Totally Exhausted

It's been awhile since I really could not drag myself out of bed at 6:30am - but that happened this morning.  I actually stayed in bed until about 7:15 and finally got into a shower so I could get to work on time.

My Memorial Day Weekend at Hora Aviv really sucked the energy out of me.  It was a great weekend - but I am totally exhausted with no respite in sight.  Maybe I'll get to catch up on sleep this weekend???  Will I last that long???

Anyhow, I finished out last week's running with 18 miles.  I did a 7 miler on Friday morning - running to the Rockville Fitness First.  On the whole it wasn't a very pretty run, but it did have its moments - especially running past some of the older Victorian style houses in old Rockville.  After the run, I went for a nice brunch with my wife and then went to pick up our younger son from Nursery School (he was really excited to see both of us there!).

I had packed my running gear for Hora Aviv, but I never got around to running.  I was dancing so much that when I had a break I wanted to relax and not run.  I stayed up until 1 am on Friday and then 3 am on both Saturday and Sunday nights.  I didn't have my kids to wake me up, but I still didn't sleep more and 6 hours either night.  Will I ever be able to sleep in again??

Anyhow, since I couldn't get my behind out of bed this morning, there was no morning run.  With no Monday or Tuesday running, the most I can hope for is 3 running days this week (maybe 4 if I go running with my son one morning).

As I mentioned in my last post - I just need to hang in there for 4 more weeks, and then I'll have a lot more time to run/blog/relax.

Five More Weeks

My current project launches in five more weeks.

Although I have liked being busy and I enjoy the work, I also will like being able to get a bit more sleep and get back into running - and blogging - regularly.

I started thinking about it on my run this morning - at the end of June, my project will have launched (it will still keep me busy with post-launch activities, but I likely won't be logging back into work at 9 or 10pm every night to catch up) and rehearsals for the Israeli Dance troupe will be on summer break, so I'll have Wednesday nights back too. What will I do with the extra time???

Anyhow - It's looking like I may get close to 25 miles in this week. So far I have run 11 - two with my son on Monday morning, 5.5 on Tuesday morning and 3.5 miles today. Tomorrow I'm taking the day off from work and I'm going to run to the Fitness First in Rockville, while Sherry will go there to work out after driving our son to school. This will be a 7 or 8 mile run - depending on which roads I decide to take.

I know...it's a crazy concept - running to the gym and then just using the facilities as a place to shower. My wife thinks I'm nuts!

I will hopefully get a weekend run in as well. I'm not 100% sure as I'll likely be exhausted - I'm taking 10 teenagers from the troupe to a weekend-long Israeli Dance "camp"/workshop - Hora Aviv. I'll already be getting tons of exercise, but I will bring my running shoes and Garmin and hopefully get a run in one morning.

And maybe I'll have time to blog??? We'll see...

Somethings Gotta Give

I'm about as busy as can be right now at work - not to mention other commitments (kids, Israeli Dancing, running, etc.) - I barely have time to do much else. (as I write this, I have 3 active (work-related) IM windows up and listening in on a conference bridge - and this is some of my "less busy" times where I can throw up a blog post - YIKES!)

As I was discussing all of this with Sherry the other night, she was pretty amazed that I'm able to keep everything going. Her words were "Something's gotta give" - you can't be continuing to do everything.

Yesterday, I got the hard dose of reality what had gone by the wayside. Blogging. Both reading and writing blogs.

I logged into my Google Reader last night and had over 120 unread posts. YIKES!!!

Also, my last post to this blog was on Sunday. And this blog post is not much more than a rant of how busy I am (sorry to my readers...I'll try to get back to more running related posts).

On the running side - I have 10 miles logged this week. Tuesday morning I brought my car to the shop early and ran back home (6.5 miles...my wife thought I was nuts!). Thursday morning I also got out for a 3 miler around the lakes.

I also ran twice with my son - about 2 miles each run. I'm not sure if I should count this in my weekly mileage, as these runs are still run 2 minutes / walk 1 minute - there's something about doing a run/walk at such a pedestrian pace that makes me feel it's not "legit" enough for the running log. I'm going to try to push him up to 3 minutes of running soon. - we'll see how that goes as he's currently starting to whine during his 2 minute runs...but he finishes them all. Either way, it's great exercise for him, it's special one-on-one time for the two of us and he loves it!

Another High HR Run

I'm not sure why my heart rate is elevating higher than normal on my easy effort runs lately.  Saturday morning I went for a short "long run" - only 6.5 miles.  I did a route which was new to me - from my house to the lake around the Rio/Washingtonian Center and back.  The hills aren't too bad and my pace didn't change too much - I stayed in the 10:30 to 10:50/mile pace throughout the run - however, my average heart rate was over 160 after the first two miles.

The run started out fine - a 10:30/mile pace with an average heart rate of 137.  However after that it started going up.

Perhaps it's still fatigue?  Perhaps I'm not drinking enough water?  (I'm not working from my office a lot lately, so it's more coffee and sodas than water at the office...and more alcohol at night to recover from the work day ;-)

Luckily, my big project launches in a little over 6 weeks, so if it is fatigue, I know that after June 23, I should be able to get some more rest.

Finally A Run! And Another Failed Platelets Donation :-(

This week has been a doozy at work. The system that we're deploying had an outage this week and I've been on lots of recovery, troubleshooting and root cause analysis calls. Last night's call went until 11:30pm - YUCK!

Anyhow, I'm pretty confident that I'll have more 14 hour days ahead of me in the next 6 weeks. With a bunch more layoffs occurring at my company this week, I can't really complain too much...

My wonderful wife let me "sleep in" until about 6:45am this morning (OK, my younger son ran into the room at 6am to declare that he waited "until there was a 6 on the clock" before coming into our room. I decided that I would get to the office a bit later than normal since I worked so late last night, and I went out for a 4 mile run before work.

It was such a wonderful day to run. Sun shining, 60 degrees, slight breeze - truly scrumptious! My first mile seemed effortless - even after not running for a full 4 days - 10:14 with an average HR of 142.

However, the effortless feeling would not last long. My heart rate started to elevate a bit on mile 2, to the point that by the time I got to the big hill on Argosy Street, I either needed to walk or see my heart rate in the 160s early in the run. I elected to walk. I think it was a good move as by the time I got to the top of the hill and was ready to run again, my heart rate was back down in the 130s.

Final Stats - 4.46 miles, 47:11; a 10:35/mile pace. Avg HR 154, Max HR 183

At lunchtime, I attempted a platelets donation once again. I won't go into the gory details, but it ended just like the last time - with a stinging bulge in my right (receiving) arm. I guess I'm going to have to stick to whole blood donations - which of course brings my average heart rate up on my runs for a few days, and doesn't get back to normal for about 3 weeks. I don't know if I can afford for my HR to get any higher (and my running any slower) than it is now...

The Marathon - One Year Later

It has been a full year since I ran my first marathon. I'm a bit surprised that I'm still blogging - although, it is not as often as I was leading up to the big race.

I'm glad that I am still running consistently - I know of many people who get to that marathon goal and then burn-out or drop-out from running altogether.

Not only am I still running consistently, the past year has me in my running "prime". I ran a full marathon. I set PRs in the 5K and Half Marathon. I am definitely "a runner" now.

One funny example of my "runner" status - this Saturday morning as I was about to get out of bed to go for a run, my wife asked me "how long will you be running today?" My answer was 6 or 7 miles and her response was "Good, you're not doing a long run this morning...".

As soon as this exchange was over, I wondered to myself when did the transformation actually happen? When I trained for my first 10K about 7 years ago, I used to have knee pain any time I attempted to run more than 5 miles. Now I'm at the point where only running 6 or 7 on a weekend morning is a "short" run.

Anyhow, with the exception of the Run For The Shelter Half Marathon, my runs over the past 6 weeks have been shorter and with virtually no speedwork. I'm chalking this up to fatigue with everything else going on in my life right now. Over the past two years, I likely would have stressed out about slacking so much. However, I'm not going to sweat it right now since I believe that once my schedule becomes kinder, I'll be back to hitting the track once a week and going longer on the weekend. Because I now know that running is an integral part of my life...

Crazy, Busy Week

This past week was Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel's Independence Day.  So, I had a bunch of Israeli Dance events going on - teaching at a religious school on Sunday morning, a performance with the troupe I lead on Monday afternoon, my normal weekly group on Tuesday evening and the troupe's rehearsal on Wednesday evening.

Adding to the stresses of additional Israeli Dance gigs, work was a pressure cooker this week.  My customer instituted a daily 6:30pm call to review the progress of the day and discuss the next day's schedule.  I luckily got most of my teams caught up to the point where we are now waiting for them - but with 7 more weeks before launch, there will be tons of pressure at work for me until late June.

Despite all of this, I was able to get out and run 3 mornings by myself - and another bonus morning with my son!  As much as waking up before 6am to run makes me a bit sleep deprived, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle the pressure without the release of running.

The fatigue of the week definitely showed up in my performance.  My pace was around 10:45/mile each morning and my average HR kept going higher as the week went on.  Unfortunately, I don't see it getting much better soon...

