Race Report: 2014 Brooklyn Half Marathon

Runsketeers represent!

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF KWL

Yesterday's run (NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon): 13.1 miles

My quads are aching this morning, no doubt due to the pounding that my legs took running down Ocean Parkway yesterday. The last five miles felt endless, but the final 200 meters along the Coney Island boardwalk made the experience all worth it. Although my performance wasn't great (2:25), it was in line with expectations. More importantly, it was a great day spent with great friends, each of whom ran excellent races.

After the horrible attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon, security has been stepped up at most major races. Due to this, race participants were asked to arrive extra early and were restricted in terms of what could be brought to the race. As a result, I only brought things that I could carry on my run or things I could discard. I ended up not "donating" my extra layer that I wore to stay warm before the start. In retrospect, I wish I had (at least) taken it off during the race.

My day started very early. I'd set my alarm for 2:35 AM so I could be fully prepared when my friends arrived at my house at 4:20 AM. The plan was for me, TPP and Runska-buddy LS to drive to my friend KWL's house in Queens. SIOR was to meet us there at 5:00 AM where we would then be driven by a friend to Grand Army Plaza near the race start. It was a tight squeeze in Mark's SUV, but that all went according to plan.

Clearing security

PHOTO COURTESY OF SIOR

Walking to corrals

Crowds building prior to the start

After going through security, we walked along Eastern Parkway, past the Wave 2 corrals and made our way to check out the starting line. We took some pictures and proceeded to the baggage drop off where KWL handed off his bag that contained items belonging to members of our little crew. Soon after that, speedsters SIOR and LS headed over to the Wave 1 corrals that started 45 minutes earlier than Wave 2. KWL, also a speedster, was relegated to Wave 2 due to his bib number.

ER, LS, SIOR & TPP looking fresh and ready

PHOTO COURTESY OF KWL

TPP and KWL near the baggage drop off

TPP and I walked around and tried to stay warm in the chilly, breezy 58° weather. We found a grate in the street that was supplying a little heat and stood on it for about 15 minutes. We were soon joined by other runners who had the same idea. We decided to head to an area that's adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum that had direct sunlight. We hoped that would keep us warm. KWL eventually came by, and we hung out a bit before going into our very crowded corral pen. People were very friendly and I enjoyed talking to other runners as we prepared for the start.

TPP and me waiting for the start

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PETITE PACER

The Brooklyn Museum was the center of the start area 

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE PETITE PACER

View of KWL's corral

PHOTO COURTESY OF KWL

TPP and I were in the 6th corral of the second wave. We made our way to the starting line and began running once we crossed over the mat. Off we went! As I made my way down Washington Ave. with TPP at my side, I thought, "This is it. I'm running Brooklyn!" I adopted a brisk but sustainable pace and moved well for the first couple of miles that wended around the Botanical Garden and Grand Army Plaza. Prospect Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux who also designed Central Park. It's beautiful, though hilly, but much more manageable than some of CP's challenges.

I had hopes of finishing around 2:10 and was on track to do that through my first three miles. I thought that the seven miles in and around Prospect Park would be the toughest part of the race, but the final five miles really took a toll. I was discouraged to see my split times increasing after the fifth mile and by 10K, my overall pace had increased by 30 seconds. I felt okay as I ran, but was unable to generate much speed.

Once we came out of the park and headed towards Ocean Parkway, I had hopes of making up some time. The straight run down Ocean is primarily flat, although there was a small climb as we made our way up the ramp and turned left towards the road. The park provided a lot of shade, but Ocean Parkway was lit up by the sun. I kept telling myself to remove my long sleeve top layer that I'd planned to discard. For some reason I didn't. I'm not sure if that would that have made a difference, but had I done it, it probably would have helped.

I felt every mile, but never felt overly taxed until the end. I dutifully stopped at the Gatorade and water stations and, although I wasn't making good time, I felt fully in control. A woman who I was chatting with in the corral told me how the cross streets along Ocean Parkway are in alphabetical order. Watching the letters change gave me a sense of progress. In my two previous half marathons, ten miles is where I began to really feel the effort. Once again that was the case. I locked into a sustainable pace and tried to hold on for the final 5K.

I could see the Belt Parkway overpass in the far distance and I focused on that. Soon after, I saw the 20K sign and did the math in my head that I only had half a mile to go. We turned onto Surf Avenue where the roaring crowd of spectators provided a huge wall of sound. I spotted the Cyclone and the sign saying 800 meters to go, beginning the longest half mile of the race. We turned left toward the boardwalk and I saw the 400 meter sign. I was so ready to finish. When I saw the chute in the distance, I gave it everything I had.

The finish line, a sight for sore eyes and legs

PHOTO COURTESY OF KWL

I crossed the line and collected my medal, feeling completely drained. I downed a cup of Gatorade and grabbed a banana and made my way through the crowd. KWL found me and I sat down feeling overwhelmed. As in previous long runs and races, I felt a little light headed. KWL got me a space blanket and TPP gave me her cup of water. LS got me more water and I took a GU gel to try to get more electrolytes into my system.

LS, SIOR and TPP relaxing post-race

PHOTO COURTESY OF KWL

I was still light-headed even after taking fluids and electrolytes. My friends decided that I should visit the medical tent and I walked over with SIOR, TPP, LS and KWL. TPP spoke with one of the medical workers who allowed me to bypass the line and brought me right in. They put me on a cot, made me swallow two salt packets, drink Gatorade and eat a banana.

The EMT took my blood pressure which was a little low. The doctor said that the pounding my legs had taken had pooled blood below my waist and that lying down would help. It was feeling back to normal soon, but they insisted on running an EKG (I guess they had to run these tests due to liability concerns).

They eventually retook my pulse which had returned to normal and released me. Once I reunited with my friends we walked over to the street on our way to the F train that would get us back to Queens. We quickly realized that the F train back would take us over an hour, KWL suggested we take a car back to his house. He flagged down a limo, negotiated a great price, and we were soon on our way.

