Unsatisfying and Cold

Got dropped off about 4.5 -4.75 miles from home this AM while Mrs. A dropped off Child Two. It was cold. I needed an extra layer on my legs, but didn't have it. My legs froze up. My lungs were not working at max capacity given the cold dry air and I ground out just about every step on this AM's trot. Like I always say "somedays you eat the miles, somedays the miles eat you." Consider me chewed up and spit out today. It was a character builder for sure. Glad it's over.

A Pair

I've gotten in a couple this week. A solid handful on Sunday and another solid handful today. The Sunday I enjoyed it and modulated my pace to keep it interesting and spent some time thinking things over. It was a good and fun run. I was scheduled for yesterday but the weather was Nasty (note the capital "N") so I bailed. I got out today though it was pretty good. Footing was crummy, lots of crud, rhime, water and poor footing. I enjoyed it though, and it was good to get out in the middle of the day.

I signed up for the Timberman Tri. That should be fun. Weekend at PR's place in August!

Hanging On

Managed to get my 3 runs in this week despite another stressful week at work. I don't usually run on the weekends as there's usually too much going on and I'd rather cross train anyway. However, ran 7.5 today to keep the new year's resolution going. Definitely sore now, but nothing injured. One more week of hell then, hopefully, back to a normal routine. Need to get in the pool more if I'm actually going to survive a tri sprint this summer.

Quickie

Got out for a quickie three miler tonight. Work has been brutal. I've run very little. Just signed up for a NYRR 15k on March 28, hopefully will bring a little focus and motivation.

Peace, fellas.

P90x Day1 Again and Timberman Registration

Hi all,
Started up P90X with the goal of completing at least three lifting days a week with three days of Cardio. The lifting felt great and I cannot begin to tell you how good this makes you body feel.

I have signed up for the Timberman Sprint Triathalon:
http://www.ironmantimberman.com/sprint.php

If you are interested, would love to have some company.

Next year will be the Half Ironman.

Hope you all are well.

Workmanlike run

I was inspired to go for a 3 miler today at lunch. I think it was seeing the sun for the first time in quite some time. The run was uneventful, just plodding along really. Pace was decent, no pain, not a ton going on mentally. Just glad to be out and pleased that I decided to up and go. It was a little like a reintroduction to myself, or a part of myself.

Cool serendipitous moment -- I showed up for our weekly dinner at a friends' place, and Mrs. VTR handed me an impromptu gift. It was a book on running (forget the title at the moment). How cool that she gave the book today, the first time I've run in a few weeks.

Catching up on other exercises -- skied on Saturday (more fun than anything else). Hockey on Monday night -- wicked workout as usual.

Later boys.

Wages of Sin

I did a strong 5 this afternoon even though the run was sluggish and crummy . I bailed yesterdy when I couldn't find the gear I needed to run in the cold and got really frustrated. Footing was tough, and afterward my calves got all tight and lousy feeling. It could be the footing, it could be some dehydration, not sure. My pace was all over the place, and I'm attributing it to the major league meal we prepped for my parents as their Christmas gift and the two Negronis and the wine. You reap what you sow, and the wages of sin are steep. It was good to get one in early this week, I'm feeling consistency building. I'm two weeks from the start of the Vermont City Marathon training , and therefore 20 weeks from race day. I'm about 4 weeks from the Super Sunday 10K; 8 weeks from NooBeffid Half, and 12 weeks from the Cherry Blossom Ten. Spring is shaping up nicely which is good because I'm sick of January.

Props for Ms. FA

I am not running today but wanted to shout out Mrs. FA. She made it into the NYC 1/2 Marathon by lottery, and started training today. I just dropped her six miles up the road, and she is running home right now. It is 13 degrees out there today, and she turned her back on a toasty home and a fresh pot of coffee to get started strong. I'm psyched for her, and am excited to train with her as she prepares for the big run on March 21.

Dissocisation

I thought a lot about disociation tonight while I ran.
It was dark and cold and snowing lightly. I got in a solid four and felt pretty good.

I thought about a woman who counts her steps/mile (British marathoner, world class, her name escapes me). I tried it and it nearly blew up my run -- it was awful, by the time I got to 70 I was bored and getting increasingly tired. I stopped counting and walked a few steps to shake off the negativity of that experience. Counting steps is not a dissociative trick for me, anyway.

What did work well for me was creating a running haiku, this one is sort of the best one:

Running in the dark
Snow falls upon the pathway
A Fire burns inside

I also posted it to the cherry blossom training site. Actually, it's all I posted over there.

Work sucks

Started off the first Monday of the new year with a positive attitude. Ran 6+ in the morning at a ridiculously slow pace due to the footing. But I didn't care. Happy to get the miles in and kick off the new year with my first run. Then one of my best managers gave his notice at 10:00. 2010 will now suck. Oh well. Runs will be hard to come by for a couple of weeks while I scramble to cover his responsibilities. Managed 3 this morning at an average pace on an ad hoc route. Running in town these days is an adventure. For the record, my weight was 186 on Monday. I'll update on Mondays until I hit the wedding weight, 177. Peace out.

Planetary Alignment

So, just because I've got a Posterous account with other folks doesn't mean I'm abandoning this -- you are my boys and this is our blog. The Posterous move was an experiment to see what it's like to do a team blog over there -- it's smooth and easy and provides an alternative forum for people to share training stories.

I've been goofing with running this past year and it's time to get serious. I did 5.2 today, and including cool down walk it was all done in ~50 minutes. I felt good. It was cold and dark and the footing uneven in places but it was nice to get out and 5.2 is the furthest I've done in a while. I need to go in the mornings and that's a goal for the new year return to AM trots.

The stars were out and Mars & Jupiter were in the sky, so it was cool to be out. I did two 40 minute yoga workouts with Mrs. A this past weekend and we might try and do another tonight. It felt good and it was tough. I'm looking to work more of that sort of stuff too this year, focus on the whole body. One 20 minute session did lower body, and the other did upper -- I enjoyed and felt better the next day though the lower body workout made my legs sore which was totally unexpected.

New Year

Got out for 3.68 miles tonight. I thought the cold was going to be uncomfortable, but it wasn't so bad. Aiming to run at least 40 miles in January. I find out whether I made the NYC 1/2 Marathon Lottery tomorrow. Will post.

All Is Quiet

"All is Quiet on New Year's Day..." except for the 170 or so crazies running in my town's New Year's Day 5K. I was not anticipating any land speed records, and don't know how I did though I think I was in the top third or so of finishers, which is respectable. I was strong throughout the run and maintained a good pace. I was familiar with the course since I've run most of it a hundred times -- with the exception of one funny little part of the course which I've never done though I've run by those streets a hundred times. The course was sort of slick with snow and ice, but nothing unmanageable.

I Saw a woman I knew from my last corporate employer and I caught her around 1.5 and ran a bit with her. She told her husband she was tired and I dropped the hammer, as much as I could, and broke away from them. I finished with a good kick and beat her by about 45 seconds.... no reason for the animus except that she's worked 10-plus years for the worst company I ever worked for, goes on the road for long stretches and has no children, so, somewhere, deep down inside, we have fundamentally different value systems. She beat me a couple of years ago during the town's 4th of July race, so now it's onto this year's 7/4 RR and the rubber match. Nothing really to report, beyond this except that I'm happy with this run and it's a good confidence builder.

Happy New Year. Here's a to a year of running and fun.

F'n Cold!

and windy! 12 degrees to start with 30+ mph wind makes for a cold run. Need to figure out better protection for the jewels. Otherwise, I was properly attired for the weather. Decent 4.5 mile run this morning. No lingering effects from the x-training. Need 1 more 3 mile run this month to reach goals. Going to be tight tomorrow.

Slacker!

