Rest and celebration on a hot summer's day

It's been quite a week off between vacation, Father's Day, and my daughter's middle school graduation. On top of that, today is my daughter's 14th birthday, so the celebration continues. In between all that, I've already run 19 miles this week. That should help push me past 80 miles for the month.

This morning my daughter received an award for achievement at her school. The ceremony started at 8:00 AM so I decided to take a rest from running today. I have the whole weekend to get in more miles. It's brutally hot and very humid right now and I am hoping that conditions will be better by tomorrow. Most of today's activities will be held indoors, except for some fun and games by the pool.

BH Fitness elliptical parts are 75 days late!

Waiting for parts, 45 days and counting...

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles (6% - 4% - 2% incline)

I just learned today that the parts to fix our BH Fitness elliptical machine will not be shipped for another 30 days. This is on top of the 45 days that we've waited since our local repair person diagnosed the problem. The X1 had some initial problems, but overall, it has been a good machine. Still, the elliptical wore out fast considering BH Fitness was sold to me as a "premium" brand. Of course the company that sold it to me was Fitness Showrooms, who never stood behind their product. 

We had a busy schedule today, so I did my run indoors on the treadmill. This treadmill, a Sole F63, has also had its share of problems. The belt slip that we'd experienced when we first used it has returned. We'd hoped that replacing the motor and the tread had fixed the problem. Perhaps it's time to think about a more heavy duty machine.

The temperature reached 100° today and, for some reason, I decided that it would be a good idea to run with a 6% incline for 15 minutes before dropping down to 4% for the next five. I decreased the incline and increased my speed intermittently until I finished the workout. We bought a stand up oscillating fan at Target today that I've positioned in front of the treadmill. I wish I had it this morning. Even with central air, the heat and humidity were the worst I've experienced this year.

Really nice and pockets too!

While at Target, I also picked a great pair of C9 running shorts (with two side pockets!) for less than $19. With a 9" inseam they'll be perfect for the trails.

Chocolate #9 seems to deliver

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

It's going to be a hot and soggy day today, so I got out at 7:00 AM to try to beat the heat. Over the weekend we had stopped into REI, where I picked up some gels that I had not previously tried. REI offers one of the best selections of gels and performance foods I've seen and they usually offer deals as an incentive to try new items.

I tried one of the new gels, called Chocolate #9, before my run. According to the company website, this gel:

• is sweetened only with organic agave.
• contains no refined sugar or other HIGH glycemic index sweeteners.
• has been tested and certified as a “LOW” glycemic index (GI) item.
• reduces the negative effect of repetitive insulin “spiking” during sustained exercise.
• won’t cause a sugar high or a sugar low – bonk.
• is an excellent energy choice for endurance athletes.
• is suitable for most diabetics.
• is an excellent choice for those not wanting to eat refined sugar.
• is vegan, low fat and gluten free.
• contains no synthetics – no unpleasant aftertastes – tastes great.
• contains no “mystery” ingredients, colorings, or preservatives.
• is easy on the stomach.

The gel tasted fine and I felt stronger than usual as I set out on my run. It didn't translate into any great speed, but that wasn't a priority today. Despite the humidity, I didn't start to sweat until the second mile. My pace was easy but my form was good. I ran seven miles yesterday so today's 3+ miles seemed to go by fairly quickly.

I don't know how much credit I should give to this gel for providing me consistent energy throughout my run, but it certainly didn't hurt my performance. I'll try it again to see if the benefit is consistent or if today's experience was a fluke. For now, I'll give Chocolate #9 the benefit of the doubt.

An easy seven at Bethpage

Ongoing work near the Bethpage trail head

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 7.3 miles

I finally made it back to Bethpage this morning to get in some distance without being confined by the borders of my neighborhood. Bethpage provides a paved trail that reaches as far south as Massapequa Preserve. The out and back is over 13 rolling miles and this provided a great practice course for the LI Half. There are some sections that involve crossing roads, but normally there is little traffic to consider.

It felt cool and the park was virtually empty when I arrived at 8:00 AM. I noticed that the construction fences were still up since the last time I'd run there. I still don't understand exactly what they're doing, but I'm curious to see how it turns out.

My plan was to run easy today. Despite the cool air, I could tell that it was going to be humid and I wasn't looking to set any records. I set off in a trot and soon the first hill was behind me. I'd brought a gel and a small bottle of water, but didn't use either on the run today. There was no point where it got so hard that I felt that I needed them. If I was pushing my speed, it would have been a different story.

