tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107074112012-01-31T07:55:55.505-05:00Old guys still moving down the road. How we do it and, on the good days, why.Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comBlogger741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-5067142513715695722009-11-12T09:30:00.000-05:002009-11-12T15:31:52.005-05:00

(update of original September 2007 post)I always said I’d quit running when my body told me to stop, not a doctor or my Mother or anyone else. But with a nagging pain in my lower back for several years now, it makes me wonder if my body is now talking, and loudly. Frankly, I had planned to run for a couple more decades and be one of those really old and greyed guys slogging down the road. So

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-4448137052819272452007-04-20T11:32:00.000-04:002008-08-31T06:44:51.024-04:00

(Ed. note: Interviewed myself for Suite101 story about a comeback from painful half-mile on treadmill to 20-mile weeks -- over three months. Back issues returned, but Dr. Nate's chiropractic care helped me get back on my feet. I continue to run with a herniated disk. Written Novmeber 2007. SCV) Like most aging runners, Steven Curtis, 54, has dealt with his share of injuries -- IT band

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-47307893659874202882006-09-18T09:34:00.000-04:002008-08-31T06:46:52.086-04:00

WALK THE WALKThe Place: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton Ohio, September 15, 2007 Start Time: 7:35 AMBy Ed SmithArrived early at the parking area on Saturday morning and spent about an hour sitting in the rental going through the check list. As it turned out the hotel I stayed at was outside the base main gate and only 12-15 minutes from the start line. I

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1154771466982819682006-08-05T05:00:00.000-04:002006-08-05T06:08:56.813-04:00

Yesterday a chiropractor told me I didn't have much long-distance running in front of me because of my age. "Fifty-three? I didn't know," he says. "Your knees, your back...people weren't built to run marathons." Maybe, but that's still the last time that guy gets my business. Not because he's telling me something I don't want to hear, but because I simply asked him what I needed to do to get back

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1153827860273740892006-07-25T07:44:00.000-04:002006-07-25T07:49:47.836-04:00

Midsummer update: 14 weeks to Chicago....16 weeks to NY.Roy & Marabelle: Looks like they're headed to NY the first weekend of November. Roy's knee is holding up as he puts in 10-milers-plus and he reports the half-dollar size chunk of floating cartlege has recessed back inside the knee. This is a good thing? Marabelle just blazes ahead....Kurt: The quest continues for sub-4, although in South

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1153343804968784242006-07-19T17:13:00.000-04:002006-07-19T17:16:44.983-04:00

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1147955977793449892006-05-18T08:37:00.000-04:002006-05-18T08:44:02.633-04:00

A Kenyan? Well, it’s mostly true, if profiling is allowed in a Palm Beach County middle-school track meet. I mean, the kid with the #1 seed and a 5:13 qualifying time had the look and long leggy stride of every winner wearing the wreath after Boston for two decades. It was Nick’s biggest fear. “Please, no Kenyans at the start.” But sure enough, there he was, in the field of 16, lining up one

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1145705601177980392006-04-22T07:15:00.000-04:002006-04-22T07:33:21.186-04:00

Swansong.....NEW YORK: This week I paid for my guaranteed entry into NY -- about 80 bucks -- with the intent of rolling it over into another guaranteed entry and another 80 bucks next year, when we may run it. May not. But it's tough giving up the entry. Roy's flipping his as well, and entering Marabelle into the lottery. Hopefully Kurt is paying his money for the lottery. 2007...08? Hard

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1145704490259722832006-04-22T07:08:00.000-04:002006-04-22T07:14:50.273-04:00

Who knew? Nick’s first track meet – three middle schools, including high-powered Odyssey. He’d blown away everyone on his team at the mile and half-mile distances, but how would he do against real competition? His coach gave him the mile to run. At the gun, he tucked in behind another willowy kid from Odyssey who looked pretty fast and Nick stayed on his shoulder for the first lap. Then

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1142947262175574512006-03-21T07:41:00.000-05:002006-03-22T08:06:54.770-05:00

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1142944877270162542006-03-21T07:33:00.000-05:002006-03-21T09:48:30.986-05:00

