6 miles run around a lake - what could be better?

I was psyched to see the temperature on LI was 38 degrees when I watched the news at 6:00 AM this morning. In the last year I've learned that I run much better when it's cold and I enjoy the experience more. That is until the temperature drops into the teens and then I love it a bit less. Still, I'll take 18 degrees over 88 anytime. The plan was for me and my nephew to run Stillwell Woods, a local preserve that has many twisty trails and variable elevations. These trails are really meant for cyclists and you see many of them there, often when you don't expect it. The experience of running Stillwell can be amazing as the scene changes from moment to moment and the challenges can go from modest to ridiculous. It's two weeks until the Cape Cod Marathon and I knew I needed to focus more on distance than terrain so we decided to go with a Plan B instead: Belmont Lake State Park, home to the Dirty Sock 10K.

The trails at BLSP are straight and the elevations are modest and few. Most importantly, the course is much more measurable and measuring distance against my readiness was my goal. We both appreciated the cool air and the absence of humidity when we arrived. As an experiment we ate a couple of Luna Sport Moons to get some start up energy. The pomegranate flavor was good and between that and the beautiful day I was really ready to get going. I was concerned that a strong start would lead to a weak finish but that was not the case. We headed north along the main trail and it was nice to experience the course again without the competitive edge of a race. DaveADK and I ran this route a couple of weeks before the 10K and it was a similar feeling. Knowing the route somewhat I expected it to seem longer but it was very much the opposite. My nephew maintained a strong pace alongside me and when we got to the north lake I told him about some of the experiences I'd had at that point of the race. I remembered thinking that getting around the lake was going to be tough but today it was fairly easy. In fact today's run was remarkably smooth. At the 4 mile mark I had another Luna Moon to see if it would give me a boost. It's hard to say if it did but my lack of difficulty throughout the latter part of the run indicates it may have helped. I'll be bringing some along during the marathon runs.

We ended up covering 6.13 miles at 9:22 but our pace felt faster than that. Although the course is flat for a wooded trail it does have surfaces that inhibit performance so I'm equating 9:22 to about 9:07 on the street. I really think we could have pushed it harder, especially near the end, but we elected to just enjoy the experience at a pace that felt good. I'm pleased with my progress as I move closer to October 25th. Today reinforced that I can cover 6 miles at a credible pace without pushing close to my limits. I have a feeling that facing 9 miles on the marathon course will test those limits.

Marathon relay training with 14 days to go

I'm thinking about one of my work colleagues who is running in her first half marathon today in Baltimore. By now the race has already been run and I'm hoping she is celebrating a great experience. Last time I spoke to her she was concerned about an IT band injury. She was concerned about how that injury would affect her performance. She told me that her doctor discouraged her from getting a cortisone shot. The advice was that she should be able to feel the injury and, therefore, know when to stop or protect it if things got worse. I have a feeling things went well.

I'm less than 15 days from my marathon experience in Cape Cod. Not quite a half but longer than I've ever run in a single day. I keep thinking about the pluses and minuses of running two legs totalling 9 miles versus running that distance at a single time. I'm starting the race with a three mile leg and then running the fourth leg (six miles) after my teammates complete about 12 miles in between. Depending on how quickly they cover their distance I'm guessing I'll have 1:30 to 2:00 hours in between my runs. While I'm happy to have a rest in between I'm worried that my endurance will be affected by the lapse. The concern is that I will build up so much lactic acid after the first leg that my legs will be dragging halfway through the second. I suppose there is a strategy to help lactic acid dissipate sooner, probably through stretching or massage. I'll happily take guidance and suggestions.

I was feeling a little weak yesterday after my run and throughout most of the day. I had hoped to run five+ miles today on the street to ratchet up my conditioning as I move closer to race day. I've averaged 20 miles a week over the past couple of months but I've stepped it up to 23 miles the last couple of weeks. I felt okay when I went out this morning and headed straight for the industrial park because I need to train for "memorable hills" and there are some long steep ones there. I split off into neighborhood #4 and then tracked further east into the next town. I felt good although I did hit the wall somewhat at 33 minutes but I knew that I could endure it. Since I'm going to be on the trails at Stillwell Woods tomorrow I didn't want to burn out today so I redirected home and finished with 4.75 miles at a Gmap verified 9:09. I felt good about today's effort because my level of conditioning transcended the weakness and fatigue that I'm experiencing today. I hope this continues tomorrow, it's been weeks since I've been on the trails and Stillwell is no place for weakness.

Re-committing to my GTS-9's

I'm interested in running shoes because they are the one thing that separates me from the road, trail, track or treadmill when I run. I own five pairs that I use interchangeably but the alpha pair are my Brooks Adrenalin GTS-9's. Those who have read this blog over the last year know what a complicated relationship I have with these running shoes. I regretted the purchase as soon as I brought them home and wished I had chosen the other pair I liked: ASICS GEL 2140's.

