Montauk tapering to the end

Montauk: The End

Yesterday's run (treadmill): 4 miles

Montauk is a beautiful and relaxing place, especially during the off season that is devoid of both crowds and intense sunlight. The East End has a vibrant running culture and I struck up a conversation last night with a local woman who'd noticed my LI Marathon running hat. She has run the LI Half a number of times and will again participate on May 6. We noticed lots of runners along the Montauk Highway and other local roads. I just wish these people would run against traffic!

With the gorgeous surroundings and long straight roads, it would have been fun to do a run by the ocean. But the weather was raw at 7:30 AM, with cold winds and threatening skies. I opted for the fitness center that had a nice selection of high quality Life Fitness machines. I hopped on a treadmill and set the speed to 6.6 MPH to start. The solid platform and wide tread encouraged me to pick up the pace and, by the 5 minute mark, I was up over 7 MPH. I felt great and decided to extend my run from 3 to 4 miles.

About halfway through my workout, two guys came in and got on elliptical machines. They didn't seem to familiar with the concept and I was amused to watch them struggle with the motion and controls. I would have helped, but it wasn't a practical option. Before long, I had reached half my planned distance.

I continued to increase my speed and finished the last couple of minutes in a sprint. The machine had a "cool down" button that dropped the speed in increments. It was a strong effort, not that far off from race pace, and a perfect way to finish my taper. I'm feeling ready for Sunday's race.

Getting high (up) in the Hamptons

Later that morning we headed to the Montauk Lighthouse and climbed the 137 steps up and down. It was a nice bonus workout and a wonderful view from the top.

Inclined to train with a treadmill taper

Sunny skies at the end of LI

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

We left for our trip today, but I got in a treadmill workout this morning. I debated the type of run I'd do, first thinking I'd focus on speed, but then realizing I'd pushed pretty hard yesterday. I ended up splitting the workout between an incline segment and a progressive speed run.

Sunday's 5K course begins with a hill challenge so I set the machine to a 6% incline and ran that for the first mile. I brought that down and upped the speed every couple of minutes and finished my run at a high 8:00 pace. Between the incline and the speed progression, I was pretty worn out by the end. I was pleased with the workout, one more to go before Sunday.

We're enjoying the early season sun in Montauk and I'm trying to figure out how I'll finish my taper. If there's a route by the water, I'm there.

My speed is back, and just in time

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

After weeks of focus on distance, I've turned my attention more towards speed. Yesterday's weight exercises were a good first step that provided direct benefits this morning. I decided to run in my Hattori's today. Between the colder weather and testing out new shoes, I haven't been wearing the Hattori's much and I've missed them. When I set out for today's run, I once again appreciated their simplicity and fit

Sorry Meb, they're nice, but not for me

We had stopped by Famous Footwear yesterday morning to get my son some new shoes and I took the opportunity to try on a pair of Skechers Go Run's. I've been intrigued by these shoes since Meb Keflezighi committed to them and the good reviews from both Running Times and Runner's World. I don't really consider Skechers a serious brand for running shoes, but this model seemed different.

My impression of the Go Run's was primarily positive except for a raised part of the mid-sole that helps facilitate a mid-foot strike. I appreciated the spirit but not the execution. For some who are looking to transition to a more minimal shoe, the Go Run may be a nice option.

The Hattori's inspired me to move and I came through the first mile at around 8:50. I maintained that pace through the second mile and then shifted into race mode until the end. I finished the 5K+ run with an overall pace of 8:32. Throughout my run, I used rapid arm motion to regulate my leg turnover and that produced my fastest training run so far this year.

Today's run reinforced my training plan and I feel good about my preparation going into Sunday's race. A little more speed and some end-of-week rest should get me there.

Upper body ignorance is no longer bliss

Getting pumped

Today's workout (light upper body): 25 minutes

Mondays are typically my rest day and I had no intention of running this morning. I felt some energy and that inspired me to try a little upper body work. I've read many articles about the benefits of strength training, not only to improve running performance, but also for the way it helps maintain bone density. Many runners ignore their upper body thinking that it's all about their legs. But there has to be a reason why Usain Bolt has arms that would make most gym rats envious.

