Will geek appeal get me to the race?

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

I forgot to set my alarm this morning and slept about 15 minutes later than I usually do. Feeling tired and knowing this late start would cut into my workout, I briefly considered skipping exercise altogether. Thankfully guilt prevailed and I ended up spending about 25 minutes on the elliptical. It was sufficient to raise my heart rate and make me sweat. Other than that I can't remember a thing about it.

Tracking tag that's built into the bib

My racing plans have been on my mind lately. I'm still on the fence about whether I will do the RXR LI Marathon 10K the first weekend in May. I enjoy racing and I do believe it helps push me to higher levels of conditioning than I would reach were I solely a recreational runner. The thing is, I just raced a couple of weeks ago and I really just want to take a few weekends to get out and have fun on the roads and trails. It's different when preparing for a race where every run is about preparing to meet performance goals. On the other hand I've only competed in one 10K, a trail race, and I'm curious to see how I'd do in a road race at that distance. I did the LI Marathon 5K last year so the 10K would represent progress, or at least a new experience. I should be able to run 6.2 miles competitively right now without a lot of race-specific training. I have until Sunday to decide. That's when registration closes. They have a new system where your race number is also your tracking tag. The geek in me is really intrigued by that. It may be enough to get me to the starting line.

Central Park: once around for good measure

Central Park Reservoir (1.58 miles around)

Yesterday's run (Central Park): 4.8 miles at 9:18/mile

Today's run (street): 2.16 miles at 9:37/mile

Yesterday  afternoon I ran in Central Park for the second time in less than a week. I met my friend CK at the statue of the Maine in Columbus Circle and we set off with a vague plan to cover the distance to the reservoir and back. CK is still dealing with a foot injury that has forced him to scale back on his running in favor of other sports and activities. Like the last time we ran, he said he'd need to take it easy due to the foot injury. This time I knew not to believe him. CK laughed at me as I prepared the Garmin for the start. He's more old school, relying on time from his stopwatch rather than using an over-engineered running watch that captured distance, pace, etc. However, I noticed that he asked me more than once how far we'd gone during the run.

The sun was high in the sky but the heat was moderate. By the midway point I did find myself gravitating to the side of the road that had the most shade. By the time we reached the reservoir I began to feel the effort. CK managed to subtly push the pace past my default comfort zone. I wasn't exactly hurting but I felt like I was running at race pace although the Garmin's display did not reflect that. By the time we'd circled the reservoir and headed toward the east side of the upper loop I was ready to slow down. We ended our 4.8 mile run near the outlet to Central Park South and then grabbed some water to cool down. Once again I had a great Central Park run and CK pushed me hard, as always.

I tossed and turned last night and I believe that related to being so wired from the midday run. My plan for this morning was to cover two miles at an easy pace to balance the hard work from yesterday. I was suspicious that my recent recalibration of the Garmin led to under-counting my distance so I used this morning's run as a benchmark, comparing the Garmin numbers to Gmaps. Both came out exactly the same: 2.16 miles. I was hoping the Garmin was off which would explain why I felt I worked so hard yesterday and only managed a 9:18 pace. I guess I need to work a little more on speed. The hills didn't help but I can't blame them. What goes up one also comes down and it probably evened out in the end..

Keeping up with the older crowd

Today's workout: Central Park run (scheduled)

Yesterday was a busy work day but I'll admit to occasionally checking updates on the Boston Marathon during the race. An amazing record breaking run for Robert Cheruiyot and two Americans finishing in the men's top five. Later I looked at the searchable results to get a sense of the paces that people were maintaining over 26.2 miles. It's a given that the elites can run 5 minute miles all day but I was surprised to see how many "regular" people were hitting paces that I can't manage at a fraction of the distance. I looked at my own category and saw that age is no excuse for slowness. Seeing what my contemporaries did was in equal parts inspiring and intimidating. Then again, a couple of weeks ago, a 73 year old man beat my 5K finish time by 37 seconds.

I'm heading out at lunch to run with a friend who has a few years on me but can outrun me any day of the week. We're going to Central Park to run about 4 or 5 miles. Temperatures will be in the low 60's with sun. I'm hoping I can keep up and I'm glad I've made progress on the hills because there will be a number of them. My friend has been plagued with a foot problem and he claims that will force him to hold back a little. I've heard that one before!

