Two good runs: one fast, one slow, both hot.

Yesterday's workout (Central Park): 3.25 miles at 8:52 per mile

Today's workout (street): 5.48 miles at 9:21 per mile

In terms of effort I'd say both today's and yesterday's runs were about even. It's hot today and it was hot in NYC yesterday when I trekked over to Central Park. I much prefer the cooler seasons for running but I also appreciate the way the trees and plants bloom in late spring and summer. The Park was filled with runners, cyclists and walkers when I arrived and I made my way over to the bike path on the lower loop to start my planned 3 mile run. My friend Steve had a conflict so he couldn't join me today so I decided to go it alone for a run that followed the lower and upper loops below the reservoir. I knew that the hardest part of the run would happen in the first half because a good part of that route is uphill.

Surprisingly, it took me about a mile to break a sweat but once I did I got REALLY hot. I cut across the Great Lawn and headed back down, hugging the shade and happy to know that a few downhills awaited me. I'd maintained a decent pace even with the uphill challenges and I passed a number of runners although I also got passed a couple of times near the end. By the time I returned to my starting point I was glad to finish, cool down and head back to the office. A meeting had spilled into my planned running window that caused my run+lunch timing to be very tight. I quickly changed, grabbed a fast bite and finished a minute before my 2:00 meeting. I was glad that I'd run an 8:52 pace or I might have ended up being late!

This morning I headed out for a neighborhood run with no planned route in mind. I intentionally ignored the Garmin because I didn't want to influence my pace in any way. Although it was hot and sunny I figured that I could a cover some good distance as long as I didn't push too hard. I did check my heart rate throughout the run to ensure I was keeping to around 80% of max. I traveled through my neighborhood roads and cut across to neighborhood #2 at the 2.5 mile mark. I chose some different streets that I hadn't run before, just for a change. I wound up covering 5.5 miles and finished feeling like I'd done a lot of work this morning. I need to work more on distance so I'm considering heading to Bethpage tomorrow to run the bike path where I can cover 8 to 10 miles out and back. Either that or a return to Stillwell to begin training for the next XTERRA race.

I tortured my banker but, hey, great run today!

Riverside Park, NYC

Today's workout (street): 5.5 miles at 9:33/mile

I don't think my friend and investment banker, Steven, knew quite what he was getting into when he agreed to run with me today in the city. I had proposed a route that would cover 3.5 miles with an option of running or walking another mile back to our office buildings at the end. Prior to today, Steven had not yet run three full miles and most of his running had been on the treadmill. He was willing to push himself today and the route, which should have taken us from 6th Ave. to the West Side bike path to 72nd Street and then through Central Park, looked straightforward on Gmaps.

We set out at a brisk but manageable pace, the skies were overcast, the air was cool and dry and the river provided a great view to our left.  Everything was going fine until we passed the 2 mile mark along the bike path. We could not find any signs that told us how far north we had run but I knew that we were getting close to the 70's and I started looking for a cutout that would take us under the West Side Highway and lead us east towards Central Park. There was no obvious exit point and by the time we found one we were already up around 88th Street. After some experimentation we made our way to Riverside Drive and headed south and east until we reached the park.

When we passed the three mile mark Steven was pleased with his personal distance record. The extra blocks added  two miles to our planned distance and by the four mile mark he was having some trouble with the hills. We slowed the pace until he felt comfortable and then hit a downhill stretch that he greatly appreciated. I have to say that the hills were hardly a challenge for me today. I guess all that training for last week's race has paid off. By the time we reached the bottom of the lower loop in Central Park my Garmin was showing 5.4 miles and Steve was pretty exhausted. I encouraged him to run another tenth so he could say he ran 5.5 miles. I felt remarkably good and could have easily gone another five.

I felt a little guilty for torturing my friend but I kept encouraging him to stop if he needed to rest but he carried on without complaint. If I pushed my friend too hard today it didn't discourage him as we agreed to do another run next Friday, schedules permitting. I'm planning to run with my friend CK next Tuesday. The last time we ran I was the one who had trouble keeping up. I hope I do better next week. If not, I only have karma to blame.

Runner's envy in Central Park

Today's run (street): 2.4 miles at 9:06

I didn't run yesterday but I took a three mile walk at lunchtime to Central Park. My route followed the lower loop and I included a few side paths as well. It was perfect weather for walking, bright and sunny, but cool enough for me to be comfortable in my suit jacket and tie. I watched enviously as runners, cyclists and in-line skaters passed by. I really wished I was running on the bike path rather than walking along the pedestrian strip. The park was filled with people, but my surroundings had a quiet (but positive) feel. Central Park is truly an oasis within mid-town Manhattan and I wanted to spend more time on my walk but I really needed to head back for a meeting. The only negative was that all that walking was rough on the bottom of my feet and I was in a little pain by the time I'd returned to the office.

