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| harder, better, faster, stronger |
| Saturday, August 16, 2008 |
Those words, originally the title of a Daft Punk song, more recently sampled in a Kanye West song...ran through my head during today's NYRR Club Team Championships. Did that help? Read on!!
Now I'll reveal what my goals for the race were-and in honor of the Olympics, I'll use medal colors :)
Bronze-beat last year's time (40:10)-get revenge on last year!!
Silver-beat my 2006 time (39:03)
Gold-distance PR...sub-37:51
I was so nervous and excited for the race, I found it a little hard to sleep last nite. (Plus a certain finish of a certain swimming event had something to do with it too!! dayum...) But despite that, I got up right when the alarm sounded, and went through the usual pre-race routine...eat, drink coffee, stretch, get dressed, listen to music, make sure Mr. Garmin is charged...
As usual-I timed my warmup to go up the west side so I could cheer the Flyer guys on during the first mile. And yeah, I was nice and cheered for friends on other teams too :) And they all seemed very appreciative-being that the women's race is not for another hour, I'm sure that part of the course didn't have a lot of cheering support. Everyone was still pretty much bunched together, so pretty much all of the runners passed by in a matter of minutes. So I continued on up to 102nd Street, and found some of the Flyer women who had staked out a spot near the finish to cheer the guys on. Soon enough, the leaders came by...finishing in 23-and-change...are you friggin kidding me? I can't even do 4 miles in 23 and change minutes! Hell, there are times when I can't even do a 5K in that amount of time :) Around 28-29 minutes, we kept an eye out for the first Flyer, who I knew would be coming in around that time...we did think we saw one, but it actually turned out to be a Reservoir Dog-their singlets are very similar to our latest singlet style!! But one by one, the Flyer men passed by, running strong towards the finish.
After a while, I left to go warm up and loosen up and head towards the start...and yep, even though it was a small field-around 500-they still used the corrals...and yay, I was in the 2nd/red one :) It may not have mattered in a race this size, but was still cool. A bunch of my Flyer teammates were in my corral, as was Uptown Girl. Everybody was chatting it up, the starting horn took us by surprise!! Here we go...
Mile 1 (7:35)-through the west side hills...I knew this mile would give me an idea as to what kind of race I will have...I was gonna go for it!! The crowd support was fantastic...and Uptown Girl and I were running together for most of this mile, I knew I was having a good race when I could keep up with her :) Was feeling good, feeling strong...saw my mile split and was pleased...in the ballpark! :)
Mile 2 (7:28)-wheeeeee.....downhill mile!! A bunch of the Flyer and the TRD guys were running in the other direction and cheering. Still felt good!! After this mile I thought "cool, I'm on PR pace!!" :)
Mile 3 (7:45)-always the mentally tough mile!! Around the bottom of the park, so the least support. Plus, it had warmed up to about 70 degrees by then and was very humid...not as bad as it could have been, but this mile was unshaded and it took a little bit of a toll on me. This was when I started playing those words over and over in my head..."harder, better, faster, stronger." Keep me motivated. (Funny...when listening to music pre-race...yeah, I was listening to Kanye, but different song-"Champion"...funny what gets stuck in your head! Anyway, off the subject here...) A couple women did pass me, including one of my teammates, but I was still sticking with others, and even passing others. So all in all, not too bad. Just keep everyone in sight and I'll be fine.
 Mile 4 (7:58)-Flyer SD caught up to me right before Cat Hill...she was another good one to use as a rabbit, as when we're both having a good day, we're pretty similar in races. Cat Hill sucked as usual, but I felt strong climbing it, passed a few more women...guess hill work...well...works!! :-D After climbing the hill I edged ahead of SD for good...last time I saw her til the finish. Knew this mile would be slow, but was happy this was under 8 minutes...that hasn't happened in quite awhile!!
Mile 5 (7:25)-OK...I knew a PR was out at this point...I'd have to run under 7 minutes, which I didn't think I was capable of...so do the best I can, whatever that may be-I figured I had the bronze and silver goals in the bag :) As I approached Engineer's Gate, one girl who was running near me said "let's go" to me...we both picked it up!! As I passed the reservoir, I caught up to Uptown Girl and another Reservoir Dog, EV...as we entered the "tunnels of cheering" for the last half-mile (or as several Flyers started referring to it as-the  "tunnel of love") I passed EV, then Uptown Girl...I said "come on let's go!" to each of them. OK-there was a method to my madness...let's all work together to kick it in...one picks up the pace, of course I will try to follow suit...you get what I'm trying to say :) Uptown Girl and I stuck together to the finish, where once again, the cheering was fabulous...much better than last year, methinks!! I heard lots of "Go (my name)!" which made me very happy..though my face may not have shown it at the time!! Just around the last corner...go go go!!!
And I wound up with 38:11, 7:38 pace...my 2nd best 5-miler ever and a "submasters PR" :) Very pleased.
