A Rainy Morning at ... the Track :O

I didn't plan on doing laps at the track this morning.  I had planned on doing a 10+ miler up and back to White Plains.  Instead, as I ran up the post road it was the lousy weather (drizzle + fog) that made me think the track was a better (and much shorter) destination! 

So my long run wait until tomorrow.  Despite the unexpected visit, I had planned to go to the track this week.  I wanted to do a mile on the track as a warm-up to the actual mile for the NYRR Virtual Global Running Day Mile - that begins on May 28 and runs until the official Global Running Day (6/3).  The laps weren't speed work by any definition.

I was pleasantly surprised to run two sub-8:20 miles (through rain covered glasses)!  Those were the first sub-9 minute miles that I've run in quite a while (probably late last Fall/early Winter).  The track conditions weren't great - slippery, actually.  But it felt great to run fast enough to feel the oxygen debt building up - haha :D

Next time I will actually toss in a few intervals during the 8 laps!

Easy 10 Miler this Weekend

Hard to believe that I ran 10 miles yesterday, my longest run of the year!  I've run past this statute dozens of times - it's across from the White Plains Train Station.  It's the first time I stopped to take a selfie there :O

It was great weather to be outside.  This was the second time in as many weeks that I took to the northern leg of the Bronx Riverway Greenway.  Today, to balance it out - so to speak - I ran down the southern leg.  Can't say the weather was as great - but it was still great to be outside!

Back to the Northern Leg of the Bronx River Greenway

It's hard to believe this sunny and WARM run was just two days ago!  I finally made it back to the northern leg of the Bronx River Greenway on Saturday morning.  It's been a few months since I've run there; instead putting in the miles on the southern portion of the Greenway.  The start of this leg is at the Hartsdale Train Station - there is a gap between the two sections from the Scarsdale to Hartsdale stations. 

Since then it's been rainy (Sunday) and cold (in the 30's again this morning)!  Hard to believe it's Spring - and it's not expected back into the 50's until at least tomorrow!

Two Very Different Weekend Runs

The first run, on Saturday, took me by one of my favorite spots - Duck Pond.  The weather was raw, gray - and the wind chill brought the low 40's temperature down into the low 30's.  As an added incentive, got to wear my running tights one more time this month.  The high point of this run was catching random bits of one of my favorite smells - wood burning fireplaces :D

The second run, yesterday, again took me by Duck Pond.  This time the weather was easily 20 degrees warmer (and the sun had fought its way out).  Gone were the tights and hat, replaced by shorts and a cap.  Gone too was the jacket, replaced by a vest.  No wood burning fireplaces this time, but some hardly souls must have had enough cabin fever to fire up the charcoal barbeques on their decks - the random aroma in my neighborhood :D

A pair of weekend runs --

I managed to get in an eight+ miler yesterday and another 4 miler this afternoon.  The eight miler was especially fun, and probably my longest run since New Year's day.  I've basically been running 4 days a week, with those runs ranging from 4-6 miles each.  Not a lot of mileage! 

But, with the weather getting warmer, and a bit more sunshine as an added incentive, I plan to add an extra day (5) and by the end of the month, hopefully, yet another (6).  A rather slow crawl to rebuilding my mileage base -- but having fun in the process :D

2000 miles and counting :D

This morning I crossed 2,000 miles (2002.6 to be precise) for 2018!  I have no plans to relive my glory years (ha) - but it's easily been a decade since I've logged this many miles at this point (8 months) in a given year.  At this rate, I could finish 2018 with 2,800 miles - again, something I haven't done in a decade.

On Friday, I was 40 miles shy of 2,000 miles.  I thought that 40 miles over the Labor Day weekend was a decent enough goal - hand in hand with binge watching the just released "Jack Ryan" on Amazon Prime ;D

Mission accomplished on both fronts (it took until Sunday morning to watch all 8 episodes of Jack Ryan).  I ran 17 miles Saturday morning, 13.1 miles Sunday morning, and capped off the trifecta with 12 miles this morning - for a total of 42.1 miles this holiday weekend.

I took this selfie at the south end of Crestwood Lake, along the Bronx River Greenway - about mile 7 of my run this morning.

No race run this weekend - but the Fifth Avenue Mile is on deck for next Sunday!

