John Kerl’s exercise log

Ran 2 miles. I’m getting over a post-cold sinus infection (didn’t run this weekend when I was feeling genuinely crappy), so didn’t want to do too much. Yet, I was feeling restless and just had to get out and about for a while. The temperature is in the high 20s, but with clear skies, no wind, and no sleet. So, it’s cold, but if I bundle up ... it’s really nice out.

A milestone late last week — 0°C on the time-and-temperature sign while biking in to work. 32 feels fabulous! :)

4 miles, the usual route. Lovely cool-but-not-cold weather.

Ran 5 miles. It was one of those days, as has happened to me so many times now — I felt like, meh, I don’t really feel like running, but I should. And, as always, within the first half mile I was so very glad I did. I felt great tonight — that slow-but-steady, steam-train, I-could-run-all-night kind of feeling. :)

Ran 3 miles, in the morning. This is unusual for me — I’m usually much more of an evening person, and not just by accident: I seem to be metabolically more active later in the day, and morning runs usually don’t go well for me. But ... I’d gone to bed early the night before, and woke up early — and there it was, nice out. One good thing about living on NYC time, where 9-6 work hours are the norm rather than 8-5 or 7-4, is that I can get a run in before work, without having to be up at dawn. And, as a bonus, it’s light out then, which is not the case after work in this latitude and time of year. So ... I could learn to like this running in the not-so-early-morning thing! :)

Ran the usual 3 miles. I was a little low on sleep (air-travel issues the night before) but went out anyhow — it was a non-biking (subway-riding) day, and it had been a while since I’d run, so the time was right ... I’m ever so glad I did. A gorgeous indian-summer evening, and I felt great.

September and now October have been a gentle, gradually cooling slide toward winter ... morning and evening commute temperatures recently are about 50° which is quite happily bikable with ear coverings and gloves. P.S. I passed the B train the other day on the downward side of the Manhattan Bridge — long live the memory of John Henry! With some help from gravity anyhow. :)

Ran 3 miles: 6th Ave / Garfield / 9th Ave loop. Very nice out ... it’s supposed to get more Octoberish in a few days here.

Biked 30 miles west over the Williamsburg Bridge, up past the UN, east over the Queensboro Bridge, over to and around Roosevelt Island, then back home by waterfront down to Atlantic. It was such an amazing day — over and over I just could not get over it. Cool, clear, breezy, early October, leaves still mostly green but with a little color appearing in spots, no hurries, people out and about doing their various things ... a city in motion on a Sunday afternoon, in the best fall weather I could possibly ask for.

3 miles, around the neighborhood. Did I mention I love September? :)

Ran 3 miles: 6th Ave / Garfield / 9th Ave loop. It was nice and cool out, in a light shower — then rain per se the last ten minutes. Beauty itself ... :)

Biked 40 miles total: through Prospect, down Flatbush, over the Marine Parkway Bridge to Rockaway, up Cross Bay Blvd. to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (gorgeous, & I got some nice photos), Shore Parkway, Canarsie Pier, back up Flatbush and back through the park. Perfect fall weather; definitely an urban/suburban/wilderness mix. :)

3.5 miles around the neighborhood, in the cool and quiet a couple hours after a hard 15-minute downpour. In this treed place, especially at a time like this, I feel so very much at home — the kind of climate I imagined myself living in ever since I was a kid. There was just a very fine rain falling through the leaves of the trees — not quite enough to get one’s hair wet. It was sunset, with a little mist in the streetlights; raindrops hanging, glittering, about to fall from the slats of the park benches; the air was cool, moist, and gentle ... .

Ran 5 miles around the neighborhood, with a little dip into Prospect Park. This weather is heavenly.

