Turkey trot not

On November 28, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (street): 3.9 miles

Happy Thanksgiving. This is many people’s favorite holiday, mine too I guess, because it is so inclusive. No divisive factors such as religion, culture or politics at play. As long as you don’t think about what really happened on or around the first Thanksgiving (SIOR recently made the point that the original dinner was anything but inclusive), you can enjoy a middle of the workweek break. We’re heading out for Thanksgiving dinner soon. Rumor has it that our hosts are cooking a lot of vegan food, but there WILL be turkey.

Thanksgiving time is a runner’s paradise, because of all the local Turkey Trots that happen around the holiday. I had a good time, under miserable conditions, while running the Long Beach Turkey Trot last Sunday. We were signed up for this morning’s Nissequoge 5K, but we decided to forgo our plans in favor of doing something else. We’ve run that race for the past three years as a family, at a very easy pace. I’ve never run a competitive race on Thanksgiving day, but I’m thinking of changing that next year.

Instead of a Turkey Trot, I settled for a neighborhood run this morning. With 12 MPH winds, it felt like 21° outside. I probably overdressed for the run, but the Long Beach experience was still fresh on my mind. Even so, when the wind hit head-on, it seemed to pass through every layer I was wearing. I was feeling okay about my progress until I encountered another runner coming from a connecting street who turned onto the road behind me. He passed me a few seconds later, before taking a right while I kept going straight.

I sometimes have trouble understanding why people run faster than me. This person seemed to be maintaining the same cadence as me and his stride was not particularly open. Yet he moved at a faster rate than me. Puzzling. I know that, in reality, his cadence was faster and his stride was longer. It just didn’t look like that.

Today feels like Sunday, but the weekend is yet to come. I plan to address the speed issue on one of those weekend days by running intervals at the track. Perhaps that, and a continued focus on increasing my average distance, will help me achieve the elusive sub-9 pace that I used to expect when I raced. I like to think that I would have saved 30 seconds per mile on Sunday if I wasn’t running into 29 MPH winds. But that may just be wishbone thinking.

Race report: 2013 Hope for the Warriors 10K

On November 10, 2013 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Seconds before the finish

Photo courtesy of the Petite Pacer

Today’s run (Hope for the Warriors 10K): 6.2 miles – 58:56 (clock time)

I’m not sure that it signals a move toward improved performance, but I ran my fastest 10K of 2013 this morning at the Hope for the Warriors race. Although I’m pleased that I finally broke an hour, today’s time was measurably slower than my two prior Hope for Warriors efforts. The upcoming Long Beach Turkey Trot will tell me if today’s performance was positively directional.

Team ER on race tee and bib duty

We arrived early because my wife and kids had volunteered to work the registration area. Their job was primarily focused on handing out race tees, but they also handled some of the bib distribution. I spent much of my time trying to stay warm over the three hours between arrival and race start. I tried to find spots in the crowds that had direct sunlight.

Chillin’ (literally) before the race

The wind was brisk and that contributed to the chill. I regretted my decision to leave my calf sleeves home. Beside their energizing effect, they would have provided some additional warmth. I also regretted wearing running shorts instead of pants. However, I was glad with my gear selection once I was running.

The armed forces were well represented, as always

The 5K starts first and they line up those participants ahead of the 10K bunch. A few years ago, everyone started at the same time and it was a mess getting past the 5K walkers in the first few minutes. Now the 5K starts 15 minutes before the 10K and the road is clear until we catch up with the 5K tail-enders on Wellwood Ave. It was hard to find exactly where the 10K start was going to be. There was no mat to capture starting time, so everyone was tracked by clock time. My net time might have been a little more favorable were that the case.

At race start (directly to the right of the giant head)

Shortly before we started, I ran into the Petite Pacer. She went to say hello to another friend so I didn’t see her again until I saw her come up the right side, moving swiftly. She had a great run today and a 10K PR. She was very kind to video me as I made my way through the final meters and over the line. I found her after the race and was able to introduce her to my wife and kids.

The Hope for the Warriors 10K course is the least remarkable thing about this race. It’s a big box with few notable characteristics. Without scenery to distract me, I kept my mind on my stride but I purposely ignored my Garmin’s display. I wanted to run the race by feel and perceived effort. I was surprised that there were no clocks or split announcers along the route. I did have a basic understanding of where the splits were located and that was reinforced by chirps from my watch.

The first two miles went by quickly and I felt like I was moving well. I ran the first mile under 9 minutes but I was in the 9:10 range by the three mile point. My performance slipped a little after that, although it improved once I cleared the on-ramp from RT 109 to Sunrise Highway. Coming up that on-ramp was tough and it threatened to take the fight out of me. I tried my best to maintain speed once I hit Sunrise for the last half mile.

