Autumn running brings front loaders and pumpkin bread

Today's run (street): 5.3 miles

A runner's reward

 I needed to drop off my car for inspection this morning and that delayed my run until 9:00 AM. That was no big deal, but the world is far more awake at 9:00 than at 7:00. People who are awake tend to drive their cars, so the streets were busier than I prefer. Worse, the tree trucks and front loaders were also out in force, attending to the remaining pockets of destruction caused by Sandy.

On weekend runs in the neighborhood, I usually stay fairly free-form in terms of my route. That way I can run distances as they play out: 4, 5, 6 miles or more, depending on where I am when I decide to head for home. Today I pre-mapped the streets I'd follow, because I wanted to cover at least five miles. With a couple of exceptions, my run went fairly well.

The temperature was in the 40's but it still felt cold, probably because there were strong winds blowing from the north. The combination of wind and a slightly rising road made for a tough start. At one point something - a leaf, twig or small acorn - hit me in the face, right above my brow. Fortunately, my glasses had prevented it from hitting my eye.

Along my route I encountered crews of workers that were blocking the road with their trucks and equipment. I saw a few large sanitation trucks that were picking up some remaining debris. I avoided a couple of streets that looked impassible, and stayed on the sidewalk while I managed around a particularly big work operation. I ended up running my distance a little faster than I thought I might. I wasn't concerned about speed, but it was nice to see that I beat my performance expectation.

When I got home, my wife and kids were in the process of preparing their famous pumpkin bread that they bake every year around Thanksgiving, for friends and family. To a ravenous runner, the smell of pumpkin, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon was intoxicating. After a quick shower, I was treated to one of the mini-muffins that were baked from the batter. Recovery food doesn't get any better than this.

Observing transformation on my morning run

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

One day can make a dramatic difference. During my run this morning I saw that most of the downed trees were removed some time yesterday. Some scary looking wires, artfully draped over a busy road for the past two weeks, were back up on their poles. The streets were clear of residual brush, and it looked like we'd never even had a hurricane.

This morning was colder than yesterday, but only by a few degrees. I wore my prized City Sports running pants and a lightweight 1/4 zip top with an short sleeve jersey over it. This combination worked well for the near freezing weather. Had I run longer, or pushed myself harder, I would have felt overheated. I ended up covering my route a minute slower than yesterday, although the effort seemed about the same.

I'm thinking about this weekend's running and I was disappointed to see that the New York State Parks website said that, besides the clubhouse, tennis facilities and golf courses, "Other areas of the park will remain closed until further notice." I need to find an alternative to Bethpage for my long weekend runs. Perhaps I'll head to Stillwell Woods tomorrow to do some trail running. It's been a long time since I've gone off road and I really miss that experience.

Running in Sandy's spooky aftermath

The shadowy world of a 4 AM runner

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

Hurricane Sandy is more than two weeks gone but the after effects will remain for a while. People have been saying that it's just too soon for Thanksgiving to be happening. One of my favorite times of the year is the period between mid-October and early December. That's when the leaves turn, the air smells like fall, and Halloween and Thanksgiving kick off the holiday season. Hurricane Sandy interrupted that whole experience. On the other hand, having our power restored and not sitting in gas lines will be top of mind when we give thanks next Thursday.

As I made my way to the top of the first street on my morning run, my headlamp revealed what looked like two cords of wood stacked on the curb in front of a neighbor's house. If I had a wood-burning stove or used our fireplace, this would be a good time to save money on firewood. Running through the neighborhood is a little eerie these days, especially on mornings like this when there's little moonlight. My headlamp and the occasional streetlights played off the huge trees, downed by the storm. In the dark at 4:00 AM, it looks like a scene from "Where the Wild Things Are."

In the days between Sandy and today, we've seen temperatures drop, especially in the early morning. I dressed accordingly and appreciated the extra layers as I made my way around the neighborhood. The cold air definitely helps motivate me to run a little harder and I found myself pacing faster than the day before. The spooky shapes created by the storm were a fun distraction and my run seemed to go by quickly, even though I only beat Wednesday's time by 32 seconds. Sandy overshadowed Halloween this year, but I got it back a little today.