Biked home a longer way (for an extra 3 miles), around the east side of Prospect Park: Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park, Windsor Terrace. There were plenty of hills, along with an in-my-face wind which added grist to the mill. Whitman’s tall masts of Mannahatta are no more, but Brooklyn still shoulders its ample hills. It’s beautiful out right now — cool, windy, and fresh; blue sky clear all the way to the horizon; windows-open-all-night weather these last several days. P.S. according to my calendar, I’ve biked 543 miles in NYC since June. :)

Ran 5 miles, around the neighborhood, somewhat up-tempo. Nice weather — it had been rainy and almost chilly this morning; by the evening, it had dried off and was simply cool. Also, today was the first day (in NYC anyhow) when I didn’t bike to work specifically because of weather.

Like last weekend, I took another short (20-mile) ride — just a couple hours to get away from the unpacking from the apartment move, with several photo stops. I went south through Midwood etc. to Brighton Beach, past Coney Island, along Shore Parkway under the Verrazano-Narrows bridge, up to Owl’s Head, then cross-town up 7th Ave. Brooklyn is amazing — gorgeous, green, and the archetypal melting pot.

6 miles: over to, and noodling around within, Prospect Park. Absolutely gorgeous. :) I realize that I now run like I used to swim. The first couple years I was running, I ran more often, and pushed it pretty hard. I swam (at first, anyhow) for la-la-la — no timing of anything, no performance goals, just a relaxing pleasure. Now, I’m a regular cycle commuter; that’s the more serious daily business. And I run less often, for la-la-la ... :)

I think tomorrow I’ll take an afternoon ride down south a bit, just to get out of the apartment from all the unpacking for an hour or two ... .

My first bike commute to work from my new place in Brooklyn — 6 miles each way; 30 minutes over and 40 minutes back. It’s more downhill than up on the way to work, although there is some of both; hence the asymmetry. The next day (I’m writing this on Saturday) I took the train — 45 minutes with walking to the stop, waiting for the train, taking the train a dozen stops, and walking the rest of the way to work. So ... why not bike? At least until winter weather makes it prohibitive. There was a caravan of 6-8 cyclists, all of us going toward the bridge into Manhattan, so I’m not alone. :)

I have to admit, it’s also charming to take the train to work sometimes — I walk down the street in my nice work clothes; sit down on the train, cross my legs and read a book; get off and stroll to work; sit down at my desk nice and cool. It’s a more relaxed experience. Maybe I’ll bike 4 days a week and take the train the remaining day? That sounds like a nice balance.

The ride went by quick — leafy, tree-lined streets in Brooklyn; then downtown Brooklyn; the Manhattan Bridge; Chinatown and Soho. It’s not as peaceful or as flat as my Hudson-River commute from the UWS, but it’s more than fine in other ways: great variety, great hill workout, nice greenery, lots of downtown street life. I am one happy cyclist. :)

Ran 3 miles, after dinner, down CPW — same as before. “Quercus Pinetum: Pin Oak” — a nice place to stop. Last regular run at Central; Prospect coming up soon after the move! :)

Biked 20 miles, impromptu. I had a lazy morning, then did a fair amount of packing for the sublet-to-permanent apartment move. I was feeling kind of restless ... went out for packing tape, and decided to take a ride. The weather was in the 70s, clear, with some breeze — a gorgeous Saturday. I went north, since this is my last weekend living in Manhattan, before moving to Brooklyn. I took the river path under the GW bridge, went up to Inwood and over the Broadway Bridge just into Brooklyn (Marble Hill), then noodled around a bit in Inwood Park. Fabulous, and even wilder than the off-main-path areas of Central Park. Then down to the GW bridge, over to the Jersey side and back; then stopped at a Dominican street fair / campaign rally and got lunch from a couple of friendly Oaxacans. It wasn’t a long ride but I got plenty of hill work up north there; also, took several nice photos. :)

3 miles, after dinner, down CPW. Didn’t jog when E was here, nor on the beach ...

