Following the primary rule of racing

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

It's probably overkill to rest two days before a 5K race, but that's what I'm planning to do. I have gotten away with a single day's rest before some races, but I've also paid the price for running hard prior to race day. The primary rule of racing is "Don't change what works." In the same way that you'd never try a new gel or sport drink or wear new running shoes for the first time on the day of a race, there's little to be gained by changing your preparation methodology.

Today was supposed to be my last training run for my taper and I looked forward to running the streets of my neighborhood. The weather report said clear skies by morning, so I geared up and headed downstairs, ready to hit the road. Unfortunately, as the garage door lifted, I could see the rain coming down hard. I would have run in a light drizzle, but this was not going to work.

I headed back upstairs and shed my outdoor gear before hopping on the treadmill to do my workout. I ran fairly hard yesterday, especially with the 3% incline, so I locked into a comfortable pace and resisted temptation to increase my speed throughout the run. Sometimes you get more out of an easy run than an intense one. After the hard training I've done over the past few weeks, I'm going to enjoy the next two days of rest. Hopefully, that will put me at my best on Saturday.

The ups and downs of hill running

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes - 3% grade

Some people claim that they'd rather run uphill than down. To me, that's like saying they'd prefer to skip dessert, although I know some people who do. I love downhills because they allow me to back off on my effort during a hard run and use gravity to maintain a good pace. But every hill, either up and down, is different. I like the fact that Saturday's race has a sizable downhill section, but I wouldn't want it any steeper than it is.

Running downhill can be a challenge when the grade is high because it takes work to maintain balance, lest you begin to move faster than your legs can go. There's a whole different set of muscles at play when negotiating steep declines. I write a lot about Cow Harbor's formidable hill on James Street, but that elevation goes two ways. There's a part of Eaton's Neck Road where I wish the sharp drop would just flatten out, which it does briefly before rising for a mile on Waterside.

This morning I set my treadmill to a 3% grade and cranked my speed so that I'd get to a race-ready heart rate. It wasn't the most comfortable workout, but I was able to sustain it over 25 minutes. I can't simulate a downhill on the treadmill although some high end machines can do that. I'm not sure I need to practice downhills because every time I run at Bethpage I run down exactly as much as I go up. I just enjoy that part more.

October made me a runner

Burning up the treadmill four years ago

October has been a significant month for me in my history as a runner. Modern history I should say, because my running experience in the early '90's (and before that) is hazy and undocumented. But in August of 2008, I took my first running steps during my walking workouts. I steadily increased the ratio of time I spent running during my walks, all through September, and then into early October.

The reason I know the details of my early progress is because I'd used a Nike+ wristband and chip and I'm still able to look back at my workouts and see the histograms that show my pace and distance. It's interesting to see the first run/walks, where I traveled at about 15:00 min/mile, with short sections dropping into the 10:00 range.

A scan of the log shows that I averaged 9:34 per mile on October 21, 2008, making that my first full run over a mile with no walking. One year later I ran on a relay team at the Cape Cod Marathon where I achieved a then-personal record distance of 8.75 miles (over two relay legs). Two years after that, I took my big spill on the driveway at the end of a morning run that scraped me up so badly that I still have scars a year later. You have to take the good with the bad.

I guess the longer your running history, the more you'll have to look back on every month. Still, I'll always look at October as a most important month, because that's when I truly became a runner.

Rapid recovery run

Today's run: (street): 4.9 miles

The weekend weather has been highly cooperative for running. The rain held off until the afternoon on Saturday and today was a repeat of that pattern. This morning it was especially cool outside as I made my way through the neighborhood. But it wasn't so cold that I couldn't run in shorts. The temperature was around 50° and dry. Compare that to Chicago where they were reporting 38° for the start of the BoA Marathon.

After yesterday's fun on the hills, I didn't want to run too hard. I took it fairly easy at the start and focused on the purpose of this workout. I needed to recover from muscle strain and get in a few more miles before I taper down next week.

I appreciated the weather as I made my way through the first mile. I felt surprisingly energetic at that point and hoped that would continue as I went along. I only checked my heart rate a couple of times but noticed it was higher than I expected. I later realized that was because I was running about 25 seconds per mile faster than I thought I was at that time.

I'd originally planned to cap my distance at four miles but I felt so good that I changed course and added almost a mile to my total. Once I calculated my overall pace, I realized that I'd achieved the level of fitness I'll need for Saturday's 5K. I'm hoping to maintain that level until race day. Right now I'm feeling ready.

