Weekend plans

I'm looking forward to this weekend, not only because it comes with an extra day off but because, as of this weekend, I'll have an opportunity to jump in the pool after my long runs. I've been reading about different approaches to cross training and swimming appears to be a good choice. I'm eager to try running under water as a no-impact training alternative but mostly I'm looking forward to the instant cool-down after diving in.

Another thing I've been reading about is the relationship between speed training and distance. I've both read and have been told that tempo runs and intervals are extremely beneficial to distance runners, especially those that need to increase their anaerobic efficiency. I appreciate that but my reaction to anything like drills is fairly negative. I have done speed drills and I'm sure that it's helped me but what I really want to do is get into the zone and just run. I'm looking to combine tempo training and trail running this weekend. I'm targeting the bike trails at Bethpage State Park for that. I don't know what to expect from that in terms of surface. I know the bike paths are paved but I've also heard there are good dirt trails.

Instead of facing the treadmill this morning I ran 1.6 miles in Central Park before starting my work day. It was cool and sunny - perfect conditions for a light run. AG is doing her second consecutive weekend of torture, this time she'll be running up and down four mountains in the Patch Sprint race. I have about two weeks before my next race so I'll continue to work on distance and aim for 20 miles per week until then. It's been a great week for city running, once in Boston and twice in NYC. I'm dreading the heat of summer but I'm thinking that even on the hottest days, running in the early morning hours can still be bearable.

PRODUCT NEWS:
I'm using the Moji Knee this morning to see how it feels post-run. AG will field test it this weekend during her 12 mile mountain race and we'll report on its performance. So far I like the way it feels.

In addition, I will be testing a product from QStarz, a Hong Kong based company that makes the BT-Q1300S which, according to the company is "a GPS sports-recorder designed for out-door sports fans to set up the weight loss plan, Keep Track of workout status, and strive toward even the best record." I am eager to to try it.

Visiting Brooklyn the hard way

Yesterday provided another new city running experience for me as AG and I again held our weekly update meeting outdoors. We spent the first 15 minutes discussing some key business items in my office before heading out. AG brought in some Clif Shot Bloks that were left over from her relay. She wanted to try them to see if they provided some benefit since she's facing 12 miles of dirt, brush, rocks and hills (mountains actually) at this weekend's Patch Sprint. I tried a couple out of curiosity and I'm glad I did since what lay ahead was no picnic.

We headed downtown by subway and staged at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Our plan was to run over the bridge to Brooklyn, make our way to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, run that length, and then return. The temperature sign from my office said 78 degrees and I was wearing a black Dri-Fit jersey. It wasn't too bad in the shade but in the sun it was hot. The Brooklyn Bridge is sizable but not scary at all. The cars are a level below and the most concerning thing is that you're sharing a relatively narrow path crowded with walkers and cyclists. The first half of the bridge is an incline but I had no trouble with that, possibly due to the pre-run carb load. Once we headed down and off the bridge I was feeling pretty good. AG warned me that we'd encounter a big hill soon and that had me a little worried. I should have been much more worried.

Once we were in Brooklyn we ran through DUMBO and then took a left where we hit the mini mountain and charged our way up. When I say charged up I mean I ran about as fast as a slow walker. I'm sure AG could have zipped up the hill at twice the speed but we did it together. I was very happy to see it start to level and although the street continued at a slight incline it was tolerable. We swung down to the Promenade and ran that to the end. At the turnaround the Garmin showed exactly 2 miles. We continued back and encountered the hill again but it was much easier going in that direction. There were two guys charging up as we made it down and I felt for them.

After we reached DUMBO I requested that we walk for a few blocks as I was pretty spent and we still had the bridge to cross. That helped and we resumed our run as we made our way up the steps to the bridge. It was hot, crowded and we ran on an incline until we made it to the middle. The rest of the way was downhill and we finished where we started, exactly 4 miles later. We bought some bottled water and headed back to work, hot and sweating but feeling energized.

Taking into account the walking, we ran at least 3.75 miles in conditions that were tougher than any I've seen in weeks. I had been feeling weak and tired most of the day on Wednesday and the run knocked that out completely. Today I still feel strong and energized. At the rate I'm going I should make 20 miles this week and if I get to the trails I'll be able to push myself again. Three bridges in three days has been lots of fun.

