Do U really like me or is it just the code talking?

 

Today's workouts (treadmill): 3.2 miles + 1 hour shoveling 

My Fitbit likes me. I know this because it told me so. Right on the display it said, "I LIKE U." Every once in a while it will tell me something like "LET'S GO!" or "MOVE IT." It's kind of pushy. I think the reason it was liking me right now relates to my double workout, courtesy of today's snowfall.

Believe it or not, this is a color photo

The neighborhood was already covered in snow by the time I woke up and it hasn't stopped yet. I went out early to shovel and was surprised to see 4" of the heavy stuff already on the driveway. It took almost an hour to clear both the drive and the walk. By the end, my Fitbit showed I'd covered over 4,000 steps and almost two miles of distance. I did go back and forth and up and down quite a few times.

After taking a break for a cup of coffee, I changed into running clothes and started a treadmill run. I decided that my morning effort gave me license to set an easier pace than normal. Shoveling all that snow had provided a nice (and well needed) upper body workout and running took care of the balance. By the time I finished my run I was almost to 10K steps and approaching 6 miles for the day. I didn't do it so my Fitbit would like me. But I'm glad that it does.

Spinning companies and flywheels

Getting dizzy

Today's workout (elliptical): 35 minutes

There is a (supposedly) ancient Chinese curse that goes, "May you live in interesting times." Interesting is usually considered a positive word, but the curse implies otherwise. 2013 has already turned out to be an interesting year for me and for many of my ex-colleagues. Yesterday, Time Warner announced that it was spinning off its publishing division into a separate company. I worry about my friends who remain at this division and may be affected by this change. I am merely a spectator at this point, but I'm happily watching the stock's price rise.

Speaking of things both interesting and spinning, I decided to use the ProForm elliptical machine for only the third time since we've got it. My wife and kids use it all the time, but I've preferred to use the treadmill for most of my indoor workouts. The biggest reason I've neglected the elliptical is that I haven't liked the ProForm's user experience compared to the prior unit (BH Fitness X1). As disappointed as I was when the X1 broke a main part (and couldn't be fixed), the unit itself had been solid as a rock.

Today, I found no issues with the ProForm. I started at light resistance and increased that every few minutes until I reached my targeted heart rate. I liked the relative quiet compared to the treadmill that allowed me to focus on other distractions, like the television. The ProForm reports distance as revolutions, so you don't get a great sense of progress. I was primarily concerned with getting my time in and, by the 35th minute, I was satisfied with my workout.

Today has turned out to be an interesting day. Between company spin-offs and spinning flywheels I had plenty to think about. The snowstorm, part 1, has been a non-event. We're supposed to see 2"-4" inches overnight and into morning. If it's on the low side, I may go for an outdoor run tomorrow. If there's any accumulation, I'll want to avoid contention with snowplows. That would make things just a little too interesting.

The persistence of memory (non-Dali version)

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

You know the feeling you get when you think you're forgetting something? It's frustrating because you can't put your finger on it, yet you can't leave it alone. It was like that for me today. I had an early start with some business calls (this "not working" thing is turning out to be a lot of work). Before I knew it, I lost my window for my morning workout. All throughout the morning, I kept thinking something wasn't getting done. By noon I realized what it was: my run.

I'd been sequestered upstairs in my home office until midday. When my last call was finished, I came down to see that my wife had cooked up a mixture of fresh veggies and turkey burgers. Any ideas of getting in a run before lunch were dashed. The aroma of the food was just too seductive. Unfortunately this only added to my concern that today's workout would be lost to afternoon obligations.

I waited 30 minutes after lunch to start of my run and used the treadmill to save time. I was happy to finally be running and thought I'd go easy since it was right after a full meal. That plan was soon ignored and I found myself running a more aggressive pace that allowed me to hit my targeted distance within half an hour. It was a tough workout but, by the end, I was happy that I'd taken a bigger challenge. Best of all, that feeling of missing something was no longer there.

Close to greatness, but only by coincidence

One of my celeb hangouts

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I didn't post yesterday. When that happens it usually means one of two things: either I didn't run or I had no opportunity to write during the day. In yesterday's case, it was both. I was in the city most of the day and had some good meetings. I met an industry friend for coffee at Bouchon in Time Warner Center and we shared a table with John Lithgow and his wife. Later, I had lunch with another friend at the Harvard Club where Bill Clinton was (supposedly) holding court on the third floor. In any case, I didn't see him.

