Long Run Number 3

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

My Theory

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.

Completely Bonked

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.

Feeling Good Today

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.

Long Run Number 2

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

Long Run Number 1

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.

Hamptons Day 2

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.

Hamptons

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.

More Road Rash

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.

Salty Night Air

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.

Anonymous

My meetings at work finally ended. It is sometime after 7:15pm and I just made a subway train as the doors were about to close. I am so glad that my departure home is not being delayed by another nanosecond. It looks like my decision to forgo using the bathroom before I left the office has paid off for a change.

The biggest decision I have remaining for the day is whether or not I want to go out for a run after I get home. I completely blew it off this morning and I couldn’t get out for lunch. My alternative is eating and getting to bed early, thereby giving myself a shot at waking up early enough in the morning to do a workout, before my next early morning meeting. Perhaps I should go out tonight as I can pretty much guarantee myself putting that one in the bank. Whether I can wake up early enough tomorrow to get in a workout and be at work on time is questionable at best.

The interesting thing I am noticing about writing this post is that I will post it after I would have decided whether or not I am going to do a run this evening. So by the time I write this, the question of whether or not I will run this evening will already have been answered. Does this fact make this posting irrelevant or does it have value in as much as it records my state of mind at this moment? Is it worthy to record to preserve for remembrance at some later date? Or should I just modify the entry to reflect the events that actually occurred? And by asking these questions, haven’t I already decided that I am going to post this blog entry as it is?

I am going to start a secret blog. One in which I can be completely anonymous. This way I can write about things without fear of the wrong people discovering it. I’ve found as of late that I feel overly constrained in what I can write by the need not to reveal all that is in my mind. It’s a terrible thing when even your own thoughts aren’t free. I just happen to like sharing my thoughts, which is why I started a blog in the first place. I will still post here though, but my new blog will contain all of my hidden inner demons set loose on the anonymous world to consume.

Blew It Off

Today was a scheduled 20 miler. The plan was to do it between my son and daughter’s soccer game. I asked my daughter to join me and she said she would. I told her I needed to go 6 loops around the park, but that she could go for as many as she wanted. If she wanted to come home, then I would bring her back and go out again. I've found that to get the best results with her wanting to do this, I have to let her do it for as much and as easily as she wants.

While I like going for a run with my daughter beside me on her bike, perhaps I should limit it to the days that don’t require me to go long. I need to let her take a break when we do much more than a loop and the starting and stopping is not conducive to getting into a good rhythm. As it turned out, she only wanted to go around with me twice. I took her home, which then required me to haul her bicycle back down our basement stairs. Around this time my stomach was acting up and I felt the urge to go to the bathroom. By the time I finished, I was cooled off, stiffening and no longer in the mood to run. I just bailed out on it, ate breakfast and played with my kids on our front stoop. I felt bad about blowing off a long workout, but at that moment I really enjoyed being able to eat breakfast and just hanging out with my kids. There will be many more opportunities to run 20 miles, but not some many days to hang around outside on a perfect fall day.

Perhaps if I didn’t have stomach trouble I would have gone back out. I need to make sure that in the future, I don’t eat shredded wheat at any time before a workout. That’s what I ate over 3 hours earlier, but I guess it sat like a rock in my guts and caused me all sorts of trouble once I started to run.

I did get some supplemental running in later in the day. We needed a referee at my daughter’s soccer game and I volunteered for the job. I must have run at least a couple of miles while chasing the girls and the ball up and down the field. In retrospect, perhaps it was a good thing I didn’t run 20; otherwise I may have been too tired or really hurting for my refereeing job.

My Legs are Back

My legs are back. I went out for a bike ride this morning and my body felt physically strong. I am showing no signs of post race fatigue from SOS. This is the best recovery I have made in a very long time. I almost didn’t discover the fact that I am feeling strong, since I really questioned if I felt like going out for a ride. I didn’t have much time to do much training, since my only free time was sandwiched between my son and daughter’s soccer games. I figured what was the point, but I got out and rode 30 out of 50 scheduled miles.