So, it appears we've all been a bit hamstrung over the holidays. It's tough, very tough. I got out today. It was cold (ice in full sun is not melting) and I't'd been a while since I'd run. Not sure how far I went but felt OK through the first 3/4s then lousy the last 1/4. Wine, beer, cocktails (manhattans, egg nog, things on rocks), cookies, chocolate take their toll, that's for sure. I'll go again tomorrow. I'm contemplating the local New Year's Day 5K on Friday. I'm not anticipating any land speed records for that one -- I'm ending 2009 slower than I started it, that's for sure -- but it will be good to get out and run.

So much for X training

Holidays and weather (really more the lack of footing) have played havoc with my running schedule. Managed only one 2 mile run last week as it was too icy to run any longer. So on Xmas eve, I decided to jump in the pool for some cross training. I figure I need to work this into my regular routine if I hope to participate in any tri's this summer. Managed 10 laps of various strokes with a pause at the end of each length. Unfortunately, my left calf cramped badly on the 8th lap. Didn't see it coming as I've had no troubles with leg cramps while running and have never (ever!) done laps in a pool before (odd since I was a lifeguard for 5 years). The next few days I was very sore. Probably should have eased into it a bit more slowly. I finally made it out onto the road yesterday morning for a 10k run. The first two miles where great as I was fresh and it wasn't too cold. The last two miles where awful. Not only was I fighting the calf cramp returning, but my left quad felt like it was going to go any second. I also over dressed for the 38 degree temp. resulting in overheating for the second half of the run. The good news is that today, while a little sore, I feel like I could head out for another run. Plan to head out tomorrow and maybe Thursday. I'm very close to reaching both of my December goals (12 runs, 50 miles) despite the last week.

"Workouts"

So, I composed the skeleton of this post a few days ago when I FINALLY got out for a run....

Being the holiday season, I've had a ton of work-outs:
- Friday (week ago): 12 oz curls last thanks to a yankee swap with festive game night crew
- Saturday: More 12 oz curls, 2oz. shooters and 8oz. wine swigs thanks to holiday rager with friends
- Sunday: Day/night off. The body needs to recover, you know.
- Monday: Hockey (two goals); followed by more 12oz. curls.
- Tuesday: 12oz. curls with work crew
- Wednesday: Weekly dinner with friends -- 2 bottles of wine.
- Thursday: Christmas eve! More wine with in-laws.

Yikes! It was on Christmas eve that I finally went out for a run. Three good miles in the late afternoon. Felt good, and started me (finally, I hope) back on the exercise track.

I got in about 2.5 miles of skate skiing on Christmas day and a full day of skiing today. Good stuff, and it feels good to be somewhat active again. More skiing and maybe some ice skating on tap for tomorrow. It better happen, seeing as I'm finishing a lovely martini at the moment.

Happy holidays boys. Eat, drink, be merry...and maybe get in a workout or two.

VTR.

Post-Christmas Slog

I got out for a 30 minute run this afternoon, in a driving rain. I felt every mouthful consumed over the last three days. Tough going. It's been one week since my baseline weigh-in, and I'm up to 230. Plenty of room to come down, certainly.

Looking forward to some renewed activity from everyone, maybe before New Year's?

Peace, fellas.

Catch up

I got in a quick one on Friday afternoon/evening.It was dark and cold. I felt pretty good until the end when my legs weren't quite working right due to the cold -- they were tight and not turning over all that easily. I should have worn one more layer on my legs I guess.

Yesterday I shoveled out our house and cleaned cars for a couple of hours. Hoping to get out today, but it's going to be hectic.

Do-Over

Yah, so Mrs. FA and I had a slightly excessive Friday night at home, and I headed out to run this morning at 11:30a feeling fat and mildly hung-over. The Great Hill put me on my ass. I ran for six minutes, turned around and headed home, for 11 minutes altogether. To be fair, it was cold, and I was not dressed for the weather. Still, the fact that I bagged on the run put me in a crabby mood for much of the afternoon. So at 5:00 I bundled up for a do-over.

I ran down the West Side of the Park and cut over on the 65th Street Transverse and then around the bottom loop of the Park, stopping at Columbus Circle. It was a little over 3 miles in a little under 30 minutes. The big storm had begun and the snow was beautiful and I waved at every runner, mad cyclist and handsome cabbie out there with me. A few more than usual smiled and waved back. Must be the season. It was great to be out and running.

That's three runs for this past week, on-track with A's challenge. This coming week I aim to get out tomorrow (Sunday), Tuesday, and Christmas Eve. Re: Phat's challenge, my baseline weight is 225 pounds, recorded this afternoon. There will be no photos, but I'll aim to post weight again next Saturday. It'll be after much feasting and flagons of wine. I won't be the biggest loser.

The FAs went out for our Christmas tree today, decorated it and started wrapping presents. I hope you guys have a holy and festive week with your families.

Peace, fellas.

Couple to report

Got a nice 4.75 mile run last Sunday. I felt good and had fun and beat the rain. I didn't get out again until Wednesday and did my bread run to Trader Joe's. I felt better on the way back than on the way out -- total head-wind on the way out and a lovely tail-wind on the way home. It's cold today, but I hope to get out today for a quick one. Should be doable.

Several workouts later and a thirty day challenge

Hi all,

Hit the treadmill for a 4.1 miler last Friday and this past Monday. About an 8:20 pace. Also, hit the gym for a P90x workout for a little over an hour lifting weights. I am about to start another reiteration of this program and if anyone else is interested in ordering the DVDs and starting with me let me know.

VTR - I understand what it it like to play hockey as I played the JV-B boys team yesterday on defense and had a blast. Unfortunately, I know where my body needs to go on the ice, but it really can't take me there. Need a little more practice.

Just getting out and being active is 90% of the battle.

I am challenging each of us to workout for the next thirty days for a couple of reasons:

Keep the holiday weight off
Start the New Year off the right way by being in better shape

To keep us honest, I say we post weight and photos of the upper body. Any takers?

Keep on running.

Cold, or, Harlem Doesn't Run

Got out for a brisk 27 minute run tonight. I had planned to go longer but I found myself underdressed and COLD. The Park was empty above 96 Street, that is, I found myself observing, hey, the Park is empty, it must be the cold, until I crossd 96th Street and suddenly I was among many runners again. My conclusion: Harlem doesn't run.

Blustery

Seems like I was always running into a headwind today. Ran the castle island 10K route. Not much else to report.

Building the base

Still at it. I've been increasing the mileage ever so slowly at 10% per week for the last month. Based on Agricola's recommendation and that of several running rags I've read, this is a good rule to avoid (repeat) injury. 50 miles last month, shooting for 55 this month. Ran my 3 mile loop this morning as the bone spur in the ankle was a little sore after the added distance the past two weeks. Last week had two of my hardest runs due to weather (Wednesday's snow storm and Friday's torrential rain). There's something about running in bad weather that I'm addicted to. Felt good today. 6+ for Wednesday.

Best Run for Weeks

I got out for 34 minutes tonight. Best run for weeks. I ran the Reservoir Loop for the first time in a dog's age. I actually felt strong, and mid-way chose to run a slightly longer route than I had planned. Maybe some of the fitness I lost in the six weeks of post-ADK 1/2 inactivity is coming back. But then Wednesday's run will probably kick my *ss.

Crappy Week

I didn't get out this past week until Friday, in Tampa, Florida, early, around 6:00a. I ran for about 28 minutes. I got a little freaked by the sign that said, "Beware of Alligators." No lie.

Mrs. FA and I got out yesterday (Saturday) for 30 minutes in Rochester, NY. It was 19 degrees and the terrain was mixed -- some snow, some ice, some blacktop -- in her sister's neighborhood.

I'm finally back home after six days, hoping to have a regular week, with runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Peace, fellas.

