Running in China

I recognize that I haven't written in about two months, which is unfortunate.  I'll explain briefly and try to prevent this from happening again.

On March 6th, I ran the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas.  I will write more about that in the near future.  After LR, only five weeks later than the Miracle Match Marathon in Waco, TX, I was pretty tired and settled into some low-key, fun running without any training goals in mind.  As a result, I had a little less to say about my running.  Most of my focus shifted to work (i.e. being a graduate student in chemical engineering).  In April, I submitted two manuscripts for publication in scientific journals.  Preparing them required final experiments and a lot of writing and revisions.  This process is very time consuming.  Lastly, I had to prepare a talk for a conference (Asian Congress on Biotechnology) I recently attended in Shanghai, China.  I left for China on April 28th, and the month leading up to the trip was very crazy for me.

I was able to spend almost three weeks in China.  The conference took up a solid week, plus two days for traveling.  However, for the remaining 17 or so days, I was able to travel around China with some family members, and it was a great and interesting experience.  Sadly, a few days before the end of my trip my camera got lost.  I don't know exactly what happened, because I was rushing around trying to catch a boat before it left. I either left the camera in a taxi, or it was stolen from my bag.  Fortunately, the people I traveled with have much nicer cameras than I and plenty of pictures they will share with me.  In the meantime, I can't add any of my own pictures.  I will probably update this post later to include pictures from my trip.

The trip started in Beijing, the capital of China.  We stayed there for 4 nights and then took an overnight train to Pingyao, in the Shaanxi province.  We stayed 1 night in Pingyao before taking another overnight train to Xi'an (Shanxi province).  We stayed two nights in Xi'an and then took a high speed train to Luoyang (Henan province).  After two more nights in Luoyang, we took a flight to Shanghai, where we stayed 6 nights and I presented at the conference.  We then took a short, high speed train to Suzhou (just outside of Shanghai in the Jiangsu province) and stayed one night.  We stayed a final night in Shanghai before our flight back to the United States.

In another post, I will talk more about what I saw/experienced in each of these locations, but for this post, I want to talk about running in China.  I packed an older pair of running sneakers (which I left behind at the end of my trip to lighten my luggage) and was able to run 7 times while in China.  When I factor in the days on the plane, as well as overnight train rides, it works out to running almost every other day, which I was pretty happy with.

One thing I did have problems with was running for long periods of time.  My runs varied in length from 34 to 49 minutes.  I would have liked to get closer to the hour mark.  My primary limitation was finding a place to run without heavy traffic, a lot of street-crossing, and a constant need to dodge pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists.  Everything you may have heard about China being crowded is true.  The cities are massive, with Beijing and Shanghai alone holding over 20 million people each.  Of all the places we visited, only Pingyao had less than 2.5 million (population 480,000).  This was a major difference compared to the United States or other countries I have visited.  This kind of urban sprawl isn't very conducive to distance running, and while most of the cities have very nice parks, they aren't necessarily very large or anywhere near the hotels.

Another problem I had towards the beginning of the trip was jet-lag.  Beijing is 13 hrs ahead of Austin, and the flight over took around 19 hrs.  When I arrived in Beijing I was exhausted, had gotten very little sleep on the plane, and it was 2am Beijing time before I went to sleep.  Over the next few days, I adjusted pretty well and seemed to be back on track just before we left for Pingyao, but it was difficult to sleep on the overnight train, and I had a little setback.  By Xi'an, my body clock was back on track.

In Beijing, we stayed in a Marriott located next to the old city wall; the original structure demarking the city center and seat of the Chinese empire until it collapsed in the 1930s.  While very little of the wall still exists, there is roughly a mile and a half still intact, along which a very nice park and path had been built.  I ran along this path, next to the old wall and through the parks on a weekend morning.  Many people were out walking their dogs, doing Tai Chi in the park, or writing Chinese characters with big brushes and water on the paving stones.  It was very beautiful.  At the end of the run, I finished up by running through the winding streets of a hutong located just behind my hotel.  Hutongs, or neighborhoods, are the old style of housing in Beijing.  They are disappearing fast, as the government bulldozes them to make room for high rises, displacing people in the process.

