An Update of My Year of Running in 2021

It has been awhile since I’ve posted here. In fact, the last time I posted was June 2018, over 3 1/2 years ago. But I continue to run.

I ran a total of 1,523 miles in 2021, making it the 3rd lowest mileage year since I started running in 1993. 2017 and 2018 were the only two lower mileage years.

There was no particular reason for the lower mileage. I didn’t get sick. I didn’t run any races. My biggest challenge is getting to bed early enough to wake and run before taking my son to school. If my typical bedtime was 11PM instead of 1AM, I’d probably be able to get in about 2,000 miles a year.

Perhaps an earlier bedtime will be my 2022 new year’s resolution.

It also helps to have a race to train for. I really haven’t run a competitive race of any kind since April 2018. Most races were canceled in 2020 and the first half of 2021 due to COVID, but they are now back.

Running and physical activity is simply a part of my life. Doing it makes me feel good - sometime not so much during the run - but afterwards for sure. It burns off those extra calories and keeps me feeling lean. So even if I don’t run the mileage and run the races I used to to, that’s ok. Just lacing up the shoes and getting out there is my baseline goal.

See you out there on the roads and trails!

2017 Annual Running Report - Low Point But Still Running

2017 marked a personal low point in my training since I started running on a regular basis in May 1993.  A series of injuries led to a total of 119 missed days of running, nearly a third of the year, in 2017.

My particular challenge this year stemmed from lower back spasms that came and went, but for an extended period in the fall escalated into pain and numbness in my left quad.

A two-week consulting project in Westwood contributed to my ailment in late August, when the combination of a long, stressful commute and sitting in a chair that was not particularly comfortable led to a blow-out back spasm. The type of spasm that kind of just takes over all aspects of your life.

The pain migrated from by lower back to my left hamstring/glute area and I decided to get a 90 minute sports massage in attempt to alleviate some of the pain.

The massage therapist worked quite hard in that area and I was hoping that would do the trick. To the contrary...the next day I developed numbness in the inside of my left quad, along with deep soreness. It was hard for me to walk, let alone run.

I thought my running days were over. For 37 days I refrained from running, not by choice, but by incapacity. 

While not running, I tried to stretch and my severely tweaked iliotibial band as much as possible and keep moving.

On September 30th, I ran 2 miles - the first time I ran since August 23rd. The inner leg near the knee was still numb to the touch, but I was able to slowly jog. I ran 3.5 miles the next day. Then I took the next six days off.

From there, the numbness slowly dissipated. But I continued to take it easy the rest of the year, running seven miles at the most.

My annual mileage was a PW (Personal Worst) of 1,233 for the year - 456 miles less than my previous PW in 2016.

However, as I write this in February 2018, I'm optimistic that my running will continue. As with every single other injury I've ever had, rest and the passage of time seems to have resolved the latest one.

It has been 4 1/2 years since I last ran a marathon. I'm actually feeling the itch to run one again...if I can get in the training.

Yes, I'm a nerd. I've been compiling my daily mileage since I started running on May 5, 1993 on an Excel spreadsheet. I'm on row 9054 of the spreadsheet on the day I'm writing this. Apparently Excel worksheets have a capacity of 1,048,576 rows, so I will be safe using this one spreadsheet this lifetime.

22nd Year of Running in the Books: Another Average to Mediocre Year

2014 was the 22nd year that I've run on a consistent basis, the 21st full year; I started a third of the way into the year in 1993.

I've been tracking my mileage in an Excel spreadsheet since sometime in 1993 when I decided it would be more effective than tracking solely in my day planner. Actually, I do both. I attempt to jot down my approximate mileage and time spent running in my planner book, then at some point in time I type this information into the spreadsheet.

Life in the Fast Lane: My 22 year old Running Excel Spreadsheet.

Years ago I would update the spreadsheet on a weekly, sometimes even daily, basis. I would go back and look at my training in the weeks/months prior to a marathon and analyze what worked and what I should change. I would make notes in the spreadsheet, now 1.8 megabytes in size, about if I was sick, injured, traveling or sore on a given day.  Sometimes I would go back and review these notes, but not often. 