Clarifying

Of all of the things I like about being my own boss what I don't like is the never-off nature of starting our own thing. It interferes sometimes with my life which is really much more important than my work (and always has been). I tend to get short lately and have little patience. Running helps me deal with that -- a reality hammered home when I'm not running as much as I should. I got out yesterday afternoon in the dark. It was cold and windy. There were no other runners out. The Christmas lights were on in folks' houses. I went 3.3. It was beautiful and clarifying both physically and metaphysically. I was strong and quick (I can run!). I pondered some stuff and settled on a course of action. It was good. I then got home, showered, hydrated & drank a beer. I yelled at my kids about something stupid. I've still got a ways to go. Embrace the process. Find the center.

GOOAAALLLL

I scored one last night for my team on hockey night (after two weeks of scoring against my team). Good workout, good fun, followed by beers. Not bad for a Monday night.

More Like It

I went out late today, around 4:15 PM. I didn't run over the weekend. I worked hard on Saturday to finish my yard work. Today was the first run of the 09-10 winter running season as far as I'm concerned: sub-40 F, dark, snow on the ground, badly shoveled sidewalks in places, hat gloves tights, shell & reflector. I had no real route in mind, I just went out and did my thing and ended up having a beaut of a run in the 4 mile neighborhood. I even threw in my end of 10K hills and did well. Last week may have been an anomaly, it may have been the week off, too much food at Thanksgiving, I don't know. My body reacted well and I enjoyed tonight. I felt quick, I liked my tempo, my CV felt good, my legs were solid. Mrs. A is happy to see us back on the blog.

Treadmill again

As I work into running once again, I have found it tough getting motivated to do it even though after I finish a run, I feel immensely better. Hit the treadmill last night for 4.1 miles and ran at an 8:30 pace. Slow, but at least I haven't lost too much ground to just lifting and other things. No tights yet!

I will get out into the real elements, but I am also considering switching shoes. One of my colleagues here just got new Nike "natural" running sneakers and he swears by them. You have to start out slower, but supposedly my buddy's aches in his lower shins have gone away. Check out this funny commercial I found while trying to seek out a link for all of you: http://tomfaranda.typepad.com/folly/2009/04/nikes-naturel-running-training-camp.html

The link to the shoe: http://store.nike.com/index.jsp?country=US&lang_locale=en_US&cp=usns_CSE_081109_Froogle&l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-1/pid-224611/pgid-224609&CAWELAID=377772735


I will let everyone know if I get them.

Men in TIGHTS

I donned the tights for the first time yesterday to squeeze in a 33-minute run in 42 degree temps.

That makes three runs for last week. This week I'm traveling, Atlanta and St. Petersburg, Florida, for work, then Rochester, NY for the weekend. I am aiming to schedule time for runs in the South, Rochester may be tough. Trying to stay on track with the challenge. More soon.

Quick one

Checking it off -- I got in a solid 3.5 miler on Saturday. It was sandwiched between two nights of festive drinking, so a five miler was probably in order, but I was glad to get out nonetheless.

Short Friday Run

Went out for 3.3 today. Nothing major, but I felt better than yesterday so that's heartening.
IT was chilly but I got out in shorts, gloves, hat not pulled all the way down technical-t and poly pro undershirt (long sleeved). My shorts kept riding up in my crotch and as I ran by this little gas station and Dunkins these morons across the street in an SUV told me to pull down my shorts. If there hadn't been 4 guys with hockey sticks (Aluminum sticks were visible in the back seat, running along the top of the door on the driver's side) I would have stopped, flipped them the bird and asked why they were looking at my shorts and crotch any way... but I rose above and carried on. I've never been hassled around here before (but have in rural Michigan) and think that people in cars who hassle runners are compensating for something.

I entered my name in the lottery for the Cherry Blosson 10-miler on 4/11/10 in D.C.. If you're interested let me know and I'll give you some inside scoop -- there is some HC momentum and we're trying to get in as a group, one from NE one from the Mid-Atlantic.

I also just signed up for the Vermont City Marathon.....here we go.

Treadmill run

Hi all,
Hit the treadmill for 3.1 miles and did some weights on Wednesday night. I don't know what it is about the treadmill, but I don't find them too bad. They are definitely easier on the joints and the legs. Might hit the Hyannis 5k this weekend if I can drum up some support around here.

Peace....

Perception

I'm not sure what it was, but for some reason I was convinced it was cold outside yesterday. It might have been FreeArtist's post from a few days back or the slightly gray morning. Whatever it was, I hit the streets at lunch in sweats, a long-sleeved tech shirt with zip up turtleneck, another zip turtleneck technical fleece, my light, running jacket (yup, I'm up to three layers) and gloves. I even reached for my hat, but thought better of it. I was overdressed to say the least.

Out on the course, I awkwardly reeled in a group of three runners. You know those times when you're running just fast enough to catch someone, but not fast enough to blow by them? That's the awkward pass I'm talking about. I said hello and picked up my pace until they were well behind me. Not a fan of the slow pass.

Besides my attire and pass, this was an uneventful run. I was glad to get out there. I figure it was 3.5 miles.

Wake Up Call

Beautiful day (sunny and 70 F), horrible run. This run was a wake up call for me. I need to be more conisstent in my runing, my diet, my hydration, my sleep habits. I need to structure my day better and remember to take time for myself and focus on running. I did about 4ish and it was one of the worst runs I've had in years. I raked and worked in my yard but haven't run since Thursday. The frustrating thing about consistency is that it's all in my control -- I just need to plan my days better.

OK, done venting. Thanks.

Run in the Rain

I got out last night in a cold, intermittant rain, for a 30-minute run. It wasn't a heavy, steady soaking rain, so I guess it was just enough to thin the running and cycling hordes and foster a sense of camaraderie among the runners who still got out, like we were tough guys. That's how I felt, anyway, and I acknowledged each of my comrades with a slight fist-pump. This being New York, this call for help went largely unanswered.

Hockey night

Monday night was hockey night again, and it felt good. 1.5 hours of wind sprints seem tough to beat for fitness. Good times.

Seeing the posts this week is helping with the motivation on the running front. I'm very sporatic. Hoping to get out at least twice this week. You'll hear about it if I do.

Solo Run in a City of 9 Million

I got out in an eerily empty Central Park last night. I started at 7:25p, ran along 110th St, up behind the Lasker Rink/Pool, across the 102 Street Tranverse, then down the West Side to Columbus Circle, where I caught the C Train home. The Park was EMPTY. Weird. I saw maybe four runners the whole way, and not a single cyclist. I t had been raining, so I can understand the cyclist staying in. I can only think the cold scared off the runners. I wore my stocking cap, and wished I had remembered gloves.

I'm staying with the intermitant recovery walks for the time being, though last night's running felt pretty good.

More soon.

Sunrise

Out for another Castle Island 10k this morning. When I time it right, the 3rd mile looks strait out over the harbor at the sunrise. Very cool. Felt great today. Plenty of rest and carbs over the past few days. Looking to slowly start increasing the weekly mileage.

Post Turkey Trot Update

While I've been delinquent on the posts, I've been good about running 3x a week for the past month. The Trot with AG was the best I've felt since I started running again 15 months ago. As AG pointed out in his post, the times are a bit of a SWAG. I, too, passed the finish line 20-25 seconds faster than the official time. The start was also a challenge...dodging other runners, figuring out where the starting line was and navigating the side of the road. Based on previous races and runs, I'm relatively confident in my foot pod giving the correct distance.

1.0 8:20
2.0 7:54 16:14
3.0 7:42 23:56
3.1 0:49 24:45

The times correlate with AG's estimates. While my time was the same as last month's 5k, Avg HR and max HR were both lower. More importantly, I just felt better. Looking forward to a couple more 5Ks (New Years Day? and Super Sunday) before moving up to 10K races and tri's in the spring. Goal is sub 24 for Super Sunday run.

Good to see everyone getting back at it!

