Nice guys finish last? Not this one.

After a great long weekend that included three good runs I'm feeling very positive about my progress. It was less than a month ago that I took a walk around the neighborhood with my wife and needed to stop before completing a mile. By most measures I have reached a state of conditioning that allows me to push as hard as I wish without concern that it will trigger a relapse. I left the office on Friday with what I thought would be a weekend-ruining cold but my immune system knocked it out like a champ. I guess after taking on pneumonia, a head cold isn't much of a challenge. I attribute my quick recovery to the running I did this weekend. I honestly believe you can sweat your way out of a cold if the sweat is accompanied by physical exertion.

While it may be true that I'm rapidly moving toward my pre-January fitness level I also recognize that I'm short of the distance benchmarks I used to meet on my weekend runs. The longest continuous run I've managed this year has been 3.4 miles, far short of my usual 5 to 8 mile weekend distances. I wouldn't be concerned except that I'll need to cover almost five miles on some rough and technical terrain in just a few weeks when I race at Stillwell Woods. It occurs to me that the profile of runners for this race skews younger and (probably) more competitive than those in my past races. It's possible that I could finish last! Although some view me as competitive it's really me competing against myself. Will it bother me to be the last runner past the finish line? Well, I can tell you I wouldn't love it but I'd still feel okay about finishing a tough race like that two months after a week in the hospital. Either way I'd win. But if it comes down to a tight finish there's no way I'll be the last one over the line.

A presidential run

Click on picture for larger view

I'm off for the President's Day holiday today so I needed to decide whether to run or rest this morning. I usually rest on Mondays because I do my week's longest and hardest runs over the weekend. I thought I'd compromise and do an elliptical session instead but, inspired by my wife's early morning run, I figured I'd do the same. I had an appointment scheduled for later in the morning so while time wasn't  extremely tight I needed to allow for gearing up, running and showering. My wife thought I could get away with a neighborhood run but I thought it would be easier to jump on the treadmill. Frankly, I didn't want to deal with the cold and puzzle through the process of selecting the right amount and type of layers to wear to ensure comfort from start to finish. I quickly selected some light clothes and got on the treadmill.

In the spirit of respecting limits I planned to run a distance similar to my regular weekday runs that average 20-25 minutes.. My first bite of the day was a Green's Plus, Chia Seed Omega 3 Natural Energy Bar that I had with my morning coffee. I found that my last couple of runs went fairly easy after having Chia earlier in the day. It may just be coincidence but I have had two good runs this weekend. Make that three, actually. I started at a moderate pace and felt strong so I gradually increased my speed, dropping from mid-9:00 miles to mid-8:00's by the 12 minute mark.  The time went by quickly, perhaps knowing I was running a third less distance than Saturday and Sunday helped that. My cadence was 82 SPM, up from my average of 80. When I finished I was soaked with sweat, part of that due to running the last couple of minutes at close to an 8:00 pace. I've run almost 9 miles over this long weekend and my pace has slid back down to pre-pneumonia levels. I need to get some distance runs in next week as I prepare for my March 5 mile trail race. I think more than ever that I'll be prepared for whatever Stillwell throws at me. Maybe this Chia stuff is working.

I heart my Valentine's Day run

This weekend has been a holiday treat with Valentines Day today, President's Day tomorrow and the start of the Olympic winter games on Friday. Well the Olympics games aren't really a holiday but they are fun. My kids are off all next week from school so they are pretty happy right now. This morning we celebrated Valentines Day with a pancake breakfast, cards and small gifts.  In the spirit of good eating I sprinkled Chia into my pancake mix. I still don't know if this stuff provides any noticeable benefits but, if nothing else, it is a great source of Omega fatty acids. My kids shared their holiday treats and I probably exceeded my daily sugar intake by 8:00 AM. I can only hope that the Chia works the way it's described by isolating simple carbohydrates in the system and delaying their conversion to sugar and fat.

The other thing that helps burn off sugar's effects is exercise and running is my workout of choice. I decided that the noisy treadmill was too much to bear today so I suited up in layers and headed outside. The temperatures have remained cold since last week's blizzard so most of the snow we got is still on the ground. That made me slightly concerned because many sidewalks - my escape route from cars - are still snow-covered. The streets themselves are completely clear and I figured that I could always jump onto a roadside snowbank if I needed to. I wore my reflective running vest over my thermal zip top (it was about 32 degrees when I went out) as an extra precaution.