After we arrived at KWL's we collected our race bags, gave each other hugs and said our goodbyes. SIOR had driven her own car and headed off to LI while LS and TPP rode back with me. The LIE was like a parking lot, but chatting with LS and TPP made the time go by quickly. We arrived at my house and said our goodbyes.

It was only around 1:00 PM, but it already felt like a very long day. Despite my side trip to the medical tent, it was a great experience. I so appreciate the generosity and support of my friends. They happen to be extremely fun and interesting people and that made a good race great. I don't care a bit about my time and finishing when I did was not a great surprise. My race performance has definitely declined over the past two years and I'm planning to get a checkup to make sure everything is on track.

An interesting day in Brooklyn

 

This morning started early and involved some complex logistics. The Runsketeers and our Runska-buddies managed our way from the top of Prospect Park to the Coney Island boardwalk, along with 27,000 others. We had lots of fun running the NYRR Brooklyn Half. I'll post a full race report tomorrow.

Brooklyn Half: The calm before the storm

7 miles around the park then five straight to Coney Island

The Brooklyn Half will happen in less than 24 hours. This will be my third half marathon and my first NYRR race. My training for Brooklyn started well and stayed on track until I accepted a full time position on top of my consulting practice. This caused my training program to go off the rails. However, until this week, I did manage to maintain my targeted weekly mileage.

Today is dark and gloomy and heavy rain is predicted for a good part of the afternoon, going all the way past midnight. Better that happen today than tomorrow. I'm working from home today, which will involve a busy morning. Later in the day I'll turn my attention to preparing for the race.

The increased security practices that have been put in place after the 2013 Boston Marathon are restricting what can be carried to races. I need to figure out my gear strategy since the only acceptable bag for race transport is being distributed today at the pre-race party that I cannot attend. Fortunately, SIOR and her entourage will be able to hold our stuff and hopefully get it to us at the finish.

I'm looking at tomorrow with a combination of excitement and curiosity, although I'll admit to being a little nervous about the logistical complexities. I also need to run 13.1 miles in the morning. I've done it before, and my weekend base runs should have prepared me for that distance. The last time I ran a half marathon was in 2012 and I managed to meet my performance goal. Unless I find some unexpected strength and energy that will allow me to maintain a competitive pace, I will be running this race purely for the experience tomorrow.

A large part of the excitement tomorrow is the shared experience. The Runsketeers (SIOR and TPP) will be there, plus friends LS, KWL, FS (among others). I've only run in Brooklyn once, when Adventure Girl and I crossed the bridge through DUMBO and then north to the water. I've always wanted to run in Prospect Park and, from the course map, it looks like I'll be spending more than half the race in and around it. Once we leave the park, it's a straight shot along Ocean Parkway. I hope the wind is coming from the north on Saturday!

Until then it's waiting time. Morning will come soon enough and my friends will be at my house by 4:30 AM as we begin our journey to Grand Army Plaza. This should be fun.

Runsketeers weekend, dinner and a Mother's Day run

Me and the moms (minus SIOR's chin)

Yesterday's run (street): 5.7 miles
Today's run (Bethpage trail): 9.6 miles

This has been a Runsk-terrific weekend. Yesterday, our queen of speed, SIOR, hosted a great dinner for our small group, including grownups and kids ranging in age from 2 to (almost) 16. The food was great, the company was great, and the energy level was high. TPP and I finally got to meet Mr. SIOR, who was a personable and welcoming host, and their fantastic, adorable kids. It turns out that Mr. SIOR and I have some friends in common. What are the chances of that?!

Earlier in the day on Saturday, I went out for 5.7 miles around my neighborhood. My new schedule makes it difficult for me to run during the week, so I needed to cram some mileage into the weekend. The run itself was unremarkable, though I worried that a mid-length run on Saturday might affect my running performance today. There are a number of reasons why I fell short of my planned distance of 12 miles today, and that could have been a factor.

Today's Mother's Day long run started in different places for the Runsketeers. TPP and I met along the bike trail north of Haypath Rd with the goal of eventually meeting up with SIOR, who was starting her run at the southern end of the Massapequa Preserve. TPP and I ran north and turned around when we reached the point where I'd calculated that our southern direction would get us to the Bethpage lot in time to rendezvous with SIOR.

For different reasons, the timing had us at Bethpage earlier than expected. Me and TPP waited about 10 minutes before resuming out southern direction with the intention of intercepting SIOR along the trail. We all met up at the bottom of the big hill right before the lot, and ran north, making a brief stop at Bethpage. We all got water from the fountain because, while it was relatively cool, it was extremely humid. The two "rests" along the way may have contributed to a degradation in my ability to maintain pace. In retrospect, I think it was my failure to bring a water bottle that made my last miles very difficult.

We ran further north and I watch SIOR grow steadily smaller as she opened up space between me and TPP. TPP was able maintain a better pace than me and I followed about 30 feet behind her until we met up with SIOR who was waiting for us at Old Country Rd. SIOR suggested taking a picture at that point, which was a good idea since we often forget to do that. It would have been great to get a selfie at dinner last night, but we never got to it. I think that's because we were having too much fun to think about it.

Shortly after we took our pictures, I reached the point where I needed to stop running. SIOR continued all the way to Sunnyside Boulevard (mind blowing, considering all the miles she'd already covered and the challenging hills north of Washington Ave). TPP ran another mile and met up with me where I'd stopped. After she returned, we started walking back to our cars knowing that SIOR would eventually catch up. That happened about a mile north of where we parked, so the three of us got to have a nice talk without anyone worrying about finding an oxygen tank for me.

I ended up covering 9.6 running miles, plus those walking miles at the end. I wanted to finish my Brooklyn training with 12 miles, but I didn't quite get there. I think with a resting taper, carrying water and maintaining a consistent pace next Saturday, I'll be able to get through the distance. There's no way I'll PR and there's a good chance I won't beat my original half marathon time when I ran with an injured knee. But Brooklyn is about the experience and being with friends. I hope they won't mind waiting for me at the end.

