Return to Brooklyn Half, without the Half

On August 20, 2015 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Post-finish, pre-tent spot

Today’s run (street): 3.6 miles
Yesterday’s workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

I’m on day 2 of my vacation and it’s been a nice break so far. Yesterday’s plans included a stop at Coney Island which looked a lot different from the last time I was there. That’s because the last time I was pounding along the boardwalk on my way the Brooklyn Half finish line.

My memories of that time consist of 1) walls of screaming people lining the street and boardwalk, 2) grabbing the first banana and cup of water I could find, 3) making my way through the crowd toward the big (decommissioned) parachute ride where my friends had gathered after they’d finished, and 4) being “triaged” in the medical tent by a bunch of bored EMTs.

Ahh, memories. No post race-type food on Thursday. Just good old Nathan’s. Before any of that, I did an elliptical session to maintain my goal of running or otherwise working out every day of this vacation. It was humid yesterday, so I did what I could to maintain airflow, opening windows and running the big fan at top speed. That helped but by the end, the humidity won.

This morning it was back to the road. Between the workout and all the walking yesterday, my legs felt like rubber. All the same (and probably due to consuming the equivalent of 20 Kw of carb energy at Nathan’s) I was ready to run. I did what I could to mix up the route and was pleased with how I ran, despite conditions that felt even more oppressive than on Wednesday.

Tomorrow is supposed be rainy, so I’ll probably be stuck inside with either the treadmill or the elliptical. If it’s misting or only lightly raining I may go for a run anyway. The humidity is brutal, but it always is in late August. I know it won’t be long until I’m back to running in long sleeves and wool running socks.

Neighborhood run and some kicks to the head

On August 15, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Today’s run (street): 4.6 miles
Yesterday’s workout (elliptical): 35 minutes

Another week has gone by and, once again, I squandered my chance to fit in a mid week run. My excuses are weak, I’ve been busy at work and Thursday’s commute home took 2 hours, leaving little time for a workout. I was concerned that I wouldn’t even have time to do anything exercise-related on Friday, even though I was working from home. I managed to fit in an elliptical session before dinner and felt better about my workout delinquency.

Although I count on my 3 to 4 mile Friday runs to jump start my weekend activity, I was perfectly fine deferring to the elliptical. I’m on vacation most of next week and I expect to run almost every day except for Tuesday, because I need to go into the office for an important meeting.

I got out this morning and had a nice run around some local roads. I’m still surprised when I look at my performance numbers that don’t match my perceived effort. If I ignore what the Garmin is saying, my runs feel the same as they always have. I spent a lot of time running around the northern end of the neighborhood and crossed paths a few times with a woman who was walking on the right side of the street. I refused to acknowledge her each time, because I get mad when people do that and I’m really petty.

My perpetual motion friends, SIOR and KWL, both did long runs through Manhattan and Queens today. I think they may have done different organized events. I would have joined them but I had a family obligation plus they were talking about 14 mile routes (as if). Conditions were pretty pleasant when I went out and I’m hoping that was also the case for them.

Earlier this week, my son came upon a bunch of old photographs of mine that have been in a box on a shelf for decades. Many of them were amusing, especially these three from the early 80’s of me sparring with a friend.

Standing sidekick

Jumping front kick

Reverse spinning crescent kick

I don’t think I’ll ever get that flexibility back, but I miss the workout. The above pictures were Tang Soo Do techniques. My preferred style is an Okinawan form called Uechi-ryu that doesn’t have big kicks. I can probably still do that. I’ve been thinking about going back to practicing some Uechi forms as a way to build anaerobic conditioning. I’m pretty sure I’ll prefer that to track repeats.

Cramming in my workouts

On August 7, 2015 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

The Dirty Sock route

Today’s run (street): 3.75 miles
Yesterday’s workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

During yesterday’s drive home I realized that I’d missed my morning workout window. I was facing another week with all my activity crammed into the last three days. I’m not likely to return to 4 AM weekday neighborhood runs, but I could run on the treadmill before getting ready for work on weekdays. And yet I don’t. As I crawled along the Cross Island Parkway, I made the decision to do a workout when I got home.

