How pounding headaches lead to base building

There's something about daylong meetings spent in airless conference rooms that causes me to experience pounding headaches. Tuesday's meeting was intense. I lead an industry group that focuses on some fairly technical subject matter. After the sixth hour of intense debates and discussions, it became exhausting. A different meeting followed on Wednesday, and by 10:00 AM I knew I'd be in for a rough day.

I went to bed last night hoping I'd wake up feeling better. I set my running clothes up for a morning workout,  but the need for additional rest and the slight presence of a headache dissuaded me from getting on the treadmill. I think it was a good decision. This is the second or third week in a row where I took Thursday as an additional rest day, but in every case I felt the rest was justified.

The difference between running five days a week versus six isn't great, but it does put me a little behind against my weekly mileage target. So far, I've managed to make up for the loss of weekday miles on weekends. In a way, it has motivated me to extend my weekend long runs a little further than normal. I've been looking to build my base back up and that's a way to do it. I just wish the process to get there this week wasn't so painful.

I will admit that performance is a rush

Yesterday's run (treadmill): 25 minutes
Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I'm currently in the middle of a group of multi-day industry meetings. These gatherings are energizing, but they can take up a lot of time. In the past, I've skipped one or more workouts during these periods because of the impact on my schedule. I'm pleased that this week I've been able fit in my runs and stay on schedule.

One of this year's goals is to get outside more often on my morning runs. That wasn't an option today with a mix of freezing rain and snow coming down at 4 AM. Like yesterday, I headed to the treadmill and did a progressive speed run, pushing hard enough to get my heart rate to target.

While I do believe that moderate workouts are my best strategy, I do like the rush that comes from doing multiple speed increases over the last quarter of these runs. Right now, a little speed goes a long way.

Would you read Slow Runner magazine?

Going to the Well

Running magazines provide great utility and can occasionally inspire. When I was a new runner, I found these magazines to be a useful source for information about terminology, practices and setting expectations. But just as there are no magazines to help you become a run-of-the-mill decorator or a mediocre cook, the focus of every running magazine seems to be about improving performance. Up until recently, I appreciated that focus. Now I'm a little conflicted.

The reason for this comes from recent studies published by the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health and the Lancet. Both of these studies concluded that mortality rates for those who exercised moderately were lower than the rates for sedentary people or high performing athletes. If running greater than 20 miles per week or pacing in the seven minute pace range causes a health concern, I'm certainly not going to do that. Not that I could run a sustained 7:00 pace anyway.

I'm curious to see whether running magazines will ignore these studies or dismiss them as inaccurate. If not, will they acknowledge the facts and modify their editorial focus? After all, the topic of minimalism started getting regular coverage after Christopher McDougall published "Born to Run". Covering running without a focus on performance may be a hard sell for Running Times, but many titles already devote pages to nutrition, human interest and lifestyle.

Given the choice, I'd always choose an article about running experience over a new approach to running intervals. Maybe that's a new market segment for Rodale to cover.

Foggy morning run at Bethpage

Beware the moors and stick to the bike path

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 5.1 miles

If there's a downside to having 40° weather in January (besides the fact that it may be caused by global climate change) is that things can get foggy. There's nothing specifically wrong with fog, but I wasn't thrilled to drive through the cloudy Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway this morning. Most people were smart enough to keep their car lights on, so the trip wasn't as scary as I'd feared. When I got to my destination, Bethpage State Park, I was happy to see that the gates were open.

It's been a long time since I've run at Bethpage. They had closed access to the park after Hurricane Sandy and I had not made it back until today. It was great to be back for a run. As I drove toward the lot, a dark mist over the golf course made it look a little like the Scottish moors.

My plan was to run five miles, starting first by going south on the old trail and turning back at the one mile point. I appreciated the first, mostly downhill, half mile but I knew it wouldn't be fun coming back up that tough hill. Once past my nemesis, I was two miles in and I crossed over to the newer section of the bike path. I had to complete a three mile out-and-back to get my total to five.

Bethpage's bike trails are rolling and, while I don't always notice the falling sections, I never miss a hill. The new, northern path has plenty of hills. Just like the southern part, it's tougher coming back than going out. I reached Haypath about a quarter mile short of my turnaround point so I crossed over and ran until my Garmin showed 3.5 miles.

I knew I'd soon encounter the three noticeable hills and I took them on. The hills are a bit steep, but the incline is fairly short and there's a enough separation between them for recovery. Once past those challenges I settled in for the remainder of the run. Before long I was back at the trail head having covered my planned distance.

