No rain, pain, or running strain

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

Earlier this week the weather people on TV were talking about significant rainfall and flooding by the weekend. I was resigned to the probability of having to do my longer runs on the treadmill. While yesterday's run was wet, it wasn't anything like running in storm conditions. I expected this morning to be much worse. Happily, it was much better.

Sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 AM this morning, my energy sapping pressure headache disappeared. Between that annoyance, and the cold and rainy weather we've had, running can be more pain than gain. When I realized that the pounding from my sinuses was gone, my outlook brightened. After looking outside and seeing white, rather than gray skies, I felt even better.

Yesterday's run, while feeling low, was more symbolic than beneficial. Although my headache had cleared, I still held the expectation that today's run would be challenging. I considered not tracking my speed and distance so I wouldn't feel bad about my expected mediocre (or worse) performance, but I decided that I needed to face up to it. Besides that, I'm racing in a week and I have to focus on speed at some level.

Since you are reading this, there's a good chance you're a runner. And being a runner, you know that the first minute of a run can speak volumes about how the rest of your run might go. This morning I was surprised, in the best of ways, to find my energy level at the high end of the spectrum. I knew right away that this run would be much faster than yesterday's, and it was. The fatigue I experienced on Thursday was completely gone, replaced by the feeling that I could run all day.

I felt great all the way through but, due to my business schedule, I needed to cap the length of my run. This was quite a contrast from yesterday when, by the end, I felt like I'd just run a 10K at race pace. It was a nice way to finish out the week, especially one as tough as this. I'm looking forward to my last race training workouts this weekend before I taper down throughout next week.

Wet and chilly, but back to the run

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

This morning I actually felt apprehensive before going out for a run. I was concerned that I hadn't recovered from two exhausting days that were accompanied by a cold. I still had some symptoms, but felt strong enough to give it a try. The rain seemed to be holding off so I chose the outdoor option.

By the time I got outside, the skies had darkened and I saw that water was collecting on the driveway. I considered heading inside and using the treadmill, but I decided to go for it. After all, what would be the harm of running in chilly and wet conditions while battling a cold? I didn't really consider the implications, but conceded that I'd head back if the skies really opened up.

Despite having three days off from running, I didn't feel much energy as I made my way through the neighborhood. This run was about getting back on schedule and I didn't push the pace. The rain didn't let up very much, but I dealt with it. By the time I reached three miles, I was ready to head towards home. I may have pushed a little too hard too quickly, but I was glad to be back in running mode.

I'm probably going to be stuck doing indoor workouts over the next two days due to a storm that's predicted to come through, bringing flooding rains. If I get to full strength by the weekend I'll work on hills, since the Town of Oyster Bay 5K, with its very long hill, happens the following Saturday.

On hiatus

This has been a tough week and it's only Thursday. I developed a cold that may have been triggered by my flu shot and it's creating sinus pressure and affecting my vocal chords. Unfortunately this cold (or possible allergy) coincided with public speaking engagements on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between my schedule and feeling low, I haven't run since Sunday.

Today's weather is expected to be stormy so I'm not sure what my options will be for a run. If it's raining, I'll need to use the treadmill to get back on schedule. I haven't taken three consecutive days off from running in months, hopefully the rest has done me some good.

It ain't the cold, it's the humidity

The one-two punch

Today's run (treadmill): 4 miles

I'm definitely working through a cold this week. What started as a sore throat on Thursday is now just an annoying combination of congestion and coughing. I don't think it's related to the flu shot. My policy has usually been to run through a cold and hold off running when I have a fever. With the exception of an unscheduled rest day on Friday, I've continued doing my workouts.

Last night my coughing woke me up and that prompted me to take both an antihistamine and a decongestant. I went for the minimal dosage, because too much of either would interfere with my sleep. That helped and it carried through until 5:00 AM when my body clock decided it was time to get up. I spent the early morning hours trying to decide what to do about a run. My plan was to go to Bethpage and train on the hills, but the weather was rainy and the humidity was high.

