4 Days

On Saturday morning I woke up feeling kind of icky. By mid morning the icky had turned to full on sick. Unfortunate because I was hoping to get in a back-to-back long run and long bike in anticipation of the Brooklyn Half Marathon and Tupper Lake Triathlon. Given my nauseated state I decided to postpone the workout to Sunday.

I woke on Sunday feeling just as sick and in no shape to run 10+ miles and bike 30+ miles. And what little energy I could muster needed to be expended on cleaning house for Easter Dinner*.

Sunday night into Monday morning I tossed, turned and suffered from flu like symptoms the likes of which... I'll spare you the details, but I will say I didn't get much sleep! I called in sick to work and spent the day by alternating between sleeping on the couch with the TV on and sleeping in bed with a book.

Today (Tuesday) I woke up feeling a little better but still not 100% and in frequent need of a lavatory.

All of this is to say... It has been four days without a run, bike, swim or workout of some sort! I cannot recall the last time so much time lapsed between workouts. Even after the NYC Marathon I was back on the road in less time.

"The abdomen is the reason why man does not easily take himself for a god."
-Nietzsche

*Easter Dinner was spectacular! Kudos to the chef!

I've Just Gotta Tri This

A few of you have already guessed it... I've gone and signed myself up for a triathlon. The Tupper Lake Tinman Triathlon is a Half Ironman distance and consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.


I've looked over the results from last year but I honestly have no idea how I'll do or what my times will be like.

The swim will likely be my weakest event and is also the biggest variable for me. I fully anticipate crushing the bike leg.

Running a half marathon is never easy, particularly after swimming more than a mile in open water and biking 56 miles in the Adirondack Mountains. Despite these challenges I think I'll be able to muscle/heart out the run.

I'm not following nor have I found a formal training plan as of yet but I am working on all three sports. Any recommendations on training plans is welcome. I am also open to any recommended reading on biking and swimming technique.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

Xtrain Weekend or About the Bike

On Saturday I ran a 10 mile tempo run with some of the Hellgate crew. On Sunday I took my "new" road bike out for the my very first ride (more on this below). On Monday morning I hit the pool for about an hour.

I am pooped.

So, about the bike. It is a late 80's road bike made by Cannondale. It was probably a fairly high-end bike when new but by today's stadards it's... well let's just say it's pushing up on 20 years old.

It was purchased used on Craig's List Seattle by my de facto brother-in-law about a decade ago. A few years later it was retrofitted for my sister-in-law who lives in Boston. Last week it made its way to New York and to me.

This "free" bike ending up costing almost $500 to tune it up and refit it with a new seat, stem, handlebars, aerobars, water cages, computer, helmet, flat kit, etc... I do have to give mad props to the folks at Tony's Bike Shop here in Astoria. They are friendly, knowledgeable and they spent a significant amount of time working with me and the bike.

As I noted prior, I took it out on Sunday for the first ride. I put in 25 miles in about an hour and a half. This is roughly 16.5 miles per hour, probably a little faster when you factor in stopping for red lights and such. Per my Polar Heart Rate Monitor my average HR for the workout was 134 - which seems on the low side.

The real story here is the saddle. There is one additional piece of equipment that will be essential before I go out for another ride of this duration or intensity... BIKE SHORTS!!!

Good Lord! How do professional cyclists do it?!?!?!?

"On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Dumb... But Funny

The good people at the Washington Post recently put this collection of humorous photos together...

People are dumb (but funny).

Colon Cancer Challenge - 15K

I had no intention of running the New York Road Runner's Colon Cancer Challenge this past Sunday - but as turned out, it was a good thing I did.

Just two days before the race I was still hemming and hawing about what to do. It had recently been suggested that I pick a race of a shorter distance and go all out - 115% effort. If I have the race of my life... Excellent. If I red line and blow up... Excellent. Either way I learn a good lesson about my ability.

I eventually decided to follow this suggestion and drop the hammer on this 4-miler. Given the fair weather it seemed reasonable that I would best my recent PR for this distance.