This morning I went out for my first run since Sunday's race. Due to resting for two days prior and one day after the race, I've only run about 10 miles over the last seven days. It was great getting out at 4:00 AM but it felt far chillier than the 49 degrees that the local Long Island television station reported. I was concerned that the irritation from yesterday's walk would have a negative impact on today's run but with a good pair of socks and my trusty GTS 10's, I had no issues at all. I started my run on a street with a slight (~2%) elevation and re-lived the running of the big hill on Sunday. Of course today's challenge was shorter and far less steep. It was just enough to get my body temperature to a comfortable place and I headed into the next series of roads, listening for the chirp that would tell me I'd passed my first mile. I encountered no cars and the only sounds were birds (and my Garmin) chirping, interrupted occasionally by the clattering sound of a lawn sprinkler. I felt I ran harder than normal and ended up averaging 9:06 per mile, which is a good pace for me at that early hour.

Note: I want to give a shout out to my friend FS who also raced on Sunday (NYRR "Run as One" 4 miler). She maintained an impressively fast pace (low 9:00's) - a possible PR for that distance.

Rememberence of a back to school run

It's funny but even after decades away from the classroom I still feel that back-to-school anxiety on the first Tuesday after Labor Day. Some of it surely comes from my kid's return to school and amping up the tension this year is my daughter's move into middle school. Both she and my son have handled things with aplomb and I'm hoping they have great first days back.

As I ran yesterday morning I was reminded of the transition to fall and all that goes with it. I thought of a run that I did in Cambridge on Labor Day before the start of my senior year in college. It was cold for September and I vividly remembered the smell of the air and the light of the sky that seemed so different from just a week before. I wasn't a runner then but I was in good enough shape to keep up with my friend who was fairly dedicated to the sport. I recall thinking how beautiful it was to run along Memorial Drive and how great it was to run simply for the sake of running. I'm sure I had every intention of continuing that experience and I recall that we did a few more runs together over time but it didn't stick with me. Perhaps it's for the best or I might now be one of those guys who says "I used to run but I can't anymore because of my knees [hip, foot problems]..." Maybe it was smart to start at a time when shoe design has evolved sufficiently enough to protect runners from such afflictions.

I restarted my running last fall and I was fortunate to ease into it at a time when the weather supported the experience so well. I'm looking forward to a few months of cool temperatures and low humidity before the mercury drops to the point that I will (shudder) need to get back on the treadmill for my weekday runs. I can't wait to step outside tomorrow morning and feel the chill, knowing that the worst of the hot summer is likely behind us. I'm hoping that early morning in Eisenhower Park during next Sunday's run will evoke the same feeling that I had in Cambridge so long ago.

Ring around the reservoir

It's a rare day when I completely miss the chance to post. The summer is growing to a close so I only have a few more chances to take off early on "Summer Fridays." That said I'm taking full advantage when I can but it often means a jam-packed morning, a NYC run and then a return to LI. We had lots to do when I arrived home and before I knew it the clock said 10:30 PM and I realized I'd just need to post in the morning.

Yesterday I decided to try the Central Park bridle path on my own. I had never run it alone and although I have a decent sense of direction I still get very confused in Central Park. Running with AG had been my safety net because she knows the park so well and can navigate much better than me. I found the start of the trail and took off. The bridal trail is mostly dirt with some mud and some rough sandy parts. While it's fine to run with regular running shoes it's probably a better surface for trail runners. The mid-day sun was hot and the air was very humid and by the first mile I was feeling a little spent.

The bridle trail affords more shade than the paved routes in the park but the tree cover is intermittent and when the sun is overhead it's brutal. I recognized most of the route from previous runs and felt good about that. When I reached the reservoir I took the east path thinking I would cut south and then head back to my starting point. I didn't realize that the path was actually going north and I was actually rounding the reservoir. Tried to get a bearing on my compass on my iPhone but the glare of the sun made that hard. I finally saw that I had reached the point where I came up to the reservoir and realized I had run around the whole thing. Despite my struggles I was still moving along pretty well and had passed two or three runners and a couple of slower moving cyclists. I followed the west side bridle path back to approximately where I'd started and noted that I'd run a total of 4.4 miles. The MotionX was off, as usual, and by looking at the GPX file on Google Earth (above) you can see how the GPS cuts corners which translates to less distance.

