Learning to love the run (again)

Friend of the devil

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles
Saturday's workout (elliptical): 30 minutes

We spent most of this weekend in the city and that somewhat altered my running schedule. We had to get downtown fairly early for a college tour, so I did a quick elliptical session before we headed out. I figured that the amount of walking we'd do would compensate for a longer run I would have done this weekend. I'm not sure that's true, but we certainly covered a lot of ground up and down the streets of Manhattan. This morning we visited Madam Tussaud's. Touristy but fun. I even got to hang with my buddy Jerry Garcia.

SIOR and family were also in town last night taking in different sights. It would have been fun to run into them. She did eight miles yesterday and 15 today. When I expressed my view about running that many miles (ugh) I was sharply rebuked. I decided to try to see her point and view summer running as a positive. When we got back home I decided to cap today's city walking with three miles of afternoon running.

I had in my head that it would be an easy workout. It didn't feel too hot when I started and I immediately began thinking about the experience. Was I enjoying this run or was I doing what was necessary to maintain my fitness? I realized then that I am coming up on seven years as a runner and wondered if my current view of running (necessary but not particularly fun) coincides with that span of time.

Is there such a thing as the seven year running itch? The point where you're pretty much the runner you're going to be? There aren't a lot new experiences and surprises when you've run the same basic route 1,000 times. SIOR has been running a lot longer than me and she still looks forward to fifteen mile training runs. How do I get there?

I ran my route and, like always, thought about my arm position, stride and cadence. I still care about how I run and that was an important realization for me today. The heat and fatigue from a busy weekend eventually got to me and, although the run was short, it couldn't have ended sooner. Perhaps I need to rethink my running goals and even sign up for another half marathon. It's not about the race. It's about the training that I need to do to look at 10+ mile runs as fun again.

Short of time and business attire

 

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

This is going to be a bad weekend for running. I'll be tied up all day tomorrow and throughout most of Sunday. I don't think I'll be able to fit in a workout during that time, but I'll be doing a lot of walking. Any chance to pick up extra miles today were dashed by a tight work schedule that limited my running time.

Not running all week and then starting up again on Friday is a bad habit that I need to break. Instead of feeling well rested at the start, I usually feel out of shape. I don't struggle through these runs because I typically keep my distance under four miles due to time. However, feeling out of shape, at least for the first half mile, usually does not motivate me to push my performance.

Just before I sprayed on sunscreen, my cellphone rang and I had to deal with a work problem. That put me further behind. By the time I left the house, I had only 40 minutes to complete my run and be back in time to shower before my call. Otherwise I'd have to do this call wearing my sweat soaked running shorts.

And that's just what I did. I tried to imagine what the people on the other end would have thought if they could have seen me rather just hearing my voice. I love working from home! Although I had to wind myself up at the start, I ended up in a good place by the end. I even pushed past my comfort zone throughout the last mile and greatly improved my pace over the prior two miles.

It turned out to be a busy day so I was glad I got in a workout. I may end up doing a late afternoon run on Sunday if I feel up to it. That could be a nice way to end a very busy weekend.

High visibility bargain

Orange you glad I bought this

Today's run (street): 4.25 miles

I spent an awful lot of time talking myself into running this morning. If I'd just headed out early, before all the heat, sun and humidity, I would have been a lot more comfortable. By the time I was ready to go, we were hit with a deluge of rain. I had another cup of coffee while I waited out the storm. Once the skies were clear, I was able to go out. But by then, I just didn't feel like running.

Somehow I managed to make my way out the door. I planned to keep it simple and follow my one-mile loop as many times as I could stand it. As it happened, I could only stand it once. I changed my route and followed Jericho Turnpike west, going past restaurants and shopping centers before cutting back into the neighborhood. By the way, if you're looking for a bargain, Rare 650 is offering a steak special for two - only $99.99!

Speaking of bargains, I found a better one at SA Elite this afternoon. It's my favorite running store, full of great discounted running clothes and shoes. For some reason there's never many customers and every time we go there I expect to see that it closed. My wife found a hi-viz ASICS packable running jacket for $16. Although I have a decent running raincoat, it's a size medium and a bit snug. It functions better as a waterproof windbreaker and I always keep it in my work backpack. I ended up buying the ASICS jacket in orange  -- size large.

I was glad that I managed to talk myself out the door this morning. Even though it's been a low mileage week, I felt good about all my efforts This is going to be a busy work week and I'm hoping to fit in another mid week workout. And if it rains, I'm covered.

Moving lower on the dizzy scale

Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

After another good nights sleep I'm functioning a little better than on Friday. I woke up today without feeling dizzy. Even after my run, I haven't experienced any problems. I still feel blocked on my right side around my ear, which may be due to fluid build-up. It's possible that I got water in my inner ear from being in the pool last weekend. That could explain my occasional dizziness over the past week.

I had some time pressure to get my run done early, although I still took my sweet time getting outside. I like to take it easy on Saturday mornings, leisurely drinking coffee and watching the news, although those aren't conditions that motivate me to run and sweat. I do eventually get there. According to my Garmin data, I didn't actually start my run until 8:43 AM. Fortunately, the weather was still a balmy 77° with an 8 MPH breeze and only 57% humidity.

Since I skipped my workout yesterday, I considered covering a little extra distance today. I ended up keeping my run to around four miles because I didn't want to overdo it. That was a good decision and I ended up having a good, energizing run. The run itself started as it typically does, with the first few minutes setting the tone for the entire workout. I usually start off feeling uncomfortable, probably due to the high degree of anaerobic breathing that happens before my body switches over to aerobic.

The rest of the run went fine and I was back home in time to stay on schedule. Today has been busy and I was happy to get my run in after missing it yesterday. I'm glad the dizziness has gone away. I just hope it stays gone.

