A long road indeed. Today Josh and I completed what we set out to do nearly 2 years ago. Josh blew it away with his result (I'll leave it to him to share the details). I threw down what I consider a very respectable 4:40 and change.
Time
5 km 00:29:51 - felt good, HR monitor pace was off - kept HR under 160
10 km 01:00:34 - saw the kids around here - still felt good, shed all my extra layers
15 km 01:30:58 - The crowds in Prospect Heights were nuts
20 km 02:02:44 - still nailing consistent 30min 5K pace
13.1 mi 02:09:40 - close to my best 1/2 time in Queens in Sept - starting to ache now
25 km 02:36:13 - knees were getting sore but I didn't slow much over the bridges which I was very pleased with
30 km 03:09:44 - ouch - but still 33min 5K
35 km 03:47:31 - pain. started to walk at every water station for a minute or two
40 km 04:25:40 - it's all mental here and walking was as painful as running now so I kept on pushing it. My HR was actually dropping as my knees and feet were holding me back more than the cardio!
26.2 mi 04:41:37 - Super happy to have finished and well under 5 hrs which was my goal!
Overall pace: 10:45
We'll see how the recovery goes. Though I have done the requirements to qualify for 2010 I'm not sure if I'll run. Plan to do some 1/2 marathons next year and hope to do the triathalon if I can get a training plan together. Might let Susan use my number to run next year if she's interested.
Thanks for following along on this crazy trip....
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Last 10 - what a great experience
Today Brian and I met early for the last ten. Hats off to the Park Slope Track Club for organizing the event. We met under the Queensboro bridge at 59th and 1st. And ran up 1st Avenue and into the last 10.28 (mileage off on watch?) of the race.
What an experience. Not that it's important, but I ran a progressive run.
1 9:40
2 8:01
3 8:01
4 10:22 (water stop)
5 9:06
6 8:15
7 7:59
8 7:58
9 7:24
10 7:28
For an average of just under 8:30 (including the water stop!)
the best part was getting familiar with the intricacies of the last miles of the race. Particularly important was little things like learning the REASON that 5th boxes out around a small square park in Harlem. Also in getting a sense of the topography of the course (it's really flat for these miles, minus the hill late on 5th and the rolling hills in the Park).
I'm very familiar with the Park portion of the race, and that literally flew by. I'm hoping that I'll be just slightly slower and that I'll be in a position to enjoy it. I was also very pleased to learn about the split in the road by the zoo - and the nasty little raised median that would catch you underfoot and might send someone tumbling - less likely to be me after the run.
Speaking of tumbling - one of our brave colleagues started off and within 4 blocks found herself sprawled out on all fours after hitting the plastic remains of the bundling of a news paper - bad news for her. She managed to get up (with Brian's help, took her sunglasses from me, and seemed to get back in the rhythm...I might not have been so game, especially knowing that 10 miles awaited).
All told it's STILL amazing to have the feeling that I 'only' ran 10 miles. Brian and I dropped these miles into our account as easily as we would a fresh twenty from the ATM - it's truly amazing what 6 months of hard training will do to you.
And, what an amazingly beautiful day - let's hope that we feel similar when we next pass these streets and that the calls for rain are in error and we have a day like today!
What an experience. Not that it's important, but I ran a progressive run.
1 9:40
2 8:01
3 8:01
4 10:22 (water stop)
5 9:06
6 8:15
7 7:59
8 7:58
9 7:24
10 7:28
For an average of just under 8:30 (including the water stop!)
the best part was getting familiar with the intricacies of the last miles of the race. Particularly important was little things like learning the REASON that 5th boxes out around a small square park in Harlem. Also in getting a sense of the topography of the course (it's really flat for these miles, minus the hill late on 5th and the rolling hills in the Park).
I'm very familiar with the Park portion of the race, and that literally flew by. I'm hoping that I'll be just slightly slower and that I'll be in a position to enjoy it. I was also very pleased to learn about the split in the road by the zoo - and the nasty little raised median that would catch you underfoot and might send someone tumbling - less likely to be me after the run.
Speaking of tumbling - one of our brave colleagues started off and within 4 blocks found herself sprawled out on all fours after hitting the plastic remains of the bundling of a news paper - bad news for her. She managed to get up (with Brian's help, took her sunglasses from me, and seemed to get back in the rhythm...I might not have been so game, especially knowing that 10 miles awaited).
All told it's STILL amazing to have the feeling that I 'only' ran 10 miles. Brian and I dropped these miles into our account as easily as we would a fresh twenty from the ATM - it's truly amazing what 6 months of hard training will do to you.
And, what an amazingly beautiful day - let's hope that we feel similar when we next pass these streets and that the calls for rain are in error and we have a day like today!
Monday, October 19, 2009
20 Mile Long Run
WOW. All I can say. Felt great to get out an log some serious miles on Saturday. Recovery wasn't too bad....feet are a little sore as were the knees, but nothing crippling and I'm up and moving fine today.
Was feeling great in the cooler weather. Basically chose to do about a 3 min walk every 1/2 hour which brought down my total time, but was very please. Did the first 13.1 miles in about 2:06 which was faster than my Queen's Half.
My primary goal is to finish the Marathon on the first - I'm confident in that one.
Secondary goal is to run it in under 5 hours...pretty good for that one...and I'm on track to do about a 4:30 race which would make me ecstatic!
Though I swore I would never run another marathon if I finished this one I'm starting to doubt that conviction a little these last few weeks as the event draws nearer!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
"Gree" - no, Dylan, Greece
I was in Greece this week, so my taper was more 'aggressive' than I'd hoped. Oh well, you only live once, and I'd never been to Greece before. More importantly, this was the first European trip that I've taken in some time where I didn't have the 'wide awake at 2 or 3 a.m.' blues...slept at night and didn't sleep (much) during the days.
Did run last week - once as a recovery and once at the hotel. Thus I added Greece to the list of countries where I've trained for the marathon...
Ran 15 this evening in 2:10 - which is only notable because it was at 151 average bpm - I walked for part...
Splits looked like this:
As Brian reported via text message today 'I'm ready'
Next week continues the taper (no fast runs!) and I'll run the last 10 next Sunday...good thing too because we have a bat mitzvah on Saturday so I wouldn't have been able to run.
It was cold on this run (44 degrees) so I got a chance to try out my 'secondary' outfit for cold weather. I was pleased and had very little chaffing. I will know where to hit harder with the bodyglide on the big day.
No real interesting developments on this run - was simply a get it done kind of run. Now it was considerably faster than my last two 14 - 15 milers though, so you can see how the heat affects things...
Did run last week - once as a recovery and once at the hotel. Thus I added Greece to the list of countries where I've trained for the marathon...
Ran 15 this evening in 2:10 - which is only notable because it was at 151 average bpm - I walked for part...
Splits looked like this:
| Mile | Time | Ave BPM | Comment |
| 1 | 08:19 | 139 |
|
| 2 | 08:54 | 143 |
|
| 3 | 08:27 | 147 |
|
| 4 | 08:13 | 152 |
|
| 5 | 08:47 | 159 | Bridge |
| 6 | 07:57 | 154 |
|
| 7 | 08:32 | 154 |
|
| 8 | 09:06 | 149 |
|
| 9 | 09:07 | 146 |
|
| 10 | 08:55 | 145 |
|
| 11 | 08:12 | 153 |
|
| 12 | 09:03 | 152 |
|
| 13 | 08:20 | 161 | Brooklyn Bridge |
| 14 | 09:04 | 149 | Recovery |
| 15 | 08:14 | 158 | No Break |
As Brian reported via text message today 'I'm ready'
Next week continues the taper (no fast runs!) and I'll run the last 10 next Sunday...good thing too because we have a bat mitzvah on Saturday so I wouldn't have been able to run.