Miami Tropical Marathon 06. Kurt's 4:05 left him no worse for wear on a warm day and Ed racked up a personal best 5:31 -- weather means nothing to the intrepid walker. I did the half in an unremarkable 2:03, after running the last mile in 13:30 after missreading my GPS.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1142944408597402122006-03-21T07:08:00.000-05:002006-03-21T16:35:03.826-05:00

One year ago, Kurt and I began to train for a sub-4 marathon in Chicago this past October. A bout with asthma/allergies in late summer hurt my training. Kurt, on the other hand, had rebounded nicely from stress fractures. By the time the race rolled around, he was ready. He'd put in the time and training -- but came up a four minutes short.Rather than packing it in, Kurt tweeked his program and

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129912204483429712005-10-21T12:26:00.000-04:002006-03-21T10:21:44.710-05:00

Finishers Chicag05. It wasn't pretty for the bookends, but we all got there. Run onward....

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129911641167539952005-10-21T12:15:00.000-04:002005-10-21T12:20:41.166-04:00

Next time, let's meet where there's better head rests.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129911303038599032005-10-21T12:10:00.000-04:002005-10-21T12:15:03.040-04:00

Feeling spry 26.2 later, and why not -- he got off the course much earlier

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129910958824773212005-10-21T12:06:00.000-04:002005-10-21T12:09:18.826-04:00

Eddie drinkin' da beer in shytown at da fountain.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129910784327776972005-10-21T12:00:00.000-04:002005-10-21T12:06:24.326-04:00

Before the Expresso, after the death march.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129910308014383312005-10-21T11:54:00.000-04:002005-10-21T11:59:26.023-04:00

7:05 a.m. Steve, Ed, Kurt. Does Ed's cap look a bit small? Or is his....

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129910013235792992005-10-21T11:50:00.000-04:002005-10-21T11:53:33.243-04:00

7.am. What's with the glasses?

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1129414793121799132005-10-15T17:37:00.000-04:002005-10-15T18:19:53.126-04:00

26.2 is a wicked distance that can't be cheated. At the 24M mark, Kurt had the 4:00 Pace Team in sight 100 yards ahead, but his legs wouldn't go. He came up 4 minutes short on a terrific run on a cool, sunny day in Chicago. Me, at 4 hours, the original time goal, I was shuffling along with two inflamed IT bands, a twitching back, legs caked in lactic acid in Chinatown and another hour of

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1127863496578682012005-09-27T19:24:00.000-04:002007-09-18T09:39:01.325-04:00

Kurt has the shits, an intestinal bug run amok. He's paranoid of falling down the stairs and twisting an ankle or stubbing a toe or wrenching a knee doing something routine. Hey, it's nearing showtime and, well, shit happens. Count on it. With 11 days to go, Kurt is feeling the extraordinary time commitment and effort he's made since February. How many miles? How many hours? Doctors visits,

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1127391629986981142005-09-22T07:33:00.000-04:002005-09-22T08:20:29.993-04:00

Taper Time is a wonderful time. You've done the work, now it's time to coast. Eat your protein steak and eggs to repair damaged muscle. Get as much rest as you can, shake the fatigue. Run progressively less. De-stress, feel good, no pressure. Plan a massage. Hey, it's been a haul, but you sidestepped through the minefield of injuries, illness and natural disasters and you're almost ready

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1127306204485216212005-09-21T08:02:00.000-04:002005-09-22T07:33:34.300-04:00

Bring on my inhaler. After a month of bending over to suck air only 15-30 minutes into every run, we now have an answer why. It's exercise-induced asthma, which I suspected a year ago but it never raged like this year's month-long episode.Having puffed my new favorite running aid yesterday, I ran the treadmill for 8 miles at 9 and 8:30 paces comfortably. I even experienced a "second wind" -- a

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1126726312189999812005-09-14T14:19:00.000-04:002005-09-14T15:31:52.196-04:00

It's peak season for this year's fall marathon, and I'm experiementing with a new tactic during these few critic weeks when you really want to racchet up your conditioning and get your head ready to meet all physical and mental challenges on the big day. I'm laying down. Why run and tire myself out, it never made me faster before. Labor Day, the day I always put in a 18 to 20-miler, I slept