Athlinks bemoans declining race times

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

I had a funny exchange yesterday with Troy Busot, the founder of Athlinks. This website aggregates race results and allows members to compile a rich racing history. Athlinks members can comment on their race experiences and compare their performance to "rivals" (other members who have participated in 2 or more of the same races that you've run).

The reason I contacted Troy was that he'd sent an email that, in a tongue and cheek way, chided runners for what he called, "an alarming decline in U.S. racing performances in distances across the board." He compared average finish times for the most common race distances plus Olympic, Half and Full Ironman Triathlons. He made his point but I noticed that his times for half marathons were exactly the same as for 10K's, an obvious typo:

Average Times for Leading
Race Distances from 2009-2012

Distance	2009	2012	Change	% Change
5K Run	30:30	31:47	+1:17	+4.04%
10K Run	1:01:01	1:02:28	+1:27	+2.34%
Half Mara	1:01:01	1:02:28	+0:18	+0.15%
Marathon*	4:33:18	4:33:13	-0:04	-0.03%
Olympic Tri	2:52:53	2:55:55	+3:02	+1.73%
Half Iron	5:59:43	6:05:49	+6:06	+1.73%
Ironman	12:49:44	13:11:39	+21:54	+2.77%
* Marathon times were the only notable improvement.

Troy quickly fell on his sword after I sent him a note about it and he gave me the correct figures for 2009 and  2012, which were 2:15:16 and 2:16:40 respectively. Troy wrote, "Yep, I have quit the company in typo-shame." I've never run a full marathon but I have run the other distances. In every case (except my first half), I've beaten the average, both for 2009 and 2012. So perhaps I'm not as average as I thought, although my scores would not be so favorable were the comparison more age and gender based.

Speaking of average, my pace this morning was exactly that. The temperature was 35 degrees with a noticeable breeze, and I wore some extra layers anticipating the cold. I stayed comfortable throughout the run and didn't really have a clue how fast I was going until I looked at my heart rate near the end. I saw that I was at 80% of Max. I tried to get it to 85% in the remaining quarter mile, but I didn't quite get there. Even so, my average morning run still gets me around the course 45 seconds per mile faster than the 5K average!

Fighting the sleep fog for the good of the run

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Am I done yet?

Every evening I follow a process to prepare for my morning workout. This involves a  few steps, beginning with check of the morning weather on the local news channel. I then select my running gear based on expected conditions at 4 AM. My favorite part of this process has nothing to do with running. It's the discussions I have with my son and daughter who talk to me while I get my gear ready. It only takes fifteen minutes from start to finish, but I've had some of my best conversations with my kids during those times.

Last night my son and I were discussing sleep. I asked him if he ever looks forward going to bed and he said that he doesn't like to sleep. He recognizes the need for sleep, but doesn't like that it takes away from his (many) interests. I had to agree, to a point. As it happens, I typically get 5 to 6 hours sleep on weekdays and 7 to 8 hours on the weekends. Even with those brief interruptions there never seems to be enough time.

But sleep is seductive. Getting up and out of bed after a deep sleep is very hard to do. It's especially difficult to maintain a commitment to run while your brain is still suppressing histamines, norephinephrine, and serotonin. The only way to break through the fog is to give yourself an ultimatum: "Regardless of how I feel, I'm running."

That's what it took today to get me on the treadmill. Once the machine began to turn, I was able to distract my focus from sleepiness to being semi-alert. I'm afraid of the treadmill so my safety instinct took over and, by the three minute point, I was running at target for the first phase of a progressive speed run. All residual effects from sleeping had passed, and I thought about pushing harder to get my heart rate up into zone 4. I ended up meeting my goals and felt energized throughout the run.

In the end, I'm always happy that I followed through on my commitment to run. It's almost an act of faith to go through the motions of putting on running clothes while eyeing the bed that they sit on. But every time I run when I want to rest, I feel better mentally, physically and emotionally. You just have to believe that you'll get past the fog.