The doctor will see you...soon

Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

I'm old enough to remember the days when the doctor would come to your house when someone got the sniffles. Besides the fact that physicians actually did house calls, it was remarkable that the doctor could be summoned on a moment's notice. These days, I plan my doctor visits strategically, taking the first appointment of the day in hopes of "only" waiting an hour to be let in to the exam room.

It's much harder to get in to see a doctor these days, especially if that doctor is a specialist. I was surprised that I was able to schedule an appointment with an orthopedist as early as next week. I've been careful not to aggravate my self-diagnosed piriformis syndrome, substituting the elliptical for the treadmill for the past three weeks.

I thought I'd try an easy run this morning to see whether things had improved. My pain has reduced, but it hasn't gone away. I still have sciatic pain when sitting for long periods (i.e., my morning commute) and I was curious to know how my glute/hamstring area would respond to some easy running.

I started out slowly "running", first at 3 MPH and then increasing  to 4 MPH. I felt okay, but noticed a little discomfort. Once I brought it up past 5 MPH, I knew I was borrowing trouble. I shut the treadmill down, walked over to the elliptical and did my workout there.

That experience made me realize that this problem will not resolve itself through patience. I looked online and found a sports orthopedist whose office is located five minutes from my house. I called them up, verified that they take my health plan and made an appointment for next Friday. I was shocked that I was able to do that. The last time I tried to meet with an orthopedist, the appointment had to be scheduled so far in the future that my injury went away before I was due to meet with him.

I'm encouraged to know that I'll have a qualified person diagnose this problem and (hopefully) put me on a path to quick recovery. I've been dealing with running discomfort since last November and have concluded that enough is enough. I fear that the doctor may say that my injury is more serious than I thought, either requiring surgery and/or extended physical therapy.

But it's better to know the cause than to continue this cycle of running, recovery, and re-aggravation. I just want to get back to running the trails.

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.

Hard times on the short track

Sounds about right

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

My current level of fitness is probably at its lowest since early 2010. Back then I was recovering from a bout of pneumonia that had me in the hospital for a week. My time away from running (after our treadmill failed) had an effect on my conditioning. More concerning is an injury that surfaced in early December. Things improved a lot in January but I made the mistake of pushing hard on a run one day and that re-aggravated the problem. Three weeks working out exclusively on the elliptical got me back in the game.

Things started going downhill after we got our new treadmill. I had three decent runs and concluded that I was back on track. I was having a great run last Friday and decided to step up my speed. That was a big mistake. I suddenly felt searing pain in the area between my glute and hamstring, Even though I stopped right away, the damage was done. The closest thing that I've found online that describes it is something called hamstring tendinopathy.

I was back to the treadmill on Saturday but I struggled to the point where I had to stop. I completed my workout on the elliptical and didn't even attempt to run on Sunday (elliptical again). I hoped that a three day layoff since Sunday would allow sufficient time to recover. I felt okay at the start, even though the modest speed I'd set felt as fast as race pace.

Despite the challenge, I was determined to see this run all the way through. The pain started increasing after ten minutes and I decided I'd deal with it for as long as I could stand it. I hoped I wasn't doing any damage and felt okay when I finally finished, but I've been very sore all day. I'll give it another try tomorrow but I won't be a hero. Reducing speed seems to keep the pain in check so I'll see how it goes.

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.

97% of a good run

Unhappy ending

Today's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles

When does a tenth of a mile make all the difference in a run? Today it was in the final 10th of my treadmill workout. It's been a lot of time since my last run because my business schedule is sucking up all my bandwidth. Today I worked from home and managed to get back to running, although I had limited time this morning.

It was my fourth run on our new treadmill and I continue to appreciate it compared to the old one. The Freemotion running experience is far better than the Sole's. Besides the much quieter motor and stable tread that doesn't jerk underfoot, the Freemotion unit feels more substantial and the running less tedious. The time - and mileage - seem to go by a lot faster.

So I had 97% of a great run and 3% of a really bad one. It was my own fault. The three weeks I spent exclusively on the elliptical helped heal my chronic sciatica. My return to the treadmill last week re-aggravated that injury. I hoped resting from Monday through Thursday would reverse the damage and, to a degree, it did. But I pushed too hard today and that set back my progress.

