Fall Training: Week 4

Posted on June 15, 2008 by threlkeld

I’m currently in a post-prandial stupor, probably headed off for a short nap soon. What better time to recap the week’s running?

This was my highest mileage week since February: 90 miles. Hard to believe. Still, just 1.5 miles more than two weeks ago. But some of them were tough miles indeed.

A look back at the week:

  • Monday: 6.1 miles recovery pace (AM); 4.9 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Tuesday: 6 miles recovery pace (AM); 5.2 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Wednesday: 11 miles with 5 x 1 mile hill repeats (AM); 4 miles easy pace (PM)
  • Thursday: 7.9 miles easy(!) pace; 4.2 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Friday: 6.4 miles recovery pace (AM); 4.8 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Saturday: 6.1 miles recovery pace (AM); 3.4 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Sunday: 20 mile long run with 2 miles at marathon pace

Total mileage: 90 miles

Paces this week:

  • Recovery: 9:22 – 11:13
  • Hills: 8:49
  • Easy: 7:59 – 8:49
  • Long: 8:30 with 2 x 1 miles at 7:35 pace

We had a real heat wave for the early part of the week. Then the weather eased up a bit and it was both cooler and drier. But still pretty hot.

Wednesday’s hill run went well, considering that it’s been months since I’ve done any hill-specific running. We found a great half-mile long hill in Scarsdale along Grand Boulevard. It starts with a big uphill, then a little dip, then a shorter uphill. On a mile round-trip you get to work the legs (and lungs!) on both types of hills, extreme up and extreme down. I did five repeats sandwiched inbetween three miles there and three miles back — and was wiped by the end.

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Oddly, though, my legs felt very fresh later in the day, so my planned recovery run turned into a fairly quick easy run. I have days where I decide to just run faster if I feel good, just as I make a day that doesn’t feel good into a slower day.

Wednesday’s effort definitely lingered, though. My legs were sore and tired (very tired) Thursday, making for glacial paces on that day’s runs. Then I did a very fast easy run on Friday morning, because the weather was so lovely — cool, dry and in the 60s. Paid for it yesterday, when my legs were again complaining.

Yesterday also brought the worst thunderstorms we’ve had since moving up here roughly 14 years ago. Heavy rain started a little after 6PM and I waited for it to move on. It went on and on. I did my little recovery run inside on the treadmill, but Jonathan had gone out to do his on the path. I finished up at 6:40 or so and was in the kitchen, looking out the window, when the sky went black in the space of about 10 seconds. I thought, “Hmm, this doesn’t look good.” Then the skies opened up and buckets of rain came down, punctuated by lightning strikes.

Since I am the panicky sort, I got in the car to go look for Jonathan. Driving along the Bronx River Parkway, it was impossible to see more than five feet in front of the car. The roadway was a giant puddle, so I got off at Crestwood train station, hoping he’d taken shelter there. Ran up the stairs to see if he was inside, but no luck. Since the parkway was rapidly flooding, I decided to take local streets home to wait for him. But the streets were flooding too. I had a moment, right before driving into about two feet of water, where I thought, “I’m doing what stupid people do right now. I may need to abandon the car if it stalls out.”

Made it through the puddle and continued to stupidly think, “Well, I’m going uphill to our house. Higher ground should be safer.” Made the turn onto Underhill and it was a waterfall. I gunned the engine and hoped I’d make it up the hill. At our street, the situation was even worse: about a foot of water was rushing down the hill, carrying branches and boulders with it. The source was a drainage sluice that runs alongside our driveway, which didn’t look passable, let along driveable.

At that point, I pull up onto a neighbor’s raised driveway, turned on AM radio and waited. Flash flood warnings! Big shocker there. After about five minutes, the rain let up and the floodwaters started to ebb. Just as I was deciding what to do next, I saw Jonathan trudging up the street, looking like a drowned rat. It turns out he took shelter about a hundred feet north of the train station in a stand of trees. So I just missed him.

