Last year a baton, this year a DVD case

Today's run (street): 4 miles

I was surprised to feel as well as I did after I got up this morning. Despite yesterday and Friday's hard runs and a later bedtime last night I was up at 4:30 this morning. I waited a few hours to run and by then the temperature was heading to 60 degrees. I didn't plan to go out too far today so I targeted 5K to 4 miles for my distance. We'd taken out a couple of DVDs this weekend so I followed a route that passed the library so I could return them. As I ran along holding the DVD cases I realized that exactly one year ago I was running in the Cape Cod marathon relay. Instead of a DVD box, that Sunday I held a baton as I worked to complete my second relay leg (6 miles) and hand it off to Adventure Girl who ran the final 11. We all had a great time that weekend and I believe that event still represents the most miles I've covered in a single day.

After swinging by the library's outdoor drop bin I turned back into the neighborhood  to complete my run. I didn't feel as strong as I did during yesterday's Cow Harbor do-over but I had more than enough energy to cover my distance. I ended up running about 9:30 per mile, mostly due to a steep drop in speed on mile 4. I guess the Central Park and Northport runs finally caught up with me. Between Friday afternoon and this morning I've covered over 15 miles. Most were run with hard effort. I really do need to put a couple of 6+ mile runs together next weekend to get back in line with my distance goals. I felt good this morning but tomorrow I may feel differently. It's been my experience that the pain of running Widow Hill can take a couple of days to manifest.

James Street, we meet again...

Today's starting point. No cow costumes or elite runners this morning

Yesterday's run (Central Park). 4.5 miles
Today's run (street): 6.35 miles

I've had a lot of energy this week to channel toward running and I'm happy with the results. Yesterday I ran with a friend in Central Park, covering the lower and upper loops plus one circuit around the reservoir. The weather was optimal, high 40's, no humidity and no direct sunlight.  We felt the cold as we headed up to the park -- I always say, "You should dress for your third mile, not you first." Soon we were into the run and I was surprised at how effortless it felt to attack that first hill, given that we were moving at an 8:45 pace over the first mile. Unlike recent excursions on these paths, the focus was fully on speed and it took little time to reach the steps leading to the trail around the reservoir. We were quickly passed by a woman who must have been pacing in the 6-7 minute range. So much for feeling fast. It didn't matter in the least, we continued our way back after covering 4.5 miles and averaging just a tick over 9 minutes a mile.

This morning I met BJS (Brian) in Northport where we reran the Great Cow Harbor 10K course. Neither of us were happy with our performance on race day and I figured the cooler temperatures would result in an improvement in my time. I didn't get dramatic improvement I wanted but I did do slightly better today than I did on race day. We began on Laurel Ave., close to the starting line of the race. I felt far better than in September when I raced this course and when we hit Scudder I was concerned about going out too hard before the rough stuff both on Woodbine and James St. Once you pass by Main Street you need to prepare for about a mile of misery as Woodbine is hilly through its length and James Street is a monster. Getting up Widow Hill wasn't pleasant and I think my saving grace was knowing I'd scaled it successfully a couple of times before. By the time we reached the top we were hurting but we also knew we had almost two miles of recovery road ahead before the lengthy Waterside Ave. incline.

In retrospect it may have been better to charge down hills whenever possible to save precious seconds but I'd chosen to conserve and Brian was gracious enough to stay at my pace. I suspect he was willing to push the speed more on downhills but we stayed together. We ran on sidewalks as much as we could and that was tricky in spots due to the surface unevenness and angle. Except for some moments on James Street I never felt overtaxed and when we reached "Pumpernickel Hill" I was pleased to know it was the last hill to breech. We didn't fly all the way down Main Street but we steadily picked up speed as we came closer to our finish.  Brian put some distance ahead of me in the last quarter mile and we finished after running a little over an hour. A careful mapping of our run revealed that we actually covered 6.35 miles, so technically I ran the Cow Harbor length in 59:18. Not great by any measure but on the better side of an hour.

