Taking path B (make that tread B)

On December 3, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

I awoke from a pleasant night’s sleep to the percussive sound of rain on the bathroom skylight. I needed to make a decision whether to brave the rain or to stay indoors and use the elliptical or (shudder) the treadmill. I didn’t run yesterday and I skipped Monday because it’s my rest day. Sunday’s run was a slow, short run with my daughter so I’d really only had two cardio workouts since Saturday. I knew I needed a workout and I surprised myself by choosing the treadmill. My decision to run on the treadmill was related to a logic process that I use often during my weekend runs: if path A is similar but easier than path B, take path B. For example, If one road leading home extends the run an extra half mile or has a challenging hill while the other is shorter, flatter, etc., why not accept the tougher option? That’s why I chose the treadmill.
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It was the first time that I stepped on our treadmill since June. I’ve been running outdoors at 4:00 AM since then and using the elliptical when conditions forced me to stay inside. I ran on a treadmill while up in Boston a few weeks ago which helped prepare me psychologically for today’s experience. The display on our decade-old treadmill is flaky so I set the pace according to my readiness to run. I wore my Garmin 50 to track my distance and pace but I didn’t refer to it during my run except to check on time elapsed. Treadmill time is brutally slow. With no distractions the minutes can pass like hours. It really wasn’t as bad as I’d remembered it but I missed the experience of changing scenery.

With no information about my pace I moved along fairly well. I ended up covering 2.5 miles at an 8:34 pace – much better than I usually do on the streets at that time. I have every hope that tomorrow morning’s weather will be more hospitable. While the treadmill may be a tougher path than the outdoor option that is one case where I’ll always choose path A.

A recovery run turns speedy

On November 21, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

I had a tough day on Friday that included lab tests from my annual checkup. As the day went on I realized that I was too worn out to do my daily run. After getting a decent night’s sleep I woke up early and considered my running options: long or short, street or trail, near or far. I’ve wanted to run at Caumsett State Park in Lloyd Neck which is drivable in less than 15 minutes (and probably much less at 6:00 AM on a Saturday) and thought today might be the day. On further thought, with yesterday’s blood tests, I was concerned about pushing too hard while running alone so I decided to stay local and just run in the neighborhood.

My thought was to run at whatever pace felt okay because I wanted to cover at least four miles. I wasn’t interested in any hill training this morning so I set a course through my main neighborhood with the thought that I’d do some loops close to home and expand my distance based upon how I felt. I did a five minute elliptical session prior to the run to gauge my energy level and I think that served as a nice warm-up to my workout. For a change of pace I took along my iPhone and ran MotionX to capture the route via GPS. I started by trying AllSport GPS but I couldn’t acquire a signal so I switched apps. The MotionX did an okay job but, as usual, it was off because it cut corners. My Garmin said I covered 4.4 miles at 9:00/mile and I Gmapped the run and that said the route was actually 4.53 miles for a pace of 8:46. That’s more like it. I liked the feel of the run and I felt that I could have gone a bit harder if I needed to. Perhaps the energy of the race will allow me to pick up 15 seconds per mile next Saturday for a new PR.

The call of the running club

On November 17, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

I picked up a copy of New England Runner on my way home last night. I read this magazine for the first time after the Cape Cod Marathon where they gave out copies at the Expo. It’s an interesting publication that serves a good purpose: covering the many local races in NE with some overlap into NY, including LI. The writing is secondary to the subject matter, more like a newsletter than a magazine, although they do have some feature articles. It really demonstrates how many people run and race and how much of running involves a community of runners. I have not joined a local running club because I’m concerned that it will take up time that I want to spend with my family. All the same, there may be reasons to do it. If my family thinks it’s worthwhile I will consider doing that next year.

I got out this morning for a run. Conditions were just right, cold but not freezing, breezy but not windy. I’ll credit the treadmill on Sunday for one thing – it forced me to pay attention to pace. I’ve defaulted to running at equilibrium, whatever pace felt right was the one that I maintained. The problem is that to improve performance it isn’t about feeling right. It’s about pushing to the point of suffering. I went out at a brisk pace and although I didn’t switch the display on the Garmin to “pace” I knew I was pushing faster than usual. In the end I covered 2.3 miles at around 9:00/mile which is good for me at 4:00 AM.

