Switching Gears

Howdy, y'all!

Things have been a bit busy on the personal front, but running has been coming along alright also. A couple of misses here and there, but overall I have been keeping 6-6-10 schedule and also managed to raise it to 6-6-13.  As of last week another milestone is behind. The number of workouts logged by MapMyRun crossed 200 since I started using the app. Miles run stands at 1527.77 (2444 km) which was run in 248 hours 40 minutes. That is more than half way across the United States (New York to Los Angeles), or Thiruvananthapuram to Kolkata, in about 10 days and 8 hours :-)  Calories burned is 197,242.

Marathon countdown has started. Another 48 runs and if all goes well I should be at the start line. I am switching gears to a structured training plan. The specific plan I am planning to follow is called FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training) and is detailed in the book Run Less, Run Faster by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, Ray Moss and Amby Burfoot. It requires three runs a week and  cross training 2-3 remaining days.  There is a multitude of training plans for the marathons. The reason I chose this one is that it involves only three runs a week. Three weekly runs goes well with my current run schedule, and I am really not excited about running on the heavily crowned roads in our neighborhood any more than I have to.  Most other programs would have me run four, five and six days a week accumulating a lot of mileage.  That doesn't mean this training plan is easy. I had a taste of it today in my first training run.  My long runs have been at 13 miles, but this plan cut it to 10 miles (yay!) but needed me to run at 9:30 per mile :( That pace is a bit ambitious for me. In the hot and humid temperature today I wasn't sure I can do it, but gave it a try anyway. I did manage 9:28 but had to work really hard for it.  Anyway, it is just one data point. The remaining two runs is a interval run and a tempo run, both at specified challenging paces. If I don't hit the target paces then the plan may have to be tuned - or I may have to work harder. The point is that the plan is not an easy plan because it involves fewer runs and miles.  Each run has a specific purpose or goal and working at a specific intensity is required to accomplish that. The interval run is focused on improving VO2Max, the tempo run for improving lactate threshold, and the long run to improve endurance at the targeted marathon pace.  Similarly, cross training also comes with specified intensities.

Don't take it easy. Keep at it.

If I can run, u can run

Two great days after a bad day

I had a great run today and Wednesday.  In contrast, this Sunday was one of my worst runs ever.  Right from the beginning my lower legs were feeling aches all over and completely drained of all energy. They simply came to a halt about half way through the planned 12 miles. I decided not to push too hard, and walked back home. The legs had no complaints at all on the walk back and back home… they were happy like a cranky little child who got the candy he was crying for. As if to compensate for that lousy day the runs were excellent Wednesday and today.  Although they were shorter at the usual 10k on weekdays, I haven’t felt this good after a run in a long time.  The pace was very good, heart pumping at a good rate and the body working at very good speed. Wednesday was slightly faster through most of the course and the beat and rhythm kept playing in the back of my mind for the rest of the day!  Today was a more even pace with an almost exact time but was feeling different – I don’t have the beat playing in the background, but the body is feeling just great. Perhaps you hit that goldilocks zone once in a while; or perhaps some of the exercises and the extra stretches that I’ve added recently working their magic – I sure hope so.   

A highlight of some of my runs are animal sightings. Seeing an animal on a run just cheers you up even if it is just standing at a distance and watching. The fact that an animal is standing and watching, even casually, means it is connecting with you at some level or in some sense. Occasionally, I have seen a deer calf or a bunny rabbit jumping and running when they see me running. Mostly they run away, but there have been times when a calf or a bunny have run with me, actually a little ahead of me at a slight distance, in seemingly playful fashion for a little while.  However, today’s encounter was a bit different.   After my two mile mark coming downhill on a slight bend a large bear just popped out from the woods the other side of the road about 15-20 feet ahead of me, he looked in my direction, probably already looked in the opposite direction, found there is no traffic and trotted across the road. He was around twice to two and half times my size across and definitely much longer or taller.  His stature should look pretty imposing if standing erect.  He/she showed excellent judgment of my speed while crossing the road and looked convinced that a collision was not possible – as I mentioned before, I was running at a good clip today.  I didn’t slow down either seeing that he wasn’t planning on stopping.  I thought his face conveyed a sort of awareness of his surroundings including me. He looked beautiful – very chubby and healthy – and didn’t look threatening, nor threatened.  The driver of a utility van that came by gave a surprised look at me and in the direction of the bear which must’ve been quickly vanishing in the tall grass.   

