LSD at Bethpage, the legal kind

On March 5, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 8.25 miles

I wanted to go for an LSD run this morning so I headed over to Bethpage State Park. I’d assumed with the warmer temperatures that the park had finally opened its bike trail. As soon as I reached the golf course saw a runner on the path beyond the (formally) gated entrance. I knew then that I’d be able to get in and run. No one was manning the toll house when I drove up, usually a good thing because it means no park fee, but I’d planned to buy an Empire Passport today. Oh well, free admission at least.

I’d worn shorts for the first time since October, along with a half zip and my lightweight running rain jacket as a top layer. It was 47 degrees with threatening skies so I decided to wear the jacket even though it can get hot. I figured that my plan to run long, but slowly, would prevent me from becoming overheated. I started up the steep hill where the bike trail begins and looked at the Garmin to make sure that I was running no faster than my planned pace. I’ve only averaged 3.75 miles per run since December, primarily due to all the snow we’ve had. I need to build back my base in preparation for my half marathon in May.

Runners outnumbered cyclists on the path although I saw plenty of both as I made my way along the trail. Running slowly was a treat, the hills didn’t matter much and I was able to think about many things instead of focusing on my turnover and speed. I was passed by a few runners and I wanted to shout to them “I’m not really this slow, I’m doing LSD!” Actually that would not be a good thing to yell. Still, I began to feel the workout at around mile 5 of my planned eight.

I gave in to my natural pace and ran the last two miles under 10:00 per mile and completed 8.3 miles averaging 10:10. It was great to run a longer distance after being constrained to the streets of my neighborhood for months. I’m not sure if I’ll do a run of 13 or more miles before the RXR Half Marathon but today’s 8 was a good start.

A pace I can live with

On February 13, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.12 miles

Yesterday afternoon I updated the firmware on my Garmin FR60 which reset the watch to its factory settings. I was happy that I had the foresight to upload this week’s runs to Garmin Connect before I did the upgrade or they would have been lost to the ages. I restored all the settings and preferences but I neglected to re-pair the watch to the foot pod. When I went out for my run this morning I hit the start button and didn’t think much about it. A few minutes into the run I looked at the display and saw it was tracking time but not distance and I realized that I hadn’t paired the unit. I figured I’d just Gmap the route I ran and calculate pace later, based on the recorded time.

I recently had a similar experience when I saw that I hadn’t started the Garmin after I’d begun to run. I ran most of my route knowing that my speed and distance weren’t being captured and that was both annoying and liberating. Today I felt better when I discovered the problem because at least I had captured the run time. I decided to forget about pace, speed, etc., and just ran free for 30-40 minutes. I took it easy because that was what I’d originally intended for this run — a short version of LSD. About 30 minutes into the run I was feeling like I could run all day and it occurred to me that I should think about a pace that I could maintain comfortably for a half marathon.

Today’s pace was 9:53. Not fast but manageable over long distances. It would be good (psychologically) to average below 10 min/mile for the half marathon. The challenge of running a half under two hours is much greater — I’d need to average 9:09 or better to do that. I’ll work on my distance as much as I can from here on. With the temperatures moving toward the 50’s I might get the first chance in a while to do a long run at Bethpage next weekend.

Last outside run before the blizzard

On January 11, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.6 miles

Snow is coming. We’re not sure how much we’ll get but estimates for my area are in the 8″-12″ range. I like snow but I don’t like the commuting problems that come along with major storms. My other issue is that snowstorms make the roads and trails impassible and that forces me to run indoors. On the bright side, I can look out the window and watch the snowy scene as I run on the treadmill.

Knowing that tomorrow’s run will likely be indoors, I made sure I got outside this morning. At 3:50 AM the temperatures are usually at their lowest point of the day and I’m often tempted to overdress to prevent the initial shock of transitioning from 68 degrees in the house to 20 degrees outside. I got it right this morning and went out feeling cold, but comfortable, starting slower than normal but picking up the pace by the minute. Unlike Sunday I remembered to start the Garmin and had even adjusted the calibration on the foot pod before my run. After reaching what I was sure was a mile I glanced at the watch that only showed .91 miles and that surprised me. I later mapped my route on Gmaps to see that even after the calibration adjustment I had covered 5% more distance than the Garmin recorded. I was actually happy to see that because it meant my overall pace was in line with the way I felt while running.