I only aimed to cover three miles and felt good running at a moderate pace. With half a mile left to go, I began increasing my speed. Everything felt fine and I decided to cover 3.25 miles. By the time I was on the last quarter, the speed felt challenging. At the 3.2 mile point I felt a searing pain in my upper hamstring/glute region and I knew I'd pushed too hard. Y'ouch!

I thought I'd seriously hurt myself. I immediately reduced my speed and stopped the treadmill. Walking felt painful and I hoped it was a temporary situation. I took Ibuprofen and hit the shower. I certainly did myself no favors today. After living with the result all day, it doesn't seem as bad. I'll see how it feels tomorrow morning. I may substitute a run for an elliptical session rather than further aggravate the problem..

Treadmill running is almost like real running

Same same

Today's run (treadmill): 3.6 miles

I downloaded my Garmin for the first time since January and saw that my last run before Friday happened on January 31 (not January 25th as I'd thought). Still, it was three full weeks between those runs. Over four weeks since I ran outside. So far the transition from elliptical to treadmill has been seamless, but it will likely be a few weeks before I can run outdoors again.

I was wondering about the difference between treadmill and road running when I came upon an article on the ABC News website called Myth or Reality: Treadmill Just as Good as Road Running. The point of the story was that most of the differences between indoor and outdoor running are small:

- Treadmill running requires less force from the knees and hips but not to a significant degree.

- Calorie burn is about the same until you get down to a 7 minute pace.

The article goes on to say that transitioning from the treadmill to the road puts you at risk for calf strains, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis. I'll need to keep that in mind when I return to outdoor workouts. I'm sure that, once I'm back to the street, I'll want to stay outside for my runs.

Today's run was a little longer and a little faster than yesterday's. I am trying to limit the time I spend on the treadmill while I transition back from the zero-impact elliptical. Again, the time went by quickly and I was pleased with the airflow from the two large fans that sit below the console. I suspect that the challenge will increase as I add more time and speed to my running.

Unlike warm weather days, I don't need to think through my venue options for a Sunday run. Like yesterday and today, tomorrow will once again be a treadmill day. And that's just fine.

First run: Freemotion 850 & Saucony Triumph ISOs

The new new things

Today's run (treadmill): 3.3 miles? I forgot to check!

I listened to the weather on my way home from the office last night and was disheartened to hear that we'll be facing below-zero temperatures and more snow this weekend. But then I remembered that we have a new treadmill and suddenly all was right in the world. I was very happy after that, and even happier when my wife reminded be to swing by Panda to pick up our Chinese New Year dinner.

With all the snow and ice we've had this year, options for running have been limited. This was made worse with the failure of our treadmill. The only choice I've had this month has been the elliptical machine. While I've come to really appreciate the workout, I've missed running a lot. I work from home on Fridays and that gave me my first opportunity since January 25th to actually run. Not only would I be using this treadmill for the first time (the minute I spent on it the day it was delivered doesn't count), but I'd also have my first run in the Saucony Triumph ISOs.

I was curious to see how I'd do after three-plus weeks away from running. Did the elliptical sessions preserve my fitness, or would I find myself overtaxed? I plugged my phone into the sound jack and started up a podcast. The very large built-in speaker amplified the voices well enough to clearly hear over the motor. This is so much better than earbuds, which I despise. I stepped up on the new machine and immediately appreciated the quiet, shriek-free experience.

The Sauconys felt good underfoot. They are well cushioned but don't feel heavy. The Freemotion's deck suspension feels more responsive than the Sole's. I took it fairly easy to avoid aggravating muscles that are not used to running. Running felt surprisingly good and the first mile went by quickly. I thought the Triumphs felt more comfortable and ran a lot better than the Kayanos.

It's really great to be able to run again after almost a month and I was pleased that I got through today's workout without feeling like I've lost fitness. I may find it a bit tougher when I finally return to the road. Overall, I should do fine. I know I'll eventually disparage the idea of treadmill running, but for now, it's great to have that option again.

The Sole's last laugh

Kicked to the curb

We all know that what goes up must come down. That goes for our old treadmill and it didn't go without a fight. The good news is that our new treadmill was delivered tonight. That was the easy part. The hard part was getting the old Sole down the stairs and out the door.

The two guys who came to assemble our new Freemotion 850 agreed to remove the Sole and carry it to the curb. We were happy about that, because there was no way we could have done it ourselves. I was excited to be just minutes away from having a working treadmill and getting rid of a bad memory. The guys got the old machine out of the guestroom fairly quickly. Then the trouble began.