It was cold on this run (44 degrees) so I got a chance to try out my 'secondary' outfit for cold weather. I was pleased and had very little chaffing. I will know where to hit harder with the bodyglide on the big day.
No real interesting developments on this run - was simply a get it done kind of run. Now it was considerably faster than my last two 14 - 15 milers though, so you can see how the heat affects things...
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Staten Island Half Marathon – 5 Burroughs completed!
Today marked the completion of my 7th total half marathon this year and my 5th of the 5 Burroughs challenge – last year only 330 or so people completed all 5. This was also my 'last' long ultra-long run, as I begin the taper during the last 3 weeks before the race.
It's not that I am incapable of running 8:15 to 8:30...(if you read yesterday's blog) it's just that I didn't stick to my plan (more lessons learned, better prep for race day). Didn't kill me to day but would have if I'd 'gone for it' on Marathon day...
It's not that I am incapable of running 8:15 to 8:30...(if you read yesterday's blog) it's just that I didn't stick to my plan (more lessons learned, better prep for race day). Didn't kill me to day but would have if I'd 'gone for it' on Marathon day...
In order to get the miles in that I needed, I ran 6 miles before the race. I also had to run without my speed-timing footpod, as I dropped it in the kitchen on the way out the door and it managed to bend one of the battery leads beyond repair (well when I was trying to fix it with a key before the race!). Thus I did not have a key tool to gauge my speed. Instead I used my heart rate – rather successfully for the first few miles but then a little worse, and by the end I just ran. All will be revealed soon.
As I ran out on the course I actually ran the first, second, third, eleventh, twelvth, and thirteenth miles twice (or three times if you don't care about which direction was run) – see the chart below.
| Mile Absolute (# in race) | Warm up Mile | Warm Pace | Warm hrm Ave | Race Pace | Race hrm Ave | Race Cum M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1W | 09:09 | 142 | 07:52 | 150 | 7 |
| 2 | 2W | 08:42 | 146 | 07:52 | 158 | 8 |
| 3 | 3W | 08:21 | 150 | 08:03 | 158 | 9 |
| 4 |
| 07:55 | 163 | 10 | ||
| 5 | 08:12 | 162 | 11 | |||
| 6 | 07:41 | 166 | 12 | |||
| 7 | 07:55 | 170 | 13 | |||
| 8 | 08:18 | 167 | 14 | |||
| 9 | 07:50 | 169 | 15 | |||
| 10 | 08:01 | 166 | 16 | |||
| 11 | 4W | 08:28 | 151 | 08:33 | 171 | 17 |
| 12 | 5W | 08:44 | 151 | 08:42 | 172 | 18 |
| 13 | 6W | 08:30 | 148 | 08:14 | 178 | 19.1 |
So all told I completed 19.1 miles in ~ 2:38 – or 8:16 average per mile pace. This was too fast. There's not much more to say. Look at the spike on the heart rate in miles 17 – 19 – way too high. I simply put my head down and ran. Unlike the Brooklyn Half, I didn't slow down to 9 min per mile plus – which is a good sign. I wonder if I'd had to continue running if I'd be able to hold an average of 8:16, doesn't look like it.
So here's what happened – two things really. One, stupidly I started with my corral. I should know by now that unless I'm focusing on running a PR (and maybe even then!) I should not join the red (second after the local elites) corral at the start. A good friend of mine was running just behind me and managed to beat me by 6 places. Why not run with him? I'd just run back from my warm up and simply wasn't thinking when I joined the corral. Everyone passed me in the first few miles – it was painful, sort of. It was also a GREAT learning lesson to run my pace (you see that I did pretty good job of keeping my heart rate down over those first miles. Still that was way too fast).
Second – I was running spot on 8 min miles or just below all the way up until the blow out on 11 – 13. Thus I wanted to push myself to see if I could come in sub 1:45. Now why I wanted to do that, I have absolutely zero idea. I'd run 8.23 miles the day before, and a 6 mile warm up. What made me think that I could run sub 1:45? Anyway, sometimes you think pretty dumb stuff on a long run. I would have been helped considerably to have the footpod feedback.
But the lessons are learned. I do NOT like running ever expanding positive splits – miles 11, 12, and 13 (or really 17 – 19) weren't painful per se, but it's frustrating when I feel that I don't have anything left. Therefore, it will be critical that I really go slow through Brooklyn during the actual race. I can do it and this gave me both the motivation, and to a certain degree the training (as everyone passed me, and I was 'fine' with it).
All told, though, I'm really pleased with the result – my gear works, my hydration & fuel works, I'm mentally there, and I ran 19.1 miles faster than I've ever run it before. I really feel that some day, if I stay in shape, I will be able to hold the 8 min mile pace for the marathon. But that's not this year. And it certainly won't work in anything but perfect conditions...
Still, running 28 good miles in two days and running two great halves in two weekends marks a level of performance that I could only dream about last year. It's funny that I was so head strong about 3:30, and in a way that's GREAT. I'm not going to make it this year, but I will (hopefully) come in with a 3:3X time which will be fine. Even if I'm slower, that will be fine. I want to finish this thing – and that's what I'm going to do.
Official line:
| Bib | Place (overall) | Place (men) | Place (Age - Men) | Time | Ave. Mile | Age Grade % |
| 1294 | 1042 | 890 | 188 | 01:46 | 08:05 | 56.50% |
A final thought -
I feel great. Better than I used to after the half. I have a bit more low grade throbbing in my feet (balls thereof) but my legs and cardio feels fine. It's amazing what a couple (coughs) of months will do to the old prep & recovery.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Pre-race jaunt
Ran 8.23 miles today. I know that you aren't supposed to 'make up' for lost miles.
Still I wanted to go over 40 this week and this run will get me there.
Plus as you will see it was VERY beneficial.
I ran 8:50, 8:51, 9:09, 8:07, 9:22, 8:25, 8:59, 8:50
Average heart rate 147!
But that includes walking on miles 2,3,5,7,8 - was still low even when running.
Absolutely zero foot pain.
It was a hilly course there and back to Prospect Park.
I took it real easy on the Down hills.
The key point had two faces - MAN running even 8:15 is SLOW!!!!
I got to my times by running marathon pace between walks
(tested my heart rate at marathon pace without stressing me out + providing plenty
of rest). More on this later.
And second I don't think that I can extensively run walk and make my time goal.
A minute walking is just too long or once per mile is too frequent.
So I resolved to run the first HALF slow, really slow.
It was very important to learn this and man I believe it. Heros are not made
out of sprinters in the first 10 miles!
Mentally I can run 8:15 or even 8:20 but I don't know if I can tolerate 8:25 or
even 8:30+ - I will get bored and frustrated. But I am SURE that can hold the pace,
sure of it. I was thinking that its the heat of the summer that killed me before
and the run walking that saved me.
That and the practical pacing lesson were very valuable lessons.
Tomorrow might be a bit more painful give the extra miles, but I figure that it
will better replicate the Big Day final miles.
Tomorrow I am going to take it easy. 3 mile warm up at 10 to start and the 9:30,
really easy, mile and a half out and back. 8:30 for the first two. 8:15 - 8:20
miles until the finish. Then a four mile cool down at any slow pace. If I feel
great I will run the final at 8:30 (hopefully). If I feel like walking,
I will walk - any time.
Tomorrow is the dress rehearsal - same ferry time. Will grab a cab to the ferry.