Have fun folks.

If I can run, u can run

Pitch for fundraising

Check out my fundraiser page.

A Tale of Two Half-Marathons: Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon, New York City

Brooklyn Half is a big one. It is featured in many bucket lists.  The largest half-marathon in the US and extremely popular, the race this year was sold out in just 52 minutes after registration opened! More than 27000 runners pounded their way along the course from Brooklyn Museum on a round of Prospect Park and then straight down all the way to Coney Island finishing on the boardwalk.

Now that I've check it off, I don't think I will be doing it again as the race logistics turned out to be most inconvenient for me.  Packet pickup was not available on race day. It had to be picked up on a week day in Brooklyn.  Since it was very inconvenient for me to make a trip to the city on a week day I had decided to skip the race. However, a friend working in Manhattan took the trouble to spend a few hours after work and picked up the race material for me. That's not all. Next challenge was to get to the starting point in Brooklyn before six in the morning. Race organizers New York Road Runners had recommended public transport and strongly cautioned runners about the scarcity of parking spots. However, there was no public transport available, either train or bus, that would take me from Morris Plains/Parsippany to Brooklyn by 6 AM. So my only option was to drive.  It also meant I needed to wake up at 3 AM which in turn meant very short sleep the previous night.  I don't want to rant more about this, but just want to say that the entire episode in the morning before the race and later the trip back from the finish point after the race was very painful and is not something I would want to do again.

The race itself wasn't bad, except for the mess I got myself into during the race - but I finished and did that within my normal finish time.  The organizers had done an excellent job. The security check was very much more strict this time. It was almost like going through an airport security checkpoint with security personnel scanning everyone and no bags allowed to the start corrals. That meant I had to throw out some bananas as I could only eat so many. There was still one hour left (7 AM start for my wave - wave 1). So I took the water bottle with me and decided to take an energy gel instead of the banana about 15 minutes before start.

Next one hour was just a long wait.  I saw the 1:50 pacer and took position keeping some distance behind him as that time would be too fast for me.  The course was advertised as a fast course, but I knew I wouldn't be that fast.  After my turn in the bathroom there was still about 45 minutes before the start. So I decided to give some rest to my legs and sat on the curb like some other folks around. Pretty soon I found that the curb seating was getting filled and the rest of the folks were leaning against trees or simply squatting on the road which formed the start corral.

The race started dot on time. Weather was very nice - I think it was low 60's F and overcast with only an occasional mild breeze.  The first couple miles had many twists and turns through the streets of Brooklyn. What struck me was the pace with which the crowd was moving on the mostly downhill first couple of miles.  I felt great and I was running faster than my normal pace also.  Unfortunately, in the morning hurry I had forgotten to take my Garmin watch so I had to depend on the clocks along the mile markers. I covered the first 5K in about 26 minutes which is way faster than my normal time, but then I thought this may be the reason why this course is billed as a fast course.  There was a little voice in my head that kept telling me to be cautious and conservative. And I do recall looking for the elevation profile of the course and I could swear that the course map didn't have it which was very unlike other NYRR course maps.  Once we entered Prospect Park there were a few uphills but I kept at it. I later found that I crossed the 10K marker in about 54 minutes which is a very good 10K race time for me. The problem was this was not a 10K race but the first 10K split for a half-marathon. I asked a fellow runner who appeared to be familiar with the area how much more of these ups and downs we need to deal with and he more or less dismissively said that it was mostly downhill all the way to Coney Island. Eventually the hilly part of the course ended and we were on a straight road.  I must grant that the course was nice and there was lot of crowd support as well.  There were bands playing on the side and a lot of people holding banners and placards with funny and motivating messages.  

Once on the straight road I noticed a senior woman runner looking somewhat weak and chanting something continuously.. She was moving at a steady pace and as I was passing her heard the
words "One more time... Just one more time..." I was humbled by her determination. This race must mean a lot to her.  She may have been running the Brooklyn Half for a long time and she probably has a lot of history with this race. Her face and her running reminded me of NYRR's legendary co-founder and NYC Marathon race director Fred Lebow's last marathon when he was suffering from cancer. Fred's life and passion and the story of New York City Marathon is nicely captured in the documentary Run for Your Life.