So after the finish, I said the usual "good jobs!"...and it was cool...Uptown Girl, me, SD and EV finished one after the other...so I guess keeping them in my sights was a good thing :) Everyone then went to their respective teams' festivities...we had our usual bagel brunch and team picture, and lots of chatting and mingling. (And one of the other teams even shared ice cream with us!! cool. :) )
So yeah...another one coming so close. But once again, my PR was set in 60 degree weather, on an easier course, with no tired marathon training legs. So all in all, I actually think I outperformed that :) Splits may have looked all over the place, but they were actually pretty consistent with the terrain. Kinda wish I had been able to push harder in that last mile, but considering that once again I was breathless and couldn't speak full sentences for a few minutes after the finish, I think I did give it all I had. And once again-I have not come this close in 4 years, so I'm glad that 2008 is looking to be a comeback year. And I think it could mean good things will happen in the half and the marathon coming up!! This predicts a 3:44 marathon (courtesy of the McMillan calculator) so maybe, just maybe, the 3:50 marathon goal will be within my reach...
And on the topic of marathons, I'm psyched to watch the womens' Olympic marathon tonite!! Go Deena! (This is providing that NBC doesn't switch coverage to the trampoline or whatever else :-p)Labels: flyers, marathon, nyrr, olympics, race, running |
posted by nyflygirl @ 5:36 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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| 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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| the need for speed relay...i mean "fun run", report |
| Monday, June 09, 2008 |
 yeah, there is meaning to that title. you'll see later.
Third time doing the Need for Speed Relay, second time with Flyer Team Black!! Yeah, we all liked each other so much we actually wanted to spend another day in a van together. :) Unfortunately, DM had to drop at the last minute due to other commitments...but we gained 2 new members, including the Laminator!! (actually...this team was almost half bloggers!! as you will see...)
I was nervous about the weather forecast, especially considering my choke job at the Mini the day before. All I could do was prep-hydrate, consume as many salty foods/snacks/drinks as possible...and just plan to take things easy and conservative. Actually-as I had the last leg, I was most nervous that there wouldn't be any water left by the end...so I planned to carry a sports bottle of Gatorade with me.
 So, as our team's start time was in the last heat-8:45 am-didn't mean as early a wake-up call than in the past and we hit the road around 7:15 am...making it up to Bear Mountain in plenty of time. We then met up with the Flyer Red team, who had the same start time as us (the Flyer White team and the Flyer Diamonds team had earlier start times) and just chatted, took pics, pre-gamed. Soon, it was getting close to 8:45 and time for our runners to be at the start-DG for us, PD for Flyer Red. They made several last announcements...including possible course evacuation plans in case of severe weather conditions (remember this...comes into play later.) All vans had to be out of the area before the runners were off, but RB (aka Dr. Evil) decided that he couldn't wait til the next exchange area for a bathroom break. The announcer decided to take advantage of that and embarass him :-p
This time...I'll give a leg-by-leg description of the day of Team Black...
Leg 1-While DG was running, our plan was to stop near the midway point of the leg to cheer and offer water if he needed it. Saw PD, who looked like he was working hard. A vehicle came by and said there was only one other runner on the course...it was DG, who looked like he wasn't doing well-he was walking, and followed by the sweep ambulance. We gave him water, sprayed him with a water spray bottle that we had, and told him to just take it easy. It was a little unsettling, seeing DG followed by the ambulance, but on the other hand...at least he's being watched. We then drove to the exchange area and walked to the hand-off point...on the way, we saw the Red team, and PD said he had to walk a few times...man, the heat was knocking the strong down, and it was still early!! We waited for DG to come in...saw the girl who was just ahead of him on the course, saw the sweeper ambulance...and boy, was I worried-thankfully a race official said DG was fine, was just walking and needed some Gatorade and shortly we saw him, running into the transition area and handing off to RB. He said it was a tough time, but also admitted to going out too fast in the beginning...well that just solidified my plan to be conservative!!
Leg 2-on the way to this leg, I texted Runner26, who ran this leg for the Diamonds team, to make sure she was OK, and she replied back that it was tough, hot but she felt fine. Her team was leaving the exchange area just as we got there, and we saw the Red team waiting for their runner. However-we found out some not-so-good news...as apparently there were route marker arrows on the trail switched and/or moved and so people were getting lost. The Hellgate team, who had been leading after leg 1, had their leg 2 runner get so lost that they had race volunteers looking for him...that's how bad it had gotten. We were looking up into the woods for RB to come down the hill to the finish...but RB ran to the finish from the other direction-apparently he made a wrong turn near the end! He handed off to the Laminator, who then was running the longest leg of the relay-9.3 miles!
Leg 3-we picked up another passenger on the way to the next exchange area!! We offered to give a ride to Matt from Hellgate since the remainder of his teammates were staying behind to make sure their leg 2 runner made it OK. All 4 Flyer teams were at the next exchange area waiting for their leg 3 runners, so we all gabbed and tried to stay out of the sun. But we were hearing runners were getting lost on this leg too...man, does it ever end??? We saw JM and JS come in for the White and Diamonds teams, respectively. However-this caused concern as team Red's runner, SS, had passed them both during the leg and he had not come in yet. And considering he's a very fast runner...even if he was taking it easy and just going at training pace, it was still too long a time for him to be running 9.3 miles-and we let the officials know of the concerns. And then we saw a Flyer singlet and a red bandana...it was Crazy Ban...oops, sorry, it was our Laminator!! :-p He had gotten lost too-added approximately a mile, but was glad to have made it in one piece. A few minutes later, SS did make it in...he was thankfully OK, but did get lost and added a sh*tload of miles on because of that.
