Jingle all the way

Since I began running in 2010, I haven't missed a Jingle Bell Run (I know...it's only 3 years, but it's somethin').  This year I had a goal of achieving a 5K Personal Best by going sub-20 minutes, which would annihilate my previous record of 23:23, set in last year's edition of the Harrisburg JBR.  The whole gang showed up with their best holiday socks and hats, joining around 1200 other participants on a mild December morning.

The whole gang!

We were surprised to hear that the course was changed from previous years and as we gathered near the starting line, I began to question whether I'd be able to achieve a sub-20 time with a 100' climb staring right back at us.  The worst part was, the course was two loops!  Regardless of how I felt about the course, the horn blew and we were off.  My wife and friend Ben started near me, but then it began to spread out after the first hill.

I had the Runkeeper audio cue set to give me feedback every quarter mile, so prompt adjustments could be made to my pace to keep my PR in sight.

All went pretty well until the second loop, when on the straight section around mile 2.5, where there were "four lanes" of runners on a two lane road.  For the most part, the slower runners and walkers (who we were lapping) stayed to the right on either side and the quicker runners took turns passing in the middle, but it was a mess...kinda felt like trying to run through the mall the weekend before Christmas.  Compounded by the fact that there were dogs and strollers, it was dangerous, and I hope they figure out a solution for next year.

Course Map.  See all the squiggly criss-crossing lines in the middle?  Yeah, that's pretty much what it was like.

Lucky for us, the last quarter mile stretch was less crowded and we were able to open up and really push for the finish.  I officially crossed the line (as one person in the crowd stated) as "the first antlers".  I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty happy to be one of the first "dressed up" finishers.  Couple that with my finish time of  19:33 and 17th place, I was ecstatic.  Ben and Bree also finished with amazing times, both PR'ing and Ben actually pulled out 34th place.

Checking our race packets afterwards also revealed a nice touch this year: long sleeve tech shirts in place of the normal cotton shirts.

This will be my last 5K for a while, maybe for an entire year.  Like I stated in my previous post, I'm focusing on some longer distances in the near future: 50K in January, then a Marathon in March.

Happy Holidays!

What lies ahead

I don't believe in new years resolutions.  I mean: who says you have to wait until January 1st to make a change or create personal goals?  In my case for 2013, I don't have time to wait for the new year to establish some goals and plan for new heights in personal achievement.  Next year is going to be jam packed with weekends of pushing myself to places (and paces) I never thought possible.

So what are the goals?

#1: Qualify for the Boston Marathon
yep, it's in writing...now it's official...no turning back now.

It's going to be hard, but I wouldn't set the goal if I thought it was unachievable.  Being a 4:53 marathoner at my first (and only) marathon back in May of 2011 might lead you to believe that I have absolutely no shot at attaining the required 3:05:00 for the Boston Athletic Association's standard for my gender and age group.  But hard training (and 20+ pounds lost) this past year has worked magic on the fitness of this formerly fat runner and I'm confident that if I continue on this path, it's within reach.

#2: Run an ultramarathon
I just want to get my feet wet in the sport of long distance trail running with no particular pace or finishing time in mind.  It's an entirely different animal than road running and I'm looking forward to challenging myself at these greater distances.

#3: Complete the Appalachian Trail in NJ and NY
This section is roughly 160 miles and while that may not seem like a whole lot to cover in an entire year, I'm going to have to carefully plan backpacking weekends into my running schedule.


So what's the plan?

Well, #2 is only a month away: The Frozen Sasquatch 50K in West Virginia on January 5th.  I haven't had a training run over 10 miles since November 3rd...so we'll see how this goes!

As for the Boston Qualifier, the obvious choice for me is the Harrisburg Marathon with its extremely fast course and starting line less than 10 miles from my front door, but the timing doesn't work out the way that I'd prefer.  If I run a qualifying time in Harrisburg in November of next year, I'm looking at running Boston in 2015...and quite frankly that's a long way off.  I'd rather do a spring marathon and try to get in to the 2014 race; that's why I registered for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March.  While it's not listed on any of the "Top Boston Qualifying Race" lists put out there on the web, it's flat and as long as my training is solid, I should be able to achieve my goals.

The schedule for the rest of 2013 will sort of depend on how my race goes in Virginia Beach.  If I qualify, then the doors are wide open for some even crazier adventures like the JFK 50 Mile in November.  If not, then there are many options for fast fall marathons.


I've also got some secondary goals that are listed below in no particular order.  These are just some fun things I've been thinking about or working on already, and would be great if I could get them accomplished in the coming year.