Now it is a chore updating this spreadsheet as things are quite different for me...married, with kids, busy, busy. For the last several years I update the entire year's worth of running data at the end of the year and it is something I don't particularly look forward to doing. A chore and a bore. BUT...I'm glad I forced myself to track my mileage for so long over the years because I'll know when I need to trade in my body, which has now logged over 53,000 miles.

I vaguely recalled years ago that Excel spreadsheets have certain finite number of rows that could theoretically require me to create a second sheet at some point. I decided to look it up.

Back in the day, versions of Excel up to 7.0 limited the number of rows to 16,384, which would mean that I'd have to create a separate spreadsheet when I'm 73 years old (my spreadsheet is currently near 8,000 rows).

But versions 8.0 through 11.0 quadrupled the maximum rows to 65,536 (and 256 columns) and version 12.0, which is what I now use, expanded that by a factor of 16, to 1,048,576 rows (along with 16,384 columns). So I can safely say that my current spreadsheet,will suffice for tracking my time into the twilight of my life.

2014: How Was It? Mediocre at best. I ran zero marathons in 2014, having to bail on the Los Angeles Marathon after tweaking my right hamstring/sciatic nerve in a half marathon training run.

I actually had a pretty good start to the year, having run a pretty solid 1:24 half marathon off of moderate training, 3 weeks prior to the injury. And then in early April I was able to run a slightly sub-38 minute 10K. But my motivation level dropped and my 50th birthday mid-year travels and fun made it ever more challenging to train for anything.

So it was a pretty uneventful year of running, but I managed to rake in 2,123 miles on the trails and roads. So far 2015 has not been much different...but I'm still running, and that's a good thing.

Today's run up Powerline (Edison) Trail. Danger Ahead? Steep Dropoff? Nah. Just enjoying the view.

Highlights and Lowlights of 2012 and My Cumulative Lifetime Mileage Update

Since my training is directionless right now as I have no particular race plans set for 2013, why not talk about my 2012.

Last year had the makings for a comeback year after a 2011 that was lacking a marathon performance due to encountering a detached retina. But a follow-up procedure in early February 2012 led to what is probably my most consecutive days without running in 20 years...39 days.

Thirty-nine consecutive days off can do a number to one's fitness level, so I made sure not to go back at the running too quickly. It took me nearly 4 weeks to get back to an 8 mile run, and about 2 months to achieve my first double digit run.

Even with all those days off and slow but steady comeback, I managed to run 1,885 miles in 2012, taking me to a cumulative lifetime odometer reading of 48,800 miles. Might be time to change my transmission fluid and air filters. Although 1,885 is my lowest annual total since 2006, when I ran 1,789 miles and zero marathons, I was pleased to achieve it.

While my only marathon of the year was one of my lousiest ever, at least I had an "excuse" of a left calf issue that impacted my training in the final weeks pre-marathon. My training had been pretty decent prior to that.

Nice little highlight was a decent showing in a low-key local 5K race in Camarillo.I was pleased to run a 1:23:51 half marathon a month prior to the full marathon, and a decent 5K a month prior to that. Having not raced much over the last several years, I underestimated the impact of that half marathon on my body and decided to go long a week later. Big mistake. My body needed a recovery weekend. My calf strain halfway into a 20 miler led to another personal record in 2012...most miles walking/limping on a long run. Lousy!

So let's see what 2013 has in store. I'm keeping my expectations low for the time being!

Advice to Someone Looking to Run Their First Full Marathon in Less Than 2 Months

Crystal posted the following comment to another post covering marathon training tips: 

I'm running my first marathon ever, the full 26.2
I have less than 2 months to train for it.
I'm active but had a baby, and a few surgeries this past year...
All I need is someone to tell me I can do it. In such a small amount of time.

Well, Crystal, the quick and dirty answer to your comment is YES, you can COMPLETE the full 26.2 marathon in less than 2 months. Barring injury or illness, anyone can cover the full 26.2 mile distance in my opinion. But "how" you complete the full marathon is the real question.

Someone walking at a casual pace of 3 MPH can complete a full marathon, but it'll take you close to 9 hours to do it. I think most people can walk at that pace and cover close to the 26.2 mile distance without much training.

But for Crystal, I'm assuming that she has some running base on her, say 10 to 20 miles per week. Maybe her long run is 6 to 8 miles. With 2 months to go, I can see her possibly increasing her long run distance by 2 miles every other weekend, getting her theoretically up to 14 to 16 miles in 2 months.