Better late than never

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

Things are heating up with my new job and I've been a little concerned that my training schedule would suffer. That was the case yesterday. In order to avoid traffic that makes a 45 minute drive take an hour and a half, I've been leaving the house around 6 AM. I used to run on weekdays at 4:00 AM to get in my daily workout, but I'm not looking do that anymore.

I was resigned to the idea of, once again, missing a run. After a stressful morning I stopped feeling resigned and started feeling guilty. Once I had things in order, I decided to hit the road early to avoid traffic. I debated the idea of doing an elliptical workout when I got home, but the weather was perfect. I quickly changed and headed outside.

I'm definitely a morning runner, so going out in the late afternoon felt a little off. I'm sure my 11 miles on Sunday had something to do with that, along with a tiring day at the office. Getting through these miles was easy, but I wasn't particularly fast. I'm clearly behind the curve in terms of performance and I have no expectations of a PR at Brooklyn. I hope to get in another run in before Saturday, even if I have to do it in the afternoon.

11 miles of fun and friends on the Bethpage trail

This was the best shot of me (out of 3) so imagine the others

Today's run (Bethpage bike path): 11 miles

This morning I set out to cover 11 miles on the Bethpage bike path. It was the company of friends that helped me manage so well and made the experience great. Prior to today's run, my longest run in 2014 was 9.7 miles. This was a 12% mileage increase, but I felt fine throughout the run.

We were hoping to make this a full Runsketeer run, but SIOR had to attend the soccer games and track meets for her dozens of children (4 really). TPP and I met up near the Bethpage trail and started our run north. We were hoping to run into Jonathan who I met on the bike path a couple of weekends ago. Our hopes were met when we saw he and his wife Katherine running in our direction. We quickly fell into formation running south.

Jonathan and Katherine are training for an upcoming marathon in Vermont and they have been training a lot on this bike path and the dirt trails that run close by. Bethpage provides a lot of hills and that's probably good since they'll be racing in Green Mountain country. We ended up running about two miles together before our friends, who'd started about three miles north of our starting point, turned back. They are great people and I look forward to running with them again.

TPP and I continued our run, going beyond the north trail head, passing through Bethpage State Park and then further south past Hempstead Turnpike. We turned around at 6.25 miles. On the way back, TPP unleashed her inner greyhound and began to insert 100-200 meter bursts of speed. She's very quick and I can see why she was a sprinter in high school. If she was the hare, then I was the turtle, maintaining the same pace throughout most of the run. I did pick up my speed a few times as we got closer to the finish point, when I felt I could spend some energy.

TPP, in living color

The trail wasn't as crowded with runners as it normally would be on a pleasant Sunday. Perhaps everyone was off running the LI marathon, half and 10K today. Still, there were cyclists and some runners. TPP, with her vivid attire, got her share of admiring looks. TPP felt that today's run was a good affirmation of her current conditioning and I felt the same. After covering 11 miles and feeling great, 13.1 miles in Brooklyn feels far less intimidating.

Our next Runsketeer event will be very different (more to come on that) and SIOR will definitely be a big part of that. We really missed her today. I'm very pleased with today's run and I owe much of it to my friends who make me a better runner.

Liked my run and loved my park

Been there, didn't do that

Today's run (street): 4.6 miles

I'm working through my new work schedule and trying to find the time to fit in all my training runs. I caught a break on Thursday by working from home. That was good for over six miles, something that I couldn't have done if I was driving to my office that morning. I was back to the drive on Friday morning and couldn't fit in a run before that. The saving grace is that my new office is in an enormous building and I cover a lot of ground on foot during the day.

This morning I targeted 4 miles around the neighborhood. I plan to run as close to 11 as I can on Sunday. Just for a change, I wrapped my run around the neighborhood, following Jericho Turnpike west to South Oyster Bay road and then onto Terrahans going east. The change of scenery was welcomed and I figured that this new route would distract me for the first two miles and make the overall run feel shorter. That sort of worked, even though I added another 2/3 mile to my distance.

I feel that I'm running exactly the same way and expending the same amount of energy that I did a year ago. Now my typical pace is now almost a minute slower. I used to be able to sustain sub-9 paces with a focused effort. These days I'm happy when I see that I've averaged mid-9's. Today I didn't even break 10:00. I'd hope that my weekly speed workouts would have moved the needle, but I've seen little payoff from it.

Later in the day, we all headed to Caleb Smith State Park in Smithtown for "I Love My Park Day." Last year we planted a tree and were looking forward to this year's tasks. However, when we arrived at noon, the event organizers were wrapping things up. Our information said that activities would go until 3:00 PM, but it was incorrect. We were disappointed, but it didn't prevent us for spending an hour hiking the trails.

If everything works out, we'll have a Runsketeer run tomorrow morning that includes a couple of guest runners (J who I met on the bike trail two weeks ago and his wife). I'm very curious to see how I hold up for 11 miles or more. Only two more Sundays before the Brooklyn half, and I need to make them count.

The elusive convergence of speed and distance

 

Today's run (street): 6.4 miles

I was channeling Chicken Little yesterday as I made my way through my 4:00 AM run. All the hard training I've done up to this point seemed to be for naught and I struggled to get through 25 minutes of moderately paced treadmill running. Some of that was likely due to the very early hour and fatigue from my abrupt change in daily routine. Today's run was far longer, and much better than yesterday's, but it wasn't particularly fast.

My new work engagement provides a lot of scheduling flexibility and today I was able to work from my home office. That let me fit in a medium length base run and cover my longest distance since last Friday's 9.7 miles. This spring weather is puzzling, but I won't complain because there's no snow on the roads and temperatures haven't yet reached oppressive levels. However, my decision to wear shorts and short sleeves made me feel chilly throughout much of today's run.

I was concerned that I'd suddenly lost some endurance, but I could tell from the first few steps off my driveway that I would easily cover my targeted miles. That was good news. What isn't so good is that once I go beyond 85% of HR max, my stamina starts to slip. I can handle endurance or speed, but not both together. With only a couple of weeks until the Brooklyn half, I should be farther along in terms of performance. I don't expect to PR on the 17th, and I'm not even confident that I can break 2:10. I'm going to continue to focus on base because, while speed is desirable, endurance is what gets us over the finish line.