Today’s run actually felt very good. I had none of the leg heaviness or low energy response that plagued me on Saturday and at the beginning on my run on Sunday. I’m holding out hope that the snow will wait just long enough to let me get out for another run tomorrow morning. The chance of that happening is low but you never know.

Tough going on snowy roads

On January 8, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.1 miles

With all the attention that I’ve been giving to running a half marathon you’d think I’d been working hard to build up my base mileage. Between August and November I was doing a good job of mixing distance runs into my weekly training schedule and I credit that work to achieving consecutive PR’s on my last two 10K’s. I had a few high mileage weeks between Thanksgiving and early December but since my 10.2 mile run at Bethpage on 12/11 I’ve only done one run that exceeded 6 miles. I can blame that (somewhat) on feeling under the weather mid December after my flu shot and then dealing with actual weather obstacles (snow) between Christmas and New Year. The snow prevented easy access to higher distance locations like Bethpage and Stillwell on the weekends.

I went out this morning with the intention of covering 3-5 miles. After yesterdays snowfall the streets are fairly clear for cars but it’s still somewhat icy for foot traffic. I figured I could run safely without a sidewalk escape path if I was extra vigilant and I had no issues with the local traffic today. It was 25 degrees outside when I started my run and I dressed appropriately. I took the first mile slow, partially because I didn’t feel that energetic and partially due to the icy, snowy layer underfoot. I think that the constant but slight adjustments for balance tired me out quicker than I’d expected. I found a pace that I could sustain without too much trouble and after winding through a number of streets I reached my house after covering 4.1 miles.

It was one of the toughest 4 mile runs I can recall, far more taxing than some I’ve done at twice the distance. I hope the temperature rises above the freezing mark and melts the ice enough to make tomorrow’s run a little more stable. Of course we’re hearing about more snow tonight so I may end up working out indoors on Sunday. I’m really hoping that won’t be the case.

Double digit run – a new personal distance record

On December 11, 2010 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park) 10.2 miles

The weather has been freezing this week and Sunday is supposed to be rainy. Although it’s a busy Saturday I wanted to make sure that I took advantage of today’s weather to get in some base-building distance. I briefly considered lots of loops around the neighborhood before heading to Bethpage State Park to run the bike trail. I’ve been wanting to break my distance record for a contiguous run (8.5 miles) and most miles in a day (9). Bethpage was a better place to try that.

It was a chilly 29 degrees at 8:00 AM when I started my run and I was tempted to run at a faster pace than I’d planned. I intended to run down to the Massapequa Preserve to a spot that I’d measured on Google Earth to be five miles from the trail start at Bethpage. That would allow me to complete an out-and-back total of ten miles. Once I’d passed the first mile I had warmed up enough to be comfortable. I kept my pace moderate to reserve enough energy for the final miles of this rolling course. The first four miles came fairly quickly and before I knew it I was crossing over the Southern State where the Massapequa Preserve starts. I ran that part of the trail until my Garmin chirped 5 miles and I reversed direction for the second half of my run.

There were many runners on the path this morning, lots of high school cross country runners in bunches. I noticed that the quarter mile markings on the path didn’t align to my Garmin and after two or three comparisons I realized that my foot pod was off by .08 each mile. Over 10 miles that added up to about .8 miles so I knew I’d need to make that distance up at the end if I wanted to claim a true 10. By mile eight I was really feeling the workout. I had no doubt of the outcome but I was dreading the big hill at the end. I got up the hill in better shape than I’d expected and I finished the run with a few long loops around the lot that brought me confidently past the 10 mile mark. Just for good measure (pardon the pun) I ran until the Garmin read 11 miles, but I’m considering today’s distance to officially total 10.2 miles.

A full day for both mind and body

I was wiped out after that run but today’s schedule had little downtime. My wife, kids and I spent the middle of the day at the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Learning Center where we attended a class on the sense of smell. My son attended camp there this summer and we all had a great time. I’m thinking I’ll sleep well tonight. So now that I’m in double digits for my personal distance record, maybe a half marathon isn’t such an aspirational goal.

