Running and thinking at Stillwell

Stillwell: Mind and Body

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.25 miles

It occurred to me that I haven't run the trails in a while, so I looked it up on Garmin Connect and saw that my last Stillwell run was eight weeks ago. After thirty runs on pavement and treadmill, I thought it was time to head back to the woods. Trail running is far different than street running, both in terms of experience and expectation. On trails, the terrain underfoot can change by the second and the hills and drops are frequent and occasionally treacherous. Not all trails are as technical as Stillwell and that's probably a good thing.

A trail run was the ideal way to burn some extra calories after last night's Thanksgiving dinner. We had fun and were given the choice of both normal people food and vegan offerings. Another guest cooked most of the vegan dishes and I give credit to my sister-in-law (who hosted) for preparing excellent vegan acorn squash stuffed with toasted quinoa and cranberries. I had tofurky for the first time and thought it was really good, like well marinated seitan.

Stillwell Woods Park was fairly empty when I arrived. A group of men were assembling to play touch football and a few others were busy preparing mountain bikes in the lot. There were light winds that made it feel like 26° but I had prepared for that. The trails were clear and the ground was frozen for the most part. I enjoyed being back on Stillwell's paths and its ever changing surroundings.

I'd recently read an article that said, "If I am thinking at all when I run, this is a sign of a run gone wrong." I think the writer's point was that if you can think, you haven't given yourself fully to the effort. I strongly disagree with this and suggest the opposite. I feel that when you reach a state where you are thinking about anything except for the run, you have succeeded. When I'm running in the woods I am able to detach from the physical world in a way that's nearly impossible to do while running on the street.

I enjoyed every foot of the 4+ miles I covered today and thought about many things, all of which I've since forgotten. I know I need to work on my speed this weekend and should probably have gone to the track today, instead of the woods. After all, there's always tomorrow and Sunday to do that. Today was about the mind, and tomorrow I'll worry about the body.

Why running is like dreaming

But what do you think about?

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.25 miles

One of my favorite quotes from Haruki Murakami's book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is, "What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue.” I identify with that because so many things go through my head while I run, but I'm hard pressed to recall most of them. It's like waking from a vivid dream at midnight, thinking you'll remember every detail. By morning, it's all a blur.

I'm not saying running causes temporary amnesia. In fact, I've worked out many problems in my head during training runs. While I may not remember the process, I can always remember the resolution. Perhaps that's the way it should be, both with dreams and running.

What I do remember from this morning's run was how perfect Stillwell Woods can be on a day like today. The humidity was high and the skies looked like they could open up at any minute. I knew that the woods would shelter me from a light rain so I wasn't concerned. The weather stayed dry and, despite the humidity, I was comfortable. This was mostly due to the lack of sun and fairly cool temperatures.

I didn't try to be a hero and take on the bike trails that drop and rise like an organic roller coaster. I stayed on my usual loop and made two circuits before heading back. I kept an easily sustainable pace (still not at 100% since I got the flu shot) until I encountered another runner merging onto the trail that runs around the big field. I thought that runner might follow me on that narrow path as I went west, and I was determined not to let him overtake me. He never did, and I ran my last mile significantly faster than the prior three.

I probably need to return to Bethpage to do my usual long hill repeats that are part of my training for the Town of Oyster Bay 5K. That and some base mileage may be a good workout for tomorrow. At some point I need to return to the track to run intervals. A 5K may be an easy distance, but speed requires some special focus, especially since half this race is uphill and the other half is down.

The recovery day that wasn't

Glider launch at Stillwell

Yesterday's recovery day didn't turn out to be all that relaxing, but it was fun. This morning I am feeling a little sore. The soreness came from a few different sources, ranging from residual race effects, an impromptu hike and a much needed upper body workout.

I'd considered doing a shakeout run on Sunday morning to loosen up after a fairly intense Cow Harbor run. Instead, my son and I headed over to Stillwell Woods, so he could get some pictures for a school assignment. His focus was on getting some shots of a rusted Oldsmobile that has served as a landmark on the Trailview path for as long as I've visited the preserve.

While we made our way to the car, we noticed a number of cars parked along the edge of the big field with a group of people with model glider planes. One of the people invited us over to see what they were doing. It was a competition put on by the Eastern Soaring League. These $2,000 planes, with what looked like 8' wingspans, are launched into the air and remotely controlled. The goal is to land them close to a one hundred inch target. It was fun to watch that for a while.

My son doing some technical trail running

Look closely, there's a snake in there

We eventually reached the car and my son got his pictures. We decided to go deeper into the woods and found ourselves in more technical territory where we made our way up some steep rises and down sharply angled cutouts. On our way back we encountered a snake (I may have stepped on it) that was scurrying across the trail. We got some pictures before it disappeared back into the woods.