It was pretty tough to watch. Our hand-built wooden stair rail took a lot of abuse, but it held up well. The other side didn't fare as well. The rollers on the tread bed punched through the drywall leaving a couple of rectangular holes that will need to be patched and painted. It could have been worse, but it wasn't good.

New and improved

The guys set up the new treadmill and called us upstairs. At first I was taken aback by the size of the machine. The Freemotion's console stands half a foot taller than the Sole's and the frame is at least three inches longer. It's a substantial machine that (when you're standing on it) feels a little like a fitness center treadmill.

I ran on the new treadmill for a minute to make sure it worked. I'll wait until I do a real run before sharing my impression, but I will say, so far, so good.

Joining a gym is short term thinking

Save me a spot

Today's workout (elliptical): 60 minutes

This is has been a snowy winter, just like last year when I did over 70% of my running indoors. What's missing for me this year is a working treadmill, I decided to explore a short term gym membership to tide me over and started looking online at my options. 

You can learn a lot about joining a health club from their websites. For example, few sites will tell you the actual cost to join their gym. Instead of providing a price list, many say "call or click to request pricing." Why is this? Do they want to figure out how much money I'm willing to spend before committing to a cost? This is why people dislike shopping for a car.

For those health clubs that actually put their pricing on their website, I discovered a pretty wide variance in cost. Generally speaking, gyms with stark black and white designs with super athletic, good looking people seem to be very expensive (i.e., Equinox). They also tend to charge initiation or enrollment fees. Gyms with friendly designs and bright colors are much more reasonably priced and don't seem to add on extra costs (i.e., Planet Fitness).

10.5X more expensive than Planet Fitness

Most of these places offer either a day or full week free pass. I considered doing that, but I would need to go from gym to gym until our new treadmill is installed. I also envision a situation when, each time I go, the gym manager corners me and gives me a pitch like he's selling me a Florida timeshare. 

I happen to work in a place that has a well appointed fitness center and I can use it for free. I was hoping to do an occasional treadmill run there, but I concluded that I don't want to do a workout before my business day. Especially since it would require me to share a common shower and tiny locker room with my workmates. I really don't want to see that. Besides, when I get to the office, I like to get right to business.

We still don't have a date for our treadmill delivery so I may end up going for a couple of 7 day trials or joining Planet Fitness for a month for $10 if that's truly their deal. If I can drive to Bethpage State Park to run on the bike path, I can drive to a gym in the same town. Maybe someone should come up with a service model like Airbnb, where people let you come in and use their home fitness equipment. That would make it really easy.

I spent an hour on the elliptical machine this morning and actually liked the workout. But after looking at gyms online with expansive fitness rooms filled with high end treadmills, I'm ready for a change. Still, getting back on the road without worrying about slipping, or no sidewalk escape routes would make me the happiest of all.

Some disassembly required

Treadmillectomy

Today's workout (elliptical ): 60 minutes

I know that treadmill delivery people will usually agree to take your old machine down to the curb if you offer them some cash. I'm hoping that will be the case for us. Even so, I decided to lighten the burden for whomever ends up hauling this metal monster down the stairs by disassembling the decommissioned machine. I discovered there's only so much you can do to reduce the weight of something that's mostly pieces of welded wrought iron.

My buddy SIOR and her teenage daughter assembled their new treadmill all by themselves on Saturday. Assembling a treadmill is not something I'd dare take on myself, but I thought that disassembling one would be fairly straightforward. In fact it was. I've replaced the console four times so I knew I could remove it easily. The motor was oily and dirty and it required some careful handling as I worked the bolts off the frame and worked the wiring from the logic board. Dropping this 40 lb unit would have resulted in a major grease stain on the carpet.

In all, I probably reduced the carrying weight of the machine by 50 lbs. If anyone needs a spare F63 console or a 3.0 CHP treadmill motor, feel free to make me an offer. I'll even throw in an incline motor. I'll be happy when we take delivery of our new FreeMotion 850 in the next couple of weeks. Out with the old and in with the new.

New treadmill: Signed, sealed, but not yet delivered

Emotion for FreeMotion

Today's workout (elliptical): 50 minutes

The absence of a working treadmill prompted me to obsessively research replacements for our Sole F63. It's always a good idea to look at the models around your price range and then find the best value based on your requirements. That doesn't always guarantee success as evidenced by our Sole. Despite its high recommendation it didn't live up to its hype.

