Faint praise for the treadmill

On January 4, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I’m going to blame the transition from vacation to work for my sluggish performance this morning. Even though I’m an early riser while on vacation, there’s a big difference between waking up at 6:00 AM versus 3:45 AM. It probably didn’t help that I set a 2% incline for the first 2/3rds of today’s workout.

A year ago I probably would have braved the weather and gone outside, despite this morning’s 11° temperature. My dislike of the treadmill experience used to outweigh the discomfort of freezing conditions, but I’ve finally accepted the treadmill for what it is. I even appreciate how I can change conditions like speed and elevation with a single touch. I’ll reluctantly admit that, on an extremely cold morning, the treadmill can be the better choice.

Still, I far prefer the trails or the road, and I can’t wait to get outdoors this weekend. I may have been better off resting today, but since I started the run I felt I needed to finish it. Around the 15 minute mark I realized I wasn’t at full strength. I decided to drop the incline rather than hurt myself further. I did step up the speed a little when I did that, but not by much. Tomorrow, I will do an elliptical workout and (hopefully) on Friday the temperatures will be back in the 30’s and I’ll take to the streets once again.

Cold and wind can’t keep a winter runner down

On December 29, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.5 miles

Conditions were dry, cold and windy this morning but that didn’t dissuade me from going out for a run. I far prefer 25° plus wind chills over 80° with high humidity. The trick is to bundle up enough to make the first mile bearable, without becoming overheated by the third. I wore my new half-zip over a long sleeved tech shirt and my new CS running pants below. These pants do a very good job of blocking wind.

I wore my Saucony Mirages that felt 100% better than the Karhu Fast 2’s that I wore on yesterday’s run. The Mirage’s low stack height and minimal ramp angle enable a natural mid-foot fall. This is very different from the Karhu’s thick mid-sole that seems to get in the way of leg extension. It’s as if the road is an inch higher when your foot hits the ground — both jarring and disconcerting.

The chilly air was energizing and the wind at my back helped to propel me. Head-on, the wind felt uncomfortable, especially where my glasses touched my face. Fortunately my route didn’t have too many roads that faced west so it wasn’t really an issue. My strength had improved from yesterday and my run was mostly pleasant. I had enough strength coming up on my last mile to pick up the pace considerably.

After yesterday’s tough going, I’d expected today’s run to be better. It turned out to be a lot better and I was pleased with my performance overall. If the rain holds off tomorrow I may go for a trail run with a friend. If not, I may spend some quality time on the elliptical machine.

I heart my City Sports running pants

On December 18, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 5.25 miles

I’ve been very happy with most of my race performances this year, including yesterday’s 5K where I came within seconds of breaking 25 minutes. The biggest change in my training in 2011 has been less focus on speed during training runs and more focus on quality. While my average pace for recreational runs has slowed by about 15 seconds per mile, my average pace in races (the half marathon being a significant exception) has improved by about 10 seconds per mile.

I gotta say they fit me better than this

On Friday I walked a couple of blocks to City Sports on 48th and 6th and bought a pair of their house brand (CS) performance running pants. These pants are usually $60 but were on sale for $39.00. I compared them to similar, but higher priced, running pants from Brooks, Saucony and Adidas and saw little difference. If anything, the CS pants were heavier and better for winter temperatures.

I wore these pants at yesterday’s race and loved the fit. My wife liked the way they looked on me and I didn’t feel self conscious wearing them, as I sometimes do in running tights. These pants were a definite improvement over sweats and I was happy to find them on sale.

This morning the temperature in my town was 23° so I dressed in layers and wore a fleece wicking cap and my mitten-gloves. I was a little cold at the start but the new running pants did a good job keeping my legs warm and my Layer 8 thermal zip, with a layer beneath, kept me comfortable up top.

The wind was coming from the north and it was brisk at times. This created a situation where my body stayed comfortable because it was warmed by the run, but my face was freezing from the wind. Having glasses touching my face didn’t help me any. It was a little uncomfortable at times, but not so bad that I needed a balaclava.

Ford GT: a cool surprise

I ran slowly to stay below my lactic threshold and give my muscles an opportunity to repair themselves. I criss-crossed the neighborhood, changing directions on a whim and totaled 5.25 miles. As I was running my final steps prior to turning onto my street, I noticed a Ford GT making its way in my direction. The driver was driving slowly but the engine was purring. As a person who loves great engineering and style, I was thrilled to experience it. The same may be said for my new running pants!

