Run 15 - A Great One

With the little FAs neatly ensconsed with my folks, Mrs. FA and I hit the road together and covered a bit over 3 miles in about 30 minutes. It was a great run, one of my best. Steady breathing, feeling good the whole way.

I had complained of tightness in the right calf last week. I need to recharacterize this, it is greater fatique, earlier, in the right leg versus the left. It's been a persistent, but not distressing or debilitating issue. Mrs. FA ran behind me for a while and observed that my right leg swings differently from the left. I tried taking longer strides and focusing on planting my feet equal distances ahead on each, and it seemed to have an effect, but it was too late in the run to really tell. We'll see on the next one.

One highlight, as Mrs. FA and I were runing abreast, occasionally I sped up so that we could get around the walkers ahead of us, single file. Putting on these little bursts of speed was surprising. They required very little effort and felt great. So now thinking varying the pace during a run, rather than trying to keep it steady eddy for the whole route.

Run 14

Ran for three miles last night, took me 35 minutes. To Agricola's remark that I run at this distance for a while and then work on going longer, or moving faster, I'm thinking that I may focus on the latter.

It was the coolest it's been in NYC since I started running, which was on June 27, with temps in the high 70s. Humidity was still high, though.

Tri-ing times

I competed in the Colchester Triathlon yesterday, and it was quite an event. The bike and run were great, but the swim was another story. I realized very early into the swim that I NEED to practice, visualize and feel confident that I can complete an event before I jump in. For the marathon, I have to run a couple of 20 milers before doing a race, and I always check out the course at least a day before to get to know it. For the swim, I did a 12 minute session in the lake on Friday and tried to check out the course at dusk on Saturday night. It was just too dark to see the end of the course, so I was left thinking the thing went on forever. Not ideal visualization material.

Come race day, I was still feeling pretty good, if a bit uneasy. The gun sounded, I hit the water and started at it. Within about 15 strokes, my chest tightened, I had trouble getting a good breath, and I resorted to the breast stroke. I plugged away, but nerves kpet nagging me as I thought about the guy who drowned in a tri in NY last week, the qualifications of the safety personnel, and other not-so-inspiring images. I continued with the breast/side stroke all the way out and across the course, but a strange thing happened when I turned the corner to head back to shore. The nerves disappeared. Suddenly, I could do the crawl without an issue and I actually passed a couple of people. The mind is a powerful thing. The second I headed toward shore, toward safety, I was fine. Call it survival instinct, mental attitude, psychological readiness, whatever -- this swim reiterated something we've discussed here many times. The non-physical aspect of sport is a huge factor (I'd say over 80%) in any sporting endeavor.

I finally got to shore and gave a big fist pump back to my family cheering section who followed me from the water in the punt. (I learned post-race that they were confused by my excitement exiting the water, "Does he know he's almost the last one out?") That fist pump served as a good lesson for the kids, though. Yes, I bit it on the swim, but I'm still a winner because I didn't quit and perservered through a tough spot.

I found out after the fact that the swim course was about more like three quarters of a mile, not the advertised half-mile due to a bouy malfunction. I felt strong on the bike and the three mile run was no sweat, mainly because I'm mentally used to longer distances at this point. As is always the case in triathlons, the fellow racers were awesome. I've never heard more encouragement from participating racers on course than I have in triathlons. I forgot about that, and it was a huge bonus. In the end, the race was a great experience that left me feeling good about pushing through a tough spot.

The numbers...
1/2 - 3/4 mile swim - 30:48
12 mile bike - 38:59
3 mile run (probably more like 2.75) - 20:00
Grand total with transitions - 1:32:29

But the real numbers were 1 and 2 for my two kids. After the race a neighbor at camp put on a mini triathlon for the local kids. The events were swim, run and inner-tube swim, and there were two classes, under and over 10 years old. The kids all got numbers written on their arms and everyone won a prize. The kids cheered for me in the morning and I got to cheer for them in the afternoon. How cool is that?

Final Weekend of July

Friday I worked from home which meant that I moved from wi-fi spot to wi-fi spot on Cape Cod and worked for nearly 10 hours.  Good times.  On a day that had started with doing schedules and estimates at 7:30 AM and ended in a flurry of calls over the realization that a designer in the employ of my client, who was supposed to help me, had messed up much of his work, I wasn't really in the mood to go out running.