Nothin' doing

I don't know why, but I've been tired and dizzy over the last couple of days. It may be due to an inner-ear thing, or possibly caused by a sinus infection or allergic reaction. I haven't suffered from allergies in the past, but I think I may have recently developed some pollen sensitivities. Whatever the cause, this condition has sapped my energy this week.

I was looking forward to a good week of activity and had enough energy on Wednesday afternoon to do an elliptical session when I got home from work. I was a little dizzy before that workout but seemingly fine afterward. Thursday was rough because the dizziness came back and my schedule was filled with meetings and presentations. Somehow I got through it.

I got a full eight hours sleep last night and expected to go out for a run this morning before I started my work day. Unfortunately the dizzy feeling and fatigue returned and I elected to wait until later, hoping that I'd snap back. By late morning I resigned myself to making this a rest day. I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow. No matter what I do, at least I won't be leaping across and jumping from buildings like SIOR will be doing on Saturday.

First foray up and down the Massapequa Preserve trail

Uphill in both directions

Today's run (Massapequa Preserve trail): 6 miles

This morning the TV weather people were having a field day about how hot and humid it would be today. Hot and humid are two of my least favorite words when it comes to running weather. It was no surprise, since they'd been talking about that since Friday because of the the NYC Triathlon that was happening today. I knew I'd also need to deal with those conditions, as I planned to meet up with SIOR to run the second half of my six miler in the Massapequa Preserve.

Running with SIOR, even when she's doing her easy long runs (14 miles today), is really more like running after SIOR. Still, misery loves company and it was fun to meet up on the trail and run for a few moments together. She waited up for me a couple of times and we had a nice recovery pause at one point. Although we only talked for a few minutes, we managed to cover some pretty gross subject matter. You have to know SIOR to understand that's not at all unusual.

During my half marathon training periods, I would frequently run as far south as the Preserve, but I'd never made it to the start of the trail head. Today, that's where I started. I parked in the Massapequa train station lot and quickly got onto the bike trail. My hope was that the expensive Ultimate Direction water bottle I'd bought a couple of years ago would be just the thing to keep me hydrated. I remembered having trouble with the bottle's bite valve when I first got it and tested it today before I left the house. FAIL. I brought along a couple of Poland Springs water bottles instead.

The start and finish point

The Massepequa trail is verdant and has lots of dirt side trails. It also has tenth of a mile markers, unlike the Bethpage trail. I started my run shortly after 9:00 AM and the trail was already full of people. Many more cyclists than I'm used to seeing on the northern end. The trail seemed pretty much uphill until I reached Linden street, located just south of the Southern State overpass.

Once I cleared that challenging rise, I ran another half mile until I saw SIOR coming from the other direction. In order to get her full 14, we ran north another quarter mile and turned around. SIOR said the last three miles were mostly downhill and that made sense because it seemed pretty much uphill until that point. Here's the thing I noticed about Bethpage (and apparently the Preserve): it always seems uphill, no matter which direction you run.

On the way back, I kept expecting to see the path sloping down gently and easing me through my final three miles. Strangely, the trail seemed mostly uphill the whole way back. It was like an MC Escher painting come to life. I knew there was nothing to do but run until I came to the end of the trail. Once I saw the bridge over the pond, I knew I was getting closer. When I saw that I was mere tenths away from the trail head, I was thrilled.

SIOR was already in her aircraft carrier-sized SUV when I caught up with her. She offered to drive me over to my car and the blast of AC that hit me was extremely welcomed. I must have looked like hell because she kept asking me if I was alright. She and her family were heading to the beach and I was heading home to spend time with the family in the pool.

TPP was in NYC because her paramour/trainer JC was participating in the NYC Tri (as was our friend KWL). Both of them did really well. We missed TPP, but then again we always do. I'm hoping the Runsketeers can all run together soon. It's almost August and we agreed to do it once a month. So far so good.

Crabby on Friday, better today

Don't eat at Joe's

Yesterday's run (street): 3.5 miles
Today's workout (elliptical): 40 minutes

I work from home most Fridays and that experience (no commuting or multiple meetings) usually provides a nice segue to the weekend. My responsibilities have ramped up in recent weeks and Fridays have become a blessing in terms of catch up time. Except for yesterday, where I started at the crack of dawn and didn't stop until close to the crack of dusk.

My one concession to the Friday workday madness was to break away for a short time to do a neighborhood run. Once I was satisfied that I addressed some overnight business issues, I quickly changed into running gear and headed out the door. The humidity and temperature were both surprisingly low and I looked forward to a pleasant experience.

It's much nicer running on Fridays without  buses and school drop-off traffic. But the recycling manics remain. These guys drive their ten ton truck around my neighborhood streets like it's a Porsche, exceeding the posted speed limit by 20 MPH and ignoring stop signs. Whenever I hear the roar and rattle of the truck, I make a beeline to the sidewalk. Even though there are 5+ miles of road in the neighborhood, I always end up encountering them at some point on my route.

Except for the truck, the run went fine. I had some slight breathing issues when I tried to push my pace, and I'm thinking that my aerobic threshold may have dropped over the last couple of years. If that's the case, it would explain my measurable reduction in speed. I had hoped last weekend's intervals would have gained me some improvement, but perhaps a mile of repeats at around 92% of max heart rate was not enough to make an impact.

Even with decent weather, I ended up feeling depleted. I had a fast shower and then it was back to work for the rest of the day. We had planned a family dinner last night at Joe's Crap Crab Shack which recently opened in our area. We'd gone to one in Orlando years ago and had a great time. We all looked forward to this dinner.

I don't know if I happened to be getting sick (perhaps my hard run and the long day standing in front of my laptop were responsible), but by the time we left the restaurant, I was feeling awful. The experience at Joe's was interesting. Here is my recommendation: Don't eat at Joe's Crab Shack. At least don't eat at the one in Westbury, NY.

