Posts from — September 2006

I wasn’t sure I would get this one in. My lower right leg was bugging me over the last couple of days and I was afraid of stressing it. I spoke to my coach about it though and we agreed that the problem didn’t seem to warrant skipping the run. It was decided that I would go out slow, see how it feels and shorten/stop my run as necessary.

My lower leg felt a bit knotted up for the first 6 miles, but it wasn’t getting any worse so I stuck with the run. By my 9th mile it really wasn’t bothering me anymore. About this time my wife called me to let me know the she and my son were coming out to the park on their bikes to join me. There really is a first time for everything. I wish I can say that I ran a pleasant 11 miles with them, but that wouldn’t be true. My son was more interested in throwing his ball around and playing in the grass than riding. We stopped several times for water breaks and I managed to get him to go 5 miles before he got tired of riding and really wanted a break. I spent the next 20 minutes throwing a ball around with him and cooling off.

The weather started turning nasty at this point, so I was able to convince him that it was time to get going. The three of us went back to our entrance to the park. My legs felt ok still, so I sent them home while I completed my final 5 miles. I was even picking up my pace a bit. While running off the last of the miles, my friend Larry happened to ride by. He had just finished a 50 miler and decided to keep me company while I finished my run. This was the high point of the workout. I was able to keep a good pace and we talked about doing the JFK 50 miler together. He described all of the different parts of the course and what I can look forward to. The weather even cooperated as it miraculously cleared up.

I ran a total distance of 20.3 miles with a running time of 2:44:30. I am pleased with that time, especially considering it included several water breaks and walks up the hill when my son started lagging. Now I just have to see how I’ll do at tomorrow’s Norwegian Festival Grete’s Great Gallop

I have a theory about being in certain locations that you normally don’t go to. The theory is that if you happen to be in a location, that is not someplace you normally go, you will wind up being back at that location in the very near future for a completely different and unrelated reason. This happened to me as recently as today.

Last night I happened to change subway lines at the 47th – 50th Street/Rockefeller Center station. This is not a station I normally or regularly go to and it was only by chance that I had to make a transfer at this stop. Today, I found myself back at this same station due to a completely different set of circumstances. Yesterday it was not even a conceivable thought that I would be back at this location today, however here I am today.

I have no idea what this means or its significance. It is just something that I have noticed throughout my life. Perhaps someone reading this has had it happen to them as well. The one caveat about my theory if you are in a place you don’t normally go to, you can’t think that perhaps in the near future you will be there again. Somehow that ruins the connection or makes it irrelevant since you can consciously take yourself there in the future to force the prophecy true; and that would be cheating.

One place, where I have no doubt I will be this evening is Prospect Park. I couldn’t wake up this morning to do my workout, so it is off for another evening run. I am beginning to like working out at night so much better than in the morning. About a year ago I could never conceive of this happening. Maybe it is because it is still daylight outside when I get home, whereas in the morning it is still dark when I wake up. Lately, I’ve felt like when it is dark outside I should be sleeping. This doesn’t sound like such a good thing going into the shortest days of the year. Hopefully I am not developing a fear of the dark.

I woke up this morning (barely), got out for my run and had one of those days. The kind where I get to the other side of the park and I completely shut down. I hate when this happens. I wind up walking and wondering how long it is going to take for me to get back home. This doesn’t happen to me too often, but I was a little surprised it happened today.

I guess I really shouldn’t have been surprised. I didn’t eat well yesterday. That is, I didn’t eat enough. I skipped my lunch due to continuous meetings and really wasn’t feeling well anyway. I had a ton of gas and bowel cramping which caused me horrible discomfit. I think the gas was backing up into my stomach, fooling me into thinking that I wasn’t even hungry. At several points during my meetings I was in agony and had to excuse myself to try to let some out.

I managed to get my appetite back by the time I got home from work. I ate a fairly large dinner, but still woke up in the middle of the night starving. This was about 2am, but I forced myself to go back to sleep. By 3:30am I couldn’t take it anymore, so I went to my kitchen and ate a large bowl of cereal. I figured this meal would carry me through my workout this morning, but evidently it didn’t.

