Why I race

Today's workout: Rest day

My hopes for this weekend's race were to run well on Sunday and to beat last year's time. Doing the first thing should have resulted in the second but despite everything I'd done, the results were exactly the same. I would have liked to PR on the 8K but I'm pleased with my overall experience. I'm on track for completing at least six races in 2010 which would equal the number of races I ran in 2009. I could have run even more this year but I blew it in May when I failed to check the date of a local 5K. Earlier that month I chose to skip the RXR 10K. That may have been a good call, as weather conditions were close to intolerable with the heat and high humidity.

Each time I race it motivates me to race again. There is little in life that provides such a satisfying set of activities as racing. First is selection of venue. There are many race choices but some events are more appealing than others. Then there's training, strategy and anticipation of the race. I love the week leading up to race day. It's a time to think about the possibility of accomplishing a new PR and a chance to try new things. I was going to try some extra caffeine before the start of yesterday's race but decided to skip that. Perhaps that would have helped my performance. The night before a race is also fun with the planning of race day gear and working out morning logistics.

Once at the event, it's the process of checking in, getting your numbers and receiving your t-shirt that makes it feel like something great is about to happen. The pinning of the bib, attaching the timing sensor and the countdown to the start builds to the excitement of lining up and waiting for the gun. The race itself is always a little different but certain things always remain the same. The rush off the line, navigation around slower starters, the moments of overtaking other runners or being passed despite all efforts to hold them off. There's a time in every race when I feel I've pushed as hard as I could and there's not going to be anything left at the end. Most of the time I find the energy to come over the finish line feeling like I'd done my best. I'm never going to be a competitive runner but that's not why I compete. The fun and satisfaction before, during and after a race makes the typical entry fee seem like the best bargain around.

Race report: New Hyde Park 8K

At least the t-shirt was different this year

Today's run (New Hyde Park 8K): 44:42

I ran my third race of the year this morning. It was the second year in a row that I've run this race. Last year I ran it in 44:42 for an overall pace of 9:00 per mile. This year I prepared well for the race, rested two days prior and wore my new Saucony's that have proven to help my performance. Last year I struggled to get through the race and this year I felt good and thought I'd managed a fairly competitive pace. Despite my preparation, greater familiarity with the course and feeling very strong I still finished the race at 44:42. Exactly to the second what I ran last year.

Pre-race check- in

I arrived an hour before the race and they had already blocked off the parking lot at the school so I had to find a place to park on a nearby street. I checked in and was happy to see that the bib number was kinda cool looking and the race t-shirt  was nicely designed. The shirt I received last year was so garish and yellow that my wife forbid me to wear it out of the house. No problems with this year's t-shirt. I wore my new Brooks running shirt and that served me well. I also wore my Saucony Grid Tangent 4's that I really like but they didn't seem to give me a speed benefit.

I have to admit that I'm a little suspicious of the course distance. According to my Garmin the course length was 5.32 miles. That is .35 miles longer than an 8K. I checked the Garmin calibration on Thursday with the Tangents and it was accurate to less than 1%. I'm puzzled why it would suddenly be off by 6.5% - an unusual variance for a device that's usually within 3% accuracy even without calibration. I Gmapped the course and came up with 5.1 miles which is about 3% longer than 8K. Nonetheless, I fully accept the NHP Runner's Club's measurement as well as my time. It's just that if the course was actually 5.1 miles I would have broken 9:00 per mile. Oh well!

Although I wanted to do better than 2009 at least today's effort proved that I'm consistent. I don't have another race on the schedule yet but I'm fairly sure I'll run the Dirty Sock 10K again in August. It was nice to run this race today in the middle of a busy time at work. It's hard to be stressed after giving your all for 44 minutes and 42 seconds. Besides that, I got a cool t-shirt!

Race day Sunday: may the best me win

Today's run (street): 2.6 miles at 8:44 per mile

Despite my racing I'm really not a competitive person. When I line up for a race I sincerely hope the other people run well and when someone finishes ahead of me I am happy for them. But there's one guy I really want to beat this weekend. He's a year younger than me but I'm a year smarter than him. Last year he went out too fast and finished too slow and I plan to do the opposite on Sunday. I think I'll have some other advantages this year. I know the course ahead of time and I'm planning to wear my Saucony Grid Tangent 4's that seem to perform better than the other guy's Brooks GTS-9's. We'll see how it goes.