The ride was in Prospect Park. I am sure the thought of riding alone in this park once again was a contributing factor in not wanting to go. I am so bored with it. It has become absolute torture. I am ok with running around it, but doing endless bike laps is going to drive me insane. I just don’t have much choice of riding venues. If I go anywhere else, I spend most of my riding in traffic; not a very fun alternative.

Since I was riding strong I had surges of motivation run through me. I generally feel good once I get going. It’s the getting going as of late that’s been tough. I am looking at it from the perspective that I have so much stuff to do and so many commitments, is it really worth the struggle to keep training. Is doing anything just a pretense to stay in shape? I know I’ll keep going though, because ultimately it makes me feel better to do so. What I need is a cheering squad, someone to tell me to get off my ass and to get out the door.

Someday an Ironman

Today I almost skipped my workout. I couldn’t wake up early enough to get a run in and I didn’t get home until almost 8pm. I figured that I may as well forget about it, but I asked my kids if they wanted to go for a bike ride while I ran. I didn’t hold out much hope of that happening, but to my pleasant surprise, my daughter said she wanted to go. Granted I had to wait for Spongebob to end before she decided to go, but it was a critical episode in which Plankton was suing Mr. Crabs in a bogus slip and fall injury case. The outcome of the trial could not be missed.

I think it is fairly safe to say that we were the only father/daughter team out this evening for a run anywhere in the city. It was overcast and windy under the cover of night. We only saw two other people during our entire time around the loop in Prospect Park. My daughter likes to say how she is a lot like me, which was why she was finging it fun to be outside with me when the weather is a bit nasty and it’s dark outside.

I have high hopes for her being an Ironman someday. While we were underway she stated how she needs to become a better swimmer to do an Ironman. It wasn’t an if statement, but more of a when. I think she may actually want to do it when she turns 18. Besides the Ironman, we talked about school, work and all the sorts of things that fathers and daughters say. I was so glad to have her with me as it makes working out so much more pleasant to do. It’s nice to have company especially after several years of mostly training alone. Training with my own child is even so much better as I don’t feel like I am abandoning them to train; instead I am spending quality time with them while I am also doing something I love. If life goes well, I hope and expect to have more of this type of togetherness as time goes on.

Cloister

clois·ter (kloi'st?r)
n.

1. A covered walk with an open colonnade on one side, running along the walls of buildings that face a quadrangle.
2. 
   
1. A place, especially a monastery or convent, devoted to religious seclusion.
2. Life in a monastery or convent.
3. A secluded, quiet place.

tr.v., -tered, -ter·ing, -ters.

1. To shut away from the world in or as if in a cloister; seclude.
2. To furnish (a building) with a cloister.

I think it would be nice to run along a covered walk as described above. A lovely solitary place where you can run all by yourself with just the sounds of your footsteps crunching under the gravel beneath you. Preferably a place that has long been abandoned, kind of like how the South Bronx used to be in the late 70’s early 80’s.

Many times while training I have been in secluded and quiet places. Other times it has been loud and noisy like when riding over the Manhattan Bridge. I think the best runs are those where you feel shut away from the world and don’t sense anyone or anything around you. Those are the times when training becomes effortless and immensely enjoyable.

Lately though I haven’t felt like training alone. It gets tiring being on your own after a while and you begin to long for company. Undoubtedly that is why there are so many running and triathlon clubs. Tonight though I think I am ready to just go out on my own and see what happens. Maybe I’ll get that runners high and stay out for longer than I am scheduled. Maybe I’ll run the out of the way trails in Prospect Park to give myself that cloistered feeling. I’ve never really done this because I hold myself slave to running the familiar courses with their measured distances. Kind of like my friend Todd who not only runs the same course day after day, but never ever ventures to run in the opposite direction.

Some exercise this evening will be just what the doctor ordered. I was in an all day meeting and my ass is absolutely killing me from sitting on it all day. These all day meetings can be quite painful especially if you’re starting to get gas. I hate being locked in a room when it would be uncouth to let a fart rip. It starts to back up and the pressure can become quite intense. Then when you finally have a break it gets all locked up and you can’t pass it for anything. But enough of that, you aren’t here to read about my bowel issues are you?