Leg 4-this was actually a pretty drama-free leg. jb24 did a great job running the 2.9 miles and then handed off to GW.
Leg 5-we passed all 4 Flyer runners on the way to the next exchange area and honked and cheered for them...unfortunately we had to do a U-turn as we missed the turnoff onto the Saw Mill River Parkway!! When we got to the exchange area, we saw Matt from Hellgate again-we offered to give him another ride as his teammates were MIA (as it turned out, they were tending to a fallen runner!) GW made it in and described feeling chilled-like I did during the Mini...and that he would not have made it if another Flyer hadn't offered him some of her water. Man...the conditions were no joke today.
 Leg 6-another low-drama leg for the most part...no getting lost getting to the next exchange area, and TH did well running this leg, with little complaint except the usual "it was HOT!"
Leg 7-this was my leg the last 2 years, but this time I decided to let someone else have a chance at it, this year it would be our Cap'n SW. 2 legs to go til I'm up. I started to prep...stretching, dousing myself with water...I was actually a little nervous not just because of the heat, but we were the 2nd Flyer team-and I know Team White's runner who was running leg 9 is much faster than me and I knew I wouldn't hear the end of it if she passed me. But I had to do what I had to do...and finish upright. Anyway, SW finished and handed off to Johnny (and I think SW was very happy that i did give her this leg!)
Leg 8 to the end...the real drama:
I was psyched, but quite nervous to run my leg. I was excited to cross the finish line for my team, but apprehensive about the heat, knowing I don't handle it too well! Fortunately, there was a bit of cloud cover and it had cooled a tiny bit (probably only 90 as opposed to 92 degrees.) Being that Johnny was gonna kick butt on his short leg, we knew I wouldn't have much time to prep-so my teammates dropped me off by the exchange area and then went to park the van. After a couple of minutes-I heard something that in the back of my mind, I thought could happen (think back to before the start!) but hoping wouldn't... "Attention-due to severe thunderstorms coming into the area-we have to shut the course down and stop the relay!"Meaning-those who were already on leg 9 could finish, but for every other team-they had to finish the leg they were on and call it a day. Unfortunately, this meant Team Black's day was over after leg 8 and I would not get to run my leg. I was PISSED!! After all this, I don't even get to run? (plus...a good friend of mine was supposed to run this leg 2 years ago but due to circumstances beyond his control, couldn't...so I wanted to run this leg "for" him :) ) A lot of others were none too happy either-"They let us run around in 95 degree heat all day, and now they're shutting things down because of a little rain?" I've run 2 half-marathons in the rain!! Hell-I'd WELCOME rain at this point to cool things down!! Thank god-my teammates were very supportive. GW gave me a consoling hug-he just knew how upset I was and that was honestly what I needed at that moment. My team did ask me if I still wanted to run my leg "unofficially", but knowing that the Flyer Red team was going to be the only Flyer team to finish-I did want to support them at the finish line. So to the finish we went...and we were passing runners...some still "officially" running, some not...so my teammates encouraged me to at least run part of my leg and still cross the finish line.  So run it I did-ran what turned out to be the last 3 miles of the 5.7 mile final leg. Make no mistake-it was hot-but i just took it easy and played it smart. By that time, I was just wearing a sports bra and my running skirt w/ no singlet but it was not making much of a difference, temp-wise. But it actually wasn't so bad, i was thinking "I'm sure i could have done the whole 5.7 if need be!" I still couldn't believe we missed the cutoff by a matter of minutes...yeah, i guess you can say i was running on pissed-off energy. The finish line did come, sooner than I thought...turned the final corner, heard music, applause, my great teammates cheering as I crossed the finish line with a smile. Yes-I crossed the finish line of the first annual "Need For Speed Fun Run!" :) I kinda felt like those who crossed the finish line at Chicago '07 after it was made into a "fun run"...hey, we wouldn't be Team Black without bending the rules at least once!! :) And didn't do half-bad, time-wise...Mr. Garmin said about 3 miles in 27:19.
 At the after-party, I just went straight for the beer....didn't even feel like eating. We were allowed 2 large cups of beer and i downed em both. And the announcement was made that the real reason why the race was shut down was heat-related...too many people going to the hospital due to severe dehydration....apparently local authorities told the race organizers to shut things down. Just like Chicago i guess...and honestly, why didn't they say that from the beginning? i would have completely understood-it's nice to try your hardest for the team, but at the end of the day-you just want everyone safe and sound, and thankfully all 4 Flyer teams were...which was the most important thing. After the first coupla legs, i think the only thing on anyone's mind was finishing in one piece.
So-after all is said and done, it was still a very memorable day...one that really showed the true definition of teamwork-within the team and outside of it. And it was a fun day with the team...including some "team Black moments." And I was able to "liveblog" the race from my Treo!! I posted periodic updates on the Flyers' message board...gotta love technology!! As for the race organization...I don't blame them for their decision to stop the relay early, as it probably saved lives in the end...however, being that we missed the cutoff by a matter of minutes...if only the trails were better marked and less people getting lost...if only they decided with the conditions being treacherous, to make the start earlier...we could have made it in time for me to run the last leg, to cross the finish line officially for my team. Or that could have prevented other complications from happening (such as the one that needed medical assistance in leg 5.)
