Marathon vs Century

Note that I have done exactly one marathon (26.2 mile run) and one century ride (100 miles bicycling). Since I did the Santa Fe Century, I have been asked many times whether the marathon or the century was easier. So here is my amateur answer to this very easy question: The century ride. Why? It boils down to this: I enjoyed the century ride about 90% of the time. There were some difficult times, but most of it was pure fun. For the marathon, I enjoyed it maybe 60% of the time, and then the last 40% of the run was pure pain and suffering.

But there are some pros and cons:

Time (Marathon is easier)
Century: 9 hours, Marathon: 5 hours. Now imagine doing some fraction of that EVERY Saturday for a few months. So the century does not just take longer on the day of the event, every single training ride takes longer.

Expense/Equipment (Marathon wins here too)
Basically, for a marathon you need good shoes maybe even two pairs and a watch. The rest of the clothing and special food is similar in running and cycling. For cycling, you need a bicycle, preferably a nice one along with all the accessories like gloves, helmet, cyclocomputer, repair kit, shoes, etc... Note that if you travel a lot during the training season, it is more difficult to bring all this cycling gear with you than running gear.

Pain (no clear winner)
This probably depends on the individual. Running hurts joints and can injure specific muscles. I now have plantar fasciitis which prevents me from running but I don't blame the marathon because the pain started 3 years later. Also, I found chafing to be a bigger problem running than cycling. Cycling could be quite painful on the hands and butt. I also fell over a couple of times on the bike, but with no injuries. I've never fallen while running. So there is more potential for pain from crashing a bike.

Recovery (Century wins)
After a long training run, I'd be done for the day and would hardly be able to eat. After the marathon I took an ice bath to speed recovery and the next day I could walk slowly but stairs were somewhat challenging. After cycling, I'd simply go back to life as usual except that I couldn't go running the next day. Cycling never bothered my stomach the way running did.

Fun (Century!!)
Flying downhill at 30+ mph, yippeee! No such freebies in running - it's all work uphill and down. This also makes cycling less monotonous than running. Running literally is "one foot in front of the other", hour after hour. Whereas cycling feels quite different whether you're heading up, down, or around squiggly roads. There's also the pace line to keep you entertained during flat, straight sections. On the flip side, I find it easier to talk to my buddies while running than while cycling.

There are plenty of other issues that divide marathoning and century riding, such as the fact that weather can be more of a problem to cyclists than runners. But then cycling can be a more useful form of transportation than running/walking (you get better distances) so it may be easier to incorporate cycling into your regular day.

Personally, I will likely never do another marathon but I'm already thinking about which century ride to do next.

Quadrathlon

The Mount Taylor Quadrathlon happens every President's Day Weekend in Grants, NM. Here's the deal:

• 13-mile bike, with 1700-foot climb
• 5-mile run, with 1250-foot climb
• 2-mile x-country ski, climbing 1200 feet
• 1-mile snow shoe, climbing 600 feet
• Now turn around and do it all back to the start

Every year, I say I'll get a team together to do this as a relay... and every year there's some obstacle. This year, I simply forgot about it. Coincidentally, last weekend I biked on Saturday, skied on Sunday and ran on Monday... so I was just one sport shy of doing my own personal quadrathlon over 3 days.

I always thought I'd do any part of this relay other than the bike ride because I didn't have the right equipment. Now I am well equipped for the bike, but no longer equipped for the run... so I'll do any of these sports except the run. Who wants to join me next year?

Zoo Run

At the start of the Run for the Zoo 5k:
Approaching the finish line:
This is probably THE most popular run in Albuquerque. In fact, they have two 5k's - one timed, the other not, plus a 10k and a 1-mile. This year I ran it with a good friend, who just started running again within the past year after foot surgery and such had prevented her from running for a few years. I can't believe she's already running 5k's so quickly! We'll be working on doing the 10k next year.

Study and exercise

While I have a few other finished knitted items to share with you, I'm dedicating this post to my priorities this week: study and exercise.

This coming Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will be taking the PhD comprehensive exams. It's 8 hours each day, and I've been spending the last few months studying, and the last couple of years taking classes in preparation. A few weeks ago, I decided that no matter how much more studying I felt I needed, I also needed some time for myself, especially to exercise.