Okay, enough obnoxious name dropping. Yesterday's time in the city did remind me of what an interesting place New York can be. I love having more time now, but I do miss the energy of the place. I've been going into the city a few times a week and it's a nice balance, rather than the daily grind of a 6:26 AM commute.

This morning I was not at all excited to go out running. In fact, I used every excuse to stall before I finally made it outdoors. The 30° temperature made me seriously consider the treadmill or the elliptical. Knowing we'd be getting some precipitation tomorrow and Thursday, I decided I needed to run outside while it was clear.

I bundled up so I wouldn't be too uncomfortable as I stood waiting for my Garmin to acquire its signal. The roads were clear of buses and there were few cars. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing hard from the northwest. I cringed every time I moved in that direction, but I lucked out a few times when the wind was behind me while I ran along a road with an incline.

I'm not achieving particularly fast paces on my daily runs, but that doesn't bother me much. I factor in the bulk of having additional layers of running clothes and the prevalent headwinds. After the Snowflake race in February, I figure I can generate some additional speed when I really need it.

Trailview fun along the "Danger Zone"

Greetings from Trailview

Today's run (treadmill): 3.25 miles

Yesterday morning I went out for a 4.8 mile run that took a lot more out of me than I'd expected. I recovered quickly from that, and a few hours later, my son and I headed to Trailview State Park for a hike. The weather was chilly and we did our best to dress for the cold while planning for the heat we'd generate during the hike.

We chose the path on the left and followed the winding trail up a few steep rises. The maintenance that was done after hurricane Sandy left many sections of cut-up tree trunks along the way. My son stopped to count the rings from one tree and determined that it had stood about 35 years before it was knocked down by the storm.

Sandy's impact was everywhere

My son and I continued north until we reached the point where the trail overlooks the road separating Trailview from the southern end of Stillwell Woods. We followed the trail down to where Woodbury Road and Syosset-Woodbury Road intersect. We then crossed the street and entered Stillwell where we negotiated some difficult hills covered by gnarly roots and sharp rocks. We reached a point on the trail that had a substantial drop and decided to double back towards Trailview.

We crossed Syosset-Woodbury Road and re-entered Trailview through the western trail head. We followed a different path for a while, stopping a few times to explore interesting rocks and large branches. We found ourselves at a place marked "Danger Zone" and I asked my son if we should continue. He's a 13 year old boy. Of course he said yes.

Double diamonds mean danger

The danger zone required some deft footwork but we made our way through it without incident and eventually picked up our original trail. It was there that we found a flat square rock that my son decided to keep as a souvenir of our hike. We finished our walk and went over to the Stop & Shop that's located adjacent to Trailview's parking lot. We bought some goodies in the bakery section to surprise my wife and daughter who were waiting for us back home.

Souvenir rock on the trail head sign

Between my morning run and the hike I covered close to ten miles outside yesterday, exceeding 17K steps. The best part, for me, was spending time with my son. We had great conversations and took on some tough hills. I slept eight hours last night with 97% sleep efficiency. Gee, I wonder why.

Correlating my sleep time and run fatigue

Frozen Fitbit

Today's run (street): 4.8 miles

Yesterday afternoon I checked my activity progress on the Fitbit only to discover that the readings hadn't changed since morning. The numbers displayed at 5:00 PM were almost the same as they were at 9:30 AM. I took some steps to see if they would record but the numbers didn't change. I connected the Fitbit to my laptop using the USB charging cable and that seemed to jolt it back to life.

I was happy that the device was working again, but disappointed that I wouldn't get "credit" for the steps, miles and flights of stairs that didn't get captured yesterday. I'll watch the display a little more closely, now that I've had that experience. It was working fine this morning and I took it along during my run.

I again recorded my sleep pattern overnight and saw that I'd slept a total of six hours. The good news was that I "only" woke up six times instead of twelve. The Fitbit site assigned me a sleep efficiency rating of 96%, far better than the first time I tracked my sleep cycle.

Perhaps it was a lack of sleep time that factored into the fatigue I felt during today's run. I'd averaged 40 more minutes of actual sleeping time prior to last night. After yesterday's rest day, I expected to feel slightly more energized than normal, but a few minutes into the run I knew something was missing. I set the best pace that I could, determined to cover my distance target of 4 miles.

When I run, I often think about racing and how I'd feel if I was in a race in that moment. I'll often tell myself that I could manage more speed, if needed. Depending on the distance, I can usually muster enough energy to pick up my speed and sustain a better pace. Today I hoped I had enough in the tank to get me through the route I'd planned.