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1125588838255575592005-09-01T08:24:00.000-04:002005-09-01T11:33:58.286-04:00

Less than three weeks till the taper begins. Both Kurt and I are battling physical problems. Kurt, who was running lights out with a sub-46 10K and blistering 10-miler at 8:20 pace in San Francisco last week, is now hobbled with shin splints. Last week's dazzling SF runs were on asphalt, his first off the relatively cushy dirt trail he's been running all summer at home. Changing surfaces can

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1124885522482121452005-08-24T07:22:00.000-04:002005-08-24T08:12:02.490-04:00

On a relatively cool 65 degree morning in San Francisco, Kurt laced up, found a hill-less six-mile stretch and destroyed his old personal best (50:12) for a 10K. The new PB: Just under 46 minutes, around a 7:25 mile pace. According to all the expert coaches I'm following, that means Kurt's VDOX is around 44. Potential marathon time around 3:32 to 3:40, depending on who you read, if the

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1124365733391848492005-08-18T07:08:00.000-04:002005-08-18T07:56:54.033-04:00

There are bad runs, and then there are bad runs. Last night was the latter. I decided to replace the 8 MP on the schedule for an easy 16, get it out of the way this week. I felt like running.As I said months ago, the wild card for training hard in the summer would be the heat; and wouldn’t you know, South Florida is in the midst of one of the worst heat waves in decades. Mornings, nights, the

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123692746040573612005-08-10T12:42:00.000-04:002005-08-10T12:52:26.046-04:00

Kurt has offered to shield me and my foot from the winds off the lake. Here's a peak at the turn back to the east, a view of left shoulder drafting....

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123675958224919912005-08-10T07:29:00.000-04:002005-08-10T08:12:38.230-04:00

I read somewhere a running equivalent for aqua-jogging is your in-pool heartbeat plus 13 beats per minute, due to the fact the water keeps you cooler and your heart pumps less blood to your skin. My pool is 80-some degrees, so I'm not sure I can add the beats. Without them, I kept my in-water BPM in the 120 to 150 range, with spikes to 160 during four 2 1/2-minute killer aqua-intervals. I also

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123589167575499212005-08-09T07:21:00.000-04:002005-08-09T08:06:07.580-04:00

I’m stopping running for at least a week. After three days of off and on discomfort in my right heel, I ran 8 yesterday on the treadmill with a mild discomfort early in the run, but it warmed up. Last night at Nick’s baseball practice I ran after two fly balls, and that was the end: I limped off the field. I keep hoping it’s a heel bruise but all the references say plantar facitis. It's acting

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123095378919204352005-08-03T14:55:00.000-04:002005-08-03T14:56:18.923-04:00

It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get worse.--Steve Prefontaine

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123029709206971972005-08-02T20:24:00.000-04:002005-08-02T20:41:49.213-04:00

Just do it, so he is. Ed has entered Chicago to speed-walk the loop from downtown to Wrigley to Comisky and back, his second marathon of the year. He walked Nashville in April. Lorraine and Nick have decided not to go, as Nick has finals for his first quarter 8th grade that week and possibly some baseball games that weekend. So Kurt, Ed and I will be staying in the McCormick Hyatt, at 70 bucks

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123028272539414082005-08-02T18:05:00.000-04:002005-08-02T20:17:52.546-04:00

Where we're atKurt has run a 16 mile long and turned in a quick 50:12 10K; I've reached my first 20 miler but haven't run a time trial in weeks due to the heat and travel to North Carolina (the last time trial was in early June, a 7:44 pace 5K, my fastest 10K a 50:28 in late April). Today we both ran half-mile intervals, averaging seconds just below and above 7:00 paces (3:30 halves). I don't

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1123020285404347012005-08-02T18:00:00.000-04:002005-08-02T18:04:45.410-04:00

From: KurtTuesday, August 02, 2005Today's runRan half mile intervals each around 3:20. 5 of them with 1/2 mile slow jogs / walks in between for a total of 5 miles. I gave it my all. The best I can do right now. It was a little humid this AM which I'm sure factored in to the times.From: Steve, later in day, ran:3:233:253:293:323:46 At this point, you were not my favorite person for this