I think 13 miles would even be enough. Here's a story from a previous post relating to someone that I helped to convince could run his first marathon 20 years ago:

I remember it well.  Barack (not his real name...but I do know of one Barack) started his marathon training at probably 240 lbs at a height of 6'.  Most of that weight was in Barack's belly.  Barack was a busy executive who didn't have a lot of time to train, but he took it seriously.  However, 2 months before the 1996 Los Angeles Marathon, he confided to me that his longest run was only 10 miles.

Barack was determined to run his first marathon.  I told him that if he could ramp up his long run to at least 13 miles (half the marathon distance), I think he could slog through the whole marathon.  I could have taken a harder stance and told him to do at least 16 miles, but I knew that wasn't possible for him at that point.  He would probably injure himself.  He needed the mental encouragement more than anything.  He could finish the marathon indeed...but he may have to walk/jog a good portion of it.

Sure enough, 2 months later Barack was ecstatic.  He finished his first marathon.  He was thrilled to earn that medal on his neck.  It took him 6 hours or so to finish the race, but he did it.  I don't think his peak mileage was more than 25 miles.

26.2 Tips to Run Your First Marathon

Interview with John Fedoroff of Thousand Oaks, Winner of 2012 Malibu Marathon

John Fedoroff of Thousand Oaks demolished the course record at the 4th Annual Malibu Marathon on Sunday, November 11th. His finishing time of 2 hours, 37 minutes placed him nearly 12 minutes before the 2nd place finisher and was almost 5 minutes faster than the previous course record.

I met John several years ago at The Oaks Mile in Thousand Oaks and was impressed by his speed. In 2011 he ran the Boston Marathon in a personal best time of 2:34:45. He had trained to run the New York Marathon on November 4th but the race was cancelled on the 2nd as a result of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

John is married, has 4 kids and at age 43 is running like he is in his twenties. I figured, why not ask him about his training as perhaps we can all benefit from whatever he's doing!

1. How do you feel about your performance at the Malibu Marathon? Were you happy with your time, given the challenging course?

I ran about what I expected I was capable of running. I didn't think the course was that challenging compared to what I was expecting in New York which would have been over 2x the elevation gain. The hills toward the end of the race were a bit challenging, but I was expecting them so I made sure I had enough left in the tank to finish well.

2. Were you expecting to win the race? At what point did you know you were going to win? Was there any point in the race where you felt any self doubt?

A couple of days before the race, I spoke with Blue Benadum (the Malibu Marathon race director who placed third in the Santa Barbara Marathon the day before in an impressive 2:28) who warned me that I would probably be running by myself. I wasn't necessarily looking forward to running by myself, but I just thought of it as a training run with aid stations. My goals were to win the race, run a course record and try to run as close to six-minute pace as possible. 

There was a point at about mile five where I thought I might not be able to finish because my hamstring started acting up. I thought, "Oh no, this would be embarrassing--dropping out of a marathon at mile six," but I was able to relax just a bit and the pain went away. Half the battle, as you well know, is getting to the start of the marathon in one piece.

I had several setbacks during the final weeks of this marathon build up. It started with a groin strain during a 20-miler I ran the day after running a cross country race with the kids I help coach. I learned it's not a good idea to run 20-milers the day after a race. As soon as I started getting over the injury I ended up catching a cold which set me back another couple of days. As soon as I was well enough to run I went out with the kids on a 10-miler and got hit by a car! I had to take a few days off of running to allow my knee to heal.

As soon as I was ready to get back to the marathon training I went out and bought some racing flats to try out on a 15-mile marathon pace run. The problem was that the shoes were a bit too small and I developed blisters on the ends of my big toes. Unfortunately, I developed a strep infection and had to take two different antibiotics to get over the infection and I had to have my toenails removed.

Thankfully, I still had about two weeks before the NYC Marathon so my toes had time to heal. After all of the travel to New York I returned home feeling exhausted, but still wanted to run a marathon so I decided to run one last tempo run. Unfortunately, I didn't warm up properly and felt a strain in my hamstring which took several days to recover from. As any master's runner knows, running at this age is mostly about managing injuries.