For all intents and purposes, this is my gym

Later in the day, the family headed to a food pantry in East Northport where we volunteer (via Island Harvest) every few months. It's always a great experience. My wife and kids focus on distributing small items to recipients who come through, while I carry packed boxes to people's cars. It's a lot of up and down steps and a very good upper body workout.

After all that, I needed a recovery day for my "recovery" day. That's fine, I'll focus on business today and resume my run training tomorrow. I may sneak in some core work later, because stretching might help get me back to shape. It was a great weekend and a little Monday soreness actually feels pretty good.

Freedom of speech and on the trail

Into the woods

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.5 miles

Those of you who also have running blogs know that the easier you make it for people to comment, the more you'll find people who'll take advantage of that access. Over the years I've changed the criteria for submitting comments. Now I allow anyone to post, because I just don't want to leave anyone out. As a result, I have to clean out a bunch of spam comments every day. But it's a small price to pay for freedom of speech!

This morning I decided that I needed to take my performance focus down a notch, so I headed over to Stillwell for an easy trail run. It was dry, cool and sunny and the trails were in great shape. A mile or so into the run, I realized how strong I felt. Stillwell tends to beat me up badly, and this was evidence that my conditioning has improved.

Besides a couple of mountain bikers and woman walking her dog, the trails were empty. I loved the feeling of running well and having the woods pretty much all to myself. There's usually a point in almost every run when you begin to feel the work. You start thinking about how much longer or farther you have to go. Today was different in the best of ways. Tomorrow it's back to road, the hills and the miles.

Bethpage rudely corrects an assumption

Scenes from today's Bethpage run

Yesterday's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles
Today's run (Bethpage State Park trails): 3.4 miles

At the exact moment that I was thinking how Bethpage's wooded trails are less tricky and technical than Stillwell's, my foot caught a root and I came very close to tumbling down a very steep hill. That moment captured the dichotomous nature of Bethpage's dirt trails. The main paths through these woods are beautifully groomed, but watch out for the network of challenging side-trails that connect throughout the preserve. Along a given mile, you can find cushioned (almost too cushioned) loam, followed by sand, gravel, packed dirt, rocky ledges, knotty roots, sharp rises and deep drops.

Thankfully, I didn't hit the ground after connecting with that root. It was a good reminder that complacency during a trail run can easily lead to injury. I continued with caution and made my way up a twisty rise that led to what I call the "sand trap." I don't care to run on sand, and when you reach this section you really have no choice - unless you turn around and head back the other way. My ego wouldn't let me do that, so I toughed it out for the next quarter mile, when I was able to switch to another path.

I had lots of company on the trails today. There were numerous groups of cross country teams doing summer conditioning. I saw a group of boys practicing drills across the field adjacent to the trail head and groups of high school age girls at various times running on the paths. I was very glad that I didn't have to keep up with anyone today, because I was still recovering from a late workout on Friday.

Yesterday's schedule made a morning run impossible, so I aimed for a mid-afternoon neighborhood run. Things got unexpectedly busy and I ended up pushing my run to 5:00 PM. By that time, the humidity was unbearable, so I opted for an indoor treadmill session with the AC on and the fan set to high. It was still hot and humid, but far better than outdoors. I set a fast pace and got through the run, although I'll admit I watched the clock like I was in high school math class.

Tomorrow I plan to go out for a base run that will kick off my taper for the Dirty Sock. I expect to go for 6 to 7 miles and hope to get an early start to minimize the heat and sun. I had originally planned to run the Dirty Sock course today, but I'll need to wait another week to see that course again on race day. And when I do, I'll be sure to scan the path for roots.

Sharing Stillwell with a friend

Tough trails on the northern route

Thursday's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.4 miles

Yesterday brought good news on a few fronts. First, my headache finally went away. Second, I made some good business progress during the day (although it interfered with my ability to generate a Thursday post). And third, I had a great run with my friend Chris at Stillwell Woods.

I'm definitely a morning runner, so the idea of going for a high energy run at 4 PM concerned me. The weather had looked threatening all day and thunderstorms were predicted for later. When Chris arrived, we decided to head to Stillwell rather than Bethpage, because Stillwell is closer and has excellent tree cover. I was glad to be going to Stillwell and happy to show off the trail running paradise that's located five minutes from my house.

Before we headed over to Stillwell, Chris gave me another good piece of news. He's going to be running Cow Harbor this year for the first time. Chris lives in Westchester and does races up there, but he's never raced on LI. I filled him in on the Cow Harbor experience and he's excited. He's not intimidated by the James Street hill either. But I won't be running alongside him that day. Chris runs the NY Marathon faster than 3:30 and will probably finish Cow Harbor ten minutes before I do.

