Yelling nice things on my runs

On August 21, 2016 By Emerging Runner3 Comments

Weekend route triptych

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles
Yesterday’s run (Bethpage bike trail): 5.1 miles
Friday’s run (street): 3.2 miles

Every once in a while my enthusiasm for running ebbs a bit. I’d guess that most runners experience peaks and valleys over the years but sticking with it is the thing that defines us. I am doing better these days in terms of stamina, but, right now, I view running mostly as a means to retaining fitness. I’m not detached from it, but I don’t think about it as often as I usually do. I know my enthusiasm will eventually return.

Even so, I am getting my workouts in. Friday I ran around the neighborhood before my workday started, covering my usual 5K route under very humid conditions. I’d hoped to defray some of the heat by getting out early enough to avoid direct sunlight. Unfortunately, the sun had other plans and it ended up being a hot and soggy run.

Yesterday I headed over to Bethpage to run the bike trail. I started about 8:00 AM which was probably two hours later than I should have gone out. Running in shade made it bearable. I’ve minimized my sugar intake for over a month now. Besides losing ten pounds, I’ve also come to expect easier runs. For the most part I have, most noticeably in the way I feel at the beginning (no more starting struggles) and at the end (plenty in the tank for finishing fast). Yesterday, that was the case, except when I had the dual displeasure of dealing with big hills and baking sun.

At one point in yesterday’s run, I was coming down past the water fountain south of Haypath when two guys started calling to me. As I got closer I heard one of them say, “Is that Greg? We thought you were our friend Greg.” I said, “No, but I’ll bet he’s a good looking guy!” (yes they laughed). Later on, after I’d turned around at Bethpage Park, I saw a guy who was dressed like me: white hat, sunglasses, reddish running shirt and gray shorts. I wanted to yell, “Hi Greg!” but I didn’t want to freak him out.

This morning I managed to get out a little earlier because I wanted to be back in time to watch the start of the Olympic men’s marathon. I was really happy to see Galen Rupp get the bronze, but disappointed for Meb who had an issue mid race that put him far back in the field. The other American, Jared Ward, finished 6th. Go USA!

I stuck close to home for today’s run, and changed up my usual route. I was coming down the hill on Jericho, past a Starbucks, when I saw a guy walking out to his car eating a bag of chips. He looked at me as I went by and said, “You’re making me feel guilty for eating this for breakfast.” I shouted back, “There’s no bad time to eat potato chips.” I’m such a wit.

I ended up covering 3.4 miles, a little more than I planned. I was also extremely lucky because the moment I finished my run, the skies opened up to a downpour. Like my prior two runs, I didn’t know my distance until I’d finished. That’s because I have to stow my Garmin in my SPIbelt due to the broken strap. As much as I’d like to continue to run with the FR210, it’s impractical. I need to decide whether to replace it with a new Garmin or look at models from the numerous competitors that have come into the market with reasonably priced GPS watches since I bought mine in 2010.

We’re supposed to get some relief from the humidity next week and I would welcome that greatly. Perhaps the cooler, pre-fall weather will restore my enthusiasm for all things running.

Running blind to time and distance

On August 14, 2016 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

One lacks GPS, the other lacks a strap

Today’s run (street): 3.75 miles
Yesterday’s run (street): 4.5 miles

They ran the Dirty Sock this morning and I cannot imagine how those poor runners managed through 6.2 miles of hot and steamy air. Make that wet air. Air that you can feel without a breeze. The humidity today and yesterday could only be described as brutal. Despite that, I did get out Saturday and today, although there was nothing about my running that could be mistaken for a racing level effort.

Yesterday was the first time I ran without my FR210 on my wrist since I bought it, and it was disconcerting not to be able to monitor time or distance. I put the watch in my SPIbelt and tried to listen for the chirp that indicated mile splits, but I was unable hear them. Without that information, I had to guess my mileage based on the route I was running. I was surprised at the end to see that I’d covered 4.5 miles in sweltering conditions. I got home and jumped in the pool wearing my running clothes. Learning from past errors, I carefully removed my phone, Garmin and Fitbit before diving in.

This morning I’d planned to get out before the direct sun added to the already hot day. Unfortunately, I didn’t actually start until 7:40 AM. By then, the air felt like a steam bath. After yesterday’s experience running without either distance or time indicators, I decided to put a new battery in my old FR60. At least I’d have a stopwatch to reference.

