Fooling myself into working hard

My workout routine has become fairly consistent at this point, mostly running with a couple of weekly cross training sessions. The amount of effort I put into running varies based upon circumstances. During the week my runs are fairly short owing to an extremely tight morning schedule. On the weekends I try for distance, usually doubling (or more) the average weekday distance that I had been running. This has worked for me and although it is one of my 2009 fitness goals, I haven't taken any full rest days this year. On the other two days I focus on cross training, mostly on the elliptical machine. I have had some trouble with this unit but overall I really like it. It's solidly built, easy to operate and has a small enough footprint to fit in my guestroom along with the treadmill.

Although the elliptical provides an excellent workout and can be adjusted to require a formidable amount of effort to use, I always view my cross training days to be a welcome break from the rigors of running. The elliptical exercises some different muscles than we use for running and I think this helps overall. The device also provides some upper body exercise but the impact of that is not really apparent until the resistance is ratcheted up to its higher limits. All the same I think it's contributing to my better upper body definition.

The great thing about elliptical days, for me, is that I feel like I'm getting away with less work while I know that most of the time (based upon HRM readings) I'm doing the same amount of work as I do when I run. Another key benefit to the elliptical is the lack of impact on your knees when you use it so it's a great alternative when you are dealing with a muscle pull or have knee twinges.

If I had to choose one I would pick running over the elliptical every time and I think the reasons are obvious. But on certain days, especially following a couple of days of hard long runs, that elliptical is a welcome alternative.

Just don't call me a @#$%! jogger

This morning I saw a news story where a reporter was interviewing two women who were out for an early morning run. Superimposed on the screen were their names and the word "Joggers." It made me laugh to see that. These women were serious looking runners but the word jogger evokes, in my mind, someone dressed in a designer sweatsuit and headband, holding a bottle of Vitamin Water, listening to an iPod and bouncing along at a fast walking pace. Someone recently asked me if I was "still jogging" and I was tempted to say "I don't jog, I run." Instead I just said yes because to most people it's the same thing.

So what is the real definition of running vs. jogging? Does it have more to do with speed or attitude? I read one view that the difference between the two is an entry form. Meaning a runner races and a jogger just jogs. I'll debate that since I know at least one serious runner who never races. Another view was that joggers run 9+ minute miles and runners run faster than that. That seems like a fairly arbitrary distinction. In that case, with an average pace of about 9:15 I'd be an aspiring - not emerging - runner. I'm not going to change the name of my blog so I'll have to reject that definition.

This morning I (ahem) jogged 1.76 miles in 16:02 for an overall pace of 9:06. Since I have already filled out a couple of entry forms I'll accept the first view and say I had a pretty good run.

Speeding along

I have 39 days to train for my 4 miler in April. For those who have run many races my countdown is probably a little dramatic but it's my first race since returning to running. I was looking at my run data this weekend and noticed how my average pace time has improved between September and today. I look at the improvements over the first five months as organic, that is, directly related to improved fitness and weight loss. Obviously, running with less weight and better Vo2max capability will yield better performance. My pace history describes a Pareto curve with earliest times in the low 13:00 range, following a steep decline until it plateaus at around 9:50. Last month, with the encouragement of some of my more experienced running friends, I started integrating faster segments into my regular runs. As I've become more comfortable with faster paces I've held them longer and the result has been to move down that curve even more. My average pace for February had improved to about 9:30 and over the past two weeks it's closer to 9:15. This weekend I did my two long runs below 9:10 so I really like the direction,

This morning I decided to push the pace to the edge of my comfort zone and after starting around 9:30 I quickly turned up the speed about 8% and ended up running 2.05 miles at 8:46. Needless to say I'm happy with that performance. What I don't know is how well I'd have done if I had time to run another 2 miles. This weekend I almost broke 9:00 for 4 miles but almost doesn't count. Well it counts a little I guess.

