I have been hard at work with many others to design and build Binghamton's first specialty running store. It has been a lot of hard work, but we are almost finished. It has been a month of commuting, boxing up the items, really the whole design and implementation of the store. We hope to open this weekend and I will update this once the date is official. We will have our Grand Opening on June 15th during the Vestal XX road race. Come out and support us! I hope you enjoy the store and I will now have the chance to write about my running in Binghamton, NY out of all places. I will post some photos of the whole journey to show what has gone into the making of a specialty running store.
If you are in the Binghamton area, check out us. And you never know where we might pop up at. Maybe your next race expo or registration.
Wednesday May 15----Worked a long day at both Binghamton and at Ithaca. I went for a nice evening run in the heat and headed for the trails of the Ithaca Rec Way. I went the furthest I have ever gone on the trail system and went across many waterfalls and gorges and narrow passes. At times it was easy running, at other times, it was difficult navigating. It was truly amazing to run free through the woods and to be on such narrow trail passes it was truly incredible. My Hokas made me fly through the terrain and I cannot wait to get a pair of Bondis which are much lighter and fit a little better than my Stinson Tarmacs. In terms of fitness, I grow stronger each and every day and I know that deep in my heart of hearts that I can run with the best the sport has to offer. I have always been doubted by people for reasons I cannot explain. But trust me in that hard work DOES pay off. And if you truly have the drive to GO for something, eventually you are going to get it right. I feel that I have done the essentials for a high-level performance. My biggest issue the last two years was not racing in enough high-profile races. This is all about to change! I ran for an whopping 70 minutes as I was having some stomach issues and needed a solid bathroom break. All in all, a long but successful day.
My training for the rest of the week has been tough but I haves managed to get in some quality efforts. I have run the black diamond trail to the Cayuga medical center and back, the full nature preserve trail near the Rec way , and today a long 1 hour and 50 minute run through Treman.
First off, my run the other day through Treman State Park was amazing. This is such an incredible park and the trails have me very excited. It was incredible winding up and down through such a dense tree canopy that I felt like I was submerged deep in the Amazon jungle. I had a horrible head ache to start the run but once I had sweated out the stress of a long week, I was flying free. I ran the Gorge Trail in Treman up the staircases and down. I played the race out in my head as I am running as hard as I can picking off some great competitors. It was about to rain and the humidity was unbearable. The shade from the trees were so nice. I bathed in the moment. Rushing up and down the many hills with the waterfalls in the foreground below me is something all people should experience. I felt great! I made a turn up along the Red Pine trail, ran on some goat paths and then turned back onto the Rim trail and headed home. It was such a solid 17 mile effort.
Tuesday May 21----The Swamp Run. I call it the swamp run because we have a little bit of warmth here in Upstate New York that has coupled itself with intense humidity. I ran this morning around 9am and already I was saturated in a pool of sweat. I ran out along on East River Road up along he hills of Parks Road and up along Nichols Road back through Ames Road to home. I suffered on the hills today. I had my 22 ounce hydration handheld bottle but man it was still so hot! The humidity was really bad and I bet the dew point is pretty high. I had a Hammer Nutrition fizz cap and I was drinking down the fluids. By the time I finished my first climb, my sleeveless shirt was totally saturated! Lately, I have been training solid efforts stacked on preceding days to help teach my system how to run with residual fatigue. Today, I just managed to make each tough uphill without slowing too terribly in my stride. I still have a long way to go. Cayuga trails is coming and I have to make sure that I have the ability to efficiently process lactic acid and general fatigue properly so that I can finish at the top ranks--I am hoping for a top 5 finish though top 3 would be AMAZING!
With myself working at the Binghamton store more often, I hope to run some trails around the Binghamton area which should be fun. Just today, the owner of Chenango Cycles (a bike shop) came in and told me that a mile or so from the store, there are miles and miles of trails that travel all the way to the Pennsylvania border which is so exciting. A personal goal of mine at this store will be to help grow the trail running community in Binghamton and push to get more people here outside in nature. To put it simply for you, being a part of the natural world of nature is why I love trail running so much. It gives me that chance to be fit and to enjoy my moments out in the natural world which many people these days never get the chance to. Stay cool out there and why not do so while out on some trails near you.
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