Two great runs this weekend, but neither were done by me. My erstwhile running buddy from Philly, Kevin Forde, won the Masters division at the Fifth Avenue Mile in NYC in an unthinkable time of 4:25. And of course, this morning in Berlin, Haile Gebrselassie finally broke the men's world record in the marathon in an even more unthinkable 2:04:26. I have never run with Geb.
Me? I had cake for breakfast this morning.
But I did also get in a couple of runs this weekend, both with Silas. Saturday morning we headed south into Oakland, then turned around, stopping at the Berkeley Bowl for tofu. 5.3 miles in 41:30. This evening, we headed to Marin Ave, and went a block further up than last time, to Oxford St. 6.8 miles in 57:30.
Today's run is the first (or second) day of my new challeng: run to the end of Marin Ave. This means advancing up the .75 mile upper section of the street, one block at a time, until we make it to the top. The rules are that I must make at least one attempt, with Silas, each week, and that I must advance at least one block, without walking, each week. Bonnie Lane doesn't count as a block for my purposes, since it doesn't cross Marin. The beginning of each run will be the same as today. So this is a 13 step process, and I have passed the first two steps. I'm not sure if I will actually be capable of making it to the top of this hill, which has something like a 16% grade and about 720 feet of climbing, but it will be good to have a project and a reason to get on the road every week, even if I will never run a 4:25 mile.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Temp
I didn't have much time to squeeze in a run between work and Silas's bedtime, so I decided that we'd do the short version of the tempo run I've been doing recently. It's a 4.3 mile course, with a mile of warmup, .75 miles uphill at tempo pace, a left turn with another mile uphill, then a cooldown on the way home.
The tempo segment was a bit trickier than I remembered it: dodging trashcans and cracked sidewalk and pausing twice for pedestrians. I felt like I was running pretty hard, but we hit .75 miles in 4:57, which was slower than I remembered doing it in the past. I decided to bag the tempo and take it easy for the rest of the loop. After about half a mile, I remembered that I haven't actually done this run with the stroller before, which explains the navigation problems and the slow pace. Ah well, I still have that pleasant, post-tempo feeling in my legs, so it's not all a loss. Time for the run was 32:58.
Oh, and there's this.
The tempo segment was a bit trickier than I remembered it: dodging trashcans and cracked sidewalk and pausing twice for pedestrians. I felt like I was running pretty hard, but we hit .75 miles in 4:57, which was slower than I remembered doing it in the past. I decided to bag the tempo and take it easy for the rest of the loop. After about half a mile, I remembered that I haven't actually done this run with the stroller before, which explains the navigation problems and the slow pace. Ah well, I still have that pleasant, post-tempo feeling in my legs, so it's not all a loss. Time for the run was 32:58.
Oh, and there's this.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Nimitz trail
A confluence of events had me joining the Transports group run again tonight. First, the run was on the paved Nimitz Trail, meaning I could bring Silas. Second, I ignored my alarm this morning and didn't get an AM run in, which is always my first choice. Third, Silas slept in as well, and had a late nap, meaning he was ripe for an evening out. And finally, my experiment at work went poorly today, but in the way that had me coming home early rather than late.
So I came home and loaded Si and the stroller into the car and we headed up to Tilden Park. After a while, he recognized the drive and said "Moo moo". I had to explain to him that it was too late to go to Little Farm, and that we unfortunately weren't going to see any cows. He seemed skeptical about this.
There was a thin crowd at the run tonight, and we started off by ourselves at first. I had realized that the stroller tires had been quite flat for some time, and running with newly inflated tires I was effortlessly clicking off 1:45 quarters on the marked trail. After about 1.5 miles I caught up with Phil and we slowed to a more conversational pace for the rest of the run.
This Nimitz trail is rolling with only 2 steep climbs/descents, and is marked at 1/4 or 1/2 miles for the first 4 miles. It runs along a ridge in Tilden Park, and this evening at sunset was the most beautiful run I have done out West. We had clear views of the North and West Bay, with the sun setting in the west and the full moon rising in the east above Lake Anza. As it turned out, not only did we run through a cow pasture, but we passed two horseback riders as well.
We turned around a bit before 3.5 miles to salvage the last of the light on the return, and Silas had a short nap on the way back. I'll call it 6.75 miles in 56:14. We came home to a dinner of baked eggs with cream and spinach (somehow in celebration of National Pancake Day).
So I came home and loaded Si and the stroller into the car and we headed up to Tilden Park. After a while, he recognized the drive and said "Moo moo". I had to explain to him that it was too late to go to Little Farm, and that we unfortunately weren't going to see any cows. He seemed skeptical about this.
There was a thin crowd at the run tonight, and we started off by ourselves at first. I had realized that the stroller tires had been quite flat for some time, and running with newly inflated tires I was effortlessly clicking off 1:45 quarters on the marked trail. After about 1.5 miles I caught up with Phil and we slowed to a more conversational pace for the rest of the run.