In terms of upper body development, I'm about as far opposite to Mr. Bolt as one can get. I'm not without muscle or (surprisingly) definition, but I have much room for improvement. That improvement did not come today, but it was a start. Instead of counting reps, I selected something distracting on the TV and did bicep curls with alternating arms (8 lb. each arm) for 10 minutes. I followed that with 10 minutes of reverse curls and finished with some isometric exercises.

It wasn't a lot of weight and my workout was hardly difficult, but I did break a sweat. After ignoring my arms and wrists for so long, I wasn't about to injure myself by over-training. If I can do this workout once a week, I'll bet I'll see some results, after a while. I know that arm speed relates directly to cadence, and if stronger arms will lead to more steps per minute, sign me up.

We'll be in Montauk for a few days and I'm hoping to get some runs in near the water. Fast running with an ocean view. Sounds good to me.

Recovery + speed, a good combination

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

My biggest motivation to get outside the next day after a tough workout is that I know I'm in for an easy run. The word I use is recovery, although I'm not sure that's how other runners may define that term. For me, it's liberation from the stopwatch, an opportunity to proceed at a comfortable pace, so I can focus on the sights and sounds of my surroundings.

A funny thing about these recovery runs is that I often introduce a little speed play into the mix. The relaxation eventually becomes an energizing force. Today's run was like that. I dressed with more layers than I'd have chosen for a performance run and set off for a trip around the neighborhood. I took it easy and followed a different route than normal, running around the nearby middle school where a boisterous game of adult flag football was being played.

When I changed direction for the first time, I was hit by some fairly strong headwinds and was doubly glad I had dressed on the warmer side. Today is Easter so the streets were quiet, and I enjoyed the lack of cars on the road. There weren't many people outside either, so I had the sunny streets all to myself.

By the time I reached three miles, I was ready to turn to home and I followed a route that had a long, but moderate, incline. Once I cleared that section, I poured on the speed and completed the last half mile at a pace 20 seconds faster than my overall average. That last burst of speed put my time within the range of a training, rather than a slow recovery, run.

I finished the weekend after logging almost 15 miles (25 for the week) and added yet another mile to my longest run (so far) this year. I may do some intervals tomorrow, even though I usually take Monday as a rest day. I'll need to wrap up my taper for Sunday's 5K by Friday. Right now I'm in great shape for long runs, but I'm not sure my 5K speed is ready to tap.

Eleven miles at Bethpage, without fuel nor water

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 11.2 miles

I had plans to run with my buddy Dave today, but he had a scheduling issue and needed to postpone. The plan was for Dave to accompany me on his bike while I ran. Last February, I wrote a post about Dave's racing nightmare when he suffered a heart attack during a 10 mile race. Since then he has responded well and has been cleared for runs in the 2-3 mile range. It shows that even if you suffer a heart attack, being otherwise fit will certainly accelerate your recovery.

The temperature was in the high 30's when I went out at at 8:30 AM, and I'd purposely under dressed knowing I'd be generating heat over my long run. I wasn't that uncomfortable, even at the beginning, and by mile two I was glad to be in running shorts.

I wore the Spiras thinking they would minimize the possibility of foot problems, but I detected the slight pain in my left foot that I'd assumed was specific to the Kinvara 3's. After a few miles the pain decreased and I thought I had it licked. Turned out it wasn't so simple. By the end my feet were very uncomfortable.

The only nutrition I took for the entirety of my run was a GU gel that I had prior to the start. I took along a GU Roctane for refueling later in the run, but I didn't feel as though I needed it. I also brought a water bottle but didn't take a sip during the run. I wasn't being macho by denying myself nutrition and hydration, I just wanted to test whether I needed it. Did my body use fat as an energy source after glycogen depletion?

After many weeks running the Bethpage bike trail, I've become familiar enough with the route that I know how far I've gone without looking at my Garmin. I also separate the course into stages, based on landmarks. That helps me psychologically, especially as I increase my distance each week. Today I ventured within a mile of the bottom of the trail, located in Massapequa Preserve. I may end up doing an end to end run next time.

On my way back I was happily surprised that my energy level never fell too far and when it dropped a little, I quickly rebounded. I saw many runners, walkers and cyclists today and one sap who was walking along the trail, smoking a cigarette. Why do something healthy like that and smoke?

