Product Review: Okeeffe’s

Feb 19, 2012 by Greg Fowler

Being a long distance runner has had some interesting effects on my body.  The good has been weight loss (~18 lbs) and waist reduction (2-3″).  The bad has been a few nagging injuries, mostly self-inflicted due to to over training.  Finally, the ugly has been my feet and hands.

Feet, you may have expected, but hands?  Yep.  I’ve always had fairly dry skin, and winter is always tough on my hands.  My old hobby of Jeep tinkering didn’t help, getting oil and grime on my hands then scrubbing them with harsh cleaners.  But in summer of 2010, I starting have a strange problem with my hands.  After long training runs of 2+ hours, the skin on my finger tips would peel off within a couple of hours.  My first theory was some sort of reaction to the Gu gels that I would take during these runs.  So, I quit using Gu and experimented with other stuff.  That seemed to work at first, but eventually the condition  kicked back in, and I’d try some other gel.  When winter came along, in addition to the peeling, I’d get splitting and cracking fingers, not just from running long distances, but just from general use during cold dry winter weather.

So, what was going on?  At one of my trips to the doc (probably in regards to a foot problem), I mentioned the peeling skin problem of my fingers.  He asked if my feet were cracking, too.  They were.  So, the doc tested my thyroid.  The results came back low, so he put me on a test run of thyroid medicine.  The skin issues didn’t clear up.  Once the test run was up, my thyroid levels were fine, but the skin issues persisted.

I have come to the conclusion that the root of the problem was dehydration and stress caused by long runs.  So, I am trying to hydrate better, and the heart rate training regimen I’ve adopted has reduced body stress.

I also have discovered a product that does a wonderful job preventing the peeling and cracking fingers.  It is called O’Keeffe’s Working Hands.  You can find it at Lowe’s of all places and is around $8.  This is a hand cream that feels more waxy than creamy.  The product works to keep moisture in your skin, unlike traditional oil-based lotions that repel moisture.  Here’s the description from their website: One of the unique features about O’Keeffe’s is what’s not in the formulation. We are not an oil-based product because of one simply reason – oil repels moisture. If your skin is dry, cracked or split you need to hydrate your skin. We use glycerin as primary ingredient that does a much better job of drawing moisture in and allowing your skin to heal from the bottom layer up. So I can use it as a moisturizer? Absolutely – though just remember O’Keeffe’s products are quite concentrated. If you are using O’Keeffe’s as a moisturizer, you probably will find that a little goes a long way.

When i first started using it, I applied a bit after each time I washed my hands.  In about two days, the skin was clear and some small cuts were cleared up.  Now, I usually use it before bed and occasionally during the day when the humidity is low and I can feel dry fingertips coming on. I keep a jar on my desk at work and on my night stand.

O’Keeffe’s makes a product specifically for feet as well.  One common foot issue for runners is cracked heels, and I’m no exception.  I have been using this, and it does pretty well there, too.  It has not worked as fast as the hand product, though, because I do no apply it as often.  Lowe’s does not carry this one.  I bought it at a local drug store.  You can click here to locate these products in your area.  Retail is $7.99.

POFIFOTO!

 

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Race Preview: Lexington Race Against Hunger 10K 2012

Feb 13, 2012 by Greg Fowler

I took a break from posting for various reasons.  I’ll try to do better.  On with the show…

On February 25, I’ll return to the scene of my first organized race, the Lexington Race Against Hunger.  In 2009, I entered because the timing and location were right for me.  Now, I enter because this race is one of the best races in the midlands of South Carolina.  Here’s why:

1.  Great cause.  Many, if not most, organized races benefit charities.  The beneficiaries of this event are local organizations whose missions are to feed the hungry.

2. Great Course. This is one tough 10K.  Mile 3 is especially tough with a trip up Main Street Lexington and then another tough stretch up South Church Street.   Here’s the elevation map:

  3. Great race T-shirt.  The race shirt is a quality long sleeve cotton tee. At least it has been the last 3 years.  Hope they don’t make a liar out of me and change it up this year!  I have plenty of short sleeve t-shirts but never enough long sleeve.

4.  Great pizza.  The post race food table has pizza!  It may just be local delivery, but warm pizza tastes good after a run on a cold February morning!  Also, the post race awards ceremony is indoors!  This is usually a good thing since it will be late February!

