Changes for Motiv

As some of you may already know, exciting things are happening at Ed's company, Motiv Engines. Until now, the engine has been in a lab in California. Ed has been working remotely and traveling out when necessary, and the day-to-day work on it has been carried out by contracted engineers. This kind of set-up leads to slow progress, things weren't exactly moving ahead in leaps and bounds. But the past few years have still been productive ones, and Ed has decided that they were able to learn enough about the first-generation engine that it's time to move things forward a little more aggressively.


The inventor of the engine, John, has come up with second-generation model, and a new team will be working on it here in New York City! This is, needless to say, a very exciting development. After a long search, Ed has hired some full-time engineers and has rented a large office space near Penn Station. New York is, obviously, an expensive place to set up shop. Since neither Ed nor I is quite ready to leave yet, however, we decided that it made sense to be here for another year.  It will take many months to run computer simulations on the second-generation model, which can be done in a relatively small (and therefore more affordable) space. Once enough is known about the new design, however, Ed will likely need more people and more space to move things forward, and it looks like we may relocate (to an as-yet-undetermined location).


At this point, though, the time frame is still in the air. We know that will be in New York for at least another year, but things will depend very much on the engine after that. I'm looking forward to meeting the new engineers and John, about whom I've heard a great deal. I think it will be really nice for Ed, who has been working out of our apartment for several years, to have an actual workplace to go to every day where he can interact with people and not cats.  And his new office is only a few blocks from mine, so perhaps we can even meet for lunch occasionally.

Big changes like this are not risk-free, of course, and naturally all of this is a little bit nerve-racking, but I think we are both really excited to see what this new team can do.

Training Update, cont.

After yesterday's build-up, I thought I should share the results of my tempo run. In short, it was successful. Mostly.

I had planned to do ten miles, but was not sure exactly what the breakdown would be. My tempo runs typically involve easy segments at the beginning and end with a faster segment sandwiched in the middle. This time, I decided to try for a somewhat aggressive goal of six hard miles in the middle of four easy miles. Ed was dubious as I headed out, and to be honest I was a bit as well. But my whole training plan is aggressive, and my goal time for the marathon is ambitious. I figure that I'll do the best I can, and even if I don't make my goal, I'll end up in pretty good shape in the end. Better to try for something just out of reach than to water down one's expectations and set goals that are certainly attainable.

It was humid as I set out, and I'd already worked up a decent sweat by the time my initial easy two miles were up. But then I picked up the pace, and once my body got into the faster rhythm, I felt great! Two miles of it melted away. By the third mile, however, I was having to work a little harder to maintain my desired pace, and I felt more exhausted with every step. I didn't want to quit, but at the same time knew that if I kept it up, I'd end up with increasingly slower miles until I'd reached a crawl by the end. This was hardly the kind of workout I wanted to put in. So instead, I opted to split the hard miles in a way that would, I hoped, allow me to do all six pretty fast. In the end, I ran two easy miles, four hard miles, one easy mile, two hard miles, and finished with one more easy mile. I still accomplished my goal of running ten total and six hard, but I wasn't able to do it all at once. I was proud of my pace, however. The last two hard miles were, well, hard, but I managed to keep my pace hovering right around where I wanted it up until the end. Getting home never felt so good. I collapsed in front of a fan and weakly requested chocolate milk, my recovery beverage of choice, and regaled Ed with tales of my feat while I slowly cooled off.

This morning, I did four easy miles on very tired legs that took ages to warm up. Still training on tired legs is valuable, as it will help me prepare for the same sensation in the marathon. And I have almost 24 hours to rest before tomorrow's intervals, which should also leave me tired, but in a different way. And on Saturday morning, I'll set off for my distance run, which will be anywhere between 18 and 20 miles - preferably closer to the latter.

More disappointing training days surely lie between me and November 3rd. But here's hoping that runs like the one last night outnumber them.

