Race report: 2013 Hope for the Warriors 10K

Seconds before the finish

Photo courtesy of the Petite Pacer

Today's run (Hope for the Warriors 10K): 6.2 miles - 58:56 (clock time) 

I'm not sure that it signals a move toward improved performance, but I ran my fastest 10K of 2013 this morning at the Hope for the Warriors race. Although I'm pleased that I finally broke an hour, today's time was measurably slower than my two prior Hope for Warriors efforts. The upcoming Long Beach Turkey Trot will tell me if today's performance was positively directional.

Team ER on race tee and bib duty

We arrived early because my wife and kids had volunteered to work the registration area. Their job was primarily focused on handing out race tees, but they also handled some of the bib distribution. I spent much of my time trying to stay warm over the three hours between arrival and race start. I tried to find spots in the crowds that had direct sunlight.

Chillin' (literally) before the race

The wind was brisk and that contributed to the chill. I regretted my decision to leave my calf sleeves home. Beside their energizing effect, they would have provided some additional warmth. I also regretted wearing running shorts instead of pants. However, I was glad with my gear selection once I was running.  

The armed forces were well represented, as always

The 5K starts first and they line up those participants ahead of the 10K bunch. A few years ago, everyone started at the same time and it was a mess getting past the 5K walkers in the first few minutes. Now the 5K starts 15 minutes before the 10K and the road is clear until we catch up with the 5K tail-enders on Wellwood Ave. It was hard to find exactly where the 10K start was going to be. There was no mat to capture starting time, so everyone was tracked by clock time. My net time might have been a little more favorable were that the case.

At race start (directly to the right of the giant head)

Shortly before we started, I ran into the Petite Pacer. She went to say hello to another friend so I didn't see her again until I saw her come up the right side, moving swiftly. She had a great run today and a 10K PR. She was very kind to video me as I made my way through the final meters and over the line. I found her after the race and was able to introduce her to my wife and kids.

The Hope for the Warriors 10K course is the least remarkable thing about this race. It's a big box with few notable characteristics. Without scenery to distract me, I kept my mind on my stride but I purposely ignored my Garmin's display. I wanted to run the race by feel and perceived effort. I was surprised that there were no clocks or split announcers along the route. I did have a basic understanding of where the splits were located and that was reinforced by chirps from my watch.

The first two miles went by quickly and I felt like I was moving well. I ran the first mile under 9 minutes but I was in the 9:10 range by the three mile point. My performance slipped a little after that, although it improved once I cleared the on-ramp from RT 109 to Sunrise Highway. Coming up that on-ramp was tough and it threatened to take the fight out of me. I tried my best to maintain speed once I hit Sunrise for the last half mile.

Happy to be finished

Me and TPP who ran a great race

I wasn't sure whether I'd trained well enough for this race and my struggles in the late miles made me wish I'd done more base work. Overall, I was fairly satisfied with today's performance. I'll be interested to see how it goes in Long Beach, two weeks from today. Tomorrow is a rest day!

No expectations, but plenty of Hope

 

Last year I participated in a race that was put on by my division's parent company. Before the race even started, one of my colleagues shared the tweet he planned to send after he finished. I told him that I never write my headline until I'm done with the race. Too many things can happen between the start and the finish lines. I don't know what my friend ended up tweeting, but I still hold fast to that policy. I ended up having a far different race experience than I'd anticipated that night.

Tomorrow is the Hope for Warriors 10K and I've set no expectations in terms of how I might do. I've done this event twice and have a good understanding of the course. Two years ago, I attained a 10K PR at HFW, after almost skipping it because I hadn't really trained. 2011 was a year of personal bests. I got a another PR at the Long Beach 10K Turkey Trot, just one weekend after Hope for Warriors.

This year has not produced many race highlights. My best performance came early on at the Long Beach 4 mile Snowflake race, where the Petite Pacer beat me over the line in an impressive burst of speed. Since then, I haven't broken a 9:00 pace in a race, even in 5K's. I'm going to run the best race I can tomorrow. As always, I'll wait until I finish before I compose my headline.

