A Virtual Pacer with Real Results

Today's run on the Bethpage trail

Last February an ignorant orange man told the country that COVID-19 would soon disappear with the heat, "like a miracle." The only miracle is that, seven months later, 42% of the country still believes him. Sadly, we're pretty much where we were the last time I posted (April 28). If there's anything positive I can say about this, it's that on the road things are pretty much the same as they were pre-COVID. Socially distanced outdoor runs don't require runners to wear masks as long as the six foot rule is rigorously maintained. It's really not that hard to do.

It's been about sixteen months since I've had to commute to a job and my time is structured very differently these days. I now get 8 hours sleep every night and my stress level is pretty low. I give a lot of credit to my 6 day a week runs for keeping me healthy. However, I've recently realized that while daily cardio may be great for my vitals and heart health, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm actually in good athletic shape. Can I run five miles without stopping? Yes. Can I run five miles in 42 minutes like I used to? No. Nein. Nyet. 没有.  

During my last checkup in August I asked my doctor why my pace has gone from age group competitive to pathetically slow over the last five years. I'm running a lot more than I was back then and I couldn't understand why all this running wasn't making me any faster. My doctor looked at my chart and said, "Physically there's no reason. You must not be trying hard enough." I knew he was right. I was so inspired that I went out the next morning and did absolutely nothing different because trying was harder than floating through my run.

Since that doctor visit I did try making some changes to my technique that yielded modest speed increases. I focused on cadence and stride length intermittently during runs. The improvement was not dramatic but I did pick up about 30 seconds per mile. Knowing that a little extra effort yielded a marginal performance benefit, I started thinking about ways to really move the needle.

I did a search to see if there was anything online that would inspire me to try harder and I came upon an article about virtual pacers. My old Garmin 210 had alerts that beeped when your pace slowed below a set speed and I was surprised to find a video from DC Rainmaker that showed how to use the virtual pacer feature on my FR35. I had no idea that my watch even had this feature because getting to the menu is not intuitive. But I was able to configure it to beep if my pace went out of range.

Just hit Run > Run Mode > Virtual Pacer > Edit > Set...

My first run was scary because I was so afraid my watch would be beeping like an EKG, with each tone broadcasting my failure to keep on pace. But a funny thing happened. The only time it beeped was to indicate I was ahead or on pace. I was so fearful of the watch's judgement that I ran 1:20 faster than the threshold I'd set. It was like the movie Speed when Sandra Bullock needed to drive over 50 MPH or the bus would blow up. My run was like that but more stressful.

I've been using the virtual pacer (VP) feature on every run I've done since Friday and my pace has been over two minutes per mile faster on each of those runs. The VP is a great motivator but I needed to own the effort. It's a different experience going out with the gas pedal down from start to finish rather than wending my way through my route at a comfortable speed. The sad part is that I'm pushing very hard to run almost three minutes per mile slower than my former everyday running pace.

I'm determined to run 3+ miles at a 9-something pace by the end of the year. I went out to Bethpage this morning to torture myself on the hills and was pleased that I still paced well, even with my bête noire, the big hill that crests near the parking area. If I can keep this up, maybe I can again run alongside the cool kids: SIOR, KWL, Professor Mike and TPP.  Who knew that listening to the doctor could be so helpful!

Solving the run-rest equation

See this post on our new site

The three Rs, Running, Resting and Rowin'

When you think about it, a lot of running involves math. The standard measure of performance (pace) is supported by explanatory metrics such as cadence, stride length and heart rate. That data allows us to analyze trends and calculate indicators like V0² max. I'll admit to loving statistics, but I know many people don't.

Besides my increasing skepticism of my heart rate monitor and my frustration with a stagnant pace, I'm not going to write much about any of that stuff today. Right now I'm looking at statistical frequency. Now don't stop reading, this isn't really about math. It's more about finding an optimum balance between running and resting.

When I stopped my daily commute at the beginning of May, I committed to increasing the number of miles I'd run a month. Seven years ago, I was averaging close to 20 miles a week. I typically took one rest day and totaled more than 80 miles a month. I did shorter runs during the work week and longer distances on weekends. When I was training for a 10K or a half marathon, I would cover as much as 12 miles.

Last April I ran a pathetically low 27 miles. Since then, I've steadily climbed from 57 in May to 82 in September. Just like I was doing doing in 2012, I'm again running six days a week and reaching 80 miles a month. However, that's where the similarity ends. My pace has declined measurably and I've only run more than four miles twice this year.

I've decided to make a change in my run schedule to give me more recovery time and allow for longer runs. My average distance per run is about 3.1 miles and getting back to the 5+ range will hopefully boost my stamina. If that happens, I may be able to nudge my pace back into respectable territory.

So here's the math problem:

1. There are seven days in a calendar week. I am currently running six days each week and taking a rest day every Wednesday.
2. The ratio of run days to rest days is 6:1.
3. Running six days in a row is fatiguing and it invites repetitive injuries, especially to the feet.
4. The cumulative fatigue discourages longer runs.

Here (I think) is the solution. See chart at top:

1. Instead of keeping a specific rest day every calendar week, I will run six days out of every seven, but will insert a rest day after every third run.
2. The ratio of running to resting drops from 6:1 to 3:1.
3. Rest days happen based on the sequence, not on a fixed day, so some calendar weeks can have two recovery days.

This change has many positives but it could have an effect on my monthly mileage. The fixed rest day method typically resulted in 26 run days a month while the 3-on, 1-off method will be closer to 24. It will be harder to reach 80 miles a month at my present distance-per-run average, but I'm hoping that more frequent rest days will encourage me to add more miles per run. Knowing I'm never more than three days to a recovery day (or cross-training on the rower) should be a motivator.

SIOR and I hit the Massapequa trail

Well Preserved this morning

Happy Bastille Day! Despite meeting my distance target for June (goal was 65 miles and I actually recorded 66.84, but who's counting?), this is the first post I've written in July. I now have more time to post and I'm running a lot more, but there isn't a lot to write about when every run is pretty much the same. Today I had the pleasure of running again with SIOR who accommodated my mediocre speed and actually had me pacing at a level I haven't seen in a number of months, More on that further below.