Biked the AOA/CP route home from work, including taking the east way up CP — longer and oh-so-nice. Also jogged 3 miles before bedtime. I had too much on my mind and it was nice to get a good head-clearing, as well as to help ensure a good sleep tonight. P.S. second time on the FiveFingers — definitely the way to go. My former officemate recommended them; I’ve always enjoyed being barefoot (or nearly so) as much as possible; they’re cheaper than running shoes — what more could I want? :)

3 miles, at CP. Again I didn’t feel like running before I went out ... again, I was soon glad I did. :)

P.S. First time on FiveFingers — feeling good so far. :)

Much like Monday, but to a couple neighborhoods in Queens. From work, east over the Williamsburg Bridge, northeast through Greenpoint to Sunnyside (with a few missed turns), dinner at BK on Queens Blvd. (my first fast food in a month!), west over the Queensboro Bridge, north up the UES on 3rd and then Madison, up over the top of CP, then back home.

Biked to work in the morning, then after work down to Prospect Park, then back past the office neighborhood, then home. Once my summer sublet on the UWS is up (pretty soon!) I’ll need to have found a more permanent place. The UWS is great — really great. But I thought I’d also check out a neighborhood in Brooklyn near Prospect Park, and a neighborhood in Queens later this week.

The Brooklyn bike commute would be much more urban and much hillier — not the flat and peaceful commute on the Hudson River path, and also a bit shorter. I took the Brooklyn Bridge on the way over — scenic, but impractical. It’s always (the two times I’ve been on it, anyway) covered with people sightseeing, taking pictures of one another, and walking all over the bike path. I took the Manhattan Bridge on the way back — a little less scenic, but all business.

By the time I had dinner in Brooklyn and biked back, it was evening. This was the first evening biking I’ve done here. I felt quite safe — I have lights on my bike, and this city illuminates itself quite well after dark. It was so very pretty ... :)

Ran 4 miles, upriver and back — on the river path per se. It’s been hot and muggy all week, but it was cloudy at the start. About a mile in, it started to rain — a good soaker for 15 minutes or so. It was a summer rain — about as strong, and as sweet, and as short as the fourth movement of Beethoven’s sixth. My shoes and socks got soggy and heavy, so I took them off and ran barefoot until the rain stopped.

With the single-father thing going on, on and off this summer, I’ve run only when Em’s not around. Every run is the first-in-a-while; I’m in decent biking shape right now, but not good running shape. Moreoever, today I’d been doing around-the-house things such as laundry, and really didn’t feel like running — not at all. But I went, out of stubbornness. Once I got out there — it felt good; I wasn’t fast at all, but I chugged along. And once the rain hit — wow. I lost sight of the GW bridge for a while, and even New Jersey was hazy on the other side. I got well-soaked, and just reveled in the summer rain running down me. Then it stopped; the clouds were once again piled up high and cottony, white in the summer afternoon sun, in front of a baby-blue sky; I reached my halfway point, turned around, and headed home. And all was very good. :)

Last week, Em & I took the train to her downtown summer camp every weekday; this week, it was right on the river so it was more convenient to bike it. 3.5 miles with her, then 3.5 miles on my own. Quite a different experience with an elementary-schooler riding buddy! :) The only two minusses: we didn’t chat as much as on the train, and it was hot this week.

About 10 miles biking today, give or take — Em & I went to midtown & put our bikes on the bus to D.C., then visited family there. Today was all around central D.C. — a lot of marble monuments and a lot of fun (albeit hot!).

Ran 4 miles, upriver and back — on Riverside, and Broadway.

I took a different way home, not the river path: 6th/AOA to 34th St. (hi ESB!!), over to 8th, north on 8th/CPW. Unlike last Friday, where I bumbled my way north on 6th, Broadway, etc. and got scenery but slowly so, I intended this to be about as efficient as an across-town route could be — hopefully, the next-best thing to the river path. The result: to my pleasant surprise, 42 minutes!! About the same time as taking the river path. There were more red lights, of course, but it was more direct distance-wise — 6 miles rather than 7. (And once I was almost home I realized I could go through the park rather than up CPW — that would be quicker as well as more scenic.) There were a lot of taxis and pedestrians and cars in midtown — but, that’s what it is. I like the variety in the city — the river, the long-ago-tamed remnants of forest, the crowds and the traffic. And it’s delightful — not in a passive, sitting-on-a-mountain, om-mani-padme-hum kind of way, but rather in a vigorous, vigilant, taking-care-of-myself, alive-and-in-the-present kind of way. In short: biking in Manhattan is about as good as life gets. And stopping for a burger and a beer near home, right at orange sunset, didn’t hurt either. :)