Considering the heat and the mid day timing I was okay with a 9:20/mile average pace. I was extremely sweat-soaked at the end and remained that way all the way to my office despite walking close to ten blocks from the park (through some highly air conditioned buildings no less). The run took a lot out of me and I was fairly tired for the rest of the day. I have a busy day today and I'm trying to figure out when and where I'll run. I should go for long distance as training for next week's 10K trail race but I don't know if my energy level is high enough. It couldn't hurt to try. I still want to explore the northern part of Stillwell that I have not yet run. Maybe that's a good choice for today because the canopy will provide some needed protection from the sun. My experience on the bridle trail gave me some hope that I can navigate through the previously uncharted parts of Stillwell. At least I run there with a compass now. When it comes to the topography of Stillwell Woods, I need all the help I can get.

On my own in the city

For the first time in many weeks I won't be partaking in my Friday afternoon city run. My son and junior emerging runner has joined me in my office for the day and my trusty running partner, Adventure Girl, is preparing for her three week orientation at Yale that starts on Sunday. I'm going to miss our runs and there's much to be said for running with others in terms of performance and distraction from the effort. I've read some recent articles that support the idea that running with groups helps improve pace. Although the bulk of my running is solo I have run enough with others to know that I generally do better with another person helping to set the pace. It takes commitment to run during the workday because we don't have shower facilities and few people are willing to go at lunch and come back to the office soaking with sweat. I had hoped that our division Fun Run would surface some running partners but no one has taken the bait yet.

Tomorrow I'll be running in Belmont Lake State Park as training for the Babylon Dirty Sock 10K that will be help there later in the month. I'll be joined by someone who trains there regularly and knows the course. I'm slightly concerned about the length of the 6.2 mile run because I have averaged closer to 4.5 miles per weekend run over the last few months. According to what I have read, these trails are moderately flat and that, combined with the shade from the trees should help me deal with the effort. I'm looking forward to being back on the trails again. As for city running, even as AG leaves for New Haven I plan to do a run at least once a week. I hope to find someone to join me on the lower loop in Central Park or down the West Side bike trails every once in a while. Adventure Girl will be back for a couple of days every week starting in September and we'll run if she can squeeze it in. It's been a great summer for running and there are still some weeks to go!

City bookend run

Yesterday afternoon AG and I completed our last city run before she heads back to school. The weather predictions were for storms through the afternoon so we switched our plans to run the trails in Van Cortland park in favor of the West Side bike path. Instead of rain the weather turned extremely hot and humid as we made our way west from the office. I wore my iPhone with MotionX GPS to track our route and also used the Garmin 50 for comparison.

Before we started our run we had some honey energy chews, but nothing for lunch. About 15 minutes into the run I began to feel tired which I'm sure related to hunger. It reminded us of how I struggled the first time AG and I ran together. It was on the bridal path in Central Park where the heat, hills and mud made it a rough time. In between these tough ones were a bunch of great runs. That's not to say that yesterdays run wasn't great. We moved along well and ducked into Chelsea Piers where we could run some blocks free of the sun. The run along the water was beautiful and the breeze was welcomed but the heat forced a quick hydration stop after 3.8 miles. We ran another mile before calling it a run. Despite the conditions we averaged 9:13/mile. I'm going to miss these summer city runs.

We have some guests this weekend so I got out early before they were up and ready. I used the iPhone again and the GPS application did much better outside of the city. In the interest of time I kept it under 50 minutes covering 3.8 miles at 8:53. That's another $20 to the Garmin fund but with MotionX I'm re-thinking whether to even make that purchase.

LFD and CFM

LFD = Long Fast Distance
CFM = Comfort Food Miles

My hope for yesterday's run in Central Park was to cover four to six miles at a leisurely pace, accompanied by friends CK and AG. CK has been recovering from a stress fracture in his foot and the heat and humidity both provided a good case for an easy pace. We met at the statue of the Maine in Columbus Circle at the southwest edge of the Park and started off with this plan (suggested by CK):"Let's just run." Although it was hot and humid I felt energized and we covered the first mile at around an 8:30 pace. Pace is a relative thing and while 8:30 is a 5K race pace for me it wasn't much of a challenge for my companions. While I thought about the difficulty of maintaining a mid-8 pace for another four miles, AG and CK were happily chatting away without breaking a sweat. I finally managed to croak out the words "Can we slow this down a little?" and they immediately backed down the pace to about 9:20.

