Running and sailing redux

The Emerging Runner runs along the pond at Eisenhower Park

Today's run (Eisenhower Park): 3.75 miles at 9:10

After putting in twelve miles of running between Friday noon and Saturday morning I went for the weekend trifecta with another run with my friend KWL. It's been an active couple of days. Besides my running, we spent a good part of yesterday at a waterfront festival in Sayville (where we met senator Chuck Schumer!) and the kids got another chance to sail KWL's RC boats this morning.

KWL and I got started early, first with a side trip so I could show him the trail head to Stillwell Woods, and then over to Eisenhower Park for our run. We'd both done a lot of running over the past two weeks and looked at today as a recovery run that we planned to do at an easy pace. We started off slowly but very soon defaulted to a faster pace. Our circuit included a few loops around the fields and finished with a couple of loops around the pond. On the last loop KWL picked up the pace and put some distance between us before he circled back and we finished our 34 minute run at the same time. The difference between us in the last lap was echoed in our overall pace: his, 8:50 and mine, 9:10. I was very pleased with today's run because it showed I could string together three runs at some length without any aches, pains or noticeable fatigue. Dave's advice about doing more distance runs is my strategy for now.

We finished the morning with more remote control sailing on the pond. My kids have become more adept on the controls which helped because there were a lot of other boats in close proximity on the water today. I know that I'll need to return my focus on speed at some point but for now I'm enjoying my training for the Great Cow Harbor 10K.

Two park runs: Central and Bethpage

Yesterday's run (Central Park): 3.6 miles at 9:07
Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 7.9 miles at 10:00 (approximately)

It had been over two weeks since I last ran in Central Park and I was looking forward to returning there on Friday. The temperatures in the morning were cool (60's) but as the noonday sun moved overhead the heat came out with strength. I started my run at the 7th Ave crossing on Central Park South and followed the lower loop, moving along well despite the heat and the hills. Along the way the trees provided occasional shelter from the sun and, as usual, the park provided a broad array of stimuli: sights, smells (good and bad) and sounds. Touch too, if you count the feel of the hilly roads under my feet. I was so distracted by the experience that I continued to follow the lower loop until I reached the western side where I redirected north along the upper loop. I continued around the great lawn and followed that north and then east where I switched to the upper loop going south. That series of maneuvers added almost half a mile to my usual route so I was pleased at the end with the extra distance.

This morning I met my friend Dave at Bethpage State Park with a plan to run seven miles on the bike path at a leisurely pace somewhere between 10:15-10:30. Dave's Garmin GPS watch and my Garmin FR60 with foot pod differed in terms of measurement. Mine showed us covering about .4 of a mile longer than his. I have a native distrust for GPS measurement of this type after measuring runs using AllSport, MotionX and other GPS apps on my iPhone. When the data from these runs is compared to the actual measurement (via Google Earth or Gmaps) the GPS usually under represents by a little (or often) by a lot. I can see on the MotionX maps why this is the case, the GPS works in straight line vectors that often cut corners that can add up to less distance. My Garmin has actually been under-counting when paired with my Brooks so we may have actually reached 8 miles today and broken 10:00. I wouldn't be surprised because even though we weren't burning up the road we were moving along well.

Unlike most of my runs at Bethpage, today the runners outnumbered the bikers, although there were a enough bikers to keep us alert when they came up quickly from behind. Dave ran on the inside lane and kindly took the brunt of the bike traffic. We are both running the Great Cow Harbor 10K next month and Dave provided some insight from his experience with that race. Between Dave and Brian I feel very fortunate to have so much prior knowledge of what promises to be a tough course. I'll see for myself in couple of weeks when I do a practice run there with Brian. At the end of today's run I felt very good and took to heart Dave's advice that the best way to increase my stamina is to put in more distance. Distance first, speed second. I hear that. Tomorrow I'll do less distance when I run with KWL. I've covered a lot of miles over the last few days and I need to be kind to my legs. I hope I have enough energy left for Sunday's run as keeping up with KWL can be a challenge. I'm hoping his 10K/100 mile bike ride last weekend will even us up in terms of energy levels.

