Hey runner, got a light?

Seriously?

Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

I was about halfway through today's run when I noticed a guy exiting a small neighborhood park, holding a cigarette. I saw him from about thirty feet away, walking towards the street. The man began crossing the road and I wondered if I'd need to run around him. As I got closer he asked, "Got a lighter?" I yelled back, "I run, why would I smoke?" I didn't hear his response, but I'm sure it wasn't a compliment regarding my active lifestyle.

There were lots of people out this morning, and almost everyone I encountered on today's run made me question the intelligence of the average person. Shortly after my exchange with cigarette guy, I saw two women walking side by side on the right side of the road. My neighborhood has no thoroughfares, but a few roads (like this particular one) have steady traffic. I felt I should advise them on the danger of walking with your back to traffic. They acknowledged my point, but I saw them later on the run and they were still tempting fate on the wrong side of the road.

These women weren't the only people I saw walking with traffic, but I decided to stop playing safety patrol after that. There was a couple walking on the right, who spaced themselves so wide that the man was positioned in the middle of a busy road. He was a big boy, and I just hoped his size would be noticeable to drivers who would brake, thinking he was a Fiat 500.

Between the careless walkers, cyclists without helmets and drivers that ignore stop signs as a matter of course, I'm often frustrated with neighborhood running. That's why I love running Stillwell, Trailview and Bethpage. Except, of course, for those big hills.

Good day for a run and a great day for a party

Morning scene, before the fun and frenzy

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

Happy summer! School is done and both kids are kicking off vacation this week with pool parties. Wednesday, my son had his soon-to-be 9th grade buddies to the house. That one was easy. No decorations, basic snacks and no structured activities. My daughter is hosting a bunch of 15 year-old girls today and the planning has been far more intense. To be fair, it's also a birthday celebration for her. My duties were to set up the music downstairs and to get the pizza later. My wife is taking care of everything else, which means it will probably go very well. Sounds like it is.

Yesterday was a difficult day for me. My coughing reached an apex (I'm hoping) and I spent most of the day on calls. I'd decided early on that I didn't have time to run. With the way I felt, it seemed a better idea to skip my workout. I just looked at it as a recovery day. I was hoping later that my cough was receding, but it was back in full force overnight. It does seem better today.

Although I probably spent two hours trying to get to sleep last night, I felt well enough this morning to get outside. The weather was sunny and not yet hot, so I set off in the hope that my lack of sleep wouldn't affect my running performance. I don't think I set any personal records today, but I didn't feel bogged down either. I even extended my distance a little, figuring that I should get in more mileage since I had the time.

It's been a busy week for business, but I covered most of today's interactions before lunch. People rarely schedule meetings on Friday afternoons in the summer. The exceptions are my business colleagues in LA, SF and Seattle who have three more hours of morning than I do. So far, it's been quiet, except for all the yelling and splashing by the pool.

I'm a little more than a week away from the Marcie Mazzola 5K and haven't done much to prepare, besides following my normal running schedule. I figure I can just turn up the jets on race day and get through it since it's only 3.1 miles. That assumes, of course, that I can live with my worst 5K time ever.

Testing a grape theory

Treating the symptoms

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I'm sure people are as tired of reading about my cough as I am of of having one. My cough was as bad as ever this morning. My daughter had her annual checkup today and my wife mentioned her lengthy cough to the doctor. The pediatrician said it's likely to be allergy related, that the pollen is really high this year. She suggested taking Claritin. The only version we had was children's grape chewables, but I went for it. I'm not sure whether it's helping, but I'm a bit better than yesterday (and earlier today).

The weather was highly cooperative this morning and I took full advantage by running around the neighborhood. It actually felt cold when I first stepped outside. It was a combination of shade and breeze that masked the heat from the sun and humidity. The run went well, and with middle and high school finished, there was less car and bus traffic to contend with. I was surprised to see that my pace was faster than I expected.

