Running miles and talking cars at Bethpage

On January 18, 2016 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Me and “M” chillin’ near the trail head

Today’s run (Bethpage Bike Trail): 5.2 miles

I’m usually ambivalent about getting out for my longer weekend runs because it involves organizing my gear and driving somewhere. I woke up this morning feeling energetic and ready to break out of the bounds of my neighborhood. It was chilly, so I wore what I hoped was the right gear to keep me comfortable through my entire run. I headed to Bethpage and parked in the lot.

I decided to run the northern part of the bike trail. I have different experiences with that path, sometimes it feels flat, and other times (such as today) the hills really feel like hills. I rolled along and reached my turnaround spot faster than I expected. There were a few groups of women walking from the other direction, and when we crossed paths I heard snippets of their conversation. Every conversation was either about their job, their kids college plans or how a woman (who wasn’t with them) doesn’t understand something.

I came back from my run feeling a little overheated. As I was cooling down, a guy (“M”) came over and asked me about my car. He was considering the same model for his wife, and we talked about the merits of my SUV versus other models. We covered a lot of other stuff in the 15 minutes that we spoke. He was a really nice and interesting guy — a former runner who still volunteers at races. M has a disc injury that sounds more serious than mine. He mostly does long walks at Bethpage to stay in shape. I’ll look for him next time I run there.

Later in the day the snow began to fall and it’s supposed to continue through morning. I really hope the roads are clear tomorrow, otherwise I’ll have to face the treadmill once again.

Black ice and snowy running at Bethpage

On February 1, 2014 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

One of the clearer spots on the trail

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 4.3 miles

Enough was enough after two weeks of nothing but indoor running. I felt the need to get outside and reacquaint myself with the road. My neighborhood streets have pretty much cleared and yesterday’s “warmer” temperatures exposed a lot more of the sidewalks. Safer for running, but not ideal. Assuming the Bethpage bike trails would be similarly clear, I figured that would be a better bet. This is why I don’t gamble.

I’d traded Facebook notes this morning with The Petite Pacer (TPP) and She Is Out Running (SIOR) and mentioned my plan to run at Bethpage Park. TPP expressed some interest in running there as well. I wasn’t sure I would be heading there, but I hoped I’d see her if I did. When I arrived I was disappointed to see that the trails were covered in white. The only views of the pavement came from the narrow tire-tracked sections.

View of the southern trail head

I parked in the lot and was delighted to see TPP’s very distinctive car pull in a minute later. I think I surprised her when I walked over while she prepared her gear. We noted the poor condition of the trails and started our run at the northern trail head along the 4″ of exposed asphalt. Soon enough, we reached sections consisting only of ice over snow. This forced us to the edges, that were a more stable crusty snow.

Most of our running required side stepping between tire exposed asphalt, packed (but not icy) snow and compressed leaves flattened by vehicle traffic. I followed TPP for the most part, and she did a great job of guiding us through the more treacherous segments. Every once in a while she’d point to black ice. I did have a couple of missteps along the way, but thankfully nothing that caused a fall.

Can you believe we just ran that?

My plan, after seeing the poor trail conditions, was to cover four miles rather than my original target of five. My reasoning was that every step I took was a potential chance for a spill. That, along with the additional work that was required to avoid hazards, made four miles a great workout. We returned to our starting point where I finished my run and TPP headed off to do another couple of miles.

I would have liked to cover a little more distance today, but perhaps I will tomorrow. The temperatures are supposed to remain above freezing through the weekend, so I may try a neighborhood run on Sunday. With most people staying home to watch Superbowl pre-game shows, the roads may be fairly free of traffic. At the very least, I won’t be dealing with the hazardous conditions I saw at Bethpage this morning.

Perpetual motion running at Bethpage

On August 3, 2013 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Perpetual force plus PureDrift

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 6.1 miles

Not that running six miles is particularly challenging, but when you add Bethpage’s rolling bike path, the going can get tough. With a 10K race looming, I felt that I needed to break out of my 3 to 4 mile run habit and push my base closer to race distance. I expected today’s run on the Bethpage trail to be difficult, but it wasn’t. In fact, I could have easily added a couple of more miles when I got to the end.

Things didn’t start out well this morning. I dressed for my run before noticing a steady rain outside. The weather reports indicated that things would clear up in an hour so I waited. It was drizzling when I left my house and the intensity of the rain increased along the way. When I arrived at the park, it was back to a drizzle and I was fine with that. I decided to follow the older path south – three miles out and three back.

