Negative splits lead to a positive view

On February 26, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.1 miles

My wife suggested that I take a break from working out today and I had the mindset to do that. The thought of another run around the almost too-familiar streets of my neighborhood was not compelling. I was feeling generally negative about doing any activity. The rain did a good job of clearing snow in my town and I considered a return to Stillwell but we have a big day planned and I was again pressed for time. I dressed for a run without really knowing where I would go, finally deciding the easiest way to get it done would be to hit the local roads.

As a compromise to my negative mindset I considered running slowly and making it an easy workout that I could count as a partial effort. With no targeted distance, route or pace in mind I took off and chose lefts and rights almost randomly. At one point I came upon another runner who I followed for a while. I’d seen him on the road before and I was curious to see how our paces compared. It turned out that we both were running about the same pace and I wasn’t interested in catching up to him so I peeled off to another road and let him go. When I passed the first mile I saw that I’d averaged 9:55. I picked up the pace a little and covered mile two at 9:46 and improved to about 9:40 for mile three.

Throughout my run I’d actually felt great. The weather was cold but mild and I was enjoying a run where I could take my mind off the effort and look around at my surroundings. After completing three miles I decided to run the last mile with a little more speed and covered it at 9:10. Not especially fast but far faster than the prior three. I enjoyed the run, felt strong and hit negative splits throughout my distance. My splits were negative and by the time I arrived home my mindset was far more positive.

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.

When a routine run is a good thing

On February 8, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill): 2.55 miles

I have been using the treadmill so often this winter that it’s starting to seem like a routine. I far prefer outdoor running but with the snow and ice it’s been impossible to do that safely at 4:00 AM. My new comfort with the treadmill is a positive and though I don’t love it I’m also not using, “I hate this, I hate this” as my running mantra. A quick check on Garmin Connect shows that my longest gap between treadmill sessions last year was almost five months — May 19 to October 14. That means that every run in that period (typically five runs per week) happened outdoors. I was clearly lucky with the weather during that span. I probably ran through a few rainstorms but I recall that most of the time conditions were clear. I guess I’m now paying for that streak of run-friendly weather.

My session on the treadmill this morning was energizing. After a moderate start I began to blip up the speed every few minutes, finishing my run at an 8:30 pace. My overall pace was in the low 9:00’s and I felt strong throughout the run. It was like Saturday’s race when I cruised along below 9:00/mile feeling like I could sustain that pace for a long time. Getting to this level of stamina is important to me because I’m beginning to think about my time targets for a half marathon. If I could start another five month streak of outdoor running I’d be happy. But I’ll settle for decent indoor runs like today’s for the time being.

Back on the road, at least for the weekend

On February 7, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Rather than take a rest day on Sunday to recover from Saturday’s race, I decided to go for a short run. The Snowflake Run distance was only 4 miles so a recovery wasn’t really necessary. At the same time I didn’t want to go out for a long run since my neighborhood roads are still marginal, narrowed by snow with icy patches and pooling runoff from the recent rain. After two weeks of treadmill running and only one outdoor run I was just happy to be outside.

The weather was sunny and the temperature was 37. I wore two light layers on top and it was chilly for the first ten minutes. I used the cold as a motivator to generate some heat and I stepped up my pace to help that along. I’d originally planned to run easy but faster felt better. It may have been Sunday’s race pace that tuned me for speed but I felt good turnover on my stride. My form wasn’t quite as smooth as Saturday but it all worked. With the exception of the times when I needed to slow down to run along icy parts of the road, my pace stayed under 9:00. I ended up averaging 9:05 which was speedier than I’d planned. I’ll likely run indoors this week because the icy roads and darkness present too much safety risk. But this weekend I’m aiming for some longer outdoor runs.

Coming to terms with the treadmill

On January 31, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

With another storm coming tomorrow I’m resigned to doing this week’s training runs indoors. This winter’s snow has put me on the treadmill much more frequently than ever before. I’ve become more comfortable running on it but I still dislike the experience. My small toes were sore from friction burns after yesterday’s run, a rare experience with my Brooks Adrenaline’s. As a result I’m giving my feet a break today. I had considered an elliptical session this morning (my usual rest day) to front load my taper since I’ll likely be resting Thursday and Friday ahead of Saturday’s race. However, I didn’t think a workout today would make much of a difference and I wanted to avoid exacerbating my foot problem.