The crowd on both sides were cheering us and I kept at the same effort level. Now taking a swig at my bottles almost every mile. I was also making sure to refuel every 30 minutes or so.  After about 10 miles I felt the fast pace in the initial stages were catching up with me. I was breathing harder and things seemed to take effort, but that is okay, I was used to somewhat hard effort albeit not recently, but before my December injury.  By then we had entered Coney Island. A uniformed police officer controlling the crowd shouted "Welcome to Coney Island".  There were a bunch of people waving the "big hand" at us.. I swiftly moved towards them and hit each one of those hands and the crowd loved it. A bearded young man cheered me "You are looking great.. you are looking great."  which was an indication that I was looking the way I was feeling.. T-I-R-E-D.  I could feel my legs were feeling tired, especially my quads and sides of the upper thighs were feeling heavier perhaps due to the long downhill and also due to the fast pace I was at for the first half.  Anyway, I labored my way through.  By now instead of taking my own drink I had started grabbing the Gatorade endurance from the fluid stations. It certainly seemed to give a boost of energy than my regular Gatorade.. So I kept grabbing a cup or two from the fluid stations on the go without stopping.

The course was downhill all along Coney Island, but unfortunately, it was also turning downhill for how I was feeling.  Around mile 12 or 13 I started feeling cramps on my right upper calf.  I tried to run giving it some stretch while running but that didn't work. So I had to stop on the side and stretch for a little while. Once it felt better I started running making sure I am not running too hard, but after a little while the one that was troubling me and the other calf both started getting cramps. I again pulled over and spent some time stretching both my calves against the curb.  Once it felt better I ran the rest of the distance slowly. After crossing the finish line I checked into the huge medical tent - a first time for me. To my surprise there were a lot of runners getting attended to.  The tent was very well staffed. I was greeted by a volunteer right at the entrance and I explained to her that I felt cramps on both my calves in the last mile or two and if there was something they could do about it - I was fine to walk though. She immediately connected me with a young doctor Roger who checked things out and wrapped ice packs around my calves. He said I could walk around with the ice packs if I felt comfortable.  It felt perfectly fine.

I am not entirely sure if I can isolate a single factor for this - whether it is the lack of sleep the previous night, or the somewhat warmer temperature in the second half of the race - at least warmer than I had been used to thus far this year, the long downhill second half of the course, or it was my foolish running in the early part of the race.  Perhaps all of them had some role to play, but I think the biggest is probably my harder running in the first half and the fact that I was blind sided by the uphills and downhills in the first 6 or 7 miles.  Anyway, lesson learned. It is a lesson for other races however, as I don't think I am going to sign up for the Brooklyn Half for the reasons I explained earlier.  I am not entirely disappointed with my time of 1:57:06  or 8:56 per mile.  This is not my fastest time, but not my worst either.






Well, everything is well that ends well, right?

Don't give up. Keep at it.

If I can run, u can run

A Tale of Two Half-Marathons: Superhero Half Morristown

I did Superhero Half Marathon in Morristown on the 15th and Airbnb Brooklyn Half in Brooklyn, New York City on the 21st, but today I'll talk about the Superhero Half in Morristown.

The day was really nice. Temperature was in about 50 F or so when the race started and the sky was and bright and sunny. Mild cool breeze really felt very nice.  The crowd really felt much larger than the 1250 or so.  This time again women vastly outnumbered men who were just above 500.  Parking wasn't that easy for most people, but luckily for me, despite arriving after most of the crowd had assembled I got a spot practically right next to the start line.  My buddy Pratap had already arrived.  The first thing I noticed was the very long line for the porta-johns.  Obviously, the bathroom facilities at the start line was woefully inadequate. I decided to skip the lines and look for a pit stop somewhere along the course. Of course, that would mean I will add extra time into my finish time, but that was okay. Since I hadn't run this distance in several months I wanted to use the run just to extend my long run to this level. So I was taking it relaxed and easy.  There were no marked corrals but there were pacers. Pratap and I waded through the runners toward the back. When we found the 9 min/mile pacer we both nodded this is our position.