I took little time changing into workout clothes and considered both the treadmill and the elliptical for my workout. My thought process went like this: 1) “The treadmill is real running and the elliptical isn’t.” 2) “The treadmill gets my heart rate higher. I can change elevation and even simulate downhill running.” 3) “I hate the treadmill so I’m going to use the elliptical.” With that, I turned on the big fan and had a surprisingly enjoyable session.

This morning I was determined to get out earlier than I have done on previous Fridays. At 6:00 AM I told myself I’d go out at 7:00. At 7:00 I said 7:30. By the time I changed for my run and put on sunscreen it was 8:00. By the time my Garmin acquired a signal, it was almost 8:15. So once again I found myself in the prime hour for dodging recycling trucks.

The weather was promising, not too hot and hardly humid. I felt good from the start and that continued throughout the run. About halfway through my route, I saw a car coming from the other direction around a tight curve. I tucked in behind a landscaping truck until the car passed by. Coincidently, it was my landscaper’s truck and he was standing right there. We had a brief chat about how running and working in the heat kinda sucks and then I was on my way once again.

The rest of the run was relatively vehicle-free and the time went by quickly. I ran a little faster than I usually do, but it was still nothing to brag about. Tomorrow the Runsketeers will be taking to the trails to run the Dirty Sock course. It’s been over a year since I’ve run that route and I’m excited that my friends will be running it for the first time. I hope conditions will be cool and the path will be dry. It gets very humid around there in August and muddy trails are why the race is called the Dirty Sock.

Crabby on Friday, better today

On July 18, 2015 By Emerging Runner7 Comments

Don’t eat at Joe’s

Yesterday’s run (street): 3.5 miles
Today’s workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

I work from home most Fridays and that experience (no commuting or multiple meetings) usually provides a nice segue to the weekend. My responsibilities have ramped up in recent weeks and Fridays have become a blessing in terms of catch up time. Except for yesterday, where I started at the crack of dawn and didn’t stop until close to the crack of dusk.

My one concession to the Friday workday madness was to break away for a short time to do a neighborhood run. Once I was satisfied that I addressed some overnight business issues, I quickly changed into running gear and headed out the door. The humidity and temperature were both surprisingly low and I looked forward to a pleasant experience.

It’s much nicer running on Fridays without buses and school drop-off traffic. But the recycling manics remain. These guys drive their ten ton truck around my neighborhood streets like it’s a Porsche, exceeding the posted speed limit by 20 MPH and ignoring stop signs. Whenever I hear the roar and rattle of the truck, I make a beeline to the sidewalk. Even though there are 5+ miles of road in the neighborhood, I always end up encountering them at some point on my route.

Except for the truck, the run went fine. I had some slight breathing issues when I tried to push my pace, and I’m thinking that my aerobic threshold may have dropped over the last couple of years. If that’s the case, it would explain my measurable reduction in speed. I had hoped last weekend’s intervals would have gained me some improvement, but perhaps a mile of repeats at around 92% of max heart rate was not enough to make an impact.

Even with decent weather, I ended up feeling depleted. I had a fast shower and then it was back to work for the rest of the day. We had planned a family dinner last night at Joe’s ~~Crap~~ Crab Shack which recently opened in our area. We’d gone to one in Orlando years ago and had a great time. We all looked forward to this dinner.

I don’t know if I happened to be getting sick (perhaps my hard run and the long day standing in front of my laptop were responsible), but by the time we left the restaurant, I was feeling awful. The experience at Joe’s was interesting. Here is my recommendation: Don’t eat at Joe’s Crab Shack. At least don’t eat at the one in Westbury, NY.

We arrived at the place before the busy hour and although the room was more than half empty, we were told we’d have to wait for a table because they didn’t have enough servers. My wife wanted to leave, but we were all hungry and chose to stay, since they managed to “find room” for us in the back. This back area resembled the dining room of a highway truck stop circa 1973. The photo at the top shows the room full of invisible diners we needed to walk through to get to our table.