Taper breaker on an off week

Hard to resist

Today's workout (elliptical): 35 minutes

This has not been a good week for running, but that doesn't mean I haven't been active. After taking my usual rest day on Monday, I spent all of Tuesday in the city. I Gmapped my walking routes and it came out to eight miles. I got a run in on Wednesday, but Thursday started too early and ended too late to get my workout done. However, I did cover another eight miles on foot. Normally I'd have taken today to rest so I'd be fresh for Sunday's 10K. With just one run this week, I felt like I needed to do something today.

That something turned out to be a mid-morning elliptical session that I did at 90% resistance. Every time I use the elliptical, I'm reminded how beneficial this workout can be. Even done at a moderate pace, the resistance taxes under-exercised muscles and the no-impact motion gives your knees a rest. The lack of motor noise (compared with the treadmill) is also appreciated.

What started out feeling like an easy workout got tougher as the minutes passed. Our elliptical is a pretty basic unit so the amount of data on the display is limited. Unlike our old BH Fitness unit, our ProForm doesn't report distance. Along with displaying elapsed time, the ProForm shows total number of revolutions as well as a metric that indicates level of effort (in watts?). I tried to keep that effort number as high as I could. Despite the high resistance, it didn't drop much near the end.

So tomorrow I'll rest. My wife and kids are volunteering at the race so we need to be there by 6:30 AM(!). That will be a lot of waiting for me, since the 10K doesn't kick off until 9:45 AM. But it's a great event and I'm happy that my family will be there to support me.

Serf of the road

 

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

It was only 39 degrees outside, but it felt very much like winter this morning. I wore layers top and bottom and was comfortable throughout my entire run. Had I pushed harder, I probably would have overheated. I was in the city yesterday and covered 7 miles on foot. After that, and two moderately tough runs over the weekend, I kept my heart rate around 80% of max for today's workout.

I've been reading a newly published book called, Kings of the Road, that's about how Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar helped popularize competitive running in the '70's. As I ran today, I thought about my paces versus theirs. In one part, one of these runners described his 4:45 pace at the Falmouth Road Race as "easy."

I know that elite runners train so that they are able to sustain high speed over long distances. But how do they mentally prepare themselves to run sub-5:00 paces over 26.2 miles? For that matter, how do 7:00 or even 8:00 milers do it? Is running a half marathon in an hour as hard for Galen Rupp as breaking 2 hours is for me at the same distance? If these elites put everything they have into their races, why do they look so fresh after they cross the finish line?

Most people who compete in races push way past their comfort zone. All things being equal, a 4:45 pace, while impressive, is relative to the runner. I have my race targets and it's always great when I meet or exceed them. There are many factors that determine performance on a given run, but lack of trying is rarely one of them.

Hill running on marathon day

The long and windy road

Today's run (street): 4.6 miles

It's marathon day in NYC and I got an early start on the coverage. I didn't take advantage of the extra hour's sleep from DST, because I wanted to have my run completed prior to the marathon pre-show. There wasn't much drama in today's race, but it was still fun to watch. I was hoping all my friends who ran it had great experiences. I thought about them on my run knowing I'd be covering far less distance today.

Today was my last chance to do a good training run prior to next weekend's 10K. I decided to head over to the Greenbelt bike trail and run south so I could take on the long hill along Sunnyside Boulevard. It was cold enough for long pants and sleeves, but I remained comfortable (except when the wind hit me head-on). The Sunnyside hill is just long enough to wear you down because it gets increasingly steeper along the last half mile. I just kept reminding myself that I'd get to run it downhill on the way back.

Today's run went well and I'm hoping I've built my fitness to handle a brisk pace over 6.2 miles next Sunday. This will be a busy week with early mornings into the city. I'm not sure how I'll handle my taper, but I'll figure it out. Although the Hope for Warriors course is fairly flat, this weekend's hill heavy training should yield some conditioning benefit.

Running views and visualizations

Sure looked like fall along the trail

Today's run (Bethpage): 6.25 miles

The Hope for Warriors 10K next weekend prompted me to head to Bethpage this morning for a base run. I've plateaued on distance since Cow Harbor, having completed only a handful of 5+ mile runs since that race. After a week of rainy and windy conditions, today's clear, dry 57° weather made a run at Bethpage very appealing.

