Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neighborhood. Show all posts

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Blame my low mileage on the Throgs Neck bridge

Today's route
Today's run (street): 4.25 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles

It's June and the weather's getting better, but the traffic is getting worse. I had thoughts about leaving the office a little early a couple of days last week to get in late afternoon runs. My aim is to increase my weekly mileage. Due to the MTA's brilliant plan to do concurrent construction on both the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges, my commute time is now averaging close to two hours each way. That got me home too late for running, showering and dinner before 8:00 PM. Lane closures are expected to happen throughout spring and summer until the work is completed. Fun!

So I'll keep running three days a week (Fri, Sat and Sun) until I can figure out something else. I can always return to 4:00 AM runs, but so far my tired morning self has consistently outvoted my aspirational evening self. What I can do is work on increasing the length of my runs.

I generally don't go into the office on Fridays, but it's still a workday for me. Without my commute, I can usually get in a three mile run and be working by 7:30 AM. I suppose I can go out a little earlier, but that puts me on the road when recycling trucks and high school bus traffic is at its highest. I can run more on the sidewalk, but the hard concrete surface is wearying and the uneven sections are a serious tripping hazard.

Friday's run went fine and I ended up pacing faster than I expected based on my perceived effort. This morning I considered other venues, including SIOR's organized run around the extremely hilly SUNY OW campus. I elected to stay local and was later glad about that, especially when I saw they did almost 7 miles. Although my level of effort never got too high, I found today's workout difficult. I would not have done well on the SUNY OW hills.

I hope they remember the roof
I did enjoy the overcast skies and 53° weather this morning. I never got my stride to feel right, so my performance was at the low end of the scale. Since I wasn't going too fast, I was able to take the time to look around and monitor progress on all the new construction in the neighborhood. Last weekend I saw a lot with nothing but a foundation and today it was a house. Well at the least the framing was in place.

Tomorrow morning's schedule starts early so I'm going to get out as quickly as I can and will probably stay local again to save time. I hear there's a big party happening at SIOR's in the afternoon and all the cool kids (plus me) are going.

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Once, twice, three times a lady runner

Today's route
Today's run (street): 3.4 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles
Last Sunday's run (street): 4.7 miles

Yesterday morning was rainy, so I stayed indoors and cranked out a decent run on the treadmill. The music mix was worse than usual, causing me to toggle between multiple channels to escape a string of slow ballads from the 70's and what seemed to be the worst songs recorded between 1980 and 1989. For example, anything by Cher. I followed my usual technique of upping the treadmill's speed by a tenth of a MPH every quarter mile (or so) and by the end I was in a full sprint mode.

This morning's run was delayed due to an early morning appointment, but I still managed to get out the door a little before 9:00 AM. The weather was mild (57°) except when the wind hit. I dressed light and stayed comfortable. There are only so many roads to run in my neighborhood and the challenge is to string together a route that somewhat breaks the monotony. It can be as simple as running a street in the opposite direction than I usually run it.

Today I began with a run around the grounds of the middle school and while rounding the front drive I noticed another runner coming from the opposite direction. As we got closer, I recognized her from other runs. This woman probably has two decades on me but she's always out there, wearing her purple running jacket with a matching hat. We exchanged cheery hellos as we passed by.

About five minutes later I was heading up a different road when this woman and I crossed paths again. This time we exchanged shy waves. I thought that was that until I rounded another road and saw her once again in the distance. She wasn't fast but she got around. As she got closer, I saw her go up on the sidewalk and run on top of some driveway edging stones. When we passed, she said, "I have to do something to make this fun!" I could see TPP doing the exact same thing 30 years from now.

I had hoped that yesterday's good workout would continue into today, but I ended up having only a so-so run. That was okay because even a mediocre run is better than none. I'm thinking about a trail run and may return to Stillwell tomorrow. The last time I ran there I had a bad fall and now I'm a little gun shy. I love Stillwell too much for that to hold me back. So maybe.

