NeilCraigan.Com

Lessons From Long Distance (ultra) Running #5 Easy on the Downhills

More often than not we find it easier to run downhill than up. Gravity is at work and we can take longer strides, it can be a great opportunity to make up for lost time so we press on hard.

The problem with running downhills hard is that your quadriceps take a terrible pounding and over the length of an ultra-marathon this can cause real problems. Downhills are definitely easier and more fun to run than uphills and we should learn to enjoy them for what they are... easier sections of the course rather than places to try and make up for lost time.

In life we will have uphill sections in which every step feels like a strain. We will have flat sections where everything is an even effort and we have downhills, times in which everything just seems that bit easier. When we are blessed with downhill running in life we should learn to enjoy them for the next climb might be just around the corner. Let's not wreck ourselves but pushing hard on the downhills leaving us with nothing to battle the next uphill and tired soar legs that will cause us to stumble on the next downhill as well.

Perhaps the lesson is to pace yourself for life and know that some sections will be easier than others.

Lessons From Long Distance (ultra) Running #4 The need for rest

As I ran the Appalachian Trail section of the JFK 50 I followed the simple formula of run the downhills and flat (not that any of it is flat) and walk the uphills. The idea is that you want to rest your body enough on the uphills so you can maintain good forward momentum for the whole race.

As we dropped off the Appalachian Trail around mile 16 the rest of the race is relatively flat so at that point it was time to use a new run/rest system. I decided, for no good reason, to go with a 6:1 ratio of running to walking. I figured that walking every seventh minute would allow me enough recovery time to keep on pushing forward. I have to confess that there were times during the race that I took significantly longer breaks, I considered them my "jubilee" times!

One of the keys for success in an ultra-marathon is taking the necessary breaks that will allow your body to recover enough to keep the forward momentum going. The same is true in life. There is good reason that in God's top ten things that concern him resting is number four on that list.

Learning to take a Sabbath break, a time of stopping serves a number of purposes. One it allows you to rest from your work and undergo some recreation. Two it reminds you that you are not in charge, the world will get along just fine without you for 24 hours. Three it reminds you that God is ultimately in charge and gives you time to worship. Four, it is the best antidote to chronic busyness. Five, it requires surrender, we surrender our agendas, to-do lists and needs to God.

You will not run the race of life well without proper times of Sabbath.

Lessons From Long Distance (ultra) Running #3 Refueling the tank

In many shorter races people may eat a little before the start and then run the race and not eat anything until after it is over. Not so in ultra-distance races.

If you are planning to run all day then you are going to need to eat and drink in order to maintain your energy levels, in particular the glycogen levels in your muscles. If your glycogen levels run too low you will run out of muscle energy and bonk, fatal for a long distance runner as the only way to recover is to stop, eat and rest. In the course of the JFK 50 I put away, 4 Packets of Clif Shot Blocks, 3 Bananas, 1 Potato, 5 Smuckers PB&J sandwiches, 1 Cup of Soup, 2 cups of chips, 2 Pretzel sticks, 2 cups of Gatorade and plenty of water.

Of course I didn't sit down and eat it all at once, I ate little and often over the course of 50 miles to help keep myself fueled to complete the race.

Many people I know think they can fuel their spiritual lives with one big meal a week on Sunday morning. They can't! Time in prayer and the Scriptures should be a part of our daily routine if we want to grow in our faith and knowledge of God as revealed through Jesus Christ.

I have watched with great sadness as well meaning Christians have simply run out of steam because they have been running hard doing lots of good things all the while forgetting the importance of stopping to refuel. When this happens they sometimes drop out of everything or become angry and bitter about not getting things done their way.

If you reach this point in your life, take the time to recognize it and stop, rest and refuel.

We all need to feed ourselves with a steady diet of prayer and Scripture reading and reflection.

USATF and PC(USA)

Question: What does the USATF and the PC(USA) have in common?

Answer: A controversial regulation that only some enforce.

The USATF struggles with Rule 144.3(f) which bans i-pods (sort of) and the PC(USA) struggles with G-6.0106.b which deals with ordination standards.

The Twin Cities Marathon will disqualify anyone they see wearing an ipod during the race. They follow the letter of the law (actually they don't, the rule doesn't specifically mention ipods or MP3 players).

Portland has declared their marathon "MP3 friendly." Clearly concluding that an MP3 player is not a "similar device" to a video or cassette player, a computer, DVD, CD player, or radio.

At the half-marathon I ran on Monday, they stated the regulation before the beginning of the race, even mentioned it was for safety reasons, but then chose not to enforce it.

Hmmm... what do you do in a situation like this?

