Blame my low mileage on the Throgs Neck bridge

Today's route

Today's run (street): 4.25 miles
Yesterday's run (street): 3.2 miles

It's June and the weather's getting better, but the traffic is getting worse. I had thoughts about leaving the office a little early a couple of days last week to get in late afternoon runs. My aim is to increase my weekly mileage. Due to the MTA's brilliant plan to do concurrent construction on both the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges, my commute time is now averaging close to two hours each way. That got me home too late for running, showering and dinner before 8:00 PM. Lane closures are expected to happen throughout spring and summer until the work is completed. Fun!

So I'll keep running three days a week (Fri, Sat and Sun) until I can figure out something else. I can always return to 4:00 AM runs, but so far my tired morning self has consistently outvoted my aspirational evening self. What I can do is work on increasing the length of my runs.

I generally don't go into the office on Fridays, but it's still a workday for me. Without my commute, I can usually get in a three mile run and be working by 7:30 AM. I suppose I can go out a little earlier, but that puts me on the road when recycling trucks and high school bus traffic is at its highest. I can run more on the sidewalk, but the hard concrete surface is wearying and the uneven sections are a serious tripping hazard.

Friday's run went fine and I ended up pacing faster than I expected based on my perceived effort. This morning I considered other venues, including SIOR's organized run around the extremely hilly SUNY OW campus. I elected to stay local and was later glad about that, especially when I saw they did almost 7 miles. Although my level of effort never got too high, I found today's workout difficult. I would not have done well on the SUNY OW hills.

I hope they remember the roof

I did enjoy the overcast skies and 53° weather this morning. I never got my stride to feel right, so my performance was at the low end of the scale. Since I wasn't going too fast, I was able to take the time to look around and monitor progress on all the new construction in the neighborhood. Last weekend I saw a lot with nothing but a foundation and today it was a house. Well at the least the framing was in place.

Tomorrow morning's schedule starts early so I'm going to get out as quickly as I can and will probably stay local again to save time. I hear there's a big party happening at SIOR's in the afternoon and all the cool kids (plus me) are going.

Cool weather returns but so does traffic

Today's route

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles
Sunday's run (street): 4.4 miles 

The weekend is here and I'm very glad about that. Since the school year started, my commute has gone from easy and breezy to not easy and not at all breezy. It takes me approximately twice as long to get to and from my office now than it did the last week in August. Working from home on Fridays makes the prior four day's driving more tolerable. No commuting means I can get in a run before my workday begins.

It was 54° when I got outside at 7:30 AM. The air felt cool but not uncomfortable. I wore the runner's mullet: a long sleeve shirt with shorts, that were perfect for the conditions. I'm getting used to feeling good from the start of my run after a year or so of struggling during the first few minutes. I ascribe this change to weight loss that has come mostly from consuming less sugar. My weight loss hasn't been dramatic, but it's been enough to make a difference in my running experience.

I ran my usual Friday morning loop. Due to the hour, I spent a lot of time running on the sidewalk to avoid maniac parents dropping off their children at the elementary and middle schools. The aggressive driving, speeding and ignorance of stop signs kept me off the road. Running on sidewalks is not my preference, but it's the place to be on mornings like this.

I felt I was running well and my numbers showed it. I paced 8.7% quicker than my current average and I felt like I got around my slightly modified course sooner than I expected. That said, I wasn't particularly fast compared to how I ran a couple of years ago. I'm loving this cooler weather and I'm looking forward to my weekend runs. Tomorrow morning's schedule is tight and I'm hoping to get out early enough to get in some miles before 8:00 AM. Otherwise I'll need to do a rare afternoon run.

Kenyans are faster than my commute

These cars were new when I started my commute

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

If you took every car on Long Island and laid them end to end, it would stretch all the way to my exit off the Long Island Expressway. That is the reality of my daily commute home. 35 miles in 150 minutes is an average of 14 MPH. An elite runner could run home faster. This is the reason I like Fridays, because working from home saves me one day of all that aggravation.

Last night it took 2 1/2 hours to get from my office to my house. I had every intention of doing a post-work elliptical session, but my night was getting short and I decided to forgo it. Today I had no excuses. I was pleased to see the below 70° temperature and feel the cool dry air when I stepped outside this morning. I felt good from the start and that continued throughout the run.

It's getting close to fall, my favorite running season, and I'm wondering if I'm finally turning the corner on my lethargic performance. Little by little, I've increased my effort on my runs and have started to see incremental improvements to my pace. Today I focused on increasing cadence and a more dynamic leg motion.