More scenes from today's run

When I arrived I saw that the right side of the lot was fairly full. There were lots of people with bikes and I wondered if there was a cycling event planned. I don't think it was anything that formal, although there were a lot more bikers on the trail than I usually see. Considering the density of cyclists on the path, along with many runners and a good number of walkers, I encountered few reckless riders.

With my headache and sinus pressure gone, I felt good energy along the trail and felt less intimidated than usual by the big hills. That isn't to say that I particularly enjoyed them. My plan was run 5K south and turn around at the 3.1 mile mark. It works for me to break a middle or long distance run into parts. For that same reason, I like to familiarize myself with a race course before running it for the first time. It's always valuable to understand the challenges of the course before you face them for real.

New Garmin Connect cadence graph

I didn't dog the pace but I wasn't looking to simulate race conditions either. The purpose of this run was to get a 10K distance under my belt close to the real thing a week from Sunday. When I downloaded my Garmin after the run, I saw that they'd changed the data visualization on Connect and added a new metric: average stride length. Better still, the site has a pop-up that helps explain SPM and running dynamics. I felt good when I read this in the explanation: "The data values in the green, blue, or purple zones are typical for more experienced or faster runners."

Good context on cadence

Ideally, I'll see less green and more blue data points as I work to increase my cadence. Races tend to bring out our best performances (my recent history excepted) so I might even get myself into purple territory next week.

Running happiness in a squeeze bottle

Doping the right way

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

Oxymetazoline HCl is my new favorite drug. I've recently found that a minimal dose of this OTC nasal spray provides a lot of relief to my pressure headaches. Using it seems to negate the need to take ibuprofen or pseudoephedrine. I don't like to take either of those, especially when I'm planning to run. I get these headaches during certain weather conditions and they are tough to treat, but a couple of sprays have put me back on the mend.

This morning's weather was windy and rainy. Fallen leaves on the roads made for slippery conditions and I resigned myself to another treadmill workout. I'd used the nasal spray as soon as I got up and felt instantly better. I was ready to push hard today and I set the speed a full MPH faster than yesterday. Today was warmer and more humid than Thursday, yet I felt much stronger throughout the run.

The good thing about running faster on the treadmill is that you get through your planned distance sooner. I had plenty to do today so that was a bonus. The nasal spray, unlike decongestant tablets, doesn't make me dizzy or tired. Treadmill running is scary enough without having to deal with those concerns.

Managing through the pressure

Still plenty of choice at Chez Emerging Runner

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

Happy Halloween! So far I've successfully avoided the candy we bought for Trick or Treaters. Among the mix are Mounds and Almond Joy bars so you should be very impressed by my willpower.

I've had a couple of days of sinus pressure and the headaches that come with that. I decided to do my workout on the treadmill today to keep things simple. I also had early morning calls and needed to save some time. My goal was to move but not push enough to exacerbate my sinus issues. It was a decent session and I learned that the average commercial break on CNN is .36 miles.

I'm hoping that sleep and a change in the weather will bring me back to feeling strong enough to run hard this weekend. It's my last chance to train for the Hope for Warriors 10K on the 10th. My base is definitely below 6.2 miles right now, but I'll give it my best shot.

Lies, damn lies and Garmins

Look how fast I didn't run!

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I was in meetings all day on Tuesday and didn't get a chance to do a run. I did cover a lot of ground on foot, so that should count for something. Along the way I noticed many marathon tourists (after all these years I can easily spot them) enjoying the sights prior to running the race on Sunday. A couple of my meetings were held near Time Square, where sports demonstrations publicizing the Sochi Olympics were going on. It was a mob scene, but fun to watch.

I had no city meetings today, so I resumed my run schedule this morning. I've been running with my foot pod so that I can capture my cadence, but I still use the Garmin's GPS to measure my mileage. Due to that, I haven't bothered to calibrate the foot pod for distance. When I fire up the Garmin, it detects the foot pod and asks whether I'm running indoors. If I say yes, it will turn off the GPS radio and use the foot pod for measurement instead.

Today I went through the routine and when it looked like the signal had locked in, I was on my way. I hadn't gone half a mile before the Garmin chirped saying I'd reached my first mile. I figured that the GPS signal must not have actually acquired before I started and the watch was working off the (uncalibrated) foot pod. I didn't care much, because I always Gmap my run to get exact distance.

