Breaking the rules on race day?

Mirage, Kinvara, Fast 2 - decisions, decisions

I really want to go for a run today but one must rest before race day. I cheated a little this morning and put on my Karhu Fast 2's that AG and I are reviewing on Runner's Tech Review. I wanted to reinforce my impressions by doing a few fast strides on the treadmill. We'll be posting the review next week and I wanted one final impression. I also wanted to compare the shoe with the new Saucony Mirages. I'll reserve comment on the Karhu's for now.

I couldn't resist following my Karhu sprint with a similar session with the Mirages. I think I'm in love. While I appreciated the feel of the Mirages out of the box it wasn't until I stepped on the treadmill and hit the 8 MPH button that I totally understood what Saucony did with the design of these shoes. I love the Kinvaras but the Mirage is an improvement on that platform. I'll stop the effusive praise for now as I still haven't put the shoe to pavement, but I'm feeling optimistic about its potential.

This morning's experience has me rethinking which shoe I should wear on race day. On one hand, it would be a great opportunity to try the Karhu's in competition and determine if the Fast 2 lives up to its name.  I've assumed to this point that I'd wear the venerable Kinvaras that I consider the finest running shoes I've ever worn. Despite the unwritten rule that you should never compete in new shoes I'm seriously tempted to race the Marie Mazzola 5K in the Mirages. It's a short enough distance that it probably doesn't matter. Smart money is on the Mirages but we'll see what makes sense tomorrow morning.

Finally - I'm rooting for my friend FS who is racing tomorrow morning in the NYRR Scotland 10K in Central Park. With luck we'll both have decent weather as we line up for our respective starts.

Taper-ending tempo -- now the rest begins

Today's run (treadmill): 2.6 miles

I finished my taper this morning with a progressive tempo run on the treadmill. I would have liked my last training run to happen outdoors but the wet weather kept me inside. In a way it worked out well. My original plan for an outdoor run was to cover a mile as quickly as possible and nothing more. On taper week you want quality miles even if it means running less of them. Since I was on the treadmill I changed my plan and did my run starting at an easy pace and increased speed every two minutes so that by the end I was running 25% faster than when I began.

My overall pace wasn't impressive but I thought the exercise was beneficial. Over the past couple of months my strategy has been to finish my runs faster than I'd begun. It would be great to achieve negative splits during Sunday's 5K. I'm looking forward to a couple of days rest and hoping for the best on Sunday.

I am the man to beat

I'm kind of happy that my race this week didn't fall on Thanksgiving Day. Although there's a good chance that I'll do a bigger race next year on the holiday (Garden City or Prospect Park Turkey Trot) this year I could look ahead to two separate events, Thanksgiving with family and the Bridie Goldstein 5K on Saturday.

Among the many great things that come with running is the framework for self competition and the events behind that. Races are fun because they allow people to test themselves in a way that's hard to duplicate elsewhere. We gauge our success in business different ways and rarely do we get to see direct results from single activities. The opportunity to compete in a race is appealing because the stakes are low but the rewards are high. I don't really care how I do against the people that line up with me on race day. It's fun to pass people and annoying when others pass me in a race but in the end these folks are really just background color. The real competition is with myself.

Tomorrow's race will be the first time I compete at a distance that I've previously raced. I'll be looking to challenge my PR of 8:33 per mile. I really don't know how I'll do since most of my runs are at a slower pace and I am usually pleased if I'm able to break 9:00 per mile. I've typically done better than that during races and I attribute it to the instinctive process of keeping up with traffic. Yesterday I ran 3.6 miles at Stillwell on the perimeter trail of the open field. I managed a pace just under 9:00 per mile which is good because I tend to run more slowly on dirt than on pavement. Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be high 40's with strong winds. Those winds can both help and hurt. Either way I'll be facing myself on Saturday for the first time. May the best man win.

Who put that 5K in the middle of my run?

I'm training for the Cape Cod Marathon that takes place on October 25th. Impressed right? Barely a year under my belt as a runner and I'm already tackling 26.2 miles! Well, the race itself is that long but my participation is limited to two legs out of five and I'll be sharing the course with three teammates. I'll be the starting runner covering 3.05 miles before handing off to a teammate who will be facing 6.15 miles. The next leg is 5.7 miles then the baton comes back to me for six more before I hand off to the last runner who needs to cover 5.3 miles to finish. The course winds around Falmouth and appears to have sections near the water so it could be a visually beautiful race. As a matter fact the website states that "Runners' World called this race one of the ten "Most Scenic" marathons in America." I've got concerns about covering my distances competitively so I officially started my training today.

My plan was to simulate the effect of doing two runs within 2 hours of each other. Based on a nine minute pace I'd have about an hour and forty-five minutes to rest between legs. I went out around 8:30 AM and my plan was run the nearby industrial park because it has a long uphill stretch. From what I saw of the elevations of the course it looks to be hilly and I want to be prepared. I had a surprisingly difficult time during my first race, a four miler, that had a long hill near the beginning of the run. That challenge took a lot out of me and I never want to be caught like that again. I made my way to the Park and as I came around the corner towards the main road I saw a row of orange cones and a bit further on were people setting up what seemed to be a water station. As I got closer I saw signs that the "Angels on the Bay 5K" was happening this morning starting from Sysosset-Woodbury Park. I was tempted to see if I could sign up but there really wasn't time and I wanted to follow the training plan I'd worked out. I was frustrated that with all the time I spend looking for local races this never came to my attention. I think some better marketing would draw a bigger crowd next year.

