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| naked shorts may be banned, but underwear is here to stay |
| Saturday, July 19, 2008 |
For the record-I didn't lose a bet or anything when I signed up for the Underwear Run...yep, I did it with my own free will. I had actually told a coupla teammates about it last year but wussed out on signing up...this year I figured what the hell, quite a few other Flyers will be there...we're all in it together and it'll be fun...
 And considering it was about 90 degrees...running in as little clothing as possible seemed to be the sensible thing!! The attire? A Flyers sports bra and a pair of red American Apparel briefs...originally with a pair of uber-short Running Divas shorts over it-kinda folded over so you could tell I was wearing underwear, but there was still some coverage :) But a few of my teammates convinced me to ditch the shorts...go the whole nine yards...I gave in. Crazy Bandanahead was there too...we posed for a pic, both looking like we stepped out of an American Apparel ad (actually, lots of American Apparel in the house!) Other Flyers were there, all with a variety of get-ups...from boxers to briefs to hot pants to regular bras to sports bras to Victoria's Secret-esque slips...quite the scene!!
So, we are off...and in probably the first 200 yards, I run into Peter, who's apparently videotaping this whole thing...yikes!! :) We ran together for a little bit and soaked up all the craziness...there were TV crews taping as well and we were both like "oh shit, is this really gonna wind up on TV?" :) After a while he went ahead and I stuck with Dr. Evil and DD...we ran by the Summerstage and could could hear "Rappers Delight" playing and I was in a silly mood and just singing along..."hotel, motel, Holiday Inn!..." Oh, there was also one guy who thought this was a race, I was running easy past him, and he just had to speed up and pass me...annoying!! We got to the transverse and everyone wearing underwear was directed to turn left...NOT go up Cat Hill! :) Nearing the end, I saw some teammates here and there, and they'd cheer for me...and the 2 guys I was running next to were like "cool, you have your own cheering section!" (ahh...to be locally famous in the NYC running scene.) The finish was the actual finish of the NYC Triathlon-was very cool to actually cross that finish line!! :)
Past the finish line, it was a total madhouse. Everyone was trying to get their free t-shirt and pair of boxers...then something to drink. Too many bodies in a small space in 90 degree heat after running 1.8 miles...you get the idea. There was free Chipotle food afterwards but as per usual right after running in the heat, I could not eat a thing. I found some of my teammates and we talked and laughed at how crazy we all were.
I'm glad I did this-one of those "only in New York" things :) And just for 1.8 miles, I sorta felt like one of those elite female runners...as in races they usually don't wear much more than I was!! :) I really thought I'd feel more self-conscious but I didn't...guess because everyone was in the same boat!!
And as the naked shorts in the post title-my "naked shorts" are still around, and in fact utilized on my long run today...that was just a joke in reference to this-thanks to Runner26 for pointing it out to me!! :)Labels: flyers, running |
posted by nyflygirl @ 12:15 PM |
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| so close!! |
| Wednesday, July 16, 2008 |
Damn!! To miss a 5K PR by a matter of seconds!! But considering I haven't even come close in about 4 years...I am sure taking it!!
Being tired of the Central Park races and climbing Cat Hill for the umpteenth time...I was looking for a fun race to do, figuring the early part of marathon training would be the best time to indulge in a 5K or another short race. I remembered a teammate of mine talking about the Party With Purpose 5K in Hoboken and thought...flat, certified course, no crazy crowds? Bring it on!! And a night race too, which is always fun.
So the pre-race routine went as follows...escape work, hop on the PATH train at Christopher Street, arrive in Hoboken, pick up my bib and chip, go to the nearby NYSC to change and lock up my bag, stretch a little bit, warm up for a coupla miles...easy peasy!! Only thing that unsettled me a little bit was not knowing where the start was...wasn't clear...had to sorta follow where everyone else was lined up and sneak in there :) Anyway, Flyer YP and JS from the Rez Dogs were lined up with me...the last pre-race bit of advice JS gave me was "don't go out too fast." Guess he knows how I pace short races :) Anyway, the gun sounds and we start...