Which race to race?

Today's workout: Rest day

My city run last Friday was a great lead-in for a satisfying weekend of running. It's rare that I string three days of excellent running in a row like that so I appreciated it all the more. All that running has made me think about my summer racing schedule and the races and distances that I should target. We're more than halfway through April and I've still not decided how, or even if, I'll compete in May. I've considered the RXR LI Marathon's 10K, stepping up from the 5K that I ran last year. The 5K course was flat but uninspiring, more like running in an industrial park than on a race course. Except for that, there aren't many local races to choose from in distances greater than 5K. I love running 5K's but I'd like a little more variety and distance right now.

June has the opposite challenge. There are two races I'd like to do - the New Hyde Park 8K and the XTERRA trail series second Stillwell race. As I reported back in March, the first Stillwell XTERRA was pared down to about 3.5 miles due to icy conditions on the trails. Even at that length it was a great struggle to manage that course. The June race won't have the ice factor so the run will be an 8K over difficult terrain. Even with my daily running, hill training, cross training and passion for the trails I'm concerned that I could run competitively that day. I would train even harder than I did for the first one and I think I'm in better shape than I was in early March when I was still dealing with residual issues from pneumonia. The New Hyde Park 8K is a less interesting course than Stillwell but I've felt like I had a score to settle because the original race result posted me at 9:00 per mile and I really wanted to break 9 minutes. I checked the results again and they now have me listed under 9:00 so that argument is moot. I'm going to take a look at the RXR 10K course map to see if that route is more interesting than the 5K. I still have a little time to decide on June's challenge.

Breaking 9:00 at Stillwell on my pre-birthday run

Today's workout (trails): 3.9 mile at 8:58/mile

I was concerned that between Friday's long run in the city and yesterday's brisk run in the neighborhood that I'd be too tired to do much in terms of a workout today. A year ago I ran my first race, the 2009 Marcie Mazzola 4 mile run. I didn't place in my age group that day but I walked away with a prize nonetheless. It was a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant which I won because I had the closest birthday to race day. Tomorrow is my birthday but we're celebrating it today because it's the weekend. There's lots going on today so I decided to indulge in a trail run before things got too busy. Yesterday's overcast weather had transitioned to sunny skies by 8:00 AM today and the cool dry air made for perfect running weather.

I've become familiar enough with Stillwell to navigate it in a semi competent way. Between my basic knowledge of the trails and the direction of the sun I can usually make my way around without getting too lost. I successfully found the Black Trail this morning and followed it for a while. As I ran through switchbacks and roller coaster elevations I recalled that we traveled that way along the Xterra race course. I eventually reached a fork and had to choose a direction. I noticed a couple of runners a few hundred feet ahead so I began to follow them. There were lots of runners and mountain bikers on the trails today and everyone I encountered was friendly and polite. I caught up with the two runners ahead and passed them quickly. A few minutes later I came around a bend to find about six other trail runners who may have been waiting for the two that I'd just passed. We all said hello as I passed and I heard one of the woman say "I don't think I could keep up with him." Ha! If she only knew.

I wore my new iPhone armband which is better made than its predecessor but I had trouble getting it tight enough on my arm. I do have some upper arm development but this holder seemed like it was made for bigger biceps than mine. I used MotionX to record my path and I'm always surprised when I see where I ran versus where I thought I ran. I didn't go as far east as I planned but I covered a lot of ground north to south and finished with a loop around the open field trail. I ran faster than usual for a trail run and I noted again how well my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards handled all types of rock, scree, roots and sand without a problem. I've done a lot of running over the last week and I feel very good about my performance. Tomorrow is the Boston Marathon. I'll enjoy that vicariously on my rest day.