We arrived at the place before the busy hour and although the room was more than half empty, we were told we'd have to wait for a table because they didn't have enough servers. My wife wanted to leave, but we were all hungry and chose to stay, since they managed to "find room" for us in the back. This back area resembled the dining room of a highway truck stop circa 1973. The photo at the top shows the room full of invisible diners we needed to walk through to get to our table.

The greasy fish I had was terrible and no one else liked what they'd ordered. By the time we got home, I was feeling sick and had to lay down for a few minutes. I rallied enough to go out back for our Friday night fire pit and even managed enough of an appetite for a S'more. We have seen some interesting things on these nights, like an extremely porcine raccoon "sneaking by" atop the fence. Last night we were again dive bombed by a bat, who perhaps thought the pool was a pond.

This morning I was time-pressed because we had an early appointment at a local college. I probably could have fit in a short run, but I was still feeling iffy and decided to do today's workout on the elliptical. Despite my opening windows on both ends of the room for air flow, it was humid as heck. Even so, the workout was pleasant. Some people don't like the elliptical, but I do, mostly because it's not a treadmill.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Massapequa Preserve to meet up for a Runska-run. I'm hoping that I'll be in ready shape for the six miles I plan to cover. The heat and humidity are supposed to be off the charts, so I'm not planning to do these miles very fast.

Hills, heat, humidity and a failure to Triumph

The route

Today's run (Bethpage trail): 5 miles

Yesterday's track workout inspired me to get out for another "destination" run this morning. By that I mean a run outside the confines of my general neighborhood. Since I pushed my efforts on Saturday, I figured today would be best spent running easy on the Bethpage trail.

ISOs: pretty, but not this editor's choice

I decided to try the Saucony Triumph ISOs again to see how they perform now that my stride has begun to normalize. While I was recovering from the disc issue, my left foot would mash up toward the front of my running shoes and the ISOs seemed to do it the most of any of my running shoes. These highly cushioned trainers won the Runner's World Editor's Award and I had high hopes that they would become my primary shoes. I'm concluding that, for my arch type, lower is better. That's why I've reverted back to using my Vitarras even though they have a sizable amount of wear on the out-soles.

The cyclists were out in force this morning with less runners than I usually see on the bike trail. My hope was that I'd feel energized from yesterday's intervals. That wasn't the case, but I said, "What the heck" since I planned for this to be a recovery effort. I cruised along the sparsely populated path and at one point I was passed by a fast moving runner with whom I tried to match strides. No such luck. She quickly disappeared into the distance.

There's usually a lot of fauna on the trail, mostly birds and bunnies. Today I saw an actual jack rabbit crossing the path about 20 feet ahead of me. In silhouette it looked a lot like the eponymous character in the Jackrabbit Sports logo. Although the humidity was supposedly low, it didn't feel that way to me. The temperature was 81° and the sun was baking down. The combination of weather and hills on the north end of the trail did me in and I was ready to throw in the towel once I reached 5 miles.

A towel would have been great to have when I finished. When I looked at the Garmin's stats and saw it report 51% humidity I shook my head. The work week starts again tomorrow, and I hope to get in some type workout before next Friday. I was glad to get away for a couple of non-neighborhood runs this weekend and pleased that I finally worked in a speed workout. As for the Triumphs, I don't think I'll ever be happy with them. That's unfortunate. I could always wear them as weekend casual shoes, but they are a bit too vivid to wear in public unless I'm running.

Beefs and intervals on the track

Making great strides

Today's run (track): 3 mile run, plus 8 X 200

Although my pace throughout last Sunday's Bethpage run was s-l-o-w, I was encouraged to see my speed improve once I started running with SIOR. Unfortunately, my speed dropped again once she who was out running brought her pace back to target. Left to pace myself, I'd defaulted to a lower performance level.

My orthopedist told me that my ruptured disc won't return to its prior state on its own and he warned me of pushing my speed too hard. I've been very careful to avoid circumstances that would aggravate my lower back and my recovery has been excellent. The near trip I experienced during a trail run last weekend didn't cause a relapse, so I decided it was safe to push the envelope a bit this weekend.

My morning schedule was tight so I needed to get out for an early, fast workout. When I arrived at the track there was the usual mix of people -- mostly walkers and others who were alternating between running and walking. I had no plan, other than to run intervals that I would start after some warm up laps. I ran clockwise, on the inside (right) lane, to help counter-balance my usual running position on the left side of the road.

GPS inaccuracy: I swear I stayed on the track the entire time

After I'd completed my second lap, I noticed a guy wearing a singlet on the track about 100 meters in front of me. He looked like he was about to start his run, but pulled up short behind a man who had been walking laps. Once I reached them, I heard the runner arguing about the walker's rudeness. In the seconds that I passed them, inferred that the walker had bumped into the other guy and failed to apologize.

I continued on my way but noticed that they were still in a heated conversation when I circled back toward where they were standing. I was prepared to give them the, "C'mon guys, let it go" speech but they stopped on their own before I reached them. I continued rounding the track until I'd completed twelve laps and saw that the singlet guy had started running 200's. Instead of taking a short rest or running a slow jog before resuming, he slowly walked 200 meters to the next starting spot and rested a few minutes before resuming. I ended up doing two 200's for every one that he did.

My feeling of superiority was quickly dashed. A young woman, who was also running strides, overtook and passed me like I was walking. At that moment, I was running a 7:15 pace. No matter how fast you run, there's always someone faster. In my case, that's usually everyone else.

I'm pleased that I got in some speed work today. I haven't checked Garmin Connect, but I think that was my first interval session in 2015. It was a pleasure to see the histogram on Connect that showed my cadence firmly in the green zone throughout most of the workout and my average stride length ten percent longer than usual. Mostly, it was great to see a mile split in the low 8 minute range for a change.

