Personal Renaissance

The word Renaissance is of French origin and translates to "rebirth." Running has served to improve my quality of life immensely. Not only am I in much better shape than I have ever been, I am much more relaxed than I have ever been. It has taken some time, but I also now have more energy on a daily basis.

A great aspect of running is you are solely the determining factor in your success. You do not have to contend with a team mate fumbling the ball or making an error on a ground ball. Team sports are great for camaraderie, but are increasingly more difficult to partake in as you get older for a number of reasons.

There are no politics in running. There is no favoritism. Everything is transparent.

If someone would have told me I would need to run for nearly 100 hours and 600 miles to get back in shape, I would have undoubtedly questioned my ability to get back into shape. I can't help but be slightly proud of fighting to reclaim my health. I am looking forward to playing sports with my sons, as opposed to being a spectator.

My wife is going through an intellectual renaissance. Her college classes are going extremely well. I am looking forward to the day when both of us are working and can take our children to as many places as possible to experience as much as possible.

There are running road races everywhere, all throughout the year. On February 21st, there is a half marathon in Hampton New Hampshire. Love to run this race and take the family, but we don't have the funds this year. Maybe someday in the future

http://www.hamptonhalf.com/halfatthehamptons/

Track Spikes Test Drive

The last time I wore track spikes was probably sometime in the late 1970's. On Saturday I went to the Palmyra middle school track to test drive my new Mizuno track spikes. To test if my spikes yielded a performance gain I decided to first run a mile in my regular training sneakers and then try another mile using my new track spikes.

The spikes are only located on the front of the shoe. They are no spikes from the midsole back to the heel. The consequence of this is while you are standing with these shoes on your toes are elevated slightly above your heels. You are not leaning backwards from the fit, but your toes are pointing slightly upwards.

I ran the first mile in my sneakers in 7 minutes and 47 seconds. This is one of the faster miles I have run at this track. There were many times where I was hobbling around this track last year. I read recently it is a relatively easy to get your lungs back in shape. It takes months and months to get your muscles, tendons, and the like to become strong enough to endure the forces of running. My experiences last year corroborate it takes months to become strong enough to run effectively.

After reviewing my quarter-mile split times for my mile (7:28) using the Mizuno spikes, I decided to throw out the first lap (1/4 mile) for my comparison. When I ran the first lap in sneakers, it was a warm-up lap. When I ran my first lap with the spikes I was already warmed up.

I ran about two seconds faster per quarter mile (i.e. one lap) with the spikes. The speed increase can be attributed to a much lighter shoe and slightly better traction. As could be expected, I ran a tad faster. To run appreciably faster you must train accordingly. Good equipment only takes you so far.

These track spikes will add another dimension to my training in the summer when I want to perform speed work, i,e,, running 200 meter and 400 meter sprints.

New Track Shoes

The Running Warehouse is having a sale where they are giving away track & field shoes for $16. I picked up a pair of these. They are extremely lightweight, about 6.5 ounces. Normal running shoes are about 12 ounces.

Evaluating my performance from last year, I was most competitive in the shorter races. While in high school, I was a sprinter. I have developed the ability to run longer distances, however my God-given talent most closely aligns with shorter races.

I will be able to use these shoes to train at the both the Hershey and Palmyra high school tracks. The Hershey track is minutes from where I work, the Palmyra track is minutes from where I live. They are not meant to put miles and miles on - they may last only one season depending upon how much track work I do this year.

I have yet to be able to turn a quarter mile at the track in less than one minute and forty seconds. In order for me to break a six minute mile this year, I need to run four consecutive 90 second quarter miles.

i believe it is harder to run a fast quarter mile on the track because a major part of the route is going around the turns. When you are running a quarter mile on a road course all of your energy is inline with the direction you are running. I don't know how to demonstrate this but I believe you are going slower in the turns on the track than when you are on the straightaways.