Although I got a decent amount of sleep, I don't think it provided beneficial rest. I decided to return to bed for a 20 minute nap and that helped bring me back to strength. At that point I'd decided to run inside. I didn't want to find myself trapped in the pouring rain on the Bethpage trail. In consideration of my planned hill training, I got on the treadmill and did the first ten minutes at a modest incline.

The humidity was really awful, so I kept my pace well below LT. The purpose of today's workout was to run about 40 minutes, keeping my heart rate between 80 - 85% of max. That was an easy target and I got through it without a problem. I resisted the temptation to hammer the throttle for the last few minutes, as I often do on runs like this. It was enough to run through a cold and it would make no sense to push so hard as to make it worse.

I thought about the folks like The Petite Pacer who were running the LI Diva Half marathon this morning. I'm sure the humidity was extremely unpleasant. But with no baking sun and moderately cool temperatures, it may have equaled out. Still, I was happy not to be racing 13.1 miles this morning.

Why running is like dreaming

But what do you think about?

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4.25 miles

One of my favorite quotes from Haruki Murakami's book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is, "What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue.” I identify with that because so many things go through my head while I run, but I'm hard pressed to recall most of them. It's like waking from a vivid dream at midnight, thinking you'll remember every detail. By morning, it's all a blur.

I'm not saying running causes temporary amnesia. In fact, I've worked out many problems in my head during training runs. While I may not remember the process, I can always remember the resolution. Perhaps that's the way it should be, both with dreams and running.

What I do remember from this morning's run was how perfect Stillwell Woods can be on a day like today. The humidity was high and the skies looked like they could open up at any minute. I knew that the woods would shelter me from a light rain so I wasn't concerned. The weather stayed dry and, despite the humidity, I was comfortable. This was mostly due to the lack of sun and fairly cool temperatures.

I didn't try to be a hero and take on the bike trails that drop and rise like an organic roller coaster. I stayed on my usual loop and made two circuits before heading back. I kept an easily sustainable pace (still not at 100% since I got the flu shot) until I encountered another runner merging onto the trail that runs around the big field. I thought that runner might follow me on that narrow path as I went west, and I was determined not to let him overtake me. He never did, and I ran my last mile significantly faster than the prior three.

I probably need to return to Bethpage to do my usual long hill repeats that are part of my training for the Town of Oyster Bay 5K. That and some base mileage may be a good workout for tomorrow. At some point I need to return to the track to run intervals. A 5K may be an easy distance, but speed requires some special focus, especially since half this race is uphill and the other half is down.

Tough Thursday, restful Friday

A well timed break

Yesterday's run (street): 3.5 miles

I'm not sure if it's connected to the flu shot I received on Tuesday, but yesterday I went from feeling tired to feeling exhausted. On top of that, I developed a sore throat that grew worse as the day went on. Unfortunately, I needed to be in the city to kick off a project, and that involved a lot of talking. It wasn't an ideal situation, but I managed to get through the discussions.

Earlier in the day, I did an easy run around the neighborhood. I'd woken up lacking energy and modified my original plan to work on increasing my cadence. I got out a little earlier than usual when temperature was still pleasantly cool. The run felt great and I thought I was off to a good start for the day. By mid morning that had all changed.

I've decided to forgo my run this morning. This is starting to become a habit, with the last couple of Friday runs being substituted for walks at Bethpage with my wife. We both have busy schedules today, so there will be no opportunity to get there today. I'm hoping that getting some additional rest today will get me back to full strength. I need to increase my hill training as I prepare for my upcoming 5K.

Nostalgic for those self illuminated runs

Need to spend some time with my Tikka Plus

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I'm up every morning at 5:00 AM, but I usually don't run until the kids have left for school. I've thought once or twice about getting out on the road earlier, like I did when I commuted. I considered doing that today, but by 5:30 AM, I was already in work mode. Maybe tomorrow.