As exciting as it gets on a neighborhood run

And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper

Today's run (street): 3.6 miles

I was berating myself at the beginning of this morning's run for being such a sloth and not working out since last Sunday. Then I remembered that I was home for the extended July 4th holiday on Monday and did an elliptical session that morning. I don't remember how long I worked out (35 mins?) but at least it was something.

I was up at 6:00 this morning and spent almost three hours working on business stuff. It suddenly occurred to me that if I didn't get outside soon, I'd lose any opportunity to run today. My schedule had me on calls and virtual meetings from 10:00 through the end of the day. Instead of stalling, I quickly changed into my running gear and got myself out the door.

The temperature was 72° and if the humidity was high I didn't notice. The wind was blowing briskly and that kept me cool throughout most of the run. The strong breezes made the uphill sections a little tougher, but I kept my mind on my stride and my breathing. I tried to focus on diaphragm breathing (versus chest) as suggested by a recent Runners World post.

Friday's are my weekend kick-off runs and I usually keep them between 3-4 miles. That's a perfect distance for me psychologically, short enough to feel quick and manageable (especially since I'm usually time constrained), but long enough to feel like a decent workout. Since the schools are closed now, the roads were pretty clear except for the army of landscaping trucks and their gardeners riding on the street between homes on industrial strength mowers. I still prefer that to avoiding school buses.

There's only so much to talk about when describing a neighborhood run, so I'll just say I ran on lots of roads and saw lots of houses and cars. There were people out walking, but no other runners that I could see. The big excitement came from a tree removal company that had set up a huge chipper and was griding up trees. A group of neighbors had gathered to watch the spectacle despite the 120 decibel roar.

I didn't stick around, but I assume they eventually ran out of trees and switched to chipping up trash barrels and lawn furniture. That's what I would have done. I managed to get through the rest of my run in time to shower and make my first call of the morning. I'm not sure what my morning schedule looks like tomorrow. If I'm able to get out early enough, I may head over to the track to try some intervals or head over to Bethpage for another crack at the bike trail..

Runsketeer run at Bethpage with SIOR

If she ran 12 and I ran six, why do I look twice as tired?

Today's run (Bethpage bike trail): 6 miles

As they say in baseball, this is a rebuilding year for my running. I'm accepting the precipitous decline in my performance and, although my ego has taken a hit, I still enjoy the running experience as much as ever. I ran with SIOR this morning and admitted to her that I was a little intimidated by her speed. Usually TPP serves as the performance buffer, able to keep up with SIOR for the majority of the time while I languish behind. Today I had no buffer.

I mentioned my concerns about that to SIOR after our run and she was completely supportive of the effort I put in today. She is training for an upcoming marathon in Utah and following the Hanson training method that includes slow runs. Of course her definition of slow is my current definition of 5K pace. I was really happy that we were able to run together for much of the last three miles. The way it worked was for her to slow down a lot more and for me to speed up a little.

SIOR's schedule called for 12 miles today and I was aiming to do about six. We worked out our plan so that SIOR ran six miles out and back north of the Bethpage lot and then three south where she'd rendezvous with me. From there we'd run our last three back to the lot together. We met up on the path just as planned and made our way north.

Today's route

While I know I can run faster when I have to, I tend to default to an easy pace. Post workout, we discussed the fact that my breathing sounds labored during my runs and we wondered if my bout with pneumonia in 2010 has had a long term effect on my lung capacity. I wasn't much faster when I ran with SIOR, but I did improve by a couple of minutes over the first three miles.

Once we'd finished our run, we headed over to Starbucks™, the official run recovery spot of the Runsketeers. We missed our buddy TPP today. She was with JC in Connecticut running with the Iron Cowboy to support his goal of running 50 Ironman distances in 50 days for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation. SIOR and I covered a lot of subjects including her upcoming marathon and the challenges of high altitude running.

I had a great time with SIOR and realized later that today's six miles was my longest run so far in 2015. In past years I would have already run a 10K and/or a half marathon by this point. My experience today motivated me to try to push a little more next time. I look forward to our next Runsketeer run and I'm going to try to keep up with SIOR and TPP a little longer than I have. After yesterday's near trip that (happily) did not re-aggravate my disc issue, I'm think I'm ready for some intervals next weekend.

Wishing for an Independence day from mountain bikers

Welcome to Stillwell - but beware

Today's run (Stillwell Woods): 3.75 miles

I often feel that trail runners get less respect than hikers and mountain bikers. Most articles I read about trail activities emphasize hiking and biking and rarely, if ever, mention running. Last year I donated to the Rails to Trails Conservancy which (I've concluded) spends most of its budget sending emails and letters to patrons asking for more money. Whenever RtTC writes about trail usage, it's only about cycling.

My town has a great Preserve called Stillwell Woods. Described on the nassaucounty.gov website as: "A 270-acre preserve and multiple-use area, Stillwell Woods offers a blend of old field and oak barrens communities, the latter of which includes plants and animals that are more typical of habitats farther east on Long Island." It also mentions (I've bolded relevant text): "The Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail for hikers runs through the preserve; there are also bicycle trails and equestrian trails."    

So why does mentioning or not mentioning running matter? It matters because of the mindset of the people who use the Preserve. 270 acres is a large area and there are many paths to travel. There should be plenty of room for everyone on the trails and everyone should acknowledge that. But, except in rare occasions, bikers ride the trails with abandon with little regard for anyone making their way around on two feet. I've had enough encounters with mountain bikers to sense the resentment that many have for trail runners.

I arrived at Stillwell around 8:00 AM this morning for my Independence Day run and saw a few people preparing their bikes. It seemed less crowded than usual and I assumed I'd have a nice peaceful run. I did not. Almost from the start, I was in conflict with mountain bikers. My first turn off the trail head was partially blocked by two stationary riders who were chatting until I'd passed them to enter a side trail. 30 seconds later, these riders came up from behind, forcing me off the narrow single track so they could get by.