Turkey trots

I had to miss the official Hingham Turkey Trot this year because the littlest VTR came down with a 12 hour bug on Wednesday. Not wanting to miss out entirely, I ran a 3.5 mile route by my house and visualized the Hingham course. I ended up taking two minutes off the back leg portion of the out and back, so I guess the visualization worked. It was a good run.

Over the weekend, I got out for a four miler and felt strong. It was fun, and good to be running a different but familiar route down in MA. That run also set up a great night out with Agricola and other HC-alums in the North End. Awesome food, wine and conversation. Good to see you AG.

Later boys.

Turkey Trot

Thanksgiving Morning, Mrs. FA and I ran to the entrance of her folks' subdivision and then back to the house. It's about three miles. I went out in shorts and a technical shirt with a long sleeve cotton race shirt over it, which I peeled off with about a mile to go. I have not yet donned a hat this Fall. Today (Saturday) was warm and beautiful, too, for almost-December. We spent part of the afternoon erecting a temporary barrier that (hopefully) will deter the plow-man from tearing up our garden, if we get any snow this year. So there was some light yard-work-out. I hit three runs this past week, and will think through my schedule for the coming week soon enough. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend, fellas.

Hingham Turkey Trot 2009

BR and I ran in Hngham yesterday. It was moderately warm, but damp and gray. We started in abot the middle of the pack and headed out together on the run. The first mile was a slow 8:58 -- tack on the lag at the start. I ran the middle mile in 7:33 crossing mile 2 at 16:30. I finished the last 1.1 miles in a declining time of about 8:28 it seems. Now the official time on the site says 25:19.22 but I looked up as I crossed the line and the clock said something like 24:53 - 58, not entirely sure.

BR's watch said something like 24:30 elapsed time. There were no chips and no mats for this race so it's all gun time or self timed. They even use the old capture the tag from the bottom of your number and sort it that way. I'm not sure of the accuracy of that method, though it can be accurate, my run felt faster than 25:19.22 though that may just mean that I'm in worse shape than I thought. I think it was somewhere low 24s high 23s, to be honest. Anyway, whatever. It was fun. BR is doing great and much improved this year since we raced together in February. Way to go. Sorry you guys missed the race, VTR. Next year.

Hope you guys all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. This is a good driver to get better and more consistent. See you around.

Uneventful 35 Minutes

I got out tonight for an uneventful 35 minutes in Central Park. Not too many runners out there, or cyclists. Many people may have already started their holiday weekends, I suppose. I am trying to lengthen my stride and I'm not keen on more band pain, so I threw in a few recovery walks along the way. Everything felt good. It's still warm enough to be comfortable in shorts, which is great. We're spending Thanksgiving with Mrs. FA's folks, so we'll get in a private Turkey Trot on the three mile out-and-back that we run when we're there. And I'll blog about it. 'til then, peace, fellas.

Kind of Running

So, I threw down the gauntlet and it worked! Nice job guys way to get out and go. I then got buried under work and fell off the wagon. I had a great week three weeks ago 4 runs capped by a beaut on Cape Cod in which I felt strong fast and very alive. then I ran once the next two weeks. I'm seeking consistency and balance, something hard to do these days.

I've gotten in 2 runs this week with the Hingham Turkey Trot this Thursday. Looking forward to running the BR, VTR and Mrs. VTR. It will be fun. See you soon.

Tough Race

Mrs. FA and I ran a NYRR 4-miler this morning. It was a brisk 46 degrees when we headed out for the 8:30 start. I had a tough time on this one. I'm fairly certain that the right IT band pain I experienced in the last two miles of the ADK 1/2 is a lingering injury. It really started giving me trouble today, between miles two and 2 1/2. (If anyone on the blog can advise me on this, I'm keen for some feedback. I am going to treat it like an injury and do some research on recovering properly.) So I walked a fair bit. After running the first mile in a blistering (for me) nine minutes, I finished the race in about 41 minutes. It was invigorating to run on a beautiful morning in Central Park with 6,000+ other New Yorkers, and a great way to start a big holiday week.

So I can check "one race before year-end" off the Agricola challenge, and aim to get out again for light runs -- I'll see what the research turns up -- on Tuesday and Thanksgiving morning.

Peace, fellas.

Double post

Hi all,

Sunday - Spent 1/2 hour on the ergometer. It is a great workout, but I have to admit getting back into rowing is a difficult thing. I felt a little sore, but I know I am in better shaped than I was 2 years ago.

Wednesday - Went swimming for about 30 minutes at 5:30 at the local Y. Now, I am not a very good swimmer, but I am learning and I love how it is so low impact with my body instead of running. I think I will be going at least once or maybe twice a week. 5:30 is a little early, yet it will be fun to try a new sport.

P90 is still in the mix, but I have not done a lift in 2 weeks. Have to get back on that because lifting makes me feel very good and fit.

Ciao!

Proximity Peer Pressure

Today is a beautiful day, and my schedule is not packed. On paper, it's a perfect day for running, but I didn't want to go.

Rather than feel lame about not running, I convinced myself that I simply didn't have time and headed out to grab some lunch... just as a colleague ran by me. Damn.

She didn't even see me, but still managed to guilt me into running. I changed course, grabbed my stuff, and got in a good 30 minute run.

So, consider this your peer pressure moment and get out there today.

Later boys.

Hockey night

Last night was hockey night. An hour and a half on the ice -- great workout. I scored a goal on a breakaway, which was a lot of fun. Of course, I also put two in my own net, so I was -1 on the night. Oh well, it was still a good time and workout.

People

What a perfect way to start the day.

I ran into a friend at a local ski and skate sale yesterday, and he expressed an interest in going for a run. He pulled in a couple of other guys, and today at 7:00AM, six of us hit the road for what was supposed to be an easy five miler. Eight hilly miles later (at a too fast, sub-9:00 pace) we finished up. It was a big jump from my previous series of three milers, but it felt great. Running with people was all the difference. It is a good day to be a runner.

Go Pats!

Morning run

Got in a quick 3 miler this morning. Great way to start the day and end the week.

San Fran Run

I got out for a solid 4 miler in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday evening. I ran down Post Street to Mission, down Mission to the Embarcadero, along the water to 2nd, then up 2nd to Post, and back up the hill to my hotel. It was about 65 degrees and clear. A nice evening run.

I flew to Seattle on Wednesday but wasn't there long enough to squeeze in a run. Next time.

Ms. FA and I freed up the Sunday before Thankgiving to run a NYRR 4-miler in Central Park, so I'll make A's goal of a race before Christmas.

Waiting for the NYC 1/2 Marathon application to post online, December 1. The race is Mar 21. There's a new pullout couch in the FAs' living room, if anyone wants to come down and run it.

Coincidence?

I literally hit "Publish Post" on that last posting, went to my Hotmail account, and this was waiting for me.

Everyone’s Got A Little Marathon In Them – Unleash Yours!

"The 2010 KeyBank Vermont City Marathon Registration is now open. Those wishing to register may do so by visiting the RunVermont website (www.RunVermont.org) where you will find a link to our on-line registration provider, Marathonguide.com.

Please note that we are accepting registrations for those wishing to run the FULL marathon only. Relay team registration for both 2 person teams and 3-5 person teams, will once again be conducted by lottery, commencing on January 1st, 2010 through January 31st.

For those runners who register for the marathon before December 15th, you will receive a complimentary tech training hat (with reflective trim to make you more visible on those dark winter training runs), a sharp addition to your running wardrobe.

As a reminder, the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon was identified as one of the “Top Ten Places For Runners To Hit The Road” in 2009 by Bart Yasso, editor of Runner’s World magazine. If you have running friends who have not yet experienced this race, tell them to hurry and reserve a spot at the start line, they won’t regret it.

Looking forward to seeing you next May,
RunVermont"

Hmm.

Ok fine. I'm in.

Hey boys. Good to see the blog getting active again. I, too have been in a lull, and I'm ready to break out of it.

