Henry Rono, one of the world's greatest distance runners, has announced he is attacking the world mile record...
no change there then, except.... that Henry is now 53, weighs 200lb, hasn't raced seriously since 1978 and is putting his life back together after dropping almost to the bottom.
Henry announced his intention and has been posting his training progress in an inspirational thread on letsrun.com. So inspirational that I decided if he can do it, so can I.
So, like him, I am going to attack the world mile record for Masters athletes aged 55-59 or, if I get in the right sort or shape early, 50-54.