Some new perspective on performance goals

On November 30, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.75 miles

I’ve been thinking about my running focus for 2011 and my goals for next year. I’d like to increase the length of my runs and also work on tactical performance. In terms of distance, I’ve been averaging between 6 and 7 miles for my weekly “long” runs and in the last month I’ve done some runs exceeding 8 miles. Lately my weekend distances have been closer to six miles due to my running 10K’s twice in November. My hope is to soon cover more distance than that – 9 or 10 miles – as often as I can. The toughest part of that is finding the time to run for 90+ minutes and to find interesting routes that provide enough distance.

In terms of tactical performance, I’ve thought about the way I’ve trained over the last month, with easy runs at easy paces preparing for races where I go all-out. It seems to be working. My average training runs have been on the middle and high side of 9:00 per miles but I’ve managed 9:05 and 8:53 respectively on my recent 10K’s. I’d like to continue the easy runs (like this morning’s steady run at 9:30/mile) but in place of races (I’m not sure if I’ll compete again this year) I might try some “Run as fast as you can for two miles” workouts. Rather than suffering the complexities of speed drills I’m thinking this might accomplish the mission of recruiting fast twitch muscles along with the slow. I’m going to make it a goal to run two miles under 8:00 per mile. That seems like a challenging but viable goal. Right now I’m not sure I can break 8:00 for one mile although my experience at the Long Beach 10K tells me I’m close.

Six good miles and one hurting shin

On November 28, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 6.07 miles

Every time I have a bad run I fear that I’ll never run well again. After yesterday’s difficult time at Stillwell Woods I questioned whether it would make better sense to take two days off and resume my training on Tuesday. I’ve been away from the office for three days and while I’ve run each day I haven’t really covered much distance. I wanted to reach 20 miles this week so I planned to go out for 5 miles that would get me to that number. It was 29 degrees on Long Island so I wore a light short sleeved running shirt under a Columbia long sleeve jersey and together they provided a perfect combination of warmth and wicking for that temperature. I followed a different set of roads than I normally do and before I knew it I had covered 2.5 miles and was feeling good. However, I began to notice some pain in my left shin. This may be a shin splint – I’m happy to say I’ve never experienced one before – but the pain was not intense and I didn’t feel like I was doing any damage if I continued to run.

I shaped my route so that I would return to my house after 5 miles but I felt strong and continued on, following an extra loop that put my total at 6 miles. I’m icing my shin in hopes of heading off further troubles. I’m puzzled as to why I would develop this problem this week but you never know how these things start. I’ll be watching this injury closely and perhaps take an extra day of rest this week. For now I’m pleased with my run today, especially after yesterday’s bad experience.

Running: street, trail and marathon

On November 7, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run: 5 miles (street) plus 1 mile (Stillwell Woods)

It was all about running today. NBC’s coverage of the NYC Marathon started at 6 AM and we watched just about all of it. I was very pleased that Shalane Flanagan took second place in the woman’s race and that she also won the US Marathon championship. She’s a great competitor and she ran a great race. The men’s race was disappointing with Haile Gebrselassie dropping out around mile 16 and Meb Keflezighi, Dathan Ritzenhein, Tim Nelson and Jorge Torres all missing podium spots although Keflezighi and Ritzenhein both finished in the top ten. It was fun to spend the morning following the race. The athlete tracking service that allowed you to follow friends along the race failed so I couldn’t keep current with marathoners FS and James. I did manage to see FS through the 5K checkpoint and James through 10K before the system went down.

Before the start of the race I went out for 5 easy miles. It was 37 degrees and sunny at 8:00 AM and I couldn’t have asked for better conditions. I purposely started slowly and picked up the pace after one mile. I toggled between brisk and easy paces throughout the run and I was close to home when I reached the 4 mile mark. Instead of heading to my house I decided to extend the run and added a mile to make it a tidy 5. After lunch we headed for Stillwell Woods and me and my daughter ran a loop on the dirt trail around the big field. We encountered a couple of dogs running off leash that made my daughter very uncomfortable. I strongly suggested to the dog’s owner that he leash the dogs or at least teach them to stay away from people they don’t know. He apologized and in truth his dogs were only playing but it’s not right to assume everyone has a comfort with dogs. Hopefully he’ll consider more training.

It’s been a great weekend. The extra hour from Daylight Savings Time certainly helped make today a full day.

