Ho Ho Ho Holiday running sounds good

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Another treadmill run this morning. Unlike my usual method where I start easy and then pick up speed, today I began with a fairly fast pace and kept it up until the end. My energy level was high throughout the workout, a good sign that my conditioning strategy is working.

I've decided to sign up for the Ho Ho Ho Holiday Run that happens on Saturday, December 17, in Bethpage, NY. I really like holiday themed races because they reinforce the idea that racing, while competitive, is also fun. I have never done this race before (nor have I ever raced in December) so this will be a new experience. The date is a Saturday, which means I'll have still have most of the weekend to celebrate my (predicted) mid-pack finish.

Listening to your body will tell you very different things

Yesterday's run in the woods was an unexpected pleasure. I had set out for a long bike-trail run on pavement but ended up running the trails, on a crisp fall day. The interesting thing is that the run I had along Stillwell's paths didn't turn out to be my favorite part of yesterday's workout. It was the last half mile on pavement that made the run.

The challenge of staying ahead of the three runners who swept up behind me, as I left the last wooded trail, was an exciting and fulfilling experience. I'd expected to cruise this last section to cool down from running the trails, instead I ran the final distance like I was finishing a race.

This morning my wife mentioned to me that she'd added a third incline segment to her already tough workout this morning. I asked her why, and she said that "Listening to your body works two ways. Sometimes it tells you to rest, and sometimes it says push even harder." I totally understood what she meant by that.

Boo for Bethpage and yay for Stillwell!

No sports for you!

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.6 miles

I had a plan today and I intended to stick with it -- 5 miles on the Bethpage State Park bike path, first thing in the morning. I checked the weather and saw that the temperature was in the high 30's, so I put on some long pants and a couple of top layers and headed to Bethpage. I wore my Brooks Adrenalins because I wanted more thermal protection than the Hattori's provide and, frankly, I'm just not loving the Mirages on pavement right now.

When I arrived at the park I was confronted with a locked gate and a sign that said "Winter sports are prohibited at this point." Harrumph!! That was disappointing and after snapping the above picture, I turned around and headed back toward home. I was all dressed up with nowhere to run, but I figured I'd think of something along the way.

When I reached my exit I decided to head over to Stillwell, which I knew would still be be open to those participating in "winter sports." I parked close to Southwood's Road that put me as far away as possible from the trail head. I thought it would be good to have some extra distance coming and going.

By the time I crossed over from pavement to trail, I'd already covered more than a quarter mile and I followed my usual route into the woods. Despite not being trail shoes, the Brooks do a credible job on dirt, sand and small rocks and that was all I was taking on this morning.

My run was pleasant but unremarkable and I didn't encounter another person until I was on my last loop around the big field. It was there that I passed three runners coming from the other direction. I continued west and then south, until I reached the path that led to the trail head. As I came onto that path I saw the three runners from before, who had come to the same point from the opposite side.

Since I ended up slightly ahead of these runners, I felt pressured to maintain a lead. Fortunately, they weren't running too fast, but they weren't dogging it either. When we reached the paved drive I increased my speed to maintain my position. I liked having a reason to run fast and the Adrenalins felt as responsive as always. I averaged in the low 8:00 range for that last section and was more than happy when I reached my car.

I covered 10.5 miles this weekend, a little short of my goal, but still respectable. I feel like I'm running well right now. Not a lot of speed, but it's there when I need it.

Around two towns and a business park

Today's run (street): 5.93 miles

Yesterday was just too busy and too distracting for me to either run or blog. No matter, I'm back in business today. Today's schedule required me to finish my workout fairly early, so I set out around 7:00 AM intending to cover between 5-6 miles.

I may head over to Bethpage tomorrow, but this morning I stayed close to home. After a loop around the northeastern part of my neighborhood I crossed the field of the middle school to the pathway that leads to a local business park. I didn't want to run the usual roads today so I opted for the main loop within the park.

I usually run this section of the park counter-clockwise. That direction has a steady (but modest) elevation gain for two thirds of its length. Today I ran it clockwise which provided a steeper start but then it was mostly downhill after that. The hill wasn't too bad and I had no problem pushing through aerobically. However, I was a little tired by the time I crested the hill.