Time to calibrate the FR60

Today's workout (street): 4.17 miles at 8:57/mile

Yesterday's run felt so effortless that I wasn't ready to stop when we reached the end. Business took priority over pleasure but I did feel great for the remainder of the work day. The run itself was work and I felt the effect of all those hills this morning when I woke up. Still, I was anxious to get out for another run. My wife and kids were volunteering at my son's elementary school all morning. I had nothing on the calendar until after lunch so I headed out for my run around 9:00 AM with temperatures in the the high 30's under overcast skies. My Garmin was fairly quiet so I knew I was within pace range although a check of the display showed my pace to be a little slower than it seemed. I stepped it up after the first mile and would periodically surge for 30 seconds to a minute before falling back to my default pace. I was running faster than yesterday's city excursion and I felt the difference. All the same I didn't feel that I was working that hard and the data from my heart rate monitor confirmed it. I felt like I had covered a lot of ground but I ended up only going a little more than four miles. It was just far enough to count as a good workout.

When I finished the run I checked my Garmin and saw it displayed 4.07 miles, averaging 9:10. 9:10 isn't a bad pace and I figured that yesterday's run had wore me out more than I'd thought. I then mapped the exact route using Gmaps and saw that the Garmin under-counted the distance by 2.3%. Adjusting my pace for that variance, my overall average was under 9:00 (8:57) and my splits were 8:54, 8:57, 9:03 and 8:59. Love the FR60! I'm going to try to calibrate it a little closer so I don't have to do so much math. I haven't messed with the calibration adjustment on the FR60 yet. The default accuracy is +/- 3%. It wasn't all that easy to adjust the 50 so I'm hoping the 60's controls are better. My problem with calibration is that I switch my foot pod often between my pairs of street and trail running shoes and every change affects the calibration accuracy. Overall, I'm happy with my recent runs and glad that I've made my way down to the low 9:00's that I was running prior to my pneumonia disruption. I don't know what I'll run tomorrow. The skies are looking ominous but I'm hoping that this passes and that the trails are in good shape by Sunday.

I tortured my banker but, hey, great run today!

Riverside Park, NYC

Today's workout (street): 5.5 miles at 9:33/mile

I don't think my friend and investment banker, Steven, knew quite what he was getting into when he agreed to run with me today in the city. I had proposed a route that would cover 3.5 miles with an option of running or walking another mile back to our office buildings at the end. Prior to today, Steven had not yet run three full miles and most of his running had been on the treadmill. He was willing to push himself today and the route, which should have taken us from 6th Ave. to the West Side bike path to 72nd Street and then through Central Park, looked straightforward on Gmaps.

We set out at a brisk but manageable pace, the skies were overcast, the air was cool and dry and the river provided a great view to our left.  Everything was going fine until we passed the 2 mile mark along the bike path. We could not find any signs that told us how far north we had run but I knew that we were getting close to the 70's and I started looking for a cutout that would take us under the West Side Highway and lead us east towards Central Park. There was no obvious exit point and by the time we found one we were already up around 88th Street. After some experimentation we made our way to Riverside Drive and headed south and east until we reached the park.

When we passed the three mile mark Steven was pleased with his personal distance record. The extra blocks added  two miles to our planned distance and by the four mile mark he was having some trouble with the hills. We slowed the pace until he felt comfortable and then hit a downhill stretch that he greatly appreciated. I have to say that the hills were hardly a challenge for me today. I guess all that training for last week's race has paid off. By the time we reached the bottom of the lower loop in Central Park my Garmin was showing 5.4 miles and Steve was pretty exhausted. I encouraged him to run another tenth so he could say he ran 5.5 miles. I felt remarkably good and could have easily gone another five.

I felt a little guilty for torturing my friend but I kept encouraging him to stop if he needed to rest but he carried on without complaint. If I pushed my friend too hard today it didn't discourage him as we agreed to do another run next Friday, schedules permitting. I'm planning to run with my friend CK next Tuesday. The last time we ran I was the one who had trouble keeping up. I hope I do better next week. If not, I only have karma to blame.

A little Sole and a lot of X1

My BH Fitness X-1

Today's workout: Treadmill and elliptical, 26 minutes

I haven't been on the elliptical for a while so I thought I'd return to using it this morning for a change of pace. I prefer running over most other workout options but I also recognize the benefits of cross training. The elliptical, with its no impact motion, along with some upper body resistance, provides a good workout. As a bonus, it's user powered so it operates fairly quietly compared to other gym equipment. As I prepared for my session I couldn't ignore our Sole F63 treadmill that now operates correctly since a technician realigned the belt and replaced the motor last week. I had not used the machine since this work was done so I was a little curious to re-experience running on the now-stable unit. I decided to run for about five minutes, just to confirm that the belt slipping had truly been cured. I hit the 6 MPH button and started running, edging the speed up to about 6.7 after a minute. The treadmill worked fine but I wasn't enjoying the experience at all. Unlike my wife who is able to focus daily for 45 minutes on this machine I could not wait to stop. No matter, with all the rain we're expecting this weekend I'll likely be spending a lot more time on it in the coming days.