At the very last minute I changed my mind and decided to run the 15K instead. However, I did not change my race strategy. This 15k was to be a knock down, drag out, bare-knuckled slugfest.

I queued up right at the front of the starting chute with a couple of the fastest of my teammates. Speaches were made and the starting horn sounded.

I ran my best time for the 15k last year. I finished in 1:06:35 which is a pace of 7:09 per mile. On Sunday my first mile clocked in at 6:15... Mile 2 came and went in 6:02. Clearly I was on a mission!

As I past the 3 mile marker it dawned on me that I had just run my fastest 5k ever. I also realized that my heart was about to explode. As much as I'd like it to be true, I am not yet capable of running this pace for 9.3 miles.

Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 I realized that keeping a positive mental outlook was going to be key to getting myself across the finish line. As thoughts of slowing down or giving up crossed my mind I actually spoke these words allowed:

"no. No. NO!"

Those running near me must have thought me crazy... but that was just the begining! An old Johnny Mercer song then popped into my head and I had a new mantra!

You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

With my new found positive outlook came a little boost in energy and I muscled up Cat Hill for the second time and pushed as hard as I could along the reletively flat East Drive.

The race then cut across Central Park and doubled-back down the rolling hills of West Drive. At the top of one of these hills I bonked...

I ran out of gas...

I walked...

I was messing with Mister In-Between.

With a few choice words I got myself running again by accentuating the positive fact that the finish line was only two miles away.

This 15-kilometer rumble was giving me a whoopin' but like Rocky Balboa I still had a little fight left in me for the last round.

With about a half mile to go I heard someone call my name... And then again... And then a few hundred meters from the finish line my teammate Eddie passed me.

Oh no you don't!

I kicked like I've never kicked before and I got him by 2 seconds.

Photo by Jared Mestre

My finish time was 1:02:30 a pace of 6:43 per mile and a personal record by over four minutes. Needless to say, I am very pleased.

Of course there are the inevitable "what if's" and the "could have," "should have" and "would have's" but I ran a great race and can honestly say I gave it my best.

"You're gonna eat lightnin' and you're gonna crap thunder!"
-Mickey Goldmill in Rocky (1976)

45:33 Nike+ Original Run

Nike, in cahoots with iTunes, has been building up a catalog of what they call “sport music.” It's mostly a collection of up-tempo songs picked by Nike sponsored celebrity athletes such as Lance Armstrong, Tom Brady and Vince Carter, as well as iMixes uploaded to iTunes by enthusiastic Nike consumers.

Recently I was made aware of something altogether different by my friends at WeCastMusic. Nike had commissioned music producer James Murphy of DFA Records to produce a song specifically engineered for runners. The result is "45:33: Nike Original Run" - a forty-five minute track that is supposedly built around the arc of a run of the same duration.

The first minute of the song is the digital equivalent of a turbine engine revving up - the tempo cycles and spins into a whirling intensity. Oddly enough the unique electronica intro transitions into a piano-driven 70's funk beat and stays that way for the next ten minutes. Think piano, 5-piece drum kit and electric bass guitar. The groove is solid and tempo is quick enough to run to, though the "shame on you" vocals aren't very inspiring.

At about 10 minutes into the song the funk gives way to a Chemical Brothers-like drum-n-bass vibe. This section has a happy, uplifting and trance inspiring beat... Perfect to zone out and pound out the miles. Occasionally a hypnotic, nay, quasi-subliminal voice can be heard saying things like "... it was such a long journey" or "... It took hours and days and years..." Gimme a break!

20 minutes into this epic the 70's funk and drum-n-bass merge and horns are introduced to form a compelling and driving rhythm. At this point you're either bored to tears by the repetitive nature of the song or have zoned out and are running faster than you ever have.

But wait, what's this....? After investing 30 minutes into this song it abruptly changes and becomes... a completely different song! Unfortunately it's a mediocre song. The good news is that it's relatively short, fairly benign and the tempo is very fast.