But-as I said before-most important thing was that everyone was OK in the end. And would I do this relay again? I think I would-I think this year was an anomaly with the weather and hopefully this is a learning experience!! Labels: flyers, race, running, running skirt |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 9:38 PM |
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| need for speed relay 2008-the cliffs notes version |
| Sunday, June 08, 2008 |
oh boy...this year's edition of Need For Speed was a doozy.
Mother Nature was, well a mother f*cker today. It was hot as hell from the beginning. Everyone was struggling. Some were getting lost on the trails. But all Flyers were putting up a great fight.
However-out of 4 Flyer teams entered-only one was allowed to officially finish-and that was not the one I was on.
As we arrived at the exchange area for leg 8 to leg 9 (the final leg!)-we were told that due to "severe weather coming into the area", that the relay had to be shut down, that anyone who started on leg 9 can continue to the finish...but for everyone else, they had to finish the leg they were on and call it a day.
So guess who on our team was supposed to run leg 9? Yep, me. Boy, was I not a happy camper.
At first, I just wanted to go to the end to support the one Flyer team that can finish-but halfway there, my teammates saw others still running and encouraged me to...so I did the last 3 miles of that leg. Nice and easy...it was hot, but I had Gatorade with me, ran conservative and felt fine. And was able to cross the finish line-albeit unofficially. (And I knew I could have done the full 5.7 if I was able to....)
At the "awards ceremony" (lord only knows how the placings were determined...)-they mentioned the real reason for stopping the race-it was the heat, there were way too many reports of dehydration. (which honestly-if they had just said so from the beginning, I would have understood...)
But thankfully-everyone-at least in the Flyer camp-was OK. That was the most important part...
Anyway, full report to come in the next day or 2. Need to rest now...Labels: flyers, race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 6:46 PM |
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| mini 10k 1, me 0 |
| Saturday, June 07, 2008 |
 oh. my. god. this is one race you definitely do not f*ck with.
Well, the Mini 10K actually didn't start off so bad. Though the weather predictions were frightening, I was really just planning to play it by ear. Even though it was hot when jogging to the start area, I was still kinda sorta hopeful...
So I met up with some other Flyers (including Runner26) and we headed over to the start line...and after all the fuss about the bib color yesterday, actually quite a few of us had red bibs. And honestly, once the barrier between the red and blue corral was taken away, we were able to move up and actually had a pretty good starting position. Now all we had to do was wait for the starting horn...
Mile 1 (7:38)-I knew this was gonna be a fast mile, but I really did try to hold back some effort here. Crowd support was great along this stretch, saw Crazy Bandana-head taking pics :) Saw my mile split and was surprised.
Mile 2 (7:56)-into the park and saw Flyers EF and SK cheering (as well as PD right before I entered the park.) Again, tried to maintain a comfortably hard effort...hmm, maybe the weather isn't gonna defeat me this time.
Mile 3 (8:10)-first of the killer hills!! When I got done with that, really tried to use the downhill as much as I could to my advantage...saw the Flyers' Mr. President cheering. Slowed for water in this mile-I knew I would regret it if I didn't, as I didn't take in mile 1 and felt like I needed it.
The 5K point...hit that in 24:43 and thought, hmmmm, not bad!! Still under 8's. Maybe I actually am holding it together.
 Mile 4 (8:47)-Or so I thought. Things started to go wrong here. Even though my legs were fine, breathing wasn't too hard, my body was giving signs that it was not responding too well to the heat-actually felt a little clammy and chilled-so I had to back off the effort for a good part of the mile. Saw Flyer JB running in the other direction and cheering...and Flyers GW and LH at Engineer's Gate...and just like last year, GW yelled at me to save some effort for Need For Speed tomorrow. Was so tempted to yell back "f*ck you" but didn't :-p
Mile 5 (8:35)-Thank god for two cheering contingents in this mile, otherwise it would have been much worse...still wasn't feeling great. First, at 84th Street, Uptown Girl and a bunch of her TRD teammates were cheering. As I passed I yelled out to Uptown Girl something like "You were so smart to not sign up for this!!" Their guys were cheering hard and trying to encourage me-thanks guys, I really did need it around this time!! :) I did see both Gatorade and water tables in this mile and did slow down to a walk instead of drinking on the run-I really needed the Gatorade then. Too bad it was so watered down!! I told myself then, "less than a half-mile til the Flyer guys." Down the hill and yep, Bandana-head and the rest of the NYF cheering contingent was there and so was the mile 5 marker.
Mile 6 (8:58)-this felt like a death march...I did the one thing I did not want to do and had to walk. Flyer JS passed by and asked if I was OK...I told her I was, but she did look back a couple times-thanks, JS. :) Now....it was just about survival...I just wanted it to be over. Saw PD again cheering...I kinda signaled that I wasn't doing too well. Once again...was so glad to see the "800m to go" sign.
last .2 (1:46)-meh...no finishing kick here. was totally spent, and the hill to the finish did damage again.