I chose the Brooks because, in the store, they felt better than the Saucony and New Balance models that I'd tried on that day. It was a tie between the ASICS and the Brooks and I chose the Brooks because they felt infinitesimally better. When I got home I tried them on again and noticed the tongue position caused discomfort at the top of my feet when the shoes were tightened. I also felt that the shoes lacked the bounce ands spring that defined my Nike Turbulence 13's. After boxing them up, taking them out and trying them on again and repeating that over the next couple of days, I finally decided to keep them and in the long run that was a good decision. Yes, they still dig into the top of my feet when tightened too hard and they don't feel as energetic as some of my other shoes but they very quickly undid the damage that my Nike's were causing me before replacement. The cushioning of the Brooks is appreciated on longer runs and this morning I tightened only to the point of stability. No pain and a very good ride.

The cushioning properties of these shoes have made me think a bit more about moving to a lighter, less protecting pair. I'm a lot lighter myself since I started running last October and I'm intrigued by the minimal style shoes that take mass out of the mid-soles for weights in the 9-10 oz. range as opposed to the 12+ oz. weight of stability shoes like the GTS-9's. I read a shoe review in this month's Men's Journal that covered minimalist running shoes. The top rated shoe was the NB 1225 that happens to be the model my friend CK just bought. He's had some serious foot problems so I'm surprised that he'd want something so austere but he loves them. Apparently they are the best of breed for light (12 oz.) motion control shoes. Another highlighted pair were the Brooks Ghost 2 that weigh in at 10.8 ounces. I picked one up in a running store once and it felt weightless. I'd like to try that shoe since I am firmly back in the "I like Brooks" camp now.

I covered 2.5 miles at 9:03 this morning. The time flew by and I found myself a bit farther away from the house than I'd planned so I needed to put some effort into the last half mile to meet my schedule. It all worked out fine. Tomorrow I'll try for 5-6 miles on the street and Sunday I'm running Stillwell Woods with my nephew. It's been a while since I've hit the trails so I'm looking forward to the experience and hoping for cool weather.

Strategic rest

This has been an exhausting week and it took its toll this morning. I went to bed tired and woke up the same way. Although I planned to follow my usual schedule and elliptical today I decided to try to gain an extra hour's sleep instead. Yesterday I forced myself to run in the rain because I was feeling strong but conditions seemed unfavorable. That did not constitute a good enough reason to skip the workout. It would have been easy to get on the elliptical machine and sleep walk through a session this morning. I'm sure I would have benefited from the exercise but sometimes rest provides the bigger benefit.

I'm glad I listened to my body rather than following my routine out of habit and guilt. I plan to be back on the street tomorrow at 4:00, hopefully more rested and ready than today. From the business perspective it's a stressful time. Sometimes it's hard to know whether running or resting is the best response to these situations.

Dark windy rainy running

My first thought before I changed into my running gear this morning was how easy it would be to skip my outside run and spend 30 minutes on the elliptical machine instead. Not that I'm so much a creature of habit that I can't occasionally deviate a little from my routine (Thursdays are normally my elliptical days) but a decision to not run would indicate a lack of discipline. While I proceeded to change I noticed some sounds outside that made me wonder about the weather. At 4:00 AM it's very dark and difficult to see much out the window. It sounded like wind so I chose a long sleeve tech jersey for its more thermal properties.

As I watched the garage door rise to reveal the conditions of the day I saw that the driveway was black with rain coming from a moderate downpour illuminated by the street lights. I rethought my plan to run and reconsidered the elliptical but decided to go for it despite the rain. I have been fortunate to avoid rain for months on these morning runs but I knew that some day that streak would end. I started the Garmin and headed out thinking I could always head back home if it became too unpleasant. As it turned out my experience was great. The air had a strong ocean smell, the temperature, while cool, was still comfortable. The rain helped maintain the coolness and I was pacing briskly.

During the run the rain started falling harder but let up soon after. Between the wind and the trees I got plenty wet but it wasn't unpleasant although the wicking properties of my running clothes were quickly overwhelmed. My jersey probably accumulated 8 ounces of rainwater during the 20+ minutes I was out running. I came home after covering 2.3 miles at 8:48. I thought I was running better than normal for that time of day and the numbers showed that to be true. I'm not hoping for rain tomorrow but if it comes I'll know how to make the best of it.

Moonlight Paranoia

I awoke seconds before my alarm went off and stared in disbelief at the clock that flashed 3:50 AM. I went to bed last night exhausted and as I headed to the guest room to change into running gear I had to remind myself that running is something that I choose to do. By the time I finished preparing for the run I had transitioned from sleepy to semi-awake. I retied my right shoe and soon regretted that action when I took my first steps into the street and felt a sharp pinching at the top of my foot. Since I'm on a tight schedule in the morning I chose to run with the pain rather than stop and restart. I figured the shoe would eventually loosen up enough to displace the pressure.

That worked out okay and while I dealt with the pain I was distracted by the shadows cast by house floodlights, street lights and secondary shadows that came from the almost full moon. I'm already a little paranoid running around the neighborhood in the dark at 4 AM. The effect of two asymmetrically placed shadows, one ahead to my right and the other just in sight slightly behind me, created a sense that I was being closely followed. The quiet of the night punctuated only by the spitting sound of sprinkler systems and the thwacking sound of my own running shoes is both creepy and serene. With the addition of these shadows it was even creepier and much less serene. All the same I didn't worry much about it once I figured out the source of my paranoia. It helped that my shoe loosened up enough to make the majority of my run pain free.