Hope to see you there. For more information, click here.

POFIFOTO!

 

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Running in the News

Dec 1, 2011 by Greg Fowler

In case you missed them, I thought I’d share a couple of bizarre running-related stories from the past week.

Turkey Trot Gone Wrong

A couple of runners had too close of an encounter with wildlife in their Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot:

http://www.wistv.com/story/16118890/two-runners-hit-by-deer-in-savannah-christian-churhs-5k-run

What Not to Wear

This guy caused a lock down at a San Francisco area post office due to his bizarre training gear.  If I ever go out running looking like this, I hope the neighbors do call the police (or the funny farm!).  Click this link for the full story:
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_19440928

POFIFOTO!

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Race Review: Sleigh Bell Trot 5K

Nov 23, 2011 by Greg Fowler

Had a last minute addition to the race schedule – The Sleigh Bell Trot at Saluda Shoals Park in Irmo, SC.   This is a pretty cool concept for a race – run at night under the holiday light displays.    Two years ago, my son, wife and I all did this race and had a miserable time mainly due to lousy weather – cold and drizzly.

So, this year, when my son wanted to run it again, I was a bit hesitant. The rest of the family wanted to see the lights, though,  and I wanted to keep my son motivated to run, so I signed us up.

We caught a break with the weather.  It was actually a balmy 70 degrees!  Not bad for November 22.  I was hoping for about 60 degrees, but I can’t really complain.  It was much better than 40 and drizzle.

I had one main goal for the race, break 23:00 again.  I had set my personal best 5K back in May with a 22:48 and I was hoping that I could be in that neighborhood again.  My secondary goal was to beat my teenage son.  On paper, he is the 5K champ of the house, with a personal best under 21:00, but he hasn’t beat me head to head because of the timing of the races we have competed in together.  If we were to go head to head during the middle of cross country season, he beats me hands down, but that didn’t happen. Cross country has been over for almost a month, though, and his training has been pretty light since then.  So that, along with too much Xbox on his part, meant I had a slight chance.

So, how’d we do?  Unfortunately, the youngest runner in the house did not have his best race.  He allowed the old man to catch him about the 1 mile mark, then pull away by mile 2.   The old man ended up setting his PR in a 5K with a 22:37.   Not too bad for not doing any speed work recently.  You can see the entire results here.

So, I accomplished my goals, but I didn’t rub it in to my son about losing to the old man.  I really wanted him to have a better race.  Maybe a loss to Dad will get him motivated again.

That will probably conclude my fall racing season.  The new training I’m working on recommends not racing for a few months while building a better aerobic base.  So, I may not race again until February.   I’ll keep you posted.

POFIFOTO & Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

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Change of (Training) Plans

Nov 16, 2011 by Greg Fowler

Nick Faldo.  Ever heard of him?  Nick was one of the best, if not the best, golfers in the world in the late 80’s and early ’90s.  Before Nick was the best in the world, he was mediocre in the early ’80’s.  Oh, he was good enough to win some tournaments, but he was not satisfied with his game, so he went back to square one.  He teamed up with a little known teacher named David Leadbetter, and together they rebuilt Nick’s golf game from the ground up. Nick dominated golf for a period of years, winning 6 major tournaments.

So, what does this have to do with my running?  In my last post, I hinted at not being totally satisfied with my Governor’s Cup performance, despite setting a personal best in a half marathon. Well, next week, I was planning on starting my 16 week training schedule to get ready for the Columbia, SC Marathon in March 2012.  My plan was to follow the schedule in my Run Less Run Faster
book that I have used primarily over the last two years to guide my training.   The Run Less Run Faster system is called the 3 plus 2 program.  This training system works and has allowed me to complete a marathon and a few half marathons despite fighting foot injuries.  To briefly summarize this program, you have 3 quality runs a week (a speed work run, a tempo run, and a long slow run) combined with two cross training aerobic workouts.  Your workout intensities are based on your current 5K ability.  This system allows your body to recover between runs while maintaining aerobic fitness with the cross training.  I have a recumbent exercise  bike that I use for the majority of my cross training. Like, I said,  this program works, but to be honest, I was dreading the exercise bike again.  Even with TV in the room, 45 minutes on the bike twice a week is boring.