Wound up with 51:50-8:21 pace (wanna hear something funny? last year's time was 50:51, 8:12 pace. Talk about a reversal!!) 5K splits of 24:43/27:07...damn.
 Afterwards, first thing I got was Gatorade and water (smart move to have those tables first this year!!) and downed 'em faster than a shot. Then got the finisher's medal and rose...sorry, I meant pink carnation. Then found my teammates and other friends and shared the usual "OMG, this sucked" stories :) I did stick around for the awards ceremony, and the raffle drawing (hey, I hoped one good thing would have come out of the morning!)...just looking at the top finish times, looked like the elites were affected too!!
As for me? Did I make some race-day errors? I honestly think even if my first 5K were a minute slower, that the heat would have still gotten to me. Unfortunately the only way to deal with it is being acclimated, and obviously I wasn't (unlike, say, Club Champs in August.) I know I should be happy to have just made it though, and believe me I am. Just sucks when Mother Nature messes with goal, or even semi-goal races. (and dammit, will I ever run a sub-50 10K again?) Was thinking of doing next weekend's 5-miler as a chance at some sort of redemption, but the weather forecast doesn't look too great for that either...so wait it out til Club Champs, I guess.
And tomorrow? It's gonna be an easy (pace, not effort) run-definitely not by choice!!Labels: flyers, race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 1:14 PM |
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| tall buildings, bad reception |
| Wednesday, May 21, 2008 |
And once again, I did the Wall Street Run with my company (which has become our "in lieu of the Corporate Challenge.") We had 9 signed up...3 (including me) runners, 6 walkers. And actually...as the forecast seemed to change dramatically on Tuesday morning from about 60 degrees and 30% chance of rain to not even 50 degrees and definite rain. So knowing my company's track record w/ inclement weather, I was expecting quite a few to bail... but considering I've done 2 half-marathons in the rain, you can bet I wouldn't!
So after work, I did the same thing I did last year-2 mile warmup down the West Side Highway-more direct than taking the subway and a good way to get a warmup in. It was only raining lightly and actually felt nice!! And I was afraid I would be underdressed (not expecting the weather)...I had on a running skirt and a singlet under a jacket and actually felt warm-so I had a feeling I'd be OK come race time.
Arrived downtown, stashed my bag and headed for the start...oh boy. NO pace per mile markers. This was a recipe for disaster. I found my other 2 colleagues that were running and lined up with them...decent starting position. Was a little chilly waiting for the start (shoulda brought a throwaway shirt!) and not surprisingly, the start was delayed a few minutes waiting for the west side hwy to be closed off, but finally we got going.
So I was hoping to better last year's time (22:51, 7:36 pace) in order to get a better pace for corral placement :-p Had the Garmin on but wasn't really referring to it during the race as anything but a watch. Anyway, the same obstacles were there...potholes, puddles, people who did not line up correctly...however, I hit mile 1 in 7:25 and thought RIGHT ON TRACK!!
And mile 2 seemed to have more issues...more turns, more bottlenecks...especially on one street where half of it was closed off. But I still felt I put up a good effort through this mile...which was why I was surprised that mile 2 was 8:30...what the!! I may have slowed down, but not that much...
Well obviously I had my work cut out for me in mile 3!! Just told myself to suck it up, it's only a mile to go...run hard, hard, hard!! Made the final turn onto the West Side Esplanade by the Hudson River and not too much later...could see the finish line in the distance and kicked it in. Mile 3 was 7:16, for a total time of 23:11.
 Saw Uptown Girl (who had blasted past me around mile 2) after the race and we compared Garmin readings...hers had about 3.4 miles, however, my Mr. Garmin had 2.8!! So who knew what was right...and everyone I talked to after the race seemed to agree. (I do definitely think mile 2 was long...don't know which was the short mile though, 1 or 3.) I was cold and tired, so unlike last year, I didn't feel up for post-race festivities-though I did stop by Urban Athletics for a free Corona and 15% off a Sugoi top (and I thought leaving the credit card at home would stop me from shopping. ha!)
When I exported my Garmin data at home...I had to laugh. Apparently, no one, nothing, knew what the distance of this course was!!
Garmin Training Center said 2.84 miles
SportTracks said 3.12 miles
MotionBased said 3.6 miles (yeah right-like I really did sub-7's)
And if you look at the map...obviously the tall buildings really threw off the GPS signal (hell...there were some places where it said I was going sub-4 pace...in my dreams!!)
So basically, the moral of the story is, I will never really know what I actually ran yesterday...and just chalk it up as a tempo workout, and defending my title of being first in my company :)
And save the PR attempts for certified courses!
And like most men...Mr. Garmin isn't always right :-pLabels: race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 1:40 PM |
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| bonkers! |
| Saturday, May 17, 2008 |
The one thing besides injury that runners seem to fear is bonking. And it's supposed to happen in the long-ass distances. Before today, I only experienced it twice...during the infamous 2007 Queens half, and at mile 14 of a 15-mile training run 3 years ago. I somehow escaped the marathon unscathed. But who'd ever heard of bonking in a 10K? I defined that today at the Healthy Kidney 10K...splits tell the story!!
8:00
8:03
8:19
9:01 (started the decline here...)