Same clothes ritual and plan.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Good news from the Start
Well the news is out regarding the bib number - 20642
First wave, 9:40 start late corral, but in the local competitive runners, what ever that means. My goal will be to suck up to the moderately fast middle 8 milers...and hold the pace through the first half; after all it's the disciple that matters anyway, right?!
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/717.htm
No run today - had a board meeting for my coop. Also spent an hour with my daughter. And I'm nursing a bit of inflammation under the ball of my foot. Iced it at work. Will elevate now. Will stop whining. But an unexpected day off this week is welcomed...
First wave, 9:40 start late corral, but in the local competitive runners, what ever that means. My goal will be to suck up to the moderately fast middle 8 milers...and hold the pace through the first half; after all it's the disciple that matters anyway, right?!
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/717.htm
| Green | ||
| First # | Last# | Corral |
| 500 | 999 | |
| 3000 | 3399 | A |
| 6000 | 6599 | B |
| 17000 | 17999 | C |
| 18000 | 18999 | D |
| 19000 | 19999 | E |
| 20000 | 20999 | F (I'm here!) |
| 21000 | 21999 | G |
No run today - had a board meeting for my coop. Also spent an hour with my daughter. And I'm nursing a bit of inflammation under the ball of my foot. Iced it at work. Will elevate now. Will stop whining. But an unexpected day off this week is welcomed...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Twofer - another two down, closer every day
Tuesday -
5 miles in 39 flat
or 7:48
with two bridges - the Manhattan citybound and the Brooklyn outbound - which is home bound for me. Hard as heck to keep the pace on this one. Really pushed the pace from the second mile. Tracked the 'miles' because I knew where the splits were as per 'mapmyrun' although I simply don't think they are right - 8:23, 8:15; 6:55?, 7:15, 8 something's not right there.
Wednesday -
6 miles in 47:45
or 7:58
relatively flat course, familiar
no heart rate monitor, no pacing fob
so this was a 'free' run
5 miles in 39 flat
or 7:48
with two bridges - the Manhattan citybound and the Brooklyn outbound - which is home bound for me. Hard as heck to keep the pace on this one. Really pushed the pace from the second mile. Tracked the 'miles' because I knew where the splits were as per 'mapmyrun' although I simply don't think they are right - 8:23, 8:15; 6:55?, 7:15, 8 something's not right there.
Wednesday -
6 miles in 47:45
or 7:58
relatively flat course, familiar
no heart rate monitor, no pacing fob
so this was a 'free' run
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
New Half PR - well just barely!
It gets so fast and furious toward the end of the marathon training season that you just have to let somethings go, and my blog has been the worse for it. Sorry for anyone missing the postings...
Ran Grete's Great Gallop today and felt pretty good, until I realized that I DID make a personal best, but only by a matter of seconds. It's exactly like you said, I need much more speed training if I want to run faster. Nevertheless, I'm feeling strong and ready for the Big Day. My
diet is much more under control, and allowing for less screw-ups (they didn't have a bib for me, and the subway was running local, which meant that I didn't get any real warm up - I did run from the Subway to the start - you have to understand that I left MORE than an hour to get
there and would have made it there faster running, seriously). Oh well.
Total time (unofficial of course - 1:43.16 which is certainly 2 seconds or so slow. Brooklyn's official time is 1:43.23! And that's with a high 8 and a 9 minute mile on the last two.)
Mile Pace (more or less)
1 8:25
2 8:05
3 - 10 7:45 (with one 7:41 on mile 4)
11 8:05
12 7:44
13 7:44
finish
super consistent - but my sense is that there's no way to run 7:45 during the marathon, it's too fast for me. Never mind that. I read that you take your recent half time and double it and then add 10 to 15 mins to predict your race pace. That would put me right on somewhere
between 3:40 - 3:45 which would be incredible if I could do it, I would be
overwhelmed with excitement.
(one of the reasons I went out so hard today was to test my race pace training - it was something of a long tempo run really).
Gear worked great. Water stops were fine (I didn't take my final gel pack fuel as I was focused on the finish, and I notice that I slow down about 5 seconds when I eat those, even though I'm still running through).
No walk breaks, nothing unusual, just good solid running today.
Was a bit humid though.
A final thought, because of my bib (later in the pack than usual) I ran with the yahoos at the back - this combined with my actually pretty impressive pace given the traffic meant that I passed everyone - I think that only 10 people passed me the whole time and I past at least one of
them, short guy with a blue shirt and grey shorts, in the end. Maybe more people passed me, but I didn't notice. It is much, much better to be the passer than the passed. Given the way that I feel both physically and emotionally, I wouldn't trade this result with the one from Brooklyn any day. Still that was a very impressive run on basically zero training - amazing. But it's better to be in a position to pass folks rather than feel like they are flying by.
Next weekend is Staten Island and then we're beginning the giant taper.
I will run Staten Island with a fast Frenchman that I know - should end spot on 8 min miles or just a bit higher. Might be a repeat of this race or even faster? Bring it on!
Official Line:
Grete's Great Gallop
October 3, 2009 Parks, Joshua M36 Brooklyn, NY
Distance: 13.1 Time Net 1:43:15
Time Pace/ Mile 7:52
Overall Place 755
Gender Place 601
Age Place 137
Age-Graded % 58.0 %
Ran Grete's Great Gallop today and felt pretty good, until I realized that I DID make a personal best, but only by a matter of seconds. It's exactly like you said, I need much more speed training if I want to run faster. Nevertheless, I'm feeling strong and ready for the Big Day. My
diet is much more under control, and allowing for less screw-ups (they didn't have a bib for me, and the subway was running local, which meant that I didn't get any real warm up - I did run from the Subway to the start - you have to understand that I left MORE than an hour to get
there and would have made it there faster running, seriously). Oh well.
Total time (unofficial of course - 1:43.16 which is certainly 2 seconds or so slow. Brooklyn's official time is 1:43.23! And that's with a high 8 and a 9 minute mile on the last two.)
Mile Pace (more or less)
1 8:25
2 8:05
3 - 10 7:45 (with one 7:41 on mile 4)
11 8:05
12 7:44
13 7:44
finish
super consistent - but my sense is that there's no way to run 7:45 during the marathon, it's too fast for me. Never mind that. I read that you take your recent half time and double it and then add 10 to 15 mins to predict your race pace. That would put me right on somewhere
between 3:40 - 3:45 which would be incredible if I could do it, I would be
overwhelmed with excitement.
(one of the reasons I went out so hard today was to test my race pace training - it was something of a long tempo run really).
Gear worked great. Water stops were fine (I didn't take my final gel pack fuel as I was focused on the finish, and I notice that I slow down about 5 seconds when I eat those, even though I'm still running through).
No walk breaks, nothing unusual, just good solid running today.
Was a bit humid though.
A final thought, because of my bib (later in the pack than usual) I ran with the yahoos at the back - this combined with my actually pretty impressive pace given the traffic meant that I passed everyone - I think that only 10 people passed me the whole time and I past at least one of
them, short guy with a blue shirt and grey shorts, in the end. Maybe more people passed me, but I didn't notice. It is much, much better to be the passer than the passed. Given the way that I feel both physically and emotionally, I wouldn't trade this result with the one from Brooklyn any day. Still that was a very impressive run on basically zero training - amazing. But it's better to be in a position to pass folks rather than feel like they are flying by.
Next weekend is Staten Island and then we're beginning the giant taper.
I will run Staten Island with a fast Frenchman that I know - should end spot on 8 min miles or just a bit higher. Might be a repeat of this race or even faster? Bring it on!