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1119441577501137622005-06-22T07:59:00.000-04:002005-06-22T07:59:37.506-04:00

Back on the road. After 6 weeks of rest and rehab from four stress fractures, Kurt showed off his bike-spun VO2 this week with his first 5K time trial -- a speedy 24:30, under 8 pace. Now the careful transition to 20-30 mile weeks this month, and hopefully some custom inserts soon -- and he's back on track.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1119039148631042172005-06-17T15:50:00.000-04:002005-06-17T16:12:28.633-04:00

Cranking the treadmill up to a 1% grade is equal in the effort of a land run. So says this bit of research, A 1% TREADMILL GRADE MOST ACCURATELY REFLECTS THE ENERGETIC COST OF OUTDOOR RUNNING, J Sports Sci Date Of Publication: 1996 Aug. The study demonstrated equality of the energetic cost of treadmill and outdoor running with the use of a 1% treadmill grade over a duration of approximately 5

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118920148865897822005-06-16T07:09:00.000-04:002005-06-16T07:23:33.963-04:00

Still dizzy and queazy from severe dyhydration an hour after NY 2003. Shortly after this shot, I slumped on a curb in west Central Park while Lorraine flagged down a taxi. Couldn't function. Ate chicken dumpling soup in our hotel room and passed out. It was the second NY marathon that wrung me out, two out of two disaster runs. Eating the dumpling, I swore the marathoning was over. Yesterday I

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118837483451134882005-06-15T08:07:00.000-04:002005-06-15T08:11:23.456-04:00

Just plug in your max heart rate and resting heart rate, and it gives you the ranges for the 5 training zones. MHR is genetically predetermined and lowers by 1 beat a minute as you age--not much you can do about this number; but resting heart beat indicates fitness level and lowers as you get fitter. This marathon guide suggests a few ways to determine MHR, including running some uphills. A

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118581430249554422005-06-12T08:54:00.000-04:002005-06-12T09:09:56.713-04:00

Here's a better way to figure max heart rate. This is important in figuring training zones – how fast to run intervals, longs, tempos.217 – (.80 x age) = MHR (for running)Max heart rate is also sports specific. It will be different running than spinning.To figure heart rate for training zones:MHR x Intensity % + RHR (resting heart rate).For me:173 MHR – 54 resting heart rate = 119 X intensity (ex

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118580864525217852005-06-12T08:42:00.000-04:002005-06-12T08:54:24.530-04:00

Curious about how S. Fla.'s high temps and humidity were impacting my runs in the summer, I looked everywhere for this. More science: Above 70 degrees, heart rate increases 1 beat/min per degree F. Interestingly, the oxygen demand doesn’t increase in the heat (the sucking wind portion), but your cardio system must pump more blood to your skin to enhance heat dissipation and cool you down.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118580152567951352005-06-12T08:37:00.000-04:002005-06-12T08:42:32.570-04:00

For every pound you lose, you are one minute faster in a marathon. Science.At 182 (4:29), if you could get down to 152, you wouldn't have to do anything more than you did last year. Theory.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118232417206818702005-06-08T08:03:00.000-04:002005-06-08T08:06:57.210-04:00

You can minimize the wear and tear on your body by replacing up to 25 percent of your mileage with biking, swimming, deep water running, elliptical training, or other aerobic non-weight bearing exercises. Do these activities at a pace that will get your heart rate in your training range and count how many miles you would have run during the time spent doing the alternative training as “running

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1118231134122596832005-06-08T07:23:00.000-04:002005-06-12T09:08:01.276-04:00

Here's the most common and simplistic formula to measure effort based on heart beats:220 - your age = maximum heart rate (MHR)For Kurt, 220-48=172 MHR.77-78% MHR for marathon = 132 beats per minuteSee Coach Bensen's site (below) on effort-based training. He says 77-78% MHR is realistic for running a marathon, so we need to get our fitness level in that range for 8:45 pace. Once heart rate and

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1117834441546504072005-06-03T17:34:00.000-04:002005-06-03T17:43:49.506-04:00

My desktop. New York's blue line through Central Park. Lottery in mid-June, both Kurt and I are in the pool. 2006?