Running:

• Run at least a half marathon distance in 3 new states
• Travel (run) as far as I possibly can one day (just for fun, not in a race)

Hiking:

• "Thru Hike" the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in Western PA

Geocaching:

• Find the remainder of the virtual caches in PA that I haven't yet found.  There are only 13 left out of 99, but a few require long hikes or special equipment (e.g. kayak)
• Finish MD/DE Delorme and County Challenges
• Visit Remaining Webcams in DE, MD, and DC (there are only 4, and 3 of them are on the coast so I should probably go in winter or spring to avoid crowds and traffic)

Misc:

• Take better pictures

The FOCUS for the next 4 months will be the Ultra, then Boston Qualifying.  We'll see how it all plays out after I cross the finish line on March 17th, but the journey's going to be fun and I'm very much looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

New Down Jacket!

I've been in the market for a new packable insulating layer for winter hiking for a couple months now, but just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on a couple hundred dollar down jacket.  Well, it seems my procrastination paid off.  Last weekend I spotted a rack of down jackets at BJs Wholesale Club...the price listed? $49.99!  The brand is Hawke and Co. and it seems they're on sale at Macy's too (but not quite the price I was able to procure).  As one would expect, the quality isn't Arc'teryx territory, but you really can't beat this packability and warmth for the price.  Did I mention it weighs in at a slim 9.4oz?!  Yeah....total steal.

It's definitely done the trick for evenings walking the dog in wind chills down in the low 20s, but I'm anxious to see how it performs on the trail.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure when my next backpacking trip will be, especially given my upcoming ultramarathon in January.

Chilly Philly Run

While we were in town for Thanksgiving, my wife and I had the opportunity for a little sight seeing / running around the City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia.  We were staying in University City, right in the heart of University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University so we had a good warm up before we made it over to downtown Philly.  It was a nice 5 mile jaunt around the city, with the route planned around some virtual geocaches.  The weather was breezy and in the low 30's, but we really enjoyed exploring the city as "running tourists".

Over the Schuylkill River looking towards downtown

The big kitty wants in!

Dry fountains in Rittenhouse Square

LOVE Park

Giant noodle in LOVE Park

"Rocky Steps" way down in the distance

Quaker Memorial

Ben Franklin metal sculpture over the Vine St Expressway

Almost home

2012 Carlisle Turkey Trot 10K Race Report

I believe a new tradition has started.  As I've posted before, I've only been running since Spring of 2010.  But in the previous two years, never participated in the annual Turkey Trot, held in cities and towns all across the country on Thanksgiving day.

My wife and I ran the CenturyLink Turkey Trot in Carlisle PA, a city known to many for its Army War College, Car Shows, or simply a stop along the PA Turnpike or I-81.

10K, 5K and 5K walker divisions were offered, winding through the sleepy residential streets southwest of the city center.  Around 2000 participants joined us on the chilly (around 40F), but beautifully sunny morning to get their pre-turkey workout in.

Warming up on the alleys of Carlisle

I had actually never run a 10K before, so I knew this would be a "PR" and I just wanted to average around a 7:00 per mile by breaking the race into 3, 2 mile stretches each progressively quicker.  My pacing didn't turn out that way, but in the end I did manage to average exactly a 7:00 mile based on my RunKeeper activity.  I was happy to cross the finish line after the seriously flat course and get to stuffing my face with Thanksgiving food yumminess.

But the chip timing on the course was a different story, clocking me in at 42:01 earning 33rd place and 5th in my age division.  As I punch the numbers into the handy dandy Cool Running Pace Calculator, I actually averaged a 6:45 pace....what?  I don't know exactly why there was such a big difference in measured distances, but I'd like to attribute it to my constant attention to my chosen line during the race, in a effort to run the shortest distance possible (tips from a recent read of an old DC Rainmaker post must have been bouncing around in my head).

Coming down the homestretch

Along with the flat course and fun holiday atmosphere, the race was an amazing value: providing a long sleeve tech shirt and chip timing for only 23 bucks!  My wife also PR'd it, knocking 5 minutes off her time from the Hershey 10K back in April.

Our next race is our already established tradition of the Jingle Bell Run 5K, and I'm hoping to clock in sub 20 minutes in this year's edition.  Hopefully I won't gain too much weight over this holiday weekend; I've got a time to hit in 2 weeks!

Race over...let's eat!

Double the pain, double the fun!

 As I sit here after the second day of pushing my body to the limits, everything hurts.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for a Crossfit workout on Friday night, then a 6K race on Saturday morning.  And as I'm here typing while SNL is on the TV screen, I can't believe that only 34 minutes for working out over two days could make my body as sore as it is.

I had never done Crossfit before, but my wife goes regularly and we had the opportunity to participate in an evening workout session / party to benefit the Susan G Komen Foundation.  Everyone donned their best pink wear and did some CRAZY workouts.  I can't express in words how unbelievably fit these people are; you'd just have to see it to believe it.