Size matters

A week ago I had a meeting with some people who I have not seen in months As I greeted this group, the lead person asked me "Did you lose a lot of weight?" Today, I met wth an industry colleague and the first thing he said to me was "You look great, have you lost a lot of weight?" There are many other examples of this including a hit and run on the elevator today with a colleague from another floor who asked me the same thing.

I am happy that I've lost weight and it's always nice to hear that you look good (apparently I looked much worse 35 lbs. ago) but I still look forward to the day when I run into someone that I have not seen in a while and that's not their first reaction. For one thing, I hope to maintain this (healthy) weight level and as long as I continue my running I will. The other thing is about stabilizing my wardrobe. For the last 20 or so years I've worn the same size for suits. My waist size may have expanded a little but I've consistently worn size large jerseys since college. Even as my weight decreased I was convinced that I still needed to buy my shirts in large but recently I was given a medium sized running shirt that fit me very well. I then realized (despite the many times my wife tried to point this out) that clothes should fit you in a way that shows that you actually have a body shape. Over the last six months I've had some of my suits tailored to fit my form better. While that has allowed me to walk around without fear that my pants would fall down, my suit jackets still resembled the one David Byrne wore in the concert film "Stop Making Sense."

Last weekend I actually spent some time in clothing stores and bought two new suits, a bunch of (medium sized) t-shirts, some shorts that fit me and swim trunks that are far less likely to leave my body after diving in the pool than my current pairs. The downside to having correctly sized clothes is that more people are apt to notice my weight loss.

Going negative - let's start with my elliptical

I'm feeling a little grouchy this morning and I'm not sure why. It could be due to my workout this morning. The workout itself was fine, about 23 minutes on the elliptical. What wasn't fine was the noise that my BH Fitness X1 unit often makes during operation. I've written before about my dislike for (among other things) the noise that my treadmill motor produces and lauded the elliptical for its quiet, human-powered operation. Unfortunately my X1 still manages to create a racket often producing a loud clicking/banging noise that's hard to tolerate. We've had people service the unit four times. They have no remedy for the noise and each time the unit has been serviced it has operated a little worse than before. Hard to know if my unit is a lemon or if BH Fitness just makes problematic equipment. Either way, I suggest that anyone who's considering buying a "gym quality" elliptical to avoid BH Fitness units.

While I'm complaining I'll turn attention back to the treadmill. I read an interesting column in Running Times yesterday called "Step Off the Treadmill" written by Tamara Rice Lave, a former US IAAF marathoner. Her complaints about the treadmill were consistent with the mine (and those who have commented on the subject). Lave did present a balanced view and admitted that it works well for many. I spent a few minutes looking at the sunrise calendar yesterday desperately hoping to see that daylight and 4:00 AM would coincide some time this summer. Unfortunately not, the earliest sunrise is 5:23 so I'm going to have to keep running indoors in the morning.

I've been adding one long run into my routine every week and it's helped get my weekly distance up closer to 20 miles. I want to be in good shape to run my 8K and I really want to run the Great Cow Harbor 10K in the fall. AG is running the Patch Sprint this weekend which is a grueling 12 mile course over the four Pok-O-Patch mountains. The note that accompanies the waiver indicates "IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT YOU WILL DIE BECAUSE MEDICAL PERSONNEL CANNOT PHYSICALLY GET TO YOU IN TIME." Sounds like fun!

Over the river and through the Park

CAMBRIDGE - I got out early today, a little after 6:00 AM, with a goal of running along the Charles River to Boston and back. I ran up Main Street toward the Longfellow Bridge but when I got to it the pedestrian walkway on the outbound side was closed. I changed direction and ran down to the paths that parallel the river along Memorial Drive and followed that to the Harvard Bridge. There were many other runners out at that hour: students, moms with jogging strollers and a few groups of people running together. The weather was cool, dry and overcast - perfect conditions for a run. I crossed over the bridge and ran along the other side toward the Esplanade. I always think about my wife when I'm around that park because she put on a big event at the Hatch Shell when she was at Emerson College.

I continued on my way toward the Longfellow Bridge and crossed back over to the Cambridge side. It was an amazing view and at the mid-point of the bridge I could see both the Boston and Cambridge skylines at once. I ran up Broadway to finish at my hotel. According to the Garmin I ran 3.52 miles (I mapped it on MapMyRun and it was actually 3.59 miles). I only stopped because I had to get ready for my meetings at the Media Lab. The Cambridge to Boston loop is a great, fun run and I'm glad I was able to do it again.

