Lesson learned: start focusing on stamina and distance

On August 23, 2010 By Emerging Runner1 Comment

One thing that became clear to me during yesterday’s race was my need to put more focus on distance. The performance gains I had made in prior weeks were seductive and they caused me to think too much about only one dimension of my performance. Four miles run in the mid 8’s was a welcome improvement over the mid-9 minute paces I had been averaging over the summer. With everything I’d been reading about the importance of speed work and tempo runs it seemed logical to work on improving pace, especially when measurable gains appeared. As I faced the last couple of miles on the trail yesterday morning I began to regret the lack of longer training runs over the last month. Sure, I could run a decent pace for three or four miles but what happens to my mechanics when that distance is doubled?

After actively returning to running two years ago I’ve steadily increased my speed and distances to the point where I run mostly in the low 9’s and do weekend distances up to about 8 miles. Due to time constraints I’ve rarely been able to run more than 20 miles per week, with most of my longer runs happening on Saturdays and Sundays. Having a whole hour to run is a luxury and using yesterday’s performance as a yardstick that only gets me about six miles. So finding enough time for real distance running is its own challenge. I’ve really enjoyed the long slow distance (LSD) runs where length, not speed, were the goal. That may be one reason why I prefer trail running; the course and the terrain are so variable that pace becomes less relevant. This weekend I’m hoping to get in at least one long run to help prepare for the Cow Harbor 10K in late September. Distance should help my stamina and once that’s improved I can again start thinking about my pace.

Race summary: 2010 Dirty Sock 10K

On August 22, 2010 By Emerging Runner5 Comments

Spying the finish line was a most welcome sight

Dirty Sock Run: 6.2 miles (10K) at 9:37 (net)

I had high hopes for a better performance than last year at today’s Dirty Sock 10K. My training had gone well and I’ve been pacing regularly in the mid 8-minute range. I took the last two days off from running and carefully timed my nutrition this morning for optimal benefit. This set an expectation that I’d beat last year’s time, at least by a little. The Dirty Sock course is a (mostly) out and back route that begins along the western trail, runs north, circles Belmont Lake and returns the same way (except for the last 1.2 miles). The trails are well groomed, not at all technical, and while there are numerous elevation changes, most are within a 1% grade up or down. This is a great course to run at a moderate pace in the company of friends. Running it as a race, with humidity levels approaching 100%, it begins to feel less fun.

Our day started early and we arrived for registration an hour before the start. The earlier rain had slowed to a drizzle but I still had concerns about its return. The race setup was similar to last year and there’s always comfort in knowing what to expect. I was disappointed that there were no bagpipers at the starting line this year but there were many people milling around, stretching, warming up and catching up with friends. My daughter and I took a walk up the trail to look for the starting line and when we returned we found my wife and son chatting with DaveADK, a friend from last year’s Dirty Sock Run. Dave had a foot issue and is on the good side of recovering from an eye problem so it was great to see him there. A little later I ran into BJS who ran a practice run with me on the Dirty Sock course a few weeks ago. We walked back to the trail head together where I found Team Emerging Runner awaiting my return. I told them “See you at the finish line” and BJS and I made our way to the starting line. The trail is fairly wide but with 500 people queuing for the start it gets fairly crowded. When the gun went off it took us half a minute to reach the starting line and then we were off. BJS and I conversed for most of the first mile but the density of runners and the narrowness of the trail made it difficult from there.

I made my way past many runners and felt like I was doing better than I did last year. I caught up with DaveADK who was cruising along well and then I caught up with a group of other runners as I ran under the route 27 viaduct. Soon after I encountered race officials on bikes who were yelling “Move to the right!” as the lead runners came by on their way back from circling the lake. By the time I reached Belmont Lake I was feeling the humidity and the effort and while I was tired I knew I had enough left to complete the course. How fast I could do that was another story. I ran in my Helly Hansen’s today because I thought the rain would make the trails too muddy for my Brooks. The trail condition stayed excellent throughout the race and I would have done fine in the Adrenalins after all. No harm done, the Helly’s did a great job too.