Xi'an is an old, walled city.  Our hotel was very close to the south section of the city wall.  I ran to the wall, and then along a canal on the outside of the wall.  It was very picturesque and the park was well maintained.  I again saw people doing exercises in the park, walking dogs and lounging around.  I also saw women giving haircuts on the sidewalk, very interesting!  Xi'an was hot, temperatures rising above 85F during the day.  The humidity was not ideal for the morning run.

Luoyang's weather was much cooler.  While we were there it was drizzly and rainy, which is certainly ideal for running.  My hotel was about a mile from a large river, which had a nice jogging path and park running along it.  I was able to run very far in one direction, and then simply turned around and headed back.  This park was very popular in the morning, packed with adults and children even though it was a weekday.  Being a female, Caucasian runner, I was definitely interesting to them and throughout the run people pointed and stared at me.  This was a pretty common experience throughout China, in fact (excluding Shanghai), but it was most noticeable on this run.

In Shanghai, we stayed in a central part of the city.  This made it very convenient to get to and from the conference, but meant we were nowhere near a park or jogging path.  The first time I ran here, I went around the block, which I estimated to be one mile, three times.  I then used the treadmill in the gym for another 17 minutes.  The next time was my shortest run of the trip (34 minutes), for an out and back run.  I ran along a main road until it ended, and then headed back.  Along my route, I passed an Ikea.  I guess some things about big cities are the same.

Suzhou is a water city with an intricate network of canals of varying size.  When I went running there, I headed out along one of the main canals, which had a path right along the water.  I crossed the canal on a very pretty bridge.  It was an enjoyable and scenic run, but unfortunately, I could only run a few miles before turning back.  Some private buildings sit right along the canal, which meant the jogging path stops abruptly.  To continue, I had to find my way around the buildings and back to the path.  It was also very hot here, so the 45 minutes of running felt sufficient.

My last day in China, I was very determined to run.  I knew that the exercise would help me withstand the long plane ride.  Unfortunately, the hotel (which was very nice) was right next to a highway and surrounded by  busy roads.  There was nowhere to run outside, I tried asking the concierge and he thought I was crazy for suggesting it.  I was relegated to the treadmill, which I have a very hard time using for any extended period of time.  I slogged through a 40 minute run (thank you iPod).

Overall, I was happy with my running experience in China.  While the air quality is generally very poor throughout the places I visited, I never noticed any additional problems because of the running.  I figured I was breathing particulates regardless of whether I exercised.  The weather was varied, in Beijing it was a cool 55F, but in Xi'an and Suzhou it rose into the 80s.  Finding places to run was a little challenging, but in many cases it ended up being a great opportunity to take in some scenery and explore my location.  I did not see many other runners.  I think each time I went out, I was lucky if I saw two other people running.  Now I'm back to Austin and my regular running routes, which is very nice.  Of course, the weather here has already hit triple digits, so I guess you can't have everything...

Favorite Foods:Nuts & Seeds

Back in September I drastically changed my eating habits and embraced a vegetarian lifestyle with strong vegan tendencies.  The choice is  motivated by health and ethical reasons (not the subject of this blog post).  I do want to highlight, however, that I find myself eating a much more varied diet and trying so many more new foods than I ever did as an omnivore.  Because of this, I am constantly discovering new favorite foods.  This post will be about one such category of food: nuts and seeds.  I eat nuts and seeds every day.  They are calorically concentrated and a great source of healthy fats and protein.  Eat them in their whole food state to get the best benefit and see if you can't incorporate them into all three of your meals!  While not a comprehensive list, here are some of my favorites, as well as how I commonly eat them.  Go nuts!

Pine Nuts
Perhaps one of my favorite nuts, these little guys are harvested from pine cones and come encased in a hard coat, which is then split open to reveal nut meats.  Harvesting pine nuts is very labor intensive, which unfortunately makes them pretty expensive (I pay $28/lb).  They have a delicious, piney, rich taste and I enjoy adding them to pasta dishes, roasted vegetables and sauteed greens.  They are also delicious in cookies, although the cost per pound may be a deterrent.  Pesto recipes traditionally call for pine nuts.  They are about 190 calories per ounce.