The watch did switch to GPS mode shortly after that, and my remaining splits were in line with my normal pacing. While I would have liked to meet the performance that the Garmin recorded for today's run, I must admit to a far less impressive pace in the mid-9:00 range. So the Garmin lied, but I'll forgive it. If I could run five minute first miles for real, I might actually break an 8:00 pace on my training runs.

Progress made on a progressive run

Progressively paced

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

I've been feeling a little down about my running lately, because I haven't been able to generate much speed on my training runs. I feel I should be meeting certain paces and I've come up short over the last week. The fact that my race times have been going in the wrong direction has fed into this frustration. Today's run didn't completely reverse my perspective, but it certainly helped my confidence.

It's hard to explain my current issues. I'm not running to exhaustion, but I've felt like the effort I'm putting in isn't translating into commensurate performance. I haven't been pushing the pace like I'd do if I was training for a race, although I do have a 10K coming up in three weeks. I shouldn't be expecting greatness, but perceived effort seems greater than observed performance.

I started out slowly and expected this run to be another disappointing effort, but I picked up speed every mile, finishing up a minute and half per mile faster than I started. This improvement was not apparent in the moment. It wasn't until I'd downloaded my Garmin's data that I saw my negative splits and realized I'd managed to hit an acceptable overall pace.

I'm glad to have tomorrow, my weekly rest day, for further recovery. I'll need to turn my attention to race training soon. For now I'm just happy to have broken my streak of sub-par runs.

Neighborhood run and CSH Lab fun

Monkey business at CSH Laboratory

Today's run (street): 5 miles

After a surprisingly difficult run on Thursday, I decided to take yesterday off. I had business that needed attention and that bought me some useful time in the morning. My wife and I had considered a walk after lunch, but time caught up with us. Guilt from skipping a workout wasn't even a consideration. I really needed the rest.

This morning we had plans to visit nearby Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where we'd tour the grounds and buildings and learn about the institution. Due to that, I had to get out early for today's run. A tight schedule discouraged me from going far from home, so I decided to target the neighborhood that's located directly south of ours.

I started with a loop along the northern part of my neighborhood to get a sense of my fitness. I wasn't feeling tremendous energy (certainly not at the level I'd hoped to have coming off a day's rest) but it was better than Thursday's experience. I settled into a pace that I could sustain for five miles and made my way south to "neighborhood #2" for a change of scenery.

The run was fine, I'd mapped out the route I'd take and only made one change along the way because I was curious to see where a certain road led. The southern neighborhood has a lengthy section that runs close to a mile. I like that part of the route because it's primarily straight and allows me to tune out and just run. I made my way back home in time to (just barely) remain on schedule.

Our tour of the CSH Labs was really interesting  and we discovered a lot about the current research as well as the impressive and important history of the laboratory. My son has attended DNA camp at CSH over the last three summers and he was thrilled to learn more about the essential research. Our tour guide was a first year Ph.D student at CSH's Watson School. She shared a lot of information about the work she is doing, along with many interesting stories and facts about the Lab.

Harbor view from the Lab

A workout for the mind and the legs

The CSH Lab's campus is beautiful, with great views of the harbor. We walked a lot, over many hills, and the tour could easily count as a second workout. Apparently, the campus is open to the public and the rolling and picturesque grounds would make for an interesting run. It's ten minutes from my house so perhaps I'll do that this fall. I was glad to get back into the workout groove this morning and spend some quality time with my family at the lab.

A run most difficult. Please explain why.

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

Today was a tough one. I don't know why I had so much trouble getting through the run but it was a heavy-footed plod from start to finish. There is nothing I can point to that would explain my struggle. I got a good night's sleep, have no symptoms of a cold and the weather was cool and dry. Yet no matter what my mind was telling my body, my body answered, "Don't expect much."

Yesterday's route seemed short and I was surprised at the end to see the distance I'd covered. Today was opposite of that. My route was circuitous and I expected to consume most of my miles within the northern part of the neighborhood. I had a time target, but I wasn't as pressured as much as I was yesterday. I thought I was racking up the distance until I reached my turnaround point and saw that I was well short of my expected mileage. When I approached my home street, I realized that I needed to run another half mile to make my goal.