The crowd was very friendly. Lots of chatter and laughs.  The start siren went off a couple of minutes after the scheduled start time of 8:30, but that may be because there is always a few pro runners who receive an earlier start from the crowd.  We got off soon enough.  One thing you will definitely notice is the numerous twists and turns you make when running through Morristown.  This should surely increase the actual distance the runners cover.  Pratap had taken off and was not in sight. I saw him at some point a few hundred feet ahead but he soon went out of sight as we ran from one street corner to another.    There were several ups and downs in the first four miles or so. I was amazed at the ease with which many runners were chatting with their friends and partners while running uphill at good speeds. I wish I could find that kind of breathing rhythm. However, I was doing pretty well also, in fact a bit too well for comfort. I saw that I had passed the first mile in 9:01, the second mile 8:33, the third mile again well under 9:00 and the fourth mile in 8:26.  What the @#$% This made me really worried. I really wanted to run more conservatively especially so early on. So I deliberately tried to slow down and control my pace. 

There were lots of spectators all around the city streets and residential areas. Small kids dressed up in spiderman and batman costumes. Many runners also wore costumes.. So the whole scene was very colorful.  After about 4 or 5 miles we were on a long downhill.  A young woman on my left, she seemed to be running at a good clip with very controlled breathing. I may have been inching ahead of her on the downhill and she asked "Is there an uphill at the end of this?" "I want to psyche myself up before that."  I recalled while running in Central Park I always found it safe to assume there is another uphill hiding around the next corner and save some energy for that.  But I didn't think there was any more uphills here. "I am not familiar with this area, but I don't recall any uphills after the first 3 or 4 miles.. so we should be clear."  I told her.  She still seemed to think there is one more.  After this brief conversation a few more minutes and the long downhill ended, the course took a right turn and looking back I think we were then entering the beautiful Loantaka Park. The uphill never came and I'm sure she must've found it relieving.  Somewhere before that point I had also found a couple porta johns with no lines and had taken advantage of it. Although it took about two minutes the stop was well worth it. You run much more relaxed and easy when your bladder is empty.

Lighter moments with  volunteers on the side

Loantaka park was lush green and the tree shades made the park really cool. I think we ran about six miles in the park.  At some point I caught up with this girl who was walking really strong, with long strides, and then after a while she got ahead of me running fairly fast. She did look strong and athletic. She wasn't tired and didn't look like she needed the walk breaks. It was obvious that she was following a plan. She would run a certain distance and then start walking with long strides. She was clearly following a run/walk program, perhaps the famous Hal Higdon's program or something similar, I thought.  May be she is recovering from an injury.. well good luck to her, whatever she is up to.  As we ran winding through the park I was feeling my sunglasses, now on my hat as I didn't need them in the shaded park, in fact they were making the course a bit too dark, were a little unsecured. So I decided to take them off my hat and tuck them on the neck of my t-shirt in the front. That turned out to be a bad idea. Next two steps and the glasses bounced and fell to the ground. I looked back, slowed down for a fraction of a second,  and then thought I need to stop and go back to pick them up.. I would certainly inconvenience other runners who are behind me and they may even bump into me. Ah, well, these glasses are many years old - perhaps 10 years or more now. They are getting a little battle scarred, if not maimed.. they had already lost one of the nose pads and the rubber lining around the glasses while still holding but is  showing gaps. Moreover, Geeta had been asking me to replace these probably for a couple of years now.. I've had a long relationship with them. They have been my trusted companion in many adventures - camping trips, hikes, paddling trips, a Chesapeak Bay kayaking trip, a circumnavigation paddling trip around Manhattan, all my long runs and races, and not to mention my everyday driving glasses as well. Well, if my trusted outdoor glasses from LL Bean have to go out what better way than in the middle of a half-marathon? With these thoughts I was mentally bidding farewell to them when I got a tap on my shoulder from behind. A young fellow in red t-shirt and black shorts with a big smile and my beloved glasses in his outstretched hand!  I thanked the young runner for reuniting me with my long time companion. It would seem we are destined to spend many more years together.

We got out the park a mile or so after that, crossed a railroad track with some local crowd to cheer. We were on our 12th mile or so. Just around the corner there was a family with a father and two young kids cheering "Go Alison, Go!"  They had a nice signage also. The mom was somewhere around us and gave a shout out back to her family.  By this time I was working harder than before. I didn't think I was necessarily moving fast, but decided not to check my Garmin watch. It must be just the miles.  In about half a mile or so  I saw Pratap again and we ran the rest of the distance together.   