[Editor's Note: HOLY %^&*!! And I thought I had a lot of setbacks in my training! Wow!]

3. The marathon started over half an hour late this year. What goes through your mind when this happens and how do you deal with a change in plans like this, both mentally and physically?

I figured it would start late having read that it started late last year. I heard they were waiting for a bus to arrive from Santa Monica. When it comes to punctuality I do not have a very good track record, in fact I'm one of the worst. I joke around with my family that we should change our last name to Feder-late-than-never! I just kept doing my warmups and tried to stay warm. Also, I was happy that I had the chance to use the bathroom one last time.

4. Speaking of change in plans, where were you when Mayor Bloomberg cancelled the 2012 New York Marathon on Friday, November 2nd, what went through your mind, and how did you end up choosing Malibu?

I was in a toy store in Montclair, New Jersey with my family when I received a call from my friend telling me about the marathon being cancelled. It was a hard thing to hear and at first I didn't want to believe it was true. So much time and effort--not to mention the travel expense--goes into preparing for a marathon that it makes it hard to think about things rationally. My thinking was that since they ran the marathon after 9/11 that they would run this year as well. However, it was just too soon for a lot of people. It was a sad time to be in New York and we returned home sooner than we had planned. I still wanted to run a marathon, but found that all of the big races had filled up. After all of the travel I felt it was best to run a local race. I couldn't run Santa Barbara because of a conflict with high school cross country CIF prelims at Mt. SAC, so I decided to contact Blue to see if he could get me into Malibu.

5. You ran a fantastic time at Malibu. Can you give us mortals some training advice...how about the most important things you did in your training?

I try to follow the Jack Daniels approach to running which breaks up training into four phases. The first is the Foundation/Injury-Prevention (F/I) phase where you just build up your miles by running easy. The second phase, called Early Quality (EQ), involves short repetitions (200s/400s) at mile race pace with long rest to work on running economy. The third phase called Transition Quality (TQ) is the most difficult phase where you run longer intervals (1000s/1200s) at 5K race pace with equal rest based on time. Lastly, there's the Final Quality (FQ) phase which focuses on race-specific workouts which for marathon training involve a lot of tempo runs and marathon pace workouts. I try to get my miles up to about 70-80 miles per week during the F/I phase so that my body can handle the more demanding phases to come. Daniels says that it's important to know what the purpose is for every run. Before I read his book, Jack Daniels' Running Formula, I really didn't understand how to prepare for a marathon other than just go out and run. I don't always follow the plan exactly because of injuries or other interruptions, but I know how to get in the necessary work so that when I step on the line I am confident that I can run my goal pace for 26 miles. Probably, the most important aspect of marathon training can be distilled down to just one word...consistency.

6. Some specific training questions: What is your peak weekly mileage, how many long runs did you do prior to the marathon, do you do any speedwork, how often do you take rest days and how long was your taper for the marathon?

For this marathon build-up I think I got up to 90 miles once, but I usually just try to hit 70 miles per week. I always hope to do more, but injuries, etc. seem to get in the way. I got in about six long runs ranging from 16-20 miles in the final three months leading up to the race. I definitely try to get in speed work in preparation for the marathon. If you want to run fast you need to run faster than marathon pace in your workouts. It's not always fun especially when you are training by yourself, but if you can workout with some runners that are close to your ability it's much easier to finish the workouts. A typical week consists of a long run on Sunday followed by two or three rest days then an interval workout followed by another two or three easy days and then a long tempo or marathon pace workout. I'm not a big fan of the long taper because my immune system lets down when I back off the training, so I usually just taper for one week. However, I was forced to taper two weeks due to the cancellation of the NYC Marathon. I actually felt like I was ready for a faster race on less rest a week before Malibu.

7. You are a self-employed graphic artist with a wife and 4 kids - how do you balance your training with work and family?

The short answer would be I don't--if you have figured it out please let me know! Unfortunately, all of these other areas in my life take a hit because of my obsession with running and yet, running has helped keep my life moving forward. I can get down sometimes when the business isn't going well or a family relationship is strained, however the very act of just putting one foot in front of the other keeps up the forward momentum.

One of my favorite verses from the Bible is found in Philippians which says, "…one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Probably the best thing that has come out of running is that it can be an inspiration to others.

