Another beautiful day

I got out and ran my least hilly 4 mile route this morning. I think I may have the distance a bit too short--it took me almost 45 minutes to run it this morning. Now, I was taking it easy, but I don't think I was going 10 minutes per mile, and I also have a very bad habit of having my competitive urge kick in whenever I have what looks like a race in front of me. Some pedestrian is ahead of me, and I suddenly have to get to the next driveway before they do. I also have to beat the yellow lights when they appear in front of me. So, I think I may have under-measured this run. I'll have to check it again to be sure.

Again, beautiful weather this morning; temperatures in the 40s, sun coming up, no wind and no rain. That'll change later today, though. Rain is supposed to roll in tonight, between 7 and 10 pm. Tomorrow's supposed to be a nice day, but of course, Saturday will be thunderstorms and Sunday will be mixed rain/snow with winds. Well, I'm working this weekend, so it's not like I'm missing out on anything.

Beautiful Morning

This morning was beautiful--the temperature was in the mid 40s, almost no wind, no rain, and the sun was just coming up while I was out running. that last part will change soon; with this Sunday's switch to Daylight Saving Time, my early morning runs will be plunged back into darkness.

I'm taking it easy this week--no hill runs, and Friday will be a rest day. I went about three miles this morning at a nice, easy, relaxed pace. I have no idea what that pace was, but it was easy.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get in my flattest four mile run--near the base of the (former) Fresh Kills Landfill. Friday off, and a run down by Raritan Bay on Saturday. That's the plan, anyway. I also have to work this weekend, so all plans are subject to change without notice.

I've been reading Joe Henderson's Best Runs and I came across a training technique used by Dick Buerkle. I had forgotten all about him, even though he's one of the best runners produced by the Rochester area. He calls it the 1-1-1 method. 1 day a week, run 1 mile 1 minute faster than your normal pace. I think I may find a measured mile (or the high school track) and give this a try for a while.

Slow day

Today's 3.5 took me about 26 minutes. About a 7:30 pace, which is off my current pace. The weather today was in the 40s, but the humidity made everything feel colder than it really was. My legs were sore today, but I won't get a chance to run tomorrow at all, and I didn't want to take off for two days in a row.

On the other hand, if you want a good workout, go to a playground with a 6-year-old.

This time I got it right.

I got out for my 4.3 miles this morning. This time, I ran the correct course. I finished in 31:29, which Running Times' Pace and Race Time Equivalent Calculator shows as a 7:19/mile pace. It also shows that I should be able to run a 10k in 46:20 (a 7:28 pace) So, with that as a benchmark, I think that 46:00 as a goal in the Lilac 10K is attainable and a realistic goal.

The weather was, once again, beautiful. Temps hovering around 50, sunny--I ran in shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt with a singlet underneath. After my run, I peeled off the long-sleeved shirt to do a cooldown in singlet and shorts, and wasn't cold while I was doing it.

I'm looking forward to the 60+ temps that are coming soon.

After my run, I took my poor old dog out for a walk. She's somewhere around 16 years old, and we walked about 3/4 of a mile. By the end, she was just looking to lie down and go to sleep. Poor old thing used to love running, but now it's just too much for her.

Cut off

Well, my flight was delayed last night--it dodn't take off until after 11, so I didn't get in a run last night.

I got out this morning for around 4, but took a wrong turn (actually went straight when I should have turned) and I'm not sure how far I went. I'll have to measure it while I'm out today.

Temperature is around 50 degrees and sunny--I can't believe how nice it is.


Update: The distance I ran today was about 3.5 miles--the wrong turn took just about half a mile off my route. The good thing is that I felt like it was too short.

Looking forward to May and the 10K.

Looking ahead

Even if I don't get in a run tonight, it looks like the weather will be pretty good in Rochester. The forecast is for highs in the 40s, 49 on Sunday.

I'm going to enter the Lilac 10-K; writing the check this weekend. If the check is sent in, then I'm committed--I can't back out. I've been hesitant to enter a 10-K, worried about how well I can run it. This is a race which, when I ran it back in 1980, I finished third in the open division. Nothing like holding yourself to a ridiculous standard to destroy your self-confidence. I have to relax and remind myself that, not only am I older, I haven't been in training very long.

To steal an idea from Sean Lloyd:

Running Inspiration of the day:



Kenenisa Bekele winning the 2005 Short Course World Cross-Country Championship March 19th

Sloppy

the mixed rain and snow made for a really sloppy run this morning--I only got in about two miles, what with the slipping and sliding around on the street

Tomorrow, I will be getting in to work early (leaving home around 5:30), so I won't be running in the morning. My flight leaves JFK at around 8pm--no time for a run beforehand--and gets in at around 9:30 (if it's on time). maybe, if my flight is on time, and I get home at a decent hour, I'll get in a late-night run.

The thing is, my running strobe light looks something like this:



only red, with a black strap that I put around my right arm that holds it tight against my arm. I'm not sure whether it would be better to put this in my carryon bag and have to take it out when I go through the metal detector or put it in my checked bag, and have it set off all kinds of security alerts if security decides to randomly open my bag.