Equipped with phone, Fitbit and two Garmins, I set off into the heat and humidity. I still couldn’t monitor my distance progress unless I pulled my GPS watch from my SPIbelt, not an easy thing to do while running. I felt like I ran more than 3.75 miles, but in this weather, that was more than enough.

Running with 1 1/2 watches is going to get old real fast. My FR210 wristband has further disassembled past the point where I could repair it with this cool hack. I should probably buy another GPS watch, but that seems wasteful because both the watch and GPS part of my FR210 still works. I’m open to suggestions.

In term of this weekend’s running, my paces today and yesterday were glacial. Still, I enjoyed the fact that I’m getting through every run without worrying when fatigue will kick in. Even though conditions were suboptimal, I never once wished these runs would end. If I had run the Dirty Sock today in this weather I would have gotten through it. But not very quickly.

Short and sweat

On August 12, 2016 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

All the kings horses and all the black tape…

Today’s run (street): 2.6 miles

So very hot and humid this morning. I probably should have stayed indoors, cranked the AC, and set the treadmill and floor fans to max. Instead, I decided to brave the mid-August swelter. I can usually endure any type of weather for three miles (or in today’s case, something less to that) and would have done 3+ today, but I had very little time to run and shower before my first meeting of the day.

Gimme swelter

Despite conditions, I was eager to get outside,. When I picked up my Garmin, the bottom half of the strap separated from the top, despite the awesome repair work I’ve been doing with electrical tape. My sister-in-law told me about some material that will fix rubbery plastic like this wristband, but I fear it’s too late to save the FR210.

I ended up taping the watch all the way around and that secured it well enough to get through 2.63 miles. I really don’t want to do that every time I want to take it on a run. The watch itself works fine so I guess, for now, I’ll stick it in my SPIbelt. There is a hack to fix a Garmin that suffered wristband failure, but it requires that the first two loops that connect to the watch case be intact. One side is beginning to rip, so maybe not.

So what to do? I can continue carrying it with me or I could buy another watch. I’ve had this Garmin for about five years and it has served me well. I don’t like replacing technology that still provides utility, but in this case it wasn’t the technology that failed me.

A good day to have run with water

On June 13, 2016 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

This seemed more organized while I was running it

Today’s run (street): 4.4 miles

I’ve been trying to get out early on weekends and managed to do that most of the time. I wish I got an earlier start this morning. By 7:45 AM, the heat and humidity were already raging. I’d considered trail running which is generally cooler, although it can be very buggy on days like today. I ended up staying local, but mostly avoided my neighborhood. My route ended up looking a little strange.

I thought about taking water with me, but my Ultimate Direction water bottle is cumbersome and has a tricky valve. I should get another Amphipod Hydraform bottle. My old one got me through many training runs at Bethpage. According to Garmin Connect, the temperature was 81° during the time I was out. It didn’t show the humidity level, but I’m guessing it was about two thousand percent.

Although I did my best to choose shady sections of road, there was a lot more sun. I was surprised to see a lot of other people running this morning. Most were moving quickly, at least compared to me. But that didn’t bother me because I was getting in my miles. I’d hoped to run four and, despite conditions, I covered even more. By the time I got home, my clothes were completely soaked.

The torture continues

You’d have thought I’d learned my lesson about connected home technologies, but I went to Home Depot this afternoon and bought the Wink hub. The setup went much better this time and I’ll know at dusk whether the programming worked. Even so, with this morning’s tough run and a better experience with the lighting system, I feel like I accomplished something.

Strategic standing and overheated running

On January 17, 2016 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

The scene of the summit but we had less chairs.

Today’s run (street): 3.7 miles

Work took over all aspects of my life this week. I hadn’t done a single run since last Sunday, but I spent a couple of days on my feet at a leadership summit. We did a lot of strategic exercises, so at least I got a mental workout. The summit was held in the ballroom of a beautiful mansion called the Tarrytown House. The days were a grind, but the food was awesome.

My schedule prevented me from getting in a weekday run, so this morning I knew it was time to pay the piper. Unfortunately, I was exhausted when I got up at 6:00 AM and did a rare return to bed after having coffee with my daughter. I didn’t get my butt out the door until almost 11:00 and wondered at that point if I’d have the energy to get around the neighborhood.

The temperature was 45° with a “real feel” of 41, but it felt much colder. Due to that, I overdressed. I felt fine through the first mile, but then the heat started to build. I managed to get through the run, but I wasn’t ready to do a lot of distance. Next time I’ll leave off the extra layers.