Back to the monthly mileage goal for a minute. I measure my runs using Gmaps to get a more accurate distance number than the Garmin records. This is because GPS watches have a technical limitation with the way they track vectors around corners and sometimes on straight roads. You can improve the accuracy by increasing the number of GPS "pings" per minute. It would be an easy fix, but battery life would be terrible. I've figured out that my watch generally under counts distance by about 2% so (technically) I probably ran 68.17 miles in June. But again, who's counting?

Today was not about distance or speed, although I ultimately covered 3.4 miles and paced better than my average. It was about getting in an easy run and having good old conversation. I haven't been able to keep up with the speedy Runsketeers in the past year, but SIOR made it easy for me.

We met at the Massapequa Preserve trail head at 7:30 AM with a plan to do a three mile out and back. After the usual game of Marco Polo (SIOR was in the big lot, I was in the small lot) we found each other. I had a big day Saturday up in Putnam County at Cold Spring and Bear Mountain and wasn't feeling great. I told SIOR that I'd understand if she wanted to run her pace but she was having none of that and we took off together.

This looks like a lot more than 3 miles

SIOR claimed she also wasn't feeling great and we stopped from time to time and walked. That may be true, but I think she may have done that because 12 minute paces hurt her knees. Whatever the reason, today was a throwback to the "early" Runsketeer days when I was better able to hold my own in these group runs. Some pretty funny conversations used to happen back then, with me and SIOR verbally jabbing and counter punching and TPP laughing and encouraging it all.

According to my Garmin, me and SIOR covered 2.6 miles actually running. Since we turned around at the 2 mile mark (SIOR correct me if I'm wrong) I suspect that we ran more than that. After looking at the GPS map that cut out a lot of our route and my step count on my Garmin, I'm sure we covered at least three, if not more. Here's one example of GPS malfeasance:

I don't remember running across the water

No matter the actual distance, we enjoyed it. We saw a big dog chilling in a stream and lots of other runners on the trail. I felt 100% better after my run than before it. Then there was only one thing left to do: coffee at Starbucks! You'd think after all that trail conversation we would have covered every  possible topic. But you don't know us. The thing that always amuses me when the Runsketeers get together is how little we actually talk about running. And that's just fine with me.

I wanted to record at least three miles today so I ran over to the nearby middle school and did 4 x 160 meter repeats and ran back home. That added another .8 miles to today's total and finished off my week with 16.5 miles. According to Garmin Connect, I'm at 36.26 miles for July which they say is 48% of of 70 miles. But my math (backed up by a calculator) says that's actually 51.8%. So what gives Garmin? Either way, I expect to reach 70, even with GPS under counting and Garmin Connect's "math problem."

Running hot and feeling debris

Sorry, it's not my vault

Today's run: 3.2 miles

I recently looked at an old post about my experience dealing with a herniated disc I experienced a few years ago. That caused me to look at some related posts and then some unrelated ones. I appreciated how Emerging Runner served as a reliable, if narrow, chronicle of my life experience between October 2008 and February 2018. I also felt badly that I had let so much time go by since my last post, which was my only entry in 2018. I'll make no promises about what I do after today, but here is my second post of 2018.

As you'd expect, a lot has happened over the past five months. For one thing, I fixed the hand towel holder in the guest bathroom twice. Actually, that's about it. Last week we decided to replace the slate in our first floor hallway with oak. Between the jackhammer and bandsaw noise, demo debris, dust, stain and sealants, it's been a bit uncomfortable.

Due to its center hall location, the contractor needed to build a platform across the floors while they dried between coats. This created a ninja warrior-like challenge to get from one side of the house to the other. By the time the floors had dried and cured, we all became experts at vaulting from the den to the platform and back. Timing was everything. A misstep could easily land you on the sticky floor.

The other thing to mention, in light of this eponymous blog, is that I have continued to run. I'll give myself credit for lacing up and getting out as often as ever, but my workouts have become rote. I won't dwell on performance, but that hasn't gotten any better. Fortunately, I don't care much about that right now. I'm just glad to be out there, doing my run on my own terms.

That isn't to say that I'm complacent. Due to ongoing issues with my eyes, I need to take drops and, occasionally, other medicines. It's all good, but the drugs can have an effect on my heart rate, making it hard to exceed 75% of max HR. This has been going on for a while and I've adjusted my expectations accordingly. I've recently started incorporating moderate fartleks to keep my HR above a certain threshold, hoping to get closer to 80% at least part of the time.

Post run delirium 

This morning I got out a little after 6:00 AM. Humidity was already 79% and the temperature was pushing 80°. At that hour the trees were still casting long shadows and I took advantage of the shade as much as possible. Conditions were fine for the first couple of miles but the humidity began to get to me. I was sweating so much around my eyes that it was hard to see. I needed to clear them continuously with a cloth to maintain visibility and to minimize the sting from sweat.

I was about 2/3 through my route when my Garmin unceremoniously stopped working. It was my own fault because the battery had been running low and I kept forgetting to charge it. I wanted to make sure I covered at least three miles. Without the GPS for guidance, I quickly thought through a route that would get me my distance before returning home.

The sun had risen a lot in the 20 minutes since I'd started, upping both heat and humidity. I began to feel like I was on the last mile of a 5K. I soon turned onto my street for the final dash to my house and floated to the driveway, soaked with sweat and happy to be done.

I hope to get back to doing at least one post per week. Some changes to my medication may help me move the needle in a better direction for performance. If that's the case, I'll be a lot more motivated to share that progress.

Emerging or submerging?

The emerging will continue

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

Happy New Year! Okay, I'm about 40 days off the mark, but you get the point. Chinese New Year starts on the 16th so it's still valid to say that. Those of you who used to follow this blog may have noticed that I haven't posted since late November. There's a reason for that*. Anyway, it's 2018 and everything is great. The stock market is going gangbusters, Congress is unified and the White House isn't being led by an unqualified, dishonest, ignorant, racist, misogynist. I may have some of that wrong.