The Runner's Coffee House

Sherry had a tutoring gig this afternoon, so I was kicked out of my office and ducked into a neighborhood coffee shop that I hadn't been to before. I had run by it a bunch of times and saw a sign in the window that they had free wi-fi, so I thought I would try it out.

The weather here had become cooler and rainy, so I threw on my Frederick Marathon pull-over before heading out (I had considered riding my bike but decided to drive - good thing to as it started to pour while I was there).

The cafe was quiet and only had a handful of people there. I went up to order and the "barrista" asked if I was running Frederick this weekend (she saw my marathon pullover) and that she was running the Half. Very cool! We started a conversation about running as I was booting up my computer and getting back to work.

Later on in the afternoon, there was a time where there were only four people in the coffee house...and all four of us were runners!

Anyhow, I don't feel like much of a runner lately. On Monday morning I got out and did a 3 miler, and then due to work and other craziness I haven't gotten to bed until after midnight the past two nights. I'll see if I can get to bed earlier tonight so I can run tomorrow morning...even if it is just another easy 2.5 with my son.

Morning Run/Walk With My Son

This morning, I actually woke up before 6am and got out of bed to run! I guess I'm finally starting to feel like myself again.

When I left my room, I noticed that the light in my son's room was on. At 6 years old, he's still an early bird (people promise me that in about 6 or 7 years that we'll struggle to get him out of bed every morning...I just don't believe it at this point). I went to his room and asked if he wanted to run with me - he lit up on the spot!

My plan for him - run/walk for about 30 minutes...2 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking - repeat 10 times.

We left the house around 6:05am to a chilly, crisp 38 degree morning and started to walk as a warm up. At that point my son was complaining on how cold it was outside. We only walked for 2 minutes as my son wanted to start running to get warmer - so I obliged and we started our first two minute slow run.

Of course, at the beginning it was really easy for Doron - but he started to get tired about half way through the fourth or fifth run.

We ran through the neighborhood and up to our "downtown" - past the movie theaters, the Star Diner and many of the other stores (and unfortunately - many "For Lease" signs...it seems like new ones pop up each week). After that we went towards Inspiration Lake where we saw many different types of birds to my son's amazement. I'm used to seeing all of these feathered friends, but it was all new to him. A red cardinal, a few red-winged blackbirds and we even had a visit from the great blue heron that frequents the lakes in our neighborhood!!

At the end, we ended up doing 11 "sets" of 2 minute runs and 1 minute walks. We covered 2.45 miles in a pedestrian 38:33 (15:37/mile pace). However, Doron made it through all of the two minute run sets...and he can't wait for his next morning run!!! Perhaps a summer 5k for him is not such a crazy goal after all...

Looking Ahead - It's 5K Season!

It's kind of a weird feeling - I really have NOTHING on my running calendar right now.  (OK, I just finished running a Half Marathon yesterday...give yourself a break!!!)

So, I went over to the Montgomery County Road Runner's Club website to see what "low-key" races they have.  When I started running, I used to go to these races a lot.  First of all, they're free to club members.  Second of all, they're all local races which makes it really easy to fit into the schedule.

Between now and early June, there are four 5K races - two cross-country races and two road races (one of these are on an asphalt trail - but I don't think it qualifies as a trail race since it's on asphalt!).

It looks like I may be focusing on the 5K for the next few months.  The price is right, the races are close and I don't have to train a ton.  Unless I want to try and beat my PR from last summer...

After June, I'll likely switch gears to distance again and train for Riley's Rumble and the Parks Half Marathons.  Perhaps I'll sneak another Half Marathon in the October/November timeframe as well.

Run For The Shelter Half Marathon Race Report

I'll spare everyone the suspense now (and hope you'll all continue to read anyway...), but I met my "B" goal for this race with a new PR - 2:13:22!!!!  That's a PR by 2 minutes and 32 seconds!!!

As I mentioned in my last post, I laid everything out the night before so I could get out the door quickly and get to the race on time.  One thing I neglected to mention was that I was wearing a new shirt (I know...it's not good to try anything new out on race day) - my Wolverines Run shirt!  The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan is sending out free running t-shirts to Alumni Association members who are running marathons.  (OK...so this isn't a full marathon, so I kinda cheated the system, but I did run a full marathon last year and didn't know about the program then...)  Either way, I got a bunch of "Go BLUE!" and "Go Michigan!" cheers from fellow runners and spectators of the race (and only a few "Go Buckeyes" from obnoxious Ohio State fans) - so that a bit of a pick-me-up during the race.

I woke up before my alarm around 5:45am and got out of the house rather quickly.  There were very few cars on the road, so I got out to Leesburg around 7:15am.  So, I had 45 minutes to kill before the 8am race start (or so I thought).  Luckily, I brought a book, so I read for about 20 minutes and then got out of my car for a 20 minute pre-race routine - warm up jog, hit the porta potty one last time, take my GU 15 minutes before race time, etc.  At around 7:55am, I noticed that no one was gathering near the start yet.  What's going on???  I asked around and found out that the race start was 8:30am - not 8am!  So I had another 30 minutes to wait before the race got started.

I actually bumped into a friend of mine from my teenage years (we were both in BBYO together) who was also running the race.  He just got back into running this year and was running his second half marathon (his first was the National Marathon last month where he ran a 1:50 - a full 25 minutes faster than my best...so we would not be running together today!).  It was great to catch up with him, but as people finally started lining up for the start, he went towards the front and I hung out in the middle-to-back of the pack. 

Finally, the race started a tad after 8:30!  The course started at the 4H Fairgrounds and wound down the road for 0.1 mile to hit the W&OD Trail.  The race then went west on the W&OD trail for 6.5 miles and then came back.  My first thoughts at the start of this race were, "oh no, we're going downhill for the first 0.1 mile - that means the last 0.1 at the end is UPHILL - UGH!!!"

The course was rolling hills, but not too bad.  The elevation graph from my Garmin shows an elevation differential of about 200 ft over the course.  The first mile was a lot of uphill while the second mile was mostly down (I didn't remember this while I was trying to pick up the pace on mile 12...where did this uphill come from?).

My main concern was keeping my HR relatively low - under 155 - for the first half of the race and then getting faster on the second half.  Even if I ran a 2:20 or 2:25 today, if I did it with a negative split, I could have pride in the fact that I ran a smart race.

I kept to the plan pretty well for the first four miles:

- Mile 1: 10:37, avg HR 153

- Mile 2: 9:37, avg HR 152 (downhill, remember?)

- Mile 3: 10:04, avg HR 154

- Mile 4: 10:20, avg HR 155

Miles 5 and 6 started to climb uphill a bit (which I didn't mind so much as I knew that this would be coming downhill very soon).  I also started to get into the camaraderie of the race - I ended up speaking to one of the Buckeye runners about Big 10 Football, and I started to cheer for the faster runners who were now making their way back from the turnaround.  My heart rate started to climb up a bit, but unfortunately not with any gains in pace due to the hills:

- Mile 5: 10:57, avg HR 158

- Mile 6: 11:11, avg HR 151

- Mile 6 to Turnaround: 5:57 (10:04/mi pace), avg HR 159

After the turnaround, I felt really good.  I had run at a pretty relaxed pace, I had fueled and hydrated well (there were 3 water stops on the course - which meant 6 stops in total for the out-and-back - and two of them had GU!!!) and although I knew I had 6.5 more miles to go, I felt confident that I could pick up the pace.  I started to turn it up a notch and started to pass many of the runners who had passed me in the opening miles.

Unfortunately, I no longer have the splits at the mile markers.  You see, I didn't realize that when I hit the lap button on my Garmin at the turnaround point, that now the Garmin's auto-lap feature would count miles from the last lap.  I finally hit the lap button again at the 11 mile marker so I could get my splits for miles 12 and 13.

- Mile 7.55 - 10:17, avg HR 164

- Mile 8.55 - 9:34, avg HR 166

- Mile 9.55 - 9:59, avg HR 168

When I hit the 10 mile marker, I saw that I was at 1:44 and change.  I new that if I could finish out with a 30 minute 5k, that I would have myself a new PR!  I still felt like I had gas in the tank unlike my experience that the Parks Half Marathon this past September, and my legs did not hurt like they had in previous runnings of Riley's Rumble Half Marathon.  Time to turn it up a notch and finish it out strong:

- Mile 10.55 - 10:03 avg HR 174 (can we say uphill??)

- Mile 11 - also 10:03/mi pace, avg HR 178

- Mile 12 - 9:56, avg HR 181 (more uphill...grr)

- Mile 13 - 9:08, avg HR 185 (finally downhill! and pushing it)

- Last 0.1 - 7:42/mi pace (uphill, that is...) avg HR 193 (isn't my max HR 186 or something??)

As I was passing the clock at the finish line, it was reading 1:13:38 (or something like that...results still aren't posted).  Garmin time was 1:13:22.  Since it took me a good 20 seconds to get to the starting line - and this race is not chip timed - I think I'll take my Garmin time for now :-)

One thing that I'm a bit perplexed about.  My Garmin measured the race at 13.19 miles - not 13.1.  Also, the Garmin hit mile splits earlier than where the race had the mile markers...starting with mile 2.  I'm not sure if this is a race measurement thing or that my Garmin is a tad off (given that a lot of the trail I ran today was wooded, I'll say it was probably a Garmin thing).

