Don't Call it a Comeback -- A Tale of Two Runs

Running has been a bit of a struggle since coming back from vacation. I had my very tough 12 miler on Saturday, and went out for a run on Monday morning that definitely ended up not meeting my expectations.

It was a gorgeous morning, in the low 60s if not the 50s. The humidity was a bit high, but nothing unreasonable. I ran my usual 10-mile course (I'm kind of ignoring Higdon this week because schedule is permitting fewer than recommended midweek runs) and just sucked. I'm usually between 1:36 and 1:39. My best 10-miler this year is 1:33:26 back on May 8, and my slowest was 1:40:28. On Monday -- 1:43. Ouch!

I can explain this. It was a cool morning, with humidity no worse than most of August; I felt fine, ; level of effort seemed good (I don't race these didn't feel like I was taking it easier than usual); and I was on my usual route through Manchester and Mt. Wolf.

Today, ignoring Higdon again, I set out for another 10-miler. I was running a bit late, and it's the first day of school and my usual route has a lot of bus traffic and students walking to school, and since it was another cool, beautiful morning (around 60 degrees) I decided it was a good day for "Pain Lies On the Riverside", which I think is a tougher route.

When I run this route, I try to make it to the flagpole at the square in Goldsboro, 5 miles away, in 45 minutes. I hardly ever make it. Today, I seemed to have a good pace and felt great, but it was almost 48 minutes when I got to the square. Since the second 5 miles in this run is tougher, in my opinion, than the first, I know that I could be on my way to a similar pace to Monday's debacle. I dug in, knowing I had to make up time before I got to the steep, half-mile hill right at Mile 8, where I'm lucky to be able to go over 4mph. I climbed the hill faster than usual, and now, thinking I had a shot an under 1:35, which would be excellent, ran as fast as I could the last two miles, which are mostly flat or downhill...until a brutal quarter mile hill at the end that ended any chance of 1:34:xx.

Still, a much better pace than Monday, and I don't know why. I felt better Monday, they were equally nice days, and if anything I was better rested on Monday. Sure, there's some variance from run-to run, but this is a seven-minute difference on a distance in which I've been really consistent. A few theories:

1. My subconscious caused me to run slower on Monday in order to delay my return to the office. If that's the case, it should have impelled me to run even slower.

2. The East Coast Earthquake, which I didn't notice as I drove through the Philly suburbs in the mighty Neon, changed the magnetic field of the earth which somehow made me, and probably everyone else, faster.

3. This is just regular variance -- look at any runners marathon or half-marathon times and there's a lot more variance than this.

4. Monday's run was an outlier to even my normal variance.

The answer, I suspect, lies in numbers 3 and 4. So, in hindsight, this blog post is probably an over-analysis of nothing. But, not only did I have fun writing it, it made think about my two favorite local routes, how I attack each one differently, and how the one I thought was a lot tougher may not be so tough, after all.

Here's the elevation chart for "Pain Lies on the Riverside", aka York Haven to Goldsboro and back (click for a bigger view):


The tough climbs in this route are within the first two miles and at mile 8. But there's a five-mile continuous stretch of relatively flat roads in the middle of this, before the very steep climb at mile 8 (and it is devastating -- during my first year of half marathon training on this route, I walked this hill every time), and then a downhill stretch on the upper plateau for most of the last 1.5 miles in which I can make up some time.

Here's my usual route.


Until the end, the hills are not as steep, but the 2nd half of the course is mostly uphill. The overall incline is gradual enough that I can make up time on the 2nd half, but not as easily as the flat stretch of the other route, and by mile 8, I'm done. The steepest uphills are still both ahead of me so there's no real chance to make-up time.

What does this mean? Maybe I haven't gotten slower...or as much slower as I thought. Maybe the 1:33s or low 1:30s I'd been putting up in a flatter part of the county in the spring of 2010 aren't as unreachable as I thought. I'd love to be able to come in under 1:30 at the Broad Street Run next year, if I can get into the next one before it closes, that is.

Friday Haiku, Volume X

I'll run tomorrow.
If I do not die, I mean.
Thanks, morbid church sign.



There's a church building in Goldsboro that's been converted to a house. The church marquee sign is still outside and the owners still use it. I ran by the house on my Pain Lies by the Riverside run on Tuesday to read, "If you wake up breathing, congratulations. You have another chance." I couldn't decide if it was motivational, morbid, or just kind of obvious.

Hey, if you're reading this blog post, you're not dead.

Happy Friday!

Meltdown!

I woke up this morning to an almost 70-degree, cloudless morning, and also a flat tire (the only one I haven't replaced recently, of course) on my venerable Neon.

I knew if I changed my tire now, I wouldn't get my run in, and since I work from home I wouldn't need the car, anyway. With no transportation over to the high school, I decided my best option was to run my "Pain Lies on the Riverside" route, which runs five miles each way from York Haven to Goldsboro along the Susquehanna River. Not only does it start at the park within a 5-minute walk from my house, it's the only one of my usual routes that offers even the tiniest bit of shade.

It's the toughest and hilliest of my local routes, too, and I didn't run it last summer or this summer so far, since it potentially places me much farther from home or car if I bonk and have to trudge home. There was a cool breeze blowing, though, and when I got to the turning point at two miles at which I can turn right and head down the steep hill toward Goldsboro and the river or turn around and loop back toward York Haven (which I could turn into a 6 or 7 mile run with a few extra turns), I turned right and headed for the river.

Wow. This route kicked my ass. It's the most scenic of my routes, with great views of the river and the best chance for me to see adorable cats as I run. It's also the best chance for me to get chased by angry pit pulls, but that's another story. More importantly as I get closer to marathon training, it's the only place I run around here that doesn't just seem like complete garbage miles, since I'm actually going somewhere

On negative side, though It's also way hillier than I remembered. There's a big hill at mile 2 and an even bigger, steeper one at mile 8, but even the flat parts are hillier than my usual course in Manchester, and I don't think of that one as flat. Dreaded Druid Hills has nothing on this nightmare run!

Hills aren't the only danger, though. While Goldsboro is a very pretty little town that seems to belong in another era, it lies directly across the river from the site of the worst nuclear disaster in U.S. history.

(Is it blurry because of my unsteady hands, or radiation? Ok, probably just a bad photo.
I'll take better ones when I run here again -- in October!)

So if I appear to glow a little today, without the benefit of my dumb night-running attire, don't be surprised.

I'm exhausted, but it was a good run: 10 miles in 1:38, just a minute or two slower than my usual "Manchester" time.

Hats Off!
I'm going to take the opportunity to ask for some gear advice. Not to be gross, but I sweat a lot. No matter how sweatproof sunscreen claims to be, it's no match for my face in the summer. Therefore, I think I've got to look into running in hat. Don't get me wrong, I love hats, but I dislike running in them because I feel like wearing a hat, no matter how moisture wicking or reflective it is, is always going to be hotter than not wearing one. But if I'm going to go on runs this long or longer through July and August, I think sunburn is going to be just as much of a problem as overheating.

Anyone have a brand of running hat you particularly like or would recommend for its well-ventilated-ness? (ventalatalty?) I've got two Brooks running hats, and while they're cooler than normal hats, I have gotten very hot when I wear them to actually run.

(In Brooks' defense -- most of my running stuff is Brooks and I love it -- they're dark colors, which I know isn't the best choice. I got them more with the idea of keeping rain out of my eyes.)

Thanks!