I heart my elliptical machine

Even after icing my lower back last night and early this morning my hamstring pull was still aggravated. I read online that you can run with a grade 1 hamstring pull but very soon after I started to run this morning I realized that was a bad idea. We are having guests over today and knew my window for training was short so I decided to see if the elliptical machine, with its low impact motion, would feel better than running. It was a good decision to use the elliptical as I couldn't feel the injury at all. I did 45 minutes at medium-high resistance which ended up being a decent workout. My machine displays a number of metrics, including watts, which are a measure of energy expended. I was told that watts are a constant that can be observed on different equipment so you can compare training efforts across disciplines. That will be a useful benchmark for tracking progress going forward. As much as I love this machine I'm still waiting for Fitness Showrooms to install a new heart rate monitor. They said the part should arrive soon...

Although the elliptical is a great alternative to running it isn't running. It's a method not a sport (have you ever met someone who categorized themselves as an "ellipticaler?"). Tomorrow will either be a rest day or I'll try a light run depending on how I feel overnight. I am disappointed to encounter an injury, however slight, over my vacation. I was hoping to build up some distance in anticipation of the 4 mile race. There's still over a week left before I return and plenty of time to hit the track.

That darn metric system

Earlier this week I had a conversation with my nephew, a member of the local High School track team, about the actual diameter of the HS track. I discovered that I had made a bad assumption about the distances I was running as I had assumed the measurements were in quarter mile increments. He told me the track is measured at 1600 meters around. That explained why my Nike+ Sportband was off when I thought I was running my measured distances. What's puzzling is that when I measure the track using the extremely accurate Google Earth ruler tool the distance around is actually .26 miles or about 4% longer than a quarter mile. It should actually be shorter than a quarter mile, not longer. Either way I now know the actual distance so I can calibrate accordingly but I'm obviously missing something.

Today I did 25 minutes of upper body work to rest my legs but later in the day I went over to the track with my wife and kids because the kids wanted to run. Instead of doing laps I did sprints to work on my fast twitch muscles and anaerobic conditioning. I'm not used to running that fast and started to develop some tightness in my leg (different from my previous muscle pull). I stopped right away and iced it when I got home. I'm not taking any chances. Tomorrow I plan to run 3+ miles as my training for the April race continues.

You are here

In this case you is me and I need to constantly remind myself that despite a strong dedication to running I still fit somewhere between the blue and green sections of this chart. How much harder do I need to run to move up a level? I find that most established runners run about four times a week, four to six miles per run. That's certainly a stretch for me. I run almost every day but my distances are between 1.5 and 4 miles depending upon how much time I have. The idea of a 4+ mile standard run on weekends is at least six months away, perhaps longer. But it's a 2009 goal.

If I want to be able to compete in 10K events I need to be able to run at least 6.2 miles without a break. I'm not trying to rush it, really. I love how it feels to run 2 or 3 miles at a moderately brisk pace. There are definitely endorphins at work there. Many established and accomplished runners (these terms are mine, not tied to any specific criteria) tell me that they begin to feel stronger around mile three and can maintain a faster pace after that threshold. I'm beginning to see some of that now. This morning I ran 20 minutes at 8:40/mile which for me was challenging but for many established runners it's only a decent practice pace. I followed that with 20 minutes on the elliptical. Despite my daily focus I recognize that I have a lot of climbing to do on my chart to catch up with the other runners I know. But running is a sport that rewards dedication, especially at the beginning when measurable gains are more easily attainable. I wonder if established runners have more problems with motivation as progress becomes more incremental. Perhaps cutting five seconds off a 7:30 pace is as rewarding as cutting :30 from a 9:00-something pace.

A new challenge

I looked at the 2009 race calendar and saw that while a number of races are scheduled in January, none were listed for February and only one race was listed for March and April. The calendar will get updated as the year goes on but right now those are my choices. January is out - I have too much planned already and won't have time to properly prepare. The event in April looks interesting, a 4 mile run on the 19th, which happens to be my birthday. It's a USATF sanctioned event for a good cause and it also includes a kids fun run. I really didn't want my first race to be a 4 miler but I'm up for the challenge.

In that spirit I had a fairly intense workout this morning running 3.62 miles at a decent pace. I was working on distance more than speed and was pleased with the way I felt. I could have gone another mile but since I run almost every day I don't want to push myself into injury territory. In the January issue of Runner's World there's a Q&A called "Ask Miles" where someone asked how many runners there are in the US. I posted on this subject but from a different source a couple of weeks ago. Miles' answer was different, but amusing:

"...About 16 million of us are "frequent runners" (we run 100-plus days per year). Those who run 365 days per year are called "injured runners..."

I like Runner's World. What other magazine would have this headline on it's cover?

I'm hoping to hit the street or track tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Should be pretty quiet out there on Xmas morning.