Attacking the hills at Bethpage

View of the recently re-opened bike trail head

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 5.3 miles

I was up very early with hopes of getting to Bethpage before 7:00 AM. I couldn't get my act together and ended up stalling until almost 8:00. Although I felt okay, I was experiencing some of the symptoms that caused me to cut my run short yesterday. I debated whether to stick around and run closer to home, rather than heading to the park.

This is the last weekend I have to train for the upcoming 5K and I knew that I'd be better off running at Bethpage because it provided the best resource for hill training. When I arrived I saw a crowd of people setting up for the "Lean on Me" 5K Walk and Talk that benefits the Breast Cancer Network. It looked like it was going to be a fun event.

Walking and Talking today at Bethpage

My plan was to run the longest hill of the bike trail a couple of times. The hill goes on a bit, one trip up and down equals a mile. After I reached the top for the second time, I headed north and ran the upper trail to Haypath Road and back. Like the rest of the bike trail, the upper section is rolling and it has a few hills. One hill is fairly steep, but its relatively short length makes it manageable.

Once I got by those hills it was easy running and I reached the end having covered 5.3 miles. When I got back to the trail head I saw that the crowds had grown at the Walk and Talk event and the music was booming. I hoped the rain that was predicted to move in would hold off and I'm guessing that it did.

Despite feeling a little off, I had a decent run and the hill practice will hopefully pay off next Saturday. I'm not sure what type of workout I should do tomorrow. That will be determined by the weather and the way I feel. I probably should do some speed work before I taper off, but I don't want to push hard if I really need the rest.

From bad to worse and then worse again

Today's run (street): 1.1 miles

Today's workout started badly and got worse. Everything started out fine, I changed into my running clothes and was out the door ahead of schedule. I felt fine as I waited to get my GPS signal, but when I took off I noticed my energy level was a little below par. My legs felt heavy and my stride felt flat. I decided to press on in hopes that I'd loosen up and rebound after the first downhill section.

Instead of feeling better, I began to feel worse and around the half mile point I started to feel queasy. I decided on the spot to run straight home. When I reached my house I discovered that I'd locked myself out for the first time in four years. I had to call my wife to come down and let me in. I'm sure she was alarmed when the phone rang at 4:00 AM, but at least it wasn't because of anything bad. Of all days to do that.

As a result, I'm going into the weekend a little short of my targeted mileage, but I hope to make that up tomorrow. My plan is to run the big hill at Bethpage a few times to prepare for the race the following weekend. I recovered quickly from this morning's incident and I'm hoping to feel much better on tomorrow's run.

Debate highlights distract me from the incline

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Last night's debate went past my bedtime, so I took advantage of my indoor run today by watching the highlights and recap on the early news. The Emerging Running covers a lot of things, but politics isn't one of them, so I'll hold my comments. I'll admit that hearing what was said (or straining to hear over the din of the treadmill and fan) made the time go by fast.

Since the Town of Oyster Bay 5K has a very long hill at the start, I made elevation the theme for today's run and put the incline at 3% for the duration. Despite the humidity and extra incline, I still struggled to get my heart rate to target range, though I reached it about five minutes before the end by increasing my speed.

I feel like my conditioning is a little above average right now and that's making me hopeful that I'll run competitively on the 13th. I hope I can keep up this level of performance all the way through next weekend.

Gaining speed by pushing HR

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

The threat of rain and fog kept me indoors on the treadmill this morning. The big fan positioned in front of the machine negated the high humidity (for the most part). I spent little time getting up to speed before locking into a sub-9:00 pace for the duration of my run. I wish I had thought to use my heart rate monitor earlier than August because I've found it to be a far better method of improving my pace than simply monitoring my speed on the Garmin.

My current treadmill method is to steadily increase my heart rate by increasing speed every couple of minutes until I reach Zone 4, usually in the last few minutes. I can accelerate that by increasing incline but right now I'm more focused on pace. I'm planning to run with my friend CK on Friday at lunchtime and I hope the harder efforts I've been putting in will help me keep up with him. Either way, I know it will be a challenging workout.

Nice performance despite some sleep-running

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

It felt humid when I changed into running clothes this morning and I saw that the temperature was about eight degrees higher than yesterday at that time. I was already sweating when I put on my heart rate monitor and a quick check showed normal readings just before I started. I haven't downloaded the run to Garmin Connect, but I expect that I'll see an even HR pattern across the timeline when I do.