I was dehydrated and over-caffeinated but I went anyway.  The caffeine and work-day adrenaline caused me to go out hard -- too hard.  I couldn't keep up with myself.  The only thing that kept me going was that at about mile 3.5 of my planned 4 mile route I was going to veer to the beach and jump in the water which I did.  I stripped off my shirt shoes and socks and jumped in and swam for about 10 minutes.  Then I got re-dressed, stepped in the water in my shoe, and finished the run.  It was sort of fun and sort of relaxing and a good and different workout.  Open water swimming without goggles (even with) is hard.

Saturday I went out for a quick 5K.  It was super humid and tough to breathe.  Nothing major to report except that the light was beautiful and that the Bass River was gorgeous.

Resting

I put 30 minutes on the treadmill late Friday afternoon, minding the little FAs while Mrs. FA ran in the Park. The calf still feels tight, so am resting it until Monday night, when I plan to get out after work. Resting...hmm...so far I've swapped the storm windows for screens, cut the grass, ran an errand up to Charlotte, did the grocery shopping and cooked a BBQ dinner. Today we rowed across Lincoln Pond for an island picnic. It's been a great weekend, but it don't feel like resting. HUGE thunderstorms all last night blew out the heat and humidity, so it's a beautiful day in the Champlain Valley. Later, boys.

Hardwood

Ripped up carpet and installed hardwood floors in our downstairs hallway over the past two days. After a day of flooring work yesterday, I was a bit stiff this morning in the legs area. I also noticed some strange muscle fatigue. If I'm sitting on my butt with my legs stretched out flat in front of me, I'm not able to flex my foot (the upper part) back towards my knee much on my right foot. Left is fine. No pain, just no strength. Figure it must have something to do with all the kneeling I did yesterday.

Anyway, since I was tight I figured I'd go for a quick run. I did 30 mintues and was surprised how good my legs felt. I hadn't run since the 8 miler on Sunday, so I guess I was well rested despite the working "workout" yesterday. (I can't overstate the importance of rest for training.) Hoping to do a longer run, around 45 minutes tomorrow followed by an off-day before the tri.

Ebb and Flow, Run 12

So running improvement isn't linear, meaning you don't feel progressively, incrementally better from run to run, but sometimes better, sometimes worse, with improvements felt over time...adding burritos to spinach pizza on my "don't eat before running" list...Peanut butter spread over graham crackers has worked best for me so far, so I'm sticking with that for now...after 8:00pm, the number of runners in Central Park falls off dramatically, but it may have also been the weather...the number of women runing alone at that hour surprised me...had my first unilateral discomfort last night, tightness in my right calf, which I had to stop and stretch 2x...wondering whether all this humid-weather running is going to pay dividends come Fall, when the weather cools, and the air clears...hills are tough, trying to get used to hills, leaning in, going slow...need to pick up a few technical shirts, the cotton gets sweat soaked and heavy...slogged though just under 3 miles last night in about 30 minutes...I like this distance, but thinking about what the next level should be, and how I'll get there...Peace, boys.

Run 11, Broke 3 Miles

I took two laps around the resevoir last night, a very hot, grey night in NYC. It occurred to me midway through lap one that I was breathing much more easily than before....slow and easy in, slow and easy out, a significant improvement. So this is working, and it is very encourgaing to see tangible results. Most of my discomfort was in my calves and shins, and after about 2.5 miles, groin, so more and better stretching is on the agenda.

After I finished my 2 laps (3.16 miles) I walked about 1/2 way home, then ran the remainder of the distance, about 10 blocks/0.5 miles.

Tell you what, no matter how much I actually run while I'm out, I always make sure I return to my building at a trot. My doorman is a fairly accomplished neighborhood athlete, and we chat about running every night as I leave the building in my shorts and kicks. He's very supportive and helpful, but I'll be damned if he sees me walking!

Running with FA

I had a good run on Saturday AM with FA -- his post is already up.  It was a hot and sticky day and we ran at a comfortable and sane pace.  I know that you're saying that your HR monitor seemed a bit out of whack, but it could be that your HR really is down 10 BPM, or it could be connected to the fact that we did converse and that regulated your HR.  Keep running, you're doing great!