It was an exciting evening, to say the least. I had no plans to drink, but a shot of vodka was in order for its calming properties. Then a big bowl of mac and cheese and early bed for…

…the big run of the week: a 20 miler with some late miles at current marathon fitness pace (~7:35). Did this one on the treadmill due to dreadful humidity this morning. Luckily, I’ve got a 3+ hour mix of music on my MP3 player and for visual entertainment I watched “Waterworld” without the sound. “Waterworld” is sort of like “The Road Warrior” but with lots of water and none of the suspense or excitement.

I’d planned to do the last three miles at marathon pace, but my legs were complaining, so I cut it to doing miles 18 and 19, then a cooldown mile for 20. Yet another case of reminding myself that this is just basebuilding time, not real training yet. But soon. Soon.

Coming up in Fall Training Week 5: The mileage gets cut by 12 miles in order to be somewhat fresh for the Stratton Faxon Fairfield Half on Sunday. But not before a serious speed session on Wednesday.

Filed under: basebuilding, everyday life, training, westchester | 2 Comments »

Sightings

Posted on June 10, 2008 by threlkeld

On recent local runs I’ve seen:

  • An enormous tortoise. About a foot long. Or maybe more than one, since between Jonathan and myself we’ve spotted three in radically different locations. They can’t swim, and it’s hard to believe they could move that fast on land. Now we’re thinking that someone’s introduced a set of them into the environment recently.
  • Our own local African elite. We’ve both spotted a rail thin, fast guy who looks to be possibly Kenyan or Ethiopian cruising along the path. I wonder who he is. He is much faster than the tortoise. Or me, for that matter.
  • A man inexplicably wearing heavy ski mittens. We’re talking thick space shuttle jobbies. He was wearing them this morning when it was 90 degrees outside. Shorts, tee shirt — and 10 lb. plastic mittens. Mental illness, medical condition or just garden variety eccentricity? You decide.
  • A small bag of pot on the ground. Really! Just south of the White Plains train station. Needless to say, I now keep my eyes peeled while in that area now.

The last few days have been crazy hot. But not too humid, which has helped. The heat wave is supposed to break overnight. I sure hope so, because tomorrow morning I have to go run up and down a half mile hill five times.

Filed under: everyday life, westchester | 1 Comment »

Chipmunks galore

Posted on May 26, 2008 by threlkeld

The running path is teeming with chipmunks these days. As we were running along the other day, Jonathan wondered aloud what baby chipmunks must look like. Here’s the answer.

Filed under: westchester | 3 Comments »

Bad runs, good runs, fall training

Posted on May 16, 2008 by threlkeld

With one notable exception, it’s been a bleh week for running. I spent Monday traveling to Iowa, Tuesday at a memorial service for my grandmother, followed by a reception at her retirement home, then Wednesday traveling back home with hours of flight delays.

So Monday and Wednesday, I did not run. On Tuesday morning, though, my sister and I headed over to the Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids, located along the Sac and Fox Trail, to attempt a run. Alas, after a week of rain the trail was a mudbath. So we hit the road; Otis Road, to be exact.

What a lovely run it was. I ran on ahead since I wanted to cover 8 miles to her 6 and we had to hurry along to get ready for the service later in the morning. We saw two trains pass by. She managed to get the conductor to honk by waving at him. Enthusiastic arm pumping by me on the way back yielded no honks from conductor number two.

Otis runs through farmland, and along the way I saw many deer, hawks, feral farm cats, a squashed squirrel and a bunch of friendly horses (or maybe just hungry ones) at a horse farm. We ran an out and back and at some point later in the run I was catching up to Susan, who was gliding over the crest of a hill, framed by a sterling Iowa morning sky. A beautiful scene indeed. I got choked up, realizing that the chances are slim that I’ll run in Cedar Rapids again.

Despite the fact that I was there for my grandmother’s service, I enjoyed myself. I spent a lot of time with my mother and her partner, my sister and niece, as well as with some extended family whom I don’t get to see that often. But, as was expected, it was also a rough trip emotionally. Not surprisingly, I came home feeling totally drained, and it wasn’t just from all the travel.

I did a terrible 4.5 miler yesterday. I gained about 3 pounds of water during the trip (eating lots of junk), plus I screwed up my left foot wearing formal shoes all day Tuesday. I don’t have bad runs very often, but they truly suck when they happen.