I'm not sure I'll run tomorrow. I may do an elliptical session or just rest for two days. This morning's run was one of the best I'd done in the last couple of weeks. Conditions were ideal at 4:00 AM. The air was cool, the skies were clear and I felt more rested than I did on Tuesday. I knew I was moving faster than normal, helped along by the Tangent's, and the first mile came faster than I expected. That's always good. There's a way of running when everything is working together and I had that this morning. I felt a bit like I was running my whole route downhill. I regretted my limited time today and wished I had another 20 minutes for my workout. I know I'll need to deal with sun and more heat at the race but I'll be mentally prepared for that. It would be great to have some cloud cover on Sunday morning but I won't count on it. That other guy better watch out.

A cool 4:00 AM run was a nice (and slow)

Today's run (street): 2.54 miles at 9:30 per mile

I was surprisingly alert this morning when I got up for today's run. After a day of meetings and travel I'm usually far more tired the following day. Every night I set out my running clothes, reflective vest, headlamp, etc., in anticipation of my morning workout. More often than not, in my just awakened fog, I entertain thoughts of skipping that day's run as I drag myself downstairs to pour some coffee. The process is so ritualized that despite my semi-conscious state I know to the second how things will play out. A few sips from my coffee mug are followed by a change into running clothes. Out of the house by 4:01, I hit start on the Garmin and pick a route.

Once out the door things vary: weather, energy level and activity. Most often there are no cars and rarely any people. This morning I saw both. This morning's temperatures were cool and that helped me get going. Unlike other mornings I avoided running through any sprinkler spray for the first ten minutes  of today's run because I was cold enough already. Even though my pace felt brisk I was obviously not moving very quickly and it seemed to take a while to complete my first mile. A look at my watch told me I was pacing around 9:45 which did not match the way I felt. My level of effort was low so I knew I could push it and I gradually increased my speed to finish with a 9:30 overall pace. The cool weather and no sun were greatly appreciated and I'm a bit concerned about covering 5 miles competitively on Sunday with heat and sun. I'll just run my race by going out at a moderate pace and making sure I have enough left to attain a negative split on mile five.

The better of two goods

Today's workout (elliptical): 27 minutes

I'm considering an upcoming 5K race this weekend that is taking place in an adjacent town. This event, the Brooke Jackman Race for Literacy, seems interesting and like most charity runs it benefits people in need. I chose not to run the RXR 10K earlier this month but I have no regrets that I didn't race. I ran my personal best for distance on that Sunday and felt that it was time better spent. This Sunday's race will be my only practical opportunity to compete in May. I'm already scratching on the June 6th XTERRA race because I have so little time that weekend and I'm heading out later that day on a business trip. I will definitely be running in the New Hyde Park 8K in mid-May so June is covered. My quandary for this weekend is whether I'm willing to give up a run on Saturday, when it's supposed to be beautiful, to rest enough to be competitive on Sunday. If I don't race on Sunday I would try to do a trail run at Stillwell or Muttontown on one day and explore the running experience at Eisenhower Park on the other day. Both of those runs are appealing but so is the thought of lining up for another race. I guess I'll have until early Sunday morning to decide. Either way I can't really lose.

Racing through spring

Today's planned run: Central Park

I'm feeling rested after taking a break yesterday. I'm hoping that this will translate into some good running today and over the weekend. I'm planning to run again with my friend in Central Park at lunchtime. It should be 70 degrees by noon with lots of sun. Oh, for the want of a shower in my office!

It's amazing that tomorrow is already May 1st. This year is going by quickly and I attribute much of that to spending a good part of January recovering from pneumonia. It's like I lost a month. But spring is here and the weather has been nice for outside activities. I'm thinking about my racing plans between now and summer. Right now, I've got three events in my sights:

The Brooke Jackman Run for Literacy 5K - May 16
A local race in mid-May. It's a run/walk so my family can also participate.

The XTERRA Trail Race Series 8K run at Stillwell Woods - June 6
This is the second Stillwell XTERRA race this year. I did the first in March and it was tough. Add 1.5 miles  to that course and you have the June 6 race.

New Hyde Park 8K - June 13
I ran this race last year and learned my lesson about starting too fast. I bonked 2/3 of the way through the course but still ended up with a sub-9:00 pace (just barely).

This would mean I'd be running three races in one month's time. It seems like a lot but I do those distances as training runs every weekend. The XTERRA is the biggest challenge and until recently I thought I wouldn't be up for it. I will do what's necessary to be ready to run it by the 6th. After all, racing is a great way to train for other races.