I'm never quite sure how I'll feel before I take the first few steps off my driveway each morning. Some days it feels as though I'm carrying sandbags around my ankles. Other times my stride feels fluid and my energy level feels high. This morning it was much more the latter, although I did feel some twinges in my leg muscle as I pushed up the first street's slight incline.

My response to those twinges was to apply more power. Despite my harder pace, I was doing a little sleep-running and found myself nearing the one mile mark sooner than I'd expected. A check of my Garmin showed that I was still running below my targeted heart rate. I picked up speed once again, but finished slightly below my goal of reaching Zone 4.

My overall time was good and, since I've been monitoring my heart rate, my average pace on these morning runs has dropped close to 15 seconds per mile. I have one more weekend to train for the Oyster Bay 5K so I'll need to make every run count till then. This morning was a good start. I hope I feel the same tomorrow.

Heart rate spikes and my HR monitor

Mystery spikes at the beginning of my runs

I started using my heart rate monitor again in late August and it's helped me understand how much (or how little) work I'm putting into a run. Instead of looking at my Garmin and checking my pace for that moment, I now display my heart rate and adjust my effort depending on what I see. I've learned that my default pace happens when I'm running in the zone 2 range, far below what I would have thought.

Now, when I see that my heart rate is still in the "easy" zone, I'll pick up the pace to cross the threshold to the next level. I aim to reach zone 5 by the time I finish most of my runs and I usually get there.

I was looking at the readings from yesterday's run and noticed that my heart rate was holding close to 100% of Max through the first three minutes. From there it dropped precipitously down to 76% for no apparent reason. I had seen this happen before, my first few minutes of the Cow Harbor 10K show a spike to 100% of Max before dropping to 80% at the five minute point.

In the case of Cow Harbor, I was pumped up for the race and had consumed a 2nd Surge gel with caffeine right before the start. In contrast, yesterday's run was low key, with no gels or caffeine to influence my physiology. In both cases I felt no different between the high and normal readings. Since it doesn't correlate to my condition, I'm thinking the reason is completely benign.

In both cases the humidity was low and I had not wet the HRM sensor before I linked it to the Garmin. Without moisture from sweat, the readings were probably unreliable. After a few minutes of running (and sweating) they dropped to an expected level. I'll test this theory tomorrow by ensuring the contacts on the HRM are wet before I start my run. I'm pretty sure I'll see a smoother curve along the timeline.

Destination run to see my family

Care to donate?

Today's run (street): 6.5 miles

Although I had both a primary and backup plan for today's run, I ended up choosing another option entirely. My wife and kids had volunteered for an event that benefits the Long Island Cares food pantry that was taking place at a local shopping center. I decided to run there and back from my house for a change of pace workout.

I often think about ways to break away from the constraints of my local neighborhoods but I've been reluctant to cross major roads during my runs. I simply don't trust drivers to do the right thing. I've stopped counting the number of cars that I see blowing through stop signs on my local streets. My default expectation is that people will ignore the rules and I react accordingly.

The route I planned to get to the Plainview Shopping Center had a no major roads to cross, but it did require me to cross the entrance and exits to the Northern Parkway off South Oyster Bay Road. The sparse Sunday morning traffic resulted in a clear path both coming and going back. I was prepared to wait but I was able to cross both times without stopping.

My route took a side path through a neighborhood that's situated directly north of the shopping center. I planned that part to ensure that I'd cover more than three miles in each direction. Once I came back to South Oyster Bay Road I was just west of my destination and I ran along the brick walkway until I reached my family on the other side, near Woodbury Road.

It was fun to hang out for a few minutes with my wife and kids. My wife had some water for me that I really appreciated. My kids were busy collecting donations and selling tee shirts in support of the event. I was proud of them all for donating their time for a good cause.

I started feeling chilled because it was surprisingly cold outside and I was sweating from the first half of my run. Once I got going on my run, the cold worked to my benefit (for a while) but I had worn long pants and a long sleeved jersey and the heat soon returned. My progress back went remarkably fast and, before I knew it, I was back on the streets of my own neighborhood.

I ended up covering 6.5 miles at a low 9:00 pace and there were enough hills to make me feel like I'd done a decent workout. I would still like to do some hill repeats before the race so next weekend I'll make my way to Bethpage. I was happy to cover 11 miles this weekend and was glad to cover some new territory along the way.