Saturday, April 15, 2017

A thousand runs within a mile

Didn't seem like the same old route when I ran it today
Today's run (street): 4.3 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles
Tuesday's run (street): 3.2 miles

Last weekend's run with goats was an unusual break from my quotidian weekend workouts. I always appreciate the runs I do that go beyond the constraints of my local roads, trails, parks or the track. More often than not, I find myself running on the same streets I've covered a thousand times before. So far this week I've managed to get in three runs, all within a mile of my house.

Sometimes I ask myself why I used to be so quick to jump in the car and head out to Stillwell Woods, Bethpage, Eisenhower or Belmont State Park every chance I had. I do that occasionally, but usually it's because I'm seeing my buddies. That trumps tops any laziness that keeps me neighborhood bound. This morning I ran through all the possible venues, but ended up taking the easiest route. That was the one that begins at the end of my driveway.

Besides expanding my running geography, I also need to work on increasing my distances and consistently getting my heart rate into and above the 80% max rage. I didn't make much progress on any of that today. I went out in 50° weather to run close to my home. My one concession to the mundane was to follow a new route. On the map, it may look like every other run I do. But today I ran it in a different direction. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be another nice weather day. It's Easter and I'm hoping that will mean quiet roads and empty trails. I may run outside my neighborhood this weekend after all. Meanwhile, Runsketeer buddies KWL and SIOR will be in my hometown to run the 121st staging of the Boston Marathon. I'm excited for them. They have both trained hard and I'm hoping that they have great experiences. If I were ever to run a marathon, it would be that one.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Not my finest run

A few tired miles around the 'hood
Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

Despite better weather, today's run didn't go all that well. I'm either run down or I pushed too hard on yesterday's run. I'm not a fan of running uphill and my legs reminded me of that today.  I was hoping that (sort of) keeping up with SIOR and TPP at the NJL park might have activated my fast twitch leg fibers. I actually think they were deactivated.

My goal every weekend is to do at least one run outside of my neighborhood. Since I did that yesterday, I figured a run around my local roads would be just fine. I started out well, although I did experience sinus pain when the wind hit me head on. Thankfully that went away once I'd warmed up. I began to feel lethargic the more I went on and I noticed that my heart rate was showing less than 75% max. Despite the fatigue, I picked up the pace until I was in the low 80% range. That was all I could manage today.

Yesterday's run was understandably challenging because I ran about 10% faster than I normal do. Plus there were some hills. Today's difficulties are a little harder to explain. I never struggled, but I did get tired. Perhaps it was getting up at 4:30 AM this morning that did me in. I'll get some rest tomorrow and try this again on Tuesday.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Going with the flow isn't very exciting

Going with the flow
Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

For no good reason, I had a lot of trouble getting myself out the door for this morning's run. I knew I had to do it and that I would, but I spent a lot of time internally debating what my run would be. Normally on a relatively mild and sunny day, I'd consider my options and choose the most appealing option. Today nothing reached the level of appealing. I considered the treadmill because it's easier to throw on shorts and shoes and grind out a few miles than gear up for the outdoors, adding layers, a hat, gloves, SPIbelt, phone, Road ID and sunglasses.

The sun influenced me enough to go out, but not enough to get in my car and drive anywhere. That left me with routes that would start from the end of my driveway. I thought through all the places that I run: adjacent neighborhoods, the business park and even the northern end of the Bethpage bike trail. I took the easiest option and did yet another run in my own neighborhood.

I've been running in my ASICS Kayano 20s which are well cushioned and don't aggravate my plantar fasciitis. Just for a change (and because my PF has much improved) I went back to the NB Zante 2s today. I really like these shoes that are light as Kinvaras but have even more response. Today's run was easy and I remembered to look at my watch to make sure I was hitting my targeted heart rate. I didn't quite get there, but managed to stay around 81% of max.

Same old, same old
While I struggled to get my butt out the door to run three and a half miles today, my Buddies KWL and SIOR were running 13 to 20 miles respectively as they begin to wind up their Boston training. How do they get it done every day with all their other distractions of life? I know in the past I've followed a regimen that involved tempos, intervals and weekend runs as long as 12 miles. But marathon training takes a lot more dedication and motivation. My next frontier is to simply get back to 5-8 mile runs on weekends.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Not every run is stimulating

Four miles in da hood
Today's run (street): 4.2 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 2 miles

Friday morning was cold and blustery and I needed to get out early for an errand. Due to major time constraints, I opted for a quick treadmill run that I figured would be better than postponing my workout until later. I wasn't sure how long my work day would go and it was also my anniversary. I didn't think it would be polite to delay our dinner by doing an early evening run.