Finally, this Ulysses length jam winds down into a soothing, zen electronic outro. Presumably this celestial bit of audio engineering is for cooling down and stretching. Personally I think it comes too soon and lasts too long.

I can't quite say that 45:33 is my favorite new tune but, I do like it. At times it feels as if it were written by musicians and marketing executives rather than runners but it does stand on it's own as a purpose built song. As a concept it is an excellent idea and I am keen to hear more of the like such as Aesop Rock's forty-five minute epic "All Day."

Coincidentally... WeCastMusic is reviewing this song today as well. Stop by and here what actual music critics they have to say.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
-Henry David Thoreau

Queens Tribune

As I noted in a recent post, I was interviewed by a reporter working on a story for a local newspaper, the Queens Tribune.

The article is now published and can be seen online here. It is a longish story on fitness in general but if you scroll down to the headline "Runners Set Their Personal Regimens" you'll find the section on running. You can also get directly to the running section here.

Kudos to Yvonne for keeping a wicked schedule and making me look like a complete slacker!

"Newspapers should have no friends."
-Joseph Pulitzer

Belated Birthday

I can't believe it... I missed my first blogiversary! What a terrible publisher I am! If you're interested, here is my very first blog post.

A reporter for a local newspaper doing a story on area runners recently asked why I keep a running blog. I bumbled and stumbled out some lame answer when the truth is, I'd not really given it much thought.

Well, I've thought about it and my (missed) blogiversary seems like an opportune time to answer the question: "why blog?"

1. Advice - I often get very sound advice from readers.
   
2. Inspiration - I enjoy reading your blogs for inspiration - why not do the same.
   
3. Vanity - It's fun being a publisher and I get a kick out of the results when typing my name into search engines.
   
4. Family - All of my family is in the Midwest. This is an easy way for them to keep tabs on me and my running.
5. Support - I have been contacted by several new runners looking for guidance. I don't pretend to be a coach but I can point newbies in the right direction.
6. History - Much like I keep a running log detailing my mileage, here I keep a history of my thoughts and experiences on running.
   
7. Exhibitionism - Those that know me (particularly socially) know I am a bit of a showman. Blogging is just an extension of my desire to be in the spotlight (I am a Leo after all).
8. Writing - Pretty clearly I'm no Steinbeck. Nevertheless I enjoy writing and it is nice to have a venue to sharpen and hone my skills.
9. Motivation - By publicly stating my goals and intentions I am far more likely acheive them.
10. Because - Why get out of bed to to run in the rain? Why train all through the winter months? Why run 26.2 miles...

"Because it is there."
- George Mallory (when asked why he wanted to climb Everest)

Al Gordon Snowflake 4 Miler

At 8:00AM Saturday I ran the Al Gordon Snowflake 4 miler hosted by the New York Road Runners Club. Well over 2,200 men (and as many women - though the women's start was an hour later) charged through Central Park.

Stiff winds made the 20 degree weather feel much colder. Fortunately the sun helped to warm things slightly. I opted to go with my newly acquired CW-X Insulator Pro tights which are rather pricey but do keep you warm and allow for a good range of motion. As an added bonus they look and feel pretty good too.

photo by Jared Mestre

This was a Club Points race but I wasn't wearing my team singlet (shame on me) which is why there is only this profile shot of me...

Splitting the men's and women's starts helped with the typical congestion of the first few miles. I also had hopes of absolutely destroying this race by running it in under 25 minutes. Thus, I lined up toward the front of the queue. The horn sounded and we were off.

The first mile was a challenge for me as I didn't stretch or warm-up properly. My breathing was labored, my legs felt dead and as I passed the first mile marker I was already behind -- 6:22. I stepped it up a bit and clicked off the second mile in 6:14.

Going into the third mile I settled into the pace, got my breathing under control and my dead legs got some life. Cat Hill reversed all that leaving me with a split of 6:28 and no hope of a sub 25 minute race.

The final mile of the race was mostly flat with a down hill sprint to the finish. I held my pace and then surged the last 400 meters for a 6:14.