But on the trails I can can keep up with him, at least for a while. We followed my usual route until peeling off onto the "Most Difficult" trail. Chris was amazed to see such tough terrain and said that if he lived here, he'd run Stillwell every day. We stayed on this steeply climbing and dropping trail until I redirected us back to my usual, but less challenging loop.

With Chris pacing, I was able to run faster than I probably would have gone if I was running alone. We did an extended loop and then another smaller loop before we reached the main trail. Just as I was feeling relived to be close to the end, Chris innocently asked, "Do you want to go around again?" I answered, "I'm done, race you to the car!"

Although yesterday was mostly good news, I was disappointed to hear that my friend Mike won't be able to run the Dirty Sock course with me on Saturday because he's been delayed traveling back to LI. I'm debating whether to run it alone, or go over to Bethpage and run the wooded trails there. It's always helpful to practice on the course that you are racing, but I might get some extra hill work done if I go to Bethpage.

Two part post on this Stillwell Sunday

No actual pandas sighted today 

Today's run (street): 3.8 miles
Today's hike (Stillwell Woods): 3.7 miles

Part I - Running
Yesterday's run at Stillwell Woods was a nice change from the road and it presented a nice level of challenge. Although I started out feeling strong and energized, after 20 minutes I reached a point where I needed to take a short break. It wasn't the first time I had to take a minute to reset myself while running at Stillwell. What surprised me was how quickly I went from feeling fit to feeling fatigued.

I recovered quickly and had no issues for the rest of the run, but I was frustrated that I needed to take a break. I take it as a point of pride that I never stop during road or bike trail runs. While the shaded woods helped keep me cool, the inclines and careful footing on more technical trail sections took a toll. I've had weekends where I ran with difficulty on Saturday, only to rebound with a great run on Sunday. I was curious if that would be the case today.

I got out early this morning, before the sun became a factor. We had hosted friends yesterday afternoon and evening and I'd done a lot of unintentional glycogen loading. I figured the upside was the possibility of having more energy for the run today, but I was a little tired at the start. I tried to get my speed up during the first mile but my legs weren't cooperating. I eventually loosened up and, by the last mile, I was running at a decent pace.

I would have liked to perform better overall, but achieving negative splits was good consolation. More importantly, I experienced no fatigue during the run. This confirmed my theory that yesterday's tough times had mostly to do with the challenging terrain. While that's good, it also confirms the fact that my conditioning isn't where it needs to be.

Part II - Hiking
I downloaded my Garmin after today's run and looked at Saturday's Stillwell route map. I saw that Trailview intersected with my standard loop and decided I'd follow it south the next time I ran there. My son has been asking me to go on a hike so, I figured this was good opportunity. After preparing for the bugs with an application of OFF, we headed over to Stillwell. A light rain that had started to fall, but we figured that once we had tree cover, we'd be fine.

Once we cleared the big field, we moved south and then east, until we reached the Trailview path. At that point, the trail is rugged, with lots of steep rises, drops and gnarly roots that could easily trip someone up. We made our way carefully down the path until we reached the point where the trail paralleled the LIRR tracks. I knew that there was a trestle located east of our position and we navigated to it. We ended up in a mini bamboo forest that felt like an enclosure. My son asked, "Where are all the pandas?"

Adjacent to this section was a small road leading to a private neighborhood on the left and the trestle on the right. We passed underneath the tracks and into the northern part of Trailview Park. The sign said "Trail Closed" but we concluded that was just for one path. The trail rose from there and made our way up without much trouble. We decided to turn back after exploring Trailview for about ten minutes.

Our hike back went by quickly and we soon encountered a group of mountain bikers looking to take on the difficult terrain of that area. None were wearing helmets, a bad move generally and an especially bad idea on these treacherous sections. They didn't appear to be experienced riders either. I hope no one got hurt.

Next time we may start at Stillwell and follow the trail all the way to the trail head on Jericho Turnpike. Eventually, I'd like to hike it north all the way to Cold Spring Harbor. Today's hike was just the right distance and a nice adventure for me and my son. I was thinking recently that I haven't spent enough time at Stillwell. I certainly don't feel that way after this weekend.

Choosing the difficult path

The trail rarely taken

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.5 miles

I went to Stillwell Woods this morning for a change of pace and the opportunity to run in shade. The clouds have moved out and the humidity (and dew point!) is higher than yesterday. Even though Stillwell offers a nice break from my neighborhood streets, I don't feel like I've taken full advantage of its breadth of choices. Nowadays, I tend to follow the same few trails, but I decided to change that today.