I had trouble generating speed as I took on the first hill after the trail head. Even during the long downhill section that followed, I felt constrained. But shortly before the one mile point, I literally “hit my stride”, taking on the rolling hills with little trouble. I wasn’t moving that fast, but the activity felt friction-less. I remembered that Adventure Girl called this “perpetual motion running.”

I kept waiting for my energy to drain as I burned off glycogen, anticipating the struggles that would come when my system turned to alternative sources of fuel. It began to rain at the same time that I started to tire. Perhaps it was the practical need to get out of the rain that changed my energy, but I stepped it up and returned to the perpetual motion stride.

The last mile of this route has a few short steep hills and one long one. I focused on shortening my stride length and maintaining my cadence. I wouldn’t say it was easy, but after 5.5 miles I still felt strong getting through the last section. Once I crested the dreaded last hill, I realized that I was feeling strong enough to keep going.

I ended up turning left to return to my starting point. I’d cover my planned distance and confirmed that my conditioning was on track. My trail run with Chris will happen on Thursday and Mike and I are doing a Dirty Sock course practice on Saturday. Those workouts will help fine-tune my race readiness. I hope that perpetual motion stride will return when I need it.

Bethpage base run and a new pair of "minimal shoes"

On July 21, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Justifiable replacement

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 5.9 miles

I needed to do some base building as I prepare for my next race, so I headed over to Bethpage State Park to run on the northern bike path extension. The section between the trail head at Bethpage and Old Country Road is a personal favorite, due to its rolling terrain and handy distance markers. For longer runs, I cross Old Country Road and follow the trail as far as I wish. Running it to the end leaves me off near my neighborhood, allowing me to run all the way home.

I managed to stall a full hour between the time I dressed for the run and when I actually left for Bethpage. Despite a later start, weather conditions were still good, due to heavy cloud cover that prevented direct sunshine. Humidity was much lower than yesterday and I felt energized as I took my first steps from my car to the trail.

My goal today was to cover 5 to 6 miles at around a 9:30 pace. My ideal goal pace for the Dirty Sock 10K is 9:00/mile (or better), which will be hard for me to achieve. The best I’ve ever done on that race is 58:26, so I’d need improve on that by over two minutes. My 10K PR is around 54 minutes, but that race wasn’t a trail run held during the dog days of August.

I didn’t quite make today’s performance goal, but I came respectably close. The cyclists were out in force today and I was disappointed by their lack of trail etiquette. A number of bike riders zoomed by very closely without giving any “On your left” warnings. Are they aggressive because they resent all the runners and walkers on the path, or are they just selfish?

I was humbled early on by a woman who came off a wooded trail that intersected with the paved path. She appeared to be running at an easy pace as she came up beside me, but left me in the dust before ducking back into the woods. It’s really hard to gauge a runner’s speed just by looking at them. There was a group of high school aged boys doing a training run and a family of five (including three pre-teens) who were all running together.

Most of the run felt good. It was only near the end, when I faced the biggest hills, that I began to feel some fatigue. Despite that, I pushed hard during the last half mile and I was surprised to have the energy to do that.

After I got home, my daughter and I went to Modell’s in Plainview to buy ourselves new pairs of pool shoes. My old pair (top), which served me well for at least five years (including time on the road as “poor man’s” minimalist running shoes), are starting to disintegrate. I’m not sure I’ll use my new pair for running, but they worked great in the pool today!

If you like hills, you’ll love this run

On June 8, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Did I mention there were hills?

Yesterday’s workout (elliptical): 30 minutes
Today’s run (Greenbelt trail): 5.9 miles

Yesterday’s weather gave me no expectations for an outdoor run on Friday. Much of Long Island received 5+ inches of rain, with measurable flooding in low lying areas. The area where we live sits 200 feet above sea level, so we rarely have floods. However, we do get our share of weather related power outages. I had a busy schedule (surprising for a Friday) so to save some time, I did an elliptical workout while my wife ran on the treadmill.

Today was a different story. Yesterday’s gray skies transitioned to clear and sunny. Humidity and heat were expected later in the day, but it was comfortably cool at 8:00 AM. I’m planning to run the Greenbelt trail from Bethpage State Park to my house on Tuesday morning. My friend is coming by, and we’ll park my car in the lot and then run north. When we get home, he’ll drive me back to the Park to get my car. I’m excited by the idea of running that route which will measure close to seven miles.

My route today mimicked part of that run. I cut through the middle school and then through neighborhood #3, before reaching the start of the newly paved bike trail. Unlike the previous time I ran this way, I had some expectations about the hills I’d encounter. I learned later that I should have expected more.