When I trained for a marathon a couple years ago, I found that running the marathon itself was difficult... but not nearly as difficult as the four months of training that preceded it! Usually, when I run, I find the first 3rd of the distance to be difficult. Once I'm past halfway, I have a lot of motivation to finish. Especially when doing the marathon, I couldn't give up once I got more than halfway because I knew that would mean another 4 months of training to try again.

I fully expect these exams to be easier than the last four months of studying. Passing those exams is also the first of 3 hurdles to graduation. The next two are my dissertation proposal and the dissertation writing/defense. Hopefully, getting through the first 3rd of grad school will prove to be the hardest part. Maybe not, but taking exams gives me a lot more anxiety than it used to. However, writing and presenting does not.

Productive Weekend

I feel like I got a lot done this weekend:

• Walked in the State Fair parade for the Re-elect Jason Marks Campaign.
  
• 19 new plants in the ground (Plants of the SW had a great sale), and requisite drippers put into place.
  
• 7 pounds of tomatoes harvested and turned into 6 pints of salsa. I can't believe how frustrating it is to can stuff, and I keep trying it again thinking MAYBE this time I actually have enough tomatoes to make a worthwhile amount of salsa... but no. At least it tastes good.
• Ran 3 miles.

If you're really paying attention, you may be asking "Hey, weren't you supposed to run a 10k today?" The answer is that I had been training for a 10k, but I had to abandon it two weeks ago due to allergies, and then couldn't get back into it because my left leg became incredibly sore. It's all better now, so the next running goal is the Duke City Marathon Relay in October where I'll do a 6.2-mile leg.

Chips n Salsa training

My new running goal is to run the Chips n Salsa 10k on September 7 in under an hour. In May, I did the Zoo 10k, so I know the distance isn't a challenge. It'll be all about the time.

From About: Running, I have this new running schedule - but I changed the days. This training program has two speed workouts every week to help me with my time goal (interval and tempo workouts). Running five days a week is more than I am used to doing, but I just finished the first two weeks and have stuck to the schedule. I really like doing 10k's. It's enough of a challenge, that I have to train for it, but not impossible.

10K Training Schedule for Intermediate Runners

Week	Saturday	Tuesday	Sunday	Thursday	Wednesday	Friday	Monday
7/13	CT or Rest	4 x 400 IW	3 m run	30 min tempo	Rest	4 m run	30 min EZ
7/20	CT or Rest	5 x 400 IW	3.5 m run	35 min tempo	Rest	5 m run	35 min EZ
7/27	CT or Rest	6 x 400 IW	3.5 m run	35 min tempo	Rest	6 m run	35 min EZ
8/3	CT or Rest	7 x 400 IW	4 m run	40 min tempo	Rest	6 m run	40 min EZ
8/10	CT or Rest	8 x 400 IW	4.5 m run	40 min tempo	Rest	7 m run	40 min EZ
8/17	CT or Rest	8 x 400 IW	4.5 m run	40 min tempo	Rest	7.5 m run	45 min EZ
8/24	CT or Rest	6 x 400 IW	4 m run	40 min tempo	Rest	8 m run	45 min EZ
8/31	CT or Rest	3 m run	40 min tempo run	3 m run	Rest	Rest	10K Race!

Headlines only - full stories later

Just returned from Ireland at 1am today. I love how traveling 7 timezones west makes me wake up easily at the crack of dawn... but I could use some more sleep.

Upon my return home, I found it absolutely necessary to first tend the garden which had become overrun with weeds and basil. If anybody wants a basil plant, come and get one. I'll bring a bunch in plastic pots to SnB tomorrow. Sorry, I already threw away the weeds, but if you want weeds, stop by anytime :)

Related to Ireland and the garden... immediately upon arriving in Ireland, I realized that nearly every meal included tomatoes (cooked for breakfast, sliced on sandwiches, in side salads...), and I realized just how much I missed eating tomatoes since the salmonella scare. While pulling weeds out of the garden this morning, I discovered 3 ripe roma tomatoes and 4 jalapenos. I'm so excited!