I got in a good 3 miler on Sunday with a friend. It was an out and back that was tough for the out and surprisingly fast for the back. The guy got me talking coffee, and I guess caffeine memory took over. We cut a minute and a half off our out time.

Last night was hockey. Week three of our regular Monday night session, and it's the first time I've felt even slightly good out there. Sure, there were still plenty of painful reminders that I'm out of shape, but there was progress. I'm looking for the same in running, and might even get in some weights over the "off-season." But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I printed the Turkey Trot app, and Mrs. VTR and I are both in this year. It's a fun, straightforward run. Glad to have another LDT bud on the course.

Accepting the challenge

'Sup, gents. October was a big, nasty hang of a month. Nothing special or unusual went on, I just fell into a rut accompanyied by a foul mood and very little runnning. Trying to climb out now. A's challenge should help.

I can't get a race in before Christmas, per A's challenge. But the New York City 1/2 Marathon has been moved to March 21 from its ususal August date. Applications will be posted at www.nyrr.org on December 1, and I'm aiming to run it.

The kids spent last night at my folks' place so Mrs. FA and I could get in a date night. We added a run this morning, running together for about 3.5 miles, including the Reservoir Loop. It's a beautiful day here, around 68 degrees and clear. The Park is packed with runners and cyclists and people with dogs. Fantastic.

I'll be in San Fran and Seattle this week, hoping to post on runs from there.

Peace, fellas.

Running again

After a brief hiatus of running, I am back out on the trail. Up in Greenfield, NH, hit the side roads and a trail or two for a 31 minute run. Felt decent and I never felt too tired. My achilles have been bothering me, but I think that they were just aching to be used. I think I am still signing up for the 1/2 Timberman and I am pretty excited.

Keep on running.

Thanks, Agricola for pushing us all.

Going

Got out again today for a decent run. Ran parts of various roots. I have no idea how far or how long, but it was definitely in the 3.1-3.5 range. It felt good to get out and I beat the rain.
So that's my three runs and 2 blog contributions for the week. Where are you all?

Epic Bluebird

This morning was so quintessentially fall gorgeous that I had to go out and run. I wasn't planning on it this AM but hopped on the epic bluebird day and went out for 4+. I was bit tired from last evening's run -- i'm rebuilding the base -- but it was a decent run, and I felt OK. The day was so gorgeous that it couldn't help but be a good run. As I finished, and started my walk off a hawk flew right down the middle of the street, and there was another doing cicrcles in the distance in one of the most crystalline sapphire colored skies I've ever seen. Some days, it's wonderful to be a runner.

Let's Get It Going

OK. My goal at the end of this year is to regain some balance in my life. Part of that effort means running more and taking more time to run. It also means blogging more. I want to throw down a challenge to all of us still (nominally) involved in this blogging venture.

1. Let's all commit to run at least three times/week until the end of the year
2. Let's all commit to at least two contributions/week to the blog -- be it a post or a comment
3. Let's all commit to run at least one more race before the end of the year

This blog is most successful when we're participating on it. There are too many post with 0 comments, and too few posts. I'm totally at fault here too, I've been inconsistent as a runner and a contributor. Let's finish 2009 on a strong note.

The week after Columbus day was a great running week -- I got in 4 runs. The week after that was a disaster with tons of work. Last week was a disaster of sloth. I went this past Saturday for 3.3 and again on Monday (yesterday). I felt pretty good Saturday, and quite strong and fast yesterday. I've been having some respiratory issues this fall with allergies etc. but feel like I'm starting to overcome them. I'm looking forward to getting back out. I want and need to run, and i've been letting my business venture take over vast tracks of my life. As I've said often, I'm a better husband father and worker when I'm running.

Here are some things percolating in Race World:

Hingham Turkey Day Trot. I'm in and so are VTR and BR (http://www.marathonsports.com/races/turkeytrot/) 11/26/09, need to sign up soon.
Jolly Jaunt (http://www.jollyjauntboston.org 12/5/09)
Registration is open for Vermont City Marathon as of 11/1/09. I'm going to sign up and use last year's deferral.

Still at it

Managed to get 10 runs / 37.3 miles /8:42 pace in for October. Ran the local 5k race a week ago and had much better results than the previous year. Went out 20 seconds slower than the prior year and ended up over 2:30 faster. Official time was 25:02. Took about 15 seconds to get across the start line so I consider my personal lofty goal of under 25 achieved at 24:47. Not sure if the 190+ HR at the end was pushing it too hard, but I didn't croak. Plan is to start running longer routes and up the weekly total...gradually so I don't repeat last years injures. Managed 10k on Friday and 4.5 miles today without any issues. Looking forward to the Turkey Day Trot!

A few threes

I got in three three milers this week. Felt stiff and slow, but that's to be expected after all the time off. I'm taking a long view of my running now, using this time for foundation building. Slow, steady and without injury. The goal is to be in shape enough and with a solid enough base to start marathon training in earnest at the start of the year. Not sure which marathon yet, but I'll be looking into that in the coming weeks.

I'll keep you posted.

Release

I headed out the door in foul mood this evening, just before dinner. The day sort of caught up with me and I think I said something like I need to get out of here. So... I got my stuff on, headed out, sat on the front step for a bit and then went out for a quick 3.3 miler. It felt good and I can home refreshed and recharged. Unplanned. Very much needed.

Mellow Sunday

Way to go FA! Sounds like you had an awesome experience in your half. Way to finish strong! Congratulations!

Took a mellow Sunday run with PR. It was a gorgeous day and fun to run with a friend. He wore an old pair of my shoes, and soldiered very nicely despite the fact that they were too narrow.
It was just a nice run on a nice day with a good friend. Afterward, the families headed out for a nature walk around a pond and next to the Charles. Good day.

Official Results

Finished 207th out of 431 runners.

First half split, 1:03:27

Finish, 2:15:04

10:21 pace

ADK 1/2 Marathon

So I'll say that the ADK 1/2 went mostly as I planned it. I am very pleased with the experience, and would do it again.

I had this plan for the race: Stay at a steady 10 minute pace for the first seven miles to keep some gas in the tank for the last six, which are mainly uphill, with some flats and downs, and then run the hills as I find them. Pre-select my lines, and stay in them. (I observed the course again by car last night, before picking up my bib. I selected lines along the course that looked flat, not tilted to one side.) Take shot blocks (margarita flavored, thanks for the good steer from VTR) for miles two, four , six, and eight. Grab water at every station.

The first 5 miles or so run along Schroon Lake, one to the prettiest big lakes in the ADKs, in my view. I hit the halfway point at 1:03:27, which was right on plan, and I was psyched.

It was a gorgeous day, cold at the start and crystal clear with a beautiful blue sky. I hit mile markers seven through 10 at 10 minute intervals. But something about how I was shortening my stride on the hills was causing some bad IT band pain on the right side. I took two hills walking with long strides, which made the bands feel better. I still hit mile 11 a little past around 1:53, which was not far off my plan.

The roof sort of caved in just past mile 11. I suddenly had bad pain in my groin on the left side, and my right IT bands were getting worse. I was having trouble lifting my legs. I fell into a run/stagger for the last mile, perking up a little with the Japanese drumming at mile 13, and again when I saw the girls about 40 yards before the finish line. I must have been grimacing; there was a lot of encouragement being shouted at me by strangers in those last 40 yards. I crossed the finish in 2:15:04, ground to a halt and almost fell over. Someone handed me a gatorade, steered me towards a chair and took the chip off my sneaker. I sat there for a good 10 minutes, a little dazed, before I limped off to find Mrs. FA.

Walking around the post-race festivities was difficult and painful. I got a banana and a brownie and four bottles of water and sat in the lake for about 20 minutes, and had a massage, which was nice but not as helpful as the Alleve I swallowed in the car.

