Last night my division did an office shuffle to better consolidate functional groups. Before this move I was situated, at best, a few offices away from some of my team. Most other staff were scattered in different locations around the floor. It wasn't a bad situation because I didn't mind walking around to see people. I had a great view of 6th Ave, and through a lucky break, my office was equipped with two sets of shelves and two closets. My new view is far less appealing than the old, but I can still see 6th from certain angles.
This new location does put me closer to staff, although I still have people sitting in other parts of the floor. I noticed this morning that it now takes me twice as long to walk to the pantry for coffee. Since I'm literally in the last office along the corridor, it will mean lots more walking in general. So the upside to all this is that I'll end up covering twice as much ground during the day as I did pre-move. That works for me!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Will there be snow at the Snowflake race?
They are now predicting that we'll see snowflakes at the Snowflake race in Long Beach this Saturday. I have no issues running with a little snow, my biggest concern is that they'll yank us off the boardwalk again because of slippery conditions.
I'm enjoying day one of my two-day rest period prior to Saturday's event. Not counting the New Year Hangover 5 mile (fun) run, this will be my first race of 2012. I'm hoping that I've trained correctly for this race.
Four mile races are similar to 5K's, except that they require a little more strategy in terms of parceling out speed. Where 5K's are basically fast runs that get faster at the end, a 4 mile race requires a little more pacing.. I'm looking to make my first mile my slowest, and pick up speed as I go. The condition of the course will factor in as well. I'm still hoping for the boardwalk, but you never know.
I'm enjoying day one of my two-day rest period prior to Saturday's event. Not counting the New Year Hangover 5 mile (fun) run, this will be my first race of 2012. I'm hoping that I've trained correctly for this race.
Four mile races are similar to 5K's, except that they require a little more strategy in terms of parceling out speed. Where 5K's are basically fast runs that get faster at the end, a 4 mile race requires a little more pacing.. I'm looking to make my first mile my slowest, and pick up speed as I go. The condition of the course will factor in as well. I'm still hoping for the boardwalk, but you never know.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Hate tapering, huh? Liar!
Today's workout (treadmill): 25 minutes
This morning's treadmill workout was my last run prior to Saturday's race. The end of my taper. There was a column in a recent TrailRunner magazine where the writer complained about his two week taper leading up to running the Hardrock 100. I've seen plenty of quotes, and even a Runner's World survey, where people expressed distaste for the period of reduced mileage leading to a pre-race rest period.
Here's what I think about it: they're lying. It's like what my wife and I call brag-plaining ("It's so hard for us with little Timmy because of all the homework from his AP honors classes, plus his travel soccer team, advanced violin classes and immersive Mandarin courses on the weekends."). I think many runners can't admit that they like the indulgence of rest, even though they do.
Sure, I like to run, but taking a few days off without suffering the usual feelings of guilt feels earned. I'm looking forward to getting up tomorrow and sipping coffee without giving a thought to running gear, my reflective vest or the weather.
This morning's treadmill workout was my last run prior to Saturday's race. The end of my taper. There was a column in a recent TrailRunner magazine where the writer complained about his two week taper leading up to running the Hardrock 100. I've seen plenty of quotes, and even a Runner's World survey, where people expressed distaste for the period of reduced mileage leading to a pre-race rest period.
Here's what I think about it: they're lying. It's like what my wife and I call brag-plaining ("It's so hard for us with little Timmy because of all the homework from his AP honors classes, plus his travel soccer team, advanced violin classes and immersive Mandarin courses on the weekends."). I think many runners can't admit that they like the indulgence of rest, even though they do.
