Bardstown Run

One of my favorite training runs is to go up and back on Bardstown Road (from my house this ends up being about 6 miles.) I generally run from my home in the small City of Wellington (near the Bardstown-Watterson intersection) up to Bardstown and Eastern Parkway, then I'll turn around. It's quite an interesting run, the smells take you from the aroma of freshly baked donuts in Krispy Kreme to the tasty scent of my favorite Mexican place - Qdoba (unfortunately as a runner, I can't eat too much Mexican!) It's also interesting to look in to all of the small shops and restaurants along the way, a great "people watching" run. Last night, I saw everything from businessman cutting a deal in a small restaurant to a young girl getting a tattoo on the back of her neck (ouch!)

It's also a challenging run - you really have to pay attention to the plethora of traffic signals and be especially careful about running in front of alleys that do not have signals (I've been near road-kill many times at the alley next to the Douglass Loop Kinko's.) You also expect the unexpected along Bardstown Road - the occasional political protest (thankfully they aren't aware I'm a Republican!), the heckling from the car full of teenagers ("you're running too slow"), or the kid approaching you who looks like he's been time warped from the 80's punk rock scene (hey purple hair looks interesting.) Anyway, it's always an adventure on Bardstown Road. I love our parks, but I also like the constant activity along Bardstown. I know I'm biased, but I actually think the 3-4 mile stretch of Bardstown Road through the Highlands has more of a "vibe" than the Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco (I got a good luck at the Haight in the marathon in S.F. last year.)

I'm getting anxious about the Anthem 5K this Saturday. I'm not a very strong 5K runner and this race usually has a crowded field. I actually prefer long distance races to the shorter 5K's, it takes me a while to get into a groove during a run. This is also the first race I've done since December so it should be interesting.

Happy Running

Blue Skies Ahead?

Wow, the forecast this week looks like a runner's dream! Temperatures in the 50's and potentially the 60's this weekend - quite a reward for all of those who have endured through the chilly weather in recent weeks. Of course, this is Louisville so I'll believe it when I see it!

I think I'm finally hitting my "weather wall", we ran close to 10 miles on Saturday and though it wasn't as cold as it's been - I'm definitely ready for the spring. I love the spring weather here, when it's in the 60's and sunny, you feel you can run forever. I enjoy the feeling of packing up my winter weather clothing for the year and getting ready for the spring races - I haven't done that quite yet. Let's hope the Triple Crown offers some great running weather, the Papa Johns 10 Miler definitely could stand a cool down from last year! The only bad news is I now I have to start thinking about my transition to iced coffee drinks, moving from my traditional espresso.

Happy Running.

The Heart of Conversation

Most people I know who do not like running always say, "running is no fun." I generally disagree with that sentiment. I think some might change their minds if they ran with a group. One of the great advantages to running with a group is the conversation that takes place - it generally makes the run go by much faster (and on cold days like today, that sure helps.)

On Saturday, I ran with my friend Kim Cleary. During our hour long run, we talked about everything from politics (she runs on the left, I veer more towards the right!) to cajun cooking (Kim and her family are heading to Mardi Gras next week.) This morning, I ran with my friends Manfred and Fred. We covered everything from their upcoming marathons (Fred is running a marathon in Athens, Ohio and Manfred is once again running the prestigious Boston Marathon) to Fred's love of fried oysters and onion rings (runners love talking about their food cravings during a run, gives us something to look forward to!) I've been fortunate to run with a large group of people and over the course of many Saturday morning runs, have heard great stories (some over and over again, thanks Terry!) and have gotten many different perspectives on the issues that most affect our world.

Of course, in order to have good conversation - you have to develop the aerobic capacity to talk while you run. This was really difficult for me when I first started running. My fellow runners thought I was the "strong, silent" type, truth is I couldn't get any words out!

In Louisville, there are many groups to run with including the Fleet Feet gang, Iroquois Hill runners, and a variety of other groups that run from Seneca and Cherokee Parks. If you're tired of running by yourself, a group run is a great remedy - you will learn a lot along the way as well.