Running Stats from Running Ahead

Night Moves

A few days ago I decided to try a run at night after my wife came home from her evening college class. I was a little hesitant regarding running at night. I want to stay in shape, but I also do not want to accidentally be hit by a car while running. The temperatures are generally warmer at night versus the early morning. I have developed an addiction to running. I don't feel well if I don't go on a run for a couple of days in a row.

The temperature was not very cold on this night, so I did not have to contend with trying to keep warm. At the onset of the run, I had echoes of my father's sentiment "nothing good happens at night" running through my head. Running on the streets in the daylight is not normal in my neighborhood. Running at night is even less normal. I was a little anxious.

After about a half mile, I realized this was an excellent time to run. Since it is dark, cold and the middle of winter, no one is outside. At 8:00 pm everyone is home and has run their errands for the day, such as going for groceries. The neighborhood kids are most likely either surfing on the internet, playing video games or watching television. There is no traffic or outdoor presence of anyone. It is very calm and peaceful.

I was wearing sneakers with a fair degree of reflective material. I also had on a jacket and pants which contained a reflective stripe. After reading a Runner's World article about being seen at night I decided to buy a small hand-held flashlight to carry on my next night run.

Reflective material is only effective when a car's lights are within about a tenth of a mile. If someone is driving very fast, it does not take a car very long to traverse a tenth of a mile. A flashlight bobbing up and down in my hand while running can be seen from a distance of over a half mile. I feel much safer with the flashlight.

Running in the Winter II

I am very surprised at how frequently I have been able to run this winter. We have had a couple of days where we had an accumulation of snow. We have also had weather in the 20's during the day.

The coldest temperature I have run in so far is 23 degrees Fahrenheit. This run was only a mile and change from an auto dealership in town to our house. I had to drop off a car for inspection. I completed this run early on a Saturday morning while the family was sleeping.

I discovered the gloves I was wearing were not able to keep my hands warm. They are made out of a breathable material, as opposed to a material which does not readily absorb water. I wore a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and a windbreaker. Normally when I run, my body warms up sufficiently to offset the cold. At 23 degrees I could feel the cold beginning to permeate my three layers. I was fine for a mile or two - but for a longer run I would have had some body heat retention issues.

Surprisingly I have not had any issues with breathing in the cold. I can remember cases when I was younger where It would hurt to merely breathe in very cold weather.

Since I knew I only had to run a little over a mile, I ran very fast. I averaged a 7:37 per mile pace on the way home. Being very cold provided a great motivator for getting home very quickly.

I believe this was about as cold as a temperature I wanted to run in. I have developed a very good tolerance for running in temps 28 degrees Fahrenheit and above. I have run into a stiff wind several times. Running into a wind simulates running uphill. I am not fond of running into the wind, but it does build up the leg muscles.

New Year's Resolution

I find the concept of a New Year's resolution intriguing. Once a year, at the beginning of the year, we resolve to either eliminate a vice or pursue some ideal. Why wait until Jan 1st to set a resolution ?

Two years ago I resolved to quit using smokeless tobacco. It was a foul habit I subscribed to for nearly a decade. Most people are familiar with the smokeless tobacco brands Skoal and Copenhagen. I dipped the more mild brand Hawken. Nicotine addiction is tough to break because each day consists of a habitual routine where you are perpetually looking forward to the next nicotine dose. I used the tobacco to calm my nerves as well as an appetite suppressant. It took several tries to quit, but I was finally able to rid my nicotine shackles.

Last year I resolved to get back in shape enough to run either a marathon or half marathon. While my marathon performance left much to be desired, I had trained enough to finish the race. Not to mention I ran over 500 miles last year.

I do not believe either resolution originated on New Year's day. Anyhow I will make a New Year's resolution for 2010.

This year will require a mastery of budgeting to enable our family to engage in any activities deemed recreational. I am very excited to have my wife going back to school to get her bachelor's degree. Juggling the collective financial needs of my wife, kids and myself will be the order of the day. Everyone has a little fat in their budget - we will be forced to be ultra lean this year. I have to resolve to only purchase items for our family which are either essential or consistent with our family's goals.