I did my run, so why do I feel guilty?

Today's run (street): 1.2 miles

I know that I give up some performance when I get up and run at 4:00 AM. I know this because I typically do better on mornings when I put an hour or more between waking and running. There's probably a physiological explanation for that. Let's assume there is. Still, it bothers me when I go out and run at a moderate pace and see that I've averaged on the high side of 9:00.

Since I'm tapering for the Dirty Sock run on Sunday I decided to go out fast this morning. The bargain I made with myself was that I'd only run a mile or so. That got me out the door on a day when I really wanted to remain in bed and finish the sleep that was interrupted by my alarm. I took off faster than normal but not in a sprint, as I would have were I doing intervals. I stepped up my cadence after 30 seconds and tried to generate some speed.

I hit the mile mark at around 8:37/mile which is a 5K race pace for me. I really pushed as I completed the loop back to my house and finished my short run averaging 8:28 overall. Good, not great. In the end my satisfaction with my performance was somewhat deflated by the guilt of running less than half my normal distance. I guess that's why we call it a taper.

The good and bad of late summer running

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

I had mixed emotions when I began this morning's run. The air was cool, almost cold, and so different from the humid conditions over the past weekend. I appreciated the energizing weather as I made my way along the route but felt a little sad that the cool conditions and low humidity were signaling the close of summer.

After Sunday's treadmill intervals I found it easier to run with some speed. I knew that I was pacing better than I had in a while. I followed my usual route and moved along at faster than conversational pace. I was trying to imagine if I could sustain that rate over the length of Sunday's race. I pushed hard over the half mile and finished close to 9:00/mile.

One year ago I was averaging about an 8:45 pace on my morning runs but my speed has slipped over the last six months. I'm happy with today's run because (at least) it's an improvement from what is now the status quo.

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.

Kinvara retirement run

You served with distinction but now you're hurting my knee

Today's run (treadmill): 3.15 miles

After yesterday's long run at Belmont Lake State Park I felt no urgency to get out this morning for my Sunday run. That, and the booming thunderstorms that came through around 4:30 and stuck around most of the morning. While I looked out at the drenching that my lawn and trees were getting, I debated whether I should run indoors, do an elliptical session or do nothing.

It wasn't until after lunch, that my wife said I should at least do something. She didn't want me to regret missing my workout after it got too late to do it. She knows me well. I decided to do a mixed session on the treadmill, combining intervals and recovery runs.

The rains have continued all day but it hasn't helped the humidity level. I wore minimal gear -- running shorts and no top. That probably helped, although you couldn't tell by the amount that I sweated. I began at an easy pace, below 6 MPH and eased up to 6.3 through my first mile. At that point I hit the 8 MPH button and ran a few minutes at that speed before backing down to 6.5.

I repeated that cycle a few times until I passed 3 miles, where I dropped to a sedate jogging pace to cool down. I had worn my Kinvaras for the first time in months and, just like the last time I wore them, I experienced residual knee pain after my run. On top of that, I had a hot spot on my mid-foot that may have been caused by my sock. To be safe, I'm going to officially retire the Kinvaras that served me very well for almost 600 miles.

I'm going into my taper now, in fairly good shape. Today's speed work will - hopefully - help me next Sunday. The chaotic weather wasn't only a factor here on Long Island. My friend KWL and his team did not participate in Gran Fondo bike event in Philadelphia today because they were suffering similar conditions. Must be very disappointing. I have no worries for that next week. The website says the Dirty Sock 10K will happen -- rain or shine.

Pre-race training run at Belmont Lake State Park

2010 Dirty Sock race shirt. They also give you socks!

Today's run (Belmont Lake State Park): 6.2 miles

It's been more than two months since my last race (the NHP 8K) so I'm excited that I'll (once again) be competing next weekend. If we have weather like this weekend's on the 21st I'll be very pleased.