I ended up covering 2.5 miles at 9:07 and I felt very good during the run. I'm discovering that hills and long elevated stretches are easier to take when it's 50 degrees outside. I'm really hoping for cool weather on October 25th. I have a feeling my experience at the marathon will be shaped as much by the conditions of the day as by my own readiness.

Two a day, but not running

I ended up only running once today. There was too much that needed to get done this morning for me to run, wait and then run again. But I am posting twice! Yesterday I covered 6 miles with a run that started in neighborhood #4 and then moved along to neighborhood #2 before I did a few loops within my own neighborhood. Today I set out for a run around the perimeter of my neighborhood, first tracking west along Jericho Turnpike and then south on the main road that borders us to the west. It was a fast run and I covered 4.25 miles at 8:58. Both runs this weekend totaled about 10.25 miles and my average pace overall was under 9:00. I am pretty happy about that since I'm in the final weeks of training prior to my marathon relay.

The cooler weather definitely helps my effort. My Runner's World co-bloggers have convinced me that a hot and sweaty run of the same distance and speed of a cool and dry run is more work. That means I need to up my game as fall progresses and not accept the status quo of summer performance metrics. I purposely looked for challenging elevations today in anticipation of what the marathon website calls "memorable hills." This morning there was a segment on the news about the ING half marathon and they had a sports doctor who was promoting plyometrics as a training technique. I tried a few activities in my den until my son pointed to the mini trampoline that was sitting a couple of feet away. Sometimes I miss the obvious. I'll try to incorporate that into my training as well. I'm looking forward to continued coolness for my morning runs although you'd never know it was fall today with temperatures hitting 76 degrees.

Six miles in the morning, party in the afternoon

I heard from Fred Haslett, the president of the LIRRC, the running club that organizes many races on Long Island. Fred said that they had sent out email and set up a hot-line as well as putting information on their website to tell participants how to deal with the triathlon that interfered with access to the 4 mile race on September 13. I guess once I participate in an LIRRC race I'll get put on that email list and get a heads up on conditions. I appreciated Fred's comment and I look forward to participating in their run series.

Last week I received my SpiBelt (SPI = small personal items), a runner's version of a fanny pack. It's a nice design, basically a zippered compartment made of stretchy material that can hold money, keys, ID, or even a cell phone. The SPIbelt is built to hug the runners body at the belt line and does not interfere with running motion or balance. I took it with me during a six mile run yesterday and included some cash and my identification card. I completely forgot about the SPIbelt while I was on my run. That's certainly the idea. I was thinking that I may put some GU in it for a boost during the second leg of my relay at the upcoming Cape Cod Marathon. I'll be covering my experience with the SPIbelt in greater depth on Runner's Tech Review after the marathon.

After yesterday's long run we headed to out to Adventure Girl's housewarming party in New Haven and had a great time. With the kids, we arrived early and left early but by the time we left the place was filled with Yale grad students, good friends and family (some four legged). Quite a few runners in that group. The great food and home-made desserts will hopefully power me through my runs today. My plan is to try a two-fer again, but not too long in terms of distances. I'm feeling a little sore after yesterday's run so a little stretching is probably advised before I head out for today's workout. Only 21 days to the marathon relay...

Running cold is no sweat

During Wednesday's run I noticed a chill in the air but even with a short sleeved jersey and running shorts I was comfortable. I ran my distance and worked up a decent sweat. Yesterday the weather was even colder during the day and as I prepared my gear for this morning's run I included a pair of compression shorts and a long sleeved technical jersey. That was a smart move because when I stepped outside the temperature was 39 degrees. I know that by December my sense of what's cold will differ. Right now 39 degrees is darn cold. After wasting a couple of minutes waiting in vain for my iPhone to acquire a GPS signal I hit the start button on my Garmin and set off on my run.

Now the great thing about running in the cold is that it motivates you to work harder so that you'll warm up faster. Usually, in the summer, I would start to noticeably sweat around the one mile mark. On humid days that would happen sooner. This morning I completed 2.4 miles in a little over 21 minutes and returned home barely sweating. I felt strong and energized and regretted my time constraint because I would have preferred to cover much more distance. It made me wonder how a run like that compared to Tuesday's when the temperature was closer to 60 and I finished hot and perspiring. Do two runs, of approximately similar lengths and finish times, require the same effort if one run leaves you damp as a wet noodle and the other leaves you wanting more? It seems like when you push so hard that there's nothing left at the end it means you've engaged in a higher level of work. But if the numbers don't show a difference then perhaps it's really the same work being done. If that's the case I'll take 39 degrees anytime.

My first year running anniversary

I didn't intend today's post to be another rant about technology but, through some glitch I can't really understand, I've lost the post I wrote for today. The iPhone strikes again. That's all I'll say about it.

So one year ago today I completed my first continuous run of any measurable length (more than a mile but just barely) after six weeks of fitness walking. That led to workouts that included walking with some running that then switched to running with some walking. On October 1, 2008 I just ran and that's been the case ever since.