So, I'm not sure if I ran 13.1 or 13.2 today, but it was definitely a PR.  Even with taking a ten day running break three weeks before race day due to bronchitis.

I'll take it easy again this week.  I have nothing else on the race calendar - so I have some work to do!!!

The Night Before My Half Marathon - UGH!

OK...I'm not freaking out too badly.  However, I seem to have a bit of anxiety this time around.

Perhaps it's because I don't feel "ready" to run a timed 13.1 miles tomorrow?  Due to not training much after recovering from bronchitis?  Due to still feeling I'd rather stay in bed than getting out of bed for my morning runs?  Due to the fact that I'm just 24 hours removed from an exhausting vacation with my two rambunctious -full-of-energy sons at Great Wolf Lodge?

Perhaps it's not because I'm worried about can I cover the distance (my worry for my first half marathon), but more that I'm not sure what kind of race I'll run.  The last half marathon I ran I stopped running around mile 10 and walked (with a little running) the rest of the way.  I haven't run anything over 7 miles in the past month!  How am I going to get through 13???  (OK, so perhaps I am worried about covering the distance after all...)

On the flip side, I have two things going for me - 1) the weather is supposed to be wonderful - race time should be partly cloudy with temperatures in the 50s.  2) I don't have high expectations for this race, so the pressure is off.  I'm not aiming for a specific time or a new PR, so if I do awesome, that's wonderful - and if I don't, that's OK too.

My race plan hasn't changed much from what I thought about last weekend.  Keep my HR under 155 for the first 6.5 miles.  From mile 6.5 to mile 10, keep my HR under 165.  For the last 5k, see how I'm feeling - if I feel good, kick it up a notch; if I feel lousy do what I need to do to get across the finish line.

I've got my things ready to go - my Garmin is charged, my race bib is pinned to my shirt (BTW...my bib number is 40 - I almost feel like an elite runner with a number that low!), I have everything else laid out - GU, body glide, 3M Nexcare waterproof tape to prevent nipple chafe (very important!), water bottle, etc.

Last thing to do is get a good night sleep.  I guess the kids will have something to say about that one...let's hope their not up in the night.  I have some Children's Benedryl ready if they dare enter my room while I'm sleeping!   :-)

Running in the Morning - Finally!

I finally got a morning run in today!

I woke up about 6:10am and quickly got in my workout clothes.  It was cold and rainy outside, but I had planned accordingly and my gym back was packed.

I decided to do a little speedwork, but I ended up running out of steam before I could finish the entire workout.  I was going to try to do intervals of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 miles with 1/4 mile recoveries.  I set the treadmill for 5.4 mph recoveries (11 min/mile pace) and 7.4 mph intervals (a little under an 8 min mile pace).

My HR was up in the mid-170s at the end of my second interval, and it hit 180 after the 3/4 mile interval.  So I knew that I couldn't run the mile as an interval.  Instead I ran it a little faster than a 10 minute mile for the first 3/4 and then back up to the 8 min mile pace for the last quarter.

Stats - 4.5 miles, 44:27 - 9:53/mile pace.  Avg HR 158, Max HR 180.

I'm going to try a short easy run tomorrow morning.  After that we're taking the kids to Great Wolf Lodge for a little vacation!!!  We'll be back Friday evening - just in time to recouperate before the Half Marathon on Sunday.

BTW...the weather report for Sunday looks nice.  No rain, high of 65 degrees (race time will likely be in the 50s - beautiful!).  I just hope I'm in good enough shape to get through the entire 13.1 miles...

Two Running Days In A Row!

Even though I'm not back up to 100% of where I was pre-bronchitis, I definitely have the bronchitis beat!  I ran for the second day in a row - and no hacking up a lung - Woo Hoooooo!

Anyhow, I'm still not up to waking up early in the morning to get my run in - I'm staying up way too late to do that.  One of these days I'll try to get back on a "runner's schedule" and go to sleep earlier.

Since I didn't get the run in earlier - and there was a large chunk of my late morning without a conference call or other work meeting - I took the opportunity to get into my running clothes around 11:30am and sneak out for a lunchtime run.  My neighborhood 4.4 mile loop - which I hadn't run in two months.

A few observations:  it felt a lot chillier than the 49 degrees which the weather site said it was; whoa! - that hill on Argosy Drive is much steeper than I remember it; I'm starting to feel a bit sore (I just ran 7 miles yesterday, right?).  I even got a bit of a fartlek into my run - when I turned onto Muddy Branch Road, I saw that if I picked up the pace that I would be able to cross Great Seneca Highway with the light instead of waiting for another round of lights - or running up the side of the street with no sidewalk and then playing Frogger to get across the road later on.

I listened to music on today's run - Green Day's American Idiot - so I had a hard time keeping my pace slow like yesterday.  Since I did so well reigning it in yesterday, I didn't care about controlling it today.

Not that I was blazing fast or anything - 4.46 miles in 45:39 - a 10:14/mile pace.  Avg HR of 158.

Tomorrow is a definite rest day.  Then I'll run Wednesday and Thursday and rest until Sunday's race.

Semi-Long Run On The Crescent Trail

I know that I was supposed to do a 9 miler this weekend, but since I only had run 3 miles so far this week, I thought that 9 was going to be pushing too much.  I had decided yesterday to run 6-7 miles - and to simulate the strategy for the first half of next weekend's Half Marathon...keep my heart rate under 155 bpm.

My initial plan was to head out early in the morning - like a usually do for my longer runs.  However, Sherry and I were out late and I couldn't get my butt out of bed (since I got sick a few weeks ago, that's been a common occurrence).  We had talked about going to the gym and having the kids play in the child-care room - however, DUH, it's Easter Sunday...no child care today.

Finally, I found my opportunity to run in the mid-afternoon.  My younger son went down for a nap and my older son was going to a friend's house for a playdate!  Since I had some time on my hands - and it was a sunny, clear day - I decided to head on down to Bethesda and run on the Capital Crescent Trail.

I had run on this trail a few times - but never more than a few miles.  I decided to do 7 miles - 3.5 miles out and then come back.  I really would like to do a really long run here - a 16 miler I think would allow me to start in Bethesda and get all the way to Georgetown and then come back.  Or perhaps a 10 miler could get me down to Georgetown and then to the Dupont Circle Metro stop and then Metro back to Bethesda (I'm not sure if anyone would like to actually sit near me on that metro ride...)

Anyhow, my HRM was doing some weird stuff during the first mile.  I was running at a 11:30 - 12:00/mile pace and my heart rate was registering in the high 160s (it even bounced up to 192 at one point).  I was pretty sure these were false readings, but since I'm still coming off of being sick there was a part of me that may have believed them.  Finally, the numbers started to drop into the 150s and then the 140s and finally into the mid-130s - right where I would expect them to be at this pace.  Thank goodness!

The trail is relatively flat - there are no steep hills (OK, there are a few overpasses which are steep) but a few points where there is a continuous climb up or down.  There are trees on either side which is very nice, and no cars!  Just other runners, walkers and cyclists.  It was great to spend the afternoon with a bunch of other fitness enthusiasts!!!

A few miles into my run, I came up with a great idea: Since in the Half Marathon, I want to keep my heart rate under 155 for the first 6.5 miles and then bump it up into the 155-165 range for a few miles, I can practice that here on this run - after mile 6.5, bump up the pace a bit for the last half mile.  This worked out pretty well - except for the fact that the last half mile was uphill...so I couldn't really "push it" so much as I was just trying to keep up the pace while my heart rate increased.

My splits were pretty much all over the place - 11:10, 10:22, 9:56, 10:16, 9:28, 11:16 and 10:33.  However, my average HR on each split was right on target - 155 (even with the high numbers at the beginning), 143, 148, 153, 152, 155, 160 (after I picked up the pace for the second half mile).

Overall, the 7 miles took me 1:13:07 which is a 10:27/mile pace.  If I am able to keep a pace like this next weekend over the entire 13.1 mile course, I'd have a time of 2:16:54 - exactly 1 minute off of my Half Marathon PR.  So...a PR is still in reach, although I doubt a 2:11:00 is doable at this point.

Rain is in the forecast for the next few days, however, I'll try to run two or three times this week - perhaps tomorrow, Tuesday and Thursday.  Thursday and Friday we're taking the boys to Great Wolf Lodge for a getaway at the end of the week - it should be fun (and I'm excited for the days off of work!!!).

Finally A Run Today!

I finally got out to run today.  I couldn't drag my ass out of bed in the morning, so I ended up doing an easy 3 miles at lunch (OK, it was 3.4 miles, but who's counting???)

I ended up settling in at a 10:00/mile pace for most of the run - splits were 10:00, 9;57, 10:04.  Great, right?  Well, sort of.  My average HR on each of the miles were 146, 157 and 159.  That's way too high for an easy 3 mile run.