Official Line:
Grete's Great Gallop
October 3, 2009 Parks, Joshua M36 Brooklyn, NY
Distance: 13.1 Time Net 1:43:15
Time Pace/ Mile 7:52
Overall Place 755
Gender Place 601
Age Place 137
Age-Graded % 58.0 %
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Weekly Blog - too busy for dailies - Great update worth reading
Of course they're always worth reading, but rarely do you get three runs from me in the same post.
First - Wednesday - 12 hours after my previous run - didn't have the 'hops' in the legs. 4 miles 37 minutes.
Thursday and Friday were de facto rest days (craziness not worth blogging, including work, go figure).
Saturday - ran the famous NY 5th Avenue Mile.
Posted a 5:51, which pleased me
ran 51 seconds faster than last year - but partially that was the first RUN that I'd taken after Dylan's birth. Mind you, not the first race, but the first run...
Sunday got up early, drove to the rainy start of the Marathon tune up 18 miler. Couldn't find parking, wasted more than 30 mins. Decided to 'call it' - committed to running anyway. Ran 20 and a 20th in 3:11:04. Certainly could have used the folks handing out drinks. Was slowed every time I had to get something to drink. Came home looking forward to the marathon, convinced yet again that I'll finish, but not so sure about the speed. Oh well, first marathon is about finishing, not about being a speed demon.
Times per mile (I walked at LEAST 1 min per mile - my goal was to do a faster second half, as always)
1 9:49
2 9:24
3 9:09
4 8:52
5 9:20 (Williamsburg Bridge)
6 9:23
7 10:42 (bought a drink)
8 9:06
9 10:32 (34th street w/ tons of lights)
10 9:10
11 8:31 (first mile of second half, picked it up)
12 8:28
13 9:27
14 9:19
15 9:18
16 9:51 (Brooklyn Bridge)
17 8:41 (what goes up must come down, Brooklyn side decent)
18 11:30 (bought another drink)
19 9:28
20 10:10 (just wanted to finish)
I did 'striders' at the end of the run to try to get some life back in my legs.
this map is wacky and worth a closer look -
First - Wednesday - 12 hours after my previous run - didn't have the 'hops' in the legs. 4 miles 37 minutes.
Thursday and Friday were de facto rest days (craziness not worth blogging, including work, go figure).
Saturday - ran the famous NY 5th Avenue Mile.
Posted a 5:51, which pleased me
ran 51 seconds faster than last year - but partially that was the first RUN that I'd taken after Dylan's birth. Mind you, not the first race, but the first run...
Sunday got up early, drove to the rainy start of the Marathon tune up 18 miler. Couldn't find parking, wasted more than 30 mins. Decided to 'call it' - committed to running anyway. Ran 20 and a 20th in 3:11:04. Certainly could have used the folks handing out drinks. Was slowed every time I had to get something to drink. Came home looking forward to the marathon, convinced yet again that I'll finish, but not so sure about the speed. Oh well, first marathon is about finishing, not about being a speed demon.
Times per mile (I walked at LEAST 1 min per mile - my goal was to do a faster second half, as always)
1 9:49
2 9:24
3 9:09
4 8:52
5 9:20 (Williamsburg Bridge)
6 9:23
7 10:42 (bought a drink)
8 9:06
9 10:32 (34th street w/ tons of lights)
10 9:10
11 8:31 (first mile of second half, picked it up)
12 8:28
13 9:27
14 9:19
15 9:18
16 9:51 (Brooklyn Bridge)
17 8:41 (what goes up must come down, Brooklyn side decent)
18 11:30 (bought another drink)
19 9:28
20 10:10 (just wanted to finish)
I did 'striders' at the end of the run to try to get some life back in my legs.
this map is wacky and worth a closer look -
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
One heck of a recovery run
Ran 6 miles in 47:10
160 average BPM - no stopping, just good old hard running
very little, if any soreness in the legs from the half.
mile speed in order:
7:52
7:37
7:33
7:41
7:46
8:04
clearly was faster than it's been. Was also cooler than it's been too. Felt nice to get out there and move. Could be a real example of what NOT to do on Marathon day, but felt great to kick off the 6 week count down.
Amazing to see the heart rate stay down for so long at this pace - shows marked improvement!
160 average BPM - no stopping, just good old hard running
very little, if any soreness in the legs from the half.
mile speed in order:
7:52
7:37
7:33
7:41
7:46
8:04
clearly was faster than it's been. Was also cooler than it's been too. Felt nice to get out there and move. Could be a real example of what NOT to do on Marathon day, but felt great to kick off the 6 week count down.
Amazing to see the heart rate stay down for so long at this pace - shows marked improvement!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Queens Cruise
The Queens Half marathon was by far the worst organized of the Continental Series this year. We were also late, due to a massive post-Turkey GI issue that I had. It wasn't Brian's fault, for sure.
More on the GI issue in a moment - details
As can be seen, I applied a, start slow get quicker, progressive running approach. Just short of the 8 mile marker, I had to stop and use the loo. The woman behind me suggested the real gentlemen use a distant tree...thus not holding up the line. Talk was on the 'elites' who just go in their running gear. I politely informed her that I'd been to Turkey earlier in the week and what I had to do would get me arrested if I were to use a tree. The story was better than the reality, but as I emerged from the john, I was a different runner.
note the speed and stride differences for miles 9 through the end. A real progressive run to be sure!
I was very pleased that I ran:
A. Below two hours
B. consistently faster as the race went on
C. without pain and could EASILY have continued
Key stats:
official time (does it matter?): 1:56:22
Average BPM (including the break): 149 bpm
More on the GI issue in a moment - details
| Lap | Lap Time | HR Ave | Cadence | Stride Length | Altitude | Grade % |
| 1 | 10:13.8 | 137 | 85 | 3'0 | 75 | 0.3 |
| 2 | 10:19.8 | 135 | 86 | 2'11 | 49 | -0.5 |
| 3 | 10:12.8 | 135 | 86 | 3'0 | 49 | 0 |
| 4 | 08:37.4 | 153 | 88 | 3'5 | 69 | 0.4 |
| 5 | 08:25.5 | 155 | 90 | 3'6 | 75 | 0.1 |
| 6 | 08:32.0 | 152 | 89 | 3'5 | 75 | 0 |
| 7 | 08:35.9 | 154 | 89 | 3'5 | 105 | 0.6 |
| 8 | 12:35.7 | 136 | 89 | 3'7 | 66 | -0.7 |
| 9 | 07:44.0 | 158 | 91 | 3'10 | 75 | 0.2 |
| 10 | 07:47.6 | 157 | 90 | 3'8 | 49 | -0.5 |
| 11 | 07:51.9 | 159 | 90 | 3'9 | 69 | 0.4 |
| 12 | 07:40.7 | 160 | 90 | 3'10 | 49 | -0.4 |
| 13 | 07:38.9 | 164 | 90 | 3'10 | 46 | -0.1 |
| 1 | 00:06.5 | 174 | 101 | 3'11 | 46 | 0 |
As can be seen, I applied a, start slow get quicker, progressive running approach. Just short of the 8 mile marker, I had to stop and use the loo. The woman behind me suggested the real gentlemen use a distant tree...thus not holding up the line. Talk was on the 'elites' who just go in their running gear. I politely informed her that I'd been to Turkey earlier in the week and what I had to do would get me arrested if I were to use a tree. The story was better than the reality, but as I emerged from the john, I was a different runner.
note the speed and stride differences for miles 9 through the end. A real progressive run to be sure!