With 11 days to my next race I need to keep pushing. 9:00 per mile works fine for early morning running but I want to do a lot better than that for my 5K.

Pre-travel run

On November 14, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

I’m excited to be traveling to Boston this weekend to see friends and family. My kids are especially excited to see their two year old cousins (one of whom is a dedicated Emerging Runner reader). We were in Massachusetts just a few weeks ago for the Cape Cod Marathon relay event and it always feels like going home.

Since the day will be taken up with travel and social activities I decided to get out early for a run. Although the temperature said 53 degrees on the news this morning I’ve learned by now that the level of cold can be deceiving, especially with the strong winds we’ve been experiencing this week. It was dark when I went out so I wore my headlamp and took along my ASICS lightweight windbreaker/raincoat in anticipation of the cold and light rain. It stayed dry but the chill was there in force. It was an interesting experience in terms of wind, direction and effort. I had the strong wind at my back when going uphill on some long roads and the reverse on others. I was wondering if the two balanced out or if one condition was more of a factor than the other. All told I covered 3.5 miles in about 32 minutes at 9:20. I thought I was pacing a bit better than that so maybe the wind was more of a factor than I realized. The good news is that I felt great throughout the run. I may find myself on a hotel treadmill tomorrow morning. This would be the first time I’d run on a treadmill in memory. Seriously, I’d have to go back to my records to see the last workout marked “treadmill” because its been that long. Well, if I must go that way at least it will be on a high-end unit. A little change might be fun. That’s what I’ll keep telling myself.

Tempted by choices at DSW

On November 9, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Four days out of the week I wear a suit to work but on Fridays I usually wear more comfortable “business casual” clothing. I usually wear a pair of Bass loafers on those days and I noticed some scuffing recently that prompted a visit to DSW to look for a new pair. DSW is a huge shoe store that sits imposingly high above the other stores in the area. Downstairs are hundreds of women’s shoes and bags on display. My wife told me, amused, that they were selling a pair of shoes “discounted” to $800. Overall, the prices were actually very good and most everything else was priced well. I headed upstairs to look for new loafers but the athletic shoe section caught my eye and I spent some time with my son looking at and trying on some nice models from Saucony, ASICS, Brooks, Mizuno and others.

These weren’t the low end models that you always find on sale at Sports Authority. They had ASICS Kayano-14’s for $89.00 (but not in my size) and Brooks Trance 8’s for $99 that were in my size. I tried the three Mizuno models, some Saucony trail shoes (really nice fit) and a few assorted others. It’s obvious why the shoes were cheap – they were last year’s models or older – but if I was ready to buy I would have been happy with the choices. My son, the 10 year old grownup, finally laid down the law and made me look at loafers. I found a nice pair at a good price and left happy. I would have liked those Trance 8’s too. Maybe next time.

Later in the day we all headed to the track. My wife didn’t have an opportunity to fit in her workout that morning and my daughter wanted to run. I took the opportunity to run some easy laps that I alternated with faster paced segments. I also did a few 200m “sprints” at around 7:15/mile. It was a far quicker pace than I normally run but slow enough to prevent any injuries. Overall it was a very nice weekend for running and the cool, maple-scented air added much to the experience. I’m thinking of taking tomorrow as a rest day and then start focusing on my readiness for my 5K race on the 28th.

FRS Healthy Energy fueled run

On November 8, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

My experience with energy drinks, while limited, has been fairly negative. I’ve tried Red Bull once and had no reaction except to be surprised by its vile taste. I tried a sample of Max Muscle Barracuda that was included in my goody bag from the Dirty Sock 10K race that resulted in a sluggish run at Stillwell Woods. More recently I’ve followed a few runs with Myoplex shakes that were included in the goody bags from the Cape Cod Marathon and found it to be a nice recovery supplement.

Yesterday, while we were out, I spotted a four-pack of FRS Healthy Energy drink that was on sale for $5.99, $2.00 off its regular price. I was interested in this product because magazines like Men’s Journal have touted it as different and better than the other energy drinks out there. The company claims that its key ingredient, quercetin, is a powerful antioxidant and the other supplementary ingredients provide energy without the “roller-coaster” effect brought on by drinks that use caffeine and taurine to create an energetic rush.