My starting point was to consider every treadmill brand in the universe (except for Sole) and work backwards from there. I am fortunate to have resources for research that aren't available to many people and quickly learned that most treadmills priced under $1,000 are really a crap-shoot. I was told that I should be willing to pay $2,000 or more for the quality that I'm expecting. I decided to reject that and focus on machines that are reasonably priced and structurally sound. I don't need built in fitness programs because we never use them, so why pay for them?

After coming close to pulling the trigger on a LifeSpan TR2000e that I could get for the price of a 1200i, I decided to wait until I had a chance to try out a few in person. We went over to Sports Authority to see what they had to offer. Big box retailers tend to stock the same brands: Bowflex. NordicTrak, Pro-Form, Sole and HealthRider. We had a Pro-Form treadmill before the Sole and we currently have a Pro-Form elliptical. Pro-Form equipment can be a good, inexpensive choice, but they sometimes feel cheap and rickety.

Sports Authority sells FreeMotion treadmills, a brand whose commercial grade units are often found in fitness centers. After looking at the Pro-Forms, we concluded that we'd do better paying a little more for a middle-tier FreeMotion 850 model. The differences in construction between this unit and the similarly-priced Pro-Form were noticeable. For example, the salesperson pointed out how the FreeMotion has shock absorbers all along the tread bed, while the Pro-Form only had them in the middle. That could make a big difference in how long the rollers will last.

I liked that the 850 had a basic interface but was iFIT compatible for people who want fitness features and device connectivity. I also liked the feel of the bed when I ran on it and the fact that this unit can incline  up to 15% and decline 3%. There was free delivery for treadmills at that price and we opted to have them assemble it. A 20% off coupon that I got for buying a box of Girl Scout cookies outside the store made it a pretty good value.

I spent 50 minutes on the elliptical this morning. Although it's a tedious workout, the session went by fast because my daughter kept me company the entire time. My wife and I are anxious get the new treadmill as we both view the elliptical as an occasional cross training tool rather than a primary means of working out. But until we take delivery, it's going to be our only option.

The little treadmill that couldn't

I'd like to sell this Sole to the devil

Yesterday's workout (elliptical): 60 minutes

We're facing a perfect storm in the Emerging Runner household. It's actually related to the weather in my case. Last year we had a very snowy January and the weather kept me off the road most of that month. Despite that, I was able to do my usual miles on the treadmill. We had better luck this January, but circumstances have changed. Our treadmill's condition has gone from bad - to worse - to done. Fini.

A failed treadmill is inconvenient to me, but my wife depends on it for her daily workouts. We're both dedicated to our running, but I prefer to run outside while Mrs. ER likes to keep her workout indoors. With snow, freezing rain and sleet hitting us this week, we're both missing the treadmill.

It was clear yesterday morning that the treadmill was fading fast. No longer was the ever-increasing sound level the only issue. The machine was now giving off an unholy metallic screech at a decibel level that could only be described as dangerous. I decided to record the sound for posterity and had the brilliant idea of running the Sole at 12 MPH. I was curious to see what would happen and here's the result. The last moments of our treadmill...

I ended up spending an hour on the elliptical. It's definitely a good workout, but I never feel it equals a run. Until the weather warms enough to clear the roads we're stuck with that choice. I've been doing my research to find a replacement for the highly recommended but ultimately disappointing Sole F63. Everyone says you need to spend thousands of dollars to get a treadmill that won't fail with regular use, but I'm thinking that almost anything will be better than this retched Sole.

Take this snow and shovel it

Storm of century year month

Today's run (treadmill): 30 minutes

I'm keeping our weather experience this week in perspective since my friends in Framingham, Massachusetts had to deal with 34" of snowfall between Tuesday and Wednesday. Considering the media hysteria about the "biggest storm ever" coming through Long Island, we only ended up with 16 inches of the fluffy stuff. No complaints here.

Our philosophy regarding snowstorms is to keep up with the volume so you never have to shovel more than 4-5 inches at a time. My wife and I both like to shovel and now our kids are at an age where they can contribute, so it's not a big deal to go out every couple of hours. That is unless the schedule requires shoveling after midnight in blizzard conditions. My neighbor stopped by yesterday to let us know that he saw us out at 2:30 AM and thinks we're insane.