Happy to be finished

Me and TPP who ran a great race

I wasn’t sure whether I’d trained well enough for this race and my struggles in the late miles made me wish I’d done more base work. Overall, I was fairly satisfied with today’s performance. I’ll be interested to see how it goes in Long Beach, two weeks from today. Tomorrow is a rest day!

No expectations, but plenty of Hope

On November 9, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Last year I participated in a race that was put on by my division’s parent company. Before the race even started, one of my colleagues shared the tweet he planned to send after he finished. I told him that I never write my headline until I’m done with the race. Too many things can happen between the start and the finish lines. I don’t know what my friend ended up tweeting, but I still hold fast to that policy. I ended up having a far different race experience than I’d anticipated that night.

Tomorrow is the Hope for Warriors 10K and I’ve set no expectations in terms of how I might do. I’ve done this event twice and have a good understanding of the course. Two years ago, I attained a 10K PR at HFW, after almost skipping it because I hadn’t really trained. 2011 was a year of personal bests. I got a another PR at the Long Beach 10K Turkey Trot, just one weekend after Hope for Warriors.

This year has not produced many race highlights. My best performance came early on at the Long Beach 4 mile Snowflake race, where the Petite Pacer beat me over the line in an impressive burst of speed. Since then, I haven’t broken a 9:00 pace in a race, even in 5K’s. I’m going to run the best race I can tomorrow. As always, I’ll wait until I finish before I compose my headline.

Lies, damn lies and Garmins

On October 30, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Look how fast I didn’t run!

Today’s run (street): 3.4 miles

I was in meetings all day on Tuesday and didn’t get a chance to do a run. I did cover a lot of ground on foot, so that should count for something. Along the way I noticed many marathon tourists (after all these years I can easily spot them) enjoying the sights prior to running the race on Sunday. A couple of my meetings were held near Time Square, where sports demonstrations publicizing the Sochi Olympics were going on. It was a mob scene, but fun to watch.

I had no city meetings today, so I resumed my run schedule this morning. I’ve been running with my foot pod so that I can capture my cadence, but I still use the Garmin’s GPS to measure my mileage. Due to that, I haven’t bothered to calibrate the foot pod for distance. When I fire up the Garmin, it detects the foot pod and asks whether I’m running indoors. If I say yes, it will turn off the GPS radio and use the foot pod for measurement instead.

Today I went through the routine and when it looked like the signal had locked in, I was on my way. I hadn’t gone half a mile before the Garmin chirped saying I’d reached my first mile. I figured that the GPS signal must not have actually acquired before I started and the watch was working off the (uncalibrated) foot pod. I didn’t care much, because I always Gmap my run to get exact distance.

The watch did switch to GPS mode shortly after that, and my remaining splits were in line with my normal pacing. While I would have liked to meet the performance that the Garmin recorded for today’s run, I must admit to a far less impressive pace in the mid-9:00 range. So the Garmin lied, but I’ll forgive it. If I could run five minute first miles for real, I might actually break an 8:00 pace on my training runs.

Progress made on a progressive run

On October 28, 2013 By Emerging Runner12 Comments

Progressively paced

Today’s run (street): 3.25 miles

I’ve been feeling a little down about my running lately, because I haven’t been able to generate much speed on my training runs. I feel I should be meeting certain paces and I’ve come up short over the last week. The fact that my race times have been going in the wrong direction has fed into this frustration. Today’s run didn’t completely reverse my perspective, but it certainly helped my confidence.

It’s hard to explain my current issues. I’m not running to exhaustion, but I’ve felt like the effort I’m putting in isn’t translating into commensurate performance. I haven’t been pushing the pace like I’d do if I was training for a race, although I do have a 10K coming up in three weeks. I shouldn’t be expecting greatness, but perceived effort seems greater than observed performance.

I started out slowly and expected this run to be another disappointing effort, but I picked up speed every mile, finishing up a minute and half per mile faster than I started. This improvement was not apparent in the moment. It wasn’t until I’d downloaded my Garmin’s data that I saw my negative splits and realized I’d managed to hit an acceptable overall pace.

I’m glad to have tomorrow, my weekly rest day, for further recovery. I’ll need to turn my attention to race training soon. For now I’m just happy to have broken my streak of sub-par runs.

Comparing race times is easy but results are confusing.