8 miles at Bethpage, NYC Marathon Expo visit

On November 6, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Fun time at the NYC Marathon Expo

Today’s run (Bethpage State Park): 8.34 miles

After two days off from running I returned to Bethpage State Park today for a morning run with Dave. I had battled a cold over the last couple of weeks but I did run a number of times while I went through it. I chose to rest on Thursday and Friday to prevent a relapse. We met at the start of the bike trail and noted the chill. I wore my Champion pants that offer slight compression and my Thriv short sleeve running shirt. I wasn’t comfortable as we began but I knew it wouldn’t take long until I warmed up. We both wore gloves because it’s hard to keep them warm even as your body heats up from the run.

We adopted a comfortable pace, neither brisk nor slow, and moved along the route feeling good. The fall air is a runner’s gift and we both appreciated it. We reached the 4 mile mark before we realized we’d covered any significant ground and continued over the Southern State to Linden Street where we turned around for the run back. At around the 6 mile mark Dave started getting stronger and I started feeling the effects of the run. That’s the difference between us in terms of base. About .75 miles before the end Dave went for the hard finish and I set my mind on getting past the hill at the end. I ran hard considering my level of energy and I came in about half a minute after Dave. It was great to run for the first time since Wednesday and we covered over 8 miles in the process. Next week we’ll both compete in the Run for Warriors 10K.

New Balance Minimus

Philip Hahm, Puma Faas designer

Yesterday I made my way to Jacob Javitts Center to experience this year’s NYC Marathon Expo. It’s a running geek’s dream, the hall is HUGE as is the variety of vendors. After checking out the Brooks, NB, Mizuno, Adidas, Saucony, Newton and Paragon booths (plus the ASICS booth that is not much smaller than our local Target store) I sampled PowerBar, GU, Odawalla, Gatorade and other energy snacks. I stopped by Puma and spoke with Philip Hahm, the designer of the new Faas 500 running shoe. Interesting design, but it seemed more for a heel striker than mid-foot running. At the NB booth they showed a prototype of their new Minimus, a version created with Vibram (maker of the 5 Fingers sock-shoes). I like the Vibram concept but dislike the look of the separated toes. The Minimus looks like the perfect alternative.

Bart Yasso (l), Matt Long (r)

Grete Waitz (center in blue)

Sarah Stanley speaks

Untramarathoner Josh Cox

At the Runner’s World booth I met Bart Yasso, Chief Running Officer for the magazine and author of the book “My Life on the Run.” I read that book this summer and found it a good read. I also met Matt Long, author of “The Long Run”, a book about his experience recovering from a near fatal accident (he was hit by a bus while riding his bike in NYC) and came back to run the marathon. I listened to ultramarathoner Josh Cox speak and also heard ultrarunner Sarah Stanley talk about her mission to educate kids on living a healthy life. Just before I returned to the office I met Grete Waitz, 9 time winner of the NY Marathon and silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics. It’s a big bang for the buck — free shuttle buses between mid-town to the Expo, free admission, lots of cool stuff to see and sample. I only wish I was part of the crowd that’s there to run in the big event on Sunday. I probably won’t ever get there, but at least I can get to the Expo.

Off schedule run

On October 17, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.8 miles at 9:21

I had appointments all morning and after that we spent the day celebrating my son’s birthday. That threw off my running schedule and I didn’t get out until a little after 5:00 PM. I’m definitely a morning runner in terms of energy peak but I’ve read numerous articles that claim performance is generally better between 4-8 PM. This is supposedly true for everyone, regardless of when they normally train. I was curious about that when I set off in 50 degree weather that was ideal but for the strong breezes coming from the west. I followed a different route than normal, just for the change.

Despite being somewhat tired from the day, I was moving along well and was surprised by how quickly I reached the first mile. I managed to string together enough roads to total 4.8 miles before finishing. Not too many people were out at this hour and those that I did see were walking their dogs. I was happy to have completed a Saturday run but I felt bad that I didn’t even cover 5 miles. I could have easily run another quarter mile but when I got close to home I decided to call it a workout. I’m planning a morning run at Stillwell tomorrow and I think I’ll aim for the more distance. I may also take on some of the challenging paths that I’ve avoided the last few times I’ve run there.