I ended up running a couple of treadmill miles and loved that the Garmin FR 35 captured all my metrics without a foot pod or chest strap. I should have gone all out during that short workout, but I chose to start off at my current pace. I bumped up the speed once I reached the second mile and I finished in the mid nine minute range. It was a good use of the small window of time that I had.

This morning's schedule was a little more flexible and the weather was decent. It was 39° when I went out and I wore track pants and two light layers on top. That would have kept me comfortable throughout the run, but the temperature rose four degrees in the 40 or so minutes I was out there.

I'm still not used to starting strong since most of this year I've lacked energy during the first minutes of my runs. I expected to go easy today and was prepared to run a little slow. Somehow I ended up doing better than normal. I'm improving but still running half a minute off my targeted pace.

Today's run was pleasant but my neighborhood roads were not very stimulating. The only interesting thing on my route was the work being done using heavy equipment at the middle school. Steamrollers are cool. I hope to go somewhere more interesting tomorrow and cover about five miles. I may do even more if conditions are good.

Monday, September 5, 2016

Labor Day running and waiting for Hermine

Just keep heading east
Today's run (street): 3.8 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 5.1 miles

Happy Labor Day! After experiencing Irene and Sandy, we Long Islanders take tropical storm warnings pretty seriously. Since Friday, we've been planning for disaster and doing things like moving outdoor furniture and pool toys into the storage shed. The Nassau County Office of Emergency Management has broadcast messages warning people to take precautions due to anticipated 55+ MPH winds and flooding. Happily, the storm has taken a more eastern direction that will (hopefully) minimize impact. That said, we could still get rocked with strong winds tonight.

By Saturday morning I'd expected the rest of the weekend to be a washout. I resigned myself to a few boring treadmill runs and was really happy to see clear skies on Sunday morning. I didn't get out until about 8:00 AM, but the 66° weather and 8 MPH breeze made for pleasant conditions. My prior two runs were three milers, so I felt like I should add some distance. I came up with a route that had me going around the neighborhood and through some roads that I don't normally follow.

Since my Garmin's strap separated from the watch, I've been hanging it off my SPIbelt. Without easy access to the watch's display, I have to estimate how far I've ran. Occasionally I'll hear the chirp notifying me that I've passed another mile. Most of the time I'm just guessing. I've probably done over 1,300 runs around my neighborhood over the last 7 years, so my guessing is usually pretty accurate.

Sunday: 5.1 miles by pure guestimation
I'd hoped to get out for 5 miles on Sunday. I ended up running 5.1 without looking once at my watch display. This morning I had no route plan or targeted distance. The skies were gray and conditions were cool and breezy. Once I got going, I decided I'd run about four miles, but I actually did 3.8. I could have restarted the watch and run the extra fifth of a mile, but I'd really poured it on towards the end and was happy with my results.

Monday: lower for distance, higher for speed
Although the temperature was 64° with a 13 MPH wind, I felt a lot of humidity. That could have been due to running the last mile at 9:15. While that may not sound very impressive, it's a pace I haven't run in a very long time. If I do end up getting a new Garmin, I will opt for the the FR235 with built-in optical heart rate monitor. Having that real-time feedback will force me to pay attention to my training zones and will hopefully ease me back to performance running.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Gateway to smooth running

Elderberry winds down smoothly
Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

I finally got out at a decent time this morning while the sun was still casting long shadows. It was hot, but the shade and a slight breeze hid that from me. At least it did throughout the first mile. I ran through my neighborhood enjoying the favorable conditions, listening to the late summer sounds and appreciating the quiet Sunday morning roads.

At mile one I was barely sweating and I hoped that the humidity was lower than what had been reported. It turned out to be wishful thinking. As I made my way around, I soon began to feel it, especially in the areas with direct sun. I went south towards what we call the "Gateway" neighborhood which has some long shady roads.

