Marathon Pacing Groups

Long before there was ever such a thing as "pacing groups" in marathons and now half marathons experienced runners often made arrangements with one of their running friends who was about to experience their first marathon to "run them in" the final few miles or so.  I observed this process long before my first marathon and thought how terrible!  Well intended but terrible!

Running a marathon is all about the individual. It is a test of one's physical and mental endurance and ability to over come.  There are as many different reasons and challenges to run a marathon as there are runners who participate. When I ran my first marathon I wanted to run the entire 26.2 miles by myself.  I appreciated support throughout my training and leading up to the actual event but once the starters gun went off, I was on my own to finish. For if I had a friend "run me in" the final miles it would have meant that I really did not do it all on my one and after all, you only run your first marathon once! Ever! 

In recent years nearly all marathons and now most half marathons have this "thing" called "Pacer" or "Pacing Group".  A well trained and experienced runner who can run a marathon with reasonably predictable results, carries a little sign listing the targeted finish time on a smaller stick. This dedicated and well intention runner then carries this sign several feet above their heads while running the entire race. The result is a GLOB of runners swarming at each side and slightly behind the Pacer.

While I will never be a part of a Pacing Group, I do understand their popularity, particularly among novice runners.  Runners today depend more and more upon other runners for support especially during training. So it makes sense that runners are intimidated by the thought of actually running such a grueling event all on their very own.  If a runner chooses to race with a pacing group, fine, that is their personal decision that I totally respect. Unfortunately runners who always run with a pacer will never truly  be able to claim a personal achievement and satisfaction of running a marathon by themselves. They do not know what they are missing.

I was reminded of another reason not to favor Pacing Groups yesterday during my run of  the Dexter to Ann Arbor Half Marathon. I knew at the start of the race that my string of 7 consecutive sub 1:40 half marathons was in serious jeopardy thanks to a nagging injury and irregular training most of this past winter and spring. Nonetheless, I was healthy to race and was going to give it my best try.  To do this I planned to run a steady 7:40 to 7:45 pace for the first 5-6 miles. The race started and I felt I was running easy but the pace fro the first few miles was actually much faster than planned. So I decided t run relaxed, keep it easy, do not push the pace, and hope for the best. For me, I knew this required a consistent and focused mental approach too.

Corresponding to my slightly slower paced was an up and coming thunder of rubber soles running shoes rapidly gaining on me from behind.  I know there can be a group of runners from time to time and especially during the early miles. Then before I knew it I was absorbed by this SWARM of runners centered around a runner with one of those stinking pace signs!  This was the 1:40 pace group. This was the group that I wanted to beat and that I wanted NO part of being a part of but it looked like I had no choice except to speed my pace a bit and keep ahead. So I did just that. I not only began to run faster than what I had planned, I also begin to loose focus on my run as my mind focused on angry thoughts towards the idea of pacing groups.

Before too long the group caught me again. Not unexpected since I was now "paying" for my recent little surge. But this time I was boxed-in. To be boxed-in means that as a runner you are totally surrounded and cannot run past or around another runner.  So here I was, a bit "ticked" and not using my energy reserves wisely.  So I decided to let this group go past with the idea that I would pass them later.  

Well passing them later never happened as I spent a mile or more battling this GLOB of runners along the narrow two lane road. It was not the fault of this pacing group that caused me not to run another sub 1:40, it was solely my own insufficient training that lead me to finish in1:46. But it was this group that caused me to be disturbed by the continuing and growing trend of pacing groups swelling to take over control of our otherwise great sport.

I urge my fellow runners who have come to depend upon these groups to grow-up and run your race by yourself and reap the corresponding rewards.

I welcome the views and experiences of my running friends and readers.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Run Happy :)

Lee

Leesburg VA - April 5, 2013

Enough procrastination! Time to publish my Cherry Blossom 10 Miler race report!

The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler has been a "Right of Spring" in Washington DC for 40 years now. This was the second Cherry Blossom 10 Miler for me with the first one back in 1987.  We had planned a return visit to DC for many reasons the primary being simply to sight-see and enjoy a relaxing weekend. Then there was the run of course too.

