Tapering to the core

I was surprised to see snow falling this morning as I made my way to the train station. The news didn't mention it but when I reached the train I noticed a layer of white stuff on the cars that had sat overnight in the parking lot. I don't expect much accumulation but you never know. Tomorrow I'll take a drive over to Stillwell Woods to check out conditions for Sunday's race. I'm hoping that they will have the XTERRA course marked so I can get a better sense of the route. I'm still concerned that I could get lost!

Since I've finished the running portion of my taper I'd planned to rest this morning. I decided instead to do the 15 minute core workout, as I did on Monday, and I'm pleased that the work on some of the exercises is beginning to feel easier. I'm assuming I'm making some progress and soon I'll adopt the "make it harder" suggestions that accompany the Lolo core exercise descriptions and illustrations in the magazine. I always feel energized and stronger after doing this simple workout. I'm not sure if I'll do anything fitness related on Saturday or if I'll be self indulgent and rest. I really wish the race was tomorrow but Sunday will come soon enough.

Guilt gets a bad rap

The idea of running was not very appealing when I awoke at 3:45 AM this morning. I was shocked when I saw the time as I'd expected it to be around midnight by the way I felt. As I made my way to the coffee machine I thought about everything I could do rather than getting on the damn treadmill: return to bed for 30 minutes, do 15 minutes of core exercises then rest before my shower or replace today's run with a lower impact elliptical session. I have learned that the hard effort of running is nothing compared with the guilt that comes from missing a workout. When I choose to rest I enjoy the brief respite from the obligation of exercise but soon after that comes the letdown of missing the endorphic payoff and, later, the nagging sense that I failed to accomplish a conditioning goal. On the other hand, when I do my early run, I feel that if nothing else good happens in the day at least I have that accomplishement under my belt.

Of course I ended up running this morning. In the 18 months since I've been a dedicated runner I've missed very few workouts (thanks to guilt). About a year ago I adopted Mondays as my rest day and that's really been the only time off I've taken, not counting illness. I feel very good about that and if it's all due to guilt then I have to say that guilt gets an unfair rap because, in fact, its really a helpful influence. Due to guilt I had my last run before Sunday's race as a tempo this morning, starting off easy and gradually working up to the edge of discomfort. At the moment all systems seem to be in order, no aches, pains, twinges or anything else to distract me from the challenges I'll be facing. I'm getting psyched for mud and I'll try to have fun with it but I also know it will mean some real work. It will be a long five miles but when I finish I won't have any guilt to deal with.

Wet + warm = muddy racing on Sunday

Last weekend they were predicting snow by mid-week and here we are on Wednesday with the snow coming down light and wet. This, combined with increasingly warmer temperatures that are predicted for the coming days, could make for some interesting conditions at Stillwell Woods on Sunday. Yesterday I was speaking to my friend FS who recently ran a 10 mile NYRR race in Prospect Park. She predicted that Sunday's course will be very muddy. I hadn't thought about that because I was focusing on conditions related to snow. But mud is much more likely. I'm not really sure how I should handle the run in that case since my experiences with mud are limited to navigating around large puddles on the paths. I've always run around, rather than through those areas, because I don't have waterproof trail shoes. I'm hoping that my HH Trail Lizards will hold up under extremely muddy conditions and I'm slightly worried that running in mud will make a tough course even tougher. Then again, if it was easy why would we do it?

I'm getting to the end of my race training and this morning I ran 2.4 miles and felt great throughout the run. However, I'm realizing that those Old Navy RECTECH shirts are cheap for a reason. While they are lighter and provide less friction than cotton they collect sweat like cotton. After today's session I've decided to relegate them to outer layer status and use them for their bright color rather than their wicking performance.

16 days of Chia living

Christopher McDougall's book, "Born to Run", made a big impact on me when I read it last year. I'd tried adapting my running style based on what I'd read, focusing on landing on the front of my foot instead of striking off the heel. I also worked to increase the number of steps I would take per minute. Both of these actions relate to the running style of the Tarahumara natives who live in Mexico's Copper Canyon region. My transition to this running style got derailed by a bout of pneumonia that kept me from running for over three weeks. When I restarted I had strongly considered buying new shoes that would better enable that style of running. After my gait analysis I discovered that I naturally move off my heel quickly so, instead, I upgraded to the newest version of the shoe I was already using. The only thing that has stuck from the book is an interest in the seeds from the Chia plant. These seeds are mixed with ground corn and lime juice by the Tarahumara's to produce what they call Pinole. The natives claim Pinole provides enough energy to allow them to run distances of 50 miles or longer.