2018 NYRR NYC Marathon 15 Mile Training Run

When I signed up for the 15 mile training run earlier this week it seemed like a good idea!  Aside from the little detail that I thought the run was on Saturday (instead of Sunday)... small detail indeed!  Well now that the forecasted rain soaked weekend is upon us, doing 3 five mile loops of Central Park on a rainy (maybe thundering) Sunday morning is decidedly unattractive :(

On the positive side, we did get a cool (lime green) hat - a good thing to have on if it's raining - ha!

More importantly, however, rain or otherwise, I'd be out there running a long run Sunday morning, so weather is basically a push :O

Recapping the First Six Months of 2018

Just a quick recap of my running for the first six months of the year.  I've managed to rack up more than 1,500 training/racing miles so far this year (1,507.1 to be precise).  To put that in perspective, it's been more than a decade since I've run that much in the first half of a given year!  In another decades long first, I've managed to run more than 200 miles a month for the first six months (averaging 250 miles per month) - with a one month high of 300 miles in March.  Again, I haven't run a 300 mile month in maybe a decade?

As for races, I ran a total of 16 so far, ranging from 1 Mile up to 100K (last weekend, actually).  That total included one marathon, three 50K's and one 100K (it also included a 3 Hour Run, for a total of 23.6 miles).  The remainder, half marathon and shorter, included trails and one relay.  In a twist, only one of the 16 races was a NYRR event (the Italy Run).  Normally, at this point of the year I'd have run close to half a dozen NYRR races (going for my 9+1 goal).

Not sure what the second half of the year has in store for me, but doubt I will keep up a 200+ mile per month pace!  That would give me a 3,000 mile year - again, something I haven't racked up in more than a decade! But I will try to get in another hundred miler (next month in Vermont).  And definitely get in NYC Marathon #16 in November :D

Stay tuned!

Here is the monthly mileage recap:

"Bomb Cyclone" Freezes out Weekend Races!

Before last week I had never heard the term "bomb cyclone" - and suspect it was newly minted to describe the seemingly never ending deep freeze that's settled in - and won't leave!  As I write that (Monday morning), the temperature has just inched above 20 degrees.  It's been a long time since the thermometer has gotten that high.

Last week the brutal cold led to the cancellation of most local road races.  The NYRR kicked it off on Thursday night with the cancellation the Kleinerman 10K (Saturday).  The next day the Boston Buildup 10K (Sunday) was postponed until next weekend.  The same day (Friday) the MHRRC announced its cancellation of the "Recover from the Holidays" FA 50K (Saturday).  And, to complete the picture, on Saturday NYCRUNS cancelled the Hot Cocoa 5 Miler (Sunday).  Intended or not, the bomb cyclone wiped out 4 races this chilly weekend!

As for just plain running mileage - I managed to log a solid 50 miles for the first week of 2018 - in those ridiculously frigid conditions.  I hate to admit it, but by yesterday a run in 7 degrees was old news.  It was almost "easy" relative to the previous string single digit runs - because the wind had died down enough that the "real feel" was actually 7 degrees, instead of the sub-zero wind chills of all the previous miles!

In any event, I'm so over winter right now!  Hopefully the days of double digit temperature aren't too far off - haha!

2017 NYRR Long Training Run #1 - 15 Miler

This morning I ran the NYRR Long Training Run #1 - coincidentally, I volunteered at this race last summer.  It was my was my 6th NYRR race of the year, albeit a non-qualifying (and non-scored) one.  So I still need 4 more races +1 to qualify for the 2017 NYC Marathon.

This run was originally planned as a 20 miler - but yesterday it was announced that the oppressive weather conditions had it shortened to a 15 miler.  I had mixed feelings about that since I wanted to run the full 20 - but this morning I was more than satisfied with the 15 miles.  It was pretty tough out there.  In the 3/4 miles from train to baggage to corral - I was already drenched in sweat!