The part of the Bethpage path that I always dread comes near the end, with two hills that can really test my stamina over the last 1.5 miles. Today I approached them like any other challenge on the route, keeping my stride short and my speed at a manageable level. I was soaked with sweat by the time I finished, but I still felt strong. It was the longest I'd run I'd done since the LI Half in May.

I'm hoping to cover over 20 miles this vacation week. That will help me reach my monthly target. I've run more than 80 miles in each of the last three months and I'm hoping to continue that for June. It's supposed to get very hot and VERY humid as the week goes on. That could curb the length of my runs unless I drag myself outside early and beat the heat.

Simulated and stimulated on the treadmill

View of the open road, via the guest room

Today's run (treadmill): 50 minutes

My daughter is graduating from middle school tonight and there's a lot happening today. Although the weather is clear and cool outside, I elected to do today's run on the treadmill. I did that mostly to save time, plus it gave me an opportunity to try running with my iPad using Visually Active while I listened to my favorite podcast.

The cool outside air didn't quite make it into the guestroom, and it wasn't long before I was really sweating. The podcast was entertaining but I quickly regretted the outside-the-ear headphones I'd chosen. Unfortunately these headphones didn't position the ear buds close enough to hear, unless I put the volume on my phone to the highest level. When the cord tugged at the headphones it changed the position of speaker, causing jarringly loud sound.

Still, most of the run it was fine and listenable. The ever-moving scene of the Pacific Northwest unfolding in front of me (simulation provided by Visually Active), helped alleviate the boredom of the treadmill. I noticed that Visually Active reuses much of its video on the longer runs. The 50 minute "run" was actually the same footage I'd seen on their shorter "runs", stitched together in 15 minute segments.

I didn't push my speed too much on this run, but I kept the incline at about 4% most of the time. It was a good workout and not too taxing, on what I usually consider my weekly rest day. The day's activities continue and I'm looking forward to seeing my daughter receive her diploma tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll finally get that long run in at Bethpage.

Father's Day on the run

Nothing like a good run to start things off

Today's run (street): 4.3 miles

It's Father's Day and I am happy for a number of reasons. First, I'm getting to spend the day with my family doing the things we like to do together. That started yesterday when my son and I went to see the movie Prometheus. We'd waited a long time to for this movie to come out and although it didn't live up to expectations, we had fun dissecting the plot and debating the meaning of the film.

Today's activities revolve around the whole family. Before we got the day started, I went for a run around the neighborhood. The temperature and humidity are expected to rise as the week goes on, but this morning was cool and partly cloudy. I wore the Spiras for a change of pace and they felt good as I started up the road. The cool air was energizing, and there were a lot of neighbors outside who greeted me as I ran by.

I'd originally planned to cover about three miles easy, because I knew I had a big day ahead and I'll have plenty of time for longer runs this week. The run felt so good that I added some extra streets to my route that increased my total to 4.3 miles. As far as it being an easy run, I hit the accelerator at the two mile mark and that put my pace into normal training range.

I was pleased that this "easy" run turned out to be a better workout than expected. One of many reasons why this is a happy Father's Day weekend.

Central Park, eight months later

Friday's run (Central Park): 3.3 miles
Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.3 miles

I thought it had been a while since I'd run in Central Park, but I was shocked to see on Garmin Connect that the last time I'd run there was last October! I had assumed I'd been there more recently but after checking the blog history I confirmed that was accurate. Knowing that, I am especially happy to have returned to Central Park.

The weather was almost perfect when I got to the park. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 60's. It took a surprisingly long time to acquire a signal on my Garmin. As soon as it locked in, I was on my way.

I began my run by going counter-clockwise along the Center Drive loop. I was surprised to see lots of runners coming from the other direction because that's opposite of the direction arrows on the bike path. I was running strongly and staying just below a nine minute pace through the first mile. By the time I reached the top of Cat Hill I had slowed a bit, but I still felt strong.

The humidity was higher than I'd first thought and I decided to limit my run to the loop below the reservoir. I gritted my teeth through the hilly sections just below the Great Lawn and Terrace Drive and enjoyed the downhill sections that followed. I continued on some the paths off Center Drive and finished on Central Park South at 7th Ave. It was a great run and my overall pace was actually faster than what I achieved on the NHP 8K.

