Ready to be One with the Fitbit

On February 25, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

“Be healthier & get more fit.”

Today’s run (street): 3.25 miles

I was excited to see that my Fitbit One came in the mail today. It’s a great device, but the packaging copy writers should work on their grammar. My wife has been using hers for almost a year and she finds it an invaluable tool for documenting her activity. It’s also a great motivator to reach her daily goal of 12,000+ steps. I love measuring my performance and I’m looking forward to analyzing the data. The software offers lots of features and even a smartphone app. I’ll report on my experience soon.

Now that I’m no longer commuting into the office every day, my morning routine has changed. I’m usually up at 5:30 AM instead of 3:30, and the pressure to complete my run on a tight schedule is gone. I now enjoy my morning coffee at my leisure and I spend a little time with the kids before they leave for school. I haven’t wanted to run while the middle school and high school buses are on their routes, so I’ve been waiting until 8:00 or 8:30 to get outside.

Today’s run was my first workout since Saturday’s race and, despite yesterday’s rest day, my legs still felt heavy. I moved along comfortably, maintaining my equilibrium pace. My distance target was three miles and I followed a different route for a change of scenery. I hoped that my race-day speed would carry over to today, but that wasn’t the case. In terms of performance, it wasn’t all that bad, just not especially fast.

I wore my Kinvaras this morning and tried to compare them to the Spiras that I wore in the race on Saturday. I chose the Spiras because I thought they’d provide more response on toe-off than the softer Kinvaras. I didn’t find that racing in the Spiras (for the first time, BTW) provided that much advantage. I probably need to start thinking about replacing the Kinvaras that have 455 miles on them. I’m wondering if I should start looking at performance trainers.

Snowflake looms so no backing down

On February 17, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Speed play and HR % of MAX

Today’s run (treadmill): 5.2 miles

I was up at 5:30 AM this morning and the winds were howling. The news stations were talking about wind chills in the teens and I decided to return to the treadmill rather than face the bitter cold. I’m hoping that by next Saturday the weather will be milder. Many races provide no warming shelter prior to the event. I’m happy that the Long Beach Snowflake race is staged in a school gym located across the road from the starting line.

Yesterday’s run was done a little faster than my normal training pace, and I debated whether I should take down the intensity today. I decided to go the other way and started at a brisk pace, maintaining that speed until the 15 minute mark. I increased it 8% at that point for about five minutes. I then backed down to my original pace and held it until I surged again for the final five minutes of my run.

I often question the accuracy of the treadmill’s display because the effort required on the treadmill seems greater than an equivalent pace on the road. That’s okay, I’d rather have it under-count the distance than gain a false sense of my performance. So my 5.2 miles was hard earned and likely lower than the actual “distance” I’d covered.

I’ll probably run tomorrow through Wednesday and rest the two days prior to the race. I’ve read about the benefits of moderation in terms of weekly distance and the frequency of workouts, so I have no problem with that taper plan. I’m running well but I haven’t raced in three months, so I’m not really sure how competitive I’ll be. I’m not expecting to beat last year’s PR, but I do have a target that I hope to beat. In reality, it’s just nice to be back in the game.

Goodbye office, hello treadmill

On February 15, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

See ya

Wednesday’s run (treadmill): 2.4 miles
Friday’s run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

Although I have been only intermittently engaged with my company in the last two weeks, I was still going in the office a few days to finish up business. Yesterday was the culmination of that. I boxed up my personal items and bubble wrapped the artwork that had hung on the walls of the ten offices I’ve occupied since joining the company in 1992. It wasn’t a dramatic exit, much more, “See ya soon” than “goodbye.” But, a day later, I’m already missing my co-workers.

The night before I was graciously treated to dinner by some industry friends who took me to an excellent and very trendy restaurant not far from my office. It had already been a long day by the time I met up with them. The conversation flowed and the evening went long. I didn’t get home until nearly midnight. I had to to go into the office early on Thursday morning, so I skipped my workout to allow me to sleep an extra hour.

Wednesday morning I got up at 4:30 AM and did a treadmill run. I knew the day would be long and that I’d be covering a number of sections of the city on foot. That said, I still wanted to get in a workout. I don’t remember much about Wednesday’s treadmill run except that I had trouble maintaining an aggressive pace. I did manage to get to targeted speed in the final few minutes, but it wasn’t a high performance run.

This morning my wife and I had to run an early morning errand and when we returned home, I headed upstairs for a treadmill run. I’m only a week away from the Snowball race so I didn’t hesitate to set a fast pace from the start. I was running in my optimal time window and that helped me sustain speeds that were a little too tough on Wednesday morning. I increased the pace until I’d reached my initial heart rate target.

It’s funny how runs can vary from day to day. Today everything went smoothly and I was pleased with my performance. It would be great to get to Bethpage this weekend to take advantage of all the hills. You’d think that in 2013, technology would allow me to know if the gates to Bethpage State Park are open before I drive all the way over there. I suppose the best way to confirm that is to use a technology that was invented in 1876, the telephone, and call the park’s maintenance office.