Sure, I like to run, but taking a few days off without suffering the usual feelings of guilt feels earned. I'm looking forward to getting up tomorrow and sipping coffee without giving a thought to running gear, my reflective vest or the weather.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
No parades for the Snowflake race
Today's run: (street): 2.5 miles
It was amusing to see the throngs of NY Giants fans, all dressed in blue, converging on Penn Station this morning. The big ticker tape parade starts downtown at 11:00 and I guess these fans wanted to get a head start on the festivities. The confusion in the faces of so many Giants fans made me think it was their first time ever taking the train into the city. Hats off to the Giants though, they earned it. But it's hard to be a New Englander in NYC this week.
I actually prefer sports, like running, where I can influence the outcome. I'll have the chance to do that this Saturday at the Long Beach Snowflake run. The weather on race day will probably be similar to this morning's, when I went out into 30 degree temperatures. My run went fine, I probably did the second half 10% faster than the first. It's difficult to go from just awake to a hard-charge at that hour, so I usually concede that my first mile will be on the slow side.
I'm curious to see how they will route us on Saturday. It would be great to run the whole race on the boardwalk, but I don't think that's the way they've designed the course. At least not in the prior three races I've run there. One more run tomorrow and then I'll rest until race day. It's not the Superbowl, and there won't be a parade on Monday, but Long Beach is the place to be on Saturday morning..
It was amusing to see the throngs of NY Giants fans, all dressed in blue, converging on Penn Station this morning. The big ticker tape parade starts downtown at 11:00 and I guess these fans wanted to get a head start on the festivities. The confusion in the faces of so many Giants fans made me think it was their first time ever taking the train into the city. Hats off to the Giants though, they earned it. But it's hard to be a New Englander in NYC this week.
I actually prefer sports, like running, where I can influence the outcome. I'll have the chance to do that this Saturday at the Long Beach Snowflake run. The weather on race day will probably be similar to this morning's, when I went out into 30 degree temperatures. My run went fine, I probably did the second half 10% faster than the first. It's difficult to go from just awake to a hard-charge at that hour, so I usually concede that my first mile will be on the slow side.
I'm curious to see how they will route us on Saturday. It would be great to run the whole race on the boardwalk, but I don't think that's the way they've designed the course. At least not in the prior three races I've run there. One more run tomorrow and then I'll rest until race day. It's not the Superbowl, and there won't be a parade on Monday, but Long Beach is the place to be on Saturday morning..
Monday, February 6, 2012
The myth of the morning person
Although I struggled with a bad sinus headache most of the weekend, I did manage to get in a couple of good workouts. As planned, I ran a set of intervals on Saturday and then did a slow, easy run on Sunday morning. My headache caused some dizziness, and that was further exacerbated after viewing Madonna's Superbowl Halftime show. Despite the close game and my hopes for the Pats, I went to bed before 9:00. It was the right thing to do because I feel much better this morning.
Last week, my wife had breakfast with a friend that she hasn't seen in a while. Their discussion turned to exercise and my wife mentioned that she runs on the treadmill first thing every morning. Her friend said, "Oh, that's easy for you, you're a morning person." My wife responded, "True, but is anyone really a morning person at 5:00 AM?"
That's the thing about workouts. It's not the time of day that you do them. It's simply that you do them. A morning person will probably do better with a morning workout, and conversely, a night person will do better going for a run after dinner. But being a morning person doesn't make it any easier to roll out of bed in the early hours and hit the treadmill or the road. What it really takes is a commitment to staying healthy. That can work for people at any time of the day.
Last week, my wife had breakfast with a friend that she hasn't seen in a while. Their discussion turned to exercise and my wife mentioned that she runs on the treadmill first thing every morning. Her friend said, "Oh, that's easy for you, you're a morning person." My wife responded, "True, but is anyone really a morning person at 5:00 AM?"
That's the thing about workouts. It's not the time of day that you do them. It's simply that you do them. A morning person will probably do better with a morning workout, and conversely, a night person will do better going for a run after dinner. But being a morning person doesn't make it any easier to roll out of bed in the early hours and hit the treadmill or the road. What it really takes is a commitment to staying healthy. That can work for people at any time of the day.
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