Over the past year I've reached speed and distance goals that I would have never thought possible last October 1st. I've learned to love trail running and I've explored city running in ways I'd never experienced before. Running has become part of the family lifestyle and we're all active. My wife, who inspired my return to running through her tenacious and consistent daily workouts, has continued to inspire me. My kids enjoy my running and they have started to make it their own. Adventure Girl, my city running partner, has returned to school but she has left me with the spirit of adventure that I maintain through solo runs in Central Park. My friends and accomplished runners CMc and CK continue to view my progress with amusement and provide invaluable lessons on technique and expectations. People, like my dad, patiently listen to my running stories and genuinely seem to care about my progress. Emergingrunner.com and Runner's World Loop readers have provided guidance, information, support and friendship that has helped to motivate both my running and writing. Thank you all for a great year.

Today I chose to do an elliptical session rather than a symbolic run to commemorate this anniversary. I chose to go this way because running has simply become part of what I do, like taking the LIRR into the city each day. Although I suffer less when running. There are still many trails to run and adventures to be had. I hope I am as excited and motivated next October 1st as I am today.

Running technology rant plus a little about running

As a technologist I am usually willing to accept inconsistent results from the technologies I use. I understand that consumer electronics are designed and built to meet the often contradictory requirements of
functionality and low cost. Some technologies have established themselves as chronically unreliable and yet we accept this. I no longer get surprised when my office computer spontaneously reboots because it reaches some threshold of memory and needs to stop RIGHT NOW. That usually happens when I'm deeply focused on a presentation or spreadsheet and therefore have not consciously saved it every few minutes. I accept that but I don't like it. I have discovered that Apple, even with all its cool designs, marketing and innovation, really makes bad stuff. My iMac shuts down so often that I'm surprised when it doesn't. The funny thing about it is that I love it before that happens and I love it afterward. But when it happens I really hate it. I'm starting to feel that way about my iPhone. I'm on my 3rd 3GS in as many months and I like almost everything about it but it except for:

1. When it dies and then comes back to life a week later.
2. When it runs slower on WiFi than on 3G.
3. When, despite its showing five bars for connectivity along with 3G or WiFi, I can't connect to the web or make an outgoing call.
4. When I set up a GPS app like MotionX, see the signal is acquired, hit the button to start my run, and finish the run only to find that it stopped recording after six minutes.
5. When I try to do a post using the Blogger app and the keyboard decides to change the default to caps and provides no obvious way to change it back.

So I'm really hating my iPhone this morning. I so want to count on it to capture my runs but it fails far more often than it succeeds. One technology that works pretty well is the Garmin 50 and I'm grateful to have had that as backup for the many runs I've recorded (or tried to record) using my iPhone.

Okay, now I'll talk about running. Since I've returned from Rehoboth Beach I've had two early morning runs that felt great, largely due to the cool temperatures and low humidity. Over the past couple of days I've covered about 5 miles and maintained close to 9:00 per mile for pace. I'm thinking a lot about the upcoming marathon relay and I'm concerned about how I'll handle over 9 miles. Although it's broken into segments of 3 and 6 miles I'm not sure a couple of hours rest in between will help or hurt. The best I can do is try. And if I don't do as well as I'd like I'll have only myself, not technology, to blame.

Free to be free of Nike Free

Yesterday I awoke to the sounds of torrential rain and percussive surf and thought I'd miss my opportunity to run in the morning. I considered the idea of running even under those conditions but I knew I wouldn't really like it. About an hour later the skies began to clear and I optimistically changed into running clothes hoping that the rain would pass. My wife and kids had already headed across the boardwalk to the beach and I came by to say hi before heading south. I had my Adidas trail shoes on so I stayed on the sand for about half a mile before deciding that I much preferred the boardwalk as a running surface. I decided to run from end to end a few times since, according to a sign on southern end, the boardwalk measures 1 mile. In the space of that mile the area changes from neighborhood to hotels to tourist traps and then back to hotels. The one thing that's consistent is the beautiful and inspiring water on one side or the other. The rain came back in the middle of my run but it was light and cooling. The only negative was that my glasses fogged and limited my ability to see much beyond the immediate distance. In all I covered 5.2 miles under 9:00 per mile. What pleased me about that was that the beginning part of my run was relatively slow because of the sand yet I still maintained a decent overall pace.

Later that day, after we all showered, we set off into the town for lunch and then hit some stores including Nike and Under Armor outlets. At the Nike store I saw they had the Frees so out of curiosity I tried on a pair. When I put them on I noticed they felt more like a slipper than a running shoe and when I walked on them I was surprised by how unnatural and unbalanced they felt. Maybe that's the point but no thank you. After that we headed to the Under Armor store and I tried a pair of Apparition running shoes, also out of curiosity. At least this shoe felt supportive and balanced. I'm not really interested in UA shoes and I didn't think at $90 that these shoes felt as good as some competing brands. I don't really like the UA brand anyway, I'm sure the clothing is top notch but I don't care for the hyper-competitive edge they convey in their marketing.

On the other hand my daughter happily picked up a running shirt on sale and later got a t-shirt elsewhere that said "I am a girl, I am an athlete, and running is my sport. Well said.