I'm hoping all that shoveling provided more benefit than a clear driveway and amused neighbors. Perhaps a little upper arm development? All told, I went out and shoveled six times, doing my best to push the snow rather than lift it. Still, there were still plenty of occasions to throw shovelfuls of snow over the ever-growing snowbanks. The interesting thing is that I have no soreness from all that work. Perhaps those post-run push ups have paid off.

I worked from home today and managed a short treadmill run in between morning meetings. I had a nice view of our snow covered backyard. That slightly reduced the tedium. The tread jerked so much I felt like I was running outside on the snow covered roads. With more snow likely to come, we really need to get a new treadmill. Otherwise, I'm going to have to get a new pair of Yaktrax like SIOR.

Winter workouts, shovel and machine

Yesterday's workout (elliptical) 25 minutes
Today's workout (treadmill): 4.3 miles

I awoke Saturday morning at 5:00 AM to a coating of snow on my driveway. The neighborhood looked very pretty from an upstairs window and the streets were still untouched by foot, car and plow. I briefly considered getting out and trying a run before the world woke up. As tempting as it looked to run on this virgin snow, I knew it would look less appealing at ground level.

The weather reports called for late morning rain followed later by more snow. I wanted to get the driveway cleared before the rain so I wouldn't end up with a sheet of snow and ice later. I put on my snow shoveling gear (double lined track pants, Timberlands, new Rails to Trails hat...) and opened the garage door to see what I was dealing with.

That snow, that looked so pretty from the guestroom, turned out to be pretty saturated with water. Unlike the fluffy snow that I can push across my driveway with moderate effort, this stuff was pure slush. I approached it strategically, moving small amounts with each pass. I got into a rhythm, but it took a long time to get through it all. My daughter came out to help but the snow was really too heavy for her. She stayed outside and kept me company and that made the time go quickly.

When I finally got inside, I considered whether pushing a few metric tons of slush constituted a real workout. I decided it did - but only to a point. I gave myself a break and did a 25 minute elliptical session, following that with 10 push ups. I would have liked to do more, but enough was enough.

Neither the rain nor snow ever came and I was hoping that SIOR, TPP and I could do our planned timed mile on Sunday. Although the snow wasn't happening, we acknowledged that the track would be in poor shape. I wasn't feeling all that well and questioned whether I'd be up for any workout today at all. We decided to reschedule the Runsketeer Mile until next weekend.

This morning I felt well enough to do a moderate treadmill run and had the brilliant idea to use earplugs to suppress the treadmill's noise. The Sole now sounds the same as standing 20 feet from a 747 at takeoff. Those plugs made a big difference. Although it didn't result in a whisper-quiet experience, it reduced the noise to a tolerable level.

Considering that I went 1.3 miles beyond my mental threshold for enduring the treadmill, I did fairly well with it. In fact, I carefully increased my speed in tenth of a mile increments and managed to get my HR to 87% of max for the last third of my run. Pushing pace on the Sole is tricky, because the tread slips and jerks more as speed is increased. Here's a tip: don't buy a Sole treadmill. Even if it's on sale.

We're supposed to get a ton of snow starting tomorrow night. That will provide the opportunity for another upper body shoveling workout. I'm predicting that I'll need to work from home on Tuesday based on reports. That could give me the chance to do a weekday treadmill run, unless we also lose our power during the storm. At least the elliptical is self powered.

Slipping and sliding, inside and out

Unstable on every surface

Today's run (street/treadmill): 5.1 miles total [1.5 street, 3.6 treadmill]

Per yesterday's post, I've fallen into a distance rut by keeping every run in 2015 (but one) under 4 miles. Some of that is related to the sciatica I've recently developed and my concern about aggravating its root cause.  Other excuses factors included a very busy period at work and a tight schedule on weekends.

I was determined to cover at least five miles this morning. The early weather reports said that today's rain wouldn't start until after 10:00 AM. I figured that starting at 8:00 AM would mean dry and clear roads. That was true for the first few minutes, but then a light rain starting falling. I was okay with that, but the 35° temperature made the road slippery underfoot.

I tried to tough it out, but the risk of falling increased as the rain fell harder. I decided to head home rather than deal with a dangerous, unstable surface. Disappointing, but a practical move. I immediately headed upstairs and got on the treadmill to complete my workout. The 1.5 miles outside warmed me up enough to start fast. Unfortunately, like the road, the treadmill presented a slippery situation.