I had a few other encounters with bikers after that. In each case I would hear someone just seconds before I saw them. The bikers didn't slow down, apologize for making me jump off the path or bother to warn me that more riders were coming up right behind them. In one case, a second rider appeared so suddenly that I had to leap out of the way to avoid them. I snagged my foot on a root and it almost took me down.

My body whipped around exactly like it did a few months ago when I tripped on broken sidewalk during a run. I wrenched my back when that happened and the resulting pain was so bad my wife had to come get me. I didn't run again for three full weeks. Today was a different story. Once I righted myself, I expected the sharp pain that I'd experienced from my ruptured disc. Besides feeling slightly shaken up, I was fine, with no discomfort whatsoever.

Looks a lot more peaceful from this height

I carefully made my way out of the woods after that and continued running past the trail head for another half mile. Stillwell is always an experience. The continuously changing terrain provides an interesting and challenging workout. I'm planning for a Runsketeer rendezvous at Beg Hog (my new name for Bethpage) tomorrow and I'm happy that I'll be able to get a fourth run in on Monday. I will be dealing with cyclists on the bike trail, but they seem to be a more thoughtful breed than those at Stillwell.

Conditions good, gear low

Gateway to the Middle school (literally)

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

I've been both run and workout free since last Sunday and only have myself to blame for it. I should be doing runs or an elliptical session before I leave for work. I often think about running a few miles after I get home. For the most part I've done neither, so most weeks I end up cramming it all in between Friday and Sunday.

On Fridays I usually feel pressure to get out early. I work from home on those days and I need to be fully focused on business by 7:30 or 8:00 AM. My company was closed today for Independence Day and our holiday extends through Monday. That took away the pressure of an early run and triggered my tendency to procrastinate before getting outside. I managed to stall until almost 10:00 this morning. Fortunately, the temperature and humidity were still very comfortable.

I usually keep my Friday runs between 3-4 miles to save time. Today I had more flexibility. Despite that, I ended up doing a short run. I started well, but soon had difficulty with my stride. I couldn't get out of second gear and the effort felt very hard. There are some runs that are so enjoyable that we resent the practical need to end them. This wasn't one of those runs.

It wasn't all bad. The streets were empty, probably due to my late start and the fact that the school year is over and the buses are no longer running. Although I didn't feel I ran well, I was happy that I got out on such a beautiful day. I've changed my route lately to finish through the middle school and that loop provides the opportunity to add another quarter mile to my regular course.

The weather on Saturday looks to be cloudy (my favorite running conditions). Humidity levels seem lowest between 8:00 and 9:00, although I'd like to get out earlier. I'm thinking that a visit to Stillwell Woods might be just the thing to get me into another gear.

Predictions variable, but not the humidity

Foggy as humidly possible

Today's run (street): 3.9 miles

Once again, Saturday night predictions of Sunday morning thunderstorms have turned out to be wrong. I was thrilled because I REALLY didn't want to spend any more time on the treadmill this weekend. It looked pretty iffy outside when I was getting ready for my run. I opted to stay local just in case it started pouring and I had to dash home.

I did a quick check out the door before choosing my gear and noticed it felt cool and a little breezy. The local station was showing 63° and I picked a long sleeve hi-visibility shirt to go with running shorts. The low clouds had darkened the sky and I wanted to make sure I was easily seen by drivers.

While I stood waiting for my Garmin to acquire its GPS signal, I caught a flash of yellow in the corner of my eye. I saw that my next door neighbor had started his own run and was bolting down the street. I didn't even know he'd taken up running. He headed south, then west through the middle school, while I went northeast. Even though our neighborhood has dozens of streets and side roads, I predicted I'd see him at some point on my run.

My prediction came true after I'd completed the northern loop of my route and was on my way to the southern end. I saw my yellow-garbed neighbor in the distance coming back towards the school. I don't think he noticed me and I was too far away to catch up to him. I put my focus on catching up and passing a number of walkers who were making their way along the road.

 Today's run conditions per my Garmin

What promised to be a cool and energizing run turned out to be a very humid one. My long sleeved shirt ended up being a bad choice. Even at 94%, the humidity wasn't completely oppressive. This was probably due to the clouds blocking the hot sun. But the humidity fogged my glasses throughout much of the run. Not enough to impair my vision, but enough to be annoying.

I was fortunate to have clear conditions to run outside  this morning and, even with my busy work schedule, I managed to get in over 2 hours of running this week. I really do need to figure out how to consistently get in an additional workout during the week. When I complain about my declining performance, I have to remember that I used to run six days a week without fail and that I'd typically cover over 20 miles in a week.

What I've learned about running from non-runners

Credit: http://www.runnersworld.com

Today's run (street): 4.5 miles
Yesterday's run (treadmill): 3 miles

Have you ever started a conversation about running with a non-runner and ended up regretting it? Like politics, religion and parenting, running is a subject that generates strong opinions. Generally speaking, most runners -- even those at different ends of the performance scale -- will agree on running related topics. Whether we run seven or eleven minute miles, we all sweat, have to deal with weather and wish we were faster. But discussions with non-runners can sometimes go like this.

Non-Runner: What did you do this weekend"
Runner: I did a couple of long runs on Saturday and Sunday.
NR: Wow. I'll bet your knees are hurting today.
R: Running doesn't hurt your knees. In fact it's been proven that running is good for your knees.
NR: Tell that to my my friend [sibling, spouse, friend of a friend, guy I work with...] who used to run until it ruined their knees.
R: Do you run?
NR: No! I don't want to hurt my knees and besides running is so boring!
R: Nice talking to you.