This Nimitz trail is rolling with only 2 steep climbs/descents, and is marked at 1/4 or 1/2 miles for the first 4 miles. It runs along a ridge in Tilden Park, and this evening at sunset was the most beautiful run I have done out West. We had clear views of the North and West Bay, with the sun setting in the west and the full moon rising in the east above Lake Anza. As it turned out, not only did we run through a cow pasture, but we passed two horseback riders as well.
We turned around a bit before 3.5 miles to salvage the last of the light on the return, and Silas had a short nap on the way back. I'll call it 6.75 miles in 56:14. We came home to a dinner of baked eggs with cream and spinach (somehow in celebration of National Pancake Day).
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Still here
I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, mainly becaue I didn't feel like writing. I've been running, though, and have gotten a few good runs under my belt. Notably a 14 miler 2 weekends ago; I started it as a bagel run with Silas for 6 miles, then dropped him at home and picked up the iPod to listen to the new Aesop Rock album ("Eight planets bullied number nine until he fell"). I stopped by the lab to take some Petri dishes out of the incubator and then headed for the hills, exploring a little more of the area just north of campus. I then followed my nose around town until I got home; 14.2 miles in 1:53.
I had a nice fartlek last Tuesday as well, running with Silas, running for 7.3 miles with about 9 pickups between mile and half marathon pace. My mileage isn't really high enough right now to justify speedwork, but it's fun to pick up the pace a bit and a fartlek is a great way to do that with a stroller.
No memorable runs over the weekend, and I ended up with only 20 in 3 days last week (31 in 4 days the week before). Today was a run with Silas after work while C was at yoga. 7.2 miles in 1:02; I paid a visit to my new nemesis, the Marin Ave hill. I've only worked on the hard part of the hill twice before, and once with a stroller, and I was feeling the challenge. We only made it one block up the steep part before I decided I'd had enough, then headed home. Someday Silas and I will take on the 3/4 mile hill, but for now we'll just have to dream... Si was zenlike for this run, and I would have stretched it out to a 10 miler if it weren't getting close to his dinner- and bedtimes.
The best news of the last 2 weeks, running-wise, is that the pain in my right Achilles has gone away after nagging me for 2 months. I credit this to a recipe of dutiful stretching, massaging my calves, and otherwise ignoring it.
I had a nice fartlek last Tuesday as well, running with Silas, running for 7.3 miles with about 9 pickups between mile and half marathon pace. My mileage isn't really high enough right now to justify speedwork, but it's fun to pick up the pace a bit and a fartlek is a great way to do that with a stroller.
No memorable runs over the weekend, and I ended up with only 20 in 3 days last week (31 in 4 days the week before). Today was a run with Silas after work while C was at yoga. 7.2 miles in 1:02; I paid a visit to my new nemesis, the Marin Ave hill. I've only worked on the hard part of the hill twice before, and once with a stroller, and I was feeling the challenge. We only made it one block up the steep part before I decided I'd had enough, then headed home. Someday Silas and I will take on the 3/4 mile hill, but for now we'll just have to dream... Si was zenlike for this run, and I would have stretched it out to a 10 miler if it weren't getting close to his dinner- and bedtimes.
The best news of the last 2 weeks, running-wise, is that the pain in my right Achilles has gone away after nagging me for 2 months. I credit this to a recipe of dutiful stretching, massaging my calves, and otherwise ignoring it.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Par
Monday night, 4.25 in 34 minutes.
Of course, the problem with the Mendoza line metaphor is that in baseball, you want to hit above the Mendoza line, and in running I want to be below it. Maybe golf is more apt, in which case I was right on par tonight (any faster and it would have been a sub-par run). Not that the speed really matters for these runs, but it's nice to feel a little spring in my step. Silas had a doctor's appointment this morning, which scrapped our run and led to my being at work late today. I ended up seeing him just as he was going to bed, and then headed out for a short run before eating. Nothing special - par, like I said. Came home and had a bowl of chili and some sweet potato pie. Yeah.
I was just going through my running log, which I keep in an Excel spreadsheet, and found that I missed commemorating Silas's 1000th mile. It was on July 31st, a 9 mile run with Deirdre. Here's my posting from that run.
Of course, the problem with the Mendoza line metaphor is that in baseball, you want to hit above the Mendoza line, and in running I want to be below it. Maybe golf is more apt, in which case I was right on par tonight (any faster and it would have been a sub-par run). Not that the speed really matters for these runs, but it's nice to feel a little spring in my step. Silas had a doctor's appointment this morning, which scrapped our run and led to my being at work late today. I ended up seeing him just as he was going to bed, and then headed out for a short run before eating. Nothing special - par, like I said. Came home and had a bowl of chili and some sweet potato pie. Yeah.
