Running in Birdland

Today's run.

4.2 miles in 55:33

I changed my route again, opting to meander through Birdland, a neighborhood in which every road is named for a bird. The new route is safer and quieter. Very little traffic, and what traffic there is drives slow.  Toy cars were sitting in a dirt hole at the end of a driveway, which means that kids can play near the road without worry.

That's much different from life on Middle Road, where drivers often ignore the speed limits and go 45 to 60 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Today was also different because I ran with my boys for the first time since last summer. I had Jack run the first half mile with me and then run back home. It took him about 14 minutes to do his mile.

Then, at the end of my run, Liam and I ran around the block. He often stopped for breaks, but he could run fast. I really had to push it at the end just to tie him at the finish. That was about 8/10s of a mile in about 13 minutes.

It will be interesting to see which one is better at running a mile by the end of the summer.

4 miles in 52:49

Mondays always seem to be a little harder. I lose a little bit from the two-day break from running. But if I were to run six or seven days in a row, I think that would be too much for my knees. The break is necessary.

So, if I can run every day this week, I should be up to running a full hour by Friday. That may be a five mile run, but only if I can get up to the right pace and stay there. Also, we'll be traveling this week, so I will need to put in the extra effort to get the runs in.

One or two of my runs will probably be on the boardwalk in New Jersey where I grew up. I'm looking forward to that. I used to put in 15 miles on the boardwalk every Saturday, and I averaged about 70 miles a week. That was a million years ago when I was in high school. The high school version of myself could run circles around me now.

Literally.

I remember my fastest time for the quarter mile was 54.9. Today, I'd be lucky to make it in three minutes.

Oh well, remember Teddy Roosevelt: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

BMI is 34.7.

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.

4 miles in 51 minutes

I had no idea I'd hit the four-mile goal until I plugged my route into Google maps later on. The run felt good on the way out, and slower on the way back. I'm learning not to worry about it so much because every day I am increasing the length of my runs by time and distance.

My pace today averaged out to 12:45 per mile. Well, every time I finish is a victory for me.

It showered while I was stretching before the run, so I went back inside to get a Ziplock bag for my phone. Another shower started as I began my run, but it was light and so I just tucked the rim of my hat close to my glasses and chugged on.

I don't know what I'd do if I got caught out in a heavy rain or thunderstorm. Take cover and call for Amy, I guess.

On my outbound run, I saw a sheriff's deputy standing guard as a red pickup was being towed away. Something happened there.

Going up the hill on Overlook Drive, I pass a homeowner and tell her, "Nice hill you have here."

My BMI is now down to 34.7. I am approaching one of my mileposts in weight loss. If I get the BMI down below 34.4, I will wait one more week and then I'll be discussing actual pounds.

I've decided to ignore the two days I missed earlier this week. It is more important for me to bike on Saturday because I need to keep up the strength in my knees.

Later

Oops!

I almost titled this post "Blame it on the Rain," but then remembered that my wife HATES Milli Vanilli, not just because of their fakery, but because they robbed the Indigo Girls of their chance for the Best New Artist Grammy.

And, I certainly wouldn't want to add insult to injury. I owe her a big apology this morning because I started my run much later than usual and did not leave a note. So, by the time I got back, she was very concerned and even called me on the cell while I was walking up to our mailbox while finishing my warm-down walk.

Sorry, honey. My bad. What I learned is that when the routine gets changed, there's a chain reaction of consequences that I have to adjust for. Next time will be better.

So, yeah, I started late this morning because I could hear rain on the skylight in the kitchen. I hate running in the rain because I wear glasses and the water drops obscure my vision and make it harder to run. I also worry about ruining the cell phone, but that's easily fixed by putting it in a Ziplock bag in its case.

I left a half-hour later, and it was a different experience. More joggers and walkers are out. More traffic on the roads. Ok, here's today's roundup.

3.8 miles in 49:20

The run out went very well, and it seemed like the return trip was going well, but turned out to be slower. The turnaround was much higher on the hill on Overlook Drive. I just about made it to Ridgehaven Drive, about a block past last week's best mark.

I continue to increase the distance in each run. From now on, each outward bound run will be 1 minute longer than the previous day's until I get to one hour of total running time.

I got slowed up a bit on the return because I had to wait for traffic here and there. I keep the timer running on these breaks because they give me an artificial rebound, so it all works out. It's all part of the run. Just simpler to let it keep going.

BMI is 34.9.

3.6 miles in 48 minutes

On Monday, I woke up with a mild head cold. On Tuesday, I was recovering, but still feeling too sluggish.  On both days my body was telling me I needed to rest, so I lost two days of running.

Last night was fitful because of thunderstorms that came and went all night. A couple of times they made me jump awake. At one point, I woke up and checked the clock. It was blinking at 2:25. I checked my cell phone and found it was really around 5 a.m. I got up an checked to make sure my computer made it through the power outage OK, and to check the radar. The storm had been right on top of us, but was now moving off to the east.

So, I dozed until 6 a.m., then got up for the run. All the birthday wishes -- especially those that cheered on my running -- helped get me out of bed. It's hard to sleep in when you sense that a few people will be checking on your progress. That's also how I knew I was really sick enough to stay in bed. I just felt so lousy that I didn't worry about what it would look like on the blog.

Anyway, I opted for the same run as last week. I ran out 23 minutes, turned around and came back. I wore the new running shorts and shirt that I got for my birthday, and they made a difference. The new shorts have pockets and a waistband that I can clip my cell phone on. Up until now, I had been carrying the cell phone in my hand. It is much easier to run with your arms moving freely. The arm motion is part of the running effort.

I didn't get quite as far in 23 minutes as I did last week, and I was quite a bit slower getting back. But not bad for making a comeback after laying off for a couple of days.

The next question is how I will adjust these two unplanned days off? Should I just start running 5 in a row now, and put it through the weekend? Or keep the running days on Monday through Friday?

Stay tuned.