I grabbed water a couple of times, they had an impressive number of water stations that helped greatly in the humid conditions. I had brought a box of raisins as a late race booster and had a small handful as I passed the mile 5 marker. I think that made a difference because I was growing fatigued and a few people were passing me. I resumed my pace and re-passed some that had overtaken me, all the time thinking that I was about to run the longest 1.2 miles I’d run this year. Just like last year it seemed to take forever to travel the scenic last mile of this race, past the lower lake and over trails that wound and wound until FINALLY, I saw daylight and heard the race announcer on the PA. Unlike last year when I felt like I could not have run another foot longer than necessary to finish, this morning my speed just felt constrained near the end. As I approached the finish line I saw my daughter and then my wife and son and crossed the line with almost the same time as last year. Dave and BJS followed me in very soon after, hard efforts all around.

I’m sure the humidity had something to do with my slower than expected time. It was truly brutal but everyone was up against the same conditions this morning. It was my 10th race since returning to running almost two years ago and I left the event feeling good about competing, even though I really only compete with myself. As soon as I see my family waiting for me at the finish line the memory of hard effort gives way to a feeling of accomplishment and that’s why I do it. Before I know it, I’ll be running the Great Cow Harbor 10K. It will be my first 10K on pavement and the course presents some real hill challenges. I need to increase my distances on my longer training runs to get more performance into the last few miles. That’s for another day, now it’s time to relax and enjoy the feeling of a good race run hard.

Hamstrung performance

On August 18, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.9 miles at 8:48

I thought my string of speedy runs had come to an end this morning when I took off and felt a painful twinge from my right hamstring. I’d been feeling some tenderness there over the last day but this felt worse. Instead of rushing to a full gallop I shortened my stride a little and tried to maintain a fast cadence. That helped take pressure off the problem and after a few minutes, probably because my leg muscles had warmed, the pain subsided. I maintained the upright form that I use when trying to land on my mid foot while wearing a conventional shoe like the Brooks GTS 10.

The route I’d chosen covered more distance than I usually run before work, almost 3 miles today. I thought my overall time would be markedly off compared to recent days when I knew I was meeting an aggressive pace. When I checked the Garmin at the end I was surprised to see (and later confirm on Gmaps) that I’d again beaten 9:00 by a tidy margin. That pleased me to no end because it proved that even under suboptimal conditions I can still run in the eight minute range.

I’m out of the office on Thursday and Friday and I’m planning to do a long run tomorrow. I’ll probably rest on Friday and Saturday to be primed for this Sunday’s race. We’re planning on going hiking this week so I’ll need to ice my hamstring after that. The weather report for the weekend has changed from intermittent storms to clear and sunny. It will be great if that holds. Last year it rained on Saturday which caused some puddles on the trail, but overall the paths were dry. The less mud the better on Sunday, especially if I run in the Brooks.

Training is paying off with two speedy runs despite the hills

On August 14, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Friday’s run (Central Park): 3.25 miles at 8:39
Today’s run (street): 4.5 miles at 8:36

We have guests coming over today so I set out early to get in my run. My focus, both today and yesterday, was on maintaining a brisk pace over routes that presented some hill challenges. Yesterday I headed to Central Park around noon and followed a route that started by following the lower and upper loop on the east side. I crossed to the west north of the Great Lawn and finished my run down the loops along the west side. The temperature was around 75 degrees and that helped at the start. I ran the first mile, that has a couple of noticeable elevations, at around 8:05 per mile, which is fast for me. My split speed decreased for miles 2 and 3 but I did keep my pace well under nine minutes the whole way through. A focus on speed has definitely improved my performance and I’m happy with the numbers but I do wish I could just go out there and run for fun. But running for fun does not contribute enough to conditioning and I only have one week before the Dirty Sock 10K.

My run this morning mostly took place in a business park located near my house. it’s not the most visually interesting place to run but the wide open streets and a loop that is 2/3 uphill and 1/3 downhill makes for a great training ground. I ran the loop two times and tried to maintain a rapid cadence. I averaged 88 SPM for the first mile and gradually fell to 83 SPM by the last half mile. Even so, I bettered the 80 SPM that I have averaged most of this summer. I finished my training cycle by ducking into neighborhood #3 which is mostly flat and provided a welcome relief from uphill running. From there I headed home, tired but still remaining under the 9:00 threshold.

