Read/Write/Run

Committing to Writing

2024-01-08T13:05:00.002-05:00

Since retiring from my environmental engineering job in 2015, I have been writing intermittently while tutoring locally for two school systems and occasionally doing private tutoring.

Over the past year, I stopped doing tutoring entirely and have thrown myself into writing. I continue to moderate a online children's picture book critique group composed of five writers. Two of those writers now have agents and a third is close to acquiring one. The group has two recently published picture books with several others in the works. This particular group has been together for 2.5 years and our collaboration has no doubt lead to some of this success.

I am hopeful that Writers For Kids will build upon this success and that 2024 will bring the group continued success.

Ken

WHY ARE PEOPLE VISTING MY BLOG FROM TAIWAN AND GERMANY?

2022-09-03T13:10:00.003-04:00

Every once and a while I check my blogs to see where visitors to my blog are from. I was surprised to find over 60 hits from Taiwan on my writing blog, BRIANWOODS and over 70 hits from Germany on my running blog, READ/WRITE/RUN. What gives? I wish at least a person or two would leave me a comment. I will continue to hope that happens.

Ken

The 2017-2018 UCONN Men's Basketball Team

2017-12-28T00:22:00.001-05:00

After a disappointing season last year, filled with injuries, I was hopeful this year's team would fair better. My wife and I again purchased season tickets at the Gampel Pavilion this year and have only missed one game. With disappointing play and recent losses to the three "A's", Arkansas, Arizona, and Auburn, the turnout at home games has been well below average. I'm not normally a glass half empty kind of guy, but I don't think it's going to get much better this year.

At present, the team's record stands at 7-5, with the AAC regular season play starting this weekend against Wichita State at the XL Center. Wichita State is presently 10-2 and ranked among the top 25 teams in the country by the Associated Press. Heck, even the University of Central Florida, a team that UCONN had it's way with in the past, has a better record.

UCONN has 19 games left to play prior to the AAC tournament. A quick scan of their opponents reveals that of these 19 games, 13 of the games are with Wichita State, Cincinnati,Temple, Memphis and Tulsa (2 apiece), and Villanova, SMU, and Houston (1 apiece). I would be surprised if they are able to win more than 2 of these games. So let me do the math for you. 7+2+6= 15 wins, and a final regular season record of 15-16, which probably doesn't get them into any tournaments after the AAC.

I 'm hearing grumblings about Kevin Ollie and his failure to lead this team to some success on his own accord. If this pattern continues and UCONN again fails to make the NCAA or NIT tournament this year, I think his job is in jeopardy.

Let's hope that I'm totally wrong with my predictions and the UCONN men find a way to turn things around. Beating Wichita State would be a great start, but there's no way they can win if they continue to play terribly in the first 20 minutes and fall asleep in the last 10 minutes.

Ken

Thanksgiving Day in Manchester

2017-12-25T09:44:00.001-05:00

If you read back to a post I wrote last year, you will see that I pledged to try and get a seeding card for this year's race. Well, I only ran one race leading up to the Manchester Thanksgiving Day Race. As it turns out, my time in the Prostate Zero 5k was fast enough for me to get an under 42 seeding card. However, I didn't know if I could actually get my card though because I waited too long to register for the race, less than 2 weeks from it and they had shut down the online registering system.

Every year there is a race the Saturday before Thanksgiving called "Know Your Race Pace", which I have run before. I remembered that if you run a qualifying time in that race, you could get a seeding card. So early Saturday morning on November 18th, I headed over to Main Street in Manchester to run the race. When I got to Bennett Junior High, the registration location, I bumped into several of my Amigo running friends. I could have just registered for the Thanksgiving Day race and went home, but I decided to run since I was already there ready to run. I guessed that my time would be 41 minutes and I finished in 41 minutes and 50 seconds. Not too bad of a guess. I was able to get my seeding card and register for the Thanksgiving race after that race.

Even though I was able to get ahead of many of the runners with the seeding card access, I again waited too long to get lined up and still ended up with quite a few people to run by. That was okay though and I posted a time of 41 minutes and 12 seconds, guaranteeing me a seeding card for next year's race. Now the next lower seeding card is under 38 minutes, which I believe I can achieve if I can stay motivated and healthy over the upcoming year. That's one of my goals for next year.