I wasn't sure what effect (if any) yesterday's flu shot would have on my run today. To be on the safe side, I planned an easy workout. To be even safer, I left the foot pod and heart rate monitor home and didn't turn on my Garmin's GPS. I didn't want to see any evidence of my pace or effort I was expending, lest I be influenced to pick up my speed. I did capture my time, so if I really wanted to know how fast I ran, I could calculate pace based on my distance. So far I haven't been tempted to do that. Okay, maybe a little.

Besides waking up feeling fatigued, I don't think I'm suffering much from the vaccination. Today's run was a pleasure because I wasn't thinking about speed and effort. I did experiment a little with my form at times, but it was an easy run. Tomorrow I may step it up a bit more.

I'm going to be the city late tomorrow, so I may not try to do an early run after all. Still, it would be fun to go out again with my headlamp and run the empty streets of my neighborhood. I don't miss doing that at 4:00 AM, but with no need to catch a 6:20 AM train, 5:30 running might provide a nice change.

A good run today, but what have I done?

Maybe I should have thought this out

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

Despite having my Garmin GPS, heart rate monitor and foot pod on my run today, I felt like a purist. That's because I chose not to use the metronome app. Instead, I tried to meet my targeted cadence only by feel. Like the old joke about hitting yourself in the head with a hammer because it feels so good when you stop, today's run felt extra peaceful without all that beeping.

This change seemed to pay off, as I hit 87 SPM just by focusing on a brisk cadence. I felt some awkwardness in my gait for the first 20 minutes of the run, but still achieved a mid-9:00 pace in the process. I'll take that for now. I think I understand how much harder I'll need to push to get more improvement.

Things have gotten busier in terms of work and I spent much of the day on my laptop. I did take a break before lunch and got a flu shot a the local pharmacy. Although the CDC claims that flu shots don't make you ill, last year I felt very run down a couple of days after getting mine. I really hope that was just a coincidence. But if I have any bad workouts later in the week, I'll know what to blame.

Despite real evidence, a puzzle remains

Cadence confirmed

Today's run (5.3 miles)

This morning's run brought me closer to understanding the impact of the metronome, but there is still a missing piece of the puzzle. I put a new battery in my foot pod and clipped it to my shoe for the first time since I bought my Garmin FR210 in May 2011. The FR210 uses GPS, but the foot pod allows me to capture my cadence during my run. It's a metric I've missed having when I analyze my performance data.

The good news is that I now have proof that the metronome works. I set the app for 87 SPM before I started and the data shows I averaged exactly that on today's run. This is no coincidence. I have mounds of pre-FR210 data that shows that (at best) I used to average 83 SPM on a training run. The cause and effect of the metronome's beat could not be clearer. All I have to do is jump it up to 90 SPM and my performance is optimized. Problem solved!

(Cue sound of record scratch)

What? That's not the whole story?!! Indeed it is not. While there seems to be evidence supporting the effectiveness of a metronome, the result of today's 87 SPM performance was an average pace of 9:42 per mile. I measured my route using two different browsers (Milemeter is behaving much better now) and they were pretty consistent, so I'm going with that pace. So cadence improves, and my pace gets worse. Huh?

The last puzzle piece clearly involves stride length. It's likely that I'm achieving my SPM target by maintaining a shorter stride. It makes sense that opening stride length with an increasingly higher cadence will bring my pace down to my targeted level. Sounds easy, but we all know the danger of over striding. I think I'll take one victory at a time and work my way up to 90/180 SPM and see what that gets me. Once I can do that consistently (and without the need for a metronome), I can start experimenting with stride technique.

Measure for measure, I don't like this change

New and improved?

Today's run (street): 5 miles

In business, many people subscribe to the idea that, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I made my career challenging that notion and I firmly believe (at least in technology) that complacency is the enemy of success. Okay, no more clichés, but I do believe that open source technologies further the cause of progress. So am I a hypocrite to condemn the new Gmaps version that just went up, using OpenLayers in place of the Google Maps API?