After I'd finished the business park loop I ducked into to neighborhood #3, which is actually in a neighboring town, and ran a loop around that area. I came back again through the middle school and completed my workout by running another mile through my neighborhood. If I were paying attention, I may have run another .07 miles and made it an even six. It doesn't matter though. I still came close to reaching the higher end of my planned distance.

Running with the Black Diamond

New and improved?

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

Today's run was my first time back on the road at 4:00 AM since mid November. It's gotten a lot colder since then but I dressed warmly enough to stay comfortable. I wore my new Black Diamond headlamp that I bought to replace my Petzl Tikka Plus. The Petzl unit had been giving me trouble with the lamp refusing to light unless I opened up the assembly and reset the position of the batteries. I thought the Black Diamond's design would prevent that in the new unit.

Unfortunately, I had the same issue with the new headlamp when I got it ready for the morning. I opened it up, pushed the cells into place, and it lit up fine. I questioned whether I am any better off with this new unit but I think the Petzl was generally wearing out. I got outside and felt the chill but my hat, gloves and layers were sufficient, even when I ran in the direction of a fairly stiff wind.

I started off feeling like I was working hard. The first road I follow is a small incline so I expected a little challenge but this seemed a bit more. Once past that street I settled into my pace and moved along fine. The headlamp threw off a lot of light but I hadn't adjusted the beam to focus on the road ahead. I've learned my lesson about hazards in the dark and, happily, I had no missteps.

I ended up clocking my normal time for the route I ran, helped along by some faster strides as I got closer to the end. It was good to be back on the road again. It's not that I don't appreciate the treadmill, but it's a fuller experience when you're dealing with all the elements.

Treadmills have their place

Today's run (treadmill - 2% incline): 25 minutes

One thing I can usually count on, after a couple of days off from running, is that my next run will go well. That's why I typically rest the two days prior to a race, with only a core workout in between. I planned for a treadmill workout today since the weather report predicted that yesterday's rain would continue into the early morning.

The treadmill isn't my surface of choice, but it does come in handy on foul weather days. On the plus side, I can jump on it and go, as opposed to street running that takes more gear and prep time. I also like that I can lock into certain pace for tempo runs, or play with the controls to incrementally increase speed at certain times during my run.

I ran for 25 minutes this morning with a 2% incline. I started at a moderate pace so the incline wasn't really noticeable. Throughout the run I increased speed by a .1 MPH and by the final minutes I felt I'd had a very good workout. The weather should be clear tomorrow, so I plan to return to the street at 4:00 AM. It's been a while since I've done my morning run outside.

Goodbye race bibs

Scene from the early days of the collection

Yesterday morning I took down the 22 race numbers that I had tacked up on two walls in my office over the last few years. The first number was from the Marcie Mazzola 4 miler, my first race. I put it on the wall to carry that great experience into my work day. From then on, after every race, I'd pack my number into my work bag and look forward to adding it to the wall on Monday.

Last week I decided that this display, though fun and colorful, had grown to become the dominant feature of my work environment. If I worked at Runner's World or was in some way associated professionally with running I could probably justify having this display that spread like kudzu across the room. I debated whether I should keep only the number from my last race up as a more understated symbol of my dedication to running. Ultimately, I felt like I'd just be doing the same thing, but in a different way.

I wondered if anyone would notice that the numbers were gone. If people did, they haven't mentioned it. I'll miss looking at the numbers and thinking about the great memories that go along with every race they represented. I'll probably put them somewhere in our guestroom/workout room at home where they can continue to inspire me.

Skip to my rue?

I'm considering taking both today and tomorrow as rest days. I feel like I've been pushing myself a little too hard over the last two weeks and I think I'll benefit from some recovery time. Since 11/13, I've run two 10K's plus a low-key 5K and my overall level of training has been relatively intense. It's very hard to skip workouts when you run almost every day. Disrupting routine is not a trivial thing. I know I won't lose fitness if I miss a run, but I'll still feel guilty if I take an unscheduled rest day.