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1117825535277270152005-06-03T13:33:00.000-04:002005-06-03T17:21:24.483-04:00

I once read a ditty in RW that said you know you're a marathoner if 18 weeks is an important block of time. So here we are -- 18 weeks to showtime. Everything up till now has been prep.So how did we do?Me first: Did I work out in the gym as often as planned? No way, but better than usual. Averaged less than 2X a week when 3X was the game plan. Did I run consistently? Absolutely. Followed the 14-

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1117554117960004662005-05-31T11:34:00.000-04:002005-05-31T11:41:57.963-04:00

Great site for calculator. Plug in your latest 5K or 10K time trial....and it tells you how fast you should be doing your easy runs, tempos, and intervals to increase VO2.http://www.fasterrunning.com/oldsite/calculator2.htmWork backwards from your marathon goal time, and you can figure out where you need to be in 18 weeks. I'm using this calculator to figure weekly speed runs after time trials.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1114700458542352662005-04-28T09:54:00.000-04:002005-04-28T11:00:58.546-04:00

I've always said the toughest part of marathoning is getting to the start line. By that, I mean it's so difficult avoiding the minefield of injuries, sicknesses, weather calamities (hurricanes come to mind), and anything else that forces you off your training schedule. Downtime is especially deadly to a goal time.Kurt is a perfect recent example. He's already suffered through a kidney stone and

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1112957315552988972005-04-08T06:47:00.000-04:002005-04-08T13:49:29.010-04:00

Kurt is officially chronic with another bout of shin splints, and heading to a sports physician next week, probably ending up with a new pair of $300 custom orthotics—but in the meantime, more downtime. So now what? Kidney stones, shin splints, he can’t get out of the blocks. Schedule is going to hell. Well, he’s hitting the weights and took his first spinning class. Can you get there with

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1112710424844234222005-04-05T09:51:00.000-04:002005-04-05T14:22:53.240-04:00

Hills (for me, bridges over the Intracoastal and I-95) start this week on our schedule. Here's suggestions from Jeff Galloway, for sub-4 guys. Run these hill workouts, once a week, over the next 4 or 5 weeks; maybe we try to run 4 of these during this six-week session:4-6 hills in a 5-7 mile run7-8 hills in 7-8 mile run9-10 hills in 8-9 mile runPick a hill 400 to 800 meters long, gentle grade and

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1112703849497712852005-04-05T08:19:00.000-04:002005-04-05T15:17:26.803-04:00

You know that feeling at the end of a marathon or long runs where your legs tighten and grow excessively fatigued, like you're running in cement? Blame it on lactate acid, a by-product of burning sugar for energy in your leg muscles. Is there a way to prevent this from happening? So they say: It's training at a "lactate threshold" pace.What's that? It's more or less your 5K pace, plus 20 to 40

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1112013134926332662005-03-28T06:20:00.000-05:002005-03-28T08:09:23.940-05:00

The first 6-week session down, four to go. Just like that. We had a kidney stone, illness, shin splints, bought core ball, new shoes, and started this blog. Kurt and I ran our last week 5K time trials at a 8:18 to 8:07 pace, respectively. I averaged 16 miles a week (about right, a 19 and 20 the last couple weeks); and a disappointing 2 weight-workouts per week. That will not get the results

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1111495490868581532005-03-22T07:18:00.000-05:002005-03-28T07:55:06.576-05:00

Progressing nicely with running/workouts till this week5, when baseball took over. Five-game tournament over the weekend, and a couple more games during the week, pretty much ruined the routine. Tactic between games and practices: Running 8s to compress two days into one. *** Kurt is back on the beam, traveling but working out in his room, he tells me. Sounds like he's fully recovered from kidney

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1110224970435531802005-03-07T14:07:00.000-05:002005-03-07T16:38:00.203-05:00

Blood in the urine. Who wants to read about that? Well, for years, I couldn't read enough about it. I couldn't talk to enough doctors about it. Because I couldn't figure it out. And it got so bad and so frequent, it threatened all my runs over 8 miles. It burned, it nauseated, it slowed me during marathons, it could even stop me. And then I started bleeding after just 3 miles.....so what the hell

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1110030242444023402005-03-05T08:35:00.000-05:002005-03-07T06:58:27.226-05:00

You say you're going out for a short run, and come back two hours later.....You shower 12 times a week.....You start buying energy gels in bulk.....Eighteen weeks is an important block of time. (RW 10-02)..... You start thinking about a morning run a year or two in advance....You pee blood and shrug.....

