Two Days in a Row=Back on Track

"Get up, get back on your feet" Styx: Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)

Another "runnable" day. Today's weather was 40 degrees, and even though it had rained earlier and was dreary outside, I was ready to rock(listen to my mp3 player) n' run. By the way, I've decided that unless it's a big difference between the actual temperature and the "feels like" temperature, I won't bother mentioning it. Due to assorted aches and pains still being felt from yesterday's run, plus the fact it's supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow, I decided that 4 miles would be the perfect distance to run. Tomorrow's run will definitely be longer if indeed it is 60 degrees. I decided on my favorite 4 mile course (surprise), which as I've mentioned several times previously, is also the first 4 mile route I created over 2 years ago. It's challenging enough, with uphills and downhills, but no "killer hills." Best of all, like all my street runs, it starts and finishes near my house. I didn't have Stephanie to keep me company, since she decided that the gym was her workout of choice today. I must mention that for the past month or so, I have not used energy gels or energy drinks to "enhance" my performance. I have finally realized and admitted that 1) I still run well without them, and 2) They're expensive, and right now I have a lot more important things to spend my money on. It remains to be seen if I go back to using them again. The gels are usually available during longer distance races, so I know I'll grab them as I'm running. I'll take any "lift" I can get, whether psychological or real during longer race runs. As you've seen by earlier posts, I swear by the Hammer Nutrition products, so at some point I'll probably purchase them again. Okay, back to today's run. Fortunately we've had a lot of rain since the snowstorm, so most of the snow is gone, and the roads are clear. Therefore, I don't have the "road pizza" fear at this time. Plenty of room for me and the vehicles on the road to coexist peacefully. Mile splits today were 8:29, 8:24, 8:16, and 7:43, for a total of 32:52, or an average pace of 8:13 per mile. I really wanted Santa to bring me a Garmin, but that wasn't possible, so I still do my splits the old fashioned way, meaning looking at my Casio wristwatch every mile, and memorizing the times. Yes, there's an easier way to get the split times on it, but I've yet to look at the instruction manual and figure it out. I've been doing it this way for two years, so why change? Overall, I didn't like the "slowness" of my start, but am impressed with my time overall considering I'm just getting back into a regular running routine again. As I said earlier, it may hit 60 degrees tomorrow....unheard of on December 28 in Connecticut. My goal is to run wearing shorts, and of course to have FUN!!. I may run forever tomorrow.... although the new found pain on my left heel may change my mind.

Quality Time With My Daughter

"It's been such a long time" Long Time: Boston

It's been 9 long days since my last run. Crappy weather, getting ready for Christmas, sunset at 4:20 p.m., the list of reasons goes on and on why I waited so long to run. Prior to running, I did as I always do, and checked WTNH.com. I discovered it was an actual temperature of 35 degrees, and also a "feels like" temperature of 35 degrees. Cold, but a refreshing kind of cold. My daughter Stephanie actually agreed to run with me, which was a surprise since she has a cold weather rule that she doesn't run outside unless it's 40 degrees or more. We both agreed that 6 miles sounded good, with my logic being that I needed to run a mile for the amount of days in a row I have "oinked" on Christmas cookies. I'm not sure what her reasoning was, nor did I care since she was in agreement with me about the distance we would run. I let her pick the route, and she chose a new road route that started and ended at our house. Since neither one of us owns a Garmin, or any other high tech satellite technology gizmo, we use http://www.usatf.org/to plot our courses. This particular course was one she created one day by just running around Cheshire for a certain amount of time, and then using, you guessed it, www.usatf.org to see what distance it was. Lo and behold, it was 6.11 miles. Okay, now that I've cleared that up, I have to say that I enjoyed running with Steph. Not that she talks a lot as we run. Actually, most of the time I do the talking for the first mile or so, get very little responses from her, then decide to shut up and allow her and myself to enjoy our individual music and the beautiful day. After all, it's not the conversation that's important. We can talk anytime. It's the joy of spending quality father-daughter time together out on the open road doing something we both enjoy. Today's run was, as I like to say, fun. Well, at least the first 40 minutes were. The last 18:51 wasn't so fun. My legs were definitely feeling the effects of an 8 day layoff. Heavy and tight are two words that come to mind to describe how they felt. But hey, I ran, I spent quality time with my daughter, and it was.....FUN! Total time was 58:51, or a slow and steady 9:38 per mile average pace.

When Will I Run Again??

"Too much time on my hands" Styx

More snow in the forecast, plus poorly plowed roads, means too much time to eat Christmas cookies and not getting enough exercise by running. No, I won't use our treadmill (dreadmill). I'd rather get fat than feel like a hamster running on its wheel. Believe it or not, I run for fun and the runner's high, rather than for weight loss or maintenance. Anyone who runs understands what I mean. The weight loss or maintenance is a bonus that I love, however! Yes, I know...I work for Weight Watchers and am not always a role model. That's when the "Do as I say, and not as I do" rule applies. That's the same rule that anyone (Lori) who has ever worked in the classroom with me knows I tell the students to follow. Not that I'm not a role model for the most part...just that the 16 year old comes out of me sometimes...damn ADD!!

Bah Humbug!!

"Let it snow, let it snow" (NOT!)

