40 days, 40 runs

Run rabbit run Dig that hole, forget the sun And when at last the work is down Don't sit down, it's time to dig another one

Did you know the number 40 has special significance across various cultures? For example, 40 is mentioned umpteen times in the bible. Basically, 40 has both a literal and an idiomatic meaning. More precisely, or perhaps less precisely, we can interpret 40 to mean "many of something" or simply "umpteen".

Today, my run streak has met its original goal of 40 consecutive days: a literal interpretation is intended in this case. At the outset, I said:

"Last 7 mornings, I've gotten up and run. I don't know how long this streak will last, but now that I've begun it, I'm tentatively hoping and aiming for 40 days in a row."

(See older posts: at the halfway mark 20 runs, 20 days, and after the first week 7 mornings, 7 runs.)

The goal was simple. Run a bit every single day. Enough to tax the cardio/muscular system, but not hard enough to impact one-day recovery. I should point out because of the shortness of the runs, this falls under "just exercising" (this can't really be considered training yet).

However, I set certain pace goals. On some days it was hard to begin never mind complete the workouts. For example, on days I worked late at the office, and felt dog-tired; at 11pm, I had to go out and complete the run before midnight. Other days, I didn't get enough sleep the day before or had done other significant exercise and still felt fatigued: in other words, I knew my legs were toast even before I started. Still, the very idea of keeping the streak going had "legs" of its own if you will. I persevered.

Almost religiously, I recorded all the runs into my spreadsheet:

Cumulative statistics are rather unimpressive. Just 165 km and 13,600 kcal burnt at an average pace of 5'07" per km for a total of 14 hours, 7 minutes and change. However, with an eye on my diet, especially during the 2nd half of the streak, I've managed to lose 2.5 kg (or 5.5 lbs). Another 1 kg and I think I'd be ready to start proper training.

As you can see by the chart below, the first twenty days were spent at the comfortable 7.0 mph mark (8'34" mile pace = 11.3 km/hr or 5'19" km pace) (when running indoors). As the spread of points show, by the end I was able to run for 40 minutes (or more) at that speed.

From day 21, I decided to up the speed on the Woodway Desmo treadmill to 7.5 mph (8'00" mile pace = 12 km/hr or 4'58" km pace). (This is not your ordinary gym treadmill, but an extremely expensive treadmill costing close to $10,000 that claims extremely repeatable and accurate speeds. Its slat design also feels very different from a belt-based treadmill.) I have to say running on a belt-based treadmill feels significantly easier than a Woodway at the same speed for some unfathomable reason. For example, I ran on a hotel Precor on day 33 at 7.5 mph. It felt as easy as 7.0 mph on the Woodway. This brings into question my treadmill runs from earlier years: for example before the 2010 Tokyo marathon, I was regularly running from 10K up to an hour at an indicated 13 km/hr on a belt treadmill at a Konami gym. And that was at sea level. What would be the Woodway equivalent at an altitude of 2400'(730m)? I have no idea.

Breathe, breathe in the air

Don't be afraid to care

Leave but don't leave me

Look around, choose your own ground

For long you live and high you fly

And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry

And all your touch and all you see

Is all your life will ever be

0.5 mph (or 5'19" to 4'58" km pace) may not sound like much of an increment. But it put me over the edge. Threw me for a loop so to speak. Biomechanically, cadence and stride-wise, 7.5 mph felt quite different. Breathing also seemed like hard work. I could have stayed at 7.0 mph, but to improve, one has to explore the discomfort zone. It took days before I found the foot speed comfortable. Breathing took even longer. (This seems to make sense to me (a non-sports scientist): neuromuscular adaptation is probably faster than adaptation in the aerobic system.)

For example, on day 21, I ran for a planned 15 minutes continuously at 7.5 mph (after running continuously for 40 minutes at 7.0 mph the day before). However, I was unable to match this 15 continuous minutes at 7.5 mph (never mind build on it) until day 39. Some days, if I had trained for a couple of hours the day before, I could only manage 3 or 5 minutes at a time at that speed before being forced to take a short walk break. On days 39 and 40, I finally passed that initial mark on consecutive days.

Although I regard my 40 days as a minor achievement, I don't yet feel 7.5 mph is "my speed" on the Woodway Desmo. Therefore I've decided to continue the streak for one more week to see where it takes me.

