If there was one lesson I learned about running last fall, it was that I enjoy it much more if I'm performing better. Literally, the faster I run, the more I like running. I love those kind of multipliers too, they make my inner geek warm and fuzzy.

Of course, it becomes a more goal oriented sport for me at that point and this is much more interesting than just being able to slog through another run. I wonder though if there is a greater endorphin release or whatever when you are able to go faster. What do 6 8 minute miles do for me that 6 9 minute miles don't? Where is my mind?

Like I said, I figured this out last fall when I finally started getting close to some PRs for the first time in years. Eventually, I PR'd in two races - The Marathon and the 5 Miler. This gave birth to the "bulletin board" you see in the picture where I now post my bibs from PR races. It also gave birth to a hope that I would manage to maintain the shape I was in throughout the Winter, something that did not happen. You know how much I like the cold...

Now though, I have this nice decent half marathon behind me and the ambition to turn my training up several notches and notch some more PRs. I'll be doing my first speedwork or hillwork of the season on Thursday with The Dusters and I'm planning on a longish run this weekend, maybe a 12 miler if I can keep up with Barnacle, and the rain stays away on Sunday. We'll see. This level of training makes me feel so good about myself though.

This was an unusual race for me for a couple of reasons, not only was it in Miami, clearly still my 2nd home after all these years, but I knew I would be writing about it to give people a chance to learn about 13.1 who are of course putting on a half marathon in Queens next month.This entry though is more about my own experience, though I will have a more complete review of the race in a few days. 

The one thing I will say now is that 13.1 offered one of the best post-races I've ever been a part of.  Not only was it a fun party but it truly took advantage of everything Miami. In addition to the Sam Adams (Yes!), there was paella, pan, Cuban coffee, a copious spread of fruits and breads and this was complimented by Latin music and dancing (more for the 5Kers I imagine) at 10th and Ocean in the heart of South Beach. If they do half this good in Queens, we're gonna have a lot of happy people post-race. I'm truly impressed.

Myself, I went into this race with mixed expectations. I actually start almost all races in a somewhat dichotic state of mind. Half of me thinks it's going to be a complete disaster and half of me thinks I could PR. Today, I was leaning more towards disaster since my training has been nearly invisible the last two months, my longest run being a painful 9 miler two weeks ago. At the same time though, when I have run lately, I've run pretty strong except for a disaster of a 4 miler a few days back. So, I really had no idea what the hell I was going to do.

I'm writing this from the kitchen of my parent's Delray Beach, Florida home where the temperature outside is a balmy 53 degrees.  I've been down here since Tuesday and I'm pretty sure the temp hasn't popped past 65 yet.  I realize it's actually perfect running weather for some people, but I was looking forward to feeling nice and warm or even hot. Anything below 65 is chilly from my POV anyway.

Somehow though, during the Miami Beach Half Marathon Sunday, I expect it will be 75 and humid. Hmm.

It was a beautiful day today and I wanted to run but I was planning on running the Cherry Tree 10M tomorrow morning, at least until I heard I had to take something called a shuttle bus to get to the start.

This shuttle bus nonsense never happened when I lived in Brooklyn; sure we had the Hoyt-Schermerhorn shuffle which was a pita, but that was it. This shuttle bus thing is a whole different sort of beast and it's pretty abhorrent. There has to be a better way. Anyway, that was all the excuse I needed to bag the Cherry Tree, my loss I have no doubt. They usually have great shwag (including NYCRUNS magnets) and I heart Prospect Park something fierce. Good luck to all of you tomorrow. It looks like it's gonna be a great day for a great race.

As for me, I was suddenly left with a choice --- my buddy and me talked about running earlier as we were scratching for plans --- and I had to shoot him down, now though I could get a nice longish run in if I wanted to or I could go out and have fun - no need to be out the door at 7:30. The bar beckoned but the long run won out and felt so good. In fact, the last couple of runs I put in felt....strong, surprisingly strong and that is one of the best feelings I know as a runner. 

The cold let up a bit this morning for the Brooklyn Road Runners Club Valentines Day 5K. This was the first of many good things to happen at the event.

I had some race day nerves, though not really about running, more about the event itself. While NYCRUNS was not heavily involved in the race, this was a race with a lot of firsts for us. Some of them were...

*Our first Shwag, Magnets! These will be available for most people at the Cherry Tree next week, we're gonna run out though.
*The first time we organized entertainment for an event - the lovely and talented Lady Southpaw.
*The first time we really tested the publicity machine - We emailed, tweeted, and blogged for days about this.
*And the first time we hosted race results

I drink too much and I sleep poorly and I don't always eat well. I rely on ambien more than I want to.

