No run, one hit, no errors

On May 15, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

It’s official

Last night we went to an LI Ducks game using tickets that my wife won last Saturday at the Walk-a-thon. My daughter managed to snag a foul ball, much to our delight. I’ve attended hundreds of games and have never done that. Free tickets and an authentic game ball. What could be more fun on a Tuesday night?

It wasn’t a particularly late night, but I woke up this morning feeling run down. I knew I’d be facing a busy day in the city, so I made the decision to take an unscheduled rest day. I’ve made the mistake of trying to power through a workout when I wasn’t at my best. No upside to that. Tomorrow I’ll get back into the rhythm of my run schedule. The three plus miles I covered on the streets of NYC today will need to be enough.

Travel trumping training

On March 25, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

It’s been a great few days in New England, but I’m working on my third day without a run. We left Vermont yesterday (mountains below) and we’re in the Boston area today. It looks like we won’t see the snow that’s hitting the Midwest, but we may encounter some rough weather on the way back to New York.
I considered heading to the fitness center to run on the treadmill when I got up this morning. Today is my wife’s birthday, so I’m opting for a family breakfast instead. My hip has improved a lot since Friday and I’m planning to try a street run tomorrow. I really want to do a test run today, but one more day of rest seems like a better idea.

Falling short of daily goals

On March 1, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

I’d been thinking about taking another rest day this week because I ran Monday through Thursday. This morning I needed to get into the city for some meetings and I figured today would be as good a day to skip a run. I’m tempted to get on the treadmill and do a quick three miles this afternoon, but I’m sticking to my plan.

I only covered 10,000 steps yesterday and fell short of both my daily distance and flight (staircase) goals. I’d hoped that walking in the city would get me close to today’s step goal, but I’ve still got a ways to go. Even though I rested both Sunday and today, I’m still slightly ahead on weekly mileage. I’ll target a couple of longer distance runs this weekend and get my Fitbit stats back in line.

One last run before rest and race

On February 20, 2013 By Emerging Runner3 Comments

Not exactly an ocean side paradise

Today’s run (street): 3.65 miles

I’m no longer getting up at 3:30 AM. On average, I’m getting an additional two hours of sleep every night. That means seven to eight hours, versus the five or six I had before. I would often supplement my sleep with a 20 minute nap on the train in the morning, but all together, my net rest time is far improved. The downside is that I’m still getting to bed around the same time as before so it’s been taking me longer to fall asleep.

Mornings feel very different these days. Instead of the blur of activities that began with the bleating of my alarm, followed by a fast change into running clothes (and then a run), I can enjoy the morning at a leisurely pace. The quiet darkness at 5:30 AM goes well with a cup of coffee and the local news. The only downside is that it takes me forever to actually get outside or on the treadmill if I don’t have the pressure of the clock.

This morning I spent a long time preparing for what was my last run before my race. My wife couldn’t believe how much I was stalling. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to run. It was just so cold and windy that I didn’t want to go outside. I decided that I’d finish the taper with an easy run and I used that as license to wear extra layers to stay warm.

Running the neighborhood at 8:00 AM is a different experience than when it’s still dark. There are far more cars and school buses to avoid. I took it easy from the beginning and ran my distance at a fairly slow pace. The battery in my HRM must have run out of power, because I wasn’t getting any readings. I sweat a minimal amount across the almost-four miles, but that may be due to the near-constant winds. I am glad that I’d bundled up and worn a wind-blocking layer.

I’m finished with running until the race, and I’ll enjoy resting until then. I may do a light elliptical workout and/or a core session during this period, but I’m done with hard stuff until I’m at the starting line. Right now, they’re predicting 25 MPH winds and a 70% chance of rain in Long Beach on Saturday. Cold, wet and windy. Sounds like fun.

How pounding headaches lead to base building

On January 17, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

There’s something about daylong meetings spent in airless conference rooms that causes me to experience pounding headaches. Tuesday’s meeting was intense. I lead an industry group that focuses on some fairly technical subject matter. After the sixth hour of intense debates and discussions, it became exhausting. A different meeting followed on Wednesday, and by 10:00 AM I knew I’d be in for a rough day.

I went to bed last night hoping I’d wake up feeling better. I set my running clothes up for a morning workout, but the need for additional rest and the slight presence of a headache dissuaded me from getting on the treadmill. I think it was a good decision. This is the second or third week in a row where I took Thursday as an additional rest day, but in every case I felt the rest was justified.

The difference between running five days a week versus six isn’t great, but it does put me a little behind against my weekly mileage target. So far, I’ve managed to make up for the loss of weekday miles on weekends. In a way, it has motivated me to extend my weekend long runs a little further than normal. I’ve been looking to build my base back up and that’s a way to do it. I just wish the process to get there this week wasn’t so painful.

