The race to recover

Ready to return

Today's workout (elliptical): 50 minutes

Racing used to be big part of my running life, but I've definitely decreased the number of events I do. It's not that I don't want to race. Races are fun and few moments in life are better than the feeling you get after you've crossed the line. I only participated in few races last year, the last one being the Jingle All The Way 5K in December that I ran with my run buddies. They're the other reason that races are fun.

The one race I've run every year without fail is the Marcie Mazzola 5K in Huntington. It was the first race I did after returning to running in 2008 (at that time it was a 4 miler) and I have a sentimental attachment to both the event and its cause. Two factors that will cause me to miss it this year include my current soreness issue and the fact that the date coincides with a visit with weekend guests.

A year ago, I was preparing for the Brooklyn Half Marathon and used the Marcie M as a speed workout as I got closer to the date. I had every intention of following Brooklyn with my usual set  of races: New Hyde Park, Dirty Sock, Cow Harbor, TOB Supervisor's, Run for the Warriors, etc. I ended up skipping them all. I'd lost interest in racing after a grueling experience in Brooklyn and I needed to recapture the thrill of the race.

Now the spirit is willing but the glute is weak. I'm anxious to return to the road and start training for something. Spring is almost here and I'm going to get out there as soon as the roads are safe. I'm encouraged by the fact that I can already do long, pain-free elliptical sessions that will allow me to maintain a level of fitness while my body repairs whatever damage I've done to it. I plan to visit to a sports doctor if I don't see fast improvement. I have a good record for recovery, but I'm not so good at staying recovered.

The end of running, for now

Patience is a virtue

Today's workout (elliptical): 50 minutes

For now and for the foreseeable future, I am no longer a runner, emerging or otherwise. Like the old adage that insanity is repeating the same action but expecting a different result, I've concluded that running right now will only result in pain. I'm not as upset about this as you'd think. I don't plan to change the name of this site to "The Former Runner." I'm just hitting the pause button until nature fixes the problem.

Thursday's treadmill run was (literally) an exercise in determination. I was sure that getting through my three mile workout would somehow prove that I could always run through this problem. The bigger issue was that it hurt. First a little and then a lot. I knew that this was no way to handle things. I ended up skipping my workout on Friday because I needed to meet an insane work deadline that used up every minute of the day. An opportunity to recover somewhat offset the guilt.

I was still sore this morning and I knew that I couldn't repeat Thursday's experience. My strategy was to first do an elliptical session and then test the waters on the treadmill. The elliptical session went great. No pain during the 35 minute workout and no pain after I'd finished. I hopped up on the treadmill and set the speed to 4.1 MPH, hopefully fast enough to "run" without aggravating the source of my problem.

It only took a few seconds to realize that running at any speed right now will result in pain. I further backed down the speed and switched to walking for ten minutes, playing with inclines and declines between +/- 3%. Once done, I returned to the elliptical for 15 more minutes of pain free exercise. Stepping up my effort on the elliptical did not produce any pain. Better still, the soreness from my brief treadmill "run" was completely gone.

So today's lesson is that running hurts and ellipticals heal. I'm going to use the elliptical exclusively while my body works on whatever it is that's causing my running pain. I've decided to give it three weeks before I try another easy treadmill run. This is exactly what happened between the time when the old treadmill failed and the new one was installed. I did fine in that transition, but made the mistake of pushing my speed (and my luck) and that brought me back to square one.

If this plan doesn't work, I'll visit a orthopedist to get an MRI or meet with a physical therapist. They say time heals all wounds. Let's see if that's true.

Shallow bins and recovery progress

Usability testing anyone?

Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

I realize that there are many larger problems than this, but can someone please explain to me why the stuff holders on our elliptical and new treadmill are so shallow? I don't get it. Do the designers ever think about the fact that an 8" remote will probably fall out of a 4" deep console bin? This are the sort of things that go through my mind these days as I do my workouts without outdoor distractions.

Yesterday's treadmill run ended with an alarming jolt of pain as I pushed my pace beyond a moderate speed. Rather than signaling a new or deeper problem, I think this experience was a warning. Despite giving the injury plenty of rest, the root cause issue remains. If three weeks of no-impact workouts haven't resolved it, it may be time to see an orthopedist.

Today's workout was all about protecting the problem. Instead of running, I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical and followed that with ten minutes of (very) slow running on the treadmill with a 2.5% incline. It wasn't a particularly challenging workout, but that was the point.