Running Together

Last night it was interval workouts at the track. It's a great workout and hopefully I'll see the benefits of it before too long.

Before we started our intervals Jenny and I ran four laps to warm up. After the first lap was completed our 2 year old ran up to us and declared that she wanted to run with us. We slowed way down to allow her to keep up with us and taking hold of our hands the three of us ran about 200 meters before we left her with her sisters. In terms of exercise and physical results it was worthless in term of relationships and love it was priceless.

What price do you put on relationships? You can calculate this by looking at the activities or results you pursue at the expense of relationships with others. Now tell me, is it a fair trade?

A couple of weeks from now I won't remember much about last nights workout but I will never forget holding hands with our youngest child and running (very slowly) round the track with her.

Win the Prize

The Olympic Games are just around the corner. In those games the athletes are going to be competing for the ultimate prize, an Olympic gold medal. A few talented athletes will realize that dream and walk away with the prize. For many others they already know that barring a miracle there is no way they will win a medal let alone the gold. So why are they there? Why run if you have little realistic chance of getting through the heats of the 100m. Why run if your you're going to be ten minutes off the pace for the marathon?

Why? They run to compete, they run to represent their country, they run to do the best they can on the day. They run because that's what they do, they run.

I run.

I have a medals to prove that I run. They're not Olympic gold medals, they're not even winners medals. They are competitors finish medals! I've run marathons and I've finished and probably no one except me could care less. The feeling of crossing that finish line after 26.2 miles is one of the greatest feeling in the world.

The apostle Paul reminds us, "that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize." He then urges us to "run in such a way as to get the prize." Do you have to finish first to get the prize? No, you don't, you only have to compete and finish well to win the prize in the race of life.

I run the race of life to represent the kingdom of God, I do the best I can on any given day. I will run and I will finish well. How about you?

From the Associated Press: Amputee runner wins right to try for Olympic spot

The Associated Press reports...

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius won his appeal Friday and can compete for a place in the Beijing Olympics.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the 21-year-old South African is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes, overturning a ban imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

CAS said the unanimous ruling goes into effect immediately.

"I am ecstatic," Pistorius told reporters in Milan, Italy. "When I found out, I cried. It is a battle that has been going on for far too long. It's a great day for sport. I think this day is going to go down in history for the equality of disabled people."

Pistorius still must reach a qualifying time to run in the individual 400 meters at the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Games. However, he can be picked for the South African relay squad without qualifying. That relay squad has not yet qualified for the Olympics. (read on)

I'd love to know what you think about this.

My wife, 25:40, Marine Corps Marathon

The Marine Corps Marathon is still months away but the race is now full. Unless, that is, you decide you want to run with one of the charity partners. That is exactly what my wife, Jenny, has decided to do. Yesterday she signed up to run with team 25:40, an organization dedicated to the AIDS orphans of South Africa and taking its name from Matthew 25:40 which reads, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (TNIV).

I couldn't be more excited for her, it's been 13 years since her last race over 26.2 miles and it's about time she had a chance to run this distance again. I'm also delighted that she's running, not just for herself but to make a difference in this world of ours.

If you would like to sponsor her you can go to her site and click on the "sponsor Jennifer now" button.

Losing Weight

Two years ago today I ran my first race in 11 years. On April 29th 2006 I ran a 5k and as a result became hooked on running. I ran that race in 25:08 and knew that I could knock 8 seconds off my next race and the rest, as they say, is history. Over the last couple of years a lot of people have asked me how much weight I have dropped, the answer is about 45 pounds, however this picture speaks more clearly than the numbers.

This used to be my favorite suit but if I let go of the waist the pants would fall to the ground and I would be thoroughly exposed!

Having dropped this weight I can honestly say that I feel great. It makes me wonder about all the extra weight we carry with us through life... the stuff that slows us down and prevents us from being the people we were created to be.

The weight of unforgiveness, harboring a grudge or past resentment that weighs us down and prevents us entering the future at full speed. God calls us to forgive those who have wronged us, so we can run into the future that God has for us.

The weight of past failures, those things that constantly cause us to doubt ourselves, broken relationships, discouragement, loss of hope. When we trust in God we are promised a fresh start.

Some of us carry excess spiritual weight. We have years of sermons, bible studies, small groups and Sunday School making us fat because we have never taken the time we need to exercise our faith and put into practice the teaching of God as revealed to us in the Scriptures. We have failed to be the wise (wo)man  that Jesus speaks of at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The one who hears his words and puts them into practice is the wise man. Many of our churches are full of obese Christians who desperately need to work off some of their spiritual calories.

