[115] Even the coffee shops are closed

ORN:  This morning, before work, before McDonalds or Starbucks opened, I ran four hilly miles at Cherokee Park in 42'28".  Thinking I would beat the heat and turn in a decent performance, I actually ran my slowest time in the last couple weeks.  Part of that was the hilly course, but the other factor was the humidity.  The temperature was only 70°, but with 92% humidity, I felt like I was running in a steam room.

 

But getting up early is the way to go, I think.  I enjoyed listening to the birds waking up, and the pre-dawn light coming through the trees is magical.  I found it easy to let my mind drift and deeply enjoy being in nature.  And I had the road all to myself.

 

[116] Is it getting hotter?

ORN:  Today, I ran 4 miles in 40'58".  The weather was a balmy 83° with 78% humidity, which made for lots of laughs.  Breathing was like 40 minutes of having your head locked in the armpit of that fat kid who used to shake you down for lunch money back in school.  Planning ahead for these crappy conditions, I drank about a liter and a half of water before my workout.  I was a little sloshy, but I didn't die of heat stroke either.

 

Running in heat like that gives me a headache.  Is that weird?

 

You may have noticed that I haven't been doing the FIRST plan lately.  That's because of my recent injury and time off.  I didn't want to take two weeks off and then jump right back into doing 3x1600 intervals.  Seemed like a dumb idea.  So, last week and this week, I've been rebuilding my base; next week, I re-start FIRST with the first week of marathon training for Chicago.  I'm both looking forward to it and not.  Pro: I like being on a plan.  Con: running fast in this heat will suck.  I'm going to have to get up early and run before work, otherwise the heat will kill me and I'll never run my target paces.

 

[122] Run and a swim

ORN: Today, I ran 4.3 miles in 43'11". The weather was a balmy 75° with 82% humidity. I felt like I was swimming half the time, but I survived. I ran a little harder than easy, if that makes any sense. I wasn't shuffling, but I wasn't trying to push it either. Heading into the weekend, I can look back on a week of falling back in love with running after being a tad burned out at the end of my marathon training and then recovering from an injury. Getting out there has been the highlight of my work day. Work's been tough this week, too, so I needed the break.

Saturday, I intend to run the Possum Ridge 5K at Taylorsville Lake State Park. I've run it before, but I don't expect I will break any records on account of my recent idleness. I just want to go out there, do my best, and get my t-shirt. I'll let you know how it goes.

[138] What's the opposite of speedwork?

ORN: Tonight, I ran with the running store group at the Waggner High School track. We did 3x1600s [ugh] with 400 meter recoveries. Did I mention the 85° heat? With the mile warm up, I ran 4.75 miles in 45'14". Our target pace was 5K race pace, which for me is 8'05". Ha. Check this.

1. 8'09" -- not bad
2. 8'57" -- not even tempo pace
3. 11'10 -- are you f***ing kidding me?

The truth is that I was so overheated, so stressed out from all the much faster runners around me, and so freaked out by what I was "supposed" to be doing and who I was "supposed" to be running with and what lanes I was "supposed" to be running in that I utterly failed to operate my watch correctly. That means while the first 1600 split time is correct, the second and third ones include the recoveries and are worthless. I forgot to take off autolap and manually do my splits, so I don't even have an accurate picture of how badly I did. Maybe that's for the best.

Dear Santa Claus, gimme some love over here. In the form of a Forerunner. 305 or 405 -- I'm not picky.

There were so many things wrong with this workout. But I don't want to complain about it. The silver lining is that I ran in 85° weather when I could have easily given it a pass. Also, I'm proud of the effort I gave given that I ran at an awful time of day for me, had not eaten since lunch, and ate fried fish and french fries for lunch. Virtually every variable [except hydration] was stacked against me, but nevertheless I ran. That's my victory for today, and I claim it.

There is no charge for awesomeness

ORN: The weather service was predicting severe thunderstorms and damaging wind, so I ran extra fast to get my workout over with before that happened. I ran 5 miles in 47'39", which I am thrilled about. What's not to love about a 9'31" average pace? I felt strong from start to finish, but I was glad when the run was over. I ran into a 20 MPH headwind on the return leg.