I'd stopped running in the Gateway neighborhood a while back because the condition of Ashford Drive & Elderberry Road, the longest of the long streets, had started to resemble the surface of the moon. I had prepared to step carefully through the worst parts, but once I reached Ashford, I saw that the whole span had been repaved. It was smooth and shady and a wonderful surprise.

Today's route
I wasn't monitoring my distance, but I'd assumed I'd covered at least three miles by the time I started heading back home. When I was getting closer to my house I heard my Garmin beep, telling me that I'd passed 4 miles. By then I was completely sweat soaked and realized that the humidity was as high as reported. When I mapped my run later with Gmaps, I saw that my Garmin had again under-counted distance, this time by 5.4%.

Getting out really early turned out to be a good thing as it left me lots of time to get things done today. One thing I did was look at DC Rainmaker's site to see what he currently likes for GPS watches. DCR strongly recommends the FR230/235 (the 235 is $80 more but has an optical heart rate monitor). I'm going to shop around to see how it's priced.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Three encounters with mister speedy

Post-run non-stretching moment
Today's run (street): 4.25 miles

Happy Father's Day to all you running dads. Also to you non-running dads. I like running on holidays because they are usually days when people sleep late and I can run around the neighborhood with a lot less cars on the road. That was the case today. I got outside around 8:00 AM and picked a direction. I had no planned route and decided on the spot whether to go left or right as I reached the end of each street.

After almost eight years of running my local roads, I pretty much know the other runners around my neighborhood. There's one guy I encounter on almost every weekend run. He moves along and covers a lot of ground. I usually criss cross his route at least twice and we always wave the first time and laugh the second time.

Sure enough, mister speedy was out there today and we ran into each other twice. Happily, we were going in opposite directions both times, so I didn't experience the humiliation of being overtaken along the same road. I did what I could with the heat and humidity, but I didn't break any speed records today.

Near the end of my run, I saw my neighbor-runner in his driveway doing post-run stretching. Maybe that's why he's so fast. I'm pretty sure I've never ever stretched after a run. Maybe when I ran with Adventure Girl. She taught me many good running habits, most of which I've stopped following.

We had a very nice Father's Day after my run, capping off a nice weekend of celebrations. I may work from home a couple of days next week. If so, I'll have the opportunity to get in an extra run during the week. I do need to get my volume back to where it was a year or so ago and I know I should do some sort of a workout before my commute. I can do more. I just need to get back in the habit.

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Street running without giraffes

Giraffes would have made this run memorable.
Today's run (street): 4.2 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles

Happy Memorial Day weekend. So far, my running has been anything but memorable. Yesterday's run was awful from start to finish, with a combination of tired legs, low energy, sun, heat and humidity. I plodded my way through my neighborhood and frequently reminded myself that I was getting closer to home. I hoped that I was getting the bad stuff out of the way and that today's run would be better. It was not.

I tried to stack the deck in my favor this morning by putting on my lightest gear and getting out early. I didn't feel as fatigued as I did on Friday and the cooler temps got me off to a good start. My plan was to run over to a different neighborhood that's directly south of mine. I moved along at a steady pace. Make that slow and steady. Actually, just slow. Really slow. It wasn't Friday's torturous experience, but I didn't feel good about a mediocre run following a bad one.

The one good thing about today's run was the interesting route map that was created by my Garmin. I couldn't resist getting my AI robot buddy CaptionBot to weigh in on it. I definitely would have enjoyed this run more if I ran into giraffes along the way.

Monday's weather is supposed to be stormy, so I'm looking to get out of the neighborhood on Sunday. I may head to Stillwell if I'm up to the challenge or to Bethpage where the trails aren't as technical. I really hope that I'll break out of my current performance malaise soon. I'll be stringing four runs together in four days, something I haven't done in a month. Perhaps by Monday, I'll have made some positive progress.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

A blooming good run

Where have all the flowers gone? In my mouth.
Today's run (street): 4.5 miles
Yesterday's workout (elliptical): 21 minutes

Today is day one of my vacation. Eight days, plus what's left of this one to do whatever I want everything my wife needs me to do. Actually my list is fairly light and I like having projects. I'm happy to avoid five days of commuting and excited to have more time to run during the week.