Undefined, but I got it done

Today's run (street): 4.9 miles

I had a very busy Friday so I skipped both running and blogging. I knew I would run today, but I wasn't sure whether the rain would force me back on to the treadmill. Despite a good nights sleep and yesterday's unscheduled rest day, I was in no mood to get outside to start my workout this morning. I played for time by watching an episode of Doctor Who with my son.

By 8:30, I had no more excuses and my wife was already on the treadmill, so I geared up and headed outside for an undefined run. I targeted between four and five miles and hoped my motivation would pick up as I made my way through the streets of the neighborhood.

The skies were cloudy and dark and the air felt slightly chilled when I stepped outside. It took longer than normal to acquire a signal on the GPS and, when it finally locked in, I was (literally) off and running. I followed my daily route out of habit for the first two miles and then took a turn into a section of the neighborhood with parallel roads that run north/south.

I ran by a yard sale and noticed that some of the "shoppers" hadn't bothered to turn off their cars while they checked out the items for sale. I endured the strong smell of car exhaust as I went by the house. It's much more pleasant to run the Bethpage bike trail that is free of cars. But even there you'll find maniacs on bikes bearing down on you at high rates of speed.

The lack of sun made conditions pleasant. After noting that my heart rate was still in zone 3, I picked up my pace as I made my way back towards home. Instead of following a direct route, I took some alternative roads that I chose for their uphill sections. By the end I was moving well and I finished just shy of five miles.

If the weather holds tomorrow morning I may go to Bethpage to run hill repeats to prepare for my next race. If I feel like staying closer to home I can torture myself by running uphill circuits counter-clockwise at the local business park.

Hitting the hills in my guestroom

Elevation gain: first mile and a half

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

Another rainy morning put me back in the guest room on the treadmill today. As I edge closer to my mid-October race, I'm beginning think about the challenge of running long hills. The first half of the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's 5K looks scary on an elevation map, but having run it last year I know that the length mitigates the grade of the hill. I do recall seeing people struggling along the way, but I kind of liked that section.

Last year I prepared for the lengthy rise by running repeats of the hill at the top of the Bethpage bike trail. Four times down and four times back up equaled four miles and a good workout. Now that Bethpage's bike trail is extended north, there are two more challenging hills that I can use for practice. Their lengths aren't anywhere as long, but one hill is impressively steep.

This morning I used the incline feature of my treadmill throughout my run and noted the way it affected my heart rate. It seemed like a 1% increase in elevation yielded a higher response than a commensurate increase in speed. By the end, I got my heart rate into zone 4 territory. Next time I'm on the treadmill I'll focus more on incline and less on speed. That should help, at least until after the race.

Rethinking GPS versus foot pod

Today's run (treadmill): 2.5 miles

My first method of capturing running data was with the Nike+ chip that fit into a concave spot located under my shoe's sock liner. The accuracy of the this system was surprisingly high, but the software was buggy and the wristband that displayed metrics like pace, time and distance had serious corrosion issues. After going through three of these wristbands in less than a year, I got my money back and bought a Garmin FR50.


FR60



The Garmin 50 (and after that the FR60) uses a foot pod that works in a similar way to that Nike+ chip and I got used to tracking my distance and pace that way. The foot pod needed to be calibrated each time I switched running shoes (in my case, frequently) but the accuracy was very high. I started running with the Saucony Hattoris that have no laces to hold a foot pod, and made the switch to the Garmin FR210 GPS watch thinking I'd be upgrading my experience.

As it turned out, after almost two years, I've discovered I've given up more than I've gained by switching to GPS. The accuracy of GPS (~ 3%) is far worse than with the foot pod (~ 1%). The foot pod also captures cadence, an important metric, but the FR210 does not.



FR210



I had an amusing experience on the treadmill with the FR210 this morning. I wore the watch to capture my heart rate but, even indoors, it had locked in on satellite. When I finished my run I saw that the watch had recorded my distance at .14 miles. I've been considering using the FR60 again with the foot pod for treadmill runs. But for outdoor runs, I have to say the one big advantage of using the GPS watch is that there's no fussing with calibration or switching foot pods. Nothing's perfect, but at least I have a choice.

Whatever gets you out the door

Today's run (street) 2.5 miles

Every morning I wake up and look at my alarm clock that's usually about a minute away from going off. Occasionally I'll need that alarm, but in either case, it's only a matter of seconds before I realize that I have to get dressed and go outside for my run. EVERY morning I consider not doing my workout. And EVERY morning I manage to talk myself into getting ready.

