Virtual Skunk Cabbage Half

I'm a weekend late so I don’t know if I’m DQ’ed or banned for life or what, but I ran a version of the Finger Lakes Runners Club's Virtual Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon this afternoon. I was signed up to run the half for the eight time until the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to be cancelled. The club decided to go virtual for those who didn't want a refund. I decided to try something different than the traditional Skunk course and run the distance on the flat but lumpy Stewart Park woodchip path near my house. My plan was to run loops at half marathon effort until my watch read 13.1.

Why this particular loop? For one, it’s a convenient three-minute walk from my house and usually not very crowded despite the location and ease of access. Second, because I wanted to get a taste of the hamster wheel courses that runners elsewhere around the world are confined to during the pandemic. I don’t have access to a treadmill or a track and wouldn’t go so far as to run 15-foot loops around my living room, so the woodchips it was. Picture an isosceles triangle with sides measuring 3-5-5; that’s the loop, complete with its three acute angles. Most importantly, the woods around the path are teeming with symplocarpus foetidus (commonly known as the titular skunk cabbage plants). Sadly, they were not in full bloom today despite permeating the

And This Old World Is a New World and a Bold World

Mike Stewart and I jog up and around the Cornell Vet School to stretch out a bit and get away from the throngs congregating in and around Barton Hall. I'm feeling pretty anxious and ready to get this party started. Recent tempo run training has me thinking a 1-hour 27-minute half marathon is doable, even with the expected cold and wind. The warm-up run feels a lot smoother than last year's, when I could tell right away I'd be having an awful morning.

NY23 congressional candidate Ian Golden is emceeing the starting line, and a handful of cries of "Golden for Congress!" arise from the pack. I decide then and there that a double long-sleeve shirt is overkill, so I remove the base-layer and tie it around my waist since I can't spot anyone to toss it to. Then we start running the slight incline up Tower Road and everyone's all like "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feeling good."

Four miles in and I'm not feeling too good going up Dodge Road. Things don't improve over the next few miles and the

2016 Symplocarpus Foetidus Half Marathon

The 35th annual Skunk Cabbage Classic 10K and Half Marathon is one of the biggest and oldest races in the Ithaca area. Held this past weekend over open roads and rolling hills, it seemed like a good opportunity to help build some speed and maybe nab a half marathon PR.

Shortly before the start I found myself torn between what to wear during the run. At 9:45 am, the sun was out and the temperature was something in the low twenties after windchill. Not exactly traditional weather fare for mid-April around here. After some internal debate I opted for warmer clothing - an Under Armour long sleeve compression shirt with another long sleeve tech tee over it, some compression tights over my lightweight running shorts, some light gloves, and my FLRTC beanie. The shirt and pants were skin tight and did a solid job of keeping my core and appendages comfortably warm.

The air horn sounded and runners took off.  I hoped to maintain a 6:50-7:00 pace for the first half, then pick it up in the second half if I felt up to the challenge. I'd been running track repeats and tempo runs once or twice a week to work on building some speed and improving leg turnover. (One of the advantages of an unusually warm Upstate winter is the ability