I ran three races this year, which is 3 times as many as I ran last year. In 2018, I hope to better that mark too. Happy holidays to all.

Ken

Summer Running

2017-07-17T23:51:00.002-04:00

Running in hot weather can be a real challenge for runners young and old. I have done quite a bit of training over the years in hot and humid conditions. For years I ran around noon in Hartford, CT. This time of day when the temperatures are elevated really tests your strength and ability to run in such conditions. The city is always hotter than the surrounding areas too. What I've learned from these experiences is that I need water on the run especially when I run longer than 5 miles. Now eating and drinking while running can be hard for some people's stomach and digestive system. I've been at this for a long time and I even get the burps from time to time. But I'm convinced that water will help you train better and allow you to go faster.

On real hot days, we used to run along the Connecticut River where there are some water fountains you can stop at and get a quick drink. I prefer to carry my own water though. There are some insulated bottles that will help keep your water somewhat cool. But even if you don't have one, warm water is better than nothing. So before you head out for a run on a particularly hot and humid day, make sure to take some water or some other water/liquid mix with you. Also, there are all kinds of bottle carrier belts that you can buy so that you don't have to carry your bottle in your hand. Find one that works for you and practice using it. You won't regret it.

One other thing to keep in mind on hot, humid running days. Don't be afraid to slow down or to run a little less distance. These types of conditions are obviously not ideal. But with some practice, you just might find that you are able to run much better in these conditions in races than many of the other runners.

Ken

Zero Prostate Cancer Run/Walk-Hartford, CT

2017-07-03T00:40:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, June 10, 2017, I ran the Zero Prostate Cancer 5K in Hartford, CT. I hadn't been feeling up to running races for a while now. It's been more of a motivational thing with me than a physical thing. All last year I didn't run a single race until the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day and I never got really going until the 2 mile mark without a seeding card. That's my fault because I didn't really care if I ran a race before then. To get a seeding card, you have to run at least one other race in a qualifying time, which I felt I could have with a little effort.

Anyway, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2007. After cancer treatment that same year, I have been doing well from that standpoint. My wife started asking me if I wanted to do this Prostate Cancer run three weeks prior, but I didn't get the hint. Much of the money raised from the event goes towards prostate cancer research and outreach. After some encouragement from her, I agreed to do it and she even signed me up using her smartphone. She wasn't about to leave that up to me.

So with some hesitation on my part, we drove into Hartford and parked near the new Dunkin Donuts Park, which is where the race started and finished. When I went inside to get my race number, it was a real family environment in there. There were mothers, fathers, grandmas, grandpas, brothers, sisters, and of course, a number of children. They even announced the survivors that were running/walking in the race beforehand. Many people had on the light blue running shirts or braclets that were given to participants.

The weather wasn't exactly ideal for running though. It was in the 80's and fairly humid. But I didn't let that bother me too much. Perhaps 32 years of running in Hartford in all types of weather conditions from my office at CTDEEP helped me. I started out conservatively even though I had to run only 3.1 miles because of the weather. I was in about the top 50 out of around 120 runners at the 2 mile mark, but picked up the pace. I started picking runners off and entered the stadium in right field (the warning track) at a good pace. The race course followed the warning track into left field and then finished adjacent to third base.

I ended up running 26:28 and finished third in my division (55-59), the third survivor, and 31th overall. Not too bad considering all things. I was given two nice glass mugs for my third places finishes. This was the slowest 5K race I have ever done by over 2 minutes, but that was okay. It was for a good cause with real significance for me and my family. After all, I'm still trying to get that motivation back to compete. Perhaps this will be the catalyst to get me going again.

Ken

Where's Ken Been?

2017-01-25T23:52:00.001-05:00

It's been almost 2 years since I have posted on this blog. I have had to deal with a work change and a few setbacks, which have lead to my loss of interest. First, I injured my right hamstring training in November of 2014. I then injured my shoulder. I was surprised at the level of pain I was experiencing with the shoulder issue. I had to suspend my running for almost 7 months because of both injuries. I finally had surgery to repair my shoulder in October, 2015. Then my dad passed away this June, 2016 after a number of months of suffering.