I wonder what this blogger would have to say about the pain my rear is feeling from sitting all day. I stumbled upon this blog by clicking through to other blogs starting from a comment someone left on mine. I imagine that sitting through an all day meeting might just be something of a fantasy situation.

Not much has changed since the last time I’ve been to Asphalt Green. The only difference I could tell were some security warning stickers pasted on the inside of the locker doors. I half expected bats to fly out of my personal locker though, since it has been months from the last time I opened it.

Today I swam with a friend who is an excellent swimmer( and parallel parker) and pointed out some flaws in my stroke. Nothing too major was found; maybe a lacking of hip rotation and a tendency to kick too much. I think realistically, the most major flaw I have with my swimming stroke is not using it enough. How can I be fast in the water if I don’t get in it often enough – that includes time for exiting the pool to pee. Better I stay more efficient and do it in the pool?

So in short for the day I rode 12 miles into the city, swam 2500 yards and ride 12 miles home. Not bad for an easy training day. I will have to do this again soon

Snuck Up On Me

It snuck on without me really noticing it, but for the past two days I’ve been suffering from post race depression. I think the down feelings are being exasperated by the fact that I skipped training for the last two days. Monday I was just too tired to get up and this morning felt too cold and dark. I figured I raced hard over the weekend and I deserve some goofing off time. Ultimately though taking more than just a day off is a mistake as I start to feel really blue.

To force myself back into a training routine I am going to Asphalt Green for a swim in the morning. It will be my first trip to AG since sometime in June. I really don’t want to go, but if I am ever going to improve my swimming, I have to start sometime. Maybe an angel will visit me in the pool and bestow upon me the secret to effortlessly move through the water.

Physically though, perhaps taking a couple of days off was a good thing. I think my legs needed the rest. Today while standing and walking around my desk, I felt my right leg suddenly lock up and give out on me around the top of the calf, just below the knee. It was an odd, not good at all feeling, but it doesn’t appear as if any damage was done.

Well, I better get off to bed. I need to get some sleep if I stand a chance of waking up early enough for the bike ride to the pool. It will be good to ride over that industrial nightmare called the Manhattan Bridge again.

Survival of the Shawangunks 2006

I wasn’t sure how I would do at this race. I had a stressful couple of days leading up to it and I doubted that I could get my mind around biking 30 miles, running 18 miles and swimming 2 miles. At dinner the night before the race a surge of doubt entered my mind and a deep fear struck me that I would be crazy to attempt it. Luckily, the feeling passed after a few minutes and I settled down thinking everything would be ok. My wife suggested on a couple of occasions during the weekend that I could always forget about the race and just relax and enjoy the scenery at Mohonk Mountain. Not the type of encouragement that I needed to do a race, but it did sound like a good idea. I remembered that I was looking forward to this race though and I figured if I just got started I would be fine.

Since stayed at Mohonk Mountain House, I was left with a logistical problem of getting to the start on race morning. Fortunately, I befriended another athlete the day before and he offered to give me a ride to the start. Otherwise it would have been a 10 mile ride down a steep and narrow mountain road before sunrise. Having a ride down was quite convenient, since I was able to veg out and stay warm in the car for the time before the race. I still wasn’t sure how I was feeling physically, but at least I didn’t doubt whether or not I should be doing the race.

The race starts on the bike with a relatively flat and fast 20 miles. My legs seemed to have shown up for the race and I was easily averaging over 20 mph. The last 10 miles and especially the last 5 become very hilly which lowered my average speed for the bike segment to 19.9 mph. On the flat sections of the course no one would ever pass me. Once we hit the hills I would play cat and mouse with a few other riders, including my friend Rob, but for the most part I was able to hold everyone off.

My wife and kids met me at the bicycle transition. While I was on my way there, I wondered what I would do if they didn’t show up. Funny thing is, I wasn’t sure that I would be all that upset, because it would have given me a good reason to bail out of the race. As I found out later though, they made it to the transition area with only two minutes to spare. She got lost on the way to the transition and made it in the nick of time.