This morning I met up with my running buddy Dave at the south end of Belmont Lake State Park. We decided to do a last long training run along the Dirty Sock race course to prepare for the big event. We had plenty of company on the trails at 7:00 AM when we started. There were people with dogs, walkers, bike riders and a handful of other runners.

We took off at a pace that allowed for comfortable conversation and. before I knew it, I heard my Garmin chime the first mile. We reached Belmont Lake and chose to follow the same route that we'll take on race day. This involves a short section that crosses a highway access road and goes under the LIE. We circled the lake in short order and I was pleased with my energy level at what I knew to be the halfway point.

I never noticed before, but I determined the main trail runs uphill in the southern direction. That may be a reason why I have a tough time in the latter half of this race. Checking our watches we saw that we were coming on the one hour mark and I couldn't believe that much time had passed. Having an interesting guy like Dave as a running partner certainly helps on long runs.

At the last leg of the run, where the trail twists south after paralleling a section of  Southard's Pond, Dave stepped up the pace and I followed. He's a strong finisher and I did my best to stay with him. This last half mile is always tough on race day because it's hard to discern how much more trail is left before the finish line. I know to listen for the race announcer over the PA, that tells me to start my final sprint to the line.

The humidity finally kicked in and at the end we were a pretty soggy pair. I was extremely pleased with our run and I know I could have put another 10% into my effort if I had been competing. I'm saving that for race day. The taper starts tomorrow. Let's hope that the heat and humidity take a holiday next Sunday.

No power leads to unexpected power

Note to Sports Authority: sale items are supposed to cost less

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

I worked from home this morning which allowed me to sleep in a little later. Sort of. At around 4:00 AM our house alarm started bleeping, indicating a loss of battery power. I noticed that the digital clocks had no display and that we were having a power outage. I went back to sleep for an hour, but when I got up for good, I was suffering a bad headache. The power had come back on, so I had a couple of strong cups of coffee and headed out for a neighborhood run .

The humidity was low at 6:30 and the temperatures were in the 60's, so my run was pleasant. I started slowly because my headache was sapping some energy. I picked up the pace and covered a little more than 5K. I was moving steadily but it didn't feel especially fast. I lamented the fact that I hardly ever manage paces faster than mid-9:00 these days and I expected today's to be even slower.

I finished my run and was surprised to see that I almost hit 9:00 overall. It may be that I'd had about an hour between getting up and running or that the weather helped me. Probably a little of both. Either way it was nice to break out of my normal metric and show some better performance.

I had much to do between 11:00 and 5:00 and, throughout the day, I had periods where my headache made me want to lie down and take a nap. Ibuprofen helped a little but, once again, it was Sudafed that did the trick. Pseudoephedrine is wonderful thing. I take it sparingly and I'm always happy when I do.

At one point this afternoon, we stopped into Sports Authority to get my son a new pair of water shoes. I'm very disappointed in their decision to drop brands in favor expanding their floor space for more Nike and Under Armor clothing. I guess people like that, but I don't. My son and I were amused to see this great deal on Adidas running shoes in the kid's section (above). I think their marketing people need to rethink both their merchandise lines and their pricing

The thing about the Dirty Sock course...

Link to picture at Bill McBride Photography

Today's workout (elliptical): 28 minutes

I'm thinking of heading to Babylon this weekend to run the trails in Belmont Lake State park. This is the location for the Dirty Sock 10K that's being held next a week from this Sunday. The course itself is straightforward, mostly flat and non-technical, and, unless it's been raining, well groomed. The thing about this race is the weather. On a cool fall morning it's as good as trail running gets: picturesque woods, a beautiful lake and some interesting sections with that cross over brooks or pass by another lake. But the weekend of Dirty Sock can show a different side of this course - the heat and humidity envelope you and the last mile of the race is plenty tough.

The last time I ran this course was in the spring when I closed out my half marathon training. I wore my Kinvaras on the trails and thought all was well but that night I awoke to significant knee pain that followed me for months. I've since gotten past that problem but I'm a little concerned about a recurrence of this problem. In truth, I had probably over trained the week that I did that run and the knee pain was likely a result of running 30% more mileage than normal.

