Hey all,
Back after a week of training and traveling. Tried to get in a decent run last night as I missed my long run due to travels on Sunday and had a pretty goofy 7-miler. I started out strong, actually having to slow myself down as every time I looked down at my watch, I saw a pace that was roughly a minute to 1:30 faster than I wanted to be going. Foolishly, I thought to myself, "wow, I'm so athletic that I can run this fast pace and it feels normal!".
Wrong.
After about 2 or 3 miles, my aggressive pace gave way to me feeling like general crap ( did I mention I was operating on 3 hours of sleep?) Ugh. Not what I was hoping for. Making matters worse, I was running "down and back", so even if I stopped, I would still have the "back" leg of my run left.
I simply took my time, made sure to drink my fluids (Nuun - cola flavor was my choice yesterday, not bad) and focus on finding some good music.
"We dance to all the wrong songs"
There were two songs that stuck out in my run that really helped propel me towards finishing, and they are very different.
First, helping me find a groove was Air's "New Star in the Sky" off of their Moon Safari album. Sort of slow, ambient music - not the typical running jam. It just sounded right at the time though.
Then, as I was finishing the run and looking to end on a high note, The Refused's "New Noise" came on. This song holds a special place in my heart given that it was a song I used to play with my band in college. It was exactly what I needed to kick it in gear.
Should be a busy next two weeks, but hopefully I can get as many runs in as possible. No use getting worked up over missed runs - we can only do our best, and sometimes that's suboptimal. And that's ok.
Back after a blogging break! Things have been a bit hectic with work, school, and getting prepared to make a local move to a new place. That hasn't stopped me from training hard for NYC!
The miles are starting to get longer, and in turn, the runs are becoming more challenging and stressful on my body. As noted before, it's important to work gradually up to longer distances - or else you may end up injuring yourself.
I had a 10 mile run last week and followed that with a taper run this past Sunday of 8 miles. The 8 felt easy, so it seems I'm on track. This coming Sunday will be a 12 miler, so we'll see how fit I really am!
During my tempo run last week, I was thinking about what music goes best with pushing yourself. Typical upbeat rock and whatnot is generally a safe bet, but a song came on my iPod that seemed to work for me that was a bit unexpected. It was "Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups. I think it helped me zone out a bit and just focus on pushing my legs to go faster.
Next time you're working out, experiment with your music selection - try not using music at all too. Find what works best for you.
Last week, filled with 4th of July fun, family visits and the like made for a challenging week to stay with the training program, but I hung in there! I did spinning as my cross training once and did my long run on the treadmill (4 miles). Early on in the program, my long runs are a bit shorter, so I was able to avoid the 100 degree heat thankfully.
Nothing gets me moving like a good Amber and Gary fight
Training in the summer can be a real challenge, especially last week when the temperatures were legitimately dangerous to work out in. Ideally you get out early in the morning or late in the evening - but a) I was way too tired to get up early this Sunday (lame excuse, I know) and b) it was still scorching hot later in the evening. So I went to the gym. Running on the treadmill isn't the best for a number of reasons - but safety first. Here are some things I do to try to make my treadmill runs a bit more realistic.Completely unscientific, but seems to work for me.
1. Vary the speed. Not crazy, but pick up the pace from time to time, slow it down as well. Not moving is mind numbing enough - going the same pace for an extended period of time puts me to sleep.
2. Set a slight incline. I've been told this helps model wind resistance. I dunno, sure, why not?
3. Don't flip the channels on the TV if at all possible.Find something to watch and forget about it. I'm guilty of this, but it is more important to focus on your run than what is happening on Teen Mom. Let it go. I'll try too. Maybe. Unless Amber and Gary are fighting, then no promises.
Tonight is an easy 4 mile run and this weekend's run goes to 6 miles. Gotta get after it!
Welcome back all! I hope everyone has been doing well in spite of some pretty nasty heat as of late.
Enjoying a sunny Friday in NYC
In the last week, I've begun my official training for the NYC marathon. If I'm going to be honest, it's been a slow start. Between a busy week at work, finishing a course and starting a new one at NYU and having family visit, getting in my runs has been a challenge. I was short on time this weekend, but I was able to get out and run a few miles before we had to get going. What I've been able to control (eating right, exercising when I can, taking the stairs, walking more), I've done well. It's all about changing your mindset to focus on healthy living.
On Friday, I was in New York with my sister and her husband for a fun day in the city. We just cruised around and enjoyed a day off. Getting in a run wasn't an option, but I was able to do the next best thing - walk a ton. When it was time for me to meet up with the Mrs in midtown, I walked from Soho to see her (this is not close FYI). By the end of the day, I had walked over 10 miles according to my Fit Bit.
Tracking everything with the Fit Bit and "Lose it" has worked out great in my pre-training period. I dropped 9 lbs since mid-May, and feel strong as I begin to ramp up. Almost half way to my "fighting weight" goal.
This weekend I'll do a 5 and 6 mile run, and with some time off at the end of the week, I'll be getting in my mid week workouts with no trouble. The key is to not ramp up too fast though - so be sure to listen to your body.
The typical answer is, "not much" - but I'd like to change that to, "you never know".
On July 12, 1997 - I went to a baseball game with my dad. I was 13 years old and was just excited to spend a summer evening watching my favorite team.
We went to games fairly often together - starting out when we lived in Harrisburg going to Senators games. The Senators are a AA team and it was minor league baseball at its best. Guys smoking cigars in the bleachers, goofy promotions and may flies raining down from the sky. People actually brought umbrellas to combat the falling insects. This is horrific as I'm looking back on it - but I didn't seem to mind when I was 6 or 7.