Beach run

REHOBOTH BEACH, DE - We arrived at our weekend getaway and immediately went out to explore. Rehoboth Beach is a nice ocean side town that caters to vacationers and there are plenty of stores and restaurants. Most of the stores are dedicated to selling t-shirts. After some assorted small purchases including a half pound of fudge and a tub of pomme frites we headed back to the room to change for afternoon activites. For my wife and kids that meant beach clothes and for me, running clothes. I had my eye on the boardwalk from the moment we arrived and I couldn't wait to get out for a run.

It was a cool 68 degrees by the water and very windy. I took off in a northern direction to see how far the boardwalk extended in that direction. It felt good to run on a such a forgiving surface and walkers were sparse at that end. I eventually reached the end but kept going into the bordering neighborhood until I started to feel too distanced from my intended route. I turned around and ran to the other end, at one point passing through the main tourist area that smelled of cigarettes, cigars, ketchup and funnel cakes. I tried to hold my breath through there but my anaerobic conditioning still needs some work. I cut a little into a side street before resuming my boardwalk travel. I passed a few runners, some cyclists and many walkers. I in turn was passed twice by another runner who was comfortably circling the area at what I guess was a mid 7:00 pace. I held my own around at 9:08 for a total of 4.5 miles. When I finished I headed to the water to find my family on the beach. The kids had jumped into the water and their beach shoes were covered in sand. They had a great time.

It's raining pretty hard this morning but I'm hopeful that it will clear and I'll get to go out again today. A little rain can make for a nice run and looking at the water along the way makes me happy. I brought my Adidas trail shoes so I'll probably run in those. I tried to include a picture but it's hard to use this interface when posting from an iPhone. If I'm unsuccessful you'll just have to believe me when I say it's a beautiful place to run.

Down at the boardwalk

I'm pleased that I got three morning runs in this week plus a good elliptical session. I went out this morning for a tidy 2.3 miler and appreciated the cool temperature and low humidity a lot more after Wednesdays hot and steamy conditions. I've been trying to average over 20 miles a week and that's sometimes hard to achieve with my schedule. When I was running on Fridays in the city I could usually count on 14+ miles between then and Monday. That meant I only had to find six more miles during the rest of the week to make my distance goal. Now that fall has arrived, bringing with it meeting-packed Fridays, I'm discovering what a luxury it was to have that time for my running adventures. I could still do a weekly city run but that would require my arrival at the office before 7:00 AM or a later trip home in the evening. Neither is an appealing option as my days are already long.

We're going away this weekend and staying at a place near the water. Our hotel faces the beach, which is nice, but I'm also excited that there's a boardwalk that runs along the beach. I've only run on boardwalks a few times but I've always liked the cushioned effect and the springy response from the wood. Much of running (for me) centers on the places where I run (hence my love of trails and extreme dislike for treadmills) so I'm really looking forward to looking out at the water on what will be - hopefully - a cool dry morning. The Cape Cod marathon may give me another opportunity to run by the water but I'm not sure if my two relay legs include sections of the ocean. I sure hope they do. In the meantime I'll enjoy this weekend's waterfront experience. I just hope it doesn't rain.

Two-a-day training for my marathon relay

Back when I started running I would often go out two or three times a day. This activity was performed primarily on weekends as my daily run was often limited to 15 minutes on the treadmill. On weekends I'd go out early and do a mile. I'd often try to stretch that to two miles but it took some time before I got there. Later in the day I'd do another short run (or two) so that I'd cover a total of 3 miles on Saturday or Sunday. Stretching out the time between runs was essential to that because in my early running days I'd need a lot of rest between activities. More recently, as runs have become longer and my conditiong has improved, I'm less apt to do multiple runs in one day unless the second run is a modest two mile jog with my daughter on a Sunday afternoon.

Training for my marathon relay brings back the idea of two-a-days and in my case that means two runs within two hours. Last Sunday was an interesting experience because it revealed my limits very quickly. My first segment went fine, a 3.1 mile run that would normally serve as a typical weekend distance (at the shorter end). I stayed in my running clothes to simulate the conditions for the race. I'm not expecting that I'll have access to a changing room during the actual event although I may change into a clean jersey in the team car. After toweling off I did swap shirts and then had a bowl of cereal with dried fruit as I waited to run my next segment. Exactly 120 minutes after I finished my first run I set out again for the second leg. The lesson I quickly learned was that two hours rest allowed me to recover well enough to go out with some energy but the wall comes up hard 30 minutes later. I struggled to continue at that point and came up short of my 9 mile total distance goal.

I have about four weekends left to train with these two-a-days. The biggest concern I have for the race relates to the unknown elevations of the course and the level of heat and sun that day. I'm going to assume it will be hot and hilly but I really hope I'm wrong. 9.05 miles, even broken up into two segments, would still be a record distance for a single day. I'm up to the challenge and hoping for the best.

Anticipating the weather

Every morning when I go out to run I anticipate the weather. As the garage door pulls itself up to reveal the morning conditions I brace for what I'll see. This morning I saw that the driveway was spotted with rain and the air felt extremely humid. The past two weeks have been cool in the early hours and I've enjoyed that. I even needed two layers during a run last week. I set out with no particular route in mind, hoping that the rain had passed for good.

