Bring Sally Up.

     I forgot what it was like to start from scratch. Six weeks ago I was at ground zero. Basically no running for 5 months. And now after 6 weeks of running, I have no clue where I am at. I don't know if I am fast, slow, strong, fit, or any combination of what we runners use as adjectives to describe our fitness. The lads around me say that I am fit, but one workout can never really provide the knowledge needed to say: "yes, i can run fast" or "nope, i'm garbage". But when I start to think about it, last year at this time in the summer I also felt this way, and didn't start to feel fast until I started doing VO2MAX workouts. So I am hoping for a similar result this year. 

     As for mileage it is pretty similar to last year, but as for workouts I am trying a total different buildup. My standard 4 week base phase went well. Instead of doing a program where I hit each training system each week (a tempo, a VO2, a speed session) I have just been focusing on general speed, and tempo. Once back at school we tend to hit a lot of VO2 and its not important till then anyways, so I'll wait. This summer is about working on my weaknesses, speed, and increasing the pace in the last couple km of the race. 

     Thinking long term I would love to experiment a little more with both a Lydiard style and a Canova style build up, I have always ran out of time and could not get a proper build in. Stupid injures. But thats for next summer seeing as come September I no longer get to experiment. 

     I guess looking toward this season, I can't wait to get back at the in-season grind. Work is so depressing and sucks the energy right out of me. School is great. Having so many extra hours to train, to get in some precious morning runs, to do push-ups.

     Speaking of push-ups, ever do the Sally? Turn this song on and get into push-up position. When the lyric says "bring sally up" push up and "bring sally down" go down. don't let your stomach touch the floor. My PB is pretty weak at 1:40, but my first goal is to complete the song by the end of the season.

g'luck.

rj

Beer Mile Research

So much has happened in the world of beer mile in the last year. A new world record was set (4:57) by James Neilson and the inaugural beer mile world champs are being held in Austin TX this summer, hosted by flocasts.

For a previously hidden, niche, word-of-mouth sport coming into the mainstream, there ought to be some research done and training methodologies discussed. Until that happens, lets look at what we do know:

Look at what happens when carbonated soda is exposed to iodized table salt. Is it reasonable to assume that with enough salt in the stomach the beer would react in a similar way, becoming CO2 unsaturated? Would this amount of fizzing be beneficial? I would say yes, especially for those who have trouble burping. The more air volume that leaves the stomach the better. However, this might only be an advantage for the first beer, as the salt in the stomach would become diluted after the first beer.

Warm beer would also be easier to consume (if you are used to the taste) since the gas would increase in volume compared to when cold, exiting the can upon opening and thus reducing the total volume of beer/CO2 mixture consumed.

Enough of the chemistry, what about training? I fear all we have to go on at this point is that Neilson mentioned crushing a warm beer as fast as he could every day after work, along with maintaining high running fitness. Since it is so easy to die during these races, it makes sense to even split at a reasonable pace. See this table for calibration based on your individual chugging and running strengths/weaknesses.