Racing decisions for May and June

Today's workout: Rain delay

I wasn't surprised to see pouring rain when I woke up this morning. All the same I was very disappointed. I'd held out hope that the weather reports would be wrong and that the storm would miss Long Island. No such luck. My issue with running in the rain comes from wearing glasses. A light rain is really no problem, it's sort of like driving through mist. But when the rain starts to come down hard it's windshield wiper time. Since my glasses don't have wipers, running through rain can be very disorienting. I'm surprised there isn't some rain protection invention for runners who wear glasses. I guess corrective goggles or using contact lenses would be my only choices. Neither option is too appealing.

The weather reports are indicating intermittent rain this afternoon so I may luck out for running later. I had hoped to run with a friend earlier this morning but it was just too wet at 6:00 AM. He and I are planning to try again next Sunday since I've decided not to do the RXR 10K race next weekend that would have conflicted with that. I may run one of the local 5K's taking place later in May or just skip this month for racing and focus on racing in June. There's the XTERRA Trail Series 8K at Stillwell on June 6 and the New Hyde Park 8K on the 13th. The Stillwell #2 race would be my toughest racing challenge to date. Stillwell #1, held this past March in the ice and snow, was very difficult even with the course cut down to 3.5 miles due to trail conditions. I ran New Hyde Park last year and struggled with pace, clocking in just under nine minutes per mile. I'll need to decide which to run in June. Maybe I'll run both.

Which race to race?

Today's workout: Rest day

My city run last Friday was a great lead-in for a satisfying weekend of running. It's rare that I string three days of excellent running in a row like that so I appreciated it all the more. All that running has made me think about my summer racing schedule and the races and distances that I should target. We're more than halfway through April and I've still not decided how, or even if, I'll compete in May. I've considered the RXR LI Marathon's 10K, stepping up from the 5K that I ran last year. The 5K course was flat but uninspiring, more like running in an industrial park than on a race course. Except for that, there aren't many local races to choose from in distances greater than 5K. I love running 5K's but I'd like a little more variety and distance right now.

June has the opposite challenge. There are two races I'd like to do - the New Hyde Park 8K and the XTERRA trail series second Stillwell race. As I reported back in March, the first Stillwell XTERRA was pared down to about 3.5 miles due to icy conditions on the trails. Even at that length it was a great struggle to manage that course. The June race won't have the ice factor so the run will be an 8K over difficult terrain. Even with my daily running, hill training, cross training and passion for the trails I'm concerned that I could run competitively that day. I would train even harder than I did for the first one and I think I'm in better shape than I was in early March when I was still dealing with residual issues from pneumonia. The New Hyde Park 8K is a less interesting course than Stillwell but I've felt like I had a score to settle because the original race result posted me at 9:00 per mile and I really wanted to break 9 minutes. I checked the results again and they now have me listed under 9:00 so that argument is moot. I'm going to take a look at the RXR 10K course map to see if that route is more interesting than the 5K. I still have a little time to decide on June's challenge.

Does race pace matter?

Posted results from yesterday's race

Today's workout: Post race rest day

I know I sometimes get too caught up in the metrics of running and miss seeing the forest for the trees. However, I know that capturing, aggregating and analyzing performance data helps motivate me to run every chance that I get. Yesterday I was prepared to end up with a middling overall race pace once I passed the mile 1 checkpoint at 9:29. That was disappointing because I always look forward to races providing a 20-30 second per mile improvement over training paces. When I passed mile 2 I heard the race official calling out times in the 17:00's and knew I was making my way back to goal pace. When I heard "25 minutes!"  shortly before the race-ending hill I was convinced I'd end up well below expectations. Ultimately, I did fine. Compared to the paces I've run recently, 8:41 is darn good. But it didn't seem so at the time.

I know running is about health, community, experience and fun. How fast you go depends upon your physical abilities and your conditioning. But a race is really about speed and competition. Some people take a different approach and view races as an opportunity for a shared experience. Their pace and finish times don't matter. For them, it's about the journey, not the destination. I sometimes wish it didn't matter whether I broke 8:30 or if I ended up in the 9:00 minute range. I know myself well enough that if it weren't for goals, targets and PR hopes I wouldn't work as hard to prepare for races. The health benefits I get from running come from all that work. All the same, I still enjoy a long, easy, slow run on a cool Sunday morning as much as anyone. But on race day, for me, it's all about the numbers.