Training Update

It occurred to me this weekend that I present a rather biased picture of running on my blog. Most of my posts about training and racing are obnoxiously cheery, and any negativity is usually tongue-in-cheek. I had this epiphany about my one-sided presentation on Saturday, right around the same time I was forcing back tears in the middle of a truly brutal long run. It's time to set the record straight. Running is something that I love, and I wouldn't continue to do it if I didn't feel that, most of the time, it adds richness to my life. But there are times when I can understand why people hate this sport.

Saturday was one of those times. Some background: According to the training schedule I drew up, I was supposed to do long runs of 13, 15, and 18 miles over a three-week period. The 13 miler went down easily, but I had a terrible cold the week after and put in only 6 of the 15 before I had to turn back, feeling drained, heavy, and miserable. Skipping workouts is not great, but it happens. Skipping a long run, however, is something to be avoided at nearly all costs. I did a 10-mile run during the week to make up, in part, for the missed distance, but there really is no substitute for a long run.

Not me.

On Saturday, I was slated to run 18 miles, but the jump from 13 to 18 is a big one. I decided to shoot for 18 but expect to do no more than 17 at most and 16 at worst. I began later in the day than usual and felt off from the get-go. I can usually tell how my runs will go within the first mile, and I knew that this would not be a good one. I'm not sure why this happens. Some theories about this particular day include running an unfamiliar trail (I was in New Hampshire, and new terrain always feels harder), lack of sleep (Ed and I arrived at our hotel late the night before), a night on an uncomfortable mattress, dehydration from the flight, the humidity... Or some combination of these. Or none of these. Regardless of the reason, I felt that I was working for every step. I pressed on, seeking the numbing rhythm that usually carries me along on bad days. After my recent mid-week 10-mile run, a toenail on my left foot has decided not to hang around, and it twinged now and then to prevent me from forgetting the indignity it has suffered. I was developing blisters along the inside of my big toe. I was hot and sweaty. My sports bra was chafing my rib cage. My headphones wouldn't stay in place. My energy gels, usually easy to digest, kept rising up in the back of my throat, filling my mouth with a taste both sickly sweet and acidic. It was clear that I was not going to get to 18. And, eventually, clear that 17 was also not a possibility. In the end, I put in 15.39 miles, and went immediately back to the hotel to shower and fall into bed, hoping dimly as I drifted off that my legs and stomach would stop aching.

There comes a point in every halfway dedicated endurance athlete's training regimen when things fall into place. You set out for a long run only to find that, at the end, you feel like you could have kept going for another hour. You think something must have gone wrong with your watch because you finished your tempo run much faster than expected with the same perceived effort. My performance on Saturday indicates in no uncertain terms that I'm not there yet. Only two courses of action lie ahead, and one of them, opting out of the marathon, is clearly not a possibility. This leaves me with no choice but to stick to the ambitious training plan I set out for myself a few weeks ago with renewed resolve. I'm happy to report that my 5-miler last night, though rough at first, became quite pleasant as I warmed up, and that I'm feeling optimistic about tonight's tempo run rather than dreading it, as is my knee-jerk reaction to upcoming tempo runs. I'm scheduled to run 20 miles this weekend, and while that probably won't happen, I'm going hydrate thoroughly the day before, sleep well that night, eat a banana before I set out, and get a close to 20 as I can manage.

Without runners' lows, I suppose the runner's high would not feel as good.

Central Park Picnic

I had hoped to go to Governor's Island for a picnic today, but we got a late start and decided on Central Park instead (hardly a sacrifice). At the last minute, our friends Leonard and Maggie decided to join us. I gathered chips, vegetables and hummus, and some grapes, all of which is pretty standard. But I was quite excited about the pan bagnat Ed and I threw together that morning. I got the recipe from a food columnist from the New York Times named Melissa Clark. Literally, the name means "bathed bread" because you absolutely drench the ciabatta with olive oil before adding fillings like tuna, black olives, anchovies, basil, red peppers, onion, capers, and tomatoes. Then you wrap it tightly and weight it to smash everything together. It was delicious and tasted, as Maggie said, a bit like a salad nicoise on bread. 