8:28 (sorta saved by cat hill downhill)
8:40 (the last mile of the race didn't motivate me as much)
1:45 (neither did that last uphill)
wound up with 52:16 (8:25 pace)...5K splits of 25:21/26:55. Oy. A 1 1/2 minute positive split.
(For the record-Mr. Garmin said I actually did 6.35 miles at an 8:13 pace. It's so funny...when I met up with some of the Flyers afterwards...seems like *everyone* has a Garmin!! And another teammate's Garmin measured 6.35 too...)
In a nutshell...my legs kinda felt weak from the beginning. They just didn't have the same bounciness they had at Broad Street, or the last 4-miler I did. Still, was hoping to maybe negative split...but things just felt like they shut down on mile 4...it was like I could see the mile marker, but I just could not get there. Couldn't get my legs to push hard for the rest of the race-so by that time just decided to quit trying to race and do the best I could...whatever it was.
I think what happened was a mishmash of things...
- Am I still not completely recovered from Broad Street? I think I am not, considering the effort I gave there.
- Still feeling the afteraffects of Wednesday's workout? Perhaps, which leads to...
- Was Thursday's run not a true "recovery" effort? Probably, I should have been doing closer to 9:30-9:45s to really recover. I think going forward, any Thursday runs will have to be done solo...
- Had I put on weight in the last 2 weeks, therefore slowing me down? It's possible.
- Was it the crowds? Actually no!! I actually think the corral system really worked. I just feel bad for those in the corrals behind me that had to go around me because I was having a bad day!
- The weather? Yes. Even though it was a cool 50 degrees, apparently it was 80% humidity...and the sun was STRONG! Not a good combination for me.
- Did I eat enough? I'm not sure...been feeling a little "off" the last coupla days-it's seemed like I've been full after smaller portions. I did have my usual "before race" food, maybe not enough yesterday...
- Was it pacing? I don't think so...under normal circumstances, I'd say I was "right on pace" for the first coupla miles...maybe even a little conservative.
- Was it the calf? Nope-thankfully, no body parts were causing me pain. Not even a dreaded sidestitch.
- Was it the course? Good lord, it seems like Central Park got hillier in the last 2 days. Yeah, it was like mountain climbing compared to Broad Street, but I don't remember the 4-milers being this hard!
- Was it the distance? 10K is a weird distance for me. Not really feeling the love for it right now...after mile 1 I had the "I wish this was over" thought again. You can't blast it like you could a 5K or 4-miler, and you can't do the "slow down and pace" strategy that you can do in a 10-miler or half-marathon.
I'm not disappointed, I had my good race 2 weeks ago, and I'll chalk this one up as a "practice race." Means I got rid of all my strategic mistakes here and I got 3 weeks to get things right for the Mini 10K... - Taking it easy the next 3 weeks, with the exception of the Wall Street Run. Meaning no speedwork the week before the race, and possibly skipping it the week of 5/26 too.
- Keep easy runs easy, and do recovery runs solo to keep them a true recovery effort.
- Make sure to get a long run of 8-10 miles in the next coupla weekends
- Don't skip Harlem Hill...no wussing out and doing the lower 5
- XT at least twice a week
- hopefully lose a couple of pounds in the process
- pray that the weather on June 7th is more like 2006 Mini than the 2007 one.
And back on the topic of today's race-I'm so glad the course record didn't fall-no need to reward cockiness :) "The course record is not that hard"...whatever!! Ritz still owns Central Park... Labels: race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 6:08 PM |
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| broad street pics! |
| Friday, May 09, 2008 |
me and crazy bandana-head before the race...
nearing the finish...the homestretch!!
kicking it in...finished!!
 Labels: pictures, race |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 1:56 PM |
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| pocketful of sunshine |
| Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
Oh boy. This is gonna be a long one. Let me just say-Broad Street did not disappoint at all. This was probably one of the most fun races I have done in a long time. And I intend to be back. But to back up...
My regular readers probably know that I was targeting Broad Street as my spring "A" race-I was working my way back from a calf injury and not really up to doing a half-marathon...and I had never done a 10-mile race before!!
Even though I didn't say em publicly-I had goals. And I can say what they are now:
Main "I'd be happy" goal-1:20 to 1:21ish-which would be in line with my recent 4-mile race.
Secret stretch goal-sub-1:20
Uber secret super stretch goal-beat my "unofficial 10-mile PR" of 1:19:09 (first 10 miles of the Vegas Half.) This I felt would only happen if the stars were aligned...
So anyway, a couple of encouraging recent speed workouts left me feeling like I was ready to "pop a good one." I was ready, the only thing concerning me was the weather report...
Saturday morning, I make my trip to Philly. Subway to Penn. NJ Transit to Trenton. SEPTA to Suburban Station. Easy peasy, right? I'm sure you can guess which was the weak link here. Yep, it was the one and only NJ Transit. As the train headed towards Trenton, NJ Transit kept doing their NJ Transit thing-it kept slipping further and further behind schedule and left us in jeopardy of not making the connection at Trenton. And we had to run for it once there. What was supposed to be about 10 minutes to make the connecting train was less than 1 minute. But make it I did, and they did even hold the train a coupla minutes. First stroke of good luck for the weekend...