This morning I headed to Stillwell to run the trails. I downloaded the latest 3 Non-Joggers podcast to listen to while I ran. That helped me get through some very technical and steep terrain. I ended up covering almost exactly the same mileage as I ran on Friday, but the required effort was much greater.

On my way off the trail I encountered three women who were asking people to sign a petition that would limit mowing the big field. This would help protect the wildlife and aid conservation efforts to eliminate invasive species. I was happy to sign.

I've been on vacation since yesterday afternoon. Since then, I've had two really interesting runs. I'm hoping to do a distance run in the next few days. Tomorrow is Father's Day so maybe I'll give myself the gift of running the hills on the Bethpage bike trail.

TGIFAIRICP*

*Thank God It's Friday and I'm Running In Central Park

Some work weeks go by so fast that you almost wish for another day to get everything completed. Not this week. By Tuesday afternoon I was half-asking if tomorrow is Friday. I felt terrible on Wednesday and recovered through Thursday, although the day seemed to go on forever. TGIF indeed!

After a light morning schedule, I'm planning to head over to Central Park for a run. It's been a long time since I've run there and the conditions are perfect for it. I was on the fence last night about whether I'd do today's run in the morning by my home, or run in the park. My wife said, "Tomorrow's weather will be great and next week you're on vacation. A run in the park will be a perfect way to kick off the weekend." She's smart.

My plan is to run the eastern side loop below the reservoir and, depending on how energetic I feel, continue around the water and come back along the western side. That's about a 4.5 mile run. Otherwise, I'll follow the route I used to take when I ran with JQ, Steve, Adventure Girl and others. That run involves cutting over just north of the Great Lawn before heading south. It's about 3.1 miles in total - a nice low key 5K.

It feels a lot like summer already, with empty trains and few people in the office. The sounds from the Today Show concert is reaching me a couple of blocks away. The sun is shining. I can't wait to head for the park.

Saved again by Sudafed

The little red miracle

Tuesday's run (treadmill): 25 minutes
Wednesday's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Hi, remember me? It's been a tough couple of days and I have not had the chance to post since Monday. I was in all day industry meetings over the past few days where I presented to various groups. I needed to prepare for those presentations on the train, so I wasn't able to write my posts.

Due to the rain, I was confined to the treadmill on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yesterday morning, I used Virtually Active throughout the entire workout. The package I bought ($7.99) was of the Pacific Northwest and the video showed a combination of trail, mountain and city running. I liked certain things about it, but I wished I could raise the position of the iPad. The placement was lower than the view I would have during an actual run.

I'm not sure if the video had anything to do with it, but I felt dizziness throughout the morning and this turned into an intense headache by noon. I had just finished my talk when I realized that I probably had a sinus infection and needed to take Sudafed with pseudoephedrine. I caught the next train home, took my red pill and went to bed.

Pseudoephedrine is a bit of a miracle drug, at least it is for me. I felt good this morning but I had some residual dizziness and decided to forgo my run today. I think that was a good decision. I'm considering a lunchtime run in Central Park tomorrow and I'll see how I feel at the end of the day. With the rain behind us and sunny conditions ahead, I'm hoping I'll be up to it.

Are gender-specific races sexist?

Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

My colleague and friend FS ran in the NYRR Mini 10K yesterday, and that got me thinking about gender-specific races. The Mini 10K originates back to the days when women's distance running was virtually banned by most racing associations. The mindset of the time was ridiculous, and it wasn't until the 1984 Olympics that women could finally compete at the full marathon distance. But today, there are no such issues, and the percentage of women finishers at every race distance is over 50%.

Excluding men from women-oriented races doesn't make much sense to me at this point. I suppose women-only events, like the Mini 10K, More Half Marathon and the Disney Princess races, may provide a safe experience that encourages more women into the sport. But is this practice a double standard? Or is it a matter of celebrating every women's right to competitive equality?

Allowing men into these races may risk spoiling the spirit and focus of these important events. But the exclusion of those who wish to compete mirrors the same conditions that integrated single gender races in the first place.

Base restoration, Day 1

Today's run (street): 6.4 miles

It's been weeks since I've done a run greater than five miles, so I planned for a longer run today. By the end of April (prior to the half), I was at my training peak, averaging over 22 miles a week. Right now I feel like I'm in a bit of a valley in terms of my training and performance. This is due mostly to running lower mileage weeks over the last month. I recognize that I need to refocus on my base training.

