It feels good to be back

It has been about since my last post and that has been too long.  Shin splints are nothing to scoff at, and the rest has really helped.  Today, after a week of stretching a resting my shins, it was time to get back out there.  The weather today was perfect for running.  The skies were overcast which kept the temperature in check.  I wanted to check out a new running route for my run today, so I called up my Dad for a suggestion.  Here is the route. (Click the link for more detailed information!)

View 8-18 run in a larger map

Although you can't tell from the map above, the run began and ended on the levee where St. Charles and Carrollton meet.  Today we ran 3.36 miles in 36:22.  The levee is paved at the top and is a good surface to run on.  I have to tell you, this may become my favorite training route.  Although there isn't any shade, the breeze coming off of the river is a godsend and the views aren't too shabby either. I think I like this route so much because as I can condition myself to run longer, this route will always work and reward me with new sights.  It is possible to run all the way to Baton Rouge if you wanted to.  Today, I was not the only person who had the good idea to get out and get active.  There were joggers, runners, bikers, dog walkers, and even horse riders.  We decided to take it easy today, as I didn't know if my legs were truly back to 100% yet.  Although my shins started out a little tight, they soon loosened up an allowed me to kick it up a little.  One of the reasons that I enjoy this portion of the city, is the industrial feel of it.  Across the river there are various industrial structures and cargo ship loading terminals.

As we ran, I noticed a few things about the people who frequent this levee.  Everyone here seems to be supportive to one another.  At one point I had decided to walk a little bit to assess my shin splints.  As I stopped, a friendly biker shared some word s of encouragement to push me to continue running.  Random words of encouragement from strangers always seems to give you a boost of energy to keep on pushing.  The other reason that I particularly enjoy this route is due to the starting and ending point. For anyone who lives here, you know whats on the corner.  

Cooter Brown's has one of the larger beer selections of all the bars in town.  Running and beer go hand in hand, so ending a run here is perfect.  We didn't stop in today, but I can ensure you that we will be in the future.  

See you on the road!

Rest and Recovery

This morning was my first run since Wednesday.  I was really looking forward to getting back out there and get some more miles under my belt.  As I started running, my shins started to fatigue and tighten up.  Yeah, I have been hit with shin splints.  The best plan of attack to battle shin splints is to stop, for up to a week or two, and see how things go.  I have been gathering all the information that I could find on shin splints.  I will be doing a new shin stretch regimen to strengthen those muscles.  I advise anyone who has run into this to consult runners world for workouts and stretches for all sorts of common running ailments.  So while I rest up, I will report on my workouts and stretching.  Wish me a speedy recovery!

 

See you on the road (soon)!

Rest day catch up, and how to stretch

As I have stated, today has been a rest day.  The saints are playing and that is a cause to celebrate.  I had a running buddy over for some BBQ and beers.   Not to bore you with the beers, they were good.

Tonight I want to discuss something that has been on my mind.  Stretching.  Stretching is something many beginners know is something they should be doing but are sometimes confused as to proper techniques for running.  To be honest, this is a skill that I have never really learned.  Up to this point, I have been stretching very minimally.  So I have looked to the internet to answer my question.  How should runners be stretching? It seems that there is much debate on the subject.  I have always believed that simple static stretching was sufficient.  Some people argue that no stretching is necessary, while others insist that dynamic stretching is the only way to go.  I'm no expert, so I went to the source.  Runners World Magazine is a great source of information for the running community.  It seems that dynamic stretching is the accepted standard for runners.  Check out their stretch routine here.  Going forward, I will be utilizing this guide to stretching. Let me know how you prepare for a run in the comments below!

See you on the Road! 

The workday Metairie Run

First and foremost, I want to congratulate my flag football team for an awesome game last night.  Even though we played down one person, we easily handled a much larger team.  I'm not saying we are going to win the championship, but we are going to win the championship.  Today was the first time that I tried to organize a group of people to run together.  I tried rounding up as many people from work to go run, and several people actually sounded interested.  However, it turned out to just be two of us.  Oh well, it was still a good 2 mile run.  Here is the route:

View 8/8/2012 run in a larger map

We just started from our office and headed into Old Metairie and made a nice loop.  I have to say, I haven't taken many rest days since I have started.  If you have been counting, I have taken two so far.  For one of those, I played football instead, so not much of a rest.  I was feeling it today.  My legs were just tired.  I was running with a guy in much better shape than I.  Thanks Paul for being patient with me!  Other than my own fatigue, the weather was nice due to the earlier thunderstorms and the sidewalks were easily accessible and flat.  I had fun on this run, and I hope it continues to grow with people from my office.  If you would like to run in the Metairie area, let me know and you can join us next time!  I know that I will be missing it, but I will definitely be taking a major rest day tomorrow.  Anyway, I have a ton of housework to catch up on and a backlog of wedding thank you notes to tackle. 

