"Watch me Not"

This weeks running in the snow mostly...or around and about the snow has been really interesting and enjoyable. Forced by mother nature to slow down and look around. Not being able to drift off into my thoughts as I usually do while running. I found myself just watching out for ice....and making sure I didnt get side swiped by one of our friendly people on the road who seemingly aim at us. We take nature for granted until you are forced as I was to really observe. I did enjoy it. I havent run in the snow/ice/slush in awhile. Where my head is now is that I just want to run. The weather will not stop me. But carefully.

Also, I came across the picture I posted here. Its hilarious isnt it. We have become adicted to our watches. That pic is at the start of a race in Vancouver I believe. I havent been wearing my watch and I feel liberated. Anyone have any thoughts?

SNOW'S COMING

Here it is Tuesday night. Waiting for the blizzard to hit. School's already cancelled for tomorrow. Prediction-12-18 inches. North Jersey Master's Thursday running group already cancelled also. Weather!!! How it changes everything on a dime. So quickly. Changes plans; changes lives.Totally uncontrolable. We who think we have so much control over things are at the mercy of the weather.

If I want to run tomorrow I can't-because of the weather. Or maybe I can. But will I?

This for some reason makes me think of the people in Haiti and other parts of the world that have been ravaged by natural disastors. Tens of thousands of lives have been lost in Haiti. The entire country has been turned inside out and upside down. It will be years before it has recovered if it every really does. It's such a poor country to begin with. These people had nothing and now this. We all need to do what we can to help. Give to a charity for Haiti. Running means nothing. This is life. Rather many lives. Its amazing how people are still being pulled out of the rubble. A man was saved I heard, who had been buried for something like 22 days. I can't even think about the fact that I cant run tomorrow--how selfish. There are so many who need basic human necessities and here I am thinking of myself and running.

Running --The Mental Side

The Grid Iron Classic. 4 miles. After running the marathon 26.2 miles one would think that a mere 4 miles should be a piece of cake.... a walk in the park right?...WRONG. We runners have different goals for different distances. So that's number one. Number two...here it is in the middle of the winter. Training has been light to moderate since the NY Marathon. Winter is a time to recover and rest some of those body parts that have gotten beaten up over the long hard months of training from roughly end of March through the end of November. We dont want to lose alot but we are looking more to maintain our endurance and fitness level. Perhaps do more cross training and less miles. Easier things for the body to handle. Swimming; spinning; weight training. Ok Ok... I get all of that. Not that I do it all....I say I will but yet my cross training is not exactly in high gear. I do have a gym in my basement with all of the necessary equipment... including a nice high tech spin bike... but somehow I'd rather just run.... out the door...one foot in front of the other. And thats it. Ok
So that brings me to the Grid Iron Classic. A simple little 4 mile race in Central Park. Not even a full loop. Start at 68th Street on the East Drive and finish right by what used to be Tavern on the Greene.... 72nd Street on the West Side. Now last year I ran this race. It was my first race in Central Park- the first of 10 last year. This year I already did the Manhattan 1/2 Marathon a couple of weeks ago. So its my 2nd of the 9 I have to do for guaranteed entry into the 2011 NY Marathon. I already have my guaranteed entry into 2010.

So the gun sounds.... me and maybe 5,000 others. I am in coral #3. Meaning my bib number is in the 3000 range. Pretty impressed right? My best pace to date for any NYRR race was about 8.06. It is freaking cold. And windy. The first mile is basically dodging other runners. My strategy is to stay on the inside near the curb. Just maintain my pace and not zig zag in and out of runners. There are so many people who are just not serious runners here. I was hoping to break 33 minutes so I knew I had to be in the low 8 minute per mile pace range. First mile no problem.... just keep the pace. Feeling groovy. 2nd mile....crossing the transverse...run in the lane designated for Colts fans; (Colts lose this vote by 66% to 34% according to the runners); then through the 2 mile mark still feeling good. My running friend has left me in the dust; well not exactly dust; now we hit the long hill on the west side; the hill takes its toll on me; my pace somewhat diminishes; crowded on the inside by slow runner who I cant pass easily. I have to jump on the curb; I hit mile three now feeling tired; pace slows; left brain right brain talking to me; here's the mental part. Do you slow down or fight the pain to maintain your speed and pace; you know you can; you push yourself through the pain to do it or you lose. Its the mental side of running. I push through the pain and try to kick my way to the finish. I cross the finish line in 33:06. Not a PR but reasonably satisfied. Very satisfied with the effort. Happy I won the mental race. Feeling good.

WE ARE RUNNERS: IGNORE THE PAIN?--NOT!!!!

