Shifting back to miles per run

On September 1, 2019September 20, 2019 By Emerging Runner10 Comments

Labor Day greetings. I’m glad to report that I logged 80 running miles in August. It was actually 80.46 but who’s counting? And don’t get me started with Garmin GPS variance that generally under-counts run distance by 2.4%. So I ran 80.46 but I may have run 83.4. My August goal was 75 miles so any way you slice it, I’m happy. SIOR, who is not delusional even though she considers her upcoming trek to Everest base camp an easy hike, thinks I should go for 100 miles in September. I think I’m going to repeat the 75 mile goal for September and see what happens.

Now that I’m averaging 18+ miles a week, I’m ready to shift focus to running distances. My 80 miles in August and 71 in July were built around a lot of runs. With very few exceptions, I’ve run six days a week since mid June. I ran 27 days last month to get to 80 miles and I’m wondering if it would be more beneficial to aim for 75 miles a month, running 5 days a week. That would give me the flexibility to add another rest day to recover from long runs that aren’t happening right now.

Back when I was commuting by train, I would usually run 2.5 miles at 4 AM from Tuesday through Friday and do 8-10 miles over the weekend. When I switched to commuting by car, my run schedule got disrupted and my weekly mileage and run frequency plummeted. Now that I’m commute-free, I have more options.

One thought is to do three days running with one day resting. It works out to six runs a week, but I’d never be more than three days from a rest day. My current schedule has me running five days straight for every rest day. I could also go back to short runs (less than 3 miles) 66% of the time and longer runs (4 or more miles) 33% of the time. I could do that running either 5 or 6 times a week.

Since September has already begun and I’ve already logged 3.4 miles today, I think I’ll aim for at least one run a week over 3.5 miles and edge up that target as I go. It’s been a long time since I’d consider it no big deal to run six or seven miles on a weekend day. Right now, I just want to get back to doing four or more.

When your pace is slow, focus on the statistics

On June 17, 2019 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Saw this on a car in the REI parking lot today

Happy Father’s Day. My goal of more frequent postings has been stymied (only six this year including today) but I’m definitely on track for running frequency. Over the 44 days since I finished up work on May 3rd, I’ve run 36 times (82% of days). Just to compare, I only did 33 runs from January 1st through April 30th (28% of days). So run frequency is good. End of statistical report.

June so far – 14 runs in 16 days

It’s not all good news in the running department however. The three measures of progress I’m using are frequency, distance and speed. My plan is to meet a target for each point, hold that target and start focusing on the next point. I’m tracking just about 6 runs a week and have started to focus on increasing average distance per run. I’m going in the right direction, but the increase is small, up about 8% from May’s average.

The third measure, speed, is my biggest challenge and I have done very little to address it. My pace is abysmal, but I’m hoping that by maintaining high run frequency and increasing distance, my fitness will unlock some of my old speed. I don’t like being slow, but forcing my pace turns happy running into a dreaded chore. I guess I could go back to doing intervals which compartmentalize the discomfort. Once I reach my average distance goal, I’ll start putting weekly track visits into my schedule.

I’ve been planning to buy a new hybrid bike to cross train. I’d like to ride some of the great bike trails on Long Island. Two of the other Runsketeers (TPP and KLM) are serious cyclists and I’m pretty sure Professor Mike knows his way around a bike. SIOR has a bike so she has one leg up on me. KLM has been giving me expert advice and will be helping me make a purchase in July. When that happens I’m I’ll be looking to do the inaugural Runsketeer ride.

Gateway to smooth running

On August 28, 2016 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Elderberry winds down smoothly

Today’s run (street): 4.4 miles

I finally got out at a decent time this morning while the sun was still casting long shadows. It was hot, but the shade and a slight breeze hid that from me. At least it did throughout the first mile. I ran through my neighborhood enjoying the favorable conditions, listening to the late summer sounds and appreciating the quiet Sunday morning roads.

At mile one I was barely sweating and I hoped that the humidity was lower than what had been reported. It turned out to be wishful thinking. As I made my way around, I soon began to feel it, especially in the areas with direct sun. I went south towards what we call the “Gateway” neighborhood which has some long shady roads.

I’d stopped running in the Gateway neighborhood a while back because the condition of Ashford Drive & Elderberry Road, the longest of the long streets, had started to resemble the surface of the moon. I had prepared to step carefully through the worst parts, but once I reached Ashford, I saw that the whole span had been repaved. It was smooth and shady and a wonderful surprise.

Today’s route

I wasn’t monitoring my distance, but I’d assumed I’d covered at least three miles by the time I started heading back home. When I was getting closer to my house I heard my Garmin beep, telling me that I’d passed 4 miles. By then I was completely sweat soaked and realized that the humidity was as high as reported. When I mapped my run later with Gmaps, I saw that my Garmin had again under-counted distance, this time by 5.4%.