Exhausting run at Belmont Lake

Today's run (Belmont Lake State Park): 6 miles

I decided to finish my Thanksgiving break with a trail run at Belmont Lake, home of the Dirty Sock race course. I'd decided that a competitive run at Stillwell (the Rob's Run 5K) would have been too much to do without the proper rest. I have in my mind that the Dirty Sock route is an easy run if you aren't trying to beat other runners. That's wasn't quite the case today.

The weather was in the high 30's when I started my run and I'd overdressed with two upper layers, running pants and a wicking cap. By my first mile I felt very warm and by the two mile mark I was feeling overheated. Unlike previous times running these trails, I sensed more inclined sections. Halfway through the run I was feeling fatigued, possibly due to over training.

Once at the lake, I knew there was nothing I could do to reduce the amount of required effort since the route was out-and-back and I was already halfway through it. The course seemed extra long and the trail seemed extra steep as I slogged my way past mile four. I was tired and my pace was slow, but I was determined not to stop or walk.

I saw a few other runners on the trail who had made better decisions about their gear. They were moving along nicely in contrast to my slow motion stride. After I cleared the passage under the Montauk Highway at mile 5, I decided to return on the same trail where I'd started, rather than adding the extra distance passing by Southards Pond.

I was very ready to finish my run by then and caught a glimpse of the trail opening as I ran by a couple of equestrians out with their horses for a Sunday morning ride. I was glad to have finished the week with a decent length run and especially glad that I didn't race today. I need a break from running and I'm glad that tomorrow is my regular rest day. It was a good couple of weeks of intense running, but enough is enough.

Training slower but racing faster

Today's run (street) 3.55 miles

One thing that I've learned this year is that the speed I usually run isn't the same as how fast I can run. This year I've observed two things that don't seem to correlate. First, my average training pace (by observation, not by studying my running logs) has slowed down about 10 seconds per mile. The other observation is that my race paces have improved noticeably in almost every race this year compared to previous years.

I'm not sure what this means but it may have something to do with the quality of my training runs that may be a bit slower, but have more focus. The legendary running coach Jack Daniels said "Every run should have a purpose" and I try to follow that philosophy with my daily workouts. If I need to prepare for a hilly race I try to run hills. If I ran hard the day before, I look to run my next session easy to speed up recovery.

The true explanation for my slower training - faster race pace may be far more simple. Since I started using my Garmin FR210 GPS watch, my mileage is usually under-recorded between 2-5% which makes my pace look slower. When I bother to map my true distance using Gmaps, I see that variance. If I don't, I tend to accept and believe that I'm running slower than I actually am.

I got out around 8:30 this morning after debating whether I should run or do a core workout and (possibly) an elliptical session later. My legs were tired so I considered the lower impact option. But the weather was cool and the skies were clear so I headed out the door thinking I'd take it easy and not worry about my pace.

The run was easy, in fact I slipped into a few periods where I was so lost in thought that I felt like I was sleep-running. I focused on opening my stride but I didn't think much about my speed. When I finished my run I was surprised to see that I'd averaged slightly more than 9:00 a mile. That's not particularly fast, but the pace was about :40 per mile faster than it felt. Perhaps all the racing I've done of late has helped in my daily training. That almost 9:00 minute pace was a nice surprise. Sometimes a slow run feels fast, and a fast run feels slow.

From treadmill to Turkey Trot to trail

Yesterday's runs:

Treadmill:  24 minutes, 2% grade

Nissequogue River State Park Turkey Trot 5K: 3.1 miles

Today's run  
Stillwell Woods: 3.6 miles

Start of the 1K kid's run at Nissequogue River State Park

It's been a couple of days since I've been able to post on the blog but that doesn't mean I haven't been running. Wednesday, which should have been an easy morning, leading into an early close for Thanksgiving, turned out to be crazy due to some distracting business issues. Everything worked out fine, but I was so mentally exhausted by the time I got home I decided to skip my planned afternoon workout.