I got up this morning to try another, but it was pouring ran. So I did 5 miles inside on the treadmill at noon, and that went a lot better. Tomorrow I’ll do 10 in the morning, then 5 or 6 in the afternoon. Then a big 17 miler on Sunday, with the last few at marathon pace.

Westchester has changed the Bicycle Sunday rules, I’ve noticed. For most weekends in May, June and September Westchester shuts down several miles of the Bronx River Parkway on Sundays from 10AM – 2PM. It used to be limited to bicyclists and rollerbladers, but this year they’ve changed the rules to allow walkers, strollers and “joggers.”

Last weekend I was finishing up a 16 miler right around 10:30. I noticed that no runners were using the parkway. I suppose they either don’t realize they can, or, like me, they’re worried that it’s more hazardous than using the paved path. I’ll probably stick to the path again on Sunday — it’s more shaded there anyway.

One great aspect to Bicycle Sundays is the appearance of an ice cream truck right at the end of my long run. Last weekend I was starving for the last few miles and I cursed myself for not bringing either a gel or any money with me. I’ll take a fiver on Sunday so I can get a delicious treat after whaling on my legs for 17 miles.

I’ve mapped out my marathon training plan for the fall race: 8 weeks of base building, followed by a 14 week program that’s a modified version of what I used for the spring. The approach is pretty simple. The 8 weeks of base building consists of one long run on Sunday (alternating each weekend with marathon pace miles at the end) and one other hard run: either hills, tempo or intervals on the track. I’m also building up the miles from current 60ish to 90.

Then I go into 14 weeks of training in which I continue this approach, but throw in a midweek long run (to make it three hard workouts a week), more marathon pace miles, and a few tune-up races. The mileage tops out at 105, but I’ve put in more recovery runs (and more frequent full recovery weeks) this time around, so I’m hoping that will ward off injury.

I’ve decided to mix up the quality run types (tempo, hills, intervals) throughout training rather than doing them in phases. I believe that doing speed intervals every week for a month is what pushed me over the edge into injury. So I’m forgetting about Pfitzinger’s “mesocycles” this time around. Another grand experiment.

We decided to run the Fairfield Half Marathon on June 22. It’s supposed to be a well-organized race, and it’s a competitive field. I also need to get acclimated to running in the heat; what better way than to run a half marathon full out in late June? And I’ll do a couple of the Van Cortlandt Park 5K races on Thursday evenings, to replace tempo runs. Racing’s a lot more fun than a tempo run any day, even if it is hot. Especially if it’s hot. And at five bucks a race, it’s hard to pass up. Then, in September, I’ll do the South Nyack 10 Miler — my third year running this race. I missed an age group award by a few spots last year. I intend to come home with some cheap hardware this year, by hook or by crook.

Filed under: injury, racing, travel, westchester | 1 Comment »

Spring is in full swing

Posted on April 28, 2008 by threlkeld

Jonathan saw a red fox with a very bushy tail while out on his run this afternoon, emerging from a small wood next to some condominiums in Tuckahoe. It’s only the second time either of us has ever seen a fox around here. Brave little fox.

And just now a wild rabbit scampered across our lawn. For several years, a couple of ducks would fly onto our lawn and spend a few days floating around in the runoff stream (aka “drainage sluice”) that runs alongside our house. They haven’t been back for a few years. Or maybe they were different ducks. Who can tell?

In other news, my niece’s high school varsity Ultimate (frisbee) team just won the California youth championship yesterday. In a few weeks she goes to the regional (Western) championships in Missouri. I am proud to have a niece who can kick her some frisbee ass.

Filed under: everyday life, westchester | 1 Comment »

The hissing of summer swans

Posted on April 27, 2008 by threlkeld

Okay, it was a goose. But I couldn’t resist a Joni Mitchell-related pun.