Today's route was a departure from my usual neighborhood course. After a counter-clockwise loop around the northern roads, I headed toward the local business park to run the main loop with its hilly section. On the way out, I turned into neighborhood #3 and ran a loop around those roads, finishing with a mile and a half back in my neighborhood.

I've felt slightly tired and "under the weather" since last weekend. That continued this morning, although it didn't affect my stamina. I ran about 20 seconds per mile slower than I'd planned, but I still covered my distance in a credible time.

I'm planning to rest as much as I can over the weekend in hopes of restoring my energy level. I'd like to cover another six miles tomorrow to get me to 20 miles this week. Either way, I'm happy to have run over six miles today. a good base is hard to build, and easy to lose.

This thing conquers treadmill boredom

Hope there's no virtual bears in that tunnel

Today's run ( street): 2.5 miles

Yesterday afternoon, my friend KWL suggested that I download an app on my iPad called Virtually Active. It was a great recommendation and the answer to the question I've had since the day I took up running: How can you make the treadmill experience less boring? This app certainly has the potential to make my treadmill sessions much more entertaining.

The premise of Virtually Active is simple. You place your iPad on top of your treadmill's display and the application provides the experience of (virtually) running through mountains, woods, countrysides or cities. I had my kids try it last night and my wife tried it this morning on her run. I haven't yet tried it, but I will this weekend. If I like what I see with the 7 minute sample, I'll gladly pay the $7.99 price for one of the packs that offers six runs with durations between 10 and 60 minutes.

The weather was cool and dry this morning, so I did my run outdoors. I was surprised that I could see vapor when I breathed, because the reported temperature was close to 60°. It felt cool, but not cold. Certainly not that cold.  I enjoyed my run and thought I was making good time through my regular route.

I ended up covering the course in my usual time, despite a focus on speed for the last half mile. I must have started slower than I realized. I'm hoping to get out for a distance run tomorrow. The long run training I did for the half marathon was hard to do every Saturday,  but it did improve my overall performance. I need to get back in the groove - seven miles may a good target. Perhaps I'll also do a run in the Pacific Northwest, courtesy of Virtually Active.

Taking a deferred rest day

I was plain exhausted this morning and quickly decided not to run. I figured that since I only took one rest day after my race, I was entitled to another this week. It wasn't a hard decision to make. It's an opportunity cost scenario: What's worth more to a tired runner, an incremental run or another day to recover? I wouldn't say my guilt meter is at zero for skipping my workout.  But it's pretty low.

What's depriving me from better running

By the way, today is National Running Day!

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I usually take two days off after a race to allow my leg muscles to properly recover. It may be due to my mindset about Sunday's 8K that I didn't follow tradition and skip yesterday's run. I felt like my post race plan didn't warrant the usual rest, because it was a C- effort on my part. I initially congratulated myself for toughing it out and finishing with a respectable time, but the experience was disappointing. The only thing that made it special was having my family with me.

Yesterday's run was good, as is typical after a bad run and a day of resting. This morning I opted for a treadmill workout so I could get started and finished more quickly. That left a little more time to rest before starting my day. I ran fine but without much enthusiasm. My only goal was to finish and check the "workout done" box.

Runner's World tweet this morning: "Chronically sleep deprived? It will impact your running. Try for 8 hours/night." I had to laugh because 8 hours is roughly the amount of sleep I get over two nights. I wish I could do an experiment comparing my running performance after I sleep for 8 hours a night for two weeks. I'm certain there would be measurable improvement. If only I had the time to do that.

Bare feet but not barefoot

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

This morning, as I stood waiting for my Garmin to acquire its signal, I thought about a few things. First thing was the weather. The temperature was hovering around 50 degrees but it felt even colder due to a chilly breeze from the west. Second, I'd noticed the moon was shining so bright that I really didn't need my headlamp, even at 4:00 AM. The third observation was that I felt reasonably comfortable standing sockless in my new secret pair of test shoes, that are designed to be used with or without socks.

There are people who dislike socks (or shoes for that matter) and prefer to be barefoot as much as possible. I'm not one of them. The idea or running without socks has never appealed to me and the one time I tried it (with my Hattori's) resulted in bad chafing from a hot spot on the upper. But on Saturday, when I was selecting the shoes that I'd wear for Sunday's race, I tried on the test shoes sans chaussettes and was amazed by how comfortable they felt.