Walnuts
A great source of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as protein, walnuts are 185 calories per ounce, are rich in flavor with a slight bitterness.  I like to use them in baked goods such as cookies, muffins and quick breads.  I often add them to a lunch salad or mix them in with my oatmeal.  You can toast them in your toaster very easily, it takes less than five minutes.

Pecans

Not just for pies, I find pecans to be a sweeter, less savory nut.  I like to toast them and add them to my oatmeal, and I often bake with them.  They are a great addition to any salad, and compliment fresh berries, balsamic vinegar, spinach or baby greens.  Pecans ring in at 195 calories per ounce.

Almonds

Almonds are probably the most versatile nut (to me).  They can be used in savory dishes, such as couscous with raisins, and are also a staple when it comes to baking.  Finely ground almonds can be substituted in part with flour to give baked goods a delicious nutty flavor.  Furthermore, almonds are great in anything from cookies to bars, brownies, breads and pies.  Don't forget that marzipan is a paste made from ground almonds and sugar!  When I'm not having them in a dessert, I like to add almonds to oatmeal, salads and pasta dishes.  A breakfast favorite for me is almond butter on toast.  Relatively low calorie for the nut world, these guys are 165 calories per ounce.

Cashews

Cashews aren't actually a nut, but rather a legume, but I added it here because most of us think of these guys as part of the nut family.  I love adding cashews to a vegetable stir-fry dish and find they pair well with a drizzle of soy sauce.  Just like with almonds, I thoroughly enjoy cashew butter on toast for breakfast.  I buy freshly ground nut butters in bulk, but the MaraNatha brand is another good option.  I have several recipes for cashew cream that I intend to try out, but haven't had the opportunity yet.  This faux-nut packs 155 calories per ounce.

Sunflower Seeds
Enough about nuts, on to the seeds!  Of all the seeds, sunflower are probably the most delicious to me.  I add these to my salad nearly every day and buy them in bulk, pre-roasted and salted.  I also like sunflower seed bread, but I buy that in the store and have not attempted to make it myself (yet).  They are about 165 calories per ounce.

Flax Seeds
I use ground flax seeds a lot because of their healthful and useful properties.  Flax seeds are the most concentrated source of omega-3 fatty acids anywhere, so I make a point of adding a tablespoon of ground flax meal to my oatmeal.  It also adds a rich, nutty flavor.  You can also add finely ground flax to smoothies, soups or salads and shouldn't notice much of a change in taste.  Ground flax whipped with water also makes an excellent egg replacer in baking, without the cholesterol.  I use it for breads and cookies, and recently made a successful and delicious batch of latkes.  Ground flax is about 35 calories per tablespoon.

Pepita (pumpkin) Seeds
I use pepita or pumpkin seeds in similar ways to sunflower seeds.  I like to add them to my salads, and I have also mixed them with sauteed greens and vegetables for a delicious effect.  It is easy to make your own, especially in the fall and winter, when squashes are abundant.  Just scoop the seeds from the gourd's center, wash in cold water and roast with salt and some oil in a hot oven.  They are about 170 calories per ounce.

New Boston Marathon Qualifying Standards - Will it work?

Workout
Yesterday: 6.2 miles in 51:36
Today: 7.8 miles over hills

Last week the BAA announced revised qualifying standards for both the 2012 and 2013 races.  If you weren't aware, the qualifying standards came under scrutiny after the 2011 Boston Marathon filled in under 8 hours this past October, shutting out hundreds of runners who had met the qualifying standards, and leaving no space for those people making a BQ attempt in the latter months.  The new standards make an effort to resolve this problem, but the million dollar question is simply, will it work?


Registration for the 2012 race will open on September 12, 2011 and remain open for up to two weeks.  The first two days, registration is only open to runners who have exceeded the current BAA standards by 20 min or more.  In the next two days, those who have exceeded the standard by more than 10 minutes may register, and two days later anyone exceeding by five minutes can register.  The following week, starting on the 19th, anyone who has met the qualifying standard may register.  They will accept registrants on a first come basis until the race is filled.

The pros:  With a tiered registration system of this nature, the BAA most likely guarantees registration will stay open beyond just the first day (although we can't be sure...).  They have made the wise decision of keeping the preexisting qualifying times for another year, which is only fair for those people who raced marathons between the October and February, and were shooting for a BQ.  Finally, allowing your faster runners to register first increases the likelihood that the race will have an impressive pool of amateur athletes.