Hill today

I realized that I need to have my hill work in the middle of the week. If I'm going to do my long run on the weekend and have enough recovery time, and considering the number of times I have to get in to work early and fly out in the early evening on Fridays, Wednesday seems like the best day.

I got out for my 4-mile hill run this morning, and felt pretty good. I'm not keeping a watch on my training runs at this point, just running at what feels like the right pace. As I get back into the kind of shape I can be in, I'll start timing myself. The temperature was around 44 degrees when I got out, and the rain hadn't started yet. The rain started in earnest while I was on the Ferry. The temperature is supposed to drop through the day and the rain is supposed to change to snow, with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. Glad I got out this morning.

While I was going up the long hill at around 5:45 this morning, I heard something that sounded like a car starter turning the engine without it catching. As I got closed, I realized that it was a rooster and, to confirm that fact for me, as I passed the house, the bird began crowing. Right here, in the middle of the most urbanized, densely populated area of the country, somebody's got a rooster crowing at 5:45 am. I'll bet that makes them popular with the neighbors.

I got The Perfect Mile from the Library the other day. I am enjoying it immensely--I started reading it on the train home Monday night, only have time to read while commuting, and am nearly finished.

AAAH

Got out for three miles this morning. I felt pretty good the whole way, relaxed and easy, none of that "concrete shoes" feeling. Maybe it was proper hydration, maybe a day of rest. Whatever it was, I felt like I was gliding.

Today's weather will be the best of the week. For the rest of the week, we're supposed to get raim. At least the temperatures will be in the 40s. Lows are only supposed to get down to 38-39.

Is spring here?

Sunday

Well, blogger seems to not want to update today--this will be my third try at this post. Perhaps I should move my blog (as so many seem to be doing) somewhere else.

I got out for three miles on Sunday--still shorts weather, with temps in the low 40s and no rain, but my legs felt like lumps of lead. I'm taking today off, but will be back out on the road tomorrow morning. Yesterday was one of those "Why do I do it? It feels so good when I stop." days. We didn't have any snow that stuck--apparently we got a little bit of snow that immediately melted. I didn't notice, being asleep while it happened. Best way to experience a mixed rain/snow storm--asleep.

I read an interesting article In Running Times by coach Roy Benson with tables of effort-based training pace and perceived exertion. I can't afford Coach Benson's training program right now, but I'll probably use his charts. These look somewhat more affordable for me.

Nice 4

Great day today. Got out around 6:30 for a new 4-mile run. I ran down by the Fresh Kills landfill. It's kind of interesting, running by the hills, looking up and seeing all these little white PVC pipes, looking like little inverted J's sticking up out of the ground.

About a mile and a half into the run, I realized that I was way too warm. I took off my pants and jacket, and ran in my shorts and long-sleeved t-shirt. I had only put the jacket and pants on because the TV Weather said that the temp was around 30. It felt great.

Tonight/tomorrow morning, it's going to snow.

I did it, too.

After reading Marisa's post about getting Google ads on her blog, I decided to do it, too. We'll see how it goes.

Goals

A few people have been posting about their running goals. I've intentionally held off on setting any specific goals. I didn't run much in my 30s--I was around 33 when I stopped completely. So, it was around 10 years that I "took a rest" from training. My PRs were all set when I was in my 20s, and I know that I'm not going to be setting any new ones, unless it's a distance I've never run before. Since I've only run two races with measured distances since I turned 40, both 5Ks, pretty much any race I run will be a 40+ PR. (My current 40+ PR for the 5k is 21:22, run in February 2004. I haven't raced any other distances as a Masters runner) I think I will start keeping a Masters PR record, and maybe after a year of keeping masters records, I can start thinking about specific goal times.

This morning, I got out for my AAAH run, 3 miles. Felt good the whole way, temperature was in the mid-30s, no snow or ice on the roads, not even the big lakes in the middle of the intersections.

I'm going to enter the Lilac 10K in Rochester. Then I'll have a Masters 10K PR.




Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Alarm difficulties

OK, so I had a little trouble with my alarm clock this morning. I woke up about 19 minutes before I had to leave the house for work. Obviously, I didn't get any mileage in this morning. Tomorrow, though. I'm going to make sure of that.

Character Builder

I got out for 4 miles this morning. Of the last mile, about three-quarters of a mile is uphill, so that I had a quarter mile at the top of the hill at the end of the run. This hill, which I think of as
Hill, is a long, gradual hill--at least that's what it looks like at the bottom. As you go up the hill, the slope gradually gets steeper, so that by the time you get to the top, it's a pretty good slope. When you get to the top of the slope, you cross over onto a short downhill, then a nice flat section for the cooldown.

The hill must be one of the highest points on the south shore of Staten Island--at least one of the highest naturally occurring points. I think (but it's hard to tell) that the Fresh Kills Landfill is actually higher than this hill.

Tomorrow, I'm going to take it easy with my nice, flat 3-mile AAAH run.