In the afternoon we went for a swim at a Pond we joined and that was fun.  I swam a couple hundred yards, maybe, and that was much different from running.  I've got some work to do if I want to do a Tri.  FA and I also paddled a canoe around the pond and that was cool.

Quarter Acre Run

The FreeArtists and Agricolae spent the weekend at the Quarter Acre, and Agricola and I got in a humid early Saturday run, before it turned into a real scorcher.

Ag is a generous host in many ways. We ran at my glacial pace and stopped when I needed to. In all, I think we travelled about 3 miles and ran about 2 of them, but I need verification on that. And I think my HR monitor was smooshing my HR with Ag's, b/c it measured an average 10 fewer bpms than my previous run on Thursday night. Regardless, I was able to chat while running, which was not something I expected, and enjoyed considerably.

Ms. FA ran on the treadmill last night without pain, proving that her purple toe isn't going to slow her down, so long as she doesn't make any sudden turns. Hills have not yet been tested.

Smiles

This morning, I ran the Stowe 8 miler. Temps were in the mid-70's and it rained fairly steadily, but not super hard from miles 2 - 8. A perfect day for a race.

My goal today was to work on my pace. I wanted to do consistent 7:30 miles to see what it felt like and get my body accustomed to that speed over a longish distance. The 7:30 pace would bring me to the finish at 60 minutes, another target.

I ran most of the race within about 15 seconds +/- of my target pace, which was cool. I had an early surge around mile 4 when I tried to stay with an athletic, attractive (from the back) woman, and slowed down when she faltered at mile 5 (and when her looks didn't quite live up to my imagination -- oh, the games we play on the road). At mile 6, I realized that maintaining my speed was taking more effort as the race wore on, so I pushed harder. I felt like I was flying, but still didn't quite get back on pace. I pushed even harder on mile 7, and by mile 8, I realized that my goal time was within reach. I felt strong, so I went for it. Too fast for my steady pacing work, but it felt really good.

I finished with a huge inside-out smile (started on the inside and just radiated out from me) when I realized that I beat the one hour target. It felt great, and I had enough in the tank to actually enjoy it. For someone who's usually breaking down at the end of a race, this was a welcome change.

Anyway, here are the numbers:
Mile 1 - 7:27
Mile 2 - 7:28
Mile 3 - 7:36
Mile 4 - 6:58
Mile 5 - 7:43
Mile 6 - 7:35
Mile 7 - 7:23
Mile 8 - 6:41
Total time -- 58:53 (unofficial)
Average pace -- 7:22

Downtown Run

I took Child Two in the stroller this AM.  He was up, I was up, so we went running.  We did our usual downtown -- it's where he likes to go -- run and logged 40 minutes.  I came back slower than I went out by just a bit.  I was dragging today.  It was more humid today than it was earlier in the week.  C2 chattered the whole way, as usual, and made observations about trucks and walkers and vans and other runners.  In the spring we saw a dead possum and he mentions it every time we go out together, but he calls it a "big boole" (I'm not sure how to spell it.  He asked me why it got smooshed . . . It was a great morning.  Usually I use the sun shield in the stroller to keep the sun out of his eyes, but today he wanted to bring his shades so I only put the bug/dirt screen over him.  It was fun to be able to look down and see his little head and it was easier to hear him and talk to him. 

I love running with C2.

Climbing Back on The Wagon

I've fallen off of the running wagon, but did get out today.  I went for about 5 miles and 42 minutes so it was still pretty quick -- though it's a route I've never run before, and I screwed up my timing (I'm backing into both estimates).  Nothing much to report except that it was a beautiful morning and a joy to be on the road.  Someone cut me off in her car and  broke my stride about half mile from the end, and that was stinky, but all systems were go.

Run 8

I got out for 47 minutes and about 3 1/2 miles altogether, running for about 2 miles / 20 minutes. It's a beautiful night in NYC, hot but not humid, breezy, lots of runners in the Park. I fell in behind a guy who was running at exactly the pace I wanted to run, and so I stayed behind him for a while lest I speed up unnecessarily. After a while he started looking over his shoulder at me. I thought I was making him uncomfortable so I passed him by. I finally found the most direct route through the Park between my apartment and the resevoir. I figure the round trip is a bit more than three miles, and I aspire to making it my regular loop, and to running its entire length, routinely.

Margaritaville

1:33:56 for about 10.5 miles today. Normal ups and downs, literally and figuratively, on this run.

Love the magarita with salt shot blocks, though. My first time having them since CCM last year, and they brought me right back to the course. Cool sensory experience...and no cramping to boot.

Back on the Bike

I was feeling pretty wasted after my weird, lost, humid rushed run on Wednesday, so I took Thursday off and rode the trainer for an hour on Friday night, after the little FAs went to bed. (Ms. FA went upstate to do some masonry repair around the house, and the rest of us FAs stayed in the city.) I didn't care to measure speed or distance, and just plowed through two episodes of Weeds from season one.

I got out again on the bike this afternoon and turned three laps in the Park. Again, I didn't run the distance computer or use the HR monitor, though mid-ride I wished I had. I was fairly certain that my heart wasn't working as hard as it typically does during a Park ride, but now I don't have any measure of average bpm, or max bpm. I am not sure what kind of cardio benefit I shoud have after only 7 runs, but it does seem to have helped.

Plan vs. Reality

I planned to take Friday off and run for about 60 minutes on Saturday. My training schedule plan said I was supposed to run for about 48 minutes on Saturday and 64 on Sunday. Reality? I rested on Friday and Saturday and ran for 31 minutes today. Rain cut short today's run, but I was happy that I even got it in because there have been showers here all day. The 60 minute run will have to be tomorrow. It's all about being flexible and charging ahead. No rearview mirror in running, right?

Heading to the Cape mid-week for a last minute adventure with the family. It will be fun to experience some of the terrain that Agricola routinely describes here.

40 minutes

I ran for 40 minutes today. This was sort of a test as it was ten minutes longer than most of my recent runs, and it was done without a day of rest. The plan is to take tomorrow off and then get about 60 minutes in on Saturday. Everything felt fine. Nothing more to report.

Run 7

Well, last night wasn't so good. I tried to squeeze in a run between the end of the day and an 8:00pm work-related dinner, which added deadline-stress to the run, which I resented. I got lost in Central Park (yes, lost) and emerged on the East Side at a late hour, exacerbating the deadline issue, which forced me to all but skip the post-run stretch.

Still, I spent 35 minutes with my heart rate in the zone, and had a great sweat. (The sweat lasted, in fact, through my appetizer, which must have been a sight.)

Perhaps the most imprtant lesson learned: if I am planning a run at 6:30pm, I should skip the spinach, roasted tomato and garlic pizza at 3:30. Ooff.

Which begs the inevitable diet question. I don't now and won't run during the work day, so it's either early morning or after work for me, and so far I've been an after-work runner. I'm usually pretty hungry when I get home. Any recommendations? Should I run on empty? Grab a snack at home before I get out? Snack late afternoon at work? What snacks are recommended? Pork rinds and hot sauce, I gather, are a bad idea.

30 minute swim

At least that's what it felt like today. I just saw Agricola's post and ditto that for me. No pain, but a definite struggle to get in 30 minutes. The air was THICK.

On the positive side, I had no pain in the calf. It seems that the rest (haven't run since Friday) did it well.

Slog

Today's run was a serious slog.  Summer running can be tough.  Everything hurt for the first 15 minutes -- my ankle, my head, my lungs.  I went short, 3.3 miles, and had one of the toughest runs at that distance that I've had in a while.   I attribute the pain-level in my lungs to the humidity -- it was brutal today.  I got in a run, that's good.  It was far from the best but not the worst; it got my heart rate up, my blood pumping and got some sort-of-fresh air, and a huge sweat -- all good.

Run Six, A Milestone

I ran the Resevoir tonight, the whole way around. At only 1.5 miles, it's only a small triumph. Still, it was the first of the milestones I laid out for my CCM Relay training. I didn't think I'd get there on run 6, never having run much of anything before. I didn't clock it to the second, but it took me roughly 15 minutes. 10 minute miles? I threw in a fast walk between the apartment and the resevoir and back again for a 40 minute workout.

Fourth Fun

Based on the posts this morning, it looks like we all balanced our holiday intake with some fun runs. I did the same with the Hingham 4th of July race. The highlight of that one is always the start. We all gather at the local middle school and reconnect with old friends, classmates and townies. This year, my sis joined us as a surprise visitor from Seattle. She flew in to spend the long weekend.

Despite the family atmosphere of the race, this has never been one that I can just "fun run." I always want to do my best and leave nothing behind on the course. This year was no different.

With 2200 runners, the start is always a slow, zig-zaggy adventure. You're doing well if you emerge from the pack without twisting an ankle, and you always try to make back lost time. Case in point: At the first mile marker, I posted about an 8:40 pace, and I wasn't happy. I turned it on for mile two, posting about a 6:15 -- waayyy too fast. I paid for my launch into hyper speed with a tightened calf. I slowed to a more reasonable 7:13 pace for mile 3 and stopped halfway through it to stretch a bit. Into mile 4, the calf started to loosen up, which reminded me that it generally takes me about 15 - 20 minutes to warm up. I definitely will start doing warm up runs before short races in the future. It's become a necessity. Anyway, by the end of the race, I posted a 33:07 for the 4.6 mile course. I'm happy with the time and with my place in the overall standings. Not sure how it compares to last year. I'll have to look that one up (results are on-line).

So, funny thing happened as I started this post. I rechecked my splits and realized that my first mile was actually a 7:57, which is not bad at all. I must have read my watch wrong because I remember being pissed. I wonder what my mile two would have been like had I read it correctly?

I'm letting my body heal a bit, so I haven't run since the fourth. We're in a heat wave in VT right now. It's supposed to break tomorrow, and that's when I will get out again. A 5-er would be good.

Nice to see us all getting active on the roads and on the blog. Looking forward to our next chance to run together.

Later boys.

July 4 - 6, 2008

I had a big running weekend this past weekend which was good considering I also had a big eating weekend.  I was trying to shock my body out of its 3-4 mile lethargy that's descended upon my running.

July 4, 2008
I observed the Fourth as John Adams requested "[i]t ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports . . ." I ran the 5 K in my town and had a good time.  I started out with a couple of neighbors and finished alone.  I did it in 23:44 -- not my fasted but not my slowest either.I actually ran to the start with my neighbor, about 2 miles and then rean the race. At the end you enter the little finish chute and race organizers/officials were saying "stay in line, keep your order." This woman who finished two steps behind me cut me and the guy in front of me and said, oh hey, sorry guys, I'm not sure where I finished . . . " At the end of the little chute they were recording numbers. I'm sure it will be in the town paper, the order of finish. She cut to move up the standings. I wanted to say "hey, lady, give me a break!" Except then I would have been as much of an OCD over-competitive jerk as she was.

July 5, 2008
I headed out fro 5+ on Saturday AM. Nothing really to report, just a good old fashioned Cape Cod run with a good hard 1/2 mile kick at the end. 46:14.

July 6, 2008
While waiting out traffic I headed out for another 5+ Sunday evening. I dropped the kick at the end but still finished in 46:11. Both Saturday and Sunday I ran as much as possible on the side of the road in the grass and sand. It was cool but muggy and there was a light fog rolling in off of Nantucket Sound. It was pretty cool.
My ankle was a little sore all weekend, but nothing to keep me off the road.

Run 4 on the 4th, and more

First off, thank you for all of the comments on my last post. The FreeArtists spent the long weekend with Ms. FA's folks, who have a convenient three-mile out-and-back between their garage and the entrance to their subdivision. It's a pretty route, heavily wooded with a few big, widely spaced houses. The variety of bird life is remarkable, with loads of red-bellied woodpeckers. Anyway, Ms. FA and I did our walk/run combo 2x over the weekend, on Friday and on Saturday. The comments with which I tinkered the most....running with less bend in my arms seems to help me remember to drop my shoulders and therefore reduce the tension in my upper torso. I also spent more time looking up at the world and the sky, rather than down at the road, which (I think) opened my airway a bit more. The heavy humidity made it difficult to gauge any incremental improvements in my breathing, though. More later, and thanks again.

Run Three

Got out again last night, nothing remarkable about it though I was pleased to run more of the time than I did the night before. Quickly, some things that I'm thinking about: I find that I am awfully self-conscious when I start something new, especially something atheltic, not being at all athletic historically. I am trying hard not to feel like every other runner is noting my lack of form, heavy breathing, or general naivete. I tend to tense my upper body while running, particularly my shoulders, which I attribute to not breathing properly, and to being uncomfortable with a new, physical thing. I also tend to let the mind wander and when I do, I find that I am running faster and working harder than I am likely to be able to sustain for any distance. So when I catch myself doing this, I slow down significantly and shake out my arms, to avoid tensing up. There's a steep learning curve for me, clearly, and it's sort of meta-cognitive, so I am enjoying it.

The numbers, roughly as I worte them down but left them home:

Time: 39.38
Av HR: 142 bpm
Mx HR: 183 bpm
Burn: 563 calories

Peace,

!@#$%^&*

I went out this AM around 6:20 with thoughts of running my 4.7 mile loop. I was rolling along nicely at about 14 minutes, and stepped into the grass to avoid some low hanging branches when, all of a sudden I nearly went down. I stepped on a piece of wood and turned my ankle -- yes the ankle I hurt in November 07. It hurt and I was limping. I stopped to rub it, walked some more, rubbed some more and then ran home. I popped some ibuprofen, iced with a bag of frozen of onions and then got ready for work. I don't think that there's any ligament damage, it feels more like a bone bruise. I'm sort of bummed out but I don't think that it's that big of a deal, it's just annoying and a bit sore. I'll see if I can go out tomorrow, which I think I should be able to do unless it swells today, and then run my July 4 Road Race.

Anyway, I never posted my Boston Chase Corporate Challenge story, so here it is. It was hot and humid and crowded. Twelve thousand runners lined up to run a 3 mile course. I ran the first two miles socially with a couple of friends. We covered the first two in a glacial 19:19. At that point I glanced back at them and then dropped the hammer. I covered the last mile in 7:48, bobbing and weaving a bit around the flagging office workers of Boston. Not exactly and earth shattering time, but with that field, I anticipated no PR.

Several observations about this event: it's crazy to run wild in the first mile, it's unbelievably crowded. The course was shortened this year to 3 miles because of construction in Kenmore Sq. I saw a girl blow out her ankle on Comm Ave and drag herself to the sideline, telling a friend, "I'm done." It was cool to run down Comm Ave. It's amazing how hard some folks were breathing in the last mile -- I think many folks underestimate the difficulty of running 3 miles. I've now run this race in NYC and Boston, nearly 5 years apart. I saw a girl bent over at the finish with a puddle of dark stuff at her feet, splattered onto her shoes and calves. I thought it was really dark vomit until she looked up with blood gushing out of her nose and said to the race medical staff "Towel!" She must have gotten elbowed near the finish. It's kind of strange to see your colleagues in their running clothes.

Another Coffee Cup

"Greetings from Falmouth!
This is the first in a series of e-mails we will be sending to runners registered to run in this year's CIGNA Falmouth Road Race."

I just found out that I got into this year's Falmouth Road Race. I can count on a new coffee cup for my collection -- part of the shwag bag is a coffee mug and my goal is to have a service of 12 (at least). Last year's broke so . . . It's shaping up to be a good summer/fall. It's time to return to consistency.

Not ideal, but...

On Sunday, I went for the first long run of my CCM training program under less than ideal circumstances. First, we went to a neighborhood party without kids on Saturday night, and I ended the evening with a slight case of the spins. Mrs. VTR noted the next day, "You thought you might throw up, but you passed out instead." Perfect. Next, I decided to wait until about noon to start. Temps were right around 85 degrees with 95% humidity. Again, perfect.

A couple of things got me through the run. I stuck to my plan and only drank beer and a few waters on Saturday night. Beer = carbs = good. I'm convinced that the wine that was flowing freely would have put me under. I also benefitted from a "late night" (10:00pm for us parent-types) round of sausage that someone threw on the grill. Protein, you know, it's a good muscle builder.

Anyway, I hit the road not quite sure what to expect and had a great time. I found shade along most of the route. I felt strong apart from the first 15 minutes, which I always mentally shelf as a warm up time, and I had no pain. In fact, the calf felt great. I also enjoyed the daydreaming, deep thinking and zoning out portions of the run. Long runs provide some awesome thinking time, and I realize that I missed that. The highlight of the run was beating a cyclist up our hill at about mile 9.5. The guy looked like he was in great shape, so I'm not sure what his deal was, but I'll take beating a bike uphill no matter what the circumstance.

Here are the numbers:
10.5 miles
1 hour 37 minutes
9:38 minute/mile average pace