It’s a three day weekend so there’s time for me to get in a couple more runs before I go back to work. I hope I’m feeling more energetic tomorrow. If so, I’ll probably head to Stillwell or back to Bethpage. So far no snow in January and I need to take advantage of that as much as I can.

Wrong day for a runner’s mullet

On October 10, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Not a good choice for 63°

Today’s run (street): 3.2 miles

My new role at work is turning me into one of those people who need to schedule meetings in 15 minute increments. Some of this is due to absorbing a lot of new groups and responsibilities all at once. In the short term, it will be long days. Things should ease up eventually. Last night I left the office a little later than I wanted. By the time I got home it was too late for a run or a workout.

I worked from home today and that saved me approximately three hours of total commuting time. I started working at 5:00 AM and took a break around 8:00 to do my run. It was 63 degrees outside but it felt cold in my house. I probably should have gone with short sleeves, but I went with long sleeves on top and shorts on the bottom. It’s what I call a runner’s mullet.

Halfway through my run I renamed it the “runner’s bad decision” because the low clouds had given way to sunny skies and I was heating up fast. My distance target was modest and I knew my run would be short enough to bear the heat. About 2/3rds through my run, my cell phone rang. It was my office and I had to think about whether I’d cop to running when I answered it. Luckily it took so long to fish my phone out of my SPIbelt that the call went to voicemail. On the bright side, that short break cooled me down nicely.

The fact that someone was waiting for me to respond motivated me to pick up my speed. I covered the last mile much faster than the previous two and I was back home and on the phone in 10 minutes. I’m glad I had the opportunity get my run in today. Next week will very tight and I’ll need to go into the office on Friday. Monday is a holiday so I’ll get to string four runs in a row. That’s good because, after Monday, I’ll probably go run-less until next Saturday.

First foray up and down the Massapequa Preserve trail

On July 20, 2015 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Uphill in both directions

Today’s run (Massapequa Preserve trail): 6 miles

This morning the TV weather people were having a field day about how hot and humid it would be today. Hot and humid are two of my least favorite words when it comes to running weather. It was no surprise, since they’d been talking about that since Friday because of the the NYC Triathlon that was happening today. I knew I’d also need to deal with those conditions, as I planned to meet up with SIOR to run the second half of my six miler in the Massapequa Preserve.

Running with SIOR, even when she’s doing her easy long runs (14 miles today), is really more like running after SIOR. Still, misery loves company and it was fun to meet up on the trail and run for a few moments together. She waited up for me a couple of times and we had a nice recovery pause at one point. Although we only talked for a few minutes, we managed to cover some pretty gross subject matter. You have to know SIOR to understand that’s not at all unusual.

During my half marathon training periods, I would frequently run as far south as the Preserve, but I’d never made it to the start of the trail head. Today, that’s where I started. I parked in the Massapequa train station lot and quickly got onto the bike trail. My hope was that the expensive Ultimate Direction water bottle I’d bought a couple of years ago would be just the thing to keep me hydrated. I remembered having trouble with the bottle’s bite valve when I first got it and tested it today before I left the house. FAIL. I brought along a couple of Poland Springs water bottles instead.

The start and finish point

The Massepequa trail is verdant and has lots of dirt side trails. It also has tenth of a mile markers, unlike the Bethpage trail. I started my run shortly after 9:00 AM and the trail was already full of people. Many more cyclists than I’m used to seeing on the northern end. The trail seemed pretty much uphill until I reached Linden street, located just south of the Southern State overpass.

Once I cleared that challenging rise, I ran another half mile until I saw SIOR coming from the other direction. In order to get her full 14, we ran north another quarter mile and turned around. SIOR said the last three miles were mostly downhill and that made sense because it seemed pretty much uphill until that point. Here’s the thing I noticed about Bethpage (and apparently the Preserve): it always seems uphill, no matter which direction you run.

On the way back, I kept expecting to see the path sloping down gently and easing me through my final three miles. Strangely, the trail seemed mostly uphill the whole way back. It was like an MC Escher painting come to life. I knew there was nothing to do but run until I came to the end of the trail. Once I saw the bridge over the pond, I knew I was getting closer. When I saw that I was mere tenths away from the trail head, I was thrilled.

SIOR was already in her aircraft carrier-sized SUV when I caught up with her. She offered to drive me over to my car and the blast of AC that hit me was extremely welcomed. I must have looked like hell because she kept asking me if I was alright. She and her family were heading to the beach and I was heading home to spend time with the family in the pool.