While short of my goal, my official time of 25:23 still represents a pretty fair personal record. Prior, my best 4 miler was a minute and a half slower.

Congratulations to my fellow teammates for their terrific efforts!

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
-Muhammad Ali (became the Heavyweight Champion on this day in 1964)

Something New

Today, I did something entirely different.

Today, for the first time in over three years I rode a bike – well, a stationary bike.

10 miles in 30 minutes… I have no idea if that is good or bad, average or pathetic.

But it is a start.

"Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
-John F. Kennedy

Boulder Beer - Planet Porter

I was gifted a subscription to the Micro Beer Club over the holidays. The beer club generally features award winning, small-batch brews. The first shipment has arrived and for the most part, been happily consumed!

I thoroughly enjoy a good porter so naturally I reached for Boulder Beer's Planet Porter. This heavenly concoction did not disappoint. It has a tempting aroma with hints of coffee and chocolate, a weighty body and a smooth satisfying finish.

Ahhhh, I am going to grab a telescope and peep where I can get some more!

"Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: it's how drunk you get."
-Homer Simpson

Awards Night Montage Part II

This is the second of a two part video package I edited for the Hellgate Road Runners Awards Dinner. All photographs were taken by Jared Mestre. The music is "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis.

"Happiness does not lie in happiness but in the achievement of it."
-Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Awards Night Montage Part I

This is the first of a two part video package I edited for the Hellgate Road Runners Awards Dinner. All photographs were taken by Jared Mestre. The music is "Battle Without Honor Or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei from the Kill Bill soundtrack.

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."
-Helen Keller

Honored

Last night The Hellgate Road Runners held their annual Awards Night dinner party. It is always a good time (open bar + music = raucous good time) but this year in particular was special for a few reasons.

I put together a video montage from photos our coach has taken over the past few years. I burned the montage to DVD and used a projector to show the video (running the audio thru the DJ’s sound system). The project came off technically glitch-free and based on the feedback I’ve gotten, it was well received.

I was also recognized as the “Most Improved Male Runner” at the awards ceremony. I am really quite honored by this but mostly I am thankful to the club. Without the support and motivation I get from my teammates I am fairly certain I wouldn’t be running as well as I am today.

My hearty and sincere congratulations to all of the other award winners. Your recognition is very well deserved!

“Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.”
Benjamin Franklin

Yummy

I’m no doctor, but I am guessing that when you get that alkaline / blood like taste in your mouth it is too cold to be doing speed work…

Time: 7:00AM
Temperature: 20F
Winds: Variable off the East River

1 x 1600 Meters Warm Up (as if that's possible)
1 x 1200 Meters 4:41
1 x 800 Meters 3:07
1 x 400 Meters 1:26
1 x 400 Meters 1:26
1 x 800 Meters 3:02
1 x 1200 Meters 4:41
1 x 1600 Meters Cool Down (as if that's needed)

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
Sir Winston Churchill

Super (cold) Sunday

Over the years the number of participants at New York Road Runner Club races has grown quite substantially -- which is terrific. However, herding thousands of racers over a ChampionChip timing mat and navigating this speeding mass around a course in Central Park can be daunting, particularly when you’ve got to share the road with elite runners, mid-packers, walkers and non-racers (cyclists, tourists and the all too frequent horse-drawn carriage!).

The NYRR held their Annual Gridiron 4 Miler at 9:00AM on Superbowl Sunday. Nearly 4,500 souls braved 14 degree temperatures and a blustery wind chill factor. Since little can be done about the horses or tourists the NYRR held their first experiment with waved starts to alleviate some of the aforementioned congestion.

The organization and execution of race directors, course marshals and volunteers was top notch. However the experiment didn’t work. Runners were corralled into groups of about 750. The first group consisted of elites and runners who have won an age group award. After that it was first come, first serve.

I was corralled into the fourth wave and had probably the best race start of my running career. Unfortunately I hit the slower runners from wave three within the first half mile. The rest of the race was an exercise in frustration as I had to cut, zig and weave around those who started ahead of me. I would find a comfortable pace but then have to slam on the breaks until a path around a gaggle of slower runners opened up. Even with the finish line in site I was still passing walkers and eleven minute milers.

