Taper-ending tempo — now the rest begins

On April 7, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill): 2.6 miles

I finished my taper this morning with a progressive tempo run on the treadmill. I would have liked my last training run to happen outdoors but the wet weather kept me inside. In a way it worked out well. My original plan for an outdoor run was to cover a mile as quickly as possible and nothing more. On taper week you want quality miles even if it means running less of them. Since I was on the treadmill I changed my plan and did my run starting at an easy pace and increased speed every two minutes so that by the end I was running 25% faster than when I began.

My overall pace wasn’t impressive but I thought the exercise was beneficial. Over the past couple of months my strategy has been to finish my runs faster than I’d begun. It would be great to achieve negative splits during Sunday’s 5K. I’m looking forward to a couple of days rest and hoping for the best on Sunday.

Effort gap between perception and reality

On April 6, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

Yesterday’s treadmill run was a welcomed improvement over my prior three runs. This morning I got outside and ran in weather that seemed far colder than the 39 degrees that had been reported on the news. I didn’t look once at my Garmin during my run as I worked to maintain a brisk pace. With the paces I’ve been running lately I wanted to avoid further demotivation by seeing my actual speed. I hoped that my perceived effort matched my performance and in the end I guess that was true.

At first I was disappointed that I’d averaged only 9:13/mi though I felt like I was running at 10K race pace. The important thing I realized was that late last week I was running a minute-plus slower per mile, due to the effects of giving blood. With one more run followed by two days of rest, I’m hoping that I will be close to race day potential by Sunday.

A step in the right direction

On April 5, 2011 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill) 2.45 miles

I had to make the call last night whether I’d need indoor or outdoor gear for the morning. News 12 Long Island’s weather report last night predicted rain overnight so I prepared for a treadmill run. The skies seemed clear when I got up but since I hadn’t laid out the proper gear for the street I did my run indoors.

Yesterday I did some research on performance related to blood donation and there’s ample evidence that my difficult workouts since last Wednesday are directly related to giving blood. I rested on Monday and anticipated tough going this morning but my run wasn’t as hard as I’d expected it to be. After starting at a pace that matched my best efforts from the weekend, I increased speed throughout the run and finished up running close to 9:00 per mile. My overall pace was in the high 9:00’s but I was fine with that. I felt much more like my old self by the end. I have two more runs planned before I finish my taper. I’m hoping to get at least one more run on the road before the race and to maintain a speed that’s close to my 5K race pace.

Turning my attention to Sunday’s 5K

On April 4, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

I thought about doing an out-of-schedule run this morning because I’ll be tapering this week for Sunday’s Marcie Mazzola 5K race. As usual for a Sunday race, I plan to rest two days prior so a run today would have provided four days of running before hiatus. Although yesterday’s trail run was difficult, I believe it was a step forward in terms of strength building and I didn’t want to mess that up today by over-training. I’ll run Tue-Thu, swapping my usual cross-training day for an additional running workout.

I’m curious to see how I do on Sunday. I haven’t competed since February’s Snowflake Race and most of my road training since then has focused on base and form. I have fallen short in my intention to run intervals to activate my fast twitch fibers so I’m probably not in the best shape for a speedy race. I think my long base runs will support me well during the 5K but you never really know until you’re out there. I’m going to try to throw in some “speed play” segments over the next three runs. It’s not a substitute for intervals but it’s the best I can do at this point.

Stillwell Woods roller coaster torture ride

On April 3, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Red Cross registration frenzy in the tent

Today’s run (Stillwell Woods): 4.5 miles

Saturday was a day of volunteering for the Emerging Runner family. It was the Long Island Red Cross’s annual fund-raising walk that took place on the grounds of Nassau Coliseum. My wife volunteers at the local chapter and the whole family gets involved for this event. The kids worked hard to hand out T-shirts to pre-registered participants while my wife attended to other functions. After that we did the 2 mile walk that went a few times around the Coliseum followed by a nice BBQ courtesy of local restaurants. After that we attended the NY Islanders game with tickets that were donated to everyone who participated in the Red Cross event. We had a great time for a great cause.