I'll probably go back to a full treadmill workout tomorrow. The elliptical session seemed to reset whatever caused yesterday's pain and I'm feeling better. Just the same, I'll need to keep my speed in check tomorrow to prevent another cycle of pain.

Throwing caution to the run

Gimme shelter

Today's run (street): 3.8 miles

We have guests staying with us until Tuesday, so I've lost my running locker room (AKA the guest room) for a few days. I got my stuff together early so I could go out before our visitors arrived. My goal was to run about 5 miles. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

The soreness I've experienced over the past two weeks seemed to be going away and I had high hopes that I'd be free of it by next week. When I started my run, the pain was even more noticeable than it was at the beginning of yesterday's run. My plan was to do a couple of loops around the business park and then add some miles in an adjacent neighborhood. After running a mile in my neighborhood, I felt concern about overdoing it and modified my route in the name of caution.

I ended up staying on my local streets and kept it moderate. As I warmed up, the pain began to minimize and I wondered if I should do some extra dynamic stretching or put direct heat on the sore area right before my next run. It was chilly this morning so I had a couple of thermal bottom layers that probably contributed to my fast warm up. Along with that, I wore my new-old running vest and an actually new ASICS PR Shelter beanie that I got last week.

Even though I cut it short, I was glad that I was able to get in a run this morning. Better still, the soreness has diminished throughout the day. I'm hoping that means the inflammation that is triggering my sciatica is lessening. I'm continuing to run easy, even though I want to start picking up my training pace so I can prepare for racing in early 2015. I just have to be a little more patient.

New life for some old gear

Aging like fine wine

Today's run (street): 4.3 miles

I was recently in SA Elite looking at their holiday sale items. They had ASICS running vests for 20% off, but the price still seemed high for a jacket without any sleeves. Since then, I read a piece on winter running that mentioned the benefit of keeping your core warm on very cold days. A warm core helps keep your extremities and the rest of your body warm.

I didn't buy a running vest, but with this morning's wind chill, it felt like 28° outside. Rather than put on two long sleeve layers, I put on an acrylic fleece Sports Illustrated promo vest that I had from my Time Inc. days. The vest is lightweight and has a mesh liner inside. After a decade using it to keep warm in my office, it had a new use.

After choosing the vest, I needed to pick the shoes I'd wear on today's run. I'm no longer concerned that the Kayanos are causing my sciatica, but I decided to go back to my Sauconys to see how they felt on a run. The appropriation of the vest as running gear inspired me to pull my ancient Brooks Adrenalin GTS 10s out of the closet and use them instead. The 10s probably have 1,000 miles on them, but they are still viable.

I've always worn my Adrenalins when dealing with minor injuries because they seem to correct whatever problem is plaguing me. My shoe size has increased in recent years and the toe box is too tight for longer distances. If they were a half size bigger I'd put them into the rotation. The soreness in my glutes was there when I started, but it wasn't as pronounced as it was at the beginning of yesterday's run. I was hoping for a further reduction in the pain once I began to warm up.

Some mild discomfort remained throughout the run. Surprisingly enough, I found the pain to be a good distraction from the boredom of my neighborhood roads. I decided to be cautious and keep the run under five miles today. I may go further tomorrow. I'm out of the office until January 5th so I'll have a lot more days to run during the week. I'm really hoping to be free of this soreness by the time me and my buddies do the LIRRC Hangover run on January 1.

Gaining SKLZ to beat the pain

Sticking it to sciatica

Today's run (street): 4.25 miles

Dedicated runners often endure discomfort for extended periods of time. That's a great attribute, but it's always important that they listen to their bodies closely enough to distinguish between good and injurious pain. This can present a dilemma - when is it okay to run and when is it best to rest? I thought about that today after waking up with the same soreness that plagued me since last weekend.

Pushing hard during yesterday's race was the likely reason for the return of this pain. I like to do a recovery run on the day following a race and was anxious to get outside this morning. Although my hamstring/glute area remained tender, there was no sharp pain. I weighed the benefits of running easy with the possibility of exacerbating the problem. I decided to go for it and gauge whether I was doing more harm than good as I moved along.

My start wasn't encouraging. Yesterday I came across the starting line with a lot of energy. This morning my legs felt heavy and my stride felt out of sync. The soreness was there, but I didn't feel as though I was making it worse. I'd committed to an easy pace and was concerned that I'd be tempted to pick up my speed as I went along. I watched my progress carefully to make sure that didn't happen.