The end result was a substantial improvement in my pace compared to a few weeks ago. As impressive as that sounds, I'm still over a minute per mile slower than I was last year. On the other hand, today's pace was half a minute faster than last Sunday. This type of progress is very encouraging. If it continues, I might get fast enough to out run the Expressway traffic.

A day late and a mile short

Avoid at all costs

Monday's run (street): 3.25 miles

By a day late, I'm talking about posting today about a run I did yesterday. I broke up my vacation with a trip into the office this morning to attend a meeting that I probably could have done as a conference call. But success in business often comes from just showing up. I have no regrets except for my decision to take the Clearview to the Grand Central on my way home. If you live in the NYC area you'll understand exactly what I mean.

My running buddy TPP is back to blogging and her post today reminded me of Monday's super-humid running experience. Although I got out before 8:00 AM, the temperature was just shy of 80° and the humidity was a solid 80%. I'm often fooled when I go out on humid days because the moisture in the air, combined with a slight breeze, can feel cool if you're not sweating. It doesn't take long before reality hits.

I had a decent 5 miler on Sunday and an almost 5 miler on Saturday, so I decided to be kind to myself and forget my four mile target. I took the best route I could to get me through my minimum run distance (MRD) of three miles with a quarter mile to spare. Although the air was heavy with moisture, I did manage a decent pace that was faster than my two prior runs.

I'm back to being on vacation and though the days are are busy, I plan to get in a couple more mid-week workouts. Having a heat wave during your vacation week isn't as bad as having to go into the office on your vacation week. But it's not too great either.

Running flat but looking cool and modern

A new outlook

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

This week has been a commuting nightmare. It took me two hours to get home from work on Wednesday and Thursday nights. My morning drives into the office were barely shorter than that. Happily, I work from home on Fridays. Having no morning commute provides a lot more time to work in a run. I did a short treadmill workout on Tuesday, but Friday, Saturday and Sunday have become my main days for running.

I've had a lot on my mind in terms of business planning for 2015 and I looked forward to getting out for a few miles today to focus on various ideas and scenarios. When I got out on the road, I felt flat, both physically and mentally. I couldn't concentrate on my business topics, so I focused on the run. It was a decent effort, but it still felt flat. I was hoping that I'd be rewarded with an endorphin rush at the end, but no such luck.

I ended up having an interesting day - lots of calls kept me busy and I took a break in the early afternoon to pick up my new glasses. My teenage daughter pronounced them cool and modern (translation: she's no longer embarrassed to be seen with me). That made me happy.

Unfortunately, this weekend's weather is supposed to be very wet. Tomorrow morning's planned group run is being postponed until next week. I'm really looking forward to that as it's been far too long since we've gotten together. I may end up doing some longish runs on the treadmill this weekend, a possibility that does not excite me. But at least I'll look cool and modern while I'm doing my workout.

Just me and the road, and the cars, and the buses

My worst nightmare

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

After three consecutive indoor workouts, I was finally able to get outside today, and it was beautiful. The sun was bright and the temperature was cool. While I waited for the Garmin to acquire a signal, I noticed a breeze that actually made it feel cold in the shade. I knew once I got started that any feelings of being cold would disappear, but it was nice to start out that way. 

Due to a scheduled call, I had to get my run done in a certain amount of time. I could have gone out earlier, but we live close to both an elementary and a middle school and I didn't wish to compete with all the buses. By the time I hit the streets, a few buses still remained, but car traffic had picked up. You can't win, but you can run on the sidewalk. I ended up yelling at a guy who rolled through a stop sign as I approached the intersection. To his credit, he sheepishly said "sorry."

I continued my focus on speed and moved along, although I was having some trouble with my form. I didn't feel like I was getting good turnover and I was concerned that I'd end up with a disappointing time. Still, I knew that I was making the effort. Most of the time, that will yield a satisfying result.

I ended up averaging 9:05, which surprised me in a good way, because I expected I'd be about 15 seconds slower per mile. My speed described a bell shaped curve, with the first and last half miles being the fastest. So far my training strategy is working, but I still haven't put fast and long into the same run.

The Emerging Runner risk mitigation policy

What's wrong with is picture (see rule #1)?

Running after Hurricane Sandy (though I think we're supposed to call it a "post-tropical cyclone" now) has become a little more complicated and dangerous. I do everything I can to avoid risk when I'm out on the roads, but two weeks after Sandy hit, my local streets are still covered with debris. In addition, some roads still have hanging or fallen wires, along with electrical cords running across the street from neighbors sharing generator power.

I got a comment from Running On Candy who expressed concern about the dangers of the road under these conditions. I was horrified to read that she had some close calls with cars due to limited room on the roads that she runs. I'm a low risk runner and, even under the best conditions, I'll never cross a busy road on a run unless traffic is sparse. I'll only run on a main road if there's a sidewalk and most of my runs happen within my neighborhood or at parks and preserves like Stillwell and Bethpage.