TPP was in NYC because her paramour/trainer JC was participating in the NYC Tri (as was our friend KWL). Both of them did really well. We missed TPP, but then again we always do. I’m hoping the Runsketeers can all run together soon. It’s almost August and we agreed to do it once a month. So far so good.

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.

Hills, heat, humidity and a failure to Triumph

On July 12, 2015 By Emerging Runner12 Comments

The route

Today’s run (Bethpage trail): 5 miles

Yesterday’s track workout inspired me to get out for another “destination” run this morning. By that I mean a run outside the confines of my general neighborhood. Since I pushed my efforts on Saturday, I figured today would be best spent running easy on the Bethpage trail.

ISOs: pretty, but not this editor’s choice

I decided to try the Saucony Triumph ISOs again to see how they perform now that my stride has begun to normalize. While I was recovering from the disc issue, my left foot would mash up toward the front of my running shoes and the ISOs seemed to do it the most of any of my running shoes. These highly cushioned trainers won the Runner’s World Editor’s Award and I had high hopes that they would become my primary shoes. I’m concluding that, for my arch type, lower is better. That’s why I’ve reverted back to using my Vitarras even though they have a sizable amount of wear on the out-soles.

The cyclists were out in force this morning with less runners than I usually see on the bike trail. My hope was that I’d feel energized from yesterday’s intervals. That wasn’t the case, but I said, “What the heck” since I planned for this to be a recovery effort. I cruised along the sparsely populated path and at one point I was passed by a fast moving runner with whom I tried to match strides. No such luck. She quickly disappeared into the distance.

There’s usually a lot of fauna on the trail, mostly birds and bunnies. Today I saw an actual jack rabbit crossing the path about 20 feet ahead of me. In silhouette it looked a lot like the eponymous character in the Jackrabbit Sports logo. Although the humidity was supposedly low, it didn’t feel that way to me. The temperature was 81° and the sun was baking down. The combination of weather and hills on the north end of the trail did me in and I was ready to throw in the towel once I reached 5 miles.

A towel would have been great to have when I finished. When I looked at the Garmin’s stats and saw it report 51% humidity I shook my head. The work week starts again tomorrow, and I hope to get in some type workout before next Friday. I was glad to get away for a couple of non-neighborhood runs this weekend and pleased that I finally worked in a speed workout. As for the Triumphs, I don’t think I’ll ever be happy with them. That’s unfortunate. I could always wear them as weekend casual shoes, but they are a bit too vivid to wear in public unless I’m running.

Triple celebration after a sweltering start

On June 21, 2015 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Today’s run (street): 5.4 miles

Today was a triple celebration day: Father’s Day, my daughter’s birthday and the first day of summer. Since we celebrated Father’s Day yesterday, there wasn’t much going on related to that. Celebrating summer is a passive thing unless you are a Druid, so today was really about my daughter. Except for the kids spending time in the pool midday, most of our celebrating happened indoors or out at places. A good idea considering the August-like humidity.

Loopy

The day did not start in a promising way. The torrential rains and heavy thunderstorms predicted by the weather services turned out to be less intense than expected. However, it was enough to discourage the Runsketeers from going out early as we’d planned. My friends switched the run to later in the afternoon, but I couldn’t join them due to birthday stuff. I’m truly sorry to miss that, but the 90° heat and 90% humidity would not have been too enjoyable. I’m curious to hear how that went.

I thought I’d be doing today’s workout on the treadmill and had considered doing a faux brick (30 min treadmill, 30 minute elliptical) to minimize my treadmill time. By 8:30 AM, the rain stopped and I went outside to run. My plan was to run loops around the neighborhood that would keep me close to home in case the skies opened up again.

Although it was overcast when I started my run, I thought to wear my sunglasses and that turned out to be a good decision. Over the course of my 50+ minute workout, the sun broke through the clouds and made for a sweltering experience. I kept my effort below anaerobic threshold to keep things tolerable. After three 1.2 mile loops, I expanded my route to ensure that I would cover at least five miles. That course turned out more circuitous than expected and I ended up adding another .4 mile to that total.

It was definitely 5 miles the hard way, and though I felt depleted and dehydrated, I was happy that I got out this morning. My motivation before my last three runs was very low, but each time I rebounded during the run. I’m almost as proud of myself for getting myself out there as I am for getting my runs done.

So happy summer, happy birthday and happy Father’s Day. With the 13 miles I’ve covered over the past three days, I think I worked hard enough to justify the birthday cake we’ll be having tonight.