We moved to Pittsburgh in 1995, which for 12 year old Matt, meant I would be able to see my favorite teams (the Pirates, Penguins and Steelers) more often. This was tremendously exciting. Up until then, we'd get to about 1 Pirates game a year while visiting family.
In the summer of 1997, the Pirates were dubbed the "Freak Show". They had been struggling ever since losing to the Braves in game 7 of the NLCS in '92. This year was different though. their payroll was approximately 38 dollars, and they had a team of youngsters and cast-offs. Somehow though, they were competing!
There was a festival going on that day downtown; I believe it was the Three Rivers Regatta, so we decided to check it out (it was Free - so this automatically seemed like a great idea). They were going to have members of the Pirates to sign baseballs and as we soon found out - tickets to that night's game against the Houston Astros for a dollar. We stood in the various lines and had my baseball signed by 12 or so of the Pirates. After milling around the festival for a bit, my dad and I made our way to the baseball game.
In those days, I would insist on getting to the ball game when the gates opened - 2 hours before the first pitch - because 1) We got to watch batting practice and 2) the cheap seats were general admission in Three Rivers Stadium, so the earlier you got there, the better your seat. Luckily my dad tolerated this non-sense and we ended up in the front row in right field.
The game started out slow - not much action, but the crowd was huge this night! Cheap tickets, fireworks and a competitive club are the perfect storm in Pittsburgh.
Inning after inning, no action. This was terribly boring for the first 5 or so innings, but slowly, one by one the crowd began to notice that there wasn't just no action, there were no hits either.
It's considered bad luck to talk about a no-hitter, so no one really said much, but you could feel the tension rise after each inning, each out, each pitch! If a member of the Astros made contact, 50,000 people held their breath and collectively exhaled as the ball was fielded to complete the out.
Francisco Cordova was on the hill for the Pirates that night with maybe a year of MLB experience under his belt. He had a short career as it turned out, but he was absolutely dealing on this night. The tension rose as we entered the 9th inning, and one by one, the Astros were sat down. 9 innings! 0 hits! 1 Problem! The Pirates hadn't scored yet either. It was 0-0 after the Pirates went down in the 9th inning, heading into extras.
Cordova was out of gas at this point and was replaced with Ricardo Rincon. Talk about an uneasy feeling. The guy who threw 9 no-hit innings just got replaced with a relief pitcher. Luckily for all involved, Rincon was able to preserve the no-hitter and we headed into the bottom of the 10th.
We had to score here, enough was enough! The first two batters were able to draw walks. Men on 1st and 2nd and the crowd was absolutely ready to erupt with anticipation. Mark Smith came to bat and completed one of the greatest games in Pirates history with a bomb into the left field seats. The Pirates won, the 10-inning no-hitter had been completed and the magic of baseball had been reaffirmed. The best part was being able to share that night with my dad, and let's not forget that it only cost 2 bucks! I still have that signed baseball from earlier in the day on my shelf (Ricardo Rincon is one of the signatures) .
So this weekend, Happy Father's Day - especially to all of the "Pittsburgh Dad's" out there. Get out there and do something fun together, you never know when you may see history together.
I've been away for a couple of weeks, taking some time away from the ol' blog - but training for the NYC marathon is beginning for me, and it's time to check back in.
Before we dive back into training and the challenges of being a busy lad, I think it's appropriate to take a step back and think about what it means to just be happy.
Having fun at the Olive Garden
41 years ago, my parents were married in Pittsburgh, PA. Anniversaries can be pretty tough when you lose a loved one, but we do our best to focus on all of the good, and especially what today represents. (Love, if you haven't figured it out yet)
Today I felt like sharing a picture that I particularly enjoy. You'll have to excuse the quality as it was taken by a crappy phone camera, but hopefully you get the point. They are really happy in this shot which was taken at the Olive Garden. My mom is from Italy, so the "OG" is a pretty substantial step down from the homemade treats I grew up with - but the point is they were just happy to be spending time together in this shot.
While watching "The Bachelorette" last night (not ashamed), I thought the one intelligent thing the girl said, was that she was looking for someone who could just have fun and not be so serious all the time. Pretty good criteria, Emily - I think this is a good way to go about things, and hopefully I can do that too while juggling a lot of different things.
To my mom, Happy Anniversary
To Emily from the Bachelorette, don't pick that creepy Ryan guy.
No, Andre 3000, it's not "Ice Cold", it's running in the morning or later in the evening.
We had some pretty warm weather this past weekend which worked out great for folks heading to the beach aka "Down the Shore" here in Jersey, and most other outdoor activities. What it wasn't good for was running.
I couldn't believe the number of people out running around 2pm yesterday. It was about 90 degrees and they were not in the proper hot weather gear ( light weight dry-fit gear, a hat, etc). These folks looked miserable - and as I was comfortably driving by with my AC keeping my car at a comfortable 70 degrees; I was wondering why they would put themselves through that kind of stress. It's not to say you can't work out during a hot afternoon - you certainly can. But if given the option, doing your runs early in the morning or later in the evening will be more comfortable, you'll perform at a higher level and most importantly it will be safer.
Dehydration is a serious problem that runners always have to be wary of, and if you choose to go out for a jog during the afternoon, make sure you have plenty to drink along with you, sun screen and the right clothes to keep you cool. The easiest solution still is just to time your runs for cooler parts of the day and not be the weirdo running in sweatpants during a hot afternoon. But that's just me.