You're probably wondering whether my hiatus from blogging meant that I stopped running. The answer is no. I've continued to run, but frequency and distance have both come down. Speed? What's that? Am I emerging or submerging? Unclear.

I've had a cold for the last three weeks. It's not the flu. A doctor told me that. But I do have a dry cough that won't go away. The cough seems to be improving, but it's very disruptive at work when I have to interrupt conversations by coughing into my elbow. Every time I do that I'm sure my colleges are convinced I'm going to make them sick. Of course it was one of them who made me sick in the first place.

This morning was overcast but free of rain. I headed out in 50° weather for a run around the neighborhood. I'm not sure when I last ran around here, because the freezing weather kept me on the treadmill most of January and early February. It felt like good running weather, cool but not face freezing cold.

A few weeks ago I ran at the track in -5° weather. I had face protection, a winter weight hat, triple layers top and bottom, running gloves inside of running mittens and two pair of wool socks. I had to stop after four laps because my hands were stinging from the bitter cold. It took two minutes before they warmed up enough to wrap my fingers around the steering wheel. I finished my run at home on the treadmill.

I only ran outdoors once last weekend. Yesterday I stuck to the treadmill and tomorrow I'll go outside again, weather permitting. My stride has shortened and my cadence has lowered. Not the direction I need to go if performance is important. That's the thing. When I run without regard to speed, I enjoy the experience a lot. When I need to hit the gas to prevent being passed by a neighbor-runner I don't enjoy it. Plus I usually get passed anyway.

For the New Year, I hope to do more runs and miles than in 2017. In terms of performance, I'm guessing more running will lead to more speed. The groundhog community has spoken and it looks like six more weeks of winter cold. I'll do my best to get out more often. If I work from home more frequently, I can probably get in more runs. Emerging Runner will have its ten year anniversary in the fall. I need to live up to that name.

*I got tired of doing it.

The Runsketeers discuss their interesting ancestors

L to R: KWL, PM, SIOR, TPP, ER

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 3.1 miles

It has been a month and five days since I've posted anything on this blog. I can't really say why I'd stopped. I've continued to run, following the same schedule and covering the same distances, but my interest in documenting those runs had waned. It wasn't until today that I felt compelled to resume my posting and that's because the mighty Runsketeers all came together this morning for the first time since July. That's just crazy.

The last time we all got together, I ended my post with, "I'm looking forward to our next Runsketeer outing. Hopefully the humidity will be a little lower than yesterday's 89%." Well, my hopes were realized, because no one was complaining about the humidity today. We were supposed to get a lot of wind but it wasn't a factor this morning. A little chilly, but overall good running weather.

Shady shot along the trail

We agreed to meet at the Bethpage lot at 8:15 AM. Then it was between 8:30 and 8:45. Then it was 9:00. I won't say who kept changing the time, but it wouldn't be hard to guess. SIOR was probably frustrated that the park wasn't charging an entry fee because she likes to fight with the toll taker there. I always get my fee waved because I'm not pugnacious. Everyone arrived on time and we quickly made our way up the hill, turning left to follow the northern trail. SIOR and TPP took off in a flash while KWL and I ran a lot easier. We kept it to 3.2 miles and had great conversations on the path.

Once we got back to the lot, we convoyed to Starbucks for coffee and second breakfast (for me anyway). You'd think we would have spent time catching up on everything that had happened in the last five months, but we went right to what was on our minds at the moment: politics, races, racing t-shirts, running magazines, and KWL's and my long history working together. We also collectively agreed that Yonkers is a dump.

The usual suspects at the usual place

About halfway through our coffee time, we were joined by Professor Mike who had competed in Rob's Run this morning while we were at Bethpage. Rob's Run is a trail race that happens at Stillwell Woods. It's a grueling run but PM looked as refreshed as the rest of us. He had a Rob's Run thermos that was a giveaway to participants. That's what started the conversation about race shirts. TPP uses her old race shirts as cleaning rags (blasphemy) and PM raffles them off to his students. I've kept every one I've earned, even the hideously ugly ones.

At some point conversation turned to almost naked fathers and grandfathers. This started when PM showed us a picture of his dad from the 40's wearing little more than a loincloth. His muscles had muscles. KWL pointed out that was long before steroids. PM's dad was a circus performer who was once on the Ernie Kovacs show where he swung on a trapeze while eating pizza. Then SIOR showed us a picture of her half naked grandfather who was a professional wrestler back in the 30's or 40's.

Capping that off, TPP told us about her dad who is an amazing engineer who invented the jet ski and developed a bunch of other cool stuff while working for an avionics company. He still creates stuff like 3-D printers and robots. He does all that fully clothed. Amazing accomplishments from the Runsketeer lineage.

It was great to see my buds and get in my fourth run in a row, starting with Thanksgiving day. I may have run on Wednesday, but that was a lot of turkey and pie ago and my memory is shaky. I'd like to continue my streak but the work week makes it tough. I hope the Runsketeers don't go months again before we run together. We can't allow that. At the very least, we should all do the Hangover Run on January 1.

Adapting to my anti-running medicine

Problems (L) and problem solved (R)

Today's run (track): 3.3 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 2.2 miles

I'm coming up on the nine year anniversary of The Emerging Runner and there's a certain irony that, for different reasons, I'm running at about the same performance level as I did back in 2008.  I started the blog as a public journal to record my transition from exercise walking to running. By my first post I was running more than walking, but my distances were fairly modest. Due to some unexpected medical issues involving my eyes, I'm now experiencing challenges that are similar to what I was dealing with all those years ago. However, I am making progress.

Back in September I needed eye surgery to address a couple of problems. This procedure is routine and performed about 4 million times a year in the US. Most go perfectly well. Mine only went okay and I'm dealing with a couple of issues that require medication, at least for now. Some of this medication addresses ocular pressure with a residual effect on heart rate.