I appreciated the respite and we moved off of the paved course and onto the bridal path and followed it along the reservoir for a while. Our pace picked up and I tried to slow it down but in the interest of keeping up it didn't get much slower. I lost track of where we were and at one point I was concerned that we had miles to go and were still traveling north. I asked AG in an almost pleading way when we were going to cross over and go south and she laughed and said we already did that. That made me very happy. Around the 3 1/2 mile mark the odometer in my body reliably signaled the distance with some discomfort from my groin pull. I said that I couldn't do a faster pace from that point on although we were tracking well below 9:00 on the downhills. We finished near the southern end of the Park after covering 4.7 miles with an overall pace of 9:04. Considering the conditions and the length of the run it was long and fast and I welcomed the break. It took me almost ten minutes to feel recovered with the help of a cold bottle of water. When we got back to the office we conducted a taste test of Fruit2O water that will appear soon in Runner's Tech Review.

I had some good rest overnight but didn't want to push myself so I decided to do a slow recovery run, not more than 3 miles or so. I didn't care about pace and I didn't want to go out much more than 30 minutes. The run felt great and I thought about how sometimes it's hard (see above) and sometimes it's the equivalent of comfort food - satisfying, effortless and fully enjoyable. I had to rein myself in and though I slipped passed my 5K goal I finished 3.5 miles at around 9:20, surprisingly fast considering I meant to go slow. I want to do a trail run tomorrow if I can but our schedule for Sunday starts fairly early so I don't know if that's realistic. Perhaps I'll do it in the afternoon instead. A great thing about the trails is that most of the running is in tree provided shade. It may allow me to combine LFD with some CFM.

Sublimating my competitive nature

I was pleased to see that the Emerging Runner captured the #5 spot for the top 100 blogs on Runner's World for April, May and June. My competitive side wants me to rank higher but I'm in good company and the top four blogs deserve their positions. I let my competitive nature get the better of me earlier in the week when I took off ahead of everyone in Wednesday's Fun Run. I had given clear direction that the event was about fun not competition yet I could not resist the combination of short distance, low humidity and a downhill stretch. This morning I thought about competition and how running is mostly about competing with one's self. After a race I do check the results but I never think twice about who finished before me. I monitor my pace and distance when I train because it's fun to know what you accomplish when you work so hard.

In terms of monitoring performance, I've wanted a Garmin 405 GPS watch for a long time. I do have the Garmin 50 with foot pod and HRM and it works great so why change? For one thing it would be great to track speed and distance with maximum accuracy. It would also allow me to capture elevation through the run. It has a built-in compass which would help with trails. The 405 also has export capabilities for overlaying runs on mapping applications. I thought that I might challenge myself and hold off buying the Garmin 405 a little longer until I've met certain goals. When a goal is met I'll put a certain amount of money into a fund. When I reach the amount it will cost to buy the watch I will. A goal could be reaching 25 miles on a non-vacation week, maintaining a specific pace or reaching a distance goal. No matter what, by the time I'm done I'll feel that I have justified buying it.

This afternoon AG and I are doing our end-of-the-work week run with one of my two running advisors, CK. CK is a master runner who's competed in marathons and many distance races. He's a few years older than me but much faster. CK runs in the low sevens and regularly beats the neighborhood 20-somethings in his town's annual Turkey Trot. It will be humid and near 90 degrees when we go out to Central Park. Today my competitive nature will have to take a back seat to just keeping up with two fast and experienced runners.

6 mile loop has its ups and downs

This was a very long week and Friday was a busy day. I didn't mind the back to back meetings because I knew in the end it would be time for my work-week-ending NYC distance run. I've been working on distance so AG and I decided to run a 6 mile loop in Washington Heights that winds through Ft. Tryon Park, past the Cloisters, along the Hudson and over the GW Bridge and back. The weather was partly sunny and the humidity was high so I knew it would get hot in a hurry. The park was very pretty and the path included lots of switchback paths, some of which passed rock walls that people can climb. The air was damp but without direct sun it was bearable. At one point we were headed in the direction of the GWB that was off in the distance, then the path switched in the opposite direction and I realized how far we would have to run to complete this course.

Once we were headed directly toward the GWB we passed a number of interesting places. AG pointed out where George Washington and his troops crossed the Hudson after trekking all the way from Brooklyn. She also pointed out some architectural elements like stone arches and an old carriage road. We passed a structure that faced our path and the Hudson on the other side. It consisted of columns and a roof that was in tough shape but could be beautiful with some restoration. I joked that it looked like the Parthenon. At one point we passed a spot where we could see the outer wall of a high overhead pass and AG told me that the yoga photos from her Running Gone Wild page were taken there. I couldn't believe that because the the narrow wall looks down to a substantial drop to the West Side highway. I again understood why we nicknamed her Adventure Girl.

