Five miles in 1 hour

The five-mile run.

Today, I finally hit my goal of running five miles in an hour.

But to back up, just a bit, I do want to report that despite a canceled run on Friday morning because of thunderstorms, I did run four miles in 49:11 by myself on Saturday, followed by a mile walk/jog with Liam. Jack ran a mile, mostly on his own. At one point early on, Liam actually caught up and passed him. But then he was exhausted and had to rest. So, I spent some time working on pacing with him. Jack's time for the mile was 13:07, about a half a minute faster than before.

I also rode my bike for about an hour on Sunday. It really helps the knees.

So, anyway, back to this morning's run.

I woke up at 6 a.m. and as usual dozed for about five minutes before actually getting up. What usually motivates me is thinking about all the reasons why I hate being obese.

Such as:

• It's hard to bend over and pick something off the floor. 
• I inadvertently honk the horn on my car as I get out because my cell phone hits the steering wheel. 
• I don't like exceeding the weight limits on some kinds of ladders. 
• I get the sensation that the diving board is only inches from breaking.  
• I have trouble fitting into the Go-Karts at Harris Hill, etc. 

So, anyway, I get up and go for a run.

As I went through the kitchen, I saw that the screen door was slightly open. Somehow, our little black cat, Ninja, had opened it. I closed it and went to get a cup of water. Almost immediately, Ninja was at the door, meowing to be let in. So, I did, and went out my front door to the step.

That's when I saw another black cat sitting in our front yard, by our lilac bush, staring at me. At first, I thought it was Ninja, but then thought, "No, I definitely just brought him inside." Apparently, there is another black cat in the neighborhood and he spent several minutes staring at me as I drank my cup of water and stretched. It ran off when a car spooked it.

When I started the run, I just felt really good. Perhaps the weather had something to do with it. It was cool, and I didn't sense any oppressive humidity. I also hit the checkpoints right on time, some a little earlier than usual. Some just a little slower.

I made it to the turnaround point on Valley Lane off Old Ithaca Road at the 30 minute mark. It was just about at the 2.5 mile mark, as I measured it from Google maps. Hitting that goal gave me a boost of adrenalin and I was able to run a little faster on the way back. I reached all of my checkpoints ahead of time, and when I got home it was still only 59:14. So, I kept running and stopped at the corner of Stuart and Middle Roads when the clock hit 1 hour.

There is a discrepancy here. Google maps says my turnaround was at 2.5 miles. But I later checked it with the odometer on my car, which put the turnaround a bit farther down the road on Valley Lane. But even so, I ran half a block past the finish line, which I think makes up for the shortage on the other end. So, I'm calling this my first five mile run in at least eight years.

Tomorrow, I will be running four miles by myself and another mile with the boys. I think the varying intensities of these runs help boost my speed and endurance.

BMI is 34.6

Roundup of runs

We went to N.J. this week, and I didn't do any blog postings about those runs because I didn't have time to run and blog. But if I had to give up one, it should be the blogging, right? The actual running is more important.

But it was an exciting few days of running. I met my goal of running five days in a row for the week, plus I also kept up to date on taking my medicine and my Metamucil. I didn't even eat the bacon that came on the chicken sandwiches at Perkins.

So, here's my round up.

42:05, Dog Interrupted

Wednesday morning we were heading to N.J., but I got up as usual for my run. It was a simple plan: run out for 28 minutes through the new Birdland route, turn around and come home. I ended up on Empire Drive, and just as I reached the 28 minute mark, a dog that was sleeping on the front yard there pops up and comes into the street after me.

"Oh no," I said to himself. "His collar batteries have run out, and he's coming out to defend his property."

Rusty

But it was a nice dog, and we quickly made friends. So, obviously, that was not his property he was sleeping on. The owner of the house opened her front door and asked if I knew whose dog he was. I suggested she call the animal shelter, but she worried that they wouldn't be open yet.

"I'll bet if you started running again, he would follow you."

She was right, and when he started following me, I knew it would get dangerous for him. I didn't want him following me into traffic. I stopped and petted him, and realized I needed to walk him to the animal shelter himself. So, I took a shoelace off one of my shoes and tied it to his collar and walked him there.

It turns out it is not easy to walk with one shoe missing its shoelace. But he was a very good dog, and a very good walker.  It took me a half hour to get him there, and the owners called me on my cell phone the next day, extremely grateful that I had found their dog.

His name is Rusty and he was about a half-mile from his house when I found him.

I ran about 2.1 miles before I met Rusty, then walked 1.2 miles without a shoelace to the Horseheads Animal Shelter, then jogged another mile to get home.

The Flemington, N.J., run.

4.4 miles in 1:02:35

On Thursday morning, we were staying at my sister's house in Flemington, N.J. and I got up at 6 a.m. and got started on my run around 6:30, close to my usual routine. I'd asked about  which direction I should go, and headed out on County Route 523, but that was very busy and I took the first left I could on what looked to be a quiet road.

That was Sutton Farm Road, which lead to Mason Farm Road. These were developments with wealthy homes, properties that apparently had been divided up out of former farmland. It was very hilly, and as it turned out, I was running downhill most of the time. So, it made the return trip tough. I kept running though.

The only thing that stopped me was the traffic when I got back on 523. Another jogger was running the same way I was, but on the wrong side of the road. She was running WITH the traffic, and not against it.    So, traffic would try to swerve a little to avoid her, and other traffic was trying to swerve to avoid me.

When things got tight like that, I just jumped off the road and stood in the culvert to the side until the danger passed.

I had run out for 28 minutes, and should have returned at 56, but I'll blame the hills and the traffic for the slow return. It was not the ideal situation, but if I run in Flemington again, I'll have some better ideas for a route.