Sometimes in the morning I will roll out of bed, make a pot of coffee, and do nothing but email until I realize I'm starving and at that point, I've crashed and burned. I eat something, quick and easy - yesterday it was burgers from The Corner Bistro, the most overrated place in the city. My blood sugar has already crash and I spend the rest of the day feeling meh.

Not only that, I'm on near constant edge because this site and it's related business, this site which is apparently going to be the little business that could, makes me nervous as hell sometimes. I spent the last 12 years doing something that was much simpler most of the time and I like this a lot more, but it's scary to be spending so much time on something when you don't know what you're  doing and how it will work out.

I'm pretty excited about running this weekend and it's a good thing because I need to get my ass in gear before running 13.1 Miami Beach in a few weeks.

Sunday morning I have the first 5K I've run in Prospect Park in a while; The Brooklyn Road Runners Valentine's Day 5K.  NYCRUNS is not actually involved in this event, but BRRC has been providing us support since this site launched and I'm looking forward to thanking some of their member's in person. We're looking forward to doing some cool things with them.

On Monday, an event that is near and dear to my heart and liver, the Brooklyn Hash House Harriers 500th run is scheduled to start at the Double Windsor. If you have never run a hash, you should come and check it out.

What makes someone a runner?

Sometimes, when some people talk about the marathon, they talk about the time it takes (See NY Times v. M. Wittenberg) and what's valid. That's a loser's game though, there's no way of drawing the line in the statistcal sand that's useful for the 40,000 people that run New York or the the quarter million that run a marathon each year. It's individual.

For some people, it means a certain number of miles per week, 20, 30, 50. Any less than that, and they are not part of the club in their own mind. Fair enough, if you are talking about yourself; but not in general

For me, it boils down to discipline and focus and I know when I've got these two things down because my running goes to another level. I'm a fairly undisciplined, unfocused person though, so that doesn't happen often enough. I feel guilty about this, particularly when people are surprised that I'm not faster at a particular event. This is usually the marathon, which is not my strength anyway.

The truth is I am a horribly undisciplined and unfocused person. I'm pretty lazy and I'm easily distracted by shiny things. I don't like to bring my focus to bear on one thing nearly ever (I'm a total crackberry addict), and while you can do other things while running (not the crackberry) - to really run well, you need to be focused on it, on the doing.  I'm comfortable saying if you aren't bringing a certain amount of focus to a run, you probably aren't making much of an effort.

I think that's why a lot of people get up in arms about the music issue - listening to music while running may help some people, but it does detract from your ability to focus on yourself, on your running. Without music, you hear yourself breathe and you hear your sneaks hit the pavement or the trail. I run with music, I won't consider giving it up voluntarily if I'm on my own. I'd blow off a workout first (HE LACKS DISCIPLINE!). That said, the few races I've run without music for one reason or another, I've run pretty damn well. For me though, music helps me be a better runner. It may take away a bit of my focus but it helps me maintain the discipline.

So, as so often is the case, running becomes a metaphor for life and as with most things in life it isn't very simple to answer the question what makes someone a runner and what makes them a jogger or just an exerciser or whatever.

For me though, it comes down to focus and discipline and the time that I've harnessed them to a certain degree, that's when I'm a runner.

I hate running.

Ok, that’s pushing it, but I don’t love running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I love it for the last few miles of a good half marathon or marathon for instance. I absolutely dig it when I have a surprisingly strong training run. I like getting on the track for speed work, and that’s just masochistic so I don’t know what the hell is up with that.

Most of the time though, I don’t really love running. I don’t look forward to most of my runs, particularly in cold weather – once I’ve had enough for the winter, good luck getting me enthused again (I’m clearly at that point this year). Actually, come to think of it, it’s that I don’t love running enough. If I’m at the top of my game I like it plenty. It’s just when it becomes a slog or even worse a chore; I hate it passionately.

Hey There NYCRUNNERS!

There's strength in numbers and NYCRUNS is 350 runners strong after a blistering first half of January. In fact, traffic on the site for January blew past December's raw numbers before the middle of the month. If you have not become a member of the site, please register now! I've said it before and I'll say it again... We're Getting There! 

Now, let's start getting together! If you've never run with a club, Hankster has written a great piece about why you might want to join one. Hankster is a member of Central Park Track Club: a locally competitive club, but one that is very welcoming, based on their web site. He's also one of NYCRUNS, most prolific bloggers and you can read all his stuff by going to Blogs Plus on the site and clicking on the link to Hankster's Blog. Thank you, Hankster! His piece on running clubs starts below and if you want to learn how to get the most bang for your buck out of Club Central, check out this article.