When I arrived at Stillwell Park, I saw an open tent with mountain bikes set up by Santa Cruz, a bike manufacturer. A few months ago Scott bikes did the same thing, offering people the opportunity to test their bikes on Stillwell's trails. Due to that, I was a little concerned that I'd get over-run by mountain bikers on the trails. It turned out that I only encountered a few groups of riders who shared the path nicely.

Unlike the route I normally follow, I turned left on a path marked "most difficult." In the past, I would take on Stillwell's hardest technical trails. Over time, I've found myself running the same, less challenging loop. The trees were doing a nice job of blocking the sun as I made my way through the ups, downs and root covered paths. After a couple of miles, I started to feel fatigued and I needed to take a minute to rest before continuing.

It turned out to be a more difficult run than I'd intended. The upside was getting through a good workout with scenery far more interesting than my neighborhood streets.

Stillwell Woods running, made in the shade

Out of the woods and into the sun

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.4 miles

With temperatures reaching the 90's by midday today, I decided that a sheltered run at Stillwell Woods would be a good bet. Even with heavy tree cover, I knew it would be hot at 8:30 AM, so I did what I could to stay comfortable. I wore my white, terrycloth Jackrabbit running hat, a white technical jersey and a cooling bandanna that I'd prepared by soaking in water and placing in the refrigerator. Due to the high tick population this season, I traded coolness (both in look and comfort) for safety, with a pair of mid-calf wool trail socks.

The beginning of my run was great. I had none of yesterday's fatigue and, this being a trail run, I moderated my pace and prevented any anaerobically-induced coughing. The shaded woods kept conditions bearable and the short segments of unprotected sky reinforced my decision not to do a street run today. It wasn't very crowded and I only saw a few mountain bikers on the paths. At one point, I was overtaken by three high school-aged girls who were running along the trail. They seemed to have little trouble speeding along in the hot and humid weather.

About halfway through my run, I began to think about the Dirty Sock 10K in August, when conditions will likely be similar. On that day, I'll need to cover almost double the distance I was running today. I have some hot weather training to do. I think the bandanna helped at first, but after a while the heat rendered it ineffective. By the time I reached the trail head, I was soaked with sweat and ready to stop.

In the end, I felt great. A change of scenery was needed, and I enjoyed the experience far more than my recent runs on local roads. Stillwell is only 5 minutes from my house, so it's an easy choice to make whenever I'm feeling bored of my running routine. A harder choice will be taking on some of Stillwell's tougher trails that I've come to avoid, in favor of more familiar (and easier) routes. I'm going to take on that challenge, but not with 90° temps and 90% humidity.

Trail fun (times two) at Stillwell Woods

Mountain biking is Scott to be fun

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.4 mile + 4.5 mile hike

I returned to the trails in a big way today. This morning I went over to Stillwell for a run, and saw that Scott Sports was there, hosting an event. Scott, who also has a line of running shoes, was providing people with the opportunity to test their mountain bikes on Stillwell's trails. The Scott folks offered me the chance to try a bike, but I really wanted to get my run in.

I was concerned that the trails would be packed with novice riders, but that wasn't the case. I saw more bikers than usual, but most were skilled and courteous. Last night I noticed that the Fitbit had recorded over 10,000 steps, but only three staircase equivalents. My son and I decided to knock out a bunch of stair climbs, so we did another 26.

Despite some concern that I'd pushed too hard last night, I had no trouble taking on Stillwell's steep sections today. I ended up covering 4.4 miles and appreciated the change of surface after so many recent runs either on the treadmill or on pavement.

Choosing the difficult path

Later, my son and I returned to Stillwell for another hike. Our goal was to take on Stillwell's toughest trails and to find the elusive Ewok Forest. At every fork, we took the "more difficult" option. We found ourselves so far east that we intersected with the Trailview path toward Cold Spring Harbor. We doubled back from there, taking a circuitous route that involved a few side paths. We finally decided that we'd covered enough ground and headed back to the trail head.

One of Stillwell's sharp drops

When we returned to the car, I checked the Fitbit and saw that we'd covered 4.5 miles, which worked out to 10,200 steps and 23 staircase equivalents. We saw new trails and I introduced my son to the junked car that I always pass as part of my regular running route. We didn't end up taking advantage of the Scott event, but we certainly had a Stillwell workout. Today, that went double for me.