One medication that is used for my condition is also the go-to drug for high altitude sickness. The first time I took it I felt extremely dizzy. I questioned why this drug would be a good choice for mountain climbers who really should not be woozy negotiating a couloir at 25,000 feet. I mentioned that to my ophthalmologist who also climbs mountains. She said the dosage for altitude sickness is half of what I'm taking. Good I guess, but I'd stick with Dramamine.

The net effect of a post surgery running layoff and all these medications has resulted in a performance setback. I had adapted somewhat to a couple of the post op drugs and was covering 3 to 4 miles a few weekends back with decent results. Last Saturday, with the addition of the altitude drug, I couldn't run a fifth of a mile without stopping. I recognized the problem and filled in the blanks with a lot of walking, but I really hoped I would be able to adjust to the new medication.

I worked from home on Friday and set a goal of running a mile or two before I started my work day. After last week's experience, I didn't know what to expect. I decided I would try to run as easily and efficiently as I could for as long as I could. If I only made it through a half a mile it would still be progress.

Most runners have a good idea about how their run will go within a minute after they start. Last Saturday I knew I was in bad shape before I lost sight of my house. Friday morning was cool and clear and once the middle school buses had wrapped up their routes, I took off through the neighborhood. I felt okay and made my way past the quarter and half mile marks with no thoughts of stopping. By the time I reached my first mile I knew I could manage two and probably three. I kept it to a little more than two miles and my pace was slow, but I was very pleased with the run.

Knowing that I could run, I set the bar a little higher for this morning's workout. I set off to the local high school to cover about three miles on the track. I left just after sun-up to avoid the crowd and to avoid the humiliation of being the slowest guy running. That was a bad plan because, when I arrived, there were two speedsters, another slowster and a couple of walkers. I lined up in lane 4 and took off at an easy pace that I knew I could maintain. Like clockwork, the speedy guys passed me about once a quarter. I picked up the pace as I progressed, which meant their passing orbit grew increasingly longer as time went on.

Besides running over a mile longer today, I paced 6% faster than on Friday. Still slow, but edging toward pre-surgery speed. I was told by my ophthalmologist that my new medication requires a high degree of hydration with electrolytes, especially potassium. There's something to that because when I do hydrate properly, the effects of the drug are minimized. I've been consuming a bottle of Drink Melon Organic Watermelon Water daily which contains 980 mg of potassium (compared to Gatorade which has a paltry 37 mg). It's pure watermelon juice and only 80 calories a bottle. 

I hope that I will fully adapt to all my medications soon and get back to running as usual. Last weekend was a setback but today was very encouraging.

Back to running and seeing

Prêt à porter

Today's run (street): 3.1 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 2.25 miles

Okay, I lied. It's still September and here I am posting again. On my last post (not the one that confused SIOR because I used a complicated word like hiatus) I wrote about my enduring problem with plantar faciitis. That was in late August. Although I didn't say it at the time, it was the start of a planned running break. I needed to have a couple of eye surgeries and my doctor said I wouldn't be allowed to run again until mid-October.

I had my first surgery a couple of weeks ago in my left eye. It went well but my recovery has been slower than expected. So much so that we ended up postponing the second one. It's been a roller coaster of experiences: frustration, surprise, concern, excitement. The exciting part was what happened after I stuck a contact lens in my other eye for the first time in 25 years.

After surgery I could technically see about 20/30 without a corrective lens in my left eye. With the contact in my right, I was able to look at the world clearly again without glasses.  I'm still dealing with some left eye vision issues but my ophthalmologist has cleared me for highway driving.

The doctor also gave me the okay to resume running. It was sunny on Friday morning and, without sunglasses, I opted for the treadmill. I was concerned that a month's layoff from running would mean a substantial loss in fitness, but I felt good the entire time. The secret to that was only running 2.25 miles at about 5 MPH. I didn't care about mileage or performance, I just needed to know I could run.

This morning was cool and overcast and I wasn't going to run inside again. I borrowed a pair of giveaway sunglasses that my daughter got from freshman orientation last year. They were fine except the arms were a bright Hofstra blue. They did the job but I didn't feel that comfortable wearing $2 novelty shades, especially after eye surgery.

My plan was to do the route I used to follow every morning at 4:00 AM before taking the train into the city. The distance is 2.5 miles, just a small increase from yesterday and something I thought would be easy to handle. My first steps confirmed that and I knew I would be in for a good run. It had rained overnight and the smell of ozone mixed with the aroma of maple trees was very pleasant. The 55° weather made me feel like I could run forever. Maybe not forever, but more than my planned 2.5 miles.

Still, the sunglass situation had to change, so this afternoon I drove over to Dick's in Melville to buy off the rack sunglasses for the first time in two decades. I had visions of getting some of those cool, aggressively shaped tri athlete shades with removable lenses for different sports. Dick's has nothing like that, and if they did, they'd charge $300 for them. They did have cheap lookalikes made of chintzy plastic that looked awful on me.

I found a decently made pair for $20 with a reassuring label on the front that said "Polarizing lenses, 100% UV protection." That may be the law but I wasn't taking any chances. As a matter of fact I was so risk averse I texted the above selfie to my wife so she could tell me it was okay to buy them. They were.

So I'm back to running and seeing, two things I really missed. I'll do the other surgery eventually but since it's not medically necessary right now I'll wait. I plan to go out again tomorrow and increase distance a little more. My plantar faciitis went away during my hiatus and I really hope it's gone for good. Or at least for a really long time.

Progress on plantar pain

Whatever gets you through the run

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles
Yesterday's workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

I just realized that it's been 20 days since I've last posted. That doesn't mean I've stopped running. But if you're counting the past six days, I hadn't. My layoff has been a combination of busy days and avoiding aggravating my plantar faciitis. I've substituted running with lots of walking and ellipticaling, but that doesn't really raise the bar in terms of fitness. The last time I ran before this morning was last Saturday. I was concerned I'd struggle a little today.