The test shoes are tight on the side opposite my big toe and I've managed around that by wearing the thinnest socks I have. When I tried the shoes without socks I felt like I'd gained some room. I considered choosing these shoes (sockless) but I didn't want to try something so risky on race day. I decided that I'd try going sockless a day or so after the race.

While my feet felt fine as I waited to run, I knew I wouldn't understand the experience until I put my shoes to pavement. I could tell as soon as I'd taken ten steps that a lack of socks would not be a problem. I made my way up the road feeling both energetic and comfortable.

With the cool air and low humidity, it was a pleasant running experience. I felt like I was moving better than I had on Sunday, and I had no problems with rubbing or chafing. However, even without socks, these shoes still felt a little too tight during the run. It was interesting to run this way and, with the very minimal shoe design and no socks, it's probably the closest I'll ever come to running barefoot. For me, that's close enough.

Reflecting on a mediocre race

The gloom of a dark, rainy Monday matches my mood perfectly this morning. One more weekend day would have been nice, even with this wet weather. Despite an hour's nap on Sunday, I think I need a recharge. I'm fairly certain that yesterday's race-day struggles relate to either a lack of sleep or fighting off a virus. I'm not sure there's anything in my training or preparation that I would have done differently.

While I am disappointed to have missed a PR by a large margin, I'm not down about my performance. One bad race is no longer enough for me to worry about my fitness or potential. I've been fortunate to experience most of my bad runs during training sessions, with the 2011 half marathon being a key exception. But yesterday felt like a really bad run.

I'm wondering if I should plan to go out tomorrow morning or take another day's rest before resuming my training schedule. At this point I'm not sure whether I'm better off getting back on the horse, or letting the horse rest a little longer.

2012 New Hyde Park 8K race report

Crossing the line later than I'd hoped

Today's run (New Hyde Park 8K): 45:30

I ran the New Hyde Park 8K this morning for the fourth consecutive time. It wasn't a disaster, but it could have gone better. No PR today.

I'd done all the right things to prepare -- steady training, speed work last weekend, and two days rest prior to race day.  I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday, but I did some light upper body work followed by some core work that seemed to help. I didn't have a great night's sleep but I felt fine this morning. More rest would have been good.

The weather was perfect when we arrived at the Denton Ave. school where the race begins and ends. There was a little miscue with my registration and they couldn't find my race package. Fortunately, they did have my proper tag and bib number. The crowd seemed smaller than last year, but a quick comparison with last year's results shows there were slightly more people running today. But the feel of the race was different this year, lacking its usual excitement and energy.

Feeling okay after the start

We assembled for the start under sunny skies, I took a position about 20 feet behind the line. After one false start, we were on our way. I was looking forward to running this course and I felt fine for the first few minutes. I started feeling the effort soon after that, far too early in the race. Still, I had little trouble keeping up with the crowd. I was concerned about sustaining my present pace over five miles.

I came through mile 1 at 8:32 and struggled with a couple of small hills before the route spilled onto New Hyde Park Road. I wasn't even near the 2 mile mark when I began to struggle. New Hyde Park Road rises for a while before dropping ahead of the turn onto the service road for the Long Island Expressway. I stopped at the first water station and took water. Usually I'll slow down but keep moving, but in this case, I came to a standstill. That cost me at least 30 seconds, but I'm glad I did it.

The stretch along the service road was tough, but I held my pace for the most part. The shaded stretches were a godsend, but after coming up the hill leading to Shelter Rock Road, it was all sun. I had filled my gel flask with two Roctanes that I took between miles 3 and 4 and I believe they helped get me through the end of the course without a bonk. At mile four I was disappointed to see that my cumulative time was far behind my goal time. I was hoping I might (at least) come close to my prior finish times.

The last part of the course routes through a neighborhood leading to the field behind the Denton Ave. school. By the time I turned off Shelter Rock Road I was ready for the end and was visualizing the green field where the finish line is located. I wasn't struggling by the last mile, but I knew that this race would not go down as a great performance. I was disappointed to see the clock showing 45 minutes when I finally reached the field, and crossed the line at 45:30.

I'm not sure why today's run was so difficult, but I definitely wasn't on my game this morning. I averaged a 9:10 pace which I'd consider good on a training run, but I missed my target of running sub-9:00 race.