Ground Chia Seed

After reading about these seeds I decided to try them to see if Chia worked the same way on Long Island. Over each of the last sixteen days I have mixed 1.5 tsp. of Chia into drinks or food. In two cases my source of Chia came from energy bars that featured the ingredient, one from Greens Plus and the other from the raw aisle at Whole Foods. The Greens Plus bar was tasty: both chewy and crunchy (due to the whole seeds) as was the Whole Foods bar which was less tasty but much spicier. I looked at the ingredients and saw that it contained chili peppers. I normally like spicy, the hotter the better, but this didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I've discovered that mixing Chia with hot beverages such as sugar free hot chocolate or green tea leads to a disgusting collection of congealed lumpy matter at the bottom of the cup. Mixing with cold fruit juice or water is better and mixing with coconut water is the best because the taste combination is quite good.

With two-plus weeks of experience using Chia to draw on I really can't say that it's helped. My runs have been good throughout this period and I've successfully fought off a cold during this time. This morning I felt great throughout my 2.5 mile run. Was it the Chia? Probably not. I'm guessing it was good rest and two recent core workouts. Still, I plan to stay with the Chia routine for its other benefits like high levels of Omega 3-6-9. It couldn't hurt and it just might be helping.

Anticipating my less boring treadmill

This weekend seemed longer than most, probably because it started with an early homecoming on Friday due to the weather. I was pleased with my weekend running performance and I feel that I'm fully back to strength at this point. I do miss running in venues other than my neighborhood but neighborhood runs are still preferable to treadmill runs. Speaking of which, our new Sole F63 treadmill should be shipping soon. I'm curious to see if the running experience will be noticeably different from the unit we have now. If nothing else, the new treadmill will have some additional features and programs and will have a big display that shows speed, distance, time and other metrics. That should provide some good distractions while I'm using it. I'm also thinking about re-equipping my office with a set of running clothes so I can head out for a run in Central Park whenever the mood strikes.

This morning, owing to my trail race on Saturday, I skipped my rest day and spent 20 minutes on core exercises and another 15 minutes with hand weights. It felt like I accomplished something but I do have a way to go to attain a level of upper body conditioning that matches my lower body. I plan to run Tue-Thu and rest on Fri and Sat. I want to be at my best before I take on the Ewok forest and the Uh-Oh trail (among other challenges) at Stillwell Woods on Sunday.

Orange you glad these shirts are so cheap?

As often happens on Saturdays, the Emerging Runner family found themselves at the mall. It's always a tactical effort - go to a few targeted stores, locate what's needed and get out as soon as possible. Often my wife will head to the children's section to find items for the kids so I wander over to the men's area to see what they carry in terms of athletic wear. We were at Target and I was looking for pool shirts made with the type of fabric that doesn't disintegrate and bleach out from chlorine after three or so wearings. They didn't have those, only shorts, but they did have some nice shirts from their Champion G9 line. This stuff is very well priced and nicely designed. While the quality doesn't match the higher end stuff from companies like Brooks and Sugoui it's an excellent choice for daily training. I prefer to do my daily runs with lower end gear because it's cheap to replace when it gets worn out with multiple washings. I try not to wear my "premium"shirts (Zoot, Nike Sphere, Adidas adiSTAR) except to race or when heat conditions require a superior wicking shirt.

I didn't buy any of the Champion G9 shirts but on a whim I checked out Old Navy's RECTECH performance shirts that were currently on sale. I often worry that when I run in the neighborhood or on the trails that I could get mowed down by an inattentive driver or mountain biker. Most of my day to day running clothes are either black or white so when I saw short sleeved RECTECH shirts for $5 apiece I bought two, one pumpkin orange and the other mustard yellow. These wicking shirts seem nicely made and contain some stretchable material. Not bad for $5! I wore my orange shirt today over my other two layers (33 degrees at 8:30 AM) as I headed out for my morning run. The route I chose took me to neighborhood #2 which required a short segment running along a one way service road where people often speed. I was happy to have my orange shirt serving as a beacon to drivers. All the same I ran as close to the snow line as possible for the minute I was on that connecting road.

I had a decent run overall, half in neighborhood #2 and the other half in my main neighborhood, totaling 4.7 miles. I'm still feeling some of the effects from my Thursday core exercises which means I need to do them more often. Although Monday is usually a rest day I plan to do the Lolo core routine to help strengthen some key muscles. I'm going to need all the help I can get if Sunday's race turns about to be a hilly run in the snow.

A 9:00 AM start for the XTERRA hits my sweet spot

I went out for my run a little later than normal today because I had some early morning errands that I needed to get done. The effect of deviating from my normal routine can go two different ways. I've run better than average when starting later, rather than first thing in the morning. Most of the races I've run have started hours after the time that I'd normally do a weekend run. I've beaten my normal training pace during every one of those those events.  I've also performed poorly when running later in the day: after work or during my lunch hour. My best performances seem to happen during runs between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. I wish Garmin Connect had more options for analyzing historical metrics so I could easily compare my average pace across various start times. There are a few ways to do this but both are cumbersome. I'll leave that to another time.

