Hope for the Warriors, but not for my speed

Flag dedication at Hope for Warriors race

Today's run (street): 5.4 miles

This morning was spent at the Hope for the Warriors race in Lindenhurst, NY. For the first time in four years, I didn't participate, but I came to support my family who served again as race volunteers. Last year my wife and kids manned the registration desk while I ran the 10K race. I decided to skip the race this time, for the same reason I missed the 2014 Dirty Sock, Cow Harbor and TOB Supervisor's run. I've lost interest in competing.

I don't know exactly why the thrill of racing is no longer there for me. I used to love the experience of training for a race and reaching the point where I knew I could hold my own. Between 2009-2012, I generally finished in the top 25-30% of the field in 5Ks and usually in the top 50% at other distances. My performance has been steadily slipping since then. It's hard to get motivated to race under those circumstances.

The frustrating thing about it is that I can still run fast when I really try, but it takes much more effort than it used to. I'm sure my speed decline is partially due to training easier than in the past. When I was commuting into the city I would get up and run at 4:00 AM just about every day. Those runs focused on speed for practical purposes. I had only so much time to run my route so that I stayed on schedule to make my early train.

My weekly volume at that time was about 20 miles a week and I would regularly break 9 minutes a mile. Today, I am covering 15-20% less distance per week and 60% of that is done as longer, slower runs. Except for those rare times when I do a speed workout, I haven't broken 9:00 per mile in over a year.

Today, after we'd returned home from the race, I did a neighborhood run and pushed especially hard on my last mile. My split was 9:37 and it felt like I was running at 5K pace. In fact, 9:37 was my pace at my last 5K.

Due to the earlier activity, I didn't get out for my run until 10:30 AM this morning. While I ran, I thought about the experience of being at the race but not participating. At one point, three young guys had walked by me talking about the 5K they were about to run. I'd forgotten the 5K race was an option and, for a second, I regretted that I didn't just sign up for that.

Being among the runners this morning did not rekindle my excitement for racing as I'd hoped, but it did motivate me to try to train a little harder so I could put in a credible performance in a 5K before year's end. It's been a lot of months since I ran the Brooklyn Half, which is the last race I've run in 2014.

Congrats to TPP, who absolutely rocked it at Hope for the Warriors today, attaining a 10K PR and (yet another) age group placement!

Columbus Day coda run

Current thinking

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

I've run 21 miles since Wednesday, and capped things off with today's low-power workout. I covered more distance this week than in any six day period since early summer. That's 20% more volume than my current weekly average. In terms of performance, I'm not yet where I want to be, but I have been making some small improvements with my pace. I hope those gains continue into the fall as the humidity and temperatures drop.

High performance was not a factor this morning. After yesterday's group run, followed by an afternoon hike that included numerous quad-burning inclines, my legs were fairly beat. I only get to run outside on Mondays during holidays or on vacation days, so I felt I should defer my rest day until tomorrow.

I stayed in the neighborhood today and kept to the usual roads, except for a short detour I took along Jericho Turnpike. It felt cold in the house and that prompted me to over-layer (long sleeves, track pants) despite an actual temperature of 50°. I didn't get overheated, but that possibility mitigated a harder effort.

I have an appointment on Saturday morning so I won't be running the Town of Oyster Bay 5K. The Run for the Warriors 10K happens in early November and I will probably run that. My wife and kids are planning to volunteer again and TPP will also be racing. It's a great race for a really good cause and it may be just the thing to bring back my competitive mindset.

Race report: 2013 Hope for the Warriors 10K

Seconds before the finish

Photo courtesy of the Petite Pacer

Today's run (Hope for the Warriors 10K): 6.2 miles - 58:56 (clock time) 

I'm not sure that it signals a move toward improved performance, but I ran my fastest 10K of 2013 this morning at the Hope for the Warriors race. Although I'm pleased that I finally broke an hour, today's time was measurably slower than my two prior Hope for Warriors efforts. The upcoming Long Beach Turkey Trot will tell me if today's performance was positively directional.

Team ER on race tee and bib duty

We arrived early because my wife and kids had volunteered to work the registration area. Their job was primarily focused on handing out race tees, but they also handled some of the bib distribution. I spent much of my time trying to stay warm over the three hours between arrival and race start. I tried to find spots in the crowds that had direct sunlight.

