Running is therapy

I don’t really suffer from SAD, but I do despise when it gets dark so early. Tonight I managed to get to the barracks trail by 6:10 and since I was only doing 4 miles I only had to run for a little while in the dark. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t actually mind running in the dark, I mind the idea that I could be running other places, but I can’t since it gets dark so early.

I will say this, the temperature has been wonderful for running. Tonight I even wore running pants and a short sleeved shirt and was very comfortable.

Tonight was an easy night, after racing Saturday, and then a long(ish) run yesterday I figured I should take it easy.

1 Mile Splits: 9:25, 9:58, 9:52, 9:51

Some Stats:
Distance: 4.01
Time: 0:39:08 (pace: 9:45)
Average Heart Rate: 145 bpm
Calories Burned: 585

After running after that pumpkin yesterday I took it easy and ran 8 miles at a comfortable pace. Fortunately for me, my comfortable pace over 8 miles appears to be 9:15ish.

I need to do some speed work though…and I need some running gloves, my hands may never thaw and it’s actually difficult to type this.

Is it possible to use 5K’s as my speed work? :) Be funny to put that in a training log: “Did 3.1 miles at 5K race pace for my tempo workout.”

Any way, I went to the barracks just so I could stick close to home. It was boring running around the course 4 times, but it was so nice out I hardly noticed.

1 Mile splits: 9:34, 9:20, 9:10, 9:14, 9:14, 9:11, 9:17, 9:13

Motionbased Link

Some Stats:
Distance: 8.02 Miles
Time: 1:14:11 (pace: 9:14)
Average Heart Rate: 150 bpm
Calories Burned: 1164

Yesterday was the Great Pumpkin Chase in downtown Harrisburg. I highly recommend it as a race you should run, if for no other reason than the bangin’ t-shirts.

My goal for this race was to grab a 7:30 first mile and try very hard to hang on. I figured it would be difficult to do, and that I would fall off as the race went on, but that was the plan. 7:30’s give you a 23:18 (just a little faster than my current PR (which was aided by the flatness of the course on which it was run (I might add))).

The first .25 mile is run around City Island. There were a lot of people on the island, and it was difficult to make headway around everyone. John and I were having a good time racing each other around the island and running through the puddles and drizzle.

I crossed the bridge over to Front Street and that’s where I realized I was in a race. I steadied my stride and pace and tried to get my breath back. At the one mile mark I was at 7:32. The second mile is run right along side the river on the lower walkway. I saw two people that I had met earlier that were running a roughly 7:30 pace and let them pull me around to the 2 mile mark. I pulled a little ahead of them to let them follow me for a bit at pace.

Toward the end of the race, with less than .25 miles to go I was wasted. I had nothing left at all. I was breathing very hard and just wanted the race to be over. I crossed the finish line in 23:40 (unofficial Garmin time) with a heart rate of 191. Good times…until my heart explodes out through my chest.

I had a good time running the race, and I would most likely run it again.

1 Mile Splits: 7:32, 7:36, 7:49 Last .1 mile in :42

Next race is the York White Rose 5 miler.

Motionbased Link

Some stats:
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 24:40 (pace: 7:38)
Average Heart Rate: 178 bpm
Calories Burned: 455

Over at MaggiesMind she is discussing the process of going from being a smoker to a non-smoker. She touches on a salient point, namely:

I’m not sure that I’ll ever feel quite the same as someone who was never a smoker.

I think this is true. As many people know, and I hate to admit, I once quit smoking for 4 years. There were long periods of time where it was easy to stay away from cigarettes, and days when I thought I would never smoke again. Until the day where I did smoke again. In the head of a cigarette addict (and I will hazard it works this way for most addictions), even for someone that hasn’t smoked in a long time, there is a constant somewhat subconscious hunger for cigarettes. It makes it impossible for non-smokers (someone who has never smoked) to fully appreciate what being an ex-smoker means (pay no attention to the fact that what I just said isn’t falsifiable). It also means there will never be a day when I can rest easy knowing that I will never smoke again. I must be constantly vigilant that I never allow temptation to grow to a point where I can’t resist it.

I prefer to call myself a Non-Smoker, but let’s face it: addiction causes head trash, I am an Ex-Smoker.

No, not the one I went to high school with, the other Brian Sell.

I have been following some of the Olympic Trials coverage and Brian Sell is sort of the underdog (with a 2:10 marathon PR). I of course want him to win because he is the underdog. Tonight while looking over his stat sheet on the USATF site, I see he was born in Altoona PA. I was born in Altoona. I like this because, unlike my connection to Jim Fixx, it’s NOT macabre.

Viva La Brian Sell!

Right click->Open With->Other->Choose Program->Always Open With

I read a few running blogs, and from time to time the topic of taking extended time off comes up.

I have a confession. The idea of taking extended time off scares the hell out of me.

I worry that I will lose my motivation to run. I worry that I will gain weight. I worry that I will be overwhelmed with thoughts about smoking. I worry that the therapeutic nature of running will leave me emotionally out of sorts.

Overall it’s not that bad, I mean, I just don’t take extended time off. i can’t remember the last time I went more than 2 days in a row without running. The only problem is that I live in fear of injury. *shudder*

I like iTunes, I like it a lot. However, if you are using the ‘Add to Library’ function to add an entire directory to iTunes, and that directory also contains a playlist (.m3u file) it will also add every song listed in the .m3u.

This results in all the songs from a given directory being added twice (if the .m3u has a line for each song, which is common). Why this was ever considered a behavior that would be desirable I have no idea.

Got up at 6 am to put in an easy 3 on tired legs. Got a side stitch in the last 1/4 mile. Done till the Pumpkin Chase.

1 mile splits: 9:35, 9:23, 9:11 (I was shooting for 9:30’s)

Motionbased Link

Some Stats:
Distance: 3.01 Miles
Time: 27:58 (pace: 9:17)
Average Heart Rate: 153 (too high)
Calories Burned: 437

**Oops, when I look again I see I was 11th in my gender, I was 14th overall, edited post to reflect changes**

Just wanted to post that the results are up for the Fall Down on the Trail 5K that I ran this past Saturday.

Overall results(pdf)
Age group results(pdf)

According to those pdf’s I came in 14/44 overall, 11/26 male and 4/7 for my age group. I am really happy with those results. More happy about that than my time.