Even though it was unseasonably warm, there weren't too many other runners out today. I worked hard and felt good throughout the run, but I was glad when I finished. I was also happy that I made it out of the neighborhood for a run this weekend. That was one of my stated goals for 2013. Having come into the weekend with less than ten miles logged, I'm pleased to have finished close to my weekly target of 20.

Afternoon runs are hard when you're a morning runner

I wish all races started at 10:00 AM

Today's run (street): 5.3 miles

All things being equal, I run much better in the morning than I do later in the day. The numbers don't lie and I have had enough bad afternoon runs to know it's true. I don't know if it relates to biorhythms, psychology, or nutrition (or some combination of the three). In any case, I usually avoid running during the second half of the day. The above chart is an unscientific but fair representation of my performance throughout the day.

I've felt a little off my game this week. Not exactly tired, but not as strong as usual. I skipped my run on Thursday to give myself a day to catch up. Yesterday's run on the treadmill was fine, although I didn't feel as energized after the run as I usually do.

This morning I woke up at 6:45 AM, a full hour later than usual for a Saturday. I clearly needed the sleep and was happy to lose a little time to gain the rest. Due to that, the morning schedule was compressed and I lost my window to run. Other things took priority and it wasn't until after lunch that I finally headed outside.

Today's plan was to go to Bethpage, but I didn't feel like taking the drive over there. I wasn't pleased about my late start and I really wanted to get my run done as quickly as possible. At around 2:00 PM, I finally had my act in gear and started off. My targeted distance was five miles. Normally that would be easy, but I was concerned that the later hour would make it tough.

The weather felt cool, even though the reported temperature was 45 degrees. A very light rain was falling and I considered wearing my running raincoat but I feared overheating. I ended up putting on my Zensah calf compression sleeves for warmth and that was a good call. Plus they have an energizing effect that I'd hoped would help.

In terms of performance, it wasn't the worst five miles I've run on a Saturday. My pace was acceptable but nothing to brag about. For some reason it was really hard to tie together five miles of roads today. The run seemed to take far longer than 52 minutes, but I didn't have any issues with stamina. I occasionally picked up the pace during the run. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help my overall time.

Running at 2:00 PM wasn't the disaster I'd feared, but I suspect that I would have done better had I gone out earlier as planned. Tomorrow I hope to get to Bethpage and execute on my goal of doing one non-neighborhood run each weekend. Even if I can't for some reason, at least today's later run provided a different expereince. And for runners who train almost daily, a little difference can go a long way.

At long last: 2013 running goals

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I realized last night that I never posted last year's running goals. In prior years I had done that on the blog, but I guess I just forgot to do it for 2012. I'm not sure what goals I would have set last year, beyond hoping to improve my half marathon time and participating in a race I'd never run before. I did both of those things last year, so I guess I achieved something. This year I'm thinking about the following as my 2013 running goals:

1. More weekday running diversity.
For practical reasons, my running routine has become less and less adventurous. My weekday 4:00 AM runs were once daily adventures where I'd run on different streets each day and then scramble to get home in time to stay on schedule. This devolved into running the exact same route, every day, to stay within a rigid time frame. Worse, some time last year I stopped doing outdoor runs on weekdays in favor of the treadmill to minimize prep time and maximize recovery time

Goal: Run outdoors at least once a week before work. Establish at least one alternate route to take every other week.

2. More NYC running.
Way back when, I'd frequently run in Central Park, on the West Side bike path or even over bridges to New Jersey or Brooklyn. Regular running partners Adventure Girl and JQ have left the east coast and I've had trouble finding running buddies who are willing to commit to workday runs.

Goal: Monthly runs in Central Park, with or without a partner.

3. Break the neighborhood running habit on weekends.
Just like my slide to predictable routes and then to the treadmill on weekday mornings, my weekend runs have become fairly mundane workouts that take place mostly around my neighborhood. My excuse has been that local runs save time (which is in short supply on weekends) but boring running really undercuts the experience.

Goal: One run outside of my neighborhood every weekend (weather permitting).

4. Return to racing.
Event date changes and race cancellations due to Hurricane Sandy disrupted my running momentum. I am completely out of the racing habit and don't have a race on the schedule until Marcie Mazzola in April.

Goal: Run at least one race prior to April's event. Bonus: Run a different half marathon than the RXR LI.

5. Participate in a group run (club organized or otherwise).

Goal: find a an open meet-up, local club run or organize one myself. 