The pain subsided as I warmed up through the run, but it never fully left. I would have liked to cover more than 4.25 miles to get a little more distance into my weekly volume. I chose to cut things short rather than invite further injury. Hours later I'm happy with that decision.

This afternoon I picked up a SKLZ massage bar that is similar to the "Stick" and other muscle rollers. I liked this design because it has some heft and the rubberized roller turns more smoothly than other devices I'd tried in stores. I put it to work as soon as I got home and it definitely provided a pinpointed soft tissue massage experience. Whether it will help my muscle pain still needs to be determined.

Tomorrow is my usual rest day and I'm going to extend that at least through Tuesday. At this point I'm pretty sure my soreness issue is sciatica. It's still uncomfortable but I'm hoping that a combination of rest, heat, ibuprofen and massage-barring will help address that quickly.

Feeling the run, but not the runner

Thursday's city walking

Today's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

My schedule on Wednesday and Thursday prevented me from running, although I did cover close to seven miles on foot yesterday. I've managed to get free of my cold, but I still feel like I need to build back some fitness. I've read that taking a week off from running (as I just did) should not affect your your level of conditioning. That's probably true, although I'm finding it harder going when I push to my anaerobic threshold. I really need to do some speed work.

This was a busy morning and I was down to business by 6:30 AM. Around 10:00 AM I took a break and got on the treadmill for my first run since Tuesday. Knowing that I'm not back to 100% in terms of fitness, I opted for just a slightly faster speed than the last treadmill session. I managed to hold that pace without difficulty and, after a time, began to increase speed every quarter mile. By the end I was fairly tired, but not exhausted.

My activity record over the first two months of 2014 looks very similar to prior years. The big difference is where I did my workouts. All the treadmill running that I've done this year has created a level of detachment that I never get when I'm running primarily on the road or on trails. Yes, I'm maintaining (more or less) the same weekly mileage, but I don't feel much like a runner these days.

Unless we get some unexpected snowfall overnight, I plan to return to the road tomorrow. This will be my first neighborhood run in over a month. I really feel the need to reconnect to running. My interest in racing is at an all time low. With the Bethpage relay, Marcie Mazzola 5K and the Brooklyn Marathon on the schedule, it's important that I get back on track. And back to the track.

Return to a real workout

 

Today's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

Colds are funny. No matter their severity, they all seem to follow the adage, "Three days coming, three days staying, three days leaving." An impending cold signals the start of an uncomfortable week. Bad decisions are often made (certainly by me) about how far to push myself after the first symptoms appear. I questioned whether it was wise to run 6.7 miles two Sundays ago, when it was clear that I had started a cold. But if that had an effect on this cold's duration, it was a minor one.

Aside from some residual stuffiness, this cold has pretty much passed. I decided to ease back into running during the "leaving" phase, with extremely easy workouts. This morning I felt close to full strength and went back to my usual routine. I'll admit that I picked a program on the lower end of the performance scale, but it was a legitimate workout.

My concern was that resuming a normal training pace too soon would tire me out before I could finish the run. I had a moment around the first quarter mile when I wondered whether I'd taken on too much too soon. Happily, that didn't last long. Although the rest of the run felt long, it was completely manageable. My other concession to recovery was forgoing the anaerobic sprint I usually do for the last quarter or eighth of a mile.

The best thing about today's workout was knowing that I'm ready to train again. I'll take it fairly easy over the next week and hopefully see some pavement this weekend.

Missing an experience that I used to call mundane

Miss you

Today's run (treadmill): 35 minutes

After so many days away from running, it was hard to justify taking my usual rest day today. This hiatus was necessary to get me through the past week. One thing I've learned is that running while ill is a zero sum game. Benefits gained through a hard workout may be canceled out by the strain put on a weakened body.

Before I could consider a run this morning, I needed to consider the driveway. A foot or more of snow had been predicted over the weekend, but that number was lowered to 2"-4" for our area. We ended up with barely an inch. I didn't want to leave it to freeze into a sheet of ice (supposed to get into the single digits tonight), so I went out early and shoveled. My level of required effort compared to Saturday's ice-moving exercise was fairly low.

I had a number of items on today's schedule, so I carved out 35 minutes for a treadmill workout that was similar to yesterday's, except I set the incline to 2% today. This was not intended to be a difficult workout (see first paragraph). It was more about moving, getting my heart rate going and preparing for what I hope will be a higher performance run tomorrow.