One of the things that helps me get out the door is a self agreement that I'll take it easy, just this time. No pressure, just get out and float through my route. By the time I'm standing in front of my house trying to acquire a signal on my Garmin, I'm usually more open minded about putting some effort into the run. About halfway through the run is when I start playing with speed in an effort keep my time below a certain target.

That's exactly the way it happened for me this morning. The air was chilly enough to warrant long sleeves and the cold provoked me into speeding up my stride from the start. Even though I could see vapors from my breathing, I noticed that many of my neighbors were still dutifully watering their lawns. I worked hard to avoid running through spray but got hit from the side a couple of times. Brrrr!

There's a quote that goes, "No one ever says 'I regretted that workout'" and, when I complete my run, I'm always pleased that I did it. The tricky part is getting out the door in the first place.

When having a "natural killer" is a good thing

NK cells, Mother Nature's assasins

The thing about colds is that you can sense they're coming long before they arrive. Colds often start with a scratchy throat that turns into the sniffles, a cough, and a bunch of other fun symptoms. The oft-quoted phrase is, "Three days coming, three days staying and three days going." After I started taking a daily multivitamin in the early '90's, I got far fewer colds. But when I did, they would be intense.

Since I started running in the fall of 2008, the intensity of my colds has dropped noticeably. With the exception of my pneumonia experience, I can't remember feeling particularly ill for more than a day in the past four years. According to WebMD, "Regular exercise appears to have the advantage of being able to jump-start the immune system, and that can help reduce the number of colds you get." The site says that "With exercise...natural killer cells, increase by as much as 50% to 300%."

I plowed through a couple of hard runs over the weekend despite my symptoms, and the intensity of this cold has not increased past the "mildly distracting" stage. I do believe there is something to this "natural killer cell" theory promoted by my running. Despite the name, it's a great concept.

Compared to my friends, my training is easy!

Today's run (street): 4.2

My friend and colleague KWL completed his first Olympic length triathlon this morning. This event is comprised of three segments: a .9 mile ocean swim, a 24 mile bike ride and a 10K distance run. He's been training with a team for this event as part of our company's wellness program. The commitment to this triathlon was fairly extreme, with coach-led training sessions three or more times a week. I'm sure all that work will pay off for those participants who followed that rigorous program.

As I went out on my run today, I thought about other friends who are training for the NYC Marathon in November. This is the weekend that most of them are doing their 18 to 22 mile long runs. I wondered how they manage to fit in all the training miles that they need run every week. Even training for the half marathon required that I step up my mileage 20% for the eight weeks preceding the race. That was hard enough, I can't imagine what it would be like to train for double that distance.

My cold has stuck around and I'm also dealing with a mild cough but I felt fine on the road this morning. The temperature was in the low 60's with no noticeable humidity, a great combination. Though I felt a little stiff at the start, I got up to speed fairly quickly and followed a new route, just for a change of scenery. It wasn't lost on me that I'd be done after 4 miles, while my friends would just be warming up for the distances they would travel.

I admire anyone that takes on the challenge of triathlon or a marathon. I love my workouts and my competitions, but I'm not looking to move up into the ranks of Olympic-length triathletes and marathon racers. I hope everyone comes through their long runs today satisfied with their results. I was certainly happy to cover my 10 this weekend.

Hybrid run through the Bethpage trails

Helpful and tasty

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 6.2 miles

I had been doing well earlier in the week, knocking off a couple of intense treadmill runs followed by a good effort on the road. By Thursday afternoon I had a sore throat and a lack of energy. I treated the symptoms using a couple of packets of Emergen-C (handed out at the Cow Harbor race festival) and that seemed to help. Still, I decided on Friday morning to forgo my workout.

After getting to bed early, and sleeping a rare eight hours, I was ready to go out for a longer run. I was still feeling a little tired and took an Accel Gel 2nd Surge to give me a boost. I'd taken 2nd Surge before the Cow Harbor race and liked that it provided good energy. Better still, it didn't leave me feeling sluggish later in the run and the chocolate flavor is surprisingly good.

My plan was to run at Bethpage and do a "hybrid" run that would cover about 5 miles over both the wooded trails and the newly paved bike path extension. I ended up getting out late and didn't start my run until 10:00 AM. I ran south on the old bike trail until I reached the cut-in to the woods and headed north along the path that changed between dirt, gravel, soil and sand.