Around ten minutes into my run I began to feel some drops. I laughed about the fact that the rain always seems to come when I'm at the farthest point from home. I didn't really care as long as it stayed at a drizzle. Anything more and I begin to worry about my watch and my phone. Plus I don't like to get my shoes wet. I mentioned yesterday that my headlamp didn't throw enough light to illuminate my path when I'm running in total darkness. I stand corrected, all it took was a quick on-the-fly angle adjustment to solve that issue.

I ended up covering 2.5 miles at 9:08 and considering how slowly I started it turned out to be a decent pace. Worrying about beating the rain can definitely motivate you to hustle. It never really rained during my run so my luck held once again. I'm anticipating the day my garage door opens to reveal a layer of freshly fallen snow. Treadmill or trail shoes? What would you do?

Shoe tie, don't bother me

Last December I poked a little fun at Runner's World for running this tease on their cover. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge because I had an un-tying incident during this morning's run that was distracting and potentially dangerous. Although I love early morning running there are some issues with the darkness on moon-less nights. My headlamp,  a Petzl Tikka Plus, does a good enough job but it doesn't really throw very far. My concern is that someday I'll miss seeing a rut in the road or the sidewalk and I'll turn an ankle (or worse). 

 
The Tikka Plus does have a ratcheting swivel head that allows the user to aim the light but I find that I often need to put my head down in dark areas to properly see the road. The combination of a dark morning and the unraveling of my shoelace put me a little on edge. This is what passes for drama at 4:15 AM! I was reluctant to stop in the middle of a run to tie my laces so once I established that my shoe wasn't slipping I decided to just bear it the rest of the way. The resulting distance was covered without incident but I was more concerned than usual that I'd trip on my un-tethered laces. Except for the constant whipping from the loose pair against my shin the rest of the run went without incident.
 
The key reason my laces became untied had to do with a recent problem I'm having with my Brooks GTS 9's. The top of the laces are positioned exactly where my tibia meets the upper tarsal and there are two large nerves that run through there. When I tie my laces too tight it pinches and hurts. I've always had this issue with these shoes although the severity of the pinching can vary. This morning I must have tied them too loosely. I don't have this issue with my other four pairs of running shoes so it may be connected to the design of the Brooks. I have a different pinching issue with my office pair of Asics 1130's so I wonder if it's the design of my foot and not the shoes. Either way, when I look for my next pair of everyday trainers, tongue and collar comfort will be an important criteria.

The information gap in racing

I was thinking about how I stumbled upon that 5K race yesterday and the fact that in this age of ubiquitous connectivity to the web how often information about events doesn't reach runners. Yesterday's 5K,
whose route came within blocks of my home, was unknown to me and would have remained that way if I hadn't gone in that direction on Sunday's run. The bigger events, like the Long Island Marathon Series, are well promoted and documented. They even had course maps on their website to provide runners an idea of the route. The LI Marathon website itself was marginal with pages that went nowhere and lots of missing information. All the same, with their booths at fairs, festivals and at other races, along with a complement of newspaper ads, the event was hard to miss.

I've run four races this year and have at least two more scheduled. In two cases there were course maps available, one easy to find and another that required some Google skills. I was extremely curious to
see the course for the New Hyde Park 8K race last June but the site had no map and little information about the race itself. In fact, online registration wasn't available until about a week prior to race. Before that the online registration had been set up for 2008. On race day the organizers were working diligently to trace and print course maps using Gmaps and I wondered why they waited until an hour before the race to do that. It was a great event but it would have been better had they made this information available earlier. My most recent race, the Dirty Sock 10K, was really well done and their website had everything I needed to know to prepare for it. I tried to participate in an LIRRC race last week but the information gaps did me in. Another event the same day blocked access to the race start that was defined on the LIRRC website and I wasn't familiar enough with the park to find my way in time.

I was online yesterday and came across the USATF site that has a page that lists certified courses with hand drawn maps. I found the New Hyde Park race included in this direction. It would have been a simple thing for that races website to point to it. With MapMyRun, Gmaps, Garmin Connect and many other mashups to Google and Microsoft's mapping applications you'd expect to find a lot more course information available online. If I had the time I'd create a "MapMyRace" site to allow runners to see the course and its elevations to help them with their training strategy. I realize that maintaining a website is challenge and keeping one up to date is tough when it isn't your core point of focus. It's situations like yesterday that make me wonder couldn't they have tried a little harder?

Who put that 5K in the middle of my run?

I'm training for the Cape Cod Marathon that takes place on October 25th. Impressed right? Barely a year under my belt as a runner and I'm already tackling 26.2 miles! Well, the race itself is that long but my participation is limited to two legs out of five and I'll be sharing the course with three teammates. I'll be the starting runner covering 3.05 miles before handing off to a teammate who will be facing 6.15 miles. The next leg is 5.7 miles then the baton comes back to me for six more before I hand off to the last runner who needs to cover 5.3 miles to finish. The course winds around Falmouth and appears to have sections near the water so it could be a visually beautiful race. As a matter fact the website states that "Runners' World called this race one of the ten "Most Scenic" marathons in America." I've got concerns about covering my distances competitively so I officially started my training today.