Objects on ice were closer than they appear

This morning I headed to Stillwell instead of taking on an extended run at Bethpage that may not have gone well since I’m apparently still rebuilding my red blood cell count after last week’s donation. I figured that the trails might be a kinder surface than pavement for my legs that have felt unresponsive since last week.

I started by following the Black trail and after chickening out at the first “Most Difficult/Easier” trail split I tucked into a “More Difficult” path I came upon a few minutes later. I wasn’t moving very quickly but I don’t care about pace when I run trails. After navigating some narrow channels that were cut to facilitate mountain bikers (of which the woods were filled today) I came upon the tough stuff — scree, sand and rocky hills that required both steep ascents and sharp descents. When I’m at full strength these obstacles seem fun, like riding a roller coaster, but today they wore me out for a time. I decided to make my way back to the flatter sections before I grew too fatigued and was able to find my way using the sun and the MotionX compass on my iPhone.

I finished my run with a westbound tack along the southern path of the open field. The wind from the west was stiff and freezing and I almost laughed at the difficulty I had making my way to the trail head. After being voluntarily tortured for almost 50 minutes I was glad to bring the run to an end. Very soon after I’d finished I felt the legendary “runner’s high” that confirmed a good job well done. Well, a hard job anyway.

Is the Saucony Mirage for real?

On April 2, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 3.1 miles

My experience with running in a more minimal shoe has been good and I credit the Saucony Kinvaras for that. When I started wearing these shoes I had concerns that a less constructed neutral running shoe would cause me some problems. Before the Kinvaras I had been running in the Brooks Adrenalins as a daily trainer and I didn’t expect that to change. As it happened, the Kinvaras caused no issues with their lack of stability features and as a low arch pronator I’m questioning the need for stability control. The need for guidance support may come with runs longer than mine that top out at around 11 miles.

I’m still keenly interested in minimal running shoes so I asked the folks at Saucony whether I could review the new Hattori, a super light, zero drop minimal racer/trainer. There are a limited supply of these shoes for testing so Saucony graciously offered a pair of the new Mirages, the fraternal twin to the Kinvara. The Mirage has some stability features and a little more structured upper. If the fit of the Mirage is close to the Kinvara I will wear the Mirages during my half marathon. It might be a perfect combination for the 13.1 mile distance. I’ll document my experience and review it on Runner’s Tech Review.

Men’s ProGrid Mirage

Quick summary of the Mirage (per Saucony):

The perfect light trainer for a slight overpronator
Lightweight with great responsiveness
Allows the foot to move through the gait cycle unrestricted

Upper:

Hydrator collar lining
Memory Foam Heel Pods
EVA Sockliner
HRC Strobel Board

Midsole:

Heel ProGrid LITE
High Abrasion EVA (EVA+)
Supportive Arc

Outsole:

Blown rubber
XT-900™

Weights:
Men: 8.9 oz
Women: 7.9 oz

I’m not going to comment too much about my run this morning except to say that it was difficult and my performance was terrible. A friend on the running blogsphere (and a person who ran the Dirty Sock 10K in about half the time as me) commented that blood donation can have a real effect on performance for two weeks after the donation. I’ll accept that at face value and not dwell on today’s workout. I’m hoping for significant improvement tomorrow but I’ll settle for a mediocre run.

I blame the burger

On April 1, 2011 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill): 2.3 miles

I’m a little more than a week away from my next race. It’s a 5K, a distance I’ve raced a number of times over the last couple of years. I’ve come to prefer 10K’s for their combination of speed and distance but the Marcie Mazzola Memorial Run is special to me because it was my very first race as “The Emerging Runner.” That year the race was 4 miles in length and it has since been shortened to a 5K to increase participation. I know the course fairly well having run it a couple of times. I have great respect for the big hill that runners encounter just minutes after the start. I haven’t been training for speed or hills but my base runs at Bethpage have brought up my level of conditioning. Perhaps some speed work is in order for this weekend.