I spoke to my coach about this morning about this problem. He is saying that I should be eating more. Judging by how hungry I am right now I’d say he is right. I told him how my scale told me I only have about 10 percent body fat. He was appalled and said I better start eating more and not worry about my weight. I think subconsciously I am concerned about it and loath to let it creep back up. I worked hard to get to my current weight and don’t want to see myself blow up to a big fat slob again. People have trouble believing that I was once over 200 pounds and completely out of shape. One day I will post a picture here to prove it.

I am disappointed I didn’t get in a workout yesterday and that today’s was a bust. Unfortunately, I don’t have time tonight to try again as I have to be at my child’s school for a parent/teacher conference. Maybe I can eat well enough tonight to wake up feeling energized and ready to go for tomorrow.

So I am feeling pretty good today; unlike the squirrel that was lying dead on the Prospect Park loop. The darn thing was there all through my run on Sunday and still there today; albeit about 30 yards down the road from where I first saw him. I guess that’s what happens when you get run over a few times – you get pushed on down the road.

I was supposed to take off today. In fact I told my coach to schedule a day off and he obliged me. However, I was feeling pretty good this evening and decided on doing an easy 10 mile recovery ride. It was a perfect evening and I was glad to get outside for some fresh air, after being cooped up in my office all day.

The only lingering effect from my runs this weekend is some soreness in my lower right leg. I rubbed some of Kathleen Lewis’ Stiff and Sore Muscle Massage Cream into it and I felt much better afterwards. The soreness was practically gone. It was just a shame I didn’t have someone else to massage it into my leg. I am sure if I did, I would have enjoyed the application of the cream much more.

Tomorrow the plan is to ride 18 miles in the morning and then in the evening to run an easy 3 miles. That is if I have the time and inclination. I’ll see how my leg feels tomorrow afternoon. If it is still sore, I will give it another evening to rest. I don’t want to push it too much. I have big running plans for this weekend – a 20 miler on Saturday, followed by the Greta’s Half on Sunday.

I am stronger than I think I am. I just need motivation to get myself to do the things I am capable of doing. Losing your motivation is a terrible thing, because it makes you incapable of living up to your potential. I think my motivation for attempting a second long run on a single weekend was just to see if I could do it. I had some help in accomplishing it, in the form of my friend Chris keeping pace with me for the first 9 miles. I am sure if he wasn’t with me I would have bailed out after the first 4 miles.

I started out feeling very sluggish with crabby legs. Chris had run with me in the past and told me not to worry about it as he has seen me start out feeling like shit only to start opening up once I got several miles into me. He was right. After I hit the 6 mile mark, I could feel my legs start to loosen and my pace quicken. Chris started breathing heavy as he began to struggle to keep up with me. It was a funny turn of events. Just a few miles earlier, we had stopped for water and then began to walk after we left the fountain. I told him don’t look at me to start running again as I was content to just walk for a while. Now here I was pushing the pace and making him struggle.

Chris stayed with me for about 9 miles of my run. I left him about a half mile short of completing our third loop. I wasn’t sure how I would feel continuing on my own, but as of that moment I just felt like running and quickening my pace. I did start to get lonely while I was by myself. I hoped to run into a friend I’d seen earlier running in the opposite direction. When it was apparent that wasn’t going to, I decided that if I saw someone with a cell phone, I’d call my house to see if my daughter wanted to join me for the remainder of my run.

After I completed my 4th loop, I stopped at the hiding place for my water bottle. Someone was nearby with a cell phone and I was able to call my house. My daughter said she would go with me and I had her get ready while I ran back to get her. This was the only point during my run in which I stopped my watch. I didn’t think it was fair to count the time in took to get her bike out of the basement as part of the elapsed time of my run.

The Prospect Park Track Club happened to be throwing a race while I was doing my run. When I returned to get my daughter, I passed the finishing clock which read 15 minutes into a 5K race. When I returned to the park with my daughter on her bike, the race was still going on and I passed a couple of the really slow runners. I was a bit incredulous at how long it takes for some people to move 3 miles, but more power to them for trying.