We continued along until we reached the bridge but the way it's set up we needed to run up a very steep hill for a few blocks before cutting over to the pedestrian entrance to the bridge. Once on the bridge we went up and down a couple stairwells before we zipped along the length of the GWB and back. The breezes helped combat the heat and the run across to NJ and back seemed to go by quickly. The view off the bridge was much clearer than the previous time we'd run there and I appreciated the perspective. In all we covered 6 miles, much of it including hills more challenging than those on my usual Long Island routes. It felt great, even with the humidity, and I'm happy to know that I can cover 6 miles under those conditions without significant problems or suffering. I'll be on vacation this coming week and I hope to do a few long distance runs, possibly even breaking my current distance record of 6.63 miles. My window for running this morning is closing as the bad weather moves in so I'll go out pretty soon.

Although the past week had lots of stress points I'm pleased that the run took the edge off things so well. Maybe there's something to this running thing after all...

Rest, rain, rest, run!

I had high hopes for a pre-work day run in Central Park this morning. I'm trying to optimize my readiness for my race on Sunday and I took yesterday as a rest day. I planned on a final training run today before resting again tomorrow. We had rainy weather this morning and while I actually enjoy running in the rain I didn't think it would be nice to spend the rest of the business day looking like a wet dog.

As I headed into the office I was disappointed to see the rain was coming down lightly but steady. I figured that I'd have to put off my morning run until later in the day. I made my way over to AG's office and she was already dressed for running. I tried to convince her to run later but she pointed to her calendar which showed meetings throughout the day. She said she was going to run with or without me so I gave in and changed into my running gear. It was rainy as we ran up town to Central Park but the air felt nice and cool. We started our timed run on the south end of the park and did one circuit around the lower loop which measured 1.76 miles. We ran at a fairly fast pace (8:30 overall) and I was happy that I was holding my own with AG - at least most of the time. Lately I've inhibited the pace when we've run but I think running in cool weather in the morning, for less than 2 miles, really helped. With our slower paced run from our office to the park we covered a total of 2.5 miles and it was a great final run before Sunday's 8K.

My concern that I'd look spent and soaked for the rest of the day was unfounded and I was very happy that AG shamed encouraged me into running despite the wet weather. I wish I could run in those same conditions on Sunday but the reports are saying 65 and partly cloudy. Come to think of it, that's not too bad either.

Getting up to speed (literally)

I was thinking about my upcoming race on June 7, 8K (5 miles) in New Hyde Park, NY. This will be my longest race to date and it will certainly push me to the limit in terms of effort and conditioning. After dedicated focus on running for the past nine months I have reached the point where I can handle the distance but not necessarily at the pace that I'd like to run. I am satisfied with my performance on the 4 miler and the 5K but while I was consistently running below 9 minutes per mile a month or two ago my speed seems to have regressed to the point that I'm still in the 9:00 to 9:10 range on most of my better runs. It's possible that I'm doing better than I think. Since I changed the battery in my Garmin 50 foot pod its distance accuracy has been questionable. The other variable is my shoes. I switched from My Nike Turbulence 13's to the Brooks GTS 9's after the 5K. The Brooks feel great and my hip and leg problems have gone away for the most part. Could it be that I just don't run as fast in them?

I am excited about the race but I'll admit my anticipation is different now that I know more what to expect for the most part. I'm trying to pick up as many miles earlier in the week and taper near the end of the week possibly running a slightly shorter but faster course next Friday.

Yesterday AG and I did our weekly city run down the bike trails along the West Side Highway. We did this run as an end of the week recreational run rather than a business update. We started close to our building and went west about a mile before heading south along the path to the park behind Stuyvesant High School on Chambers Street. In total we covered close to 5 miles and after we returned to the office we Gmapped the route to calculate our pace. It was hard to determine the true pace because I only timed the longer southern route but it appeared as though we ran around 9:30 or so per mile. I kept the pace relatively slow because I wasn't feeling strong enough to work on speed. At one point she turned around to look at something we had just past and ran backward for short time at the same pace I was running forward! I'll blame some of my slowness on the fact that I just run better in the morning. I'm also not feeling all that great this morning and I'm wondering if I was fighting a slight fever. But it's easy to make excuses.

My plan today is to run about 5 miles and I think I may do that later in the day. I also want to work in some speed drills. I'm sure doing that helped me achieve a decent pace in the 5K. Eight days and counting to the 8K. It's coming fast.