My plan was to simulate the effect of doing two runs within 2 hours of each other. Based on a nine minute pace I'd have about an hour and forty-five minutes to rest between legs. I went out around 8:30 AM and my plan was run the nearby industrial park because it has a long uphill stretch. From what I saw of the elevations of the course it looks to be hilly and I want to be prepared. I had a surprisingly difficult time during my first race, a four miler, that had a long hill near the beginning of the run. That challenge took a lot out of me and I never want to be caught like that again. I made my way to the Park and as I came around the corner towards the main road I saw a row of orange cones and a bit further on were people setting up what seemed to be a water station. As I got closer I saw signs that the "Angels on the Bay 5K" was happening this morning starting from Sysosset-Woodbury Park. I was tempted to see if I could sign up but there really wasn't time and I wanted to follow the training plan I'd worked out. I was frustrated that with all the time I spend looking for local races this never came to my attention. I think some better marketing would draw a bigger crowd next year.

I ended up covering 3.4 miles for my first "leg" this morning and came home to re-hydrate and have a small breakfast. I went back out at 11:00 hoping to cover at least 5 miles and I felt good at the start save for some sharp pressure on the top of my ankle from my Brooks. I stopped to re-tie that shoe after a quarter mile and reset my Garmin and my MotionX back to 00:00. I ran with the Nike+ chip on my earlier run but I hadn't calibrated it so it thought that I was running 20 minute miles. I decided to leave it home for the second run. Once I restarted I took off in a different direction than this morning and felt very good until I reached the 3 mile mark when I started to fade. Fortunately I was far enough from home that I was forced to extend the run and I ended up covering 4.55 miles (not counting the .25 before my reset) for the second leg. All totaled it was 8.2 miles, not the 9 I'd hoped to cover today. I'm still pleased with the training and I'll build on it over the next month. I feel very good after all that but I'm looking forward to bedtime tonight.

People plus and Nike minus

One of the greatest things about my work life is that I work with some cool and interesting people. A lot of that has to do with the company itself, it takes a lot to get hired here so those that do get in tend to be the leaders in their field. It's great to spend your days with people that you respect and also like. Not surprisingly, I met my wife here. Readers know about the amazing Adventure Girl and the Sedentary Man also has many fans. Another colleague who personifies this profile is KWL, a man with more sources of interest than J.P. Morgan Chase. I won't go into his professional bona fides but I will say that he is my inspiration when it comes to blending activity and technology. KWL made me aware of how applications can leverage the GPS capabilities of the iPhone and it was during our division Fun Run when I first saw MotionX in action. He's an avid cyclist and uses MotionX to record and map rides that can go 50 miles or even longer.

Now that I'm back on a - theoretically - stable iPhone (my third 3GS in two months) I'm looking to resume using the many GPS apps I have that record and map running data. Last week KWL brought me a Nike+ chip and receiver that he'd just picked up for his new iPod Nano. He went for a run with it and was impressed. I was impressed that, as a non-runner, he is capable of spontaneously pulling off 2+ mile runs whenever he feels like it. KWL suggested that I try the Nike+ app on my iPod as I ran this morning. It seemed pretty cool and when I plugged the receiver into my 3GS this morning my iPhone showed a message saying I didn't need it, that the phone would communicate with the chip automatically.

Before long I had established a communication link with the chip that I'd attached above the laces on my right foot making it a twin with the Garmin foot pod on my left. I assigned some music to the workout, hit start and hit the street. I didn't select a distance so the built in training didn't encourage me to speed up or affirm my pace but the app seemed to run okay. When I got to the end I stopped the Garmin and the Nike+ app. I then hit "End Workout" on the iPhone and that seemed to delete my run because I haven't been able to find the data ever since. That's too bad because I never got a chance to review the Nike+ data against my Garmin that showed I ran about 5K at 8:58.

I'll go back and read the instruction to see what I did wrong and try the Nike+ again tomorrow. I'm curious to see if it's accurate but my hopes aren't high for the technology. After my Nike+ wristband experience my expectations for it are very low. But if KWL likes it it's certainly worth another try.

From bedroom to street in 28 simple steps

Last night, as I was preparing my gear for this morning's run, I realized just how much I need to do just to get out the door. I've often wondered why, when I arise at 3:50, that I'm not on the road until 4:08. Thinking through all the individual steps I'm not surprised that it takes so long.

Consider this routine:

1. Head downstairs
2. Start coffee machine (set up done the night before)
3. Turn on cell phone and place in arm band
4. Take vitamin
5. Pour coffee
6. Grab energy bar
7. Head back upstairs
8. Change out of sleeping attire, put on:
9. Supporter
10. Running shorts
11. HRM
12. Compression t-shirt (it was chilly this morning)
13. Running jersey
14. Reflective vest
15. Running socks
16. Running shoes
17. Flashing tail light
18. Running hat
19. Head lamp
20. Garmin 50 watch
21. Arm band
22. Consume 1/3 of energy bar
23. Drink 1/3 cup of coffee
24. Head back downstairs
25. Step outside
26. Do quick set of flexibility stretches
27. Prepare and start Garmin
28. Hit the road

It's no wonder that my running time is barely longer than my prep time. This morning I covered 2.6 miles in 23:04, a mere eight minutes longer than the time I took to get ready. If not for all the work I do the night before to set out my clothes and gear that gap would be even closer. I'd like to run longer distances in the mornings but I'm not sure how to gain more efficiencies. Perhaps if I put all my gear downstairs I can save a minute or two by changing into running clothes while my coffee brews. Or I could sleep in my running clothes and forgo my coffee until I come back from my run. Alternatively, I could become a 7:00/mile runner and cover about 5K every morning in the same period of time. I'm all for aspirational pace goals but I think I'm just going to have to adjust to running without a caffeine boost if I want to get more time in the morning.