The cons:  With this method in place, plenty of people can achieve the qualifying standard and not ever get an opportunity to run the race.  What does it mean to qualify if you are shut out of actually running the race?  Additionally, the BAA has now moved the registration period to mid-September, long before the majority of increasingly popular fall marathons are held.  We know from last year that the race is sure to fill up in the allotted two weeks, if not sooner, so anyone making a BQ attempt is forced to do it this spring or summer.  Finally, with all of the waiting and lack of disclosure regarding race specifics, the BAA may have scared off a lot of would be runners who would prefer to take themselves elsewhere.

Registration for the 2013 race will open on September 10, 2012.  New qualifying standards will be in place, which are five minutes faster than the current standards in all age groups.  There will no longer be a 59 second grace period.

The pros:  With a tightening of the qualifying standards, the BAA is raising the bar for participation in the event and will likely push many runners to perform even better than they would otherwise.  Furthermore, it should decrease the number of qualified runners for a given year, leaving less people "shut out".

The cons:  There is no guarantee that the 2013 race won't fill up in 8 hours.  Perhaps the BAA has an idea of this likelihood (look at past races and the percentage of participants that were five minutes faster than the qualifying standards), but the general public doesn't know what will happen.  I'm concerned that the BAA has no long term solution that resolves these issues altogether, while upholding the tradition of excellence for this race.  Further, they have not taken into consideration the relative difficulties of the qualifying standards for different age groups.  It has long been argued that it is easier to qualify for some ages and genders than others.    Finally, registration is again opening in September, which negates all 2012 fall races for qualification.  If the BAA is going to keep their registration so early in the year, I really think they should consider lengthening the qualifying time frame beyond the current 18 months.

There are other issues the BAA has either not addressed to the public or has not considered.  For example, there has been no statement regarding increasing the field size for the event.  While I am aware that many of the roads used during the Boston Marathon would not easily accommodate a larger field, the 100th running of the race welcomed 38,000 runners without a wave start.  Compare that to the 23,000 runners divided amongst two waves in the past few years.  Additionally, it is common knowledge that thousands of unregistered, 'bandit' runners participate every year and are utilizing the races' resources including food, water and medical care.  Active discouragement of this could open up a few more spots for runners who meet those qualifying standards, but are shut out from registering.

I grew up in Boston.  I watched this race every year.  I qualified and ran it twice (2006 & 2007).  I love the Boston Marathon, it is a race like no other.  I understand why so many athletes want to run this race and achieving a BQ time is a major accomplishment that deserves to be rewarded with a run on that prestigious and historical course.  And that is why I, like most of the running community, want to see a well thought out qualification plan.  I for one am not convinced that the BAA has come up with a workable solution.  I do commend them for their action (even if it came later than they promised) and I am interested to see the new standards in action...will it work?

Carnage on the Long Run

Yesterday was the Austin Livestrong Marathon and Half Marathon.  While I wasn't participating in this race (ran the marathon in 2009), I was out for a 16 mile long run at 8am.  I ended up crossing the marathon course 4 times and running two short sections of the course (on the side open to traffic).  Living in central Austin, it is pretty hard to cover 16 miles and not come in contact with the marathon course.  It was a hot, muggy day.  Temps started in the 60s and climbed.  Fortunately for all the runners, the cloud cover prevented the sun from acting full force and there was a consistent, cool wind.

I was out for a 16 mile run because I am finishing up my training for my next race, marathon #6!  On March 6th, I will be running the Little Rock Marathon.  I decided to run two marathons this winter (Miracle Match Marathon on January 30th) because the winter in Texas is so ideal for training, whereas training through the summer and into the fall can be very hard and limits my fall race season.  With five weeks between the two races, I anticipated plenty of time to recover and get key workouts in before the race in March.  However, last weekend I found myself sidelined with a virus and fever and was unable to run for five days.  Now that I am back to running, I am trying to finish up this training cycle with some good, key workouts.  Yesterday's run was a true test, with the same hot humid weather that destroyed me in Waco.  While I was 10 miles short of the total marathon distance, I was able to maintain a respectable 8:28 min/mile pace.  I was pretty happy about that, but definitely hot, sweaty, hungry and thirsty long when I finished.  I rewarded myself with a delicious breakfast of fresh pineapple and home-made vegan cranberry orange bread (recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking).  This past week, I logged 46 miles over 5 days.  This week, I am planning on running between 35 and 40 miles over 5 days including a tempo run and hill workout mid-week.

