Rainy anniversary day run

It was raining pretty hard when I got up this morning and I decided to wait to see if the skies would clear up within my window of running opportunity or if I needed to do an indoor workout. I haven't been on the treadmill in months or on the elliptical in weeks and there's a reason for that. As I've mentioned before, I find time spent on the treadmill to be extremely tedious. I'd prefer to run in driving rain than to run indoors on a noisy machine that will dump you off the back should you take one false step. The elliptical is also tedious but at least I can watch TV while I'm on it and I don't need to stay hyper aware of my safety.

At around 7:45 AM the rain had slowed enough for me to venture out. It was only about 50 degrees outside so I wore compression shorts under long basketball shorts, a long sleeve tech shirt and my ASICS light raincoat. Despite all those clothes I was still cold throughout much of my run. The rain picked up after about ten minutes but I was determined to get in at least 30 minutes of running time before starting my day. I ended up covering 3.28 at 9:17 per mile. I ran with my Adidas Response 15 trail shoes that are very comfortable and perform as well on pavement as they do on the trails.

Today is my anniversary so I took a mini vacation this week, starting with our trip to Cape Cod this past weekend. Despite the rain my wife and I got out for a nice lunch along with some other planned activities. I'll be back to the office tomorrow but the weekend is just a couple of days away. I really hope to get some trail time in at least one of those days.

Post race recovery run

After taking Monday off to recover from Sunday's race I set out this morning for a short neighborhood run. I have a busy day scheduled so I limited my distance to make enough time for my first appointment. It was still dark when I left the house at 6:45 AM so I wore my headlamp and reflective vest. I'm used to running these streets almost three hours earlier in the morning so it surprised me at first to see cars, recycling trucks and workers at the middle school as I ran past. I wore my ASICS GEL-1130's that I'd been using as my office running shoes but since Labor Day I haven't had the time to run in the city so I brought the ASICS home to occasionally trade off with my Brooks GTS-9's. The two shoes feel similar although the 1130's feel less stable on the toe-off compared with the Brooks. The difference becomes greater when I'm running longer distances, as I did on Sunday. The Brooks are really good shoes and have never given me a problem regardless of distance or conditions. The ASICS were a good choice for an occasional run (and the price was right) but there's a difference between $100+ shoes and more economical models.

Before I ran this morning I used the Active Wrap in heat mode on my quads since I was still sore from Sunday despite taking Monday as a rest day. As I made my way around the middle school I was amused to see that orange cones had been set up along the perimeter of one side of the parking lot and along the front driveway. It was like a moment of deja vu as I followed them, just as I had done on Main Street in Falmouth on Sunday morning. It took a few minutes to fall into a comfortable pace and I decided to run whatever distance I could cover within 30 minutes. It turned out to be 3.27 miles that I did at a 9:09 pace. It really does make a difference when you run among others, especially in competition. The first leg of the relay was approximately the same distance as this morning but I ran that segment a half minute faster per mile even with a couple of challenging hills.

After my run I tried a bottle of the EAS Myoplex Vanilla Cream nutrition shake that we got in our goody bags at the race. To be honest I was averse to drinking it because it contained sucralose and I really can't stand sugar substitutes. However, it tasted fine, although there was a slight medicinal quality to it. I found it convenient compared to having to prepare a recovery breakfast and it helped reduce the time between my run and my shower. I'm not sure if I'll make a habit of Myoplex but I do have another bottle that I'll try after my next hard workout. Tomorrow I'm going to try to take advantage of having one more day off this week and do a longer run. After all, my next race is but 31 days away!

Cape Cod Marathon race report

As I mentioned last night, the Cape Cod marathon race weekend was an amazing experience. Heading to Massachusetts always makes me feel like I'm going home and the Cape is a special place for me because our family spent many a summer there as I was growing up. We arrived on Friday night in the dark and cold and barely had time for anything before getting to bed. Saturday morning was overcast, cold and rainy but that didn't matter because we weren't running until Sunday. My wife and kids explored the hotel while I organized my gear. When I opened the shades to our room I was happy to see the ocean view and it reinforced that we were actually here on the Cape for the relay.