Weekend plans

I'm looking forward to this weekend, not only because it comes with an extra day off but because, as of this weekend, I'll have an opportunity to jump in the pool after my long runs. I've been reading about different approaches to cross training and swimming appears to be a good choice. I'm eager to try running under water as a no-impact training alternative but mostly I'm looking forward to the instant cool-down after diving in.

Another thing I've been reading about is the relationship between speed training and distance. I've both read and have been told that tempo runs and intervals are extremely beneficial to distance runners, especially those that need to increase their anaerobic efficiency. I appreciate that but my reaction to anything like drills is fairly negative. I have done speed drills and I'm sure that it's helped me but what I really want to do is get into the zone and just run. I'm looking to combine tempo training and trail running this weekend. I'm targeting the bike trails at Bethpage State Park for that. I don't know what to expect from that in terms of surface. I know the bike paths are paved but I've also heard there are good dirt trails.

Instead of facing the treadmill this morning I ran 1.6 miles in Central Park before starting my work day. It was cool and sunny - perfect conditions for a light run. AG is doing her second consecutive weekend of torture, this time she'll be running up and down four mountains in the Patch Sprint race. I have about two weeks before my next race so I'll continue to work on distance and aim for 20 miles per week until then. It's been a great week for city running, once in Boston and twice in NYC. I'm dreading the heat of summer but I'm thinking that even on the hottest days, running in the early morning hours can still be bearable.

PRODUCT NEWS:
I'm using the Moji Knee this morning to see how it feels post-run. AG will field test it this weekend during her 12 mile mountain race and we'll report on its performance. So far I like the way it feels.

In addition, I will be testing a product from QStarz, a Hong Kong based company that makes the BT-Q1300S which, according to the company is "a GPS sports-recorder designed for out-door sports fans to set up the weight loss plan, Keep Track of workout status, and strive toward even the best record." I am eager to to try it.

Visiting Brooklyn the hard way

Yesterday provided another new city running experience for me as AG and I again held our weekly update meeting outdoors. We spent the first 15 minutes discussing some key business items in my office before heading out. AG brought in some Clif Shot Bloks that were left over from her relay. She wanted to try them to see if they provided some benefit since she's facing 12 miles of dirt, brush, rocks and hills (mountains actually) at this weekend's Patch Sprint. I tried a couple out of curiosity and I'm glad I did since what lay ahead was no picnic.

We headed downtown by subway and staged at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Our plan was to run over the bridge to Brooklyn, make our way to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, run that length, and then return. The temperature sign from my office said 78 degrees and I was wearing a black Dri-Fit jersey. It wasn't too bad in the shade but in the sun it was hot. The Brooklyn Bridge is sizable but not scary at all. The cars are a level below and the most concerning thing is that you're sharing a relatively narrow path crowded with walkers and cyclists. The first half of the bridge is an incline but I had no trouble with that, possibly due to the pre-run carb load. Once we headed down and off the bridge I was feeling pretty good. AG warned me that we'd encounter a big hill soon and that had me a little worried. I should have been much more worried.

Once we were in Brooklyn we ran through DUMBO and then took a left where we hit the mini mountain and charged our way up. When I say charged up I mean I ran about as fast as a slow walker. I'm sure AG could have zipped up the hill at twice the speed but we did it together. I was very happy to see it start to level and although the street continued at a slight incline it was tolerable. We swung down to the Promenade and ran that to the end. At the turnaround the Garmin showed exactly 2 miles. We continued back and encountered the hill again but it was much easier going in that direction. There were two guys charging up as we made it down and I felt for them.

After we reached DUMBO I requested that we walk for a few blocks as I was pretty spent and we still had the bridge to cross. That helped and we resumed our run as we made our way up the steps to the bridge. It was hot, crowded and we ran on an incline until we made it to the middle. The rest of the way was downhill and we finished where we started, exactly 4 miles later. We bought some bottled water and headed back to work, hot and sweating but feeling energized.

Taking into account the walking, we ran at least 3.75 miles in conditions that were tougher than any I've seen in weeks. I had been feeling weak and tired most of the day on Wednesday and the run knocked that out completely. Today I still feel strong and energized. At the rate I'm going I should make 20 miles this week and if I get to the trails I'll be able to push myself again. Three bridges in three days has been lots of fun.