What you don’t want during taper week

On December 14, 2011 By Emerging Runner3 Comments

Last night was my daughter’s winter concert and this extended an already-long work day. I went to bed intending to run outside this morning but I woke up tired and with a headache. I’ve been feeling a little run down over the last week and, last night, I started to experience the first symptoms of a cold. I’m still planning to run in Sunday’s 5K race and skipping today’s run has thrown off my taper plan.

If the weather is okay tomorrow (and I’m feeling better) I’ll run with Adventure Girl who has spent most of this year doing wilderness research in Big Sky Country. The best wilderness I can offer is the bridal trail in Central Park. I hope it’s not too rainy because that trail can get muddy.

Between coffee, antihistamine and aspirin I’m hoping to recover enough to get through the day. This will be the first night this week where I don’t have evening plans. I’ll try to get some rest by turning in a little early. I’m always annoyed when I get colds, because I expect my running to provide me with an enhanced immune system. Perhaps it does. After all, I could feel a lot worse.

Recovery on Saturday yields benefits on Sunday

On December 11, 2011 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 5.25

My run on Friday took a lot out of me. That was surprising, considering the short distance I covered. It was a sign that I was still fighting a cold. The other indication of that was waking up with a sore throat and feeling weak at the start. My Friday run went fairly well considering how I’d felt, but I think I might have pushed too hard.

Saturday morning I was under some time pressure and I still felt weak, although my throat felt better. I decided that a run would do more harm than good so I did a rare weekend skip day. I spent the middle of the day at a cooking class with my daughter, while my wife and son went into the city to shop and see the winter holiday sights. We all had great experiences.

The upside of feeling as exhausted as I did on Saturday was that I managed to sleep until 6:30 AM this morning. That may sound early to some, but my weekday wake up time is 3:45 and it’s hard for me to sleep much past 5:00 AM on weekends. I felt good when I got up, and after having some coffee, I was ready to hit the road.

I stayed in the neighborhood but planned out a route that was different than usual. It was in the low 20°’s outside, so I’d dressed in layers. I didn’t intend to run for performance and hoped that the extra gear would keep me comfortable without overheating me. My plan worked and I was neither too hot or cold throughout my run.

I wore the Hattori’s to see how they’d do in colder temperatures and I was pleased that my feet didn’t suffer from the chill. By the two mile point I noted that a day’s rest had restored my energy level and I appreciated the opportunity to zone out and enjoy the cold, but sunny, weather.

As I came back towards home, I noticed that my trajectory would have me finishing just short of five miles. I decided then to divert to a series of hilly roads that would provide another quarter mile of distance that would get me past my planned distance.

I finished after covering 5.25 miles and had felt very good throughout the run. Next weekend I plan to run the Ho Ho Ho Holiday run. If the weather cooperates this week, I’m planning to get in a city run with Adventure Girl who is in town for the holidays. Hard to believe it’s so close to New Year’s. I’m looking forward to some long brisk runs during my annual year end vacation.

Good performance from a "market" brand

On December 9, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Lay it on

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

After a week that started fairly mild, the temperatures have now gotten much colder. I was excited to get back outside for a run. Anticipating the chill, I wore my Layer 8 half zip that does a nice job wicking sweat and keeping me warm.

According to the manufacturer’s website, Layer 8 is a market brand. This (I think) means it fits between or below premium and private label brands. I only see it at clearance stores like Marshalls and TJ Max, never in sporting goods or running stores. When I see it, Layer 8 gear is typically priced 50% lower than “name” brands, for what appears to be equivalent clothing. I’ve had good luck with the compression shorts and the half zip I own. Except for a few obvious high performers, like my Craft running top and (though I hate to admit it) some Nike shirts and pants I own, I see little difference in performance between most lower and medium priced technical gear.

This morning’s run was surprisingly good considering I’d woken up with a sore throat and felt tired as I prepared to run outside. My new Black Diamond headlamp pulled the same “won’t light” trick that my Petzl did, which ultimately prompted its replacement. Re-seating the batteries solved it, as usual.

It was in the high 20’s when I stepped out and it took me a few minutes to warm up. Once past that point, I picked up the pace and ran the last mile much faster than the first. I’m not feeling great right now, but I plan to get some needed rest overnight. Hopefully that will set me up for a good weekend of cold weather running.

Gear gremlins and going gloveless

On October 6, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

A great headlamp when it works

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

My Petzl headlamp has served me well over the years but this morning I was ready to toss it into the trash. This unit (Tikka Plus) is extremely lightweight and I often forget that I’m even wearing it. But the light weight comes at the cost of fragility. The plastic assembly doesn’t secure the three AAA batteries in position very well and slight movements will occasionally disrupt the connection and cause the lamp to go dark. This morning it took me over five minutes to get it operational, time that’s much too precious to waste in the morning.