Got to my hotel in Center City which-I didn't realize it at the time, but I could not have picked a better location. Was not even 5 minutes from Suburban Station, from the shuttle bus to the expo, right in the middle of everything-so convenient. Oh and my favorite part-on every floor they actually had a water cooler and bottles to put the water in-so no having to buy bottled water-it's like they catered to runners or something :) Anyway, dropped my stuff in the room and went to hit the expo. Only thing I did not like about the expo was you had to go to one end to get your bib, then all the way to the other end to get the T-shirt...I bet it was their sneaky way of making sure that everyone sees all the booths :-p Actually didn't spend too much money-and really wanted to stay off my feet. Later, me and Flyer NH hit up Buca di Beppo for dinner (same place we went to the night before the SF Half too!) A little pasta, a little merlot-all was well-and time to rest up!!
Race day!! I woke up too early as usual-had to have a cup of coffee, have a bagel with white chocolate peanut butter, get dressed, stretch, hydrate, make sure I have everything...and left my room a little after 6:30...a little on the early side, but I had heard horror stories about the SEPTA train on race day. I stopped by Starbucks to get a concoction that did work in SF-coffee with a shot of vanilla syrup. Walked the couple of blocks to the subway and didn't even have to wait long for a train. (And gotta love that I was able to ride the train for free but just showing my race bib!) We got to the start area by 7:15-in plenty of time!! Better to kill time than sit on the train and stress, methinks. So I hit up the port-a-johns, stretched for a bit, then went to the baggage busses to drop off my bag...and who do I see? Crazy Bandanahead. Yep, he was there running the race with a friend of his. We chatted for a couple minutes before they headed towards the start. Before I checked my bag though I had to make a decision-to iPod or not to iPod? Even though I had a good playlist...I leaned towards no. Although it had stayed dry so far, there was still the 30% chance of rain-and also I had good results in my last race without the iPod. But I did have to listen to my lucky song-"Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield. My last 2 races, I've heard that song before leaving my apartment, so it's become my lucky song :)
Warmed up a little bit and then lined up near the front of the 8 minute group with Crazy Bandanahead :) We both could not believe the crowds-over 20,000 people there!! The announcer said that probably the following year they would move to a corral system-which would be a good thing...the "honor" system doesn't work!! As the race start drew closer I didn't have the nervousness I usually feel...I was strangely calm. Hmmm. The horn sounded and I crossed the start line...about 2 and a half minutes later. The speakers were blasting "Eye of the Tiger"...nice song to kick things off!!
My plan for the race was as follows-take it easy on mile 1, miles 2-6 are for pacing, 7-10 are for racing. I did have to do a bit of weaving in and out of slower runners, but I kept it easy, not even breathing hard...that was rewarded with an 8:00 mile 1-I was actually relieved!! Then I just decided to pick it up a tiny bit, but to a pace I thought I could maintain for 10 miles, and even pick it up at the end...which turned out to be in the 7:45 range, give or take a second or 2. Miles 2-5 really seemed to fly by, before I knew it City Hall was in my sights...was fun running through all the different neighborhoods, but just also knowing I was having a good day...maybe the stars were going to align for this one!! Hit 5 miles in 39:03...1:19 was definitely doable, as was 1:18...but could I run a negative split and do 1:17? Let's find out!!
Took a gel during mile 6 as we were approaching City Hall...didn't know if I'd need it, but it couldn't hurt. We finished with the one turn (or turns) of the race around City Hall, back onto Broad Street and hit the mile 6 marker...OK, time to get to work.
Miles 7 and 8 were both 7:41...a little faster, but I was definitely tiring. A guy wearing a maroon shirt came up alongside me and said "good pace." Thank you Mr. Maroon-and you are going to be my rabbit for the remainder of the race. For those last coupla miles...I really had to play some mental mind games. You made it this far. 1:17 is so within your reach. You got it, just do the work. It's not even 20 minutes to go...let's go!!! Mile 9 was a tiny bit better at 7:39...and Mile 10 actually had a hill in it!! OK, so minor compared to, say, Mile 13 in the Queens half, but it was still at a time when I did not want one. I really tried to go all out here...but dammit, another sidestitch snuck up!! Breathe. Breathe. 5 minutes to go and then you can stop. With about a half-mile to go, I came up behind and passed another runner I knew from NYC...was surprised as she is usually way in front of me!! Finally, saw the Navy Yard Gate meaning a quarter mile to go...and nope, did not fall for that as being the finish line!! (I had many warnings!) Got closer and closer and saw the finish line...and the clock...dammit, looked like I was gonna miss out on sub-1:20 on the clock. But finish strong. The runner I just passed passed me back (but shouted out encouragement to me)...she had a good kick going but I couldn't match it. No worries-I just ran my fastest mile of the race anyways (7:34) and more than achieved my uber-secret super stretch goal!!
Yes kiddos...that was a 1:17:30 (7:45 pace)...and a pretty cool negative split too-39:03/38:27!
Splitsville: - 8:00
- 7:43
- 7:46
- 7:47
- 7:47
- 7:52
- 7:41
- 7:41
- 7:39
- 7:34
I was quite sore at the end-especially my quads! But very happy.