My daughter covered with me the final 7 miles of 20. The first 3.5 of it went pretty well. She didn’t want to stop at all and my pace was still at an acceptable level. However, on our second loop I could feel the fatigue start to set in as I approached 17.5 miles. I was hitting the proverbial wall at the 18 mile mark. I wasn’t too concerned though. How could I be when just yesterday I had run 23 miles? This was the most distance running I’ve ever covered in two days and I was quite pleased with myself to know that I was going to get this 20 miler in. I am definitely ready to sign up for the JFK 50 miler. I feel the drive and determination inside me to do it. I am thinking I can even do very well in my age group. However, before I get to full of myself, I’ll see what happens in the coming weeks as I attempt longer single days training runs.

For the remainder of the day I took my kids out on their Razor Scooters. We went all over the neighborhood, including a stop at Barnes and Nobel to read some books. Having to walk the several miles with them over the course of the afternoon was just the thing my legs needed. The walking helped to keep them loose and I think served as added training for what it will be like when I do the JFK 50.

When I returned home from my afternoon out with the kids, I was feeling like kicking back and having a beer. This desire couldn’t have been better timed as my brother-in-law and his friend showed up within minutes of our return home. The three of us headed for Farrell’s Pub and kicked back several beers while we watched the NY Giants get their asses kicked by the Seattle Seahawks. I now sit in my living room, pleasantly buzzed while my BIL cooks pork chops on my grill.

Weekend workout stats:

Saturday: 23.2 miles, HR: 140/167, Time: 3:29:45 (total time)
Sunday: 20.3 miles, HR: 135/154, Time: 3:05:15 (total time)
Week Distance (9/18-9/24): 63.4 miles

So I have pretty much decided that I am going to do the JFK 50 miler. That being the case, I needed to make the decision that I am going to train for it. This meant giving up a scheduled 50 mile bike ride this morning and going out for a long run. This will be backed up by another by another long run tomorrow.

I set out by myself and fell into a slow and steady pace. I ran at a speed I knew I could maintain throughout the run. It was felt different going for a long and knowing that I didn’t have to push myself. Normally I would start increasing my pace as the run wore on, but by training for ultra, the key is to set a pace that I can maintain for the duration. It felt good to simply run and not have it be hard or much of an effort.

The day started overcast and humid with the threat of rain on the horizon. I logged 7 miles before it started to come down. Just as it began to rain, I saw another runner loaded with enough fuel belt flasks to survive a trek through the desert come to a stop and throw his hands up in resignation at the rain. I yelled out at him that he should let a little rain stop him, to which his reply was that he was out here for 16 miles. He asked me if I was also training for the marathon to which I replied I am training for more than that, and what are you going to do come the marathon and its raining on race day. I don’t understand people that let a little bad weather stop them.

I rained for the next 7 miles of my run, during which time I felt my shoes getting heavy and soggy. I didn’t really didn’t care though and found the rain cool and refreshing. The wetness of my shirt started to give me some nipple chafing and my nose started to sting from the feel of water getting up it when I breathed in, but other than that I suffered no ill effects such as blisters, wrinkled fingers or drowning. Just as soon as the rain stopped, the sun started to come out. I tried off pretty quickly and ran steadily for another 3 miles. At this time my friend Chris came out to join me for the remainder of my run.

We talked about the usual things that guys do when they are together; bitching about their wives, running, work and sports. At one point we got to talking about how we used to drive when we were younger and we both agreed that we drove like assholes and probably should not have been allowed behind the wheel of a car. I said how I still drive a little fast on occasion, but no where like I used to. Chris ran with me for another 5 miles, bringing my total for the day to just over 23.

After my run, I ate, showered and dressed for a trip out to my brother’s house in Long Island. My earlier conversation where I stated I was a much better driver than in my youth came back to haunt me later in the day. I let some of my old impatience strike me and I wound up hitting the curb while trying to get around someone and blew out my right two tires.