I went out at 9:30 this morning with Friday's snow still fresh on the sides of the street. I wore my light duty Adidas trail shoes to help maintain traction. These shoes are very comfortable and they double as my weekend casual shoes but they don't provide the energy return that I get from the Brooks Adrenalines, especially my new GTS 10's. Although I'd been out earlier in the morning I'd misjudged the cold and my ears were very uncomfortable for the first third of my 3.7 mile run. The first half of the run was more of a serene plod than a hard training run. I was taking in the scene of recently fallen snow blanketing the neighborhood and was enjoying the experience fully until it occurred to me that I will be racing next weekend and I needed to train. I picked up my pace for the second half, averaging between 8:50 and 9:00 per mile. Overall I averaged around 9:30 for the full run.

Tomorrow I'll go for a little more distance and then move into taper mode prior to the March 7th event. I'm wondering what Stillwell Woods will look like after this week's snow. With another possible storm coming on Wednesday it could get tricky on race day. It doesn't really matter though. As long as they still hold the race I'll be there. It will be a new experience racing in the snow and the conditions will be the same for all the other runners. I'm fascinated to see what happens.

Will Runner's World start covering hedge funds now?

Yesterday morning my friend Sedentary Man handed me a section from the Wall Street Journal and said I'd probably want to read this article entitled "We have ways of helping you buy running shoes." I think that was supposed to be a play on the way German officers would threaten torture in old WWII movies. If that was the case the writer missed her mark because the article described four complex but helpful experiences that led to her being fit with the right running shoes. The writer referred to herself with the royal "we" throughout the article which I found odd but, that aside, I thought she did a good job researching the buying process. She visited four running stores, three in the state of Washington and one in NYC. I recently went through this experience at Jackrabbit so I was curious to see how these other stores performed their evaluations.  

Three out of the four stores performed gait analysis using video and a treadmill. A doctor who was quoted in the story said that the video process is "gimmicky" but I disagree with that. Seeing myself pronate in hi-def convinced me that I needed a moderate stability shoe. One store used a pressure sensitive mat that changed color based on weight distribution. A couple of stores had the writer run barefoot on the treadmill. I thought that was weird because most people heel strike but will never do that when running barefoot so what does it prove?

In the end it seemed like each store did a good job of identifying the right shoe for the writer. I was amused to read that she tried on a pair of "Mizunas" and I'm sure the Mizuno people loved reading that!

This morning I considered my choices for my daily workout: run, strength conditioning, another elliptical session or shoveling the newly fallen (and still falling) snow on our driveway. A look out the window confirmed the report of 3"-8" with 5 inches on the ground at 4:00 AM. I decided that my car could blast through that provided I escape before the town plows come by and deposit 20" of hard pack in front of the driveway.

I decided to stay inside and started with the Lolo core exercises that I found in Runner's World last year. I really like them because they only take 15 minutes but you feel like you've accomplished something when you've finished. I followed that with about 20 minutes of hand weights. I only used 5 and 10 pound weights because I wanted to do lots of reps and start a baseline for arm and upper body conditioning. I left for the train before the snowplows came. Standing on the snowy LIRR platform I was happy to see the train come in and I was glad that I started my day with a different but energizing workout.

I may be weak but I'm slow!

Up until yesterday I was feeling very good about my state of conditioning. I was chatting with a work colleague who I hadn't seen for a few weeks and he asked me if I'd lost weight. I didn't know how to respond to that question. Yes, I did lose weight when I restarted running back in 2008. Forty pounds in fact, all due to lower calorie consumption and more activity. More recently, after battling severe pneumonia, I lost another five pounds. My recovery is now complete and my weight is back to mid-December levels so I was puzzled by his question. The next thing he said floored me, "You look kind of...weak." Weak? I really didn't know how to respond to that. Then I thought about it and realized that it's probably true. While my running gives me stamina, I'm not doing all that much to build strength. A year ago I was mixing up my workouts and including core exercises and some upper body conditioning. In the time that I've returned to daily exercise I've been focused solely on running. Even my elliptical sessions have been more about speed than effort. I decided that it's time to stop ignoring my core and upper body.

Although my wife and I have accumulated a closet full of hand weights I'm loathe to use them. I find weight lifting to be mind numbingly boring. I've been thinking about getting one of those stretch band systems that attach to a doornob and provide a variety of ways to exercise muscle groups. It's low tech but it works, as do sit-ups and push ups. This morning I chose the elliptical but cranked up the resistance as high as I could handle. It felt good and it was good preparation for my trail race. The benefits that come from moving the unit's upper poles is questionable but it's better than doing nothing. I'm going to put some more attention to strength building and I'm hoping to gain about five pounds through upper body muscle development. I suspect that strengthening my core will also lead to better running performance.