The good surely outweighed the bad. It was something, really something. It was a very friendly race on a beautiful course. I saw people I know. I am proud of the Adirondacks and of myself. And now I am going to spend some time away from running.

Talk with you later, fellas.

Go, go, go

Good luck FreeArtist!

13.1 is no match for you. Run your race. Have fun.

Then blog. I want details.

Cheering from the VT side of the lake,
VTR.

Ramping Up

Starting back into the training after a summer of goalless running. Weight is still down and pace is up despite running not more than 2x per week. Going to ease into it this fall so as not to repeat last years over training injuries. Ran 4.5 today at 8:31 (PR for the route). I'm getting much better at maintaining an even pace during the runs. Each split today was +/- 1 second. Not bad!

Part of the new plan is to work in riding on the weekends to help reduce the pounding on the legs. I've been going for 20+ mile rides on the new bike on the weekend. Rides are good for the legs (less pounding), good for the lungs (hills are brutal) but bad on time as it takes longer to get a good workout in. As an aside, I'm selling my old road bike (below). Let me know if there's anyone you know who might be interested.

2001 Trek 2200 56cm
Shimano 105 Components
Shimano Flight Deck Computer
Aluminium Frame / Carbon Forks

Winding Down

Ran from my apartment to Columbus Circle last night, then took the subway home. The run was 26:26. It is warm in NYC, mildly humid. I really stank up the train. Que sera, sera.

Hale Reservation Triathlon

I did my second triathlon yesterday, Sunday 13 September, 2009. It was a blast. The swim felt longer, my run was significantly slower than last year (something in the neighborhood of 42 seconds/mile!) but I still managed to finish in the top third, even if I did drop off of the first page of results -- though this year I am tops on the second page of results at 51 out of 157. Here's the breakdown of the race.

SWIM
I got stuck behind a couple of wide-body clydesdales right off the start. I couldn't go around them because there were a couple of other dudes to my left and right. I ended up stopping an treading every few strokes just looking for space. I eventually did get around them but the damage was done. The adrenaline was my enemy, I got mildly nervous and panicky and ended up breast stroking pretty much the whole thing. thought I did pass guys even swimming breast stroke I lost at least a minute or more in the opening 150 yards trying to get around those guys (9:59 -- ugh! yet everyone felt like it was longer this year). I did OK on the transitions, sub-2 minutes, but need to work on those (1:54)

BIKE
Bike is what I think is my weakest -- especially mountain biking with clip-in pedals. When I was younger I used to just go out and ride and didn't worry too much about anything. Now I'm a bit more cautious though adrenaline on my bike was my friend. The ride was fairly punishing, and fairly tricky but very fun. There was a monster climb in the first mile or so that I rode the first time I rode it, but walked it during the training and the race. People were dropping off left and right and it made it hard to navigate (those clip-in pedals make me uncomfortable at low speeds). So I hopped off half way up and ran it up the hill hopped back on, rode one more crest then hammered it down the backside back into the woods (it was asphalt actually in this part). The eventual women's winner powered by -- 50, fit, and driven -- up the steep. I was jealous. The rest of the ride was largely uneventful -- I got stuck in a line of guys, one in particular and along the single track portions I just followed. I rode things yesterday that I'd walked or fallen off in training and stayed on the bike generally better. There were other climbs where guys were coming off the bike so I came off the bike too -- it's a chain reaction on rocky treacherous pieces. I ran the bike up each of those sections though and got back on as quick as I could. There was one sick rock garden that I had walked both training runs, but sort of half rode half walked yesterday -- I made up some time there. Generally I attacked and had fun and see the bike as a place where I can get significantly better. Running CV totally helps biking and I find it easier to recover on the bike. I ride a 20 year old hard tail, hard fork Trek and I did OK: 5.3 miles 34:50, 9.5 MPH. I did a 1:24 transition out of bike shoes into running shoes. Actually moderately happy with that. Oh, and it was muddy and mucky in many parts of the track and that made it super fun.

RUN
The run was solid for me. I pushed it hard on the bike and took a bit longer to come back on the run. The eventually second lace woman passed me in the transition. I stuck with her for the first little bit,up a nasty climb and then she started to pull away. I kept in her sight the entire run but could not catch her. I walked one little stretch, about 5 paces to collect myself, then started to reel back her in, though I never lost sight of her. I started sort of slow and that transition, from bike to run, not just the legs, but the breathing even is very tricky. I think though that I was negative splitting, because I was reeling her in and closing the gap over the last half of the course. I was also passing some other guys as well so that was good. About 150 yards from the finish, on basically one of the smoothest, easiest stretches of the run I stepped on something, I don't even know what, and tweaked my left ankle. It hurt but I powered on, and finished with a nice kick. It was ironic because I was running over rocks and rots and up and down rock and rot strewn climbs and hopping off of some rocks and I tweak myself on the most mellow part of the course. the ankle is a bit tender today, but nothing catastrophic. So, the race details said 2.3 for the run but people in the field said that it was 2.5, I don't know who to believe on this but if it was 2.3 then the race clocking at 20:39 and 8:59/mile is my time. If it was 2.5 then I ran a bit better than that at about 8:15-16/mile. Not sure which, I have no real way to judge it. Eight fifteens though are better than 8:59s.... I don't totally remember last year's course but there was a section I walked briefly last year that we didn't run this year, and in that section it cut a chunk of the race off that we had to cover this year (with one more nasty climb), so I do actually think that we ran further which would make sense to me.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm not as fit this year as last but I got better on the bike and about the same on the run if it indeed was 2.5 miles. I was happy with the negative splits on the run though (or what seemed like negative splits). Swim was tricky. I didn't freestlye-swim as much this year, and I'm not sure why. I need to work more on my swim (though I feel like I did this year and it didn't help me). Anyway, it was a blast, and totally amped me up for the whole day. Fun, fun, fun!

10 Miler

Well, 9.4 miles anyway, according to MapMyRun. I started at Columbus Circle and headed onto the Park Drive with traffic, counter-clockwise. After about 3.5 miles I approached my apartment and took a pit stop for water, the bathroom, and to drop off my cap, into which I was sweating heavily as it prevented my body from ventilating. I got back out on the Park Drive after about 10 minutes and had a rough 4 miles, slowing to a crawl at some points just to keep moving. But the last two miles were inspired. I found a guy running just a short distance ahead and stayed with him from the Met back to the Great Hill, where I turned for home. It was a real grind of a workout -- start to finish, with pit stop and crawling, nearly two hours end-to-end. Nipples are raw. (Agricola, I picked up some BodyGlide for the race.) I'm feeling fairly well worn this morning but pretty confident about next Sunday.

Given the flat course for the first eight miles, I am aiming to maintain a steady 10 minute mile pace for that distance to keep some gas in the tank for the long climbs and sharp drops in the last 5 miles.

I am planning to run 35 to 45 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday this week, then sit tight for the race. More later.

Run To Remember

I know I've said this a million times: we ran the Brooklyn Promenade about 30 minutes before the planes hit the towers. The attacks were underway as we ran. The day was crystalline. I've run every September 11 since that day with one exception when I was sick. I headed out today, late afternoon, in a drizzle. I did 3.3 miles. I don't know how fast.

I run in honor of the dead and hope to honor them thusly as long as I can.

I say this each year, more or less. It does not change for me. It is immutable. September 11 is a major motivator of my running. I'm sure there is some crazy psychological thing tied up with this but I feel that as long as I run I honor the memory of all of those who died.

Tri, Trails & Steak

Last weekend we were at a family wedding outside of Portsmouth, NH. My brother and his family were in town. The day after the wedding he and I went for a brief -- 25 minutes, I think -- trot through Newcastle, NH. It was lovely, rolling and scenic. Frequent ocean views to our right on the way out and a nice little turn around down by Portsmouth harbor with a view of an old fort. The weather was beautiful and it was great to run with my brother. We also saw a couple of deer in somebody's yard (I saw one on last week's trail run, at the edge of an orchard and the woods).