Performance is down, but excuses remain high

Ready or not, here it comes

Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

My running has slid back into the questionable range. I had a tough time running a very slow 5K on Sunday. That may have been due to over-training last week, shoelace malfunctions or something less obvious. This week was the start of my new job and, after taking my usual Monday rest day, I skipped Tuesday as well. This morning was a return to 4:00 AM running and it didn't go particularly well.

After 20 years of commuting on the Long Island Railroad into NYC, I had a break over the last year. I didn't miss riding the the train and I still don't. But instead of the train, I'm now driving 75 miles a day to and from my new office. Driving is not fun and I've decided to head out around 6:00 AM to minimize the amount of traffic delays on the LIE, Route 95, etc. Consequently, the window for early running before my commute is short. And unlike train commuting when I could take a seat and sleep, I need to be 100% alert when on the road.

I happened to have an all day meeting in the city today, so I got on the treadmill at 4:00 and ran for 25 minutes. It was one of the toughest workouts I've had in a while, and I'm wondering why. Since I'm making plenty of excuses about my sub-par 5K performance, I'll make more by saying that two days of driving on highly trafficked roads, plus full days in the office, have exhausted me. I'm hoping it's just that. Brooklyn will happen soon and my running confidence has taken a big tumble since last week.

Race report: 2014 Marcie Mazzola 5K

Coming in to the finish

Photo courtesy of The Petite Pacer

Today's run (Marcie Mazzola 5K): 3.1 miles (29:55) 

This morning I ran the Marcie Mazzola race for the sixth consecutive year. This was my first race after returning to running in 2008 and it's the only one I've never missed. In terms of performance, it was not only my slowest Marcie time, but my slowest 5K ever. That was a disappointment, but not to the point of discouragement.

I've definitely lost speed over the last couple of years and I'd hoped that the structured training I've been doing for the Brooklyn Half would reverse that slide. My speed training last Tuesday went well and made me hopeful for a sub-28:00 finish today. Running this race two days after covering 19 miles earlier probably didn't help, nor did some lacing issues I had during the race.

Although the temperature at race time was mid-forties, it felt very cold when we arrived. Even with a pair of track pants and a jacket (that I planned to take off prior to the start) it felt too cold to stand around outside. We ended up hanging out for a while in the lobby of the Huntington Y. At 8:00 we went over and watched the kids fun run and, fifteen minutes later, we walked down to the race's starting point. With only short sleeves and running shorts, I was anxious to get going so I could warm up.

The start on Park Ave.

Unlike most race day mornings, I was not particularly excited to compete today. I was almost in denial that I'd be racing, until reality hit when the horn went off. We were quickly dispatched up Park Ave on our way to Marcie's biggest challenge, the hill on South Woodhull Road. I saw my wife and kids cheering just before I made the turn on Woodhull. I took my first steps up the hill and told myself to focus and prepare to work.

The long run up Woodhull
Photo courtesy of The Petite Pacer

I thought I was doing well and passed a lot of people on Woodhull. I was hopeful that all the long runs I've been doing on hilly routes would pay off. I did start feeling the effort about 2/3 up this long hill and did my best to hold my pace. My Garmin chirped before the Mile 1 marker because I'd started so far back that it took me 20 seconds to get past the starting line. When I heard the volunteer calling first mile times in the 10 minute range I was shocked.

The second mile went by fairly quickly, with enough downhill sections to help make up for that slow first mile. My laces had been cutting into the top of my ankle before the race and I'd retied them a little looser to alleviate that pressure. That was a mistake. About halfway through the race, my right lace untied. I tried to ignore it, but the laces were whipping my legs and I was afraid of tripping. When my shoe began to slip, I decided to pull over and re-tie the lace. That cost me at least 30 seconds, but I wish I'd thought to tighten my left shoe at that time.

Lacing problems 

I made up as much time as I could from there, but when I crossed Main Street at Heckscher Park, my left lace untied. With less than a mile to go, I decided to risk the dangers of tripping and slipping and did my best to avoid a spill. I know this course pretty well and I anticipated the final challenge, a fairly steep rise where Sabbath Day Path connects back to Main Street. I was very ready to finish the race and plowed ahead. I knew that once I got past this hill, I was less than a quarter mile from the end.

Rounding the dogleg to the finish

The race ends with a run up the driveway of the YMCA and I put everything into getting past the incline. I saw and heard my wife and kids right before the dogleg that leads to the finish chute and saw that I still had a chance to come in under 30 minutes. I crossed the line and didn't even see TPP who was taking race pictures that she posted to the GLIRC Facebook group. She did a great job, just like last year.

In the end, I was glad that I ran the race. Although I would have liked to have cut a couple of minutes off my finish time, I felt I put in an honest effort. We hung out afterward for the raffle and went back to the Y building so I could get a cup of coffee. We ran into my friend Mike who was there to swim laps in the pool. Mike ran Marcie with me last year but suffered a heart attack right before this past New Year's. He's recovered well and is back to running and other sports. In fact he's planning to do an Olympic-length triathlon in May.

Post race food and recovery

We didn't win anything at the raffle, but that didn't matter. I saw my time posted on the Start2Finish truck and realized that I'd averaged in the mid-9:00 range. Small consolation, but I'll take it. Despite all my training thus far, I'm clearly not on track to PR at Brooklyn. What probably matters more is that all the base running I'm doing will make covering 13 miles a far more realistic challenge than it was a month ago.

Angry workers and the endless trail

My view of the trail today

Today's run (Bethpage bike trail): 9.7 miles

With the Marcie Mazzola 5K happening on Sunday, I needed to figure out a way to get my long run done this week. On Wednesday I logged six miles and was planning to run 10 or 11 on the weekend. I didn't want to run that much the day before a race, so I decided to cram it in today. I'm wrapping up a lot of things as I prepare for a new role on Monday, so my schedule was tight.