We met up with Adventure Girl at the Expo where we got some guidance from the race organizers on where things would be happening and where my family could situate to watch the race. The Expo was fun and I tried on a few pairs of ASICS and Mizuno running shoes that were temptingly priced but I didn't bite. I still have a some miles left in my Brooks. AG went off to drive the course while we went into town and had lunch at Liam Maguires pub. We met up with AG for a little time before we headed back to our hotel. We all met up again later for dinner at the British Beer Company where we had a great meal and AG and I had a pints of stout and porter respectively in the name of pre-race carb loading. Later that evening the kids quizzed AG for one of her mid term exams and during that time we got a call that one of our teammates was diagnosed with Swine Flu and he would not be able to make the race. AG reassigned our routes, swapping my second leg to the 3rd segment instead of the 4th. This way it ensured that AG, me and MM (our third teammate) were all able to run by the ocean at some point. In so doing AG took on legs 4 & 5 so she ended up running close to a half marathon.

We met as a team on Sunday morning at 7:00 AM and tried to stay warm. Despite the 57 degree temps it felt chilly. Soon AG and MM went off to locate exchange #1 where I would hand off to MM. My wife and kids stayed with me and situated themselves in front of the Black Dog on Main Street. I got into position on the starting line and at 8:30 they fired the cannon to start the race and I was happy to high-five my family on our way up Main Street as I headed through my first leg. I came into exchange #1 after running about an 8:30 pace. The end of the leg has a big hill but that effort was mitigated by the most beautiful view of the ocean. The road split to allow relay-ers to do their hand-offs without interfering with the full marathon runners. I handed off to MM and AG then drove us over to exchange #3 where I picked up the baton for my second leg of 5.7 miles. That route was very rolling with a number of hills but I felt great and after passing under Route 28 I knew most of the big hills were over. Around that time I started talking to another runner, MG, who was not registered for the race but was running it as a practice for a marathon she's running in a couple of weeks. She was a strong runner and she helped me keep a good pace through the end of the leg. MG continued to run after I handed off to Adventure Girl and the two even ran together for a bit. MM and I made our way back to the start/finish area and waited for AG to come in and finish. My wife and kids joined us just in time to see AG coming through mile 26 and my kids took off with AG all the way to the finish while MM and I followed behind.

We ended up with an overall time of 4:03 but for some reason our team wasn't posted in the results. It was probably related to a problem reading the tracking chip on AG's shoe. It didn't matter, we know what we did and we had an incredible experience along the way. We headed back to the Lawrence School that served as HQ for the race and Expo. They served a great lunch featuring New England clam chowder (an Emerging Runner favorite). Pretty soon it was time to say our goodbye's and we went our separate ways. I can't wait to run again, this was so energizing and fun. We need to find another big event to run next year and I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

26.2 miles, three runners, a fantastic weekend

Wow. That's the best word I can think of to describe this weekend. We had a fantastic time in Falmouth, MA, at the Cape Cod marathon both on and off the race course. I've been so busy the last two days I haven't been able to post since Thursday. I'm planning to share details tomorrow but until then I'll just share some headlines:

• We found out late Saturday that our 4th team member was diagnosed with H1N1 virus (Swine Flu) which forced us to split the five legs among three people.
• The weather was perfect - 57 degrees and sunny at 8:30 AM
• I did the first and third legs (8.75 miles) and AG did the last two (11.3 miles). Our third teammate did 6.15 miles.
• The course was challenging, lots of rolling hills, some memorable. The scenery was beautiful, fully memorable.
• We finished in just about 4:00 hours.
• We celebrated with a great lunch that was put on by the race organizers.
• It was a great weekend of food, friends and family!

More to come!

