Twofer on the track and road

On May 7, 2017 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

One run already done

Today’s runs: 3.5 miles (track), 1 mile (street) = 4.5 miles

For some reason my Garmin has stopped recording my stride length. It used to show up under “cadence” but it’s no longer there. A search of the web yielded no useful information and Garmin Connect does not mention it in any of its forum posts. I’m disappointed and puzzled why stride length is no longer displayed. It’s a useful data point that helps me understand why I’m hitting certain paces (or not). I looked to see if there was a new software update, but apparently I’m current. I sent a note to Garmin support and expect to hear back in one to never days.

My thoughts about running at Stillwell shifted to the track this morning. I felt like doing some mindless running that didn’t include the paranoia of tripping on hidden roots or having mountain bikers stealthily coming up behind me on a single track path. It’s hard to explain why I find the track so appealing. I think it may have to do with being able to run outside without too much distraction and no crazy drivers.

I had the track to myself until a woman showed up to walk. That was fine and soon another runner appeared. It was a woman who seemed to be moving along well, but somehow I caught and passed her. I was running okay but not all that fast. Just faster than her I guess. I did 14 laps and headed home. Along the way I started regretting keeping it to only 3.5 miles. I decided I’d add another mile when I got home.

Road & Track

Going out for my second run was strange. I was fully “recovered” from my track workout and probably could have repeated the same distance in my neighborhood. I decided I’d keep to the plan and followed a route close to my house. The whole time I felt I was running by remote control, as if I was still at home while my body was out doing the run on its own. That was probably due to being fully warmed up, making the run feel really easy.

After I finished I thought about my experience and realized that the second run probably felt effortless because I knew I only had to cover a mile. I started thinking about a “day of running”, where I would run a mile in my neighborhood starting early in the day and come back home. At the top of the next hour (and every hour subsequent to that) I would run another mile. If I did this from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM I could cover ten miles. If every run was a little longer I could do a half marathon or more.

So if I cover 14 miles in one day, is that the same as doing a 14 mile run? Or would it be cheating to say that?

Unfrozen and back on track

On June 19, 2016 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

You’re pushing it Garmin

Today’s run (track): 3.4 miles
Yesterday’s run (street): 3.2 miles

It’s almost the end of the school year and there’s a lot going on. My daughter is graduating from high school on Wednesday and it also happens to be her birthday. With that conflict, we decided to celebrate her birthday today. Due to those plans, I had to get out early for my run. Even with that, I was pressed for time and decided to run laps at the high school.

Last night, after I’d downloaded Friday’s run from my Garmin, the watch froze and it wouldn’t respond, no matter which buttons I pushed. I tried to shock it back by hooking it up to the USB and then the wall charger. Neither attempt worked, so I left it for the morning. I figured I could run with a stop watch if the Garmin failed to respond.

When I got up, the Garmin was still frozen and I began to entertain the idea of replacing my six year old FR210 with a newer model. Things are starting to break on it and I noticed one side of the wrist band is beginning to separate. Before giving up on it, I looked online and found a video that showed how to unfreeze my watch. It worked.

The track was almost empty when I got there. Just me and a guy who spent a lot of time stretching while I circled the track. I was eventually joined by another runner who circled the track much faster than I did. I was prepared to count the number of times I got lapped but the guy quit after a couple of times around.

Lapping it up

The stretching guy eventually made his way onto the track. He was wearing one of those elevation training masks and started doing intervals. Or should I say, one interval. I ran four more laps before he did his next one. By then I was finished with my workout.

We had a great birthday celebration and I managed to get in a lot of Fitbit steps throughout the day. Tomorrow is Father’s Day and I’m going to try to get out early again to maximize celebration time.

What I’ve learned about running from non-runners

On June 27, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Credit: http://www.runnersworld.com

Today’s run (street): 4.5 miles
Yesterday’s run (treadmill): 3 miles

Have you ever started a conversation about running with a non-runner and ended up regretting it? Like politics, religion and parenting, running is a subject that generates strong opinions. Generally speaking, most runners — even those at different ends of the performance scale — will agree on running related topics. Whether we run seven or eleven minute miles, we all sweat, have to deal with weather and wish we were faster. But discussions with non-runners can sometimes go like this.

