Is Blogging harder than Running?

Jingle Bell 5K in Brighton, NY

2010-12-04T12:25:00.003-05:00

Josh and I competed in the Jingle Bell 5K this morning, and the race went quite well. The weather has been chilly lately--a small dusting of snow last night had made the Brighton neighborhoods' roads a bit slick during our warm-up. Fortunately, the small patches of ice had either melted by the time the race began or they really were of no consequence anyway.

At the starting line at 9 AM sharp, we didn't notice any of the fastest local guys around...until about 10 seconds before the gun, I spotted Jeff Beck to my right wearing a Santa Claus hat and elf shoes. He would go on to win in a pedestrian time (for him) of 16:05.

We maintained a strong pace for the first mile, which contained the only uphill portion of the course (and it's a very mild uphill). Jeff was out in front along with Dave Bischoff and another guy, about 10 to 20 meters ahead of me and Josh. We passed Dave after about 1000 meters, and then Josh made a nice push, pulling me along with him, to catch Jeff and the other guy before completing the first mile.

We came through the first mile in 4:58. This was either the easiest 4:58 I've ever run (less likely) or the mile mark was a bit short (more likely). In either case, I felt great, but Josh and I were both a little stunned by the split, so we eased off the pace as Jeff Beck and the other guy slowly opened up a gap. Over the next few minutes, I began convince myself that the mile mark was probably short and that we probably shouldn't have backed off the pace, especially considering how well we were running (I later found out that Josh felt as good as I did, maybe better). We traded off small surges throughout the middle mile but mostly ran shoulder to shoulder.

Around the turn into the third mile, Josh suddenly opened up a 5 to 10 second gap that I was never able to close. Maybe this came during a small lapse in concentration or a brief moment of weakness. In either case, these types of things seem to happen sometimes during races, even when I'm feeling strong. It's difficult to understand because there really was no point where I felt like I was in agony and couldn't push the pace more. I need to work on simply sticking to a competitor like glue. The photo below depicts Josh smoking me down the stretch.

We finished 3rd and 4th overall--Josh in 16:29 and me in 16:40. That's a post-collegiate 5K PR for Josh and 3 seconds faster than last year for me. Although I feel like I could have run a better time, I am excited by how strong I felt throughout the race. Hopefully this bodes well for the upcoming indoor track season.

Official results are here.

Summerfest 12K

2010-09-05T13:19:00.004-04:00

This was the first race that I had targeted as an "important race" since the McMullen Mile. It was the least established of the 2010 Rochester Runner of the Year series (and it had no prize money), so I figured I would be able to pick up quite a few points for the RROY competition.

The race was a 12K (strange distance for a road race) through the rolling hills surrounding Mendon Ponds park. Josh also attended, but due to his upcoming Dutchess County Classic Half Marathon, he planned to run no faster than 5:50 per mile splits.

At the starting line, we noticed that none of the fastest local guys were present, so it seemed likely that we would contend for the win (a somewhat rare occurrence for us in Rochester, particularly for a RROY series race). My plan was to take the pace out around 5:35 to 5:40 and cruise at that speed for as long as possible. I hoped to take the uphills conservatively but to hit the downhill and flat portions aggressively.

After the "gun," or rather "Ready, Set, GO!" (does Fleet Feet have a non-violence policy or something?), I darted out to the front and no one came with me, which was surprising because my pace did not feel particularly fast. My legs immediately start to beg my brain: "Maybe we can win this without having to work too hard!" But the logical part of my brain responds with: "No! You'll be much happier with yourself if you win AND throw down a great race time." But then the lazy part chimes in with: "Eh, you've been training too hard, it's hilly and windy, just take it easy, fool." Maybe the lazy brain was conspiring with my legs... In any case, I knew Josh wouldn't be too far back, and he would be more than happy to out-kick me if I were to allow complacency to take over.

I came through the first mile in 5:49. I knew I wasn't hammering it but it certainly didn't feel quite that slow. I made a half-hearted attempt to push the pace and split the second mile in 5:30. Very suspicious. Josh and I would later agree that the first mile marker was a bit long. Third mile, 5:40. I was feeling strong at this point, and a glance over my left shoulder on a left-hand turn confirmed that I had opened up about a 20 second lead on Josh. I definitely should not have looked back because the newfound knowledge intensified the lazy brain's influence: "Just run 5:50s, piece of cake. That's all Josh is doing and your lead is plenty big." Sure enough, I split both the fourth and fifth miles in 5:53. Main lesson learned from this race: don't look back because that just means you can run faster.

The last two miles were quite severely into the wind, which along with some uphill sections, slowed me down considerably. I had trouble keeping the pace under 6:00. I need to get used to these longer races again. The good news is, I managed to take the win, which was satisfying. I've been feeling fitter lately, and now that the weather is improving, I am really looking forward to some great workouts and races. Josh finished a strong second place (which gave RKR the 1-2 sweep!), and he's looking strong for his upcoming half marathon. Stay tuned to RKR for updates.

Full results for the 12K are here.

Running fast again

2010-08-25T20:21:00.004-04:00

Haven't posted in awhile, but I'm still here and still running. I had a fun time in Santa Cruz but my running progress stalled: sub-par mileage and virtually zero workouts.

Now that I'm back in Rochester, I've managed a few grueling and successful workouts (see my training log if you're interested), and I am gearing up for a 12K road race on Sept. 5, followed by several XC races this Fall.