I've pretty much come to terms that there will be no PR for me at next weekend's Run For The Shelter Half Marathon.  Right now my race plan is this - keep the HR under 155 for the first 6.5 miles, run the next 3.5 miles at a bit of a faster pace (HR in the 155- 165 range) and if there is anything left in the tank, run the last 5K as fast as I can.  This way I can (a) enjoy the race at the beginning and (b) almost ensure myself a negative split.  Got to find those silver linings somewhere, right?

So, I'm planning to do a 6 miler this weekend - most likely on Sunday.  My plan there is to keep my HR under 155 - to kind of simulate the first 6 miles of the race.  This will be difficult as it looks like I tend to push the pace to what "feels right" - and right now it's likely too fast for me. I hope I can pull in the reigns and pull it off.

Feeling Better - But Still Not Running

The good news - antibiotics are doing their thing and I'm no longer hacking the night away.  Also, my "soccer injury" is fine...ice and rest were all I needed.

The not so good news - I still haven't made it back into the running groove.  Passover started last night - and we hosted a seder with 15 people (tonight we're hosting another seder for 18 - oy!) so I've been up late preparing, which means the last thing I want to do is wake up early to run.  I was thinking of perhaps doing a lunchtime run today, but I'd feel really guilty if I go out and run while my wife is watching the kids and preparing dinner for 18 people (actually, I should really go into the house and have her go for a quick run to let off the steam that I'm sure will have accumulated by 12:30pm in that situation...).

I'll likely be going to bed late tonight, but maybe I'll be able to muster up the strength to go out for an early morning easy run tomorrow.  I need to get back to running.

Bronchitis Again

I've still been hacking away during the afternoons and evenings, and since it's been lingering now for about 10 days, I went to the doctor.  Bronchitis.  Likely started as a sinus infection which drained to my chest.

I'm on Antibiotics now which will hopefully kick this out of my system fast so I can get back to running!

Finally Running Again!!!

I got out for an easy 3 this morning - my usual loop around the lake.  I didn't know what to expect since I hadn't run in over 10 days and I still have some gook moving around in my nose and chest.

I ended up running an 11:04/mile pace at an average HR of 151.  Not too bad.  Although looking back in my training log I found I ran this exact same route about 1:00/mile faster at about the same HR a month ago.

My plan was to ramp up my mileage this week with runs of 3, 6, 3 and 9 miles and then taper a bit next week to prepare for the Half Marathon on April 20.

It's a nice plan - but it may have been thwarted by an injury I got this afternoon while playing with my kids.  I was kicking a soccer ball with my 3 year old and I decided to try and get fancy, over-run the ball and kick it back to him using my heel.  Well, I didn't over-run the ball enough and my foot ended up coming down right on top of the ball.  My foot rolled over towards the ground and then my entire body rolled over on my foot.  OUCH!

I've iced the foot a bit - it's still tender.  However, I don't think I've pulled/sprained/broken anything since there is no swelling.  Just an "ouchie".  Thank goodness!!!

Still No Running

It's Friday - and still no running since last Tuesday morning. YIKES!

I'm still a bit congested, but I don't feel as achey and run down any more. That's the good news.

I'll likely go for a weekend run - either my normal Saturday morning run or perhaps I'll push it out a day for a little more recovery and run on Sunday. Both should be nice mornings - above freezing and no rain!

However, now that I've lost a week and a half of training, I have no idea where to pick up. My half marathon is two weeks from Sunday - so I should be tapering down a bit on the mileage after this weekend. I was planning to do a 15 miler tomorrow - now, I'll be happy with an easy 3 or 4 just to get back into the swing of things!

Right now, I'm hoping to (a) just run a little this weekend and continue to kick this cold out of my system and (b) be well enough to do four runs next week - hopefully 3, 6, 3 and 9 milers. The week after will be my taper - but I'll probably still follow the 3, 6, 3 formula.

I'm also tapering my expectations on this race. I had some pretty big goals for this race. First and foremost was a PR (current HM PR is 2:15:54...although I did run a faster 13.1 miles at the beginning of the Frederick Marathon last year). My reach goal was sub-2:10. I definitely feel I have some sub-2:10 HMs in me - however, with the stoppage in training this time around, I don't know if it will be this one.

We'll see how quickly I can ramp back up into running and what my pace/HR levels look like...

Sick, Sore and Tired

I'm still feeling under the weather.  Yuck!

My whirlwind trip to New York for the Israeli Dance Festival there went well - but very tiring.  The teens I co-direct did great!  And I also danced this year - for the first time in about 4 years.  Here's the video for Hora DC  (I don't come in until the third song, and since it is videotaped from the back of the theater, you probably won't recognize me anyway!).  Unfortunately, the show went long and we didn't leave NY City until after 7:30pm....so I didn't get home until after 12:30am.

Even though I took Monday off from work, I had lots to do on the "honey-do" list, plus I got called from work a few times anyway.  I guess it was good I was feeling a bit icky since I may not have had time to get a run in anyway.  At least this way I had a decent excuse!

I still feel sore in my quads.  You would think that being a runner that I would not have too many issues with soreness after a 5 minute dance performance (OK, we rehearsed it a bunch of times on Sunday morning before going on stage...).  I'm thinking that being sick and run down has slowed my recovery.

In the meantime - no running and I'm trying to get more rest.  I hate being sick!

Sick Again :-(

Well...my hectic schedule got the best of me and I'm sick.  I tried going to bed early last night and hacked the night away (poor Sherry...why does she put up with me???)

My throat is scratchy and I have a bunch of gook in my nasal passages.  ICK!

I'll likely call off the long run tomorrow.  If I'm feeling better, perhaps I'll go out for an easy 4 or 5, but definitely not a 9 miler.

Especially since I'm taking 12 teens to New York tomorrow afternoon and then performing on Sunday at the Israeli Dance Festival in New York.

I gotta rest up!!!

Check Up at the Doctor

Today was my "annual" physical (annual is in quotes, because I don't get one every year - it's more like every 2-3 years).  This included my blood work and cholesterol check (which is annual due to how high my cholesterol was 5 years ago and my family history of high cholesterol and heart disease).

I won't get my blood work results until Monday afternoon, but here's a few of the other numbers:

The good - Blood pressure - 108 over 70.  Resting Pulse - 48 (huh?  I'm usually around 60...she must have missed a beat or two)

The not so good - Weight - 170 lbs (damn doctor's scale!)

My doc took a look at me and said, "You don't look 170 pounds!"  Of course not, I'm the skinny guy, right???  But the doctor wants me to lose some weight - first goal should be 160 lbs, and then I should be able to get down to 150.  (I can't remember the last time I weighed 150 - maybe Middle School?)

The other thing is that I need to come in for an EKG.  We could not do it today because of the shag carpet I'm flaunting on my chest.  So I need to shave my own chest and make another appointment to do the EKG.  I'm not sure which I prefer, getting the EKG with my hairy chest and having the nurse pull off half the hair of my chest when taking the electrode sensors off (not pretty...been there, done that!) or having to shave my own chest and go to the doctor's office again.  I guess this time I don't have a choice...

So...today's doctor's appointment was no surprises.  Low pulse, low blood pressure, weight is a bit too high.  Cholesterol results will be in on Monday...stay tuned!

A Few Good Runs

This week, the schedule calls for 4, 7, 4 and 14 miles. But I did my 14 miler last weekend to swap with the 9 miler on last week's schedule.

I also had some "obstacles" on my schedule - I had a late rehearsal with the Israeli Dance group on Tuesday night (we were dancing past midnight, ouch!) for our upcoming performance on Sunday in New York (I'll try to post videos of the performances early next week...). I have my doctors appointment Thursday morning - since I'm doing bloodwork (yes, that cholesterol test I'm still cramming for) I need to fast and can't run that morning. Oh, and I'm leaving for New York on Saturday afternoon for the Israeli Dance festival - which is the main reason I switched the long run schedules in the first place.

I started off the week right with a 4 mile easy run on Monday morning. I hit the treadmill at the gym. I was amazed at how effortless the run seemed - 4 miles in 42:58, 10:45/mile and an average HR of 144. After Saturday's 14 mile run, this one seemed like a walk in the park.

Tuesday morning was my speedwork run. The schedule said 7 miles, but I had a long day ahead of me with the late Israeli Dance rehearsal that night, so I decided to cut the run short. I did a pyramid intervals run on the treadmill at the gym - 1 mile warm-up and then intervals of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.0 miles with 0.25 mile recoveries. The warm-up and recoveries were at 5.4 mph and the intervals at 7.4 mph (just under an 8:00/mile). The last interval I bumped up the pace to 8.0 mph towards the end. 5.5 miles in 50:20; average pace of 9:10/mile with an average HR of 151.

Today I'm just plain tired. It's almost a blessing that my doctor's appointment is tomorrow morning! I'll likely do an easy run on Friday morning of 3 or 4 miles and then the 9 mile long run on Saturday morning.

The Skinny Guy??? - Is That Really Me???

Over the past week or so, I have been referred to as "the skinny guy" or someone has made a comment that I should be eating more (or something to that affect) by a few different people.

That's really nice and all, but REALLY???  Who are YOU looking at????