Once upon a time long before the internet, we had stumbled upon a very interesting bed and breakfast inn in Leesburg VA. It was relatively small but featured a working fireplace in nearly every room. I remembered the one in the small parlor and looked forward to returning to sip my "evening" beverage by the fire. Now with the internet it was very easy to not only find The Norris House Inn but to preview and book our reservations. It was also going to be much easier to find once we did arrive in Leesburg as we now have one of those fancy gadgets called a Garmin Nuvi too!

The arrival at The Norris House Inn was wonderful. We were quite surprised by the improvements over the years including the new innkeepers! The innkeeper was especially gracious and very informative as he brought us up to speed on the past 25+ years at The Norris House Inn as well as the Norris family history too.  Our personal residence is almost as old as the Norris House so we literally felt quite at home. 

We took the innkeepers advice and decided to splurge our dinner budget and dined at the Wine Kitchen in beautiful downtown Leesburg. This is a small, not too fancy, but extremely fine cooking at a very fair price. It was certainly worth the 12 hour drive from Michigan!

To continue the wine theme for the evening, when we returned to the Inn we rescued a bottle of wine from our luggage and sat in the comfy chairs by the fireplace (w/o fire due to insurance issues) and relaxed. This was the moment I had been waiting to return to for over 25 years. Does it really get any better? Well yes in fact it did!  Shortly after we had settled into the chairs another traveller had checked in for the evening. It was after hours for the innkeeper and since we were sitting so close to the front hall of the inn we gladly welcomed the new visitor. We gave her the same directions for parking etc. that the innkeeper provided us. We she returned a few moments later we invited her to help us finish off our bottle of wine.

As it turns out, she had also just driven a long way to arrive at the Norris House Inn, all the way from Manhattan!  She is a very energetic interior designer, based in Stowe Vermont but also has a studio in Manhattan where she services her impressive listing of clients. She was in Leesburg to shop for antique items for one of her Manhattan projects. She reminded me a lot of myself at the height of my business, over ten years ago, only I don't think I was ever that energetic. What she did do was remind me that once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur! 

I have enjoyed my still recent position being gainfully employed by a separate business, but I have no doubt that once my working, or more accurately, employment days are over, I will once again return to the business world and find something that I thoroughly enjoy doing and perhaps even make a buck or two in the process!  I have several options that continue to lurk in my mind and I am happy to keep them there for at least several more years ahead too.  Stay tuned :)

The exchange of ideas ended with the wine and it soon was time to call it a day and return to our room. The next day I would find my way to the old railroad path and run a few miles to loosen my legs for the 10 Miler on Sunday morning.

Thanks for reading and Run Happy!

Lee

Running This Week

For the past week or so I have been making mental notes as to what to say in my next blog posting here. It was to be about my recent trip and race experience to Washington DC to run in the 40th annual Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Needless to say, the events at the Boston Marathon this week have sort of placed a damper on my thoughts. I still intend to post a summary of my experiences, all which were good by the way, it's just that I don't believe my race experiences are all that important this week.

I will say however, that the Cherry Blossom Race starts and finishes at the base of the Washington Monument. The race features a field of nearly 18,000 runners including many world class elite runners. In fact this year the 10 Mile race was the USATF National Championship for women runners. The morning sun had yet to rise as I arrived to the race staging and finish area and the number of runners began to swell. As the crowd drew larger I thought to myself that this would be a great opportunity for a terrorist to set a bomb and cause great havoc and worse. Imagine, thousands of runners and the Washington Monument!

I have actually had similar thoughts at many races since 2001.  While running over the Ambassador Bridge and through the Detroit Windsor Tunnel during the Detroit Marathon or Half Marathon I had envisioned a bomb blast to occur exactly as I hit the mid point of the bridge or tunnel!  Then while running in the NY City Marathon in 2008, the same thoughts occurred while running the bridges in NYC.  Fortunately back then nothing whatsoever occurred.

While Bostonians, the country, most of the world, and all of the running community across the world shares in the morning and grief from the Boston blast, we also are grateful that those of us who had friends or family there competing all came home safely. Our RF 501 training group had about 10 people represented and while there were a few very close calls, and some "shake-ups" everyone is OK.

I promise to share my race and travel experiences soon so please continue to check back here.  Thanks for taking a few moments to read this.

Run Very Happy today! 

Lee

A License to Marathon?

As a part of my "day job" my role is to mentor the less experienced staff to ultimately become a top notch architect.  This past week while talking to a young man who has thus far invested over 5 years of his life  in earning his Masters of Architecture degree plus another two years or so gaining experience within a firm, I found myself talking to him as if he was one of the runners in our Running Fit 501 training course!