Well, unfortunately the weather forecasters were correct. About 8 inches of snow is waiting for me to snowblow. Worse yet, that also means that the Linear Trail won't be an option to run for a while. Plus, when I do run, I'll be hugging the shoulder of the road and hoping that I don't become "road pizza," meaning getting run over by an inattentive driver. Can you tell I absolutely hate winter?! At least after tomorrow we start gaining back daylight.
Today: Sunrise: 7:15 AM Sunset: 4:25 PM. Just 9 hours and 10 minutes of daylight...sigh...

I'm Feeling Lazy

"You'll never get up if you don't get up
You'll always stay down if you sit around" Lazy Days: 10CC

They blew the weather forecast, so I ran.
A short blog because I'm not feeling motivated to hunt and peck on my keyboard. 3 miles, 32 degrees, mile splits 8:30, 16:30, 24:29; 8:09 per mile pace.
Note to self: Don't EVER run without gloves when it's 32 degrees. My hands are SO dried out and cracked. However, gooping vasoline all over my hands, covering them with socks, and going to sleep worked like a charm. P.S. Hi Lori and Ellen!!!!

A Two Mile Warm-up??

"Things are okay with me these days" Billy Joel: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant

The weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow is saying we're going to get rain, sleet, freezing rain, a little snow...you get the idea. It will be too messy to run. So, today was a running day. I decided on my original 4 mile road course, because unfortunately sunset is so stinkin' early now that I didn't have time to run the Linear Trail. It was cold, 33 degrees, "feels like" 31 degrees, with the raw feeling you get in the air just before a winter storm. Fortunately the wind was calm. I set out, deciding that how I felt the first mile or so would determine my pace. I was sucking in cold air, and some of it smelled and tasted like the smell of someone burning wood in their fireplace. My neighbor's were keeping warm, and my lungs were paying the price. For the first time in a long time, it hurt a little to breathe while I ran. Up two hills, and down one, and I passed mile 1 at 8:30. Slower than I expected, but I was okay with it. It was, after all, 2 days after my all out effort in the 5K race, plus I was finally breathing cleaner air that wasn't hurting my lungs. Mile 2, my turnaround point, was just under 17 minutes. Again, no problem, at least my first two miles were consistant. As I headed back towards home, I was warm, breathing easily, and it was time for my gloves to come off. I always feel lighter without them. Stupid, I know, because they probably weigh a combined 5 ounces or so. Running was now, as it usually is, fun. It's relatively flat to mile 3, and I was surprised when I checked my watch and read "25:00." An 8 minute mile, after two 8:30 miles?! Well, the biggest surprise was yet to come, as I completed my run, and was stunned to see my finishing time of 32:38 (8:09/M), meaning my last mile was run in 7:38. Go figure! I guess it took me two miles instead of my customary one mile to warm up.

The Results Are In

"It's over, it's over, all over, It's all over now" It's Over: ELO

Results for 2008 Christopher Martins
Christmas Run for the Children
I finished 301 of 1497 runners
48/183 in my division (Men's 50-59)
Time: 22:57
7:24 per mile pace...SWEET!!

2006 time was 25:59
2007 time was 23:26

It was a great day weather-wise for a late fall 5K race. It was clear, crisp, and just a little windy, and about 35 degrees at the 10:15 starting time. My daughter Stephanie decided to run with me, since the forecast of a high of 40 degrees with no rain met her outdoor running requirements. We got to Christopher Martin's ridiculously early (8:30), considering that the race wasn't starting until 10:15. I was pre-registered, but by getting there early, it allowed Stephanie to beat the crowd and register herself. This race probably has my favorite long sleeved t-shirts every year. The artwork on it is well worth the extra $10. After returning to my car to drop off our shirts, we decided to wait inside the bar area of the restaurant to keep warm. About a half hour before the start, the road in front of the restaurant was closed, which meant it was time to go outside, get a free sample of "Monster" energy drink, and run around to warm up and to get warm. We lined up shortly thereafter very close to the starting line. We were close enough to avoid most of the "obstacles," but far enough back to respect the faster runners. After deciding on a post race meeting place (the bar), I said my good-byes to Stephanie as the race began. It was a more difficult obstacle course at the start than I had expected. I was constantly zig-zagging my way around slower runners. Finally at about the 1/2 mile point, the road widened and I settled into a comfortable pace. I knew that once I turned onto Orange Street that mile 1 was close by. As I ran down Orange Street, I heard the split times being called out, and was surprised that I was passing by at 7:13. A terrific start considering all the people I had maneuvered around earlier. For whatever reason, I over compensated for my faster than expected first mile, and found myself at 15 minutes even at mile 2. I had run a 7:47 second mile, which concerned me because my goal was to beat last years time of 23:26, which was a 7:33 pace. I knew that an 8:25 time for the final 1.1 miles was all I needed to beat it. I decided to quicken my pace, especially since I knew that the last mile, as well as the first 2 miles, was completely flat. I was passing runners who earlier had passed me, and at the same time wishing I hadn't worn a long sleeved sweatshirt, t-shirt, and short sleeved wick shirt. I felt too warm, but reminded myself I was in the homestretch. Besides, there was cold beer (yes, beer) waiting for me at the finish. I sprinted down State Street, towards the finish, passing everyone ahead of me, and eyed the clock at the finish line. It was showing 22 minutes plus. I realized that with a strong finishing kick, I could break 23 minutes. I sprinted as fast as I could, and crossed the finish line at 22:57, or 29 seconds faster than last year. The post race hot dogs, bagels, and beer were going to taste like filet mignon and well, GREAT beer!