Sorry for neglecting you for so long. I have a lot to talk about, so rather than posting one ridiculously long blog I am going to post several shorter posts.
Hot Hot Heat
No, not the band. The weather here in Central Indiana (and much of the rest of the country) has been sweltering this summer. Since my last post I have experienced Indy's first 100 degree day since 1988, a streak of 23 straight days in the 90's, and close to 30 days of above average temperatures (sorry I have waited to long to write this can't find the number). Have you guessed the topic of conversation yet? That's right, Hydration.
Allow me to tell a story of dehydration. Twas the year 2000 and I was a sophomore at North Side High School. During this track season I found myself in limbo between the 800 and the 3200. We were loaded up in the 800 and had a sold 4x8 team that I had no chance at making. I was still not keen on the idea of running eight laps on that track that were required for the 3200, so I found myself running the 1600. I had this crazy idea that I would do mix of 3200 and 800 workouts and I would be perfectly set for the 1600. My coach did not think that was the best idea, but I would hop in for some occasional intervals with the 800 guys. One Saturday morning I ran my prescribed workout at the park near my high school and ventured back to the track. I noticed the 800 guys were doing some 300's, so I sneaked in and ran the last few. After practice we stretched out and chilled in the locker room before heading home. I got cleaned up and waited around to be picked up by Marc David and Joe Perkins to go out to lunch. While I was waiting I had an excruciating headache and my vision became blurry with little peripheral vision. For some reason I ate two pickles, I guess the juiciness of the pickles was appealing, and I took two aspirin, seriously this is the only time in my life I can recall taking aspirin instead of Tylenol or Advil. During lunch I felt horrible. I could only manage to eat about two bites of my hamburger, but I did eat my pickle. The weirdest thing is that I barely touched my water the thought of drinking it made me feel sick. I think I drank about half a glass. When we finished Marc thought it would be fun to stop by our coach's house. I really just wanted to go home, but I decided to tough it out for a quick visit. Shortly after we arrived and while we were talking outside I proceeded to vomit the three pickles and two aspirin, the only things I had consumed since my run. Surprisingly, after throwing up I felt the best that I had felt all day. I was even able to drink a glass of water and not feel sick. Now, I am sure there is a doctor out there that can tell me why everything happened, but my non-medical background self was trying to tell you a cautionary tale of the importance of proper hydration.
Jack Daniels (no, not that one) has a pretty complex algorithm to determine fluid loss and sweat rate. If you would like to know more about this let me know, or check out his book Daniels' Running Formula. For me I use a less complicated rule of thumb when it comes to hydrating, drink a crapload of water everyday during the summer. You could also try to drink more water than you can shake a stick at, but I prefer to stick to the crapload method. How much is a crapload? Well, it depends on the day. I tried to keep track one day but I lost count somewhere around 120 ounces. When I was in college I drank about 1.5 gallons per day one summer.
Here are some tips for beating the heat and avoiding dehydration.
1. Hydrate the day/night before your run
2. Run during the coolest part of the day. Mornings are typically the coolest part of the day, but tend to be more humid, while evenings after the sun has gone down are drier but warmer than the morning.
3. Keep track of how much weight you lose during your run
4. Keep track of how much fluid you consume during your run
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Pounding the Pavement
On Saturday I felt something I have not felt in a long time... I felt like a runner. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. Allow me to paint the picture for you. Saturday morning was the 6th annual Pound the Pavement 5k. Mrs. Zimm and I arrived early because she is currently training for the Indy Women's Half Marathon and was scheduled to run 9 miles on Saturday. We decided to run three miles before the race, run the race, and then an additional three miles to reach her mileage goal. As usual we were pushing it pretty close to the start of the race. I ended up having to run to the start with just moments to spare. It was when I ran across the field to the start where everything felt great. I was warmed up, nothing hurt, and felt as if I could run forever.
After the gun went off I made a conscious effort to go out slow because I knew that I could not maintain a fast pace. Prior to the race I had only ran two or three miles at 7:00 pace and each of those were at the end of training runs. My first mile went well. I was out in 6:50, my fastest mile in quite some time, and was feeling pretty good. I even have proof of how well I felt. Check out this picture taken by Jamie Sangar. My second mile was a little slower, 7:08. However, I did improve my position and manged to pass the lead pack of four girls. Going into the third mile I tried to wait as long as I could before I picked up the pace to surge into the finish. I continued to move up, passing two or three people. My split was 6:50, but I was not feeling quite as good as I was before mile one. I finished up the last point one and had a finishing time of 21:32 which is an average pace of 6:56. I then met up with Mrs. Zimm at the finish and ran three more miles with her. Let me clarify, she ran three more miles and I walked/ran with her. She did a lot more running than I did. See Mrs. Zimm celebrate her 9 mile run with Boomer.