The part of the bike trail that goes along Sunnyside Boulevard starts flat, so the going was fairly easy at first. There are still orange webbed “fences” set up on the path where they continue to do construction, but it’s simple to step around them. More difficult are the three unpaved sections that are either 10’x20′ rectangular mud patches, water filled puddles or beds of sharp rock. Getting around them was slightly difficult, but it wasn’t the biggest challenge of the morning.

Do you like hills? I don’t! About halfway through Sunnyside, the elevation begins to increase at a 5% grade for the next half mile and then down again. The next three miles followed a similar pattern. It was a little like running the big hill at Bethpage over and over again. Along the way I saw a number of cyclists who were struggling as much as me (or more) to get up these hills. And they had gears!

Per plan, I went as far as Washington Ave. before turning around for the second half of my run. At this point, I’ve run most of next Tuesday’s route. There is still a .7 mile section in between today’s turnaround point and the farthest I’ve gone north from Bethpage. I look forward to experiencing that new ground next week. I hope it’s all downhill.

Which side should you run on a bike trail?

On June 2, 2013 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

My halfway point on the northern trail

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 6.5 miles

I managed to get out of the house fairly early this morning and got to Bethpage just after 7:00 AM. The heat was moderate at that time and conditions were pleasant at the start. I’d taken along the cooling bandanna in anticipation of the rapidly increasing temperature and I think it helped. The morning sun was low enough to be blocked by the trees, so the first miles on the northern bike path were well shaded.

As I made my way up the hill leading to the trail head, I thought about the New Hyde Park 8K that was due to start at 8:30. I’ve run the last four races, but I decided to skip it this year. I didn’t really like my experience in 2012. It’s a fine event that I’ve enjoyed in the past, but I felt it was time for a change. Besides that, I don’t feel prepared for competitive running right now.

My first steps on the bike trail felt odd. Had someone told me that I’d gained 30 lbs. overnight, I probably would have believed them. It was Virtual Heaviness Syndrome, as explained here in simple terms. I didn’t feel especially tired or low on energy, my body just felt heavy. I figured I’d propel myself along and hope for the best.

There were a surprising number of cyclists on the trail and a smaller number of runners and walkers. I got plenty of “on your left!” warnings from approaching bikers. I began to wonder, after all these years, whether I should be running on the left side of the bike path, just like on the road. After studying the other runners and walkers, I decided there are no rules, but people generally keep to the right. I read later that runners should stay to the far left, but I think that person had a cycling-centric view. Probably wishful thinking, rather than accepted practice.

I was originally planning to run all the way to Washington Ave. and turn around, but that would have put me past 7 miles (out and back) and I wasn’t looking to do that today. Instead, I turned around where the trail showed 3.1 miles, making my total run (including segments from the trail to the lot) 6.5 miles. I ended up gaining strength as the run went on and finished strong.

I really like the the Bethpage trail because the out and back route makes base run distances seem more manageable. There are lots of hills and you feel like you’re getting a workout, but it’s never intolerable. I was able to stay relatively cool today by going early, but by mid summer it will be tough going. Fortunately, the wooded trails run directly below and/or adjacent to the paved trail, so I’ll be able to duck onto the dirt paths for some relief from the sun.

Bethpage running with a clear head

On May 26, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Bi-directional out-n-back

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 5.5 miles

The downside to taking headache remedies is when those medicines affect the quality of my sleep. Although Excedrin is merely a combination of aspirin, acetaminophen and caffeine, it is amazingly effective in treating my migraine-like headaches. Unfortunately, caffeine taken late in the day, plus pseudoephedrine, makes it hard for me to get to sleep that night.

That was the case last night, but somehow I managed to wake up feeling rested and refreshed. Perhaps it was the absence of a pounding headache that made the difference. The weather outside was sunny and bright, although it felt unseasonably cold. I put on a long sleeved 1/4 zip shirt and a pair of lightweight running pants and headed to Bethpage for a run.

When I arrived at the park, there was a line of cars waiting to get through the entry tollbooth. That was very unusual for an early Sunday morning. As I moved closer I noticed kids being dropped off and when it was my turn to go through, my park friend told me that a big soccer tournament was being held today. I proceeded to the lot where I usually have my choice of spots and saw that the lot was as full as a Long Island train station at 9 AM. I finally found a place and quickly made my way to the trail head.