Although I ran at a sustainable pace, I felt like I was carrying an extra 30 pounds throughout the run. This wasn't the first run I've had like this, and I know that tomorrow's may be far better. I hope that's the case. One bad run is a statistical probability. Two bad runs in a row is a trend.

Beware the race day balloon ladies

Step it up Donald!

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I read a funny article on WSJ.com about the "balloon ladies" that Disney World uses to sweep back-of -the-pack runners in their races. These women work to get the slowest racers off the course so that Disney can open up their streets to theme-park customers. Apparently the balloon squad is viewed with terror by runners who can't maintain the minimum 16 min/mile pace. The next time you finish a race and hang out near the finish line watching the stragglers come in, think about the fact that finishing means as much to them as it does to you.

This morning it was cold and gray, with only 66% humidity. In other words, near perfect running weather. I got out a little earlier than normal because of scheduling pressure, so I tried to avoid roads that are heavily trafficked by school buses. My timing was pretty good and every time I saw a bus it was a safe distance away. Changing up my usual route helped alleviate the boredom that comes from running the same streets, day after day.

My run was unremarkable, except for the fact that I ended up finishing a little faster than expected. That made me happy. I really didn't put too much effort into it, but I did step things up a few times during the run. A little extra speed, when added to a moderately paced run, can result in a satisfactory effort. The cold, dry weather was also helpful, with no energy sapping heat or humidity to slow me down.

Fitbit value to be determined.

Planned obsolescence

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

The best time to value your personal technologies is when they stop working. Do you fix, replace or discard? Years ago, I actually paid money to have my VCR repaired. It was worth it because a functioning VCR was important to me. An issue I'm having with my Fitbit has forced me to decide whether I'm in for a penny or a pound. Actually, 6.2 (British) pounds.

Worn and torn

The thing is, my Fitbit's "belt holster", a spring clip with a rubberized housing, is falling apart. The rubber that protects clothing from the sharp metal clip has ripped and detached. This makes the process of attaching the device to pants or a belt so difficult that I've stopped wearing it. I thought I might write to Fitbit and mention their poor clip design. I figured they'd be horrified and would immediately send me new one for free. When I went to the Fitbit site, I saw that my problem can be solved with the purchase of a replacement holster for $9.95 plus tax and shipping.

I probably won't bother to get it. It's not about the $10+ required to buy a new clip that will likely need to be replaced again in six months. I get that things cost money, though I find it offensive that they make money off their own design flaw. I've discovered that, despite the Fitbit's great features and attributes, I don't really find it that useful anymore.

The excitement of occasionally reaching 15,000 daily steps or 25 flights of stairs is mitigated by the frustration that comes from forgetting to transfer the device between sleepwear, running shorts, and pants. What's the sense of tracking only part of your activities? I'll give it another week to decide between purchasing a new clip or relegating the Fitbit to the technology junk drawer. It comes down to whether the value of the Fitbit is closer to pennies or pounds.

Comparing race times is easy but results are confusing.

A tale of three races

Today's run (street): 5.25 miles

This morning I downloaded my recent runs to Garmin Connect. I noticed a feature that compares selected runs, allowing users to see performance data by split (click above picture to read). The difference between this year and the last two year's times are easy to see. One thing that puzzles me is that the times on split 4 are really inconsistent. This year I covered .11 miles in 50 seconds at 7:55 pace, Last year it took me one second less but the pace was 7:18. In 2011, it took one second more to cover that distance, yet the pace showed 23 seconds per mile faster than this year. Very strange.

Today my thoughts were on recovery rather than performance. Due to my tapering, I covered far less than my normal 18-20 weekly miles since last Sunday. I took it easy and aimed for five miles. Although the temperature was a moderate 54°, it felt colder. I wore a light running shirt with 3/4 length sleeves and shorts, along with a pair of light running gloves. It was a good combination to start, although by the end I was wishing for shorter sleeves and no gloves.