For therapy, I resumed running in January of 2016. It's been a very slow process of regaining fitness, especially with the extra 10+ lbs I gained. I'm back up to running about 20-25 miles per week. It's at a slow pace though even when I push myself. I'm hopeful that in time I'll be able to get down into the 6:45-7:15 minutes per mile range for shorter distances.

I actually did the Manchester Thanksgiving Day road race last November, without a seeding card. That was the only race I did last year and as a result, I wasn't able to avoid all the human traffic. My time was around 43 minutes, which was significantly slower than I have ever run that race. It's very difficult to run a good time without a seeding card because of the crowd that is in front of you. I was finally able to stretch my legs a bit around the 2 mile mark. So my goal for next year is to get a seeding card and actually run a good race.

Regarding my running friends, we were able to get together again at our local watering hole in mid-December, 2016 to remember Dave Cherico and Doug Zimmerman, several of our running buddies that are no longer with us. I wasn't able to get a photo of the group like in past years, but we had I good turnout. I was able to see a number of my former coworkers since my retirement in early 2013. Don't worry. I'm still working though, just not for the state.

Ken

Running in Boston

2015-04-17T23:26:00.000-04:00

I wrote a post a year and a half ago about running along the Charles River while staying at a Double Tree Hotel right next to the river. I enjoyed several runs that weekend, but had no idea that before long I would be working in Boston and running along the Charles on a regular basis.

Since the end of December of 2014, I have been running in Boston twice per week. At first, I ran around Boston Common to avoid all of the traffic and to get more familiar with the area. I did find several runners that work in my building who were nice enough to take me on some exploratory jaunts around Boston. Then I was fortunate enough to meet a local group of runners that go by the name of the Boston River Rats and joined them for some runs too.

I'm still trying to get back in shape after missing time with a hamstring injury and gaining some weight over the winter. The winter in Boston was bad because the area received twice as much snow as I got near home. But the good thing about it was that the walking trails/sidewalks/paths were cleared fairly quickly, which allowed runners to do their thing without risking their lives running the roads in Boston. With the high snow banks around Boston, it was even more dangerous than usual.

I'm not running fast by any means, but I'm starting to feel better with every run. Before long, I'm hopeful that I'll be running in the 7's again or faster. I'm doing about 18-20 miles a week now and want to increase this mileage to 20-25 miles per week this spring. Perhaps I'll add an additional day of running each week, from 3 to 4 times to accomplish this goal.

Today I ran about 5.5 miles along the Charles and saw a number of runners with Boston Marathon jackets on. Patriots Day and the Boston Marathon is this coming Monday so many people have already arrived for the marathon. I ran for a bit along the Charles with a woman from New Mexico who is running the marathon. I envy these runners who have qualified for the race or who are running for a cause. This race is on my bucket list, but it's been over ten years since I've done that distance in a race.

I wish all of the runners in Boston good luck on Monday and hope the Red Sox also win that day. I will not be in Boston on Monday, but plan to run in Hartford with some old friends since I get the day off from work. Perhaps next year I'll give it a go and at least spend the day in Boston.

Ken

Annual Holiday Run

2014-12-20T08:01:00.000-05:00

This year our friend Jim did the honors and coordinated the holiday run. At first, it looked like I wouldn't be able to attend because the initial date of the celebratory run was December 22nd, the day I was scheduled to start my new job. Fortunately the date was changed to Friday, December 19th and I was able to attend.

We met in the basement of my old office, exchanged hellos and changed for the run. I have a lot of good memories of our almost daily lunchtime runs and previous annual runs. The locations have changed over the years, but the atmosphere doesn't for the most part. We've stopped at numerous local watering holes on these days, some establishments west, north, and east of the office. Lately the Arch Street Tavern has been the spot of these celebrations because it's conveniently located less than a half a mile from the office and on one of our many running courses.

We always toast our lost friends too. Dave C and Doug Z were both close friends that left this world way too soon. We stopped off at Doug's rock on the run and then toasted the two of them at Arch Street as usual. This year was a particularly good year, with fourteen people showing up. Not everyone ran the course though. Tony walked it. Dave, Chris, Mike, and Scott walked down to Arch to take part. Mark, Mark, Jim, Carolyn, Carla, Steve, Karen, Jim and I ran a short 3.7 mile course that circled back to Constitution Plaza. I really like this course because you end up running north along the Connecticut River.