My goal was to run 30 minutes through the neighborhood at whatever pace felt natural and comfortable. It may be the fact that I'm still on the tail end of my recovery that I care much less about pace than I did two months ago. All the same, when I resumed running after my illness, I was happy to see my paces go from low 11:00 minute to mid-9:00 miles. I really don't know if I'm hitting mid-foot or not and today I didn't care. My Brooks GTS-9's felt great and, like yesterday, I ran my distance with no discomfort, only the pleasant feeling of floating along. Well most of the time anyway. The wind was sharply blowing from the north and that made for some chilly times. By the end of my run I was happy to have that cold air to cool me off.

It's been a very nice Valentine's Day and there's plenty left to do. My weekly mileage is starting to build and my average distance has been increasing about 10% each week. I'm pleased with my progress and very glad I got outside today.

My Chia fueled run

Yesterday's trip to Jackrabbit did not result in the purchase of a new pair of shoes as I'd expected. I was accompanied by my friend FS who was interested to see if the store carried her shoe of choice, the Brooks Addiction (unfortunately not). She is running a half marathon in late March and now would be the time to start breaking in a new pair. As soon as I saw Mark I knew I wouldn't be going home with any shoes on Friday. The snow had delayed the Brooks shipment and he was out of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10's that I was ready to buy.

You may recall that I tried the Brooks Ravennas a week ago but, despite their lighter weight and responsiveness, I wasn't convinced they were the shoes for me. I tried them on the treadmill on Friday and validated that doubt. While the shoes performed okay at speed the Ravenna's fairly narrow forefoot required me to move up a half size to allow for adequate room in the toe box. That was fine but the heel volume prevented the snug fit I want in an everyday training shoe. I just didn't feel like the shoe fit my foot that well. Mark had me try a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 6's and they felt great when I ran with them. I need to decide whether the Mizunos are the shoe for me or if I should follow my instincts and get the Brooks GTS 10's. I'll go back next week and try them both again. I asked Mark if I should be looking at higher end shoes (like the Brooks Trance 9) and he said it's absolutely unnecessary to spend more to get a top notch shoe. Honesty like that will make me a return customer.

Today I took a trip to a local mega-vitamin store in search of Chia energy bars. They had what I was looking for but they priced the product too high (I'd comparison shopped online) so I didn't buy a whole box as planned. I did buy one bar just to try it and I also bought  a bag of ground Chia so I could experiment with that. When I got home I mixed 1 1/2 teaspoons of the ground Chia with 10 oz. of coconut water and drank it down. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the lack of grittiness in the mix. I then headed upstairs and ran 5K on the treadmill. Although the room was warm and my choice of running shirt too heavy I had a great run. Unlike most longer runs on the treadmill that devolve into boredom and exhaustion I was almost as fresh at the end as I was when I started. I only ended at 3.14 miles because I'm still recovering from pneumonia and didn't want to push past my limits. Was it the Chia that provided the energy to get through the run so easily? Or was it the coconut water? Maybe it was neither, just a combination of good timing and decent rest. Either way I'm intrigued. More experimentation to come!

Soreness and slowess but a good run nonetheless

It's been a while since I've woken up with sore muscles but today I really felt it in my lower legs. I first thought this was related to all the shoveling I'd done between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. That didn't make much sense to me since most of that effort involved pushing snow with low resistance and occasionally lifting it up a few feet. Most of that required muscles above the waist. I now believe the soreness came from my running in the snow with the traction devices that slipped around laterally and required constant corrections to my stride. I imagine that a serious attempt to transition from heel striking to mid-foot running would probably generate similar aches at first and barefoot running would be even worse.

Despite the soreness in my legs I did my run on the treadmill this morning. There are days when running your race pace feels effortless and there are days when running a more moderate pace feels like a challenge. That was my experience today. My warm-up pace felt far faster than normal and I had to check my Garmin to verify my moderately slow speed. After a few minutes I increased my speed and, if not for the contrary evidence, I would have assumed I was moving at a record pace. I did eventually increase my speed enough to give me a mid-9:00 overall pace but it wasn't an easy run. In the end I was more than satisfied by this morning's workout and I'm hoping for decent weather this weekend so I can get some longer miles in.

My plan for today is to go to Jackrabbit and look for a new pair to replace my Brooks GTS 9's that have 500+ miles on the odometer. Despite claims that GTS 9's were a misfire compared with the 8's I have to say they have been problem free for me. It makes me wonder if my best bet is to move to the new, highly rated, 10's or try out the less plush but more energetic Ravennas. I'll try some other brands too just for comparison. You never know, I could find myself choosing something completely different. I'll know soon enough.