Pound the Pavement is a race in memory of my brother-in-law Kyle's father, Kevin. It is more than a race, it is an event. Before the race there is a health fair where medical professionals administer cholesterol screenings and blood pressure checks. The health fair is open to all participants and the general public. On top of the 5k race there is also a one mile dog walk and stroller strut. After the race there are countless door prizes, last year I won a gift card to Ricker's. The awards are always cool, from what I can remember in the past they have had; nalgene bottles, gym bags, and blankets which are much better than medals, plaques, or trophies that just collect dust. The shirts are not your typical road race shirt. Basically, PTP is awesome! I encourage everyone to run it next year. Congratulations to Jamie, Jessica, Jan, Kyle, and the rest of the PTP volunteers for putting on the best 5k race I have ever ran.
My training last week.
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 1 mile with Mrs. Zimm
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 9 miles (3 miles w/Mrs. Zimm, the race, 3 miles w/Mrs. Zimm)
Sunday: off
This week I will keep better track of my miles and times so I can give you a more detailed training log next week. Also, I made some changed to the format and them of the blog so let me know how you like (or don't like) the new format.
After the gun went off I made a conscious effort to go out slow because I knew that I could not maintain a fast pace. Prior to the race I had only ran two or three miles at 7:00 pace and each of those were at the end of training runs. My first mile went well. I was out in 6:50, my fastest mile in quite some time, and was feeling pretty good. I even have proof of how well I felt. Check out this picture taken by Jamie Sangar. My second mile was a little slower, 7:08. However, I did improve my position and manged to pass the lead pack of four girls. Going into the third mile I tried to wait as long as I could before I picked up the pace to surge into the finish. I continued to move up, passing two or three people. My split was 6:50, but I was not feeling quite as good as I was before mile one. I finished up the last point one and had a finishing time of 21:32 which is an average pace of 6:56. I then met up with Mrs. Zimm at the finish and ran three more miles with her. Let me clarify, she ran three more miles and I walked/ran with her. She did a lot more running than I did. See Mrs. Zimm celebrate her 9 mile run with Boomer.
Pound the Pavement is a race in memory of my brother-in-law Kyle's father, Kevin. It is more than a race, it is an event. Before the race there is a health fair where medical professionals administer cholesterol screenings and blood pressure checks. The health fair is open to all participants and the general public. On top of the 5k race there is also a one mile dog walk and stroller strut. After the race there are countless door prizes, last year I won a gift card to Ricker's. The awards are always cool, from what I can remember in the past they have had; nalgene bottles, gym bags, and blankets which are much better than medals, plaques, or trophies that just collect dust. The shirts are not your typical road race shirt. Basically, PTP is awesome! I encourage everyone to run it next year. Congratulations to Jamie, Jessica, Jan, Kyle, and the rest of the PTP volunteers for putting on the best 5k race I have ever ran.
My training last week.
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: off
Wednesday: 5 miles
Thursday: 1 mile with Mrs. Zimm
Friday: 5 miles
Saturday: 9 miles (3 miles w/Mrs. Zimm, the race, 3 miles w/Mrs. Zimm)
Sunday: off
This week I will keep better track of my miles and times so I can give you a more detailed training log next week. Also, I made some changed to the format and them of the blog so let me know how you like (or don't like) the new format.
Monday, July 4, 2011
A Blog of Firsts
While this is the second post on my blog, it is still a first. I am composing this update from my phone! I have a BlackBerry Bold (cue the jokes about me having a BlackBerry). It doesn't have all the bells and whistle's of an iPhone or Android powered phone, but the keyboard is nice (just let me focus on the positives). And no, I will probably not get another BlackBerry when the time for a new phone comes.
Now onto what I really want to talk about today, running. I have signed up to run the Monumental Marathon, another first, in downtown Indy on November 5th. If you are a mathematician you are saying to yourself, wow! That's only four months. I wonder if he can do it? Your question is valid because I have been asking myself the same question.
A little back story. I have completed two 1/2 marathons. Both of which were the Indy Mini-Marathon in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In 2008 I ran it in 1:16:42. I felt good through 10.5 miles before I hit the wall for the next mile and I was able to recover for the .6 miles. In 2009 my training was going great. I put in my first 100 mile week ever during the first week of April, about a month before the mini. Unfortunately I got sick the next week and was only able to run 10 miles. I had strep throat and it lingered all the way up to the race. I remember coughing up some nasty stuff while standing at the start line. This time I died around the 6 mile mark which is on the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I limped in to the finish at around 1 hour 21 minutes. I don't remember my time because I have tried to forget the race. Since then my training has not been the same. I have managed a few decent spurts of training, but nothing close to what I will experience over the next few months.
My plan is to put my own spin on Jack Daniels' marathon training plan. His plan consists of four phases each of which have their own levels of intensity. They are supposed to each last 4 weeks. However, I am currently running 4 miles 3xweek plus a longer run with my wifey Sarah. I am going to continue to increase my mileage until 8 weeks out from the marathon. Then I will pick up Jack's plan and follow it as close as I can, but for me each phase will be 2 weeks long.
So wish me luck! I'm sure going to need it!