After I'd completed my workout, I drove to the bank to deposit a check. I inspected my local roads and thought about how I'd often complain about the mundanities of neighborhood running. I looked up and down these long strips of open pavement and wished I could return to them. There's still too much ice and snow to do that now, but soon it will all melt away. At least that's how it's supposed to work.

Back to the run, six days later

 

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

I had high hopes for my 2014 running the morning of January 1st. I'd finished out 2013's racing season with a credible performance in the Hot Chocolate 5K and (unlike recent years) I'd come through the holidays with neither a cold nor the flu. Me and my running buddies met at Eisenhower Park on New Year's morning to do our first running event of the year, The LIRR Hangover Run. We had fun that day and I felt great afterward. I looked forward to winter running and a return to my old form.

Although my running year got off to a great start, it quickly stalled. The snow rarely stopped and the temperatures rarely rose high enough to melt it off. My choices were to compromise safety and run on narrow icy roads, or stay indoors and use the treadmill. Safety prevailed and, as of today, I've only run outdoors four times in the past two months.

This morning I did my first run in a week. It was a treadmill workout done at a very moderate pace. I believe that this was the first full week (since recovering from pneumonia in early 2010) where I didn't record a single mile of running. What I had wasn't the flu, but it sapped my strength and I knew that pushing myself would not be healthy.

I made the mistake of chipping down the icebergs at the end of my driveway on Saturday so I'd have some room to put the new snow we're supposed to get this week. That 40 minute exercise would have normally counted as a bonus cross training session, but yesterday it felt like I'd logged a long hard run.

I had a great night's sleep and this morning I felt closer to full strength. I exercised caution on the treadmill and dismissed any thoughts about performance. Today's goal was to start the process of recovering any fitness that I may have lost during my downtime. Even at my easy pace, I felt a burn in my throat that I used to get in my early days of running.

I further reduced my speed after each mile. It seemed like the right move since my goal was simply to get through a moderate aerobic workout, not to maintain a challenging heart rate. I'm clearly still recovering, so I'm not sure of my true level of fitness. What I do know is that I'm nowhere near the level of race readiness that I'd expected on New Year's morning. I'll forgo my Monday rest day and, perhaps, take another step forward tomorrow.

Listening to my body, finally

 

My cold started on Saturday morning, leading to a terrible treadmill run later in the day. In the past, my position was to always run through a cold, but rest with a fever. This was clearly a cold, so I was surprised to have such a difficult time getting through my workout. I felt okay on Sunday morning when I joined the Runsketeers at Eisenhower Park, but the fatigue soon returned and I had trouble maintaining our very easy pace.

In retrospect, I'm happy to know that it was just a cold that was affecting my stamina and not something more serious. I took my usual rest day on Monday and, by Tuesday, it was clear that a run would do me more harm than good. However, I did cover five miles walking in the city that day. By Tuesday night I was officially exhausted. I spent much of Wednesday trying to rest and recover.

I'm still dealing with a full blown head and chest cold, so running is out of the question for now. I'm feeling a slight improvement today and I'm hoping that continues. I doubt I'll run tomorrow, so this may turn out to be my lowest mileage week in over a year. That's fine, since I run 5-6 days a week, it's probably good to take a long rest every once in a while. It took a bad cold to make me stop, but maybe all this rest will do me some good.

All trails lead to Mount Olympus

Back to the woods

Last night, sometime between the start and finish of dinner, my headache disappeared. My daylong discomfort and exhaustion were suddenly lifted. I don't know if it was the Ibuprofen, or the nasal decongestant that did the trick. I'm guessing it was neither. My theory is that my fresh New York bagel, full of carbs and covered with real butter, cut through the migraine. Forget Imitrex, this is the cure.

Relief from that headache completely changed my level of engagement and I felt like a human being again. The rest of our night was great and I was able to give full attention to our guests. This morning I woke up headache-free, but I delayed my workout until after our guests had left. At that point, I thought about the benefit of resting versus getting in a run. I decided on rest, but not completely.

Around mid afternoon, my son and I decided to go for a hike at Trailview, a park that connects the Greenbelt Trail north of Jericho Turnpike. The skies looked dark and there was a little rain coming down. We put on hooded jackets and headed into the woods.