I'm planning to run in the Mirages, a minimal stability shoe, this weekend and for the Dirty Sock race. I've been running almost exclusively with the Hattori's but I seem to adapt well between those shoes and Mirages. This will also be a big weekend for my friends who race. KWL will be competing in the Philadelphia Grand Fondo bike race (108 miles) and FS is due to run a race on Cape Cod. However, she is "day to day" on deciding whether to participate, due to an injury. I hope everything lines up for both of them this weekend (including good weather) and that we all have great experiences.

A run without purpose

Today's run (street): 2.25 miles

Runner' World has a story in the August issue that suggests that you have a purpose for every running workout. Examples include building endurance, getting faster and simulating race conditions. This morning the purpose of my run was simply continuity.

It's been a taxing week in the office and I count on my daily run to bring balance to life's pressures and stress. Some mornings I get up and run hard, usually when I'm training for a race. Other times I'm happy to complete my route after averaging a mid-9:00 pace. In both those cases I usually feel like I've contributed to my fitness.

Today's run was more obligatory than tactical. I started out slow, almost as a concession to my begrudging agreement to run. I reached my first mile two minutes later than I normally do and that prompted me to step up the pace. As much as I'm told to run without a watch, seeing my performance playing out on the digital display can motivate me to work harder.

My increased focus on speed allowed me to make up for that first mile pace and I completed the last third of a shortened course at 10K race pace. In the end I was glad to have run and satisfied with my performance recovery. Still, I'm hoping for a more purposeful attitude when I go out for my next run.

Runners: know thy enemy!

Today's run: 2.6 miles

Hoping to keep my cool

Like most runners, my performance degrades with a rise in temperature. Adding humidity makes it worse and it all makes sense scientifically. If your body needs to cool itself, it will deplete your body's fluid level through sweat. This leads to a loss in plasma volume and a reduction in oxygen to muscles because blood low is being pushed to the surface of the skin. Humidity prevents efficient evaporation of sweat that dissipates heat and helps regulate body temperature.

It seems like every running magazine I read has an article or two about running in the heat. They all say basically the same thing -- that proper hydration (including electrolyte balance) is key. They are also pretty clear that running in extreme heat can drive your body temperature up to dangerous levels. At that point it goes from bad to worse.

I'm thinking about this because I'm two weekends away from the Dirty Sock 10K trail run. It's a great race that goes through the woods and around a lake. It's always held the third weekend in August and the two times I've run it conditions ranged from high heat and humidity to high heat, humidity and rain. Last year I drank 24 ounces of water after I finished and still felt depleted. It wasn't until my daughter brought over an electrolyte drink that I finally felt restored and balanced.

This morning's run did not feel humid (though it was) and I appreciated the temperatures that were still in the 70's. I had a decent run and by the time I came home I was drenched with sweat but I didn't feel overheated. I'm looking for a singlet to wear on race day. Despite the "wife-beater" look that I've always avoided, that may be a good tool for keeping my body temperature down. One thing I'm counting on is that Dirty Sock will fall on a hot and humid day.

Puzzling find beneath my Hattori's

Hey, that's nowhere near my mid-foot!

I did both of my weekend runs on the treadmill and used my second pair of Hattori's that have yet to see pavement. Out of curiosity, I looked at the bottoms to see if the tread picked up a wear pattern from the belt and noticed some evidence of impact on the front medial side. That looked like I may still be pronating, even with a mid-foot strike. I also thought that it may just be belt dust that attached to the out-sole.

When I looked at my primary pair of Hattori's I was quite surprised to see that both heel pads showed clear evidence of wear towards the outside edge of the shoes. These are outdoor shoes and there's no other explanation except that I'm still pushing off the heel at some point in my strike.