Sunday I didn't do much except eat a massive meal at Capital Grill. My brother and I headed out Labor Day afternoon and took a rocking trail run through the Fells Reservation in Winchester/Medford. It ended up being more than I'd bargained for (see massive meal, Capital Grill, Sunday night) at about an hour of up and down, side stepping and root hopping. The air though was gorgeous piney and clean. We ran around the Winchester water supply and the presence of basically a mountain lake was really amazing. It was a butt kicker of a run, but I'm better for it. Again, it was awesome to run with my brother who is really a gazelle.

Wednesday night I did a full run through of the tri that I'm doing this weekend. It was fun even though I had a splitting migraine during the day and I sort of felt like I was in slow-mo all along the course. The swim went pretty well, but it felt longer and I felt slower than the advertised 400 yards. I was more comfortable on the mountain bike last night and found some lines that I'd not see the first ride last week that I hope will help Sunday. It's a fairly punishing ride at 5.3 miles with some big climbs and some tricky descents. The run went well once the leg wobble stopped. I just shifted into an easy lope through the woods and felt good throughout. I'm looking forward to Sunday, and am going to have the family come out and watch. It should be around an hour, perhaps more -- the swim is longer, I think... -- and it's supposed to be a beauty of a day.

Don't Run After Pizza

I had two slices of pizza tonight around 5:30. When I got out for my run at about 7:45, I started out hard and the agida quickly shut me down. I thought I was gonna die. SUCKING wind. So I slowed to a walk for a few blocks and started up again at a more moderate pace and headed out towards the resevoir and looped it. I was back at the apartment in about 31 minutes, which is not bad. When I hit the resevoir track I felt that I needed a pacer, so fell in behind a couple out having a social run, chatting away, and stayed with them until about 3/4ers 'round, then pulled ahead and that was that. Heading to the shower now. 10 mile run in the plan for Saturday.

8 Mile Run

I got out for eight miles today. Mrs. FA drove me 8 miles from the house and dropped me off. It was a very pretty run, on a plateau high above the lake, with wonderful views for most of the first five miles. I had to walk up the four brutal hills, but I completed the course in a shade longer than 80 minutes, so maintained, on average, my comfortable race pace. I was happy about that.

One downer, as I crossed in front of my neighbor's yard, a wasp hopped out of the grass and stung me, right through my sock. I used profanity. It was an inauspicious end to an otherwise encouraging run.

Less than two weeks to the big race. I'm feeling particularly fit. Since last Sunday, I've biked 26 miles, run 18 miles, rowed steadily for three hours, and mowed the lawn. Hoo-ah.

Peace, fellas.

Two New Runs, and Some Rowing

Had a GREAT run in Central Park on Wednesday and a so-so run on the Crown Point Peninsula on Friday evening. So-so, mainly I think b/c I'd had two cups of coffee and two beers and nothing else to drink all day, and felt the dehydration as I ran, in the sun to boot. I had some unexpected cross training this afternoon, rowing around Lake Eaton fishing with my cousin for about 3 hours. The upper body feels comfrotably fatigued. Planning to act like a slug tomorrow with a long run in the pipeline for Labor Day.

CCM - I am in...

Howdy all,

Very little running. Just P90xing it and some golf. Good summer, but now headed to winter school opening. Love to catch up soon and get a run in or two Agricola.

Hope everyone had a good summer.

Plugging Away

Gents. So the ADK 1/2 is just over two weeks away. I've been plugging away at my weekday training runs, and started feeling some of the work pay off in the last week. The longer weekend runs have been uneven and therefore not encouraging. I am aiming to go for 10 this weekend (Labor Day) and am strongly considering an out and back on the last five miles of the race course. (VTR, that would mean I park where we started out on the bikes last weekend, run the last five miles of the course backwards, then turn around and run the last five miles again, just as I'll experience them during the race.) I feel very calm about the race, though I'm not confident of a steady, consistent performance. My goals are to 1) finish; 2) finish without hurting myself; 3) stay in motion the whole distance; 4) experience the ADKs in a new way. The last is not insignificant, I am looking forward to participating in an ADK event.

I had a beaut of a run in the Park on Monday evening. The weather was dynamite, clear temps in the 70s and breezy. LOTS of runners were out there, soaking it up.

And THANK YOU to VTR for driving through the Valley to join me for a reconnoiter of the ADK half marathon course. The full course would make this marathon a significant accomplishment for any runner, I think. There were hills after hills in the first 1/2, and I was sucking wind on the bike after the first few. The second half of the course (the 1/2 marathon portion) is flat for the first 8 miles, then mildly hilly. It runs right along the lake for about the first six miles, too. It is doable, I think, and VTRs positive attitude and learned recommendations were super encouraging.

Running tonight and Friday before the long weekend run. Will update again then.

Peace, fellas.

Ride on

I forgot to mention that I did a 26.2 mile bike ride around Schroon Lake on Saturday with FreeArtist. He'll be doing a half marathon on that route later this month. I rode to get some exercise and check out the course. After riding with him, I predict he will crush it.

It felt good to go for a spin. Got a flat (two actually, but one was user error) with 7 miles to go and had fun changing the tire. I'll steal FreeArtist's thunder here a bit and say that gadgets are fun. We both had these little CO2 cartridge recharger/pumps which were very cool once figured out. I spent my cartridge by almost popping my tube (no auto-shutoff on the sucker). Luckily FA had an extra tube and cartridge, so we were back on track in no time.

Anyway, beautiful ride and fun to catch up with FA and (briefly) the FA family.

Later boys.

Trail Run

Took a big trail run today right around lunch time. I'd planned on a doing an out and back into the woods but ended up continuing on. I ran through woods and along the Charles River. I ran through some cool marsh land on raised boardwalks. It was fun and tough and fairly solitary although I did see a handful of other trail runners.

By and large the trail was really temded, not many rocks sticking out nor roots, though there were some rugged sections. I had fun and am feeling the flow. Not sure how long it was, but I think I ran for close to an hour. The transition from the trails to the streets was weird and I walked a bit after I came out of the woods but finished with two good climbs to my street (the ones at the end of my ypical 10K route).

Oh yeah, and the weather was gorgeous! Sunny, dry and 67 F. Perfect.

3 miles

Slowly, stiffly, running like on tree stumps.
Achy, lamely, the wonder of the run.
(For some strange reason, I started this post with the Phantom of the Opera in my head. Re-read my first two lines to that tune for fun. I'm tired today.)

Anyway, 3 miles at around 2:00 today. I was completely unproductive and had to get some energy to salvage the day. It worked, although the run was nothing to write home about.

Coupla Weeks

Well, I've been quietly sort of running over the past couple of weeks. The week after Falmouth was a bust despite my motivation -- lots of work to do from the cape and not much rhythm. I got in one swim but it wasn't much to write home about. I may have done a short run, but I honestly don't remember. I returned from the Cape and went to tri training session the following week. I mis-read the schedule and brought my sneakers when I should have brought my bike... I swam and went for a short run, somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 minutes. It was super humid and the black flies were assaulting my head.

I got in one more run that week but don't remember which route I did, it may have been a shorty. Can you see that I'm really into it right now?

Last week I did the tri training, swim/run and one more run, a short one. I just got back from tri training and did a swim and bike ride. I'm awful on the mountain bike when I ride it like 4 times each year. I need to get in another ride or so to get comfortable on the clipless pedals. The swim was fine, i wasn't super motivated, but did it. The ride was fun despite not being 100% comfortable. I went slow and gabbed with a fire fighter from Cambridge. There is a full run through a week from Wednesday.

I'm rediscovering that I really love the running etc., more than drinking and that it makes me feel better than drinking... right now I'm a drinker with a running problem more than a runner with a drinking problem. I think I'm going tomorrow for a run. I like how it makes me feel, and though one wouldn't think so, I need to keep reminding myself about how much I like the exertion.