After about five minutes I switched over to the elliptical, setting the resistance to generate 75 watts (medium high) and starting at a fairly fast pace. The treadmill warm-up helped me get to speed quickly and I continued for about 21 minutes. I've said before that the elliptical provides a deceptively effective workout. It doesn't seem as hard as running but the sweat index is often greater. I've compared my heart rate between a treadmill run and an elliptical session (of the same perceived level of effort) and noticed running definitely provides a more elevated pulse rate. Different benefits and different effects. That's why we cross train. I'm due to run in the city tomorrow with a friend (weather permitting) and I have a Central Park run scheduled with another friend, CK, on Tuesday. That walk in Central Park on Monday made me wish I was running that run/bike loop. Next week I'll finally get to do it.

My iPad moment

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles at 9:19/mile

I have not been one of those people in the media technology world who view the iPad as the Thing That Will Save Publishing. My iPhone experience has been occasionally frustrating and inconsistent but I still wouldn't go back to the Blackberry. Unlike others I know (e.g., Sedentary Man), I refused to buy an iPad because I didn't understand it from either a value or utility perspective. Imagine my surprise yesterday when my IT person stopped by with a white box containing a shiny new iPad, courtesy of the CIO. The first thing I did was boot it up and look at The Emerging Runner on the browser (no Flash - argh!). The second thing I did was go to iTunes to see if they had any interesting running apps. Not much there. AG kidded me that I really shouldn't run with it (besides there's no GPS!). I was going to use the iPad to write today's post but I found it difficult to position the tablet and type within the confined space of an LIRR train seat. I'm hoping that this tablet will find its place in my technology portfolio. More to come on the iPad/running intersection as things develop.

Although I bought a new armband to carry my iPhone on my runs to record time and distance, I still haven't used it. The Garmin FR60 is proving to be a great purchase, capturing everything but a a route map and elevation. It's a much better running watch than the 50 that it replaced. I went out this morning with temperatures reported to be in the middle 30's so I wore an additional layer over my long sleeve tech shirt and was glad I did. I forgot to wear gloves and my hands froze the entire time I was running. I have to believe it was closer to freezing than the posted 36 degrees. The run felt fine, energy level was good and I tried to push it a little near the end. That didn't translate into a fast pace overall but the handy run report on the Garmin confirmed that I did negative splits after mile one. I'm planning to return to the treadmill tomorrow since the weather may be iffy and I haven't used the new machine since it's been fixed. I have plans to run in the city on Friday, weather permitting.

Runner's envy in Central Park

Today's run (street): 2.4 miles at 9:06

I didn't run yesterday but I took a three mile walk at lunchtime to Central Park. My route followed the lower loop and I included a few side paths as well. It was perfect weather for walking, bright and sunny, but cool enough for me to be comfortable in my suit jacket and tie. I watched enviously as runners, cyclists and in-line skaters passed by. I really wished I was running on the bike path rather than walking along the pedestrian strip. The park was filled with people, but my surroundings had a quiet (but positive) feel. Central Park is truly an oasis within mid-town Manhattan and I wanted to spend more time on my walk but I really needed to head back for a meeting. The only negative was that all that walking was rough on the bottom of my feet and I was in a little pain by the time I'd returned to the office.

This morning I went out for my first run since Sunday's race. Due to resting for two days prior and one day after the race, I've only run about 10 miles over the last seven days. It was great getting out at 4:00 AM but it felt far chillier than the 49 degrees that the local Long Island television station reported. I was concerned that the irritation from yesterday's walk would have a negative impact on today's run but with a good pair of socks and my trusty GTS 10's, I had no issues at all. I started my run on a street with a slight (~2%) elevation and re-lived the running of the big hill on Sunday. Of course today's challenge was shorter and far less steep. It was just enough to get my body temperature to a comfortable place and I headed into the next series of roads, listening for the chirp that would tell me I'd passed my first mile. I encountered no cars and the only sounds were birds (and my Garmin) chirping, interrupted occasionally by the clattering sound of a lawn sprinkler. I felt I ran harder than normal and ended up averaging 9:06 per mile, which is a good pace for me at that early hour.