If you think I'm exaggerating, I had this conversation with someone at work this week. Others have warned me of other potential maladies, including heart attacks. I will say that the majority of conversations I've had with non-runners are positive. I've heard just as many people tell me they admire runners and wished they had the patience or discipline to run themselves.

I haven't been much of a runner this week myself, as my increasingly busy work week has cut into my workout time. I took a vacation day yesterday so I could go out east to the Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead. We needed to get on the road early and I opted for a treadmill session to save time. Conditions were humid, so I did what I could to move air around the treadmill room. I used the big floor fan and set the built-in fans on the treadmill console to full power.

That helped, but only so much. Although I only covered three miles, it felt like six and I was wishing for a nap on the way to the Aquarium. We had a great time in Riverhead, and Atlantis is always a good experience. After a tough week, it was nice to do our first family activity since the kids began their summer break.

This morning conditions felt more like spring than summer. It was 65° when I went out and the humidity was far lower than on Friday. I've felt ambivalent about my workouts lately, but today everything worked. The air felt cool throughout my entire run and I was pleased with my stride. I've been reading an article excerpted from Meb Keflezighi's new book and tried to do some of the things he recommended to improve to my form. I felt that today's run was one of the best I've done this year.

Scattered thunderstorms are expected to start tonight and continue through most of Sunday. That's disappointing. But you know, weather conditions are just one of the many problems we runners face. I know a few non-runners who would tell you that.

Triple celebration after a sweltering start

Today's run (street): 5.4 miles

Today was a triple celebration day: Father's Day, my daughter's birthday and the first day of summer. Since we celebrated Father's Day yesterday, there wasn't much going on related to that. Celebrating summer is a passive thing unless you are a Druid, so today was really about my daughter. Except for the kids spending time in the pool midday, most of our celebrating happened indoors or out at places. A good idea considering the August-like humidity.

Loopy

The day did not start in a promising way. The torrential rains and heavy thunderstorms predicted by the weather services turned out to be less intense than expected. However, it was enough to discourage the Runsketeers from going out early as we'd planned. My friends switched the run to later in the afternoon, but I couldn't join them due to birthday stuff. I'm truly sorry to miss that, but the 90° heat and 90% humidity would not have been too enjoyable. I'm curious to hear how that went.

I thought I'd be doing today's workout on the treadmill and had considered doing a faux brick (30 min treadmill, 30 minute elliptical) to minimize my treadmill time. By 8:30 AM, the rain stopped and I went outside to run. My plan was to run loops around the neighborhood that would keep me close to home in case the skies opened up again.

Although it was overcast when I started my run, I thought to wear my sunglasses and that turned out to be a good decision. Over the course of my 50+ minute workout, the sun broke through the clouds and made for a sweltering experience. I kept my effort below anaerobic threshold to keep things tolerable. After three 1.2 mile loops, I expanded my route to ensure that I would cover at least five miles. That course turned out more circuitous than expected and I ended up adding another .4 mile to that total.

It was definitely 5 miles the hard way, and though I felt depleted and dehydrated, I was happy that I got out this morning. My motivation before my last three runs was very low, but each time I rebounded during the run. I'm almost as proud of myself for getting myself out there as I am for getting my runs done.

So happy summer, happy birthday and happy Father's Day. With the 13 miles I've covered over the past three days, I think I worked hard enough to justify the birthday cake we'll be having tonight.

Early run on an early Father's Day

Obligatory selfie at the business park

Today's run (street): 4.2 miles

Although Father's Day is officially on Sunday, we always celebrate it on Saturday. That gives my family an entire day to spoil me without the specter of the workweek starting the next day. On top of that, my son is still studying for Regents and finals that he'll finish on Tuesday so Sunday will be a big review day. So today is Father's Day (observed).

We had lots to do before lunch and I thought I would miss out on a chance to run in the morning. Like yesterday, I got out early and managed to get my miles in by 7:30. I'm planning to run with my buddies tomorrow morning and I'm targeting about 6 miles for that. I decided to cover less distance on today's run to ensure that I stayed on schedule.

I got my GPS signal and went directly over to the business park to run a few loops. Although the elevation loss and gain is the same in either direction, I prefer to run this route clockwise. That allows me to get most of the gain out of the way in the first third of the loop. I did two full and one partial circle before turning back for home.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm still struggling to generate speed. The perceived effort I'm putting in feels higher than the numbers I'm producing. Today's weather was as good as I could ask -- 70°, moderate wind and relatively low humidity, so I would have expected a little better performance.

We had a nice lunch in Huntington this afternoon and more Father's Day things will happen tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing the Runsketeers in the morning, although I may be seeing them through sheets of rain.

Getting my head around running faster

 

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I missed my mid week workout and hadn't been on a run since Sunday. Working from home on Fridays provides an opportunity to get in a few miles in the morning. An early business call provided a scheduling challenge. Despite my chronic tendency to procrastinate before running, I managed to get out before 7:00 AM and was rewarded with a cloudy sky that kept the temperature down. The humidity was another story.

My running experiences have gone from being exciting efforts that occasionally produced performance breakthroughs to embarrassingly slow cookie cutter efforts. I've used the excuse that I have to watch my speed to prevent further issues with my lower back. Even I don't buy that anymore. I think it's come down to the fact that I've lost the will and the knack for running fast.

The thing is, I haven't consciously backed off on the throttle. Most of the runs I do today feel as difficult as the ones I did three years ago. The difference between now and then is measured in minutes per mile. Every time I go out for a run, I think about going to the track and running repeats. I don't have any hope of managing 52 second 200's as I've done in the past, but it would be great to break a nine minute mile once in a while.

I keep telling myself that increasing base past 6 miles will make it easier to maintain speed on shorter runs. I know from half marathon training that there's some truth to that. But I haven't felt the motivation to push beyond a certain perceived effort. The mind has to accept the challenge before the body can perform.