Rather than settling the score in 2013, I'm thinking that I might look for a different race next June. I don't have the same affection for this event that I have for some other races, and I'm primed for a new challenge. Still, I got a great workout and I was able to share the experience with my wife and kids. Every race can't be a personal best and I accept my performance without complaint. Racing is about challenging yourself, and today, it was a struggle. But at least I tried and I toughed it out. I win.

Creature of (racing) habit

Crossing the line at last year's NHP 8K

This year I'm running a few races for the forth consecutive time. One of those races is the New Hyde Park 8K that takes place tomorrow morning. Long Island, where I live, offers numerous racing events, mostly 5K's, between March and July. Every time I attend a race I'm handed fliers (or I find them on my windshield) that promote an upcoming race. But for some reason I find myself running in the same races every year.

I suppose this has something to do with the comfort of knowing what to expect from the experience. It also helps that I get to know the course a little better with each race. The NHP 8K is a nice, well organized event with a fast (if unremarkable) course. The first time I ran it, in 2009, I went out too fast and almost bonked around mile 4. Last year was a much better experience.

Running the same races, year after year, has its benefits (including the fact that it provides a way to benchmark performance), it's also fun to try new events. Last year I ran the Town of Oyster Bay and Ho Ho Holiday runs (both 5K's) for the first time. These races were worth repeating and I plan to do that this year. I'd like to try a new race this year, but I'm not sure where or when I could fit another into my schedule. After all, I'm not going to give up my Cow Harbor or Dirty Sock weekends for anything else.

Roctane run at City Sport

I'll defer testing until after the race

Just like last year, the Friday weather before the NHP 8K is beautiful. So once again, I'm missing out on a great city run. However, it's important to stick to what works and that means two day's rest before a race. I'm expecting to get home a little earlier than normal today and I'll probably take time to run through some core and light upper body exercises.

Yesterday, I went over to City Sport to restock my supply of GU Roctane. I'm planning to mix one or two gels with water and carry that in my gel flask during the race. Last year I carried a small water bottle the entire race, but didn't open it and probably didn't need it. But it will be good to have this at the ready, in case I need some help at the end.

In addition to the Roctanes, I bought a regular GU in the new Peanut Butter flavor. I won't experiment with that until after the race. The Golden Rule: never try new things on race day. City Sport also had GU "Just Plain" flavor that I'm guessing tastes mostly like sugar. I took a pass on that. One more day until the race. It will take more than gels for me to perform to expectations. But every little bit helps.

Self doubt at the end of my taper

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

If this morning's run was a typical training workout, I would have been pleased by my performance. I pushed my speed somewhat, ran well and ended up pacing 20 seconds per mile faster than normal. So why complain about that? While I concede some performance due to the time of day (4 AM), I was hoping to finish this morning's route a full minute faster than I did.

I was speaking to my friend CK yesterday and mentioned the 8K on Sunday. I told him my goal target for time and pace and he said I should do that easily. Easy for him to say, he can run 7:00 miles any day of the week. When I was running this morning, I felt like I could push it another 10%, but after that it would be a challenge. When I returned to my house at the end of my run, I questioned whether I could even sustain the pace I'd run today over double the distance.

Last year I averaged 8:40 per mile for the ~ 5 mile NHP course. It was both a PR and a great surprise, since I'd paced 9:00 the prior two years. I've run well in races this year and did some speed work over the weekend, but I haven't done a run greater than 5 miles since May 19. I'm hoping the energy of race day, plus two days rest, decent weather and a performance mindset, will help me reach my goals on Sunday.

Where can I get a SAG card?

Making the scene, literally

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Only in NYC can you get to your office and not be surprised to see camera and lighting trucks setting up along the street. They're filming a major studio movie here and the subject matter relates to one of my company's iconic brands. This is the second time they've filmed here in the last few weeks and I have a great view of the action from my office window (see above). Hmmm, I wonder if they need any extras?  

This morning I did a treadmill run because the weather report had predicted rain. I'm not sure it was raining when I got up to work out, but the humidity indoors was extremely high. This was my penultimate run before the New Hyde Park 8K, so I increased my effort by adding some incline through my progressive speed workout.

I felt fine the entire run except for my feet that are still sore at the bottom. In an odd way, the soreness helped, because it took my mind off the hard effort of running in the heat and humidity. As strange as it sounds, I think that made a difference. Despite the hot conditions, my run seemed to go by quickly and it never really felt like it was too much to bear. One more run to go and my taper is complete. Then onto Hollywood. I mean New Hyde Park.