You were no help

I used the treadmill today even though the great storm predicted to pass through this morning turned out to be more April Fools than April showers. Yesterday’s elliptical session was uncharacteristically difficult, due perhaps to my blood donation on Wednesday. I thought I was back to full strength and even had a burger at lunch with an old friend yesterday to top off my iron level (sure – that’s why!) so I thought I’d have a fairly easy time today. I can’t complain specifically about the way I felt, only that the effort felt hard even at the beginning when I was pacing around 6 MPH. The effort didn’t get easier but not noticeably more difficult as I blipped up the speed throughout my workout. I ended up with a respectable (albeit short) run and afterward felt like I’d expended some good effort. Besides the speed work I’m aiming to get back to the 8+ base runs I’ve been doing on the weekends. I’m hoping that those April showers keep holding off until next week.

Depleted for a good cause

On March 31, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

Yesterday morning I noticed a sign that my company was conducting a blood drive with the New York Blood Center. I had about 30 minutes before my next meeting so I headed to the location. After filling out the paperwork, answering screening questions and getting my finger pricked (to check my iron level) I was ushered over to a well-used, industrial quality chaise lounge. There was a large digital clock that showed I only had 12 minutes to give my pint and get back upstairs to attend my meeting. I finished with only minutes to spare and they were concerned that I was rushing off without the juice and cookies chaser they insist is necessary for recovery. I made it back in time having taken a small bottle of water and some Chex mix to go.

I felt the effects from my blood donation this morning while on the elliptical. I couldn’t manage my usual level of resistance. In fact, the whole session seemed harder than normal. I figured that if I held the same speed that I usually maintain it would probably be an equivalent workout, even at the lower level. I rarely watch the clock while on the elliptical because I have distractions like the morning news but I was happy when I reached my planned end time. My weekly cross training workout was well-timed. I wouldn’t have wanted to run feeling as I did this morning. There’s a big storm headed this way, possibly bringing snow on Friday (April Fools!) so I’ll likely be on the treadmill. Hopefully by then I will be at full strength for that harder workout.

Maintaining the right tempo

On March 30, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Thanks for making my point Newsday!

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

My wife handed me the paper when I got home last night and told me to check out the second section. Newsday had run an article about minimalist running and she mischievously annotated the story showing the points I’d made in my “How to” post on Monday. I thought that was pretty funny.

I followed yesterday’s good run with one that felt as good, but for some reason I ran the route 40 seconds slower than I did on Tuesday. It was puzzling to me, especially since my intention was to tempo at around 20 seconds above 5K race pace. After looking at my splits I saw that I simply went out too slow for the first 15 minutes but made up some time in the last third of my run. At that point I’d dropped into performance gear and run at about 8:20/mile.

I’m sure the additional rest I’d had prior to yesterday’s run had something to do with my better performance. That seems to reinforce the idea that rest + training is the right combination for optimal performance.

Inner peace at 4:00 AM

On March 29, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

My 4:00 AM runs are productive, not only from a conditioning perspective, but as a method of focusing on key items in my business or personal life. The world at 4:00 AM looks a lot like 6:00 AM, except that it’s significantly quieter. Every morning when I go out to run I think about all the people in the houses that I pass. Most people are still sleeping and generally all the company I might have is the car that drives around throwing the New York Times onto driveways. It’s peaceful and still and the stars are in bright focus. So for the many who ask why I run at that ungodly hour, this is why.

Sometimes you can’t argue that additional rest yields better performance and that was the case today. Despite my trance-like state this morning, my legs that had only run five miles over the last three days moved me along 20 sec/mile faster than my usual morning pace. While I followed my route I thought through a business issue that I hadn’t been able to address with the frenzy of the work day. I came back home happy with my run and decisive in my thoughts. It was only 4:30 and I still had the whole day ahead.