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.

When hearts attack

On January 23, 2014 By Emerging Runner20 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

It was 8° outside when I was ready to run this morning. Between the extreme cold and roads that were coated with icy-snow, I had no choice but to use the treadmill. I have accepted that I’m no longer hardcore and I’m okay with that. My workout today was nothing special: A moderate start and a hard finish. But by the end, I was glad to have run for the first time since Tuesday.

After I finished my workout, I looked at my email and saw a note from my friend M. I was shocked to read that he’d suffered a heart attack the weekend before New Year’s. M is a runner and triathlete and the day before this attack he’d played two hours of full court basketball. I immediately thought of Dave, an occasional running partner, also fit, who had a heart attack during a race a couple of years ago.

Interestingly, I had introduced Dave to M at the Dirty Sock 10K that we all ran last August and we talked about Dave’s experience. Dave had recovered so well by then that he beat my time by almost seven minutes. M has quickly bounced back from his heart attack. Unbelievably, he is running again. In fact he’s planning to compete in this weekend’s Winter Run Series at Caumsett State Park.

It’s scary to think that dedicated runners like Dave and M would be candidates for a heart attack, but it’s also reassuring to see how quickly they were both able to recover. We tell ourselves that an active lifestyle will keep us healthy and I have no doubt that’s true. But other factors can tip the scales and these things sometimes happen. Even so, I firmly believe the reason why M and Dave came through their experiences so strongly is because of the conditioning they got from running.

Angels, devils and blogger buddies

On January 11, 2014 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill): 5.25 miles

I looked outside this morning and saw that the wind was blowing hard and puddles were forming on the roads. The rain was moderate, but I was concerned that if I went outside to run, I could get caught in a downpour. I weighed the pros and cons of that situation and decided to take the drier path. A few minutes later, the rain intensified and I felt a little better about my choice.

Wet, wind and fog this morning

Even though I knew it was going to be a soggy day, I wanted to keep an open mind about getting outside. The reason for this came from two blogger buddies whose opinions I greatly value. In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the rain would probably put me back on the treadmill today. TPP commented that I should face up to it and do at least four miles on the machine. SIOR suggested that the three of us do our runs in the rain. I’m not sure if she meant that as an esprit de corps-type exercise or because misery loves company.

I thought about the image of an angel and devil on my shoulder, with TPP saying, “it doesn’t matter if you use the treadmill, just get in the extra miles” while SIOR counters, “don’t be a wimp, run outside in the rain.” I’m not naming the angel and devil in this scenario.

I ended up on the treadmill and covered 5.25 miles, according to the machine’s display. As much as I disparage the treadmill (I think treadmill bashing annoys my wife, who has no issues running daily on the machine) I’ll admit that it wasn’t too bad today. It may have had to do with my mindset, knowing I’d be covering at least five miles. Unlike my usual treadmill experience where I’m ready to explode from boredom by the three mile mark, I passed through that point feeling good that 2/3 of the workout had been completed.

I’m pleased to have completed my longest run of 2014 and I don’t feel too guilty about avoiding the wet and windy conditions. Tomorrow promises to be a better day, with a high of 43° and sunny skies. That will be perfect weather for my first outside run since New Year’s Day. If the ground is dry, I might even consider a run on the trails.

LIRRC Hangover with the Runsketeers

On January 1, 2014 By Emerging Runner7 Comments

Hangover gang (from left: L, ER, TPP, SIOR)

Photo courtesy of LIRRC.ORG

Today’s run (LIRRC Hangover Run): 5 miles

It’s always great to start off the year with a good run and that was certainly the case today. For the third consecutive year, I participated in the LIRCC 5 Mile Hangover Run. Unlike the past two years, I was accompanied this morning by running buddies SIOR and the Petite Pacer (TPP). We even had a guest Musketeer, L, who SIOR knew from a prior race. Even though we ran at different paces, it was fun to do this together.

The Hangover event consists of five laps around a one mile course. Although the four of us started at the same time, SIOR and L quickly put some distance on me and TPP. Left to run her own pace, TPP could have easily kept up with the other two (no one was focusing on performance this morning), but she stayed with me through the first couple of miles.

