Sweat equity

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

Nature's sunlamp

"Brutally hot" is the only phrase that came to mind when I stepped out this morning for a run. The sun was baking, the humidity was thick and it wasn't even 8:00 AM. I'd convinced myself that, despite the heat, I could get in a good workout by running at an easy pace.

Anticipating the worst, I wore a Colombia Omni-freeze PFG hat that is both light in color and weight and has sweat wicking technology that helps keep you cool. I also wore my Craft running shirt and Pearl Izumi racing shorts. This combination gave me my best chance at staying comfortable in temperatures that will exceed 100° today. I set out for a three mile (or so) run, looking for shade wherever I could find it.

I made my way up the first long street that rises through its length before leveling off  at the end. I knew I was moving slow and checked my Garmin to confirm that fact. I'd forgotten that today was a weekday until I encountered all the cars, recycling trucks, camp buses and landscapers along my way. I even crossed paths with another runner who looked at me but made no acknowledgment of my presence. I'm not sure if it was rudeness on her part or heat stroke but she looked extremely exhausted.

I felt fine for the first mile and a half but the sun, heat and humidity did start to get to me. By the end my running form felt similar to my last miles on the LI Half Marathon. Unlike that run, this morning I had no knee pain and I still had some energy in reserve. It made me think about the humidity and heat I'll face next month at the Dirty Sock 10K.

The last half mile of my run seemed to take as long as the previous three and I welcomed the sight of my driveway as I came around the final curve. I thought about running into the backyard and jumping straight into the pool but I didn't want to soak my best running gear in chlorinated water. Tomorrow is supposed to be similarly hot so I'll probably go out earlier than I did this morning. Even though I didn't run fast today, I certainly feel I earned the workout.

Homecoming

The Shore Path, a gravel trail that runs north of Bar Harbor

Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes
Yesterday's run (Bar Harbor): 3.5 miles

We are home after almost six days travel between New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. It was a great trip where we saw and did many amazing things. We originally planned to finish up with a couple of days in Portland but were disappointed with the location of our hotel which was adjacent to art museums (good) but surrounded by scores of seedy looking people (pretty bad). I asked the desk clerk about running in Munjoy Hill and he did a double take and said "I guess you'd be okay if you are running." After realizing that this assessment was based on his thinking that the hotel's location was safer, I decided I'd use the fitness center.

We attempted to walk to the waterfront area on Commercial Street but the parade of inebriated looking people (being kind here) made us reconsider our stay. We ended up leaving the hotel and heading home. An already jam-packed day turned into a longer one. We hit the road around 5:30 PM and reached Long Island about 6 hours later.

Earlier in the day, we'd spent time around Bar Harbor. I did my third run along the shoreline and through the town and soon we were on our way to Portland. Before we reached our destination we stopped in Freeport to visit L.L. Bean and have lunch. I looked around the Patagonia and Horny Toad outlets but didn't bite. I thought outlets were supposed offer bargains, but there were few to be had.

I ran every day while we were away and the change of scenery was welcomed and fun. The hilly challenges of northern New England roads felt motivating and energizing. The hikes and runs in Acadia were incredible and the sights of beaver dams, majestic trees, mountains and ocean were inspiring. We played mini-golf, drove go-karts and hit a water park. We even went to a cheesy (but very fun) lumberjack show.

Portsmouth New Hampshire and Bar Harbor Maine are great places to vacation with kids. I already miss both Acadia and the shoreline of Bar Harbor. I think I'll need a shot of the Bethpage trails before I return to the working world next week.

Pre-trip run

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

We're on our way to New England to spend a little time in New Hampshire and Maine. I'm looking forward to the experience, too bad it takes hours of tedious driving to reach our destination. Hold on, I need to get around this car. Just kidding, my wife is driving.

I got out early this morning and covered a little more than three miles. I wanted to get some exercise in before today's long journey. The weather was perfect, cool and dry, and I ran well. I would have liked to cover a few more miles but I didn't have the time.