I was determined to get in a full workout and, after making a few loops through my immediate neighborhood, I crossed into neighborhood #2. I had this dual sensation of feeling tired yet ready to cover my distance. There were a few points where I could have cut the run short, but I didn't. In fact I ended up running almost a mile longer than I expected. I was plenty tired by the time I got home and a little puzzled that my heart rate didn't reflect the perceived effort I was experiencing.

Tomorrow I may keep it short, as I'm close to reaching my weekly mileage goal. If my energy returns I may even do some speed work. I'll try to extend my sleep time 40 more minutes and get back to average. I think that contributed greatly to my tiring experience this morning.

Falling short of daily goals

I'd been thinking about taking another rest day this week because I ran Monday through Thursday. This morning I needed to get into the city for some meetings and I figured today would be as good a day to skip a run. I'm tempted to get on the treadmill and do a quick three miles this afternoon, but I'm sticking to my plan.

I only covered 10,000 steps yesterday and fell short of both my daily distance and flight (staircase) goals. I'd hoped that walking in the city would get me close to today's step goal, but I've still got a ways to go. Even though I rested both Sunday and today, I'm still slightly ahead on weekly mileage. I'll target a couple of longer distance runs this weekend and get my Fitbit stats back in line.

Second tier race with a first tier price

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

I got an email this morning from the organizers of the Long Island Festival of Races urging me to register for the events that will happen in early May. I've run the LI Half Marathon the last couple of years, so I'd consider doing it again. However, registration for that event closes in a week and I don't know if that's enough time for me to decide. I was thinking that the 10K may be fun to do as an alternative. I can always find another half to run later in the year.

When I looked at the Long Island Festival of Races website to register for the 10K, I was both surprised and amused to see that the cost is $37.00, plus a $3.53 convenience fee. What the heck is a convenience fee? Together, it will cost me $40.53 to run a second tier race. I apologize to those who disagree with that viewpoint, but the LI Festival 10K is just not in the same league as some other Long Island 10Ks. For example, The Great Cow Harbor 10K, Long Island's best race, has a registration fee of only $25. And no "convenience fee". I rest my case.

All of this was going through my mind this morning during my run around the neighborhood. The skies had cleared by the time I went out and the temperature had just nudged past 40°. I had plenty of energy, but I still felt a little stiff-legged. I wondered again whether I should have rested more after the race, or at least done some leg stretches. I enjoyed the workout, but never reached the point where my stride felt flexible. 

I'll give it a couple of days before I decide to spend the money for the Long Island 10K. I'll look for other 10K's around that time to see if there's a better choice. I only have a week left to register for this race. Considering the event doesn't happen until May, I don't find that very convenient.

Overnight surprise, courtesy of the Fitbit

Early to bed, early to rise. And rise and rise...

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

There was no question that I'd run inside today. It poured overnight and throughout the morning, so I headed upstairs to the treadmill after the kids left for school. Every time I use the stairs I think about the fact that the Fitbit is recording that metric. Yesterday I recorded over 14K steps, climbed 28 floors and traveled 7.4 miles. More interesting than that was what I learned about last night's sleep pattern.

The Fitbit has a wristband that holds the device while you sleep, allowing you to record your sleep and wake time. It also records the number of times you woke up during the night. According to the numbers, it took me 12 minutes to fall asleep and my total sleep time was 6 hours and 36 minutes. Now for the surprise: the data said I'd woken up 13 times between the time I put the device into record sleep mode and when I got up for the day. Strangely enough, the readout said I'd had 91% sleep efficiency. Really?

Perhaps we all wake up multiple times during the night and don't realize it. I do recall waking up a few times and looking at the clock before quickly falling back to sleep. The histogram shows that wake patterns seem to be grouped together, so that three or four "wake-ups" could happen in as many minutes. Either way, I didn't come close to sleeping through the night.

Despite the intermittent waking periods, I seem to be getting sufficient rest. Perhaps that speaks to the efficiency rating. Compared to my "pre-retirement" schedule back in January, I'm probably getting at least one hour's more sleep every night. In the days of 3:30 mornings, I used to have to steal naps on the train. With the 7+ hours of bed rest I've been getting overnight, I feel I have good energy throughout the day.

Sixteen staircases on the Bethpage trail

This morning it was full

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 4.2 miles

The next couple of days look to be windy and wet, so this morning I figured I'd go someplace where I could enjoy the outdoors. Although the warmer weather has melted most of the snow, I didn't want to deal with the muddy trails at Stillwell just yet. I decided to go to Bethpage and hoped that the gates were open.