Last night my wife told me about a 5K race that was being held at Sand’s Point this morning. She suggested I run it because it’s a beautiful place right on the water. I decided that I needed to do the hill training instead, to prepare for next week’s race. It would have been fun to spontaneously run a 5K but part of my enjoyment of racing is the anticipation of the event and the strategy and training that precedes it. I’m really curious about how I’ll do next Sunday. Will my performance training pay off or will I end up close to my time from last year? I thought I’d trained better and incorporated better strategy before the New Hyde Park 8K in June but I ended up no faster (or slower) than my 2009 run. I’m planning to run with my friend KWL tomorrow and then run on Monday through Wednesday during the week. I’ll finish my taper with an elliptical session and rest for Sunday. At least that’s the plan for now.

A kind surprise from the Emerging Runner, Jr.

On August 12, 2010 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

This morning I walked into the guest room to see my running clothes and gear laid out for my morning run. I had gone to bed early and neglected my usual setup process so I was confused to see everything neatly in its place. Then I saw a note from my daughter explaining that she was concerned that I’d forgotten to do this the night before. It was very thoughtful of her and I felt a little bad about not using some of the carefully selected items (like my headlamp) but I wanted to do some cross training this morning on the elliptical. Having all my towels and workout clothes ready certainly saved me time.

My focus on speed in preparation for the upcoming Dirty Sock and Great Cow Harbor runs has extended to my elliptical workouts. I found that I could maintain a rate that’s 9% faster than I had been achieving a month ago (at the same level of resistance). It would seem as though the the extra effort I’m putting into running has improved my speed all around. I plan to test that tomorrow with a run in Central Park if the weather holds up. I’ve been running faster but I haven’t really faced any challenging hills. Central Park provides plenty of those and I’m curious to see how I do on them.

7:04 pace for 2.8 miles? All it takes is a little math

On August 11, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.8 miles at 8:59

Once again I managed to squeak under the 9:00 per mile threshold for my early morning run. While I haven’t been all out sprinting during my runs I have been putting a lot more effort into the process. It makes me wonder how far I could really push it without my heart rate moving into dangerous territory. 8:59 makes me happier than 9:00 but, regardless, that pace range was characterized as “pedestrian” in an article I recently read in a running magazine. How insulting! I may run at a pedestrian pace but according to other articles I’m really much faster than that. Based on what I’ve also recently read, here is the Emerging Runner Guide to rationalizing your pace:

1. Every 5 degrees above 60 adds 20-30 seconds per mile to pace
@ 75 degrees (3 x -15 seconds) = 8:59 – 45 seconds = 8:14

2. Every 10 degree difference above 60 at the same relative humidity = 35 seconds per mile
@ 75 degrees (1.5 x 30) = 8:14 – 45 seconds = 7:29

3. Age compensation (compared to fit 20-something runners) and 4:00 AM start time
Lets just subtract another 25 seconds…

Using the above guide I see that I’d actually achieved an average pace at 7:04 per mile this morning. How about that?! I guess I’ll need to work a little harder or find more formulas to get me into the 6:00 range.

Doing what it takes to stay under 9:00 per mile

On August 10, 2010 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Today’s run (street) 2.5 miles at 8:59

I’ll admit that I like my current focus on speed and pace and I’ve been looking forward to my early morning runs even more than usual. I’m not running fast at 4:00 AM but compared to the paces I maintained throughout most of July, I am running much faster. My definition of a decent pace begins at around 9:05 per mile. I’m generally pleased when I meet or exceed that time. My psychological threshold is 9:00 minutes and that’s when I feel like I’ve accomplished more than merely covering my distance. Right now, in the midst of summer, 9:00 per mile is much harder for me to break than when I’m running in 20-30 degree temperatures. I want to do better on the Dirty Sock run this year and I believe that consistently training at paces around 9:00 per mile will get me there. However, trails can become more difficult based on their condition. If it rains close to start time all bets are off.