Decisions and anxieties

I just checked the extended forecast for Falmouth, MA on Sunday: 58 degrees and a 30% chance of precipitation. In my perfect world it would be a little colder than that but 58% with clouds could work just fine. I have a lot of decisions to make between now and Sunday at 8:30 AM:

• What clothes should I run in?
• Should I change between my first and second leg (legs 1 & 4)?
• What gear should I bring along (HRM, Garmin, iPhone, gloves)?
• Which running shoes should I wear?
• What pace should I target for each leg?
• How will I handle hydration?
• How can I keep my legs flexible between my runs?
• Should I do a practice run on Saturday or take advantage of rest?

I'm also concerned about following the course and not getting lost. I think the race people mark the route with CCM labels spray painted in prominent spots. I hope so because it would be humiliating to leave my teammates stranded due to a navigational snafu. I worry that I'm not worried about the first leg and too worried about the second. In the end it's just a race and I'll figure everything out or things will get figured out for me. Like I've said in previous competitions, I'm just going to run my race and hope for the best. In the end, if it isn't about having fun just why am I doing this?

Energy low, three days to go

Each morning when I get up to run it seems inconceivable, in my groggy state, that I could engage in an activity more challenging than sitting up in bed. However, in the fifteen minutes between fetching coffee, putting on running gear and heading out the door I transform from sleeper to runner. Most days things work well and by the time I reach the street I'm usually feeling 100 percent the runner. Today I felt like I'd left the best of me at home. I never felt like I found my stride and though I wouldn't complain of weakness I lacked the normal energy that I expect at the beginning of every run.

I mentioned yesterday that my aerobic balance has improved and this carries the day for me. My endurance is no longer affected by breathlessness, these days my limit is the range between body strength and weakness. This morning I figured that I just wasn't up for a hard charging workout and my numbers reflected that: 2.3 miles at 9:19. I'm supposed to be tapering this week but as my weekday runs are already limited by time I don't see the point in cutting down my running in any measurable way. I'm probably going to rest tomorrow and do an easy 3 or 4 miles in Friday. Saturday is a question - run or rest? AG is planning a run by the ocean and I must admit that has appeal. At the same time I need to do everything I can to be ready for Sunday's race. I guess I'll decide what to do closer to Saturday.

One last thing. My colleague KWL is in Hong Kong right now and he sent me his MotionX GPX and KMZ files from his run along the eastern harbor near Sai Wan Ho. He also sent me this picture (left) that he took along the way. I can't imagine how beautiful that must look in person.

Why I used to hate running

During this morning's run I thought about the reasons why I used to be so negative about running. Back in the early '90's I would get up and do a daily run through the streets of NYC, come back, shower and head to work. Those days I was working at a newspaper that published six editions, the first going out at 8:00 PM and the last around 3:30 AM. I'm not sure when I slept because I was often in the office by 11:00 AM and I didn't usually get home until 4:00 AM. With a run between sleep and work it could have been a positive thing but trying to make progress through the city streets at 9:30 AM on a business day was often frustrating if not dangerous.

Looking back, the other reason I think I disliked running is that I never mastered the use of aerobic energy. Most of my runs were collections of sprints punctuated by stoplights where I'd run in place waiting for the cross signal. In between the experience was somewhat like trail running except instead of dodging branches I'd be dodging foot traffic, strollers, dogs on leashes and cars doing illegal lefts on red. I'd return to my apartment each time asking myself what it was that I enjoyed about this routine. Eventually I stopped altogether and now when I think about it, for good reason.

I finished my 2.55 mile run this morning in a little over 22 minutes. I realized during this run that my ability to balance aerobic and anaerobic energy has made a big difference in my enjoyment of running. It's not always easy and sometimes it's quite hard but I never return home questioning why I run.