I ended up running faster than I planned, but not all that fast. Recovery runs are a strategy to facilitate muscle repair and eliminate the built up lactic acid that causes soreness. I wish I'd taken it just a little easier. I'm looking ahead to November 10, when I'll be running the Hope for Warriors 10K. It's a great event (although the course itself is only so-so). My prep for this weekend's 5K fell short, and I want to do better. 10K means more base runs as well. Better get started soon.

Race report: 2013 Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Run

Seconds after crossing the line

photo courtesy of The Petite Pacer

Today's run (Town of Oyster Bay 5K): 3.1 miles - 28:39

This morning I ran the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Run for the third time and had a great time. My performance was puzzling because I thought I'd do better than I did. I had an RPR (reverse PR - just made that up), having run my slowest ever 5K. Aside from that, it was great. I met The Petite Pacer for the first time in person and she was every bit as personable and charming as she is on her blog.

The morning started out well. I arrived a few minutes before 8:00 AM and parked at the high school. It's a fairly short walk the hill up to the Community Center where they do registration and hand out race numbers and sweatshirts (hoodies this year!). I gave them my name, but it wasn't on the list. After being referred to some GLIRC volunteers, I realized I'd never actually signed up. Not too smart of me. The GLIRC people were incredibly nice and gave me a race number after I'd filled in a registration slip. They didn't even ask for money, but I had the cash on me and insisted they take it.

After pinning my race bib, I ran into The Petite Pacer. We headed toward the starting line that's located about a quarter mile away on South Street. TPP suggested doing some strides so we ran a few hundred meters and returned to the starting area a couple of minutes before 9:00 AM. Our position was at the front and I mentioned that we should probably move back to keep from getting run over by the 6 minute milers.

The race started, but I found it hard to move in the crowd. I regretted suggesting that we move back before. TPP broke away and I saw her farther ahead before losing sight of her as we turned on Berry Hill Rd. I could not get past the clumps of runners ahead of me and I think it lengthened my first mile time quite a bit. According to my Garmin, I ran the first mile at 9:35 and came through mile 2 around 19:18. I did the last 1.1 miles in 8:21.

I thought I was in better shape for this race and didn't struggle on the long hill, so I was puzzled by my time. The hill gets steeper after the first mile and I remember feeling the increased burden. Still, I felt like I was maintaining a decent stride. I obviously made up a lot of time on the mostly downhill second half and passed a lot of people along that pretty tree-lined road. The peacefulness was broken only by a runner behind me who was singing loudly and off key to the music on his iPod.

All hope of finishing under 27:50 (which would put me below a 9 minute pace) was dashed when I saw the 3 mile clock. I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the line at 28:39. TPP was already there, having finished a few minutes before me. She videoed my crossing the line which was an unexpected surprise. I'll return the favor the next time I finish before her, which will probably be never.

Post race recovery with TPP

TPP and I got our time slips and I saw my official pace - 9:13. It was far slower than I expected to run this race. Last year I averaged 8:22 per mile. I have not had a good year in terms of race times but I still have a few more races on the schedule to improve my standings.

More important than my time was the great experience I had with the kind volunteers who helped me get registered and the opportunity to spend some time with The Petite Pacer. Tomorrow I'll get out and go as far and fast as I feel like running. That's the best part of a Saturday race. You have a bonus day to do another weekend run.

Managing the pre-race energy

 

Why is it that I usually feel energized the day before a race? Could it be that I'm closest to my training peak at this point? I suspect it's related more to wanting to run because I shouldn't. I always take one or two rest days before a race and that seems to work for me. In the few times where I've violated my taper plan with a run or hike, I've regretted doing it the next day.

I'm sure it's more psychological than physical, because I should be able to do a moderate workout the day before a race without penalty. But a positive attitude about my state of conditioning on race day is almost as important as the work that it took to get me there. I need to ensure that I'd done everything I could to be prepared.

So even with this extra energy today, along with perfect fall weather, I won't give into the temptation to walk the hilly bike trail at Bethpage. It's been a low mileage week and even with the race I won't have covered ten miles. The good thing about a 5K is that I usually don't need to take the next day to rest. I can make up for the shortfall on Sunday. I hope that the energy I have today will still be present tomorrow morning.