I managed to break my psychological threshold this morning, clocking an 8:59 pace for two and a half miles. It was already close to 80 degrees when I left but without the sun I felt like I could push without straining. I’m focusing primarily on form (vertical alignment, arm positioning) and cadence. On my slow days in July, I hovered around 80 SPM and on longer runs would fall as low as 78. These days, as I run, I think about how quickly I’m turning over my stride, how high my trailing leg is going and how much time I can spend off the ground. Higher cadence does influence stride length but I think that’s okay. In Born to Run, Christopher McDougal writes about the advantages of a shorter stride for mid-foot running and I agree that it does provide a feeling of moving along well.

My friend BJS sent me some notes that he made from his Cow Harbor 10K training last year. They are extremely helpful in understanding the course and setting expectations. He mentions a couple of big hills that must be respected. I think that will be the theme for one of my upcoming weekend training runs. The Dirty Sock course has no measurable elevations but, even so, I’m expecting that hill training will help me.

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.

Running to the edge

On August 4, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles at 8:59

I don’t know if I’d call it running fast but I am definitely running with more urgency this week. Instead of falling into my normal pace I’ve attempted to push myself a little harder, enough to feel like I’m running and not “jogging.” My expectations for performance are lower in the early morning, especially when it’s hot and humid. Most of the time my pace at 4:00 AM averages about 15-20 seconds per mile slower than when I run at 8:00 AM. I also run slower in the summer months and the combination of these two factors has put me into the mid to high 9:00 range for most of my weekday runs. After reading some recent articles in Runner’s World, Running Times and Men’s Journal about performance and race training I decided to break free of my default morning pace and run with a constant focus on speed and form. I’m not pushing past my comfort zone but I’m traveling on the edge.

The temperature on the local station said 75 when I went outside but I immediately sensed that the humidity was back in full force. Ignoring that, I set out quickly and managed to keep my pace brisk over the first street that goes slightly uphill before it connects to another road that descends at about the same rate. I noticed that, despite the humid air, the moderate temperature and the lack of sun made for decent running conditions. I pressed on experimenting slightly with my stride and form. I followed some different roads to alleviate the tedium of always keeping to the same streets and that made it interesting. The new route helped distract me enough to maintain a fairly energetic run.

Throughout the run, I concentrated of front foot landing which was not that easy in my Brooks but I managed to land that way more often han not. I also tried to get more lift on my ascending leg while keeping my stride shorter to increase cadence. Sounds pretty technical but it translated to a decent time, just barely under 9:00 minutes, better than almost any other run I’ve done of late. This weekend I’ll be doing a longer run in preparation for the Dirty Sock race and I don’t plan to incorporate any speed technique for that. Tomorrow and Friday I will continue to push to the limit — and hopefully push those limits even further.

Race training has begun

On August 3, 2010 By Emerging Runner1 Comment

Today’s run (street): 2.5 miles at 8:49

I’ve come to realize that I’ll never improve my performance by running the same comfortable miles over and over again. I can use many excuses to explain why my performance has slipped but, in truth, I’ve done little to help my cause. I was reading an old post where I’d written about having done speed drills at the local track. That was a long time ago. I did train on hills to prepare for the Cape Cod marathon relay and more recently to prepare for the Marcie Mazzola 5K but that was months ago. Besides throwing in a few tempos on some longer runs I haven’t helped really pushed myself. I’ve come to realize that the only way to improve is to focus on running more “quality miles” that benefit my conditioning and performance.

This morning I headed out to moderately cool temperatures. It felt nothing like Sunday’s chilly air but it was certainly better than it had been a week ago. I had just read an article in Runner’s World about training for a half marathon PR and realized that the type of running I’m doing isn’t really contributing to my running progress. That isn’t to say that the running I’m doing doesn’t have benefits. It’s maintaining my current level of fitness and provides a great outlet for stress. However, now’s the time to step up.

I hit the street at a faster pace than I’ve run in a while. I thought about doing a tempo run but then figured that the distance I’d cover is short enough to push the whole way through. I didn’t duplicate the effort I’d make running a 5K (going from waking up to running in 10 mins is hard enough) but I did handily beat 9:00 per mile. The run felt really good and I was left wondering whether it’s more work to run easy than hard in some circumstances. I won’t declare that I’ve moved into a new phase of performance running but conditioning will be top of mind as I prepare for the Dirty Sock run later in the month.