I worked from home on Friday and would normally have gone for a 3+ mile run in the morning. An exhausting work week left me low on energy so I ended up doing a short elliptical session rather than doing nothing. That turned out to be a good compromise, because that short targeted workout helped my energy level throughout the day.

This morning I was feeling ready to run, but the wet weather was encouraging me to stay inside. We had early plans and I wanted to get my workout started as soon as possible. The clock was ticking and my wife was doing her treadmill run. The rain started to let up, so I put on a short sleeve shirt and running shorts and got the heck outside.

Today's route
I had no route planned so I picked a random direction and took off. That direction took me around the middle school and then through the northern part of my neighborhood. I headed south from there and followed a few roads that used to be the main part of my daily run. I felt great and, although it wasn't an impressive performance, everything (breathing, stride, energy level) was working well.

The wind picked up near the end of my run and that caused the only problem I encountered. The breezes were shaking blooms off the sycamore and dogwood trees and the effect was like white and yellow snowfall. It was pretty, but the tiny flowers kept getting in mouth. I forced myself to breath through my nose and that worked fine. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have an allergic reaction to all this flora.

I was glad to cover almost five miles today and I hope to go a little longer tomorrow. If the weather stays good, I'm going to try to get out for a run every day of this vacation.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Me and the Tartan track personnas

Counter clockwise and counter-counter clockwise
Today's run (track): 4.1 miles
Yesterday's run (street); 3.4 miles
Friday's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

It was a busy week and I didn't manage to get a workout in before Friday. My Friday schedule was jammed with meetings from 9:00 to 5:30, so I needed to get my run done fairly early. I worked from home on that day and was lucky that I didn't have to do my long commute in falling snow. But outside conditions were slippery, making the treadmill my only option for running.

No surprise to anyone, I found Friday's run almost unbearable and was determined to get outdoors the next day. The snow on the roads had melted, but conditions were still pretty rough. The local news station showed  a temperature of 30°, so I dressed for moderate cold. It was sunny when I stepped outside and I was concerned that I'd overdressed. A few minutes later I was wishing for another layer.

Saturday frozen face syndrome
Feels like freezing
The moment I turned the first corner on my run, I was hit with a blast of numbingly cold air that gave me an instant sinus headache. I quickly thought through my intended route to determine whether I should change streets to minimize the wind. By the time I'd reached my first mile, I'd heated up enough to manage through the cold. It was a low performance run overall, but I managed to get through my miles and I didn't get bit once.

I usually reserve my longest run of the week for Sunday, but this morning I had a serious motivation problem. None of my favorite venues seemed appealing (Neighborhood: ho hum, Bethpage: too many hills, Stillwell: too many mountain bikers) and I wasn't going near the treadmill again. My wife suggested the track and I couldn't find an argument against that. So off I went.

Although running around the track can be viewed as monotonous, I find it much much more pleasant than the treadmill. At least the track provides sensory stimulation through forward movement. On top of that, I always encounter a different cast of characters as I circle the Tartan track. By the end, I've usually monitored their workouts and made up names for each of them.

This morning, it was just me and walking man, a big middle aged guy who was wearing air buds but no hat or gloves. Walking man and I were soon joined by high school running girl who eventually lapped me. But while high school girl had speed, I had endurance, and I noticed her slowing down and eventually talking walk breaks. So I won. Walking man started running, slower than me if that is actually possible. A young guy also joined us, running his laps pretty fast.

I did my first two miles going in the traditional counter-clockwise direction and then did two more clockwise, allowing me to see the faces of the other runners. Most importantly, running that way prevented the humiliation of being lapped by young running man and a young running couple who came by a little later. I did manage to lap the walking-to-running man and a bunch of miscellaneous walkers who'd also come by.

I did a little more than 16 laps and focused on my shortened stride which I'd hoped would enable a higher cadence. It did not, and the end result was an unprintably slow pace. That is, except for the last lap where I said "screw it" and ran about a 9:15. That was when I lapped walking-to-running man.