My wife, Adriana has been running for about a year now. Also, our daughter Bella started running cross country at Oaks Christian High School this past season and made some really good friends along the way. Our oldest son, Nathan just finished his first season of cross country with the Newbury Park youth cross country team. He's really gotten into running this past year. For example, he had an assignment in his 5th grade class to write a famous person and he chose one of America's greatest marathoners. He was so excited when he received a handwritten full-page letter from Ryan Hall a couple of weeks later. Lastly, our boy Xander said the "R" in his name stands for "Runner" in a recent school project (hey, it's a start!) and our youngest boy, Christian considers himself the fastest runner in the family because he's beaten me in a couple of "races" down our street.

Thank you so much, John, for sharing such great advice and inspiration! I think any runner will find your advice quite useful. Keep us posted on your next big race!

First Cold of the Year - Thought I Was in the Clear!

I made it to April Fool's Day without a single day illness this year, but that came to an end yesterday when my sneezing went haywire on a day out with the kids.

In fact, up until around 2 pm yesterday, I felt perfectly fine. We went to the Los Angeles Zoo and, BOOM, it hit me. Couldn't stop sneezing, over and over again. And these weren't allergy sneezes. These were followed up by massive drainage and nose blowing ever since. Yep, my first cold of the year.

So I decided to stay home today and keep my germs away from my coworkers. It also give me a chance to update how my training is looking year-to-date.

Through yesterday, I ran 550 miles this year, about 100 miles more than in the last several years, yet 130 miles less than the mileage I was putting in back in 2004, the last year I ran a decent marathon (a 2:48 at the Long Beach Marathon).

So I have a decent base that, after I get over this cold, hopefully I can put to good use. I was considering running the Pasadena Marathon in May, but I don't have enough time to get enough decent long runs in.

But at least I was able to get 2 hours, 20 minutes of running in this past weekend pre-cold, for a total of 18.5 miles.

Back to the drawing board....hope this storm passes through quickly!

Marathoning: It's All About the Mileage

Call me a purist, but for me and all of my competitive running friends, marathon training is ALL ABOUT THE MILEAGE!

As I've discovered over the last several years, you can't fool your body into running a fast marathon without doing the homework. Putting lots and lots of miles "in the bank" is the way to go.

Forget about speedwork. If you are stretched for time, get more miles in.

I started running in May 1993. I gradually built up my mileage and for the year 1996 through 1999 average 3,500 miles per year (yes, that is an average of 9.5 miles each and every day).

That was a LOT of work, but those were my best marathon years, when I ran a 2:37 in 1996, 2:35 Personal Best in 1997, 2:37 in 1998 and 2:36 in 1999.

Things kind of went downhill after my 2:35 because I didn't let my body recuperate long enough and injured myself doing speedwork and too many races. That led to groin pulls, hamstring ailments and other problems.

That was a long time ago and I'm a lot older now, not to mention tired, working a full-time job with a family and kids while I blab away about my training and other topics here on Conejo Valley Guide. But I'm just happy to be training, fit and healthy.

Last year's mileage for me was 2,092, slightly higher than my 2008/2009 total mileage. I've averaged roughly 2,000 miles per year over the last 3 years. That's quite a bit less than my peak mid-1990s mileage, but enough to enable me to run moderate marathon times in the low 3 hour range at my advanced age of 46.

I've been tracking my mileage on an Excel spreadsheet that has grown to over 6,500 rows since May 1993. It shows I've run 44,993 miles through December 2010. Maybe I do need to get an oil change or have my filter replaced at least!

I also track the number of minute run each day. As of 12/31/10, I had run 15,744 minutes in 2010, which equates to 262 hours. Damn, that's a lot of time! But worth it.

Quick New Year's Update - Tracking Mileage

At this time of year I usually update my annual mileage tally. I've been tracking my mileage since I started running on May 5, 1993. But I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Yes, times have changed. In my early days, I would carefully update my daily mileage in an Excel spreadsheet each day. Back then I would literally drive the course that I ran in order to log an accurate mileage count (this was back in the days before anyone could buy a mileage tracker like a Nike Plus). I had a hand-drawn map of the mileage for different courses in my neighborhood.