I ended up covering 3.4 miles for my first "leg" this morning and came home to re-hydrate and have a small breakfast. I went back out at 11:00 hoping to cover at least 5 miles and I felt good at the start save for some sharp pressure on the top of my ankle from my Brooks. I stopped to re-tie that shoe after a quarter mile and reset my Garmin and my MotionX back to 00:00. I ran with the Nike+ chip on my earlier run but I hadn't calibrated it so it thought that I was running 20 minute miles. I decided to leave it home for the second run. Once I restarted I took off in a different direction than this morning and felt very good until I reached the 3 mile mark when I started to fade. Fortunately I was far enough from home that I was forced to extend the run and I ended up covering 4.55 miles (not counting the .25 before my reset) for the second leg. All totaled it was 8.2 miles, not the 9 I'd hoped to cover today. I'm still pleased with the training and I'll build on it over the next month. I feel very good after all that but I'm looking forward to bedtime tonight.

Next Stop New Hyde Park

It was a bit of beginner's luck that I placed second in my age category in my last race. Considering everything, I did maintain a fairly good pace but with a larger field of runners it wouldn't have been a competitive time. The person that placed first beat me by at least four minutes and with more runners in the mix I would have ended up farther back in the standings. It was a fun surprise to see that I'd placed higher than at least ten others in my age range but I have no aspirations of being a truly competitive runner. I will be happy to continue to improve my pace but I recognize that the only way to measurably increase my speed is to become a "serious runner." By that I refer to the people I often see on weekend mornings at the track doing intervals, tempo runs and long runs. They fly by me so fast that I feel as though I'm doing something other than running. I watch their form as they pass and try to understand how their leg movements are allowing them to move so fast compared to me. Aren't we both doing the same thing?

During the check in to Saturday's race a man handed us a flyer for an upcoming race in New Hyde Park on June 7. The distance is 8K (5 miles minus 53 yards). My wife encouraged me to sign up for it. It will be the longest race distance for me to date. So far I have run a 5K and a 4 miler (6.5K). An 8K would be a logical progression toward my goal of running a 10K this year. I know I can run 5 miles. My longest distance to date is about 5.6 but I haven't run much farther than 4.25 for a while. Time to start concentrating on distance instead of speed. My goal is to run 20 miles per week until the race. This will require at least 10 miles on the weekends. I'm doing a city run this afternoon, probably around 3.5 miles, so that will help since I rarely get past two miles per day during the week due to time constraints.

I'm excited to try my new Brooks for the first time on pavement. I'm pleased with the way my leg felt after yesterday's run and I'm hoping for no surprises today.

Man vs. Nature

Yesterday we spent time with friends, one of whom had turned his ankle running the day before. As we sat in my den my wife remarked what a pathetic group we were between his ankle injury, my hamstring pull and her still very painful shoulder injury. I pointed out that all three were sports related and that counted for something.

After five days of treadmill and elliptical workouts I was more than ready to hit the track but was concerned about pushing too hard with an injury. I took Aleve yesterday and iced it when I could and today it was better but not unnoticeable. I wore my new Merino wool socks (thanks again Adventure Girl) and they provided very nice support. The temperature on the news station said 57 degrees so I wore light gear but as I began my run I was hit by a stiff, cold wind. I'm learning something about that track: no matter what time or day you run there, half the time you will be running into wind. The effect was Sisyphean in nature and somewhat discouraging because I did not feel that strong to begin with. Around mile one I had warmed up enough to increase my pace and with the increased effort I actually started looking forward to the section of the track where I hit the cold wind head on. I did 5K but stopped after that to prevent further injury to my hamstring. I'm happy to say that after the run and stretching it feels very good. I'm going to increase distance in a few days to begin to train in earnest for the 4 miler. In the meantime I'm very pleased with my progress. Despite the winds I managed a sub 9:30 pace for over three miles.

Coming soon to the Emerging Runner

Tomorrow I will add a new feature to this site called "The Sedentary Man" by a writer whose focus on fitness is also emerging. He offers his readers some unhelpful advice. No, that's not a typo.

I heard today from another friend and runner who is challenging my 130 day ramp-up to my first 5K. He included a link to a website listing a number of races in my area that will take place between now and May. I'm going to find one that works so I can start training for it. Then I'm going to reprogram my countdown clock.

143 days and counting...

I officially registered for the 5K race so there's no turning back now. The cost to enter was modest but the psychological cost (should I end up not participating) would be much greater. So I'm committed. Plus I'd get a t-shirt! I was very happy to see that the race starts at 8:00 AM so it should be relatively cool in early May.

I mentioned this race at lunch today to a friend who happens to be an accomplished runner. He was surprised that I'm not doing a race sooner than May. His point is that I am capable of runnning a 5K now and there are a lot of other races between now and May '09. He made a good point. If I come across a local 5K in early 2009 that looks interesting I may be tempted to do that. In the meantime I'm focused on May 2nd, 8:00 AM.