It's only 8 weeks 'til the Chips n Salsa 10k run. I'm going for time, so I have an Intermediate runner's training schedule which I start tomorrow... at the crack of dawn.

I'll write more later about Ireland, especially after I have photos available. The quick summary: It's green, but rocky. It rained everyday. The stores sell cute summer dresses, but people wear sweaters and scarves in July. I walked and walked and walked... and ate lots of fish and chips (probably the only meal that does NOT include tomatoes).

There are many sheep in Ireland, and I bought wool yarn by the kilo. Okay, only 1.4 kilos. Most stores prefer to sell their wool in the form of sweaters, not yarn. But where's the fun in that? I also managed to nearly-finish another project during the trip. Just some finishing touches to do now that I'm at home with the rest of my knitting tools.

Enough for now, I'll fill in more details on stuff later.

Alternative Exercise Week

While everybody else is concerned about alternative energy and transportation these days, I'm more worried about getting exercise everyday. So this is my personal Alternative Exercise Week.

My post-surgery get-back-into-shape plan was quite successful. It started in February and culminated in running the Zoo 10k. However, without a current running goal, it's been tough to get motivate to run every morning. Usually when this happens, I rely on exercising in the middle of the day at the gym (one perk of being a student). Yet, the end of the semester means that the treadmills, bike machines, and resistance machines are out of service for a few weeks (one drawback of a college gym).

So I'm looking for other ways to incorporate exercise into my day. On Monday, I walked to all of my appointments which added up to about 3 miles. On Tuesday, I swam laps (which I haven't done in years) at the gym during lunchtime. Today, I bicycled the 6 miles to work... and will have to bicycle back. On Friday, I'll play racquetball with a friend if I can find my racket.
On Saturday, I'll canoe the Rio Grande as part of the Great Race. But I don't know what to do tomorrow... I may just have to run in the morning like I used to do.

Zoo Run

I have never been to the Albuquerque Zoo, yet I dutifully Run for the Zoo year after year. This year, I did the 10k in 66 minutes. Then we had a delicious breakfast at Cecilia's on Silver, which I never knew existed even though it is a mere block from Flying Star. Then my running partner went back out to do the 1-mile Fun Run with her kids and husband. For my part, I haven't run since that day... even though I now have a new goal => to run the Chips & Salsa 10k in under an hour. I have a few months to get ready for that as it's in September.

Name that hike (part 2)

Nobody was able to guess where January's hike was. In that photo, I'm sitting on a hilltop in Maryland, looking down at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia below, and the mountains in the background on the left are in Virginia. You can tell by my leather jacket and running shoes that I wasn't really expecting to do much hiking on this trip. There was no room in the suitcase for proper boots and warm, breathable clothing.

I intended to share a hike a month, but amazingly, I did not hike in the whole month of February. I made up for that in March. So... name where this hike is:









Hey, it's even got a trail sign to give you a hint! However, you may not trust a trail sign that labels this an "easy" hike.


In an unrelated matter, somebody asked about what "fartlek" is (in my run training program). I asked the same question when I first downloaded that running schedule. It's Swedish for "speed play". It's a speed-training run, where the intervals are random (run as fast as you can to the next tree, then go slow to the next stop sign...). I have been doing my own speed intervals according to a more strict regimen on the treadmill where I'm forced to keep an exact pace. This keeps me entertained while I run on the treadmill which is inherently mind-numbingly dull. But I like my treadmill time because it's more fun than anything else I can do with my 90 minutes between classes twice a week. And I think keeping to that schedule of exercising during the day helped me lose 5 pounds in the past 5 weeks.

My 4-legged running partner

I'm dedicating this post to Wiley because he is such a dedicated running partner. At 9 years old, he was putting on some belly fat and acting very lazy at home. During our 5-day backpacking trip a couple of weeks ago he started out full of energy, but by day 3 he was clearly sore. After the trip it took him two days to recuperate before he was excited to go for walks again. We only did about 6 miles/day on that backpacking trip which is far less than normal. So I was a bit concerned that my little running buddy was no longer up for the hiking and running he used to love so much.