Unlike Colorado, I didn't research trails or running routes at any of our destinations except Acadia. I'm hoping there are some traffic free areas and off road options. We'll soon see.

Acadia dreaming

Today's workout (elliptical) 25 minutes

Take me home country roads

The temperatures and humidity have dropped and today would have been a good day for a run, but I opted for cross training in preparation for vacation next week. We're heading north, to Maine, where we'll spend time at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert island near Ellsworth. There are great carriage roads for running and places to hike along Cadillac mountain. I think we'll forgo the bikes but we'll get plenty of exercise on this trip.

It was a year ago that we visited Colorado and I had the opportunity to run at altitude for the first time. I had some good experiences running in foreign terrain, the hotel had some rocky trails behind it that were lined with cactus scrub. Garden of the Gods had paved trails that wound through magnificent sandstone rock formations. We also visited Bear Creek Regional Park where I was able to run beautiful green trails accompanied by deer and other indigenous animals.

We'll also visit Portsmouth NH and Portland ME on the trip and I'm sure there will be great places to run at those locations. My biggest concern is packing enough running gear to make it through the week.

Spring vacation kickoff run

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

My spring vacation starts today and with weather reports calling for afternoon rain I thought it best to go out early. I woke up after a decent night's sleep with a mild cough. It's just another phase in this annoying cold that I've been suffering since Monday. Knowing that I had busy days ahead, including some travel, I decided early on to ignore this cold as much as I could. I worked long days, went out at night and ran or elliptical-ed every morning. This seems to have worked. After a cup of coffee my cough seemed to recede and I made my way outside.

It's still cold for mid-April and I dressed for my run appropriately. I've noticed that over the last few weeks my Saturday runs have been so-so but my Sunday runs have been good. I'm not sure why but anticipating that this morning I aimed low - three or four miles tops. I wore the new Mirages that continue to feel great. In terms of comfort I still prefer the Kinvaras but I like the way these new shoes move with my foot and land me ahead of my arch. Without really trying I maintained a mid-9 pace that felt easy and fluid. I'm hoping I'll have a window on Sunday to cover 8 or more miles but the rain may interfere with that plan. Since I'm on vacation I'll have numerous opportunities to run long distances. The half marathon looms large -- two weeks and a day from now.

Why I skipped my workout

I work for a company that virtually shuts down between Christmas and New Year's day. Business still goes on during that time but many people take "Dark Week" for vacation. I've always liked taking that time off, with little going on in the office I can detach fully from work and relax with my family. As it happens, I frequently end up battling a cold - or worse - during that period. I've contracted the flu more than once during the holiday week and last year was the worst ever: severe pneumonia requiring a week's stay in the hospital.

Since that experience I've become more concerned when I begin to feel out of sorts. Last year, during the break, I went from feeling well to going into a zombie-like state in a period of 24 hours. It didn't help that this happened on New Year's day when a visit to my doctor was impractical. Waiting until after the weekend to see my doctor was a terrible decision but a lesson learned. All this is leading up to my rationale for skipping today's run. I felt okay but was a little more tired than usual when I got up. I had laid out clothes for a treadmill run but I decided to forgo exercise and take the extra time to rest. I have a long and busy day today and I thought (and still think) it was the right way to go. It should warm up slightly from now through the weekend so I'll feel better about running outside on those days. Nine days until I start my end-of year vacation. I'm doing what I can to avoid a repeat of  last year's experience.

Rain, rain (don't) go away

Today's workout: Rest day

We changed our plans for a short vacation in western Massachusetts when we saw that the current torrential rainstorm's duration would coincide exactly with our scheduled time away. Instead we stayed local and amused ourselves with distractions that included a Wii tournament. I was soundly whipped at tennis by my daughter and out boxed by my son. Well at least I got a little exercise. Very little.

