Runsketeer reunion: first spring run!

Our traditional selfie, courtesy of a random Starbucks customer (photo credit to TPP)

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 3.6 miles

Take a look at the picture above. Why is this man smiling? Is it because he ran 3.63 miles today, his first run in two weeks? No, definitely not that. The reason for the smile comes from the people to his right and left. While I suffered through a difficult and painful run this morning, I ended up having a great time today. I will admit most of that happened once we hit Starbucks.

I've been feeling good about my recovery. I've still experienced pain in my left hamstring that's likely caused by my recently diagnosed herniated disc. I've tried a few easy strides along the halls of my office to better gauge my progress. Things have felt pretty good and I was both encouraged and excited to run with my buddies this weekend. But when the (blown and carbon) rubber hit the road, that familiar feeling of being stabbed in the leg with every stride was clear and present.

Our plan was to start out in our usual place, just north of Haypath Road. SIOR and TPP wanted to run longer than my planned 3 miles, so they arrived earlier and ran south for about 1.5 miles before turning around. I texted them when I arrived and SIOR texted back suggesting that I head their way so we could meet up on their way back. After just a few steps, I realized that this was going to hurt.

I took it slow but every step was painful. At least I could run. My doctor said I should avoid hills. Unfortunately, there are quite a few on this path. I made it to the top of a short, steep hill where I saw my friends coming from the other direction. We exchanged hugs and hellos and headed north together. There was no way I could keep up with them today (could I ever?) but they stopped periodically to allow me to catch up.

I had neglected to restart my Garmin when we met up. Fortunately I discovered my error at the point where I started so all I needed to do was double the initial distance to get my true mileage. We continued together but soon I watched my buddies disappear into the distance. I was not enjoying myself and it wasn't just the pain. I realized that the combination of fewer workouts and less intensity (the elliptical can't match the treadmill) has taken a toll on my fitness.

Somehow I made my way through the run and, as I approached my endpoint, I saw that TPP and SIOR were waiting near where I'd parked, talking to a person dressed in white. As I got closer, I realized that this person was on a bike and I was happy to see that it was TPP's paramour, JC. We caught up briefly and JC suggested that steroid shots may relieve the pain from my disc issue. I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that.

Happy birthday to me - thanks SIOR!

We left JC to his ride and the Runsketeers started a convoy to Starbucks. I led the way which involved Route 135, Old Country Road and South Oyster Bay Road. At one point, SIOR texted me asking if I was lost. She thinks she is funny. When we got inside Starbucks, SIOR presented me with a birthday gift - a SPIbelt - one of the best things you can give to a runner. Mine is getting old, ripped and frayed and I rely on it a lot. I'm happy to have a new one that I don't have to worry about breaking on a run and dumping my credit cards, cash and cell phone on the street.

SIOR also bought me coffee. I should have birthdays more often! The three of us hadn't got together since the morning of the Hangover Run  (Jan 1) so we had a lot to catch up on. They patiently listened to me describe my job and company and we recounted our various adventures in travel. SIOR wins hands down with her transatlantic crossing via catamaran from South Africa to Brazil.

As usual, we ran out of time long before we ran out of conversation. Despite the painful run, I ended today's workout in a fantastic mood. The Runsketeers cannot go another four months between our runs! My current injury will make it hard to keep up with my friends for a while, but we know it's the non-running part that puts the smile on our faces.

Wishing SIOR a great race tomorrow at the MORE Half Marathon in NYC. I tease her about it being a woman's-only event, but I really do support it. It was a little less than a year ago when we all ran the Brooklyn Half. A lot has happened since then in terms of my running. At least I'm seeing an orthopedist and just had an MRI, so I can understand exactly what's causing this pain. What to do about that will be another story.

Doing the wave on a friendly Friday

Howdy neighbor!

Today's run (street): 4 miles
Tuesday's run (treadmill): 2.3 miles

In the scheme of things, adding a couple of miles to your weekly volume doesn't make a lot of difference. However, when you are only able to run three days a week, adding another workout day provides some psychological benefit. Or perhaps it lessens guilt. Same thing. So for the past two weeks, I've dutifully risen at 4:00 AM to up my weekly run count to four and get my mileage a little closer to where it used to be.

The rest of my week's running happens between Friday and Sunday and I kicked that off today with a 4 miler around the neighborhood. I work from home on Fridays and that saves time from my long commute. I try to get outside early so I can finish my run and start my business day at my usual time. Since I prefer early running, this works out fine. Today it worked out great.

I've written dozens of posts complaining about running the same streets of my neighborhood, day after day. I thought about that this morning as I covered a section that I've probably run more than 800 times over the past six years. But every one of those runs has differed in some aspect. There's always a story.

Getting out early provided great weather conditions with temperatures in the mid 60's and humidity at its lowest point in the day. As I ran, I noticed some people in business clothes walking out to their cars, ready to start their commute. Perhaps it was a TGIF mindset, but almost everyone waved or said good morning as I ran by. I crossed paths with a couple of runners and they gave friendly waves as well. Even people in cars waved as they passed. Lots of waving today.

That pleasantness carried over to my run. I felt good enough to push my pace and ended up averaging about 20 seconds per mile better than my current training pace. I had hopes that it would be even faster than that, but I'll take what I can get. As much as I enjoyed my friendly neighbors today, I'm looking to get away from my local roads over the weekend. The Bethpage trail would be an obvious choice but since I'm not planning to run Dirty Sock this year, I may go to Belmont Lake and run the course.

Running happy as a performance enhancement

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

Runners tend to focus on physical methods to improve performance. If you want to run faster, do speed work. If you want to take on steep technical trails, do hill training. There's no doubt that performance training will yield results. However, there's an aspect to running performance that has nothing to do with hard physical work. I'm talking about your state of mind on a run.

Many runners talk about how running clears their mind and provides relief from stress. I agree with that, but I also feel that "running while anxious" can compromise performance. This week I've dealt with a business issue that has been weighing heavily on my mind. I did feel more energized and optimistic after my anxiety-plagued runs, but the runs themselves were not my best efforts.

This morning my situation resolved itself and the run that followed felt buoyant. I beat this week's average pace by 15 seconds a mile. I fully believe that my better performance related directly to my mood. As good an experience as that, I felt even better after the run. So I guess the lesson here is to run when you're happy. If it were only that easy. Maybe Brooks has a point.