One bit of business that's going undone: I have an entry form for the CCM Relay. Who's in? I want to fill it out tomorrow even though it's going to cost more because it will be in after 9/1. Also, psyched to hear VTR is considering VCM '10. I've been thinking about it and I'm in. I need to run it.

Dipping my toe in

Here are a few thoughts from my first run in a long time:
- Alternate post titles considered as I neared the end of my run -- Wow; Ouch; Weak; Tight; Interesting...
- Aches and pains are way better when caused by over-exertion than by complete and total inactivity
- Had the thought that I'd run Burlington next year. I like/need a running goal. Still noodling that one a bit.
- The blog is tough to follow when you can't log on at work. Not that I'm a total slacker at work, but you know....

Later boys.

Losing Count

I haven't been counting runs, as is my habit. But I had a good Central Park Reservoir run this week, on a very hot and humid Tuesday evening. Didn't think I could sweat so much. I broke down and did the unthinkable, removing my shirt and running in the park, topless. I pity my fellow runners who had to watch, but I was considerably more comfortable.

I brought my sneakers ro Lexington, KY for a Wednesday/Thursday business trip, aiming to run Thursday morning. Alas, I drank too much bourbon Wednesday night and slept in Thursday. I only roused myself to shower and dress in time for a breakfast meeting. It was super humid there, too.

Aiming for a 7 miler today in the Champlain Valley. Will post.

Peace, fellas.

Humidity is a Bee-atch

So here's what I've been doing:

Mrs. FA and I got down to Bermuda last Sunday for a few days alone. We got out for a run on Tuesday morning. The humidity was impressive, so we didn't go far. Spend the rest of the day kayaking and snorkeling and so redeemed the short run. We spend three very active days down there eating fish and drinking dark rum, so it was a worthwhile getaway and overall healthy interlude, but for the rum.

Friday, I ran the hilly uptown loop of the Park on another humid day in NYC.

Today in the steaming Champlain Valley I set out from church and planned to run to the lake, a distance of about 6 miles. I stopped around mile 4.5 with painful blisters in my heels. I was wearing very low cut socks, and the tops of my shoes wore down the skin on my lower achilles. I stopped, took off the shoes, walked the mile to the house, found a better pair of socks, and finished the run. When I arrived, I probably spent 45 minutes sitting still in the lake, cooling down. It is about 89 degrees up here, and humid.

Happy to hear of Agricola's solid time at Falmouth.

Peace, fellas.

Falmouth Road Race 2009

S0, yesterday was my 6th Falmouth Road Race, and true to form -- a mediocre year (2008) followed by a decent year (2009) -- I had a pretty good run yesterday. I covered the course in 58:06 which is a time I can live with -- it was 1:20 faster than 2008 and about 56 seconds slower than 2007 (57:10). I think that it should keep me in the blue corral/second flight next year. We'll see.

I was happy with the run because I feel like I ran a good race. I eased into the first mile and let the crowd carry me along, and I also just ran with it, not burning energy to pass. The first three miles seemed to go by very quickly and I felt good coming into the beach portion of the run. As it does through that section the sun sucked the life out of me a bit and I worked hard to mile four. Things got better at 5 but five to six was a grind and I felt my pace slacken a bit. However, once I hit 10K my legs came back a bit and I got a second wind for the final two climbs. It was not my fastest up the final steep climb, but I powered through it and took momentum over the top and had a nice kick for the last three hundred yards or so and I crossed the finish line in full stride.

The post race feeling was great, I recovered well, and have only tiniest bit of soreness right now -- I could go out and run today, and may. I'm definitely going for a swim. My goal is to always go sub-60-minutes at Falmouth and I feel good about yesterday's run. As I knew it would it's pumped me up for the rest of the summer. The weather was warm/hot, but low humidity which was a blessing. Some of the splits I remember: 17:11 for the first two miles (with a 9:09 for mile 1 I think). Five K to 10K are sort of a blur, I think I came across the 10K at 52 and closed it out the last .8 in 6 minutes or so. It was fun and it's amazing what a difference a minute can make!

I did a 10K training run on Friday, that I neglected to post about, but those two 10Ks helped immeasurably and if I'd gotten in one more I would have been even stronger.

Phew!

I went out for 10K today in preparation for Falmouth on Sunday. I'm on a bit of a crash course training right now but it's OK. The run felt pretty good despite that fact that I think the inside of a rice cooker is less humid than the air right now. I'll try and do one more either tomorrow or Friday. It was tough to breathe but it was good to get out and move.

I'm looking forward to Sunday, I actually feel more prepared this year than the last though not sure why -- it might be mental at this point more than physical but last year I was empty and this year, right now, I'm not. Either way, I'm just running to run and keep up a tradition of running this race until I have a collection of at least 12 coffee cups (it's the yearly race gift). I'm going to run, enjoy it and not stress about time -- the goal, as always, is to run under 60 for 7 miles. We'll see where I net out.

365

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.

Starting Over

My first run was one year ago today. Getting ready to start again.

Keeping at it.

Another easy 3 miles this morning. Keeping it easy. Learned my lesson these past 11 months on pushing too hard too fast. One more short run this week is planned. Next week, may lengthen one of the runs. Need to cross train, too. Any idea when summer is too arrive?

Cross training

Quiet on the blogger front. Not sure about you guys, but I'm switching gears a bit, spending time on family stuff, and seeing where the exercise bug bites me next. For Sunday, at least, I was bitten by mountain biking. The intense running crew that I've written about here (the guys who go out at 6AM on Sundays) really only uses running in the off-season to train for their fun stuff -- mountain biking, some road biking and cross country skiing. I've been thinking about riding with them for probably two years now, but always had some excuse that made my slight fear of riding with them more palatable. Last weekend, with excuses diminished, curiosity peaked (and intimidation still intact), I finally joined the crew.

I met up with four guys promptly at 6AM for a grueling-but-fun, technical, slippery/wet ride in the wooded hills of Waterbury. We did equal shares climbing, switchbacks, and straight downhills over the course of just over two hours. I went over the handlebars (think full-on superman launch) once, walked a couple of times and slid out a few more, but had a blast the whole time. (Full disclosure, the end, which was a full mile uphill on my road home, sucked, but at least it was the end.) I was completely spent, covered in mud, achey and psyched for having done something new in my own backyard.

I was struck by how different mountain biking is from running. On a run, I use the steady rhythm to zone out and go to another place. The mind is left to wander and randomly check back in, while the body runs mostly on cruise control. On the trails on a mountain bike, I have to pay attention to every detail of the terrain, including mud, roots, trees, fall line angles, and who knows what else. It's a technical experience in which I get lost in the details of all that's going on around me. And conquering those details, no matter how small, provides lots of little "wins" over the course of the ride.

It was a great ride, and I'm looking forward to the next one. Oh, and I have run a couple of times here and there. I went out last week for a couple of three milers, which felt good. Not ready to sign on for another race yet, but not burnt out either. Just taking things as they come for a bit.

Hope all's well with this crew.

That's Better.

Three runs in the last 5 days. All 3 mile runs to ease back into it. Re calibrated my watch/footpod on Saturday which was sorely needed. Pace showed a huge improvement today, mostly due to the watch, but also due to shaking off the rust. While the pace/distance may be suspect, the HR is not. Sometimes this is more telling than how you feel or how fast you ran.

Back in the saddle...again.

Work, life, colds, vacations have all provided excuses to not run over the past 6 weeks. Finally pushed them all aside and made it out this morning for 3 miles. The good news is that all previous injuries have healed. The bad news is the ankle is now officially a chronic injury as I could tell over the past few weeks, while at rest, it just wasn't right. I'll just need to manage it. Hopefully the additional 13 pound drop (25 since I started last August) will help reduce the chance of more injuries, especially those impact related.