Stillwell trails and a mystery solved

My Stillwell Loop x 2

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.2 miles

The Garmin power loss mystery was solved this morning when I uploaded my week's runs to Garmin Connect. The duration of Thursday's treadmill run was recorded at sixteen hours and forty-one minutes. I had forgotten to turn off the timer after my run, and it dutifully recorded time until it ran out of juice. I was happy to see that it was my lack of attention, and not an issue with my battery, that caused the power drain.

The Garmin was back to full power this morning when I headed over to Stillwell Woods. It was freezing cold at the start and I expected the dirt paths to be rock hard. Surprisingly, the ground had plenty of give. As I traveled further, I even encountered some muddy sections. My hip did not bother me like yesterday, but I could still feel some soreness.

I followed my usual loop, a route that I favor for two reasons: I don't get lost while on it and it doesn't subject me to the extreme inclines that exist further to the east. I was careful not to push too hard and further aggravate my hip, so I locked into a comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery as I ran.

I saw a few groups of high school-age runners moving rapidly along the trail and figured they were training for cross country. There were some mountain bikers as well, and one rode behind me for a while, but didn't pass. Knowing he was there made me nervous. I moved far to the right, hoping that he'd take the hint. At that moment, the rider turned onto a connecting path and my problem was solved.

I ended up covering my route twice and even added a little extra distance to make sure I made my targeted distance of four miles. So far my hip is still behaving and I'm hoping the residual soreness will go away. It was nice to be back in the woods and I look forward to more trail running as winter turns to spring. You can run the trails all year round, but it's far better when the paths are clear.

Trailview fun along the "Danger Zone"

Greetings from Trailview

Today's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

Yesterday morning I went out for a 4.8 mile run that took a lot more out of me than I'd expected. I recovered quickly from that, and a few hours later, my son and I headed to Trailview State Park for a hike. The weather was chilly and we did our best to dress for the cold while planning for the heat we'd generate during the hike.

We chose the path on the left and followed the winding trail up a few steep rises. The maintenance that was done after hurricane Sandy left many sections of cut-up tree trunks along the way. My son stopped to count the rings from one tree and determined that it had stood about 35 years before it was knocked down by the storm.

Sandy's impact was everywhere

My son and I continued north until we reached the point where the trail overlooks the road separating Trailview from the southern end of Stillwell Woods. We followed the trail down to where Woodbury Road and Syosset-Woodbury Road intersect. We then crossed the street and entered Stillwell where we negotiated some difficult hills covered by gnarly roots and sharp rocks. We reached a point on the trail that had a substantial drop and decided to double back towards Trailview.

We crossed Syosset-Woodbury Road and re-entered Trailview through the western trail head. We followed a different path for a while, stopping a few times to explore interesting rocks and large branches. We found ourselves at a place marked "Danger Zone" and I asked my son if we should continue. He's a 13 year old boy. Of course he said yes.

Double diamonds mean danger

The danger zone required some deft footwork but we made our way through it without incident and eventually picked up our original trail. It was there that we found a flat square rock that my son decided to keep as a souvenir of our hike. We finished our walk and went over to the Stop & Shop that's located adjacent to Trailview's parking lot. We bought some goodies in the bakery section to surprise my wife and daughter who were waiting for us back home.

Souvenir rock on the trail head sign

Between my morning run and the hike I covered close to ten miles outside yesterday, exceeding 17K steps. The best part, for me, was spending time with my son. We had great conversations and took on some tough hills. I slept eight hours last night with 97% sleep efficiency. Gee, I wonder why.

Stillwell trail run, frozen paths and a near collision

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.9 miles

I was hoping to get a trail run in over my last vacation but the timing never worked out. I did manage to cover a lot of miles during my time off, but the only time I traveled to run was the Hangover Fun Run on New Year's Day. I was determined to get back to Stillwell this morning, where I did my first trail run of 2013.

It has been cold all week and today was no different. I dressed for freezing temperatures, including a base layer under my running pants. I was glad to have layers top and bottom when I stepped out of the car at Stillwell Woods to start my run.

The trail head and the main trail leading from it were covered with ice. I needed to step carefully as I made my way to an interior trail. There were a number of mountain bikers getting ready in the parking lot and I wondered how they'd fare on the slick and frozen surface. I never did see a biker on the path today. Perhaps they rethought their workouts after seeing the condition of the trails.

I wore my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards that eat up rough terrain. Their only shortcoming is the lack of a rock plate, which is normally a non-issue. Today it would have been provided great benefits, as the interior trails consisted of mud that was grooved by bike tires and refrozen as hard as rock. I needed to watch the trail closely to avoid slipping on the uneven surface.