After my run, another buddy decided to join me for an after run beer.  Today's brew was the seasonal Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit. 

This was a very satisfying citrus whit beer.  Belgian Wits are my favorite style of beer, and though this one was good, it also wasn't anything special.  I have to give my Louisiana beers some praise, but there are better ones out there.  Check out the brew here.   What is your favorite after run draft?  Also, if you are a fan of craft beers, there is a great beer review blog at thebishopscollar.blogspot.com.

See you on the Road!

On the road again

From time to time, I have to travel for work.  This week, I have been sent to Biloxi for two days.  No biggie, I brought my running stuff with me.  As promised, here is the new route!

View 8/6/2012 run in a larger map

At 5.36 miles, this has been my longest run to date.  Since I am working on the beach, I decided that I had to run along it when I finished up my work for the day.  One of my co-workers accompanied me on this run, and man did she push me.  Our first mile was at a 6:18 pace, well below my normal 10 minute average pace.  I think the weather had a lot to do with the performance as well.  It was nice, cool, and a little rainy.  I was worried about getting sand in my shoes as we ran, but due to the rain, this wasn't an issue.  There is a nice paved sidewalk all along the beach that made running an breeze.  Apparently, there is more in Biloxi than just Casinos.  We ran past an old plantation on the beach called Beauvoir.

This old plantation once belonged to Jefferson Davis and serves as his presidential library.  This picture really doesn't do any justice.  If you are ever out here, you should check it out.  I believe there is also an art museum on the site.  For more information, check the plantation out here.

One thing we noticed as we ran down the beach was that everything from the casinos just seems too fabricated and fake. So when we happened upon this old lighthouse, it stuck out as a no nonsense, utilitarian, and functional landmark on a coast of facades and replicas.  

I could not find any information on this lighthouse, as Biloxi is known for a larger lighthouse a few miles down the road.  If you know anything about this lighthouse, let us know in the comments below!  After the run, I was famished.  So I sniffed out the biggest all you can eat crab buffet that I could find for dinner.  I have to say, I was not disappointed! 

It has been a good day.  Also, tonight will be the first game of the summer season of PlayNola's co-ed flag football league.  Wish me luck as team Back That Pass Up starts its championship run.

See you on the road!

Lazy Sunday

I must be crazy.  I can think of no other reason why I started running again in the middle of the hot, humid New Orleans summer.  I also like to sleep in, so I never get to run in the cool morning hours.  So I run in the hottest hours of the day like a crazy person.  Sunday was no exception to this, especially with White Linen Night on Saturday.  As not to kill ourselves, Justin and I went for a run at Audubon park for the shade.  Luckily a storm passed through and dropped the temperature a bit for us.  And who needs a fancy gym membership when you can enjoy a sauna for free, complements of the infamous New Orleans humidity!  Here is the route:

View 8/5/2012 run in a larger map

Due to the heat, we decided to just concentrate on mileage rather than any sort of speed.  As we conversed about careers, life, and New Orleans, twenty minutes and almost two miles had passed.  We looked to each other and decided if we ran anymore, we too would probably, at the very least, pass out.  After our run, we talked about where I can take my running, and the accounting of my adventures here, in the future.  We discussed perhaps doing reoccurring routes on certain days, hopefully with larger groups of people to run with, and only doing a "discovery run" as I like to call them maybe once or twice a week.  We shall see how this turns out.  That being said, Wednesday will be the first, hopefully regularly occurring, group run.  I am calling it the P&N Run Club.  I'm an accountant, and not very creative or original.  I will have a new route for you posted tonight, as well as some ideas for new weekly segments I am thinking about putting up.  Let me know in the comments below how I'm doing!

See you on the road!

Week 1 Progress Report

So it has been a great week, so lets recap.
Total Runs: 7
Total Miles: 15

Here are the routes I have run:
Run 1
Run 2
Run 3
Run 4
Run 5
Run 6
Run 7

I also reviewed the Sennheiser PMX 680 Sports Earbud Headphones.

See you on the road!

Audubon Park

One week down and I feel great.  I slept in today so I had to do an early evening run.  Due to the heat, I decided to drive down to the park to do a run in the shade of the oak trees.

View 8/4/2012 run in a larger map

As usual, the park was beautiful and full of activity.  There were runners, bikers, walkers, and dogs all over the place.  You should always keep your eyes open when running here, you never know who you will see. This is where New Orleans comes to run.  On several occasions I have seen the Ragin' Cajun, himself, running laps here.  Let me know in the comments if you have ever run into anyone famous on your runs in the comments below!   With this run, I have hit my goal of running 10 miles this week!  Thanks to everyone who has been supporting me and the blog, I really appreciate it!  You are motivating me keep going, and I hope that I am motivating you to get up and get out there too!