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1109854662617664492005-03-03T07:34:00.000-05:002005-03-03T07:57:42.620-05:00

Postscript on yesterday's post: The docs decided the stone was too close to the kidney to obliterate it with shock waves. So Kurt opted for them to "go up and get it," a non-medical term for -- oh, forget it -- rather than going home and passing it in his spare time. Forget that! Training is now on hold until, well, until his thing works again without the flaming fire below. Upside of having

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1109792841494712232005-03-02T14:22:00.000-05:002005-03-03T08:46:22.663-05:00

Which hurts more? It's not even close, actually. Take your worst-ever ending of a marathon, the one where you're bonking badly, dehydrated, cramped with a screaming hammie or two, immersed in a fatigue that weighs on you like warm death, throw in a dizzy spell with flashing bright lights, the "wall" is as thick as the 10K you still have to run....Now compare that to the passing of a silly

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1109430863737222942005-02-26T09:29:00.000-05:002005-02-27T07:48:53.440-05:00

Back in 1983, my first serious bout of shinsplints sidelined me only weeks before my second Orange Bowl marathon with Roy. Talk about disappointing. I didn't know any better and tried to run through them, big mistake. Anyway, I may have had another bout or two since, but generally, shinsplints have not been a problem. Until the last year.Now they've popped up twice for extended periods, in the

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1109352925598617792005-02-25T12:12:00.000-05:002005-02-25T17:29:25.863-05:00

Bingo! http://www.coachbenson.com/images/8090.pdf This Coach Benson site is great. This particular chart gives you the 10K time (51:00 min/8:14 pace) you need to be running, in order to run a realistic sub-4 marathon, without stopping. It also suggests that 77-78% effort is where you need to be for running 26 miles--that's about a 9:05 to 9:09 pace. With walk breaks and congestion of a big

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1109160106562888122005-02-23T07:01:00.000-05:002005-02-23T07:10:22.290-05:00

Spiffed out in mylar and Breathright. (Kurt, Chi04)

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1109013345200216842005-02-21T14:10:00.000-05:002005-02-22T07:21:20.406-05:00

It's pre-dawn, still dark out, wife's asleep, you put on your shorts, tank, socks, shoes. Squeek! Like you're killing a mouse with each step. Squeek, squeek, squeek. You leave the house. Oh hell, forgot something. Back inside. More squeek, squeek, squeek. Years this has been going on....till this weekend's discovery: Just sprinkle some baby powder, baking soda or, in my case, Gold's powder

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108907658644050982005-02-20T08:35:00.000-05:002005-02-20T08:56:21.266-05:00

Based on 5K or 10K times, how fast should you run on an easy or recovery run (60-75% effort)? Or a 20-minute tempo run (80% effort)? Or hill repeats (80-95% effort?) Or an interval, like a series of 880s or miles (90-95% effort) Or the recovery jog after (70%)? Here's a handy chart: www.coachbenson.com, then look in Book Forms, Section B. Obviously, as the 5k and 10k time trials get faster, you

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108905476273747822005-02-20T08:10:00.000-05:002005-02-20T08:22:38.166-05:00

Hitting the wall may have less to do with running out of glycogen, more to do with damaged muscles that send signals to the brain to slow down. The body, smart as it is, sends that signal in a package of extreme fatigue. New research suggests eating protein on the run to prevent some of that muscle damage. Several times I've wondered why when I've drank a lot and eaten plenty of Gus that I've

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108833564722574402005-02-19T12:00:00.000-05:002005-03-28T07:55:49.933-05:00

Germs from traveling left Kurt sick all week, an occupational hazard. As new training gear, he's thinking about wearing a white surgical mask through airports. *** Will Roy's wife Marabelle be running? Is her year-long bout with plantar facitis behind her? She puts us all to shame, perrennial 3:45er *** Overhead lunges suck. Wabbly footing; hurts my knees. Returning to hanging weights at my side.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108587196260282682005-02-18T15:48:00.000-05:002005-02-18T08:21:35.776-05:00