When I got to the spot my wife had laid out, my children looked very happy to see me. My son started to unstrap my bike shoes and my daughter pulled off my cycling gloves. Once I got my running shoes on my son started to yell for me to start running. I kissed them goodbye and headed out for the first 4.5 mile run.

My first run went well. It wasn’t as tough as I’d remembered it. I suppose this was a really good sign. I had a strong HR and steady pace and the miles ticked off fast enough.

The first swim didn’t go as smoothly as planned. I decided to wear a once piece tri-suit and getting my sneakers tucked inside it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I should have practiced with it beforehand, but I didn’t think it would be a big deal. The biggest problem I had though was with the small race pack that I used to carry my goggles while running and my glasses while swimming. With tri shorts, I was able to tuck it below the waistband. With the one piece suit, this wasn’t possible. The darn thing acted like a sail in the water causing a huge amount of drag. I finally had to stop and stuff in down the front of my suit. Between the sneakers in the back and the pouch in the front I made for a very unstreamlined swimmer. By the time I got out of the water, my friends Todd and Rob had passed me by several minutes. I knew this because I eventually passed Rob again who told me that Todd had just passed him. I couldn’t catch Todd though. I will have to work on my swimming. No way should he have beaten me in this race, but I guess I’ll know for sure when the official results are posted on the website.

My conclusion of this fact is that I am a very crappy swimmer comparatively speaking. I don’t know if it’s my stroke or if I just forgot how to push myself in the water. After the first two swims, I passed the same people on the run on the preceding runs. It sucked having to pass the same people more than once.

For some reason, I thought the second run of the day was the 8 miler. I wasn’t really paying attention to my lap timer, but I thought I had an excellent split for the distance. I didn’t realize that I hadn’t yet done the 8 mile run until I was well into it. I remarked to someone I passed that this was the longest 5 mile run ever or I am going very slowly. He replied that he thought it was the 8 miler and it wasn’t until a few minutes later that I realized he was right. This was a good thing or else I would have been running worse than 10 minute miles.

Other than knowing I was going very slowly I enjoyed the swims. I found them refreshing. On the last swim, I realized that my upper body was getting tired as I could feel my muscles strain with each stroke. It was a good feeling though and I slowly and steadily made progress towards the shore and the last run of the day.

The run up to Skytop wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and ended quickly. With that I had successfully survived another SOS Triathlon. My wife and kids were there to greet me at the finish and they made sure I got something to eat and a place to sit down. My kids were excited to see me and my daughter kept her arms around me to keep warm.

The best part of doing this race was that I was able to forget about all the pressures and worries that have been on my mind for the past few weeks. It was nice to lose myself in a race, at least for a while. I was mostly too busy or working too hard to let the negative thoughts in my mind and it was a much welcome respite.

Other than slow swims, I rode and ran very well. SOS is such a scenic course. It's challenging and very enjoyable. For most of the race, you are running alone, except for the occasional person that I passed. The solitary nature of it suited me fine.

I finished in 5:28:21. 6th for my AG and I think 36th overall. I beat my previous time of 5:39:42, so I will be happy with my PR.

After the race, I still had some energy left, so I showered, changed and took my kids row boating in Lake Mohonk. We were just in time to see the last swimmer come out of the water. We cruised around the lake and then went to the fabulous post race BBQ.

something coherent

After a tumultuous start of a weekend I am finally able to settle down and relax. I think I have all my bags pack and clothes laid out. Not much more than that can I do. Ambien is finally kicking in and making it hard to type. I should have gone to blog earlier if I wanted to get in something coherent.

Guy on the Corner

Just about everyday I go into my office I see this same guy standing on the corner of my office building. What’s more remarkable than the fact he is there everyday, is the fact that he is wearing the same clothes, ratty vest and kangaroo pouch every time. Now that is what I call keeping up with a routine. How he keeps them stinking is beyond me. Perhaps I will start a photo blog of him and post a picture for everyday I see him.

