10K training run on the old Bethpage route

I'm going to stick with the SPIbelt

Yesterday's run (treadmill): 35 minutes
Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 6.2 miles

It's been a busy weekend but I did get in a few runs. Yesterday morning I had to get blood drawn as part of my annual checkup, so I elected to do a moderate length run on the treadmill. I've learned from past experience that losing blood, even small amounts like this, can effect your stamina. I didn't suffer fatigue at any point in the run but I capped my time at 35 minutes. I needed to reserve some energy for the day ahead.
 
The Emerging Runner family headed into the city to see my dad, along with my aunt and uncle who are visiting from France. Later, we were excited to meet up for dinner with Adventure Girl, who was in town this weekend for a friend's wedding. They are all great people and we had a great time with everyone. I was glad that I didn't push myself too hard in the morning, because I was exhausted by the time we arrived back home.

I headed over to Bethpage State Park this morning to get in some extra miles and to take on a few challenging hills. I love the new trail extension to the north but I had not run it in the southern direction in a long time. I headed down the bike trail feeling energized by the crisp fall air, but I was regretting my decision to take the RooSport to carry my phone instead of my SPIbelt.

The RooSport hangs over the top of your running shorts and stays secure with magnets that connect the inside and outside flaps. I had some issues the last time I ran with it, but I thought it was related to the shorts I was wearing. I had on different shorts today but, from the start, I felt like the pouch was slipping. I feared that it might disconnect and fall off, so I took it off and ran with it in my hand.

Other than that, my run went very well. I covered the first three miles barely breaking a sweat. My heart rate was only 84% of max despite the hilly route. On my way back I boosted my glycogen with half a GU Roctane that I had diluted 4:1 with water in my gel flask. The helped take the edge of the first of two challenging hills that need to be managed on the way back.

There were less runners and running groups today than I expected to see. Friends TC and FS, who are running the ING NYC marathon in a couple of weeks, are doing their 10+ mile workouts this weekend.. I thought I'd see more marathoners doing the same but it was mostly cyclists, including a woman who was riding a tall unicycle.

After last week's 14 mile total (due to running the 5K race and two less training workouts), I wanted to get back up to 20 miles this week. I think I might have made it but I'll have to check Daily Mile. I have a month to train for my next race, the Long Beach 10K Turkey trot. Today's 10K base run was a great start to that training.

Business park taper buster

Today's run (street): 5.8 miles

The Saturday before a race usually means that I have 7 or 8 days (depending on if it's a Saturday or Sunday race) to finish my training. This week is different, because my upcoming race happens on Wednesday night, five days from now. I'd normally be finished with performance training this close to race day. 

The race is only 5K but it would be a mistake to dismiss that as an easy distance. I'm concerned that, after a full day in the office, at 6:00 PM my energy will probably be low. Although it's not hot today, there's every reason to think that we'll see high temperatures by Wednesday. I can't do anything about that but worry. And I surely will worry.

Since I'm pushing my training into my taper period, I decided to go for some extra miles today. My target at the start was five miles, and I ended up almost covering six. I headed to the nearby business park to run the loop a few times and carried 4:1 mix of Roctane and water which I consumed around the 40 minute mark. It helped me get through the last 15 minutes of running.

I was pleased with my performance today and the route provided some elevation changes that will prepare me for the race's rolling course. I listened to the 3 Non-Joggers podcast to pass the time and it helped alleviate some of the boredom that comes from running around an industrial park. Tomorrow I may do some speed work to wrap up my performance training. The thought of circling the track isn't too appealing, but as Juma Ikaanga said, “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”

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.

Seeking out a wrap and a baffle

Clammy and sloshy hydration

I went over to City Sports at lunch today because my CS Insider dollars expire at the end of the week I didn't want to lose them. I had hoped to find a new hand bottle to use on my long runs, because my Amphipod Hydroform unit is falling short in too many ways. Although it has a hand strap, there's no insulation between this bottle and my hand. The heat from my hand quickly transfers to the bottle and melts the ice inside. Soon after that, my hand heats up the remaining liquid.

Besides this heat issue, I don't really like the feeling of the cold bottle against the palm of my hand when I run. It's uncomfortable, and the condensation makes the bottle feel clammy. As the bottle empties, the water sloshes around inside. This becomes annoying over a long run.

City Sports didn't have a large selection of handheld bottles today, so I pretty much struck out. If a bottle exists that has an insulating wrapper and a baffle inside (that prevents sloshing) I'm ready to buy. I ended up spending my Insider dollars on Nuun electrolyte tabs along with some GU Roctane gels. I have the necessary contents, I just need a better bottle to put them in.