Unlike years past, I've decided not to put in any performance or distance goals this year. If I meet my race goals, performance will take care of itself. I have run enough distance at this point to know I can run more. Besides that, I'm not sure running more than 13 or 14 miles is really that beneficial to my health.

Now that I've posted these goals, I guess I need to start working on them. This weekend will present my first opportunity to do that. Bethpage, here I come.

Increasing fitness by not running

Building fitness can be relaxing

I believe it's okay to take an ad hoc rest day every once in a while. I did it today and I feel no guilt whatsoever. While I will probably never get up and say, "Hey, I feel great, I think I'll skip my run", I didn't rest this morning because I was feeling weak or ill. What I felt was under-rested and I concluded that I'd be better off taking it easy, rather pushing hard and inviting a problem.

When you think about it, a day of rest is often better for you than a single day's run, because recovery periods are when your body actually builds fitness. That's holds true for a day or even two, but then it starts to go the other way. I've been doing workouts six days a week for the past few years. That generally works for me. My average run  (accounting for shorter distances on weekdays and longer ones on weekends) is 3.3 miles. This seems like the right amount of exercise to keep me fit and (knock wood) to prevent me from sustaining injuries.

The reason I don't feel any guilt for skipping my today's run is that I know I'll be back at it tomorrow. However, my decision puts me three miles behind in terms of reaching my weekly target of 20, but I can probably make up some mileage on Saturday or Sunday. In the meantime, I'm happy knowing that taking a rest was the right thing to do this morning.

Trust your waiter at your own peril

Yeah, sure you are...

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

There are certain things we know we shouldn't do, but we do them anyway. These things are often situational. For me, it's the decision to order coffee after a business lunch. There's nothing wrong with coffee, but I am extremely sensitive to the amount of caffeine I can keep in my system. A little goes a long way for me and I find it a legitimate performance supplement for running.  But having caffeine too late in the day generally disrupts my night's sleep.

While caffeinated coffee affects me, decaf doesn't. At home I can confidently brew a pot of decaf when entertaining friends at night and drop off to sleep without a problem. The problem happens when I order decaf in a restaurant and get regular coffee. I've had enough experience to know that, even after stressing the word decaf and then verifying that the cup placed in front of me contains it, there's a percentage chance that I've been given the fully caffeinated brew.

Caffeine version please

That's exactly what happened to me yesterday at lunch. I thought about the risk, but ordered it anyway. It wasn't until I was tossing and turning in bed last night that I realized what I'd done. If I was a chemist, I'd look for a way of sampling coffee to instantly determine the presence or percentage of caffeine in the cup. It could be like the color-changing chemical that police use to determine if a suspected substance contains cocaine.

I think I could make a lot of money marketing that to caffeine-sensitive people. It would also allow me to take waiters to task for botching my order. That would be much better than cursing them at midnight as I wait to fall asleep.

Garmin FR210 behaving badly

Get back to work!

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

After two years of stellar service, my Garmin FR210 has started to exhibit some bad behavior. I bought this watch because it provided basic GPS metrics, elevation data and wireless syncing with my heart rate monitor. Like all GPS systems, the distance accuracy wasn't 100%, but after a while I understood the margin of error and mentally corrected for it. There are things I still don't like about the watch, such as the weird way it connects to a PC for data uploads, but overall it has been a great resource and a good value.

The bad behavior started on January 1st, with my first run of the year. I was a couple of miles into the Hangover Fun Run at Eisenhower Park, when I looked at the watch only to see that it wasn't recording time or distance. I decided to let it go and just use the event clock to record my time. I figured that I must have neglected to fully push the start button and was paying the price for that inattention.

Since then, I've run five more times. On three of those runs I've noticed that the timer stopped recording after I'd initially started it. It doesn't happen every time, but it forces me to pay careful attention to the watch on every run. I don't know why this would suddenly happen. I checked the FR210 forum on Garmin Connect but haven't seen anyone else with the same complaint.

It would be a shame to have to replace this watch because I've come to rely on it to capture all my metrics, including a map of where I'd run. I still have my FR60 that works fine, but it lacks GPS so I'd need to return to using the foot pad. If I did that, I'd lose the mapping but would gain cadence, something I miss since switching from the 60 to the 210. I could always use an app on my smartphone to do the mapping since I carry the phone on every run. It's worth thinking about. But I'd rather have the FR210 working as it should.

The problem of running too fast

I have two friends who tell me they simply cannot run slowly. When running alone, they claim to always push their pace to a level of discomfort. They have a difficult time easing up when their coaches tell them to slow down during training sessions. If these guys weren't two of the nicest, most secure people I know, I'd chock it up to macho posturing. After thinking about it, I'm beginning to understand their perspective.