I've got some news. I've volunteered to be a moderator over at the Runners' Lounge for the Getting Started lounge. What does that mean? It means I oversee the discussion board for people interested in newbie issues. I'll also be twittering Getting Started tips (follow @Runners_lounge), tentatively scheduled for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting next week. I'll also be podcasting on this subject with one or more other runners. I have no details on how, where, and when that'll happen. I am creeping slowly toward my goal of becoming a Big Deal on the Internet. Once we hash out all the logistical details, I'll let you know.

Also, I am working on something else that kinda cool but is, presently, hung up due to technical problems. Look out for that announcement soon, too.

Just call me Blockhead

ORN: Ran 3 miles in 29'02, but the key thing is I ran outside, even though it was 22° out there. Rather than split my skull on the ice and die the sweet, slow death of hypothermia on my usual riparian route, I played it safe and ran around the block a bunch of times. Turns out that between the people, the icy sidewalks, the cars darting in and out of driveways, and the low-hanging tree limbs, I don't think I was that much safer.

Running around the block a bunch of times is better than a treadmill, but it's still boring. Once or twice, just to jazz things up, I crossed the street and ran around a different block. Some businesses [like mine] did a great job of keeping their sidewalks clear of ice. Others [I'm looking at you Greyhound terminal and Carrier warehouse] had ice-skating rinks around their buildings.

This weather is killing my motivation, but the good news is that the weather should warm up for this weekend. Friday night's overnight low is supposed to be a balmy 39°; Saturday's high, a scorching 60°. I can't wait.

Snowpocalypse 2009!

ORN: Ran four, much-needed miles on work's crappy treadmill. I endured it for 41'12". Treadmills suck -- yada, yada, yada. But I am so glad to run. This week has sucked balls.

Louisville got its butt kicked by a big ice storm this week, and I haven't run a step until today. On Woden's Day, I planned on running four miles, and on Thor's Day, I planned on another four. But the gods had other plans. Several inches of snow and ice entombed the area when we awoke Wednesday morning, and the roads were crappy for a day and a half. We were among the more than 400,000 customers without electricity, so I've had other priorities besides keeping my running commitments. Things like digging out our cars, keeping our pipes from bursting, and packing up clothes and other essentials have all trumped running. I may chalk this week up as my planned "recovery week," scheduled for next week, and do it over next week. Who knows.

BTW, I am going to count the hours spent moving tree limbs and hacking away at ice and snow to extract our cars as "cross training." See? I wasn't totally idle.

Snow!

ORN: Today, in a light snow, I ran 3 miles in 28'39", around 50 seconds faster than Monday. I don't know what's up with that. I didn't feel especially strong today -- perhaps a bit less sick. Strange.

Anyway, I ran most of the way squinting. The snow was that wet, sticky sort that gets in my eyes and pisses me off. Not a hard, driving, whiteout blizzard -- just annoying. When I got back to my office building, the showers were occupied so I'll be stinky the rest of the day. Sorry, co-workers.

Mom, I can't put my arms down!

ORN: This morning on the drive to work, it was 6° (-14° Celsius). Nerd that I am, my first thought was not "will my car start?" Or "I wonder how often Hanukkah and Christmas are in the same week," "Will my pipes burst?" or "What am I getting my wife* for Christmas?" When I saw the temperature, I thought, "Did I pack sufficiently for my run today?" By the time I ran, later in the morning, the temperature had more than doubled to 14°, and I dressed perfectly for it. Turns out the proper attire for such weather is wear everything in your gym bag. I ran 3 miles in 27'41" without the benefit of sled dogs.

* For those if you keeping score at home, Wifey is well-gifted this year. I think. Everyone else on my list, not so much.

I'm finding that the hardest thing about running in this weather is not the weather. It's the added mass of all the clothes. I wore a long-sleeve t-shirt, a pull-over, a windbreaker, tights + shorts [modesty], a cap, and gloves. All of it was high-tech, quality stuff, but it all had mass that added up. Until I got used to it, I felt like Randy from Christmas Story, running in a snow suit, unable to lower my arms.