Seeing him everyday in the same spot reminds me of the time I used to regularly ride my bike to Breezy Point every morning. I did this right through the winter when the conditions in this area were cold and barren. Every morning around 5:15 am I would see this woman walking down a desolate stretch of road heading for a bus stop. You could tell there was something wrong with her by her lumbering pace. She walked slow and steadily and I got the feeling she was on her way to work and had to leave early because she had some sort of tremendous commute ahead of her. You could just tell she didn’t drive. We passed and saw each other for months. Seeing her was something I could always count on. I wondered if she thought the same thing about me and if she ever noticed when I stopped following this bicycle routine.

I meant to get out of my office for a walk in the middle of the day, but it was not to happen. Such a shame I couldn’t get out and enjoy such a perfect day. I heard from my friend Larry though and we made a date to ride this evening in Prospect Park. Hopefully, I will get to see the moon rise and shine like it did last night.

But first I have to make it home on the subway. This time I didn’t delay my exit from work by going to the bathroom first. I still just missed the train and the next one took forever to arrive. Go figure.

Full Moon

It is a beautiful clear full moon on a perfect September evening. I just rode my bike home from a Safe Haven class I had to take to coach my son’s soccer team. It’s a class that’s meant to teach you how to provide a safe, fair and fun environment in which to play sports and one that promotes their physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Too bad there isn’t a class that teaches you how to do that for yourself.

As I hauled my bike into my house I thought about heading back out and going for a ride in Prospect Park. It is such a perfect night and bright enough to ride by the moonlight. I tried giving my friends Larry and Todd a call to see if they would join me, but both were disinclined to do so. Such a perfect night should be shared with friends and I didn’t feel like going on my own. I was a bit deflated when I hung up the phone, but still seriously considered going by myself getting. I told my wife I was going and she responded “what am are crazy?” Perhaps I am because I think it is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. But then I began to over think it, began to lose the desire and I could feel the tiredness from the day starting to overtake me. I rationalized that I have two small children at home and perhaps it was best if I just stayed home. Hopefully I can sleep soundly enough so I can wake up early and refreshed enough to do my ride in the morning.

I wish I had someone that I could share moments like this with. Next time I am just going to go for the ride before I have second thoughts.

This morning I did get up to do a run. However it was bad from the start. My body was for some reason bonking. I wasn’t surprised it happened since I woke up at 2am feeling like I was starving. I should have gotten up to eat, but I forced myself to go back to sleep. I paid for that decision by not having enough energy to do more than a pathetic 3.3 miles. I thought I ate enough at dinner time, but evidently not. I am going to have to start keeping better track of what and how much I eat. That's all for today... off to bed as soon as the Yankees close out the last two outs against KC.

Piss

I guess it is a lousy day when you go to take a crap at work and the toilet seat that you sit on is wet from the piss of the guy before. Usually I am quite adept at checking out the bowl before I sit down, but somehow this one got away from me. I even placed one of those toilet seat liners down before I sat. Unfortunately it didn’t lay down flat on the seat until my butt cheeks pressed against it. By then it was too late and all I could do was get some paper towels, wipe down my leg and move to another stall.

This wasn’t the only piss issue I had to deal with today. I decided to stop by the men’s room for a quick one before my subway ride home. This was a dreadful mistake. Because of the time I took to relieve myself, I had just missed a subway train as it pulled out of the station. The next train took over 20 minutes to arrive, was already packed and I wasn’t able to get my usual seat. Next time I just hold it in until I get home. To add insult to injury when I got off the train, I realized that I left something under my seat and had to dart back on to retrieve it. The doors closed before I could get back off and then the train went express taking me many stops beyond my destination. Ugh!

I’ll probably have to skip my morning workout tomorrow since I am schedule to give a presentation to a large audience (around 100 people). I don’t want to take a chance on being late and don’t want to have to worry about anything beforehand. I am not nervous about it, I just don’t want to stress about getting in a workout and then driving out to Long Island for an early morning meeting. Maybe I can stop at Eisenhower Park on the way home for a swim. I wonder how many people piss in the pool.