So, what to do?   Back to square one, like Nick Faldo.  For this training cycle, I am abandoning Run Less Run Faster and going to use a training method called heart rate monitor training.  In this training, I will abandon speed work, which gets the heart rate high, and instead run while keeping my heart rate under 140 beats per minute?  Why?  According to what I have been researching, this keeps my body in the aerobic zone, burning fat as a fuel, instead of glycogen (sugars).  Since people have much more fat stored in their bodies than glycogen, as my body learns to burn fat as its primary fuel source,  I should be able to run faster for longer.  I will work on building this aerobic base over the next three months, and then add speed work to the mix the last month before the marathon.

This training will have a couple of other benefits, too.  First, it is new to me, so I am excited about trying something different.  This will help with motivation.  Second, the slower pace of the training will be easier on my body.  I hope this helps my nagging foot problems to clear up.

There’s a bunch of science behind this training but I won’t go into it here. Instead here are the links to a few of the sites that convinced me to try this:

Natural Running Center

Freedom’s Run Training

Mark Allen Online

I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

 

 

 

 

POFIFOTO!

 

 

 

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2011 Governor’s Cup Recap

Nov 9, 2011 by Greg Fowler

If you read my Governor’s Cup preview, you know that I would be chased by a penguin, and that my goal of breaking 1:45 was looking bleak, due to a foot injury.  Well, I’m happy to report that the penguin had a great race – he started last and managed to pass around 500 people.  I’m even happier to report that I was not one of those 500!  I managed to stay in front of the penguin by a couple of minutes, and I also managed to break my goal of 1:45 by 8 seconds, for a 1:44:52 finish.

Course & Conditions

I’ll get back to my trials in a minute, but first I’ll talk about the course and conditions. You can find my elevation map of the 2010 course in my preview post.  This years course made a slight detour in the middle due to some road construction.  One friend commented he thought the re-route was tougher.  I don’t really remember the old route well enough to say.  It did seem awfully hilly.

Weather-wise, I think the penguin ordered in the weather.  After a week of perfect weather, a cold front blew through the day before and brought much cooler temps and a lot of northerly wind – brrr!  The temperature at race time was around 40 degrees and windy and not expected to warm up too quickly.  This is a pretty shady run, once you get off Millwood Avenue around mile 2 1/2, so it was cooler than I like it. More on that later.

Unexpected Wrinkle

I felt good before the race.  The tendonitis in my right foot was on the wane, and I had managed a couple of runs during the week without problems.  As I warmed up by doing some laps around the Capitol building,  I turned on my Timex GPS watch to get it ready.  Normally, the watch takes 2-3 minutes to find a signal.  On this day, however, it never found a signal (a first).  Two key feature I use on the watch are automatics splits and overall pace, but with no GPS, this would not happen.  I would have to go back to old school, hitting the splits button myself after each mile marker and trying to keep a rough average of my pace in my head.

Race Time

At 8:00am, the starter sent us off.  The first mile is mostly downhill and I hit it on a 7:28 pace.  Too fast, but I expected that and slowed down a bit for the 2nd mile uphill climb.  I settled into a good pace.  The first 5-6 miles were uneventful as we worked our way down to Lake Katherine.  My biggest complaint about the race setup came around mile 2 1/2 where the first water station was not setup.  The coolers were there but no people or cups.  I don’t know if that was intentional this year, but this had been a water spot the last two years and I was counting on it.  This station was setup on on way back, around the mile 10 mark.  So, the first water station finally came around mile 4, I think, and I decided to take a GU gel at this point.  My strategy going in was to take a gel between miles 4 and 5 and then around mile 9. Since you need to take these with water, I figured this was the time.

Around mile 6,  I felt the first warning signs that this might be a painful last hour.  My quads starting protesting, and we had not even started the climb back!  At this point, I was under an 8:00/mile pace, but with a lot of big hill climbs to come and legs already complaining, I was a bit worried about beating my goal.  Remember the weather conditions?  I don’t like being cold, so  I opted to go with my long running pants and long sleeve tech t-shirt with a short sleeve shirt over it.  This was probably a mistake.  I was too hot, my heart rate was too high and I was sweating too much.  Not a good combo for the 2nd half of a half.