Long runs and minimalist shoes

Today's run: Central Park (planned)

It's only been one day since I've run but two mornings in a row without a workout seems too long. Tomorrow's planned run will be relatively long but we'll be keeping the pace moderate. Today I'm going to Central Park to put in a few fast miles. The weather predictions are making me think it will be cooler and drier than my last CP run and I'm hoping that's the case. I'm not all that pleased to see the summer coming to a close but as a runner who prefers cooler conditions, I am looking forward to the fall.

I have my Brooks today but I may wear my Kinvaras tomorrow because I'm curious to see how they feel after seven miles. The longest run I've done with these shoes is 5.25 miles and I had no problems on that day. Adventure Girl ran a tough trail half marathon in Oregon earlier this month while wearing her Kinvaras. She liked them a lot, even over that long distance. Today on Runner's Tech Review we're posting an article from a runner who has been deployed in Iraq and has put many miles on a variety of minimalist running shoes. It's a great piece because his impressions are based on miles of running, not just the initial test findings you'd get from most shoe reviews.

Should be a good weekend of running starting today. Only 28 days to the Great Cow Harbor 10K so my focus is turning to distance and stamina.

Crossing off cross training

I went to bed last night expecting to do a morning elliptical session but I've decided to forgo my workout today. I'm still feeling some residual soreness from Sunday's race and I've been feeling tired -- more due to work intensity than running. I'm glad I rested and I have no regrets that I didn't do my cross training this morning. The weather looks promising tomorrow and I'm thinking about doing a city run around midday. I've planned a long training run on Saturday with DaveADK and another run on Saturday morning with KWL. With all that upcoming running the benefits of rest seems to outweigh the benefit of one more workout. At least that's how I'm viewing it today.

A little rain won't hurt a run

Today's run (street) 2.8 miles at 9:06

If I were asked to describe my favorite running conditions I'd probably choose to have temperatures in the 40's, low humidity and indirect sunlight. I'd rather run in the 20 degree cold than the 90 degree heat but I'll run in both. I've run during snowstorms and loved the experience and I've done runs under the noon day sun with so much humidity that I was tempted to quit and walk home. I know people who only run outdoors under ideal conditions but I think that misses the point. Running is about playing the cards you're dealt. How can you understand your capabilities and limits if you only run when the weather cooperates?

When I stepped outside today I thought I'd experience the same conditions as yesterday, cool with a light mist. It's hard to tell too much about the outside weather in the early morning darkness and as I took off on my run I felt a steady rain coming down. It wasn't pouring but it was indeed raining and I had to quickly decide whether to continue or go back inside and run on the dreaded treadmill. I don't mind rain, in fact I like it a lot. My issue with rain is practical. I wear glasses and the combination of summer heat, humidity, rain and darkness make it difficult to see in certain circumstances. After a couple of minutes I concluded that the rain was light enough to manage through, so I continued to follow my planned route. I maintained a steady pace, keeping cadence in mind, and ran without a problem until I reached the two mile mark. At that point the rain became heavier and the humidity was beginning to fog my glasses. I was able to see well enough to keep going and I continued on my planned route back to my starting point.

On the last half mile of my run I was running south along a road that connects to my street and I noticed headlights from a car that seemed to be coming north from the middle school. The effect of these lights on my glasses was diffusion due to the humidity and rain. I became concerned about being able to see my way along the road but I didn't want to run on the sidewalk because there are many uneven sections that could cause a trip. I decided to cross over to the other side and hug the road. This small change offset the direct light that I could now tell came from an unmoving car. I was glad to reach my street and turn away from the distracting light and I finished my run soaking wet but pleased with the way things went. Another decent run despite the rain and humidity. I've been edging closer to running 3 miles on these early morning runs but I always run out of time. If only I could run a little faster.