Update: Actually, I only lasted 4 more days. Managed 20 mins straight at 7.5 mph on the Woodway on day 42 but broke on day 45. A low pressure system brought in dust storms, culminating in one that swept through Tucson at 75mph (120 km/hr). Triggered my asthma (from childhood). I was simply done: cut down to size, reduced to wheezing when climbing one flight of stairs to my office, only the twin miracles of Ventolin and Flovent preventing me from feeling like merely breathing through a straw.

Replacement IPod Nano

I got this replacement iPod Nano from my local Apple Store today.

Earlier this week, my iPod Nano (6th generation), see picture below, stopped holding a charge. The symptom was that I'd charge it up and the charge would drain quickly. Then when I went to use it at the gym, I'd be frustrated since there'd be no battery left.

When I got to the Apple Store, they said it was out of warranty. I've had it since September 2010. Also, the battery is not user-replaceable: no good taking it to Batteries Plus.

The lithium-ion batteries used in these iDevices have a limited number of charges. Then they essentially become disposable. I'm not sure if that's the case with my particular Nano, or perhaps the battery shorted out during one of my workouts. In any case, a new 8GB Nano runs $129. They offered to replace mine for $59. (Plus tax.) See the so-called "repair" invoice below.

It's a big relief to not have to shell out full price for a new one. Still, it seems a shame that device won't be fixed. Even though these things retail for more than $100, it costs more to take them apart and replace the battery than to toss out.

Note not all iPod Nano "repairs" cost the same. The Apple Genius told me that if the screen was cracked, it'd be $99, nearly the price of a new one. The repair is the same, i.e. a replacement device, but the cost is different if that makes sense to you.

Stiga Rosewood NCT V, SuperCPen S style

I have a new table tennis blade. It's a Stiga Rosewood NCT V. Xu Xin (許昕) is the superstar who uses this blade. However, mine is customized for me by Dai Feng of San Diego (Mr. SuperCPen) in size small (for my smaller hands) from the original shakehands blade. Weight (without rubber) is 80g.

Backside:

I've only played with it once. Compared to my 77g Butterfly Innerforce ZLC-based SuperCPen S, this is a slightly heavier but slower blade with better control. I've been able to adapt to the new paddle almost immediately. However, my loops are significantly weaker.

I've been having some wrist problems lately, so I've attempted here to minimize the total weight of the paddle. Shown on the scale here at 154g with Butterfly Tenergy 05 for the forehand:

I've experimented with cutting away as much unnecessary rubber as possible. As a result the red Tenergy 05FX barely covers more than 60% of the backhand side:

The paddle handle itself is hollow and rather delicate. I've already cracked it.

Workmanship is not quite as good as the Butterfly blades. Dai Feng remarked on this when taking the handle apart. An earlier version I sent him showed rather poor construction. Despite being made in Sweden, it was defective manufacturing. The plys came apart. Dai was able to slide a piece of paper inbetween:

However, it's considerably cheaper than Butterfly pricing.

20 runs, 20 days

I'm in the gym, getting set for another run indoors on that uncompromising device, the Woodway treadmill... thinking of the end product, that beautiful, effortless run outside under sunny skies. Sand separates the sea From me on my desert island Sun obliterates the sky And I, I'm just like anyone No matter how I try I wanna see the sun. And it shines To illuminate the distance Illustrate the difference Between you and me

At the beginning of April, I vowed to run every day at a set minimum pace for at least 40 days in a row. I managed to get a small streak going. 20 days in a row so far. I'm halfway there.

Like any other exercise program, there have been easy days and hard days. The minimal standard is 15 mins at 7.0 mph enforced by the treadmill. The standard is raised to 20 mins at 7.0 mph as the days passed. The treadmills at the gym are made by Woodway, with claimed accuracy to 1/10 mph.

On some days, particularly if I rested well the night before, the standard is easy to meet. The running form is good and the minutes just fly past. For example, day 20 in the charts below, I ran for 45 mins and didn't feel tired. (In fact, I only stopped before 60 mins because my iPod Nano on my waistband flooded with sweat and stopped recording.) However, the point is not to run to exhaustion, but have enough leftover to continue the streak tomorrow.

And so it is the hard days that threaten and define the streak. Some days are difficult because of inadequate rest (sleep). Sometimes the legs are tired right from the start. Then meeting the minimal standard takes a lot of stubbornness and willpower to keep the streak going. I can tell you day 17 where I just managed 18 minutes felt way harder than 45 minutes on day 20.

Here are the statistics. 103 km in 20 days. Total time is 8 hours and 54 minutes. Burned 8429 kcal. Average pace 5:11 mins/km.