On October 20, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

A tale of three races

Today’s run (street): 5.25 miles

This morning I downloaded my recent runs to Garmin Connect. I noticed a feature that compares selected runs, allowing users to see performance data by split (click above picture to read). The difference between this year and the last two year’s times are easy to see. One thing that puzzles me is that the times on split 4 are really inconsistent. This year I covered .11 miles in 50 seconds at 7:55 pace, Last year it took me one second less but the pace was 7:18. In 2011, it took one second more to cover that distance, yet the pace showed 23 seconds per mile faster than this year. Very strange.

Today my thoughts were on recovery rather than performance. Due to my tapering, I covered far less than my normal 18-20 weekly miles since last Sunday. I took it easy and aimed for five miles. Although the temperature was a moderate 54°, it felt colder. I wore a light running shirt with 3/4 length sleeves and shorts, along with a pair of light running gloves. It was a good combination to start, although by the end I was wishing for shorter sleeves and no gloves.

I ended up running faster than I planned, but not all that fast. Recovery runs are a strategy to facilitate muscle repair and eliminate the built up lactic acid that causes soreness. I wish I’d taken it just a little easier. I’m looking ahead to November 10, when I’ll be running the Hope for Warriors 10K. It’s a great event (although the course itself is only so-so). My prep for this weekend’s 5K fell short, and I want to do better. 10K means more base runs as well. Better get started soon.

Race report: 2013 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor’s Run

On October 19, 2013 By Emerging Runner8 Comments

Seconds after crossing the line

photo courtesy of The Petite Pacer

Today’s run (Town of Oyster Bay 5K): 3.1 miles – 28:39

This morning I ran the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor’s Run for the third time and had a great time. My performance was puzzling because I thought I’d do better than I did. I had an RPR (reverse PR – just made that up), having run my slowest ever 5K. Aside from that, it was great. I met The Petite Pacer for the first time in person and she was every bit as personable and charming as she is on her blog.

The morning started out well. I arrived a few minutes before 8:00 AM and parked at the high school. It’s a fairly short walk the hill up to the Community Center where they do registration and hand out race numbers and sweatshirts (hoodies this year!). I gave them my name, but it wasn’t on the list. After being referred to some GLIRC volunteers, I realized I’d never actually signed up. Not too smart of me. The GLIRC people were incredibly nice and gave me a race number after I’d filled in a registration slip. They didn’t even ask for money, but I had the cash on me and insisted they take it.

After pinning my race bib, I ran into The Petite Pacer. We headed toward the starting line that’s located about a quarter mile away on South Street. TPP suggested doing some strides so we ran a few hundred meters and returned to the starting area a couple of minutes before 9:00 AM. Our position was at the front and I mentioned that we should probably move back to keep from getting run over by the 6 minute milers.

The race started, but I found it hard to move in the crowd. I regretted suggesting that we move back before. TPP broke away and I saw her farther ahead before losing sight of her as we turned on Berry Hill Rd. I could not get past the clumps of runners ahead of me and I think it lengthened my first mile time quite a bit. According to my Garmin, I ran the first mile at 9:35 and came through mile 2 around 19:18. I did the last 1.1 miles in 8:21.

I thought I was in better shape for this race and didn’t struggle on the long hill, so I was puzzled by my time. The hill gets steeper after the first mile and I remember feeling the increased burden. Still, I felt like I was maintaining a decent stride. I obviously made up a lot of time on the mostly downhill second half and passed a lot of people along that pretty tree-lined road. The peacefulness was broken only by a runner behind me who was singing loudly and off key to the music on his iPod.

All hope of finishing under 27:50 (which would put me below a 9 minute pace) was dashed when I saw the 3 mile clock. I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the line at 28:39. TPP was already there, having finished a few minutes before me. She videoed my crossing the line which was an unexpected surprise. I’ll return the favor the next time I finish before her, which will probably be never.

Post race recovery with TPP

TPP and I got our time slips and I saw my official pace – 9:13. It was far slower than I expected to run this race. Last year I averaged 8:22 per mile. I have not had a good year in terms of race times but I still have a few more races on the schedule to improve my standings.

More important than my time was the great experience I had with the kind volunteers who helped me get registered and the opportunity to spend some time with The Petite Pacer. Tomorrow I’ll get out and go as far and fast as I feel like running. That’s the best part of a Saturday race. You have a bonus day to do another weekend run.

Making my last taper count

On October 17, 2013 By Emerging Runner3 Comments

A serious threat to pant-kind

Today’s run (street): 3.1 miles

As much as I love running, business needs to come first. For that reason, I was unable to get in my workout yesterday. I was in the city all day for meetings so the opportunity for a run didn’t surface. I’m temporarily boycotting my Fitbit because the holding clip has deteriorated to the point where I fear it will rip my pants when I wear it. Without it, I don’t know how much distance I covered yesterday on foot, but I’m estimating it was between 4 and 5 miles.