It was very cold, but we all dressed for that. The wind from the south chilled my hands and face, but after a couple of miles of running, I was sufficiently warm. TPP picked up her pace and then waited for me to catch up a couple of times, but then switched to overdrive for the remainder of the run. It was fun to see SIOR and L gaining ground the other side of the loop. By time I completed my fourth mile they were coming up on 4.5 miles.

My fastest laps were my first and fifth, both done around 9:20. My overall time was 48:34, just a few seconds off last year’s finish time. The others had finished a few minutes before me and when I crossed the line, TPP asked if I wanted to go around again. I was pretty much done with running at that point. We headed toward the New Year’s cake which, combined with a cup of instant coffee, tasted like heaven.

Post run refueling

After that, the four of us visited Starbucks, the official clubhouse of the Runsketeers (I just renamed us). As much as I loved the run, the après-run conversation was the highlight of the morning. All too soon it was time to leave. When I got home, my wife and kids had prepared all the fixings for tacos. It was a perfect way to refuel from a great New Year’s Day morning. Happy New Year!

Layering up for the Hangover

On December 31, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Too much?

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles

The old Scandinavian proverb, “There’s no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing” is especially true for runners. This morning was so cold that I considered staying inside for my run. My wife was on the treadmill at the time so I would have needed to wait for her to finish. We had morning plans, so to save time I decided to brave the weather and dress “appropriately.”

I added another upper layer just before heading outside. It’s always tricky to find a balance that works. Races are hard, when you’re by yourself and there’s no place to keep warm before the race begins. I generally dress for my second mile. That can be uncomfortable unless I’m able to park close to the starting line and stay in my car until race time. Training runs, like today, are easier to manage because you can start as soon as you step outside.

That extra layer kept me comfortable from the beginning. I wasn’t looking to run at race pace which would have put me into overheating territory. It wasn’t until near the end that I really began to heat up. Flipping back my glove mittens to expose my fingers helped introduce enough cooling to counteract that heat. That got me through the remaining half mile.

Tomorrow is New Year’s day and, for most people, it’s a recovery day after staying up very late. But for me and my two other Musketeers (and possibly a fourth) we’ll be gathering in the morning at Eisenhower Park for the LIRRC Hangover Fun Run. The distance is supposed to be 5 miles but we may be going for a few extra. Our speediest-keteer is looking to cover ten.

I’ve done the Hangover event for the past couple of years and both mornings were very cold. The temperature at tomorrow’s 9:30 AM start is predicted to be 27°, with winds making it feel like 19°. Since this isn’t a race, I’ll probably error on the side of too many layers. Just as the Norwegians say, “Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær.”

Good friends and good food force a high resistance workout

On December 26, 2013 By Emerging Runner10 Comments

You’re getting sleepy…

Today’s workout (elliptical): 40 minutes, high resistance

Yesterday’s run was tough, but things got better as the day went on. We spent a good part of the day (and night) with some friends who were hosting a Christmas Day party. Their kids and ours have known each other practically since birth and everyone had a great time. I had what was probably my fifth – and last – beer of 2013. It was an exceptional Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter that (happily) didn’t make me sleepy. When it comes to alcohol, I’m a real lightweight.

An evening of food and fun made me reconsider taking a rest day today. High calorie desserts come at a price and I had to pay the piper. I decided that the elliptical would be a nice alternative to another freezing run outside, or a boring treadmill run inside. Yesterday my legs felt heavy and I thought the elliptical, with its resistance dialed up, could tax my muscles in a different way.

We will have a full house this weekend, with my brother and his family and my mother and her friend staying at Chez Emerging Runner. I’m going to try to get 4-6 miles in tomorrow and that will leave only six more to complete before Tuesday, in order for me to reach my 900 mile target for 2013. I’m excited to have our guests coming and I’m also looking forward to running the LIRRC Hangover Fun run with the other two Musketeers on 1/1.

