Ryan – Page 90 – HillRunner.com

Mindfulness training

September 17, 2015 / Training / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

This is going to be a short post. I’m busy getting myself and Team HillRunner.com ready for Al’s Run and with a few other projects. I do have a longer post in the works but it’s not ready for today. Hopefully, I’ll have it ready for next week. It’s one I’m excited about.

This week, though, I came across this interesting article about mindfulness training.

While I haven’t always thought of it in this term, I’ve always been a fan of what is described there. The idea as I view it essentially boils down to being in the moment and remaining calm no matter what is going on. On race day, this means be fully aware of what’s happening right now and being ready to respond thoughtfully, not reflexively, to what goes on. If someone passes you, do you surge to get back ahead, do you try to go with them and attempt the pass later or do you let them go with the hopes you can pass them back later or the understanding that you just can’t hold that pace?

Of course, practicing listening to your body will help you naturally be more mindful on race day. Listening to your body is part of being mindful but it’s also more. It’s learning to not overreact, to remain calm no matter what happens. It’s remaining positive even in the face of a setback.

So practice being mindful, then put it to practice in your next race. I’m planning to put it to practice Saturday.

Eating disorders

September 10, 2015 / Health and Fitness / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I’ve encountered a few instances recently that have made me realize how prevalent in the running world eating disorders are.

One of these instances that spurred this post was this article, written by Jenny Scherer. Another was an article on Suzy Favor Hamilton, who also had to overcome eating disorders.

I just wanted to address this topic not because I think this post alone will spur someone to seek the help they need but because I guess I had my head in the sand. I knew they existed but I didn’t realize how common eating disorders were in the running community. In recent weeks, I’ve heard of several runners I never would have guessed before who faced these issues.

I’m not even close an expert on this topic. I’m not posting this with the intent to offer advice, just to raise awareness. If you’re looking for advice, it would be know the symptoms and learn how to approach someone if you suspect a problem (there are things that definitely should be done and some things you might instinctively think of doing that should definitely not be done). If you see some symptoms in yourself, please consider talking with someone about what you see going on.

In the meantime, I’ll be reading more on symptoms and how we can help those in our lives who we suspect might need help.

If anyone knows of good resources, please share in the comments. If I find anything I find especially useful, I’ll be sure to share there also.

Monthly report for August

September 7, 2015 / Miscellaneous / 1 minute of reading

This article was originally posted by Ed at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Other than a great race performance August was a terrible month for my running. The month started off while I was camping in the woods – still hadn’t figured out the logistics of running and getting cleaned up after the run (got it now). So I did not run the first nine days of August. Then on the 19th I twisted my ankle and needed time off.

Ten days and five runs later I had a phenomenal race (see the race report.) I earned a new PR that was 52 seconds faster than the previous PR and in a race as short as a 5k that is huge.

All told – Only 105 miles. 15 runs plus a race. Just shy of 13 hours of running.

Next race is Brigg’s and Al’s run 9/19/2015 – a great team event – looking forward to another PR.

Run without limits

September 3, 2015 / Training / 2 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Ed ran a 52 second PR in a 5K this past weekend! 52 seconds in a 5K, that’s insane! Over 15 seconds per mile improvement off a respectable time for a runner of his age and background.

How did he do it? Well, a lot went into it.

However, I’d like to point out one factor right now. He didn’t limit himself. To be honest, I would have had him running with even fewer limits if it were up to me. I wanted him to run watchless and suggested before the race doing so. He wanted to wear his watch to keep himself from going out too fast.

It’s true, we can’t run with reckless abandon. Ed would have been foolish to go out in 5:00 for the first mile. That said, if I recall, he set a target of 6:07/mile to start. He did tell me, I think to reassure me, that he was only going to pay attention to his pace early.

It’s a good thing he did. Had he paid attention to his pace throughout and stuck with that 6:07/mile target, he would have run only a 22 second PR. The artificial limit he placed on himself would have left him 30 seconds short of what he obviously was capable of.

I see people do this a lot. They get the idea that they are "only" capable of some given performance and they don’t let themselves just run. As a result, they finish feeling good and questioning how well they may have run.

Don’t do this to yourself. Learn how a race effort should feel through practice, then run by effort. If you’re ready for something special, something that might even surprise yourself, this is how you’re going to get it done. You’re not going to get it done by placing artificial limits on yourself, then only running to those limits.