11 days to go before the XTERRA Trail Run

Helly Hansen Trail Lizard

I am eleven days away from my next race and I'm looking forward to the event. This upcoming race is different from any I've raced before, including my previous trail race, the Dirty Sock 10K. The March 7th XTERRA race at Stillwell Woods presents conditions that will challenge runners at every step. Unlike a road race where the streets are wide enough for bunches of runners, Stillwell has a lot of singletrack paths that barely accommodate one person. I don't know exactly how the course will be routed but there are some significant drops and climbs in those woods. On the bright side, if I am able to keep up with the other runners I may have my first experience running at Stillwell without getting lost.

I haven't been able to train on trails since my adventure at Muttontown Preserve a few weeks ago. Since then there's been too much snow and more coming this weekend if predictions for a Nor'easter are accurate. I've been relegated to the treadmill except on days off so I'm under-trained for hills. I ran 2.4 miles this morning at 9:17/mile. The guest room was warm and I wore my Atayne shirt that I love but it's slightly heavier than my other short sleeved running shirts. Together they contributed to a sweaty but pleasant run. I had the TV on so I could catch some highlights from last night's Olympic games while I ran. I'm hoping that I can get outside this weekend for some hill training or do some elliptical sessions at a high resistance level. Otherwise I'll just need to manage my way through the race with my present state of conditioning. I'm also wondering what the Stillwell course will be like if there's a ton of snow on the ground. I'll be wearing my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards, my most capable trail runners. I'm hoping they'll be enough shoe for the day's conditions.

Spirit, check. Strength, more work needed.

My decision to keep Monday as a rest day turned out to be a good one. Last night my legs felt incredibly tired and I tried to relate that to my day spent sitting around waiting for the jury selection process to play itself out. I thought my leg fatigue may have come from standing for long periods on the marble floors outside the courtroom. I think it's more likely that my legs are tired from all the running I did over the weekend. It's good that I have no residual breathing issues from pneumonia. Based on my recent runs I'm sure that my breathing capacity has returned to pre-illness levels. What still needs work are my quads, calf's and gluteal leg muscles that aren't yet used to five miles of pounding. To paraphrase an old cliche: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh could use some strength training."

I took it easy this morning for the first ten minutes of my run. Despite a speed south of 6 MPH I felt the challenge and it seemed faster than indicated. Once I'd loosened up I moved the control closer to a 9:20 pace for the remainder of the run. In all I averaged 9:36 per mile for 2.5 miles. If I had another ten minutes I probably could have pushed my pace enough to get closer to 9:15 overall, especially if I threw in a few speedy tempos into the mix.

I know I'm not supposed to be thinking about pace but it's a metric that tells me if I'm progressing. Besides, LSD (or even SSD*) works fine when you have distraction of the outdoors to complete the experience. But on a treadmill it's very hard not to think about speed.

* Short Slow Distance

Is more time to run worth serving jury duty?

I spent my day today at the county Supreme Court building after being summoned for jury duty. Oh well, it's the price we all pay for being a registered voter. I'm not complaining about being called to serve but I really hoped that I'd be dismissed by the judge. It's difficult to be away from the office and this trial could have gone on for two weeks. On the other hand, court starts at 9:00 AM and I'm usually in the office by 7:30 AM so were I selected for a trial I'd have had more time to run in the morning. It was a long day and after waiting hours for Voir Dire I finally had my moment in court. Happily they selected almost everyone else but me to serve so tomorrow I'm back to work on the 6:20 AM train.

I'm thrilled that I got dismissed but I really would have loved having more time to run during the week. I'm used to getting up very early and starting my workout as quickly as possible to maximize the use of my 30 minute window. All the same, the process of rushing through the experience detracts from its enjoyment. This is why I enjoy my weekend runs, when I can start at different times and run longer distances. In the summer my company allows people to leave mid-day on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. With no obligation to return to the office after lunch, I was able to experience some great NYC running experiences and still make it home for an early weekend. During the summer I was averaging about 20 miles per week because Fridays gave me three days a week for longer runs. I was happy to total 17 miles this past week, almost double what I've averaged since getting the okay from my doctor to resume running in mid-January.

Since I was local, I got home earlier tonight than I normally would. I was tempted to do a run while there was still a little daylight left but I held off because Mondays are my rest days and I put in 9 miles over the weekend. Back to the treadmill tomorrow morning. Our ProForm unit continues to work despite its high decibel whine that's signalling its failure is imminent. I only hope it lasts a few more weeks until the Sole F63 arrives.