I was very pleased that I ran:
A. Below two hours
B. consistently faster as the race went on
C. without pain and could EASILY have continued
Key stats:
official time (does it matter?): 1:56:22
Average BPM (including the break): 149 bpm
Saturday, September 12, 2009
14.5 miles - finishing with 4 mile race in CP
ran to a race today. Happy with the results 9:44 pace for miles 10-14. I had one slow mile at 11:30 for the 3rd mile of the race which dragged down my pace quite a bit. Felt good overall.
Ran 0.5 miles from home before I realized I forgot my chip and had to go back home...then when I got to the race just at 9:00 on the nose I noticed it wasn't a chipped race, but an RFID tag so I had to go pick up my number. What a pain in the ass.
Loved running with the new HRM - kept up my cadence around 80 - a little slow from what I read online but something I now know I can work on. I'm going to have to get Josh to show me how he posts the cool graphs and uses the software if we ever manage to get together before the marathon.
Overall I basically ran the 13.1 half this week in a little over 2hrs. I'm happy with that and will run the Queens race next weekend. I really see the value in the gels I carry with me as I can feel the difference when I start to run low.
Knees are quite sore tonight so I'll take a couple of days to rest and maybe do one run this week on the treadmill. Need to look carefully at the plan for the next 7 weeks to get the mileage up to the level needed prior to the marathon in Nov.
Ran 0.5 miles from home before I realized I forgot my chip and had to go back home...then when I got to the race just at 9:00 on the nose I noticed it wasn't a chipped race, but an RFID tag so I had to go pick up my number. What a pain in the ass.
Loved running with the new HRM - kept up my cadence around 80 - a little slow from what I read online but something I now know I can work on. I'm going to have to get Josh to show me how he posts the cool graphs and uses the software if we ever manage to get together before the marathon.
Overall I basically ran the 13.1 half this week in a little over 2hrs. I'm happy with that and will run the Queens race next weekend. I really see the value in the gels I carry with me as I can feel the difference when I start to run low.
Knees are quite sore tonight so I'll take a couple of days to rest and maybe do one run this week on the treadmill. Need to look carefully at the plan for the next 7 weeks to get the mileage up to the level needed prior to the marathon in Nov.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Treadmill...ugh
Well, logistics are what they are...today was first day of school so I couldn't bail out this morning for a run...so I went to the gym this evening for 60 min on the treadmill. New HRM came today and I luuuuv it. Sent the old one to Polar for warranty repair as I found rust in it...when it comes back working I'll sell it on eBay!
60 min went quickly, felt great and I caught an episode of TV which is always fun...commercials and all (gross - thank g-d for PVRs).
Forgot to put in the battery for the S3 so I'll have to check that out next run, but overall very happy with the way I feel and that I made it out....only issue is now that it's 11:30 and I have a couple of hours of work to do.
60 min went quickly, felt great and I caught an episode of TV which is always fun...commercials and all (gross - thank g-d for PVRs).
Forgot to put in the battery for the S3 so I'll have to check that out next run, but overall very happy with the way I feel and that I made it out....only issue is now that it's 11:30 and I have a couple of hours of work to do.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Now for a real long run
First off, welcome back to Brian - glad to see that he's found time to blog his runs. With 60 days left until the marathon, I'm sure he'll have enough time to train to be ready for the big day. More importantly, it's been lonely here without the other author.
Long Run on Sunday - HRM is busted (see a pattern here?) so there's no heart rate info. Ran much slower than I'd hoped, although the second course was 0.08 longer than 10 miles.
Actually ran in two bits, with a change of shirt, shoes, and socks in between. I also got to put my daughter to bed, well kiss her, so that felt good. It will be important to have friends and family around the course to keep me encouraged.
Times are in the following graph - not that I was walking 1 min per mile and that I caught the light at the Manhattan bridge for a entire minute on mile 19 (thus the sluggishness). This graph really shows the hills - 2, 9, 14, & 19 - well the bridges. So I need to do a better job of being consistent there.
Finally, I'm hopeful that I can get my per min time down well below 9 mins per mile. But if I can't there's always 2010. I'm doing what I can to stay fit and I am hopeful that the next 50 days or so turn out to be fruitful for my training. Regardless, I know that I can finish this race now. I know that my gear works and that I'm strong enough mentally and physically to do it. So now the training is simply and purely for speed - and that's an ego thing anyway. Just finishing the first one will be enough for now.
Long Run on Sunday - HRM is busted (see a pattern here?) so there's no heart rate info. Ran much slower than I'd hoped, although the second course was 0.08 longer than 10 miles.
Actually ran in two bits, with a change of shirt, shoes, and socks in between. I also got to put my daughter to bed, well kiss her, so that felt good. It will be important to have friends and family around the course to keep me encouraged.
Times are in the following graph - not that I was walking 1 min per mile and that I caught the light at the Manhattan bridge for a entire minute on mile 19 (thus the sluggishness). This graph really shows the hills - 2, 9, 14, & 19 - well the bridges. So I need to do a better job of being consistent there.
Finally, I'm hopeful that I can get my per min time down well below 9 mins per mile. But if I can't there's always 2010. I'm doing what I can to stay fit and I am hopeful that the next 50 days or so turn out to be fruitful for my training. Regardless, I know that I can finish this race now. I know that my gear works and that I'm strong enough mentally and physically to do it. So now the training is simply and purely for speed - and that's an ego thing anyway. Just finishing the first one will be enough for now.
I'm baaack
Ran 5 on Friday....nearly 15 on Sun (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3169427
) and hoping for another 60 min in the morning.
My HRM is busted, so I'm going to buy a new one tomorrow either in a store or online depending on the best deal I can find.
) and hoping for another 60 min in the morning.
My HRM is busted, so I'm going to buy a new one tomorrow either in a store or online depending on the best deal I can find.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Return to NYC Long Run - cool weather a plus
Our traveling yesterday did not permit me to get out and run. Partially because I was looking after the wee and partially because it was exhausting. Also, I'm trying to get my runs in but not go insane. There was NO WAY that I was going to miss or skimp on today's long run, however.
15 miles from Brooklyn to Billyburg, across that bridge, east village, FDR park (love it), through the financial district, across the Brooklyn, to home. Recalibrated my footpod so the distance should be closer to accurate. Crushed my previous time - 2:03:40 (versus 2:30! yikes).
Nuts and bolts - heart rate monitor is broken, so I didn't have that as a guide - went by 'feel' instead. Interesting to note that I probably let myself run too fast early due to no HRM. Sometimes it's nice to continue to build on the good week that you had and in this case it was definitely the way I felt. Walked ever 2 miles instead of every one. Also walked less at the beginning (something that I will NOT do again, it doesn't help). Felt fine with the 7:35 pace when running early, but definitely couldn't hold on to it. Wasn't well hydrated before the race, so took plenty of fluids and consumed them on the run. All told very pleased. Wanted to feel a bit stronger at the end than I did. Did NOT feel like I could have done another 10 miles, to put it that way, but wasn't as 'crushed' as the last time I went this distance...Also not pleased with the ever inflating per mile times toward the end. That said, that did include the hill leading to the bridge and the Brooklyn bridge, but there are late hills in the marathon too!
MapMyRun.com - Long Run: 15 miles with 2 running then a walk on 08/30/2009
5.2 (from footpod, different course)
MapMyRun.com - Quick Run: Quick San Diego run on 08/26/2009
15 miles from Brooklyn to Billyburg, across that bridge, east village, FDR park (love it), through the financial district, across the Brooklyn, to home. Recalibrated my footpod so the distance should be closer to accurate. Crushed my previous time - 2:03:40 (versus 2:30! yikes).