Sunday Long Run

2010-07-11T19:23:00.002-04:00

I had a really enjoyable long run this morning. It was a typical Santa Cruz morning. Cool, cloudy, and a little foggy when I departed at 10am. By 11, the skies were deep blue and the clouds were gone. The out-and-back route proceeded north from the UCSC campus into Wilder Ranch State Park and curved down towards the coast. I turned around when I was about 7 miles out at Highway 1. Crazy elevation change and no mountain lion sightings!

This is kind of a cool fly-by feature, but the video doesn't do justice to the elevation change. More details for the route can be found here.

Santa Cruz 5K (10K?)

2010-07-10T14:02:00.004-04:00

Running in Santa Cruz has been pretty fun. The scenery is amazing and there are endless dirt roads and single-track trails to explore in the surrounding redwood forests. It has also been very challenging because of the terrain. I am living on the UCSC campus, which is built on the side of a mountain that slopes quickly down to the city and coast below. Every day, I am faced with a choice: run on an extreme downhill for the first few miles into town or run on an slightly less extreme uphill for the first few miles into the woods (where supposedly Mountain Lions lurk). I almost always take choice #2.

I think my legs are slowly adjusting running these relentless hills, no thanks to the Santa Cruz Firecracker race that I ran over July 4 weekend.

The Firecracker had a shared start for the 5K and the 10K. The 10K course was a combined road and trail race that featured, as the race brochure termed it, a "brutally long and steep hill in the middle miles." I decided to run the 5K.

I'm going to try to describe this race in the present tense. We'll see how this goes. As the race starts, it's impossible to tell who will be running the 10K and who will be running the 5K. After about 1/4 mile, I'm running in a tight lead pack at a reasonably comfortable pace. I figure that I'll wait to make any strategic decisions until after the 10K and 5K competitors go our separate ways.

After about 3/4 miles, we come to a T-intersection, with the following writing: "<---10K | 5K--->" The two guys ahead of me swoop left and I head right. After about 10 seconds, I realize that no one followed me. This seems strange but I keep going for a bit, slowly realizing that somehow I'd fucked it up. After a few more glances behind me, I turn around dejectedly and head back to the mass of runners who are now way ahead of me.

As I run by the T-intersection again, I point at the writing and stare at a race volunteer who simply shrugs and says "That's for lap 2!" At this point I'm pretty pissed off and upset that my $35 registration fee has gone to waste. I'm still running hard but I no longer care. Somehow, I miss the real 5K turn off (apparently it was not at the previous T-intersection, which was just leftover road paint from previous years' race route...Brilliant!) and continue onto the bumpy 10K course and "The Hill" in my road racing flats. Great.

The 10K actually ended up being kind of fun. I approached it like a tempo run and passed people most of the way. I ascended the hill better than I expected and managed to cruise the downhills very quickly. Annoyingly, some guy interviewed me with a camera right after I finished and I had to try to explain my idiocy in running the 10K "by accident."

I finished 7th in the 10K, but as a final kick in the nuts, the official race results put me down as "#661 Unknown" because I was actually signed up for the 5K. And yes, that's a really pathetic 10K time.

Overall, the Santa Cruz running scene seems OK but I'm going to withhold judgment on how well organized their races are until I've seen a few more (although there don't seem to be any more during the next 4 weeks that I'm here). I met a few of the stronger runners in the race who do workouts at the local high school on weeknights, but I don't have a car so I probably won't be able to join them.

Barefoot Running

2010-06-16T18:55:00.004-04:00

Hopefully this post won't make me out to be a raving ignorant elitist.

I was browsing some stuff today about barefoot running (which is, according to the literature, different from running barefoot..?), and I encountered a FAQ with the following ridiculous Q+A:

Q: Why don’t we see more barefoot runners at top levels of competition?

A: Most elite runners can probably run nearly as fast with or without shoes. However, these days, any consistently competitive runners, have already been offered running shoe endorsement/sponsorship deals. Most of the elite runners we see winning big prize money, wouldn’t be able to enter those races without sponsorship, most of which comes from running shoe companies.

If you know me, you're probably aware that I'm fine with taking on "the man" or "the establishment" or what-have-you. But I find this stuff utterly ridiculous. I guarantee you that Haile Gebreselassie , Kenenisa Bekele, Ryan Hall, and all the other top distance runners in the world wouldn't give two shits about lucrative sponsorships if wearing shoes prevented them from setting a new world record or winning the Boston Marathon.

This isn't even the right question. A better question is, "Why don't we see more barefoot runners winning and placing well in local and regional races?"

Well I've got an answer: Barefoot running is a bunch of BS. It's dogma. Doctrine. It oozes with the same type of irrationality that causes so many to blindly follow extremist religions and captivating-but-nonsensical political fear mongering.

Let's look into this a little more closely. Take another look at the FAQ linked above; it's loaded with simple-minded and flawed logic.

It answers the question "Why run barefoot?" with a series of questions such as, "Why run with shoes?", "Were you born with shoes?", "Did you evolve to run with shoes?", etc. First of all, this is not an argument. But if we assume that it is, it's a terrible one. There are many things that I was not "born with" that benefit me very greatly. Or no, perhaps civilization has torn us away from everything that is natural and pure. We don't do what we are "meant to do" (what does that even mean?)

But I digress. We change our footwear choices to adapt to particular settings. Trainers, racers, spikes. Maybe there is a place where a barefoot option is optimal. But to claim that barefoot running is ALWAYS the BEST...!! This brings me back to my rant about barefoot proponents' absolutist dogma.