Increasing fitness by not running

On January 10, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Building fitness can be relaxing

I believe it’s okay to take an ad hoc rest day every once in a while. I did it today and I feel no guilt whatsoever. While I will probably never get up and say, “Hey, I feel great, I think I’ll skip my run”, I didn’t rest this morning because I was feeling weak or ill. What I felt was under-rested and I concluded that I’d be better off taking it easy, rather pushing hard and inviting a problem.

When you think about it, a day of rest is often better for you than a single day’s run, because recovery periods are when your body actually builds fitness. That’s holds true for a day or even two, but then it starts to go the other way. I’ve been doing workouts six days a week for the past few years. That generally works for me. My average run (accounting for shorter distances on weekdays and longer ones on weekends) is 3.3 miles. This seems like the right amount of exercise to keep me fit and (knock wood) to prevent me from sustaining injuries.

The reason I don’t feel any guilt for skipping my today’s run is that I know I’ll be back at it tomorrow. However, my decision puts me three miles behind in terms of reaching my weekly target of 20, but I can probably make up some mileage on Saturday or Sunday. In the meantime, I’m happy knowing that taking a rest was the right thing to do this morning.

Hitting the running reset button

On December 19, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Today is my last day in the office until after New Year’s. I have a short business trip on Thursday and Friday and then I’ll be on vacation through January 1st. Due to travel and weekend plans, I’m looking at another low mileage week. That’s okay, because I plan to get out as much as I can next week.

I’ve gotten into the habit of running on the treadmill in the morning, rather than hitting the streets with a headlamp and reflective vest at 4:00 AM. I’m finding it easier to manage my time that way and it’s making me really appreciate my outdoor weekend runs. I probably won’t get a chance to run again until this Saturday and then I’ll need to take another break until next Tuesday. I’m not pleased to be taking so much time away from running, but I’m looking at it as an end of the year reset.

Staying healthy by not running

On December 6, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Last night I was concerned that the headache and dizziness I suffered from last week was returning. I readied my gear for today’s run but prepared to abandon my workout if I wasn’t feeling 100% by morning. Last week’s strategy to run despite feeling run-down turned out to be a bad gamble. I wasn’t going to repeat that today if conditions were the same.

I resisted taking pseudoephedrine when I went to bed because I don’t like taking medicine unless I’m really hurting. I figured that if I woke up in the middle of the night feeling awful, I’d reconsider. It turned out that the headache never came, but I still felt weak when I got up. I decided to forgo my run and take the extra time to relax. I think it was the right choice. It’s hard to give up a workout, but skipping a run can sometimes be the healthier option.

Rejecting rest is easier when you have options

On November 20, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (treadmill): 25 minutes

This morning was a time of quick compromises. I set out my running clothes last night anticipating a cold morning run. Occasionally, I’ll wake up an hour before I need to get up and then struggle to fall back asleep. I usually win that struggle, but the ensuing sleep cycle puts me out until my alarm buzzes. This leaves me groggy and without much energy.

Today I had one of those mornings. My first thought was how much preparation time I’d lost by sleeping to my alarm. I usually wake up ten minutes prior to that and take the opportunity to start earlier. The time it takes to put on layers of clothes, a hat and running shoes (plus my SPIbelt, reflective vest and headlamp) is longer than you’d think. Add to that the wait time needed to acquire a GPS signal, and suddenly I’m up against my time budget.

After waking up this morning, my mind went first to the easy solution: a rest day. Sleep induced logic argued that I’ll be off on Thursday and Friday leaving me time to make up the miles with longer runs. I then remembered that on Thursday we’re doing the 5K Turkey Trot and I’ll be running that at an easy pace with my family. Knowing that I’d lose another hard workout on Thanksgiving, I rejected taking a rest day.

The next best option was to run on the treadmill. Running shorts, shoes and a HR monitor were all I needed and in just a few minutes I was off and running . I started easy and it took almost ten minutes of speed increases to get my heart rate into my targeted zone. By the end, it felt like a good workout and I managed to salvage about five minutes of additional downtime before my shower. A quick compromise was better than an impromptu rest day. At least it was today.

The trick to beating stress is remembering the obvious

On October 22, 2012 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Happy Monday. My morning started with water pouring through the kitchen light that came from an overflow from an upstairs shower. Despite that annoyance, I feel great today and glad to rest after yesterday’s hilly run.

Monday rest days are perfectly timed for easing my way back into the work week. Although I’m the first to say that running reduces stress, I don’t always see it as a way to blow off anxiety or tension. In fact, it’s often the opposite. On mornings when I am particularly stressed, I’ll think about skipping my workout. Part of that relates to getting extra rest, but some of it has to do with avoiding anything difficult.

The trick is to remember that the end of almost any run produces an endorphin response that leaves you feeling better. When I am able to overcome my reluctance to run on stressful morning, I always appreciate how my mental state improves after the workout. There are studies that show established runners sometimes achieve their “runner’s high” while they are still running, because they can anticipate the rewards that follow. On those stressful mornings it would be great to start with the endorphins and go from there.