Frozen Penguins and more

Pretending to be all upbeat
between miles 11 and 12
Photo by Ken Shelton

I mentioned in a previous posting that I was scheduled to run a half-marathon as part of my training for a 10k. My Endomondo training plan keeps changing (adjusting?) the distances from one work-out to the other and the long run for last Saturday kept on changing from 9.1 miles down to 7 point some miles and eventually (and somehow luckily) back up to 9.3 miles. So, how much more effort would it be to run 13.1 miles in a race setting compared to a leisure 9.3 miles on a beautiful Saturday morning? Well, more than my naïve mind thought but not as much as it could have been. I knew I was risking the health of my left IT Band again and I knew that it is also possible to muscle through a 13.1 miler without proper training but with a certain cost.

All the way in the back

This was the first time in my running career for me to be a bit nervous about a race because I knew I could risk being able to finish up my 10k training and everything else after that (proper half-marathon in the late spring, some down time in form of some casual racing during the summer, and then into marathon training for the fall). This time, though, I did not overdo anything the week before the race. I took my rest days seriously, tried to eat proper food and get enough rest the night before. Two of those three did not quite work out - guess which ones? The start of the race was at 10am which gave me plenty of time to go through my morning routine, catch the tram and train to Shore Road Park down in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and I arrived with plenty of time to spare to watch the ending of the 5k that happened right before and to warm up properly. I was debating with myself if I should shed the long pants and run in shorts or not. My always daring side tempted me to just run in shorts - it was a beautiful day after all, the temperature was in the mid-20s, and there was very little wind - but my cautious side reminded me that this was just going to be a long run with a slow pace. In the end I took off the pants but left my long-sleeve shirt, gloves, and hat on (the hat went off after 5 miles into the race). I just had to be a bit hardcore, I had to.

The route was a very simple one: we ran 2 1/2 miles out, came 2 1/2 miles back, out another 4 miles, and back again 4 miles, i.e. we ran under the Verrazano Bridge four times and had constant beautiful bay views on one side and stinking car traffic on the other side. This is the first NYCRUNS race, by the way, that I started at the back of the pack because I took my sweet time to get my gear in place and use the bathroom and I learned, that it really doesn't matter one iota if I start in the front or the back. It all works. Once the race was on I got into my usual rhythm quickly. I planned to keep an 8 minutes/mile pace but realized very quickly, that I rather kept my pre-injury 7:30 mile pace without problems. For the first 8 miles, that is. Once I crossed the 8th mile marker my lap times went from 7:30 to 7:45 to 8:00 and I finished the very last mile in 8:15 minutes/mile. This time, though, this was not caused by any mind tricks or an aching knee. It was pure exhaustion due to the fact that I never ever trained properly to run relatively fast for so many miles and my quads started to tell me that there was very little left in them. My mind almost fell for it and once I passed mile 12 I was very close to just walking the last mile but I decided that I was not going to give the person running behind me the time of the day and let him/her (I did not turn around to see what was going on behind me) pass me without putting at least some effort into it. In the end, I must admit, a handful did overtake me but I never stopped for a break or slowed down to a walk. This time, I did not repeat what happened in Staten Island a few months ago.

Made it!
Photo by Ken Shelton

I finished in 1:41:59 hours which is equivalent to an average pace of 7:47 minutes per mile. I placed 58th out of all 326 finishers and 12th out of 36 in my age group of 40-49. This is a three seconds improvement over the Staten Island Half last year! I am rather proud of this achievement because it shows that there is a lot left in me once I really do train for a half-marathon. I was exhausted, my quads were screaming, and my left IT band did hurt for the next two days (at the hip, not at the knee, luckily!), but I got through it without major issues. I do have to watch my left achilles tendon, though, because it has been acting up a little over the last couple of weeks and this half-marathon probably made things a bit worse. Ice will do the trick and by Friday I should be back on the road finishing up the last two weeks of training for the upcoming 10k race on the 22nd.