Blizzard conditions outside and hard running inside

On February 8, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Ready or not, here it comes

Today’s run (treadmill): 30 minutes

The snow is upon us and, as the local weather guy just said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” The wind is blowing and I’m worried about losing power. Despite all the contingency planning, I have little reason to believe LIPA and National Grid will be up to the task. I’m glad we have a generator that can power a hot plate and heater (plus TV, laptop, phone, and coffee machine) but I’m hoping we won’t need to do that.

It wasn’t snowing when I was ready to run this morning, but conditions had already turned unpleasant. The wind was building and there was intermittent rain. My wife did her daily treadmill workout and I followed her once she’d finished. Due to the weather, I had no intention of going into the city today. I was able to conduct a lot of business from the comfort of my home office/guest bedroom/fitness room.

I got right into my run, starting at a brisk pace and speeding up further as I got closer to the end. It’s true that the more you run faster paces, the easier it is to maintain them. I don’t think the treadmill display is close to accurate. A 9:30 pace feels super fast and a 9:00 pace feels like a sprint. Technically, I ran a 9:19 pace, but it felt harder than the 8:45 I ran outdoors a few days ago.

I may do a combination elliptical and treadmill workout tomorrow. If we don’t have power, my only option will be the elliptical without display or resistance. I’m hoping that we’ll get through this storm free of disruption to both power and running.

Early morning run at a more reasonable hour

On February 6, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Today has been an interesting day. It was my first time back in the office since last Wednesday and I was definitely in a different mode. I can’t say that I miss the old schedule. Waking up at 3:30 every day is (hopefully) a thing of the past. I had so many great conversations today that I barely made a dent organizing my office materials. I’m sure I’ll make much better progress tomorrow.

This morning’s workout happened at a far more reasonable hour than normal. 5:00 AM is early for many, but it allowed me almost 90 minutes more sleep than I’d usually get. Once again, I hit the treadmill hard, starting at a speed that I usually wouldn’t reach until I’m five minutes to the end of the workout. I’ve found that when I’m consistently running faster paces I establish a new benchmark for my normal speed. Somehow, over time, I always end up reverting back to my equilibrium pace.

Still, today was another great run and I’m not sure if it has more to do with a renewed focus on speed or simply getting more rest. It’s probably a little of both. I’ll probably do another treadmill run tomorrow (or an elliptical session) and get outside for Friday’s workout. That’s contingent on whether we get the 6″-12″ of snow that’s predicted to fall prior to the weekend.

Fast paced run despite a Bethpage lockout

On February 5, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Snowed out again at Bethpage

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles

I had a great run today, but it wasn’t the one I had planned. I headed out early to Bethpage to run the bike trail and to take on some hills. When I arrived, I saw that the drive leading into the park was locked and gated. I thought at first to drive to Haypath Road and park where the Greenbelt trail continues north. Along the way I noticed that the bike path had a lot of snow, so I headed back home.

My neighborhood roads had some icy patches this morning. I’d initially dismissed the idea of running in my neighborhood, but when I returned from Bethpage I saw that the streets looked much clearer. I figured that since I was already dressed for an outdoor run, I’d be better off outside than on the treadmill. After minutes of standing out in the cold, my Garmin acquired its signal and I was finally off.

Today’s plan was to run hard, and that’s what I did. There was still residual snow on the far right and left sides of the streets, but I felt that I had enough room to maneuver to maintain safety. Traffic was sparse, so I was able to focus on the effort at hand. For the longest time, I’ve been running at what I call “equilibrium” pace. That’s the speed I go when I just tune out and run, usually between 9:30-9:55 per mile.

The speed and effort curves crossed to the left of normal today and I came through the first mile in the 8:30. I didn’t record a single split above 9:00. Following my 8:30, my timing went 8:59, 8:58 and 8:26 (for the partial). My overall pace was 8:45/mile, making it my fastest training run in ten months. My heart rate stayed exactly where I wanted it, topping out about 5 BPM below max.

The shorter distance prevented today’s harder effort from causing me undue fatigue. In fact I’ve felt more energized than usual since the run. The challenge will be to maintain that level of focus going forward, at least until race day. Not every run needs to be speedy, but that will be my bias between now and the 23rd.

Machine made speed run

On January 21, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill speed run): 3.2 miles

The weather report this morning confirmed my decision to keep my workout indoors. The wind chill would bring temperatures down to the low 20’s and the local track has plenty of wind. While I got ready to run I debated the level of intensity that I’d put to the task. I had looked up treadmill intervals online and considered doing that, but I settled on a more moderate speed session.

The online workout specified a brief warmup followed by five minutes at 7.1 MPH, the next five at 7.3 and then a .2 MPH step up every three minutes until you reached the 20 minute mark. Though short in duration, it was a bit more than I was willing to take on today. I decided to start at 6.1 and blip up my speed every few minutes until I was running in the low 7’s. If the treadmill’s display was accurate, I ended up averaging under a nine minute pace, despite starting out at 9:50.

I find treadmill running harder than street running, yet I tend to push myself harder on the treadmill. I suspect it has to do with the shorter stride that probably increases my cadence. A treadmill speed workout is a good start towards re-honing my performance edge, but I really do need to get back to the track. Still, with temperatures heading toward zero, you won’t see me there this week.