Getting out really early turned out to be a good thing as it left me lots of time to get things done today. One thing I did was look at DC Rainmaker’s site to see what he currently likes for GPS watches. DCR strongly recommends the FR230/235 (the 235 is $80 more but has an optical heart rate monitor). I’m going to shop around to see how it’s priced.

Track run and a come from behind story

On May 22, 2016 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Lapping up the miles

Today’s run (track): 5.3 miles

It was helpful to have today’s workout already planned so I didn’t waste time determining where I’d go and what gear to wear. As expected, there was light rain falling when I got up. I decided to give it until 8:00 AM to go out, hoping that the wet weather would soon move off. By 8:15, the rain had turned to a light mist and I headed over to the high school track.

Although the temperature showed 54°, I felt chilly in my short sleeve shirt and shorts. I’d taken along the running raincoat that I bought to replace my dog-mangled jacket and wore it for the first two laps. Even with an unventilated top, I stayed fairly comfortable, but I was starting to sweat. The rain had completely stopped at that point, so I ditched the coat.

At the time I arrived, there was only one other person on the track. This was neither a walker nor runner. It was a pied piper with a rolling speaker that was blasting out an energizing mix of music. As I ran by this man, I saw a group of high school aged girls gathering around him at the top of the oval. I realized he was the track coach and practice was about to start.

It’s always tricky to do a track run when a practice is going on. I did my best to stay out of their way, keeping to the outside lanes as much as I could. I like to alternate running direction every six laps and, the first time I ran clockwise, I saw the girls practicing 200’s. While they took a cool down lap, I noticed the distribution of runners. There were a few at the front, a larger group in the middle and a couple of others running ten feet behind the middle group. Further behind was a final runner and she didn’t look very happy. I felt badly for her.

When I came around on my next lap, I saw the coach lining everyone up to do an all-out 400. Two runners quickly broke away, leaving the rest of the pack behind. I was surprised to see the straggler from the cool-down moving up to the front. She pulled ahead and it was like watching the Preakness again. This girl ended up finishing well ahead of the others and I was happy for her.

I lost count of my laps, but had 5.3 miles on my Garmin by the time I finished. I felt almost as strong at the end as I did at the start, making for three good runs this weekend. Not only that, I hit 15K steps both yesterday and today. I probably should start using a heart rate monitor again to help me differentiate between real and perceived effort. It may help me push harder if I see that I’m training in a lower zone than I realized.

Personal distance best at Bethpage

On November 16, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Hardly sweating after seven

Today’s run (Bethpage bike trail): 7.1 miles

I was determined to make progress against my distance goals this morning and set my sights on the Bethpage trail. I targeted seven miles to make this my longest run this year. The chilly, high 30’s temperature compelled me to pull my Opedix Knee-Tecs out of storage as well as a mid-weight quarter zip. All geared up, I headed out early because I knew it would take a while to get through this run.

I didn’t bother to drive to the park because last week they were still charging to use the lot. I went to our regular rendezvous spot and immediately took off south. I do most of my Bethpage runs north of Haypath Road, but lately I’ve been missing the old trail. I took off south and quickly got past the short, steep hill that greets runners about a third of a mile into that route.

This morning I read an article in Runners World that encouraged hill-haters to embrace them for their conditioning benefits. I tried to keep an open mind as I encountered one hill after another. The Bethpage bikeway is rolling, with a few challenging hills and a lot of elevation changes. Sometimes these lesser hills seem like bumps and other times they seem mountainous. It may have been the mindset I got from the article, but none seemed that bad today.

Record breaker

My longest run in 2015 had been about 6.4 miles, so my plan was to turn around after 3.5 to guarantee my seven. Since I went out early, I had the path pretty much to myself. I appreciated the sights, sounds and maple-y smells of the late fall morning. The few who were out on their runs were friendly, although there were two teams of three cyclists who didn’t quite get the concept of sharing the path. One of them passed me pretty closely and almost got the concept of my sharp elbow.

Despite my layers, I remained fairly comfortable as the temperature rose to low 40’s. It struck me that today’s run felt no more taxing than yesterday’s, even though that was less than half the distance. With four workouts this week and my personal best for distance, I’ll consider this a good week of running.

Rolling along at Bethpage on a perfect fall day

On November 9, 2015 By Emerging Runner8 Comments

Pretty, hilly

Today’s run (Bethpage bike trail): 6.1 miles

I’ve been thinking about my running this year. Even though I haven’t competed in a race since last December. I’m not missing racing. However, I do miss the discipline that comes with race training. As a result, my longest run this year has measured only 6.5 miles. When I was training for 10Ks and half marathons, my typical Sunday run would extend seven or more miles and go as long as 12. I’m not ready to commit to a half, but if I train like I’m going to run one, I may feel differently.