Although my weight has started to come down a bit - the scale said 166 lbs on Monday morning...this is about where I was before Rosh HaShana last year, but I'm still carrying around the Anniversary, Birthday and Summer Vacation pounds - I still don't see myself as "skinny".  I've got a good amount of meat around my mid-section, and of course that's what I see when I look in the mirror.  Plus, my BMI is 24 - "normal weight" is between 18 and 25.  So, although I am still normal weight, I would put skinny in the BMI < 20

On the other hand, I'm wondering how much my perception of myself is the basis for me not thinking I'm "the skinny guy".  I was a chubby kid growing up and carried around a bit of a spare tire through my teen years and twenties.  Heck, my nickname in my fraternity was FAB.  Unfortunately this was not because I liked the Fab Four so much (or the Fab Five who played Bball at my school a few years later), but it stood for FAT AND BALD.  It's quite ironic that I likely weigh less and have more hair than many of the folks who gave me this nickname...

Anyhow, I'm not sure when I'll be convinced that I'm "the skinny guy".  I'm not there yet.  However, I'll try to take comfort in knowing that others are starting to think I'm that guy...

I'll have a running related post later today or tomorrow.  I've had some good runs so far this week!  :-)

Long Run To The Old 'Hood

On the schedule today was a 14 miler.  I decided to run to the neighborhood that I grew up in - about 7 miles away - and back.  It's a hilly loop at times - the map shows about a 300 ft differential between the lowest point and highest point - but the hills are good for you, right?

I started out in the darkness of 6am...man, I hate having Daylight Savings Time early!  It was also chillier than I had thought.  It ends up that it was 25 degrees when I left the house - I thought it was f-ing Spring already!!!  What's up with that?  Luckily I did wear gloves, but they were not my warmest pair, so for the first 20 minutes of my run I thought my fingers were going to freeze off.

Talking about freezing - since I didn't think it would be that cold this morning, I didn't add Gatorade or Nuun to my water bottles.  Of course those froze at the top, so I could barely suck any water out of them by the time I needed a drink.  I ended up slowing down to a walk a few times to unscrew the top of the bottles and taking drinks of slushy water...it's great to have icy-slush in the summer, but not so refreshing when it's 27 degrees outside.

Since I was going back to the old neighborhood, I decided to pick some music that I grew up with.  I originally was going to throw a bunch of '80s music onto my iPod Shuffle, but I decided to put a bunch of Billy Joel albums instead.  It definitely brought back a lot of fond memories of listening to these songs - or playing them on the piano, oh so many years ago...and it helped keep the pace nice and easy.

My splits show that I kept the pace nice and easy - a 10:57/mile pace overall with an average HR of 155.  It ends up that my HR starts to elevate pretty significantly after 10 miles.  I'm not sure if I just need some more long runs under my belt or if I'm pushing the pace too much in the middle to end of my long runs.  I'll see how it goes in two weeks when I have a 15 mile long run.

Towards the end of the run, my legs were starting to get really sore.  I had contemplated stopping at 14 miles exactly, but somehow pushed myself to keep on going.  I ended up stopping at 14.25 miles - just up the street from my house.  I'm not sure why I couldn't push myself to "bring it home" and finish it up - but come on...I had just finished running 14.25 miles - can I really be that hard on myself?

Final stats:  14.25 miles, 2:35:53 - 10:57/mile, avg HR 155, max HR 172.

I just checked my running log to see when the last time I ran this long and found this little tidbit:  the last time I ran longer than 13.1 miles was on May 4, 2008 - the day of the Frederick Marathon when I ran 26.2 miles.  Leg soreness is definitely excused! 

It's Tourney Time!!!

I had a 5 mile run on the calendar for today and my options were: 1) go in the morning like you normally do -or- 2) go at lunch time to the gym and watch some NCAA Tourney action.

I'm sure you can guess which option won :-)

Anyhow, with the new treadmill room at our gym, there are no TVs on the wall anymore - just on the treadmill screens.  It's nice because I can watch the game even if the person next to me insists on watching HGTV or the Food Network.  However, I find it very uncomfortable to be staring down at a screen while running.  Luckily, I don't do it all the time...

Results of my run:  5 miles, 53:50 - 10:46/mile pace; 146 avg HR.  Nice.  Steady.  Easy.

And I've earned my beer tonight while I watch Michigan play in the tourney.  GO BLUE!!!

Switching the Step Back Week

This week was supposed to be a "step back" week.  My weekend long run on the schedule is a 9 miler, while next week is 14 miler.

However, when I bump the running schedule against everything else that's going on in my life, next week would be a much better "step back" week.  So, I'm going to swap the two long runs.

In order to do that, I really should run a minimum of 14 miles during the week (your long run should not account for more than 50% of your weekly mileage, right?).  So tomorrow's easy 3 is now an easy 5.  No problema.

Yesterday morning I was true to my word and did some speedwork - an interval session on the treadmill.  My body took to it nicely - recovery HRs got back into the 140s before the end of the quarter mile recovery was finished, and my interval HR did not get into the 170s until the last two (and longer) intervals.

I started with a 1 mile warm-up and then intervals of .25, .5, .75, 1.0, 1.0 and .25 miles all separated by a .25 mile recovery.  Intervals were all done at 7.4 mph (and 8:09/mile pace) and recoveries at 5.4 mph (11:09/mile pace).  I slightly bumped up the pace for the last two intervals (OK the last .25 was at 8.0 mph or a 7:30/mile pace).  The final stats were: 6.0 miles in 55:32 - a 9:16/mile average pace;  153 avg HR with a 176 max HR.

The big decision about tomorrow - run in the morning, or sneak out at lunch and run at the gym while watching some NCAA action????  There's a big gap on my work calendar between 1pm and 3pm...hmm.....

Weekend Long Run and Re-evaluating My Training

Yesterday morning I went on my morning 12 miler. I had the alarm set for 5:45am so I could hit the road around 6am and return by 8:30am. That would give me enough time to shower, eat and get to synagogue by 10am..."day of rest", right?

Anyhow, for some reason I woke up at 3:30am...and then I was anxious that I would sleep through my alarm and not get my run in - so I kinda-sorta went in and out of a light sleep for the next two hours. :-(

The run itself was nice and uneventful. I took a new route - the 12 milers that I did last year leading up to the marathon were more rural and this was more suburban. Looking over my splits, it ends up that I got a bit faster after mile 3 and stayed there for the next 9 miles (my heart rate stayed up there as well...oh well, so much for a long, "easy" run).

Final stats: 12.17 miles, 2:11:10, 10:47/mile pace with a 157 avg HR.

Looking over my training for the past few weeks, I see that I really need to add some more speedwork. I have done some pace runs, but no interval training. I think it's time. The half marathon is in five weeks, so I better start working on this NOW!

Another Busy Week

It's been another busy week at work, along with everything else outside of work, so blogging - and reading blogs - got put aside again.

I looked in my Google Reader subscriptions, and I have over 60 blog posts to read. And it's not like I follow 200+ blogs like Marcy does...

Fortunately, running did not get put aside! I have 12 miles in this week (6 on Monday, 3 on Tuesday and a sneaky 3 lunch-time run yesterday). I'm planning on a 12 mile long run tomorrow, which should give me 24 miles for the week. That's the most I've done so far this year. Yes, I need to ramp up the mileage in the next few weeks as I prepare for the half marathon on April 19.

The other thing I need to prepare for - my yearly check up at the doctor. I've set it on the calendar - March 26 - so I have two weeks to shed a few pounds and eat less fatty foods so my cholesterol readings don't shoot through the roof. Am I the only one who crams for their cholesterol test???

Rearranging the Schedule

So - this week was supposed to go 3 miler on Monday, 6 mile Pace Run on Tuesday and 3 miler on Thursday...with a big 12 mile long run on the weekend.

However, tonight starts the Jewish festival of Purim - so I was out late celebrating. And I knew I'd be out late. So I did my 6 miler this morning.

But I was still really tired from the weekend when I woke up this morning. So, the 6 mile pace run became a 6 mile easy run. Stats - 6.22 miles, 1:06:08 (10:38/mile), average HR 153, max HR 172.

I'm not sure if I'll get the 3 miler in tomorrow morning. I'll see how I feel when I get up (I had some scotch tonight at Purim services) and how early it is...

Thank Goodness It's The Weekend!

It's been a crazy week with working late, leading Israeli Dancing - and I did get all of my weekday runs is as well.  3, 6, and 3 milers - all at the gym in Reston before work.  Ugh!

So it was especially nice to run outside this morning!  The weather took a turn for the better - it was 49 degrees this morning for my run...no more tights, running jacket and beanie!  (OK...I know that this weather won't last)

I ran 11.67 miles this morning.  I did the same Fallsgrove loop that I have been doing and instead of turning into my neighborhood at Kentlands Blvd, I went around to Main Street.  My pace was still on the slow side for my heart rate - I averaged an 11:09/mile pace with an average HR of 157 - however, it's been two weeks from my blood donation and it has normally taken me three weeks to get back to "normal".  Hopefully, by next week's run either my pace will be faster or heart rate lower at this pace.