Chillin' (literally) before the race

The wind was brisk and that contributed to the chill. I regretted my decision to leave my calf sleeves home. Beside their energizing effect, they would have provided some additional warmth. I also regretted wearing running shorts instead of pants. However, I was glad with my gear selection once I was running.  

The armed forces were well represented, as always

The 5K starts first and they line up those participants ahead of the 10K bunch. A few years ago, everyone started at the same time and it was a mess getting past the 5K walkers in the first few minutes. Now the 5K starts 15 minutes before the 10K and the road is clear until we catch up with the 5K tail-enders on Wellwood Ave. It was hard to find exactly where the 10K start was going to be. There was no mat to capture starting time, so everyone was tracked by clock time. My net time might have been a little more favorable were that the case.

At race start (directly to the right of the giant head)

Shortly before we started, I ran into the Petite Pacer. She went to say hello to another friend so I didn't see her again until I saw her come up the right side, moving swiftly. She had a great run today and a 10K PR. She was very kind to video me as I made my way through the final meters and over the line. I found her after the race and was able to introduce her to my wife and kids.

The Hope for the Warriors 10K course is the least remarkable thing about this race. It's a big box with few notable characteristics. Without scenery to distract me, I kept my mind on my stride but I purposely ignored my Garmin's display. I wanted to run the race by feel and perceived effort. I was surprised that there were no clocks or split announcers along the route. I did have a basic understanding of where the splits were located and that was reinforced by chirps from my watch.

The first two miles went by quickly and I felt like I was moving well. I ran the first mile under 9 minutes but I was in the 9:10 range by the three mile point. My performance slipped a little after that, although it improved once I cleared the on-ramp from RT 109 to Sunrise Highway. Coming up that on-ramp was tough and it threatened to take the fight out of me. I tried my best to maintain speed once I hit Sunrise for the last half mile.

Happy to be finished

Me and TPP who ran a great race

I wasn't sure whether I'd trained well enough for this race and my struggles in the late miles made me wish I'd done more base work. Overall, I was fairly satisfied with today's performance. I'll be interested to see how it goes in Long Beach, two weeks from today. Tomorrow is a rest day!

No expectations, but plenty of Hope

 

Last year I participated in a race that was put on by my division's parent company. Before the race even started, one of my colleagues shared the tweet he planned to send after he finished. I told him that I never write my headline until I'm done with the race. Too many things can happen between the start and the finish lines. I don't know what my friend ended up tweeting, but I still hold fast to that policy. I ended up having a far different race experience than I'd anticipated that night.

Tomorrow is the Hope for Warriors 10K and I've set no expectations in terms of how I might do. I've done this event twice and have a good understanding of the course. Two years ago, I attained a 10K PR at HFW, after almost skipping it because I hadn't really trained. 2011 was a year of personal bests. I got a another PR at the Long Beach 10K Turkey Trot, just one weekend after Hope for Warriors.

This year has not produced many race highlights. My best performance came early on at the Long Beach 4 mile Snowflake race, where the Petite Pacer beat me over the line in an impressive burst of speed. Since then, I haven't broken a 9:00 pace in a race, even in 5K's. I'm going to run the best race I can tomorrow. As always, I'll wait until I finish before I compose my headline.

Taper breaker on an off week

Hard to resist

Today's workout (elliptical): 35 minutes

This has not been a good week for running, but that doesn't mean I haven't been active. After taking my usual rest day on Monday, I spent all of Tuesday in the city. I Gmapped my walking routes and it came out to eight miles. I got a run in on Wednesday, but Thursday started too early and ended too late to get my workout done. However, I did cover another eight miles on foot. Normally I'd have taken today to rest so I'd be fresh for Sunday's 10K. With just one run this week, I felt like I needed to do something today.

That something turned out to be a mid-morning elliptical session that I did at 90% resistance. Every time I use the elliptical, I'm reminded how beneficial this workout can be. Even done at a moderate pace, the resistance taxes under-exercised muscles and the no-impact motion gives your knees a rest. The lack of motor noise (compared with the treadmill) is also appreciated.

What started out feeling like an easy workout got tougher as the minutes passed. Our elliptical is a pretty basic unit so the amount of data on the display is limited. Unlike our old BH Fitness unit, our ProForm doesn't report distance. Along with displaying elapsed time, the ProForm shows total number of revolutions as well as a metric that indicates level of effort (in watts?). I tried to keep that effort number as high as I could. Despite the high resistance, it didn't drop much near the end.