Working out like the ancient Greeks

Last weekend I caught a few minutes of an interesting show about the ancient Olympics. The narrator made an interesting point about athletic conditioning, then and now. Back in ancient Greece there were no Bowflex or elliptical machines for training. Those tools were unnecessary because virtually everything back then required physical work. The average citizen's body was probably far better conditioned than his or her equivalent today and the athletes, using stones instead of free weights, were likely on par with today's best athletes. I thought of this as I attacked the snow at the end of my driveway at 4:00 AM this morning. It was the fourth time since yesterday afternoon that we went through the process of shoveling the driveway and walk. The town plows had succeeded in walling us in with icy packed snow but my wife and I, with our ergonomic shovels, have this down to a science and we cleared the driveway in time to catch the 4:30 news.

Neither my wife nor I plan to do our usual workouts today. We figured that all that shoveling is a good substitute for the exercise we get on our runs. I felt a kinship with the ancient Greeks who may have helped build their fitness by clearing snow so they could get their chariots out of their garages. That is if they even had snow. Maybe it was volcanic ash. Well, you get my point.

Since this is the year 2010 I have no choice but to rely on fitness equipment for my conditioning. After about 3,000 hours of service it is becoming clear that our treadmill is nearing the end of it's useful life. On the suggestion of fellow Runner's World blogger RunningChick I looked at the Sole models which are highly rated by Consumer Reports. RC and her husband did lots of due diligence before choosing the F80 and they've been very happy with it. My wife and I decided to buy a well rated but lighter duty model, the F63, that has some really great features. I'm excited to get it and we're hoping that our old but reliable (1998!) ProForm L18 will last a few more weeks until we take delivery of the new unit. Aside from the 100+ decibel wailing of the motor it seems to be okay.

Running with traction devices is not snow good

Snow has been the story of the day. Predictions that 12-16 inches of snow would hit Long Island made me decide to work from home today. With Skype, high speed networks, VPN and cellphones I can do anything at home that I can do at the office except get coffee from the Keurig machine in the pantry. Before I started my run I decided to try the traction slip-ons that I recently bought at TJ Max. They are made of rubber and after slipping them over the front of the shoe they can be stretched tightly over the rear for a secure fit. On the bottom are steel studs across the front foot and heel that supposedly provide traction on snow and ice.

I set out for my run and quickly noticed that amount of snow was too high to let the snow treads make much of a difference. Further, while the treads were stable front to back they were very unstable from side to side. It was a lot like running on sand and after 1.3 miles of discomfort, I became concerned that I was putting too much strain on my ankles and knees. I decided to head home thinking I would have been far better off just running with trail shoes.

I wasn't ready to give up before completing my workout so I headed upstairs and fired up the treadmill. I ran about 2.4 more miles at 9:14 per mile, the fastest pace I've maintained since my recent bout with pneumonia. Although it was a busy day with conference calls and other business related matters I managed to get out and shovel the driveway a couple of times. My wife set the pace and we got through a good amount of snow fairly quickly with my daughter helping as well. I'll admit that I actually enjoy shoveling snow. That said, I am hoping that we're seeing the tail end of the storm so that tomorrow's commute will go smoothly. In terms of activity, I'm not quite done for the day. We'll be heading out around 9:00 tonight for one more round of shoveling. No complaints here.

The surprising power of raw clams

Given that I rise at 3:50 AM most weekdays my interest in late night business dinners is fairly low. I made an exception last night because the situation warranted it. My hosts were in a generous mood, their business is based in New Orleans and after attending the Superbowl on Sunday they were still in a celebratory mood. Before I knew it the waiters had constructed a large three-tiered serving platter covered with every kind of fresh seafood that you could imagine. It was indulgent but great and I ate more than I normally would. Many find raw cherrystone clams unappealing but to a New Englander who spent his summers on Cape Cod, it was a rare treat. Although the wine was well selected and ample I avoided alcohol and my head and body thanked me when I stepped on the treadmill at 4:00 AM this morning.

As I've been doing throughout my recovery, I began today's run at a fairly modest pace. I'm finding that a slower start really helps me later as I pick up speed. I expected my protein-rich dinner to bog me down but the effect was fully opposite. Even as I moved the speed control faster on the treadmill I felt like I still had a lot more in reserve. When I came to the end of my running time I felt great, no pain with some real gain. I felt so good that I kept going longer than I'd planned. The energy and strength I had this morning has made me wonder whether my diet that's high in vegetables and whole grains is not balanced with enough protein. It's hard to know how much last night's dinner really affects your morning performance. If fresh shellfish, mussels and clams give me a boost like that again I'm going to rethink my strategy for pre-race meals.