A stop along the way

Trailview, unlike Stillwell, is a simple layout with two paths. The segment between Jericho Turnpike and Syosset-Woodbury Road is closely contained so it's virtually impossible to get lost there. Still, Trailview's paths are interesting, with twists and turns and some steep inclines and descents.

The view from Mt. Olympus

We saw a few other hikers braving the light rain, as well as a couple of trail runners. We ended up at the overlook where Woodbury Rd and Syosset-Woodbury Road meet. Crossing that intersection brings you into the south side of Stillwell Woods. For some reason, we've dubbed that "the view from Mount Olympus." At that point we headed back, talking the whole time about the history of PC's, handheld calculators and gaming systems, along with discussions about sentient computers and our common fascination with the movie, "2001: A Space Odyssey."

A hike in the woods with my son beat a run on the streets by a mile. The trails posed a few challenges, but nothing we couldn't handle. I got my workout without pushing so hard as to invite a relapse of yesterday's headache. All in all, a pretty good day. I'll have to decide whether to take tomorrow as my usual rest day or go for my first Christmas week run.

Race, rest and hot chocolate

Today's run (street): 4.2 miles 

I usually rest the day after a race, unless it's a 5K that's held on a Saturday. In that case I might go out the next day for an easy recovery run. Mondays have been my defacto rest days since 2009, when I made the decision stop running 7 days a week. So taking the day off after a Sunday race is perfectly timed with my schedule. I always expect to run faster after a race, because racing primes your leg muscles similar to speed work. In reality, I usually end up with a pace that falls between mediocre and satisfactory.

I once read an article that said you should take one day off for every two miles raced. That means three days rest for a 10K and a full week off for a half. That seems a little too extreme for me. I took three days off after running my half marathons and thought that was the right amount of time. I'll occasionally take two days after the Dirty Sock 10K because that event is especially grueling. Otherwise, one day seems about right.

Before I headed to the city this morning, I got outside for a four mile run. It was 37° and overcast and once again I had hopes of leveraging the fast twitch muscle fiber I'd (supposedly) cultivated at the race. There were no 29 MPH winds to slow me down today. I felt like I was running well, but I ended up closer to mediocrity than satisfaction. I was very surprised to see how long it took me to cover that distance.

 

My next (and probably last) race of the year will be the Hot Chocolate 5K that's held on December 7th. I'll admit that, compared to other years, my 2013 race performance has been sub-par. The best race I ran was the first, the Long Beach Snowflake. If I properly train for speed, the Hot Chocolate could provide some redemption. If not, at least there will be hot chocolate at the end.

Comparing race times is easy but results are confusing.

A tale of three races

Today's run (street): 5.25 miles

This morning I downloaded my recent runs to Garmin Connect. I noticed a feature that compares selected runs, allowing users to see performance data by split (click above picture to read). The difference between this year and the last two year's times are easy to see. One thing that puzzles me is that the times on split 4 are really inconsistent. This year I covered .11 miles in 50 seconds at 7:55 pace, Last year it took me one second less but the pace was 7:18. In 2011, it took one second more to cover that distance, yet the pace showed 23 seconds per mile faster than this year. Very strange.

Today my thoughts were on recovery rather than performance. Due to my tapering, I covered far less than my normal 18-20 weekly miles since last Sunday. I took it easy and aimed for five miles. Although the temperature was a moderate 54°, it felt colder. I wore a light running shirt with 3/4 length sleeves and shorts, along with a pair of light running gloves. It was a good combination to start, although by the end I was wishing for shorter sleeves and no gloves.

I ended up running faster than I planned, but not all that fast. Recovery runs are a strategy to facilitate muscle repair and eliminate the built up lactic acid that causes soreness. I wish I'd taken it just a little easier. I'm looking ahead to November 10, when I'll be running the Hope for Warriors 10K. It's a great event (although the course itself is only so-so). My prep for this weekend's 5K fell short, and I want to do better. 10K means more base runs as well. Better get started soon.

No rain, pain, or running strain

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

Earlier this week the weather people on TV were talking about significant rainfall and flooding by the weekend. I was resigned to the probability of having to do my longer runs on the treadmill. While yesterday's run was wet, it wasn't anything like running in storm conditions. I expected this morning to be much worse. Happily, it was much better.

Sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 AM this morning, my energy sapping pressure headache disappeared. Between that annoyance, and the cold and rainy weather we've had, running can be more pain than gain. When I realized that the pounding from my sinuses was gone, my outlook brightened. After looking outside and seeing white, rather than gray skies, I felt even better.