Marcie Mazzola was 5K of fun, hills nonwithstanding

Today's run: 5K (race) at 8:41 per mile

Sometimes you do everything right and things still don't go quite the way you'd hoped - no 5K PR today. All the same, I ran the Marcie Mazzola Foundation 5K at a decent clip and had a far better experience with the hills than I did last year. Compared to 2009, I did a little better in terms of pace (8:41 vs. 8:50) but the shorter length gave me an advantage there. In terms of other 5Ks, I ran my slowest one today (prior 5K's were at 8:28 and 8:19 respectively). Some of that can be explained by the fact that the large crowd (600 starters) was squeezed into a fairly narrow starting area and being that far back probably cost me 20 seconds overall. I can't use that as an excuse because most races have that issue. I can blame myself for a slow start though. Knowing that the big hill would be coming quickly after the gun, I maintained a fairly modest pace for the first quarter mile and held that pace until I crested the hill. My first mile split was "officially" 9:29 (9:09 really, because I started recording with the Garmin when I reached the starting line, not at the gun). I picked up speed after the hill and did my second mile at 8:21 and my third at 8:28. Along the way the FR60 was chirping constantly telling me that I was behind my target pace or that my pace was in range. It also chirped at the mile splits. It was all helpful but a little noisy!

The race itself went by quickly and before I knew it we were crossing Main Street and running around Heckscher Park on our way to the end. The routing was a little different than last year but the final hill remained. I didn't love seeing it but I knew I could handle it and still have the energy to finish strong. The finish line was located perpendicular to last year's and the final approach was downhill. I crossed the line at 26:55, happy to see my wife and kids clapping and cheering. It was my eighth race in less than one year (Marcie Mazzola was held on April 19th last year) and my third 5K. I felt like a ran a pretty good race, ending up in the top quarter of registrants and the top third of finishers. However, I didn't place in my age division. I ran into a neighbor who also ran today. He's getting back into running after many years away and he beat 30 minutes which was his goal.

The temperature was in the high 40's and I dressed appropriately, keeping sweats and a warm-up jacket on until close to the start. I'm thinking that my next race will be the LI Marathon 10K that happens in early May. There are a number of other local races happening in April, May and June so I'll consider those as well before I commit. It was a pretty good way to spend a sunny spring Sunday morning with my family and a good workout after two days of rest.

Strategic thinking for Sunday's 5K

Today's workout: Resting for 4/11 race

My new PDO armband

What a difference a week makes in terms of running gear. I now have a fully functional running watch (Garmin FR60) that's a real improvement over the 50 that it replaced. I bought a new PDO iPhone armband that seems much more durable than the iLUV model that fell apart after only being used a few dozen times. Most importantly, our Sole treadmill belt slip issue has been fixed so I can now run at faster speeds without worrying about straying too far right on the belt tread. Ironically, I'll need to wait until after Sunday to try out the repaired machine because I'm not planning on doing any running until 8:30 AM on Sunday.

I've been thinking about my racing strategy and I looked to my post about last year's event to help prepare me for the conditions. The thing I worry about most is THE BIG HILL. It took me by surprise last year and I clearly had not done the right amount of training to prepare me for the length of this monster (1/2 mile). I've done a fair number of hill runs over the last month and I'm hoping this conditioning has prepared me for what's to come. In the six races I have have run since last year's Marcie Mazzola race I have learned to moderate my pace for the first mile and not get sucked into the stream of fast moving early starters. I expect to be fatigued somewhat from the hill so I'll conserve more energy than the last time I did this race. This year the race distance is 5K, not 4 miles, so I'm hoping to push the speed a little more near the end. I anticipate that temperatures will be in the high 40's to low 50's at start time so I'm planning to run in short sleeves and racing shorts. Heat is my (and most people's) kryptonite so I'll do everything I can to minimize that issue.

Am I over thinking my strategy? Should I just get out there and run and figure it out as I go? It's hard to say whether a defined strategy makes big difference. I know that in business, when I do a public presentation, the work I do to prepare always pays off and things sometimes go badly when I wing it. I've had more negative racing experiences when I failed to think through the the various elements: weather, course, pacing, etc. I prefer to error on the side of over-strategizing and I'll know soon enough whether it made a difference.

XTERRA report: mud, sweat and tears

Photo finish (for a mid-pack position)

The combination of mud, ice, snow, rocks, scree, hills, drops and gnarly roots steadily transformed my state of mind from happy to miserable over the course of today's 3.7 mile race. In the end it came down to a full tilt sprint to the finish line where I was beat out by half a step (for about 70th place), much to my chagrin.

The XTERRA event at Stillwell had its challenges both on the course and in the planning. None of this was the organizer's fault. First, due to significant budget cuts affecting Long Island's state parks, we were locked out of the public bathrooms. This left us with a single Porta-Potty for the 200+ participants, race staff and spectators. Although that caused delays they weren't measurable and we started only eight minutes later than planned. The other big challenge was the amount of slick ice that remained on the course. A decision was made yesterday to cut about a mile of trails from the route for safety purposes. That said, there were still a lot of treacherous conditions and I saw at least one person limping past the finish line in obvious pain from a tumble on the course.