I decided that the bike trail was my best option, so I drove to the small lot that sits on the bike trail north of Old Country Road. I quickly started running north until I reached Washington Ave and turned around to run south. My target was 10 or 10.5 miles and I felt great. The weather was perfect and the setting serene. I must have seen thirty cottontails along the path and countless birds. Not too many people though.

I did fine through the first five miles despite the hills that came about every quarter mile. My only concern was time, because I needed to be home (and hopefully showered) before a business call that was happening mid morning. Once I'd traveled south of the Bethpage lot and down the big hill, I started to feel a little fatigued. I'd swapped the sock liners in my Virratas for gel insoles and that turned out to be a good idea. However, the softer landing probably made me work a little harder on the hills.

By the time I reached seven miles, I became concerned that my progress was not fast enough to meet my timeline. I was really feeling fatigued and the trail seemed endless. I also realized that I did bad math in terms of turnaround point and I wouldn't quite make ten miles. Oh well, it was only a 3/10th of a mile difference. The only disruption to this placid experience was when I reached Old Country Road near the end of my run.

Before I'd rounded the corner to the street, I heard loud male voices screaming at each other. It was mostly expletives. These were town or county workers who were fixing the bike trail at the point where it met Old Country Road. I was mildly concerned because I needed to run between them to get across the street and more concerned when I saw that one of the arguers was driving a huge front loader.

I think they realized the danger of interfering with a civilian, so they stopped while I passed through. Immediately after, the guy in the front loader started yelling, "I !@#$% quit!" By then I was on the trail on the opposite side heading to my car.

Even though today's distance was almost the same as last Sunday's, today's run was far tougher. I'm hoping it had to do with running almost ten miles after running 6 just two days prior. For some, that would have been a non-issue, but it was only about five weeks ago when I was struggling to complete 4 miles on this same trail.

Tomorrow I will rest and Sunday I'll race. What I'll do for training next week is still up in the air. I'll have to see what my schedule holds.

Run interrupted, for a very good reason

You just can't escape it

Today's run (street): 6.25 total

This morning I planned to go out for six miles, but circumstances caused me to break the run into two parts. I've been trying to run at least 6 miles mid-week to reinforce my base. The news was reporting 40 MPH winds so I went with running pants and two top layers, including a heavier weight half-zip. It turned out that the winds weren't anywhere as bad as reported.

I started off well and I was looking forward to covering my distance at a comfortable pace. I was almost at my first mile when my cell phone rang. I always check to see who's calling, in case it's an emergency. I recognized the number as a big client, but I couldn't answer the phone in time. I listened to the voicemail and headed home to call them back.

Although my run was interrupted, it was worth it. I'm keeping my consulting practice, but now I'll also be taking on a full time position. This will be the first time I'll be commuting to an outside office since I left my old company in 2013. I'm very excited about this new opportunity, but I am concerned about how it will affect my training over the next few weeks. In order to be ready for the Brooklyn Half, I'll need to maintain my current mix of speed and base running.

Once all the paperwork was signed, I went out to complete the balance of my run. In between the first and second part of today's run I had lunch and I wondered how I'd do running on full stomach. The weather had turned cloudy and it looked like it might rain. I was grateful that my distance dropped to five miles, since I'd already done a mile earlier in the day.

There was more wind the second time I went out, but I appreciated it because I thought it might help simulate the effort needed to take on the first big hill at the Marcie Mazzola 5K on Sunday. I moved along fairly well, but the Garmin was showing paces that were at least 30 seconds slower than perceived effort. After calculating true distance, it turned out that I was running about 15 seconds per mile faster than what the display said.

Overall, I met my distance target, although not all at once. I recently read that two-a-days are actually a good training strategy, but I can't remember why. I'm supposed to taper at some point for Sunday's race although I'm not sure I can afford to reduce volume at this point. Maybe I'll rest tomorrow and go long again on Friday.

Boston is back and back to the track

Tracking Marathon friends on BAA.org

Today's run (track intervals): 
6 x 400's plus 1 mile warm up/cool down

Yesterday was a big day for running, with the 118th Boston Marathon taking place (thankfully) without incident. Both SIOR and TPP's sister ran great races, and it was fun to watch their progress using the tracker on the BAA website. How perfect that Meb Keflezighi won the men's race. I'll never look at Skechers the same way again. I was disappointed when Shalane Flanagan dropped back after leading for so long, but she scored an American course record while finishing seventh overall.

The marathon would have been great inspiration for a Monday run, but I held to my rest day to ensure I'd recover from Sunday's long distance. Speed work was on the calendar today, and since the schools are closed until tomorrow, I went over to the track to run intervals. I've done weekly speed workouts all throughout my half marathon training cycle, but I hadn't done a single set on the track until today.

The temperature was 55° when I arrived at the high school. Although I was wearing shorts, I was concerned that having two top layers would cause me to overheat. With the 6 MPH wind, it felt chilly enough to keep them both on the entire time. The high school cross country team was assembled at the southern end of the track infield and I wondered if my workout would happen alongside a crowd of much faster runners.

My HRM now takes 5 minutes to sync

It turned out that I didn't need to share the track at all. The coach was having the team run laps barefoot on the grass, first slowly, then at speed. While that was happening, I started my workout with two laps around the track at around 8:50/mile followed by 6 x 400's at 8:00/mile. I finished with a half mile cool-down that I ran at a mid-9 pace.

It was good tactical workout. I probably could have added another two quarters, but I wanted to keep it light today. I'll try to cover much more distance tomorrow. With the race on Sunday, I'm not sure what to do about my weekend long run.

Bethpage run: Making friends along the trail

I really want that chocolate bunny

Today's run (Bethpage trail): 9.5 miles

Today is Easter and I hope it's a good one for those of you who celebrate this holiday. I don't, but I'm certainly celebrating the great weather we're having this weekend. Sunday is when I do my longest run and the distance gets extended each week as I build up to half marathon distance. Last Sunday I ran eight miles and today's plan was for 9. Depending on the training schedule, today could have been a ten miler, but I was reluctant to jump 20% from week to week. Though it was an accident, I ended up with a good compromise distance.