I tried a can of cold FRS in Low Cal Wild Berry flavor. It was pleasant tasting and I didn’t see any artificial sweeteners in the ingredient list. I gave myself about 20 minutes before setting out and I did feel pretty good as I started my run. After about a minute I needed to stop to adjust the tongue and laces of my right show that were uncomfortably pressing on the top of my foot. It’s a problem I often have with my Brooks and although I love the shoes I really need my next pair to have a longer and wider tongue to spread the pressure to the sides. Once corrected I restarted and made my way to neighborhood #4 and beyond with part of my route through a four inch layer of dry fallen leaves that were fun to run through but made quite a racket in the process. At around the 15 minute mark I began to feel a little fatigued and my breathing was a little off. This was unusual because my breathing has become very consistent over the past year and I usually never think about it. I figured correctly that I’d get my second wind at around the 22 minute mark and I proceeded to cover about 3.3 miles at around 9:10 min/mile but I was fairly breathless after a semi-sprint for the last quarter mile.

I’ll continue to experiment with the remaining cans of FRS and I think it is supporting an enhanced post-run energy level. The lesson I’ve learned is that, for me, the best pre-run energy drink is a cool glass of water.

Marathon day training run

On November 1, 2009 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

After yesterday’s fairly long and challenging run I thought about skipping it today in favor of an elliptical session or simply resting and running on Monday instead. After watching the coverage of the NY Marathon that started at 6:00 AM I knew I needed to get out and run, even for a short distance. I pre-planned a 5K run around my neighborhood and hoped to maintain a sub 9-minute pace. My route followed the boundary of my neighborhood until I cut into the streets about halfway around. I felt far better than I’d thought I might considering the length of yesterday’s run and I consciously pushed myself to keep a brisk pace. Along the way I encountered a group of teens who were dressed for running and I hoped they would continue in my direction. I figured that a group of 17 year old runners would be great for pacing but they went a different way so I needed to pace myself the best I could. I checked my watch after 20 minutes and hoped that I was within seven minutes of finishing.

I ended up covering my distance at an 8:45 pace after pushing hard in the last quarter mile. I was actually surprised that my time was as slow as it was because I’d tried hard to move quickly throughout the run. It may be that I’ve put in a record number of miles since Sunday (28!) and I just didn’t have enough left to draw upon today. I watched the marathon after my cool down and shower and was pleased to see that Meb Keflezighi, an American, won the the men’s race. For the first time I appreciated watching this race with the perspective of a runner who has experienced competition. I don’t mean that my experience is anything like those who covered five boroughs over 26.2 miles today. I hope, with a little rest and a lot more fast training runs, that I can be competitive in my upcoming 5K at the end of this month.

The toughest seven miles so far

On October 31, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Last week’s relay had me thinking a lot about both my potential and limits for distance running. This weekend’s NY Marathon has me thinking a lot about the fact that around 40,000 runners will start that race on Sunday morning. I don’t think runners need to qualify for NY like they do for Boston but I suspect that most people who go through the process of signing up (there’s a lottery that limits the number of entrants) probably have designs of at least finishing the race. That’s a lot of people who can run 26.2 miles in a single day, usually within 4.5 hours. During last week’s Cape Cod Marathon relay I was observing the marathon runners (who could be differentiated from we relay runners by the color of their numbers). When I resumed the race for my second leg at mile nine I looked for signs of fatigue amongst those committed to the full course. I couldn’t imagine needing to cover another 17 miles (I got to roll off after 5.7) and I wondered what goes through the head of person who knows they’ll be running for three, four or more hours without stopping. I guess it all comes down to expectations and conditioning. I knew after my 9 miles last Sunday that even doing 13.1 would be a struggle. As for running 26.2 miles in one shot? Unlikely.

All the same I really do want to break the ten mile barrier so upon AG’s suggestion I decided to focus one weekend day on distance and location and the other on either speed or recovery. In terms of location, the idea is to get out of the neighborhood and see more interesting things than houses and cars. I headed over to Bethpage State Park that has long paved bike paths, trails and a cross-country course that overlaps through soccer fields and (possibly) golf courses. When I arrived I saw numerous yellow buses and groups of high school age students running in packs. There was some sort of XC meeting happening so I decided to head to the bike paths because the crowds seemed to be avoiding those. The entrance to bike trails starts with a steep but short hill and I felt fine through the first few miles of rolling hills. I’d decided to run about 30-40 minutes in one direction and head back at that point. The first 3.5 miles were fairly easy despite some frequent hills at the beginning. Most of the rest was either level or downward-sloping. I appreciated that in the moment but dreaded the hills for the return. I passed most runners that I encountered on my southern leg but on the way back I was passed by three very fit (and friendly) runners, one of whom I encountered again upon his out-and-back as I was coming in near the finish.