Across the divide

I live in a neighborhood that's really a series of contiguous developments framed on three sides by major roads with a service road that runs along the south side. My neighborhood is a quiet and peaceful place to run, especially during the early hours. While the scenery is mostly houses and cars there are other interesting distractions such as schools and parks. I prefer running through the streets of my neighborhood to running on the local high school track for a few reasons: less wind, variable terrain and more visual stimulation.

Until recently my neighborhood provided everything I needed as a runner but now that my distances have increased I'm beginning to feel boxed in. I'm finding that the streets are growing too familiar and, despite a number of curvy roads with feeder streets, there's no longer a sense of discovery. It's all in a map in my head and I now plan my routes mostly around changing elevations and ways to avoid running twice on the same road.

On Sunday I braved the service road (I'm not kidding when I say that, it's a one-way 30 MPH road that rarely sees cars traveling slower than 50) and then cut under a highway bridge. I then crossed yet another speedy one-way street and entered a new neighborhood. What I found there were more houses, cars and parks. But these were different houses, cars and parks located on different streets! I took some random rights and lefts and eventually found my way back into my neighborhood. When I hit the more familiar streets I noticed that I was well over a mile into my run and my route options for covering three more miles were better since I hadn't covered much of my home turf.

I'll add neighborhood #2 to my weekend runs until that becomes more of the same. There's another neighborhood across from the west side boundary that has lots of interesting hills that I can also explore. Hopefully these options will hold my interest for a while longer.

Garmin 50 - illogically lovable

A number of years ago, on vacation in Paris, my wife and I were completely puzzled by the challenge of crossing the street to visit the Arc d'Triomphe. If you're not familiar with its location, the building sits in the middle of a traffic circle off the western end of the Champs-Élysées. It was clear that crossing that traffic would lead to instant death by Renault and yet we saw a number of people milling around the Arc. After some searching we saw a small sign indicating an underground passage that led to the center. It certainly wasn't obvious to us but in retrospect it made perfect sense.

The Garmin 50 reminds me very much of that. Before the Garmin I used the Nike+ Sportband which had less complexity but also less features. It was simple to set up and use, basically it had two buttons that controlled everything and good documentation to show you which ones to push. The Garmin has four buttons that seem to do different things based upon the mode of the watch that can be switched between time, training, interval timing and history. The simple idea of using it as a stopwatch took me almost three weeks to master. The process to do this is simple but the lack of instruction in the manual made it maddeningly difficult. As I use the watch I'm beginning to better understand how the sequence of buttons makes things work. It's still a little annoying when the display says "press OK" when it really means "press the View button" but now, after experimentation, I know to do this.

Of course now that I have gained some comfort with its operation I am thrilled with the data it collects and presents. The combination of pulse rate, speed, cadence, time and distance (accurate to about .03 miles now that I've figured out how to calibrate it) and the Garmin Connect website (that collects and reports the information) are really good. There are dozens of things I'd do differently in terms of functionality and user interface but in the end, it works. However I do wish it calculated pace on the watch, not just speed in MPH.

This morning I ran 4.06 miles at about 9:05/mile which didn't make my target of staying under 9 minutes per mile, but I fully accept it as great progress. It was about 43 degrees when I went out for my run. I only wore a base layer plus a long sleeve technical jersey under a lightweight windbreaker. I was comfortable throughout most of the run but I got very hot near the end. I didn't make either my speed or distance (8 total miles) goals for this weekend but I am very happy with what I've accomplished.

A miss is as good as 3.6 miles

I came within 1% of my goal of running over 3.1 miles at 9:00/mile this morning, completing a 3.57 mile run with an average pace of 9:03. The chart above from Garmin Connect illustrates the technique I used throughout the run where I alternated between my normal pace (~9:20) and a speedier pace. I was pleased to see that the slowest pace that I ran today was 9:28 and the fastest was 8:24. Overall I'm 99% satisfied with the run. The temperature was around 40 degrees when I started but it rose quickly and, coupled with direct sun, I became very hot. I made the mistake of wearing too many layers. This worked great for the first eight minutes but I found it to be a burden over the next 24. At around 2.75 miles I really started feeling taxed which surprised me since I didn't run on Friday and I'd had more than my usual overnight rest. I'll blame the hot weather and the faster pacing. After hitting a wall so soon into the run I am slightly concerned that my conditioning isn't where it should be. But I did recover pretty well and my new focus on speed should help that going forward.