I occasionally see a hostile dynamic with drivers who don't like the idea of sharing the road with runners. Ask any runner and they'll tell you the same. I also don't trust that drivers are paying attention or consider stop signs anything more than a suggestion. For what it's worth, this is the The Emerging Runner's risk mitigation policy:

1. Always run on the left side of the road (facing traffic).
2. Assume that every driver is distracted, drunk, high, texting, on the phone or incompetent.
3. Do not run on main roads that don't have a sidewalk.
4. Keep in single file formation when running with others on the street.
5. Wear bright, colorful, reflective clothing no matter what time of day you run.
6. Wear a reflective vest when it's dark, at dawn and at dusk.
7. Wear a headlamp or some type of light when running in dark (too be seen as much as to see).
8. Avoid crossing four-lane roads, even those that have traffic lights.
9. Don't listen to music at a level that will drown out the sound of approaching cars.
10. Always have an exit strategy for cars (run up on the lawn, prepare to dive into a snowbank).

It's also a good idea to bring a phone and carry ID of some kind for emergencies. Accidents can be avoided as long as runners consider their safety as importantly as the do their workout.

The popular crowd

Emerging Runner traffic

Today's run (treadmill): 2.5 miles
Every once in a while I look at the stats on the Emerging Runner and I'm always intrigued by the long tail distribution of targeted hits. Although I can't account for posts that are read through the top level domain (http://www.emergingrunner.com/) the tools tell me which individual posts (those that come through another source like Google or links from other websites) are most popular. It gives me a sense of what people are interested in reading.

The top ten posts, in order of aggregate hits are:
1. Road test - the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10
2. A new Nike+ Sportband problem
3. Tubes, zig-zags, bounces, shocks and resistors
4. Saucony Tangent 4: Fast and comfortable
5. Super minimalist running shoes for less than $20!
6. Nike Sportband - A farewell to armbands
7. New posting on Runner's Tech Review - ATAYNE
8. For the love of Sudafed
9. Many thought running caused my pneumonia
10. 8 miles at Bethpage, NYC Marathon Expo visit

Although these are my most popular posts I have many others that I think are good. If I can ever find the time I may go through the archives and post my ten favorite posts, regardless of popularity. In the meantime I am glad that so many people are interested in the ones above.

Our common interest

One great thing about blogging about running is that there's always something new to say. There's definitely a symbiotic relationship between my daily workouts and my daily posts. One inspires the other. This journal started as way to capture my singular experience as I returned to running but I have discovered that many other people relate as well to the site. I recently checked my traffic and saw that the Emerging Runner has gained readers in 54 countries and it has seen thousands of visits and page views since I started in mid November. The parallel site on the Runner's World Loop is active as well but there is no way (that I know of) to check that traffic volume. It's not the volume that's important as much as the fact that a community can be created through a device like a blog. I have learned a lot from hearing from others in terms of workout programs, expectations, technologies and gear.

I have no goals for the Emerging Runner other than to keep the conversation going. I would like to represent other views as well. If you have a good story to share about running, dealing with injuries, favorite running gear, etc., send me an email or post a comment about it. It would also be great to hear more from the international readers. What's it like to run in London, Ottawa, Stockholm...?

In the meantime, keep running. That's really what this is all about.

Growing audience

My original intention was to make the Emerging Runner a personal journal that I would use to track my early progress. About two weeks into it I asked a friend (who happens to be an accomplished online media executive) to look at my site and suggest any changes. She mentioned a couple of things to help make this site more "findable" and I've since incorporated those changes. The real effect was to make me think about an audience broader than my wife and the "Emerging Running Advisory Board."

I have done a number of things to increase the reach of this site including using freely available SEO resources from Feedburner and Google Webmaster tools. I've also posted on the CompleteRunning.com network and tried to get Runner's World to link to it. I've also begun to leverage social networks including Facebook, which I joined and then ignored until I had something to talk about. In addition, I've put the site on both my LinkedIn and MapMyRun profiles.

Another great outcome from this (owing more to Facebook than Emerging Runner) is that I have been able to connect with some people that I have not seen for a while. One of those people will be running in the Boston Marathon next year and I hope to have him write a guest column about that experience. I've modified the look of this site to allow more content on the opening page and can now expand it so guest writers can get their own page. After about a month I have seen traffic grow slowly but steadily. The Emerging Runner has been accessed by a couple of hundred "absolutely unique" (Google Analytics' term) visitors with over a thousand pageviews. I can't wait for that first $0.02 check from Google Adsense.