One other thing I did this week was sign up for the Run For The Shelter Half Marathon on April 19.  It's official - I now have a race to train for!

Crazy Day!!!

Today was quite a crazy one. Started by leaving the house at 5:20am to get to Reston early so I could beat the traffic and do my 6 mile pace run at the gym there before heading to the customer site in Sterling.

The run went well. I lucked out and found one of the LifeFitness 95T treadmills with the heart rate function working (I had run on two other of these machines that this gym that did not recognize my HR monitor, so I has just assumed that none of them worked...). I started out the run in a warm-up with an 11:25 mile, and then ran the next 4.5 miles at a 9:50 pace. The last half mile I bumped it up for a strong finish. Stats: 6 miles, 58:52, 158 average HR.

Work has been really nuts for me - and this will continue probably for another week or so. After my project hits the current milestone things will get back to "normal" again...I hope!

Back To The Working Week

Back to the working week after a busy weekend. I'm not sure which has been busier lately - my weeks or weekends...

Saturday morning was a short "long" run. I'm on a step-back week on my training plan, so it was only a 6 miler...I'm going to start doing that distance mid-week now, so I hate calling that a long run. However, it was nice to be able to sleep in a bit and not run as long on a chilly morning. I'm starting to get my pace back after last week's blood donation...I'm probably about 90% there now.

The best thing about the weekend run? When I got back I just plugged my Garmin into the computer and the data was uploaded into RunningAHEAD! Yeah Garmin! Yeah RunningAHEAD!!!

I think my push-up stamina has also been impacted by the blood donation. I went to do my Week 6 exhaustion test both Saturday and this morning, and I was only able to do 41 push ups. OK...if you had told me 4 months ago that there would be a time where I would say, "I could only do 41 push-ups this morning...what happened?" I'd thought you were crazy. So...I'll continue to do the exhaustion tests a few times this week until I get back up to the high 40s/low 50s.

This morning we had a pretty big snow for these parts. I knew this was coming - and I knew I was supposed to be in Northern Virginia today - so I started early. By 5:30am I was shoveling (a few hours later Sherry has told me she can't even tell that I shoveled!), and it took me about an hour and 20 minutes to get to the Fitness First in Reston, VA. I did my easy 3 miler on the 'mill - 32:07, 146 avg HR. Now it's off to work.

The rest of the week looks like this - 6 mile pace run tomorrow, 3 mile easy run Thursday and 11 mile long run on Saturday morning. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back running outside by the weekend. I don't own a pair of YakTrax and I don't plan on getting them for the 2-3 times a year that it snows in the DC area each winter.

Garmin Integration at RunningAhead!!

This morning I was out to Virginia for work again, so I packed my gym bag and ran on the W&OD Trail - for the first time with my Garmin.  Not that I need the Garmin so much on that trail, since there are mile markers every half mile (does that make them half-mile markers?).

Anyhow, it was a nice morning.  About 50 degrees with a slight wind.  Shorts and a long-sleeved running shirt kind of weather.

I ran an easy 5 miles - 2.5 miles out and back.  Then a quick shower at the gym and off to work.

I went to log in my run later in the day on RunningAhead, and I saw the following note on the site:

• RunningAHEAD is proud to announce integrated support for the Garmin Forerunner! You can now upload data from your Garmin GPS directly to RunningAHEAD. With a few mouse clicks, all your data will be converted into workouts and saved to your training log.
  Simply connect your Garmin GPS to the computer, go to the import page and click the Upload button. You'll be able to see detailed graphs and a map of your workouts in seconds. Recording your data has never been this easy!
  

Awesome!!!!

I tried it out and it really works very well.  Everything transfers over - splits, maps, heart rate...it's all there.  Now, the only runs I'll need to put in manually are my treadmill runs.  Nice.

Busy Busy Busy

Work has been busy.  After work has also been busy with a bunch of Israeli Dance commitments - one of my friends and fellow Israeli Dance leaders had an emergency appendectomy so I've been filling in for her on some of her gigs - along with leading my own Tuesday night session and dance troupe on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, that means that a few things very important to me are falling by the wayside - time with my wife and kids and running.  Let's just hope this is all short-lived.

I did get to do my last set of Week 6 Push Ups yesterday.  I did 159 push ups - 13, 13, 17, 17, 16, 16, 14, 14 and 39.

I didn't get to run this morning.  Hopefully I'll get my behind out of bed early tomorrow and get that run in.

Yesterday Was Such A Fluke :-(

Yesterday's easy 3 miler was a dream come true. My heart rate wasn't elevated at the training pace I had been running at, I felt comfortable and not fatigued; it was like I didn't donate blood on Saturday.

So I was looking forward to a nice mid-week long run this morning. 5 to 6 miles. Since I need to be in Sterling, VA for work today, I left the house at 5:30am and drove to the Fitness First in Reston. In my haste to get out of the house early, I forgot my Polar HRM watch (I remembered the strap, no it was no biggie since the treadmills all have HRM sensors, right?).

They have the Life Fitness 95T treadmills like in Olney, along with some Precor treadmills. I got on one of the Life Fitness machines and my heart rate did not register. The same thing had happened with this same type of machine at the Olney Fitness First, so perhaps this model doesn't do Polar HRM? Or perhaps I happened to find the only two machines that had the HRM feature broken???

Anyhow, I jumped onto a Precor machine and it got my heart rate. So...I was off and running. And according to the treadmill, so was my heart rate. Grrrrrrrr. I thought I was in the clear after yesterday's run, but it wasn't the case. Here I was warming up at a 12:00/mile and my heart rate was already in the low 150s.

So, I had a very un-inspiring run this morning. I convinced myself at about 1.5 miles that I would only do 3 today and do the 5-6 miler on Thursday morning. The weather is supposed to be nicer, so I could run outside instead of on the 'mill - always a plus.

Sh!tty run stats: 3.0 miles in 35:09, 11:43/mile, 152 avg heart rate, 162 max. Compared to yesterday's 3 miles in 32:44 with an average heart rate of 142 - can you see why I'm so perturbed about my run this morning???

Easy 3 On The 'Mill

This was my first run after donating blood at the neighborhood Blood Drive on Saturday. Normally my post-blood donation runs suck. I feel fatigued, my heart rate is elevated and I just can't seem to get going.

Nothing like lowered expectations to get you going on a Monday morning.

Ironically, this run went very well. I started off really slow - a 12:30/mile pace - and my heart rate stayed really low. So I just started bumping up the pace every quarter of a mile, until I was running at 5.6 mph - a bit faster than an 11 minute mile.

I kept it nice and easy and my heart rate never went over 151 bpm. Actually, my average heart rate for the entire run was 142 - I rarely keep it down that low, so it was especially surprising to see this after donating blood on Saturday.

Anyhow, I'm still going to take it easy this week and do an easy run tomorrow instead of speedwork.

My Busy Day of Rest

It Saturday - the Jewish Sabbath - so I'm supposed to have a "day of rest" right?  Here's my version of the "day of rest":  Get woken up by younger son at 5:30am, try to go back to sleep once kids are in front of a movie...but can't, go out for an "easy 10" at 7am, get to synagogue by 10am...I'm chanting torah this morning, give blood at the neighborhood blood drive at 12 noon, go to a neighbor's house for Shabbat lunch.

If this is a day of rest, I'd hate to see what my work week is like :-)

Anyhow, the "easy 10" was nice, but it was a bit chilly when I left the house (18 degrees).  Since I saw that it was that cold before leaving for my run, I put some Gatorade powder in my water bottles...I did get some slush in the bottles by the end of the run - but they didn't freeze over like some of my runs a few months ago.  My fingers and toes were really cold during the first two miles, but they finally warmed up and then didn't get cold the rest of the way.  Luckily it was sunny and warmed up (to a balmy 29!) by the end of the run.

Run stats:  10.48 miles in 1:55:30;  11:01/mile pace, 153 avg HR, 169 max HR.

I decided not to do 12 miles today on my long run.  First of all, I was a bit tired.  Secondly, it was on the cold side.  Lastly (or realistically), I think I just wimped out.  Anyhow, I think I'm going to go with this week being week 2 of the training program - which means that the longest run I'll do before the Half Marathon is 15 miles.  That seems more appropriate than doing a 17 miler...

Push Ups - Week 6 Day 2

Last night, I did Day 2 of Week 6 of the Push Up Challenge.  I followed it to a tee - up until the last set where I was able to do 40 push ups instead of 44.  I did 146 push ups in all - 14, 14, 15, 15, 14, 14, 10, 10 and 40.

Today is a rest day and tomorrow is my long run.  Since I took nearly two weeks off from running after starting a particular training plan, I'm not sure where to start again.  For the past two weeks I've been kind of following Weeks 4 and 5 - which would make my long run tomorrow at 12 miles...definitely doable for me, but longer than I have been running lately.

I'm not sure it really makes too much of a difference - this plan is for running a full Marathon, and I'm really training for a Half Marathon.  I just wanted a nice plan to gradually add more miles each week to lead me to the race.