I averaged 9:20 for the first half and 9:40 for the return, covering 7.1 miles around 9:30/mile. With all those hills I was happy to make the pace that I did and I was exhausted from the workout. As far as being able to cover 10 miles in single run I still have work to do. When the time comes to tackle that distance I hope the route is less challenging than today’s tough run.

Rainy anniversary day run

On October 28, 2009 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

It was raining pretty hard when I got up this morning and I decided to wait to see if the skies would clear up within my window of running opportunity or if I needed to do an indoor workout. I haven’t been on the treadmill in months or on the elliptical in weeks and there’s a reason for that. As I’ve mentioned before, I find time spent on the treadmill to be extremely tedious. I’d prefer to run in driving rain than to run indoors on a noisy machine that will dump you off the back should you take one false step. The elliptical is also tedious but at least I can watch TV while I’m on it and I don’t need to stay hyper aware of my safety.

At around 7:45 AM the rain had slowed enough for me to venture out. It was only about 50 degrees outside so I wore compression shorts under long basketball shorts, a long sleeve tech shirt and my ASICS light raincoat. Despite all those clothes I was still cold throughout much of my run. The rain picked up after about ten minutes but I was determined to get in at least 30 minutes of running time before starting my day. I ended up covering 3.28 at 9:17 per mile. I ran with my Adidas Response 15 trail shoes that are very comfortable and perform as well on pavement as they do on the trails.

Today is my anniversary so I took a mini vacation this week, starting with our trip to Cape Cod this past weekend. Despite the rain my wife and I got out for a nice lunch along with some other planned activities. I’ll be back to the office tomorrow but the weekend is just a couple of days away. I really hope to get some trail time in at least one of those days.

Post race recovery run

On October 27, 2009 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

After taking Monday off to recover from Sunday’s race I set out this morning for a short neighborhood run. I have a busy day scheduled so I limited my distance to make enough time for my first appointment. It was still dark when I left the house at 6:45 AM so I wore my headlamp and reflective vest. I’m used to running these streets almost three hours earlier in the morning so it surprised me at first to see cars, recycling trucks and workers at the middle school as I ran past. I wore my ASICS GEL-1130’s that I’d been using as my office running shoes but since Labor Day I haven’t had the time to run in the city so I brought the ASICS home to occasionally trade off with my Brooks GTS-9’s. The two shoes feel similar although the 1130’s feel less stable on the toe-off compared with the Brooks. The difference becomes greater when I’m running longer distances, as I did on Sunday. The Brooks are really good shoes and have never given me a problem regardless of distance or conditions. The ASICS were a good choice for an occasional run (and the price was right) but there’s a difference between $100+ shoes and more economical models.

Before I ran this morning I used the Active Wrap in heat mode on my quads since I was still sore from Sunday despite taking Monday as a rest day. As I made my way around the middle school I was amused to see that orange cones had been set up along the perimeter of one side of the parking lot and along the front driveway. It was like a moment of deja vu as I followed them, just as I had done on Main Street in Falmouth on Sunday morning. It took a few minutes to fall into a comfortable pace and I decided to run whatever distance I could cover within 30 minutes. It turned out to be 3.27 miles that I did at a 9:09 pace. It really does make a difference when you run among others, especially in competition. The first leg of the relay was approximately the same distance as this morning but I ran that segment a half minute faster per mile even with a couple of challenging hills.

After my run I tried a bottle of the EAS Myoplex Vanilla Cream nutrition shake that we got in our goody bags at the race. To be honest I was averse to drinking it because it contained sucralose and I really can’t stand sugar substitutes. However, it tasted fine, although there was a slight medicinal quality to it. I found it convenient compared to having to prepare a recovery breakfast and it helped reduce the time between my run and my shower. I’m not sure if I’ll make a habit of Myoplex but I do have another bottle that I’ll try after my next hard workout. Tomorrow I’m going to try to take advantage of having one more day off this week and do a longer run. After all, my next race is but 31 days away!