So the 2:12:24, 8:39 pace, on my Strava was pretty surprising!  Even more so was the total distance clocked in at 15.3 miles!  Interestingly, the run was set to be called at 9:30 (again because of the heat and humidity).  But, as I was approaching the finish, the announcer was already alerting runners that the race was officially called (20 minutes early).  Be that as it may (and probably the right call) - this event didn't close out - and from the look at the start, a few participates may have opted to skip it entirely :O

Before :O

After :D

2017 TGNY 100 Mile Training Run #4

 

Last night was the 4th and final training run for the Great New York Running Exposition 100 Miler on deck for next month.  It covers the last stretch of the course, from Coney Island (the Parachute Drop to be precise) to the finish in Times Square.  It includes spectacular views of the Verrazano Bridge, the Manhattan skyline, and crossing over the (seemingly always crowded) Brooklyn Bridge :O

This year's edition was a solid 20 degrees cooler than the heat wave we had last year!  Either way, this is a fantastic run to do, just over 18 miles (and the shortest of the 4 training runs).  This year I only ran as far as City Hall (14+ miles) instead of the full distance up to Times Square.

In any event, will (hopefully) revisit this stretch next month :D

Group photo, albeit taken well before our group filled out by the start, taken from Tiger Ellen!

 

a pair of weekend 10 milers - and one went south!

my plan to run back to back 10 milers this weekend (building on last weekend's pair of 7 milers) started off fine - despite the soggy saturday morning.  i got in a solid 10 miles after the rain passed through - and took a bit of the heat along with it.  it was still very humid, but the relatively cooler temperature let me get in the 10.2 miles at an overall 8:07 pace (1:22:42).  i was plenty happy with that because it was my first double digit run in over a month!

in fact, with sunday's mileage, i would log my first 40+ mile week in over a month.  so the base re-building in the wake of 3 non-running weeks was coming along fine.  but sunday's run turned into anything but routine - it morphed into a death march after the 4th mile!  i was toast in the heat and humidity!  to put the run in context, i walked the nine mile loop 2 weeks ago in a 14:14 pace (when i was under doctor's orders not to run).  yesterday i crawled across the second half of that loop in a walk-run slog.  i did the entire 9 mile loop in 1:27:50, a 9:46 pace - and ducked into my nicely air-conditioned house and drank an entire 20 ounce watered-down gatorade in one slug!  then i sheepishly headed out and mostly walked the last mile (a half mile out and back).

contrasted with the 10 miler on saturday, the experience left me pretty stunned because i've done that loop thousands of times - and this is the first time i've ever crashed so badly.  maybe just a bad day - who knows. but this afternoon, in even tougher conditions - the heat index was solidly above 100 - i ran 6 miles in a typical easy pace (50:22, 8:08 pace).  and that included a comical stop at the high school field house for a sip of water - only to be told that their water fountain was broken!  so i had to use the bathroom faucet to cool off - and passed on actually drinking it!

on the positive side - all these heat wave miles have certainly speeded up my re-acclimation to summer running - haha :D

a pair of weekend 7 milers + one :D

as my post-op running base-rebuilding continues, i ran a pair of hilly 7 milers over the weekend.  that's pretty much in line with my doctor's orders - who, by the way, took out the remaining two stitches (left eye) this morning!  i celebrated by running the same 7 miler again when i got home this afternoon :D

not only am i getting in the miles to rebuild my base mileage, but also to get re-acclimated to the heat and humidity.  before the 3 week hiatus from running, i had a decent number of hot summer miles under my belt.  but even with a lot of walking in those non-running weeks, getting back to running in heavy humidity was tough (like starting over tough).

on the positive side, the string of 7 milers came in at 58:20, 58:00 and 57:05 minutes, consecutively.  the more fascinating tidbit is while i struggled in the first two runs, the third one (this afternoon) was a relatively fast first 4 miles and then each successive one got tougher (including some walking on the hills in 6 and 7). but i still managed to finish it almost a minute faster than the 7 miles on sunday!

what that tells me is that some of my speed is coming back!  however, the endurance isn't keeping pace - haha! 

a pair of 10 milers in lieu of a race this weekend

the month began with the taconic rr freezer 5 miler at fdr park penciled in on my race schedule for this weekend.  when the boston buildup 20k in fairfield was rescheduled from last weekend to this one because of snow, i'd skip the 5 miler and run the 20k instead.  on the way to this weekend, we got another blast of snow - i've lost count of the inches of snow that just keeping coming down this winter and, seemingly, refuse to melt away given the icebox conditions we've been lock in with as well!

the already rescheduled 20k was put over until next sunday - which, as an aside, may lead to the 25k being pushed back a week so the races won't be run back to back.  pushing the 25k back a week will, unfortunately, upset a few apple carts - namely the celebrate life half marathon set for the weekend the 25k would be moved to... well, that decision doesn't need to be made for a while.  who knows, a rogue snowstorm may push back the 20k an unprecedented third time (stranger stuff has happened)!