I updated that simple spreadsheet at one point to track both mileage as well as time spent running, then added a column to show a rolling 7 day and 10 day average. There is a "comments" section to the spreadsheet where I indicate if I was sick, injured, was travelling or ran a race.

This spreadsheet has become a monster, with over 6,000 rows. But I continue updating it. Not quite as regularly though...

The last time I updated this spreadsheet was at the end of last year. Yes, probably this coming Friday night I will be on the computer updating a year's worth of running escapades onto this spreadsheet. I obviously don't look at this spreadsheet often any more. But I do feel compelled to continue updating it as long as I'm alive and running.

There's an old fashioned side of me that has not given up use of a daily planner book. Every day I jot down the duration of my run and the estimate mileage. I no longer drive my courses. I have no need for that level of accuracy. I do have a Nike Plus somewhere in the house but I haven't seen or used it for several years. I feel no need to track mileage to that degree of precision (perhaps in 1993 I would be saying otherwise).

I estimate my mileage based on how fast or slow I feel I ran that day. Having logged over 45,000 miles since 1993, I now have a pretty good feel for my pacing, be it a 7 minute, 7 1/2 minute or 6 1/2 minute pace. It takes me just a quick moment to jot down my time and my estimated mileage each day. No worries if it is off by two tenths of a mile. It is close enough.

Yes, times have indeed changed. But I still have to update that darn spreadsheet. May have to take my body to Jiffy Lube at 50,000 miles. At 100,000, I may need an engine replacement.

Betting on Long Runs to Power Me Through the Marathon

I started training for the Singapore Marathon at the beginning of June, then changed my plans 7 weeks ago to run the slightly more local Malibu Marathon on November 14th.

This blog has not dwelled too much on my daily/weekly mileage over the last 22 weeks, but I do track it. I measure weekly mileage starting on Sunday through the following Saturday. Here it is for those of you who like numbers:

5/30-6/5: 43 total miles, 10 mile longest run

6/6-6/12: 42 total miles, 8 mile longest run

6/13-6/19: 25 total miles, 6 mile longest run (back problems took me out this week)

6/20-6/26: 50 total miles, 10 mile longest run (came back and ran a 17:27 5K)

6/27-7/3: 34 total miles, 6 mile longest run (this week the stomach flu laid me up a bit)

7/4-7/10: 46 total miles, 7 mile longest run

7/11-7/17: 34 total miles, 13 mile longest run (2 full days of travel cut into my training)

7/18-7/24: 60 total miles, 15 mile longest run

7/25-7/31: 40 total miles, 6 mile longest run

8/1-8/7: 57 total miles, 17.5 mile longest run

8/8-8/14: 54 total miles, 17 mile longest run

8/15-8/21: 57 total miles, 19 mile longest run

8/21-8/28: 57 total miles, 22 mile longest run

8/29-9/4: 41 total miles, 8 mile longest run

9/5-9/11: 44 total miles, 10 mile longest run

9/12-9/18: 60 total miles, 22 mile longest run

9/19-9/25: 43 total miles, 7 mile longest run (ran 17:30 5K)

9/26-10/2: 53 total miles, 22 mile longest run

10/3-10/9: 45 total miles, 9 mile longest run

10/10-10/16: 42 total miles, 19 mile longest run

10/17-10/23: 21 total miles, 5 mile longest run (sick with a cold, bronchitis, sinus infection)

10/24-10/30: 45 total miles, 19 mile longest run (still recovering, ran 19 on antibiotics)

10/31-11/6: TBD total miles, 13.5 mile long run on Halloween (still recovering...)

Average weekly mileage 45. At my marathoning peak 15 years ago I was running upwards of 80 to 90 miles per week. I've aged quite a bit since then and stay up too late and don't sleep enough...so I'm happy all things considered to average 45.

More importantly though, while I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'll be running a sub 2:40 marathon like the good ole days, I am very pleased to have run 18+ miles 7 times (I'm rounding up the 17.5) in preparation for this marathon. As long as I "hold my horses" and not take off running Malibu like a 10K race, I should be able to do around 3 hours for the marathon.

That said, the Malibu course has a 200 foot climb over 4th quartile of the course (miles 18 to 24) which may present some challenges. Not exactly a "fast" course it would appear. The good thing for me is the course I ran my long runs on had some hills.

13 more days until the marathon...time to start easing up and resting....