Race report: 2015 Hootie Hustle 5K

September 1, 2015 / Race Reports / 5 minutes of reading

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

My second of two race reports from August races.

the Hootie Hustle is a second annual event supporting the scholarship fund at the school district I live in so I feel an obligation to show up. Besides, last year I discovered that it’s a pretty nice course overall and it had better competition than I was expecting. Plus, this year, I’m unable to make it to the Jamie Block Alumni Meet at UW-Stout so it’s the perfectly timed replacement for that as a final Al’s Run tune-up.

As I mentioned, this course is pretty nice overall. I wasn’t expecting so much in Slinger, a pretty hilly town. However, they found a course where you have a long, gradual climb in the first half and a long, gradual descent in the second half. Before the race this year, someone mentioned the middle school, roughly the high point of the course, is 130 feet higher than the start/finish area, roughly the low point. So it’s not like we’re mountain climbing but it’s hardly pancake flat.

As I arrived at the course, I found an open parking space and, as I was pulling in, realized I ended up parking right next to Ed. We had a quick conversation, then I wanted to pick up my packet. Ed decided to join me so we walked together to the packet pick up. It was kind of drizzly/misting but, otherwise, not too bad of a morning. Honestly, I was thinking that precipitation might be a benefit because it was humid. Without the precipitation, it could get downright stuffy. With it, at least there was something to help cool you down.

Ed and I warmed up together, scouting out a bit of the early part of the course and the last mile or so of the course. After some loosening up, strides and scouting out how slippery the field turf football field we’d be turning on to for the finish gets when wet (not very) it was time to line up.

At the start, you pretty quickly hit a U-turn onto the street. Before that, i was out into the lead. Around the turn, I played it a little cautious and someone got past me. I fairly quickly got back in front and then was in the driver’s seat. For some reason, I felt like I was working hard but not going as fast as I would have hoped. As we climbed the hill, I could hear someone on my back. I could tell he was working hard but not giving in. I didn’t want to kill myself up the hill and turn myself into a rabbit so I kept the pressure up but didn’t fully open up. Then we got to the middle school and I knew that, generally speaking, it was all downhill from there. By that time, I felt a little more in sync and began pushing a little harder. Around a hard right that slowed me down, then into some neighborhoods. I pushed through that stretch then, at the 3K mark around a turn I stole a look back. I definitely built a gap but not as big as I had hoped. Knowing I didn’t have a whole lot to go and a great downhill was coming, I raised the effort level a little there.

Around another turn, through the 2 mile mark and into almost the perfect downhill. I leaned into the hill, tried to make the most of it but felt I wasn’t really accelerating much. By the bottom of the hill, I was just pushing with all I could.

You can see how wet it was, not ideal but not as bad as 85 and sunny would have been

Around a left turn, then just before a right I could see the scoreboard clock. 15:03. I pushed the pace thinking I’d be at least in the low 17s and maybe have a shot at sub-17.

I didn’t realize quite how far I still had to go, though. By the time I hit the track, the clock was right around 16 flat. I was pushing as hard as I could but, even in an oxygen deprived state and without trying to do the math, I knew a sub-17 effort would require the kind of sprint I don’t have when I’m rested, much less at the end of a 5K. I still gave it all I had, around the track for about 300 meters, then onto the field and finishing at the 50 yard line.

I saw 17:15 on the scoreboard as I crossed the finish line, then thought Ed should be around. Sure enough, he was on the track. I tore my pull tag off, then got around to cheer him in. I could see he was clearly on track for sub-19, I started telling him he has sub-19, how far under can he go? He seemed to pick up the pace some but not a whole lot. One of the finish line workers said something about me telling him sub-19 and I told him it was his goal and would be a PR for him. I think he was quite impressed when Ed crossed in 18:30.

After a few pictures, Ed and I headed out for a cooldown through a different part of town. All said, I have to rate this as a successful day for Team HillRunner.com at the Hootie Hustle. Sure, I would have liked sub-17 but I scored the win and this tells me I’m well on the path to sub-17 this fall. Ed got a top 3 finish and a huge PR. I’m looking forward to seeing what we both can do at Al’s Run.