 My plantar soreness peaked last Sunday and it wasn't fun. I'd run with a lot of pain the prior day and toughed out a 3.5 mile run. I thought icing my foot on and off the rest of the day would help, but when I went outside on Sunday morning I didn't get very far. Every footfall radiated pain and I turned back before covering less than a quarter of a mile. I considered my options and headed upstairs to try my foot on the elliptical. The lack of impact and different motion made that a better choice.

I returned to work last Monday after a week's vacation and decided to wait until Friday for a run. My foot pain continued to improve, but I chose to give it one more day. Instead, I did an elliptical session which got my heart rate up, but not close to 80% of max. My foot felt okay after the workout and I decided I'd go for a test run today if the soreness didn't return

This morning's schedule was tight but I was determined to cover at least three miles.. I wore my Brooks Launches with Sof Sole plantar orthotics. I did feel some soreness at the start but it wasn't unbearable. I hoped that would go away once the tendon warmed up. I kept my speed moderate to avoid straining anything.

The easy pace and orthotics allowed me to keep pain to a minimum.That I could get through 3.25 miles without regret was a victory after two weeks of extreme discomfort. I'm not sure what type of workout I should do tomorrow but I'll probably do another easy run. I'm far away from the speed and distances I was achieving a year ago but I did feel stronger at the end than I expected. I hope  my right foot soreness leaves as quickly as it came. And when it does, I really hope it doesn't return to my left.

Born to Run with Plantar Faciitis

I wish it felt that good

Image from painscience.com

Today's run (street): 3.75 miles
Yesterday's run: (street): 3.4 miles
Friday's workout (treadmill): 35 minutes
Last Sunday's run (street): 3.3 miles
Last Saturday's run (street): 3.4 miles
Last Friday's workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

“One injury that I have always had that never seems to go away is plantar fasciitis..”

- Christopher McDougall July 20, 2010

I’m not really sure why our bodies punish us for doing things to keep it healthy, but it’s something all runners experience at some point. The ER family hosted some neighborhood friends on Saturday and, at one point, the discussion moved to running. It turned out that my neighbor used to run, but he stopped due to knee problems and spinal stenosis. Prior to that, he was a pretty active runner who’d completed a number of marathons, including two NYCs. I asked the question, if humans are designed to run, why do we get plantar faciitis?

If you are a fan of Christopher McDougall’s book, Born to Run, you might recognize that question because it turned out to be why he wrote that book. Plantar faciitis is a puzzling affliction. I went through a protracted bout with it in my left foot some months ago. Soon after that problem cleared up, I started experiencing similar pain in my right foot. The severity of this new pain is greater than with my left. That is no doubt related to recently doing nine runs in ten days while on vacation.

 I’d tried all the suggested approaches to minimizing plantar soreness, including using the CVS version of the Strassburg Sock along with another contraption that held my foot in place at the optimal position while I slept. Neither were pleasant experiences and I don’t think they helped very much. I switched to just using orthotics in my shoes and eventually the problem went away, only to resurface weeks later with my right foot.

 I resumed running on Friday on the treadmill after being chased indoors by a thunderstorm. It was probably for the best, because my foot pain had discouraged me from running very fast. After a while, I just gave in and moved to walking at a 1.5% grade.

I was concerned that Saturday would be a repeat of Friday. I was glad when I hit the pavement and saw that the pain was less pronounced. The plantar soreness was there, but manifested as a dull burning feeling rather than a sharp pain. I didn't love the experience, but I did get through my run.

This morning I wore my most cushioned running shoes and set out hoping for a less painful start. The pain was tolerable and I hoped it would decrease once my tendon warmed up. Ultimately it did, although the pain did not completely disappear. While running has been slightly painful, walking can be difficult. If I'm off my foot for more than five minutes, the next time I take a step I'll feel an intensely sharp pain in my heel. Fortunately, this measurably decreases after taking a dozen or so steps. It's good that the pain lessens, but it's unnerving that every time I get up from the couch I know will go through that experience again.

I expect that this problem will leave as mysteriously as it came. I'm unsure what I can do to help speed my recovery, since trying every Internet cure didn't really pay off the first time. I spent a little less time at my standing desk and more time working at my office table over the past month. That roughly coincided with the improvement that happened with my original foot. In the meantime I'll continue to put ice on the tendon when I can, and wear my recovery flats around the house.

I still don't understand why runners end up with these problems if we are truly born to run. The thesis of McDougall's book was that we are meant to run barefoot or, if we must, in minimal footwear. That craze has come and gone and I'll admit I drank the Kool Aid on the idea. I still prefer a lighter, less structured shoe and wear my NB Zante 2's most of the time. Yet this has been a year for plantar faciitis for me. The only positive is that, despite the affliction, even with the pain, I've managed to get through almost every run.

Seven runs in seven days

Vacation day on the 'ole North Fork

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.3 miles
Tuesday's run (street): 3.2 miles
Monday's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

Seven runs over the last seven days. So where's my parade? The last time I ran that many days in a row was in September 2012. I didn't cover that much distance over the past seven days (23 miles) but it brought me back to my old running schedule. Up until early 2013, I would run outside (or on the treadmill) six days a week. Monday was always my rest day. These days I typically cram my running in between Fridays and Sundays. Not the best recipe for continuous improvement.

Pretty good shot of a vineyard at 60 MPH

Since I'm on vacation this week, I had no excuse to skip a run on Monday. I ended up on the treadmill because it was raining. At least I think that's why. I have almost no memory of that workout. Tuesday was a typical neighborhood jaunt and Wednesday was more of the same but a little longer. Later in the day we went out to the North Fork of Long Island for the day and enjoyed the sights (and food) in towns like Greenport and Southhold. Between running and walking, I accumulated a lot of steps.

