I wanted to start off this project idea in a positive way but all I can think of is how much I hate running. More specifically, I hate adult running. When I was kid, I loved it. I played a lot of two-hand-touch football in my neighborhood and I was always the kickoff returner. Why? Because I was fast, purposeful and pretty much untouchable. It was a lot of fun. Most importantly, it didn't feel like I was working on purpose in some bored, droning way to improve my conditioning although in fact it was all I was doing. In the endless summer days of continuous neighborhood soccer games, football games, biking and basketball, it seemed as though my energy tank was bottomless. Exercise had a natural rhythm of high intensity interspersed with medium intensity and plenty of rest and relaxation. This project is about finding that again.
I've never run a marathon or a half marathon. I've periodically taken up running only to eventually injure my knee, specifically my right knee, with either "runner's knee" (patellofemoral pain) or iliotibial band irritation. About a year ago I ran for a period of about 6 months (my longest ever) making a switch from my thick soled sneakers to New Balance Minimus Vibram-soled running shoes. Barefoot running was a godsend as far as my knee goes. I ran roughly a 5K every 3 days at about a 8-10:00 minute mile pace which felt like hell to me most of the time. Despite running for 6 months at this pace, I never felt like my endurance improved all that much. When I tried to improve my pace by simply running faster, I ended up with an irritated iliotibial band and my hopes dashed. I've never ran an official 5K or 10K and so I have no idea what my times would be for these events. I do know this: when I run chronically, I injure myself. I think the dirty little secret of the running world is that every runner injures themselves eventually. Doing an exercise chronically that inevitably ends up in injury doesn't make much sense to me. That such exercises are a cornerstone of modern fitness is even more abhorrent.
I want to run my first half marathon in Las Vegas at their annual Run, Rock n' Roll on November 16th, 2014. With my checkered past when it comes to adult running, why the hell would I want to run a half marathon? After all, like I said, I don't like running. I don't feel the "runner's high" like a lot of long distance runner's experience. So why this project? Because I'm naturally contrarian. I think humans are, to borrow the title of a book, "born to run." However, we are not born to train in the way we train.
I do have an intense interest in nutrition. I have my doctor lady wife to thank for that. She knows how to cook well and nutritiously. There isn't a vegetable she can't make more delicious. We have always had great discussions on the topic of nutrition and together, we've experimented with various diets up to and including veganism. Over the last 4 months, we've experimented with the paleo/primal diet craze. What I can say is that I'm a convert and I will talk extensively about my nutrition as the project progresses.
Following the lead of men like Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple and Doug McDuff and taking into account my training in biochemistry and in pharmacy, I've decided to take a different approach to training for this half marathon. I've want to focus on two aspects of training that are all but ignored by modern endurance runners: sprinting/high intensity training and adequate rest. Guys like Brian McKenzie, with his CrossFit Endurance training, comes a bit closer in my opinion but he completely ignores the concept of adequate rest and recovery.
My training program will be pretty simple. It'll consist of a weight training routine involving a circuit of pushup's, pull-ups, and squats that focuses on core, whole body functional strength. After all, when I've felt fatigued from a run, it was not only in my legs but in my arms, shoulders, back, neck and core. As far as running goes, when I run, it'll be sprinting only. There will be no long runs. The only long run that I will do will be on raceday. My routine will be short (15-20 minutes) of very, very intense exercise every 4-7 days to allow for adequate rest and relaxation. Hence the 15 Minute Marathon. The project is my attempt to see if a decently fit, but mostly sedentary, couch potato/desk jockey like myself can push himself beyond the slow plod of the amateur fitness jogger and run a decent time in a half marathon. It's my attempt to tap into dormant physical potential (even though I am far from being a gifted runner or athlete) using techniques that minimize injury. It'll be a way to incorporate knowledge of the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory properties of food with a new idea of fitness training and perhaps health.
Or, I could bonk out after only 3 miles because this whole time I refused to follow conventional wisdom. If that's the case, at least I'll be in Vegas. And just maybe, despite whatever happens, I'll feel like a kid again.