Adventure Girl update: Her Ragner Woodstock-to-Bronx relay team (Have Fun - Go Fast) finished 11th out of 26 in their division. They covered 181.1 miles in 26:47. That's a, 8:52 pace. Very impressive considering it was a team of 12, ranging from 7 to 11 minute milers who each ran three measurable segments in less than a day.

Heading to the Charles

I'm getting ready to leave for another trip to MIT. I have a busy day on Monday but I'm planning to take a little time in the morning to do my favorite run along Memorial Drive in Cambridge. This morning I ran about 4 miles at 9:08. I'm not quite sure why my pace has slipped back over 9:00 but it has. I've been concentrating on distance and less on speed but all the same I feel like I'm pushing pretty well. I tried to calibrate the Garmin this morning using the automatic feature. It didn't quite work out but I believe I've managed to get it back to spec through manual adjustment.

Only three weeks until the New Hyde Park 8K. I wish they'd put the online registration up on the site already!

This week's Sedentary Man

Last weekend Sedentary Man did the unthinkable: he moved his daughter into a walkup apartment with eight flights of stairs. SM discovered a lot about himself, most importantly that riding an exercise bike doesn't prepare you for 17 consecutive trips up the stairs carrying heavy objects. Read this week's column...

Thanks coach

Over the past nine months I've put some serious time and energy towards running and fitness. It's been a great experience and the benefits are clear. Although running is a form of voluntary suffering, I'd define it as a good kind of pain. Unlike my first attempt at serious running, I've been careful to minimize elements that de-motivate me (unrealistic expectations, unfavorable running conditions, unstructured monitoring of progress) and instead focus on those things that promote my interest. A big part of that is the guidance I've received from other, more experienced runners who have helped me set my goals and expectations.

Among those who have brought me along are my friends CK and CMcC who are both accomplished runners who have competed for decades and probably have over a dozen marathons between them. They are both low-key athletes who are long past the surface level fascination with the sport. They don't need a GPS to tell them how far or how fast they've run. They know what works and what doesn't, how to train and how to avoid injury. They are generous in their advice and I listen closely. I am fortunate to have a shortcut to progress. Another big source of valuable information is Adventure Girl, my work colleague and running partner. Although I have some years on her I am definitely the student when it comes to running. She's helped me set expectations and has given me great encouragement over all these months. Her guidance on choosing running gear has been extremely valuable, as has the coaching she's given to me as I prepared for my first races. AG will soon reduce the amount of time she'll spend at the office as she starts her Master's studies at Yale in a few months. The good news is that she'll be part of my team for the next two years. That's great because I still have lots of learning to do.

I have a new coach and he is very focused on my training program. He's my 9 year old son and he's taken it upon himself to design a daily training program for me. On his own he's structured a schedule that includes tempo runs, cross training and distance runs. He tells me things like "Daddy, if you want, you can trade a distance run for a trail run next weekend." When I come home from a long run and tell him I ran 4 miles he'll say, "That's very good, next time you can do 5." He's tough but fair. If I follow his program I'm sure I'll be in great shape for my June 7th 8K. In addition, both my wife, who's been active since I've known her, and my daughter, who is a natural athlete and runs with me occasionally, have been there for me throughout my return to running. They encourage my activity and indulge my interest. Most importantly, they always make sure I never leave the house for a run dressed too weird for public viewing.

This morning I ran 5.3 miles (Gmap verified) at 9:08 although my Garmin under-counted by almost 5%. I can accept the variance but it's annoying that sometimes it over counts and other times it under-counts within a 5% range. I guess I'll need to put it through the manual calibration process to get it as close as it was prior to the battery and shoe switch.

I've been monitoring Adventure Girl's progress through Twitter and they are on the last cycle of the race (12 runners each running 3 legs). The last Tweet is from an hour ago when she was about to start her third and final run, 6.7 miles, just in time for rain. Sounds like the team is doing well and tracking to pace. 182 miles in 24 hours. That will be something to reflect on when they're done. For now it's probably just a lot of work.

Back on track (or is it tread?)