So, this week it's been three very different runs with the common theme of low performance. I don't really care about that, but I sometimes feel guilty for not going out with the, "All you need is all you got" attitude that I had a couple of years ago. I'm really going to try for four workouts this week and may even stretch it to five if my schedule isn't as insane as last week's.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Frozen face syndrome

Saving face
Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

Winter in January can be brutal and we got a taste of that today. The news was displaying 24° this morning and the howling wind made it seem even colder. I debated staying inside and running on the treadmill until I became distracted with a home electronics project. After finishing that, I bundled up and headed outside to face the freezing cold.

"Feels like" winter
I knew I'd be dealing with wind chill, so I went with track pants, two top layers, plus a windproof jacket, mitten-gloves, fleece hat and the buff that KWL gave me. The buff turned out to be my most valuable piece of gear, protecting my face from the 14 MPH winds. No matter how hard I try, I can never get my clothes completely right. My core got fairly warm, but my extremities bordered on freezing throughout the entire run.

At one point in the run, a neighbor yelled from his front porch, "Boy oh boy, this is some cold running weather!" I replied, "Grab your shoes and join me!" He laughed and wished me luck.

Although the roads were clear of snow, there were patches of ice that I was careful to avoid. The wind, cold, and my freezing face tempted me to head home to the treadmill after a mile. I decided to tough it out and was glad that I did. Running a little distance yesterday should have primed me for a more energetic run today. Unfortunately I had trouble generating speed except in those cases when I was running downhill with the wind to my back.

This will be another tough work week and, once again, I'll need to go into the office rather than work from home on Friday. That will impact my running schedule, but I'll try to fit in an elliptical session or treadmill run one night this week.

Friday, December 18, 2015

Perfectly pleasant, yet forgettable run

 
Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

I usually stall before I run on Friday mornings, but I got out early this morning, The rhythm of my neighborhood shifts from minute to minute. Leave too soon and you risk running into a caravan of middle school buses. Leave too late and you're dealing with the maniacs driving sanitation and recycling trucks. I managed to time it just right today.

Someone described perfect racing weather as 50° and overcast. Those were the conditions this morning. I felt strong from the start, and enjoyed the peaceful experience running along quiet roads. Without the distraction of traffic, I was able to mentally prepare for my first video call of the day. It was just me, the sound of my footsteps and the bare December trees to keep me company.

I made my way around my route and felt as good at the end as I did at the start. It was a completely pleasant run, but so indistinct that, hours later, I'd forgotten whether I'd done my workout. I'm not sure where or when I'll run this weekend, but I'm glad I got a few miles in today. It may be time to get to the track for some intervals. If I want to break out of my "easy does it" running habit, I need to work a lot more on anaerobic conditioning.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Pre-run generator attack

Now I have two reasons to hate this thing
Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

It's never a good sign when you get injured before you even run. That was the case this morning when I was preparing to go out for a few miles. I stepped outside and turned on my Garmin to get a GPS signal before walking to the end of my driveway to get the empty recycling bin. As I put the bin back in the garage, I caught the edge of my reviled generator, opening up a 1" gash on my knee.

The wound looked serious and I ran inside to dress it. After dousing it with rubbing alcohol and Calahist lotion, I put on a large bandage and secured it with surgical tape. My wife had just finished her treadmill run when I came upstairs to get the tape. She saw my bandaged knee and said, "Did you trip again?" I explained that it wasn't running related and headed out the door.

The temperature was mild and the sky was overcast, nice conditions for this time of year. I wasn't motivated to do a long run today, so I did a variation of my regular route. I had initially thought about heading to the high school to run the track, but I didn't want to deal with people clogging up the lanes. Happily, my neighborhood streets were quiet and I only saw a couple of walkers and one cyclist.

My knee held up fine and I ended up with my third run this week, along with Wednesday's elliptical session. While they were all under four miles, there's something to be said for frequency. Later in the afternoon, my son and I did a long walk around the neighborhood. By then the weather had turned rainy, but we wore our hooded running raincoats and stayed dry and comfortable.