A perfect running gift

Energy for the holidays

Yesterday afternoon my friend and colleague KWL presented me with a thoughtful holiday gift: GU and Roctane gels plus Kind bars.

I really appreciated it and loved the presentation. The banner at the top says "Happy Running in 2012!" That's the spirit! I'm hoping that next year KWL and I will match or exceed our running and biking adventures of 2011.

Liquid strategy for the Dirty Sock 10K

Performance in a pouch

Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM I should be off and running on the Dirty Sock 10K trail run. It will be the third time that I participate in this out-and-back race that circles Belmont Lake State Park and passes Southards Pond on the return leg. The last two year's weather was brutal, hot and humid and even some rain. Predictions for tomorrow show 77° and 71% humidity for the start. Not ideal but better than last  year when rain threatened and finally started falling about 45 minutes into the race.

Low cal libation

Favorite fuel

I've trained the best I could with the time I have and I'm planning to use GU Roctane gels for pre-race energy and to help get me through that endless last 2K. I picked up a packet of Gatorade G Series Prime 01 that I will add to my G2 (low sugar) Perform that I'll carry in my water bottle. Both times I ran Dirty Sock I finished low on electrolytes and fairly dehydrated. Generally I prefer simplicity, but if these supplements help me through my expected struggles then it's worth the extra care.

I'll file a full report on the experience. My taper is complete, the race day gear selected and my nutrition plan is set. I'm hoping for the best, but mostly I'm just excited to run this course again and see my family waiting for me at the finish line.

Singlet minded planning

I need to decide if less is more

With only six days before the Dirty Sock 10K, I'm working out my race day preparations. I've been thinking about whether to buy a singlet to wear as a hedge against the historically high humidity. The idea is sound, having less material on your body will allow more efficient evaporation of sweat. However, I've never run in a singlet and I don't know if I'd like it or if I would find it a distraction.

My fallback is my Craft Performance running tee that does an excellent job of wicking and evaporating sweat. I'm not sure what conditions to expect on Sunday but, if it rains, efficient evaporation becomes less important and, to the prior point, less material would be beneficial. I'll take a look at City Sports this week to see if there are any summer clearance bargains. If I get a singlet I can try it on one of my morning taper runs to see if I like it.

While I'm in shopping mode I need to remember to pick up more GU Roctane gels for the event. There aren't too many products that I think can make a noticeable difference, but this one does.

It happens every year

I thought you were supposed to have fun on birthdays

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 8.25 miles

It's my birthday today, an event that used to coincide with Patriot's Day, a Massachusetts holiday that was best known as the day they ran the Boston Marathon. Growing up in Massachusetts, I enjoyed the fact that I never had to go to school on my birthday, first because it was a holiday and later because we always had our spring break that week. It wasn't until college that I had to attend classes on my birthday. I may have chosen not to go on those days just to maintain the tradition. Well that was my story anyway.

We went to a large family dinner last night and near the end I was presented with a birthday cake. It was very nice of my wife's family to do this. The cake was selected by my brother-in-law who is a dedicated vegan. The cake was pleasant enough. I have no idea what it was made of but it tasted like a bran muffin with white non-dairy frosting. Yummy! Fortunately (or unfortunately) there were a number of un-vegan desserts available.

This morning I decided to celebrate my birthday with an 8.25 mile run on the Bethpage bike-paths. I bought an Empire Passport on Saturday and was looking forward to being waved through for my generous contribution to the park service but no one was in attendance. Oh well. I brought along my Amphipod hand water bottle and set out with a target of 8 miles. It's been a while since I've done a run exceeding 6 miles but I expected it to go well since my aim was to run it easy.

Useful GU

I consumed a GU Roctane in vanilla orange flavor about 30 minutes before my run and I think it helped get me moving at the beginning. The skies were gray with some very light rain and the temperature was a cool 50 degrees. At around the 3 mile mark I grew concerned about my stamina on this hilly course but I decided that I'd simply throttle my speed below my lactic threshold level (English: slow down but not stop) if I grew too tired. I recovered some energy by mile 5 but I struggled with the last long hill at the end that I always dread.

It was a good run overall. I maintained a pace in the high 9:00 range despite the tougher sections. I'll probably go even longer on a run before I return to work next Monday and begin my taper. I'm a bit sore from this run and yesterday's speed work. Add a day of recovery and the result is improved conditioning. Happy birthday indeed.