Imagine if churches were to put its members on a spiritual diet and push its members into a regular exercise routine to burn off those spiritual calories, a routine of evangelism and service (not in a legalistic manner). What difference would it make if we had more healthy, active and fit Christians in our pews?

Running

If any of you are interested I have moved all my thoughts about running over to a new blog therunningrev.com

Cool Runnings, But Fast For Me!

Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking a lot about my next marathon. I really want to get that third one under my belt, but I've also been thinking about trying to qualify for Boston, to do so would mean taking 23 minutes off my time from Richmond. In reality that means running one heck of a lot faster!

It was cold today, at least by Virginia standards, it was 27 degrees with a wind chill of 20 when I went running at 3:00 this afternoon. As a result I received more than one strange look from drivers as they flew past wondering to themselves what this crazy fool was doing running in this cold.

I was supposed to run a slow long distance run today, a comfortable run at a slightly slower speed. But it was cold... very cold... I felt comfortable all the way, but it wasn't slow, actually if I had been running a USATF certified half marathon I would have set a personal best of 1:41:25. If that really is my "slow" run then perhaps I could continue to add on the miles and qualify for Boston. Truth be told though, I ran harder than I would normally have as it was freezing out!

Gotta love running!

Cool Runnings, But Fast For Me!

Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking a lot about my next marathon. I really want to get that third one under my belt, but I've also been thinking about trying to qualify for Boston, to do so would mean taking 23 minutes off my time from Richmond. In reality that means running one heck of a lot faster!

It was cold today, at least by Virginia standards, it was 27 degrees with a wind chill of 20 when I went running at 3:00 this afternoon. As a result I received more than one strange look from drivers as they flew past wondering to themselves what this crazy fool was doing running in this cold.

I was supposed to run a slow long distance run today, a comfortable run at a slightly slower speed. But it was cold... very cold... I felt comfortable all the way, but it wasn't slow, actually if I had been running a USATF certified half marathon I would have set a personal best of 1:41:25. If that really is my "slow" run then perhaps I could continue to add on the miles and qualify for Boston. Truth be told though, I ran harder than I would normally have as it was freezing out!

Gotta love running!

Rock and Roll Half Marathon

What a great weekend in Virginia Beach. Perfect weather, although a little warmer than I like it for running, great company (my wife) and great food.
Here's our results...

                                                                                 

Bib

FName

LName

ChipTime

Overall

DivPl

pace

ttlrace

ttldiv

ttlsex

_5k

_10k

_10_mile

_11_mile

3607

Jennifer

Craigan

1:51:46

2487

98

8:32

17009

1539

9576

25:36

51:19

1:24:30

1:33:52

3606

Neil

Craigan

1:45:22

1495

228

Ultramarathon... Why not!

Ok, I'm willing to go public with this thought, sometime in the next 14 months I will enter the world of ultrarunning and compete in my first ultramarathon! There I've said it.

I've toyed with this thought for several months now, I don't expect that I'm going to get any faster as a runner over the coming years so perhaps I can push my endurance a little.

What is an ultramarathon? Any race over the standard marathon distance of 25.2 miles. Most ultramarathons are 50k, 50 miles or 100 miles in length. I have no desire to try a 100 mile race at this point so it will be either a 50k or 50 miler. The difference between these two... 19 miles. My head says to start with the 50k, my ego the 50 miler.

Why do this, why now? It's simple really, its just something I want to do before I 40 turn in October of 2008.

Which race will it be? I don't know yet, perhaps the Bull Run 50 in April, or a trip back to Minnesota for the Afton 50k in July, at this point its a big TBD.

In preparation I will be running the VA Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon this Sunday, the Army Ten Miler in October and the Richmond Marathon in November.

Eleven Miles, 100% humidity... Yuck!

I had just checked the weather on the internet and it was a reasonably comfortable 72 degrees at 7:00am as I walked out the front door to go for an eleven mile run. The only problem was that the weather information also included a humidity factor of 100%. You could taste the water in the air and most of the O had combined with H to make it harder to breath. It was miserable outside.

Within a couple of minutes my body was dripping with sweat and since the air already contained all the moisture it could hold there was nowhere for it to go. Sweat evaporation, one of the bodies best cooling mechanisms was running at a zero. Knowing this to be the case I started at a very comfortable 8:30 pace, just trying to accept the reality of the conditions in which I was running. At mile six I considered quitting after eight, at eight I decided I could push on for two more and quit at ten. As I passed my house at the ten mile mark it took every ounce of energy I had not to stop and push for one more mile. I made it all eleven miles, but my pace slowed considerably and I finished with an 8:46 average.