Relay race ruminating

I was looking at information about the Cape Cod Marathon last night and read some comments from people who characterized the course as fairly challenging. Given the elevation profile they list on the marathon website I'm willing to believe that. I guess it would be brutal to face all those hills over 26.2 miles. As I ran on Saturday and Sunday I thought about that fact that I'm training for a marathon relay. If all goes according to plan on Sunday I will have run more miles in a single day than ever before. Still, my two legs only add up to a little more than a third of the marathon distance. As I attacked those hills on Sunday I thought about the 1,000+ people on race day that will need to run every foot of the course. That takes a combination of fitness and commitment that I cannot match at this point. Running a full marathon would involve some significant weekly distance although, according to the website Cool Running, you can get by with the 20 or so miles per week that I do now. I don't buy that since there is NO WAY that I could run 26.2 miles in a single day, let alone within 4 hours.

I'm thinking about next year's running goals and a half marathon is definitely under consideration. I will need to expand upon my personal distance record of 7.6 continuous miles and that, perhaps, is another goal for 2010. I'm planning to run about 8 more miles before Sunday and give myself one rest day before the race. I've learned a lot in the four races I've run this year and I hope to apply this experience and knowledge on Sunday. I'm excited for a lot of reasons including the fact that I'll be competing, for the first time, in my home state.

Over the Moon(s)

This morning I was determined to get out and do hill training despite calls for wind, rain and flooding. I dressed appropriately, including a great ASICS lightweight running jacket that I bought at the Expo before my 5K race in April. It felt much colder than 44 degrees when I stepped out to run. The skies were dark gray and I could not get a lock on a GPS signal with MotionX but I hit start anyway, then pressed go on my Garmin and headed out. I made a bee line to the industrial park and chose the steeper circuit running counter-clockwise which takes you uphill about 2/3rds of the run and downhill the other third.

I had planned on doing a couple of circuits and heading back since the weather was getting worse every minute. I had brought along a package of Luna Moon Energy Chews, described by the manufacturer as "provid[ing] women athletes with essential carbohydrates, electrolytes and vitamins for increased energy while exercising." I bought them at Target despite the gender bias of the packaging since the only gender-neutral choice was Sharkies. In comparison, Sharkies Organic Energy Chews contained much more sugar per serving.

I had been thinking about how I typically feel tired and depleted after 30 minutes but usually rebound after five minutes or so. I experimented with the energy chews, trying 3 about midway through my run. I can't say how much they helped as I felt no energy surge after eating them but I did a third circuit up the hill and I don't know if I would have been able to do that unaided. I was feeling tired and soggy by the time I finished the third loop but happy the hills were behind me for the day. I headed back home and saw that I'd completed 4.75 miles at 9:09, a good part of that uphill. I used the Active Wrap on my quads this morning (heat) and I'm thinking that helped loosen up my muscles that were still recovering from yesterday's 6.5 miler. Today was probably the last run I'll do over 4 miles until Sunday's race and I feel good about my conditioning going into my final week's taper. I'm curious to know what weather conditions we'll face on the 25th. If it's cold and wet I know I can handle it. Hot and humid, that's another story.

The short and the long of it

I learned a valuable lesson Friday morning about checking the temperature before heading out for my run. As I prepared to go out it felt warm, even humid, although the heat didn't seem to be on. I skipped the compression shorts I've been wearing under my running shorts on cold mornings and when I stepped outside and got hit with the 20-something degree wind chill I knew I was in for a frosty run. As I set off I realized how cold my hands were and I questioned whether I'd manage to break a sweat in the 22 odd minutes I allocate for this workout. I didn't want to push speed because I hadn't had a chance to stretch prior to the start. I was tempted to throw in some sprints to get my heart rate up and try to get a little warmer but I was concerned that could lead to a muscle pull. Along with the cold, there was some light precipitation and I soon realized that it was, in fact, snow. The outside temperature, with the wind, was in the high 30's so there was no accumulation although the streets were wet. Given the distractions of cold and wind, the run went by very quickly and I completed 2.4 miles at about 9:13 per mile. By the time I reached home my hands were really hurting from the cold and from the sting of the wind and the rain. I won't forget my gloves again.