I’m pleased with this weekend’s running, 9 miles, all on the the treadmill. Some may find treadmill running easier than outdoor running but I find it hard. When I’m running at 6.5 mph (9:13 pace) it feels harder than when I run 8:45 outdoors. I no longer try to match my outdoor paces indoors, instead I start at a comfortable pace and after 10 minutes I’ll increase my speed every few minutes. I usually end up running the last few minutes between 7.1-7.4 mph and that brings my overall run pace into the high-normal range. I’ll run tomorrow and Wednesday morning and either rest or do a light elliptical session on Thursday. Friday will definitely be a rest day. Saturday’s race should be a chilly one and today’s weather report said there may also be some snow.

A tropical change of pace

On January 21, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Sunset over the Gulf coast

Yesterday’s run (southern FL): 4.1 miles

I’ve been at a conference for most of this week and due to travel and meetings I didn’t get a chance to run on Wednesday. Thursday morning I met up with my friend CK for a run before the conference activities started. I was giving a talk in the afternoon and knew that this would probably be the only time that I could fit a workout into this trip. CK and I headed out from the hotel tracking south along a straight, palm tree-lined road. It was fairly early when we left and there was little traffic. The sun seems to rise later in southern Florida and the light at 7:00 AM was still at low intensity. Florida gets hot, even in January, but it was a cool 58 degrees with very little humidity when we started.

Compared with my recent paces, CK and I moved along at a moderately fast clip and I was pleased that I could hold up my end of the conversation even as we pushed against my comfort zone. We continued south for two miles then turned around for the return. On the way back we threw in some minute long tempos and before we knew it the resort was back in our sight. We ended up averaging 8:55 per mile for the run and it really seemed effortless.

The conference went well and despite the 5″ of snow that fell in New York this morning I was able to return home pretty much on schedule. I’ve only run about 6 miles this week so I’m hoping to make up for that this weekend. With all this fresh snow it looks like I’ll be once again confined to neighborhood running on Saturday. My next race is coming up in few weeks so I’ll need to focus on training for that. Running with a high performer like CK showed me that I’m in good shape but I still need to step it up to be as competitive as I’d like to be. I want to achieve a new PR for 4 miles and this race takes place at the same location as my 10K PR so prospects are good. Performance will be my focus for now.

Good run on some roads less traveled

On January 16, 2011 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 4.2 miles

After getting out for my run somewhat later than planned on Saturday, I focused on an early start this morning. The local and NYC news stations finally agreed on the temperature — about 30 degrees — and I went out expecting conditions to be noticeably warmer than yesterday. I dressed a little lighter but today actually felt a little colder. No matter, except for my hands that took 20 minutes to feel warm, (I wore running gloves instead of my ASICS glove/mittens) I was comfortable for the duration of my run.

I ran 25 seconds per mile faster than yesterday and this was because I focused on speed in certain segments. I’ve read that running a little faster than your normal, comfortable pace sometimes yields a more energetic response and actually enhances stamina overall. I think there’s truth to that and I’ve noticed that running briskly on the treadmill and then dropping speed by 15-20% does not make my running any easier and it sometimes makes it seem harder.

I mixed up my route today, running streets that I normally avoid because they don’t easily integrate into one of my standard loops. It was a nice change and the flow of the run was excellent. I ran the last mile faster than the first three and finished strong, averaging close to 9:10/mile overall. Two good runs in the chilly air have made this a great running weekend.

Finally, I heard from my running buddy Brian who told me about a friend (and Emerging Runner fan) who ran Cow Harbor while she was pregnant! That was the toughest race I’ve ever run and I can’t imagine running it under those conditions. I’m sure that baby will be running Cow Harbor some day.