Tomorrow's weather looks to be equally stormy but I'm hoping that there will be a window of time when the rain stops long enough for me to get in a neighborhood run. Barring that, I'll return to the new treadmill and work around the slipping belt by staying farther to the left side. I got a notification that the new parts have been shipped so it shouldn't be long before the treadmill becomes more of an asset than a liability.  Thursday, Friday and the weekend days look to be much more running-friendly than today, tomorrow and Wednesday so I'm sure I'll still get plenty of miles in on this vacation.

Free to be free of Nike Free

Yesterday I awoke to the sounds of torrential rain and percussive surf and thought I'd miss my opportunity to run in the morning. I considered the idea of running even under those conditions but I knew I wouldn't really like it. About an hour later the skies began to clear and I optimistically changed into running clothes hoping that the rain would pass. My wife and kids had already headed across the boardwalk to the beach and I came by to say hi before heading south. I had my Adidas trail shoes on so I stayed on the sand for about half a mile before deciding that I much preferred the boardwalk as a running surface. I decided to run from end to end a few times since, according to a sign on southern end, the boardwalk measures 1 mile. In the space of that mile the area changes from neighborhood to hotels to tourist traps and then back to hotels. The one thing that's consistent is the beautiful and inspiring water on one side or the other. The rain came back in the middle of my run but it was light and cooling. The only negative was that my glasses fogged and limited my ability to see much beyond the immediate distance. In all I covered 5.2 miles under 9:00 per mile. What pleased me about that was that the beginning part of my run was relatively slow because of the sand yet I still maintained a decent overall pace.

Later that day, after we all showered, we set off into the town for lunch and then hit some stores including Nike and Under Armor outlets. At the Nike store I saw they had the Frees so out of curiosity I tried on a pair. When I put them on I noticed they felt more like a slipper than a running shoe and when I walked on them I was surprised by how unnatural and unbalanced they felt. Maybe that's the point but no thank you. After that we headed to the Under Armor store and I tried a pair of Apparition running shoes, also out of curiosity. At least this shoe felt supportive and balanced. I'm not really interested in UA shoes and I didn't think at $90 that these shoes felt as good as some competing brands. I don't really like the UA brand anyway, I'm sure the clothing is top notch but I don't care for the hyper-competitive edge they convey in their marketing.

On the other hand my daughter happily picked up a running shirt on sale and later got a t-shirt elsewhere that said "I am a girl, I am an athlete, and running is my sport. Well said.

Beach run

REHOBOTH BEACH, DE - We arrived at our weekend getaway and immediately went out to explore. Rehoboth Beach is a nice ocean side town that caters to vacationers and there are plenty of stores and restaurants. Most of the stores are dedicated to selling t-shirts. After some assorted small purchases including a half pound of fudge and a tub of pomme frites we headed back to the room to change for afternoon activites. For my wife and kids that meant beach clothes and for me, running clothes. I had my eye on the boardwalk from the moment we arrived and I couldn't wait to get out for a run.

It was a cool 68 degrees by the water and very windy. I took off in a northern direction to see how far the boardwalk extended in that direction. It felt good to run on a such a forgiving surface and walkers were sparse at that end. I eventually reached the end but kept going into the bordering neighborhood until I started to feel too distanced from my intended route. I turned around and ran to the other end, at one point passing through the main tourist area that smelled of cigarettes, cigars, ketchup and funnel cakes. I tried to hold my breath through there but my anaerobic conditioning still needs some work. I cut a little into a side street before resuming my boardwalk travel. I passed a few runners, some cyclists and many walkers. I in turn was passed twice by another runner who was comfortably circling the area at what I guess was a mid 7:00 pace. I held my own around at 9:08 for a total of 4.5 miles. When I finished I headed to the water to find my family on the beach. The kids had jumped into the water and their beach shoes were covered in sand. They had a great time.

It's raining pretty hard this morning but I'm hopeful that it will clear and I'll get to go out again today. A little rain can make for a nice run and looking at the water along the way makes me happy. I brought my Adidas trail shoes so I'll probably run in those. I tried to include a picture but it's hard to use this interface when posting from an iPhone. If I'm unsuccessful you'll just have to believe me when I say it's a beautiful place to run.