My Runsketeer friends are both in Boston for the marathon that's being held tomorrow. SIOR will be running it and we are really excited for her. She trains really hard while taking great care of her family (4 kids!) and she has the athleticism to make it a memorable performance on Monday. No pressure, just qualifying for Boston is a victory. TPP is there to support her sister T, who is also running tomorrow. T is another high performer. That, of course, is a prerequisite for getting entry into Boston.

As a native Bostonian, I would have loved to be there to watch them run through my old home town of Natick, but I'll be here on Long Island tracking their progress through the baa.org site. In the meantime, I have my own race training to do with the Brooklyn Half coming up mid-May and the Marcie Mazzola 5K next weekend. I'm very curious to see how I do in terms of speed in the 5K and whether all these hills I've been running will provide a performance payoff.

Today's run was split into two experiences, one being a pleasant but uneventful solo effort for about five miles and the other a highly enjoyable almost-five with an other runner on the path. I parked near Haypath Rd. again and got right on the bike trail going north. I followed the trail up to Washington Ave and turned around once I reached the underpass of the LIE.

I maintained the easy pace that I need to cover long mileage while I rebuild my endurance. I got to the five mile point and had stopped at Haypath to watch for cars when I saw another runner to my left. We exchanged hellos and crossed the road. I suspected that he was faster than me and was surprised that he hadn't taken off and passed me at that point. Instead, he (I'll call him J) pulled alongside me and asked how many miles I was doing. He was planning to do about the same, we're both training for different long races and his will be in Vermont.

Today's elevation profile

J turned out to be a very good and interesting guy who also works in the media technology space, but not in publishing like me. He set a slightly faster pace than I was running and I was very surprised that I was able to hold up my end of the conversation. J is a tall athletic guy and I'm somewhat older than him. He could have easily run two or three minutes a mile faster than the pace we held and I was grateful that he didn't. He really pulled me along, especially on the hills.

The time spent with J went by much faster than the previous five miles. Just like when I have group runs with SIOR and TPP. Good company is a runner's gift. I left J to finish on his own once we returned to Haypath and I felt remarkably good after covering almost ten miles today. All this focused training is making a difference and it demonstrates that there is no substitute for putting in the work. When the work is made easier with friends, it's simple to understand why we do this.

Short and steep running at Trailview

Trailview welcomes you

Today's run (Trailview State Park): 2 miles

Today is my birthday and it's been a good one so far. I'm not much for big celebrations and my family and friends respect that. I did enjoy a nice lunch at the Lemonleaf Grill (spicy Panang curry), the great cards, thoughtful and fun gifts, calls and emails. And there's still more to come!

I had looked forward to today's run which I planned to do at Stillwell Woods this morning. I haven't been on a wooded trail since March's relay race in Bethpage and I thought a change would be nice. When I arrived at Stillwell, I saw that the enormous set of athletic fields were packed with tents and people who were there for some lacrosse-related event. I drove into the lot despite the hundreds of cars, many double parked along the drive. In the past I've been able to find spots way down near the trail entrance, but today there wasn't a space to be found.

If I wasn't wearing my H/H Trail Lizards, I would have driven to the nearby high school and run on the track. Instead, I decided to head home and take a birthday rest day. When I reached Jericho Turnpike, it occurred to me that I could run the trails south of Stillwell (i.e., Trailview) that probably had plenty of parking. I was there in two minutes and, while the lot was crowded, there were still plenty of spaces.

I wasn't looking to run long today, so Trailview was a good choice. The loop is an out and back measuring about two miles, but with its steep, gnarly, rocky climbs and precipitous drops, you can get quite a workout. As soon as my Garmin captured a signal, I was (literally) off and running, mostly because I wanted to get to the starting point ahead of a large group of hikers.

The short run seemed to go by quickly and I was very happy with my response to the hills. I actually liked going up more than going down, because I feared catching a root and tumbling down 20 feet of rocky trail. I maintained a fairly high heart rate which has been my goal for my current training. I always forget how challenging Trailview can be.

Later in the day, the family headed over to Syosset-Woodbury Park for some other activities. There are some great hills and I took on the biggest a couple of times. I got outside a couple of times today but didn't overdo it either time. I'm planning to cover 9 or 10 miles tomorrow and need to reserve a little energy for that.

Cadence increasing, visibility high

Artist's rendering using Google Maps street view

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

I missed Tuesday's run and needed to make it up today, although the Higdon plan called for a rest day. I felt ambivalent about today's workout and whether to go easier this morning after yesterday's semi-fast run. My motivation for speed was low, so I decided to let my level of intensity play out as I ran. Once I got the door I noticed the cold, but the winds that made Wednesday's conditions feel like 24°, were no longer a factor.

My Garmin hasn't performed well lately in terms signal accuracy, making my real-time pace data suspect. I've been running by feel and heart rate which seem to provide more useful feedback. The type of workouts that I've been doing over the last five weeks have helped me increase my cadence. As a result, I'm finding it easier to hold a decent pace on shorter runs. I kept my heart rate around 85% today and ended up running my distance in the high 9's. That's exactly what I wanted to do.

Today's run was unremarkable, except at one point when I was running down a long road near my house. I spotted my wife's car heading in my direction. She and the kids were going out to do errands and when they passed me, the windows were down and they were cheering for "The Emerging Runner." They saw me from a distance because I was wearing a bright orange running shirt. High visibility isn't just for safety!

Introducing some speed into Brooklyn Half training

Today's run (treadmill): 3.1 miles

I skipped Tuesday's speed workout due to a timing conflict but I put it back on the schedule for today. According to my training plan, this was supposed to be a tempo run that peaks at 10K pace. I've gotten out of sync on my speed work and thought I'd do intervals instead. Although this morning's weather was very nice, I was running behind schedule and elected to save time by staying indoors.