I did experience a drop in energy with about 2 miles to go. I knew I was facing the toughest part of the route and resigned myself to the work. Running the penultimate hill was easier than I thought it would be, but the final hill was a bear. Still, I finished 11.2 miles feeling in better shape than I did when I ran 9 miles a few weeks ago.

I'm on vacation this week and next weekend is the Marcie Mazzola 5K (on Sunday). Due to that, I'll skip my base run as I taper. From now until then, speed will be my focus. I'm curious to see if all this base building will help me push the pace over a decidedly shorter distance.

The declining accuracy of my Garmin FR210

I'd add 3% just to be safe

Today's run (street): 2.53 miles (Gmaps measured)

I'm not sure why, but my Garmin FR 210 has been under-performing lately. It was especially bad this morning. I generally run the same route every day at 4:00 AM and, after careful measurement, I know that the distance is exactly 2.53 miles. The Garmin's margin of error is generally -3%, which means that it under-counts to that degree fairly consistently. Since it is consistant, I accept that variance and correct for it in my pace calculation.

It's no mystery why this happens. Looking at my run captured in Garmin Connect, I can see that the watch will vectorize corners and straighten out curves. This is due to the capture time between GPS signals (approximately one sample per second). If the signal was captured continuously, the course would be displayed accurately, with no corners cut, etc. When it's cloudy, the signal can get interrupted. When that happens, the watch interpolates the distance between signals as a straight line. Enough of those and your accuracy really suffers.

Lately my FR210 has been under-reporting by about 5% and this morning it came in at -7%. It was cloudy, but clear enough to see some stars. My run could only be described as slow, and with the under-counted distance, my watch recorded my pace as glacial. Correcting for the true distance, it was still the slowest 4:00 AM run in memory.

I'm puzzled as to why my Garmin's GPS has become less accurate of late. Perhaps it's just going through a bad spell. The GPS accuracy tends to be better when I run a mostly straight course like at Bethpage. I'll see how it does tomorrow.

Tedium reducing treadmill technique

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

As unlikely as it sounds, I was looking forward to doing a run on the treadmill this morning. I usually break up my training week with an elliptical session on Thursday's, but our machine is down. Our treadmill, that had been down for the last nine days, was put back into service yesterday. At least we have one indoor option as we wait for the repair person to get the elliptical working again.

With a new motor and tread replacement, the treadmill felt like a brand new unit. While this model (Sole F63) isn't whisper quiet, the sound level was noticeably better than the last time I'd run on it. I'm assuming the repair person performed a calibration because I felt that my perceived effort matched the speed that was displayed.

I followed my usual treadmill routine, starting at a moderate pace and increasing the speed every couple of minutes. Speeding up the pace actually made it a better experience because it broke down the activity into two minute periods. Focusing on the intervals between speed increases helped reduce the tedium of the experience. The time went by quickly and before I knew it, I was done. As much as I liked today's workout, I'm planning to go back outside for tomorrow's run.

Of all my running shoes, these were the best

GTS-10: like chicken soup for the sole

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

My feet have been bothering me lately and I'm not sure what to do about it. My wife suggested that my tendency to switch shoes, rather than sticking to one pair, may be causing the issues. She may be right. The question is which pair to use? I've struggled to find my perfect running shoe and I haven't been too successful. But is the act of trying different models undermining the process?

I've tried a lot of shoes in the three-plus years since I've been running. Most were fine, some awful and a few great. But the great shoes also had their flaws. My two pair of Brooks Adrenaline's have never disappointed (I retired the GTS-9's after 700 miles, still using the GTS-10's), but they are old school in design, with a high platform and ramp angle. I run with the GTS-10's for recovery or if I detect a knee problem. A few runs in them seems to correct any issue.

The original Kinvaras were my second great model. They felt like the perfect shoe from the first time I tried them on and maintained that feel, almost to the end. But something happened and my last few runs resulted in knee pain that coincided with last year's Half Marathon. I'm hoping the new Kinvara 3's are sufficiently improved to ward that off after I've covered a few hundred miles in them.

Surprisingly, the best shoes, day in and day out, have been my Saucony Hattori's, a shoe so minimal it lacks a mid sole. But they are incredibly runnable, comfortable and responsive. The downside is that the uppers are ripping after 300 miles. I can still wear them, but time is running out. My second pair of Hattori's, that should feel and perform identically, don't fit correctly on my left foot and I've given up on them after 67 miles. It makes me wary of getting a replacement pair for my good Hattori's.