With respect to pacing, I leave the treadmill at 7.0 mph (11.2 km/hr). This corresponds to a 5:20 min/km pace. If I feel like testing my legs a bit, I will add on 3 mins at the end at 7.5 mph (12.0 km/hr or 4:58 min/km pace). On the charts below, the bars in green are not on the treadmill. These are outside runs. Interestingly my natural outdoor speed (a bit under 5:00 min/km) is faster than my set treadmill speed (which feels hard enough to me).

On day 1, I ran for just 15 mins at 7.0 mph and it felt quite hard. By day 20, I ran for 45 mins at 7.0 mph and I felt I could do more. Starting on day 21, I will increase the baseline speed to 7.5 mph. This puts additional physiological and psychological pressure on the streak but sooner or later, I've got to man up (HTFU) or stagnate.

Here are the runs. Distances: day 1 through 10.

Distances: day 11 through 20.

Time spent, day 1 through 10. (Note that even a 15 minute run effectively takes an hour out of one's schedule. Walk to the gym. Change. 5 mins warm-up at 3.0 mph. 15 mins run at speed. 5 mins cool down at 3.0 mph. 10 mins stretching. Shower. Walk back to work. It all adds up.)

Time spent, day 11 through 20.

Here is the recorded accuracy of the iPod Nano 6g's internal accelerometer:

Different running surfaces affect the accuracy. On average, it's about 10% optimistic. All distances reported in the charts above have been individually corrected (assuming Woodway's claim of 1/10mph accuracy, and outdoor run distances are verified using Google Earth).

7 mornings, 7 runs

Waking up early every morning without the ability to fall asleep again can be both a blessing and a curse. Perhaps there's something amiss in my sleep schedule, but looking on the positive side, I've decided to grab the opportunity of early mornings to run rather than to try futilely get back to sleep.

Last 7 mornings, I've gotten up and run. I don't know how long this streak will last, but now that I've begun it, I'm tentatively hoping and aiming for 40 days in a row. (Incidentally, I've never tried something like this before.)

I believe the key to a streak is to run a little bit each day but not overdo it to the extent I'll be fatigued for next morning's run.

To this end, I either run on a treadmill for 15-30 minutes at a baseline speed of 7.0 mph, or run along a rather gorgeous, out-and-back, car-free path along a (usually) dry river bed shown in red below: This is the Cañada del Oro Linear Park. The Oro Valley town's section cost of $2.5 million ($2 million bond, $0.5 million federal funds). Each direction is 2.73 miles (4.39 km). Does not cross any roads (utilizes underpasses). Does not run alongside any road. Runs alongside the Cañada del Oro wash. I run the outbound leg in one go. And then run and walk the return path.

If your browser supports it, i.e. you have the Google Earth plug-in installed (http://earth.google.com/plugin/, here is the 1 minute 3D flyover video (rendered by Google Earth via MapMyRun.com).
(It sometimes doesn't work on my Safari browser, but when it works it is beautifully smooth and looks like a real flyover. Note: Firefox seems to work fine.) Direct link to MapMyRun (renders in a full window): here
Youtube video (via Quicktime Movie Screen record, jerky video due to lack of CPU power on my Macbook Pro, both cores were pegged during screen record): here

Here are the runs graphing time and pace. Treadmill runs are in blue, the riverside path runs in green, and pace in orange (shorter is faster). Note my first two runs were only 15 minute in length. In reality, that's an hour each at the gym. Basically, 15 mins run + 5 mins warm-up at 3.0 mph + 5 mins cool-down at 3.0 mph + 10 min stretching afterwards + change and shower. Also note that my outdoor runs tended to be at a faster pace than on the treadmill.

Total distance in this week has been 40.54 km in 3:23:36 (hr:mm:ss) for an average workout pace of 5:01 min/km. A somewhat humble beginning for a streak but let's see how it develops. On the bright side, I've manage to lose a kilogram.

K-town New York

It has been a long time, hasn't it?
The Big Apple hasn't been on the itinerary for a while.

Home of the Empire State Building pictured on the left.
Eighty years young.
Barely makes it into the top 20 list of tall buildings in the world, such as times have changed.
Once the tallest in the world. Not by a long shot now.
However, it's once again the tallest building in New York City.

I'm here for work. A wonderful opportunity for sure, for which I'm very grateful.

But it's on my Spring Break. Normally, I'm sure New York wouldn't come to mind for anyone when primed with the magic phrase "Spring Break". But hey, I'm here and uncharacteristically, the weather was perfect.