Mark's going to send me several pictures from the celebration to incorporate into this post. I usually bring my digital camera, but decided not to in favor of my cellphone, which I forgot to grab on our way out. Luckily Mark carries this phone on every run so he stepped up.

So as the last days of 2014 tick off the clock, I'd like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and a peaceful and successful new year. SALUTE!

Ken

An Exercise in Humility

2014-11-28T07:54:00.001-05:00

Running for me this year has had its ups and downs like most people. I had steadily increased my mileage each week from around 23 early in the year to 33 in late summer. Along the way, I tripped over a spike on the rail trail, pulled my right calf muscle and wrenched my back. Yet I was losing weight and getting stronger and faster despite these setbacks.

As Thanksgiving approached this year, I started to gear up for the Manchester Road Race, which I have run about 30 times. My new group of running friends, the Amigos, had been running the road race course every Wednesday morning for three weeks leading up to the week of November 17th. That cold, rainy Monday morning, myself and two other Amigos (Mike and Bob W.) ran 10 miles on the rail trail. It was what I called a "character building" day because it was a fairly nasty day to be out running. Towards the end of the run, Bob W, who hadn't run the day before like I had, started to pick up the pace. I was feeling a bit tight and tired and found myself dropping back every few minutes on the return trip from our out and back 10 miler. I should have known better to slow down and let them go. But I didn't and by the time we finished, my right hamstring was hurting. Two days later, we lined up at the start line of the Manchester Road Race course for one last practice run with the group. I could still feel my hamstring tightness in spite of some foam rolling I had done of the area earlier in the morning. So I took it real easy and did the course in just over 40 minutes, 3 minutes and 15 seconds slower than my time the week of November 10th.

I ran two more times that week, an easy 7 on Friday morning and then 5.5 on Sunday with my two labs, Calvin and Cassie. I was planning to run on 3 or 4 miles on Monday, the week of Thanksgiving, but I got a part time engineering job with a consultant and didn't get a chance to run. On Tuesday, I helped move my mother into her new senior apartment in Glastonbury and this process further stressed my legs. Seven and a half hours later, the move was completed, but my right hamstring pain was still there. That night I foam rolled my legs, especially my hamstrings and I felt better. I had my race number and my seeding card and decided to give it a go, despite my hamstring issues.

Thanksgiving morning, I got a late start. As a result, I had to park a mile away from the start and jog over. I figured it would be a good way to loosen up my legs and test my right hamstring. I didn't feel any better once I reached the gate and tried stretching for a while in the under 40 minutes corral. It helped somewhat. When the National Anthem was being sung just prior to the start of the race, the PA system stopped working so everyone finished up the anthem, which was cool. I don't think that ever happened before at this race.

My goal was to run the same mile splits I had done when I ran under 37 minutes two weeks earlier for as long as I could. I had run through injuries before and figured I could adjust my stride while maintaining a good pace. This lasted to the top of the hill, just past the two mile mark. A 7:24 first mile, followed by a 8:58 second mile was all I had in me. At this point, I was only 14 seconds behind my faster practice run time. That's when the pain started to get me. Instead of hitting 23:40 at the three mile mark, as I had planned, I crossed that marker in 24:25, 45 seconds slower than planned. My fourth mile was even worse, instead of 31:15, I reached that point in around 32:50. As I rounded the corner on Main Street, I almost had to stop, as the hamstring pain was shooting up my right leg into my right buttock. The down hill hurt, but that last little up hill section before the finish line on Main Street was worse. I was kind of dragging and shuffling my right leg. I looked to my right and saw one of my fellow Amigos, Steve Tolman walking. I called out Steve, but I don't think he heard me. He then took off like a rocket and finished 15 seconds ahead of me. Keep in mind that I was only about 20 yards from the finish.

So I was able to finish in 39:33 by my watch, having run the last 2.75 miles in a considerable amount of pain. Oh, well. Maybe next year I can actually stay healthy by using better judgment. Running can sure be humbling.

Ken

What Does "RACE READY" Really Mean?