School is in Session

Fall is officially here. The kids have started school and the weather is turning cool in the morning. I woke up around 5am feeling chilled from the breeze coming in my window and all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. I didn’t see how it was possible that I would get up and do a 24 mile bike ride this morning. Was there ever a day when I would eagerly jump out of bed to do a workout. I know there was a time, but it seems so long ago I can’t remember it.

I let myself flop around my bed until 5:45am. That is when I finally decided that I may as well try to make myself do the workout. I checked my email quickly, grabbed a water bottle, inflated my tires and made it out the door just past 6:10am. I had to wear a long sleeve jersey because I would have been too cold without it.

I didn’t remember where I put the light colored lenses for my Rudy Projects so I wore my regular eyeglasses. It was too dark outside to wear them with the colored lenses. It’s such a pain in the ass to bike ride with them since I look out over the top of the lenses when I am in the aero position. I get this split image with the top blurry and the bottom clear when I lookout onto the road. Or I get the bottom blurry and the top clear when I look down at my cycle computer.

While riding I noticed that someone tied a yellow ribbon around a large tree. The song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” began to play over and over in my mind. It was quite annoying. I wonder which situation most people would find more annoying; having a song trapped in your head or having to clean up the dead rabbit that I saw along the Prospect Park loop. The poor rabbit must have been struck by a car as it lay dead in the road right on the painted line that separates the bike lane from the traffic lane. Its red blood was a stark contrast to the white line as it flowed down it on a slight incline. I think I would rather have to clean up the rabbit. At least once the cleanup is done its over, whereas the song may remain in my mind all day long.

Ugh, I am feeling hot, sweaty and nauseous right now. At least I have a seat on the subway. I got it just before the train was delayed in the station due to a sick passenger. If I didn’t have a seat, I am sure I would have been carried off the train as well. I don’t know why I am feeling sick now, I felt pretty good when I got off my bike. I usually feel better after a workout and I am always glad I forced myself to do them even though beforehand I just want to lie in bed. Maybe I am feeling awful because I feel restricted around my neck now that I am wearing a tie again for work. Summer is over and it is back to the old dress uniform. Maybe if I win the lottery I’ll show up for my last day at work wearing my tri clothes all sweaty from a workout.

I need a haircut. I haven’t had one since before IMLP. I have SOS this coming weekend and I always like to have my hair short before a race. I will have to try to find time this week to make it to my barber. I rode pretty good today so I am feeling confident that I will have a good race.

Kept Me Honest

It’s Labor Day. I wonder why it is called Labor Day if everyone takes off from work. Work out wise, today was a recovery day for me. What I am recovering from I don’t know. I didn’t exactly have any intense workouts this weekend except for the John Daly Swim.

I went to run long on Saturday, since it was Tropical Storm Ernesto was in town and doing a long bike ride in that out of the question. I was looking forward to the run, since I thought that running in a tropical storm would be really cool. I love everything about stormy weather. I love the smell, the feel of the wind and the rain hitting my face. Something about it just makes me feel so alive.

My run started out ok, but as I approached the 7th mile, I suddenly felt something wrong with my bowels and it was all I could do to run the mile home. I don’t know what came over me, but my HR tanked and I thought I would have to duck into the woods to do my business. Fortunately I was able to hold it together and made it home where I spent the next 20 minutes locked in my bathroom.

All that being said, I didn’t do anything over the weekend that required my legs to recover. I got to bed late last night though so I was feeling kind of sluggish this morning. However, for motivation I had my daughter accompany me on her bike while I ran this morning. She is getting very strong on the hills and the pace she sets keeps my running honest. I can’t dog the workout when I am with her since I have to try to keep up with her.

On our second trip up the hill in Prospect Park, my daughter got quiet as she struggled to pedal up it at a speed where I can still run. I didn’t tell her to try to move faster, she just did it on her own. I didn’t say anything to her so as not to break her concentration. As we approached the summit though we looked over at each other and smile broke out on our faces. We both knew that she had climbed the hill better than she has had before and the look of satisfaction on her face was priceless. I told her if she keeps this up she will be so much stronger than her friends when the time comes that she goes bike riding with them.