Over the river and through the Park

CAMBRIDGE - I got out early today, a little after 6:00 AM, with a goal of running along the Charles River to Boston and back. I ran up Main Street toward the Longfellow Bridge but when I got to it the pedestrian walkway on the outbound side was closed. I changed direction and ran down to the paths that parallel the river along Memorial Drive and followed that to the Harvard Bridge. There were many other runners out at that hour: students, moms with jogging strollers and a few groups of people running together. The weather was cool, dry and overcast - perfect conditions for a run. I crossed over the bridge and ran along the other side toward the Esplanade. I always think about my wife when I'm around that park because she put on a big event at the Hatch Shell when she was at Emerson College.

I continued on my way toward the Longfellow Bridge and crossed back over to the Cambridge side. It was an amazing view and at the mid-point of the bridge I could see both the Boston and Cambridge skylines at once. I ran up Broadway to finish at my hotel. According to the Garmin I ran 3.52 miles (I mapped it on MapMyRun and it was actually 3.59 miles). I only stopped because I had to get ready for my meetings at the Media Lab. The Cambridge to Boston loop is a great, fun run and I'm glad I was able to do it again.

Adventure Girl update: Her Ragner Woodstock-to-Bronx relay team (Have Fun - Go Fast) finished 11th out of 26 in their division. They covered 181.1 miles in 26:47. That's a, 8:52 pace. Very impressive considering it was a team of 12, ranging from 7 to 11 minute milers who each ran three measurable segments in less than a day.

Got my Moji (almost) Working

I recently came across an innovative icing system for athletes. The product is called "Moji" and it consists of a flexible, freezable, gel filled pad that wraps around an area like a knee. The pad is held in place by a stretchable wrap that resembles a knee brace. The company was gracious enough to supply a sample to test during this weekend's Woodstock to Bronx Ragner Relay. The 12 member team will put it through its paces and I'll publish a full review after the event. We received the sample yesterday and were extremely impressed by the quality of the device. It is a well designed, top end piece of gear and I will provide pricing along with the review.

Yesterday I accompanied Adventure Girl on her last run prior to Friday's race. We ran over to the bike path that parallels the West Side Highway and follows the Hudson on the right. It's a different view of NYC and the weather was clear, sunny and not too humid.

We covered 4.8 miles in what seemed a blink of an eye and jumped on the subway for the trip back to the office. During the run we did our business update, combining exercise and work. I liked being able to put in a longer distance during the work week as I move closer to my 8K.

This morning I worked out on the elliptical going 23 minutes at a fairly good rate using medium resistance. Tomorrow I'll return to the treadmill (or the dreadmill as my Runner's World Loop friends call it). I'd be tempted to do a solo run on Friday in the park but my schedule isn't cooperating.

Members Only

I originally assumed I would sign up for my 8K race online since the application says that you can. When I went to the New Hyde Park Runner's Club website I saw that the registration links were still set up for last year's race. I'm sure they'll sort that out somehow and, worse case, I can mail in the application. What struck me about the website were the photos of the happy club members posed in groups or running in events. I've seen similar collections on local club websites like GLIRC and LIRRC. I've seen many club members at both my recent races and was impressed by their community and by the way they clearly supported each other. I then started thinking about whether I should join a running club.

Years ago I used to run with one or two people and I didn't love the experience. Part of that was due to a mismatch in conditioning between me and them (I was constantly challenged to keep up) and part of it was environmental as I found running the streets of NYC to be stressful and dangerous. More recently I've run with AG and it's better because I'm in much better shape than I was those years ago and she is willing to stay at my pace. It's also time well spent since we are able to cover the same business discussions while running that would normally occur in my office. Some weeks back I ran with a group in Central Park and that was fun. I didn't do much talking because that's still a challenge for me when running. That's still true when I run with AG but it works fine because the focus of our weekly meeting is an update and I listen more than I talk. During the week I run alone on the treadmill and on the weekends I usually do a solitary run around my neighborhood. I find these runs to be very fulfilling and they serve as an opportunity to focus on things without distraction. When I encounter others on the road, more often than not, my counterparts are also running alone.

On the weekends I sometimes drive to the track to do my runs and I usually see groups of runners heading along the road. I've thought about being one of them rather than being just one of the people sharing the track at the High School. I ask myself which scenario fits me better and every time I conclude that I'm better off by myself. I'll admit that running with others can help you keep a faster pace. In both my races I found that having faster runners in proximity helped me run faster. With that exception I think I'm better off being a lonely runner. Much as I enjoy a community I'm not very good at groups. I enjoyed the Lululemon run and I like the runs I've done in Central Park (and elsewhere - see below) but mostly because they are discreet events: assemble, run, depart. No barbeques, fund raisers, meetings, bylaws or committees. I'm not saying these things aren't great, they're just not for me.