As we walked from our finishing spot back to the waterfront area we passed Woodbine and I asked Brian if he wanted to run James Street again. He was ready to do it but I was only joking. Once was more than enough, thank you. I think Brian is going to do the run again tomorrow with Bailey, his Lab. I wonder what she'll think of Widow Hill.

The Emerging Running Club

I'm planning to run in Central Park this afternoon with Steve, my banker friend. There's something nice about ending the work week with a NYC run, especially on a cool fall day. Steve and I haven't run together in a while so it will be good to catch up. I've been running more with friends these days and I really like the experience. It's the variables that make it interesting. Last year I ran primarily with Adventure Girl and that set the bar high. We covered a lot of territory around NYC and ran with performance in mind. It was always a fun challenge keeping her pace.

When I run with my friend CK in the city I know it will be a workout that pushes me well past my comfort zone. Yet I still enjoy the experience. My runs with BJS and Dave are not "all out" although we do run hard. It's a great balance between work and social and I learn a lot from both of them. My weekly runs with JQ are a treat. He's a fascinating guy, the kind of person you'd pay to listen to. Our runs are relaxed and it's as much about the conversation as it is about the activity. I've had some great runs recently with KWL who took up the sport when I co-organized a Fun Run last summer. He's primarily a cyclist but he's surpassed me in terms of speed. I had enjoyed an advantage on longer distances but he recently ran a 10K race on a Saturday and a Century (100 Mile) bike ride the next day. We usually run 8:30-8:40 miles but they don't seem that hard. In most cases, running with a friend makes time go by faster. Hard runs just seem easier. It's all about the company.

Pace expectations and the online calculator

Your guess is as good as mine

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

Thinking about two of my planned races in November, both 10K's, I decided to analyze my performance at other race distances to help me manage my expectations. My PR for a 5K is 25:50, or 8:19 per mile. Both times I've run 8K's I've averaged 9:00 per mile. That means that adding 3K (1.86 miles) caused my speed to degrade by 8.2%. That's a big drop for not much incremental distance. Averaging all my 5K's, my pace is 8:31 meaning that I generally lose 6% when going from 5K to 8K. My 10K track record is spotty because I've only run one of them on pavement but my overall pace averages 9:32, or almost 12% higher than my 5K average. According to the calculators that you can find online that factor in age grading, V02 Max and other formulations, I should be averaging 8:50 per mile on 10Ks. That pace is based on my 5K average. It's a nice thought but I'm not sure how to get there.

For now I continue to focus on distance first and speed second. One thing that seems obvious is that adding more length to my runs and maintaining a consistent pace will bring my power curve forward, past the 3 mile mile mark. I've run 8 miles at 9:15 so I know I can improve on my current performance. I'll keep that in mind this weekend when I rerun the Cow Harbor course in Northport.

Cow Harbor, take 2

Today's run (street): 2.75 miles

It's almost November but the experience of September's 10K in Northport still haunts a few of us. Few local races set expectations and cultivate strategic planning like the Great Cow Harbor race. Despite predictions of a cool and dry morning, race day at Cow Harbor was sunny, hot and very humid. You can control a lot of variables when you run but you cannot change the weather. This weekend should be far cooler and drier than it was on September 25th and BJS and I are planning a Cow Harbor do-over on Saturday. No packed crowds, costumes, cow bells and water stations. No coverage on News 12. Just us and the course. Bring it, James Street hill! Waterside Ave., you don't scare me! I really hope I can beat my race time.

This morning's run felt very different than Tuesday's. Yesterday I ran with the Resistance Runners that are quite a bit heavier than the Kinvaras that I wore today. It's comparable to putting a weighted donut on your bat when you're in the on-deck circle and going to the plate without it. Yesterday's run was all about getting by despite the shoes and today it was only about running. It was a far more comfortable run today and with the temperature in the high 40's I barely broke a sweat for the first ten minutes. I tried to incorporate some strides within my overall pace and felt good in terms of form and energy. It didn't translate into a fast run though. Far from it -- a mid 9 minute pace. In the end I felt really good and that feeling has followed me all morning. I'm planning another Central Park mid day run on Friday with my banker friend. That's always a nice way to bring home the work week. Today was great but I'm going to need more speed this Saturday.