Seven miles of fun on the GLIRC Clubhouse Run

On December 14, 2013 By Emerging Runner9 Comments

Group shot just before the start

Photo courtesy of SIOR and GLIRC

Today’s run (GLIRC Clubhouse run): 7.4 miles

Well the snow came a little earlier than expected, but it didn’t interfere with today’s club run in the least. I arrived at the Greater Long Island Running Club (GLIRC) office just before 8:00 AM this morning and saw that I was almost late to the party. My friends TPP and SIOR were there among the assemblage of colorfully dressed participants. After some quick hellos and a group picture, we were all off and running.

The three of us followed the group and headed out of the business park onto the bike trail. It’s a hilly section from that point to the turn onto Washington Ave. Although I had good energy at the start, I worried about how I’d be feeling after many more miles. SIOR and TPP are both speedy runners, but they maintained a pace that I could sustain with some effort.

We chatted with other runners as we made our way south and came under the LIE overpass at Washington Ave. We crossed the road and found ourselves on a wooded trail that roughly parallels the bike trail. The snow had covered the sidewalk that led to the paved path, so it was confusing where to go. A little diversion into the woods was unexpected and appreciated at different levels by the three of us. The ice and roots on the path made the going treacherous.

We came out at Old Country Rd and continued on the paved path that rose for a while and proved a little challenging for me. Unlike the last time we ran together, today was more of a workout (though not much of a challenge to my friends). I found it hard to maintain a conversation at times, but we did have our moments. We took the run past Old Bethpage Rd and as far south as Haypath. As we drew close, many of the returning runners warned us of black ice further down.

I struggled to keep up with my friends who were gracious about waiting for me to catch up from time to time. They were probably running one or two minutes slower than their normal training pace, except for periods where they opened the throttle for a few minutes. I was challenged but I didn’t reach the point where I felt I was over matched or wished the run was done.

When we turned north from Washington Ave I knew we were close, but I also knew the toughest hills were coming. I took on the first hill with a pace slightly better than a fast walk. SIOR had no trouble burning up that hill as well as the ones that followed. TPP stopped to walk and I stopped with her. She will occasionally do that for 30 second periods and it’s a good strategy. I probably delayed her a little, but once we saw SIOR at the top of a hill we returned to running form.

TPP and SIOR took on the remainder of the hills at a brisk pace and I followed. We reached Sunnyside Boulevard and made our way back to GLIRC HQ where they hosted an amazing spread of post race goodies. After indulging in some high carb treats, TPP, SIOR and I headed over to Starbucks for coffee and conversation. Given the greater effort on today’s run that made it less conversation-friendly, we still had a lot to catch up on.

Post run – (from left), SIOR, ER, TPP

Photo courtesy of SIOR

It was a really fun time and it’s the perfect way for me to do group running. The next adventure for “The Three Musketeers” will be the LIRRC Hangover Run at Eisenhower Park at 9:30 AM. It’s a timed five mile run that goes around a one mile route. No bibs, tracking chips, or winners. In this event, everyone’s a winner. I’m looking forward to this event as I do every year and it will be more special because my friends will be joining me.

A good day with a bonus run

On October 15, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

This won’t hurt a bit – but watch out for later!

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I had a great day today in the city. I saw friends and got some business done. My schedule was tight and I had written off the opportunity to get in a run, but I managed to get on the treadmill for 25 minutes. I set a faster pace than usual because of my limited time. I was pleased that my legs responded well. I think the speed work I did on Sunday helped get me into fast turnover mode.

I met my friend FS for lunch today. She and her husband are dedicated runners and they do many NYRR events as well as destination races. FS has been training for the NY Marathon that she’s running for the fifth time in November. She did her 20 mile long run this past weekend. FS was planning to get a flu shot in the next few days but I suggested that she wait until after the race. I know there should not be any side effects from the vaccination, but my experience over the last few years has made me a little skeptical.

Tomorrow is another long day in the city that starts even earlier than today. I’m debating whether I should go for a run in the dark, or let all the walking I’ll do stand in for a workout.

Race report: 2013 Dirty Sock 10K

On August 18, 2013 By Emerging Runner8 Comments

Final charge to the finish line

Today’s race (Dirty Sock 10K): 6.2 miles (clock time 1:02:57)

This morning I ran the Dirty Sock 10K trail run for the fourth time since 2009 (I skipped it last year). Results have been posted, but they seem to be clock, not net times. Either way, it was the slowest time I’ve ever run this race. But in a race like this, experience is more important than time. As usual, the experience was great.