It wasn't until I got on the treadmill that I decided which workout to follow. Thinking at first that I'd run intervals, I began with a warm up at half marathon race pace. I wanted to go into the repeats with a harder than usual effort to prime myself for speed. Once I got going, I considered the tempo idea. I then thought about SIOR's suggestion that I introduce some sustained speed into one of my weekday workouts for a couple of miles. I decided to continue with this half marathon pace for the duration of the run.

Except for intervals, I have not done many runs lately at sub-10 paces. This is because I've focused on endurance and distance rather than speed. I was surprised to find myself comfortably running at a mid-9:00 pace this morning. I wondered if I could keep this pace the entire way through and it turned out that I could. All this distance and hill running are clearly helping my stamina.

It's scary to think that I only have four more training weeks before my taper week. The longest run I've done so far this year is eight miles, but I did fairly well with that. I'm hoping that I'll continue to progress as I move into double digits. My average HR finally exceeded 85% of max today. If I can push a little harder and sustain it, I should start seeing my speed improve as well.

Winter running in mid April

Thick frost on the lawn this morning

Today's run (street): 6.25 miles

Yesterday's schedule was rough and it involved an early morning drive to a client north of the city. This meeting and other obligations disrupted my training schedule and they caused me to miss my weekly speed work. I considered doing those repeats today and moving my long run to Thursday, but I didn't want to space my base training runs too close together.

I was surprised to see that the temperature was only 32° when I got up. At least yesterday's driving rains were gone, so it was just a matter of bundling up. I've gotten used to running in 40 degree weather so I was concerned about a possible recurrence of cold-related breathing issues, but they didn't materialize. I dressed for the frigid temperature and set out to cover 6 miles or so.

Complex route

Longer runs in my contained neighborhood are hard to do unless you don't mind covering the same streets multiple times. I mentally mapped out a route that would minimize these redundancies and took off running at an easy pace. I knew that it would be cold, but I didn't count on the stiff breezes that accompanied it. According to my Garmin data, the winds were at 14 MPH, making it feel like 24° outside. Nothing like pushing your way up a long sloping road with freezing wind buffeting you the entire way.

The run itself was fairly easy. I have no doubt that the Brooklyn Half training is contributing to my endurance. I picked up the pace on the last mile and ran it almost a minute faster than the previous 5. That told me two things: I can run faster when I need to do it and I can find speed at the end of a middle-long distance run. Speed is a relative term of course. My "fast" pace today did not match race target. But it is progress and I'm all for that.

8 miles at Bethpage, but parking was the toughest part

X marks the parking spot (map and picture)

Today's run (Bethpage bike trail): 8 miles

Today was my longest run of the week and I knew I'd be doing it somewhere on the Bethpage bike trail. I just didn't know when or where I'd start. GLIRC had a clubhouse run scheduled for this morning and I considered joining them for that. Those runs start at 8:00 AM sharp in the parking lot of the GLIRC office in Plainview. I wasn't in the mood for running with a big group, so I decided to skip that event and do my long run solo.

TPP was also doing her long run at Bethpage today and I'd hoped to cross paths with her at some point. We did end up finding each other on the trail (she was easy to spot in her vivid pink running gear) and we ran together a bit. TPP was having a tough time this morning and decided to head back to her starting point. Despite that, she ended up covering almost 8 miles.

The Hal Higdon plan called for 8 miles today, although my ER plan had me down for 9. Since I ran 7 miles last Sunday, I decided that eight was enough <smiley face> today. I recall from my last half marathon training cycle that the challenge of going from 5-6 miles to 8-10+ took some acclimation. I was concerned that I'd hit the wall after 45 minutes or so, but I never felt depleted. I stayed around 80% of max HR throughout the run, largely due to maintaining an easy, but steady, pace.

Before I took my first step on the Bethpage bike trail, I had a frustrating experience trying to find a place to park my car. I'm planning to get a 2014 Empire Passport so I didn't want to pay the Bethpage parking fee today. I was hoping that they weren't charging for entrance this morning, but when I arrived I saw that the toll house was open for business. I thought about other options and turned around. I then drove to the small lot that is located off E. Bethpage Rd near Old Country Rd.

When I arrived at this lot, every one of its ten or so spots was filled. So much for that. I was 30 minutes past my planned start time and still had no place to park my car. I was going to park along Haypath Rd. but I wasn't sure that was okay. I then noticed some cars with people who looked like runners parking along Colonial Rd and found a spot near them. I took care to see any signs restricting parking along the street. Seeing none, I parked and crossed the road to the bike trail.

It was only a few minutes after that when I saw TPP. Despite her claim that she was struggling, she looked strong as I watched her coming south in my direction. I wanted to follow the trail north all the way to Sunnyside Blvd. After a few minutes of running in that direction, TPP decided to head back to the lot where she'd parked. She's really cut down on simple carbs and sugar and has been having trouble maintaining her targeted performance levels. I'm confident that will soon change.

I wasn't thrilled about covering the section of trail north of Washington Ave because it has a series of long hills. It was no picnic, but I did better than expected. I'm sure last weekend's hilly workout helped prepare me for today's. The only difficult times were when I was coming up steep hills against 12 MPH winds. I maintained the best pace I could, shortened my stride and got through those situations fairly well.

Today's route, with out-and-backs at both ends

It takes a while to cover eight miles and I ended up needing to go south of my starting point to pick up miles 7 and 8. That took me close to the start of the north trail. I kept waiting for my energy level to drop but it never wavered, except when I was a couple of tenths away from my finish point. That was obviously a psychological response to almost being done.

This training program has been nudging my weekly mileage beyond my average of 18. The past couple of weeks were 21 miles and this week I covered 23. That was with two rest days instead of my usual one, meaning my average run length has increased measurably since I've started training for Brooklyn.

Low mo leads to slow go

GPS margin of error

Today's run (street): 3.5 miles

Usually, after a rest day, I'm more than ready to get back outside for a run. Today was one of those near perfect running days with plenty of sun. The temperature was warm enough for shorts yet cool and dry enough to keep sweating to a minimum. Despite all these positive conditions, I found myself unmotivated. My half marathon training schedule only required a 3 mile race-pace run today, yet I was mentally unready to do it.

