Adapting to my surroundings

Adaptation is truly the key to success in many things, including in running. We do long runs so that our legs will adapt to more miles.  We do intervals or other speedwork so that our lungs and blood vessels will learn to handle the strain. And as each season changes, our bodies adapt to the changing conditions of temperature, humidity and sunlight.

These past few weeks, I've appreciated adapting to the weather more than ever.  As temperatures dropped and snow and ice fell, I adapted to running conditions outside ... by staying inside.

It's been a brutal winter so far in upstate New York, and I think it's been three weeks since my last run outdoors.  Between the cold (this morning, it was -11 degrees Fahrenheit), and the snow (we've gotten about four feet cumulatively), and, of course, the illness (my own for two days, and my family for another six), it's like a conspiracy to keep me inside. 

This is when the treadmill can be my friend, and I'm thankful that I have the chance to use it.  Without it, my running would be almost non-existent, and training for my Spring Marathon would be devastated.  That said, after three weeks, the scenery is getting old.  Short runs are tolerable, and at least I have a TV that I can watch, but after a 14 mile long run, I've looked at my basement walls about all I can.

Don't get me wrong - I used to swear by the treadmill, and I did almost all of the training for my first marathon on a treadmill at night.  Since then, though (that was 2004), I've learned the joy of running in nature, and also the exhilaration of morning runs; the treadmill at any hour has become more of a chore than an expression of my running love.  The roads are what I run on; right now they're what I long for.  The diversity of scenery, the fresh air, the challenge of real hills, and the familiar, but changing paths - this is what I hope for in my run tomorrow.

I better get it in quick though - I hear there's a storm coming in on Wednesday......

Training update - mid-January

Well, I've gone and done it.  I've signed up for the New Jersey Marathon on May 1st, so I can run a marathon near my hometown (and in my 3rd state, including NY and PA).  I then went and looked to see when the training for that marathon should start, and found out that the program started LAST WEEK!  I guess I had my break from Philadelphia in November, and now it's back to the roads.

This wasn't as bad a week as it could have been - After feeling terrible after a 10 miler on Sunday, I ran 7 miles each on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, but almost didn't make Friday due to a snowstorm expected.  Fortunately, the storm didn't start until about 5:00 a.m., so the roads were still clear enough at 6 for me to get started.  It's the first time I've run during snow, which was actually a bit fun.  Wednesday included fast intervals, which I haven't done in months, and that went okay.  This is the year that I want to improve on speed and set at least one PR.

Unfortunately, because I am now signed up for May 1st, I won't be able to participate in a run in Boston with a few on-line friends, called El Poco Loco, and organized by Steve Runner I'm really disappointed by this, but the way my schedule worked with available races, I had to join the NJ Marathon, and I don't think driving from Boston to NJ on the night before would work out well. I will get up to Massachusetts to run with Steve at some point; just not this time.

Back to the roads.....

New Year, New Goals!

It’s a new year, and if you’re like me, you’ve set some goals or resolutions for 2011.  I have to say – I’m not a big believer in resolutions; too often, once they’re broken once, they’re done for the year.  I’d rather set a goal that I can still achieve, even if I falter once or twice getting started.  Here are a few of my goals for this year:

• Lose 10 pounds and keep them off for 6 months
• Do 100 pushups per day (not all at once) for 30 days straight
• Run a Marathon, Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K, and set a PR in one of them
• Read 4 Classic novels that I haven’t yet read
• Write an article for publication
• Inspire someone else to do something good for themselves

I’ve also made a list of 100 things I’d like to do in the next 1000 days, which should get me to about September 2013.  Some of these are bigger things (Go white water rafting, Hike the Applachian trail for a week); others are small things that I’d like to get into the habit of doing, like giving blood more often, or writing thank-you notes.   I’ll post my list on this blog once they’re a bit more refined.

Just as important as the list, though, is a plan.  It’s not enough to want to do something, you have to take action to make that plan a reality.  I’ve already signed up for my marathon this year, and re-established my healthy diet to start on that weight-loss.  It’s important to get started and get the ball rolling, because that’s where the excitement and the commitment begins to build.

 I hope that you’ve got your goals for this year, including one or two really aggressive ones, that you’ll pursue them with passion, and that you’ll look back at the end of the year with pride.

.....and the beginning of a new year

This is somewhat original......

Twas the day after New Year’s and all through the gym

The machines were all filled with those getting slim

The prices were lowered; “join now for a buck”

And the manager smiled in light of his luck

Registrations were booming, with members anew

Signing up for a year, sometimes signing for two.

With stairmasters humming and treadmills all used

I wondered what got all these people enthused

Their footfalls resounded as the new members groaned

With legs, arms, and abs they wanted all toned

They filled up all classes; like aerobic pilates

They said to themselves, “we’ll all look like hotties”

They did squats, they did lunges, they ran and they spun

Their faces looked focused, but it didn’t look fun.

As I looked o’er the crowd to find space for my gear

No room for my miles was my growing fear

But a treadmill I found, way down at the end

with a yoga class view; watch them stretch and then bend

And over in one corner, a newbie named Fred

Who stood out from the crowd; he was dressed all in red

His hair was a tussle, his cheeks all puffed out

His breathing was heavy, as he moved all about

He was doing a circuit, one machine then the next

And his face would turn redder every time that he flexed

He lifted and grunted with a trainer named Beth

And we spoke for a moment when he stopped for a breath

Like many new members, he’d put on some pounds

With parties and eating during Christmastime rounds

They needed to come off; he’d started his diet

Would exercise help?  He decided to try it.

On treadmills, on weight bench, On Stairmasters, too

On ellipses, on cycles, he was pushing on through

He panted and strained until after an hour

He finished his workout and went down to the shower

Some exercise finished, the crowd started to thin

But equipment refilled as a new wave came in

Fresh faces and feet replaced those that were tired

But the goals they pursued were the same all desired

It’s fitness they want, a goal I understand

But these crowds at the gym were not what I had planned

As I finished my workout I pondered a shift

Perhaps I should find a new place I could lift

I said to the owner “You’ve got quite a crowd”

And he leaned to me close, so to not speak so loud

“Don’t worry”, he said, with his tongue in his cheek,

“It’s New Years Resolutions; they’ll be gone by next week”