Team Emerging Runner arrived about 35 minutes before the start under overcast skies and fairly cool temperatures. Far better than in 2010, when the heat, humidity and occasional rain created sauna conditions on the course. After getting my bib number, along with the traditional pair of “Dirty Sock” sweat socks and race shirt, I regrouped with my family. Shortly after that, I ran into my friend Mike who was running the race with his brother Paul.

Paul, Mike and me

We walked together toward the western trail head, and told my wife and kids, “See you at the finish line.” Mike, Paul and I continued toward the starting line and found a place to wait. At 7:55, I turned on my Garmin, thinking five minutes would be enough time to acquire a signal. I was wrong, and it took about 23 minutes for the signal to lock in. My hope of capturing full race data was lost, but I was getting my heart rate in real time and the watch came in unexpectedly handy near the end of the race.

A video on the Dirty Sock Facebook page confirms that it took about a minute for me to cross the starting line after the horn. I’m hoping they post the net times, because this would make a difference in my overall time, bringing my pace into the 9:00 range (if only by 5/100th of a second!). I felt good at that point (although frustrated by my Garmin’s signal failure), and moved through the crowd of runners until I found a spot where I could open up my stride.

The first two miles went by fast, and I was beginning to think I might do well today. Like other times when I’ve run this race, the lead runners (winner set a course record of 32:48) were coming back after circling the lake, just as I prepared to turn right toward the Southern State underpass. It was a psychologically positive moment that confirmed my performance was on track. The transition from trail to pavement felt jarring, and I struggled a little as the course rose to the path that goes around Belmont Lake.

The three mile point comes about halfway around the lake and the clock showed that 29 minutes had passed. Thinking that we’d be measured by net time, I was feeling encouraged. But soon after that, I began to feel depleted. I took a sip from my gel flask where I’d mixed some Roctane with water. That helped a little, but I needed to adjust to a more sustainable pace. As we crossed under the low viaduct that leads back to the dirt trail, I thought about what I needed to do to get through the rest of the miles.

Without my GPS to tell me where I was in my progress, I tried to remember landmarks that I’d seen on the way up. I wanted to know how much trail I had left to cover. I started to get passed, indicating that I was running slower than I’d hoped. I finished the Roctane and soon saw the five mile clock that showed 50:40. I put everything I had into it, but still couldn’t generate the speed I needed. Not long after that, my Garmin beeped that a new mile had started. Although it didn’t correlate to the course, I used it as a rough estimate for the remaining distance.

Knowing that I only had a mile left put me in a state of hope. When I passed Southards Pond, I knew I was about to turn right for the final kilometer of the race. Halfway along that section of trail, my Garmin showed I had a half mile to go. I prepared for that, but when I saw a familiar landmark I realized the watch distance was off (compared to the course). I was really much closer. I put everything into my effort and soon heard the race announcer’s voice. I only had a few hundred feet to go, so I accelerated once the finish line (and my wife and kids) were in sight.

Cool-down with Dave

I was fully depleted when I finished and my kids quickly brought water and bananas to aid my recovery. I was wishing for some electrolyte drink, but there wasn’t any available. Although my heart rate dropped quickly to normal, it took about 30 minutes before I was feeling like my old self. Mike and Paul finished just a few minutes after me, and I was happy to run into Dave, who ran the course in the mid-50 minute range.

Award ceremony

We waited around and watched the award ceremony which was followed by an endless raffle where a hundred or more people won prizes. By then it was raining, but we hung in because my daughter was convinced I’d win the large screen TV (sadly, I didn’t). One of the other big prizes was a $2,500 gift certificate from a hair graft surgeon. That was won by a high school-aged girl, who accepted it with good humor.

Although I would have liked to run today’s race a few minutes faster, I was completely satisfied with today’s effort. My first half performance compared to the second indicates that I need to work on my base, especially if I expect to be competitive at Cow Harbor in September. Five weeks should be more than enough time to prepare for that course, but I’ll need to do plenty of hill, speed and distance training to get where I need to be.