in any event, the freezer 5 miler was back on for me.  then came more snow on saturday afternoon. i had slogged thru a relatively slow and unpleasant 10 miles that morning - mostly 2 mile loops of the side streets in my neighborhood because my main running route was impassable thanks to unplowed snow, which be that point had taken on an ice-like edge.  that afternoon the freezer 5 miler was preemptively shortened to 4 miles because of severe icy condition at the parking lot used for the turnaround on the 5 mile course.

this morning, when i finally got to fdr park, the main park roads looked pretty bad - i could only imagine how bad the condition was at the turnaround parking lot at the other end of the park!  but the real surprise was hearing from the runners walking back to the main parking lot from the concession lodge (staging area) that the race was cancelled!  given the conditions on the main park road, it was right call.  even making it into an unscored fun run would have been dicey.  instead, all the pre-registered runners will get a free entry into another trrc race this year.

ironically - and somewhat late - when i got home i found that my friends had posted the cancellation news on my fb status and twitter feed.  i had left for the race 40 minutes earlier!  instead of changing out of my running clothes, i just headed back out to run the same loops of my neighborhood street that i did the day before.  on the positive side, the second ten miles came in at 1:30 even, a 9 minute pace - versus prior day's 1:35, 9:30 pace!

on the dreadful side - the weather forecast is for yet more snow this tuesday - argh!!  hopefully, that will be winter's last gasp for a while because the rest of the week - and into the weekend - sees a return to 40 degree temperatures!

a pair of weekend 10 mile training runs

at the start of the month i had planned to run a 10 miler on sunday.  instead i registered for a 10k on Saturday. in actuality, i skipped the 10k on saturday because it was raining cats and dogs when i woke up.  i just couldn't drag myself into the city to run a loop of central park (and thus skipped my first nyrr race and 9+1 point of the year).

instead, i slept late saturday morning and ran 10 miles - in mostly damp and drizzling weather - on the post road when i got up.  it took me 1:27:44 (an 8:37 pace) to cover those soggy 10.2 miles.  it wasn't an especially productive run because I felt lousy about bagging the joe kleinerman 10k.  it was just one of those days.

things turned around on sunday - especially since it was warmer and dry outside.  i went back out for another 10 miler and instead of a slog like the day before, it turned into a pretty decent run.  this 10 miler, despite starting off with a pair of 9 minute miles, wound up as a sub-1:20 finish (1:19:26, a 7:57 pace).  to say i was surprised with that performance is an understatement - it was just a few seconds off the time i ran the norfolk pub 10 miler last month!

here are the splits:

9:00
8:50  19:50
8:08  25:59
8:06  34:05
7:56  42:01
7:24  49:25
7:36  57:01
7:04  1:04:06
7:23  1:11:29
7:56  1:19:26

7:57 average pace

overall, i was successful in doing cutdown miles for most of the run.  excluding the first two miles, the average pace was roughly 7:40-7:45 minute miles.  either way, the pace was a decent improvement from the 8:36 miles on saturday.  it never ceases to amaze me the difference a day can make in running (or almost anything for that matter) :D

2013 running year in review :D

the 2013 running year has come to a close.  i ran the final run of the year this afternoon, with snow flurries during the final 2 miles.  the 7.6 miles brought my december mileage up to 203.2 and gave me 2,168.2 total miles for the year.  given that this was a recovery year, and i suffered a minor setback during the first quarter, i'm very happy with that total.

i mistakenly began the year ramping my mileage back up, thinking (and wanting to believe) that i had put the chronic compartment syndrome behing me.  i had to pretty much write off the 2012 running year since the doctor diagnosed me with it in july.  my mileage dropped off so precipitously during the second half of the year that i didn't bother summing up the year - i just couldn't wait for it to end and get to work on rebuilding my mileage base.

things looked good in january, but i added too many miles to quickly.  by mid-february my right foot once again gave me pain during what should have been easy runs and races.  so much for a quick road back to decent running mileage.  as it turned out, it took until may before i ran a 200 mile month.  and i never looked back, managing to run 200+ miles a month since then.