This morning I got out by 7:00 AM and the weather was mild compared with yesterday but it was still pretty cool. I bought some tight running sweats at Target last weekend and I wore them with a double layer of tech jerseys. I also wore gloves and it was a perfect set of gear for my run. I wanted to cover more than five miles to reinforce distance as I move closer to the race on the 25th but I had no specific plan. After running north to Jericho Turnpike I headed west and ran about a mile in that direction before ducking into the western edge of neighborhood #3. This is a big neighborhood and I have no familiarity with the layout of the roads so I headed south and guessed where I was in relation to my own neighborhood that's separated by a busy road. I ended up guessing well and crossed the road, heading south along the main road to the highway service road. I was little past the three mile mark and I felt some fatigue along with some pain in my right quadricep. After some time I cut over to neighborhood #2 and I realized that I often hit a wall at that point and today I decided to ignore it and wait for a second wind. I did a loop through neighborhood #2, passing a number of people who were out walking their dogs. I headed back to my neighborhood and reached home feeling strong after covering 6.53 miles at 9:11 per mile.

After my post-run shower I iced my right leg quad and calf with the Active Wraps. The unit fit well and my leg felt pretty good. I'm planning to try it with heat later today. Tomorrow I may head to Stillwell for some trail time although I'm wondering it it would be better to practice for memorable hills in the industrial park. I'll decide tomorrow. Tonight I'll just enjoy the fact that I had a very good run.

That's a wrap!

The folks at Active Wrap sent me samples of their award-winning heat/cold wraps for knee and leg and for foot and ankle. They are constructed from quality materials and use Active Wraps non-migrating heat/cold packs that distribute their material evenly compared to a typical economy gel pack that pools away from the point of compression. I'm thinking that the heat and compression will be ideal for my layover between legs of my race where I'll need to stay limber for about 2 hours between my first and second run. Perfect timing to receive these wraps, I'll experiment with them this weekend before and after my long runs.

I have completed much of the work that's been taking me away from running this week and I can't wait to hit the street tomorrow. Despite my toe problem I will run because it isn't debilitating and I don't think running hurts it further. My goal for this weekend is two long runs, each over five miles. If I can, I will try another two-fer, with a three mile run, 2 hour rest and second run of five or six miles. I'm hearing that we may get a nor'easter by Saturday so I may have to go back to the dreaded treadmill after literally months away. It will have to be pretty darn wet and cold to get me back running indoors. I'm hoping the weather reports are wrong because I really want to hit the trails at least one of the two weekend days but not if they're full of mud.

Toe Woe

The issue with my big toe continues and after a night of pain that had me up at midnight searching for ibuprophen I decided to skip my morning run. I briefly considered alternatives such as an upper body workout or even the elliptical but I chose to rest until 5:00 instead. It's the season to be busy in the office and that takes its toll mentally and physically. I'll admit to feeling a little guilty about doing nothing today knowing that tomorrow, with an even earlier workday start, will not allow enough time to run. On the other hand, with 11 days left before the marathon relay, these rest days can be considered part of my taper.

The materials with instructions for the relay indicate some complex logistical challenges. The race circles the town of Falmouth and with a couple of thousand runners there is much to coordinate to ensure that the streets are clear of cars at certain points and times. The exchange points need to be reached a certain way and there are restrictions where the team car can be parked. The Woods Hole exchange, which is where the last leg begins, has no parking so the 5th leg runner will need to get there before 9:00 AM and keep himself occupied for about 2.5 hours before the 4th leg runner (in this case me) comes by for the handoff. AG, our captain, is less concerned about it than me and I'm taking that as a good sign. She captained a 182 mile, 36 leg, 12 member relay team earlier this year so this probably seems fairly simple to her.

I'm hoping that by Friday morning my toe affliction will have improved enough for me to go out for another fast early morning run, followed by some hard training on Saturday and Sunday. With only one weekend standing between now and the race I really need to make every workout count.