So tomorrow I'll rest. My wife and kids are volunteering at the race so we need to be there by 6:30 AM(!). That will be a lot of waiting for me, since the 10K doesn't kick off until 9:45 AM. But it's a great event and I'm happy that my family will be there to support me.

DIY 10K as November's race schedule shrinks

Today's run (street): 6.25 miles

Hot to Trot

For the past two years, November has been a big month for racing. Starting mid-month, I've run the Hope for the Warriors 10K and then the Long Beach 10K Turkey Trot the next weekend. A few days after that, I've run the Nissequogue River Turkey Trot (5K) that's held on Thanksgiving day. This race is really a fun run for me. I run it at my daughter's pace, while my wife run/walks the course with my son.

This year, things are very different. Hope for Warriors was moved back to October for reasons that I don't quite understand. It usually coincides with Veteran's Day but not this year. I was unable to make the new date this year because of a conflict in my schedule. That's unfortunate because I really like that race.

Long Beach, New York, took a beating during Hurricane Sandy. The boardwalk and the beaches were destroyed and the storm left thousands of people homeless. It's a tragic situation and the race has (of course) been cancelled.

So this leaves the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day and I'm happy to be running with my family. My kids are excited about it and even bought turkey hats to wear when they run. The Nissequogue course runs through the old former Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital that is being torn down. I'm curious to see if they'll change the route this year.

Since I wasn't able to run the Hope for Warriors 10K race today, I decided to do a symbolic run of the same distance. I first planned to run at Bethpage, but I saw on the website that the park is closed until further notice. I imagine that Sandy brought widespread destruction to the trees, paths and golf courses. I was left with little choice but to run locally and  set off in my neighborhood to complete my run.

I didn't run very well yesterday, but I managed to stay within my normal pace range. I felt much stronger today, but the numbers showed that my average pace was 15 seconds slower than yesterday's outing. The reason for that isn't obvious. While I wished I'd run faster, I was pleased to have covered my intended distance feeling great throughout my run.

I spent the first half of my run on the familiar roads of my main neighborhood before heading south to neighborhood #2 where I surveyed the damage from the storm. The LIPA trucks were scattered about, attempting to get the last 7% of homes back on the grid. I feel great sympathy for Sandy's victims, including those who remain without power two weeks after the storm. I'm hoping they'll get it back soon. Personally, I'm still  excited when I walk into a room, flip on a switch and see something besides the dark.

I have a decision to make

The switch to daylight savings yesterday was a welcomed change. It made only one hour's difference but it allowed me to sleep a little longer on Sunday and still get out early for a long run. The whole day seemed longer, as did the entire weekend. This morning the train station was no longer swathed in darkness like it had been over the past few weeks. I only wish it was this light out at 4:00 AM.

Yesterday's run was plenty tough for me and I'm seriously reconsidering my plan to run a 10K race next Sunday. For no single reason, I've been off my athletic game over the last month and have not run particularly long distances on weekends. I usually cover 10-12 miles on weekends, but that average has dropped 30% since September.

I'm going to think about whether to run the Hope for the Warriors 10K or use next weekend to help me prepare better for the 11/20 Long Beach Turkey Trot. I may have disadvantaged myself yesterday by not refueling during the run that took over 70 minutes and that could account for my near bonk. I'll make a decision today so I can know how to conduct this week's training.

There was an interesting article in yesterday's NY Times about Lauren Fleshman, a 5,000 meter champion, who ran the NYC Marathon to help improve her short distance competitiveness. She talks about the need to change up training to achieve significant progress. I liked this quote: “At 30, I’m not going to get dramatically better doing the same thing.”  It made me think about my own training and what I really can expect to get out of the workouts I do, week after week.

Slight concerns for my 10K readiness

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

I would have like to cover more distance this morning but I had an early appointment that limited my running time to about 30 minutes. It was 38° according to News12 when I prepared for my run and I bundled up with long pants, long sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. I worried that I'd get too hot at some point but with only thirty minutes on the road I stayed fairly comfortable throughout my run.

Yesterday's performance was sub-par and that workout served only to keep continuity in my schedule. I felt a little pressure when I went out today knowing that this weekend is the last time that I can train at any real distance for next weekend's Hope for the Warriors 10K. I am still feeling under the weather so I compromised on intensity and focused on maintaining a pace that was roughly between my daily run pace and my targeted pace for the 10K.