Reflecting on a great weekend of running

It was a good weekend for running and I was fortunate to have two new experiences: running with my friend KWL on Saturday morning and taking on the trails at Muttontown Preserve on Sunday. Muttontown pretty much chewed me up and spit me out - the challenge was much greater than I'd anticipated. You'd think after so many rough experiences at Stillwell Woods my going-in position would be less naive. Muttontown is more than twice the size of Stillwell, a fact that surprised me when I read that the Muttontown Preserve has 550 acres of grounds.

As I inspected my badly scraped knee and the various scratches on my body that came from bushwhacking through trees and brush, I realized how lucky I am to have a choice of interesting and challenging trail areas less than ten minutes from my home. My wife looked at my knee yesterday as I changed out of my running clothes and said it looked awful. She then looked at my face and said "You really think this is great don't you? You're grinning like a big kid." My wife was correct, of course. I was thrilled by the workout (I covered about 4 miles yesterday) so I'm progressing well for my March 7th trail race. I'm looking forward to this race and I'm really excited about a delivery we'll be getting in the next few weeks. More on that later!

Great adventure on the Muttontown Mystery Trail

 Warning: Long post!

It was truly an adventure on the trails this morning. In a little more than an hour I managed to take a header into frozen rutted mud, lose the trail at least a half dozen times, get trapped multiple times in thorny brush and trees and scale a barbed wire topped fence. It was great fun except where it was no fun at all.  I'll start from the beginning.

It was 17 degrees early in the day but Weather.com showed that the temperature would begin to rise by mid-morning. I decided that I'd wait until after 9:00 AM, when the Muttontown Preserve opens, and go for an easy trail run. I eagerly anticipated this run because I was zero-for-two in terms of successfully getting into the place. The first time I simply couldn't find the entrance and the second time I was there too early. Today it was easy getting in. The gates were up and the parking lot was empty.

The trail head is inviting and the trail out looked perfect for a scenic and pleasant run. I took off along this wide path and rounded a few lefts and rights. The elevation was slowly rising but I was fresh and I figured I may out-and-back the trail so I'd have some nice downhills to enjoy on my way back. Soon the track narrowed and I encountered some icy snow covered patches. I had on my NB trail shoes which can handle some technical terrain but the trail had frozen and rutted making it hard to find many flat spots to land on.

I was worrying about turning an ankle when, at around the 1 mile mark, I caught a root and flew forward, landing on my left knee and wrist. I decided to double back to a section of the trail that branched off about a quarter mile before this point. The branching trail seemed better groomed and I was looking to avoid a repeat of my fall.

As I made my way there I stopped to take a couple of pictures some fallen trees that had caught my eye.  One was covered with whorling branches that gave it a view from the front like a wheel hub and spoke.

There were two other trees that had fallen in opposite directions, their roots and trunks prominently displayed, that opened enough room for the path. I wondered if the trees were felled to allow passage along the trail (unlikely) but I'm curious what it looked like when those trees were still standing.

I eventually made my way to the southern end and though there was lots to see and very different terrain to explore I did not see the relics of old mansions that made this the "Mystery Trail." I used my iPhone compass to help reorient me north but I found so many switchbacks I didn't know what to follow. Worse than that, some trails seemed to close up until they disappeared so I needed to bushwhack my way over to new trails when I could find them. Eventually, with further help from my compass and the direction of the sun I was able to head north on a clear trail. I even passed by the remains of an old mansion but didn't stop to explore because it was getting late and I wanted to finish the run by 11:00 AM.

The north trail terminated at a point where I needed to take a perpendicular trail either east or west. I guessed west and was rewarded to see it bend north so I stayed on course. This happened two more times. I eventually reached the most northern point in the Preserve but I needed to make my way west to the exit point. Easier said than done. There were chain link fences with barbed wire tops that obstructed me from getting out in any easy way. I bushwhacked my way west until I got trapped between a fence and a shallow frozen river but at that point I could see the building that sits next to the trail head.