The Novice (read: "me") workout consisted of 8 minutes of as many reps that we could do of 8 dead lifts and 8 burpees.  Before I did the workout it didn't sound so bad, but I'm wiser now.  I just barely squeaked in 7 reps before the 8 minute mark, and I was almost ready to puke when it was over.  I'm glad I didn't, cause I was hungry, thirsty, and they had plenty of beer and Paleo food on hand.

I had a few hours for sleep and downtime before the 6K race, which didn't start until 10AM, roughly 45 minutes away from home.  There were about 200 participants in this years edition of Sophie's Six, including my wife and a few of her friends.  I was aiming for around a 6:30 pace, but with the previous night's workout, had no idea if I could achieve such a goal.  One thing we did know though, was that we were staying till the very end of the awards ceremony, because they were giving out 40 door prizes...I liked our odds.

Nice spread of door prizes

At the start line

This year's beneficiary for the race proceeds was Camp Koala, so of course, they had a mascot:

So about the race...

It was an easy course and amazing weather, but difficult given the circumstances.  I struggled to keep a 7:00 per mile pace and honestly had no idea what place I ended up in just after some kid smoked me in the final strides before the finish line.  I was happy with my time of 26 minutes and some change and waited for my wife and her friends to come rolling in with amazing times of their own: all at or under 30 minutes!

It was about an hour till the awards ceremony began, and I was absolutely flabbergasted when I heard my name called - I WON MY AGE GROUP WITH A 26:12!!!!  After 2 1/2 years of running, this is my first award and I just can't believe it!  I guess a 7 minute mile was good enough for today, but I won't be happy with that pace at my next 5K: The Jingle Bell Run in Harrisburg on 12/8/12.

After two days of pain (and counting...), this was a perfect finish, and good motivation for my next race: the Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving, only 5 days away.

Tuscarora Trail

The mighty Tuscarora.  Some call it Big Blue - I just call it the "TT"...as in "TOUGH Trail".

Though it was originally developed as an alternate route for the Appalachian Trail, "The TT" is a far cry from the manicured footpath known as the AT in southern PA.  It has its ups and downs, plenty of rocks, briars, and blow downs.  But I enjoyed every step of the 39 mile section of the TT that I backpacked with the South Central PA Backpackers Meetup Group this weekend.  Our group was 6 strong, enjoying a seldom used stretch of trail between PA 74 south to PA 641.  We only ran into 2 or 3 other parties the entire weekend.  Being deer and turkey season, the majority of people we ran into were hunters.

Day 1: PA 74 to Wagon Wheel Shelter, 11ish miles

Heading west near Colonel Denning State Park

Sunset from Flat Rock Overlook, Day 1, near Colonel Denning State Park

Day 2: Wagon Wheel Shelter to Fowlers Hollow Shelter, 16ish miles

Pipeline clearing south of PA 233

Day 2 was full of lush Mountain Laurel.  A great reason to come back to this section in June.

Some nice "scout work" near Fowlers Hollow Shelter - day 2

Great fireplace in front of Fowlers Hollow Shelter

Day 3: Fowlers Hollow Shelter to PA 641, 12ish miles

Hemlocks Natural Area, near Perry/Franklin county line, day 3

The best vista of the trip, around noon on day 3 atop Rising Mountain overlooking Amberson Valley

Some neat slabs of stone on Rising Mountain's extreme western end, just a few miles from PA 641

The group finishing the section along PA 641

Android Running Apps - Thoughts and Observations

First off, I'm not going to label this as a review since I'm only commenting on the features of these apps based on my own needs and experiences, rather than fully exploring all available features and performance.  Also - due to the dynamic nature of mobile application development, many of these observations could have occurred on obsolete versions.

All activities were done on my Samsung Galaxy S2 (Sprint) over the past two months.  This phone is notorious for having GPS issues, so I won't be discussing accuracy here.  I'll limit the commentary to the features, aesthetics and personal preferences.

I should also note that my primary activity is running, but I do occasionally ride a bike on the trainer or outside.  For this reason I didn't include Strava for this post, because it's primary geared towards cycling and has a couple of running aspects thrown in as an afterthought.

So let's dive right in...


RunKeeper

While the RunKeeper app doesn't provide much in the ways of analytics "in app" or online, it does contain a few unique features.


PROs

• Extremely customizable voice feedback during workouts.  You can set it to provide feedback on pace, distance, speed, etc, on either time or distance intervals.  The time intervals down to 1 minute, and distance down to 1/4 mile.
• Free, extremely customizable interval workouts with voice commands.  You can basically create interval workouts to your heart's content.  It also makes it easy to repeat, rather than manually enter the same interval 10+ times.
• Can log non-GPS workouts easily
• Multi-sport
• Won't allow you to begin a GPS workout without having a lock on your GPS signal.  It will try to acquire satellites for about 10 seconds and if unsuccessful, asks if you want to continue without, or continue searching.  This is similar to the standalone GPS receivers that I own from Garmin (Nuvi 1350 and Oregon 450) 

CONs

• Can't do much other than record workouts in app.  For example, after a workout the history screen will show these vertical bars which after dozens of workouts on this app, I still have no idea what they mean.
• Website provides more analytics than app, but not nearly as much as other apps.