Last night I did my first street run with my new Brooks Adrenaline 9's. AG and I did our weekly meeting while running both directions on the George Washington Bridge which was an intimidating concept to me (fear of heights, bridges, speeding cars) but it was very different than I'd expected. The bridge itself is fairly flat with a gradual rise to the center and than a decline to the endpoints. On each end are areas where you encounter stairs and a couple of places had jogs in the path where you had to be careful not to run into a cyclist coming from the other direction. The cars were far enough away that they didn't factor in the experience and the view of the Hudson on either side was more serene than scary. We only covered about 2.3 miles but I was happy with the run and very happy that the Brooks performed well and felt good. This morning it was back to the treadmill where I ran about two miles at 8:45/mile. I'm looking forward to my Saturday run where I'm hoping to cover at least 5 miles. The Brooks are already helping my leg problem and that soreness was a wake up call for replacement that I didn't answer. Next time I'll be ready.

Product review - MixMyGranola

After putting it to the test, the Emerging Runner Advisory Board has reviewed MixMyGranola, a website that allows customers to custom blend their granola mixes. MixMyGranola can be described as Web 2.0 for food. Consumer generated content on the web that you can eat. Interesting yes, but is it a good experience? I took it to the Emerging Running Advisory Board to see what they thought about this product. The raters were me, Sedentary Man and Adventure Girl and our rating criteria were based on quality, taste, freshness and value. You can read the full review here on the Emerging Runner Laboratories product review page.

I'm looking to do a couple of training runs this weekend. Last night AG and I had a great run in Central Park after work covering about 3.25 miles. The weather was perfect and there were a lot of people in the park. We hit traffic at spots, between the pedicabs and roving bands of clueless walkers who obstructed the running paths, we had to slow down and even stop for a second at a few points in our run. But we kept a good overall pace and we both felt it it was a great workout. I'm a week away from my next race so I hope to make some progress on speed today and tomorrow.

Weather or not

Anticipating a long run later today in Central Park, I skipped all forms of exercise this morning. It was an odd feeling to watch the news at 4:30 AM with neither the sweat nor endorphins that usually follow a vigorous session on the treadmill. I'm really hoping that the weather cooperates this afternoon although it isn't looking too good right now. As of 6:30 it was raining and that is supposed to continue throughout the day. According to Weather.com it should be 57 degrees with thunderstorms, 74% humidity and windy at 4:30 PM when we plan to start. The only element I can think of to make conditions worse would be the addition of a sandstorm. The thing that will determine whether we run is the intensity of the storm itself. Rain, heat and winds are challenges to overcome but lightning is something to avoid at all costs.

As I look out my office window onto 6th Ave. (above) it's not looking too good: dark, gray and rainy although I'm not hearing any thunder. Tomorrow and Sunday I'm hoping to do a couple of long runs but we're supposed to get some rain and 25 to 35 MPH winds. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it but I'm planning to cover at least 8 miles this weekend, weather notwithstanding.

Inauguration run

Today is an historic day and regardless of your political viewpoint you have to admit it's nice to have this much positive energy around a national event. But the Emerging Runner doesn't cover politics so instead I'll mention something I heard on the news this morning about the venue. As the reporter described the scene of the swearing in ceremony she mentioned that people would be congregating in the space between the Capital Building and the Lincoln Memorial, a distance of 2 miles. Despite my interest in the event my reaction was "what a great run that would be!"

I've written before about the benefits of running outdoors and how the changing view (even on the track) is preferable to staring at the wall, out a window or even at a TV set. I mostly run outside in my neighborhood but on some occasions I've been fortunate enough to run in various cities while traveling on business or vacation. The next time I go to D.C. I would love to run the National Mall from end to end (and back). I'm sure there are hundreds that do that every day.

Last fall we spent a weekend in the Old Town section of Philadelphia and I ran through that historic area very early in the morning. It was a little scary actually because it was eerily quiet and the only people I saw during that run were homeless. I've run in other cities like Cambridge where you can run from Kendall Square over the Longfellow Bridge to the Esplanade and back in under 30 minutes, with most of the run alongside the Charles River. In my past running life I ran through the streets of Salt Lake City on a Sunday morning for an hour and didn't see a single person. Of course I also used to run in NYC but that wasn't an ideal experience.

Now that I've reached a point where I can cover some distance I will try to run in every city I visit on vacation or business. However, I am a sucker for hotel fitness centers and can be easily seduced by a Precor M9 if it's a little chilly outside.