I considered making today a rest day since my right foot has taken over responsibility for torturing me with Plantar Faciiitis. The weather was too nice to skip a run, so I wore my cushy Saucony Triumph ISOs to minimize impact on my heel. The pain was bearable, but today I felt some pain and tightness at my right hip. That may be signs of Piriformis syndrome. I had similar sciatic nerve pain when I was recovering from a herniated disc a couple of years ago. It may be a recurrence of that, or it could be punishment for running so many days in a row.

I may end my running streak tomorrow and switch to the elliptical. Working out with different motion and lower impact may be the best way to proceed at this point. I can always resume running on Saturday. If the weather is nice  on Friday I may have trouble staying indoors.

Fun with friends, Dim Sum and outrunning a drone

Run dad run!

Today's run (street): 4.4 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 2.25 miles 
Friday's run (street): 3.2 miles

Vacations are great, especially at the beginning. I took Friday off and it has been a busy three days so far. I kicked off vacation with a run around my neighborhood and followed that with a swim. It doesn't get much better than that, running-wise. That night we went to local fair and watched some spectacular fireworks later in the evening. Not a bad way to start a summer holiday.

Saturday morning's schedule was very tight and I went out early with the intention of covering just a couple of miles. I picked a few random streets and kept going until I reached the two mile mark and then headed home. I needed to get to the car dealership, buy a car for my son, and be home by noon to greet our guests. Somehow I managed to do that, although the car negotiation got a little tense and my daughter had to watch me thrash things out with the entire management team for an hour.

I got back home a few minutes after our guests KWL and his sister H arrived with a sizable amount of Dim Sum from Lake Pavilion restaurant in Flushing. With little delay, we got settled in the dining room and had a fantastic meal followed by an incredibly good (and huge) peach tart. It was all so good, and worth every carb and calorie.

Before the feast

And after

After Dim Sum, we walked to the neighboring middle school where KWL put his new DJI Spark into action. This drone has a high definition video camera and the controller connects to a smartphone. so you can see everything the drone sees while it's flying. It was amazing to watch the Spark rise up (and up) and see our earthbound crew getting smaller and smaller. At one point KWL had the drone track me as I ran around the field.

Rise of the Spark

This morning I got out a little later than I'd hoped, but the clouds were low and thick so I didn't pay a sun penalty. The temperature was cooler than yesterday, but the humidity was unpleasant and I didn't even try for speed. I avoided my usual route which made the experience marginally more interesting. Since I'm on vacation next week I plan to break away from my neighborhood roads as much as possible. We had a great time with KWL and H and we look forward to seeing them again soon. Next time the Runsketeers get together I think we may be joined by a new member who can really fly.

Sometimes it's hard just getting out the door

Hooray, weekend runs are done

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.3 miles
Friday's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

It seems like a long time since I updated the blog. You haven't missed much. Here are two things that are new since my last post.

1. My plantar faciitis in my left foot is pretty much gone but now I'm starting to have the same problem on my right.

2. I hate running.

Okay. I don't exactly hate it, but I'm having a lot of trouble getting myself out the door these days. One of the best things about being a runner is imagining the possibilities on every workout. You can run inside or outside, on trails, roads, parks and tracks. Do local runs, long distance adventures and all kinds of races. Over the years I've done a lot of that, but these days I can't seemed to break out of my same old route around my neighborhood.

I work at home on Fridays and, with limited time, have few options for my workout. That's actually a good thing because, in that situation, I don't feel guilty for following my quotidian neighborhood route. Still, I was not psyched to run on Friday morning but I knew I had to do it. I dressed and made my way outside only to discover a light rain was falling. Some people don't mind running in the rain but I'm not one of them.

I headed back to the house and changed my running shoes for my Kinvaras that I use only on the treadmill. My last few treadmill runs had been tolerable so I didn't think much of it, but a few minutes in I just wanted to stop. I was totally disinterested in the experience and considered shutting down and calling it a workout. I managed to bargain my way through the first mile where I promised myself I'd stop and reconsider the next couple of miles. I ended up doing my entire run but the entire time I was asking myself why.

Saturday was better, both in terms of attitude and weather. But not by much, and I managed to putter joylessly through my local route. This morning I had the same negative view of running. I looked at past issues of Runner's World and Trail Runner for inspiration but could not convince myself to get in the car and drive to Stillwell or Bethpage for a long overdue trail run.

I ended up going around the neighborhood once again. It was perfectly nice but the entire time I thought about the type of runner I have become. What happened to the person who wouldn't think twice about running the Bethpage trail to the Preserve and back on a Sunday morning? Or run the Dirty Sock course around Belmont Lake? Those workouts aren't even on my radar these days.

While I am having trouble with my run-magination, I haven't stopped running. I did consider cutting it short on Friday, but don't think there's a chance I would have done that. Let's see how things go this week. I have a vacation coming up soon and I plan to try some more interesting runs and cover longer distances. Maybe that will get me back on track.

The Runsketeers get schooled

If you squint it looks like we're sitting by the water

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles
Yesterday's run (Bethpage bike trail): 4.25 miles
Last Tuesday's run (street): 3.4 miles

Orthopedists and MRIs, contact lenses, laser surgery, religion and tribalism, genetic testing, cable provider frustrations, camping in France, speaking Italian and tachistoscopes. Those were just some of the things discussed by the Runsketeer gang after yesterday's Bethpage workout. Despite the steamy weather, we made it through our runs. TPP and I covered 4.25 miles while SIOR and guest Runsketeer, "Mike the Professor" (MTP) ran 7.2. He's an actual professor who teaches at my daughter's college.

We met up at 8:00 AM on Colonial, with TPP and I arriving first before SIOR rolled in with her new Jeep. After a few minutes reliving memories (I used to have a Jeep that I loved) SIOR decided that we'd run south because we usually go north. We started off together but soon split, with SIOR and MTP taking the lead while TPP and I adopted an easier pace. I thought I'd be running alone (which would have been perfectly fine) but TPP stayed by my side. That was great because we had some great conversations along the way. She told me about the cycling groups she rides with which go from brisk to insanely fast.