We wrapped up our walk by cutting through the middle school and came upon the scene of an accident. A minivan must have hopped the curb and taken out a street light. I don't think anyone got hurt (just a bored looking cop, tow truck and no ambulance) but it was a weird thing to encounter. Tomorrow is the last day of Thanksgiving break. If I feel up to it, I'll put in some longer distance.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Marathon day but not a marathon run

I ran 1/6th of this distance today 
Today's run (street): 4.25 miles

After yesterday's horrible run I was a little gun shy about going out again this morning. Daylight Savings Time allowed me to sleep until 6:30 AM and still get up at 5:30 and I was hoping the extra rest would help. I think it did. I told my wife that I was worried about having another bad running experience but she dismissed the thought, saying every run is different. I managed to get out of the house early and my Garmin quickly acquired its signal. I wasted no more time thinking about how I'd feel once I got going.

I usually think out my route and distance before I run. Today I took off in a random direction thinking I'd figure it out as I went. I soon determined that yesterday's struggles wouldn't carry over to today and I focused on getting through the run as quickly as possible. I was anxious to get home so I could watch the NYC marathon coverage on TV and track a number of friends who were running.

I felt much better today and it was enough to improve my overall pace by 42 seconds per mile. There was a pronounced wind that both helped and hurt depending on which direction I was going. The temperature was 59° but I began to feel the heat due to the 72% humidity. I'd paid no attention to my time or distance and thought I'd only gone about 3.5 miles when I got back to my house. I was surprised to see that I'd run more than 4 miles.

It was fun to watch the the coverage of the elite runners when I got back. I had a half dozen people that I wanted to track and I was excited to find that FS was also running when I looked her up. I enjoyed being able to follow people's progress by laptop and wished that the network spent more time covering non-elite participants.

Watching the marathon was fun and I keep waiting for the racing bug to return for me. For now I'm happy to run on my own terms. I'm more interested in training to beat my PB for distance in a single run (13.1 miles) and I plan to start on that next weekend. Once I get my base up, I might be looking at 10Ks a little differently.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

20th anniversary run and fun

Getting the scoop (or the schmear) at Bagel Boss
Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

I took the day off from work today because it was my 20th anniversary. Besides enjoying the luxury of sleeping until 5:30 AM and not driving 35 miles and back today, I got in a nice morning run. The weather is currently monsoon-like, but just before 8:00 AM it was cool and overcast with nary a drop of humidity. I like to start my weekday runs at 8:00 because that gives me about 40 minutes between the caravan of high school and middle school buses and the secondary wave of elementary school buses and kid drop-offs.

The buses don't bother me that much because I can hear or see them coming at a safe distance. I always hop onto the sidewalk in those cases. Parents dropping off their kids are a different story. They're typically aggressive speeders who don't even pretend to slow down for stop signs. I stay hyper aware at all times.

This morning I saw a car that was going at least 10 MPH faster than the speed limit almost collide with a car coming around a blind corner from the opposite direction. Besides that, I ran past a house as a car started backing out of the driveway without looking. I anticipated that and she heard my yell loudly and clearly.

The rest of the day was spent doing various anniversary-like things, including having lunch at our favorite Thai restaurant and going to Home Dept twice. We also walked into a location shoot that the local news station was broadcasting from a neighborhood shopping center. I have no idea what they were talking about, but it appeared to be bagel-related.

Tomorrow it's back to work, which doesn't seem fair as today felt so much like a Friday. Still, I did get in my run and I'm looking to do the same on Friday morning. We have family staying part of the weekend so I have to remember to grab my Saturday running gear out of the guest room before they arrive.

Friday, October 23, 2015

After the treadmill, any outside run is good

Short and sweet
Today's run (street): 3.2 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 30 minutes

I took a vacation day on Wednesday to take care of some stuff. I had a 7:30 AM appointment so I didn't get a chance to do a workout in the morning. I did get on the treadmill in the late afternoon and had a very rough 30 minute run. I'm not an afternoon runner and the treadmill didn't make the situation any better. Although the minutes felt maddeningly slow, somehow I managed through it.

It was great to break up the work week with a day off but Thursday was tough and I was thrilled to work from home today. After that difficult workout on Wednesday, I was concerned that today's neighborhood run wouldn't go very well. It was a chilly 43° outside and I wore shorts and a long sleeve running shirt. It took almost five minutes to acquire a GPS signal. I began to rethink my gear as I stood and waited.