Oh, here's another great one:

Q: Isn’t it just Plain old Common Sense that we Need Shoes?

A: What passes as “common sense” is rarely sensible. Real sense is not common.

!@$#@!#@$$@ !!!!! Ok, breathe. Phew. Speechless.

I'll just leave it at this: The day a barefoot runner beats me in a race is the day I will consider even beginning to entertain this "philosophy."

Charlie McMullen Mile

2010-06-14T00:37:00.009-04:00

This was my second time running the McMullen Mile and it was an incredibly fun race. The male "elite" heat was scheduled to go off at 7:30pm on a cool, sunny, and calm Thursday evening at the Nazareth College track, so I had all day to prepare.

More precisely, I had all day to obsess over the race and turn myself into a nervous wreck. I had raced a number of 1500m and mile type distances at indoor track meets over the Winter, so I'm not sure why I was so anxious. Perhaps because, aside from a few 5K races, I hadn't done any workouts faster than tempo speed since April 14th. Even worse, I hadn't run repetition (mile-pace) speed workouts since the last time I raced a mile on March 7. On top of this, my last few races had not gone well and I felt like I was clinging to "race form" for too long without taking some down-time. And finally, this was the first time Karyn was watching me race so I didn't want to disappoint!

Pre-race activities were fairly standard fare. I arrived early with Karyn, chatted with Josh, glanced around to figure out who else was running, etc. Josh and I jogged for about 20 minutes on a trail behind the Nazareth campus. It was nice to race on their track, which felt very familiar because we run on it often for our workouts. Josh said something about how the warmup sometimes provides a hint as to how the race will go (i.e. if you feel light and bouncy versus heavy and flat), but other times it gives no signal whatsoever. The latter seemed true for me on this day, although I started to feel more confident once I slipped into my spikes and eased into some fast 100 meter strides.

Although we had provided seed times when we registered, they arranged us in a random order at the line. This was odd, but I didn't feel wronged because I got to start in the fifth position, which seemed about right. I got off the line slowly but maneuvered into the middle of the pack for the first 200 meters. Steve Strelick bounded to the front and set a relatively slow pace.

We had hoped to run a fast first lap despite any games the front-runners might play, so Josh made a move to the front and I stuck to his shoulder. We came through the quarter mile in 69 seconds, which was slower than planned but still acceptable.

I felt strong and maintained pace with the three or four guys ahead. At some point, Josh dropped back several meters. There was about a three meter gap between me and the small lead group for the second lap and most of the third lap. I came through lap two in 68 seconds.

Lap three was similar. I continued to feel strong and made (what I thought was) a solid effort to push the pace (I would later find out that my effort was only enough to sustain another 69 second quarter mile). Chad Byler made a great move on the home-stretch of lap three and he leapt past me by a few meters as we came into the final lap.

The last quarter mile was a struggle. I had still felt reasonably energetic with 500 meters to go, but 100 meters later I was suddenly barely hanging on. Byler's move past me was mildly demoralizing, and I couldn't match his pace as the small lead group ahead was pulling away. With 200 meters to go, I heard someone coming up from behind me. I didn't look back, but somehow, I knew it was Josh. He caught me as we rounded the last turn and rocketed past me. I tried to focus on pumping my arms faster with the hope that my legs would follow, but they simply had nothing left. This was all I could do to avoid losing my form completely through the finish.

I completed the last lap in 69 seconds and finished the mile (1609 meters) in 4:36.96, a 4 second PR, which was very satisfying. I left it all on the track and gutted out a big personal best in the mile without any specific training for it. Plus this success it will make the next two weeks of rest and recovery much easier to get through!

Josh put together a very well edited video of the race that has our quarter mile splits and results. Full results from all heats of the race are here, and a complete photo gallery is here.

JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge

2010-06-09T18:41:00.008-04:00

I'm going to keep this post fairly short. This was my first time competing in the Corporate Challenge (I was on the University of Rochester's team). It's a 3.5 mile race around the RIT campus. A respectable 5K pace for me these days is 5:20 per mile. Coming into the race I was feeling OK, but it turns out that racing 3 days after a half marathon is not a recipe for success. The best part about the day was that I got to run a race with Karyn for the first time! She was the captain of her firm's (OXBO International) team. I may or may not have cheated by stealing the following picture of her running a different race!

The first mile felt ridiculously fast despite the fact that I came through it in 5:16, a relatively slow pace considering how I've been running opening miles of 5Ks recently. Not a good start. My legs felt dead but my breathing was not very labored. I slowed down considerably during the middle part of the race and completed the 3.5 miles at an average pace of 5:30 per mile. Here's a picture of me getting smoked by a guy from Harris RF who probably should not have smoked me:

Next up is the McMullen Mile, a 1 mile race on the outdoor track at Nazareth College. It should be fun, but I haven't felt sharp for a race in awhile. After the mile, I'm going to take some days off and then a week of light and easy mileage. It will be nice to have a break, but at the same time I am getting antsy to start up some intense training again.

Run to Remember Half Marathon

2010-06-04T17:30:00.005-04:00

I have not been racing particularly well since the Flower City half marathon on April 25. I think I've been clinging for too long to fitness gains from the Winter and Spring. In all the 5Ks I've done over the past several weeks, I have only managed enough to "get by." I still haven't been able to find the spirit that I had in some of the early season races like Johnny's Running of the Green or the Spring Forward 15K. My decent race results have been a product of improving fitness alone. I might call this "brute force improvement," but in a sense, it's also a lack of brute force race effort.

