Post-doctoral run

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

A check of the weather last night showed the possibility of early morning rain. I decided to think positively and prepared my gear for an outdoor run. I figured that I could always defer to the treadmill if necessary.
I was pleased to step out to dry, cool conditions and a full moon. The low cloud cover defused the moonlight but it was still plenty bright. Satellites acquired, I bounded down the driveway feeling like I'd have a good run.

After Monday's "holiday" spent doing medical exams and tests, I was ready to come off my rest day and run hard. The first road along my route is slightly uphill. I normally wish to get past that section quickly, but today I wished that it was a longer road. This wasn't because I was enjoying the run (although I was), but because I feel like I need every hill I can get to prepare for Saturday's 5K.

I finished up with a credible overall pace but I hope to beat that time by 40 seconds per/mile during the race. It will all come down to whether the slowness going uphill will be offset by the speed that I can generate going down. I won't really know until I see the hill. Could it be as bad as Cow Harbor's James Street? I truly hope not.

What's harder, running or not running?

I did some hard running over the weekend and a long elliptical session on Monday, so I decided to take a rest day today. I usually run or work out every day of the week before a race (except on the day before) while reducing distance and effort for the taper. Today I needed to rest. Yesterday's marathon session at the doctor took a lot out of me and my body told me to forgo my run this morning.

Since I didn't run I'm feeling energetic, but I know I made the right decision. I feel prepared for the hilly challenge this Saturday and I don't think one day off will make any difference to my conditioning at this point. It's sometimes hard to get moving on my runs each morning but it's often harder not to run at all.

Celebrating Columbus Day a different way

Today's workout (elliptical): 37 minutes

Happy Columbus Day. I'm spending the middle of my day at the doctor getting my annual checkup and associated tests. Good health requires activity and a lot of maintenance.

This morning I substituted my run for a longer elliptical session. It was an opportunity to work out with my wife while she ran on the treadmill.  After two days of hill practice today's workout was a breeze.

As I'd mentioned, my wife ran on the treadmill, which survived the console replacement that I did on Sunday. Unfortunately it seems like the elevation control needs to be calibrated and I need some instruction to help me do that. Until that happens the machine won't do inclines. In the meantime the treadmill itself works fine. Nothing is ever simple.

Ups and downs at Bethpage State Park

Dear Garmin: I can't recall that 90 foot spike at 1.4 miles

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 4.2 miles -- 4 x 800m downhill, 4 x 800m uphill

Yesterday's training run at the business park provided some hilly terrain but the net gain was less than what I'll face next Saturday. I decided to head to Bethpage and do some hill repeats. My plan was to run up and down the big hill that comes at the beginning of the bike path. This hill comes at the end of my out-and-back long runs and I always dread it. I wondered how I'd feel running it four times today.

Since what goes up must also come down, I started my session going downhill after an initial climb up a steep but short section off the trail head. I ran this hill to the half mile point, turned around and came back up until my Garmin showed that I'd gone a half a mile in both directions. I repeated this exercise four times with no stopping between intervals.

The first two miles were easy. While I'm usually encountering this big hill after an hour's worth of running, today I was still relatively fresh. The downhill segments served as a nice recovery from the harder work of coming back up.  I saw a lot of other runners today and wondered if they were also training for next week's race, since Bethpage's path has many hills along its route.

It was a good workout but not as hard as I feared. The second two miles were a little tougher, but I never felt over-taxed. That may be a sign that my conditioning is in line for next Saturday's course that is half uphill and half down. I didn't push hard on the downhill sections but I didn't hold back either. I figure that after I crest the highest point on the Oyster Bay 5K, I can let loose on the decline knowing that the hardest part of the race has already been run.

Two projects: Pure and Sole

Mis-Connecting with the PureConnect

Today's run (street): 4.75 miles

Yesterday I had lunch with a colleague and then headed over to City Sports to look at some new items.  I'd received an email this week from City Sports saying they had Brooks's new line of Pure Project shoes. These shoes, inspired by the minimalist running movement, have been greatly anticipated. If you follow Brooks on Twitter you might think that running in them approaches a religious experience.

My lunch mate is an avid cyclist so, while he went off to look at bike gear, I made my way to the running shoe section. I was helped by a salesperson who actually knew something about running shoes. This was a pleasant surprise because I usually get people who know very little about the differences between brands and models.

My salesman asked if I'd like to try a pair of the PureConnects, Brook's most minimal model in the Pure Project line. I tried them on and my excitement was immediately deflated when I felt how snugly the shoe wrapped my mid-foot and arch. The back and front of the shoe felt awkwardly separated. The salesperson claimed that this snugness facilitated a mid-foot landing and I told him I didn't think it was necessary to clamp my arch to do that. I did some strides in the limited space and did not think the shoes felt especially responsive.

Undeterred, the salesperson had me try on the PureFlow model which is a little more cushioned and has a stabilizing component that, interestingly, sits opposite from the medial side of the shoe. The Flow felt better on my foot than the Connect but I still didn't like it. I tried a quick "run" and felt no chemistry. My primary rule about a running shoe is never believe sales people when they say "They will feel better when you run in them." Sorry, but no. If it doesn't feel right in the store, I'm done.

The obelisk in "2001: A Space Odyssey" looked harmless too

Speaking of "projects", this weekend I will attempt to do a console-ectomy on the Sole to replace the system board that is preventing us from adjusting the speed of the treadmill. Right now, the parts are sitting in a huge box in the living room and I'm scared to look inside. I have a bad track record with "repairs" and I'm a little intimidated by the task.

Finally, I hit the local business park this morning to practice running roads with elevation. I needed to be back early, otherwise I would have headed to Bethpage. I ran to the park and circled the loop three times before heading back home. The route is not especially steep but there is a steady incline over half the distance.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get in some speed work as I look toward next week's 5K. I may also try running some inclines on the treadmill. That is, if I don't permanently destroy the new control board today.