Wearing the seagull proudly

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt

Today's run (street): 3.9 miles

The rain stopped this morning, so I took advantage of the clearing skies and went out for my run. I had no plan except to cover more miles than I normally do on weekdays, when I'm constrained for time. I was feeling slightly sluggish on my first steps out the door -- I think it had more to do with the humidity than my physical condition.

I ran easy for the most part, not minding my pace or even looking at my overall time. There were a few other runners out at the same time and I crossed paths with a young woman who appeared to be struggling with her workout. The weather was taking its toll on everyone. I completed my run feeling like I'd worked harder than my numbers showed. If it's more about perceived effort than actual pace then I did well today.

After my run I went for my six month checkup at the dentist. I was wearing my 2011 Cow Harbor t-shirt and my dentist (who is 8 months pregnant) joked that she'd skipped Cow Harbor this year because she'd gained too much weight. One of my daughter's teachers mentioned last week that he'd ran it on Saturday. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, around here, Cow Harbor is the race to run.

Running summer into fall

Today's run (Street): 2.5 miles

Last night my son asked me when I planned to go out for my morning run. I told him 4:00 AM and he noted that, although today is the first day of fall, I would be doing that run in summer. It's true, I completed my run before the Fall Equinox began at 5:05 AM. If I had the option, I would have began my run during summer and finished it in fall, just for the fun of it.

It's hard to believe that summer is finally over. It was a great season for running, but I look forward to cooler days and less humidity. This morning's run was interesting, a combination of refreshing coolness from the wind and high heat and humidity the rest of the time. A perfect metaphor of summer into fall. Lots of rain is coming later today and it's supposed to continue into tonight and tomorrow. I'm hoping for a window of clear skies on Saturday so I can do my first run of fall outside.

Wanted: less pain and less rain

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

I'm not sure if it's due to method or to time, but after this morning's elliptical session my legs are feeling much better. I'm used to experiencing soreness in my calves, quads and hamstrings after a race, but that usually goes away after a day or so. Cow Harbor really beat me up and recovery has taken four days. Next year I'll make sure I do enough hill work prior to this race.

I'm disappointed to see that this week's rain will hang over through the weekend. I've been looking forward to celebrating fall weather with a long run, but I'm not sure if I'll have that option. It would be nice to return to the trails a change of view.  Besides that, dirt is more forgiving than pavement and I'm all for that right now.

1,000 posts later and I'm still Emerging

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

Almost three years ago I published my first post on the Emerging Runner blog. The subject of the post was "Yeah, I'm a runner", a tongue and cheek joke I have with my wife about things I did one time (rock climbing, sailing a 12 meter yacht, fly fishing) and then bragged about it for weeks. But, in running, I was determined to be more than a dilettante. I was ready to commit.

I started running after changing my diet in August of 2008, controlling portion sizes of my meals and making better choices with food. At the same time, I started walking, first on the treadmill and then out in the neighborhood. A month into it I started looking up the road and challenging myself to run to the corner. Soon it was a full street and eventually my walks became runs.

It took about six weeks for me to transition from fitness walking to running, and my commitment was helped along with the strong support of my family and friends. I liked I how felt after I ran and I was fortunate to begin to lose weight quickly. By the time I started the blog in November 2008, I had lost over 30 lbs. No magic diet, pills, shakes or fasts. It was simply eating less and doing more.

I started the blog as a journal to record my progress and as a way to tap into the community of runners. Over the last three years I've received many valuable suggestions, tried most, and adopted some. Even today, I welcome advice from runners like Paul, Dave, Adam and Brian who generously share their expertise and experience.

What have I written about in a thousand posts? A look at the "tags" list on the left side of the blog will answer that question. I mostly write about my runs, but I also like to share what I've learned from other runners. I'm out almost every day, and after three years, I've seen a lot of things on the roads and trails. I often wish I'd stayed with my running back in the '90's because I'd have all that experience to draw on by now. Then I think that I might have developed bad knees from all that running and I feel better for my more recent return.

One thousand post, hundreds of runs and twenty races later, I still feel like I'm an emerging runner. Every run is different and I'm still learning new things. Running gives me a reason to write and writing demands content, so I'm motivated to run. Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and for connecting through email and comments. It's great to have friends who share this passion. I'll keep writing if you'll keep reading.

My course is harder than your course

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

I gave myself an extra day to recover this week and rested on both Sunday and Monday. The James Street hill played havoc on my calves and they have remained tight and sore over the past two days. I've noticed that I've done better walking upstairs than downstairs, so I planned a route this morning that began with an uphill section. That didn't work out the way I'd expected and my calves and quads were unhappy. When I leveled off, I noticed that my gait felt more natural.

My first mile was sedate but I picked up the pace after that, and ended up with a credible time overall. I wore the Hattori's, which I used for Cow Harbor, and wondered if I should have chosen the GTS-10's or the Mirages, to provide a little more cushioning. Perhaps tomorrow I'll go that way.

On my way into the office this morning I ran into a couple of friends, one of whom had recently run a 6.5 mile adventure race that included obstacles like water crossings and wall climbs. She said the race was intense and there were many Navy SEALS competing on that difficult course. I said, "Well, I ran up a big hill on Saturday." Somehow James Street didn't seem quite so impressive.