That said, I hadn't been racing particularly poorly, either. The Run to Remember half marathon in Boston was different; not only was I unable to find it in myself to really "go after it," but even worse, I essentially gave up when things got tough. This is not the type of runner that I strive to be.

The weekend did not start off well. In the last mile of my 400 mile drive to Boston, I got into a minor car accident with another motorist. Without going into details here, the crash was my fault and it's going to cost me at least the $500 deductible and more over the next few years since my premiums will almost certainly increase. Massive pain in the ass. A picture of my poor Subaru is below.

After sorting things out with my car (it is still drive-able, and I have since returned with it to Rochester), I met up with Danny, a good friend of mine who also planned to race the half, at 3pm in the Mission Hill neighborhood where he lives. We picked up our race packets, jogged a few easy miles, and ate some spaghetti before passing out around 9pm.

Race morning. We woke up early (4:30am) to be sure that we had plenty of time to prepare without feeling stressed or being rushed. Certain bodily functions are of particular importance in the morning before a 13.1 mile race. I hate aspects of a race are beyond my control. More time between wake-up and race-start means more ability to successfully adjust to unpredictable events.

We had some time to mill around beforehand and check out the race expo. I was recruited to become a bone marrow donor (my good deed of the year). The ad hoc lavatory facilities were quite lacking, so we were forced to improvise. I'll omit details in order to stimulate interested readers' imaginations.

After a 10 minute easy warm-up, we went to the starting line. Everything was pretty standard for a large race. I was able to get a good spot on the line, and got off to an unencumbered start at 8am. The sun was already feeling pretty strong. I was worried about the temperature. I eased into a comfortable pace behind two other runners. We came through the first mile in 5:38 and the second in 5:39. Perfect. I felt OK, but a little uneasy. I wasn't sure why. A small degree of clairvoyance, maybe.

My pace slowed. I came through the next two miles in 5:52 and 5:53. This was acceptable but I wanted to keep my splits under 5:50 throughout. The two runners in front of me had not slowed as much and began to open up a gap. The sun felt strong on my face and I was thirsty. I had drank a few ounces of water at the first 2 water stops, but in retrospect, this was probably not enough. By mile 5, we had crossed the Charles River onto Memorial Drive heading west, which we would stay on for many miles, turning around near Harvard Square. I did not see the sign for mile 5 and I came through mile 6 in 12:06, meaning that I was continuing to slow. Not good. I felt as if I was working hard.

After the turn-around, I split two more 6:03 miles. They did not feel easy, and I could not compel myself to increase the pace. Now heading east, the slight tailwind negated the cooling breeze, and I felt like I was baking in the sun. It wasn't super hot, maybe 74 degrees, but I was not responding well to the conditions. A picture of me running along Memorial Drive with the Citgo sign in the distance is below (please forgive the shameless copyright infringement).

After the 7th mile, I lost focus. I clocked 6:30 for mile 8 and it did not feel easy. A few people passed me, which just made things worse. I tried to give it one last shot, coming through mile 9 in 5:57, but I was bonking hardcore. I started to entertain thoughts of DNFing. Ultimately this seemed too shameful, so I just tried to keep a respectable pace the rest of the way. My time was 1:20:29, over three minutes slower than the Flower City half. I placed 9th out of 4,950 finishers, which is a testament to the weakness of the race field! I guess that's what happens when your half marathon gives out zero dollars of cash prizes.

After the race, I was really happy to see that Danny met his goal. He had constructed a detailed training plan and executed it perfectly. His goal was to break 90 minutes for the half, and he finished in 89 low! After the race, we joined some of his friends for a perfect post race meal (see below), and I was happy to catch up with several other friends throughout the day.

I think my main mistake was to try to peak for two half marathons one month apart. Also, I'd like to learn how to run better in the heat. I need some downtime to recover from a long Spring of races and to reset the training cycle. But first, I have two fun races left: the Chase Corporate Challenge and the McMullen mile. Then it's break time for a couple of weeks!

Complete results for the Run to Remember are here.

Flotrack style video!

2010-05-20T23:09:00.008-04:00

Courtesy of Mike Kuklik who was playing with his new camera:

Wa Wa Wally Waddle 5K

2010-05-16T18:25:00.011-04:00

Most of these little 5Ks aren't worth a full blog post, but with a name like this, how can I not write one?

This race was a lot of fun. It was organized and directed by Josh as a fundraiser for Camp Wa Wa Segowea, which he attended and worked at for many years. I drove down to Poughkeepsie on Saturday afternoon and met some of the others involved in the fundraising effort at a spaghetti dinner held at a local church. Josh's in-laws were very kind to offer me a place to sleep on Saturday night.

After helping Josh in the evening with some last minute errands and race packet stuffing, I got to sleep around 12:30, which was fine since I could "sleep-in" until 8am (the race had a 10:30 start). Although I put in some serious mileage early in the week, I felt more rested than usual after some easy days on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Coming into the race, I did not have a lot of information on the competition; the running scene in Poughkeepsie is entirely unfamiliar to me. Josh pointed out a couple of runners who he recognized, and said they would typically run low 16s for a 5K, but there was a lot of uncertainty as to how things would play out. In the event of existent and equal competition, I planned to take the pace out fast and surge at the 1 mile mark to see if anyone might drop off a brisk early pace, and then I would hold on for dear life during the second half of the race. That's a major benefit of training for longer races; I have a lot of confidence in my ability to "hang on," or perhaps more precisely, to "not die." Now, on the other hand, if someone was to (very unexpectedly) take the race out at, say, a 4:50 first mile, I planned to back off and see what would happen from there. In a scenario with no competition, I planned to run hard and get a good interval-speed workout from the day.