Non-Runner: What did you do this weekend”
Runner: I did a couple of long runs on Saturday and Sunday.
NR: Wow. I’ll bet your knees are hurting today.
R: Running doesn’t hurt your knees. In fact it’s been proven that running is good for your knees.
NR: Tell that to my my friend [sibling, spouse, friend of a friend, guy I work with…] who used to run until it ruined their knees.
R: Do you run?
NR: No! I don’t want to hurt my knees and besides running is so boring!
R: Nice talking to you.

If you think I’m exaggerating, I had this conversation with someone at work this week. Others have warned me of other potential maladies, including heart attacks. I will say that the majority of conversations I’ve had with non-runners are positive. I’ve heard just as many people tell me they admire runners and wished they had the patience or discipline to run themselves.

I haven’t been much of a runner this week myself, as my increasingly busy work week has cut into my workout time. I took a vacation day yesterday so I could go out east to the Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead. We needed to get on the road early and I opted for a treadmill session to save time. Conditions were humid, so I did what I could to move air around the treadmill room. I used the big floor fan and set the built-in fans on the treadmill console to full power.

That helped, but only so much. Although I only covered three miles, it felt like six and I was wishing for a nap on the way to the Aquarium. We had a great time in Riverhead, and Atlantis is always a good experience. After a tough week, it was nice to do our first family activity since the kids began their summer break.

This morning conditions felt more like spring than summer. It was 65° when I went out and the humidity was far lower than on Friday. I’ve felt ambivalent about my workouts lately, but today everything worked. The air felt cool throughout my entire run and I was pleased with my stride. I’ve been reading an article excerpted from Meb Keflezighi’s new book and tried to do some of the things he recommended to improve to my form. I felt that today’s run was one of the best I’ve done this year.

Scattered thunderstorms are expected to start tonight and continue through most of Sunday. That’s disappointing. But you know, weather conditions are just one of the many problems we runners face. I know a few non-runners who would tell you that.

Shallow bins and recovery progress

On March 1, 2015 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Usability testing anyone?

Today’s workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

I realize that there are many larger problems than this, but can someone please explain to me why the stuff holders on our elliptical and new treadmill are so shallow? I don’t get it. Do the designers ever think about the fact that an 8″ remote will probably fall out of a 4″ deep console bin? This are the sort of things that go through my mind these days as I do my workouts without outdoor distractions.

Yesterday’s treadmill run ended with an alarming jolt of pain as I pushed my pace beyond a moderate speed. Rather than signaling a new or deeper problem, I think this experience was a warning. Despite giving the injury plenty of rest, the root cause issue remains. If three weeks of no-impact workouts haven’t resolved it, it may be time to see an orthopedist.

Today’s workout was all about protecting the problem. Instead of running, I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical and followed that with ten minutes of (very) slow running on the treadmill with a 2.5% incline. It wasn’t a particularly challenging workout, but that was the point.

I’ll probably go back to a full treadmill workout tomorrow. The elliptical session seemed to reset whatever caused yesterday’s pain and I’m feeling better. Just the same, I’ll need to keep my speed in check tomorrow to prevent another cycle of pain.

Heat, exhaustion and a failing treadmill

On November 21, 2014 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Torture chamber. Why did I wear a sweater?

Today’s workout (treadmill): 25 minutes

I spent most of the week in an airless conference room filled with computers that raised the temperature into the intolerable range. We were piloting some new business processes and technologies and I spent a lot of time managing the participants and capturing issues on a whiteboard. The heat, lack of ventilation and fumes from the dry markers wore me out.

This morning I celebrated a return to normal working conditions. I hopped on the treadmill at 3:45 AM and hoped to raise my heart rate and ingest cool air that was devoid of marker solvent. I hadn’t run since Sunday and was ready to go. I’m no fan of the treadmill but that didn’t bother me today. Once the machine started up I changed my mind about that.

The F63

Our Sole F63 has not lived up to its reputation as a top rated machine. In the four years that we’ve owned it, we’ve had to rebuild the motor once, fix multiple problems with a slipping tread belt and replace the display console four times. Despite regular maintenance, our technician told us a few months ago that the treadmill is nearing its end. Based on the cacophony of sound I heard today, I thought the end would come today.

The Sole was never whisper quiet, but compared to the 14 year old Pro-Form unit it replaced, our new machine was nearly silent. Now the F63 is making worse noises than the Pro-Form. The motor has grown increasingly louder and the belt rollers are making sounds like gunshots. The belt also feels like it slips when I increase the speed past a certain point.