Home Screen

Custom interval creation

History screen with mysterious "bars"

Nike+

Nike has put together a beautiful, running specific app with some unique, but not necessary bells and whistles.



PROs

• Beautiful UI
• Fun encouragement from running celebrities
• Playlist integration
• Very encouraging with the challenge to beat your PRs
• Optional data for weather and surface conditions

CONs

• Battery drain (1hr 53 min trail run, down from 98% to 47%)
• Will start without having Satellite lock
• Not Multi-sport, Running only
• Asks to "calibrate" GPS by stating how far of a workout it recorded and then asking how far you actually ran.  If I had something more accurate, I would just use that!
  
  
  

Nike+ Home screen

Workout history

Endomondo

This is a clean app with just about all the features I need.  The opportunity to win actual items for working out is a really cool plus.  This is the only app I paid for the "pro" version.  The only reason I did that was to explore the pause feature from the headset button, which in the end, didn't work anyway.  The pro version was $4.99 in the Google Play Store.



PROs

• Records Personal Records
• "Challenges" to win real stuff for working out.  All you have to do is enter the contest online.
• Facebook upload doesn't include comments
• Playlist integration
• Simple Web-Interface, has a very geeky forum-type feel to it.  It's unrefined and segmented, but for some reason I like it.
• Multi-sport

CONs

• It does have a "Pause" feature using headset button, but didn't work 100% for me.  It worked the first time, but after that, ended up pausing my music, and calling someone.

MapMyRun

Online mapping is one of the best, but the phone app is has menus which are difficult to navigate.



PROs

• "Courses" (like Strava Segments)
• Multi-sport
• As the name would suggest, it has one of the best online mapping tools.

CONs

• Slow and wordy voice feedback every mile: "Your current distance is one mile; Your current overall pace is 9 minutes, 23 seconds per mile..."

MapMyRun home screen

"Courses" feature, explore difficult climbs from other users so you can try to beat their time

Runtastic

The phone interface is pretty "busy", but functional.



PROs

• Customizable dashboard
• Nice in-app analytics for previously recorded workouts
• very light on the battery use (38 min run, only down 10%)
• Most functions are customizable
• Playlist integration
• Multi-sport
• Optional data for weather and surface conditions

CONs

• Manual entry (non-GPS) is a little clunky with up/down arrows to enter times and distances - no keyboard entry.

Runtastic home screen

Workout history

Garmin Fit

Garmin's extremely light app does the basics, and has a huge plus with Garmin Connect online.  There is no free version of this app; it is $0.99 in the Google Play Store.



PROs

• Decent in-app analytics, but only after the run
• Auto upload to Garmin Connect - very nice.

CONs

• During run, only basic options are to "hit the lap button"
• No voice feedback on pace or other data during workout

Garmin Fit home screen

"In workout" view

Sports Tracker

Very nice interface, with a similar amount of features as MapMyRun, but much easier to navigate.



PROs

• Nice interface
• Strava-esque segments online, using the Explore function.  Very social as well...you can comment and "friend" people. 
• Nice online interface with lots of data
• They just introduced a Bluetooth 2.1 Heart Rate Strap.  This is the traditional bluetooth which uses more battery and hence this hardware is only said to have 30 hours of battery life.  The upside to this though, is that compatible with essentially all smartphones, not just the ones with Bluetooth 4.0 or Bluetooth smart.

CONs

• Only audio updates down to 1 mile (like most others), but lap splits given, rather than overall averages

Sports Tracker Home Screen

Explore feature by map.  I don't know this Michael Johnson guy, but I could try to beat his time.  BTW - all activity types show up while panning the map.

Activity history view: Speed and Elevation chart

So which one is "the best"?  I'll simply say that on a daily basis I use RunKeeper.  Even though the interface in app and online are limited, the customizable interval and audio feedback (down to the 1/4 mile) are crucial for my neurotic brain with a constant thirst for information.  Ultimately in order to adjust pace, I need feedback on a more frequent basis than at 1 mile intervals (or 1km) and RunKeeper is the only app which provided that in my experience.

I really liked Endomondo, Sports Tracker, and Runtastic though.  If they were to offer the features that I need, I'd consider using one of these as my primary workout app.  One last item of note is that never, not even once, did any of these 7 apps crash.  This is extremely reassuring to a runner concerned with keeping track of reliable workout data.

Final rankings
(with absolutely no regard for scientific analysis or metrics; It's just my opinion folks)

1) RunKeeper
2) Endomondo
3) Sports Tracker
4) Runtastic
5) Nike+
6) MapMyRun
7) Garmin Fit