Currently I am reading "Running on Empty", a biography by Marshall Ulrich about his attempt to break the world record in running across the United States from San Francisco to New York at the age of 57. It is a fascinating read how such a feat is possible in the first place and sometimes I see myself as somebody who would do something "stupid" like that as well. When I read his words I can feel the excitement of testing your limits and the temptation to press further and further. That's one of the reasons why I did an entire half-marathon instead of a simple 9.3 mile training run. But then on the way home after the race, legs aching, hips burning, mind and body running on very little, I wasn't able to read one bit further in his book. I just didn't feel it anymore. I was tired and felt like somebody who just threw up all night because of a stomach bug and now is confronted with a plate of food in front him (Ulrich's book being the food here.) I could not see myself doing this ever again. That did not last very long, though, since I am now ready to sign up for my next one and the marathon is still on my to-do list for this fall. It will hurt and I will be extremely miserable afterwards but knowing and accepting this beforehand makes me get though this a lot faster and my mind recovers quickly. Off to the next challenge!

Next few races on my schedule:

• March 22nd: NYCRUNS Spring Fling 10k
• April 5th: Scotland Run 10k
• April 10th: Urban Enviro XC 10k (tentatively)
• April 26th: Dawg Dash NY 5k
• May 11th: Japan Run 4M
• May 26th: NYCRUNS Memorial Day Ice Cream Social 10k
• June 5th: JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge (3.5M)
• June 15th: Portugal Day (5M)
• June 22nd: Queens 10k

I am also scheduled to volunteer at the NYC Half on March 16th with my fellow NY Flyers team mates, the NYCRUNS Mother's Day 5k on May 10th, and the Brooklyn Half on May 17th.

Happy running!

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.

Muddy shoes

Just another nice morning

My time here in Kaiserslautern, Germany, is coming to an end. On Wednesday I am going all the way up north to the North Sea to give my dad's ashes to the water where I will stay there for another four days before I finally bid my farewell to this country and go back to my family in New York. I sure am counting the days.

From a runner's point of view I enjoyed my stay quite a bit since running through the forest, rain or shine, was a welcome change to the usual beating the asphalt back home. I ran all kinds of trails throughout this area and I will miss it while my shoes probably won't because they had to suffer through mud, puddles, messy leaves and branches on the ground. At least they are now broken in and I hope to get up into the Bronx and run in Van Cortlandt Park once a month or so.

For anybody who might wonder how it was with the 1. FCK Running, well, that didn't work out the way I thought it would because their meeting place was a bit too far for me to get to every Monday night without a car. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my running on my own just as much and I can't wait to squeeze in at least two runs up north.

I had a quick look at the NYRR's and NYCRUNS's winter and spring schedules and thought I would sign up for the following races (I am trying to keep it at two, maybe three at most, races per month, giving me time to recover after each - something that I really have to take seriously).

Mud everywhere

February
1st: NYCRUNS Hot Chocolate 10k @ Riverside Park
22nd: NYRR Al Gordon 4M @ Central Park

March
1st: NYCRUNS Frozen Penguin Half-Marathon @ Bay Shore Pier
16th: Handing out medals at the NYRR NYC Half*
22nd: NYCRUNS Spring Fling 10k @ Roosevelt Island

April
5th: Scotland Run 10k @ Central Park*
27th: NYCRUNS Henry's Hope 10k or Half-Marathon @ Bay Shore Pier

May
11th: NYRR Japan Run*
17th: NYRR Brooklyn Half*+
26th: NYCRUNS Memorial Day Ice Cream Social, 10k @ Roosevelt Island

Frosty mushrooms

June
1st: NYRR Israel Run*
15th: NYRR Portugal Day*
22nd: NYRR Queens 10k*+

August
2nd: NYRR Team Championships*

September
21st: NYRR Bronx Half*+
13th: NYRR Fifth Avenue Mile*

October
12th: NYRR Staten Island Half*+

November
1st: NYRR Dash to the Finish Line*
2nd: NYC Marathon (either running or volunteering)*

December
13th: NYRR Ted Corbitt 15k*

*: Qualifying event for the 2015 NYC Marathon
+: Qualifying race for the 2015 NYC Half

The NYCRUNS schedule does not have any events in the summer and fall, yet, so they will be picked and added later to fill up the later months of the year.