The race ended up being a combination of Scenario #1 and Scenario #3. I blew through the first mile in 5:03, while hearing footsteps behind me the entire way. The mile had some short downhill parts and I wasn't hurting at all, so, true to plan, I surged at the mile mark, and the footsteps slowly faded away. The race had a turnaround point about halfway through, so I was able to get a good look at the situation behind me. It was pretty sparse, but one of the runners that Josh had pointed out was only 10 to 15 seconds back. Since I was informed that he's a guy who has recently run 16:15, I knew I had to keep the pace strong to maintain the gap. I came through the two-mile in 10:20, which was located right on a small, tortuous uphill, conveniently placed in the exact part of a race where the agony really begins to intensify.

I never looked back, but I knew I was slowing down. I didn't hear anyone coming up from behind, but there was some mild wind in my face, so I wasn't sure if there was no one there or if I just couldn't hear anything over the wind. The finish consisted of a 500 meter lap on a bumpy, grassy field, which was significantly slower terrain than the rest of the race (it was run on a dirt surface with some sparse, loose gravel). I missed a turn coming into the grassy loop, but the race volunteers pointed me the right way after several seconds. I lost about five to ten seconds due to this mishap, but more importantly, when I turned around, I noticed that there was no competition in sight. The new information destroyed my will to run the last quarter mile as hard as I could.

I won the race in 16:34, which, given the slow terrain and my directional problems, is probably superior to my 5K PR of 16:28 on an indoor track. I have a lot of confidence in my current fitness heading into the half marathon on May 30, and I'm optimistic that I could make a good run at running sub-16 on a track 5000m or a fast road course with good competition.

Overall, it was a fun race and a fun weekend in Poughkeepsie. Complete race results are here, and a photo album is here. More pictures and stuff should be coming soon on the Waddle's website.

Why do I run? (Vol. I)

2010-05-11T21:41:00.003-04:00

I get this question a lot. Most people don't understand, and I don't think I've ever had a good answer to the question. I'm not even sure that I understand it. But despite these challenges, let me ramble for a few paragraphs in a (possibly vain) attempt. I've labeled this post "Vol. 1" because there are a number of ways that I might approach the question. Here is my first go.

For me, running is both a personal experience and a social one. I'll start with the personal side. I strive to live a healthy lifestyle. Not only with respect to things like nutrition, fitness, and mental health. I believe that there is a connection between health and well-roundedness; they feed off of each other. If I were to lose myself completely in my studies, my health would suffer. If I were to lose myself in running (or anything really: self-destructive behaviors like drinking or drugs, or perhaps simple goofing off) then my health would suffer, directly or indirectly, due to a lack of balance in my life. Although I have to sometimes remind myself not to let my running schedule control my life, I strongly believe that it is one of the most positive influences in my life. The fitness benefits speak for themselves. The simple feeling of being "fit" grants a form of confidence that cannot be replaced by anything. Setting and accomplishing goals is extremely satisfying. Running is a competitive outlet for me. I am not a naturally competitive person, but in a race, I enjoy the rush of adrenaline and the intensity of effort accompanied by a form of pain that makes me feel alive in a way that nothing else can. Running is often very solitary: I probably run 60% of my miles by myself. But this hour or so per day is usually very relaxing, and I almost always feel great afterwards.

Personal virtues aside, I don't know if I would do it (certainly not as much) without the social aspect. I have found that I have a lot in common with other runners. Obviously, running is a big thing that we co-enjoy and we can always talk about it forever. But we are very often like-minded individuals. I've made some strong friendships with other runners, and I find that our commonalities transcend the running scene: sense of humor, analytic approach to life, other general interests. I look forward to spending a weekend morning at a race or going for a 16 miler with friends. I didn't know anyone at last weekend's race, and it wasn't nearly as much fun as usual.

Usually I just tell people "I run because I like it." But this is a cop-out that doesn't do it justice. Hopefully this post explains "why I run," at least to some extent. And I should add that the question of whether or not I should run is, to me, a complete no-brainer. In comparing the benefits to the costs, it's not even close. It has to be. How else could I do something (by choice) every day that I didn't absurdly enjoy?

The Double

2010-05-04T21:25:00.002-04:00

This week I am going to run two doubles, which, to the uninformed reader, means that I'm running twice in one day on two different days this week (today and Thursday).

This morning I met Josh outside my house at 6am for an easy 8 miler. It was a cool damp morning, and it was good to have the company, despite the early hour. We eased into a smooth pace as residual sleepiness faded away. I ran again at 3pm, which a nice time of day to take a break from my work, and I felt strong during the additional 6 miles.

I'm not naturally a morning person, but I like keeping this type of schedule. I find it satisfying to be awake in the morning, and I tend to be more productive than usual. There are fewer distractions and the whole day is ahead. It is a good feeling.