So anyway, I thought it'd be cool to relax and catch up with a few of the cycling forum folk, some of which I haven't had the opportunity to meet up in person for a very long time.

From left to right, Parkin Lee, Anthony Moye, yours truly and Evan Marks.

I had a couple courtesy of Anthony inside The Ginger Man pictured here:

Unfortunately, that was on a totally empty stomach. (I hadn't eaten since breakfast.)

Nevertheless, I couldn't turn down the rare opportunity of Maudite on tap (outside of Quebec), but at 8% alcohol, it's serious beer.

Since I'm based within a block of the Empire State Building, it feels like it's all K-town.

Before I could demonstrate a faceplant on the sidewalk, fortunately three of us decamped to Han Sik Kang Suh on 32rd for Korean BBQ .
(Won Jo across the road, where I've been before, seemed very full. There was a crowd milling outside.)

To tell the truth, I also had Korean the night before. I certainly can't complain at all about the Gobdol Bi Bim Bab at Han Bat almost literally next door to my hotel. Reasonably priced, full of Koreans. As soon as I got into town, I had to go for it to get it off my mind. Stone pot style. Excellent.

One of the very best things about New York City, the ethnic food.

run walk run

My blog entry about a week ago on the subject of running was titled run walk.

Being too out of shape to sustain the volume I needed to get back into shape (I know it's kind of a catch 22 situation), I adopted Jeff Galloway's system of running with short walk breaks.

More precisely I adopted a repeating schedule of running for 1 mile at 7.0 mph and walking for about 90 seconds. The key is to make the workout manageable yet run enough to trigger significant physiological changes. I can safely say it seems to work.

This week I can report I've upgraded to walk run walk. See the following graph:

First five miles were covered with the treadmill set at 7.0 mph with 90 second walk breaks at 3.0 mph between each mile. Then I finished the workout off with a 3 miler at 7.0 mph sans break. That got me a satisfying 1100 kcal or so burned. (I certainly couldn't have completed this workout last week after the long layoff.)

How did I know I could hack the final 3 miles? Well, the running equation is all about legs and lungs. My first mile always feels a bit lumpy. So the first ten minutes is not informative. But by the 3rd mile, I can usually tell if I have the legs fatigue-wise. The rest of the equation is simply about form: running form and breathing form.

In terms of running form, I can feel my leg mechanics getting more efficient as the workout progressed. Look at the graph above again: from mile 3 onwards, the jaggies in the plot are at a lower point. It looks as though I'm running slower. However, the treadmill speed is exactly the same as in the earlier miles. I believe the accelerometer in my iPod Nano is reporting that I'm bouncing less and running smoother. And every bit of running economy helps.

The final factor is breathing form. If I'm running into slight oxygen debt, eventually I will not be able to maintain the set pace no matter how motivated I am. So it's important to breathe well. I started paying attention to my breathing technique around mile 3, and suddenly the miles came subjectively much quicker: I'm not glancing at the time and distance display on the treadmill as often.

By mile 5, I felt much better than in miles 1 and 2. I know it seems counterintuitive, but 7.0 mph felt much easier despite being more than half-an-hour into the run. (I don't believe this can be attributed to an endorphin response.) With legs moving more efficiently (perhaps confirmed by the graph) and a good breathing rhythm established, I felt I had the formula nailed. Thus I decided to insert that 25 min block at 7.0 mph to complete the workout.

In fact, I now believe the run walk method is superior to a pure run workout for me. It seems the run walk pattern allows me to converge on running form. Once established, I can then run (without breaks) with maximum efficiency. And as the miles pile on, I do begin to feel the well-being associated with an endorphin rush. (Actually, I felt like continuing onto mile 10, but I ran out of time.)

Unfortunately, this convergence doesn't always happen. See the graph below (taken a couple of days later):

At no point did I feel I was settling down to a nicely efficient stride or breathing pattern. There is no improvement as the miles progress. So I cut my losses and abandoned the run after just 4 miles.

Back to the 8 miler, unfortunately, my workout is now well over the 1 hour mark. I have my iPod Nano 6g set up to power the bluetooth dongle that sends music wirelessly to my Sony XBA-BT75 wireless earphones. And after maybe a total of 90 minutes, the Nano was reporting battery was in the red zone. The earphones are rated by Sony for 3.5 hours battery life. It seems the Nano is the limiting factor here. This is a little disappointing. I'm not sure the combo will last for a half marathon.

I forgot to include last time a picture of the USB-powered charging station for the XBA-BT75. Here it is: