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It's been one year since I reintroduced myself to running. Here's my brief summary:

The good:

• Lost 30 lbs
• Feel a hell of lot better
• Can actually see my toes

The bad:

• Bone spur persists.
• Still not where I'd like to be pace wise.

The Facts:

• 286 mi
• 91 runs
• 9:20 Avg. pace

Hopefully now that I'm a bit wiser and realistic about what I can do, the injuries will be fewer and less severe. I'm still enjoying the early morning runs and have a variety of goals to achieve in the near and long term.

Today's run felt like a swim. Humidity was crazy. Hadn't made it out for a week so took it kind of easy. Still ran under 9 per mile which is my new ceiling for pace. Also made it out for 25 mile ride on Sunday with Mrs. BR.

Good to see the activity pick up on the board. It still helps with the motivation.

Jungle Running

I got in a swim over the weekend. It was thundered out about 80% of the way into it. I was swimming in board shorts which felt like I was pulling a huge weight and made the swim quite a bit more challenging. I blogged about board shorts last year, I think. Never again for a workout! I think it's good to challenge oneself, but board shorts are miserable for any sort of extended swimming. Didn't get the runs in that I wanted to. Oh well.

I got out Tuesday and today, Wednesday. Both runs were struggles. The humidity has been outrageously high the past couple of days and I could feel my strength ebbing with each step as I fought for air. It was like running in a jungle. Admittedly, I'm not where I'd like to be but the past two days have been much harder than expected and I do think it's the humidity (85% today according to my hygrometer). I'm considering going again tomorrow, but we'll see -- the humidity is to persist as well. I went on Tuesday at 10:30 AM to get a feel for potential conditions at Falmouth and it was less than fun. I hit the road today around 6:30 AM and it still was misery inducing.

I've noticed that I'm lacking a certain toughness in my workouts that I used to have. It could be fatigue, it could be lack of interest in my local routes, it could be that my energy is elsewhere these days. I'll work through it, and at least I'm getting more consistent.

Runs 3, and 3 1/2

I got out on Monday night and ran pretty hard for 30 minutes. I ran the top loop of the park, backwards, 2x. So that's down 110th Street to the Pool, up the road behind the Pool, across the 102nd Street transverse, uptown against traffic, down the Great Hill, and then again. I wanted to run hills, so I ran hills.

I got out tonight with a similar route in mind and was having a good, relaxed run when a heavy storm rolled right over me. The rain didn't bother me much but I became afraid of getting fried by lightning, which was quite close. So I let the weather chase me indoors, and I live to run again. Good while it lasted, I ran for around 21 minutes.

Peace, fellas.

Run No 3, Riverside

I headed out this morning with a goal to stay in enthusiastic motion for one hour. I ran up from the apartment to Riverside Park and down along the Hudson until 52nd Street, where I started to poop out. So I headed up to 8th Ave and grabbed a gatorade and the subway home. Total time in motion, 45 minutes .

It's hot and sunny today and there are lots of people out running and cycling, laying in the sun, walking dogs. I saw some of the set-up in Riverside Park for tomorrow's NYC Triathalon, the swim is in the Hudson R. Last year it was plagued with jellyfish, so I'm wondering what this year's story will be. The tide must have been up this morning. I hit the river around 100th Street and could smell salt water.

The ADK 1/2 Marathon is within two months from now, on September 20, and while this was only my third training run (training only began in earnest last Tuesday), I'm not anxious about it, and a little excited.

Peace, fellas.

OK, Let's GO

OK, let's go. Once I bailed from the VCM I took about 5 weeks off, running once in that span. I let myself go because I rationalized that I was working really hard and not sleeping and too stressed and only had so much emotional bandwidth and wanted to see my kids in the time I wasn't glued to the laptop and blah blah blah blah. Couple that with copious beer consumption and a fair to poor diet and I was really sliding into oblivion.

Last summer was a poor running summer for me, and this one was shaping up to be the same. So, about the last week of June I decided to stop sucking and decided to start running again. I started going to bed earlier, I started rationing my beer and eating better and stopped looking for excuses.

I banged out 4 runs, most of them on Cape Cod. I felt good, I limited myself to 5Ks.

I felt like I was on track. Then it rained, hard, for a week, and I didn't run until July 4 when I ran my town's 5K. I went out too fast and flagged near the end -- it was a warning sign and a lesson. I ran a decent time, 23:24, but a poor race. We spent the next week on the Cape and I ran about 4 times, all about 5K to just about 5 miles. For some reason I had a block on the 5 miler . . . silly at this point in my running, even when not in great shape. After returning I ran a few times at home -- sort of uneventful, but the flat of the Cape hurt me on the little hills around here. Weird.

Last week I ran twice and swam twice becuse I signed up for the off-road tri I did last year. I would have liked to run one more time, but it wasn't to be and 4 workouts felt good even if my runs were weird funky affairs in which I felt lousy over the 3.3 and 5 miles respectively. Monday of this week I was ready to hit the road and was felled by some weird stomach bug which basically knocked me out Monday and much of Tuesday. I let Wednesday get away from me and ran a 5 mile race in Weston, MA last night (Thursday).

It was a big test for me and I had no idea how I'd do or what I expected. Like all runs (except 5Ks) my goal was to do at least 9s. My target was 41-42, and my reach was 40. It was raining. It was 7 PM. It was a big field for around here, at least 1,200 people. The race started on grass then hit the streets of Weston and then finished on grass onto the high school track. The rain was fun. The surface variation was fun and I love finishing races on tracks -- I just feel like I'm gliding. I can recall pretty much all of my splits, but am foggy on my finishing time:

• Mile 1, 7:49
• Mile 2, 15:23
• Mile 3, 23:06
• Mile 4, 30:51
• Finish, 38:24

If I calculate right, that's sub 7:50/mile and I was pretty pumped. I have work to do before Falmouth on August 9 but yesteday was a huge confidence builder. I fell good today, and I'm looking forward to my next run, probably tomorrow, and probably a trail run if I'm lucky, with a swim. Glad to see that you guys are keeping up the blog, I think I'm back and will be more active. Talk to you soon.

Quiet

on the board. My fault as much as anyone else's. Been running 2-3 times a week in the morning between 3-5 miles. Pace is starting to get better, upper 8's. Avg HR coming down, 160ish. Feeling much better with only a slight ache in the chronic ankle. Mixing in a 25 mile ride on the weekends as well. Will probably keep the same schedule for the rest of the summer and pick it up a notch in the fall. Anyone else out there?

Half Marathon Training - The Beginning

Gents, so I registered for the Adirondack 1/2 Marathon, then told the world about it via Facebook and Twitter, a sort of crossing-the-Rubicon thing. So the running starts again.

Run 1: Friday, July 3, three miles, from my in-laws home to the entrance to their subdivision and back again. Some walking. First run in more than 6 weeks. Not easy. Didn't measure the time.

Run 2: Saturday, July 4, Mrs. FA and I power-walked the same route. This was more about spending time together, alone, out of the house. Mrs. FA introduced me to "plank position," side and front, to strengthen my core. In this position, you make your body stiff as a plank, touching ground with your toes and elbows. She's been doing this with great results for about 8 months. I did it the one time on Friday, post-run, and can still feel it this morning. Aiming to make it part of my routine.

The 1/2 is on September 20, so I have a decent amount of time and I'm looking forward to a summer of running and other activities in preparation. Will post progress here.

Peace, fellas.