Our Sole F63 has a lot of problems and one of them is that the tread belt jerks randomly, especially when the speed is increased. My desire to get through a treadmill run as quickly as possible is limited by this issue. Slipping at race pace can be scary. As a consequence, I keep the speed around 6 MPH and deal with it.

I managed through 3.6 miles on the Sole on top of what I covered during my outside run. I exceeded 5 miles for only the second time since New Year's day. We haven't had nearly as much snow this January as we did last year, so I may catch a break next weekend and put in some mileage. I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow, but I'll do something.

Too short to be endless runs

January volume to date

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

Yesterday morning I ran for the first time in four days. It had been a busy work week culminating with Thursday, where I had to give presentations five times in a single day. The week was exhausting and it left me no time for workouts. Friday morning was freezing cold, but I knew I needed to get back outside and get my run in.

The cold has gotten to me more this year than it ever has in the past. I used to look at 21° runs as a fun challenge, bundling up, but not so much that I'm overheated after a mile. This year, I've been especially sensitive to cold (especially my face) and I've been layering so I'll be comfortable at the start. I almost always regret that by the end.

I'd hoped that taking four days off from running this week would provide me good energy on Friday. Initially it did. I moved swiftly through the first half mile and felt relatively strong, although I was colder than I'd wished. At some point, my gear began to work against me. As my body temperature rose, I considered passing my house so I could discard my outer layer. Unfortunately, I didn't, and the ensuing heat made my short run seem endless.

This morning we needed to head into the city, so I fit in an early treadmill run. It was 16° outside (which didn't seem to stop SIOR and TPP from tearing up the Run to the Brewery course today) and I wasn't going to subject myself to another freezing workout. Despite the climate controlled environment, my experience was similar to yesterday. Endless, until it ended.

My weekly volume has really dropped since the New Year and I need to correct that. Running 3-4 miles at a time (as I have) isn't going to get me there. I need to start putting some 5+ mile runs on the board soon. Tomorrow is supposed to be very rainy, so I don't know whether I'll be able to get outside for a long run. 6 miles on the treadmill isn't going to happen, but I'd consider a dual workout with both elliptical and treadmill.

The Emerging altruistic philanthropher

Running prohibited

Today's run (treadmill): 45 minutes

I get a lot of junk emails (don't we all?) that I usually ignore or delete. If you ever sign up for something online and don't forget to opt out of marketing, you're going to see some unwelcome emails. Worse, those companies sell your address to other companies, forcing you to unsubscribe to mail lists you never joined in the first place.

I don't know what I did to get on the railstotrails.org list, but they sure send a lot of emails. And guess what, it worked. I am now a member of the Rails to Trails Conservancy. The reason I took the bait was a series of emails that had subject lines like, "Your trails at risk...like Bethpage Bikeway" and contained dire warnings like, "Next year, our elected officials could slash funding for great walking and biking trails!" Those awful, irresponsible elected officials! How could I stand by and watch them do this to my beloved path!? So I made a donation.

As a result, I am now the proud owner of a Rails to Trails membership card that, as far as I can tell, allows me to make more donations to the Rails to Trails Conservancy and buy Rails to Trails Conservancy merchandise. Along with this card, I received an electric blue winter cap and my first copy of rails to trails magazine that seems to suggest that these paths are only for cyclists. Seriously, every story is about biking.

My wife looked at the hat and said two things. 1. "Bad color." 2. "Are you really going to wear that?" Of course I am! The cap may be vividly ugly, but it's also visible. If I ever get to run outside the house again before spring, I plan to wear it.

This morning I'd hoped to do a neighborhood run but the streets had too much ice. I made a query on the GLIRC Facebook page to see if anyone knew the condition of the Bethpage trail. Perhaps I should have emailed Rails to Trails since they seem to know so much about about the Bethpage path. I probably would have received a response like, "Dear Mr. ER, please let us know what type of bike you ride and we'll let you know if trail conditions support it..."

I received some helpful responses from GLIRC members that I don't know personally and some unhelpful responses from GLIRC members I do know. Those members, SIOR and TPP, were going to SUNY Old Westbury at noon. My schedule didn't allow me to join them. I hope they had fun running that freezing, hilly course.

