Contagion or Exhaustion

Time: 31:06
Avg HR: 155
Peak HR: 176
Distance: TBD (~4) miles
Start Time: 7:55 AM
Training Effect: 4.5
Temp: ~40

I'm not sure what's up with me and the spring. Last spring was a health disaster with one sickness after another and this spring is only mildly better. Saturday was my day to hit it but it wasn't happening. I felt like I'd been run over by truck. I'm not sure if it's a cold -- I've been spewing gouts of nasty yellow stuff from my nostrils all week -- or if I was just wiped from my weekend in Chicago and a very full week at work.

I don't know . . .

Anyway, I went out today. Not much to report. I went a little extra distance today, added maybe half a mile or so. It was more painful that I thought, but given yesterday's weirdness I should have expected it. Spring is really a weird time for me. I'm psyched that it's warming up and greening up, but the weather is super variable and it's often not pleasant (today was only in the 50s and drizzly all day). I'm just in a poor mood right now.

Gorgeous Morning

Time: 27:02
Avg HR: 156
Peak HR: 178
Distance: 3.3 miles
Start Time: 7:06 AM
Training Effect: 4.3
Temp: 40ish

And the water shone like diamonds in the dew.
-- Neil Young, "Thrasher"

I was not feeling it this morning when I headed out -- congested, hacking and suffering a little headache . . . I then went out and ran my fastest time yet on my 3.3 mile course. Running is like that -- sometimes you eat the miles, sometimes they eat you.

Everything was dew covered this morning, and it was really lovely. Lots of lawns were silver-green and water droplets on branches blazed in the sun. The words I quoted above kept echoing in my brain as I ran. I spent a lot of time on the run trying to remember the words to "Thrasher" -- I did pretty good -- which is one of the finest tunes ever written, in my opinion. Good run.

The data on my Chicago run:

Time: 40:59
Avg HR: 160
Peak HR: 173
Distance: 4.8 miles
Start Time: 7:46 AM
Training Effect: 5.0
Temp: 50s

Chicago Run

So, you guys have been busy while I've been in the great state if Illinois. Lots of good posts. Firstly, traveling with small children on short jaunts is somewhat exhausting. Yesterday was my day but after rising at 5:45 AM to make it to our flight at O'Hare I had no juice in the tank for yesterday's scheduled trot after getting back to Boston. This morning we all slept until about 8 AM and I missed my window -- which is a bummer because it was perfect weather, but what are you going to do?

That said, I took a great run on Saturday.

It was a beautiful morning and there were loads of runners, bikers, walkers etc., and you really can't beat Lake Michigan as a back drop. It was a lot of fun to run in an urban environment with other people. It took me back to my Brooklyn running days and got me reflecting that much of my running career has been an urban running career. I still recall one of my early forays into running, just after moving to NYC in 1998, and how amazing it was to cover so much ground and see so many things in a brief span. I remember one run where I went from the West Village to E 12 St and 2 Ave and then wound my way back across Manhattan at rush hour -- dodging people and jumping over garbage, it was a blast.

I love to run in the country, don't get me wrong, but I covered nearly 5 miles in 40 minutes and I attribute it to the people who were around. It was great and I think Chicago is great. My brother and his family are moving to Houston in June and I look forward to adding that city to my running locales.

Patriots Day

Time: 28:18
Avg HR: 153
Peak HR: 173
3.3 miles
7:03 AM start
Training Effect: 4.2
Temp: 34

“What a glorious morning this is!” —Samuel Adams to John Hancock at the Battle of Lexington, Massachusetts, 19 April 1775

Historically, this is a glorious day in American History. Contemporaneously it was cold and drizzling. I worked today to limit my pace and go out a bit slower. I added 25 seconds onto the run and it was a more comfortable process -- I also ate better yesterday and I think that helped. We're heading to Chicago tomorrow for my niece's Christening so look for a Windy City post.

Damp, All Around

Before I get into the trivialities of my running post I'd like to take a moment to express my condolences to the families of the people murdered at Virginia Tech and to remember the victims -- you were in my thoughts this morning as I pounded the pavement.