I was also glad to see that my large toe, although still tender, did not cause me any problems during the run. I'm trying to decide on tomorrow's run strategy: 1. Try again to make the "3+ mile, sub 9:00" goal, 2. Aim for a shorter run but make the target pace even faster or 3. Accept today's 99% success and just go for distance on Sunday.

All suggestions welcomed.

Easy like Friday morning

I woke up this morning and noticed that my big toe on my right foot was hurting. I've felt some discomfort with it throughout the week but this was a little worse. I had just read in Runner's World about foot afflictions and this appears similar to their description of "Runner's toe." It didn't help that I walked a lot on it yesterday after a 2+ mile morning run.

This has been a challenging week and while I love what I do I'm really looking forward to the weekend. Spring weather is predicted and, with sunrises coming earlier, I think I'll be okay running outside at 6AM. Every weekend I set a running goal, usually related to distance. This weekend I'm hoping to continue my speed work and finish one or both of my long weekend runs under 9:00/mile. I may trade some distance to do that but I'll cover at least 3.1 miles (5K) on Saturday and more than that on Sunday. I need to total at least 8 miles every weekend until my first race.

Since today is a TGIF day and I'm worried about my toe I decided to do an upper body only workout this morning. I used the technique where I face the front of the elliptical and work just the arms. I did this for 21 minutes and was glad I took some time to work on arm strength. It wasn't as hard as I'd hoped and by the end I was only mildly sweating. I didn't want to overdo it and strain a muscle but the next time I try this workout I'll turn up the resistance a few levels.

It was an easy session, not quite a rest day, but close. I'll see if today's rest from running will pay off for me tomorrow.

Racing toward race day

I received a notification yesterday that I am officially confirmed for the 5K run that is part of the upcoming LI Marathon event. This event occurs over two days and includes a kid's fun run, a 1 mile run, a 5K, 10K, plus half and full marathons. This is actually the second race I'm running in early spring. Two weeks before the 5K I'm running a 4 mile race. I have about six weeks to refine my run strategies and work on my conditioning so that I can meet my goal of under 9 minute mile paces for both races.

This morning I tried to make up some time from yesterday's short run. I ran 20 minutes at about a 9:10 pace. Adventure Girl says that a treadmill pace equates differently to street pace so that 9:10 on the treadmill would translate to 8-something on the street. I think that's true, I've noticed that my weekend runs, though longer than my weekday runs, generally have faster pacing. It also may be that I can precisely measure outdoor running using tools like Gmaps while I have to rely on less precise tools (like the treadmill's speedometer or the Garmin foot pod) for indoor measurement. If I'm underestimating my normal pace and working on my speed it may help me make my timing goals for these upcoming races.

Now for the big question - what do I wear on race day?

Less time? Run faster

I found myself running behind schedule this morning and was unhappy to see that I had far less than 20 minutes to do a run that included time to warm up and cool down. At the same time I was concerned that I would not meet my (self imposed) minimum distance of 1.5 miles for a weekday run. Since time can't be controlled the only lever I had to play with was speed. I cheated a bit and got to my normal run pace in less than a minute before further cranking up the speed.

Now speed is relative, a fast pace for me would be an easy or even slow pace for an experienced runner. Indoors, I generally run at a 6.4 MPH tread speed which works out to about 9:22/mile. Today I ran closer to 7.2 MPH completing 1.62 miles in a little under 14 minutes for an 8:30/mile pace. That's where I want to be. It was hard work to maintain that pace, my average pulse rate was almost 6% higher than at my normal pace. According to what I've read I can even push that higher rate 9% to be within 80% of max. Having the HRM has been handy in helping me understand the effort I'm expending relative to other workouts (e.g., elliptical) and now I'm seeing that it's a good indicator for understanding how much further I should push to attain desired speed and pace.