Getting to the bottom of my foot pain

Bottom Lateral Ouchiitis

I wore my new recovery slides yesterday in the hope that they'd help alleviate the persistent soreness I've had at the bottom of my feet. This is not plantar fasciitis, because the pain is specific to the inside lateral part of my feet, just below the toes. I'm pretty sure the cause relates to all the long pounding runs I did at Bethpage to train for the half marathon earlier this month. I've reduced my weekly mileage by 10% since completing that race and have only done one run longer than 8 miles since that day.

The pain is not terrible and it hasn't prevented me from running. But this pain, like the mild soreness that I've had with my Achilles tendon, is persistent and it can be uncomfortable at times. I've looked up my symptoms for lateral foot pain and, for runners, it seems to be a form of tendinitis. I'll continue using the recovery shoes and will also try to be more disciplined about soaking my feet with peppermint oil soap this week. I'm scheduled for a fast race on Sunday and I'm hoping to reduce the negative variables as much as I can.

Hot run before a cool parade

A memorable parade on Memorial Day

Today's run (street): 3.9 miles

We needed to get out a little early this morning to get our son to the staging location for the Memorial Day parade. It was fun to see him come by, playing with the school band. After seeing friends and neighbors, it really felt like a small town event. By the time the parade was done, we were all ready to begin our Memorial Day lunch. Sure feels like summer, even if it hasn't quite arrived.

I'd planned to run on the treadmill knowing that we'd be under some time pressure in the morning. But the skies were bright at 7:00 AM, and I knew I couldn't stay inside. Instead, I geared up for an outdoor run and I considered the temperature (67°), but not the humidity (oppressive).

There was a breeze from the north when I started my run, and that made the air feel deceptively cool.  It soon became apparent that it was going to be hot. I tried to follow roads with tree shade on the left side but the sun was strong and so was the heat. I made the mistake of checking my pace nine minutes into the run, and that prompted me to speed up my progress. Normally that's desirable, but with the humidity, I may have been better off maintaining my prior rate.

As bad as it was, I didn't feel it was too hot to run. I capped my distance at 3.9 miles, but that had more to do with my limited time than to the heat. I ended up with an average pace that was 25 seconds per mile faster than my first mile. Since today's a holiday I decided to run today instead of taking my usual Monday rest day. I'll probably rest tomorrow and run on Wednesday and Thursday, before I take my usual two days off before my race.

D'oh, a deer!

Rainy conditions on Stillwell's trails

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 4 miles

Yesterday's workout was focused on speed and intensity so I thought I'd go for an easier run today. It's been a while since I've visited Stillwell Woods and a trail run sounded like a good idea. Just for fun, I downloaded a podcast from 3nonjoggers.com. This is a trio of trail runners who record a weekly hour-long running-related program. I read about them in the April issue of TrailRunner magazine.

I have not run with a music player in years, but, with my new pocket-rich running shorts, I thought I might today. I'm glad I did, as the podcast was funny and interesting and I certainly recommend it. While I feel that listening to music or podcasts is dangerous on the road, at least I won't see any cars on the trail. Mountain bikes, yes. Deer, yes. But no cars.

I mention deer because I had a close encounter with one this morning. I was moving along nicely on a twisty section of singletrack, when my eyes caught a flash of beige about five yards ahead. Apparently I had surprised a large deer grazing in the woods. The deer jumped onto the path in front of me and took off very quickly. I literally said "What the @#$%!" when I saw it. Although I'd seen deer on my runs in the past, I'd never seen one at Stillwell.

Besides the deer sighting, there wasn't much happening on the trails this morning. It was raining lightly when I started and the rain intensified for a while during my run. The canopy overhead protected me, but I still got fairly wet. My only company besides the deer were three bikers who passed me on my way up a steep rise. The tables got turned when they sputtered out before reaching the top and I just kept going. To their credit they cheered me when I went by.

Ready for future recovery

Later in the day I returned some Adidas recovery slides that my wife bought to surprise me. It turned out that she ordered the wrong size, simply because she listened to what I told her. They are Adidas Superstars with a very comfortable foot bed. I look forward to wearing them after my next run.

Tomorrow morning we'll be at the Memorial Day parade to watch my son march with the school band. That will preclude a long morning run, but I'll probably do a treadmill workout as I begin my taper week. I've had some interesting experiences on the road, track and trail this weekend. Might as well add the treadmill to the mix.