I've relied on Gmaps for years as a tool to precisely measure my routes. Foot pods and GPS watches/apps both fall short due to calibration, route angles or weather. I always use mapping, combined with time, to calculate my exact pace. This morning I was surprised to see a new interface for Gmaps. I also discovered that Gmaps is now an open source supported framework, and will now be called Milermeter. It wasn't until I tried mapping this morning's run that I started to grumble.

I won't go into the specific issues that I had, but I will say that the interface can use some refinement. I'm not sure of the reason, but items flicker on screen and the tools behaved inconsistently. I'm also unsure about the accuracy. I mapped my route using "Milermeter" with both Chrome and Firefox and saw a 1.5% difference in distance between them. Both measurements fell short of what my Garmin captured, surprising because that usually under-counts distance.

Forgetting the technology issues for a moment, this morning's run turned out to be a really good workout. I ran over to the business park to run the loop a few times. This route offers either a steady uphill for almost a mile, or a shorter but steeper section if you run it in the opposite direction. I took the steeper option and made three circuits before heading home.

I used my metronome app and set it to 87 SPM. Although I felt I was coordinating my steps with metronome, I didn't end up with a particularly fast pace. To be fair, except for the hill, I didn't push that hard, although I kept a steady stride throughout the run. Right now, I care more about managing up my cadence than speed. If I understand how this all works, better paces should follow

Knee problems? Don't blame running!

 

If you think walking is a better way to exercise than running because it's easier on your knees, you would be incorrect. That is according to a Canadian study that tested both the force and frequency of steps for runners and walkers. The New York Times published an article about this study on Wednesday. The conclusion stated, "Measured over a particular distance, 'running and walking are essentially indistinguishable,' in terms of the wear and tear they may inflict on knees."

I know a few people who claim that they used to run, but can't anymore, "because it hurt their knees." I have no doubt that they think that's true. I've always thought that knee problems are predetermined and would surface regardless of any sport that these people practiced. The article also quoted a doctor and kinesiology professor who said, "the study’s results intimate that running potentially could be beneficial against arthritis." I thought so!

Today my wife and I repeated last Friday's Bethpage experience with a 70 minute walk, primarily on the wooded trails. We alternated our walking with a few minutes of running. My wife runs 45 minutes a day on the treadmill, but she has never done a trail run. She loved the the spongy feel of the main trail and I took her on some of the less groomed paths within the interior sections. We walked the last couple of miles on the bike trail. I'm not sure how much ground we covered because I forget to bring my Fitbit.

Tomorrow I may return to Bethpage to run, using the metronome to try to further increase my cadence. It will also be an opportunity to run a few hills as I prepare for the long uphill climb on my upcoming 5K.

Metronome running: Calls and Cadence

Runnis Interruptus

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

Using a metronome may have actually helped my cadence this morning. Once I start using my foot pod (good suggestion FS) I will know for sure. It was a weird run, punctuated by a ringing cellphone that I would normally ignore. Today I had two good reason to stop. First, the call was business related and important. Second, the ringing phone shut the metronome app off. Grrr.

I used the Metronome Beats app today because it has better features than the one I tried yesterday. Most importantly, it punches out beats loud and clear, unlike Metronome Mobile's softer sound. I set it for two clicks per beat, which is easier than trying to coordinate two footfalls to a single beat. Focusing on the sound made my first mile go by quickly and the odd beeping noise produced double takes from neighbors as I passed by.

The phone call caused an interruption and I was honest about being in the middle of a run. That was no problem and I think the endorphins helped keep me calm during an intense conversation. Soon I was back to the run and I realized that it would be easier to time my arm-swing to the rhythm, rather than try to keep my footfalls synchronized.  Do your arms move at the same rate as your cadence? That would be interesting to know.

I moved really well and everything was fine, until the app quit about half a mile from home. I considered stopping and restarting the metronome, but I'd already stopped once on the run. I tried to "think" the beat that I'd been following and that may have worked. Today's pace was 9:22 and it felt fairly easy. I'd set the metronome one SPM faster than yesterday and that yielded a 2.4% improvement in pace. That assumes a lot, but it was progress and that came from somewhere.