2014-10-31T19:48:00.000-04:00

I've been running for about 30 years now. I've heard and used the term "race ready" for a while. My definition is simple. I need to have some distance( 8 to 10 milers), run a sufficient number of runs at a pace near race pace, and stay healthy. Being an engineer by profession, I have a tendency to over analyze things. It's probably because of all the math and science classes I had to take in college. Anyway, I just went back over my running logs recently and noted that I have only run 6 (three 5Ks) races in the last three and a half years. That includes 3 Manchester road races (4.75 miles) too, where it's hard to run your best with 10,000 or so runners. The Manchester seeding cards help, but there are just too many people that jump in on Main Street or climb over the barriers at the starting line. That's a very small number of races to truly become "race ready" in my book.

I noted two other things with my running lately. One, I seem to have lost 30 seconds per mile in the last 3 or so years racing. Also, I haven't been training at my expected race pace too often. Hence my limited races times haven't been good. So where do I go from here. During this period, I've done some weekly speedwork on the trails, but I just don't think that the pace is quick enough. I could go to the track, but I've been lazy about it. Also, I switched my running shoes about three years ago from Nike to Merrell (minimalist shoes). I don't get the bounce from the Merrell shoes so I wonder if this could be a factor.

I'm going to try switching back to Nike for a while to see if there is any difference. I'll keep you posted as to my progress. I know I'm getting older, but I haven't given up trying to run faster. I plan on running another 5K race in a week or so. Will I be "race ready"? I hope so.

Ken

Road Versus Trail Running

2014-10-07T11:07:00.000-04:00

I've always run on trails and roads each week. But I predominantly ran on roads for many years. I made a point to hit the trails every weekend at least once to get a trail run in.

Since leaving my job, I've had more time to run over the past year or so. Now the tide has turned. I mostly run on rail trails near my house. This brings up an interesting dilemma. What's the right balance between both surfaces?

Trails provide a much softer surface and therefore are kinder to your body. However, technical trails, with stones, roots and all types of things to trip on, can put a runner at risk, especially if that person has any historical injuries. Rail trails are typically much more manicured and have far less trip hazards.

Road running, on asphalt, provides a nice flat surface with little to trip on, aside from curbs and garbage people toss out their windows onto the streets. But running on a hard surface beats the body up and can lead to stress fractures and other injuries because it is so rigid.

Most races are on roads. My opinion is that to race well you need to train on roads at least part of the time. What is the right percentage of road/trail to run on each week to stay healthy, in shape and injury free?

What's your opinion? Feel free to elaborate on your reasoning, whether it's from experience or just how you feel.

Thanks for sharing.

Ken

Florida Time

2014-10-02T13:55:00.003-04:00

In May, we went on vacation to Fort Myers Beach, Florida. It was another great time and the weather was sunny the whole ten days we were there.

As usual, I tried to get in a run every other day. I ended up running just four days though, for a total of 27 miles. Last year, I developed a blister on my right big toe from running in the sand so I ran the majority of the time along Estero Boulevard. I made sure to start running before 8:00 am to avoid the hotter, more humid weather.

Take a look at a few of the pictures I took while we were down there.

Boston Marathon 2014

2014-04-21T00:40:00.000-04:00

Get ready folks! This is the year that the U.S. wins the Boston Marathon. And I' m not just talking about the men's race, but the women's race too. I don't care how fast those Kenyans and Ethiopians have run recently. They're going to be looking at a U.S. runner's soles at the end.

Perspective

2014-04-14T23:24:00.000-04:00

Most runners will admit that when they can't run for any period of time, they get cranky. Just ask their significant other or a family member. Running, like many things in life, is a passion for these cranky people. I have been fighting a virus for three weeks now and it has hampered my running. This isn't the puking type, but rather the chest congestion/coughing virus.

As the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing approaches, I find it hard to bitch and moan about my latest ailment. How dare I even try to complain when all those injured and suffering are bravely moving forward with their life. It makes me realize how trivial my minor setback is in the grand scheme of life. So when life throws me off track, I try not to lose perspective.