Today was my first longish run since the April 6th race. Among the sights today were:

  • Dog Runner Man: A professional dog walker who runs with his charges. He’s usually got four dogs in tow. Last time, it was mid-sized mutts and little yappy jobs. Today it was the big guns, including three of my favorite breed: German Shepherds.
  • Badass Goose Dad: I know it’s spring because the geese couples are beginning to show up with their little fluffball chick children. Which means Dad Goose goes batshit if you get with 10 yards of the family. I was chased by a hissing goose a year or two back, and it’s an image seared into my brain. Today I gave them wide berth and even had to employ the “make yourself look really big” trick (arms akimbo) to psyche out the goose. One time we were in a car and a goose charged the car!
  • Mysterious Parking Lot Crowd: Every child in Crestwood was gathered in the Crestwood station parking lot this morning for some mysterious event. They all had sport uniforms on. From a distance, I thought I’d stumbled on another meeting of what Jonathan and I have referred to as The Idiots’ Club — a giant crowd of adults was gathered last weekend in the same general area, but totally blocking the entire path, milling around, not at all aware that anyone else might be using it. Today I thought the same thing: one of my favorite Claire Fisher lines from “Six Feet Under”: “News flash! Other people exist!”
  • Fast Runner Guy I Haven’t Seen Before. I saw a very fast, very fit guy running this morning. Harumph. And I thought I knew all the decent runners in the area by sight.

I’ve not taken the standard advice to do no hard running for at least 26 days after a marathon. I did a lot of recovery and “easy” (faster than recovery) running last week. This week I did a 4 mile tempo run at 7:05-7:15 per mile pace on Friday morning on the very high quality (if not totally distance accurate) Bronxville High School track (one of the many perks of living right up the road from incredibly rich people). This morning was a 14.7 miler, which I surprised myself by doing at 8:15 per mile pace, at a lowish heart rate no less. I’m not sure where all that speed is coming from, but I’ll take it.

Next weekend is my half marathon in New Jersey. If it goes well, I think I’ll make a habit of doing one a month after the marathon, since it keeps me working during recovery and provides some remedy for the post-marathon melancholy.

On the family front, the other shoe has dropped with regard to my grandmother. She’s back in hospice once again, by her own choice. I wish she’d fight on, but maybe when I reach 93, and time and illness have stolen some of my most treasured faculties, I’ll also decide to throw in the towel on life. It’s a hard, hard thing to say goodbye. But love was all around when I was out there two weeks ago, as was the black humor that seems to run in both sides of the family (which would explain why my sister and I have it in spades).

I’m still on the hook for writing her obituary. But I can’t quite bring myself to tackle that one yet.

Some random media notes:

I’ve rented a string of dreadful movies lately. Werner Herzog’s “Rescue Dawn” was a welcome break from that last night. It’s a classic hero’s journey storyline. Well-written and I’ll watch about anything Christian Bale’s in. Unfortunately, the movie should have ended about 20 minutes earlier than it did, but other than that it was a good flick.

I’m also really enjoying Lionel Shriver’s latest novel, “The Post-Birthday World“. It’s a “Sliding Doors”-type of structure, with alternate chapters portraying how the main character’s life plays out under two scenarios: one in which she kisses a man, the other in which she doesn’t. Her work can be uneven — I thought “Game Control” fell apart as a story about halfway through, losing all momentum, for example or, in the case of “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” a good start ended up careening into histrionic melodrama. But she is a very skilled writer and she has a wonderful eye for absurd situations and the comedic potential presented by the tensions between siblings and their parents.

Filed under: everyday life, movies, reading, training, westchester | 3 Comments »

Why Americans are fat and broke

Posted on March 14, 2008 by threlkeld


I was thinking of just posting this image with the title and leaving it at that, but I felt some analysis was in order.

Around two thirds of American citizens are overweight. About half of those people are obese. And we’re on track for those numbers to continue to trend dramatically upward.

I have nothing against overweight people. I used to be an overweight person myself, albeit only slightly so. I will say that I’m much happier not to be overweight anymore, and that’s primarily owing to how I feel, although looking better has been a fringe benefit of losing weight.

I do have something against people who throw garbage out the car window onto my street, however. Like this receipt. I picked it up and, well, how could I not play amateur anthropologist?

So here, with caveats*, I present an analysis of this McDonald’s receipt and why I believe it is emblematic of why our country is facing such enormous health and financial crises.

Exhibit A: This food was purchased at around 10PM at night on a Wednesday. Was it dinner? If so, wow, talk about a meal completely devoid of nutritional value. Can you say Type 2 Diabetes?