As soon the Garmin showed ready, I took off. I didn't notice a woman who was running by my house and I almost ran into her. Had she been running on the left (correct) side of the road, that would not have happened. I could tell I was in for a good run and pushed harder than usual as I ran up the first long road. I ended up crossing paths with that same woman about a mile later and this time I saw her coming.

I had a tight morning schedule and capped my run at a little more than three miles. That was enough. I ended up doing slightly better than average, probably due more to the cool weather than anything else. The Emerging Runner family will be doing a video call with Adventure Girl on Sunday and I may hit the trails tomorrow in honor of that. While she's tagging peaks in Montana this weekend, I'll settle for some of Stillwell's much smaller hills.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Exhausting week and pumpkin-y run

Pumpkin: gourd and shirt category
Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

I knew I was facing a long, tough week despite the Monday holiday. It seemed to take forever to get to Friday. Besides a busy workday schedule, I had an exhausting Board of Directors dinner on Thursday night that got me home fairly late. It didn't help that I needed to get in the office extra early on Friday morning. My Friday evening was spent at a fun event called Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns but I was reaching zombie state by the time I turned in.

I managed to sleep later than my usual 6:00 AM rise time and hoped that all those hours of rest would restore my energy level. However, even after eight hours sleep I was feeling run down. Any thoughts of getting out for an early run were offset by fatigue and slight dizziness. I had two cups of strong coffee and it wasn't until I checked in with the Runsketeers to get a read on how to dress for my run that I geared up and headed outside. By then it was almost 10:30.

Conditions were fall-perfect, the temperature was in the low 50's and the sun was shining. I wore a long sleeve running shirt with compression shorts under regular running shorts. I also wore a pair of light knit running gloves that kept my hands comfortable. I followed one of my usual routes around the neighborhood and motored along at a comfortable pace. The lack of hard effort and the cool dry air kept me sweat-free throughout half the run. The air had the smell of maple and burning leaves and the pumpkins and Halloween decorations were out in force.

I haven't checked my Garmin data, but I know today's performance was unremarkable. Some of that was due to feeling less than 100%. I also know that I'm never going to get back to my old performance level if I continue to run only three to four times a week, mostly at distances between 3-4 miles.

Just a few years ago, I was typically running 6 days a week and logging between 18-22 miles. That put me in a position where I could run a 5 or 10K at a moment's notice and confidently hit my targeted pace times. Until I can figure out a way to fit in some additional weekday runs, I'll need to be satisfied with the pleasant, easy runs I'm doing these days.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Garmin design failure no excuse for a new watch

Mis-connection
Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

Having a day off on Wednesday certainly made my work week go by quickly. Before I knew it, Friday had arrived. Yesterday was an interesting day. Some organizational changes meant that I had a new team to manage. I was fine with that, although I only found out about it that morning. I was thrilled not to have to drive to my office today, and that allowed me to do my usual Friday morning, pre-weekend run.

I work from home most Fridays, and the lack of a commute gives me plenty of time for a run. I had an early meeting happening via Google Hangout that put pressure on me to run and get back in time to look presentable on camera. That meant getting my procrastinating butt out the door early. On the positive side, the recycling trucks had not yet made the scene. On the negative side, our quiet neighborhood was already being overrun by cars and buses speeding their way to the middle school.

It was 64° with a little more humidity than on Wednesday, but it felt cooler. This was likely due to wearing short sleeves this time. The middle school traffic eventually disappeared and I thought I'd caught a break. But right on cue, I saw a stream of cars and buses heading to the elementary school. I avoided those roads and finished up my run.

Later in the day, I took a break to download my Garmin data and discovered the charging-data connector had broken since its last use. The design of the FR210 is a step backward from my old (non-GPS) FR60 that connected to my PC wirelessly and downloaded data automatically. The FR210's connector has a set of copper pins that match up with contacts on the watch. The connector is held in place by a spring driven clasp. It's a terrible design and, now that it's damaged, I'll need to figure out a way to keep it connected for charging.

Although this would be a great excuse to upgrade to a more contemporary model, I really have no need for a newer GPS watch. A quick search on the web showed that I can replace the connector for $15 through Amazon - so that's on order. I have my issues with the FR210, but after almost five years, it continues to be a very reliable unit.
 

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