Ed wrestling with the controls, with bubbles in the background

The park was packed. It was a bit frustrated to try to navigate the sidewalks, which were choked with oblivious tourists and large family groups. But it was a nice day once we were settled on our blanket. While we ate, we watched a person in a Smurfette costume walking around, less charming because of the large bag she carried labelled "Tips." A man collected quite a lot of money by blowing enormous soap bubbles over the heads of children, who happily popped them while their parents took pictures and then forked over cash. Ed tried to fly his model helicopter, but it didn't go well, and we determined that he should probably take it in for repairs. 

It was a pleasant, mellow afternoon, capped off by a butterfly stopping to hang out on Ed's leg.

Bring It On, Marathon

I determined that I'd better launch my 2013 marathon training as soon as we got back from Norway. This seemed, for most of early summer, like a date that was comfortably far away. But Norway came and went, and suddenly I was faced with making good on my vow. Drat. I launched into planning.

Last year I followed the regimen prescribed by the book Run Less, Run Faster, which advocates a three-day running week with two days of cardio sprinkled in. This is great for people who worry about wear on their joints and have little time to dedicate to training. I was happy with the results when marathon time rolled around, but I realized that, more often then not, I had ended to skip the two cardio days and sometimes one of the workouts as well (though almost never my long run). If I was pretty happy with the results of a very loose adherence to that training program, I imagined I'd be over the moon about my outcome if I stuck to a slightly stricter plan. Meanwhile, Ed was horrified by how little mileage I put in last year in preparation for the race and pointed me toward some very convincing literature about the importance of running every day, even if only a little bit. The theory is that one's body becomes accustomed to a certain cadence, making it easy to fall into stride on race day. Or something.

Accordingly, this year I've revamped my training schedule so that it incorporates both schools of thought. I'm doing the three weekly workouts outlined in Run Less, but instead of the two non-running cardio options (swimming, biking, eliptical, etc.), I'm doing three days of easy, short runs in between the harder workouts. Putting in an easy four-mile run every other day adds 12 miles to my running week without my even really noticing the difference, and if I do it first thing in the morning it doesn't really affect my daily schedule, leaving me free for social engagements, cleaning the apartment, and staring contests with Todd. My easy days are feeling so easy I may bump the mileage up to 4.5, then to 5 - increasing too fast leads to injury. My three Run Less workouts consist of one interval run (example: 5 repeats of 800 meters at a very fast pace), one tempo run (example: 5 miles at a faster-than-usual pace sandwiched in between one mile for warm-up and one for cool-down), and one long run (increasing in distance each week at a pace 30 seconds per mile to 45 seconds per mile slower than my target marathon pace). I wrote it all out on calendar pages, and am making notes of what I actually do on each day, which is rather rewarding. In addition to the running, I'm taking a weight training class at the gym once a week and am incorporating some stride-outs and hip exercises a few times a week, too. It's a lot, but I figure that even if I miss a bit here and there, which is bound to happen, I'm still going to have a very solid base from which to work on November 3rd.

I've made another change as well: I've stopped wearing my headphones as much while I run. Usually, I listen to audiobooks to pass the time, but I want to be more focused on my body and my workout while I'm running, and the idea of spending at least a little time each day completely free from electronics appeals to me. I find myself coming up with more creative ideas when I run without headphones, and I feel a bit more centered and at peace.

So far things are going quite well. It was hot enough when we got back from Norway that running early in the morning was the only option, but since my internal clock was askew it was easy to just go with it. After a little more than two weeks of this schedule, I'm feeling wide awake by 6:00 A.M. and start getting tired around 9:30 P.M. Perhaps I'm not the life of the party anymore, but I'm OK with that. My left calf muscle has been twinging pretty consistently for about two weeks, but although it hasn't gotten better, it hasn't gotten worse either, so I'm keeping an eye on it but continuing to run as planned. Otherwise, I feel good. I've been at it for a little over two weeks and have missed only one workout, so things are off to a promising start.