I hope someday I'll be able to toe the Boston Marathon line and finish the race. I haven't run over 12 miles in many years and my last marathon, Hartford, in 1999, was a bust for me. I ran 14 minutes slower than my first and PR marathon time. My left knee has a habit of protesting when I overdo things. So 26.2 miles and the training that would need to be done prior to the race, might never happen. But... wouldn't it be great to do it! Just say hell with my left knee. The rest of my body will be hurting just as much as the knee so stop complaining and do it. Maybe? Stay tuned!

November Notes

2014-02-01T22:41:00.001-05:00

Here's a post a drafted back in November, but forgot to post:

I've always felt that as long as the snow holds off for November, this month is one of my favorite months to run, similar to a mild February. I have yet to run a single race this year though. As I look back, it seems that several minor injuries, family matters, and a lack of motivation have led to this simple fact.

It's not like I didn't train hard. I ran intervals at a local track for 6 straight weeks, once a week and did some longer runs of up to ten miles too. But I didn't plan to do any specific races and it's the middle of November already.

I was able to make some new friends this year. There's a group of older runners that frequent our local rail trail so I have run with them. They call themselves the Running Amigos. Their ages range from about fifty to over seventy. There are some fast runners in this group too. I chased several of them around the Manchester Road Race course a month ago and couldn't quite catch up to them on the 4.75 mile loop.

My right calf has been causing me some issues so I've had to reduce my ~23 miles/week and suspend speed work for the past several weeks. I think things are turning around now. I ran pain-free the last three runs, but I need to watch it. I ran Friday this week and felt a little sluggish.

Back to Boston

2013-10-11T08:59:00.002-04:00

My wife and I were able to get tickets to the American League Divisional Series game on October 5, 2013 between Tampa Bay and Boston. It gets a bit expensive to stay at a hotel in and around Boston so we opted not to stay over night in the city. The game was scheduled to start at 5:30 pm, but we had a family commitment to go to at 1:00 pm, which made the schedule tight.

At around 2:30 pm, we left the family gathering and headed for the Riverside T-station off of Route 95 in MA. We like to leave our car there and take the T-rail to Fenway Park to avoid the traffic.When we reached the station at around 4:15, the parking lot was full so we had to improvise. There's a number of apartment complexes just past the station so we parked the car there, for free. I think we saved ten bucks or one Fenway beer.

The rail system in Boston is heavily used so we didn't get into Fenway Park until 5:25 pm. The weather was good, partly sunny and in the 60s. It was an exciting game. The Red Sox won by a score of 7 to 4. After the game, we headed over to where the Red Sox players exit Fenway Park to see some of the players and find out what kind of cars they drive. We saw Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Dustin Pedroia, John Lackey, Daniel Nava and Andrew Miller. We also saw Larry Lucchino, the Red Sox CEO and President, with his entourage.

We didn't get home until midnight, but it was worth it.

Running in Boston

2013-09-19T00:35:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, my wife and I spent some time in Boston and attended the Saturday afternoon Red Sox game versus the Yankees. But before we left for the game, I went out for a 50 minute run around 9:30 am along the Charles River. I can't remember running along with or near as many people other than in a large race. Runners of all shapes, sizes and abilities were coming out of the trees literally. On Friday, I had watched the scores of runners, bikers, boats, and walkers from our 12th floor hotel room window pass by along the river so I figured that a run would be anything but solitary.

I headed across the Charles River from our hotel and headed south towards Boston University along the east side of the river for 25 minutes or so. I decided to go this way because there's a dirt path that runs along the paved sidewalk, which is much more forgiving on my joints. I passed by B.U. bridge, Harvard Bridge, and Longsfellow Bridge, and turned around near Bunker Hill Community College. I talked to one guy near my turnaround point and asked him how far he intended to run. He politely replied, "18 miles or so," as I turned and waved goodbye.

Just as I started back, I noticed a fairly tall blond-haired woman running slightly ahead of me. It took me about a minute or two, but I was able to catch her when we got stuck at a traffic light with another 13 or so runners. As we headed north along the river, I passed her and said, "This might be a mistake trying to pass you." She laughed and kept on running. We seemed to be going the same pace so we ended up talking for 5 minutes. It turns out she works in college financial aid. We talked about the Red Sox and running around Boston. I enjoyed our exchange until we parted ways around the B.U. Bridge.