...and we're off and running. I really, really tried to not let the faster people suck me in, not get intimidated if people were passing me...just concentrate on running hard but not all-out. The first mile went along the water and I wasn't delirious yet, so I actually enjoyed that :) Anyway...the first mile came up sooner than I thought...in 6:46. Holy.shit. That's my fastest mile split ever in a race. At that point...3 thoughts went through my head:
1. OMG-I really did go out too fast.
2. But it didn't *feel* too fast!! This could be interesting if I kept up the effort.
3. I don't feel like looking at the distance on Mr. Garmin right now, but maybe this mile was short.
Whatever, I just kept plugging along for mile 2, if anything it gave me a little boost of confidence...as my preliminary goal was to run around 23 minutes...preferably under :) Had a turnaround at around the 1.5 mile point...probably the only "slow" part of the course (turnarounds always seem to do that!!) Mile 2 came up in a more realistic 7:29...ok, maybe I slowed but I was at 14:15 cumulative...hmmm, could I really be on PR pace???
Mile 3 was pretty much the same as mile 1, just going in the opposite direction, but at that point, I wasn't really taking in any sights, I was just concentrating on running hard. I passed a water station and someone cheered and called me by name but I didn't even see or know who the heck it was :) I tried to keep things like the OT 5K in mind to inspire me to stay strong and pick it up just a little bit more (I wanted to run a "smokin' hot" last mile...hehe.) Finally, in the distance I could see where the turnoff was to the pier and the finish...all I had to do was GET there!! No mile 3 marker, but as I got to the turnoff, I looked at my watch quickly and saw the time was 21:xx, and not knowing how long I had left to go...holy shit, this is gonna be CLOSE!!! I decided to not look at my watch again til the end and just run, who cares if it hurts, it'll all be over soon. I thought of Amy Begley trying to make the "A" standard in the 10K by seconds. I heard both JS and YP cheering for me. I heard the announcer encouraging those of us approaching to get in under 23 minutes!!! I pulled out one last finishing kick...crossed the chip mat, stopped my watch, breathed a sigh of relief it was over.
And did I do it? Not quite...according to my watch, wound up with 22:42, 7:19 pace (22:44 according to the official results)...missing my 22:37 PR by a matter of seconds!! 8:27 for that last 1.1 miles (which I think was long and mile 1 was short...I know I slowed, but not that drastically!) But I know I gave it my all...as I hit a new HR max (188...I was previously claiming 185) and I was just delirious afterwards...when I got my clip clipped, I couldn't even speak full sentences.
So, afterwards, I caught up with YP (who had a huge PR) and JS (who ran just over 19 minutes and was very happy with his race!)...checked out the results to see if I possibly could have placed...dammit, 7th in 30-39!! The times really got more competitive this year...but oh well, still damn good!! JS and I then celebrated our races with a coupla Blue Moons at the post-race party (gotta love drink specials for race participants!) and my baby bro even joined us to catch a coupla innings of the All-Star game at the bar. Fun nite-definitely worth skipping the Philharmonic picnic with the Flyers for :)
And as for missing a PR? Seriously, when you consider that said PR was set in 50 degree weather (it was around 80 last nite), no tired marathon training legs (I had done a long run Saturday and the 10K at training pace on Sunday-so not exactly tapered!) and that I have not even come close to that time since the PR was set...I was very happy!! Yay...back in the game!!Labels: race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 9:11 PM |
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| a pointy dilemma |
| Monday, July 14, 2008 |
So this coming Saturday brings the next race in the local club points series-the Run for Central Park 4-miler. And even though I am one of the Flyers' captains, and I will be urging my group of 30-something women to run the race...I have no desire whatsoever to run it!!