Making my last taper count

A serious threat to pant-kind

Today's run (street): 3.1 miles

As much as I love running, business needs to come first. For that reason, I was unable to get in my workout yesterday. I was in the city all day for meetings so the opportunity for a run didn't surface. I'm temporarily boycotting my Fitbit because the holding clip has deteriorated to the point where I fear it will rip my pants when I wear it. Without it, I don't know how much distance I covered yesterday on foot, but I'm estimating it was between 4 and 5 miles.

Today I had no excuses. Without a commute into the city, I had enough time for one final run before Saturday's 5K. Although I've heard that I need to do weekly speed work in order to avoid embarrassing myself on race day, I think I've prepared well for the race. I decided that a good hard run over three miles would be a nice way to end my taper.

I took off at a brisk pace and tried to maintain that turnover throughout the entire run. The difference between this type of workout and a race centers on two factors: the influence of other runners and the psychology of competing in a timed event. Without those two things, my expectation was to see a very good, but not spectacular performance today.

That's exactly how it came out. I'd kept my heart rate around 85% max and covered the distance in a little over 28 minutes. For me, that was exactly on the mark. I could have pushed harder and dropped my pace into the 8:00 range, but I didn't see any reason to do that. 9:06 was a decent average under the circumstances. I'm making no predictions for Saturday. A lot of it will come down to how I feel on race day morning.

A good day with a bonus run

This won't hurt a bit - but watch out for later!

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

I had a great day today in the city. I saw friends and got some business done. My schedule was tight and I had written off the opportunity to get in a run, but I managed to get on the treadmill for 25 minutes. I set a faster pace than usual because of my limited time. I was pleased that my legs responded well. I think the speed work I did on Sunday helped get me into fast turnover mode.

I met my friend FS for lunch today. She and her husband are dedicated runners and they do many NYRR events as well as destination races. FS has been training for the NY Marathon that she's running for the fifth time in November. She did her 20 mile long run this past weekend. FS was planning to get a flu shot in the next few days but I suggested that she wait until after the race. I know there should not be any side effects from the vaccination, but my experience over the last few years has made me a little skeptical.

Tomorrow is another long day in the city that starts even earlier than today. I'm debating whether I should go for a run in the dark, or let all the walking I'll do stand in for a workout.

Speed in the morning, lost in the afternoon

Quiet at the track this morning

Today's run (track workout): 3.3 miles - 1 mile warm-up, 8 x 200m repeats, 1.3 mile cool down 

With its forgiving and flat surface, I should love the track. But, believe me, I don't. Running around a big oval is boring. It's not as tedious as the treadmill, but the repetitive scenery undercuts a sense progress in a similar way. My difficulty with the track also relates to the type of workouts I do there. If I'm at the track, I know I'll be feeling some pain.

If I do have to run at the track, I prefer to do it with as few other people around as possible. I try to get there early, before the crowds, but it's rare that I get the place to myself. This morning was very quiet, with a lone woman walking around the outside lane and a couple walking together. A little while later another man joined us, walking at an impressively fast pace. Even with that, it seemed peaceful, with the low sun illuminating the track and field like a scene from Field of Dreams.

I started with a mile warm-up at an easy, mid-9:00 pace before shifting to my speed workout of 8 x 200m intervals. I usually go for 10-12 repeats at 100m, but I thought it would be useful to stretch out the distance this time. I averaged 54 seconds for each repeat and covered that mile in 7:18. Not exactly burning up the track, but good performance for me over a series of 200m segments. The two workouts this weekend represent the last real race training I'll do prior to the 5K.

One of Muttontown Preserve's descending trails

Later in the afternoon my son and I paid a visit to the Muttontown Preserve to see if we could find the ruins of the old mansions from the 1930's. We didn't locate them, but we managed to get very lost, something I do every time I go there. It took us about 20 minutes longer to get through our hike than planned, because we got turned around a few times. No matter, hiking places like the MP are fun, even when you're not exactly sure where you are.

Bethpage run and a surprise in the mail

A Garmin it's not

Today's run (Bethpage State Park): 4.5 miles

I'm in the middle of some high intensity work related to a new project that's requiring some focus over the weekend. This morning I felt a lot of pressure to get out early for a run. I needed to be back in time to accomplish some work before shifting gears toward my son's birthday activities. I couldn't face another run in the neighborhood, so I went to Bethpage to run the hills.