Last, but not least, for 2015 I would like to run the Marathon and the NYC Half. For both races I have to run certain races and volunteer at least once to get guaranteed entry. I put my name into this year's lottery for the 2014 Marathon and maybe I'll be lucky but I definitely want to get into the 2015 races. Let's hope neither injury nor bad luck will prevent me from doing so.

Happy New Year!

Where is Waldo?
Picture by Reinhold Fischer

This was my first new year's celebration in Germany in a very, very long time. I believe last time was back in the 90s. I still enjoy the private firework shows that every neighbor puts on. You can buy rockets and noise makers in grocery and all kinds of other stores during the last few days of the year. It was a spectacle.

The year did not end on a happy note, though. My father passed away and did not make it into the new year. I was going to run the New Year's Eve run for him, hoping he could watch and enjoy, but after his death nothing was sure anymore. The next day, after wondering if I would be able to get out of bed at all and having a very somber breakfast with my family, I made the very last minute decision that I would be running the race after all. I originally wanted to dedicate it to him in the first place and now I should do so even more. I barely made the bus to bring me to the train station but I did. I am glad I went because it was a much needed distraction and it is my activity of choice to clear my mind and gain a bit of sanity. Let me recap the race day of the 41st Int. Sylvester-Straßenlauf in Kottweiler-Schwanden 2013.

When I got off the train station in Ramstein I had the choice of waiting for a bus, taking a taxi, hitching a hike, or just walking. I decided on the latter using it a bit to losen up my legs and get them run-ready. It was around five kilometers from the station to the start line and it took me a good 45 minutes or so across the fields and some muddy patches. As soon as I got closer to the event I knew I was at the right spot because more and more runners joined me on the way. Most came by car but they had to find parking spots all around town. I had plenty of time since the race started at 2pm. This was probably my first race that late in the day. I am not sure why NYRR and NYCRUNS events always happen rather early in the morning. It would be great not to get up at six in the morning just to get to some 9am start time in the Bronx.

The race was organized by a local running club and the start line was close to their club house. We had changing rooms, showers, the works. They were rather small but I was able to snatch a hook to hang my stuff. Picking up the bib was a no-brainer as well. I stood in line for a few minutes and received my bib after telling the volunteers at the registration table my race number and paying the €6. Luckily I brought my own safety pins. I don't think they handed any out. As no-frill as you can imagine... the race was not chip-timed either. How it was done, though, I cannot tell, but I will explain what happened after you cross the finish line in a bit so maybe you can come to an idea how they got my time (hopefully) correct (and share that with me.)

Um dein Wohlergehen ist gesorgt!

Since German punctuality is well known it should not come as a surprise that the race started at exactly 2pm. A few minutes before that there was an announcement that the start would happen in 13 minutes which already made clear that a 2pm start is a very serious thing. Since it was a New Year's Eve race after all it was a proper thing to use fireworks to announce the start. After two rockets the race was on. I had a rather slow start because I fumbled with my phone to start Endomondo and get it back into my arm pouch but once that was done I was off. It was crowded. We had over 1,000 starters and the streets were a tad too narrow for that size of a field. After the usual zig-zagging and jockeying for a good position it all went rather smoothly. The 10k route was a loop through three neighboring towns and it was highly technical. The long downgrade at the beginning was made up by a very steep hill at kilometer six or seven and then a bone-breaking downgrade again very close to the finish line. The spectators lining up at the sides in all four towns were amazing. Their cheering helped a lot to get through some tougher spots of the race and a couple of times I just had to give them a hand back. I wish I took pictures of some of the more clever signs they brought.