My challenge now is maintaining that faster pace for longer than 1.62 miles. Completing a 5K at 8:30 would be great but I have work to do.

Yes, I get it, it's cold

I know March comes in like a lion but I didn't expect it to be such a fierce one. It was brutally cold standing at the train platform and the LIRR, owing to their unofficial mandate to break down at the mention of zero degree weather, was late. Ten minutes after boarding my feet were still thawing. As I stood waiting for the train, lamenting the fact that this week's snow interrupted my highly anticipated outdoor run in Cambridge, I tried to think of something positive to offset this late season weather. The best I came up with was that at 6:20 AM the sun had already come up. That made me happy because I realized that the cold would soon pass and the days will grow longer, allowing me to run earlier in the morning. I never used to to pay attention to the weather or keep track of sunrise prior to my return to running. Now I check the forcast all the time. I can't recall how early the sun comes up in late spring and summer but I'm hoping I'll be able to get some outdoor runs in during the weekdays at some point.

Sendentary Man has a new column today. I don't know about you but he seems to be a bit more profound and less sendentary these days. Although he starts out describing an epic battle between his humidifier and de-humidifier (this reminds me of an old Stephen Wright joke) he does make his point. I think. You decide.

Happiness is a warm treadmill

This morning I awoke to a foot of snow in Cambridge. From my hotel window I watched the plows working to clear streets and paths in Kendall Square. I went down to the fitness center for a run and indulged myself by selecting a treadmill with a personal TV screen.

I started my run and watched through the window as the snow blew almost parallel to the ground. People were walking in shovel-width paths that appeared to be two feet high at the sides. I watched the school closures on TV, virtually every school in the area is cancelled but happily MIT is open so my travel wasn't wasted.

I ran about 25 minutes at about 9:20/mile. It felt like a good weekday workout. I think my wife had a better workout though - she went out to shovel our driveway at 5:30 AM where we got more than a foot on Long Island. I'm trying not to think about my travel back to NY later today.

Newsflash: eating less calories helps weight loss

I was amused to see the article that the NY Times published last Wednesday confirming that reducing calories, regardless of source (fat, carbs, sugars, etc.) is the only way to reduce weight. Although this should be a very obvious point it's often missed and most diets center on the types of calories, not their overall reduction. Of course we also know the evil side of this revelation when people reduce calories using very unhealthy methods - anorexia and bulimia as examples. Eating less will cause you to lose weight. Eating less, concentrating on nutrition and running will make you lose weight and keep you healthy. Hey, if the NY Times can be that obvious then I can too.

I'm traveling up to Cambridge MA later today to visit the MIT Media Lab. I've served as my company's affiliate to MIT for the last ten years and I'm always excited by what I see and hear when I'm there. Since I've got back into running I have a deeper appreciation for some of the people I see there, like Joe Paradiso, who heads up the Responsive Environments Group at the Media Lab. This group developed most of the motion sensor technologies that are being used by companies like Nike in products like the Nike+ iPod and Sportband tracking systems. While I'm up there I'm hoping to do some running but the weather report is not encouraging: 8 to 12 inches of snow and ice expected for the northeast by midday on Monday. So it looks like indoor running for me. It's a good thing I like hotel treadmills.

This morning I ran 3.3 miles at about the same pace as yesterdays. It snowed a little overnight so I wore my Kutu’s, which felt a little snug. I also suspect the Kutus are slightly heavier than the Turbulence 13's which makes me tire a little sooner. I noticed today that when I end my long runs I'm almost never winded. It's more fatigue than lung capacity that makes me stop. I'm making progress with conditioning and I'd rather meet the challenge of fatigue than deal with aerobic energy limitations. I was happy with my run today but I admit I struggled more than Saturday when I ran a mile further.