When we returned home I felt true disappointment that we still weren’t out running. I suddenly felt like I had just warmed up and wanted to be outside much longer. Maybe she is ready to do a 20 miler with me. The marathon is coming up.

John Daly Ocean Mile

Today I swam the John Daly Ocean Mile. I suspected that it might have been cancelled due to tropical store Ernesto the day before, but the day dawned clear and calm. That was except for the surf in the ocean which was breaking on the beach with gusto. This necessitated a switch from the ocean side of Long Beach to the bay side. This happened the last time I did this race and I was actually glad. I liked having the shore on my right as we swam east. The structures on land were very close and it gave you a good sense of your forward progress. Often I find in open ocean water swimming, you lose all sense of motion and it feels as though you are going nowhere.

At the race sign up I ran into my friends Capri and Tom from the Cibbows gang. It was nice to see some friendly faces among the crowd. Even if they hadn’t been there, it is always easy to make some new friends while hanging out before the start of the race. One such friend was athlete named Erica who drove in all the way from Montauk to swim 1 mile. She won first in her age group, so I guess the trip was worthwhile.

A bunch of us were talking before the swim start, saying how we couldn’t wait to get in the water so we could pee. We jumped in off a small dock to enter the water and it was quite a shock. It was a cool 65 degrees and the cold temperature made it impossible to let go. It took intense concentration to allow my body to relax so I could go.

I felt myself getting cold while I waited for the gun to go off. I was hoping that I would warm up once I started moving. I was swimming pretty hard and I was happy with my stroke and progress, but I never really warmed up. I drafted other swimmers when I could, but for the most part I swam alone. After a while it felt as though the fingers of my hands were starting to splay. I tried to swim harder to generate more heat, but it wasn’t helping. There was nothing I could do except keep my pace and try to get it over as quickly as possible.

As quickly as possible translated into a 45:15 finish. This is very slow for me for a mile, but everyone agreed the distance was well over that. When I exited the water I was very surprised to see the time. It didn’t feel like I was swimming that long, but I was glad it was over. We were all bussed back to the beach and awaited the awards ceremony. The sun was shined brightly by now and it warmed me up. I hung out for the awards and then grabbed a bite to eat.

After it was all over, I went to my brother-in-laws house a bit down the beach. My family was meeting me there. I was feeling really good and spent the rest of the day playing with my kids in the sand and teaching my daughter how to boogie board. It was a great day sun, sand and surf.

Timex Ironman

I could be wrong, but I don’t think the guy in this picture is an Ironman. Maybe at some point in the past, but definitely not now. This being the case, I question whether it is proper for him to being wearing a Timex Ironman watch. Somehow, I don’t think Timex had this person in mind when it came to a target audience.

Maybe I am just being mean. After all, he could be aspiring to lose weight and get in shape to do an IM. Perhaps the watch gives him motivation. Who am I to judge?

Speaking of Ironman and Ironman type events, I am giving serious consideration to doing the JFK 50 Miler. My coach thinks it is ill-advised. I think it is just the thing I need to get my training act back into gear. Something about traversing 20 miles of rugged Appalachian trail, followed by 30 miles of a tow path and asphalt is appealing to me. It is supposed to take the same amount of time an effort as an IM, so I know I am cut out for it. I’ll just have to see how it goes as September rolls on.

Now that it is September, it means that the Red Hook municipal pool will be closing down. It will be back to my twice/thrice weekly commute by bike to Asphalt Green. I can honestly say I am not looking forward to it. Maybe I will just stop swimming.. Maybe I’ll just do ocean swims until it becomes too cold to do so.

Tomorrow it is supposed to rain frogs, fire and brimstone; at least according to my friend Chris, who is trying to bag a scheduled run for tomorrow. I intend to go no matter what. A 20 mile run is just no longer challenging, so I am hoping a little wind and rain will make it more of an effort. The great thing about running in the rain is that it is so easy to stay hydrated. Osmosis is a great trick once you learn how to master it.