i also headed back to the track for some speedwork during the summer. i managed to get down to 21 minute 5ks and 45 minute 10ks - times i hadn't seen in a couple of years.   the goal for 2014 is to keep working on the speed and get down to 20 minute 5ks and 43 minute 10ks.  very doable goals if i can get myself over to the track on a regular basis :D

as for races, the one regret i have for 2013 was not running any ultras.  it's the first year in a very long time (since 2005 or 2006) that i haven't run at least one ultramarathon.  i had registered for the jfk 50, but was sidelined with a nasty chest cold.  i keep my string of nyc marathons alive with the 2013 edition earlier that month.  it was the only marathon i ran during the year.  as for shorter distances, i ran 46 races ranging from one mile to 30k.

looking ahead, 2014 will certainly include a return to ultras (i probably start off with the sybil 50k in april).  but my primary running objective will be speed and shorter distances - getting down those 5k and 10k times!  that means many more track sessions and intervals :D

happy new year!

another 60 mile week/200 mile month!

june came to a close just as may did, with a 60 mile week that pushed my monthly mileage over 200 for the second straight month. i followed up may's 220 miles with 227 miles in june.  my base building and recovery has really come along over the last 3 months: 133, 220, and 227 miles.  my average weekly mileage has crept over 50 miles for the last 6 weeks - which include an unplanned "recovery" week of only 32 miles in mid-june).

but the highlight of june wasn't the mileage - it was a return to the track!  i had 4 weeks of interval workouts and a one mile race during june.  the 4x800, 4x100, 4x100, and 4x800 workouts over the last 4 weeks were a welcome return to the track.  if the 6:04 mile i ran in greenburgh is any indication, some of my speed is slowly coming back!

the july goal is pretty straightforward - keep logging the 50 mile training weeks, but increase the volume of speed work.  now that i've become reacquainted with intervals, need to build up the number of reps from 4 to 6 (and then, hopefully, 8).  i also want to add in some 1,200 meter repeats as well (on the road to mile repeats during august).  i'm glad to be back to track work!

60 miles for the week, 200 for the month!

normally, i don't write up weekly (or, monthly, for that matter) training mileage.  but i'm so pleased to have returned to a 60 mile week yesterday, and a 200 mile month with today's 10 miler at rockefeller state park, that i wanted to post it. this is my highest weekly and monthly mileage in almost a year since i was sidelined with chronic compartment syndrome!  where i typically ran 200+ miles a month, i suddenly found my mileage more than cut in half as i struggled with the recovery process.

the 200 miles for may (so far) was a 50+% increase from the 133 miles i logged in april - which was my first solid recovery month.  i had averaged just under a 100 miles a month for january, february and march.  that period also marked a recovery set-back, if you will.  i thought, with the start of the new year, that i was ready to start rebuilding my mileage base - only to see the increased mileage through february take it's toll.  so i had to dial back the mileage in march and start over again.

hopefully, if things go according to plan, i'll head back to the track in june for some speedwork.  the key is getting back to the point where i can consistently push off my right foot without the risk of  re-aggravating the original injury.  i've been pushing the pace in the latter part of recent races and it seems okay.  but the real test will be on the track running intervals.  stay tuned :D

group run at rockefeller state park

it was a rare weekend where there weren't any local races to run. but there was plenty of socializing on our group run at rockefeller state park (a/k/a "rockies). i got in a solid 12.5 miles at an average 10:15 pace. it never ceases to amaze me how many hills can be crammed into a given route at rockies! to even things out, when i got home i put in another 6.5 miles on the post road - pancake flat by comparison. that run came in with an average 8:29 pace :D

next weekend races return: the manhattan half on saturday and the boston build-up 15k on sunday.

group run at rockefeller state park

it's been a long time since i ran at rockefeller state park ("rockies") - almost 10 years, in fact (back in my old wtc training days). but if yesterday's group run was any indication, i may have to reconsider whether to drive out there for a few more weekend long runs.

anthony led a group of us (emmy, cherie, micah, hiroshi, peter, and me) out on the trails just after 7 and after 10 miles we met up with joe's group (supplemented with a few runners from the bronx running company) at the sleepy hollow high school parking lot. in a pleasant surprise, before we met up w/joe's group, we ran into yuki (sans hiro) on the trails!

joe's group, taking it out at a faster pace, didn't run too much w/us. as it went, i got in just 19 miles, plenty for me - but the fewest miles in our group :D