I tried to find my way past the fence but the tree growth was becoming more dense. There were lots of branches on the ground and thorny branches snagging my clothes as I attempted to find a break along the fence. I was standing twenty feet from my car that I could see through the chain link fence but I had no easy way to get there. I decided to make my way south instead. I figured the fence would eventually end or I'd come to an open gate (after all, how did I end up on the other side?). Before I found that I saw a section of the fence that was bent down at the top with the barbs facing frontwards instead of straight up. Helping that were some logs and branches piled along the fence and I decided to climb up and jump off to get back inside the Preserve. The drop was about four feet and I was careful to avoid landing hard on my recently bruised knee. I landed well but my running mitten got snagged on the top of the fence and came off. I was able to reach up and snag it back. I was very happy to run the last quarter mile back to my car.

It was quite an adventure and now I know some of the mysteries of the Muttontown Trails. I'd like to run it again but I think I'll do it with a more user friendly compass and perhaps a running companion to give me a boost over the fence because I know I'll eventually get us lost.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's probably a duck

Despite a relatively busy schedule on Friday I was bound and determined to make the trek to JackRabbit in Union Square at lunchtime. A friend of mine, who is looking for a new pair of shoes for an upcoming marathon, was planning to join me. He was working on a close deadline so he couldn't go. I decided to go anyway and hopped on the F train for the quick trip downtown. I was greeted by the sales staff and mentioned that the Brook's customer service people told me Brooks had sent a shipment of Green Silence shoes to the store. They said that was true but unfortunately the shipment had not yet arrived. They were as curious about the shoe as I was but they set my expectation that it wasn't likely to be a shoe that I would use as a daily trainer.

The Jackrabbit people are the real deal. They understand running and running shoes and we quickly moved to the subject of mid-foot striking. Mark, one of the managers, told me that he was working to transition to that style and he suggested that I try the Brooks Ravenna. This shoe replaces the Axiom and is lighter than the Adrenalin GTS 10. The Ravenna also lacks some of the stability controls of the GTS 10 so it's more of a light trainer. I tried on a pair and they felt good but, understandably, they were not as plush as the new Adrenalins. After that Mark had me try on a pair of neutral cushioned shoes (ASICS Cumulus) and put me on the treadmill to see if I pronated. The reason for using a neutral shoe is to negate any gait correction. Mark captured me on video and much to my surprise I saw that I'm still heel striking (though Mark said I move very quickly off to the toe) and that I pronate to the point where my gait is indistinguishable from that of the AFLAC duck. I clearly need stability shoes so I'm debating whether to just get the GTS 10s or buy the Ravennas which will be a better choice for mid-foot running. I'm coming back next Friday and Mark said he'd put me in some Mizunos and Saucony shoes to compare with the Brooks.

This morning my friend KWL stopped by to pick up some computer gear. We'd planned a run but were concerned about the foot-plus of snow that was predicted by morning. When he arrived there was no snow  whatsoever so we headed out and covered three miles in around 27 minutes. It was a faster pace than I've been running, helped along by KWL's energy. He reminded me a little of how it was to run with AG who was always a slight step ahead  - like a greyhound on a tether. It was a great run and great fun to have a buddy to talk to along the way. It certainly made the time go by fast. We're getting snow now so I'll see what conditions are like by tomorrow morning. I'm prepared to use my snow treads if I have to. That could be kinda fun.

I fear the worst for my treadmill

I started the day with an unremarkable 21 minute treadmill run. In the morning time seems elastic. The time I take to pour coffee and prepare for my run goes by very quickly. Each time I glance at the clock it seems like another minute or two has passed and I see my very short window for exercise slipping away. Once on the treadmill time seems to stand still. I have a television on in the room for distraction but it's of limited benefit because the treadmill motor drowns out the sound. I'll often run for a while while thinking about things before I steal a glance at the clock only to see that I'm on the same minute as the last time I looked. Back when I was focusing on my speed this would be very discouraging because it meant hard effort without apparent progress. At least now, as I maintain a more moderate pace for my recovery, it's more about boredom than pain.

As I stepped out of my post-run shower this morning I heard my wife on the treadmill in the guest room. Nothing unusual about that except the noise emanating from the treadmill sounded like a helicopter that was attempting to land on the house. I couldn't understand why this was happening. I had just used the machine and it behaved the same as it had over the last 12 years. That could be the problem - 12 years is a long time for a treadmill, especially one that's been used daily (often twice daily) for over a decade. But every problem is also an opportunity and I can now feel good about replacing this venerable machine with something more modern and high-tech.

We're supposed to get some measurable snow overnight tonight so I'm concerned that I'll be constrained to indoor running. If the treadmill goes down completely I'll be forced to trade my weekend running time for the elliptical. I did buy some snow treads for my running shoes so it may be an opportunity to try them out. See? Every problem has an opportunity, you just need to look for it.