Motivation please

Today is a rest day. I usually take Thursdays for recovery so there's nothing unusual about that. In reality there was no reason to rest today except laziness and I'm disappointed that I took the easy way out this morning. Prior to August I rested on Thursdays to prepare for my weekend distance that usually started with a long city run on Friday. Since AG left for school I've only done a few of these runs by myself and, due to my schedule, I'm not planning to run in the city tomorrow. So a couple of miles today and a couple more tomorrow, early, would have been the right thing to do. I'd hoped that my 7.6 mile PDR on Labor Day would motivate me to run longer distances but since that run I have not had another good (long) one. This weekend was a disappointment as Saturday's run was purposely kept to around 2 miles because I was tapering for Sunday's race. Since I ended up not racing I did my long run in the surrounding neighborhoods and I only covered 3.9 miles. After that (not counting my run with my daughter) it's been a couple of early morning 2+ mile workouts and one 25 minute elliptical session.

Tomorrow I will get out and run regardless of how I feel. If I have to draw on guilt to get me out the door I will. I'm training for a marathon relay so on Saturday I'm hoping to get a long run in, perhaps on the trails. I have a jammed schedule that day so I may need to settle for 4 miles or less. On Sunday I will attempt to run 3 miles and then another 6 a couple of hours later to simulate my legs in the race. I may aim for 2 and 5 miles respectively since I don't know how I'll feel and I don't want to encourage an injury. I'm looking forward to doing that because it's different and it's also a realistic challenge. I hope I'm feeling positive when I wake up tomorrow. I'm learning that attitude is everything when it comes to achieving good performance on my runs.

Thinking about my next pair

It's been about five months since I bought my Brooks GTS 9's and I'm thinking about when I'll replace them. I already have five pairs of running shoes although three of them are for trails. My other pair of street shoes are Asics 1130's that are perfectly serviceable but I noticed they pinched a little the last time I ran with them on the bridle trail in Central Park. The past two days I've done my 4:00 AM runs and noticed that I still have an issue with the way they fit at the tongue. It's too bad because they are great shoes but I don't know if I'd buy another pair. A friend of mine just picked up a pair of New Balance 1225's and I started thinking about what I'd look for the next time I consider a replacement of the Brooks. At different times I vacillate between the idea of investing in a pair of high end cushioned stability shoes like the Saucony ProGrid Hurricanes or the Asics GEL-Kayano 15's or a pair of lightweight trainers like the Mizuno Wave Universe 3. I run between 20-25 miles per week with my longest runs ranging between five and seven miles so I don't know how these trainers would hold up in terms of comfort and support.

The mature thing to do would be to swap my low mileage Asics that I keep in my office with the Brooks that are getting close to 400 miles. I could put off my next street shoe purchase for a while if I did that. But what fun would that be!?

The economy tanked but my running's improved

It was a year ago today when I was in Boston to give a talk to an audience of Wall Street analysts and economists about emerging media technologies. I went down to the fitness center in my hotel early in the day to run on the treadmill. At that point in my running routine was: walk a lot, run a little, then walk some more. I remember being excited to use a high-end treadmill with features that included a heart rate monitor and programmed courses that provided variable elevations and speeds. The treadmills also had individual television sets in front of them and, as I ran, I was horrified to see news that my NY office's next door neighbor, Lehman Brothers, had filed for the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The Dow fell 504 points that day on its way to a low of 6,470. Things are still tough but at least, for now, it seems to be heading in the right direction.

Thinking about that moment put the last year into perspective for me. From a business perspective there's little good to say. In terms of fitness it's been a very good year. While the Dow dropped another 40% after that day in Boston, over the last year I've managed to reduce my weight by 20% and increase my average weekly running distance by over 75%. In 2009 I've accomplished all four of my running goals:

1. Participate in at least four local races.
2. Run a complete 10K course (individually or in a race).
3. Run three miles under 8:40/mile.
4. Incorporate one rest day into my weekly training schedule.

It's still only September and my chances of making such dramatic performance gains (compared with this last year) by next September are slim. I'm already beginning to think about 2010 running goals and I'm even thinking of adding a couple of more goals for 2009. While I don't plan (and hope not to) lose any more weight I would like to see my weekly average distance improve. I've been doing my 4:00 AM runs for a couple of months now and those runs have added at least three miles to my previous weekly numbers. I'll also need to make some changes in my training to make real progress on my pace. That will probably mean integrating tempo runs and speed work once a week into my training. I'm fine with that since the last time I ran intervals I thought that they were a lot of fun. When it's a weekly activity my perspective on that will likely change. All things being equal, for the next 12 months I'm hoping for some great running experiences and a much better outlook on Wall Street.