23 degrees in the shade

On December 9, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Suddenly it’s freezing and at 4:00 AM it’s really really freezing. I anticipated those conditions last night and selected the following for this morning’s run:

– Wool running socks
– Compression sleeves (ankle to knee)
– Light weight compression shorts
– Mid-weight compression pants
– Long sleeve running shirt
– Short sleeve running shirt
– Winter weight half zip
– Heavy polypropylene running hat
– Running mittens

It may seem like overkill but when I switched on the local news they were reporting temperatures in the low 20’s, not counting wind chill. I briefly considered the treadmill but decided that I’d rather have a freezing run than a tedious workout. I set out at an easier pace than yesterday but my many layers allowed me to warm up relatively quickly. Like yesterday, I was pleased with my form and mechanics and I increased my pace as I moved through the run. Between a slower start and a faster finish I averaged 9:16. Much better than the 9:30-9:45 malaise I’d been experiencing over the last few weeks, but after yesterday’s 8:44 run I suffered for the difference. I’m still happy with the way I ran and my recent 10K’s have convinced me that I can run at slower paces on training runs and still perform well on race day. I have no races on the calendar for the remainder of the year so, for now, I’m going to focus on running for fun, regardless of performance..

Brisk weather, brisker run

On December 8, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street) 2.7 miles

Earlier this week I traded Turkey Trot experiences with my friend CK. He runs the same Thanksgiving day five mile race every year and tries to beat the neighborhood “kids” who are now in their 20’s. CK ran that hilly course in 8:20 this year, slower than he’d hoped. I was happy to tell him that I PR’d on the 10K distance and paced under 9:00 per mile. CK said wanted to break eight minutes on his race and I started thinking about what it would have taken for me to do that at Long Beach. For a 10K race (6.2 miles), using my 55:10 time as a benchmark, I would have had to run every mile one minute faster than I did to hit 7:59. Given the difficulty in achieving 8:53 overall, that’s a significant challenge. Perhaps breaking 8:40 would be a better target.

This morning I went out with no plans to run fast but when I hit the street everything was working for me. Almost everything, actually, the winds were stiff coming from the north and though I’d dressed for cold the chill and force were a factor. Still, I felt strong and my energy level was greater than it had been in a while. I didn’t pay attention to my speed even as I passed the first mile. It wasn’t until I passed mile two so quickly that I realized I was pacing far better than usual. I continued to run hard until I reached home and checked the Garmin’s readout. Gmaps confirmed the pace: 8:44 per mile. This was the fastest run I’ve done in a long time. In fact I’ll need to look at Garmin Connect to see how long it’s been since I’ve averaged that pace. I don’t know how I’ll do tomorrow but today I feel good about my abilty to run in the 8:00 range.

First run, then party

On December 4, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (mixed surfaces): 4.25 miles

It had been a very busy work week and it seemed to take a long time for the weekend to arrive. Today is also a busy day and it’s going to get busier. We’re hosting our annual holiday party that will start in the early afternoon. Final preparations are going on although most things are done. Happily, my wife doesn’t leave too much for the last minute. I took the opportunity to go out for a four mile run around the neighborhood this morning before I prepared for the day. I began by heading north and following the perimeter road that runs west. A good part of that road is downhill but most of the benefit that’s gained through gravity was countered by stiff wins blowing east. After about a mile I headed south along another busy road whose sidewalks are covered with layers of dried leaves. I normally enjoy running on this type of surface because it’s softer than pavement but the depth of leaves made the terrain unstable and I was concerned about slipping. I ran slowly and carefully through this stretch.

I turned into the neighborhood at the south end and began to follow most of my usual roads. At the 20 minute mark I looked at the Garmin and saw that I was running at about 9:55 per mile. I figured out later that the calibration on the foot-pod was off and I was actually running faster but my reaction was to pick up my speed for the second two miles. I ended up with an overall pace of 9:40. I thought that was okay considering my slow start and the slower speed I maintained when running on the leafy sections. Today’s run felt good and I know I could have gone on for a lot longer but I’m on a schedule today. Pretty soon our guests will be arriving. If all stays on plan I’ll get out for a true long run on Sunday.