The race I'm targeting now is the Run For The Shelter, which is in 8 weeks.  So if say I'm on Week 5 and I do the 12 miles tomorrow, I'll be doing an 18 mile run 2 weeks before the Half Marathon.  That may be a bit much for training for a 13 mile race...I'll likely make it a shorter run when I get to it.

Morning Lake Run

On the schedule for today was a 3 mile easy run. The plan is always to wake up early and get out of the house before the children are stirring. That's tough to do when one of your kids wakes up at 3:15am....

My wife - the saint that she is - tended to the little one from 3:15 to somewhere around 5am. At that point I could sense she was bubbling over, so then it was my turn. Somewhere around that time, the little one woke up my older son as well, so the entire house was awake. Joy, joy, joy! I keep reminding myself that in a few years these kids will sleep in until noon and we'll need to pry their lazy butts out of bed with a crowbar...but I only half believe it on mornings like this.

Given that Sherry was up for a few hours already and wanted to rest, I wasn't about to leave for a relaxing run at 5:30am. So I took the breakfast shift and got my older one ready for school.

Finally, I was out of the house for my run at 7am. The sun was starting to rise, so I felt comfortable running around the neighborhood lake instead of the other neighborhood 3 mile route that I take when it is dark. The morning sky featured layers of clouds tinted in shades of orange, gold and pink by the sunrise - what a great time to run!

I ended up not really getting into a rhythm during the run...I'm not sure why. My heart rate was a bit higher than I wanted it to be - it elevated as I crested a few hills early and then I didn't get it back into the 140s which is where it should be for an easy run. However, my average HR ended up being 152, so I guess I didn't do too bad.

Final stats: 3.21 miles in 34:07, 10:38/mile pace, avg HR 152, max HR 166.

Three weeks ago, I ran this as one of my first runs after my chest cold. In three weeks my pace has improved 35 sec per mile with a lower average HR. It's nice to see the improvements that consistent training brings.

I am bracing myself for slower times next week, as my neighborhood is holding a blood drive this Saturday. I never got back to the Red Cross office to try another Platelets donation, so I'm going to donate whole blood this weekend instead. After my long run on Saturday morning, of course!

(Too Fast) Pace Run

This morning my plan was to do a 6 mile Pace Run.  Since I'm shooting for a sub-2:10 Half Marathon right now, my Pace Run needs to be in the neighborhood of 9:55/mile.  I set up my Garmin to show current pace in one of the windows so I could monitor how closely I was running to this pace.  I intentionally had the pace on a different screen than my heart rate reading - I had planned to follow pace this morning and not heart rate.

For what I can gather, I ended up not really following anything given my stats:  6.21 miles in 1:00:31 - a 9:45/mile (this actually doesn't look too far off the plan, except for the fact that my first mile was a slower warm-up mile).  My splits were:

10:36 - warm-up mile
9:53  - pretty spot on, but it includes a big hill
9:20 - net downhill
9:35 - net uphill actually
9:51 - another big hill
9:11 - nice strong finish (?)
2:02 (9:35 pace)

A few comments about my run this morning:

• This pace was faster than the last 10K I ran.  Shouldn't a pace run (or a tempo run even) be slower than a race?
• This was great for 6 miles.  At this point, however, I don't think I can sustain this pace for 13 miles.  For my next pace run, I really need to slow down.
• How the heck am I going to be disciplined enough to get my splits to be more consistent?

For question #3, there are a few things I can do.  First of all I can ditch the iPod.  When I'm running and listening to music, I tend to drift off and not pay attention to what I'm doing.  Another thing I can do is run when it is light outside - in order for me to check my pace on this morning's run I had to turn the backlight on (not too bad, at least my Garmin has a backlight!, but it is a bit more difficult than just glancing at your watch).  Or lastly, I could do my pace run on the treadmill - but if I do I will miss out on the hill component.

I have a bit of experimentation ahead of me in regards to pace runs.  However, I'm sure I'll figure it out in the next few weeks - and hopefully ride it out to a sub-2:10 Half Marathon this spring!

Easy 3 and Week 6 Push Ups

I made it to the gym for an easy 3 miles this morning.  The goal was to keep my HR under 150 - I did pretty well.  About 1.75 miles in, I did hit 150, but never went over 152 for the rest of the way.  Final stats were 3.0 miles, 33:04 (11:01/mile), average HR 144.

I also did Day 1 of Week 6 of the Push Up Challenge.  Unlike most of my other push up sets, I was able to do ALL of the push ups called for - even the last set's "maximum push ups, at least ##...".  I did 132 in all - 25, 30, 20, 15, 42.

Duel In The Sun

I just finished the book Duel In The Sun - about the 1982 Boston Marathon in which Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley battled head-to-head for the last 13 miles and finished within 2 seconds of one another.

I'm not an avid reader - I struggle to get through my copy of Runner's World each month (perhaps I should stop reading so many darn blogs and get back to print media?) - however, I end up getting sucked into 2-3 books a year and fly through them.

I really enjoyed how this book alternated between chapters devoted to the race itself and the biography of the two runners.  I learned a lot about Alberto Salazar (who I remember hearing about when I was growing up) and Dick Beardsley (who I had never heard of before reading this book).  What was remarkable was how this one race impacted the careers of each of the runners - in this case both runners "left it all out on the field" and neither runner was able to recover from the effort they gave that day.  I find it remarkable that this was able to happen to world-class runners.

It was a great read, however, I doubt I'll be able to take much of this book into my own running.  First of all, I doubt I will EVER qualify for Boston.  Perhaps I would be able to run Boston as a charity runner, but based on my current times and horribly inefficient running form there is really no way I see a BQ in my future.  Also, I can't see myself "leaving it all out on the field" like these guys.  Not to say I wimp out all the time, but I'm pretty cautious.  My performance in the Parks Half Marathon last year kind of sums it up for me...if today isn't my day, take it easy - there will be other races for me to look forward to.

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My running schedule this week will hopefully be an easy 3 miler Monday morning, a 5 or 6 mile pace run on Tuesday morning, an easy 3 miler on Thursday morning and then a long run on Saturday morning.  Hopefully I can stick to plan this week.

Saturday Morning Long Run

Once again, I'm back on track for my Saturday morning long runs.  Today was a 9 miler through Old Towne Gaithersburg.  It was a bit on the chilly side - 26 degrees when I left the house at 6:45am - but not unbearable.  I made sure that I did not go out too fast and convinced myself that I would eventually warm up - and I did, of course.

The first mile was tough.  I couldn't get into a rhythm.  I'm not sure what was going on, but I felt kinda choppy and not finding a comfortable groove.  It kinda sucks when after the first mile of a 9 mile run you're asking yourself "when is this going to end???".  Luckily, I started to feel good rather soon - as I don't remember wanting the run to end anytime after that.

The final stats were:  9.02 miles (same in Running Ahead as my Garmin - wow!), 1:37:22 = 10:48/mile pace.  Average HR 154 / Max HR 170.

My final mile was my fastest - 10:14/mile pace...and I was actually trying to get myself to slow down and relax during the last mile :-)  So, although I'm not in tip-top shape to PR a Half Marathon right now, I'm in good enough shape to finish - and likely to finish strong.

Tomorrow is a rest day and then I'm going to try to get my running schedule to be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  This makes the most sense for my current schedule of other activities (mainly Israeli Dancing where I'm up later on Tuesday night).  Hopefully, I can stick to this and not get sick again!

Push Up Exhaustion Test - Week 5 Edition

I did my Week 5 Push Up exhaustion test. 49 push ups. Hello Week 6!!!

No running today. Rest day before tomorrow's long run. I think I'll run 9 miles. With the Garmin. I can't wait!

It's looking like I've pretty much started the training plan over again after being sick a few weeks ago.

Week 5 Push Ups Completion and Lunchtime 6 Mile Run

Yesterday evening I did my last day of Week 5 push ups. In the middle of my fourth set, my younger son came into my room to find me doing push ups - and figured I was there to give him a horsey ride. I was not able to finish up that set of 24 push ups with the extra 30 pounds on my back - and I believe the rest of the sets were impacted as well (OK...that's my excuse for losing steam on the last set). All in all it was 163 push ups over 8 sets - not bad, but not as good as a few days ago when I did 175. Here's the stats: 20, 20, 24, 18 (horsey ride), 20, 17, 22, 22.

This morning I was up at 5:25am - not to go out and run (bummer...) but to drive my brother-in-law to the airport. Since there was no morning run - and I was working near BWI Airport anyway, I planned for the best and threw my gym bag in the car. I was starting to work a good hour earlier than normal due to the airport run, so as long as I had some open time in my schedule around lunchtime, I was going to try to take the extra hour there to run.

It ends up that the stars aligned and I got to the gym! (on my way back from Columbia, MD I went to the Fitness First in Olney). They do not have the cool TechnoGym treadmills (BTW...Fitness First North Potomac is featuring my blog on their homepage right now with my review of these new treadmills), however, they do have the LifeFitness 95T treadmills which are pretty cool.

Unfortunately, the heart rate monitor on the treadmill I chose to run on was not working. So, I had to continue to look at my watch during the run instead of at the screen. Also, my iPod didn't work with the iPod connector on this treadmill either - likely due to the iPod being on the older side (I'm still using a black and white screen that doesn't even show album art...I may as well be using a cassette tape player!).