So why am I running twice a day? First of all, I don't expect to make a habit of it. I'm trying to tack on some extra mileage as I prepare for the half marathon in Boston on May 30. I have learned that I am the type of runner who responds particularly well to high mileage weeks. That might seem like a tautology, but I think you know what I mean...

Flower City Half Marathon

2010-04-27T16:37:00.018-04:00

The weather forecast was looking more and more foreboding leading up to the race. The predicted "chance of showers" for Sunday morning slowly increased each day and peaked at 70% before I went to sleep on Saturday night. Weather issues aside, I felt rested and ready to tackle a long race.

I am often uncertain about how to best approach early morning pre-race preparations. On this occasion, I opted for the strategy of "just go with the typical routine for a morning training run." I woke up 3 hours before the start of the race (4:30am), drank 2 cups of coffee, a small amount of OJ, ate some cheerios, yogurt, and a few walnuts. I hate being rushed before a race, and I prefer to have some room for error in case anything unexpected occurs.

I arrived at the War Memorial in downtown Rochester just after 6am, which gave me an hour to relax, listen to some music, and wander around. Miraculously, the weather was shaping up to be perfect. Cloudy, cool (50 deg F), maybe a very light sprinkle, and no significant wind. I began my warm-up about 25 minutes before the start: 10 minutes of easy running. This is a nice aspect of longer races: the warm-up is very relaxed.

With about 5 minutes to go, I proceeded to the starting line. There was an impressive turnout of runners. I would later learn that nearly 1,300 people completed the half marathon, which is stellar for a race in its first year. I saw several familiar faces: Neal, Ryan, Mark Andrews. I chatted a bit with Neal, who was hoping to go out relatively slowly (which, for him, means about 5:20 per mile) and ease into some faster miles. Sometimes I use the lead group of elites as a gauge for my own pace, or at least an additional way to estimate it. After some words from Mayor Duffy, Ellen (of Fleet Feet) started the race by shouting "Ready, set, GO!" I suppose this is about as effective as the more classical gunshot.

The first mile was lightly downhill. The small lead pack was really hammering the pace (I would later find out their first mile checked in at 5:05), along with Jim Derick and another guy chasing them. Derick's duo was running a bit faster than what felt right for me, so I settled into a slightly slower pace. Rob Castor from Nazareth College came up on my left, and we briefly discussed our goals and best guesses about the current pace. He was looking to run about 6:00 per mile, and we agreed that we were running quite a bit faster than that at the moment. We hit the first mile in 5:36, faster than my goal of 5:45, but perfectly acceptable for a downhill start.

I ran with Castor through the 2nd mile, which we split in 5:45. He decided to drop off the pace and we exchanged "good lucks" as I slowly pulled ahead. At this point, the leaders were pretty far ahead (nearly a minute), and Derick's group was about midway between us. I figured that the chance of someone coming up from behind was slim, so I began to resolve myself to the fact that I might be racing 11 more miles entirely on my own.

The next few miles drifted around the low 5:50s. They were flat and on familiar roads. East Ave, Brunswick St, Park Ave, Goodman St. It was nice to see Louis Isganitis cheering for me by his house on Brunswick. I clocked the miles in 5:57, 5:44, 5:50, and 5:53. I was slightly annoyed at myself for not managing to run a few seconds faster per mile. I felt comfortable, nothing was preventing me from staying perfectly on track. Maybe it was due to simple lapses in concentration. Perhaps it was the looming reality of many miles still ahead. Or the fact that I had no other competitors within a minute of me in either direction. The reality was that as these excuses paraded through my mind, I was losing a few seconds every mile.

Next up were the hills of Highland Park and Mt. Hope cemetery. I came through mile 7 in 6:14. Slow, but not unexpected. It was the most severe uphill mile of the course, and I figured I could save some energy by not ramping up my effort level, and I would be able to make up for lost time on the subsequent downhill sections. But I made my largest mistake of the race in the next mile. I neglected to push the pace on the sharp downhills and persistent twists and turns. I'm not sure what I was thinking. There were a few short uphills that eroded my momentum, but as before, I think it amounted to a basic lack of focus. It is as if I was waiting for a long gradual downhill to really push it, but such a stretch never came. My time for mile 8 was 6:05. Not good.

At this point I began to realize that my goal of finishing under 76 minutes had slipped away but I knew I could still set a large PR. On a smoother downhill mile heading out of the cemetery, I split a 5:44 mile, which was a nice confidence boost. I was sorry to see Ryan Pauling pulled over on the side as I exited Mt. Hope. It looked like he was having some calf issues.

Fatigue and discomfort continually built up over the last 4 miles. The race dissolved into a struggle to compel myself to not settle for "just a moderate PR." The miles passed by. 5:58, and then 5:57. Finishing in under 77 minutes was slipping away. Again, I probably can attribute it to simple complacency fueled by ever-growing discomfort. But on the other hand, it's so easy to retrospectively second guess a race performance. It's one thing to claim I could have "run faster" while I'm sitting comfortably at my desk. But it's quite different, in the moment, to compel myself to run the 11th mile in 5:40 while a host of excuses dance through my head: I can still succeed without bothering to "go after it," without striving to push the pace just a little bit harder, step by step. In any case, I split the last two miles in 6:04 and 5:56 to finish in 1:17:26, which is a PR by nearly a minute and a half. I finished in 9th place overall.