After a detailed description of the route that helped the runners understand the need to stay on course, they blew the air horn and the 130 or so participants made their way swiftly across the field and into the woods. I was having a blast at that point. My Helly Hansen Trail Lizards were made for conditions like this but when I hit the first of many icy, muddy, twisty trails I thought about how easily a person could trip and fall. With dozens of tightly packed runners jockeying along the singletrack, one misstep could have caused a very large accident. After a while I got used to the course and realized that the black trail is like a roller coaster that goes up or drops every 30 seconds or so. I also realized that I've consciously avoided much of this part of the trail during recreational runs because it's so tough.

With half mile to go in the race, the guy in front of me yelled back and said "we're almost there!" I was very pleased to know that and also glad that they cut the length of the course because I was really feeling exhausted at that point. When we hit the main open trail I could see the finish line but the effect of running on a thick layer of icy snow was jarring and we all stepped gingerly as we leaned in for the final 440. Once we passed the trail head and hit the field I heard a few runners behind me. When we got closer to the finish I could hear the footsteps of another runner determined to beat me over the line. We finished our sprint with a photo finish but I think I lost by a nose. I was so glad it was over and my wife and kids told me that many of those who crossed the line ahead of me had said it was a really rough, slippery course and it was the toughest race they'd ever run. I'll agree with that.

Official results have not been posted yet but I did maintain a 9:20 pace according to my Garmin. Considering that Stillwell usually costs me 30-45 seconds a mile against my road running pace I was happy with that result. Well, another race run and a tough one at that. The Marcie Mazzola  5K in April is my next competition and compared to today it seems a piece of cake. But I don't assume anything in a race so training for that race will begin soon enough.

16 hours to a cold, wet, muddy mess

Snow and ice covers the main open trail

It's less than a day until my first race of 2010, the XTERRA trail run at Stillwell Woods. This will be the seventh time I've raced competitively since returning to running in 2008. I'm looking at tomorrow's event from a few different perspectives. First, it's a race and that in itself creates excitement. Second, the action of participating in a rigorous 5 mile trail race less than two months after a week's stay in the hospital validates my recovery from severe pneumonia. Third, this race promises to be the single most challenging running experience I've ever faced due to the course and the conditions we'll be facing.

This morning my son and I stopped by the race site to see how the trails were looking. They hadn't marked the course but the website says we'll be running the "black trail." I'm not too familiar with Stillwell's trail markings (which explains why I always get lost when I run in the interior of the preserve) but I'll try to pay closer attention tomorrow. Once we arrived at Stillwell I realized that there's still quite a lot of snow on the ground. As we walked to the trail head we saw that the first 300 yards of the course are covered by a few inches of well-trod icy snow. We followed the main open trail until we came to path that broke to the right and led into the woods to the south. The path was less snow covered due to the trees but there was still enough to warrant careful footing, especially when the trails twisted and dropped.

Interior trail

Muddy singletrack

We continued our hike in the woods and as our trail rose we encountered lots of mud from the melted snow. I was imagining 100+ runners packed together, racing on a narrow trail and kicking up lots of muddy water. My friend KWL suggested that I wear goggles to protect my eyes from the spray but I'm going to have to tough it out with just a pair of glasses. Although we didn't travel too far on our hike I managed to get a little lost, but my 10 year old son navigated us successfully back to the main trail. I wish I could bring him tomorrow. The weather at 10 AM was still chilly and it's made me rethink my plan to wear only one or two light layers. I'll bring some extra clothes to the race which I can leave behind with my "crew" if I decide I don't need them. It's now exactly 16 hours to the start. I hope I can sleep tonight!

Nice guys finish last? Not this one.

After a great long weekend that included three good runs I'm feeling very positive about my progress. It was less than a month ago that I took a walk around the neighborhood with my wife and needed to stop before completing a mile. By most measures I have reached a state of conditioning that allows me to push as hard as I wish without concern that it will trigger a relapse. I left the office on Friday with what I thought would be a weekend-ruining cold but my immune system knocked it out like a champ. I guess after taking on pneumonia, a head cold isn't much of a challenge. I attribute my quick recovery to the running I did this weekend. I honestly believe you can sweat your way out of a cold if the sweat is accompanied by physical exertion.