First to put this in perspective you need to understand just how much time it requires to become an architect.  For further clarity, one cannot legally represent themselves as an architect until they passed a nationally based series of tests referred to in the profession as Professional or Licensing Exams. But before one can take the exams, they must first earn a professional degree from one of 52 schools or colleges of architecture in the US. This degree has recently evolved into a 5 Masters degree. Students earn their Masters within only 5 years as all architecture curriculums consist of intensive and grueling course work. 

Until relatively recently students with their degree in hand can begin to take their exams. The exams consist of seven separate test in the topics of structures, heating systems, electrical, site planning, construction documents, management, etc. It behooves the candidate to gain practical experience before attempting to study for these exams. But just not any experience will do for in order to obtain the license the candidate must also compile a record of experience working directly under the tutelage of another licensed architect in all of the basic areas of architecture. Think of the internship a medical student must obtain. Now, come to understand that unlike the medical student, the future architect is left to fend for themselves to gain the balance of experience they need and since much of this experience is typically only performed by someone who is already licensed, the future of the future architect is extended long into the future. 

In reality the future architect must first earn a degree, pass seven grueling tests and gain experience. The total time from when the student enters their first college class to when they eventually obtain a license to practice architecture it about 15 years!  Now add to the equation compensation. For comparative purposes one can generally equate compensation in the profession of architecture to being less than compensation one might receive in the teaching profession.  Both professions are significantly under compensated especially when balanced against their respective responsibilities and risk.

So here I sat this past week outlining a plan of attack for this future architect as he prepares to enter the world of gut wrenching exams during the next several years and my advice to him was to schedule carefully, have a back-up plan, and most importantly schedule relief and time off between exams so he can recover properly before entering the preparation stage of the next exam.  Sounds exactly like what the runners in the RF 501 training sessions hear from their coaches as they prepare to run their marathons.

Thanks for reading this, there will be no test on this but you are required to: RUN HAPPY :)

Lee

Running Gear For Buildings?

Originally Posted on my previous blog site and remains appropriate now in January 2013

by Lee Mamola on 10/19/11
Perhaps one of the greatest improvements involving running gear in the past dozen years or so is the invention of so called "Tech Fibers".  Tech fibers are clothing fibers that have been scientifically designed to wick moisture (aka sweat) away from a body.  These special blends of polyester fibers are woven into light weight shirts, jackets, pants, socks, hats and are worn by runners in both hot and cold conditions to allow the runner to run in efficient comfort. They have become an essential component of the running experience.

It was not all that long ago that cotton was king and runners were clad in hot and heavy moisture soaked T-shirts in summer. In winter this same cotton gear worked to hold moisture close to the runner's body and allowing the wetness to become cold and thus turning a winter run into a winter chill if not freeze session.

So what does this have in common with architecture? Actually a great deal! In today's energy and environmentally sensitive world the proper attention to moisture control in a building's overall performance and projected long term life is absolutely critical.

In today's world of tightly constructed and highly insulated buildings there is less room for error in the design and the construction of the exterior building shell or envelope. Older buildings with less insulation and unintended air leaks actually provided for a more forgiving envelope assembly and thus moisture penetration was less likely an issue in these structures.

Yet there is not one solution or proper way to "dress" a building to assure it's comfort during the run or existence of a building's life. First the building's location or micro climate must be clearly understood. Then there are various types of wall assemblies that involve not only a myriad of materials between the inner and outer surfaces, but it is critical to where these materials are located within the wall assembly. The location of certain materials is dependent upon the micro climate of the building site. The most variably located materials are  vapor barriers, air barriers, and water barriers. Most building and home owners do not have a single clue as to what these items are yet alone how they should be installed in a given wall assembly. Yet these items are critical to the long term successful performance of their building or home.

While many older buildings were constructed with what we consider to be something a kin to an air or moisture barrier I believe it is a fair comparison to say that these barriers are like the old cotton shirts worn by runners years ago.

As the runner's tech shirt works equally well in hot and cold conditions so do certain newly developed air and/or vapor barriers that are properly located and installed within a given wall assembly. Thanks to this new building technology our buildings and plan to "run long" for well into the far future.