Yesterday, as I was getting ready for a 5-mile run, Wiley would not let me leave the house without him. He knew I was going running and he demanded to be a part of it. I haven't been taking him with me for the past few months, but he seems rather invigorated and back to a lean, healthy weight since that backpacking trip. So, I took him on the 5-mile run and he did just fine. He wasn't sore later in the day either, so I guess my running buddy is back! Now if he'd just stop howling at hot-air balloons, I could take him running more often. Nothing ruins a beautiful, sunny morning with balloons in the air like a barking dog running along side.

By the way, my 10k training is going great. I even bumped up to the "advanced beginner" training schedule a few weeks ago (it was from running.about.com, but they no longer have this schedule up). The Run for the Zoo is just a few weeks away. I'm on Week 4 of this schedule, but I do the longest runs on my own during the week.

Advanced Beginner 10k Training Program

Week	Run/Walk 5 min/1 min	Fartlek	Long Run	Run/Walk 3 min/1 min (optional)
1	4 mi	2 mi	3 mi	3 mi
2	5 mi	3 mi	4 mi	3 mi
3	6 mi	4 mi	5 mi	Rest
4	5 mi	2 mi	6 mi	3 mi
5	4 mi	3 mi	5 mi	3 mi
6	3 mi	4 mi	6 mi	3 mi
7	4 mi	3 mi	4 mi	3 mi
8	3 mi	2 mi	Race	Rest

Run for the Zoo

I am now officially getting ready to run the Run for the Zoo 10k in May. It's a ways off, but I am very badly out of shape and I found a 12-week training program for beginners that looks reasonable. I ran 2 miles on a treadmill this morning. I was hoping to do 3 miles, but I really don't like treadmills (and there's snow & ice outside). Tell me if you'd like to train with me (although most of the people I've talked to about running don't read this blog).

Beginner 10k Training Program

Week	Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Run 4 (Optional)
1	3 mi run	2 mi run	3 mi run (easy)	x (no optional run, must rest)
2	3 mi run	1 mi run	2 mi run (easy)	2 mi
3	3 mi run	2 mi run	3 mi run (easy)	1 mi
4	3 mi run	3 mi run	4 mi run (easy)	x (no optional run, must rest)
5	3 mi run	2 mi run	3 mi run (easy)	2 mi run
6	3 mi run	3 mi run	4 mi run (easy)	1 mi run
7	3 mi run	4 mi run	5 mi run (easy)	x (no optional run, must rest)
8	3 mi run	3 mi run	4 mi run (easy)	3 mi run
9	3 mi run	4 mi run	5 mi run (easy)	2 mi run
10	3 mi run	5 mi run	6 mi run (easy)	1 mi run
11	3 mi run	4 mi run	6 mi run	x (no optional run, must rest)
12	3 mi run	2 mi run	Race!	x (no optional run, must rest)

This and other 10k training programs from AboutRunning.

I'm back!

Right off the top, I'm giving all of my excuses for the lag in posts: not enough time due to traveling, adjusting to a new computer, no good photos to blog (actually I just don't have a good way to get photos to the blog). That's only three excuses, not too much. But to fight those excuses, I'm posting a blog with no photos.

Classes start up again on Monday. I'm excited to have a new schedule. I spent the summer working long days at a desk and then escaping out of town quickly. Which really isn't an ideal schedule. I'd rather mix up the days a bit so I'm not sitting the whole time. And being out of town every other week makes it difficult to get anything done at home. The long hours behind the desk and in airports/planes have gotten me out of shape. Fortunately, Jenn has put me on a running schedule to train for the Duke City Marathon relay. We need to be ready to run 6 miles by October 21. This will be the longest run that Jenn has ever done. And it is really motivating me to run at least 3 times a week, which I haven't done in a year and a half (since I did the Austin Marathon). It feels great to start the day with a run!

To continue my get-in-shape kick, I signed up for a yoga class (part of my free tuition) and bought a gym locker for the year. So I'll be prepared to workout anytime. At first, I was upset that the only yoga class that still had space is at 8am, but now I'm looking forward to getting out of the house early at least a couple times a week. Don't get me wrong, 8am is not early, but I rarely get to campus before 10am. For example, this morning I ran 3 miles, read a magazine, staked the cherry tomato plants, cut back the sunflowers and played some piano before leaving for work.