Nuts and bolts - heart rate monitor is broken, so I didn't have that as a guide - went by 'feel' instead. Interesting to note that I probably let myself run too fast early due to no HRM. Sometimes it's nice to continue to build on the good week that you had and in this case it was definitely the way I felt. Walked ever 2 miles instead of every one. Also walked less at the beginning (something that I will NOT do again, it doesn't help). Felt fine with the 7:35 pace when running early, but definitely couldn't hold on to it. Wasn't well hydrated before the race, so took plenty of fluids and consumed them on the run. All told very pleased. Wanted to feel a bit stronger at the end than I did. Did NOT feel like I could have done another 10 miles, to put it that way, but wasn't as 'crushed' as the last time I went this distance...Also not pleased with the ever inflating per mile times toward the end. That said, that did include the hill leading to the bridge and the Brooklyn bridge, but there are late hills in the marathon too!
| Dist | Time | Lap Time | Avg of Lap | From Start |
| 1 | 0:07:58 | 07:58.1 | 7:52 | 7:52 |
| 2 | 0:15:32 | 07:34.1 | 7:33 | 7:43 |
| 3 | 0:23:43 | 08:10.6 | 8:10 | 7:52 |
| 4 | 0:31:26 | 07:43.6 | 7:43 | 7:49 |
| 5 | 0:40:02 | 08:35.6 | 8:36 | 7:59 |
| 6 | 0:47:39 | 07:36.9 | 7:38 | 7:55 |
| 7 | 0:56:11 | 08:31.7 | 8:20 | 7:59 |
| 8 | 1:04:38 | 08:27.1 | 8:11 | 8:00 |
| 9 | 1:13:02 | 08:24.1 | 8:23 | 8:03 |
| 10 | 1:21:11 | 08:08.7 | 8:08 | 8:03 |
| 11 | 1:29:54 | 08:43.3 | 8:35 | 8:06 |
| 12 | 1:38:20 | 08:26.0 | 8:25 | 8:08 |
| 13 | 1:46:46 | 08:26.0 | 8:25 | 8:13 |
| 14 | 1:55:12 | 08:28.0 | 8:29 | 8:14 |
| 15 | 2:03:40 | 09:20.9 | 9:17 | 8:18 |
MapMyRun.com - Long Run: 15 miles with 2 running then a walk on 08/30/2009
5.2 (from footpod, different course)
MapMyRun.com - Quick Run: Quick San Diego run on 08/26/2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Hollywood Cool Evening Out and back
Summary
|
|
Workout Notes
| Notes | Lots and lots of traffic lights! |
|---|
Workout Stats
| Pace: | 09:48 (avg) |
|---|---|
| Speed: | 6.1 (mi/hr) (avg) |
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Slow jog on 08/19/2009
Today the run was fine but felt particularly slow. It wasn't hard work, but it felt slow - wasn't particularly slow though :
used the walk run technique...
MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Slow jog on 08/19/2009
used the walk run technique...
Summary
|
|
Workout Stats
| Pace: | 08:55 (avg) |
|---|---|
| HR: | 140 (bpm) (avg) |
MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Slow jog on 08/19/2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Relatively easy recovery run - fast few miles, GI slow down
Felt Strong following the half. Ran hard for a few miles without rest. gi problems hit hard and fast, at furthest from potential help. Continued in the heat. Felt pretty okay, considering.
Summary
|
|
Workout Stats
| Pace: | 08:54 (avg) |
|---|---|
| Speed: | 6.74 (mi/hr) (avg) |
| HR: | 152 (bpm) (avg) 165 (bpm) (max) |
MapMyRun.com - Recovery: Recovery Run on 08/18/2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The first rule of running in the summer: Don't wear a parka
The second rule is don't wear black. I was amazed at the large number of folks hearing various articles of black clothing today - I wore white and felt great. The completely opposite of the Brooklyn experience - although much slower, but who cares when you feel this good?
This race was very important to me, since I'd missed it last year (although qualified) due to the birth of my daughter 15 minutes before the start. Steph is a loving wife, but breaking away just then for a 13 mile jog wasn't the right thing to do.
My strategy was to enjoy the run despite the heat and to run faster on the second half than I did on the first. I accomplished both goals.
The start -
I met up with a friend of mine, Vincent, who's a fantastic guy, also father to a daughter and a very fluid runner. We were both excited about the race and I was looking forward to running with Vincent. The start was really congested, although it thinned out nicely after a few miles. The amazing part of the race for me - both at the time and in retrospect - was pushing the pace with Vincent in the park.
The goal was to run 8:10 - 8:15 in the Park with Vincent and then to break away at mile 7 to run by myself through Times Square only to meet up with Mika, my coach, on the West Side Drive. It worked like a charm. The only glitch was that Vincent decided to run a couple of blazing miles in the park, which really pushed it for being able to run faster than that outside the park. If it weren't for the congestion at the start, I would have run two very respectable half races (quarter marathons).
So my hat's off to Vincent (1:53:16 or 8:38/mile pace) for A. pushing the pace, B. running on heck of a race. We've got to do that again!
Just after I left Vincent, I turned out of the park, on to 7th Avenue and ran down to 42nd street. I will do this race, every year, until I can't run any more simply for this experience. As was mentioned in the piece on this on the NYRR.org site -
Another NYC finisher, Michael Anderson, mopped his dripping brow and smiled after his 1:38:53 finish. "It was tough," he said, "but no matter how bad you feel, nothing beats running through Times Square."
After running in the park for an hour, I was faced with entering a canyon of shady tall buildings. The road was packed with fans (although they were really quiet) and every once in a while someone would peel off to kiss a baby, wife, husband, or sig. other. It was great. Just a little taste of what the marathon will feel like. After the race I saw a picture of the men's winner running alone through that stretch and I could imagine what it must have felt like, and it took my breath away. Really a unique experience.
At mile 8 I missed the marker. At mile 9 I took some crappy, nasty tasting hard to chew powerbar - supposed to be endurance boosting candy? Makes me convinced that I should pin Roctane to my marathon shorts and ignore the stuff on the course. (Roctane is that much better, and I will blog about it sometime soon).
Just before Mile 10 I ran into Mika. He was his usual chipper self and it was fantastic to run with him. Here's a guy who's taken the train into the City, stood on the side of the road for who knows how long, just to jump out into the mix when I go running by. Amazing!
He ran the bike trail for plenty and joined when it got really light toward the end. At the end he bailed, which was just as good because I think those around me were probably tired of hearing him tell me how many of them I was passing. I was passed, in total by less than a dozen people - total, all race. Now it helps that I started further back than I typically do, and it was nearly impossible to pass in the early miles. But this is a real difference for me versus the 'go out fast and bonk' strategy that I unfortunately, typically employ.
It was really important to have Mika there, as my pace gradual dropped from 7:45 to 7:50 to 8 flat. The most amazing mile was mile 12. It felt incredibly long. I thought I'd blown my race time. But there it was, completed in 8 flat. Knowing that I only had another mile to go, I knew that I was going to do well this time.
Up until now I haven't mentioned that it was pretty darn hot. I took plenty of Gatorade with me and managed to get a couple of cups of water on the course. And it was hot, but not too humid. Also, I've been running in this lately, so I suppose it doesn't bother me as much as some. The last few miles were on the concrete highway in the sun, so they weren't the most fun.
Just before the finish, Mika peeled out. I slowed and was passed by a spry young woman who said, 'come on man you've been pacing me for miles...you can't give up now.' To which I responded by following her on her tail. We took off in a veritable sprint. We eventually slowed a bit, and she pulled away. Just then I thought, "I can't give up this close to the finish' as I was well with in 400 meters. So using what I had left I managed a pretty recognizable kick to finish off the race. Unfortunately I blew past my motivator, but fortunately she finished very soon after so I had the chance to thank her with a quick handshake.