The greasy fish I had was terrible and no one else liked what they’d ordered. By the time we got home, I was feeling sick and had to lay down for a few minutes. I rallied enough to go out back for our Friday night fire pit and even managed enough of an appetite for a S’more. We have seen some interesting things on these nights, like an extremely porcine raccoon “sneaking by” atop the fence. Last night we were again dive bombed by a bat, who perhaps thought the pool was a pond.

This morning I was time-pressed because we had an early appointment at a local college. I probably could have fit in a short run, but I was still feeling iffy and decided to do today’s workout on the elliptical. Despite my opening windows on both ends of the room for air flow, it was humid as heck. Even so, the workout was pleasant. Some people don’t like the elliptical, but I do, mostly because it’s not a treadmill.

Tomorrow I’m heading to Massapequa Preserve to meet up for a Runska-run. I’m hoping that I’ll be in ready shape for the six miles I plan to cover. The heat and humidity are supposed to be off the charts, so I’m not planning to do these miles very fast.

Judgment day for hybrid running machines

On June 12, 2015 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Left to right: $2,000, $3,300, $9,300

Today’s run (street): 3.2 miles

Wednesday afternoon I participated in a debriefing session with fellow testers of the hybrid elliptical running machines. The machines had been removed from the testing lab a couple of weeks ago and I missed them. I was happy to see they were all back in place so we could refer to them in the discussion. It was interesting to hear what my my co-panelists thought about them since we were unable to share experiences during the test period. While we didn’t share the same opinions on everything, most of us agreed on the machine we liked the least.

A few young and very fit people complained that they couldn’t generate enough intensity on the machines to get a good workout. I rolled my eyes remembering my own experience unfolding myself from the units like a wet noodle after most of my testing sessions. I made the point to the group that I didn’t think any of the machines actually duplicated a real running experience. Most people seemed to agree. That isn’t to say that machines won’t provide a great workout. I personally couldn’t justify the exceedingly high cost of a fitness machine that isn’t much different from my rickety Pro Form CE 6.0.

I was so inspired by Wednesday’s discussion that I did an elliptical workout when I got home. I like ellipticals because I control them dynamically, unlike treadmills that have a mind of their own. After 30 minutes, with an outside temperature of 92°, I felt like I had all the intensity I could manage. Better still, the mild sciatica that I’d had through mid week seemed to be gone after I finished.

This morning I got out fairly early so I would beat the heat. I worked from home and needed to be back in time for a meeting that was being held using a Google Hangout. That meant I needed to look presentable even though I participated from the comfort of my home office-slash-fitness center. Early was a good call, because the heat really intensified over the short time that I ran.

I usually see other runners in the neighborhood on Fridays and weekends and today was no different. Besides the one young guy I always see no matter what day or time I run, the other runners were older (note to SIOR – even older than me. It’s possible). I reached a road at the same time as another man and we headed in the same direction. Unlike that time in November when I “won” the race and triggered six months of disc related pain, I didn’t take the bait. Instead I tucked in behind him until I reached my turnoff.

I’d like to think it was a relief for this guy not to have this hot shot runner on his tail, but he may not have even noticed. Owing to both the increasing heat and my limited time, I kept my distance to 3+ miles. I was almost home when I heard the familiar sound of my cell’s ring tone. I chose to ignore it, but when I finished my run I saw that I’d missed an important call.

Rather than take the time to shower or even towel off, I returned the call from my garage. It was amusing to have a deep business conversation while standing in my sweat soaked running clothes. But that’s what’s great about working from home. You can alternate between business and non-business activities when you have to – and wear running shorts while you’re at it.

Can I adapt to late day workouts?

On June 6, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Evening elliptical

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles

It wasn’t much, but I managed to get in a second weekday workout this week. I decided on Tuesday that I would get back to early morning activity, starting with a 4:00 AM elliptical session. Although I’d laid out my workout stuff the night before, I woke up with a sinus headache and didn’t want to deal with additional fatigue before a long drive to my office. I passed on the workout.

There’s a lot happening at work right now and the energy of the day (along with a well timed hit of nasal spray) put me in much better shape by the end of the workday. I decided to do my elliptical session when I got home, even though I don’t particularly like late day workouts. I had scheduled all my hybrid elliptical workouts in the mid-afternoon, so I was somewhat conditioned to the time.