I wasn't able to get in a run on Sunday before we left, but plan to run along the Charles River again if the opportunity presents itself. It was a really enjoyable run and I had great running weather: sunny, a slight wind, 65 degrees F.

By the way, the Red Sox ended up beating the Yankees Friday and Saturday so the weekend was a total success.

Speedwork revisited

2013-07-30T00:50:00.000-04:00

Over the past several years, I've written a number of posts about speedwork. I just started going to the local track once a week again to do repeats, specifically half miles and quarters. You might remember me comparing actual track speedwork from two different decades, 1997-1999 and 2008 - 2009s in a previous post. There was about a thirty second difference in times, slower more recently.

On July 12, 2013, I did five halves (3:24, 3:30, 3:29, 3:29, and 3:26) and two quarters (1:36 and 1:34). These times compare quite well with my times from 2007-2009. I ran a rest quarter in between each hard repeat. I also used my lightweight Merrills, which seemed to help me increase my turnover.

On July18, 2013, I did five halves (3:23, 3:27, 3:30, 3:29, and 3:37). It was very hot and humid that morning and I really struggled to do the workout. I brought two bottles of water, but that didn't last long. With the sun beating down on me, I couldn't manage to do the two quarters I had planned to do. I like to think of these workouts as character building, but I was really tired after finishing.

I was unable to get in a track speedwork session last week because of several issues. I still did some pickups on a nearby trail on July 24, 2013 during a 7 mile run. I ran two minutes faster on the return trip from an out and back run.

I'll keep you posted on my times to see how these workouts help my overall speed. Stay tuned.

New Translate Feature Added To My Blog

2013-06-13T07:47:00.000-04:00

Hello,

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a number of lurkers stopping by my blog, but they don't seem to want to comment. Perhaps, they don't understand English. Well, near the top of my opening page on the right of this post, I added the "translate" feature to allow people to convert my blog writings into whatever language a person uses. I hope this helps.

Ken

Running in Florida

2013-05-17T09:58:00.002-04:00

Just about every year, we go to Florida on vacation for a week or so. It's a nice break because we don't really care for the cold, snowy conditions in the Northeast each winter. So this April we headed down to Fort Myers Beach for a little R&R. We arrived in Florida via Detroit in the early afternoon of April 16th. The temperature was around 85 degrees and it was sunny. Sounds good, right?

Running in Florida for me has been a bit of a challenge. With the high humidity and temperature, it seems that each mile down there is almost like twice the distance up north. Don't get me wrong. I like going to Florida. But I've found that certain things are important for me to do when running in Florida. First, I put on suntan lotion to prevent overexposure. Then I run earlier in the morning to avoid the hotter conditions. I always drink water before running, but I carry water with me on every run down there. I know some people have difficulties drinking or eating on the run, but my energy gets so zapped if I don't sip some water during these tropical runs. I also don't feel the need to stretch as much before running in Florida because the "fluid" conditions.

One of the best things about running in Florida are the views though. When I run on the beach, it's not unusual to see numerous types of birds. Pelicans, terns, gulls and sandpipers fly back and forth in the wind. Dolphins sometimes show up and chase schools of fish along the shore. Of course, there are people mulling around the beach too. This April I was particularly impressed with this very old woman who religiously ran by our condo in the early morning on multiple days and returned about 45 minutes later going the other direction, unfazed by the conditions. She wasn't moving fast, in fact, she was barely crawling, but she was doing her thing. It was obvious to me that running played a very important role in her life and I can relate to that. I hope when I get to that age I'm able to do the same.

Calling All Lurkers!

2013-05-14T09:09:00.002-04:00

I know that my posts on this blog are few and far between, but I'm trying to change things. One of the interesting aspects of maintaining a blog is that you can see where your audience hail from and what method they used to find your blog. I've had a number of visitors from Russia and Sweden, but unfortunately no comments. I get very few comments.

This is an all out appeal. If you stop by, feel free to just say hello or leave a note, even if it's not in English. I really appreciate them! Perhaps we can actually help each other in some small way, whether it's related to running or something else.

Thanks,

Ken

Boston Marathon Bombings

2013-05-09T00:59:00.001-04:00

In the early afternoon on marathon day, I was sitting in Burger King, of all places, watching a big screen TV when I first heard about the bombings. I had spent ninety minutes or so watching the marathon on-line earlier that day before going out to lunch. The whole terrible incident left me feeling sick to my stomach.