About 7 miles into yesterday's run, I passed a pack of 6 vultures chowing down on some fresh-killed squirrel.  I was a little surprised to be able to get so close to the birds, who didn't seem at all perturbed by me running right by them.  While it makes sense to find these birds wherever dead animals are, I was still a little taken aback to see vultures on a busy road in central Austin.

Miracle Match Marathon Race Recap

This race report is long overdue.  Unfortunately, the non-running aspects of my life have been demanding a lot of time of late.  Nonetheless, I want to talk about my recent marathon, the Miracle Match Marathon in Waco, TX on January 30, 2011.  This was my fifth marathon, and sadly a personal worst finish in 4:10:58.  While I was athletically well prepared going into the race, it was a tough course (hilly) and overly warm and humid weather, which together made for an unimpressive performance on my part.

January in central Texas is typically very mild, with daily averages in the 50s and morning averages in the 40s.  I am definitely a cold weather runner, and was hoping for cool, dry weather in the mid 40s.  Sadly, as the weekend approached, the temperatures spiked.  Race morning came and the overnight low was 65 degrees F.  When the race started it was barely still in the 60s, and the humidity was a whopping 96%!  While the humidity dropped throughout the day (down to 70%), the temperature climbed, and it was over 75 F when I finished.  Unfortunately, those temperatures and humidity were not ideal for me, and my legs felt exhausted very early in the race, resulting in far more walk breaks than I would like to acknowledge.  This really slowed me down, as did some killer hills between miles 10 and 16, and again between 20 and 24.  I even thought about quitting, but I'm glad I didn't because that would have been rather demoralizing.  Despite a disappointing finishing time, I was 43rd overall, 9th woman and 2nd in my age group.  That would be one of the benefits of doing a small race.

MMM medal

The Miracle Match Marathon had some good and bad qualities.  First, the race raises money for a very good cause, to test for potential bone marrow donors.  Second, the race was well organized and a significant portion of the course was quite scenic.  It starts by going through Baylor's campus and downtown Waco.  Later, it runs along Lakeshore Drive, with a view of the lake and dam.  It finishes through the hills of Cameron Road, which are tree lined, and then along the Brazos river and across a pedestrian suspension bridge.  If I was in a better mood, I would have really enjoyed running this course.  Third, the SWAG is very good.  Marathon finishers got nice wind jackets and half marathon finishers got long sleeved technical shirts.  The medals were very unique looking, hand-cut metal.  All participants also got a race t-shirt, water bottle, and snickers bar.  The aid stations were very well stocked and frequent, and there was a lot of food and drinks at the finish line party as well.  While the course is challenging because of the hills, I would recommend it, especially to people in the Austin/Dallas area who want a change of scenery.  Traveling to Waco was easy and the hotels were reasonably priced.  However, Waco isn't much of a tourist destination, so you couldn't make much of a vacation out of it.  The other thing I was really disappointed about was the lack of course clocks - and I mean NO clocks anywhere on the course.  This was a major problem for me, because I chose not to wear a watch, assuming there would be timing at least every 5km.  Clearly I need to reevaluate my racing strategy before my next marathon, because that plan definitely back fired.

In conclusion, I finished my 5th marathon.  It was a personal worst in 4:10:58, but I tackled a new course, and ran in fairly challenging conditions.  In my previous 4 marathons, I think I was lucky to have near perfect weather, but that can't always be the case, and this time my luck ran out.  Ironically enough, two days later, the weather dropped below freezing in central Texas.  I'm hoping weather won't be a factor in my next race, but it isn't something I can control.
Until then...