While it may be true that I'm rapidly moving toward my pre-January fitness level I also recognize that I'm short of the distance benchmarks I used to meet on my weekend runs. The longest continuous run I've managed this year has been 3.4 miles, far short of my usual 5 to 8 mile weekend distances. I wouldn't be concerned except that I'll need to cover almost five miles on some rough and technical terrain in just a few weeks when I race at Stillwell Woods. It occurs to me that the profile of runners for this race skews younger and (probably) more competitive than those in my past races. It's possible that I could finish last! Although some view me as competitive it's really me competing against myself. Will it bother me to be the last runner past the finish line? Well, I can tell you I wouldn't love it but I'd still feel okay about finishing a tough race like that two months after a week in the hospital. Either way I'd win. But if it comes down to a tight finish there's no way I'll be the last one over the line.

I'm ready to race - please tell me when!

After yesterday's race we found a pamphlet on our windshield promoting the upcoming GLIRC Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run in Bethpage, NY. It looks like fun but I'm going to pass on it because we have other things scheduled that day. Besides that, I'm looking at racing a little differently than I did a year ago and I now expect to have a special reason to run a race. I love the excitement of racing, the opportunity to compete and the energy one gets from running with others. Like politics, all racing is local. Make that most racing is local. The big races in the city put on by the NYRRs and others with big sponsorships and thousands of participants probably feel very different compared to those I've run. Even the Cape Cod Marathon, with a couple of thousand runners, felt like a small town race. I mean that in a good way.

Looking ahead to 2010, I hope to try some new things and return to some that I really enjoyed. I've looked online at the LIRRC, GLIRC and even the NYRR websites to see what has been scheduled for the coming year. I've been surprised to see there's very little visibility past February. I would think that since many of the races I've run happen every year it would be easy to schedule them for next year. If so these races aren't showing up on any calenders that I can find.

With the notion that races must have some meaning I'll share my thoughts for new races and the likelihood that I will repeat any from this year.

• Marcie Mazzola 4 Mile race. This was my first race as the Emerging Runner and it was fun except for the big hill at the beginning and the smaller but unexpected hill close to the end. It's a great cause and I do have sentimental attachment so I'll put it in the maybe category.

• LI Marathon 5K. It was a fast course and up until yesterday it was my fastest pace for a run. On the other hand it wasn't very picturesque and the field of runners was small. I'll consider the 10K for 2010 but I won't repeat the 5K.

• The New Hyde Park 8K. This was mostly a neighborhood run with parts that went along a highway service road and another main road. I came out way too fast and paid a price near the end when I had expended most of my energy by the 4 mile mark. I'd call this a no unless my friend who lives in that town really wants to run it with me next year.

• Babylon Dirty Sock 10K. A great race and a great venue. I didn't have my best run that day but it was a great weekend for family and friends. Definitely a must for 2010.

• Cape Cod Marathon Relay. Another great experience involving family and friends. A beautiful course too. The only issue is the trek which involves many hours of driving from Long Island. Next year it may be possible to see some friends and family who were out of town the weekend of the race so I have to consider it for 2010 for the opportunity to see them.

• Bridie Goldstein 5K. It was the epitome of a small town race, close to home, on streets I know well. Super convenient location and a fast field. On the other hand there are a few other races that happen around this race so I'll need to consider them as well, unless I'm willing to race twice in a period of two or three days.

I'd also like to compete in a NYRR race in Central Park next year and find new, interesting, races within a reasonable distance from home. I'm thinking six in 2010 makes sense. It was a perfect number of races this year. In the meantime I hope the running clubs start posting dates past February so I can start to plan ahead.

A recovery run turns speedy

I had a tough day on Friday that included lab tests from my annual checkup. As the day went on I realized that I was too worn out to do my daily run. After getting a decent night's sleep I woke up early and considered my running options: long or short, street or trail, near or far. I've wanted to run at Caumsett State Park in Lloyd Neck which is drivable in less than 15 minutes (and probably much less at 6:00 AM on a Saturday) and thought today might be the day. On further thought, with yesterday's blood tests, I was concerned about pushing too hard while running alone so I decided to stay local and just run in the neighborhood.

My thought was to run at whatever pace felt okay because I wanted to cover at least four miles. I wasn't interested in any hill training this morning so I set a course through my main neighborhood with the thought that I'd do some loops close to home and expand my distance based upon how I felt. I did a five minute elliptical session prior to the run to gauge my energy level and I think that served as a nice warm-up to my workout. For a change of pace I took along my iPhone and ran MotionX to capture the route via GPS. I started by trying AllSport GPS but I couldn't acquire a signal so I switched apps. The MotionX did an okay job but, as usual, it was off because it cut corners. My Garmin said I covered 4.4 miles at 9:00/mile and I Gmapped the run and that said the route was actually 4.53 miles for a pace of 8:46. That's more like it. I liked the feel of the run and I felt that I could have gone a bit harder if I needed to. Perhaps the energy of the race will allow me to pick up 15 seconds per mile next Saturday for a new PR.