I was just going through my running log, which I keep in an Excel spreadsheet, and found that I missed commemorating Silas's 1000th mile. It was on July 31st, a 9 mile run with Deirdre. Here's my posting from that run.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Friday night, 4.4 in 37:44
Saturday morning with Silas, 7.3 in 1:02:32
Sunday afternoon with Silas, 7.6 in 1:07:05
For the latter half of my life, the 8 minute mile has been the Mendoza line of my training runs. If I run much faster than that, then I'm running pretty fast. If I run much slower, then I'm running pretty slow. For road running, these three runs all came in much slower than the Mendoza line. All three started with the same uphill stretch that pretty much set the tone for the run, and I didn't feel like pushing it after that.
Anyway, Silas and I were slow getting out the door on Friday, so I decided to bag the run and hope to get it in later. I was happy to make it out at all on Friday night, after Si went to bed. An easy loop around the Cal campus and back home. I mapped this in topo mode; extra credit if you can guess where the fault line is.
11 hours later, Silas and I hit the road again for a run through the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. I don't know it for a fact, but it looks like this neighborhood has the highest concentration of coffee shops, yoga studios, and used bookstores in the Western United States. It's no good for running in the late morning or afternoon because of all the foot traffic, but it was a nice stretch of clear sidewalk before turning west at 40th st into the real Oakland to head home.
This afternoon was another run in Berkeley while C was at a yoga class. The main lesson of the run was that if you choose a road called Scenic Ave, you should know what you're getting into. The secondary lesson is that, running with a stroller, a wicked downhill can slow you down as much as a wicked uphill. I saw some friends out in their yard with their little girl a couple blocks from home; I yelled hey, finished the run, and walked back to be social.
I'm probably not running tomorrow unless I can squeeze another in in the evening.
Saturday morning with Silas, 7.3 in 1:02:32
Sunday afternoon with Silas, 7.6 in 1:07:05
For the latter half of my life, the 8 minute mile has been the Mendoza line of my training runs. If I run much faster than that, then I'm running pretty fast. If I run much slower, then I'm running pretty slow. For road running, these three runs all came in much slower than the Mendoza line. All three started with the same uphill stretch that pretty much set the tone for the run, and I didn't feel like pushing it after that.
Anyway, Silas and I were slow getting out the door on Friday, so I decided to bag the run and hope to get it in later. I was happy to make it out at all on Friday night, after Si went to bed. An easy loop around the Cal campus and back home. I mapped this in topo mode; extra credit if you can guess where the fault line is.
11 hours later, Silas and I hit the road again for a run through the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. I don't know it for a fact, but it looks like this neighborhood has the highest concentration of coffee shops, yoga studios, and used bookstores in the Western United States. It's no good for running in the late morning or afternoon because of all the foot traffic, but it was a nice stretch of clear sidewalk before turning west at 40th st into the real Oakland to head home.
This afternoon was another run in Berkeley while C was at a yoga class. The main lesson of the run was that if you choose a road called Scenic Ave, you should know what you're getting into. The secondary lesson is that, running with a stroller, a wicked downhill can slow you down as much as a wicked uphill. I saw some friends out in their yard with their little girl a couple blocks from home; I yelled hey, finished the run, and walked back to be social.
I'm probably not running tomorrow unless I can squeeze another in in the evening.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
5 miles in :41
I barely went out in the heat during my week with family in Florida, and with my running shoes on the opposite coast, running wasn't even a temptation. I did happen to step on a scale for the first time in a few months, and let's just say that I learned what happens when I eat like I'm training for a marathon and run like I'm training for a 10K*. My twin vices had been balancing themselves pretty well for the last couple of years, but 9 months at 20+ miles a week isn't cutting it right now. I'm going to work at keeping my mileage over 30 miles a week, and maybe try eating like a normal person** for a while.
Anyhow, I'm back in Berkeley now, and I took Silas out for an easy 5 this morning to pick up bagels and some milk for C's tea. The red sun had made its way across the country to visit us on the West Coast. The air was cool, in the mid 60s at 7:30, and the air was hazy from some local wildfires. I had been hoping that the week off would be good for my right ankle that has been bothering me for over 2 months now, and indeed I was able to run without any twinges. Today at least.
*a slow 10K.
**This might actually be a terrible idea, but I'll try to use some common sense.
I barely went out in the heat during my week with family in Florida, and with my running shoes on the opposite coast, running wasn't even a temptation. I did happen to step on a scale for the first time in a few months, and let's just say that I learned what happens when I eat like I'm training for a marathon and run like I'm training for a 10K*. My twin vices had been balancing themselves pretty well for the last couple of years, but 9 months at 20+ miles a week isn't cutting it right now. I'm going to work at keeping my mileage over 30 miles a week, and maybe try eating like a normal person** for a while.
Anyhow, I'm back in Berkeley now, and I took Silas out for an easy 5 this morning to pick up bagels and some milk for C's tea. The red sun had made its way across the country to visit us on the West Coast. The air was cool, in the mid 60s at 7:30, and the air was hazy from some local wildfires. I had been hoping that the week off would be good for my right ankle that has been bothering me for over 2 months now, and indeed I was able to run without any twinges. Today at least.
*a slow 10K.
**This might actually be a terrible idea, but I'll try to use some common sense.
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