Running and talking made the miles go by fast, especially the first two. By the time we turned around at Picnic Polo Road, the humidity had gotten to me and my pace slowed noticeably on the way back. I managed through the big returning hill, but asked TPP to take a short break with me when we reached the top. Despite the humidity I loved the run, but I was very happy when we finally reached our end point.

My route looked like a 7 but we only ran 4

Once SIOR and MTP made it back, we convoyed to Starbucks for caffeine and food. It was chilly inside so we decided to sit outdoors. I was able to watch a number of dummies crossing Woodbury Road without a crosswalk while cars whizzed by them on both sides. I was amazed no one got hit. The weather, that felt so humid on the Bethpage trail, was really comfortable during our coffee time. I even got to use my cool Runsketeers, "All for One, Run for All" coffee mug that SIOR gave me at April's surprise birthday party.

It was nice having MTP with us. He's an interesting guy who usually races once or twice a weekend. TPP and I had met him at SIOR's BBQ a few weeks ago. We missed our buddy KWL but he was doing his final training for a triathlon that's happening next weekend. Like always, it was great hanging out with SIOR and TPP who bring the perfect balance of intellectual challenge and absurd humor. I'm looking forward to our next Runsketeer outing. Hopefully the humidity will be a little lower than yesterday's 89%.

Giving humidity its dew

The muggy trifecta

Today's run (track): 3.3 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.4 miles
Saturday's run (street): 4 miles
Friday's (street): 3.2 miles
Last Sunday's run (street): 3.7 miles
Last Saturday's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

There are two periods during the year when running conditions are consistently good. One of those times is late September when temperatures begin to drop and the stifling humidity starts giving way to crisp fall air. The other time of the year is around April, when spring starts to take hold and I can transition from quarter zips and track pants to lighter gear with fewer layers. But all conditions are temporary. By late June, short sleeves and shorts essentially become survival wear.

This weekend the dew point has been at or above 70°, a point that news stations characterize with words like tropical, uncomfortable and intolerable. Running in those conditions is extremely unpleasant. I suppose there's an actual limit to the amount of moisture wicking fabric can wick and I think I reached that point during each of my last four runs.

Even though I ran early, the temperatures were close to 80° and the difference in feel between shade and sunlight was huge. Some people thrive on these conditions, but to me it's krytonite. Not that I'm Superman or anything. Give me freezing cold temperatures any day. Except not when it's freezing cold and windy because my face hurts. Let's just say late September and April are really good for me.

I ran around the neighborhood Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This morning I needed a change of scenery and headed to the track. It was early enough to avoid the direct sun but not the humidity. I wasn't moving too quickly but speed is relative. A nice couple had started walking around the track and at one point the guy said, "slow down, you've already lapped us twice!" I laughed knowing how abysmal my pace really was.

I've managed four runs over the past four days and I have to admit that my running improves when I run more frequently. I'll squeeze in a fifth run tomorrow morning to celebrate our country's independence and then be back to running on Friday. If the dew point drops below 70, I will be happy but my expectations for that are pretty low.

A week of celebrations and bad running

Just a bunch of pomp and circumstances

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles
Last Sunday's run (track): 3.6 miles
Last Saturday's run (street): 4 miles

It's the end of the academic year and my kids have finished all their classes. My daughter just completed her freshman year at college and my son graduated high school Wednesday night. Last Saturday we hosted my son's graduation party and that was loud and fun. Mrs. ER and I had a table adjacent to the party space and the wait staff kept bringing us food. And then they brought cake.

Track be nimble, fog be thick

I definitely exceeded my calorie and sugar budget and hoped that I'd at least get some running benefits from all that carb loading. I didn't. I ran around my neighborhood on Friday and Saturday with mixed success and decided to run at the track on Sunday. Conditions were very foggy (according to Garmin humidity was 100%) so I knew what I was in for.

In celebration of my son's graduation and my daughter's birthday, I took a couple of vacation days this week. I've been fighting a sore throat since Tuesday and worked from home on Tuesday and Wednesday. That would normally prompt me to get a couple of extra runs in during the week, but I wasn't feeling up to it.

Even though Wednesday night went late due to graduation and post graduation festivities, I managed to get myself out the door for a run the next morning. I slept longer than on a work day, but was still tired when I got dressed for my run. Things didn't get any better once I hit the road despite another night of carb loading. Every time I have a run like this I start to worry that I've gone over the edge and will never run well again.

Thursday was more celebrating with food, this time for my daughter. I told myself that despite the gluttony, residual head cold symptoms and my less than impressive running, I would go out with a good attitude this morning. It was very humid when I stepped outside so I didn't overdo it. I ran far better than yesterday and felt encouraged that I've broken my streak of lethargic workouts.

Today was a vacation day from work but not from life and we all put attention to things that needed to get done. I spent a few hours replacing our home networking system which always brings joy and frustration in equal parts. But I got it done. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to post today.

I'm not sure what the weather will be this weekend but I hope things cool off. If I can follow through with it, I'll get out very early tomorrow to beat the hot morning sun. By 7:30 this morning things were barely bearable.

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.

Street, trail, track and treadmill

 Memorably running

Today's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles
Sunday's run (track): 3.3 miles
Saturday's run (Bethpage Bike Trail): 4.4 miles
Friday's run (street): 3.2 miles

Happy Memorial Day. The past three days have been good for running, but this morning's weather wasn't very parade friendly. I found myself on the treadmill today and I think that was terribly unfair.

It's always nice to have an extra weekend day and we've made the most of our Memorial Day break. Schools were closed on Friday so I was able to get around my neighborhood streets without dodging school buses and distracted parents dropping off their kids. Getting in a run on a work day morning is always good because you start with an accomplishment. Friday's weather was cloudy and a little humid but, I managed to beat most of my recent paces.

Saturday was warmer and less humid. The early morning sun successfully tempted me to the Bethpage bike trail. I parked on Colonial and ran south to Bethpage State Park Picnic Polo Road where the northern part of the bike trail starts. That's a fancy name for the part of the road that connects the admission booth (manned by SIOR's bitter enemy) to the parking lot. He usually lets me in for free by the way, because I'm nice.