As is often the case in these longer, more crowded races the finish was chaos. I don't really remember much (got water, a towel, whatever) until I ran into Mika again. Unlike typical, I didn't know what my final time was until well after I'd finished the shoot - and I really didn't care. I KNEW by the gun time that I'd run a negative split and that was my goal.
First half: 54:40
Second half: 52:58
or a difference of 16 seconds per mile in the second half! I am very pleased with the results.
Above you can see the pace run per mile (generally increasing) versus my ever-increasing heart rate. The heart rate reflects the negative split, but also the heat of the day. Below you can see that my cadence was very steady (and for me high, which is good) versus my stride length, which widened on the downhill West Side Highway and really shot up during the sprint finish. I really rarely have anything left for a kick, so this was fantastic.
It's too early to say how I'll recover from this race, but I feel better than ever after a half. Of course this was my nearly my slowest half ever. Previous times were 1:43:23 in Brooklyn (in retrospect amazing!), 1:46:50 in the Bronx (on the most perfect running day of the year), and 1:48:44 in Central Park. But this is the first one that I ran my 9 min miles at the BEGINNING and now the end. Simply put I felt great, despite the weather conditions, and had a wonderful time. I'm sure I couldn't, but I feel like I could run another tomorrow or this week, if I had to.
This race was very important to me, since I'd missed it last year (although qualified) due to the birth of my daughter 15 minutes before the start. Steph is a loving wife, but breaking away just then for a 13 mile jog wasn't the right thing to do.
My strategy was to enjoy the run despite the heat and to run faster on the second half than I did on the first. I accomplished both goals.
The start -
I met up with a friend of mine, Vincent, who's a fantastic guy, also father to a daughter and a very fluid runner. We were both excited about the race and I was looking forward to running with Vincent. The start was really congested, although it thinned out nicely after a few miles. The amazing part of the race for me - both at the time and in retrospect - was pushing the pace with Vincent in the park.
The goal was to run 8:10 - 8:15 in the Park with Vincent and then to break away at mile 7 to run by myself through Times Square only to meet up with Mika, my coach, on the West Side Drive. It worked like a charm. The only glitch was that Vincent decided to run a couple of blazing miles in the park, which really pushed it for being able to run faster than that outside the park. If it weren't for the congestion at the start, I would have run two very respectable half races (quarter marathons).
| Lap | Lap Time | HR Average | Cadence | Stride Average (Ft)
|
| 1 | 09:11.9 | 147 | 88 | 3 1/3 |
| 2 | 08:37.4 | 155 | 90 | 3 1/2 |
| 3 | 08:44.0 | 160 | 88 | 3 1/2 |
| 4 | 08:04.2 | 161 | 90 | 3 3/4 |
| 5 | 08:13.0 | 168 | 89 | 3 3/4 |
| 6 | 08:32.7 | 170 | 88 | 3 4/7 |
| 7 | 08:14.2 | 170 | 88 | 3 3/4 |
| 8 | 07:50.7 | 174 | 87 | 3 5/6 |
| 9 | 07:50.7 | 175 | 88 | 3 8/9 |
| 10 | 07:50.2 | 177 | 89 | 3 8/9 |
| 11 | 07:51.4 | 179 | 88 | 3 8/9 |
| 12 | 08:02.4 | 179 | 87 | 3 5/6 |
| 13 | 07:58.0 | 182 | 87 | 3 8/9 |
| 13.1 | 00:38.0 | 188 | 90 | 4 3/4 |
So my hat's off to Vincent (1:53:16 or 8:38/mile pace) for A. pushing the pace, B. running on heck of a race. We've got to do that again!
Just after I left Vincent, I turned out of the park, on to 7th Avenue and ran down to 42nd street. I will do this race, every year, until I can't run any more simply for this experience. As was mentioned in the piece on this on the NYRR.org site -
Another NYC finisher, Michael Anderson, mopped his dripping brow and smiled after his 1:38:53 finish. "It was tough," he said, "but no matter how bad you feel, nothing beats running through Times Square."
After running in the park for an hour, I was faced with entering a canyon of shady tall buildings. The road was packed with fans (although they were really quiet) and every once in a while someone would peel off to kiss a baby, wife, husband, or sig. other. It was great. Just a little taste of what the marathon will feel like. After the race I saw a picture of the men's winner running alone through that stretch and I could imagine what it must have felt like, and it took my breath away. Really a unique experience.
At mile 8 I missed the marker. At mile 9 I took some crappy, nasty tasting hard to chew powerbar - supposed to be endurance boosting candy? Makes me convinced that I should pin Roctane to my marathon shorts and ignore the stuff on the course. (Roctane is that much better, and I will blog about it sometime soon).
Just before Mile 10 I ran into Mika. He was his usual chipper self and it was fantastic to run with him. Here's a guy who's taken the train into the City, stood on the side of the road for who knows how long, just to jump out into the mix when I go running by. Amazing!
He ran the bike trail for plenty and joined when it got really light toward the end. At the end he bailed, which was just as good because I think those around me were probably tired of hearing him tell me how many of them I was passing. I was passed, in total by less than a dozen people - total, all race. Now it helps that I started further back than I typically do, and it was nearly impossible to pass in the early miles. But this is a real difference for me versus the 'go out fast and bonk' strategy that I unfortunately, typically employ.
It was really important to have Mika there, as my pace gradual dropped from 7:45 to 7:50 to 8 flat. The most amazing mile was mile 12. It felt incredibly long. I thought I'd blown my race time. But there it was, completed in 8 flat. Knowing that I only had another mile to go, I knew that I was going to do well this time.
Up until now I haven't mentioned that it was pretty darn hot. I took plenty of Gatorade with me and managed to get a couple of cups of water on the course. And it was hot, but not too humid. Also, I've been running in this lately, so I suppose it doesn't bother me as much as some. The last few miles were on the concrete highway in the sun, so they weren't the most fun.
Just before the finish, Mika peeled out. I slowed and was passed by a spry young woman who said, 'come on man you've been pacing me for miles...you can't give up now.' To which I responded by following her on her tail. We took off in a veritable sprint. We eventually slowed a bit, and she pulled away. Just then I thought, "I can't give up this close to the finish' as I was well with in 400 meters. So using what I had left I managed a pretty recognizable kick to finish off the race. Unfortunately I blew past my motivator, but fortunately she finished very soon after so I had the chance to thank her with a quick handshake.
As is often the case in these longer, more crowded races the finish was chaos. I don't really remember much (got water, a towel, whatever) until I ran into Mika again. Unlike typical, I didn't know what my final time was until well after I'd finished the shoot - and I really didn't care. I KNEW by the gun time that I'd run a negative split and that was my goal.
First half: 54:40
Second half: 52:58
or a difference of 16 seconds per mile in the second half! I am very pleased with the results.
Above you can see the pace run per mile (generally increasing) versus my ever-increasing heart rate. The heart rate reflects the negative split, but also the heat of the day. Below you can see that my cadence was very steady (and for me high, which is good) versus my stride length, which widened on the downhill West Side Highway and really shot up during the sprint finish. I really rarely have anything left for a kick, so this was fantastic.