About half a mile into the woods, I detected movement behind me. Thinking it might be bikers I moved to my right and soon saw two runners passing me on my left. There was no courtesy "Thank you", which is fine, but I would have liked to know there was a third runner trailing behind them. I had just started to move back to the center when the third runner came along, and we almost collided. People generally say, "On your left!" in those situations but these guys were jerks.

I did my usual loop a couple of times and noticed that, in the short time I'd been running, the sun had started to melt the ice. What had been frozen earth became soft and slippery mud and I needed to adjust for that. I saw a few people out walking with their dogs but no other runners today. I completed my second loop feeling like I'd worked fairly hard, even for a run that didn't quite go four miles.

Overall, it was a decent trail run. My last trail run went poorly (at Caleb Smith) and I appreciated the difference. I'm not sure where I'll run tomorrow, but today I'm happy to have had another great experience in the woods.

Four years emerging and a trail run to celebrate

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.2 miles

Four years ago today, I published my first post on the Emerging Runner. I had made some unsuccessful attempts to run in the past, but in 2008 I fully committed to running as a lifestyle. I'd also started a few blogs before that time but never managed to keep them going. My hope on that day that I published that post was to break that cycle. After four years, I think I can say that I did.

In the October issue of Runner's World magazine, Captain "Sully" Sullenburger was featured in the section called "I'm a Runner." The interview is short, but interesting. I especially liked this quote, "I'm not a good runner, but I'm better than someone who doesn't do it at all." That statement sums up everything I've written over the last four years.

Over the past four years I gone from being someone who faced every run as a difficult challenge, to a solidly mid-pack race competitor. I was talking to my brother yesterday about my four years as a runner, and how I struggled so hard on my first runs. I remembered hoping for the day when I'd be able to run and think of something besides discomfort and pain. Soon enough, my runs became my best process for thinking through any problem.

If not for Hurricane Sandy, I'd be spending most of this post recapping the Long Beach Turkey Trot that was scheduled for this morning. The hurricane devastated that city and destroyed the boardwalk that is almost half of the 10K course. I love racing in Long Beach for its ocean views and flat, runner friendly roads. I hope the community gets back to normal quickly, not for the runners, but for the sake of the residents. 

High visibility on the trails

Today called for a change from the neighborhood roads that I've run since returning home after our power was restored. Stillwell Woods was the perfect choice and I headed over with a plan to run my favorite two mile loop a couple of times. I'd recently bought a nice, high visibility running shirt at TJ Max for the bargain price of $7.99 and thought Stillwell would be the perfect place to use it.

The mountain bikers were out in force and most shared the trails very well, politely warning me when they were closing in. I'm sure the bright orange shirt helped them see me in plenty of time. I took it easy on the trail and was careful to avoid branches that had fallen on the path from Sandy. It was difficult at times to see the trail because the rising sun was hitting me head-on. I got whacked in the head a couple of times by overhanging branches but my hat protected me from any damage.

It's been a nice fourth anniversary of my running/blogging life so far today. Later on, the Emerging Runner family is heading to East Northport to assist in an effort to get food to elderly and housebound people whose lives were disrupted by Sandy. Next week is Thanksgiving but I am thankful often, especially today when I am able to help myself and help others. The decision I made to run in 2008 has much to do with that.

Observing transformation on my morning run

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

One day can make a dramatic difference. During my run this morning I saw that most of the downed trees were removed some time yesterday. Some scary looking wires, artfully draped over a busy road for the past two weeks, were back up on their poles. The streets were clear of residual brush, and it looked like we'd never even had a hurricane.

This morning was colder than yesterday, but only by a few degrees. I wore my prized City Sports running pants and a lightweight 1/4 zip top with an short sleeve jersey over it. This combination worked well for the near freezing weather. Had I run longer, or pushed myself harder, I would have felt overheated. I ended up covering my route a minute slower than yesterday, although the effort seemed about the same.

I'm thinking about this weekend's running and I was disappointed to see that the New York State Parks website said that, besides the clubhouse, tennis facilities and golf courses, "Other areas of the park will remain closed until further notice." I need to find an alternative to Bethpage for my long weekend runs. Perhaps I'll head to Stillwell Woods tomorrow to do some trail running. It's been a long time since I've gone off road and I really miss that experience.

Stillwell Woods fun: toughest trail run this year

Finally found my way across the full preserve

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.5 miles

Now that the Barclays is over and Bethpage is open once again, I considered heading over to run the bike trail. But I changed my mind on venue and opted for Stillwell Woods instead. A few miles on the wooded trails is a great way to free your mind, body and soul. That is, if they don't beat you to a pulp.

