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.

First run: Saucony Kinvara 3's - a great update to a favorite shoe

Today's run (street): 4.5 miles

After yesterday's long run, I was prepared for an easy workout this morning. I'd wanted to try the new Kinvara 3's for the first time on the treadmill, but the machine is currently down, waiting for parts. Plan B was to run outside, but the weather report wasn't encouraging. I determined that an early run would allow me to dodge the rain that was predicted to fall by mid-morning.

The temperature was 49 degrees when I hit the road in the new Sauconys  at 7:30 AM. The fit was superb and these shoes reminded me of the feel of the original Kinvaras. I've been having trouble with soreness at the bottom of my feet as a result of stepping up my long runs in recent weeks. This is not plantar fasciitis, just old fashioned pavement-pounding swelling.

Compared to the Spiras, the Kinvara 3's feel more agile. I suppose this has to do with the lower platform and flatter (4mm) drop. Like the Kinvara 1's, the 3's move well with the foot, and they do help facilitate a mid-foot landing. The Kinvaras felt so good that I changed my run plan from slow and easy, to comfortably peppy.

I fully enjoyed the run, following a different route than usual, and appreciating the cool, cloudy conditions. At one point I crossed paths with another runner and ran behind him for a few minutes. I was concerned that I would overtake him at his current pace. I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, so I ducked into a side road that looped back around and opened up more room behind him. 

I finished the run feeling pretty good considering the distance I'd covered on Saturday. The Kinvaras performed well and it's going to be interesting to compare them to the Spiras in the coming weeks. Still, my feet were feeling mighty sore, so I indulged in a foot soak using my wife's foot spa unit. This device provides inferred heat, water jets and vibration. I added Dr. Bronner's Magic Castile Peppermint soap to the water, and it has kept my feet feeling great, long after my soak was over.

I'm pleased to have covered over 13 miles this weekend. I'm hoping that the weather will clear by Tuesday morning when I go out once again. I'm expecting the treadmill to be operational by the end of the week. Fingers crossed for good conditions until then.

Building character on the Bethpage trail

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 9.1 miles

Today is supposed to be the better weather day this weekend, so I headed to Bethpage this morning for my long base run. It was tough week in the office, and I addressed my sleep debt by getting eight full hours last night. I hoped the extra rest would carry me through what would be my longest run (so far) this year.

Although I have a brand new pair of Saucony Kinvara 3's sitting in a box, I decided to do today's run with the Spiras. I didn't want to discover any fit problems with the Kinvaras that I'd need to endure throughout the bulk of my run. Still, I was concerned that I'd have a recurrence of chafing at the back, along the Achilles, that I'd experienced last weekend.

Bethpage's lot had many more cars than usual, probably because it was the first weekend of Spring. I also arrived an hour later than I usually do, owing to my later wake-up time this morning. As I made my way through the initial hills, I saw numerous runners along the way, most of them heading north to the start of the bike trail. The Syosset Cross Country boys team were running hill repeats on the big hill and it reminded me of when I did that last year to prepare for the town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's 5K.

There must have been forty high school age runners on the path today, I kept seeing them coming from the other direction at different points in my run. They all looked strong and fast and I was glad they weren't going my way because it would have been humiliating to be passed dozens of times. Surprisingly, I was only passed a couple of times today.

I knew I was in for a better experience than last Saturday's because I still felt plenty strong at the Southern State crossover that led into the Massapequa Preserve. I came up behind a couple of runners that I hoped would pace me a little, but I ended up passing them because they were running a little too slow. I U-turned after covering four and a half miles and prepared for the second half of my run.

I had no issues with the back of my heel today but I did have some chafing problems with my small toe on my right foot. It got fairly uncomfortable, but I didn't stop because I knew there wasn't any quick fix for it. As much as I like the Spira's I'm noticing some small fit issues that come out on longer runs.

Despite the foot issue, I felt very strong throughout the run. It seemed to take little time to get to the seven mile mark today. I didn't take any anything for an energy boost and only sipped on a little water late in the run. At Bethpage, the last two miles is what I call the "character-building" phase of the run. There are some smaller rises and some steep short sections, with a few downhills to balance it out. But, inevitably, the last hill awaits. There's no escape.

Despite arriving at the 8.5 mile point, I still had good energy as I made my way uphill and I even passed another runner on that section. The best part of the bike trail is the short, steep downhill that leads to the parking lot. I embraced it fully today and carried my run an additional tenth mile back to my car.

So despite missing a couple of morning runs this week, I feel on track for my Half Marathon training. Next weekend I may need to do my long run on Sunday so I can get in some speed work on Saturday. Before the LI Half is the Marcie Mazzola 5K. I'm hoping that a good base and some fast twitch activation will yield a decent time for that race.

My mystery running shoes have arrived

Fresh out of the box

A long day and late night on Thursday translated into another ad hoc rest day this morning. I had the best of intentions but, after getting less than 4 hours sleep, I felt I needed more rest. I intended to elliptical but the advantages of skipping that workout outweighed the disadvantages. It's been a pretty poor week for running, but with this week's schedule, I knew I'd miss a few days.