Ran 2 miles at the park, after work. I parked my bike at home, then went right back out without even changing. It was kind of bleah ... I’d already just biked home and definitely wasn’t feeling peppy.

Biking 14 miles every weekday is plenty of exercise, goodness knows — for my lower body at least. And I don’t want to spend too much time exercising. But, I don’t want to stop running entirely, either. Here’s an idea. Running once on the weekend is easy to fit in, of course. Also, once or twice a week, I can take the train to work in the morning (getting some reading time) and leave that day’s work clothes at work to bring home the next day — then either jog all 7 miles home, or take the train partway home and jog the rest of the way (3-4-5 miles maybe). Jogging home will take longer than the subway or the bike route, of course — but those are miles I’d be covering anyway. This will fit jogging into that commute notch which cycling already fits so nicely into; rather than a running-and-biking day, I’ll have a running-instead-of-biking day.

Ran 3 miles at the park, at a slow jog, with a few 2-minute walks sprinkled throughout. It had been hot and clear all day and got up to about 90°; then it rained a little about 3 and then cleared off hot again. So, muggy. But gorgeous visually. Everything is green and full-on summer; it was a weekend so people were out and about. I hadn’t run in five weeks, what with one-year-delayed honeymoon, packing, traveling, etc. — and then a nasty moving-related whack to the left kneecap a week ago.

So, the commute!! It turns out to be about 40 minutes by subway — walking to the home-end station, waiting, train transit time, and walking from the work-end station. Whereas a half-mile cross-town cycling, six solid miles on the excellent Hudson River bike path (very few red lights!), and another half-mile cross-town takes ... 40 minutes, 35 if I push it. And the river path is absolutely gorgeous. So why not bike?!? As long as the weather is OK. :) This will be 70 miles a week of regular cycling — more than ever for me, excepting ramp-up training for El Tour. But this will be sustained mileage.

The biggest readjustment for me from grad school to a desk job (again) is the timing — in grad school I worked many hours, but many from home, and broken up — I could take a couple hours to go to the gym for a swim/run in the middle of the day; I could work all evening. Or whatever. Now I get up, eat breakfast, commute to work, put in a full day, and commute home — and it’s only a few hours until bedtime. And then weekends are wide open ... . For the last four years (ever since I started exercising) I’ve self-identified primarily as a runner who cycles a bit ... now I’m already thinking of myself as a cyclist who runs a bit. I simply don’t want to spend a whole lot of time doing more exercise ... maybe a half-hour a couple times a week on the treadmill at my employer’s gym, and some running outside on Saturday or Sunday. And swim a little somewhen — maybe on the weekend. :)

Biked around Central Park with E, and also over to the Hudson and back. (After all the traveling and moving, I should be back to a more-or-less regular exercise schedule next week.) It is a gorgeous day today — mid-60s, partly cloudy, and it just sprinkled a little this morning. The trees are fully leafed out and it feels like heaven. :)

4 miles around the Tucson neighborhood — half with the dog and half without.

3 miles at the track, medium pace; half an hour in the pool. My last trip to the UA Rec Center!! :( It’s been a great place to do good things for myself. :)

6 miles at the track, easy but steady pace; 20 minutes in the pool.

4 miles at the track; 20 minutes in the pool.

3 quick miles at the track.

5 miles around the park — slow but steady.

4 miles at the track, medium; pool closed for the day. :(

3 quick miles at the track, medium-hard; half an hour in the pool, also medium-hard.