I'm dreaming of a dry Christmas

The Emerging Runner is off for the year end holiday break. Normally I look forward to time off as an opportunity to run outdoors for longer distances since I'm not constrained by my morning routine with the pressure to leave by 6:00 AM to make my train. While I loved all the snow that fell over the weekend, the temperature hasn't risen enough to melt the ice on the roads. Consequently I'll need to do today's run on the treadmill followed by some elliptical work. The temperature is supposed to rise to 47 degrees by afternoon but we'll have a house full of people by then. I'm hoping conditions change enough over the next 24 hours that I can run on the track on Thursday morning. A friend gave me some really good crew length running socks yesterday and I want to use them outdoors because they are nicely cushioned.

Introducing another perspective

We all have different perspectives on conditioning, fitness and goals. The Emerging Runner's new columnist, the Sedentary Man, asks some thought provoking questions such as: When you come to a staircase and an escalator do you a) take the escalator or b) find an elevator? Once a week the Emerging Runner will feature Sedentary Man as a counterpoint to my more traditional viewpoint on running, fitness, nutrition and conditioning. Let us know what you think.

Coming soon to the Emerging Runner

Tomorrow I will add a new feature to this site called "The Sedentary Man" by a writer whose focus on fitness is also emerging. He offers his readers some unhelpful advice. No, that's not a typo.

I heard today from another friend and runner who is challenging my 130 day ramp-up to my first 5K. He included a link to a website listing a number of races in my area that will take place between now and May. I'm going to find one that works so I can start training for it. Then I'm going to reprogram my countdown clock.

The emerging global runner

I looked at the web stats this morning and was thrilled to see that the Emerging Runner has been visited by people from 18 countries (above). The most frequent visitors are coming from the US, Canada, Finland, Sweden, UK, Israel and Austria. We welcome the company!

Nike+ without the Nike part?

I saw this interesting post on MIT's Gizmodo technology blog. The Gizmodo article states that:

"Apple wants to take Nike+ to a different new level to perform precise, real-time tracking of runners' performance and offer location-based information and advertising. Their latest patent not only details how they will get rid of the current RFID sensor and add a series of force sensors instead—as well as GPS support—but also how they are contemplating other "authorized" shoes. Does this mean they are abandoning their relationship with Nike?"

Interesting idea to put the entire sensing system into the shoe itself. With all that plus GPS I imagine it would be a very expensive pair of shoes. Given that most established runners replace their shoes after about 350 miles I'd hope that the electronics can be detached and moved to another shoe. The article also says that the GPS will be able to serve location based advertisments to the runner through an iPod so maybe consumers can get a break on the price if they agree to accept ads.

Growing audience

My original intention was to make the Emerging Runner a personal journal that I would use to track my early progress. About two weeks into it I asked a friend (who happens to be an accomplished online media executive) to look at my site and suggest any changes. She mentioned a couple of things to help make this site more "findable" and I've since incorporated those changes. The real effect was to make me think about an audience broader than my wife and the "Emerging Running Advisory Board."

I have done a number of things to increase the reach of this site including using freely available SEO resources from Feedburner and Google Webmaster tools. I've also posted on the CompleteRunning.com network and tried to get Runner's World to link to it. I've also begun to leverage social networks including Facebook, which I joined and then ignored until I had something to talk about. In addition, I've put the site on both my LinkedIn and MapMyRun profiles.

Another great outcome from this (owing more to Facebook than Emerging Runner) is that I have been able to connect with some people that I have not seen for a while. One of those people will be running in the Boston Marathon next year and I hope to have him write a guest column about that experience. I've modified the look of this site to allow more content on the opening page and can now expand it so guest writers can get their own page. After about a month I have seen traffic grow slowly but steadily. The Emerging Runner has been accessed by a couple of hundred "absolutely unique" (Google Analytics' term) visitors with over a thousand pageviews. I can't wait for that first $0.02 check from Google Adsense.

Running in the great indoors

We've had a few snowstorms already this year despite the fact that winter doesn't even start until Sunday. With 3+ inches of snow on the street I needed to stay indoors for today's run. I actually enjoy the treadmill and although the view doesn’t change it was still nice to look into the backyard (see above) and watch the snow falling. I also like that I don't need to put on layers of running gear when I run inside. A short sleeve wicking shirt and running shorts were sufficient and I opened windows at both ends of the room to let in that 23 degree outside air as a way to stay cool. As I was watching the snow I began to think about the need to reserve some energy for shoveling. But of course I didn't.

This morning I ran 3 miles at 9:26/mi which is not bad considering that I shoveled snow twice yesterday plus I ran about the same distance as I did today. No muscle pull issues either. I'm glad I listened to my friends about respecting the injury. I wonder if anyone ever runs outdoors when there's this much snow on the ground. Seems risky but, like running in the rain, kinda fun.

Back to the street

For the first time in two weeks I did an outdoor run in my neighborhood rather than on the track. It was a nice change of scenery but I have been spoiled by the level surfaces of the treadmill and track. Today's street run was a lot more challenging with hills and hard pavement but I felt pretty good at the end. I'm pleased that running three miles, once a stretch goal, is now a standard distance for me. I have also been improving my pace on longer runs. My goal is to break 9:00/mi on the 5K.

Although I'll likely do more track than street running going forward I do think a mix of surfaces and elevations are important for balanced conditioning. Besides that, I really like running through my neighborhood with many houses decorated for the holidays and crossing paths with the occasional neighbor out doing their own early morning run.