Exhibit B: If this was merely a late night snack, then how many calories were in that snack? I’ll tell you how many:

Cinnamon Melts: 480
Medium French Fries: 380
Large Vanilla Shake: 1,110
Total calories: 1,960

Let’s assume this was a guy of average height and weight (which today means overweight). We’ll peg him at 5’10” and 200 pounds (BMI of 29, right in the middle of the overweight range). He gets no regular exercise (remember: he’s average).

His caloric needs for the day therefore are somewhere in the range of 2,250. And let’s assume that he’s alone and wasn’t sharing this with his significant other or a child. Our littering friend has just consumed over 87% of his daily required calorie intake in those three food items. That leaves room for a piece of fruit and handful of nuts. I wonder if that’s all he ate for the rest of the day. Probably not.

He’s also just consumed 80%, 42% and 39% of his recommended daily maximums for saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, respectively. Ouch.

Exhibit C: I’ll admit that not only do I rarely eat out, I pretty much never buy fast food. Maybe once every few years, and only under duress when there are no other available options. Even then, I go for the plain chicken breast.

So, I’m totally out of touch with what garbage food costs today. But seven dollars? That seems an unconscionable amount to charge someone for three fast food items.

Exhibit D: MasterCard. It’s everywhere you want to be. Even if that’s McDonald’s on Tuckahoe Road at 10 o’clock at night on a Wednesday. Maybe our guy pays off his credit card bill every month. But, again, he’s average. Meaning that there’s a good chance that he’s among the 60% of Americans who carry a revolving balance, the median of which is $2,200.

That’s a lot of boxes of cinnamon melts. 1,078, to be exact.

*I know nothing about the purchasor of these food items. But I’m a pessimist, and I believe in statistics. So I’m going to assume the worst.

Filed under: eating, everyday life, humor, westchester | 3 Comments »

When the dog bites, when the bee stings…

Posted on February 20, 2008 by threlkeld

When the dog bites, and you can’t find the dog, it’s apparently a big deal.

Earlier in the month I was merrily running along and I passed one of the many people walking a dog along the Bronx River Reservation pathway. Unfortunately for me, the dog — a large German shepherd — went nuts as I passed and bit me in several places on my forearm and wrist.

Needless to say, it was an alarming experience, one which rattled me. After a free and frank exchange with the owner, who expressed about as much concern as I would expect from a telephone pole, I ran on. As I ran, I thought, hmm, this is bad. I’ve just been bitten by a dog. Will that dog bite other people? Has it already? Has the dog had shots?

By the time I’d run through all this in my mind, the owner and dog were long gone.

So. If this happens to you: Get contact info from the owner because if you don’t, you may be in for a world of hassle. Like me!

First, report the bite to the police. Although it’s not highest on their list of priorities, dogs that bite people are of interest to them. Also, assuming it’s not bad enough to have gone to the emergency room already, go to your doctor, who will probably give you a prescription for an industrial strength antibiotic (such as Augmentin) as well as make sure you’re up to date on your tetanus booster. And who, if he or she practices in Westchester, will be required to inform the health dept. That’s where the fun really begins.

Yesterday was the first of a series of rabies prophylaxis shots. The dark ages of giant needles getting shoved into your abdomen are long gone, but it’s still not pleasant. I needed to go to the health department (with a cooler, no less) to pick up my own vaccine. Then I had to truck it over (quickly!) to my doctor, so I could get six shots yesterday. I have four more shot sessions in the coming weeks. Then I’m free to frolic with rabid animals with aplomb.

So far, I’ve had no side effects to speak of (save for soreness around the shot locations, and a weird ache behind my eyes, like I’m getting a cold). Oh, and a palpable sense of annoyance and resentment that won’t go away. Is that a side effect?

M’kay. So. If you’re running along the pathway and you meet up with an irresponsible dog owner and a large German shepherd named Virginia, steer clear. And let me know. Because if Virginia the dog is still lunging at people, it means she isn’t rabid (just garden-variety vicious) and I can stop going in for these damned shots.

Filed under: everyday life, westchester | 4 Comments »

Training week in review: 4 of 18

Posted on December 30, 2007 by threlkeld

This week’s training theme:

Holiday training brings a different sort of “sacrifice” (such as running with indigestion)

Oh, I celebrated this past week. Don’t get me wrong. But I paid for it in the form of much Alka Seltzer consumption and running with discomfort. I have no regrets, though. I did not slack off in my training, and that took a lot of discipline.