Easy does it, apparently

I'm thinking about how best to use the nine remaining days before my 5K on the 28th. I've had some second thoughts about this race that I've chosen over two others: the Garden City 5M Turkey Trot and the 5K Rob's Run (XC) 5K Race that's run by the GLIRC. I believe all three races are held on different days but I'm not yet at the level where I can run two (or three) races within days of one another. I chose the Bridie Goldstein race because it's local but, most importantly, because I didn't feel ready to run it last year at this time. My view of a 5K is much different now but I still see it as a challenge because I want to do better than my previous 5K pace of 8:33.

I celebrated a year and a day of the Emerging Runner with an elliptical session this morning. I wore my Garmin and HRM to see how a moderate workout on this machine compares with my daily run in terms of pulse rate. It turns out that it doesn't, despite ratcheting up the resistance I averaged about 15% lower overall compared to a typical run. I guess elliptical work is easier unless you set the machine high and maintain a faster speed than I normally attain. Maybe not as rigorous as a run but I still worked up a good sweat this morning.

The information gap in racing

I was thinking about how I stumbled upon that 5K race yesterday and the fact that in this age of ubiquitous connectivity to the web how often information about events doesn't reach runners. Yesterday's 5K,
whose route came within blocks of my home, was unknown to me and would have remained that way if I hadn't gone in that direction on Sunday's run. The bigger events, like the Long Island Marathon Series, are well promoted and documented. They even had course maps on their website to provide runners an idea of the route. The LI Marathon website itself was marginal with pages that went nowhere and lots of missing information. All the same, with their booths at fairs, festivals and at other races, along with a complement of newspaper ads, the event was hard to miss.

I've run four races this year and have at least two more scheduled. In two cases there were course maps available, one easy to find and another that required some Google skills. I was extremely curious to
see the course for the New Hyde Park 8K race last June but the site had no map and little information about the race itself. In fact, online registration wasn't available until about a week prior to race. Before that the online registration had been set up for 2008. On race day the organizers were working diligently to trace and print course maps using Gmaps and I wondered why they waited until an hour before the race to do that. It was a great event but it would have been better had they made this information available earlier. My most recent race, the Dirty Sock 10K, was really well done and their website had everything I needed to know to prepare for it. I tried to participate in an LIRRC race last week but the information gaps did me in. Another event the same day blocked access to the race start that was defined on the LIRRC website and I wasn't familiar enough with the park to find my way in time.

I was online yesterday and came across the USATF site that has a page that lists certified courses with hand drawn maps. I found the New Hyde Park race included in this direction. It would have been a simple thing for that races website to point to it. With MapMyRun, Gmaps, Garmin Connect and many other mashups to Google and Microsoft's mapping applications you'd expect to find a lot more course information available online. If I had the time I'd create a "MapMyRace" site to allow runners to see the course and its elevations to help them with their training strategy. I realize that maintaining a website is challenge and keeping one up to date is tough when it isn't your core point of focus. It's situations like yesterday that make me wonder couldn't they have tried a little harder?

False start for my LIRRC 4 mile race

I've had some frustrations this weekend starting yesterday when my iPhone, once again, went completely dead. I have the worst luck with Apple products (my iMac has a history of abruptly shutting down with no warning, my first iPhone 3GS arrived D.O.A. from the factory and my
current iPhone has failed twice). I've concluded that Apple just makes poorly designed hardware. It's hard to rely on the iPhone as a business tool when it is so unreliable. I really wish RIM made iPhones (I guess the Blackberry Storm is their equivalent - so no thanks). I traded in my third Blackberry for my company issued iPhone and went from fantastic phone service (Verizon) and reliable hardware to a quirky device with poor integration to email and calendar, a poor texting interface and shoddy construction. Of course the other capabilities that come with the iPhone make up for most of the aggravation. But today I'm ready to throw it out a window.

Compounding my frustration was my race day experience this morning. I didn't race today because I had too much trouble finding the race. I'm sure that the LIRRC is a fine organization and it is dedicated to the sport and its constituents. I've been frustrated with the LIRRC website
because it doesn't have a lot of the information that I look for when I'm considering a race (e.g., details about the individual races, course maps). What the site lacked today was anything to tell race participants that the directions to the race were wrong because the 2009 Trek Women Triathlon Series event was going on and access to the race was blocked all over the park. Despite multiple attempts to get to the Main Field House I kept running into Park police who were blocking off traffic from every direction. We arrived early enough to absorb the first setback
when my wife dropped me off where we thought the race would start, only for me to discover that it was the triathlon area. The triathlon seemed like a great event. As I looked for someone who could tell me where the LIRRC race was being held I found myself getting screamed at for walking on the running course. I didn't understand why there wasn't a single sign showing where to go for my race.

