There is no such thing as bad weather

After a night of snow

I ask myself once in a while what makes me going back out there and run because the fitness and health aspect never really crossed my mind as the main motivators. Also, I have never been a very competitive person in my life when it comes to proving myself among peers or other people in general but there is something about running that wants me to get better and faster. I had enough time thinking about this over the last few days when I ran through snow, sleet, and rain and I formed a theory (which, by the way, applies only to me and me alone, as far as I know): I want to beat myself. I want to push my envelope because I want to experience how it feels to cross lines I have never crossed before and I want to feel that high you get when you bettered yourself once again. It's like a drug that my own body and mind provides and wants me to keep going. There is, after all, such a thing as being addicted to running.

Spectator

Yesterday my Endomondo training plan bummed me out. It made me run a 2 mile stretch as fast as possible and used the results to adjust the upcoming weeks. It downgraded my predicted outcome for the 10k scheduled for the 22nd of March from 42 minutes to 47 minutes and adjusted my easy run pace from 8:30 minutes to 9:28 minutes. Now, I don't really understand how the training plan was created, what algorithms were used (I think I found that info once before but cannot recall where and what it said), and how much I actually should listen to it but as long as I don't overdo it with the mileage it should be okay to run faster than prescribed. I do know and understand that I slacked off quite a bit since November last year due to my knee (which, by the way, has been holding up quite nicely over the last couple weeks of training) and that it takes a bit of time to get back to my previous fitness level. It took me six months last time and I assume it will take pretty much the same time to exceed it. And here we have proof that I am addicted and this is all about beating my own self.

I do would like to think, though, that running in all kinds of weather is not just about proving something to myself but it is also about building stamina. On race day you have two options if you have to deal with adverse weather: skip it or run it. I prefer the latter and therefore I go out and run when my training plan tells me to do it (only injury is an acceptable reason to skip a day) and that increases my resistance to slacking off.

I am going to finish up with a word about the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge 2014. I just got an e-mail from our HR folks that we will be able to sign up in a couple of weeks. Since it was my first race to run it will definitely always be on my schedule and this time I will be starting in one of the front corrals.

Off to putting plans into action

Pretty but too boring

I just signed myself up for a few NYRR and NYCRUNS races and took this opportunity to also update my blog. As I mentioned last time already, the schedule I put together depends on a little bit of luck, and, of course, I missed the correct timing to sign up for the Hot Chocolate, the Al Gordon, and the Brooklyn Half (which, by the way, I am the most disappointed about, because it will prohibit me from getting a guaranteed entry for next year's NYC Half). By the time I had the money to sign up for them they were sold-out. I did get into the Frozen Penguin Half (more about this a bit later), the Spring Fling 10k, the Scotland Run, the Japanese Run, Portugal Day, and the Queens 10k. This pretty much exhausted my budget for races this month and the Henry's Hope and the Ice Cream Social have to wait until next month. I am not sure if I am going to run the Israel Run this year; two races per month is plenty.

I kept talking about how I am lying low for a while to get my knees rest (and to get over yet another cold I got from my son) and that I will start training soon. Well, I finally renewed my Endomondo premium membership and scheduled in training for the Spring Fling 10k which will happen on the 22nd of March. I thought of taking it easy and build on getting faster in a 10k first and then move on to half marathon training (aiming at a still to be determined half marathon in the summer) and then off to full marathon training for my first marathon in the fall (I am thinking of Yonkers, with a lot of luck NYC, or Philadelphia). This is a rough plan and it all will start this coming Saturday with a nice slow 5 mile run around the island. Ah, how will the Frozen Penguin Half fit into this? Well, I could have chosen the 5k option instead of the half marathon distance but I have a 9 mile training run scheduled on the same day and I thought that I can wiggle it somehow (i.e. run for distance and not so much for time and placement) and even get a medal for my efforts as well. I'll update my training plans as soon as the 10k is over and I know what next race I want to go for.

Just a few words about running along the North Sea: it sucks. Don't get me wrong. It is a very nice place to hang out and relax but running even a few miles turn into a mental exercise due to the monotony: the sea on one side and the green levee on the other and nothing else. It was fun to do once (I only ran maybe a mile in one direction, turned around, and decided to run through town instead and pick up some rolls for breakfast) but I do not think I would do this again unless I had a running partner, I guess. Well, I tried.