I mostly got it right, but I over-thought my direction and took a trail that went west, forcing a turnaround at Plainview Rd. I corrected my mistake and guessed correctly from there. I followed the path out to the new paved trail that intersected just below South Park Drive. The transition to pavement was jarring and the sun and heat were suddenly factors.

The intersection with Haypath Road came quickly, and I continued north, first past Old Bethpage Road and then to Old Country Road where the paved trail ends (for now). I turned around after noting the location of the dirt trail that continued across the street. I'm hoping that they eventually put some stop signs at the locations where the bike path intersects with the road. 

I was past the three mile point by the time I reached Old Country Road and I knew by then that my 5 mile run would be extended to six. I was feeling the effort, so I picked up my speed in an attempt to re-energize my stride. It helped a little, and I maintained a decent pace as I made my way south towards my finish point.

Before I could enjoy the relatively flat last mile of the run I needed to get past a couple of hills that rise 100 feet in 3/10ths of a mile. Once I cleared that point, I picked up the pace again and finished my run after covering 6.2 miles. After missing my run on Friday, I was happy with the additional unplanned mile.

I'm still not 100% but this run didn't seem to do me any harm. I'm going to try for another longer run tomorrow, but I may stay local to do that. My next race is a 5K so I'm going to need to work on my speed at some point. That race starts with a long hill so I'll need to start training for that as well.

I love running, but do I actually love the run?

Race walking: not the best of both worlds 

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

Back in the early '90's I lived in the city and walked just about everywhere that I needed to go. It would be nothing for me to cover 20 miles or more on a weekend. My wife is exactly the same. We'd walk 90 minutes a day back and forth between our office and our apartment on 74th Street despite rain, snow, heat or humidity. It kept us in great shape and it was easy because we both enjoyed the experience.

I thought about that on my run this morning as I made my way around my regular route. I was pushing myself harder than I had prior to re-employing my heart rate monitor and my resulting pace reflected that extra effort. I was pleased with my performance, but it occurred to me that the enjoyment of a hard run comes when you're finished, while a brisk walk is usually enjoyed in the moment.

I'm not saying that I don't enjoy a good run. When I'm on the trails I can really appreciate the experience with all five senses (well maybe not taste) and I do appreciate the feeling I get when doing an easy run on a crisp fall morning. It would be interesting if I could enjoy every run the way I do when I walk.

On the other hand, the sense of accomplishment, endorphin rush and the athleticism that comes from a run is something that cannot be easily attained by walking. I suppose race walking could fill that void but, frankly, it just seems a bit silly.

Ready to race again

A return to race driven workouts

Today's run (treadmill): 2.5 miles

It's interesting how your running focus can ebb and flow throughout the year. In the first few months of 2012, my mind was on racing and I was happy to attain PR's for my 4 mile and half marathon distances. The experience I had at the New Hyde Park 8K was a turning point for me, and not in a good way. After that race, I'd lost some of my competitive spirit. I did run in a corporate 5K in July, but I skipped the Dirty Sock in August, a race that I'd run the previous three years.

Cow Harbor restored my interest in competing and although I didn't break (or even approach) a personal record, I loved being back in the game. Now that Cow Harbor has come and gone, I'm looking ahead to my next race. I've targeted the town of Oyster Bay's Supervisor's run that takes place in mid-October. It's a 5K that features a long hill going up and another long hill coming down. Happily they put the uphill and the downhill in the right order.

With my interest in performance restored, I've approached my last two workout runs with the mindset that I'm training for a race. By using my HRM to shame me into running faster, I'm managing to get past my natural dislike of the treadmill. It's fun to blip up the speed control until I get my heart rate to my targeted level. This morning I had another invigorating run at a speed that I usually avoid on the treadmill. I hope to take this focus back on the road tomorrow, when I return to the street.

Boardwalk run at Sunken Meadow



An unexpected boardwalk run

Yesterday's run (Sunken Meadow State Park boardwalk): 1.5 miles Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I was recently on Google maps looking at a few of the parks on Long Island that have trails that I want to run. Over the past few years I've made many trips to Stillwell Woods, Trailview and Bethpage State Parks and to the Muttontown Mystery Trail. I've run and raced a number of times at Eisenhower Park and hiked in places like Caumsett and Caleb Smith. An interesting park that I hadn't yet visited is Sunken Meadow State Park, located in King's Park, on Long Island Sound.