Ready to fight the slowdown

On January 20, 2013 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Command performance tomorrow?

Today’s run (street). 5.3 miles

Today’s workout was typical for a Sunday run, although I did follow an untypical route. In an effort to break out of the neighborhood, I crossed Rt. 25 and did my run along Jericho Turnpike. I turned north up Jackson Ave. and then headed east, past the train station. Once I reached a natural endpoint, I retraced my route with an additional segment going west on Jericho. This allowed me to reach my targeted distance.

It was a perfectly pleasant run and the weather seemed milder than yesterday. The route provided some hill challenges but the wind was less intense. Despite the nice weather and what felt like an efficient stride, I was shocked to see that I’d clocked a pace over ten minutes a mile. Usually I can blame the terrain, the weather, or simply fatigue for a slow run. Yes, there were some hills, but my net elevation gain was only 250 feet over five miles.

Sometimes I worry that I’m slowing down. Four years ago, I could count on at least a couple of runs in the 8:00 range every week. Nowadays, except for races, I rarely break 9:20. I know that some of this is due to a lapse in competition since October. I can’t remember the last time I did speed work, although I often run the last five minutes of my treadmill runs in the eight-minute range.

I’m thinking about returning to the track to run some intervals. It will be a nice change from the local roads. While I don’t love the work, I usually feel great after a hard workout. It’s supposed to be extremely cold on Monday so I may rethink this decision in the morning. Our treadmill can go 12 MPH so I could always do my intervals in the comfort of my own home.

Would you read Slow Runner magazine?

On January 14, 2013 By Emerging Runner6 Comments

Going to the Well

Running magazines provide great utility and can occasionally inspire. When I was a new runner, I found these magazines to be a useful source for information about terminology, practices and setting expectations. But just as there are no magazines to help you become a run-of-the-mill decorator or a mediocre cook, the focus of every running magazine seems to be about improving performance. Up until recently, I appreciated that focus. Now I’m a little conflicted.

The reason for this comes from recent studies published by the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health and the Lancet. Both of these studies concluded that mortality rates for those who exercised moderately were lower than the rates for sedentary people or high performing athletes. If running greater than 20 miles per week or pacing in the seven minute pace range causes a health concern, I’m certainly not going to do that. Not that I could run a sustained 7:00 pace anyway.

I’m curious to see whether running magazines will ignore these studies or dismiss them as inaccurate. If not, will they acknowledge the facts and modify their editorial focus? After all, the topic of minimalism started getting regular coverage after Christopher McDougall published “Born to Run”. Covering running without a focus on performance may be a hard sell for Running Times, but many titles already devote pages to nutrition, human interest and lifestyle.

Given the choice, I’d always choose an article about running experience over a new approach to running intervals. Maybe that’s a new market segment for Rodale to cover.

Afternoon runs are hard when you’re a morning runner

On January 12, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

I wish all races started at 10:00 AM

Today’s run (street): 5.3 miles

All things being equal, I run much better in the morning than I do later in the day. The numbers don’t lie and I have had enough bad afternoon runs to know it’s true. I don’t know if it relates to biorhythms, psychology, or nutrition (or some combination of the three). In any case, I usually avoid running during the second half of the day. The above chart is an unscientific but fair representation of my performance throughout the day.

I’ve felt a little off my game this week. Not exactly tired, but not as strong as usual. I skipped my run on Thursday to give myself a day to catch up. Yesterday’s run on the treadmill was fine, although I didn’t feel as energized after the run as I usually do.

This morning I woke up at 6:45 AM, a full hour later than usual for a Saturday. I clearly needed the sleep and was happy to lose a little time to gain the rest. Due to that, the morning schedule was compressed and I lost my window to run. Other things took priority and it wasn’t until after lunch that I finally headed outside.

Today’s plan was to go to Bethpage, but I didn’t feel like taking the drive over there. I wasn’t pleased about my late start and I really wanted to get my run done as quickly as possible. At around 2:00 PM, I finally had my act in gear and started off. My targeted distance was five miles. Normally that would be easy, but I was concerned that the later hour would make it tough.

The weather felt cool, even though the reported temperature was 45 degrees. A very light rain was falling and I considered wearing my running raincoat but I feared overheating. I ended up putting on my Zensah calf compression sleeves for warmth and that was a good call. Plus they have an energizing effect that I’d hoped would help.

In terms of performance, it wasn’t the worst five miles I’ve run on a Saturday. My pace was acceptable but nothing to brag about. For some reason it was really hard to tie together five miles of roads today. The run seemed to take far longer than 52 minutes, but I didn’t have any issues with stamina. I occasionally picked up the pace during the run. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to help my overall time.

Running at 2:00 PM wasn’t the disaster I’d feared, but I suspect that I would have done better had I gone out earlier as planned. Tomorrow I hope to get to Bethpage and execute on my goal of doing one non-neighborhood run each weekend. Even if I can’t for some reason, at least today’s later run provided a different expereince. And for runners who train almost daily, a little difference can go a long way.