On the plus side, my mystery shoes arrived last night. I was too tired to even try them on when I got home but I will tonight. They're the new Kinvara 3's that I've been anticipating for a very long time. I loved the original Kinvaras but didn't really like the 2's. I'm hoping the third time's the charm. My one minute assessment is that the K3 seems to be built more like the Mirage than the original Kinvara model. That may be okay. I went up 1/2 size and hopefully that will provide enough room in the toe-box to make for a perfect fit.

Hard work and quick shoes yield a fast 4 AM run

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

I'm in off-site meetings all day today and tomorrow. It's been a long day that will continue through the evening. It starts again early on Friday, and I'm trying to figure out whether I'll have the energy to work out tomorrow morning after getting (at best) four hour's sleep. In my college days I'd attend classes all day, stay out past 1:00 AM and be fully alert for class at 8:00 AM the next morning. I sure don't bounce back the same anymore.

I was glad that I went for my run this morning. I followed my plan to run hard and it yielded very good results. In fact, it was my first 4:00 AM run this year where I averaged under 9:00 a mile. Conditions were ideal, cool but not cold. I wore running shorts and a long sleeved top and that worked really well. I had good energy from my first steps off my driveway until I returned, less than 23 minutes later.

If not for yesterday's mid-9:00 pace, I would have given full credit to the Spira XLT's. I pushed a lot harder than I did on Wednesday, and that probably explained my much improved performance. But getting under 9:00 was a big improvement so I'll say it was the combination of hard work and fast shoes. I'm pretty sure I'll be running in the Spira's for April's Marcie Mazzola 5k.

Speed takes effort, it's that simple

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

The UPS truck mocked me as I drove into my driveway last night. The UPS driver usually does his deliveries in my neighborhood around the same time that I get home from work. I watched as he carried what looked like a shoebox-sized container, but he dropped it at a neighbor's house. Saucony is supposedly looking into what's happened to my pre-launch Kinvara 3's. I'm thinking I may never get them.

As much as I've anticipated the Saucony's, I'm still appreciating the Spira Stinger XLT's. I skipped yesterday's run, but went out this morning. Again I found the XLT's to be comfortable and responsive. I moved well during my run and, while my PE was relatively low, I felt like my pace was brisk. When I came to the end of my run I looked at my Garmin, only to see that I'd covered my route more than a minute slower than expected. So much for getting that bonus 15 seconds per mile from the XLT's.

I think the lesson I reinforced today is that, at my level, speed should feel hard. If I don't push it, I shouldn't expect to put up good numbers. Due to some scheduling issues this week, I'm swapping my Thursday elliptical session with a run tomorrow morning. I'll put in more effort and see whether that makes a difference. Perhaps the 15 second bonus only happens on harder runs.

Work comes before workout

I had to speak at an industry event this morning and the pressure to get ready caused me to skip today's run. I always feel guilty about missing a workout, but I felt the need to postpone it this morning. I'll abide by what I tell others when they take a second day away from exercise, that a little more rest actually builds fitness. With my base runs now in the 8+ mile range, I will definitely benefit from the extra recovery time. Yes, that's it. No guilt.

Racing glory is relative to ability

Well Monday has rolled around again, and I'm pleased with my weekend's running. The progress I'm making to prepare for the LI Half Marathon is fully on track. I've been getting some interesting perspective from reading the blog of an elite runner named Jesse Armijo, from Albuquerque, NM. This runner, who competes at the top level, faces similar concerns about preparedness and training as a mid-packer like me. But for Jesse, the stakes are higher. He's a humble guy and I'm rooting for him.

Sometimes I wonder why I compete. It certainly isn't for the glory of victory. I often finish at the top of the bell curve, coming in just before the last 50% of runners in a given race. My performance really couldn't be  more average. But against my age group, I sometimes land in the top third, and that makes me happy.

Saturday's 8+ mile run was much harder than staying home and watching the news on TV. But I had to do it, because I have to be ready to run 13.1 miles on May 6. I'm not likely to finish at the front of the curve, but I sure don't want to end up in the back of the pack.

Ambivelent about today's coverage of the NY Half

Today's run (street): 4.5 miles

I was pleasantly surprised to when I turned on the news this morning to see that our local ABC channel  was actually covering today's New York Road Runner's Half Marathon. Running of this type is rarely televised (besides the ING NY Marathon), so it's always exciting when these events are broadcast.

The good news is that ABC stepped up and featured the race. The bad news is the way they covered it. Besides some very short features and interviews with a few US runners who were competing, very little information was given about the other elites who were also competing. My biggest frustration came for the race broadcast itself, both the men's and women's races were early breakaways between two runners. ABC chose to stay with those four, virtually ignoring the other elites who were grouped 30 seconds behind.

ABC also put up very little information about paces and splits, and when they did, they confused the women's numbers with the men's. After an hour of watching Peter Kirui battle it out with Deriba Merga and Kim Smith run shoulder to shoulder with Firehiwot Dado, I learned virtually nothing about them as people. They failed to give viewers a reason to care about the competitors. That may be a reason why running is so invisible as a broadcast sport.