Back in the Islands

Manhattan and Staten, that is. With some occasional trips to Long. No running this morning-I had to get up at 4am to catch my flight. Tomorrow morning I'll be out there at 5am. The weather looks like it's going to stay pretty much OK for the week--lows are going to be in the 30s, and high temps will be in the 40s. I haven't been on SI since Friday morning, so I don't know how much snow they got there, but I know Central Park got over an inch yesterday. We'll see what the conditions are tomorrow.

Easy 4

I got out for an easy 4 miles this morning. I was surprised at the number of people out running. At 8:00 on a Saturday, when there's a race in town, I expected to be the only one out on the street, but there were around 20 people out there.

My new shoes feel great. I'm glad I got them. My old shoes have been retired.

CUMULUS V!!

My new shoes arrived today! I can now retire my Cumulus IVs and start running in some brand-new last year's model running shoes!

Slippery

I didn't get out this morning. Just as I expected, the roads were covered with ice from yesterday's weather. Some of the main roads weren't too bad, but there was one stretch of road which was like a skating rink. Even walking, I had to be careful. I did get to see an idiot slide right through an intersection. He came up to a stop sign in his Expedition at about 30 mph, hit his brakes and locked them up. With his wheels motionless, he gracefully glided straight through the intersection.
Unfortunately for him, he wanted to turn.

Glad I wasn't running right there and then.

No racing this weekend---it's going to be too busy. Electra's birthday.

Beautiful

I got out this morning at 5am, and the weather was just beautiful. The temperature was in the low 50s and there was just a slight drizzle, but drizzly weather has never been something to stop me from running. I even enjoy a nice, light rain. I got out in shorts this morning, with only a t-shirt under my jacket--I only wore the jacket to keep myself somewhat dry, since, between my sweat and the rain, my t-shirt would have been soaked through by the time I finished warming up.

I ran three miles in the cool drizzle, feeling pretty good most of the way. I ran my AAAH run, so named because the first three roads I run on begin with A and the fourth begins with H. I have a five mile run, which begins and ends on the same two streets, which I call the AHH run. For some reason, there were only a few cars on the road, so I didn't have to worry too much about the traffic.

About two miles into the run, my right gastrocnemius started tightening up. I've always hated that muscle, only because I can't pronounce it. I've never heard anyone call it anything but "calf muscle," so I'm not sure how it's actually supposed to be pronounced. Until I hear it pronounced by a PT or a doctor, or an exercise physiologist, When I'm speaking I'll stick to "calf muscle" so I don't get it wrong.

Through the day today, the temperature is supposed to drop into the 20s, and the rain is supposed to change into snow. Tonight, the temp is supposed to drop to around 18, which should make driving very interesting tomorrow morning.

I'm getting some new shoes by mail. How exciting. These shoes will be Asics Cumulus Vs, so I'll only be running in last year's model!!!!

I'm thinking about entering a 5-miler in Rochester on Saturday. If I can get in my 4-mile run on Thursday, maybe I'll try it.


I'm still in the process of naming my running routes on Staten Island--I like to give my routes amusing (to me) names. The only one I've come up with is the aforementioned AAAH run. The others I just refer to by the names of the streets. Back when I lived upstate, it was very easy to give them good names, because the area where I lived had great street names. For instance, the run I called "Cheese Factory" went down Cheese Factory Road, and the "Stony Lonesome Run" was on, you guessed it, Stony Lonesome Road. I also gave some runs names that weren't just the name of the road. The one I called "Get Your Kicks" finished (with a good strong kick) on (County) Route 66. And there was a long run that started in the Corn Hill neighborhood in Rochester, went to Cobb's Hill Park and back. Of course, I called that one the "Corn Cobb Run."

Busy, Busy, Busy

Between my illness (now almost gone) and work, I haven't had much of a chance to do anything. I was at work all weekend (big project going off today, much prep time) and I had to get in very early this morning. No time this weekend, and nmo time this morning. Of course, the temperature this weekend was in the 40s, and the temp this morning at 5:15 was 42. Tonight, it's supposed to start raining, with the rain continuing into tomorrow morning, then turning into smow by tomorrow night. How pleasant.

I'm going to try to get mileage in in the early morning this week.

Another day off.

My cold is settling into my chest right now, and bronchitis is way, way down on the list of things I need to experience right now. I'm going to take it easy until I stop coughing. I'll keep stretching evenings, and hopefully this won't be much of a setback.

When I was young, the best way for me to get rid of a cold seemed to be to get out and run in the nastiest, most inclement weather I could. Invariably, I would be feeling better within 48 hours. Now, I have to watch myself in order to stay healthy. My hair, my eyesight, my children, and my immune system are all conspiring to remind me of my age.

*cough*sniff*sneeze*

Woke up this morning feeling like crap. Decided to stay in bed for another hour. Got up in time to make it to work. Feeling a little better. Run tomorrow.

No running today.

The snowstorm has made running dangerous. It's not the snow itself that makes the running dangerous, you understand, it's the idiots. The people who think that just because they have an SUV, they can drive any way they want to in any conditions. With the snowbanks along the sides of the road, there's no way for me to get out of the way of a four-wheel-drive that's sliding my way. Hopefully, the snow won't last long. I really want to keep up with my running.