I was actually hoping to get in a long run on that day, as on Sunday I will be spectating and cheering on the run course of the NYC Triathlon. Right now, I gotta be choosy as to what short races I do...as I'm racing tomorrow and I think that is more than enough for the week. I could possibly add on miles before and after, but I really don't want to do that...don't feel like spending another $20 on that.
Oh the irony-me and my support of short races, and now i'm saying the team points schedule clashes with my marathon training. But on the other hand, I prefer to run short earlier in the year, where the team points schedule includes 15Ks and half-marathons that I'm not in shape for. Yeah...I'm not speedy enough to even score for the team, so why am I fretting. Well, I guess in a way, I feel I need to "lead by example"...if I am asking those girls to run those races, I should do the same if possible!!
And don't get me wrong. I'm proud of our team's successes, it's great to see them honored at Club Night year after year, I hope this year is the year that our men's open team wins first in their division...I do support them wholeheartedly. But-when it comes down to it-I do have individual goals. And I know there are quite a few others who feel they are in that same boat. And is it really fair for NYRR to decide what my goal races for the year should be, just because I am part of a team? And I don't think that makes me-or anyone else in that position-any less of a team player.
Curious to hear thoughts from other local NYC club peeps on this!!Labels: flyers, nyrr |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 7:19 PM |
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| not bad for just a training run |
| Sunday, July 13, 2008 |
Ugh. This morning, I was really questioning my sanity at deciding to do the Park to Park 10K, after a nite full of caipirinhas and wine and obviously not a lot of sleep. I woke up feeling slightly hung over, and slept til the last possible minute...meaning not being able to get in my full pre-race routine. I pondered going back to sleep and just going to the pool later...but I knew I was gonna need to get in the miles somehow, so I dragged myself out the door...wearing my regular trainers as opposed to my lightweight ones to ensure that I wouldn't race this thing.
Warmed up with a mile to the baggage area and dropped off my bag and found my way to the start...didn't spot many Flyers, though I think quite a few were doing a long run up in Van Cortlandt Park today. Headed to the red corral...but honestly, I am not sure how well these corrals were being policed today, as I saw someone that should have been in the green corral (2 corrals back) lined up right near me. Whatever, I wasn't racing this thing so it didn't affect me but still...whats the point of having these corrals if they aren't being policed?
 So, we were off. I was content to stick to the right, and just let whoever pass me. I concentrated on just staying relaxed and keeping an easy, consistent pace...slowing for water when I needed it (but practicing my funneling technique...didn't slow down to walk) and pulling back if I felt I was breathing too hard (which I don't think happened once!)...I did reserve the right to pick it up a little in the last mile if I was still feeling good :) And how did this turn out?
9:03
8:56
8:49
8:58
8:51
8:26
1:42
54:45, 8:49 pace. Perfect!! Once again, pretty damn good pacing job, huh? I was quite pleased.
Afterwards, I found my teammates and a few of us hit up Lasker Pool...a Flyer tradition continues. There won't be any pics of us on the NYRR site this year, but it was still fun!! And the cold pool felt so damn good.
I sorta hesitate to categorize this as a race report, since this wasn't a true race effort, but I guess you can say this is one of what will be quite a few dress rehearsals for the big one. Also-I was wearing my HRM but didn't look at the readings until afterwards...wanted to see how capable I was at judging effort without constantly looking at the numbers. Wouldn't you know it, the average heart rate wound up being smack dab in the middle of my easy zone. Nice!! It was at its highest on the hills, but that's to be expected. So, could 8:49-or somewhere in the viscinity-be my marathon pace? Got 16 weeks to find that out, let's see what happens in that time...Labels: flyers, race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 5:29 PM |
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| i'm seeing red |
| Saturday, July 12, 2008 |
I got my stuff for tomorrow's New York Park to Park 10K (which included a sleeveless shirt for a change!) and was pleasantly surprised to see another red bib. It was one thing to get that number at the Mini 10K, due to the women-only field, but I find it hard to believe that there aren't more peeps speedier than me who are registered for this race...unless they are saving themselves for next week's club points race...or if the Bon Jovi takeover of Central Park forcing this race to be pushed back a day caused a conflict...
