Stumbles, both technical and physical

On July 8, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street) 3.75 miles
As a person who makes his living pushing technology change, I’ll admit that I sometimes fail to follow my own mission when it comes to changing the technologies that I use every day. I logged into Blogger to write today’s post and saw that the interface has been completely changed. I’ll be interested to see if any of these changes provide a better experience. So far it appears to be only cosmetic – just different colors, fonts and rearranged tools. Of course that’s also the case with Microsoft Office’s latest and the end result is a confusing mess.

When it comes to running I’ve reduced my use of technologies to a degree. No more weird electrolyte tablets or running with smartphone tracking apps while listening to music. Just me, my minimal Hattori’s and a Garmin FR210 GPS watch with a high-sensitivity receiver and barometric altimeter. Ahh, the simple life.

This is a big weekend for my daughter and we have guests in all weekend from out of town. We’re hoping the weather holds so we can keep today’s activities outdoors. It’s still sunny so we’re hoping for the best. I went out a little before 8:00 AM for a run and, since it’s Friday, I was surprised to see so many walkers and other runners on the road. But in the summer, Friday is sorta like “pre-Saturday.” It sure felt like that.

At one point in my run I noticed a young woman running on the sidewalk on the right side of the road. I was curious to see how our paces lined up and soon realized that I would overtake her. Almost at the moment when I passed her (running on left side of the road I’ll note) this woman stumbled and fell. I was about to run over to see if she was okay but she got up quickly, saw me and sheepishly said “I’m okay, I’m okay.” I suspect that she tripped on the uneven sidewalk and this is why I run on the far left side of the street except when there are cars.

It was very humid out there and I conceded to a less than stellar pace. While I felt I was running slower than yesterday it turned out I was running 2% faster. Not much of a difference but it made me happy since I ran more distance in hotter, more humid weather. I’ll probably need to skip tomorrow’s run and go out early on Sunday morning before our guests wake up. Anyway, that’s the plan for now.

Not so welcome back to work run

On June 28, 2011 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles

I got the prize today

No return to work would be complete without a commuting disaster and the LIRR never fails to provide one. The consequence of that was a 2.5 hour trip home last night. While I was able to find a seat on my very crowded train, the long ride aggravated some soreness in my upper thigh. Not a pleasant experience and I’m concerned about this. Running with a mid-foot stride is supposed to eliminate injuries but I still have tenderness in my right knee and now this soreness on the left.

Usually, after two days rest, I’m rewarded with an above average run. That was not the case today. Although the temperature was in the mid 70’s the humidity was sky high and I felt the weight of that from beginning to end. I struggled to get any semblance of speed. Although I did better on the second half of my run, it was still a crawl. Tomorrow morning is supposed to be better so I’ll chose to ignore today’s mediocre experience and hope for some big improvement on Wednesday.

Will rest and core work beat heat and humidity?

On June 3, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Why is it that on the Friday before a race the conditions in the city have to be so perfect? 57° with 45% humidity is ideal but I won’t be running in Central Park today (or anywhere else). While I’m sure that running hard the day before a race probably affects my performance on race day, I’m not convinced an extra day’s rest helps all that much. I took two rest days before the 2010 Dirty Sock and still struggled mightily at the end. The Great Cow Harbor 10K was a rough ride even though I followed my two day rest policy. However, both of those races occurred on days that were extremely hot and humid and perhaps those factors trumped the benefits of resting.

The two best races that I ran in 2010 were the Hope for the Warriors 10K and the Long Beach Turkey Trot 10K. These races were run in cooler temperatures than the Dirty Sock and Cow Harbor 10K’s. In both cases I rested two days before and did a 20 minute core workout the day before each race. I won’t fool myself into thinking the core exercise made the difference but it may have helped. Weather predictions for Sunday are showing high 50’s to low 60’s with relatively high humidity and possible thunderstorms. I can’t control the weather but I can control my training, so I’ll do my core workout and leave the rest to nature.

Yet another shoe buying experience at Jackrabbit Sports

On August 5, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles at 9:09

Yesterday afternoon I paid a visit to Union Square with my friend KWL for noodles at Republic and a visit to Jackrabbit Sports. KWL is participating in a two day event later this month, running a 10K on one day and cycling 100 miles the next. His New Balance running shoes needed replacing so he thought it would be good to have his gait analyzed to help him choose the right shoe. Jackrabbit’s staff are knowledgeable but they can be a bit arrogant. The person who rang up our purchases was downright nasty, enough so that I’d reconsider returning there. The person who helped KWL was fine though and after confirming that my friend is a neutral strider, he provided pairs of Brooks Ghosts, Saucony Triumphs, New Balance 759 and the ASICS Nimbus, along with the ASICS Cumulus pair that he used for gait analysis on the treadmill. KWL ended up choosing the Cumulus and he ran with them last night and gave them a good review this morning.