SIOR suggested a program called “Run Less, Run Faster” that is geared to people like me who have limited time to train during the week. I’m going to look into that plan, but I suspect it will expect me to run lots of intervals and hills. I did run some hills today and did fine with them. Intervals are okay, but I only enjoy them once I’ve finished.

My goal is to exceed my personal distance best (13.1 miles) that I’ve done on my half marathons. Technically, I would beat my personal best by running 13.11 miles, but my target is 14. People who run marathons may look at 14 miles merely as a stop along the way to 26.2. But every time I’ve finished a Half, I know I wouldn’t have been able to run that additional tenth of a mile.

I kicked off my long distance training this morning at Bethpage with a 6 mile run along the bike trail. I naively drove to the park thinking that they were no longer charging admission to the lot. I don’t begrudge the fee, but I didn’t have any cash so I turned around. My friend who mans the booth would probably have let me in, especially since I wasn’t with his sworn enemy SIOR.

I ended up parking on Runsketeer Road and ran south on the trail. I turned around at the point where the bike trail intersects with the main driveway into the park. I had already taken on the short but steep hill south of Haypath and was soon running up the big hill in the park. The crisp fall air, bright foliage and crunchy leaves on the trail made the climb tolerable. The bike trail is rolling, but that hill was the biggest challenge of the run.

I’d targeted 6 miles today, but I could have gone on a lot longer. I decided to stick with the plan and noted my distance as I passed my starting point. I did the math to determine how much farther I’d need to run before turning back. I ended up covering a little more than six miles.

If my schedule cooperates, I’ll go for seven miles next weekend. Perhaps the Runsketeers will join me and show me how it’s done.

Learning to love the run (again)

On August 2, 2015 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Friend of the devil

Today’s run (street): 3.2 miles
Saturday’s workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

We spent most of this weekend in the city and that somewhat altered my running schedule. We had to get downtown fairly early for a college tour, so I did a quick elliptical session before we headed out. I figured that the amount of walking we’d do would compensate for a longer run I would have done this weekend. I’m not sure that’s true, but we certainly covered a lot of ground up and down the streets of Manhattan. This morning we visited Madam Tussaud’s. Touristy but fun. I even got to hang with my buddy Jerry Garcia.

SIOR and family were also in town last night taking in different sights. It would have been fun to run into them. She did eight miles yesterday and 15 today. When I expressed my view about running that many miles (ugh) I was sharply rebuked. I decided to try to see her point and view summer running as a positive. When we got back home I decided to cap today’s city walking with three miles of afternoon running.

I had in my head that it would be an easy workout. It didn’t feel too hot when I started and I immediately began thinking about the experience. Was I enjoying this run or was I doing what was necessary to maintain my fitness? I realized then that I am coming up on seven years as a runner and wondered if my current view of running (necessary but not particularly fun) coincides with that span of time.

Is there such a thing as the seven year running itch? The point where you’re pretty much the runner you’re going to be? There aren’t a lot new experiences and surprises when you’ve run the same basic route 1,000 times. SIOR has been running a lot longer than me and she still looks forward to fifteen mile training runs. How do I get there?

I ran my route and, like always, thought about my arm position, stride and cadence. I still care about how I run and that was an important realization for me today. The heat and fatigue from a busy weekend eventually got to me and, although the run was short, it couldn’t have ended sooner. Perhaps I need to rethink my running goals and even sign up for another half marathon. It’s not about the race. It’s about the training that I need to do to look at 10+ mile runs as fun again.

Distance and dehydration

On June 14, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

I should have bought water at the farm stand

Today’s run (street): 5.75 miles

I managed to get out a little earlier this morning than I did on Saturday and it felt cooler and less humid. That was a good thing, because I ended up doing my longest run of 2015. I didn’t really have a distance target, but I knew I would be spending time on roads east of my neighborhood that would easily get me to 5 miles.

I’d originally thought that I’d cut through the area I call neighborhood #3 to get to the northern point of the Bethpage bike trail in Woodbury. I changed my mind during the run, opting instead to head for the business park to run the main loop. I did one rotation before making my way to neighborhood #3 and then followed Woodbury Road to my usual turnaround spot at Piquets Lane. I tagged the pole and took a selfie in front of a local farm.

By that time, I had passed the 40 minute mark. The heat and sun made me regret that I hadn’t brought water with me. I was pretty dehydrated and a little hungry. A gel would have been nice at that moment. I often bring a bottle on my long training runs at Bethpage, but I rarely do that when I’m running on local roads. With temperatures in the 80’s, I need to get in the habit of bringing water every time I run.