Second Half: No Pain No Gain

Most everyone comments on the brutal  Blossom Street hill finish of the Governor’s Cup.  While that may be the knock out blow, the setup punch is the Kilbourne Road hill from mile 8 to 9.  My mile split for that hill was 8:40, and I was about ready to pack it in and slow down, but I just concentrated on small quick strides and took my other GU gel.  I was just trying stay mentally focused on getting to Devine Street, where we’d get about a 2 1/2 mile flat to downhill break toward and through Five Points.  With no GPS giving me pace and my math skills getting fuzzy with the splits average due to a tiring brain, I figured to have any chance of meeting my goal, I needed to really pick up the pace at mile 11.  This is a downhill section of Devine Street, and I managed to hit 7:47 on that split.  I tried to maintain that to the bottom of the Blossom St. hill.

Finally, I reached The Hill – a little more than half mile to go. I remember looking at my watch and trying to figure out if I was on track, but the previous 1.5 mile surge had taken its toll, and I was not doing well.  I knew I was close, so I just hit the hill as hard as I could, which at this point was not punch.  Just don’t stop, I told myself.

One of the cruel twists to the Governor’s Cup, is the turn off Blossom Street on to Sumter Street.  You are thinking to yourself “I did it!” but you look up and see Sumter Street is still up hill until it crosses Greene Street!  In this spot, a spectator yelled encouragement to me. “Almost there, keep it up!” I wanted to smile and say “Thanks!” but I was just trying not to throw up.

Suck it Up!

As I approached Greene Street, the crowd was getting heavier, forming the last 1/10th mile or so chute to the finish. I was just telling myself “nice try, but you are not going to make it today” when I was finally close enough to see the official clock over the finish line.  I was still under 1:45 at 1:44:40! Twenty seconds to go!  Shocked that I still had a shot at my goal, I dug deep and found once last  kick and passed over the chip mat in 1:44:52.  Someone hung a medal around my neck and another handed me a bottle of water.  I was thinking, “Thanks, but please get out of my way! I’ve got to keep moving and try (again) not to puke!”  I managed to make it past the refreshment tent and walk up Sumter a ways to recover and not puke.  I’ll save that for a 5K (2012 goal).

As I wandered back toward the finish line, I heard the race announcer calling out the Penguin’s finish!  Wow, that is impressive – under 1:50!.  I went over and told Dean congratulations.  I doubt he remembers this.  He looked worse than I felt.

Lessons Learned

So, I accomplished my goal and set a PR in the Half Marathon. I am not 100% satisfied, though (character flaw which I’ll discuss in future posts).  I wanted to beat an 8:00/pace, too.  I did beat the 1:45, but according to Cool Running’s Pace calculator, that is 8:01/mile.  1:44:52 is an 8:00/mile pace.  Argg.  I wanted my PR pace to start with a 7, as in 7:59.  Oh, well.  I did not leave anything on the course.

So, what did I learn?  Two main things.  First, maybe I should carry one hand held water bottle to make sure I have a some water at the right times.

Second, I need to just accept being cold and not overdress.  I think the long sleeve shirt was the right move, but I should have gone with shorts, not long pants.

Thanks for reading this far.  To see the overall results, click here.

POFIFOTO!

 

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Way to Go Wildcats Cross Country Teams!

Nov 6, 2011 by Greg Fowler

On November 5th, the Lexington High School Cross Country teams came oh so close to a sweep in the 4A division of the South Carolina State Cross Country Championships.

Congratulations to the boys team for their 3rd consecutive championship.  With an impressive total of only 34 points, they finished head of 2nd place Stratford (76 points) and Wando (141 points).

Roland Hakes of Dutch Fork finished first indivdually, with a time of 15:10!  Wow!

The Lexington Girls team scored 95 points but finished 2nd to Wando High’s 68 points.

Here is a link to more coverage at SCRunners.com: http://sc.milesplit.com/meets/95878 and The State newspaper: http://www.thestate.com/2011/11/05/2036348/lexington-cross-country-boys-win.html#storylink=addthis

They Wildcat boys were also recently ranked 5th in the nation: http://www.xcnation.com/championshiprankings#!__championshiprankings/page-3

Congratulations, Wildcats!  It has been a pleasure watching you this year.  I’m already looking forward to 2012!

POFIFOTO!

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