During the run I was thinking about how we sometimes, perhaps oftentimes, have to endure conditions that are less than ideal for and how easy it is to quit when the going gets tough. The Apostle Paul reminds us to press on toward the goal and not to be "anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Indeed he even says that he has learned to content no matter what circumstances he finds himself in. Now you may think that's great for Paul but Paul didn't have to live the hectic pace of life and face the pressures of life in modern day America. That's true he didn't but he still said that he could, "do everything through him who gives me strength." And Paul did have to deal with a great deal of hardship for the sake of the gospel...

I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own people, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Followers of Jesus have to press on in spite of the circumstances that life may throw at them.

The obsession of a runner

It was a wonderful morning of worship, as I left the church and started for home my mind shifted to the ten miles I was looking forward to running this afternoon. I was delighted to see the cloud cover, it meant that in spite of higher temperatures I would be able to get out and run when I wanted because I could avoid the problems and added heat of running in direct sun. I ate a light lunch and was about to change when... "cccrack... boom" there was thunder and lightning in the air, I would have to wait. How long?

I went to the internet and pulled up the Doppler radar view of the DC area and studied it carefully to see when I might get out and run. The time went by, two o'clock became three and the rain was pouring down, three became four and it wasn't letting up any... four became five and it was starting to look better, the rain was stopping and the radar was showing a clearing over our area. I went for it!

It was a good run, the air temperature had dropped to 75 degrees but the humidity was running a very tropical 88%. Yes, these are the kinds of things obsessive runners pay close attention to. After all they impact performance. I headed out in these conditions expecting to run fairly well but not great and pounded out what I considered to be a fairly respectable 8:12 pace for the ten.

While running I thought about the craziness of this obsession, or passion I have for running and began to think about what other things I'm passionate (obsessed) about. There were two thoughts that ran through my mind, Jesus and Justice for the poor and oppressed. I want the everyone to know that Jesus is the hope of the world. I also want to see the words of Isaiah fulfilled, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" Isaiah 58:6-7 Indeed this is the very passage that inspired the title of this blog.

Having seen my passion (obsession) for running I have to wonder what level of passion and commitment I have to these other two areas in my life, both of which are more important that running. When all is said and done I believe in the prayer that Jesus taught us, to pray that God's name would be honored, that God's kingdom would come and God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. A radical idea.

 

Still Running!

As of today I have run 762 miles this year. How far have you gone?
I don't mean how many miles you have run but rather are you growing in your faith in measurable ways? Are you getting closer to realizing your dreams? Or has life become static for you?
Keep on running, life is a marathon not a sprint. Follow Paul's advice and keep on pressing "toward the goal to win the prize for which God is calling me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Have a great weekend.

Richmond Marathon?

I'm thinking of running the Richmond Marathon this fall, but today I had a lousy run. Went out at 3:00 pm to run 12 miles and ended up with only 9.5 completed. I suppose I should have known better than to go out at that time of day with the sun shining, at least the humidity was low! Since I average an 8:12 pace I can still get away with considering it a fairly decent run.

So what will influence my decision to run in Richmond? I suppose the biggest question will be the motivation. For the National Marathon I was motivated to run for Team World Vision and the difference that could be made in the lives of AIDS orphans as a result. So why run Richmond? The same cause, a different cause, no cause (just for fun)? Ideas welcomed.

Running in Belfast

One of the highlights of our trip was that it allowed Jenny and I to run together for the first time in a year. The cooler weather made for near ideal running conditions and over the course of three weeks we pounded out 75 miles, most of which we ran along the towpath of the river Lagan.

We ran by fields of cows and horses, there were ducks swimming on the river, a Mute Swan with five cignets, it was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the majesty and beauty of creation.

With the cooler temperatures came faster paces and with that a boost in confidence. It feels great to once again be running sub 8:00 minute miles on runs of five miles.

 

It was so much better than running through the neighborhoods of hot and humid northern Virginia.

 

Running Thought

With just about 11 weeks to go to the Virginia Beach, Rock and Roll Half Marathon I suppose its time to start a more formal training program. I've been running between 20 and 25 miles a week since the Marathon in April and have managed to keep a long run of between 8 and 12 miles each week since then as well.

I'm working hard on my time averaging better than 8 minute miles on all my short runs and between 8 and 8:20 minute miles on the long runs. I'm looking forward to getting to Ireland at the end of next week, it will be a pleasant break to be able to train in cooler (60-70 degree) weather for a few weeks instead of the stifling heat of Northern Virginia.

One final thought... I'm still about 30 seconds a mile faster than Jenny! Sorry dear.