There was a huge crowd cheering the runners at the finish line.  I took about 1:58:18 which is not great time for me, but not the worst time either.  I was happy that I hadn't lost too much in terms of endurance since December which is when I cut down my mileage.  Feels good to be back!

If I can run, u can run

Running season is finally here

Running season is finally here... so are the rains.  It's been a while since I  wrote.  Things have been a bit busy.  However, I have been running off and on through February, March and April. I missed a 10K  (Scotland Run at NYC) last month due to travel.   There were a few weeks' break in regular runs as well, but running is getting back to normal and is slowly ramping up.  Next two weekends have two Half Marathons coming up - Super Hero Half Marathon in Morristown, and Airbnb NYC Brooklyn Half Marathon.  I haven't run 13.1 distance since the injury early December (for more details see entry here).  So rather than race these races I plan to use them to raise my long run distance to 13.1 miles.  Moreover, the half is not my goal. It is a stepping stone to the full Marathon in November.

NYC Brooklyn Half Marathon seems to be highly popular.  Last year's race registration was filled in a matter of hours.  This year's was full in a little more than 50 minutes! That was faster than the winner took to run last year :-)  I was lucky enough to get an entry. The run itself is supposed to be fun. I will know for sure in two weeks. The packet pickup is certainly not convenient as it requires a visit to Brooklyn pier 2 with no parking facilities. Unlike other regular races, packet pickup for this race is not available on race day.  That is a great inconvenience. I hope NYRR considers this and makes packet pickup available race day mornings in future. Otherwise, this will probably be my first and last NYC Brooklyn Half.

Regular runs have been fun. Spring weather generally has been kind, except for the rain. I love running in the rain.  Last two runs have been in rain and forecasts are there will be a lot more rain in the rest of the month. I won't be disappointed.  I do see that riders are out with their bikes, and an occasional runner as well, especially on Sundays.  The runners seem to be new faces unlike some of the cyclists who are returning after the winter.  The earthworms are also back crawling on to the road from the open lands on the sides.

Hope your runs are coming along well also.  Great time to sign up for some runs. If you haven't, do lookup for a run in the neighborhood and sign up.  Having some near term attainable goals will keep you moving along in your runs and give you something to look forward to and work towards. In the end, the joy of completing the event is a great reward. As a side benefit, you gain health and fitness - one might even say it is the main benefit.  Have a great season.

If I can run, u can run

Winter is finally here

Last few days have been winter weather here.  Really really cold with temperatures reaching 0 F and below.  Snow on the sidewalks and road shoulders have become hard and feel like rocks and gravel.  No more runners and cyclists on the road.. I've been managing to steal a couple of runs a week for the last two weeks - a six miler and a 10 miler each.  We have a snow and ice storm today, but temperatures are 'warmer' around 14-16 F (about - 9 to - 10 C). Had a bit of snow mid morning and then snow/ice was predicted a couple of hours later. Taking advantage of the gap I laced up my sneakers and took off on a 10 mile run.  There was a mild breeze. The cold air against the face was not biting, but a bit less than pleasant for the first 15-20 minutes. Once the body warmed up the air felt nice. There is something about the cold air that makes you feel you can smell the cold in it. I don't know if anyone else feels it, but last couple of days I could 'smell the cold' when breathing the air.  Though the air was cold I felt it was energizing.  Like when you go out in the farms or fields and the air feels really fresh and energizing. It is a similar feeling.

The run was nice. I took it easy and kept my breathing at a conversational pace as much as possible, which was always a challenge uphill.  Even though I didn't feel the cold due to the multiple layers of clothing, it did make its presence felt.  I blew my noise frequently and at some point a bit got stuck on my glove, which I didn't realize at the time. Within minutes, however, the mucus froze and showed itself in bright white color!  My drink carried around my waist clipped on to a fuel/hydration belt had become so cold it was hard to drink.  It started snowing the last couple of miles. Actually, it wasn't snow - more of hard ice particles. I got home before it started heavy. Looks like we'll have a rough commute tomorrow.

Just hang in there when things get tough.

If I can run, u can run.