This is puzzling because I know I'm landing on my mid-foot when I run in the Hattori's and the white EVA shows an imprint that supports that fact. Clearly there are two points of contact when I land and I'm guessing that I glance off the heel and then strike ahead of the arch. No too bad but not what I want. Perhaps I'll make a trip to a local running store in the next couple of weeks and ask to have my gait videoed. Even if my theory is confirmed I'm not sure if there's much I can do unless I want to go back to a lightweight stability shoe.

Dirty Sock prep: 60 humid minutes on the treadmill

Today's run (treadmill): 5.5 miles

The rain was coming down hard at 6:30 AM and the frequent thunder told me that the storm was close. I hoped that it would move through quickly so I could go out for a long run later in the morning. A check on weather.com showed no hope for a letup so I changed my plans in favor of an indoor workout.

If I had gone to Bethpage State Park I would have targeted 8 miles, but I knew that spending that much time on a treadmill would make me a candidate for the insane asylum. I decided that I would run for 60 minutes, including some time for warm-up and cool down. At the start, the temperature in the guest room seemed pleasant, and I had my trusty water bottle to help keep me hydrated. At the ten minute mark I still felt relatively dry and I wondered how long I would go until the sweating began.

By the time I reached the 15 minute mark I felt like I was in a sauna and I questioned whether I could really go the full 60 minutes. By 20:00 I noted that I was 1/3 my planned time and my running shorts were just about soaked through with sweat. I didn't bother wearing a shirt because I could get away without one indoors. I regretted that I'd forgotten to wear a HRM. It would have been interesting to record my physical response to the heat and humidity over the duration of my run.

I kept drinking water and by the 30 minute/halfway mark I knew that I'd be okay for 30 more. Passing 40 minutes was a welcome milestone and I reached five miles a little before the 50 minute mark. I continued for another 5 minutes and then dropped my pace and finished with a five minute cool down at around 11 minutes per mile.

I wasn't delirious when I stepped off the treadmill but I was sweating profusely and I made a beeline to the refrigerator and grabbed some Gatorade G2.  The very humid conditions, heat and 60 minutes of motion were exactly what I was after today. The conditions at the Dirty Sock 10K are usually brutal, not unlike today's. It occurred to me near the end of my run that I must be in decent shape to have gone through today's workout without quitting or collapsing in exhaustion afterward. I'm hoping that hard workouts like the ones this weekend will yield a good result on race day.

Weekend video report: The Emerging Runner Hill Challenge

Today's workout (treadmill): 24 minutes

Saturday has been a busy day and an early morning appointment prevented me from getting out for my run. That was too bad as conditions were perfect at 8:00 AM when I would have run. By the time I got free, it was already well after lunch. I had just read about TrailRunner Magazine's Hill Challenge that is going on at the Outdoor Retailer show right now in Salt Lake City. I thought that might be the perfect workout for me, given my limited time.

The TrailRunner hill challenge pits two people against each other on treadmills where they compete to see who can cover the most distance in 15 minutes while running at a 10% incline. 15 minutes seems like a short enough time to endure almost anything but I'm not a 20-something super athlete and I know my limits. Instead I did the Emerging Runner Hill Challenge which involved running 24 minutes with increasing speeds and inclines in the first half, followed by decreasing speeds and elevation during the second.

I began the run at 4 MPH with a zero incline and at 00:59 bumped to 1% and 4.1 MPH respectively. I continued this way until I reached 10% and 5.1 MPH which I held for a couple of minutes. After that I decreased by .1 MPH and 1% incline until I finished. I kept my Amphipod hand bottle filled with icy water at the ready and drank liberally throughout my workout. I was sweating profusely by the 10 minute mark and, despite the increasingly easier conditions the run still felt like hard work. 

It was great to complete a hard workout in less than 30 minutes -- perfect for the time I had. Thanks to my daughter (and camera person) I was able to file this weekend's video update. I hope to get out for a long run on Sunday. Let's see if the rain will hold off, at least throughout the morning.