I usually run the same route at Stillwell that starts on the main trail and follows north, and then east, before looping back around to the trail head. I usually run it twice, for a distance of about 4 miles. I like this course because it's primarily hard packed single-track, with a few rocky and hilly sections thrown in. The challenge of getting through this loop is moderate at best, but it's a great experience running among the trees, plants and animals.

This morning's Stillwell run started like usual, and I followed my standard loop until I turned left instead of right, just before the one mile point. This little change quickly turned the dial from easy to difficult. Instead of my familiar paths, I soon encountered the first of many sharp inclines up rock, scree and sand, followed by numerous steep, carved out, drops.

Technical trail running can be fun provided you're wearing the right shoes and have an understanding of your course. I had neither, but I did my best. Thinking I'd run my usual route, I wore a pair of road shoes that performed remarkably well in most circumstances, but barely had enough bite for some particularly steep inclines.

I'd brought a compass and that was very helpful for navigating across the entire preserve. Still, I didn't know what to expect from minute to minute. The route I'd taken brought me up and down, with almost no level sections between the one and three mile points. I began to get frustrated by this pattern because I didn't know what lay ahead. I only knew it would be tough running.

Just when I started to think about taking a break or even walking some of the difficult sections, I found myself on a familiar trail that's part of my normal route. Knowing the worst was over, I happily followed my way around to the trail head and ran the paved drive almost to the street and back. 

Ups and downs through the first three miles

What started as a routine Stillwell run turned out to be an exhausting hill workout with lots of technical terrain and obstacles. I needed to duck under or leap over a lot of stuff and all that sand was irritating. I was proud of myself for meeting every hill challenge head on. But I did need a mid-day recovery nap to get my energy back, so I could play soccer with my daughter.

Tomorrow I'll go back on the road again. Perhaps I'll head to Bethpage for six miles or so on the bike trail. After today's run, that might feel easier than usual.

Bugs, sun, hiking and running

Mislead by the map, much more to the east

Yesterday's activity (Stillwell Woods hike): 2.2 miles
Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

Surprise! It's hot in July

Despite the popular idiom, it really is the heat (but the humidity doesn't help). People talk about the heat like it's some sort of unusual phenomenon, but every July it's just like this. Today's temperature should get close to 100° F, so I got outside relatively early. Even at 7:50 AM, the thermometer was edging towards 80°.

Yesterday was equally hot, so after a morning of working from home, my son and I headed over to Stillwell Woods for a hike. A midday hike on a hot summer's day may sound like torture, but we knew that the tree canopy would keep the sun off our heads. For the most part, that was true, but we didn't count on the clouds of bugs that we encountered as we moved deeper into woods.

Despite the heat, gnats and occasional hard climbs, we had a great time looking for the elusive Ewok Forest section on Stillwell. I used Endomondo to record our hike and I referred to its real-time map a few times to help locate our position. The simple graphics on the map led me to believe that we were further east into the woods than we really were, so we never reached our intended destination.

My son did a great job tracking our direction and, when were ready to go, his compass skills led us straight back to our stating point. We headed home and cooled off in the pool with my wife and daughter. Our serenity was interrupted when a town worker in a lift truck surprised us by swinging over the tree line to trim around some adjacent telephone lines. Surprise!

I took it very easy on this morning's run. I briefly considered turning off the GPS so that I wouldn't track my pace. I tend to be self-competitive when I know I'm being recorded and I didn't want to move too fast in increasingly warm conditions. I ended up recording it, but I didn't look at my time until the end.

I needed to keep reminding myself that pace didn't matter, and that this workout was just about maintenance miles on an extremely hot and humid morning. The run never felt hard but I was glad to end it. I'm pleased that I put in a few miles today and I'll look forward to some easier activities in the pool this afternoon. Before too long, the T-storms will be here to finally cool things off.

Central Park, eight months later

Friday's run (Central Park): 3.3 miles
Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.3 miles

I thought it had been a while since I'd run in Central Park, but I was shocked to see on Garmin Connect that the last time I'd run there was last October! I had assumed I'd been there more recently but after checking the blog history I confirmed that was accurate. Knowing that, I am especially happy to have returned to Central Park.

The weather was almost perfect when I got to the park. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 60's. It took a surprisingly long time to acquire a signal on my Garmin. As soon as it locked in, I was on my way.

I began my run by going counter-clockwise along the Center Drive loop. I was surprised to see lots of runners coming from the other direction because that's opposite of the direction arrows on the bike path. I was running strongly and staying just below a nine minute pace through the first mile. By the time I reached the top of Cat Hill I had slowed a bit, but I still felt strong.