Yesterday's run, while feeling low, was more symbolic than beneficial. Although my headache had cleared, I still held the expectation that today's run would be challenging. I considered not tracking my speed and distance so I wouldn't feel bad about my expected mediocre (or worse) performance, but I decided that I needed to face up to it. Besides that, I'm racing in a week and I have to focus on speed at some level.

Since you are reading this, there's a good chance you're a runner. And being a runner, you know that the first minute of a run can speak volumes about how the rest of your run might go. This morning I was surprised, in the best of ways, to find my energy level at the high end of the spectrum. I knew right away that this run would be much faster than yesterday's, and it was. The fatigue I experienced on Thursday was completely gone, replaced by the feeling that I could run all day.

I felt great all the way through but, due to my business schedule, I needed to cap the length of my run. This was quite a contrast from yesterday when, by the end, I felt like I'd just run a 10K at race pace. It was a nice way to finish out the week, especially one as tough as this. I'm looking forward to my last race training workouts this weekend before I taper down throughout next week.

Soreness is gone, so back to the road

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

It's fall and today's weather acted appropriately, with sun, minimal humidity and cool air. I went out early and the temperature on my phone app said 50°. I wore my vividly orange long sleeve running shirt with shorts and was very comfortable throughout the run. Conditions make all the difference.

Today was my first run since Cow Harbor. The race and Sunday's lift-and-carry workout put my legs into tough shape and I carried that soreness all day on Monday. I'd worn my Zensah compression calf sleeves on the prior two days, in hopes of reducing the level of lactic acid that was making my leg muscles feel stiff and uncomfortable. Last night, as I headed upstairs, I noted that my legs were still very much in need of recovery time.

When I took my first few steps onto the road today, I was pleased to note that my stride felt good. Not perfect, but certainly better than I'd expected. I must have benefited from a good night's sleep. I didn't push hard but I made sure that I kept my pace within the acceptable range (and faster than my Cow Harbor pace). As I progressed, I noticed more muscle stiffness, but that didn't slow me down much.

I ended up happy with the run and appreciated returning home without feeling like I was drenched in sweat. If the temperature and humidity remain low, I hope to bring my intensity up a notch and take advantage of higher performance relative to heart rate. I know I need to increase my cadence if I'm going to make improvements in my pacing. I wish I knew the best approach for doing that.

The recovery day that wasn't

Glider launch at Stillwell

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

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

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

My son doing some technical trail running

Look closely, there's a snake in there

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

For all intents and purposes, this is my gym

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

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

An object of neglect provides the perfect workout

Today's perfect choice

Today's workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

Yesterday's run affected me more than I realized, and I found myself exhausted by the end of the day. This morning I woke with a pressure headache that was quickly dispatched by my standard cure of aspirin and Sudafed. Unfortunately, pseudoephedrine and running don't mix well, so I decided to put off my workout until later.

Once the day got going, I started to doubt whether I could fit in a workout. I generally dislike afternoon running, especially when I plan to run again the next morning. I remembered that tomorrow is my weekly rest day, so even with a late day run, I'd have plenty of recovery time. All I needed to do was figure out a workout. Given yesterday's tough going, I didn't think a speed run was advisable. I also didn't want to do a recovery run outside, in conditions that matched Saturday's oppressive humidity.

Then it hit me - the elliptical, that I've neglected for months, would be a perfect workout. I decided that a hill simulation, done at  moderate speed, would provide a good a balance. I set up the floor fan, put the speed on high, and set the machine's resistance to 80%.  Once I got past the first few minutes, it was smooth sailing and the time went quickly from there.

It's often hard for me to focus on cross-training, because I always prefer to run. But after today, I won't be so quick to dismiss the elliptical, especially on the day after a really difficult run.

Work versus run, guess which won.

Timed out

I needed to complete a big project this morning, so I couldn't go out for my early morning run as planned. I realized that finishing that work would interfere with my run, because I needed to leave the house before 10:00 for another obligation. I decided that I'd go for a late afternoon run instead. Well, that didn't happen, and I decided instead to give my legs a break from a week of fairly hard running.

Tomorrow I'm planning another base run that will include hills. I'm not sure about speed, but no matter what, I'll keep it more intense than normal for a run of this type. I have high expectations for this workout, so I'm hoping that taking the day off today will help make things go smoothly tomorrow.

Two part post on this Stillwell Sunday

No actual pandas sighted today 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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