These weekday runs are all pretty much the same. I can vary my route a little, but by now, every road looks as familiar as my back yard. I literally have hundreds of identical route maps on Garmin Connect. There's only so many combinations of streets that take me around for at least three miles and then back home again. The great thing about these runs is that they give me thirty or so minutes of relief from coughing. Tomorrow I'll start on adult doses of Claritin. Perhaps that will give me something to write about besides coughing.

Great cough run cough

My lunch meeting

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

I really hate this cough. I'm not concerned about it because my daughter endured it for three full weeks and (thankfully) she is over it now. Someday, I'll get over it as well. As disruptive as this cough has been, it hasn't really affected my workout routine. I've noticed that I never cough while I'm running or somehow active. Too bad I can't be active all the time.

The weather was iffy this morning, so I did a treadmill run using progressive speed increases every quarter mile. It was humid, so I blasted the fan. My cough had woken me up during the night and I was concerned that I'd be dragging myself through my morning run. But I was surprised by the level of energy I was able to maintain. It ended up being a pretty good workout, although I would have liked more recovery time afterward.

A train derailment at Penn Station last night made the morning commute difficult for LIRR riders. I prepared for an awful experience, but things had improved by the time I went in. I covered almost four miles on foot, according to my Fitbit, and that - somewhat - made up for my large lunch. I coughed the whole train ride into and out of the the city and frequently through my meetings. I look forward to improvement and I'm hoping that it happens soon. But recent history tells me it might not get better for a while.

Eight chukkas at Bethpage

It's basically croquet-soccer on horses

Today's run (track): 3.5 miles

Happy Father's Day! I've written often about Bethpage State Park as a great place to run, but there are many other things to do there. This afternoon we decided to take in a few chukkas of polo for the first match of the season. It was quite an experience, which I'll cover further below.

This morning I started things off with a track workout at the local high school. This was not a speed exercise by any means, but it was a nice change from running in my neighborhood. I set off at a brisk clip as I made my way around the walkers positioned in the lane in front of me. Runners generally know to keep the inside lane open for faster traffic, but walkers usually don't follow that unwritten rule.

I did ten laps, five clockwise and five the other way. I had considered running some intervals, but I'm still battling this chest cold. I was hoping that this run might enhance my immune system, rather than wearing me out to the point where I became susceptible to a relapse. I felt good at the end, worked out but not exhausted.

After a Father's Day lunch, we headed over to Bethpage for the polo match. The Empire Passport once again proved its worth, allowing us to park for free in the main lot rather than pay the $10 parking fee for the event. Once we walked up the hill, we were greeted at the entrance where we paid $5 for our two adult tickets. Kids were free today, but I'm not sure that will be the case all summer.

Fast action

The Polo Grounds were set up with grandstands and across the way was a large tented VIP area where patrons were served drinks and food. I'm guessing their entry fee was bit higher than $5. We made due with items from the snack bar that were on sale at reasonable prices. Our seats in the grandstand put us less than 30 feet from edge of the field that is the size of nine football fields.

We enjoyed watching the match and it was relatively easy to follow the action. Polo is sort of like a combination of croquet and soccer, played on horses. Those polo ponies are extremely agile and do an amazing job of getting their riders to the ball. The players whack the ball dozens of yards ahead of them and scoring is frequent. The final score of today's match was 9-5, won by the local team.

A Lambo and a Lotus

After the 4th chukka there was a halftime break where spectators were able to walk on the field and over to the other side. Maserati was showing cars and it was fun to check them out. Better still, there was a Lotus, along with some classic Ferrari's and Lamborghini's. I would have been happy to just look at these cars the rest of the afternoon.

Scary to watch

Near the end of the second half, there was a shocking moment when one of the polo ponies collapsed during play. The rider tumbled off and play was stopped while they attended to the downed animal. The park people surrounded the horse with trucks to keep spectators from seeing what was happening and they eventually put the horse onto one of the horse carriers. No word was given on its condition but they did resume play.

We watched the rest of the match and made our way back to the car where we ran into some friends who were also at the match. We agreed that it was a great experience (despite the unfortunate incident with the horse) and a great thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Most importantly, it was a really nice way to spend Father's Day with my family.