Thanks for stopping by and reading and RUN HAPPY!
Lee

How Many Buildings Do You Draw A Day?

This question asked of an architect is comparable to asking a runner how many miles do you run each day.  As a runner being asked this question by a non-runner I am first grateful for their interest and then go on to explain that there really are no two training days alike for a runner. So neither are there any two days alike in the world of a practicing architect.

Actually, most architects rarely draw anymore let alone draw buildings!  The profession is dominated and perhaps even overwhelmed by the new technology involved with the design of a building, no matter how small and simple or large and complex. Most experienced architects rarely spend much of their work week (let alone any part of any day) drawing either via a computer or that old fashioned way thing called sketching. Most of an architect's typical day involves communications, contract issues, business matters, marketing, and I suppose you can even say blogging. So how is it that buildings get drawn at all?  Good question, the easy answer is on the back of those who want to be an architect one day!  That's the routine of many architects who are viewed as being successful by their peers, their clients, and the public.

Runners on the other hand also rarely do the same training routine from one day to the next. This is for several reasons. The most basic is biological. When a runner experiences a tough (either long or fast or sometimes both) their body needs time for the damage to tiny muscle fiber to repair. Thus one of several rules to train by, never run hard two days in a row. So simple biology prevents an experienced runner from repeating the same tough workout day after day. 

Then there is the mental aspect to training. Most runners are training for a race that probably months away from their race day. The simple process of breaking the monotony of running the same distance each day will cause a runner to run various distances each workout.

But such a variance of distances over the same course or portion of a training route will soon cause a runner to become bored with the training experience and seek other routes.  These variations in distances, intensity of training, and routes all combine to provide the runner with sufficient variety to keep their training fresh. 

The next evolution of a runner's training routine is to not to run and train alone but to do so with others who share the runner's passion and goals. The best example of this is seen in an active running club or training group.  Personally I feel very blessed to be a part of one very successful such group that being the Running Fit 501 Marathon and Half Marathon training session sponsored by one of the best running stores in the country and consisting of the best group of runners I could ever hope to share my running experience in recent years and I hope for many years to come too.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I welcome your feedback and comments.

Run Happy

Lee

It's That Time of Year

Hunting for Bambi? Giving Thanks? Splitting firewood for the winter? No, not any of those items but rather it's the time of year when I start to look back over the past year and plan ahead for the next.  I do this now rather than the end of the calendar year because November represents the end of my running year and allows me time to thoroughly assess not only my running but the business too. 

I enjoyed a great deal of success this past year as both a runner and an architect. In my new role this year as the Director of Architecture at a very well respected engineering and architectural firm I was not able to get out and run as often as I would have liked during a typical work week, but I was able to remain very competitive against other runners in my 60-64 yr.age group. I can say I won two half marathons, two 5Ks, and finished among the top leaders in the other races too. I did not do to well in the Crim this year but I did have one of my best experiences at the Crim. I also did not finish too high in my age group for a 10K either finishing 8th. However this 10K was the USATF National Championship for Master Runners and the fellow who finished 9th was Bill Rogers!

So as I look back at the past and into the future I plan certain changes. Nothing too specific, to start, I plan to run different races and to travel to a different race or two too. In a few weeks I intend to enter a lottery in hopes of being selected to run the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Washington DC this April. I also look to run a different half marathon in NC in the year ahead too. Then there are a couple of races where I have not run in recent years and 2013 may be the year to return. Heading this list is the Detroit International Half Marathon. Then there are two races that have become a custom to me too. It would not be a complete race year if I did not run the Crim 10 Miler and The Brooksie Way Half Marathon.  Finally, this is the year I also look very much to return to run the Dexter Ann Arbor Half Marathon as this will be the 40th anniversary of the DxAA!

So what does identifying a list of races have to do with my business planning? Plenty! runners understand how to establish goals and more importantly how to attain goals no matter how extreme. Between now and December 5th I will be planning goals for the Architectural group at DiClemente Siegel  Design. The goals I intend to present during a presentation to the firm's leadership will be meaningless unless there is process or plan to achieve these goals too. So in the same manner I plan a race schedule, I will plan a business schedule that includes a "game plan" to mark, measure, and ultimately achieve.  I do my best thinking while running so, time to think hard during the next 8 -10 miles this morning!

Thanks for reading and Run Happy :)


Lee