Saturday 100111

Wardian interview from URP.  These guys are doing some good stuff.

Got some new Cascadia’s today.  I pretty much love this shoe.  It got me across the Grand Canyon and back.  Anyway, the new ones are the blue ones … a few differences between the new and the old:  lacing is a “fat” lace system (which I think I will like) and the few tweaks to the outsole.

Couldn’t get out in the AM as KZ had soccer out of town at 7:30, and then a second game mid day (more tomorrow!).  It was a blast with KZ all morning:  she played soccer, then we escaped for a bit between games where she took over Pandora and I was ripped through Adele to Weezer to the Killers as she switched the station like every 24 seconds.  Then over to Starbucks to shoot the breeze.  Back for another game.  I tried various stretching and myrtle stuff from the side lines.

*Shocker*:  an age grouper tests positive for a banned substance.

I found this article on the merits of the long run – or rather there lack of merit to some degree for the marathon – interesting. After VO2 max is fully developed in the first six months of endurance training, continued runs of about 70 percent VO2 max for at least 90 minutes are effective for further muscle adaptations, including capillary growth. By the process of glycogen depletion, muscle fibers initially active drop out after the first hour (roughly) and others, including fast-twitch, are called into action. Normally these fast-twitch fibers would only be recruited during high-intensity interval training. (Two roads to Rome here.) It's axiomatic that for a fiber to adapt it must be stimulated to contract; how much, how often is up in the air, which is why training is still an art.  If the distance running is too slow, it's likely that the energy can be provided largely by fat metabolism, thus sparing muscle glycogen. This means that once conditioned, the runner needs to run at close to maximal steady state pace during these longer runs.

Afternoon – waited for the clouds to roll in a bit to get a break from the heat.  Nonetheless, this run was a bit of a slog – tired from yesterday’s workout(s).  9 miles very slow and easy.  This is a crappy shot – as I only had my phone with me – but the bald eagles have returned to the big cottonwoods down in the Caroyln Holmberg open space.  Of course, this photo – it could be a stick stuck at the top of the tree.  Better shots of local wildlife over here.