I realized last night that I had not run on the treadmill since the Tuesday after my 5K. That seems like a long time but it actually makes sense because I've integrated an extra long (street) run during the week and have finally started taking weekly rest days. In between street runs I've used the elliptical and I've been tracking about 19 miles per week since May.

Today I returned to the treadmill and I'll admit I really didn't want to use it. My last time on it had gone poorly and I really wasn't looking forward to the tedium. Nothing has changed since the 5th, the machine still droned and the display flickered. What was different about today's session was that I was running pain free and my new Brooks felt stable and comfortable. I was still grateful when my finish time approached but I was pleased to have covered two miles at an 8:43 pace.

Today is Friday, the start of Adventure Girls's Ragner relay. I'm happy to report that she found a new teammate to fill out her roster of 12 and things will get started at 1:00 PM EST. I'll be following progress through Twitter and report results. Best of luck to the team!

Got my Moji (almost) Working

I recently came across an innovative icing system for athletes. The product is called "Moji" and it consists of a flexible, freezable, gel filled pad that wraps around an area like a knee. The pad is held in place by a stretchable wrap that resembles a knee brace. The company was gracious enough to supply a sample to test during this weekend's Woodstock to Bronx Ragner Relay. The 12 member team will put it through its paces and I'll publish a full review after the event. We received the sample yesterday and were extremely impressed by the quality of the device. It is a well designed, top end piece of gear and I will provide pricing along with the review.

Yesterday I accompanied Adventure Girl on her last run prior to Friday's race. We ran over to the bike path that parallels the West Side Highway and follows the Hudson on the right. It's a different view of NYC and the weather was clear, sunny and not too humid.

We covered 4.8 miles in what seemed a blink of an eye and jumped on the subway for the trip back to the office. During the run we did our business update, combining exercise and work. I liked being able to put in a longer distance during the work week as I move closer to my 8K.

This morning I worked out on the elliptical going 23 minutes at a fairly good rate using medium resistance. Tomorrow I'll return to the treadmill (or the dreadmill as my Runner's World Loop friends call it). I'd be tempted to do a solo run on Friday in the park but my schedule isn't cooperating.

Treadmill depreciation day

It's so cold this morning that people are wearing gloves and winter jackets as we wait for the train to arrive. I wish I could put in a quick three miles on the road to take advantage of this perfect running weather. Hopefully the low temperatures and dry air will continue throughout the afternoon.

I haven't run since Sunday and I miss it. I  did an elliptical workout on Monday and rested yesterday. I took a rest day because I know they're important but part of that decision was based upon my growing dislike for the treadmill. It may be related to the frustrations I've had with measuring my performance and the problems I've encountered with the treadmill display. The data from the treadmill has never really matched my other tracking devices. I could calibrate the Nike+ Sportband and the Garmin 50 foot pod so I knew that I was accurately capturing speed and distance. Recently my Garmin has become inconsistent, tracking under and then over by around 5% on consecutive days. I'm finishing my treadmill runs wondering how I've really performed.

Besides the tracking issues I've found running on the treadmill to be increasingly tedious. The more I run outside the more I dislike running inside. Besides a lack of visual stimulation (television is not a good alternative for me) I'm also finding the noise annoying. I know I should appreciate the treadmill for its convenience and consistency (surface and elevation). I'll try to keep that in mind when I hop back on tomorrow.

Until then I will resume my training today with an afternoon run in the city. I'm hoping to make 20 miles a week until the 8K on June 7 and I do mileage better outdoors. I know I shouldn't be so hard on the treadmill, it's lasted us well over a decade. My wife puts me to shame in terms of the time and distance spent on the machine and she never complains about it. Still, a new quiet and modern unit with a home entertainment center and virtual reality would be nice to have.

Adventure Girl Needs Your Help!

As I've mentioned before, Adventure Girl is leading a team of 12 runners on a Ragner relay race from Woodstock to the Bronx. This looks to be a great adventure and the race starts this Friday and goes until Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately one of her teammates has been forced to drop out due to an injury and she needs a replacement runner. Each runner will do three legs of the race. The open slot has three segments, one in New Paltz, one in Peekskill and the final leg (which is also the last leg of the race!) is from Yonkers to the Bronx. The total amount of running would be 16.4 miles so if you're training for a half marathon this would be great practice exercise.

If this sounds like something that you'd like to do please contact adventuregirl@emergingrunner.com. Don't delay!