Distance and dehydration

I should have bought water at the farm stand

Today's run (street): 5.75 miles

I managed to get out a little earlier this morning than I did on Saturday and it felt cooler and less humid. That was a good thing, because I ended up doing my longest run of 2015. I didn't really have a distance target, but I knew I would be spending time on  roads east of my neighborhood that would easily get me to 5 miles.

I'd originally thought that I'd cut through the area I call neighborhood #3 to get to the northern point of the Bethpage bike trail in Woodbury. I changed my mind during the run, opting instead to head for the business park to run the main loop. I did one rotation before making my way to neighborhood #3 and then followed Woodbury Road to my usual turnaround spot at Piquets Lane. I tagged the pole and took a selfie in front of a local farm.

By that time, I had passed the 40 minute mark. The heat and sun made me regret that I hadn't brought water with me. I was pretty dehydrated and a little hungry. A gel would have been nice at that moment. I often bring a bottle on my long training runs at Bethpage, but I rarely do that when I'm running on local roads. With temperatures in the 80's, I need to get in the habit of bringing water every time I run.

Today's rambling route

I took it a little easier on my way back and had to be careful to avoid some slippery patches of mud on the sidewalk on Woodbury Road. I was surprised how quickly I made my way back home from there. I saw that I was approaching six miles, which would have been a good distance target. I didn't make six, but I did come close.

I ended up covering 14 miles running this week, and also did a 30 minute elliptical session. It wasn't the 18 miles I've averaged through the years, but I'm gaining distance every week. Next week I'll look to go even longer. The Runsketeers are doing our June run next weekend. It's always easier to cover long miles with my buddies.

Hot and soggy but not too sloggy

Mush!

Today's run (street): 4.7 miles

The needle on my motivation meter was firmly in the off position this morning. I watched the  temperature rise as the minutes ticked by. I couldn't decide where to run and no option was particularly appealing. I went upstairs to change into running clothes, hoping I'd find some inspiration through that experience. I didn't want to spend a lot of time on local roads so I headed over to neighborhood #2 for a slight change of scenery.

I'd watched the local weather report before my run and they made a big deal out of the low humidity. LIARS! The temperature was in the low 80's making the soggy atmosphere feel like hot soup. There were many people packing up their SUVs with beachy gear as I ran by. They had the right idea. I compromised on my pace and floated my way south to the other neighborhood.

I followed an extended loop and stayed on the shady side of the street when possible. My easy pace kept it from being a slog but I regretted waiting so long to go out today. I ended up covering more distance than I'd originally planned and it turned out to be a decent workout.

When I looked at the map of my run, I thought (after rotating the map 90°) that it looked like a person driving a dog sled. I may have created a new category of artwork - design by GPS.

Judgment day for hybrid running machines

Left to right: $2,000, $3,300, $9,300

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

Wednesday afternoon I participated in a debriefing session with fellow testers of the hybrid elliptical running machines. The machines had been removed from the testing lab a couple of weeks ago and I missed them. I was happy to see they were all back in place so we could refer to them in the discussion. It was interesting to hear what my my co-panelists thought about them since we were unable to share experiences during the test period. While we didn't share the same opinions on everything, most of us agreed on the machine we liked the least.

A few young and very fit people complained that they couldn't generate enough intensity on the machines to get a good workout. I rolled my eyes remembering my own experience unfolding myself from the units like a wet noodle after most of my testing sessions. I made the point to the group that I didn't think any of the machines actually duplicated a real running experience. Most people seemed to agree. That isn't to say that machines won't provide a great workout. I personally couldn't justify the exceedingly high cost of a fitness machine that isn't much different from my rickety Pro Form CE 6.0.

I was so inspired by Wednesday's discussion that I did an elliptical workout when I got home. I like ellipticals because I control them dynamically, unlike treadmills that have a mind of their own. After 30 minutes, with an outside temperature of 92°, I felt like I had all the intensity I could manage. Better still, the mild sciatica that I'd had through mid week seemed to be gone after I finished.

This morning I got out fairly early so I would beat the heat. I worked from home and needed to be back in time for a meeting that was being held using a Google Hangout. That meant I needed to look presentable even though I participated from the comfort of my home office-slash-fitness center. Early was a good call, because the heat really intensified over the short time that I ran.

I usually see other runners in the neighborhood on Fridays and weekends and today was no different. Besides the one young guy I always see no matter what day or time I run, the other runners were older (note to SIOR - even older than me. It's possible). I reached a road at the same time as another man and we headed in the same direction. Unlike that time in November when I "won" the race and triggered six months of disc related pain, I didn't take the bait. Instead I tucked in behind him until I reached my turnoff.

I'd like to think it was a relief for this guy not to have this hot shot runner on his tail, but he may not have even noticed. Owing to both the increasing heat and my limited time, I kept my distance to 3+ miles. I was almost home when I heard the familiar sound of my cell's ring tone. I chose to ignore it, but when I finished my run I saw that I'd missed an important call.

Rather than take the time to shower or even towel off, I returned the call from my garage. It was amusing to have a deep business conversation while standing in my sweat soaked running clothes. But that's what's great about working from home. You can alternate between business and non-business activities when you have to - and wear running shorts while you're at it.

Near witness to the Pauli Exclusion Principle

Today's run (Bethpage trails): 5 miles

This morning I was reading Trail Runner magazine's trail shoe review and decided, that's it - I'm going to run on a trail today. Although it was early, I wasn't sure whether Stillwell's lot would be packed with cars, due to the dozens of soccer games that are played there on Sunday. I was also concerned about taking on too much technical terrain after yesterday's basketball hoop assembly.

I seemed to have avoided damage from putting so much pressure on my lower back yesterday, although I felt slight discomfort in my upper hamstring during today's run. It was nothing that would limit me, more like a message from my body reminding me to be more careful.