The Christmas excesses are definitely winding down, however. We’ve got three bottles of wine left to get us through New Year’s and then it is over. Back to a few drinks a week, daily calorie counting and no more refined sugar, simple carbohydrates and saturated fat.

I’ve now been training for a month with no obvious ill effects. Well, just one. The muscle below my left eye has been twitching for the past few days. I’ve done some “Google diagnoses” and think it’s a combination of fatigue (ya think?), dehydration and possible electrolyte deficiency. The recommended treatment is adequate sleep, lots of water, bananas and Gatorade. I should be getting all those things anyway.

(One side rant. My local Pathmark was carrying Gatorade Endurance. I picked up two bottles to train with a few weeks back and now, mysteriously, they’ve stopped stocking it. The Gatorade site claims they carry it, but that is a lie. Now I have to find another supplier. Grr. On a happier note, I discovered that Yuengling makes a delicious dark beer (Original Black & Tan), which for some strange reason Pathmark does carry. So, in a way, the universe maintains its equilibrium, at least as far as Pathmark’s beverages inventory is concerned.)

I’ve noticed two distinct patterns in terms of my physical state during the week.

First, Thursday seems to be my roughest day in terms of fatigue. So I’ve decided to not care about pace at all on Thursdays, but instead just go by heart rate (and a very low one at that). The result is usually a slow run at 10:30+ pace. It’s weird to think that that used to be the fastest I could run.

Second, I have delayed onset muscle soreness that I could set my clock by. For the past few weeks I’ve woken up at around 1AM on Tuesday and Friday nights with a terrible ache in my legs. This week I took ibuprofen both evenings before going to bed, which seems to have nipped that problem in the bud.

A look back at the week:

Nothing earthshattering happened this week, save for the start of recovery “doubles” days. But I did manage to run over 77 miles. And I’m pretty darned proud of that. Also, all of my runs were outside. Some patches of ground are still quite treacherous, but it was a welcome break from staring at the wall.

I also had planned to do five miles of hills at the tail end of Friday’s 12 miler. But I didn’t feel up to it, so I decided to compromise and do a fast finish run instead, over flat ground. I’m figuring that with one half marathon and at least four harder, longer runs scheduled to be done in Central Park, I’ll get some good hill work in that way.

  • Monday: 6.1 miles (AM) and 4.2 miles (PM), recovery pace
  • Tuesday: 10 miles, easy pace, too icy for strideouts
  • Wednesday, 14.3 miles, long run (steady) pace
  • Thursday, 5.8 miles, recovery pace (slow — again, quite tired!)
  • Friday, 12 miles, long run (progressive), last two at 10 seconds faster than marathon pace
  • Saturday, 6.1 miles, recovery pace
  • Sunday, 18.8 miles, long run (progressive) pace

Total mileage: 77.3 miles

Paces this week:

  • Easy: 8:30
  • Long: 7:50 – 9:30
  • Recovery: 10:15-10:45

This week’s quote (which I post tongue-in-cheek, as this week my body told me I wanted to eat everything):

If you feel like eating, eat. Let your body tell you what it wants.

— Joan Benoit Samuelson

Coming up in training week five: The return of the dreaded Tuesday tempo run, and some “fueling” practice on Sunday’s fast finish long run! Plus three more miles piled onto the apple cart.

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Praise the warmth of the sun. Long live the sun.

Posted on December 24, 2007 by threlkeld

At last, the Bronx River pathway is runnable! Did six recovery miles this morning and will do another four this afternoon. Then we’ll walk it into Bronxville for Christmas Eve cocktails and dinner at Sammy’s Downtown, a new bistro and bar on Pondfield Road.

I drank far too much last night, but surprisingly I have no hangover. I’m wondering if there was something magical about the enormous amounts of chocolate I chased the martini and wine with. Hmm…

This is my fiftieth day of running without a break. I guess that’s a milestone of sorts. Or should I say millstone?

Happy Christmas! Ten miles tomorrow…

Filed under: drinking, eating, everyday life, westchester | Leave a comment »

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