The humidity was higher than I'd first thought and I decided to limit my run to the loop below the reservoir. I gritted my teeth through the hilly sections just below the Great Lawn and Terrace Drive and enjoyed the downhill sections that followed. I continued on some the paths off Center Drive and finished on Central Park South at 7th Ave. It was a great run and my overall pace was actually faster than what I achieved on the NHP 8K.

This morning I headed to Stillwell to run the trails. I downloaded the latest 3 Non-Joggers podcast to listen to while I ran. That helped me get through some very technical and steep terrain. I ended up covering almost exactly the same mileage as I ran on Friday, but the required effort was much greater.

On my way off the trail I encountered three women who were asking people to sign a petition that would limit mowing the big field. This would help protect the wildlife and aid conservation efforts to eliminate invasive species. I was happy to sign.

I've been on vacation since yesterday afternoon. Since then, I've had two really interesting runs. I'm hoping to do a distance run in the next few days. Tomorrow is Father's Day so maybe I'll give myself the gift of running the hills on the Bethpage bike trail.

D'oh, a deer!

Rainy conditions on Stillwell's trails

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4 miles

Yesterday's workout was focused on speed and intensity so I thought I'd go for an easier run today. It's been a while since I've visited Stillwell Woods and a trail run sounded like a good idea. Just for fun, I downloaded a podcast from 3nonjoggers.com. This is a trio of trail runners who record a weekly hour-long running-related program. I read about them in the April issue of TrailRunner magazine.

I have not run with a music player in years, but, with my new pocket-rich running shorts, I thought I might today. I'm glad I did, as the podcast was funny and interesting and I certainly recommend it. While I feel that listening to music or podcasts is dangerous on the road, at least I won't see any cars on the trail. Mountain bikes, yes. Deer, yes. But no cars.

I mention deer because I had a close encounter with one this morning. I was moving along nicely on a twisty section of singletrack, when my eyes caught a flash of beige about five yards ahead. Apparently I had surprised a large deer grazing in the woods. The deer jumped onto the path in front of me and took off very quickly. I literally said "What the @#$%!" when I saw it. Although I'd seen deer on my runs in the past, I'd never seen one at Stillwell.

Besides the deer sighting, there wasn't much happening on the trails this morning. It was raining lightly when I started and the rain intensified for a while during my run. The canopy overhead protected me, but I still got fairly wet. My only company besides the deer were three bikers who passed me on my way up a steep rise. The tables got turned when they sputtered out before reaching the top and I just kept going. To their credit they cheered me when I went by.

Ready for future recovery

Later in the day I returned some Adidas recovery slides that my wife bought to surprise me. It turned out that she ordered the wrong size, simply because she listened to what I told her. They are Adidas Superstars with a very comfortable foot bed. I look forward to wearing them after my next run.

Tomorrow morning we'll be at the Memorial Day parade to watch my son march with the school band. That will preclude a long morning run, but I'll probably do a treadmill workout as I begin my taper week. I've had some interesting experiences on the road, track and trail this weekend. Might as well add the treadmill to the mix.

Rough time at Stillwell Woods

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.1 miles

Some runs are easy and some are not. I can usually predict how I'll perform based upon how I feel before I start. I'm at my best between 7:00-11:00 AM and any time before or after that will rarely yield an extraordinary performance. The worst time for me to run is mid-afternoon, especially after a big lunch.

Knowing this, it won't be a surprise when I say that today's run at Stillwell was:

• Not Fun
• Very difficult
• Disappointing
• De-motivating
• 50% short of my intended goal

I'm on vacation this week, which is great, but there are a lot of things to do while I'm off. I spent most of the morning with the electrician, resolving some long term problems with one of our circuits. This forced me to push my run later in the day. We had also planned a Mexican-themed lunch that may have been a contributing factor in today's poor experience.

I headed to the trails at Stillwell Woods thinking that the rough terrain would provide a great excuse to run only for time, independent of pace. My goal was to go out for an hour and cover whatever distance I could.

I parked near the street, as far from the trail head as I could get. I set off along the paved drive that runs almost a kilometer before reaching the trail. I felt an energy deficit right away but hoped that, once I got going, things would improve.

When I reached the trail I became concerned whether I'd have enough energy to run my intended route. The paths were muddy in parts and I feared that I'd slip on the unstable surface. There was only one other person on the trail when I was running, a mountain biker, who passed me a couple of times in both directions.

I slogged on and did fairly well with the two steep sections that come along halfway through my usual loop. But by the time I reached two miles I felt like I'd done enough. I decided to head back to my car, which meant that I needed to cover just one more mile.

I usually love the experience of running at Stillwell, but today it was tough and uncomfortable. I'm going to blame the time of day and the fact that I had a big lunch prior to my workout. Tomorrow is another day. I'm hoping it will be a better day for running.