With my 5K coming up in a week, I have a limited amount of time to train and I wanted to make today's count. The weather could not have been better and that helped motivate me up the hill toward the start of the newest part of the bike trail. I felt very good and moved along at a decent clip. At least I thought it was decent until the first of many runners passed me like I was standing still. There was an extraordinary number of capable runners this morning and I wondered if there was a low key race going on.

Overall, I was pleased with my performance on the hills and I'd maintained a pretty good pace. Some of that came from running the last mile at my most sustainable speed. I would have liked to cover a another mile today, but I was concerned about staying on schedule.

Yesterday I was surprised to receive the above watch in the mail, the result of my renewing my subscription to Running Times. I didn't even realize it was coming. I spent many years with a large magazine publisher and I know subscription premiums can be a little chintzy, but his one brings it to new level. The watch seems to work fine (no running features besides a stopwatch) but the metallic bezel is actually "chromed" plastic. But I'm not complaining. After all, I can always use another stopwatch.

No rain, pain, or running strain

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

Earlier this week the weather people on TV were talking about significant rainfall and flooding by the weekend. I was resigned to the probability of having to do my longer runs on the treadmill. While yesterday's run was wet, it wasn't anything like running in storm conditions. I expected this morning to be much worse. Happily, it was much better.

Sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 AM this morning, my energy sapping pressure headache disappeared. Between that annoyance, and the cold and rainy weather we've had, running can be more pain than gain. When I realized that the pounding from my sinuses was gone, my outlook brightened. After looking outside and seeing white, rather than gray skies, I felt even better.

Yesterday's run, while feeling low, was more symbolic than beneficial. Although my headache had cleared, I still held the expectation that today's run would be challenging. I considered not tracking my speed and distance so I wouldn't feel bad about my expected mediocre (or worse) performance, but I decided that I needed to face up to it. Besides that, I'm racing in a week and I have to focus on speed at some level.

Since you are reading this, there's a good chance you're a runner. And being a runner, you know that the first minute of a run can speak volumes about how the rest of your run might go. This morning I was surprised, in the best of ways, to find my energy level at the high end of the spectrum. I knew right away that this run would be much faster than yesterday's, and it was. The fatigue I experienced on Thursday was completely gone, replaced by the feeling that I could run all day.

I felt great all the way through but, due to my business schedule, I needed to cap the length of my run. This was quite a contrast from yesterday when, by the end, I felt like I'd just run a 10K at race pace. It was a nice way to finish out the week, especially one as tough as this. I'm looking forward to my last race training workouts this weekend before I taper down throughout next week.

Wet and chilly, but back to the run

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

This morning I actually felt apprehensive before going out for a run. I was concerned that I hadn't recovered from two exhausting days that were accompanied by a cold. I still had some symptoms, but felt strong enough to give it a try. The rain seemed to be holding off so I chose the outdoor option.

By the time I got outside, the skies had darkened and I saw that water was collecting on the driveway. I considered heading inside and using the treadmill, but I decided to go for it. After all, what would be the harm of running in chilly and wet conditions while battling a cold? I didn't really consider the implications, but conceded that I'd head back if the skies really opened up.

Despite having three days off from running, I didn't feel much energy as I made my way through the neighborhood. This run was about getting back on schedule and I didn't push the pace. The rain didn't let up very much, but I dealt with it. By the time I reached three miles, I was ready to head towards home. I may have pushed a little too hard too quickly, but I was glad to be back in running mode.

I'm probably going to be stuck doing indoor workouts over the next two days due to a storm that's predicted to come through, bringing flooding rains. If I get to full strength by the weekend I'll work on hills, since the Town of Oyster Bay 5K, with its very long hill, happens the following Saturday.

On hiatus

This has been a tough week and it's only Thursday. I developed a cold that may have been triggered by my flu shot and it's creating sinus pressure and affecting my vocal chords. Unfortunately this cold (or possible allergy) coincided with public speaking engagements on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between my schedule and feeling low, I haven't run since Sunday.

Today's weather is expected to be stormy so I'm not sure what my options will be for a run. If it's raining, I'll need to use the treadmill to get back on schedule. I haven't taken three consecutive days off from running in months, hopefully the rest has done me some good.