Note: I want to give a shout out to my friend FS who also raced on Sunday (NYRR "Run as One" 4 miler). She maintained an impressively fast pace (low 9:00's) - a possible PR for that distance.

Does race pace matter?

Posted results from yesterday's race

Today's workout: Post race rest day

I know I sometimes get too caught up in the metrics of running and miss seeing the forest for the trees. However, I know that capturing, aggregating and analyzing performance data helps motivate me to run every chance that I get. Yesterday I was prepared to end up with a middling overall race pace once I passed the mile 1 checkpoint at 9:29. That was disappointing because I always look forward to races providing a 20-30 second per mile improvement over training paces. When I passed mile 2 I heard the race official calling out times in the 17:00's and knew I was making my way back to goal pace. When I heard "25 minutes!"  shortly before the race-ending hill I was convinced I'd end up well below expectations. Ultimately, I did fine. Compared to the paces I've run recently, 8:41 is darn good. But it didn't seem so at the time.

I know running is about health, community, experience and fun. How fast you go depends upon your physical abilities and your conditioning. But a race is really about speed and competition. Some people take a different approach and view races as an opportunity for a shared experience. Their pace and finish times don't matter. For them, it's about the journey, not the destination. I sometimes wish it didn't matter whether I broke 8:30 or if I ended up in the 9:00 minute range. I know myself well enough that if it weren't for goals, targets and PR hopes I wouldn't work as hard to prepare for races. The health benefits I get from running come from all that work. All the same, I still enjoy a long, easy, slow run on a cool Sunday morning as much as anyone. But on race day, for me, it's all about the numbers.

Marcie Mazzola was 5K of fun, hills nonwithstanding

Today's run: 5K (race) at 8:41 per mile

Sometimes you do everything right and things still don't go quite the way you'd hoped - no 5K PR today. All the same, I ran the Marcie Mazzola Foundation 5K at a decent clip and had a far better experience with the hills than I did last year. Compared to 2009, I did a little better in terms of pace (8:41 vs. 8:50) but the shorter length gave me an advantage there. In terms of other 5Ks, I ran my slowest one today (prior 5K's were at 8:28 and 8:19 respectively). Some of that can be explained by the fact that the large crowd (600 starters) was squeezed into a fairly narrow starting area and being that far back probably cost me 20 seconds overall. I can't use that as an excuse because most races have that issue. I can blame myself for a slow start though. Knowing that the big hill would be coming quickly after the gun, I maintained a fairly modest pace for the first quarter mile and held that pace until I crested the hill. My first mile split was "officially" 9:29 (9:09 really, because I started recording with the Garmin when I reached the starting line, not at the gun). I picked up speed after the hill and did my second mile at 8:21 and my third at 8:28. Along the way the FR60 was chirping constantly telling me that I was behind my target pace or that my pace was in range. It also chirped at the mile splits. It was all helpful but a little noisy!

The race itself went by quickly and before I knew it we were crossing Main Street and running around Heckscher Park on our way to the end. The routing was a little different than last year but the final hill remained. I didn't love seeing it but I knew I could handle it and still have the energy to finish strong. The finish line was located perpendicular to last year's and the final approach was downhill. I crossed the line at 26:55, happy to see my wife and kids clapping and cheering. It was my eighth race in less than one year (Marcie Mazzola was held on April 19th last year) and my third 5K. I felt like a ran a pretty good race, ending up in the top quarter of registrants and the top third of finishers. However, I didn't place in my age division. I ran into a neighbor who also ran today. He's getting back into running after many years away and he beat 30 minutes which was his goal.

The temperature was in the high 40's and I dressed appropriately, keeping sweats and a warm-up jacket on until close to the start. I'm thinking that my next race will be the LI Marathon 10K that happens in early May. There are a number of other local races happening in April, May and June so I'll consider those as well before I commit. It was a pretty good way to spend a sunny spring Sunday morning with my family and a good workout after two days of rest.