The pragmatist in me is content with this performance. A large PR on a challenging course while running entirely on my own is a solid accomplishment. It shows that my training has been effective and that my fitness is still improving. The perfectionist in me is certain that I can do better. The still-lingering soreness in my quads tells me that I put in enough effort to succeed. But that's not enough. Implacable focus and the unrelenting pursuit of a goal. These qualities were both absent.

My next important race is another half marathon in Boston on May 30. The course looks very fast and I am optimistic that I'll be able to slash another chunk off this mark. These longer races are large undertakings for me, and I think this experience will be very helpful for the next one. In the meantime, I've got some tough weeks of training ahead, perhaps mixed with a few local 5Ks to keep things interesting.

Complete race results are here. A decent article from the D&C is here, and there also is a small picture gallery.

Parkinsons Canal 5K

2010-04-21T15:31:00.005-04:00

My performance at this race is hardly worth a blog post. Granted, it was the third fastest 5K I've ever run (16:48), and it was on a relatively slow course on a chilly day, but still...

I didn't even come close to the ferocious race effort that I've had in recent races. My reaction to crossing the finish line amounted to "Oh, I'm done now." I wasn't tired. I could have run another 5K at that pace. What was I thinking? I didn't intend to cash it in. Nothing was preventing me from running faster. No injuries. No residual fatigue from past weeks of hard training. I even knew that my splits every 1000m were quite slow. Why not simply just *run faster*?

As a final insult, I finished in 4th place. The top 3 won some cash. Figures.

On the bright side, I have a ton of confidence in my current level of fitness. I'm looking forward to the Half Marathon on Sunday, and I am ready to demolish my PR of 78 minutes from last September.

For what it's worth, here's a crappy picture of me finishing the 5K. Complete race results are here.

Goals: Short term and long term

2010-04-16T11:35:00.003-04:00

I've been meaning to write a quick post stating some of the racing goals that I have in mind.

I have two big races this spring: the Flower City Half Marathon on April 25 in Rochester and the Run to Remember (another HM) in Boston on May 30. The race course in Boston is flatter and faster, so my goal for May 30 will be conditional on my performance in Rochester. For the Flower City race, I'm planning to go out at 5:45 per mile, which means a target time of 75 minutes and change.

Aside from the Halfs, I've got a 5K this Sunday in Brighton and a 5K for which Josh is race director in Poughkeepsie on May 15. I'm not really sure what to expect in these races. I feel like I'm getting fitter every week, but I won't be resting for them at all. The goal is most definitely to win Josh's race :-)

As for long term goals, I'm thinking about doing the Wineglass Marathon on October 3. This depends on a few things, including how summer training goes. If I go forward with this idea, I would aim to finish in somewhere around 2hr40min.

I also want to break 16 minutes for a 5K. Lately, I have been getting more comfortable running the necessary pace (under 5:10 per mile) during interval workouts, so I feel like I might be able to do it sometime this year. I think a 15:xx on the road would be a bigger accomplishment than on a track. Realistically, I probably won't be able to take a good shot at this until the Summer at the earliest, given my racing schedule.

Being Unprodcutive

2010-04-08T21:06:00.004-04:00

OK, so maybe this picture is not recent, but regardless, I have gotten nothing done today. This happens infrequently these days, but it's still somewhat frustrating when it does occur.

Here's a rundown of my day: Woke up around 9am, ate, drank coffee, putzed around until 10am. I answered a bunch of teaching-related emails and spent some time half thinking, half staring blankly at my paper. I got to school with Vik at noon, attended Jose's talk at 12:30, and then chatted with him about his work, which we followed with some standard fare bullshitting. I went to the gym at 2pm, did some quick upper body work, and departed for my 10 mile easy run around 2:45. After some stretching and a shower, I left the gym at 4:15. I then sat around the economics department for about an hour talking to some classmates and a group of prospective graduate students. At 6pm, Vik and I left campus and stopped by his house so he could let his dogs out, and we quickly departed for a happy hour in Henrietta with the visiting students. It's now 9:20pm and I'm blogging about having an unproductive day (another procrastination device).

What does this have to do with running? I'll tell you. Today was one of those fairly uncommon days in which running significantly impeded my productivity. Those hours in the middle of the afternoon were the best time of the day for me get a significant amount of work done. Don't misunderstand--I am not complaining at all, just stating a fact.

Fortunately, I only have a couple of days like this per month, so work has been going well lately. And if I'm lucky, I can turn this day around with a few hours of concentrated effort right now.

Food

2010-04-06T09:38:00.002-04:00

Just got back from Wegmans:

1 lb Atlantic salmon = $9.53
1 gal organic milk = $5.99
3 lbs (non-organic) cottage cheese = $5.98
4 lbs organic yogurt = $7.38

Eating healthy = not priceless.

These items, among many others (all quality foods, some more affordable than others), will get me through the next 5 or 6 days. There were a few things I decided against purchasing in order to keep expenses down: organic eggs, a few more fruits and vegetables, etc. This happens every week. I spend about $50 per 5 days on food, rarely eat out, and hardly ever buy junk food. $300 per month is nearly as much as my monthly rent. With all these teaching positions, I've been trying to save enough money (in addition to genuinely enjoying teaching) so I can solely focus on job acquisition and dissertation progress next year, but I'm starting to worry that I might not make it through the year, financially speaking. At this point, there are very few luxuries (if any) that I can discard without sacrificing the most healthy influences in my life (running and nutrition). Sure, I could run less and stay about as healthy (just less race-fit), but the marginal cost of 20 to 30 extra miles per week is negligible. Ugh, Spring/Summer 2011 cannot come soon enough. Anyway, I didn't intend to make this blog a complaint-fest, so enough of this.