Since I wasn't looking to do a full trail run this morning, a hybrid of trail and pavement would be a good combination. The best place I could think of to do that was the Bethpage trail just north of the park. I headed over to Runsketeer base camp (sadly with no other Runsketeers today) to park near Haypath Road.

Dirt path going north, paved trail going back

I quickly got a signal on my Garmin and ran over to the eastern trail head off of Haypath to begin the first half of my run. The dirt trail parallels the paved bike path, but it feels like you're in the middle of the woods most of the time. The path is largely straight and it reminded me of Trailview in that respect. But Trailview is more technical, while this trail was mostly packed dirt. I encountered some gnarly roots that jolted me momentarily, but I didn't come close to actually tripping.

I followed the dirt trails all the way to Washington Ave., jumping over to the bike path only to cross Old Bethpage and Old Country roads. Once on Washington, I ran to the 495 underpass that leads to the part of the bike trail that runs parallel to the Sunnyside Boulevard exit. I turned around at that point and followed the bike trail back.

There were lots of cyclists and walkers on the path, but not that many runners. I encountered some trail bikers on the wooded path. They appreciated that I moved over for them and each rider told me how many others were behind them as they passed by from the opposite direction.

On my way back, I ran into perfect conditions for an accident. A group of women walking together (and blocking most of the bike trail) were 20 feet ahead of me. I saw two cyclists heading toward them at a high rate of speed and another biker coming up from behind. I could tell the single biker planned to thread the needle to the left of the women. What he couldn't see because of the curve of the trail, were the two other cyclists who were planning to pass through the same gap from the other side.

The Pauli Exclusion Principle states that no two identical particles can occupy the same space at the same time. I expected to see that theorem tangibly proven all over the Bethpage trail. Through some miracle, the two riders coming from the south got through about ten seconds before the rider who was behind me got there. I was astounded by this. The women were blissfully unaware that they came very close to becoming a 7-10 human split.

The rest of my run was happily drama free. I completed five miles, satisfied that I got in some good trail time. With Wednesday's elliptical session and three decent runs, I'm pleased with my progress this week. I'll aim for another weekday workout next week, perhaps an afternoon neighborhood run. There aren't that may spring days left and I'd like to take advantage of them as much as I can.

Four mile marathon

Good airflow doesn't help boredom

Today's run (treadmill): 4 miles

What's the difference between running a marathon and running four miles on a treadmill? Today there was no difference. Despite stacking the deck in my favor as much as I could, I struggled to get through the workout. I knew it would be humid, so I opened up windows at both ends of the room and positioned the big fan to maximize air flow. Despite that preparation, it was a slog from start to finish.

I wish I could turn off the mental tedium when I'm on the treadmill, but I can't. The TV doesn't help. Music doesn't help. Only stopping helps. I tried to focus on something else besides the mileage display. Hundredths of a mile ticked by slowly and I self-bargained my original target of five miles down to four to retain my sanity. I always tell myself in these circumstances, "Every run ends, and this one will too." And not a moment too soon.

Hoop dreams

My project for the afternoon was to assemble a new basketball set to replace the one we have that has a smashed backboard. My son is getting taller and stronger and sometimes doesn't know his own strength. The new system has a shatterproof backboard and shock absorbing springs to guard against aggressively energetic teens. It's great that we have these features, but it made it a greater challenge to put together than the old set.

My son and I plowed through the numerous stages of assembly. It got a bit complex at times. We were into our third hour when we needed to enlist my wife and daughter to help lift and position the unit while I connected the height adjustment assembly. In all, it took over four hours to complete, but my daughter (who's the primary user of the basketball hoop) really appreciated it. That made it all worth it.

As hard as my treadmill run felt, I think putting together the basketball pole and backboard was harder. I was glad to add what amounted to an upper body workout to my day, although I'm concerned that I may have put too much pressure on my lower back. I'm not experiencing any sciatica, but I'm concerned about how I'll feel in the morning. Unless I'm really hurting, I'll be out tomorrow morning for a run. I've had enough of treadmill running for now.

Can I adapt to late day workouts?

Evening elliptical

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

It wasn't much, but I managed to get in a second weekday workout this week. I decided on Tuesday that I would get back to early morning activity, starting with a 4:00 AM elliptical session. Although I'd laid out my workout stuff the night before, I woke up with a sinus headache and didn't want to deal with additional fatigue before a long drive to my office. I passed on the workout.

There's a lot happening at work right now and the energy of the day (along with a well timed hit of nasal spray) put me in much better shape by the end of the workday. I decided to do my elliptical session when I got home, even though I don't particularly like late day workouts. I had scheduled all my hybrid elliptical workouts in the mid-afternoon, so I was somewhat conditioned to the time.

My concern about doing a 6:00 PM workout was that I'd be too wound up at bedtime to fall asleep. That turned out to be a non-issue. In fact I had a great night's sleep. I may aim for after-work runs and elliptical sessions going forward, rather than return to 4:00 AM workouts. I hope I can sustain the late day energy.

I worked from home today and got out during the time between middle school and elementary school drop-offs. It was nice to have relatively empty streets and the 55° temperature, cloudy skies and moderate humidity made for great running conditions. I wore my Spiras and I'm pretty convinced at this point that I run better in more minimal running shoes. I feel guilty having the expensive, well cushioned Saucony Triumphs because I don't feel that I run that well in them.

Today's run was really nice. Besides the good weather, I felt energized and seemed to be running better than usual. I naively expected to finish my run and see numbers that matched my pre-2015 performance. Compared to how I have been running, I did measurably better, with a :40 per mile improvement over last weekend. At the same time, I'm still over a minute per mile slower than I was in early 2014.

I'm thinking about a Bethpage run tomorrow morning and, if I'm up to it, I'll aim to do my longest run in 2015.