The rain won't stop falling so the elliptical and treadmill are calling

The rain was coming down hard this morning, as expected, so any hopes for an outside run today were dashed. My wife was already on the treadmill so I hopped on the elliptical and joined her for the last 15 minutes of her run. It was a good warm-up for my 25 minute run that followed hers. Between the elliptical session and the start of my run I re-hydrated with a mixture of Zico coconut water and ground chia seed. Between the 15 minute warm-up, the five minute break and the energy mix I was able to start fast on the treadmill instead of working up to cruising speed like I usually do after starting cold. My goal was to run 30 minutes but after less than a mile I decided that was too ambitious. There's something about treadmill running that causes me to silently plead for it to end as soon as possible. As I've mentioned before, the lack of stimuli makes the minutes crawl by like hours.

I bargained with myself to reduce the intended length of the run as I reached the 15 minute mark. I'd already covered more than a mile on the elliptical and I was running at a good clip so I reduced my time goal by 5 minutes. I ended up covering 2.8 miles in about 25 minutes at 8:51/mile and finished feeling like a wet noodle. I've spoken to other runners who tell me treadmill running is far easier for them than street running but for me it's just the opposite. I can run 5 or more miles on the road or trail and come back feeling relatively fresh, but, perhaps due to the static air and the heat in the room, the treadmill is tougher going. With our new treadmill due for delivery next Thursday I'll see if it's the treadmill or just my treadmill that's so exhausting. The rain is predicted to continue through Sunday but perhaps it will be polite enough to stop for an hour so I can take my workout outside.

Pace perception, pace reality

I think I may have a distorted idea about what constitutes my "normal" running pace. In my mind I consider myself a 9:00 miler but in truth I'm not. Garmin Connect provides reporting tools that allow you to analyze your history and this helps me compare where I am today against previous periods. Sifting through the data and applying the appropriate filters allows me to see what paces I was doing last year on the treadmill, the road, the track and the trails. My overall pace, current or historical, means very little because it's a blend of those running types. Comparing or just reviewing anecdotal data, I see that my normal road pace is about 9:15. There is a margin of error because this data comes from my Garmin which has an over/under tolerance of about 3%, depending on its state of calibration. I often move the footpod from pair to pair depending on the type of running that I'm doing. When calibrate accuracy to .01 mile on my Adrenalines and then move the footpod to my New Balance trail shoes I'll get a different result. It's an inexact method but it's good for measuring trends over time.

Prior to last Sunday's race I had focused primarily on building up my running legs with less concern about pace. In the first two post-race runs this week I kept the speed dialed down in consideration of recovery. Today I decided to start faster and maintain a pace that was on the edge of discomfort. About halfway through I increased the speed a bit more and at the end I expected to see that I'd run the type of pace I do for road races (8:19-8:40). I was surprised to see the Garmin readout say I'd covered my distance at 9:00 per mile. It sure seemed faster than that. It's possible that the Garmin under-counted because of calibration variance and I was on the treadmill and not on the road. Next week we'll have our new treadmill that will provide a readout that I can compare to the Garmin's. It was nice to run my "normal" pace today, despite my delusions of grandeur.

Happily banished by my pulmonologist

Last night I saw my pulmonologist for my four week post recovery check in. The last time I saw him my testing had shown that my lung capacity was at 82 (normal range is 80-100) while my pressure score was just shy of normal. I had returned to running a couple of weeks prior to that test and I'd been disappointed that my progress wasn't complete. Last night's test confirmed my recovery, I scored 99% for capacity and high normal on the force/pressure scale. My doctor said I am completely free of pneumonia and joked that he didn't want to see me again except as a co-competitor at a road race. I was fairly certain that I was back to form after performing well at last Sunday's XTERRA trail run but, like running, the numbers tell the story best.

This morning I decided to forgo the elliptical in favor of core exercise and weights. I liked that I felt these workouts last week and I added more to the routine to make it more challenging. I'm still using light hand weights for my arm exercises and that seems the right amount of weight for the results I'm pursuing. The weekend's weather is predicted to be rainy, especially on Saturday. Running in light rain can be fun but running in a downpour can be difficult for those of us who wear glasses. I'll watch the skies and hope for a break in the weather. Otherwise it will likely be lots of treadmill and elliptical time for me this weekend.

Running: hubris and humility

Almost every morning I see one or two runners on the road as I make my way to the train. There is one person I often see running with traffic, all dressed in black. This man seems to shuffle along more than run but that's what works for him. I always wonder when I pass him by whether he thinks "Look at me, I'm out here doing my daily workout, I am better than you." Why wouldn't he think that? If he could read my mind he may have been surprised to know that I'd done my running two hours prior (2.5 miles today) and that I think he's a fool for wearing dark colors and running with his back to oncoming cars. I can't speak for long time experienced runners like my friends CK and CMc who are all zen-like in their running attitude, but for a second year serious runner I am first to admit to succumbing to the hubris of running.

Runners can be competitive and judgemental. We may be good sports but we are quick to compare ourselves to others.

"You walk? Well I run."

"You run? "How far, how often?"

I'll admit to thinking this way more than once. Of course, as in physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Not long ago I met with someone in my office who noticed the race numbers plastered on my wall and asked if I ran. When I told him I did he said he ran too, mostly for fun. I asked him if he raced and he said he did an occasional Corporate Challenge. I later looked him up and saw that he'd recently ran a 3.5 mile Challenge at 6:56/mile. Consider me humbled.

I've already forgotten this morning's treadmill experience

I had a decent run on the treadmill this morning, 2.6 miles at a moderate pace. After the hard trail run on Sunday I planned to take it easy today. I did the first half of my run at around 9:50 and the second half at 9:10. There was nothing particularly interesting about this workout and I realized when I finished that, besides checking my Garmin a couple of times for pace info, I had almost zero recollection of the experience. I came off the machine hot, sweaty and energized but I couldn't think of anything notable about the run.

Although it's an important aspect of my workout routine, the treadmill only provides me with a one dimensional experience. Compared to road running or trail running (that are multidimensional in terms of visual and sensory experience) the treadmill provides little in the way of intellectual stimulation. True, you can make up for that gap by putting a television in front of the machine or by listening to music, podcasts or audio books, but those things aren't really about the running experience. I'm not against treadmills by any means. I just got the good news that our new unit is in transit to the delivery company and I'm eagerly anticipating its arrival. Our new treadmill has built in programs and lots of metrics to help distract from the tedium of running in place.

While looking at speed, incline, time, distance traveled, calories, pulse and pace falls way short of looking at trees, birds and other interesting things along the trail, at least these displayed metrics have something to do with running. No matter what (like anything new and technical) the new treadmill will provide me a new dimension, at least for a while.