My first minute on this treadmill was quite comical: I had bought a bottle of Gatorade since I did not bring a water bottle with me. I started the treadmill up and was jogging along, and noticed that the Gatorade was filled to the top. "I better take a sip or two now before I start running too fast..." I said to myself. Well, I must had breathed a bit while drinking the first sip because as soon as the Gatorade was in my mouth I started to have the coughing/choking reflex.   I tried to swallow what I had in my mouth before coughing, but couldn't do it. I think you all know what happens next... Luckily (or not?) the treadmills are the first pieces of equipment in front of the mirrors, so I ended up spraying the mirror in front of me instead of some poor soul trying to get their lunchtime workout in. I promptly stopped the treadmill and cleaned up the mirror, and then started over again (I had only run about 1/8 of a mile at that point.

I finally settled in on running - I wanted to do a pace run and since my goal right now is a 2:10 half marathon, that means a slightly faster than 10 minute mile. I started with an 11:00 mile warm up for 1 mile and then 5 miles at 6.1 mph (9:50/mile). My heart rate climbed up to the high 150s / low 160s about 3 miles into the workout, but did not go much higher. Final stats were: 5.97 miles (treadmill cut me off at 60 minutes exactly), 60 minutes, 155 average HR.

Push Ups and Easy Morning Run

Last night I did Week 5, Day 2 of the Push Up Challenge. This was the first time I was doing 8 sets instead of 5 (since last week I messed up and didn't see that I was supposed to do 8 sets instead of 5...). I actually was able to follow the program exactly, with the exception of the last set which calls for "Max - at least 45" and I could only do 35. I ended up doing 175 push ups - 19, 19, 22, 22, 18, 18, 22, 35.

Holy Cow!!!

I started thinking about the fact that I did 175 push ups. I had never, ever, ever done that many push ups in one day before - let alone in 20-30 minutes. Even if I do not get to the eventual goal of doing 100 consecutive push ups, I at least can take satisfaction in the accomplishments I have made along the way. I'm still going to continue the program - and I hope to hit 100 push ups one day in the next few weeks - however, I believe that I've pretty much achieved the intent of this program already.

This morning, I went for an early morning run. My kids had woken up early (somewhere around 5:30am??) and started playing together in my older son's room. I heard them stirring so I rolled out of bed, checked the weather (41 degrees - good for shorts and a long sleeve running shirt), and got out the door a little before 6am.

The Garmin took a while to find the satellites this morning. Kind of annoying when it is dark and on the chilly side.

Since it was dark, I was listening to music (Ben Kweller this morning) and I didn't want to look too much like a dork watching my watch and counting footfalls, I decided not to monitor my turnover on today's run. I think it's better to do that at the gym on a treadmill with an in-your-face timer looking right back 'atcha. I did concentrate on taking smaller steps to make my turnover quicker - even without counting the footfalls. I really think this helps my overall form - my posture seems better and my heart rate doesn't elevate as much.

Today's stats: 4.47 miles in 48:53 - 10:57/mile with an average HR of 150. Compare that to the last time I ran this route on Sunday (afternoon run and after lunch so it's not such an equal comparison) 51:09 - 11:33/mile with an average HR of 160.

7 Miler on a Beautiful Morning

Yesterday morning I went out for my weekly long run. This week was a 7 miler - not too long compared to what I will be getting to in another month or so, however, it's my longest run in quite a few weeks.

My plan - keep my HR in the 150s, don't worry about pace and don't worry about all the stuff I learned about my inefficient form at Saturday's Stride Clinic.

It was a great morning for a run when I stepped out of the house at 7:30am. It was 48 degrees and overcast - just chilly enough to keep me from overheating, but warm enough that I didn't need to bundle up.

The first mile was slow - 11:17 - but I kept my heart rate down, which had been my issue with the last few outdoor runs.

As much as I was trying to not think about the Stride Clinic feedback, of course it was going through my head from the beginning. It was like an "elephant in the room" - impossible to ignore. I was hoping this was going to be just a nice, easy run to get lost in the morning, the music and my thoughts. Instead, I started to experiment a bit with shortening my stride to increase my turnover, and ensuring that my right arm did not cross over my body.

What I found was truly surprising. When I started to shorten my stride and increase my turnover, my heart rate started to decrease - not increase like I figured it would. It ended up that my pace in the 3rd and 4th miles were under 11 minutes at around the same average HR as the first 2 miles. Wow! When I changed my stride, my body ended up being more upright - I was able to feel the difference between the posture of my previous form - leaning forward a bit and not being as "crisp" in my movements - and the new form. Of course, I would eventually space out and then realize I was going back to my slower strides, leaning a bit forward, etc., however, I would then get back into the "new groove".

The decreased HR with shorter strides ended up holding true until after 6 miles into my run...at that point my heart rate started to elevate. However, it may have started to elevate just because I had been running for a while.

All in all, it was a great run. 7.39 miles, 1:19:43 (10:48/mile), avg HR 153. I'll try to run again on Tuesday morning...and work on turnover. I'm going to try to count footfalls every few minutes to see how I'm doing. I think this may be easier to do on the treadmill at the gym, but I'm not going to waste a nice morning to run outside - and it is looking like it will be a nice morning.

Stride Clinic And My REALLY Inefficient Running

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this morning I was going to MCRRC's Stride Clinic.

My main reason for going is to see if there was anything I was doing "wrong" in my running that if corrected could help me avoid injuries and/or run faster and stronger.  My feeling was that although running is pretty simple - one foot in front of the other - perhaps since I pretty much just laced them up one day and made a commitment to run, that maybe there was room for improvement.

I expected them to find something small - i.e. keep your shoulders back - and send me on my merry way.  I almost wish this is how it went down....

I got there early, so the person before me was still on the treadmill with a running coach.  I briefly spoke to the running coach that was going to be analyzing me - he took a look at my running history and PRs and said something like "OK, I see you're doing this recreationally and not running all out."  I'll give him that since I'm not very fast, however, I still feel that the 25:17 5K that I posted a few months ago was "running all out" and still quite respectable.  He saw that I wanted to have my running form checked and improve my running efficiency if possible.

Since I was early, I spent time with the podiatrist and shoe specialist first.  I let them know that I had plantar fasciitis about 5-6 years ago.  At that time I started to wear insoles and only tie-up shoes which give me more support and I haven't had problems since.  They had me take off my shoes and socks and walk away from them and back toward them.  The podiatrist then had me lie down and he started stretching my foot, etc.  The bottom line - there are no foot issues.  I should continue with the Superfeet insoles.  I may want to find a neutral shoe that bends a little less in the shank - the shoe specialist recommended the Brooks Dyad.  The next time I'm at Fleet Feet, I'll check these out.

Then the fun part came.  Running on the treadmill!  They asked me for the umpteenth time if I was comfortable running on a treadmill (and I answered yes for the umpteenth time).  The running coach told me to run at a comfortable pace.  I settled in at an 11:00 mile pace and he started jotting down notes and watching me from the side, behind and in front.

After a few minutes he started giving me his analysis.  It ends up that I'm quite an INEFFICIENT runner.

He started by telling me that my feet are traveling in a circular motion - like I'm on a bicycle.  They should travel more in an elliptical motion.  What this is doing is making me bounce up and down more and my stride is propelling me upwards instead of forward.  I should try to work on "pawing back" with my feet to help flatten out my stride.

The next thing he mentioned to me was that my turnover was a bit slow.  Ideally, you should have about 180 footstrikes per minute - which if you focus on counting one foot for 15 seconds it should be 22-23 footstrikes.  I was in the 20-21 range.

Another thing he said is that I am crossing my right arm across my body.  My arms should travel in the direction I'm traveling and my elbow should not cross my rib cage.

He had me stop on the treadmill and went through a few more notes with me.  Here's the list of what he wrote down:

• Forward Head (my head is tilting a bit too forward when I run)
• Knees Valgus (inward tilting of the knees)
• Excess Vertical Oscillation (from the circular motion above)
• Right Hand Crosses Front
• Pelvis Unstable
• Foot Turn Out

Basically, I got a lot more than I bargained for.  This was no "keep your shoulders back" feedback.

The recommendation of the Running Coach and Physical Therapist was to focus on strengthening my core which would likely help the pelvic instability - which in turn impacts the knees and foot turn out.  A little investment - maybe working with a coach a few times for a program I can do 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week - would equate in significant progress...especially for long term injury prevention.  The running coach also wanted me to work on the turnover by shortening my stride for now and trying to get more footstrikes in.

On the way home, I had mixed feelings.  I'm glad I went, but it was a lot of information to digest in the 40 minutes I was there.  Plus, I felt like I was ambushed a bit.  I was expecting my form to be a bit inefficient, but I was quite surprised to see the list of things that this guy found by just watching me run for 10 minutes.

I'll likely look into some core exercises (the running coach recommended "Core Performance For Endurance Athletes by Mark Verstegen) and I'll try to focus on the turnover, however, I think I may just go out and run tomorrow before I do any of these things.