I managed to get through my workout, but I’m not sure how many runs are left in the machine. I do 3/4 of my running outside, so I can manage without the treadmill, but my wife does all her running on it. It’s going to be cold tomorrow morning, but I’m very much looking forward to a quiet outdoor run.

Numb Runner

On July 19, 2014 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Distance lost

Today’s run (street): 5.4 miles

Instead of heading out this morning with my running buddies, I was at the dentist having a broken filling repaired. I like to get out as early as possible on my weekend runs, so I can cover longer distances and still have my day. If I scheduled the dentist any later in the morning, the inevitable backups would have taken too much time. That’s why I’d asked for the first appointment of the day.

It’s been years since I’ve needed to get a local anesthetic at the dentist, so that was lots of fun (not). My dentist talked to me about Cow Harbor. She lives in Northport and has run the race a couple of times. I told her I’d run it this year if she does. I’m pretty sure I will participate either way, so I can run it with SIOR and TPP. I’m still on the fence about Dirty Sock though.

Since I have so few opportunities to run these days, I knew I had to get out today. The weather was ideal, mostly overcast, with temperatures in the low 70’s. One side of my mouth was still unpleasantly numb when I set off from my driveway. Almost immediately after starting, I was flagged down by a man on a bicycle who asked me a question about the neighborhood. I stopped my Garmin while I chatted with him, and thought I’d restarted it once I resumed running.

I had covered about 1.5 miles when it occurred to me that I hadn’t heard the one-mile chirp from the Garmin. I looked at my watch and realized that it wasn’t recording time or distance. I restarted the timer, figuring I could determine my mileage when I got home by mapping my route with Milemeter. Since I had started off with the Garmin recording my start time, I was able to back into my pace by subtracting the “chat” time from total run duration.

Surprisingly enough, my mouth was still a little numb by the time I got home and that prevented me from having my usual post-run refueling. I did drink about 24 ounces of water to re-hydrate. Within an hour, the numbness had thankfully worn off. Between the dentist and the run, I was fairly wiped out, so that came at a perfect time for lunch. I was glad to get in some decent mileage today. I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow, because the family has early morning plans. Maybe a 6:00 AM run is in order. That might help prepare me for even earlier workouts on weekdays.

The sad demise of our Sole F63

On June 20, 2014 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Anyone want a crappy treadmill with a brand new console?

Today’s run (street): 4.4 miles

A treadmill is a substantial thing, a sturdy platform built for running. Treadmills are expensive because they are engineered to hold up over time. A good example of this is our ProForm L15, a modestly priced treadmill that we bought in the mid-1990’s. Although it was used daily, the ProForm was a workhorse that served us well until February 2010. A bad example of this is the Sole F63, that has reached the point where replacing its worn parts will cost 70% of a new unit. And not a moment too soon. From what we were told, these parts are in serious need of replacement.

That was the assessment made by our treadmill repair guy whose opinion we trust. Adding to that, we paid $200 a month ago for a new console (the fourth one since we got the unit) and we needed to pay the tech for his house call to get the bad news. What’s frustrating about our experience with this treadmill is that we’ve done all the right things to ensure a good outcome.

I had such high hopes when we got the F63 four years ago. Our due diligence included much research and a personal recommendation of the brand. My wife made sure the unit was professionally serviced and she was meticulous about following owner maintenance. In the short time that we’ve had it, we’ve experienced a motor failure, serious issues with tread slippage and the aforementioned console problems.

The treadmill still works, but it makes a huge racket due to the degraded rollers and failing frame. It could go tomorrow or in six months. The question is whether we should invest in a better brand of treadmill. The cost could be substantial, but the value of doing that would be that pro grade treadmills often come with long or even lifetime warranties. Between my wife and I, we use our treadmill a lot.

I’m now at the point in my week where I jam all my running mileage into three days. This morning I went out for the first time since I ran 400’s with the Runsketeers on Sunday. The long rest period helped, and I felt great from the start. I wouldn’t call today’s run effortless, but it was certainly a pleasent experience. The temperature hadn’t broken 70° and the sun wasn’t too intense at 7:15 AM. If not for business obligations that required me to cut my run short, I would have gone for six miles.