Today’s run was done under extremely humid conditions but without the sun or oppressive heat it wasn’t too bad. I continued my focus on form and cadence but today I was unable to keep to under 9:00 per mile. I did wake up feeling more tired than I normally do and worried that I was fighting off a cold. I thought about staying indoors with an elliptical session but I went with the original plan and ran. I wore my Saucony Grid Tangent 4’s but they didn’t give me much help on performance today. In my conversation with the Jackrabbit salesperson yesterday he mentioned that the Grid Tangents and other light stability shoes don’t sell well and a few models of that type (like the Grid Tangents) are no longer sold in their stores. The only shoe in that category that does sell well is the DS Trainer. I don’t expect my shoes to do the work to make me a better performer, that’s up to me. So far I’m pleased with my progress this week. A little extra effort has gone a long way.

Return to the Stillwell trails

On July 18, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (Stillwell Woods trail): 4 miles at 9:52

I returned to the trails this morning and went for a run at Stillwell Woods at 8:00 AM in hopes of beating the heat. The tree cover helped with the sun but the humidity was extreme. I followed a familiar route that’s more entertaining than challenging and realized that Stillwell’s trails are as beautiful as the trails I ran in Colorado Springs. Of course there are no mountains in the distance and no deer along the way (although some rabbits and chipmunks did cross my path). I had the company of other runners and lots of mountain bikers on the trails this morning, more than usual on a Sunday at that time.

As I ran through the woods I paid attention to my breathing in order to gauge the difference between running at sea level versus the 6,000 foot elevations I had encountered over the week. I found it easier to breathe but didn’t perceive a great boost in my stamina. I ended up finishing with an average pace that barely stayed in the nine minute range. No problem there. I always expect to run slower on the trails so pace doesn’t matter much to me except during a trail race. I decided to finish after reaching 4 miles because I didn’t want to push too hard with the increasing heat and humidity. Now that I’ve had a taste of mountain running I know what I am missing, but being back on my home turf I can also appreciate what I have.

5 humid miles

On June 26, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 5.2 miles at 9:31

I intended to get out before 7:00 AM because I knew the heat would be intense by mid morning. It took longer to get out than I planned and I hit the road at 7:18 under sunny skies. It took me about a half mile before I started feeling the humidity but, bam, there it was. I decided to give myself a gift and followed the road along Jericho Turnpike that runs downhill for about a quarter mile before leveling off. At the next crossing I headed south along South Oyster Bay Road where the sidewalk runs the gamut between level concrete to broken up cement with overgrown grass. I continued across the LIE overpass and entered neighborhood #2 from the west side. By this time I was feeling the effort but I knew I wanted to get a couple of more miles in. After a run around the western loop I headed east and extended my normal route by hitting a few extra streets.

I ended up covering about 5 miles with the last mile proving a major challenge. I often think, at the end of a run, how much farther I could have run. Sometimes the answer is “a few miles more” but today the answer was “not one foot more.” The humidity was overwhelming and an extended run was not in the cards. Tomorrow I’ll aim for an earlier start to avoid the heat and the storms that are predicted for Sunday. Our guests will probably leave by midday tomorrow so I’ll want finish up in time to spend most of the morning with them. I wouldn’t mind a cooler experience tomorrow but I’d settle for a lower dew point.

Short day, short run

On June 6, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles at 9:34 per mile

It’s been a nice weekend despite my need to cut things short and travel to Washington DC this afternoon. It was nice to see friends last night, especially those who enjoy running as much as I do. I was glad to hear that my friend RDV has signed up for a race later this month. Although he has been running fairly high mileage over the last few years this will only be the second time he has raced. I gave him some guidance to help ensure a better experience. I reinforced the need to go out at a moderate pace and not get swept up by the fast starters who may force him into an unsustainable pace. That’s a lesson I learned the hard way last year when I was building my racing experience. I’ll keep that in mind for my 8K next Sunday.

I’ve been feeling tired lately and I think it has much to do with a busy time at work and not getting the important sleep that I’ve needed. I wish I could sleep past 5:30 AM on weekends to bank some additional rest but I haven’t been able to do that. I’m giving a talk on Monday but my voice has been rough over the last couple of days. I need my voice to be in decent shape tomorrow so I questioned whether a run would help my energy level or just run me down further. I felt good enough for an easy three mile run and wore my Brooks to ensure a comfortable experience. I followed a course that differed from my usual neighborhood loop and maintained a pace that allowed me to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the clear springtime morning. The humidity started to get to me by the end of the second mile. I toughed out the third plus a little more before finishing with a total of 3.4 miles. I’m glad I did this run and I’ll rest until Tuesday. I’m happy I’ll get a few more hours to spend with my family before I leave today. The work week will start again, all too soon.