It was quite aggravating but somehow I wasn’t too pissed off at myself. I think having my kids with me made it more of an adventure than a tragedy. They were all excited about helping me change the tires, giving me water or wiping the sweat off my forehead. I couldn’t change both tires since I only had one spare. I called Chris to come rescue me. I figured I could change one tire and then have him drive to a tire place to get one fixed and then return so I could get moving again. I guess I got lucky though since I discovered that one of the wheels was stuck and I couldn’t have removed it for anything. It would have been a great waste of time. Instead I had to wait over two hours for a tow truck and Chris took my family home while I waited. I did manage to get a good supplemental strength training workout, although I think I could have lived without that after running 23 miles and planning on doing another 20 miler tomorrow.

We didn’t make it to my brother’s house, but we still had sort of a happy ending. Chris took his family and mine to a restaurant later in the day and I was able to meet them there after I got the tires replaced. I had a nice BBQ dinner and a beer and the kids had a great time playing with their friends. The day didn’t go as planned, but overall it was a pretty decent day.

I slept relatively peaceful last night, although it was aided by an Ambien. Nevertheless, I got just under 8 hours sleep and felt ready to head out for a run down to the Southampton beach. I called my friend Matt who once again joined me on his bike and we ran/rode 4 mile on an out and back course.

We stopped on the beach and the water had a glassy sheen to it and looked infinitely inviting. I wished I had some time to go play in it, but I had to get back and get ready for my morning meetings. We had run in the direction of the sunrise, unlike last night in which we ran towards the sunset. This is all sounding to romantic for a couple of straight guys to be doing together, but I am secure in my masculinity and am not afraid to say the settings were beautiful even though I was sharing it with another guy. Hey, men can be sensitive creatures also.

While I was waiting for Matt to show up to the hotel on his bike, I was standing just outside my hotel, when I noticed someone walk out of the door that I recognized. It was someone who worked for me at two past jobs that just happened to be in the Hamptons on business as well. “Danny” stayed in the room right opposite me and I heard him come in late last night. The mystery of the fucker that woke my up when he came in loudly last night was cleared up when I discovered that it was him next door. Danny and I started to bullshit while I was waiting for Matt and he told me that a friend and also former coworker was working out in the Hamptons this day this day as well. I hadn’t seen either of them in a while quite a while and it was such a coincidence to see them at this time and place. I’d never been here before and I probably won’t be again. I made plans to see them for lunch later in the day.

I discovered another Hampton’s type coincidence with Matt a week previously. I was out to lunch with him and I asked what his parents did for a living. They were in the home furnishings trade and I mentioned that I had relatives in the same type of trade in the Hamptons. When I told him what the name of the store was, he recognized it immediately and told me how my cousins used to baby sit him all of the time as a child. He knew my favorite two cousins as well as I did. We are just a couple of years apart in age, so I have to figure that we might have known each other as kids since he saw my cousins all the time. I always thought he looked a little familiar.

It is funny how the world can be at times. How you can go years without seeing someone and the out of the blue run into them; or like with Matt, how we knew the same people, but went years without knowing it. It has been a funny year so far. I wonder what other funny things have yet to happen in it.

I am spending the night in the Hamptons. I was already out on Long Island today and I didn’t see the point of driving back to Brooklyn, only to turn around first thing in the morning to head back out for a for a morning meeting in the Hamptons tomorrow. My friend Matt lives in the area and we arranged to meet when I arrived to do a workout together. Rather I should say I worked out by running 6.5 miles and Matt kept me company by riding his bike alongside me.

We went down towards the beach on a perfect early autumn evening. The temperature was around 70 degrees, with a pleasant breeze and beautiful sunset. It was the first time I’ve been to the area and I marveled at the size of the homes that lined the roads and along the beach. The roads were very lightly trafficked and it felt great to run along them in a quiet country setting. It was the complete antithesis of the type of running I did yesterday. I didn’t have to give one second of thought to dodging cars, cyclists or pedestrians.

The ocean looked inviting and I half wished I brought my swim gear with me. I will have to do it the next time I come out here. We continued down the road along the beach heading west towards the sunset. We kept going until I passed the 3 mile mark on my Polar. We probably should have turned around sooner as it was getting dark very fast. I wondered for a second if we would have trouble with passing cars. There were so few though, that I needn’t have been concerned. The only difficulty is when cars passed us from the front, since they all seemed to be driving with their brights on, causing us to have a case of night blindness for several moments after they passed.