Yesterday morning I made up for that rest day with a double workout. I ran on the treadmill first thing in the morning with a 2% grade for 24 minutes. It was a good workout, I didn't push the pace but, by the end, I really felt it. Shortly after I finished that run, the Emerging Runner family headed to King's Park for the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation 5K.

This Turkey Trot takes place on the grounds of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center, a compound of 15 buildings adjacent to the Nissequogue River. The buildings evoke a scary history as this center was considered an "insane asylum" where electro-shock therapy and pre-frontal lobotomies were commonly administered to patients. These buildings are due to be demolished so that the park can be put to better use.

The weather was very cold at 7:30 AM and we were glad to have dressed warmly. Even with wool socks my feet were very cold as we waited for the start. This event attracts a large crowd and they were still taking same day registrations minutes before the scheduled start time. I suppose that's a way to maximize revenue for the event, but it put us very behind for the start. The organizers also failed badly on their bathroom planning, providing only five Porto-Potti's for a crowd numbering well over 1,200.

This event is very family friendly, with as many walkers as runners, and it doesn't feel very competitive. After the kid's 1K race, the 5K runners were assembled along a long uphill section (this was also the route back to the finish line). After a long wait, the horn sounded and we were off. My daughter and I were going to run the course while my wife and son walked it.

The park's trail is rolling and the first mile and a half are mostly uphill. My daughter did great and I kept reminding her (as I remembered from the prior year) that the the course flattened and then goes primarily downhill for the last mile. We passed a water station around the 3K mark and I was very impressed that my daughter was able to maintain her running form and keep a good pace through that distance.

My wife and son cross the finish line

As we passed 4K it became easier because the downhill road helped us along and the people at the side of the course shouted encouraging words to the runners. Once we were a few hundred feet from the end, my daughter took off and I had a hard time keeping up with her. Seconds later we crossed the finish line. I congratulated her on a great run and, after getting some water, we waited for my wife and son to finish.

I was proud to see my daughter run so well. Last year she walked more than half of this course but this year it was a bona fide run, a full 3.1 miles. My wife and son also did very well walking that hilly course and we were excited to reunite at the finish line.

The rest of our day was filled with resting, cooking and baking as my wife prepared food for Thanksgiving. We headed over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house for an afternoon and evening of of food and conversation. We all held up well considering all the work we did that morning.

This morning I decided I had waited too long to do a trail run so I headed over to Stillwell Woods around 7:00 AM. There were no other people at the park and I made my way into the woods with no particular route in mind. It was cold (mid 30's) but I'd dressed for that and I wore my Helly Hansens because my intention was to attack some of the rocky hills. The Helly's do a great job over technical surfaces. Unfortunately their lack of a rock plate still produces some uncomfortable landings.

I ended up covering about three and a half miles and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I could have covered more miles but I decided to bank some energy and do a longer run over the weekend. It's been a lot of running over a short period of time. I got my Stillwell run in today so I'm probably not going back there on Sunday morning for the Rob's Run 5K race.

Taking the easy way out

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

There was a possibility of rain this morning, so I planned for a treadmill run. It turned out to be dry and clear but I decided to stay indoors anyway. This was my first run after Sunday's race and I was looking to go easy. Sometimes the treadmill is a better choice for that type of workout, because you can set your speed and not think about it again until you're finished.

Today's workout was similar to another treadmill run I'd done last week. Instead of paying attention to distance, I ran at a moderate pace and stopped after 25 minutes. There's many conflicting reports about whether it's more beneficial to run easy or hard after a race. I'm in the easy camp, figuring that a slow but steady workout promotes blood flow which helps repair damaged leg muscles.

With Thanksgiving two days away, and four more days away from the office after that, I'm hoping to get in some longer distance running. I haven't been on the trails for weeks and I miss it. Rob's Run, a 5K race in Stillwell Woods, is happening next Sunday. I've thought about participating but I'm still not sure. That would be my third race in as many weekends. There are people I've met, like Paul, who race far more often than I do. Perhaps, if I competed more, I'd break out of my mid-pack malaise. I'll have to see how I feel by the end of the week.