I had no mechanical problems with my stride and felt no fatigue, but I wasn't at the level I want to be on race day. I followed an extended version of my usual course and thought about form and cadence. The run began to feel harder at the two mile mark and this concerned me because that is only a third of a 10K. I decided to ignore the difficulty and worked to maintain speed by using arm swing to increase leg turnover.

In the end I achieved my pace goal but I still have some concerns about the fragility of my six mile base. A longer run tomorrow should give me a better sense of my readiness. I'm looking forward to watching the NYC marathon tomorrow and that will help motivate me to cover some distance. I have a few friends who are running the marathon for the first time tomorrow and I'm hoping that they have great experiences. Knowing how hard a half marathon can be, I admire them very much.

A good race for many reasons

I always enjoy the day after a race because it gives me a break from running and a chance to think about the day before. One of my 2010 running goals was to PR in a race and I accomplished that yesterday. I am pleased with achieving that goal and I give due credit to the following:

• Flat course
• Perfect weather
• Sufficient rest
• Prior focus on building up my base
• No injuries
• Compression gear
• Prior 10K's run on trails or on a very hilly course (Cow Harbor)
• Positive attitude throughout the run

I was happy to average 9:05 per mile, a pace I hadn't matched since September. I would have liked to break 9:00 but I'll take what I got. You always want to leave something for a future PR. As well as I did compared with my last 10K, I still finished mid-pack. I think that due to the conditions many people had a good race day on Sunday. Next weekend I'll have a chance to challenge my 10K PR at the Long Beach Turkey Trot. I'm not focused on another PR though. If I can enjoy next Sunday's race as much as I did yesterday, that's more than enough for me.

Hope for Warriors 10K race report

Shot of the runners at the 10K start

Today's race (Hope for the Warriors): 6.2 miles at 56:23 (9:05 pace) UPDATED

Heading over to the start

I ran a good race today but I can't tell you how good because the race organizers haven't yet posted the results (see above update). Apparently there were some problems with the system used by Finish Line Road Race Technicians who managed that aspect of the race. This event was larger and grander than I'd expected and during the the pre-race ceremonies they said that over 2,000 people were participating. The crowd had grown large by the time acknowledgments were given to the men and women who serve in the military and to the families that support them. There were many active soldiers on hand and many of them participated in the races. This event had three race distances: 1 mile, 5K and 10K. At 9:30 AM, instructions were given to head to our respective starting lines and I met up with Dave as we waited for the gun to sound. Given the size of the crowd it looked like it took me 1:23 just to reach the starting line so I'm hoping they'll list net times in the results.

Dave went out ahead of me and I'm thinking he finished a couple of minutes faster that I did. The first mile was crowded because the 5K starters were sent ahead of us and there were lots of people walking abreast forcing runners to weave in and out to get a clear path. By the first mile things opened up as the walkers faded to the back and the 5K runners split off to the left to continue their race on different roads. I wore my compression pants and compression calf sleeves and though I did get a little warm in the legs it didn't affect my performance. Actually, I think it helped because I maintained a good level of energy throughout the run. Much of that is due to my recent focus on longer distances that are helping me build a better base. The weather must also be credited, it was sunny, dry and cool. Really perfect conditions for a race.

Seconds from the finish

I passed a lot of runners even on the 5th and 6th mile. By the time I reached Sunrise Highway I was looking forward to seeing my wife, my kids and the finish line but through the run I never had a "This is too hard" moment. When we came off the ramp onto route 27 one of the policemen yelled "You're almost there, the finish line is under the big flag!" In the distance I could see the flag and I reserved my final kick until I came into target range. Unfortunately there were two huge flags and the one I thought was the finish was actually positioned where I stood at the start. I did my best to keep my brisk stride knowing I had about a minute and a half more running time to get to the real finish. Very soon I saw my family along the side and I high fived them right before I crossed the line.

Me and Dave post-race

The display at the finish was off to the side so I didn't see my time when I'd actually crossed the line.  I'm a little nervous that the race organizers will say they lost the results. I hope that's not the case but either way I know I PR'd for 10K and that's great. It was a fun and inspiring event with soldiers carrying flags, field packs, and in one case, a dummy soldier on his shoulder. Next year I hope they provide more than five Porto-potties, far too few for the huge number of participants. Overall, it was great time and gratifying to participate in an event that benefits so many deserving soldiers. I'll post my finish time once results are posted.