My route today went west on the old bike path for half a mile before I reversed direction to take on the big hill. My plan was to start the northern trail extension at the one mile mark and then do a four mile out and back. I felt good on the run, the high forties temperature and steady breeze counteracted the heat from the sun. The only negative was something in the air (pollen?) that aggravated my throat a little.

There were lots of cyclists out and a handful of runners. At one point I was running up a steep hill when a young woman came up on my left, said good morning and was gone from sight in less than a minute. She was probably running in the six minute mile range. I often wish I could run at that speed, but I know it requires a much different approach to training than I’m willing to follow. It also helps to be younger.

After the turnaround, I prepared for the predominantly uphill section that I’d face for the next half mile. That went by surprisingly smoothly and I finished my run feeling strong. When I got to my car, I noticed there were still cars swarming around, looking for spots. I guess the tournament must be an all day thing. But I was done, ready to start my non-running day. It was great to run outside after yesterday’s gloomy weather. Best of all, no more pounding headache.

Running from home to the Greenbelt Trail

On May 18, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Section of the new bike trail I covered today

Today’s run (Street + Greenbelt Bike Trail): 5.25

There’s nothing like the promise of a Saturday morning training run. It’s the start of the weekend and a break from business obligations. On those rare Saturdays where my schedule is open-ended, I usually go to a local park or Preserve. It’s a treat to run among interesting scenery, rather than gazing at my neighborhood’s expanse of manicured lawns and avoiding careless drivers.

The drawback to park and Preserve running is the need to travel to those locations. It bothers me that I have to drive my car to get to my running destination. Stillwell Woods and Trailview are only five minutes from my home (and Bethpage is ten), but getting to them still involves logistics. If I could only get to the Greenbelt trail without needing a car…

Well it looks like my wish has been granted. This morning I decided to explore the area near my house where the town has paved some bike trails. These trails run along the busier roads that I’d always dismissed as too dangerous to run. I started from my front door and did a loop around some local roads before cutting through the middle school into neighborhood #3. This neighborhood has an exit out to Woodbury Road, exactly where the new path starts.

The trail along Sunnyside, heading north

Suddenly, I was on a protected multi-use trail that would theoretically connect me all the way to the Massepequa Preserve trail head, 13 miles to the south. I ran along the path and saw evidence of progress, with construction signs and a few short gaps in the paved surface. Sunnyside Boulevard, the road that parallels the path, has a long hill that goes for 3/4 miles. It’s steeper than Waterside Ave. on the Cow Harbor course and will be a good local training spot to prep for that challenge.

Once I made my way past the Northern State Parkway just north of the LIE, I stopped to figure out where the path continued south. There were a number of “No Trespassing” signs around this area that I took more as a suggestion than a warning, since I was seeing lots of cyclists zooming by. I tried to understand the safest way to get across to the paved path that continued on the other side. At that moment, two riders came across, and I asked them how far the bike trail went. They spoke the magic words, “All the way to Massepequa Preserve.” Awesome.

Truth be told, I wasn’t feeling my best on the run, and the long uphill section on Sunnyside had worn me out. I’d considered reversing direction and heading home at that point, but now I had to continue long enough to see where the path would lead. I crossed the street and followed the trail south until I reached the point where the service road diverged from the LIE. I then doubled back and crossed back over to where the path continued north.

The run back was easier, even though there were some short hills to address. Most of the next mile was downhill and that helped restore my energy level as I went along. Shortly before I reached Woodbury Road, I took a tangential path to see where it led (it terminated a block west) and ran to the the crosswalk that led me back into neighborhood #3.

It was exciting to know that I could actually run to Bethpage from my house if I really wanted to. It would be about 6.5 miles – doable – but then I’d have to run home. I’ve run 13+ miles a few times, so it’s in the realm of the possible. However, I think I’ll need to do a lot more base training before I take that on.

Bethpage is better, but some bikers are bozos

On May 5, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

The new, improved Bethpage trails

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 6.4 miles

It’s a beautiful day on Long Island, sunny and a little cooler than yesterday. Today is Cinco de Mayo but we’re not doing anything related to that. Tequila lost its appeal many years ago, but by dinner time I may be persuaded to go out for Mexican food. Today is also the day of the Long Island Marathon, Half and 10K. I feel slightly guilty for not participating this year, but I’m glad that I didn’t need to run 13.1 miles this morning.

It’s been at least six weeks since I ran at Bethpage and I’ve missed it. The last time I was there, me and KWL did an early morning run and covered six miles. I haven’t done too many runs greater than five miles this year, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to renew my Empire Passport and run the bike trail.