4 miles at the track, easy/medium pace with a few hard laps; then, half an hour in the pool.

4 miles — 2 with the dog, 2 without.

4 miles, with digestive ... issues ... which don’t need to be described here. It was 5 miles total, but I walked several times.

3 miles at the gym, a little harder than last time, and with a gradual quarter-mile pickup at the end. So, even though it was a short run, I ended up tired. Then, 25 minutes in the pool.

I noted that I didn’t have any races planned for the next year or so — with the distributed living situation we’ll have, and lots of weekend travel, races are not a priority. Family time is more important. But ... a mutual friend of my wife and me recently asked for interest in the Florida Keys Ragnar Relay (Jan. 7 and 8). My wife said she could probably drive ... and I said I could probably run ... and there we are! So I do have something to train for and work toward, even though it’s nine months away. :)

Ran 3 miles at the gym, easy/medium/hard, and swam 20 minutes.

Biked 13 miles down to and along the river and back, mainly for fun — perfect spring weather albeit windy.

Ran 5 miles around the park — slow and steady, and very very nice.

4 miles, so so ... I planned five, but cut it short to three due to a sharp stomachache which was worse while I was running. By the time I got close to home, it was much better so I did another mile. Still, very much a jog, not a run, the whole way — I felt sluggish and heavy. Some days are like this ...

A gorgeous 17-mile ride — Oro Valley down to campus. Cloudless sky, air nonetheless cool, and a tailwind. :)

A quick 3 miles, around the neighborhood, on cruise control. :)

5 miles, over to the park and back — my first run as Dr. Kerl :). It was just starting to sprinkle when I left; it picked up a little while I was out. This was heavenly ... heavy grey clouds drifting low and shaggy over the city, the smell of creosote bittersweet on the breeze, raindrops slanting down, not soaking but getting everything beaded and sparkling, including my own nose and eyebrows ... :)

Also, a hard half hour in the pool yesterday — my most vigorous swim in a while (i.e. I got myself short of breath for the first time in weeks), and also my most satisfying in a while. Coincidence? :)

4 miles, in Long Island for a job interview — a little hilly the first two miles, serious hillwork in the third, and the last mile along the harbor right at sundown. Simply amazing, inside and out. :)

Four miles at the track and 20 minutes in the pool ... beautiful yet again. :)

Four blissful miles at the track, and 20 even more amazing minutes in the pool. What with job interviews, snow back east (it turns out it was runnable weather back there after all ...) and a busy weekend, I hadn’t exercised since Ragnar — far too long. It felt incredible to get back in there.

I don’t have any races planned soon, and may not race for the next year. So today I just started running ... for however long and however fast felt good in the moment. In the pool — it was cool and rainy, majestically immanent weather. :)

Ragnar ... ! We started 10 a.m. Friday and finished about 6 p.m. Saturday. I felt a bit ill (nasal congestion and some nausea) throughout, but particularly Friday evening; that turned down the enjoyment knob on the weekend by a little. The good thing is that I slept in the van a few hours Friday evening while our van (#1 this time) was active but I myself wasn’t running, plus a few more hours while we were inactive Saturday morning.

My first leg was about 1 p.m. Friday; 6+ miles mostly downhill. D*mnable calf/shin tightness — that slowed me down, and wasn’t much fun. Middle leg about 1 a.m. Saturday: 3+ miles, quick and easy, under a full moon through scattered clouds. Last leg about 1 p.m. Saturday: Fountain Hills, kind of a slog — but I just put it on autopilot. The weather was nice this year — cool and not-quite-rainy. Plus I chatted all my last leg with a fellow runner, a nice lady from Prescott.

Tina (Ragnar teammate 3 years running!) was in my van, plus four others I hadn’t known before — fantastic, funny, good people. It was a blast as always. :)

A short (albeit hilly) 3-miler before the relay: south of Athens, Georgia, near sunset, over the (I think) Oconee River and back. It was a bit chilly; the sky was pale blue with wintry greys and pale oranges as the sun set; the trees were bare and bluish-grey in the faint distance. It must be amazing here in full leaf ...