Unlike my friends, I can run slow anytime that I'm asked. But ask me to walk slowly and you'll get a different response. I often find it maddening to walk the streets of NYC, especially in midtown where I work, where my path is constantly obstructed with dawdlers of every type. I've always been a fast and impatient walker. This trait that makes for efficient travel across the city, but it can really annoy others who aren't in a rush.

I envy my fast running friends because I really do enjoy the experience of moving swiftly on a run. I just have trouble sustaining an urgent pace unless I'm in a race. I'd always assumed that a person who can walk fast for miles would also be able to run fast for long periods. Sadly, that's not the case. I know I've become competitively complacent since October's Town Of Oyster Bay 5K. Perhaps now is the time for me to start picking up the pace.

The soul of weekend runs and the Sole of weekday workouts

Sole F63 - my frequent morning companion

Today's run (street): 4.2 miles

It's more than halfway through the weekend that followed my short week back to work. The real test comes next week with five straight days of waking up at 3:45 AM. Four of those mornings will involve a run that starts before 4:00. It's harder in the winter, especially on those days where the temperature falls below freezing.

A year ago I would bundle up and get outside every morning unless it was raining. These days I usually choose the treadmill because it saves me time. Instead of dealing with layers of clothes, headlamp, etc., I can be running in minutes. Is it the same experience? Far from it. It always feels like I work harder on the treadmill but the benefits are lower. The machine might be a Sole, but the workouts are somewhat soul-less.

The weekend provides far more opportunity for interesting running. Adding to that is the flexibility to start my run later and to run longer. Yesterday I enjoyed a trail run after a leisurely morning having coffee and spending time with my family. I wasn't that excited about doing another neighborhood run today, but it was better than staying inside.

I probably overdressed this morning in response to the 34°temperatures reported on the news. The skies were dark and gray when I stepped outside so I left my sunglasses behind. About a mile into my run the sun came out and I began to regret that decision. The sun also started to warm things up and I hoped I wouldn't end up completely saturated in sweat before I finished my workout.

Somehow I managed to stay comfortable throughout the run and I even picked up the pace a few times. I wanted to run at least four miles today to hit my weekly distance target and I ended up totaling 21 miles. It's been a while since I've run at Bethpage so I'm thinking of heading there next weekend. In the meantime, the next four runs will probably happen on the Sole F63.

Stillwell trail run, frozen paths and a near collision

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.9 miles

I was hoping to get a trail run in over my last vacation but the timing never worked out. I did manage to cover a lot of miles during my time off, but the only time I traveled to run was the Hangover Fun Run on New Year's Day. I was determined to get back to Stillwell this morning, where I did my first trail run of 2013.

It has been cold all week and today was no different. I dressed for freezing temperatures, including a base layer under my running pants. I was glad to have layers top and bottom when I stepped out of the car at Stillwell Woods to start my run.

The trail head and the main trail leading from it were covered with ice. I needed to step carefully as I made my way to an interior trail. There were a number of mountain bikers getting ready in the parking lot and I wondered how they'd fare on the slick and frozen surface. I never did see a biker on the path today. Perhaps they rethought their workouts after seeing the condition of the trails.

I wore my Helly Hansen Trail Lizards that eat up rough terrain. Their only shortcoming is the lack of a rock plate, which is normally a non-issue. Today it would have been provided great benefits, as the interior trails consisted of mud that was grooved by bike tires and refrozen as hard as rock. I needed to watch the trail closely to avoid slipping on the uneven surface.

About half a mile into the woods, I detected movement behind me. Thinking it might be bikers I moved to my right and soon saw two runners passing me on my left. There was no courtesy "Thank you", which is fine, but I would have liked to know there was a third runner trailing behind them. I had just started to move back to the center when the third runner came along, and we almost collided. People generally say, "On your left!" in those situations but these guys were jerks.

I did my usual loop a couple of times and noticed that, in the short time I'd been running, the sun had started to melt the ice. What had been frozen earth became soft and slippery mud and I needed to adjust for that. I saw a few people out walking with their dogs but no other runners today. I completed my second loop feeling like I'd worked fairly hard, even for a run that didn't quite go four miles.

Overall, it was a decent trail run. My last trail run went poorly (at Caleb Smith) and I appreciated the difference. I'm not sure where I'll run tomorrow, but today I'm happy to have had another great experience in the woods.