Marathon Eve

Workout:
Yesterday: Rest day
Today: 2.1 miles easy

Tomorrow I will be running my 5th marathon, the Miracle Match Marathon in Waco, TX.  It seems like the taper weeks just flew by and I'm hoping I am as prepared as possible.  Unfortunately, I have had a few obstacles working against that preparation.  For starters, I spent 9 days of this month (the first part of my taper) on a family ski vacation in New Mexico.  The vacation was a lot of fun, but it made it difficult to get mileage and intensity in, both of which I would have liked for the beginning of the taper.  Then, once I returned to Austin, I was thrown back into what is turning out to be a hectic semester of work.  This week in particular, being the final week of my taper, I have been striving to be relaxed, calm, rested and hydrated.  Circumstances at work have been doing everything possible to thwart this.  First, it has been hard to finish up anywhere near an 8 hr day.  While I am at work, I am almost never sitting, instead I'm doing bench work standing up or walking back and forth to different labs.  I've had deadlines, which doesn't help the "calm" and finally I cannot drink water while physically in the lab, which has made hydration a challenge.

But that is all behind me because today is Saturday and I slept in this morning and I am feeling well rested and happy.  I ran an easy 2 miles this morning and got a good stretch in.  Right now, I am eating some oatmeal and blackberries for breakfast and I'm feeling good.  In the early afternoon, boyfriend and I will make the relatively easy drive north to Waco, stop by the expo for my stuff and check into the hotel.  I booked a hotel room literally a block from the starting line, so I'm expecting an easy morning tomorrow.  While the weather forecast isn't ideal, it's looking pretty good...57 to 64 F but high humidity (starting at 96% and dropping to 70%).  I would have liked a race 10 degrees cooler, but you can't control everything.

So here we go, marathon number 5!  Tomorrow I'll be taking off the watch, running by feel, and seeing what I can do.  This is a hilly course, so I'm not focusing on a time, but rather feeling good and controlled in the race.  Best of luck to everyone running Houston tomorrow, as well as any other races!

Running in Santa Fe

Adobe home in Santa Fe, NM

After Albuquerque, I headed north to the capital of New Mexico, Santa Fe.  While Albuquerque takes your breath away at 5,300 ft above sea level, Santa Fe is located at an impressive 7,300 ft.  As a city, it is much smaller than Albuquerque, but it has a rich history, having been established by Spanish missionaries 400 years ago.  The architecture is truly unique, with the majority of the buildings being in the Adobe style of the Native Americans.  I spent two full days in Santa Fe; one skiing and one sight seeing.

Ski Santa Fe base lodge

Ski Santa Fe is located just 15 miles outside of Santa Fe's city center.  While the access road is only 15 miles, it climbs over 3,000 ft to the ski base (10,350 ft).  Ski Santa Fe is a really cute area!  They had gotten several inches of fresh snow, overnight and that morning, which made for great conditions.  However, visibility was somewhat limited while the snow was still falling, and it was COLD (especially for a person living in Austin, TX).  The base was just below 20F (-6C) and the summit was 10F (-12C) without the wind chill.  I found out afterwards that this was unseasonably cold weather for the area, and turned out to be the coldest weather for Santa Fe in well over a year.  Lucky me :)  Getting back on my skis was a lot of fun and I realized after two runs how much I missed it.

On my non-ski day, I managed a nice 7.3 mile run.  I wasn't sure where to go, so I asked the hotel concierge.  A lot of times, that doesn't work out.  The hotel staff either has no idea why I would want to run outside as opposed to on their treadmill, or they detail a 1 mile loop for me (without understanding that I would prefer something in the 5-8 mile range).  This time, however, the concierge handed me a printed and highlighted Santa Fe Running Map!  There were three unique loops, all starting from and ending at the hotel, with street names clearly printed.  The loops had multiple cut-offs with distances ranging from 2 to 7 miles.  It was fantastic!  I headed out on the 7 mile loop, which took me through the historic downtown, and then out along Canyon road, lined with art galleries and colorfully painted adobes.  This road ran next to a beautiful park and winded up towards the mountains.  It was breathtaking!  I was treated to a fantastic sunset as headed back towards downtown Santa Fe, and finished up the run with an average 8:20 min/mile pace - fantastic considering the altitude.

This time around, I definitely noticed the effects of the altitude, which left me feeling winded for the first 20 min of my run.  This part of the run was also a gradual but steady climb up the canyon.  I do think I am adjusting somewhat to the thin air here, and I'll be able to test it again on my next run in Taos, NM.