Another weekend in bed

ORN: The weather sucked, and I am trying to kick some sort of plague, and so I ran my three miles today on the treadmill at work. Treadmills suck, and I hate them, but I managed to kick it out in a lightning-quick 27'41". Many factors make that a debatable result. First, I haven't calibrated my Polar foot pod since switching shoes. Second, I can usually run a lot faster on a treadmill than I can out in the world.

Speaking of shoes, my new Nikes rocked. After only one treadmill workout, it's too early to tell whether or not this is the shoe for me, but I am happy with this first result.

This post was supposed to be a race report on the Reindeer Romp 4K, benefiting the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. [I know, I know... I'm a Navy man, myself, but they do good work.] However, I spent Friday wondering whether or not I was going blow groceries. By Friday night, I doubted I would ever eat again, and since I kept making my saving throws, I never threw up, which I am convinced only made me feel worse. I also started having body aches and chills. Sleeping right through the race, I spent most of Saturday in bed. I considered going to the race when my daughter woke me up at 7 AM, but since I felt like I was in a car accident, I chose to skip it.

All day Saturday, I ate the following: two pieces of buttered white-bread toast; half a peanut butter sandwich; six saltines; a small, plain chicken breast; and about 3/4 cup of plain mashed potatoes. For me, that is, like, starvation-mode, but I kept it all down. By Saturday evening, even though I was low-energy, I began to feel a bit better.

On Sunday morning, I felt much better. I felt great, in fact. My appetite came back in full force, and I even considered running. However, I didn't because I didn't want to push things so soon after such a miserable day of funkiness.

Wierd

ORN: Today, I ran 3.0 miles in 29'02". For those of you paying attention, I ran the same distance yesterday in the same time. That's a coincidence for the ages right there. It was a strange run, too. My mind went to some dark places. At the beginning of the run, I found myself being followed by another runner. For about half a mile, he trailed me until he decided to shoot ahead. We were abreast for about 0.5 miles, and then he edged ahead and took off. I don't know what that was about.

I was a tad underdressed. Or rather, my lower body was. I was snug and cozy on top thanks to my new SportHill thing-a-ma-bob. Downstairs, I was rocking the split shorts. It was around 37°, windy, and misting; therefore, my lower extremities were quite frosty by the end of the run.

It's raining in Yellow Springs, OH

ORN: I ran 4.0 miles in 41'39" down a bike trail in Yellow Springs, OH. We are staying at the Arthur Morgan House B&B, and it is awesome, apart from the rain.

I ran from the house, down Limestone Street toward Correy. Then, getting on the Little Miami Scenic Trail, ran south toward the Hyde Street bridge and beyond. I was surrounded on both sides by maples dropping their leaves, and occasionally I had to hurdle over horse shit. It was a lovely run despite the weather. In fact, the rain almost made it better because it cooled me and felt cleansing.

Now, as I write this, I am looking out one of the houses many rippled, old windows and watching it snow big, soggy flakes. My thighs are warm, and I am contented with the knowledge that a) I am done running for the week and b) I actually ran while traveling. That's kinda huge for me.

Back to my book.

Meh... lame post day

ORN: It was a balmy 43° degrees and drizzly as I ran 3.1 miles in 30'20". The day wasn't very nice, but the run was good. I did it and it's done.

Tonight I am planning on going to a spinning class, which will kick my butt, but my butt needs kicking. Doing two cross-training sessions a week is good, right?

Still trying to integrate running and project management

ORN: In a chilly, steady rain, I ran 2.0 miles in 21'16", which isn't anything to brag about. Running in this crappy ran is worth bragging about, but I am above that. At least I didn't need to take a shower afterward. [Eww.] I guess today was a day for what some call "junk miles." You know, those miles you just sorta slog through to get 'em done. Now, there's nothing standing between me and tomorrow's Summit Fall Fest 5K. I'll pick up the race packet tonight after work.