In the summer of 2008, I was training for the Philadelphia Marathon. It was sometime around the middle of August. Philly was in Novemeber. I was doing a long run in the Rockies (Rockefeller State Park in Tarrytown NY). I was running with the Galloway Group that I trained with. Around mile 7 Rosy yelled out...how's everyone doing. I answered, fine, except for this pain in my right calf. I ignored the pain, thinking it was just a cramp that would go away. It didnt. We hit somewher about mile 9 or so; there's a huge hill. Many people barely crawl up this hill. Its right at a spot along the Hudson River, where the trail we run on turns back towards home. Near one of the outter boundaries of the park. I slowly trudged up the hill; at the top is an awesome view of the river. It was a gorgeous sunny, blue skied day. You would think you were in St Thomas on top of a cliff overlooking beautiful Megan's Bay. Then the trail heads down; a rather ominous, steep, uneven trail; where the once regal trail had been over the years turned into a mine field of small pot holes and broken pavers. I ran down the hill; as I did so, near the bottom of the hill, I felt the calf more or less pop; I blew it out; the muscle tore and I was toast. I could barely walk much less run. In our group, no one goes alone; as the group started ahead, it wasnt long before they realized I had a problem and a few doubled back to see what the story was. Realizing I couldnt run, Rosy, our group leader, stayed with me as I slowly trudged, dragging my right foot behind me, the 4 miles back to the parking lot. I was laid up for a few weeks. Painful cramped up, torn muscle. Dr. Daniels, my chiropractor was my saviour. I went to him 3 x per week and the muscle slowly healed. I recovered fully and was able to run the marathon. Since then I have learned that you need to strenthen your calf muscles; make sure that you have plenty of electrolytes in your stystem and stay hydrated; and dont ignore pain thinking it will go away. I also take salt tablets now when I go on long runs. AND I often wear a compression sleeve on my calf.

So here is a video of some exercisses to strenthen your calf muscles.

WATCH THE BAREFOOT PROFESSOR

the journal Nature is publishing the results of research that compared the foot strike of runners in a variety of situations, including barefoot, in Vibram Five Fingers, and with conventional running shoes. Their conclusions are very favorable for those of that maintain that barefooting is the most natural way to run and that doing so reduces stresses on the knees and other body parts.

The primary Harvard professor involved with the research is Dr. Daniel Lieberman. Here is a GREAT video summarizing Dr. Leiberman’s studies.

Motivation- the WOW factor

WOW...its cold out. Really cold. I am looking at the little blinking temperature icon on my system tray...it reads 19 degrees. And that's without the wind chill. I just checked a website that gives me the forecast for Ramsey; at 7 am tomorrow morning its going to be 13 degrees with winds of about 15 mph and so the with the wind chill factor it will be -3. WOW again. I was planning a run for the morning. NOW what? Should I blow it off so to speak and sleep in my nice warm bed; under my nice quilt for an extra hour. Here's where you are expecting me to say.. .NO NO. Its out the door quickly; the hardest part of running; getting the sneakers laced up and getting out the door. But something inside of me tonite is telling me -3 is not good to run in. There's a difference between being motivated and being dumb. I will let you know which way I go tomorrow.

On another note; did you know that on optimum there are free workout videos. YES. I discovered them tonite. Go to Channel Guide-On Demand-Free on demand -Sport-sportskool- and then Fitness- and there are lots of vidoes---very cool and I intend to start using them. I have all the equipment in the house and that's the plan. I need to strenthen the core and other muscle groups before the Spring season; which btw is right around the corner.

That's it for now.

Manhattan Half Today

Only runners can understand why we run. There is so much training. So much time to commit. Hard work. Major commitment. Running early in the morning or late at night. In the darkness perhaps. In the bitter cold. Pushing ourselves further and further to be the best we can be. Establishing goals; trying to attain them. We dont always succeed. But its all a personal quest. No two runners have the same goals. We compete often against only ourselves. No one else. I have seen people I have met thorugh running actually run times that I consider incredible. And some of these people are not what you would call young. Plus 50 and many plus 60 years of age.

I have learned that age certainly can affect running. As we age, we slow down. Our bodies change. we need more rest. Lots of factors. But the interesting thing is that in running,we can still compete. We compete in an age group. And we compete against ourselves.

I have also learned that every run cannot be a personal record. Last year I ran two 1/2 marathons. One in Brooklyn where I ran the 1/2, which actually was my first half marathon, in 2:12:44; in September I ran the Liberty Waterfron Half, in Jersey City. I ran that half in 1:57:59; and today I ran the Manhattan Half. This is part of the continental Airlines series of half marathons. There is one 1/2 marathon in each borough. If at all possible I want to try to all of them. This was the first. I ran it in 2:00:25.

So my time wasnt better, it was worse then the last 1/2 marathon.Oh Well. Its early in the year. Track workouts havent begun. My training during the winter is not as intense. Lots of reason/excuses. But let's face it; I just didnt have it today to improve my PR. I was happy with the time. My pace was slightly over 9 minutes. what I am trying to say is that running punishes you when you dont pay enough attention to it; or if you dont feed it properly; or give it rest. Or cross train; etc etc etc.

So bottom line- I am happy with my time and with the run. Its always an accomplishment time to run and to compete and run in and finish a race.

WE cant set PRs everytime we run.