We eventually set off for a different part of the park and encountered another big road block. I asked a Park police officer how I could get tothe location and she said I couldn't, not by car. We ended up parking far away and started to walk over but by then time was running out and I
decided it wasn't worth the aggravation. I ended up heading home and running at a local park. I extended my run into neighborhood #4 and into the adjacent industrial park. In all I ran 3.66 miles, not the four miles I would have covered had I raced and I averaged 9:00/mile overall.
It wasn't my best run and the humidity and sun were in full force. I'm very disappointed with the LIRRC for its lack of communication and signage but I'm sure most people found their way and ran today despite the obstacles. I'm still considering the LIRRC 5K that's scheduled two Sundays from now. However, if there are any other local races in September I'll choose them instead. Fool me once...

The Dirty Sock 10K is done - we sure had fun

( L-R) DaveADK, AG, Emerging Runner, Firefreak

Dirty Sock 10K Trail Run: 59:22 overall, 9:35 pace

It was touch and go with the weather this weekend and we were concerned that we'd be hit with thunderstorms that would render Belmont Lake Park a giant mud puddle. Adventure Girl came out on Saturday and, since the rain had held, we did a few miles at Stillwell to end our tapers. After a light dinner we ran some with my daughter and then we turned our attention to the race: the Babylon Village Classic Dirty Sock 10K. By evening we saw that the 40% chance of precipitation had been downgraded to 5% and went to sleep with high hopes of a dry course.

Happily that was the case for the most part and we arrived at the race location under clear skies. It was humid, to be sure, but the temperature was a reasonable 74 degrees. As we waited for the race to begin we noticed bagpipers playing near the entrance to the trails and lots of very fit runners stretching and preparing for the run. After picking up our race shirts and numbers my wife, kids, AG and I made our way up the trail to scope out the starting line. AG and I did a light run up the path to warm up and we found DaveADK, a Runner's World Loop friend who I ran with a couple of weeks ago. We found our place at the starting line and happily noted that the race organizers set things up to track the participant's actual start from the line. Every other race I've run has had a common start with the only measurement being total elapsed time. With a small field of runners it's not that critical to capture exact start because it's usually no more than ten seconds after the gun but this race had 555 finishers so it took almost a minute to cross the starting line.

AG, Dave and I started together and Dave was the first to break off ahead of us. AG stuck with me for the first mile and then took off to run her race. I probably cost her 30 to 50 seconds in overall race time but she graciously said that starting a little slower had helped her down the line. The course is relatively flat and the trail was mostly dry but there were a few wide puddles that required some maneuvering. I really started feeling the humidity as we made our way past mile 2 but I was determined to maintain a mid 9:00 pace for as much of the run as I could. I felt like I was doing pretty well until I saw the eventual winners pass us in the other direction about 20 minutes into the race. The guy next to me said, "well there goes my first place finish!" By the time I reached the north lake I felt fine about doing the remaining 3.2 miles but when I saw the path around the lake we needed to follow for the turnaround it made me think the worst was yet to come. The pack had thinned by that point and I found myself being passed and passing the same group of people. Miles three through five went by reasonably quickly but the last 1.2 miles seemed endless.

Once I heard the announcer calling the names of the runners as they crossed the finish line I knew I was close to the end and I put as much effort into my finish as I could. I saw AG standing near the trail exit and she cheered me as I passed. I crossed the line and saw my wife and kids right there and I felt great, tired, dizzy and hot as I walked off the remaining energy. I was feeling very light headed and cooled down with water and watermelon. I then met Firefreak, another Runner's World Loop friend. He was there with his girlfriend and had finished well ahead of me. I was happy to see him and Dave at the race, it made me feel great about the community of runners and the fact that there are some really good people in the runner blog community. I also like that they both encouraged me to finally buy a Garmin 405. My iPhone tracking application failed miserably today.

My family and AG went out (after some very needed showers) to a great lunch place in Bay Shore and we spent the afternoon in Port Jefferson before putting AG on the ferry and heading home. I was pleased to have maintained a 9:35 pace on what we heard was a tougher run than last year. It was my first 10K, first trail race and my first race with AG. My wife was an incredible race team manager and my kids were up at 5:30 AM with no complaints then or throughout the day. I completed one of my 2009 goals: complete at least four races this year. I'm on vacation this week and I feel great. I think I'll sleep well tonight.