My concern about doing a 6:00 PM workout was that I’d be too wound up at bedtime to fall asleep. That turned out to be a non-issue. In fact I had a great night’s sleep. I may aim for after-work runs and elliptical sessions going forward, rather than return to 4:00 AM workouts. I hope I can sustain the late day energy.

I worked from home today and got out during the time between middle school and elementary school drop-offs. It was nice to have relatively empty streets and the 55° temperature, cloudy skies and moderate humidity made for great running conditions. I wore my Spiras and I’m pretty convinced at this point that I run better in more minimal running shoes. I feel guilty having the expensive, well cushioned Saucony Triumphs because I don’t feel that I run that well in them.

Today’s run was really nice. Besides the good weather, I felt energized and seemed to be running better than usual. I naively expected to finish my run and see numbers that matched my pre-2015 performance. Compared to how I have been running, I did measurably better, with a :40 per mile improvement over last weekend. At the same time, I’m still over a minute per mile slower than I was in early 2014.

I’m thinking about a Bethpage run tomorrow morning and, if I’m up to it, I’ll aim to do my longest run in 2015.

Somewhere between running and not really running

On April 24, 2015 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Running-ish

Workouts this week (running fitness machines): 60 minutes
Today’s workouts (treadmill): 1 mile plus (elliptical): 20 minutes

I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a test of fitness machines that mimic the motion of running. Unfortunately, I can’t share the brands or models until after the study is completed. At this point I’m thinking that the only fitness machine that actually makes you feel like you’re running is a treadmill. However, if you keep an open mind, these machines can provide a great workout.

The concept of running comes up a lot in discussions about the test subjects. It’s probably more accurate to look at these fitness machines as variations on an elliptical trainer. If you don’t like ellipticals, your opinion won’t change much when using this new design. Runners who do like elliptical machines will probably appreciate the key differentiator: user controllable stride length.

I’ve had orientation sessions using three different machines that have provided distinctly different experiences. On the positive side, the lack of impact produces a pain-free workout. Each machine approaches the motion of running differently and my acclimation to the “running” process varied greatly, based on the design. Not so positively, I’ve noticed a slight pain in one heel and at the side of one knee, although this may not be related to testing. I had a stand up desk installed in my office and have been on my feet a lot more this week.

High stand-ards

The pain from my herniated disc has noticeably diminished but hasn’t disappeared. My orthopedist has once-again canceled my follow up appointment, so I need to look into finding a different doctor. The improvement I’ve been seeing is encouraging, but I suspect that it may still hurt if I try another road run,

I decided to test the waters with a one mile treadmill run this morning. The forgiving and flat surface provided the best possible scenario for protecting my injured disc. I feared that the pain in my upper thigh that made Saturday’s run a torture session would reappear. The pain didn’t return, but my gait felt awkward throughout the entire session. I followed the treadmill run with 20 minutes on the elliptical, making it a well balanced, moderate workout. I may hit the road tomorrow and I hope it doesn’t hit back.

Running without gravity

On April 20, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Can’t resist (’cause there’s no resistance)

Today’s workout (elliptical): 36 minutes

After yesterday’s difficult run, I was worried how my leg and hamstring would feel in the morning. I’d violated my doctor’s no-hills rule and expected at least some soreness. Surprisingly enough, I felt great. That encouraged me to consider another run today. Mrs. ER debated the merits of doing that and suggested that I use the elliptical. I agreed and had a decent, pain-free session that didn’t produce any post-workout soreness.

Today is my birthday and while I generally don’t like to make a big deal of it, I do like our family tradition of celebrating with a nice lunch. I’m not talking kindai maguro at Le Bernardin. More like Japanese Pan Udon at Noodle & Company. It was a nice simple meal on a beautiful day.

After lunch, we stopped by SA Elite because I’ve been looking for a pair of lightweight track pants to replace my six year old C9’s that were ugly when I bought them and have not improved with age. There were few options that fit the bill (or my size) so I ended up taking a pass. I’m participating in a test of “running machines” – hybrid fitness equipment that supposedly provides a “zero gravity” running effect. I wanted new track pants so I wouldn’t have to wear shorts in an office environment.