Right now I'm really pleased with the Spira Stingers, but I am experiencing this foot pain. I really don't think it's coming from these shoes and I'll run with them exclusively until Sunday. If my foot problems improve, I'll credit the Spiras. If they don't, I'll do a few runs in the GTS-10's and hope for a quick recovery.

This passport will get you places

Oh the places you'll go...

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

Over the weekend I purchased my 2012 Empire Passport that allows me entry into any one of dozens of state parks in New York. I was looking at the pamphlet that was attached to my receipt and read the listing of places on Long Island that honor this pass. Besides some of my favorite venues, like Bethpage and Belmont Lake State Parks, there are arboretums and botanical preserves like the nearby Planting Fields. At $65 per season, it's a bargain. I'll get my money's worth just from my visits to Bethpage, so everything else is a bonus.

It's been a while since I've done any trail running, but I'm on vacation next weekend and will take the opportunity to do some off road training. This morning I did my usual run after taking my weekly rest day on Monday. It was 35 degrees outside at 4 AM and that motivated me to move along briskly. Even with a slow start, I ended up pacing a bit faster than normal. The Kinvaras performed well, but I still felt slight pressure under my left foot. I'll try them again on Wednesday and see if there's any improvement.

Stingers, Kinvaras or Hattori's? A hard choice to make

Hard to argue with success

I'm less than two weeks away from running my fourth consecutive Marcie Mazzola race.  The first time I ran it was in 2009 when the distance was 4 miles. The course was shortened the next year to 5K to increase the number of participants. What didn't change was the big hill on Woodhull Road that makes up a good part of the first mile. After three races along that course, I'm actually looking forward to the hill challenge this year.

Once runners get past the big hill, the course reverts to a net negative elevation, providing some great opportunities to let loose on the downhills. I'm on the fence about which running shoes I'll use for this race, but I'm thinking it may be between my latest two pairs: the Spira Stinger XLT's and the Saucony Kinvara 3's.

I've done my last two long runs in the Spiras and they have performed exceedingly well. I was prepared to dismiss them as a gimmick when offered the opportunity to test them on Runner's Tech Review and I'm glad I stayed open minded. Make no mistake about this shoe - it's lightweight, comfortable, supportive and responsive.

The Kinvara 3's are also very nice. I loved my original Kinvaras but found the Kinvara 2's less appealing each time I tried them on. To be fair, I never ran in them, so I don't really know how they'd have performed. I do know that the Kinvara 3's feel more like the original and, with their 4mm ramp angle, suit my preference for a lower platform. I have had noticeable irritation in one foot when running in these shoes, but I suspect it's as much a foot issue as it is a shoe problem.

It's hard to determine which of these shoes would serve me better for a fast 5K. Perhaps I'll simply opt for door #3 and run with the venerable Hattori's. These shoes, despite over 300 miles on their thin soles, still deliver one of the best running experiences I've ever encountered.

Base training has its benefits and so does peppermint oil

Today's run (street): 4.8 miles

Happy feet guaranteed

One of the benefits of base training is that it redefines the scale of a challenging run. For instance, over the winter the average distance of my weekend runs dropped to about 3.75 miles. That meant that any run greater than four miles was an envelope pusher. It didn't mean that I couldn't run 6 miles or more, but it would have felt like a lot of work to do that.

My training plan has me covering one extra mile on my long weekend runs each week. I'm building up to a final base run of 12+ miles prior to the half marathon. Yesterday I ran 10 miles and today I covered 4.8. I went out with the intention of running between 3 and 4 but it felt so easy (I wasn't really pushing the pace) that I extended my route to almost five miles.

While these longer Saturday runs are making my Sunday recovery workouts feel easier, my feet have begun to protest. It's been a long while since I covered the equivalent of a half marathon over the period of a weekend. I've done just that over the past three weeks. Foot soaks with peppermint oil soap have helped a lot. I recommend it to anyone.

I'm feeling more prepared for the Half than I was last year. Eleven miles is on the schedule for next Saturday. Hope it doesn't rain again.