4.4 miles in 59:27 

On Friday, we were at my mom's house, two blocks from the beach in Avon. This is where I grew up. I slept in this morning, got up at 7 and started running by 7:30.

The Jersey Shore run.

But I really enjoyed the run. The boardwalk is flat, safe and the boards give as you run. Much less stress from the impact. They've also upgraded the boardwalk and improved the area that connects Belmar to Spring Lake. They also extended the boardwalk in Spring Lake. All around, good news.

On the way back, I encountered what looked like a high school cross-country team. A few of them had T-shirts that said "Wall High School," so I guessed that was what team they were. When I tried to ask, none of them responded. "Pay no attention to the fat man jogging in the other direction."

After my run, I walked my mom's dog and later jogged/walked a mile with Liam for 18:47. All together, that may have been about six miles of exercise.

So, I made a run all five days to meet my goal. I didn't do anything Saturday, that was when we were heading home. This morning, Sunday, I would have rode my bike, but there was rain and the threat of thunderstorms. So, I gave it a miss this time. I'll try to ride the stationary bike later on.

14-mile bike ride in 1:30

I'm exploring new options for my bike route. What I've learned is that 1) I really like the Catharine Valley Trail and 2) Getting to the Catharine Valley Trail on a bike is difficult because you either have to ride on state Route 14 or go up Middle Road.

Going up Middle Road is not too bad. However, the problem is making the cut over from Middle Road over to the Millport Post Office on state Route 14. Middle Road is at a higher elevation and while there are at least three decent roads that will take you over to Route 14 -- Smith Road, Stafford Road and Burch Hill Road -- they all have steep, wicked hills.

I tried Burch Hill Road today, and worried all the time I was going to either burn out my brakes or crash. On the way back, I tried Stafford Road, and the uphill on that was so steep that I had to get off my bike and walk.

But I think that is the answer.

I could go up Middle Road, take Stafford and when the hill gets too steep, get off and walk the bike down.

Either way, the biking is definitely worth it. I can always feel my knees get stronger every time I get a good  bike ride in.

Back to running on Monday.

40-minute bike ride with Jack

Now that school's out, I'll be taking the boys on my excursions when I can. This morning Jack and I went on a 40 minute bike ride down into the village square and to the library.

It was a good distance for Jack and a short distance for me. But I'll probably go for a longer ride on Sunday. Actually that works. Instead of a day off completely from exercise, I'll do a short bike ride with Jack one day a week and still keep my longer bike ride for myself.

During the summer, the boys will be running with me in a limited way. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Jack will run the first half mile with me, then turn around and go home. When I get back from my run, Liam is supposed to be ready and waiting to run around the block with me.

We'll see if that works.

13.5 mile bike ride in 1 hour, 30 minutes

I headed south for my bike ride this morning, mostly along Main Street and Lake Road in Horseheads. But I did take a side detour up Franklin Street to the Mill Street Pond and the Horseheads Post Office before I got back on the Main Road.

I ended up at Eldridge Park in Elmira and finally found the dog park there. I'd been trying to find it for a long time. It was over by the ballfields on the other side of the lake from the main pavillion. It was smaller than our backyard. But then again, we have a pretty big backyard.

Other sights from the ride: A deer popped out of the bushes near the Holding Point ... a "Free" sign on a fire hydrant ... Some young guys playing cricket ... bunnies, gophers and assorted wildlife ... a cocker spaniel at the park.

Coming back I realized I was going uphill for most of the way back. How is that possible? Coming back from a northbound ride also seems to be more uphill as well. Maybe it just feels uphill because I'm on the second half of the ride and I'm tired.

Back to running on Monday.

Happy Father's Day!

Sunday, the day of rest

Today is a day off from running/biking. BTW, on Friday my knees had been hurting a little. Last night, after I recovered from the bike ride, they felt much better, much stronger. The pedaling appears to be therapeutic.

So, how can a 45/46 year old return to exercise and be able to run everyday without soreness or stiffness?

The key is stretching.

Now, I did have soreness and stiffness when I first started running, but I found a trick. I'd take a hot bath at night, followed by some stretching, focusing on my thighs and quadriceps where I usually felt most of the soreness. It really worked. The soreness went away.

So, make sure to stretch well before you run, warm down with walking and light stretching afterwards. Use  a hot bath with stretching to work out the remaining kinks.

On Monday, I shall return to running, and I will be slowly increasing my time from 40 minute runs to 1 hour runs. I haven't decided whether to increase each run by 1 minute or 2 minutes each day.

Saturday bike ride

I'm going to guess that I did about a 20-mile bike ride today. Hard to say because I rode for about about 30 minutes, about 6 or 7 miles, before I got on the Catharine Valley Trail at the Millport Post Office and then rode for another 15-20 minutes on the trail itself before I turned around. But it's hard to measure the distance because I didn't have a landmark where I turned around that I could plug into Google maps. Also, the pictures on Google maps are way outdated and don't show the newest extensions to the trail.

I really love that trail, and I hope that someday it will be extended all the way down to Horseheads. It would a great thing to hop on my bike someday and within minutes be on a protected, safe peaceful trail, rather than risking life and limb on Route 14 or on Middle Road. They are working on it, and my guess is that so far they have extended parts of it about a mile south of the Millport Post Office, but the new extension is not complete and they have signs warning people to stay away.

Anyway, I think the bike riding is important to my fitness regimen. Because of my weight, the running could be bad for my knees and ankles. (They are my achilles' heel, as it were). I am able to compensate by wearing the soft braces, but I think that although the braces allow me to run, they can also weaken my knees. So, I need the bike riding to strengthen my knees without straining them under my massive weight.

I allegedly gained a pound today. The BMI is 35.2.

Tomorrow will be a day off. Days off are also critical. I'll probably post some tips on how to manage running every day as a returning runner at my age.