Anyway, as I approached BSPPP Road for my turnaround, I noticed a steady stream of people passing by the trail head pulling enormous coolers. I heard lots of cheering and yelling and determined that a big soccer tournament was happening on the polo field. I knew it was soccer and not polo because I didn't see any horses, ladies in big hats or VIP areas with tuxedoed waiters pouring mimosas.

I did fine on the bike trail although I wasn't able to match Saturday's pace. Every time I encountered a hill (and there are plenty despite what KWL says about that) I thought about the days when I was indifferent to elevation. My favorite experience at Stillwell Woods used to be running the most technical parts, like the Viper Pit that leaves no where to go but up, no matter what direction you're headed. Now I have to psych myself up to take on the handful of steep and mostly short sections that pop up every mile on the Bethpage trail.

Yesterday morning was a lot like Saturday, but the difference in humidity was measurable. I went to the track and was fully sweating by the second lap. Some of that had to do with my reaction to having a few other runners on the track which sparked what remains of my competitive side. One runner was positioned exactly half a lap behind me, so I could gauge my speed in relation to his. I did my best to maintain that distance and spent most of the run around 85% max HR. Despite the moist air, I ended up with my best performance of the weekend.

Which brings me to this morning. I thought I might wait out the rain, but the news reports weren't very encouraging. By 8:00 AM, my wife was done with her treadmill workout and I was ready to start on mine. With better than average runs the prior three days, I decided to start a little faster than usual. For music, I opted for the 70's channel and when "Low Rider" by War came on, I was inspired to hit the faster button. Today's music mix was runner friendly and it motivated me to keep increasing my speed every couple of minutes.

I got up to 90% HR max by the end and paced just a few seconds slower than Sunday's track workout. Overall, I strung four good runs together this weekend and determined that I can push harder than I have without feeling overextended. Even so, at 90% HR max I'm only hitting a mid 9:00 pace. That doesn't give me much room to improve until I can build a little more fitness. I guess it's time for intervals. And I guess a little hill training wouldn't hurt.

The only spring in my run is new construction

Springing up in spring

Today's run (street): 3.75 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles
Last Sunday's run (street): 3.7 miles
Last Saturday's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles
Last Friday's run (street): 3.1 miles

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but here I am again. You're welcome. It's been a combination of busy schedules and the acknowledgement that my running journal-cum-social criticism blog has become somewhat redundant. The exception to that being my write ups of activities involving the Runsketeers. On the plus side, I've still been doing my runs and today I realized that the journal really helps me with the get outside and do it part. So here I am again.

Last weekend's runs were unremarkable, although I did have a good treadmill workout on Saturday. I don't remember the other two runs, but I know I did them because they're listed in my Garmin Connect log. Further, these runs even have my average stride length because I wrote to Garmin about that metric not showing up on Connect. Amazingly enough, Garmin responded that they'd corrected the issue. Apparently this was a problem for many. I was able to re-import my runs that lacked that data. and it showed up when I imported this weekend's activities.

My running has been dismal. With a few rare exceptions, I'm back to where I was last September in terms of performance. Slow doesn't begin to describe it. Yesterday morning I did an early run in light rain and just couldn't get into gear. I averaged 72% max HR which pretty much guaranteed a poor pace.

Today's route

Today's weather was far better, but my performance was exactly the same. I varied my route. Since I was running slowly, I took the time to look around my neighborhood. I noticed many new homes had sprung up in the places where prior dwellings were razed during the winter. These humble ranches and Capes Cods are being replaced big contemporaries that rise like Olympus above the Serengeti. Toto-ly stole that phrase.

Despite my lack of speed, I was happy to be outside on a cool and quiet spring morning. I know I can run faster, but lately I haven't been motivated to push too hard. SIOR is guilting encouraging me to re-enter the racing realm by running a 5K in July. She's even picked one for me. Okay, let's see what I can do.

Twofer on the track and road

One run already done

Today's runs: 3.5 miles (track), 1 mile (street) = 4.5 miles

For some reason my Garmin has stopped recording my stride length. It used to show up under "cadence" but it's no longer there. A search of the web yielded no useful information and Garmin Connect does not mention it in any of its forum posts. I'm disappointed and puzzled why stride length is no longer displayed. It's a useful data point that helps me understand why I'm hitting certain paces (or not). I looked to see if there was a new software update, but apparently I'm current. I sent a note to Garmin support and expect to hear back in one to never days.

My thoughts about running at Stillwell shifted to the track this morning. I felt like doing some mindless running that didn't include the paranoia of tripping on hidden roots or having mountain bikers stealthily coming up behind me on a single track path. It's hard to explain why I find the track so appealing. I think it may have to do with being able to run outside without too much distraction and no crazy drivers.

I had the track to myself until a woman showed up to walk. That was fine and soon another runner appeared. It was a woman who seemed to be moving along well, but somehow I caught and passed her. I was running okay but not all that fast. Just faster than her I guess. I did 14 laps and headed home. Along the way I started regretting keeping it to only 3.5 miles. I decided I'd add another mile when I got home.

Road & Track

Going out for my second run was strange. I was fully "recovered" from my track workout and probably could have repeated the same distance in my neighborhood. I decided I'd keep to the plan and followed a route close to my house. The whole time I felt I was running by remote control, as if I was still at home while my body was out doing the run on its own. That was probably due to being fully warmed up, making the run feel really easy.

After I finished I thought about my experience and realized that the second run probably felt effortless because I knew I only had to cover a mile. I started thinking about a "day of running", where I would run a mile in my neighborhood starting early in the day and come back home. At the top of the next hour (and every hour subsequent to that) I would run another mile. If I did this from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM I could cover ten miles. If every run was a little longer I could do a half marathon or more.

So if I cover 14 miles in one day, is that the same as doing a 14 mile run? Or would it be cheating to say that?