Time: 27:53
Avg HR: 157
Peak HR: 176
3.3 miles
7:01 AM start
Training Effect: 4.4
Temp: 30

So, I'm sure when it's steaming hot up here in Mass. this summer I'll long for cooler temperatures, but I must say I'm looking forward to warm weather running because today was pretty nasty -- damp, gray and cold with a steady mist and a stiff breeze. All in all though, the problems were trivial and the run went off without a hitch, though it was harder than I wanted it to be.

Yesterday was sort of a dietary disaster for me -- my comments about changing my diet not-withstanding, yesterday was an anomaly -- and I think that impacted this morning because i was not running on the right fuel. Another thing that impacted getting out of the house was that I packed my gear when it was still damp from my Cape runs and when I put it on everything was cool and damp . . . I needed to go find some other gear. Stinky I can deal with, damp and cool, no thanks.

Congrats to the runners of the Boston Marathon -- who ran in sub-optimal conditions.
Welcome to FreeArtist who joins this blog as he trains for a cycling century.

Pre-Storm

Time: ~34:00
avg HR: 157
Peak HR: 178
4 miles
7:29 AM start
April 15, 2007
Training Effect: 4.7
Temp: high 30s

I got another nice run in on Cape Cod on Sunday just in advance of the Nor' Easter that's currently whipping us. Nothing remarkable to report except that the wind was really picking up throughout the whole run and I finished as the rain started to fall in earnest. Perfect timing!

Friday Trot

Time: 27:34
avg HR: 151
Peak HR: 167
3.2 miles
6:59 PM start
April 13, 2007
Training Effect: 4.0
Temp: low 40s

Took a really nice, easy run on Cape Cod on Friday evening. The light was beautiful and golden and the sky was super blue towards the end of the day. I ran by Bass River and it was cerulean. There were loads of Grackles and Red Winged Blackbirds in the marshes along my route and they were calling out the whole time. It was a great run.

Back, Finally

Time: 28:11
avg HR: 156
Peak HR: 178
3.3 miles
6:59 AM start
Training Effect: 4.2
Temp: 28 F

Phew, finally got back on track and got my butt on the road. Not much to report except to say that 3 runs in 2 weeks is unacceptable and it hurt more today that I would have liked it to -- though, 3 runs in 2 weeks and a feast on Easter Sunday will definitely take their toll. Running, and eating right are absolutely things that must be worked at all the time -- at least for me. I was getting pretty close to licking the lollipop of mediocrity, if you know what I mean, and I really don't want to go back down that road.

Speaking of mediocrity, our blogging output and I would imagine our mileage (I'm included in this as well)is decidedly sub-par. It's a dialogue, where are the other voices?

Ho-Hum-Run

Time: 28:55
avg HR: 158
Peak HR: 176
3.3 miles
6:55 AM start
Training Effect: 4.3
Temp: 35 F

It was a wet and gray sort of day today, but not bad for running. I tried to stretch out my usual route by running slower. Weirdly, my AVG HR was slightly higher than usual and the overall time of the run was about one minute longer than usual -- it felt comfortable though.

I need new sneakers, the toe in the right shoe is basically worn away and you can see the undersole. I guess I push off harder on my right foot than my left and more towards the front -- that's odd, I think, because my right is not my dominant side.

There was a big bird in a tree along my route that I think was a Northern Flicker, but it was far enough away, and up high enough that I can't say for sure -- though there are a bunch of Northern Flickers in the area. It's call was loud and that's how I noticed him. Thrilling post!

Weekend Work

Sunday April 1, 2007

So, on Sunday I took my first run in a week, and the first run of my 36th year. It was six years ago yesterday that I actually started running and I've more or less kept up with it despite some rough times the past couple of years. I didn't operate my watch/HR-monitor correctly so I have no useful data to share except to say that I did my usual shorter run of 3.3 miles somewhere in the 30-sub-30 range. It felt good and I was glad to have finally shaken my cold enough to go for a run. I'm still all congested, and scratchy in the throat, but I sucked it up.

Saturday March 31, 2007

I didn't run on Saturday but I did spend the day thatching my lawn and my Dad's lawn over the course of a very physical 4 hours of power-thatching, raking, lugging barrels and emptying the bed of a pick-up truck. It was a beautiful day to be outside and great weather for manual labor. If you don't think 4 hours of yard work is hard work I invite you over next year to help . . . the lawn needs to be thatched before the forsythia bloom, and, oh yeah, I also spread my first batch of fertilizer this season. Spring is here.