Today’s rambling route

I took it a little easier on my way back and had to be careful to avoid some slippery patches of mud on the sidewalk on Woodbury Road. I was surprised how quickly I made my way back home from there. I saw that I was approaching six miles, which would have been a good distance target. I didn’t make six, but I did come close.

I ended up covering 14 miles running this week, and also did a 30 minute elliptical session. It wasn’t the 18 miles I’ve averaged through the years, but I’m gaining distance every week. Next week I’ll look to go even longer. The Runsketeers are doing our June run next weekend. It’s always easier to cover long miles with my buddies.

Pride goeth before the run

On May 24, 2015 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Our patriotic flag courtesy of a local Realtor

Today’s run (street): 5.1 miles

The route

Happy Memorial Day weekend. I kicked off this morning’s run with a couple of bruises to my ego. My plan was to expand my route beyond my neighborhood and run in a nearby business park. I was five minutes into the run when I heard a cheery “Good Morning!” from a runner who’d come up and passed me like I was standing still. He was no kid either. I wanted to yell, “Hey, I’m slow because I have a herniated disc!”, but he was already out of sight. Plus the fact that my slowness has little to do with the disc issue at this point.

A couple of minutes later, I detected motion to my left and saw a teenage girl pass me by. She was really moving, smartly sticking to the sidewalks for safety. I’ve developed a fear of our neighborhood sidewalks, whose uneven surfaces have caused me to trip a few times. This young woman gracefully floated by with no apparent concerns about that happening.

After those experiences, I resigned myself to jogger status and settled into my run. I crossed the middle school field that leads to a path to the business park. I hadn’t decided whether to run one or two laps around the main loop because I’m still avoiding hills whenever I can. I went around once and followed that with a half loop before heading over to an adjacent neighborhood. The temperature felt even cooler than yesterday and there was a noticeable wind coming from the west.

Yesterday’s run felt much harder, but I had run a minute per mile faster on Friday. I didn’t worry about my pace (not that yesterday’s was anything to brag about) and that made the experience extremely enjoyable. In fact, I felt I could run all day until I was a quarter mile from home and began to fatigue. It’s been a long time since I’ve covered five miles and my conditioning reflected that. Still, it was my longest run this year, if only by a tenth of a mile.

Until I am fully free of my injury I’ll continue to focus on distance rather than speed. I’ve always found that when my base is solid, the speed will come. As long as I keep doing these long, easy runs, I should get myself back to a 6+ mile base by mid-summer. At that point I can decide whether I’m ready to think about performance and a possible late summer 10K.

Runsketeers at Bethpage, the long and the short of it

On May 18, 2015 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Humid and happy

Today’s run (Bethpage trail): 4 miles

In keeping with our plan to do at least one group run every month, the Runsketeers got together this morning on the Bethpage trail. SIOR and TPP were aiming for about eight miles and I wanted to do four. I met up with the speed twins halfway through their route which worked out perfectly.

The weather was very humid this morning, but not too hot at 8:00 AM. TPP and SIOR came through the Haypath Road trail head and we began running together at that point. Our plan was to go two miles north before our turnaround, which would get us to our targeted distance. We immediately found ourselves yelling to a runner that SIOR thought she knew.

Who she’d never met in person.
Who actually lives in Atlanta.
It wasn’t her.

Once the woman disappeared from our sight (I’m guessing she went in search of a restraining order) we settled into our run. I’m still at the slow end of the spectrum, but my buddies stuck with me for a while before opening up the throttle. They stopped and waited a few times for me along the way, and we were all running together when a guy passed on the opposite side and yelled, “Hey, Emerging Runner group!” It was Jonathan and his wife, who I’d met along the same trail about a year ago. We saw them later after our turnarounds.

I’m still recovering from my disc rupture, so I’ve been keeping my speed moderate to prevent re-aggravating my injury. Today’s 4 miler was an improvement over Friday’s experience. My stride is getting back to normal and my foot is no longer being mashed to the front each time I run. It feels like progress.

As tradition dictates, we headed over to Starbucks for our post-run café. I was the last to arrive and I walked in regretting that I didn’t bring a change of clothing. The humidity had soaked me like a sponge.

Apparently, the guy sitting next to TPP had been giving her a hard time before I got there. SIOR was explaining the situation to me as she helped me clean up coffee I’d spilled all over the counter because I still can’t open a Starbucks milk container correctly. I wasn’t sure what the full situation was, so I positioned myself between the guy and the Runsketeers when I sat down. Nothing happened, but I’m still curious to know the details.

We had our usual conversation that veered from subject to subject like a pool ball. All too soon, we needed to head out to meet our day’s obligations. I really had a great run today and also loved our part two. I can’t wait for our June outing!