Now onto what I really want to talk about today, running. I have signed up to run the Monumental Marathon, another first, in downtown Indy on November 5th. If you are a mathematician you are saying to yourself, wow! That's only four months. I wonder if he can do it? Your question is valid because I have been asking myself the same question.
A little back story. I have completed two 1/2 marathons. Both of which were the Indy Mini-Marathon in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In 2008 I ran it in 1:16:42. I felt good through 10.5 miles before I hit the wall for the next mile and I was able to recover for the .6 miles. In 2009 my training was going great. I put in my first 100 mile week ever during the first week of April, about a month before the mini. Unfortunately I got sick the next week and was only able to run 10 miles. I had strep throat and it lingered all the way up to the race. I remember coughing up some nasty stuff while standing at the start line. This time I died around the 6 mile mark which is on the track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I limped in to the finish at around 1 hour 21 minutes. I don't remember my time because I have tried to forget the race. Since then my training has not been the same. I have managed a few decent spurts of training, but nothing close to what I will experience over the next few months.
My plan is to put my own spin on Jack Daniels' marathon training plan. His plan consists of four phases each of which have their own levels of intensity. They are supposed to each last 4 weeks. However, I am currently running 4 miles 3xweek plus a longer run with my wifey Sarah. I am going to continue to increase my mileage until 8 weeks out from the marathon. Then I will pick up Jack's plan and follow it as close as I can, but for me each phase will be 2 weeks long.
So wish me luck! I'm sure going to need it!
Friday, July 1, 2011
My First Blog
Hello all you readers!
It is July 1, 2011. You may be asking yourself why in the world is Dan starting a blog? Well, your question is valid. If you're like me, you resisted the big blog craze of 2004. I'm sure there is a more technical or valid time frame, but for me just about everyone on my cross-country team had one going during this time. The blogs my teammates started ranged from Derek Reiff's insightful takes on life to Ryan Hostetler's plan to invade and conquer Illinois.
I guess I never really jumped on board because I did not believe I have any insightful takes on life or, if I did, no one would want to read what I had to say. Which leads me to today and why I am starting a blog. For the last year I have been facebook free (it is a nasty habit to kick but got my fix via checking my wife's facebook account), however, I did join the Twitter world last October. I deleted my facebook account because I was not using it in a productive manner. My facebook experience would go a little something like this; logon, read status updates from people I never talked to, get mad at the status updates of said people, look at pictures people posted, sign off. After wasting an hour or two I would think to myself I should have been doing something else with my time.
Over the last month or so I have been thinking about social media and how I use it in my daily life. My friend Kyle P. Lacy, social media guru, has written a few books about the topic. I must confess I have not read either but I plan to soon. He is all about the idea of branding yourself. During my runs the last few weeks I have been thinking about "my brand". Two questions arose; what is my brand? and what am I selling? Kyle, if you ever read this I am sorry if what I am saying has nothing to do with your book. Now back to why I am starting a blog and I apologize for all the tangents. I am starting this blog as a type of experiment. My experiment is can I use social media in a productive manner? and, will doing so improve my life?
Thank you for reading my first ever blog post. I apologize for a rambling post. Hopefully my writing will improve with each post. I just ended three sentences with the word post. Oops, make that four sentences.
My next step in my social media evolution is to create a faceook account so look me up and add me as a friend.
It is July 1, 2011. You may be asking yourself why in the world is Dan starting a blog? Well, your question is valid. If you're like me, you resisted the big blog craze of 2004. I'm sure there is a more technical or valid time frame, but for me just about everyone on my cross-country team had one going during this time. The blogs my teammates started ranged from Derek Reiff's insightful takes on life to Ryan Hostetler's plan to invade and conquer Illinois.
I guess I never really jumped on board because I did not believe I have any insightful takes on life or, if I did, no one would want to read what I had to say. Which leads me to today and why I am starting a blog. For the last year I have been facebook free (it is a nasty habit to kick but got my fix via checking my wife's facebook account), however, I did join the Twitter world last October. I deleted my facebook account because I was not using it in a productive manner. My facebook experience would go a little something like this; logon, read status updates from people I never talked to, get mad at the status updates of said people, look at pictures people posted, sign off. After wasting an hour or two I would think to myself I should have been doing something else with my time.
Over the last month or so I have been thinking about social media and how I use it in my daily life. My friend Kyle P. Lacy, social media guru, has written a few books about the topic. I must confess I have not read either but I plan to soon. He is all about the idea of branding yourself. During my runs the last few weeks I have been thinking about "my brand". Two questions arose; what is my brand? and what am I selling? Kyle, if you ever read this I am sorry if what I am saying has nothing to do with your book. Now back to why I am starting a blog and I apologize for all the tangents. I am starting this blog as a type of experiment. My experiment is can I use social media in a productive manner? and, will doing so improve my life?
Thank you for reading my first ever blog post. I apologize for a rambling post. Hopefully my writing will improve with each post. I just ended three sentences with the word post. Oops, make that four sentences.
My next step in my social media evolution is to create a faceook account so look me up and add me as a friend.
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