AP, CNN and others reporting this morning that Vioxx may be coming back out on the market. New science shows the unique benefit of the drug outweigh the risks (I coulda told them that), and Merck may bring it back. I was willing to sign a waiver that I wouldn't sue the company if my heart exploded, in exchange for a handful, but this is too good to be true. Hopefully by spring those golden tabs

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108646869200790692005-02-17T07:09:00.000-05:002005-02-17T18:32:00.336-05:00

Imagine a knee so screwed up, pieces of cartilage, about the size of a quarter, float around freely, unattached, in the joint's fluids, occasionally surfacing in the kneecap -- and which need to be excised. This happens about as often as the rest of us get flu shots. A knee permanently bloated with godknowswhat. A knee that hasn't straightened for over a decade. A knee protected from bone-on-bone

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108569117657244602005-02-16T10:24:00.000-05:002005-02-16T16:30:28.243-05:00

My butt feels like somebody poured concrete in my glutes. Or whacked the hell out of it with a two-by-four. Sore sore. Tenderized. I need one of those foamy-thick cushions that look like a toilet seat for my ass, just to sit here. Last week, I'd been doing a not-too-strenuous 100 feet or so of lunges with a pair of handweights hung down by my side. No no no, that's not the way to do it, Kurt

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108506392409831092005-02-15T16:53:00.000-05:002005-02-16T11:09:24.326-05:00

Sounds boring already, and I promised. But it's been bugging me. Do we get faster by training longer at marathon pace? Or should we stick to the old formula of running long a minute or two slower than MP, mixing in an interval once a week, and believing it'll all come together on race day?So I asked Frank Shorter at the Miami Tropical Marathon Expo in February, what's the deal? Shorter definately

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108471714766175592005-02-15T07:38:00.000-05:002005-02-15T07:48:34.766-05:00

Three easy miles (8:56 pace), thirty minutes lifting/situps, nine chocolate chip cookies before bed. Two steps forward, one backward. Lance Armstrong says lifting and aeorobic training are like water and oil, they don't mix. Neither does carving off eight pounds and a nightcap of cookies....

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108412297262690472005-02-14T14:56:00.000-05:002005-02-15T08:04:52.950-05:00

Running under 4 hours? C'mon....what about my age, my limited running abilities (other than I keep going), my history of chronic injuries, training in the South Florida's oppressive heat and humidity through summer, my slow mid-pack times over the last decade (4:25-5:07, save an odd 4:05 in Boston in 1996) and the fact that the last time I slipped into the 3's was 23 years ago (3:38, thank you)

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108066103405314402005-02-10T16:27:00.000-05:002005-02-18T07:43:58.496-05:00

Me, 26.2 seconds after finishing Chicag04.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108066440244899932005-02-10T16:02:00.000-05:002005-02-18T07:44:37.250-05:00

My brother Kurt, marathon virgin no more, unsure about doing a second.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108066261792269172005-02-10T04:11:00.000-05:002005-02-18T07:45:05.590-05:00

Soaking it up, poolside at Buckingham Fountain

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1108060004669672581997-11-03T13:12:00.001-05:002008-07-11T10:45:09.708-04:00

And it rained. And it rained. And it rained.My best memories of running the New York City marathon, the race I’d wanted to run more than any other for the last 15 years including Boston, are in the rain. Sopping, drenching, thunder-clapping, sky-falling-in, monsooning, nasty rain. Getting my race number at the Coliseum Expo, it rained. Catching a cab, it rained. Walking down Broadway, it rained.

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10707411.post-1107892300710644321996-04-16T07:48:00.000-04:002006-03-21T16:44:32.036-05:00

The day before the raceSitting in a small cafe on Boyston Street, the heart of downtown Boston was looking rather grim. Darkening clouds, drizzling rain, cold.....the pervasive greyness. Grey wet sidewalks. Grey wet buildings. Grey wet streets. Grey gloom everywhere.Two blocks from the finish, my wife Lorraine, was sipping on a steamy cup of New England clam chowder. "It's just nasty out there,"

Steve Vogelnoreply@blogger.com0