Inspired by the watching the NY Half, I got outside for four and a half easy miles. The temperature was a cool 40 degrees when I started, but the weather got warmer throughout my run. I regretted wearing pants instead of running shorts and I was sweating hard by the time I finished. The run itself was extremely easy, my pace was a full minute slower than yesterday's run at Bethpage.

Tomorrow I'll rest and then I'll need to figure out my workweek running. I have a lot going on next week and I may need to skip one or two runs. No matter if I do, I plan to do some speed work next weekend and another long base run. Watching the half marathon this morning reminded me how long 13.1 miles will be.

Top of the mornin' run at Bethpage State Park

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 8.2 miles

Green Day

Happy St. Patty's Day. I'm not Irish, but in honor of the holiday I wore my kelly green quarter-zip on today's run. This was to be my weekend base building run and, after a later than usual start,  I headed over to Bethpage State Park.

When I arrived I saw a few dozen runners dressed in green circling the parking lot in what looked to be an informal race or a fun run. Many wore leprechaun hats or green St. Patty's themed headgear. There were no signs saying what the event was for, but people seemed to be having a good time.

I wore the new Spira Stinger XLT's because I was curious to see how they would do on a long and hilly run. After getting past the first short hill and making my way down the long hill that followed, I was into the wooded section of the bike trail where the first mile seems to come quickly. I felt a little stronger than last Saturday, when I ran the trail for 7.4 miles. I hoped that I'd feel even better as I went along today.

The XLT's provided a responsive platform and felt comfortable underfoot throughout the entire run. It wasn't until I was into my third mile that I detected a hot spot above my left heel. I hoped it would go away but it grew worse, and when I reached 3.75 miles I needed to stop for a minute to adjust my sock and re-tie my lace. That did the trick and I continued south, passing over the Southern State and turning around at Linden St. after passing the 4 mile mark.

There were many runners, walkers and cyclists on the trail today. I recognized a lot of the runners that I see almost every time I run at Bethpage. At one point on my return leg, I was behind three women who were trotting alongside a man who was race-walking. They were all dressed in St. Patty's attire. This group took up the entire path and I had to run in the dirt on the left side to get by. They acted annoyed that I didn't greet them when I passed them. One woman yelled an unfriendly-sounding, "Top of the mornin' to ye!"

This was the third consecutive weekend since I started my half marathon training and I was pleased with the way I felt throughout the first six miles. Like last week, it was the last two miles that really challenged me. It's as much mental as physical. The last mile and a half have the biggest hills, and I always dread the final long climb.

I made it through the second-worst hill that comes a mile before the start (and finish). I was hurting but still managed to pass a few slower runners as I made my approach to the last hill. I gritted my teeth and went for it, slogging my way along the longest half mile of the run before finishing with a short downhill run to the parking lot.

It was a hard workout but I improved on my pace from last Saturday's 7.4 mile run. I don't think I'd do too well if the half marathon was next weekend, but there are still six weekends to train before the race. Tomorrow's run will be for recovery. I'm looking forward to that.

Saucony's secret news is leaking out!

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

The cat seems to be out of the bag in terms of the "top secret" news that Saucony plans to share. Via re-tweets on Saucony's Twitter feed and through blogs I follow, it seems like the running shoe stork is dropping off boxes of the pre-market Kinvara 3 to bloggers and reviewers like me. This is a shoe I've been anxiously anticipating.

After reading people's first impressions, I'm even more excited to receive my pair. I'm also worried that something got botched up and my shoes won't ever reach me. In the meantime, I continue to appreciate the feel and responsiveness of my new Spira Stinger XLT's that I wore on today's run. It was my third workout with the XLT's and the second on the treadmill (raining this morning). I hope to take them out on a long base run tomorrow.

So as I wait for the Kinvaras to arrive, I'll be happy to run with the XLT's. I'm really curious to see if the Wavespring technology delivers any extra support when I face that last big hill at the end of mile 8.

Running shorts weather is great, except for one thing...

Avert your eyes!

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

We're seeing unseasonably warm weather this month, not that anyone is complaining. I'm sure we'll pay for it in spades next year when we're clearing snow off our driveways in April. This morning I wore running shorts during my elliptical session and it occured to me that the world may not be ready to look at the scars that remain from my big fall last October. I considered showing an uncensored picture, but it's just too ugly to look at.

With running shorts, there's no hiding this disturbing sight. I wouldn't care so much if the damage looked rugged and cool. In my case, I have six splotches, ranging in size between a nickel and a quarter, that together, look like a bad case of leprosy. I had similarly ugly scarring on my other knee from a prior accident and it took years for the discoloring to fade.

It's likely that I'll run in shorts this weekend. I'm seriously considering wrapping that area with a light bandage when I'm out in public. My daughter winkingly proposed that I replace my running shorts with below-the-knee board shorts. Depending on how people react, I may consider that suggestion.