That said, I'm becoming a major proponent of corrective taxation on our food industry :-)

Spring Forward 15K

2010-04-01T21:51:00.000-04:00

Fleet Feet's Spring Forward 15K was last Sunday at 8:30am in Mendon Ponds park. I had never run a 15K before, so it would be an easy PR if nothing else! I've been running 5:40 per mile on the track for recent tempo runs, so I figured I'd set out at that pace and see how things go.

It was pretty chilly (40F) and cloudy, but fortunately there was no rain or significant wind. I was faced with the standard pre-race dilemma regarding how little clothing to wear despite the cold and decided that since there was no wind, I'd be OK with shorts, singlet, gloves, and headband. Retrospectively, this was the right call.

The mood was pretty lighthearted at the start, which is usually just a blur, but I recall exchanging some jokes with Ryan Pauling and Eric Boyce and chatting with Josh Harter about winter training. After the gun, I eased into what felt a comfortable tempo pace, and I tried not to be irritated by "starting line sprinters" who I would have to pass within the first minutes of the race.

I came through the first mile mark in 5:40. I felt fine and tried to focus on good running form and energy conservation, and of course passing several runners who had gone out too fast. I could see the lead pack of Neal, Ryan, Mark Andrews, Marcus Gage, and a couple others about 25 seconds ahead. There were 2 runners in between their pack and me.

The next two miles passed by, and my pace yo-yo-ed a bit (5:47 to 5:38), likely due to the relentless hills on the course (nothing steep, but very little flat terrain). I came through the first 5K in 17:46. As expected, the lead pack was continuously gaining on me, but (also as expected) Gage had fallen off their pace. I set a mid-race goal to catch him and the two other non-leaders in front of me.

I was able to keep the pace pretty steady throughout the middle part of the race, splitting the 10K in 35:28 (which is, coincidentally, a 10K PR because my previous 10K time was pathetic). I caught the first of the runners around mile 4 and Gage around mile 7. The hills were tough, and I pushed the downhills hard to maintain my pace, but I felt strong throughout. The pace felt smooth and sustainable.

Mile 8 had the largest uphill (I think), which I split in 5:52. This was the hardest part of the race, as fatigue really began to set in. At the top of the hill, I caught Travis (see picture), who had been leading me the entire race by about 30 to 40 meters. I think we exchanged some words, something to the effect of "nice job," or "you too," but at that point comprehension becomes impossible and fairly pointless anyway.

I felt reinvigorated during mile 9, splitting it in 5:39, day-dreaming about running this pace in my upcoming half marathon. By now the lead pack had finished the race, but despite the lack of competition in front of me, I tried to come through the finish strong with something resembling a kick. I finished in 7th place in 53:19, which breaks down to 5:44 per mile. I was very happy with how my body responded to a long race, and I'm optimistic that in a month, I'll be able to run the half-marathon at this speed.

Spring Forward 15K results can be found here.

Typical Introduction!

2010-04-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

Since this is my second foray into the blogosphere (the first was a mild disaster), I'll try to keep this introduction brief. As the title implies, the focus of this blog will be my pursuits in competitive distance running. I hope to provide weekly training summaries, race write-ups, and other interesting anecdotes, thoughts, or musings. It's usually good to start something with some goals in mind:

1) By documenting my running and running-related activities, I'd like to enhance my own motivation and possibly even generate some interest from readers (if you exist!) in the wonderful sport of distance running.

2) I hope to depict what it's like to balance full-time career related activities with a consistent and intensive everyday training schedule. This is something I am always striving to improve on!

It may be somewhat presumptuous of me to state these goals because I am quite new to the sport. I have always been an active person, competing in XC and track in high school, playing pickup sports, or working out at the gym. But, before October 2008, I had never trained or competed seriously or consistently. In the Spring of 2008, I decided (on a whim, more or less) to "race" the Rochester Marathon. My training consisted of a few months of easy mileage, and I felt prepared to sustain an 8:00 pace for the marathon. Unfortunately, on race day, temperatures of 85F and 90% humidity forced my time to something embarassingly slow (3hr48min). Regardless, I was hooked. I wanted to get fitter and faster and see how far I could take this. In the 18 months since the marathon, I've learned much about training, racing, and nutrition. Most of my education has come from friends and contacts who I've been lucky to meet and train with in the Rochester running community. As I've learned and improved, my enjoyment of the sport has progressively increased, and I will strive to push my limits for as long as I can.

As a snapshot of my current fitness, here's a brief list of PRs, most of which are very recent:

1 mile (indoor) - 4:40.3 (March 2010)
5K (indoor) - 16:28.3 (Feb 2010)
5 mile (road) - 27:14 (March 2010)
15K (road) - 53:18 (March 2010)
Half marathon - 1:18:55 (Sept 2009)

I'll write another post soon about my short and long term goals, but I'm coming off a great winter of training and have some high hopes for the next few months.

As for my professional life, I'm a 5th year Ph.D. student in economics at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. I split my time between dissertation research and teaching at U of R, the Simon School of Business, and St. John Fisher College. In the Fall, I will begin a job search as an economist, where I hope to land in academia as an assistant professor. I plan to finish my degree during the summer of 2011, which will likely mark the end of my stay in western NY, where I have been since 2001 as a freshman at Cornell University.