When I arrived, I saw a large maintenance truck parked in front of the gate and feared that access would be restricted. I then saw that the gates were open, and as I made my way in, I noticed a couple of people running on the path. The trail head was blocked off with a webbed fence and a sign saying "entrance closed."  Like everyone else, I ran around the sign and headed up the hill toward the original trail.

Despite seeing two runners as I drove in, the trail was almost empty. That wasn't a surprise, as it was a Tuesday morning, not the weekend when I usually run there. I liked the quiet but I wasn't loving the run for the first mile. My legs felt leaden and I wondered if I should have taken an extra day's rest after my race.

I started the day with my Fitbit and was curious to see what data it would capture during my workout. After I reached the one mile point, I turned around and headed back in the other direction. I wasn't looking forward to running up the big hill, but at least I'd be doing it while I was relatively fresh. Once I made it to the top, I continued east and reached the entrance to the new section.  I had covered two miles and my legs still felt like they were carrying ankle weights.

Bethpage is hilly and the route is rolling. Most of the time you are either running uphill or down. The first segment of the new trail has a series of hills that are individually short, but collectively challenging. I ran down these hills until I reached three miles, where I turned around and went right back up. Once I got past the worst of it, I noticed that my legs were feeling a little more flexible.

Once I finished my run, I looked at the Fitbit and saw that I'd covered about 7,000 steps and climbed the equivalent of 16 staircases. The activity meter on the Fitbit (a flower) was full to the top. It also captured my distance accurately, along with calories burned. I liked that the Fitbit, unlike the Garmin, is always on and ready to capture activity at any time. But the Garmin provides valuable data that the Fitbit doesn't record, so I'll use them together.

After lunch, my wife and I went to a local park for a walk and I picked up enough steps for me to modify today's goal to 13,500. My wife already has me beat, and I can see it will be hard to keep up with her. But today was a great start.

Ready to be One with the Fitbit

"Be healthier & get more fit."

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

I was excited to see that my Fitbit One came in the mail today. It's a great device, but the packaging copy writers should work on their grammar. My wife has been using hers for almost a year and she finds it an invaluable tool for documenting her activity. It's also a great motivator to reach her daily goal of 12,000+ steps. I love measuring my performance and I'm looking forward to analyzing the data. The software offers lots of features and even a smartphone app. I'll report on my experience soon.

Now that I'm no longer commuting into the office every day, my morning routine has changed. I'm usually up at 5:30 AM instead of 3:30, and the pressure to complete my run on a tight schedule is gone. I now enjoy my morning coffee at my leisure and I spend a little time with the kids before they leave for school. I haven't wanted to run while the middle school and high school buses are on their routes, so I've been waiting until 8:00 or 8:30 to get outside.

Today's run was my first workout since Saturday's race and, despite yesterday's rest day, my legs still felt heavy. I moved along comfortably, maintaining my equilibrium pace. My distance target was three miles and I followed a different route for a change of scenery. I hoped that my race-day speed would carry over to today, but that wasn't the case. In terms of performance, it wasn't all that bad, just not especially fast.

I wore my Kinvaras this morning and tried to compare them to the Spiras that I wore in the race on Saturday. I chose the Spiras because I thought they'd provide more response on toe-off than the softer Kinvaras. I didn't find that racing in the Spiras (for the first time, BTW) provided that much advantage. I probably need to start thinking about replacing the Kinvaras that have 455 miles on them. I'm wondering if I should start looking at performance trainers.

Shakeout run postponed

One of my favorite types of runs is the "Day after race shakeout", when I go out easy and rid my muscles of built-up lactic acid. Weather conditions were better this morning than they were yesterday, and I looked forward to a few recovery miles. I had a rough night's sleep and woke up with sinus headache this morning. These headaches are annoying, because they make me feel draggy and tired. I considered downgrading my neighborhood run to an easy treadmill run, then realized that skipping my workout was the best choice of all.

I've never liked taking medication, but when these headaches come the only thing that helps is the "Sudafed" cure. That's 60 mg of pseudoephedrine, along with a dose of ibuprofen. When the cure takes, it's a night and day improvement. It took a second dose later in the day to eradicate the pounding and dizziness and I'm feeling much better now.

I read recently that runners should take a day off after a race for every mile they ran. That seems extreme, but one day's rest after a race makes good sense. I've just preferred to do my easy runs instead. Now that I have no time pressure to make my train in the morning, I can go on longer runs during the week. I will hopefully sleep better tonight and make up some mileage on Monday.