I didn't sleep well last night, and that probably explained the lack of drive I was feeling this morning. I didn't consider skipping today's workout, but time kept slipping by. We had people coming over in the early afternoon and I needed to get my run completed in time to shower and finish lunch. I decided to dial back the intensity and just do my mileage at whatever speed I could sustain. That got me out the door.

I set a pace that felt sustainable and changed up my route to keep it interesting. While I consciously avoided focusing on speed, I did successfully keep my cadence within my targeted range. I ended up running three minutes longer than I would have if I'd followed the race-pace plan. Although the skies were clear and sunny, my Garmin did a poor job of tracking my progress today (see comparison above). Further, I had no way to gauge my actual performance while I was running, because the readout was based on flawed data.

Tomorrow I'm due to run 8 or nine miles. I may participate in the GLIRC Clubhouse run in the morning if I feel up to it. Otherwise I'll probably head to Bethpage a little later and do it on my own.

It's JavaScript's fault that I ran slow

What I've been staring at 

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

I have a consulting practice that focuses on digital media business and technology. I'm in the process of expanding my portfolio of services. That involves including more strategic partners and re-branding my website. I'm spending time on the development site whenever I can fit it in. Although I get input from my partners, I'm handling both the web design and the technology. This is fun for me, but staring at HTML and JavaScript code for hours really wears me out.

I'm hoping that will explain the gap between my perceived effort (PE) on today's run and my actual performance. I didn't expect to see impressive numbers when I checked my Garmin after my run, but I ended up running over a minute slower than how the run felt. It was a more challenging workout than I'd anticipated. It was also a sign that I haven't gained back as much speed as I hoped I would by now.

It was interesting to see that the Garmin data showed that my average cadence was up measurably, compared to my last few runs (174 vs. 168 SPM). So my turnover was good. Had I opened up my stride a little more, my pace time would have likely reflected my PE. It's something to think about on my next run. But I won't be thinking about it until Saturday, because Hal gives me a rest day tomorrow. Great, more time to code my site.

It's been four months and we still don't miss you

Vitamins or diet? She's on the case!

Today's run (street): 5.9 miles

Back in December, I wrote about a study that was reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine about the efficacy of multivitamins. According to their findings, taking multivitamins provided no preventative benefits related to cancer, heart disease or any other chronic illnesses. Unlike medicines such as ibuprofen that show benefits within the hour, we've all taken it on faith that multivitamins work. According to the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (Centrum vitamins) marketing department, "Multivitamins are intended to be used as part of an overall healthy lifestyle and can help fill the gaps in one’s diet to help ensure people get the recommended amount of key vitamins and minerals needed each day."

So do they actually help? Well the Emerging Runner family decided in December that those findings were a good enough reason to stop taking them. Almost four months have passed since we last took our daily doses. Besides a few days of sneezes and sniffles in February, we haven't missed them at all.

Our family eats well, with plenty of whole grains, vegetables, salads, lean meats and plant-based proteins. I'm betting that our diet provides sufficient protection. Therefore, I'm going to conclude that multivitamins are unnecessary, at least for healthy eaters. I did have a rough patch with my running this winter, but I attribute that to poor training rather than to either diet or the lack of a multivitamin.  

And those horse pills are no joy to swallow, either.

Men's Journal had an article in the March issue that restated these findings and offered other evidence that vitamin supplements don't work. I'd be curious to know how these conclusions have affected vitamin sales, or if most people continue to take them just to be safe.

This morning I had a very nice run around my surrounding neighborhoods. Now that I'm regularly exceeding five miles when I go out, I can feel a real difference in my endurance. Curiously, I started to feel a drop in energy around 30 minutes in, but within ten minutes, I felt as strong as I did at the start. This structured training seems to be working. Why did it take me six years to start following a plan?

Treadmill repeats, a little faster and a little better

Check this box ☐ if you are tired of seeing my HR charts 

Today's run (treadmill repeats): 2.5 miles - 6 x 400 plus 1 mile warm up / cool down

My Runsketeer buddy TPP has been focusing on cutting back on her sugar and carbs. Reducing your sugar intake is a good idea (provided there are no underlying issues related to hypoglycemia). Moderating simple carbs is always smart. Most of the time we don't need that sugar, but our cave-person genetics force us to crave it. The one exception is when you are 40 minutes into a 10K and you need energy right now.

I used to use GU gels frequently on my runs, even when I ran relatively short distances. Now I rarely use energy boosters, or anything like it. I've now reached the point in my half marathon training program where I'm approaching double digit base runs. That means I'm running for 80 minutes or more at a time, long enough to (supposedly) deplete my glycogen stores. So far I've avoided using supplements during this training. I took a GU gel along on Sunday, but never felt like I needed it. Then again, despite all the hills, I really didn't push myself that hard.

I'm not Brooklyn race ready yet, but I've definitely moved the needle in terms of endurance. Running seven easy miles, as I did over the weekend, would have been a struggle four weeks ago. But I felt great on Sunday. This morning I ran another set of 6 x 400 repeats, this time on the treadmill. I prefer to do this workout on the track or at least on pavement, but it was raining fairly hard outside this morning.

Considering the challenge I had running 220's a couple of weeks ago on the treadmill (at a slightly slower pace), I can see progress. Today's quarters were run at 7.2 MPH, book-ended with half mile warm up and and cool down runs. I was very pleased to see my HR reaching 85% of max by the final seconds of each interval. I plan to take the speed up to 7.3 MPH next time I do treadmill repeats.

Tomorrow is my mid-week base run, which by my formula (80% of Sunday's long run) should total 5.6 miles. I'll try to run at least two of those miles at Half Marathon target pace, per the advice of SIOR. This will be the first "bridge" workout where I partially combine a speed and distance run. I'll be interested to see if I've restored my fitness well enough by now to manage through it.