After getting my sticker, I drove to the lot and saw that much work had been done to the trails since I last saw them. The entrance to the north trail was now open, and a small structure had been put up next to the trail head off the parking lot. There was fresh paint marking the newly paved sections, and a new sidewalk was added along the main driveway.

When I reached the northern trail entrance I noticed more improvements. I saw some new access points to the dirt trails and some decorative fencing around rest areas. They’d also stenciled distances in tenth of a mile increments in bold white numbers. Even though I wear a Garmin, I still found that to be extremely helpful during my run.

I felt good at the start and had no trouble with the rolling trail as I moved north. I wanted to go six miles to get a little more base conditioning and my energy level seemed to support that. A year ago I was at Bethpage every weekend doing progressively longer runs as I trained for the half marathon. I thought about the LI Marathon and Half that was going on as I ran. I did feel strong, but I don’t think I could have managed a half today.

I crossed Haypath without a problem and then Old Bethpage Rd. Neither had much traffic. I wondered if I’d reach my projected turnaround point of 3.1 miles before I hit Old Country Road. I preferred not to cross that busy street if I could avoid it. I was about a quarter mile short of my halfway mark, so I needed to keep going. There was a traffic light and crosswalk, so I had no safety issues except for the bozo on a bike who cut me off when I reached the other side.

There were many walkers and cyclists on the path today, along with a smaller number of other runners. I had another bike incident, when a cyclist riding in the same direction that I was running, passed me with an inch to spare. She was busy talking to her two friends and wasn’t being careful. I yelled “hey!” but she didn’t react (or apologize). Most cyclists are courteous and careful, but it was amateur hour this morning.

I covered the second half of my run faster than the first. I had no trouble getting past the two short but steep hills located a mile from the trail entrance. For some reason I began feeling stronger on that last mile, so I picked up the pace. That helped get my overall time into my “acceptable range.” When I got back to the lot, I saw what looked like a clown car convention. It was actually a Mini Cooper show taking place at the park. Unfortunately it attracted some losers who decided to tear around the parking lot in their cars (not Mini Coopers BTW) before exiting at a high rate of speed.

I was very happy with my run today, especially for the fact that I haven’t done a six miler in a while. Now that I have my new Passport, I look forward to visiting Bethpage and the other state parks without needing to pay an entrance fee.

DST run with KWL at BSP*

On March 10, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

*Bethpage State Park

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 6.25 miles

Daylight Savings Time (DST) starts today and (for this one) we “Spring” forward. I wasn’t thinking about that yesterday when I committed to a 7:00 AM run with a friend. In DST world, 7:00 AM is really 6:00 AM. By the time I got to bed, it was almost DST midnight. I somehow miscalculated all that and got up at 4:50 DST. So I ended up getting less than five hours of sleep.

My friend KWL arrived a little before 7:00. It was still dark when we headed over to Bethpage but it had lightened up in the ten minutes it took to get there. As I feared, the gates were up at the park so we quickly headed to Haypath Road. We were able to park the car in a spot that was adjacent to the Greenbelt trail head. This southern entrance put us on the newly paved section of the Bethpage bike path.

KWL and I started our run in 30° temperatures. We’d both dressed for the cold so we were comfortable as we made our way through the first mile. Our plan was to cover 10K easy, but easy is a relative term. KWL is a triathlete, accomplished cyclist and 1:40 half marathoner, so his “easy” pace is somewhat challenging to me. We happily compromised and settled into pace that worked for both of us.

The new section has some hills which I tackled easily, using my early run freshness to power through. KWL loves inclines and I don’t. On the other hand, he dislikes running downhill and I can do that all day. So in the rare times when I held the forward position, it was usually on a downward slope.

Along way we encountered a group running in brightly colored outfits. Both times we saw them they were about to run up a hill as we were running down. They were a cheerful, talkative bunch, undaunted by the challenge. KWL and I reached the 3.1 mile mark and immediately turned around to complete the out and back route. I was feeling a little tired at that point and wasn’t looking forward to scaling the upcoming hills.

A few minutes after we’d met that challenge, I began to feel stronger. We picked up the pace with about 2K left to go. I’d thought that the trail extension would be easy, since (this time) we’d be on the better side of the hills. I’d forgotten that there were still some inclines going north. Before long, my Garmin chirped for 6 miles and we picked up the pace as we completed final quarter mile.

KWL and I both found the run exhilarating. Despite the DST change, we still had plenty of morning left. Today’s experience reminded me how enjoyable it can be to run with company. I really should do that more often. Perhaps it’s time to do something about joining a running club.