Once I was confident that the lamp was working properly I set out for my run in temperatures that felt far colder than the reported 45°. I immediately regretted not having gloves, but I had a long sleeved jersey that I pulled over my hands. That helped a little, but it caused my shirt to bind around my shoulders and I soon abandoned that solution. I’ll plan to bring gloves tomorrow unless it truly warms up as expected. The run itself was great and I nearly broke 9:00/mile which is hard for me to do at that early hour.

I’m toying with the thought of running in Central Park tomorrow. It’s been a long time since I’ve done a city run and since Friday’s the lead-in to a holiday weekend, my afternoon schedule is light. I’ll decide tonight so that I’ll have time to pack gear for the morning. If Friday is as cool and bright as today a CP run could be a great pre-weekend workout.

Negative splits on a chilly morning

On March 18, 2011 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 2.65 miles

All week we’ve been hearing forecasts calling for warm weather with predictions that temperatures would reach 70º by Friday. I must be missing something because it has been chilly most days this week and this morning was no different. I listened to the weather report and dressed in single layers for today’s run. Fortunately I thought to wear running gloves and I was happy to have them. The winds brought the temperature down into the mid 30’s and I found myself wishing for an extra shirt.

Saucony Grid Tangent 4

I wore my Saucony Grid Tangents this morning for a change of pace but my pace didn’t change much. My stride felt encumbered for the first mile but I loosened up soon after that. The second half of my run was 6% faster than my first and though my recent paces have not been extraordinary I’ve been achieving negative splits on almost every run. I’m hoping to get out for 10 miles on one of the days this weekend. Speed will not be my goal but that doesn’t mean it won’t be on my mind.

A comfortable visit to neighborhood #2

On February 22, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.91 miles

I wanted to go to Bethpage to try the bike trail this morning and also buy an Empire Passport but my schedule was just too tight. We have someone coming to give an estimate on a home improvement and I wanted to make sure I got in my run before that. Instead, I went out for a neighborhood run and mixed it up by routing through the streets of neighborhood #2 where I hadn’t run in a while. The roads were remarkably clear considering yesterday’s 3″ snowfall. The cold temperatures created patches of rough ice along the roadside and I had to step around the frozen areas that appeared in my path.

My trusty Adidas Response 15’s

I wore my Adidas Response trail shoes that have been out of the rotation for months but seemed to be the right shoe for today’s conditions. They’re great shoes but are built a little too high to facilitate mid-foot landing. This is why I only run in them occasionally. I started slow to loosen up in the cold weather and fell into a nice comfortable rhythm. I was loving the feeling of moving along smoothly but I worried that I wasn’t pushing hard enough to make it a real workout. I threw in a few fartleks (Danish for “speed play”) where I’d cover a few hundred yards at faster pace before resuming my more moderate pace. The miles ticked off fairly quickly and the running probably seemed easy because my last run at Stillwell Woods provided a much harder challenge.

After covering some distance in the other neighborhood I swung back to my own and finished by following my measured mile loop in reverse. My Garmin had me a tick over 5 miles but Gmaps said it was less. My FR60 calibration woes continue, it seems that no matter how I adjust the Garmin it always seems to over-count my distance.

A run that went according to plan

On February 12, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street) 5.3 miles

Although we’d been hearing that the temperatures would rise by this weekend it wasn’t the case this morning. It was barely 20 degrees at 8:00 AM and the sun was blocked by clouds. I’d dressed for the cold (layered compression pants, warm hat, running gloves) but I only wore a half-zip, with a short sleeved jersey on top because I knew I’d eventually get hot. It was breezy but the winds didn’t have the same force as those that I’d faced on Thursday in Central Park.

Once I got going I started to think about route and distance. I often have great ambition at the beginning of a run in terms of what I’m prepared to do. Sometimes I match, or even succeed my intended goal but there are still occasions when I don’t. Happily, today’s energy level matched my plan. I’m on target to run more miles this week than I have in the prior two weeks and it’s easy to explain why. Twice this week I’ve run outside and I’m planning another outside run tomorrow. My runs on the treadmill are great workouts but I just can’t endure it for long periods of time.

Although this morning’s run was contained within the streets of my neighborhood, I still appreciated the winter scene. The snow covered lawns made the suburban roads appear more like country lanes. The cold air helped me along and I maintained a decent pace throughout my planned course. I finished up after completing a little more than five miles. I could have gone longer but I stuck to my plan. It was great to be back on the road again. I could get used to that.