Back in March, I wrote on the topic of approaching my running like a project. Being a project manager and a writer, I thought it would be a fun little intellectual exercise, if nothing else. Some writers will go to great lengths to make an analogy, metaphor, or allegory work, and sometimes it works great -- as in The Tao of Pooh. And then there's me trying to hammer out "Running is like..." stuff that makes me cringe even as I type it. So I'll freely admit my attempts at cleverness are far from perfect, but given my chosen profession, I cannot stop trying to make running and project management gel together into a coherent essay.

Some ideas:

• Races as milestones. In project management, a milestone is a significant event or deliverable that is absolutely must be delivered on a given date to be considered successful. They are frequently used to motivate teams to keep moving forward and demonstrate progress. And that is precisely why I sign up for races. It certainly ain't to win, considering I consistently finish in the 75th to 85th percentiles and seldom do speedwork. But I do schedule races to keep myself motivated and training.
• Quality or phase gates are tools used in project management to, among other things, decide whether or not the project is worth pursuing further. It allows you to quit a troubled project early before irrecoverable costs mount too high. Now, I may not write it out on paper, but I know that if I have not done so many miles and so many long runs by such-and-such a date, then I had better not run that half marathon. I used the phase gate concept to decide not to run the Louisville Half Marathon this month. I looked forward to running it since my last half marathon, but I would not risk the suffering of running it unprepared. It's my own fault for not being consistent with my training. Nobody to blame but myself.
• Stakeholder management is the concept of a) identifying everybody that could conceivably be affected by or have an interest in your project and b) ensuring that their concerns are thoughtfully considered, if not fully met. After all, you can't make everybody happy. Who are my chief stakeholders? My wife and my daughter. I have to arrange my running in a way that interferes least with their lives. I cannot, for example, run 13 miles on a Saturday -- burning through a whole morning -- when my wife is needing me to help around the house that day. I certainly cannot whine and complain and limp around all day and not expect beatings. I cannot be a 100% runner but an 80% father/husband. If I cannot do both at 100%, then I have to adjust my running schedule. The project isn't a success if the chief stakeholders hate me.
  

Running the Louisville RiverWalk

ORN: Today, Ohio River on one side and an industrial brownfield on the other, I survived a four-mile run [42'59"] in 87% humidity. Honestly, it more closely resembled a four-mile swim since it was also foggy and drizzling at times. Oh, and it was 78°. I know that's not terribly hot, but with the humidity, my delicate carcass suffered. On the down side, I gushed sweat like the old Louisville Falls Fountain. On the up side, I inhaled enough moisture through the air to replace it and avoid heat stroke.

The trail-blazers over at the Runners' Lounge have given us a topic for Take it and Run Thursday: favorite runs and courses.

I cannot say the Louisville RiverWalk is my favorite place to run, but it's certainly my default course. Part of a planned 100-mile loop of trails around Louisville, the RiverWalk is the stretch that runs along the Ohio River near where I work, downtown. From my office, I typically run down 8th Street to a gap in the flood wall near the Louisville Science Center parking lot. Through the lot, then onto the trail, I usually run west toward Portland until its time to turn around. This first picture is typically what I see after about a mile, just after passing under the 14th Street Bridge. The old factory you see behind the train is almost exactly at the mile-and-a-half mark. I know this course so well I can tell how far I've run by the landmarks. One mile = 14th St. Bridge; mile-and-a-half = abandoned factory; two miles = gazebo in Lannan Park; and two-and-a-half miles = passing under Interstate 64. I don't usually run farther than five miles during lunch, so that's as far as I go westward.

By the way, these railroad tracks seem to be just for temporary storage of rail cars. Don't worry. There's never a fast-moving freight train barreling down the track. That would be kinda cool but terrifying.

You can't see it in this first picture, but the gently flowing Ohio River is on the right. It's pleasant and calming to see the wide, slow water flow by. And if that gets boring, there's almost always barge traffic to watch. Sometimes, I "race" the barges when I need to pick up the pace a bit. About two-and-a-half miles into the route are the McAlpine Locks [see picture below], through which river traffic must pass on account of the Falls of the Ohio, out of frame to the right in this picture.