Our plan on Monday was to hike Caleb Smith in the morning, before the weather got too hot, We headed over early but when we arrived, we saw that the gates were closed. We then decided to get back on the Sunken Meadow Parkway and go north to Sunken Meadow State Park. It took us less than ten minutes to get there and we headed immediately to the boardwalk that runs 3/4 of a mile along the beach.

This park is large and impressive and we only scratched the surface in our exploration. The boardwalk looked inviting so while my wife and kids made their way down to the water, I did a very easy run along the walkway. I was wearing my Helly Hansen trail shoes because I'd expected to be hiking, but the forgiving wooden surface felt fine. The picture above was taken by my wife, who was sitting on a jetty with the kids, as I ran by.

We're looking forward to a return trip to Sunken Meadow and I'm especially interested to try the trails with their famously difficult hills. This morning I opted for an indoor run out of concern for rainy weather. I used my HRM to guide my pace and did half the run in zone 3 before bumping up the speed in increments to get  me to zone 4. I found it much easier to push my pace when I saw that my HR was still fairly low.

If the rainy weather continues I'll probably find myself on the treadmill again tomorrow. Now that I know how fast I need to run to get into zone 4 (about an 8:50 pace), I may get up to speed a little quicker.

The day after the day after

The second day is always more painful

With my first steps out of bed this morning, I remembered my post-Cow Harbor experiences over the last two years. The day after the race is not a true barometer of the impact of the effort. It's the second morning, when the effects of the James Street hill manifest painfully in my quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves.

As noted in yesterday's post, I did not have a good run on Sunday. I'm choosing to believe that was due to going out on the road again too soon after that race. I'll try to remember that next year. Even though I usually skip my rest day and run when I'm home on a Monday, I'm not going to do that today. Instead, we are heading to one of our favorite parks to hike the trails. That seems like the perfect activity to help recover from post race soreness.

Not exactly a recovery run

This year's Cow Harbor's race tee

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

I looked forward to today's "recovery workout" as a way of enjoying a run without thinking about performance. After Saturday's hard running up, down and over the Cow Harbor course, I thought an easy four miles would be, well, easy. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.

My run started out fine as I settled into slow but steady pace. My heart rate stayed below 70% of max through the first two miles as I enjoyed the quiet of my neighborhood streets. Soon after that I began to tire, and I felt the effort even though my pace was slow. I was puzzled why I seemed to be hitting a wall on such an easy run, especially since my heart rate remained low.

I abandoned my original plan to run 4 and a half to 5 miles and instead changed course towards home. The final mile was difficult and my stamina was shot. I wondered if the work I did during the race had taken more out of me than I'd realized.

As I reached the last few streets heading back to my house, I increased my speed to see how my body would react. I've previously experienced fatigue when running slow and I found that increasing my effort sometimes helps. This seemed to be the case today, my energy level improved and by the time I finished I was running a high-8:00 pace.

I'm not going to over-think today's run. I'll assume that my experience was directly related to yesterday's hard running. I'm off from work tomorrow and I'll decide in the morning whether to run or rest. I'm curious to know how my next run goes, but I recognize that a rest day may be the best way to ensure a better experience.

Race report: Cow Harbor 2012

Crossing the line (in white, directly right of tree)

Today's run (Great Cow Harbor 10K): 6.2 miles

58:32 (9:26 pace)

Despite concerns about a rain-soaked start to the 35th running of the Cow Harbor 10K, we ended up having near perfect weather for the race. At the start it was overcast, and by the end it was sunny, but temperatures and humidity remained moderate. I didn't achieve a PR or even a PB for the race, but I was happy with my results that fell right in the middle of my prior two Cow Harbor efforts.

Team Emerging Runner arrived at Northport high school about ten minutes before 7:00 AM and we caught one of the shuttle buses that take runners and their crew to the Laurel Avenue school. This school is ground zero for the race and I made my way to numbers pickup before the lines got too long. I saw that I was assigned a 9000 series number, based on my predicted finish time.

The trick to managing 5,000+ runners is to put them into corrals with a staggered start every minute to spread out the field. It works extremely well but you need to do a little math every time they call a mile split, backing out the number of minutes based on your bib number. So if your bib starts with a 4, and the first mile split is called at 11 minutes, you'd subtract 4 minutes to get your pace of 7 minutes per mile. Easy right?