I’m not sure about this weekend’s running. A trail run would be fun. I’ll see how I feel in the morning. No rain is scheduled for Saturday, so at least I won’t be forced to continue torturing our ailing treadmill.

Run, interrupted

On February 16, 2014 By Emerging Runner4 Comments

Reset, you bet

Today’s run (treadmill): 4.5 miles

My son is hosting a competition with his buddies today and our basement is filled with the loud noises and trash talking that you’d expect from a bunch of 9th grade boys. Due to this, our morning schedule was compressed and I strongly considered skipping today’s run. Yesterday’s snowfall put four additional inches on top of Thursday’s accumulation and I shoveled a lot of wet, heavy snow on Saturday. By the time I finished, it was after 10:00 PM.

I mentioned to my wife that I was considering taking a rest day. She suggested that I do an alternative workout, either a walk or an easy run on the treadmill. With that in mind, I got myself situated. I set the speed a little lower than yesterday’s and let it go. Things went well, but I felt the tread slip about halfway through the run and then stop. I checked that my safety cord was still in place and there was no power drop. It seemed like the treadmill console had just spontaneously reset.

This reset wiped my distance off the console’s display, as well as my elapsed time. I hadn’t been looking at my distance when the machine stopped, but I had an approximate idea where it was. Based on the speed I was running, and the time captured on my Garmin, I was able to back into the number. I restarted the treadmill and kept going until I reached a calculated 4.5 miles. From there, I reduced my speed to a fast walking pace and increased the incline to 2% for a half mile cool down.

It was a good decision to run easy today rather than put off my workout until tomorrow. With two days in the city this week that interrupted my workout schedule, I would have fallen very short on mileage. No more snow today, so my upper body is finally getting some rest. Do I dare hope to get an outdoor run in next week? More snow is expected on Tuesday, so I’m thinking that’s not likely.

Headlamp failure saved by the treadmill

On November 13, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Light’s out

Today’s run (treadmill): 4 miles

I spent the day in the city, so I’d planned an early morning run. It’s been nine months since the last time I ran in the pre-dawn darkness and, not unexpectedly, my Black Diamond headlamp wasn’t working. I put in new batteries but the lamp kept going off, just like my old Petzl unit. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to make a headlamp with a stable battery housing.

While I wasted time trying to get the lamp to stay on, my daughter told me it was raining outside. Running in the dark, in a mix of rain and snow, was not going to happen. Instead, I got on the treadmill and hammered out 4 miles at a fairly good pace. I worried that I’d pushed too hard, considering all the NYC foot travel I was facing later in the day. I ended up doing fine.

I ended up walking pretty far today and the result was a substantial blister on the bottom of my left foot. I’m hoping it will miraculously heal overnight so I can get out on the road tomorrow (weather permitting).

Fitbit value to be determined.

On October 22, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Planned obsolescence

Today’s run (street): 3.3 miles

The best time to value your personal technologies is when they stop working. Do you fix, replace or discard? Years ago, I actually paid money to have my VCR repaired. It was worth it because a functioning VCR was important to me. An issue I’m having with my Fitbit has forced me to decide whether I’m in for a penny or a pound. Actually, 6.2 (British) pounds.

Worn and torn

The thing is, my Fitbit’s “belt holster”, a spring clip with a rubberized housing, is falling apart. The rubber that protects clothing from the sharp metal clip has ripped and detached. This makes the process of attaching the device to pants or a belt so difficult that I’ve stopped wearing it. I thought I might write to Fitbit and mention their poor clip design. I figured they’d be horrified and would immediately send me new one for free. When I went to the Fitbit site, I saw that my problem can be solved with the purchase of a replacement holster for $9.95 plus tax and shipping.

I probably won’t bother to get it. It’s not about the $10+ required to buy a new clip that will likely need to be replaced again in six months. I get that things cost money, though I find it offensive that they make money off their own design flaw. I’ve discovered that, despite the Fitbit’s great features and attributes, I don’t really find it that useful anymore.

The excitement of occasionally reaching 15,000 daily steps or 25 flights of stairs is mitigated by the frustration that comes from forgetting to transfer the device between sleepwear, running shorts, and pants. What’s the sense of tracking only part of your activities? I’ll give it another week to decide between purchasing a new clip or relegating the Fitbit to the technology junk drawer. It comes down to whether the value of the Fitbit is closer to pennies or pounds.