My advice to the powers that be over at the NYRR Club would be to continue with the wave starts but assign all runners to a corral that corresponds to their average pace per mile. This average could be determined by their three most recent NYRR races. Runners without three races in their history should be assigned to the last corral. Out of town elites or other special cases without a NYRR race history can be handled on a case by case basis.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
-George Bernard Shaw

The Secretary

Can anyone tell me where January went?

Work has been rather busy of late and I just recently celebrated my two year anniversary with Sherman's Travel. I was also recently elected to serve as Secretary for the Hellgate Road Runners and have created a Hellgate Blog for club news, photos and general club information.

Thus, I have been squeezing in my runs whenever possible. I actually did speed work (4 x 1 mile repeats) by myself at 6:30am, in the snow. My times were pretty good too!

What little spare time has been devoted to a "special project" for the forthcoming Hellgate Awards Night dinner. Hopefully I'll have enough time between now and February 10th to finish!

"It is not easy for a person to do any great harm when his tenure of office is short, whereas long possession begets tyranny."
-Aristotle

The IceMan Has Indeed Cometh

Brrrrr…With authority, Old Man Winter has finally descended on New York!

Last night I took Harry (our two year old Yorkie) out for a walk. The frigid and gusting wind nearly knocked him off his feet! This morning Harry went outside, hastily “did what he needed to do” and headed back inside… In kinder weather he’d have dragged me all over the neighborhood sniffing everything in his path.

With extra time on my hands this morning and a burgeoning recommitment to running I headed out the door and into the 19 degree chill.

The skies were clear but the rising sun did little to warm the icy air whipping off New York’s East River. Eventually I warmed enough to take my hands out of my jacket pockets affording me the opportunity to run more naturally.

Five miles at an 8:30/mile pace. It wasn’t fast but it sure felt good.

"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart."
-Victor Hugo

Excel Bible

I have been tagged by runner/ultramarathoner StephRuns.

Yes, I know that this is the equivolent of spam... sorry.

The instructions are:

1. Find nearest book
2. Name book and author
3. Turn to page 123
4. Go to 5th sentence and copy the next three to blog
5. tag 3 others

I will ignore step 5 but the results are as follows:

1. There are no less than four books within reach.

2. The Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Bible by John Walkenbach happens to be nearest.

3. Yup.

4. "The exact dialog box that you see depends on the printer. The Properties dialog box lets you adjust printer-specific settings, such as the print quality and the paper source. In most cases, you won't have to change any of these settings, but you should be familiar with the settings that you can change."

5. Nope.

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."
-Bill Gates

We're Doomed

The other day I watched one of those doom-and-gloom shows on the Discovery Channel about the various scenarios in which the world as we know it comes to a catastrophic end. Gigantic tsunamis from the Canary Islands destroying the Eastern Seaboard of the United States… Super Volcanoes in Yellowstone National Park…

Come on you know you’ve seen that show too.

The very next day a colleague turned to me and coincidentally stated, “We’re doomed.” When I pressed for an explanation she noted the recent inclusion of polar bears to the endangered species list and the fifty square kilometer block of ice that broke off in North Canada and is now adrift in the Arctic Ocean.

I teased, feigned concern by stating that when the ice melts and raises the sea level I will be even more thankful for my new 6th floor apartment, and went about my business.

A few hours later a news story about UFO’s at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport caught my attention and shortly thereafter I came across this article about a meteorite concluding its intergalactic journey in a New Jersey bathroom.

While commuting home I noticed the headline of a newspaper claiming that the last time New York experienced a November and December free of snow was 1877. Then I made the poor choice of watching “War of the Worlds” on-demand.

Today the temperature has topped 70 degrees.

Perhaps we are doomed after all.

Update (1/8/2007): All this and now noxious fumes... My Caesar quote is all to appropriate!

"I durst not laugh, for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air."
-Shakespeare, Julius Caesar