It's too early to say how I'll recover from this race, but I feel better than ever after a half. Of course this was my nearly my slowest half ever. Previous times were 1:43:23 in Brooklyn (in retrospect amazing!), 1:46:50 in the Bronx (on the most perfect running day of the year), and 1:48:44 in Central Park. But this is the first one that I ran my 9 min miles at the BEGINNING and now the end. Simply put I felt great, despite the weather conditions, and had a wonderful time. I'm sure I couldn't, but I feel like I could run another tomorrow or this week, if I had to.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday Goal - Negative Splits - Mission Accomplished
Goal was to run 6 plus miles with negative splits. Mission accomplished. Looked at the neighborhood houses for the first three miles. Walked a bit in Mile 3 - thus the slow split and then brought it home. A bit worried about the spiking heart rate, but we'll worry about all that at the end of the day.Actually struggled to get the heart rate up into the target zone on the first few miles. Did not stop to walk much (three times).
Averaged 9 min miles for all 6 - ran an extra quarter just to be a good guy.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday / Wednesday Runs
Typical report - ran 8.6 miles today and 5 miles on Tuesday. Was slower today than Tuesday. It's been hot and I've been a-walking for my longer runs. It's my way of staying cool and keeping my heart rate down.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_workout?w=206124952894322324
MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Regular Run on 08/04/2009
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_workout?w=206124952894322324
MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Regular Run on 08/04/2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Recovery: 3.25 miler recovery run on 08/02/2009
Simply the best week of running to date - finished plenty of miles - enjoyed the recovery run more than I have in weeks. Still looking forward to tomorrow's day off. Really am starting to believe in the walk/run method. Ran today's entire run other than missed lights. Had a funky ankle for 0.4 miles but it cleared up and isn't a problem now.
This is a great map, because it crosses itself a couple of times. Low heart rate at 140 is good for the day after more than 14 miles. I measured my Optimizer using the Polar and it said that I was fully rested, something I think is amazing...
Map:
Data:
MapMyRun.com - Recovery: 3.25 miler recovery run on 08/02/2009
This is a great map, because it crosses itself a couple of times. Low heart rate at 140 is good for the day after more than 14 miles. I measured my Optimizer using the Polar and it said that I was fully rested, something I think is amazing...
Map:
Data:
MapMyRun.com - Recovery: 3.25 miler recovery run on 08/02/2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
To speed up, you have to walk? I do
I ran for a mile and walked for at least 45 seconds (mostly 1 minute or more) today. I'm very proud of this performance - granted the air was 10 degrees cooler than it's been, so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it, but this is much, much faster than I've been over this distance outside of runs. Please note that these times are INCLUSIVE of those walk breaks.
Speaking of breaking things, I'm not sure that my iPOD shuffle is going to make it after this run. It bit the dust on mile 6 and I put it in my bag - it bounced around for a while and is DOA now that we're back at the house. I'm hoping that a trip to the Apple store will fix that right up.
I feel much better than I ever have after a long run. While I felt that the breaks were too much at the beginning I was sure looking forward to them at the end. Running an average of 8:23 inclusive of the walking breaks is amazing to me. It makes me feel very confident that I'm going to surprise myself on race day. I'd like to call out the Anonymous poster who is betting on 8:50. Wanna put some money on that - I suppose that you'd have to declare your identity too. Easy to take swipes at people from behind that facade (even if you're a much faster runner).
So you see there are motivational aspects of all of this (so thanks to whomever posted that comment).
The walking gave me more time to stay hydrated and to enjoy the run a lot more too. NYC is actually a pretty darn nice place to run. I'm including my route and the link to the stats if you'd like to see more. Heart rate average was of course low, but look at the highs per mile, not bad and much, much better than before when I was running at 174 and above regularly. This is a different workout.
Two last thoughts - the 7:14 on mile 6 was downhill on the Billyburg bridge, but it still counts. The mile that I'm most proud of is the 8:20 on mile 12. That one included a minute twenty of walking and a flat out sprint up the Manhattan Bridge. I was racing a subway track tender up the hill and beat him due to a signal hold on the bridge. But it still felt fantastic to have a bit of a 'kick' after already finishing 12 miles. That is certainly a new experience for me.
A = Automatic
M = Manual
Note the difference between the footpod sensor from Polar and the Mapmyrun distance is significant...I think it's simply too hard to put the markers in the right places for the MMR.com site. Then again, the footpod might need calibration...
MapMyRun.com - Training Log for sandiver
Speaking of breaking things, I'm not sure that my iPOD shuffle is going to make it after this run. It bit the dust on mile 6 and I put it in my bag - it bounced around for a while and is DOA now that we're back at the house. I'm hoping that a trip to the Apple store will fix that right up.
I feel much better than I ever have after a long run. While I felt that the breaks were too much at the beginning I was sure looking forward to them at the end. Running an average of 8:23 inclusive of the walking breaks is amazing to me. It makes me feel very confident that I'm going to surprise myself on race day. I'd like to call out the Anonymous poster who is betting on 8:50. Wanna put some money on that - I suppose that you'd have to declare your identity too. Easy to take swipes at people from behind that facade (even if you're a much faster runner).
So you see there are motivational aspects of all of this (so thanks to whomever posted that comment).
The walking gave me more time to stay hydrated and to enjoy the run a lot more too. NYC is actually a pretty darn nice place to run. I'm including my route and the link to the stats if you'd like to see more. Heart rate average was of course low, but look at the highs per mile, not bad and much, much better than before when I was running at 174 and above regularly. This is a different workout.
Two last thoughts - the 7:14 on mile 6 was downhill on the Billyburg bridge, but it still counts. The mile that I'm most proud of is the 8:20 on mile 12. That one included a minute twenty of walking and a flat out sprint up the Manhattan Bridge. I was racing a subway track tender up the hill and beat him due to a signal hold on the bridge. But it still felt fantastic to have a bit of a 'kick' after already finishing 12 miles. That is certainly a new experience for me.
| Lap | Time | Lap Time | Max | Avg | Min | Cumm. |
| 1. A | 08:03.8 | 08:03.8 | 157 | 142 | 86 | 1.0 |
| 2. A | 16:22.4 | 08:18.6 | 160 | 151 | 120 | 2.0 |
| 3. A | 24:13.7 | 07:51.3 | 167 | 153 | 111 | 3.0 |
| 4. A | 32:22.4 | 08:08.7 | 166 | 156 | 127 | 4.0 |
| 5. A | 40:39.9 | 08:17.5 | 172 | 160 | 129 | 5.0 |
| 6. A | 47:54.3 | 07:14.4 | 171 | 164 | 141 | 6.0 |
| 7. A | 57:27.4 | 09:33.1 | 169 | 154 | 126 | 7.0 |
| 8. A | 05:33.1 | 08:05.7 | 163 | 158 | 151 | 8.0 |
| 9. A | 14:49.8 | 09:16.7 | 166 | 154 | 124 | 9.0 |
| 10. A | 23:01.4 | 08:11.6 | 165 | 157 | 135 | 10.0 |
| 11. A | 31:23.8 | 08:22.4 | 163 | 155 | 128 | 11.0 |
| 12. A | 39:44.1 | 08:20.3 | 176 | 162 | 132 | 12.0 |
| 13. A | 48:07.4 | 08:23.3 | 170 | 156 | 136 | 13.0 |
| 14. A | 56:42.3 | 08:34.9 | 165 | 156 | 129 | 14.0 |
| 15. M | 03:36.0 | 06:53.7 | 165 | 157 | 141 | 14.8 |
M = Manual
Note the difference between the footpod sensor from Polar and the Mapmyrun distance is significant...I think it's simply too hard to put the markers in the right places for the MMR.com site. Then again, the footpod might need calibration...
MapMyRun.com - Training Log for sandiver
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)