Dave 2.0, on left

We saw a lot of friends while we waited for the race to begin, including Dave who had suffered a heart attack at a race in February. He has recovered impressively well and it looks like he had a great race this morning, beating my time by over a minute. We had a mini reunion with a group of teachers from our kid's elementary school, and I saw my my work colleague Bill, who was running Cow Harbor for the first time. He was concerned about the James Street hill, but he ended up running a great race.

I didn't train intensely for the race this year and my only goal was to finish under an hour (mission accomplished). I was caught by surprise when it came time to release my start group. Due to the number of people in front of me, I thought there was still another flight in front of ours. That worked out well because I didn't experience the countdown jitters that I normally get.

Off to a good start on Laurel Ave.

I took an Accel Gel 2nd Surge twenty minutes before the start, and I felt good coming off the line. I was concerned that I'd have a repeat of the New Hyde Park 8K start, when I found it difficult to keep up with the crowd. Unlike that race, I wasn't fighting a cold, and I moved along well through the up and down (and then mostly downhill) Scudder Avenue. The crowds were out in force to cheer us on.

A little after the first mile, we turned onto Woodbine and ran near the water where the crowds were even larger. Between the noise, the people, and a large group of bagpipers, it felt surreal to be part of the entertainment. We quickly passed Main Street and reached Bayview Ave with a rise that only hints at what's to come 3/4 of a mile later. And by that I mean James Street - AKA, "Widow Hill."

Starting point of the dreaded "Widow Hill"

There are many ways to approach James Street in this race and I watched that play out once again as I began to take on the hill. Some runners attacked it and others chose to walk it. Like I did the previous two times, I accepted the challenge and adopted a steady pace that I felt I could sustain throughout the half mile of steep road.

I refused to look ahead lest I'd be discouraged by the amount of hill that was left to climb. When the road became even steeper I knew I was near the top. When it leveled out I felt great relief, but tried to increase my pace. The post hill section doesn't provide much recovery time as the road rises once again before leading to a lengthy downhill span between the 2.8 and 3.75 mile points.

Just after the 5K mark I spotted a work colleague who told me she'd be standing on the corner of Eaton's Neck Rd. and Ocean Ave. We tried to coordinate last year but I just missed her. It was great to see her and her dog at the halfway point of the race.

I felt remarkably good at that point, with the trauma of Widow Hill behind me and a stretch of downhill road in front of me. I wasn't monitoring my pace, but my heart rate was holding steady in zone 4, as I'd planned. I felt good but I knew I'd soon need to switch gears and take on the long climb up Waterside Ave.

Waterside Ave goes on for over a mile and it's mostly uphill. Some say this section is worse than James Street, but I disagree. Both require patience and an acceptance of the elevation, but Waterside's grade is far more subtle. I kept a pace that made sense and allowed me to stay with the crowd. I began to fatigue around the five mile point but I never had concerns about bonking. I'd filled my gel flask with two Accel Gels with the 4:1 formulation (carbs/protein) and I sampled it through the last few miles.

Pumpernickel Hill isn't as bad as James Street, but it comes near the end, after 1+ miles of fun on Waterside. I was up and over it fairly quickly. As I got to the top, a spectator was screaming, "A 77 year old man just took the hill!, a 77 year old man just took the hill!" over and over. Impressive yes, but enough already. And not in my ear please.

Encouraging message near the end of the race

I always expect the last part of the race to be triumphant, with a predominantly downhill section that leads to Main Street and the finish line. But after everything that comes before that point, it's hard to exploit the opportunity to push hard. It's basically a matter of holding the gains and pouring it on with whatever is left at the end. The finish chutes appear when there's about a fifth of a mile left in the race. Like an oasis, they seem to remain out of reach despite moving relentlessly toward the line.

I crossed the line 58 minutes after I started, though I didn't check the clock when I came through the finish. I saw my wife and kids and that made me happy. They are a great support team. I had to look up my results later, and they closely matched my Garmin's time.

After the race we headed to the crowded waterfront festival where I was able to get Gatorade and a couple of bananas that helped restore my electrolytes. There was a great band playing and lots of booths showing products and services. We ran into Bill and one of my daughter's teachers before getting back on the bus that took us to where we parked the car.

So one more Cow Harbor race is on the books. Mohamed Trafeh won the race today for the fourth time and Alisha Williams was the first woman to finish. I know there are bigger races with many more participants and more features, but on Long Island, (giving due respect to the LI Marathon Festival of Races) nothing quite compares.