6 miles in Atlanta — over to Piedmont Park and back, and noodling around in the park. A beautiful, beautiful, cool, clear day.

4 nice miles at the track; another short but hard swim at the pool. Next week: Georgia for a conference, and then back for Ragnar! :)

5 nice miles at the track; a short but hard swim at the pool.

5 miles around the park. Tight shins the first three miles, but otherwise a nice, cool, clear evening.

5 miles around the park, still chilly but a nice run. Yesterday at the pool, it was cold and humid — still raining a little in fact — and it was getting dark out. The water steamed in great heaping billows. :)

5 miles around the park, chilly.

3 miles, wedged into the middle of the day.

4 miles.

3 miles at the track: six half-mile intervals. Also 20 minutes in the pool, short but rather hard.

5 miles, nice.

3 miles, around the neighborhood, with some attempt at light intervals. I felt generally good but ran out of energy easily, and couldn’t figure out why. Yet, this was my first attempt to pick up the tempo in a while, so doing it at all counts as some kind of success.

Half an hour in the pool — first time in the water since Mexico; first time in the pool in a month. Also some biking; first time in a month, other than barefoot beach-cruising in Mexico. All felt very, very good. :)

5 miles, around the park and back. Clear blue skies and still air; a little chilly. There is snow on the Catalinas and running water in the Rillito!! I was a little phlegmy and a little weak, but it was a good recovery run. Having been sitting dissertating for days now, I knew that tight shins were a risk. I walked half a mile, stretched calves and shins, jogged half a mile, then stretched everything, especially including calves and shins. Other than the post-cold stuff in my head and throat, everything was utterly splendid. :)

3 miles, around the neighborhood. Back home finally, after the conference in SF and a 2nd interview in NY. I brought my running clothes to NY, but didn’t run there — still getting over a cold and its inevitable follow-on transition to sinusitis. Today I took an easy jog with the dog. Ugly weather — yellow/brown/grey sky, chilly, and very windy. I needed to get out and exercise, but ended up feeling a bit nauseated. I’ve been getting a lot of sleep recently, which is good for recovery from this illness. The relay is just five weeks away — I need to get myself better and put in some more solid miles over the next few weeks.

3 miles — north on Powell, northwest on Columbus to what turned out to have been Ghirardelli Square. I stopped and stretched a bit there, with a nice view of the Golden Gate at dusk. Then back. I thought I’d do some hillwork ... more like stairs! As it turns out, that was the infamous Nob Hill I went up and over. It was slow going uphill, but also downhill — I couldn’t open up my stride without tipping over. Shins very tight the whole way, so I interspersed a block of walking now and then.

4 miles, the other way on Market — to the Castro and back. Still gorgeous weather for running. :)

5 miles, in San Francisco for the joint meetings — Market Street and the wharf. Splendid cool weather — a little brisk to walk in but perfect for running.

5 miles, park route — all quite nice!

Snorkeling again with S in Puerto Morelos, before coming back home. Lots of reef fish, and a half-dozen manta rays in elegant formation — and some thigh-burning flippering. :)

Still in Puerto Morelos: we biked southward a mile or two, then swam for a good while — and found some amazing pieces of washed-up coral.

With family in Puerto Morelos on the Yucatán peninsula — we snorkeled on the reef (highlight — manta rays!). This was a first for me. Flippers are amazing!! :) In the evening I took a run north along the beach at dusk, almost to Caracol — I went 25 minutes one way, then turned around. I ran barefoot on the sand, right at the farthest extent of the water. The waves kept the sand quite flat and clear of seaweed, pretty firm to the touch but with just enough give — better than any shoes I’ve ever had, or could ever hope to. The air was cool and clean; low clouds gave way to rain on the eastern horizon, over the Caribbean. One of the best runs in my life, for sure! :)