I did the run back faster than the run out. I guess having the wind behind me helped to increase my pace. As we headed closely to town it became very dark and difficult to see. We managed however and I returned back to my hotel turning in a 7:27 pace for the last 3 miles.

Matt went back home to get his car and I quickly showered in the hotel. We then went out for dinner and beer at a local brewery/restaurant and bullshitted the night away. It’s great to finally have a fun night when I am away from home on business.

So there I am running around Prospect Park, minding my own business and enjoying my runners high when WHAM!, some testosterone filled cyclist decides the people in front of him are going too slow, darts around them and rides right into me. I really had no chance to avoid him. I saw him coming right towards me, so I just held my line, looked which way he was going and jumped at the last second off to the side to avoid being smashed head on.

I was for the most part successful avoiding him. I took a glancing blow from his front tire against my right leg. This kind of sent me flying, but luckily the ground was there to break my fall. My left hand slapped against the floor and the bottom of my chin scrapped along it. I knew immediately that I wasn’t hurt badly, but it sounded like the cyclist didn’t fare too well. He was kind of lying on the ground rolling around and moaning. I just wanted to get back up and continue my run, but for some reason I felt a sense of obligation to hang out and see if the guy was alright.

Several people had gathered around him by now. He asked about the person he took out and I said it was me as I started to walk over to him. By now one of the people around the cyclist realized that perhaps they should check on the person he hit. Someone asked me if I was ok and I said yeah, I just think I have a cut on my chin. I touched it with my hand, which came away with a nice smear of blood, verifying the fact that once again I contracted a case of road rash. It could have been a lot worse for me, because I had landed in the traffic lanes and the park was open to cars.

By now the cyclist stood up and caught site of me. We verified that we were both ok, shook hands and then I went on my merry way. Despite the fact that I was bleeding, I continued on with my run. I didn’t really feel like going home. It was too nice of a night outside and I didn’t feel like retiring so early.

I did have to cut my run a little short though. I was thinking of going 6.5 – 7 miles, but the time I wasted waiting for the cycling dude to get up made it so that I wouldn’t have been able to get to the pharmacy before it closed if I didn’t cut it short by a mile. I had to pick up a prescription for my son and if I went my planned distance I wouldn’t make it on time. Interestingly, my running felt even better once I got started again. I guess the adrenaline flow from the incident helped to perk me up.

My bloody chin only attracted a couple of looks and only when someone passed me closely. It couldn’t have been too bad as my friend Larry didn’t notice it as he rode by me on his bike. My pharmacist at the drug store noticed that something was wrong, when he saw blood all over my hand. I explained it was from wiping blood away from my chin caused by my accident in the park.

When I got back home I finally noticed the abrasions I received on my leg. I am pretty sure they were caused by the front tire of the bike, rather than the ground. I could kind of make out burnt rubber matted into the hair of my leg. I cleaned it off with some hydrogen peroxide which caused a satisfying and bubbly stinging sensation. Fortunately I have plenty of telfa bandages to cover the wounds from the last time I had road rash.

So I got my run in this evening. I discovered a perfect night when I exited the subway and I just decided that I would be a fool to give up the opportunity to run in it. I didn’t take long to exit my front door once I entered my house. I had my running gear with me as I walked in and I literally striped off my suit and tie, changed into my running clothes and headed out the door.

It is much different running in Prospect Park at night as opposed to the early morning. One of the first differences you notice is that you hear so many crickets from the surrounding woods. It gives the park an almost peaceful feeling; that’s if you can block out the sounds of sirens and car horns emanating from outside it. The park is also a bit more crowded with other night inclined exercisers. This included many cyclists whose flickering headlamps gave off the appearance of fireflies at night.

I was supposed to do an active recovery run, but instead I just ran the pace my body felt like taking me. I ran around a 7:50 pace which seemed to come out of my legs rather easily. I enjoyed the night air which had a salty smell to it like the ocean. We are supposed to have stormy weather tomorrow, so perhaps the wind is carrying in the salty air.

I am glad I got my run in. I don’t feel like such a lazy bum now. Let’s see if I wake up for my bike ride.