I kept inside for my workout today, running about 45 minutes on the treadmill. The machine is ridiculously loud, but it seems to have moved past its tortured screeching metal phase. It sounds more like a wooden roller coaster now. You can think of it as the least fun ride at Adventureland.

My run was fine and, although I had some sciatic pain over the first half, things eventually settled down. Happily, the soreness did not return after my run. In keeping with my one fitness resolution for 2015 (that I'd stop completely ignoring my upper body) I did ten push ups when I got off the treadmill.

One of the GLIRC posters said that the wooded trails at Bethpage are in good shape so I may head there tomorrow and do a trail run. The mountain bikers should be able to spot me before they run me over because I'll be wearing my new hat.

Faint praise for the elliptical

ProForm CE 6: I look different in workout clothes

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

It's been another busy week, but at least tomorrow is Friday. Today was my first opportunity for a morning workout and my intention was to do a treadmill run. I got up this morning and decided that I couldn't deal with the treadmill's racket, so I fired up the elliptical instead. Although I've never warmed to this unit (it's far less substantial than its predecessor) the Pro-Form does provide a good cross training alternative.

Compared to the treadmill, using the elliptical is a breeze. Besides the fact that it's self propelled and quiet, the elliptical doesn't make me constantly worry about a bad slip and fall. In fact, you can use the elliptical with your eyes closed. That's something I'd never recommend doing on a treadmill. I ended up getting a decent workout and avoided a noise-related headache.

I always look forward to Friday's because I can get outside in the morning for a few miles prior to starting my working day from home. Tomorrow will be extremely busy so I'll need to get out early to fit in a workout. I'm getting mixed messages online about Friday morning's weather. One prediction calls for morning rain and the other calls for cold but dry conditions. I'm hoping for the latter.

I'd like to avoid the treadmill if possible. And as much as I appreciated it today, I'm not in the mood for another elliptical session.

Heat, exhaustion and a failing treadmill

Torture chamber. Why did I wear a sweater?

Today's workout (treadmill): 25 minutes

I spent most of the week in an airless conference room filled with computers that raised the temperature into the intolerable range. We were piloting some new business processes and technologies and I spent a lot of time managing the participants and capturing issues on a whiteboard. The heat, lack of ventilation and fumes from the dry markers wore me out.

This morning I celebrated a return to normal working conditions. I hopped on the treadmill at 3:45 AM and hoped to raise my heart rate and ingest cool air that was devoid of marker solvent. I hadn't run since Sunday and was ready to go. I'm no fan of the treadmill but that didn't bother me today. Once the machine started up I changed my mind about that.

The F63

Our Sole F63 has not lived up to its reputation as a top rated machine. In the four years that we've owned it, we've had to rebuild the motor once, fix multiple problems with a slipping tread belt and replace the display console four times. Despite regular maintenance, our technician told us a few months ago that the treadmill is nearing its end. Based on the cacophony of sound I heard today, I thought the end would come today.

The Sole was never whisper quiet, but compared to the 14 year old Pro-Form unit it replaced, our new machine was nearly silent. Now the F63 is making worse noises than the Pro-Form. The motor has grown increasingly louder and the belt rollers are making sounds like gunshots. The belt also feels like it slips when I increase the speed past a certain point.

I managed to get through my workout, but I'm not sure how many runs are left in the machine. I do 3/4 of my running outside, so I can manage without the treadmill, but my wife does all her running on it. It's going to be cold tomorrow morning, but I'm very much looking forward to a quiet outdoor run.

More tricks than treats

 

Happy Halloween. In the realm of trick or treat, today was a trick. Fridays are usually a treat because I can work from home and save up to four hours of commuting time. I take advantage of this extra time by going out for a morning run where I can cover 3-4 miles and still keep to my workday schedule. Instead of working from home today, I needed to go into the office. I didn't mind, but I was disappointed to lose my opportunity for an outdoor run.

I'd set up my gear for an early morning treadmill workout, but when I got up, I wasn't in the mode to do it. I regret it now, but this morning I felt too tired to run. I had to go through the humiliating process of putting my workout clothes back into drawers. I felt guilty about that, but not enough to change my mind.

Due to missing today's run, I'll likely have a low mileage week. The weekend weather does not look promising and it may interfere with my running. I think the NYC marathoners will face some tough conditions as cold temperatures and high winds are predicted for Sunday. Getting outside for a long run tomorrow morning would be treat. I've had more than enough tricks today.