Whatever, I'll take it.* :) Shame, I will not be putting in a race performance worthy of being in the 2nd corral-as I am not planning to "race" this one...I'm preferring to save my race effort for a Tuesday night 5K, I really only signed up for the pool access (ice bath without the torture of one!) However, if the race scoring is as screwy as it was last year (as my teammate Johnny blogged about) maybe I will find a few minutes magically shaved off my time :-p
*Don't get me wrong...I still want that coveted blue bib!! Someday, someday...Labels: running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 6:21 PM |
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| it's tracky |
| Thursday, July 10, 2008 |
It's Tracky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that's right on time
It's Tracky...Tr-tr-tr-tracky
(with apologies to Run D.M.C.-but I just had the song in my head and couldn't resist the tiny modification)
Anyway-yesterday brought me to do speedwork at the East 6th St track, which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Actually-forget "becoming"-it *is* a favorite. And like last week-a tempo-paced workout was in order, and not to go all out. So with the help of a certain great pacing partner, we decided to aim for between 7:30-8:00 pace for the 800 meter intervals...then take it from there for the shorter ones, but not to push the pace too much. And how did it work out?
| Interval length | Time | Pace | | 800m | 3:45.90 | 7:34.44 | | 800m | 3:44.10 | 7:30.82 | | 800m | 3:46.24 | 7:35.12 | | 800m | 3:48.49 | 7:39.65 | | 400m | 1:51.43 | 7:28.32 | | 400m | 1:51.49 | 7:28.56 | | 400m | 1:50.34 | 7:23.94 | | 200m | 0:54.20 | 7:16.13 | | 200m | 0:52.70 | 7:04.06 |
Pretty damn consistent, right? The pace actually felt pretty good the entire time-didn't feel like I was "dying" once, even with the shorter recoveries than normal. I don't know what it is about this track, I always seem to have a great workout here.
Oh!! But this workout is not without just a little drama...as the predicted thunderstorms actually did happen, with about 3 repeats to go. Was crazy-the sky looked greenish, the wind and rain blowing sideways, absolutely pouring, puddles forming on the track...at first we all thought this was crazy fun, but by the time we got to the 2 x 200, we just wanted to be done...hence shortening the last recovery and speeding up a bit!! (but again...still not all-out.) And I was grateful I chose to not wear a light-colored sports bra...you figure out why. :-p
And thankfully, some of us drowned rats were troopers and indulged in some "recovery beverages" (aka beer-Blue Moon for me, of course!) and good eats-thanking my lucky stars that I had dry clothes to change into...
Ahhhh...working from home in the AM, Yankee game in the afternoon, great track workout in the evening followed by after-speed drinks...if that ain't a perfect day, I don't know what is :-p
And shockingly-I was awake around 5ish this morning without having to use the alarm...that *never* happens!! Decided to take advantage and run this morning...some nice recovery miles on the bridle path...beautiful morning (but a bit humid!) Leaves me off the hook to squeeze it in tomorrow...since I'm gonna be out tonite as well, not sure if I'll have the same fortune of happily rolling out of bed before 6 am tomorrow!!Labels: drinking, marathon, rain, running, socializing, speedwork |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 1:43 PM |
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| yankees win...theeeeeeee yankees win!! |
| Wednesday, July 09, 2008 |
What a game!! Total opposite of last week's game, it was!! Giambi earned my All-Star vote by RBIing in the 1st...and it took an extra inning, but the combined efforts of Mariano, Jeter and Bobby Abreu made the Yanks victorious and a lot of peeps very happy :-p Quite a few of our crew left after the 9th, I'm so glad I stuck around!!
Happy Yanks celebrating!!!
Oh, and in honor of the "support the 'stache" campaign, there were lots of fake mustaches given out today :-pLabels: baseball, work |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 5:37 PM |
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