By the way, the railroad trestle you see in the picture is the 14th Street Bridge, opened in 1868. When I am lucky, I will pass by when the lift-span goes up or down to allow taller barges to pass underneath. Or at other times, I will get to run underneath a train passing over on the bridge. Kinda nifty.

Typically, the turnaround point of my runs is at or just past Lannan Park in West Louisville. There are water fountains near the two-and-a-quarter mile mark, which is nice if I am doing a fiver.

So to wrap this up, the RiverWalk is a good, flat trail with more than a few things to see. If you are in downtown Louisville, I recommend it since it beats the heck out of trying to run through the city, dodging traffic and pedestrians. And you get to see all the ducks and geese you could ever want.

Sore feet in the heat

ORN: 5.0 miles in 52'12" on a rather hot day. I've been running in the morning a lot lately, so the afternoon heat was a bit much. Plus, rather than a full rest day, I walked about 15,000 steps at the state fair yesterday.

I've got a ton of crud on my mind lately so my runs have been a little surreal, mentally. Lots of thoughts banging around, lots of digressions. Not a lot of conclusions.

This is the first week I will run my full 25-mile training schedule. I'm 20% there. Go me.

I Like Short Songs

ORN: 4 miles in 44'39" on a boiling hot 86° day with 50% humidity. Loyal readers from Texas would wonder whether or not I reached for my fleece pullover to run in 86° weather, but I must assure you that 86° is hot as balls to me. I was sucking wind the whole way. It's a miracle I ran at all given how I felt this morning.

♫Woke up this morning♩
♫Had them sore foot blues♫
♩Woke up this morning♫
♬Had them sore foot blues♩
♩New Balance shoes so hard on m'feets♬
♫Can't think'a nuthun' to rhyme with "blues"♫

Seriously, New Balance, is "cushioning" and "comfort" mutually exclusive from "stability?" As I mentioned before, my NB858s are incredibly stable, but after my 7.25 mile run on Sunday, my dogs feel like they'd been beaten with canes. I had every intention of running this morning before work, but since I felt like I had been in a car accident, feet-wise, I chose to catch a few more winks and take some ibuprofen.

Dirty city, rainy day

ORN: 3 miles in 34:14, which is my fastest of the week, but it still sucks. I won't make excuses because I took last week off, but I will say that I need some frakkin' new shoes. It was a pleasant enough day, 73° and 65% humidity. I chased off some ducks that were in my path right after they chased off a squirrel that was starting some shit with them. Circle of life, man.

I don't have much to say about my running lately, as you might have gathered. However, I have been thinking a lot about my creative writing, such as it isn't. I've had some scifi ideas pop into my head lately, after reading Cory Doctorow's Eastern Standard Tribe. It's a good book -- a fun, quick read -- and doubtless I'm going to read more of his books. But it got me thinking about the sorts of things I put off writing because I don't want to do the research, or I don't want to plot out something huge, or I don't think I would ever finish it. This book was tight and fast. It wasn't dense with scifi babble. It didn't beat me over the head with a message. It simply spun a good yarn.

I think I can do that.

We shall see.

[sing]I'm fartlek'n in the rain[/sing]

ORN: Today I ran 3 miles, two miles of moderate running with one mile of fartlek in the middle. It sucked because for the first mile of it, my left knee was achy and stiff as it has been the last several runs. [I need new shoes.] I'm also unused to speed work. But once I passed under the railroad bridge that marks one mile on my route, I dove in. And even after each bout of speed, I wanted to quit and make that one my last one, I stuck it out for a full mile. All in all, I think I managed six short bursts of varying lengths and paces. The longest was probably 200-300 meters.

It rained the whole way, growing more intense as the run wore on. Fearful of water-logging DJ Nano, I didn't listen to any music, just all the voices in my head and the rain. And the interstate. And the waterfowl. I passed this mallard and said, "You the man, duck," and I shit you not he said, "Quack."

Snow here at last

ORN: Rest day.

Now the weather oracles are predicting up to a foot of snow. And with several inches on the ground now, I am inclined to believe them. The running team boss canceled tomorrow's run, and that's probably for the best. I wonder whether anyone will be running this weekend unless they have snowshoes. Maybe the roads will be clear by Sunday.