I also want to point out a few changes I made to the site today.  I added in a calendar of all upcoming races in the New Orleans area.  Check them out, I am deciding whether I am ready to do one yet or not.  I will also be doing my Weekly Progress Report later tonight.  Are there any other features you would like to see me put up on the site?  Let me know!

See you on the road!

City Park and memories

I come from a running family. Growing up, I would spend Sunday mornings at the NOTC races with my dad. Somehow, I turned out to not be half bad. I even got a plaque one year for being one of the best in my age group. Apparently I hit my running prime at age twelve. However, my fondest running memory from my childhood doesn't even involve me running. My dad used to do ultra runs. When you run these extreme distances, you have to train your body to fight through staying awake and staying in motion all night. In order to do this, Fridays after work, he would go to city park and start running laps around Roosevelt Mall from 7:00 PM until 7:00 AM. I would come out with my sister and have a picnic watching my dad run. As a kid, the whole premise was crazy to me. Last night, I was with my friend Jim and decided to get in a quick run, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go. Here is the route.

View 8/2/2012 run in a larger map

Sorry the map is choppier than the ones I have been posting. I forgot to end my running app and it kept recording overnight and all the way to work in Baton Rouge this morning. Oops. The weather last night was the best I have run in all week. The roads and sidewalks here were all flat and easy on my feet. A little bit about the city park, and Roosevelt Mall in particular. During the Great Depression, in order to create jobs and stimulate the economy, the Works Progress Administration was created. These jobs included civic construction and engineering jobs. If you go to City Park today, you can see the WPA everywhere. The eagle statues lining the Mall are by far my favorite. Let me know in the comments what you consider to be your favorite feature of City Park!

See you on the road!

A run and a earphone review.

Before I begin, I want to say, I am looking for running buddies.  If you are interested in running around with me, send me an email nolarunning@outlook.com.  As you can see, I'm only in the 2-3 mile range right now and I'm running about a 9 minute pace.

Now not only do I have a another run for you, I have a review of a pair of running headphones for you.  I was so excited that my new headphones came in today, I was tired of my earbuds falling out.  But more importantly, the run.

  

View 8/1/2012 run in a larger map

I got a call from my buddy on my way home from work to see if I would accompany him on his CBD run.   Of course I obliged.  Besides, I wanted to grab a few pictures that I had neglected to take on our first run.  All day at work today, I had been watching the clock.  I was counting down to my run.  I don't know why I have been so excited run, but I wasn't complaining.  We eagerly set off on our route.  I must say, this route does cross quite a few major intersections, but they do each have a light to aid in crossing.  Today, we seemed to hit every red light.  When we hit Lee Circle, I stopped real quick to snag a quick photo.

Lee Circle, a testament to the fact that Americans have no clue how traffic circles work, is watched over by its namesake, General Robert E. Lee.  Big surprise, I know.  The statue was erected in 1884, well after the traffic circle was built.  Before hand, it was called Tivoli Circle.  Any one know anything about Tivoli?  As a side note to anyone not from the area, this is the center of the museum district of New Orleans.  Within a block, there is the National WWII museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Contemporary Arts Center, as well as a Civil War museum.  Not two blocks later, we ran past the old Maserati dealership again.  

Anyone who has seen New Orleans streets can guess why this dealership had no chance of surviving here.  We continued on towards Poydras and caught what seemed to be ten red lights.  Once we hit Poydras, it was the home stretch.  I learned from our first run and decided to cut the extended route out today and followed my buddy.  On the home stretch I noticed quite a few stretches with cobblestone roads/side walks. If you come this way, avoid these at all costs.  Go a block out of your way if you have to.  Running over these leads to increased fatigue and increased risk of injury.  Great for tourists, not so much for runners.  

As I had stated in my previous post, my earbuds have been falling out due to bad design and a few gallons of sweat.  I bit the bullet and bought a pair of specialized running/fitness headphones.  They are the Sennheiser Adidas PMX 680i Sports headphones.  

They are held in place by a behind the head band.  After my 25 minute run, they didn't budge once.  The cord is long enough to reach a device clipped to your shorts.  Also a must for me, they have ipod integration.  The sound quality was much better than my stock apple earbuds as well.  The bass was very pronounced, which is great if you run to a cadence or bpm.  All in all, I think these are a quality set of earphones if you are looking for a running pair.  

Sennheiser Adidas PMX 680i Sports Headset