Today I had no excuses. Without a commute into the city, I had enough time for one final run before Saturday’s 5K. Although I’ve heard that I need to do weekly speed work in order to avoid embarrassing myself on race day, I think I’ve prepared well for the race. I decided that a good hard run over three miles would be a nice way to end my taper.

I took off at a brisk pace and tried to maintain that turnover throughout the entire run. The difference between this type of workout and a race centers on two factors: the influence of other runners and the psychology of competing in a timed event. Without those two things, my expectation was to see a very good, but not spectacular performance today.

That’s exactly how it came out. I’d kept my heart rate around 85% max and covered the distance in a little over 28 minutes. For me, that was exactly on the mark. I could have pushed harder and dropped my pace into the 8:00 range, but I didn’t see any reason to do that. 9:06 was a decent average under the circumstances. I’m making no predictions for Saturday. A lot of it will come down to how I feel on race day morning.

Speed in the morning, lost in the afternoon

On October 14, 2013 By Emerging Runner14 Comments

Quiet at the track this morning

Today’s run (track workout): 3.3 miles – 1 mile warm-up, 8 x 200m repeats, 1.3 mile cool down

With its forgiving and flat surface, I should love the track. But, believe me, I don’t. Running around a big oval is boring. It’s not as tedious as the treadmill, but the repetitive scenery undercuts a sense progress in a similar way. My difficulty with the track also relates to the type of workouts I do there. If I’m at the track, I know I’ll be feeling some pain.

If I do have to run at the track, I prefer to do it with as few other people around as possible. I try to get there early, before the crowds, but it’s rare that I get the place to myself. This morning was very quiet, with a lone woman walking around the outside lane and a couple walking together. A little while later another man joined us, walking at an impressively fast pace. Even with that, it seemed peaceful, with the low sun illuminating the track and field like a scene from Field of Dreams.

I started with a mile warm-up at an easy, mid-9:00 pace before shifting to my speed workout of 8 x 200m intervals. I usually go for 10-12 repeats at 100m, but I thought it would be useful to stretch out the distance this time. I averaged 54 seconds for each repeat and covered that mile in 7:18. Not exactly burning up the track, but good performance for me over a series of 200m segments. The two workouts this weekend represent the last real race training I’ll do prior to the 5K.

One of Muttontown Preserve’s descending trails

Later in the afternoon my son and I paid a visit to the Muttontown Preserve to see if we could find the ruins of the old mansions from the 1930’s. We didn’t locate them, but we managed to get very lost, something I do every time I go there. It took us about 20 minutes longer to get through our hike than planned, because we got turned around a few times. No matter, hiking places like the MP are fun, even when you’re not exactly sure where you are.

Despite real evidence, a puzzle remains

On September 29, 2013 By Emerging Runner8 Comments

Cadence confirmed

Today’s run (5.3 miles)

This morning’s run brought me closer to understanding the impact of the metronome, but there is still a missing piece of the puzzle. I put a new battery in my foot pod and clipped it to my shoe for the first time since I bought my Garmin FR210 in May 2011. The FR210 uses GPS, but the foot pod allows me to capture my cadence during my run. It’s a metric I’ve missed having when I analyze my performance data.

The good news is that I now have proof that the metronome works. I set the app for 87 SPM before I started and the data shows I averaged exactly that on today’s run. This is no coincidence. I have mounds of pre-FR210 data that shows that (at best) I used to average 83 SPM on a training run. The cause and effect of the metronome’s beat could not be clearer. All I have to do is jump it up to 90 SPM and my performance is optimized. Problem solved!

(Cue sound of record scratch)

What? That’s not the whole story?!! Indeed it is not. While there seems to be evidence supporting the effectiveness of a metronome, the result of today’s 87 SPM performance was an average pace of 9:42 per mile. I measured my route using two different browsers (Milemeter is behaving much better now) and they were pretty consistent, so I’m going with that pace. So cadence improves, and my pace gets worse. Huh?

The last puzzle piece clearly involves stride length. It’s likely that I’m achieving my SPM target by maintaining a shorter stride. It makes sense that opening stride length with an increasingly higher cadence will bring my pace down to my targeted level. Sounds easy, but we all know the danger of over striding. I think I’ll take one victory at a time and work my way up to 90/180 SPM and see what that gets me. Once I can do that consistently (and without the need for a metronome), I can start experimenting with stride technique.