I’ll be curious to see how close these machines come to simulating real running. I’m really hopeful that it will provide that experience while providing protection for my current disc injury. I won’t be able to provide many details until the results of the testing have been published, but I will report on whether it’s helping with my recovery.

The lost workout

On April 12, 2015 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Onion volcanoes and warm sake –
Emerging Sister-In-Law (L), Mrs. Emerging Runner (R)

Today’s workout (elliptical): 45 minutes

In the almost-seven years that I’ve been running, I’ve prided myself on my meticulous process to record workout metrics. I can look back on Garmin Connect to see the detail about every run and elliptical session that I’ve done since early 2010. If I want to go back further than that, I can look at MapMyRun stats, or see my earliest running data on the Nike+ site. I also have years of Daily Mile records that capture different information like shoe mileage.

In addition to all this, I can look at the Emerging Runner archives for measured mileage on every run. All this data recording takes time, and over the last year my record keeping has gone from meticulous to casual. I stopped recording my runs in Daily Mile last July and most of the time I don’t even wear my Garmin when I’m on the elliptical. It’s because of this that I cannot remember whether I did a workout on Friday.

I’ve been on vacation this week, but my time off has been more busy than relaxing. On top of that, I needed to go into my office on Wednesday. That made this vacation more like a couple of long weekends. Friday afternoon my brother and his family came to stay for a few days and my dad and his wife came out on Saturday afternoon. Later we went out to a local hibachi place and had a great time, but I don’t recommend the lukewarm sake administered via a squeeze bottle.

With all that going on, I didn’t have the opportunity to do a workout on Saturday, because our guest room is also our fitness room. It’s also my office. Maybe we should take page from the local elementary school and call it the multi-purpose room.

So I may have done an elliptical session on Friday morning. I know I did a workout this afternoon. My pain from the herniated disc has been manageable, although it does give me a small zap if I move my leg in a certain way. I’ve been applying heat and that seems to help. It’s no worse after today’s elliptical session than it was before I started.

My biggest concern is that I’m returning to a week of commuting. That means three hours a day sitting in a driving position. I’m convinced that driving has been a factor in this disc compression. My standing desk (or as they put it, “stand up desk adaptation”) gets installed on Monday. I’m hoping that will help me counteract all that drive time. I’ll know more about the problem on Friday after my MRI.

Disc error

On April 10, 2015 By Emerging Runner8 Comments

I discovered I’m not a diagnostician after meeting with a real orthopedist this afternoon. He shot down my piriformis theory in about two seconds. I went to the same office that screwed up my appointment last time because it’s five minutes from my house and convenience counts. This time the doctor was in. I was curious to find out the true cause of the sciatic pain that I’ve had since early December. After chilling (literally) for 30 minutes in the freezing checkup room, the doctor came in and started asking questions.

After a quick check of the source of the pain, he said, “I think it’s your back.” He took some X-rays and we looked at the results that showed that my hips and pelvis looked fine. I must say I photograph well from the inside. Then we looked at the spinal view where he pointed out compression in my lowest segment – a herniated disc. The disc problem was putting pressure on the sciatic nerve that makes it feel like the injury originates from a lower place.

I asked the doctor if this meant no more running. He said that running wouldn’t do any harm, but I should avoid hills. Yay! The doctor also suggested that I run on a soft, flat surfaces like the track or the treadmill. What he really recommended was to lay off running and focus on the elliptical for the time being. He showed me some stretches that would be beneficial and suggested I keep heat on my lower spine as much as I could.

I’m going back next week to get an MRI. I’ll follow his orders, especially the one about not running hills. I think I can do that one really well. I told the doctor that I’d read that trail running helps injuries because the soft dirt and the constantly changing surface supports many different muscles. He said trail running’s fine, but don’t run hills. So much for Stillwell.

I have my heating pad working and I’ll run through the stretches tomorrow. I’ll stick to the elliptical for now and sneak a treadmill run in when I can. The good news is that I don’t have any torn muscles, tendons, or – apparently – piriformis syndrome.