The finish was a rather interesting experience. The finish line was a thin yellow marking on the road and all runners had to go through a one-person wide passage where officials wrote down our numbers as we walked by and at the end the bar code on our bib was scanned. After that we were free to get our after-race snack (more about that later.) I assume at the finish line there was a guy at a computer who pushed a button everytime a runner crossed the line, then immediately another guy wrote down the number of the person, and in the funnel then that data was verified three more times (two guys wrote down my number and the third scanned the bib.) With 980 finishers, and more participating every year, I wonder if the organizers will switch to a chip system eventually. The posted times were given to the 100th of a second, though, so maybe there was a bit more technology involved. I will examine my bib a bit more and maybe shoot off an e-mail to the race director.

The post-race snacks were different than the usual fare I have gotten used to. There was only one water station on the entire run (around kilometer 7 or 8, I believe, after the big hill), which was okay for me since I don't need much water on 5 or 10k distances, and after the run you were served hot tea with sugar and orange slices. Nothing else. Oh, there was beer, brats, frikadellen (meat patty on a roll), and cake, but you had to purchase it on your own. That was the second time (the Irish Fair 5k was the first time) I had a beer right after a race. It sure hit the spot coupled with a frikadelle and a slice of cake afterwards. There was supposed to be an award ceremony but I am not sure when that was scheduled to happen. I knew I didn't win anything and I couldn't really stay too long anyway.

It was a very strong field of runners. Germans really take their races very seriously. I finished in 45:42 minutes (considering my lack of real training over the last two months I was surprised to still get around 45 minutes), that's a pace of 7:22 minutes per mile. That time put me on position 251 out of 980 total and 74th out of 219 in my age class. You had to run a sub-40 to get into the top 100 total and top 25 in my age group. It was insane! These are really strong runners, something I would expect from NYRR-like events, but not at such small country-side events. It was fun, considering the circumstances, after all, and I would do it again in a heart beat. I will just train a lot harder for it. Can I run a sub-40 10k?

I wish everybody a very happy new year and I hope it will involve a lot of running. I hope my dad now rests in peace. He will be missed. This, dad, was for you!

Just venting

The ruins of Burg Hohenecken
at night

While I am out of the country I keep in touch with the running community mostly through Facebook. There is one thing that annoys me quite a bit about some of my fellow runners: the complaints about races not having medals, not being eligible for the 9+1 program, shirts being cotton instead of tech, etc. etc. I have a question: when did we stop running races for what they are? Events to compare you with your past performances and you with other runners, in short, events to compete. Where did this expection come from that a race also has to have bling, swag, or other non-sense? Yes, it would be nice to get something for your achievment but shouldn't the fact that you ran it and finish it be the most important reward? Well, that's what I think. Luckily there are plenty of runners that disagree with the spoiled folks which can be seen that even the most humble NYCRUNS and NYRR races get sold out. Phew!

I have been running a little bit through the Pfälzer Wald and I am still on for the 10k a few towns over. I am already working on my travel plans to get there.

Running in a different country

Shamelessly stolen from the Internet

I am going to Germany this coming Friday and won't be back until mid-January. My father was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer 18 months ago and the doctors just told him that the chemotherapy is not helping anymore. It's time for me to go over and see him one more (and last) time.

While I am there I am planning to keep running, though. If I understand my parents correctly, there is a lot of forest surrounding the town they live in (they recently moved so I am not quite familiar with their new hometown) which means, hopefully, a good deal of trail running, something I always wanted to try. I also got in touch with a local running club there and asked it it were okay to join them for their weekly group runs. Of course, it is okay. I guess I can bring my love for running with me and hopefully it will help me to get over hard moments a lot easier. I even staked out a race I could attend over there and found one close by for December 31st. The registration fee is a ridiculously low €6 but the runners do not get shirts or any other swag besides the bib. I am excited to attend this race and I hope my dad's health will hold long enough and he can come with me and watch and celebrate the new year one more time.

I am still taking my running very easy. I get out at most three times a week because my knee is still acting up. It actually hurts at a different spot now, so I assume I got the ITBS handled. I gave myself until the new year to see what's next: either straight into training for a half-marathon or the doctor's office. I hope it will be okay. I entered my name into the lottery for the 2014 NYC marathon, as well. One can always hope. I believe NYC residents get some kind of priority, but I could be wrong.