Let There Be Light

Ok, this blog will sound like I'm preaching, but hey I'm a pretty religious guy! Last night while running through the frozen tundra of Cherokee Park, I repeatedly saw runners who had no reflective clothing nor lights on. In fact, our group almost bumped into a couple of runners because we could not see them until they were about three feet away. I know a lot of people who run at night, but I would venture to say that only half of them wear any type of reflective clothing. I'm being somewhat hypocritical here because only recently did I purchase a blinking light and I still don't have a reflective vest, though I still feel more secure with the light.

To make matters worse, many drivers treat Cherokee and Seneca Park like the Indy Speedway South (note to any police officers reading this!) Last night, several cars sped past us and got dangerously close to us, even as we were in the pedestrian lanes in Cherokee Park. Veteran runners know that these parks get very dark at night.

Bottom line to any runner reading this, paying $8 for a blinking light or $25 for a reflective vest is a worthwhile investment. Unfortunately, we have had some real tragedies in the biking community over the past couple of years with bikers being hit by automobiles. We need to take every precaution we can when running in the evening (and daytime for that matter) and that starts with what we wear and how we make ourselves known to drivers and other runners. Happy Running.

Running Against Old Man Winter

Global warming - sure doesn't feel like it out there! Weather can always be a hindrance to our training for the Triple Crown and this weekend's frosty temperatures certainly are proof of that. Saturday morning was a tough day to run. When I woke up, under my warm covers and with the wind howling outside, I contemplated every excuse I could muster not to run. I decided to drive (past the bank signs reading 13 degrees) over to Fleet Feet with the hope of running 8-10 miles and then grab my normal cup of coffee from Heine Brothers (we are a coffee group that happens to run!) Normally at 7 am we have 10-15 runners raring to go, on Saturday there were 2 others! Pam and Dave are the 2 fastest runners in our group right now and it would have been tough to keep up with them. I wished them well on their run and tried to figure out my options - I could go out on my own in the freezing temperature or head home back under those warm coves. I did neither! Thank goodness for the indoor track at Milestone Health and Fitness, I drove over to the gym and got my miles in under much cozier conditions (I'm sure one of my fellow runners will give me grief about not "roughing" it, but hey the jacuzzi afterwards sure felt better than frostbite.)

The bottom line I've learned in running is that the weather is rarely ideal for us. You constantly have to adjust. The Papa Johns 10 miler last year comes to mind when the temperatures were in the high 80's and the humidity was brutal (hey at least there was a ton of pizza at the finish!) I know last year's Anthem 5k featured torrential type rains. We can always hope that the weather will be to our liking but with the unpredictable Louisville weather, we runners need to be prepared for anything!

In closing, I have the utmost respect for all those that braved the cold this weekend - I saw a few photos in the Courier of runners in Seneca Park - breath clearly visible! Keep up the good work and remember, things will warm up soon - if they don't, head to your nearest gym!

Heartbreak Hill (s)

Last night, our running group did hill workouts over in Cherokee Park. As we climbed hill after hill in 20 degree temperature, I kept thinking "what am I doing out here." It didn't dawn on me until I was driving home, how important hill training is for the the upcoming races - especially the Papa Johns 10 miler and the Mini-Marathon. I think the one comment I hear most from first time competitors in these races is "Wow, those hills were really tough!" I have to agree and I believe the key in running well in those races is to properly train on the hills beforehand.

I have to admit these hill workouts are not the most enjoyable thing in the world! We practice on the backside of Hogan's Fountain and the uphill is quite an incline to say the least (it could be worse, I guess we could be doing them on dog hill!) It's a pretty fascinating sight for the casual observer, runners (only detectable by their flashing lights) running up and down the same hill for a half hour. In the summer, when it is light out, we get some pretty strange "those people are nuts" looks from the walkers in the park. Though we only end up running a total of about 5 miles, I am absolutely spent after these workouts.

Hopefully the hill training will pay off this spring, it will definitely be necessary when climbing those monsters in Iroquois come race time.