While driving home, I couldn't stop thinking about a number of bloggers that I occasionally converse with. They were running Boston. I immediately went home and tried to find out if they were okay. I've never actually met these fellow runners, but feel connected to them after reading posts about their running exploits and lives. Over the next several days, I learned that Laura at "On Your Left Please...", Nicole at "Amazon At Another Level", and Katherine at "Neon Blonde Runner" all finished before the explosions and luckily weren't physically hurt. But incidents like this can obviously affect you emotionally and the signs aren't so evident.

I've always felt comfort in difficult times in the company of family, but even more so with people who have experienced the same incident or similar things. Only they truly know what you're going through. That's why I'm suggesting that people at the race reach out to each other through blogging or whatever means they can. It can really help in my opinion. You don't have to be a runner to do this either.

The Boston Marathon has been on my bucket list for a while. Unfortunately, my left knee issues have kept me from training for a marathon lately. I've run three Hartford Marathons, each one slower than the last, back in 1997, 1998, and 1999, and have lacked motivation. Do I have it in me to qualify for Boston? I don't know. It makes me so mad when I think about what happened. I haven't run longer than 8 miles in three years so it's a lofty goal. It would be great to be able to pull it off. I'm older now, but the qualifying standards recently got tougher.

Anyway, I'm betting next year's Boston Marathon will be one of the best!

BIG EAST FAREWELL

2013-04-09T09:20:00.001-04:00

If you look at the interests on my profile page, you'll discover that I'm a college basketball fan. As a UCONN alumnus, basketball has sustained us UCONN fans through winter into spring for a long time. The UCONN women have won seven national championships behind Geno Auriemma. The UCONN men have won three national championships under now retired Jim Calhoun. Despite these accolades, it's been about being part of something even bigger than any single team. It's been about being part of the Big East. With great coaches like Thompson, Massimino, Boeheim, and Calhoun, and exceptional players like Ewing, Allen, Hamilton, and Walker, it's made for a competitive college basketball season every year for over thirty years.

I challenge anyone who doubts that the Big East will go down as the greatest conference in the history of college basketball. Sure, UCLA won eleven NCAA Men's basketball championships and Kentucky won eight themselves. But from top to bottom, year in and year out, the Big East has rocked college basketball for a long time. A look at the men's national champions in the last decade reveals that of the ten championships, teams from the Big East won four times, UCONN in 2004 and 2011, Syracuse in 2003 and Louisville this year. The story's the same for the women's national champions, UCONN won five times.

Again, this year's men's and women's final four participants include five Big East teams, three on the women's side, Louisville, UCONN, and Notre Dame, and two on the men's side, Louisville and Syracuse. With one more game tonight, UCONN versus Louisville for the women's national championship, today marks the end of the Big East as we know it. There's no changing that fact, but for a moment think about all the fun and excitement that we've been able to experience as fans. It's been quite a ride. So farewell Big East. And GO UCONN!

Quite Frankly Charlotte, I DO Give a Damn!

2013-02-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Northeast just got whacked last night with anywhere from 24 to 36 inches of snow from Blizzard Charlotte. I was scheduled to run five miles early this morning, but it looks like my plans will have to be adjusted. I still plan to snowshoe later after I clear the snow from my driveway, porch, and back deck. Calvin has that look in his eyes too. He wants to go out with me when I snowshoe. But he's never had to run through this much snow on the trail before.

Several weeks ago we did two or three workouts in the snow and Calvin loved it. At the time, there was only about eight to ten inches to get through, with the exceptional foot and a half snow drift. It was snowing during one of the workouts, which made it even more challenging. With wind gusts of twenty miles an hour, the trails we made were soon buried. But we weren't the only ones out there. We saw a guy with his golden retriever out and about. They appeared from around a corner of the trail from a blast of snow.

Well, I'm just about to start my snow clearing activities this morning. This after my son and I cleared the first sixteen or so inches of snow off of his car and our driveway around 11:30 pm last night. I'm hoping that the second time through is quick and easy to finish. It's still snowing though.

Take care and happy running.

Ken