Hmm...and a certain someone said to me when I told him last year that I wanted to run this race and shoot for a good time, that I "shouldn't get my hopes up" because "I may get disappointed." Ummm yeah...what you said. (OK granted we were both drinking at the time. But still.)
And how great was it that there was no rain, the weather was absolutely perfect...talk about the stars aligning.
I couldn't stay too long afterwards-had a noon checkout at my hotel. Grabbed some water and Gatorade, a pretzel and my food bag...headed to the baggage buses to claim my bag and then to the shuttle bus to take us to the subway. And we got free subway fare again!! Cool.
Quickly showered, packed, checked out, got something to eat, left Philly at 1:05 pm...didn't get into Penn Station until a little after 6. (That's an adventure for another post, don't want it to detract from the race report!)
What a great race!! First off, was very well executed-especially for the size of the field! The city really gets into it as the support is great...and oh yeah, the fact that it's a very flat and fast course doesn't hurt either. Makes me wonder what I'd be capable of on other flat courses!! But I was very proud of the execution-I kept things in check at the beginning, kept on pace for the first half, picked up the effort when I needed to, pushed through the pain when I needed to.
So on what was a cloudy morning in Philly...this race was definitely my "pocketful of sunshine."
"The sun is on my side
Takes me for a ride
I smile up to the sky
I know I'll be alright..."Labels: race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 8:41 PM |
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| start slow, hammer home |
| Sunday, April 13, 2008 |
So obviously at today's Run as One 4-Miler, I didn't want to make the same mistake that I made in Wednesday's speed workout, and blow it in the first mile. Did that strategy work? Read on...
Arrived at the race to usual NYRR chaos. Looked around for the baggage area for several minutes to no avail...25 minutes to the start!! Finally asked a volunteer who pointed me in the direction of the stairs by the stage...ah, shoulda known from last year. But man-getting in and out of the baggage area was ridiculously crowded...I'm sure there were quite a few people who missed the boat for the local elite start (since they have to be lined up 15 minutes early) or even the actual start due to not being able to find the baggage and taking forever to get in/out of there. So dropped off my bag, got to the start....lined up between the 7 and 8...all with about 10-15 minutes to spare. And oh yeah-I went iPod free for this race! Did that help? Maybe...
Mile 1-crossed in a little over a minute, did once again have to dodge walkers, but it wasnt as painful as other times...helped having the extra running lane!! I tried to keep Wednesday's workout in mind-and run this mile hard, but at a pace that would leave something in the legs for the rest of the race...this mile was 7:53...not bad, but a little slower than I would have liked (3 seconds slower than this mile in last month's 4-miler...)
Mile 2-picked it up on the flatter mile. Saw teammate SD up ahead-she and I are pretty similar at the short distances, so I made her my "rabbit" for the remainder of the race-keep her in my sights, if at all possible. This mile was 7:34-now that's more like it!! At 15:27 cumulative, definitely on track to better last month's race as long as I don't fall apart in the next 2 miles.
Mile 3-a couple of speed workouts that have utilized these hills had helped a bit...as well as seeing people in the distance to catch up to and pick off...the local female 70+ elite wonder, another Flyer teammate who I am usually ahead of...both behind me before the final climb in the rollercoaster. Teammate JM was cheering while running the other way...thanks!! :-) The mile 3 clock was within sight...could I do this mile under 8 minutes-which I've only done once before? I picked it up a little to make sure of that, and this mile was 7:57.
Mile 4-I hoped that the surge on the last mile wasn't gonna hurt me here...this was the time to hammer it home!! I had a feeling I would definitely better last month's time, but could I make it under 31? Some fuzzy math said somewhere in the 7:30s would allow it...may be close!! I utilized the gradual downhill and closed in on SD again....were neck and neck approaching the transverse and I edged ahead after that final turn!! I could see the clock up ahead, that read somewhere in the low 31s...and since I crossed a minute in, that meant 30:xx for me and I tried to hammer it...SD caught up to me and crossed the finish alongside me but I didn't care. That last mile was 7:18 (first time doing any mile under 7:20 in a Central Park race...cool!)
Final time-30:42, 7:40 pace...and better off, negative splits!! (15:27/15:15) First time since February '05 getting under 31 too!! (Still got awhiles to go for an actual PR at the distance...as that one stands at 30:01...) And wore the new DS-Trainer 13's again today...love them, love them, love them!!
Did the usual mingling thing after the race...seemed like a lot of people had a good day today!! I was chatting with jb24-who has also been running well lately and we seemed to have the same consensus-could it be quality, not quantity that's helping?? Seems that way!! Will be interesting to see how I can manage that come NYCM training time-but I'll worry about that in 2 months...time to tackle Broad Street next!!Labels: flyers, race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 1:23 PM |
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| building from here |
| Sunday, March 09, 2008 |
Today was as good as a comeback race as they come. Better than my previous ones, in fact...
Even though the Colon Cancer 15K was a "club points" race, I decided to do the 4-miler instead...the main reason being that I wasn't even up to running 9.3 miles, not even as a training run. And I felt I needed a short race to tell me "where I was at"-and had a feeling this one would be less crowded...that the 15K would take the brunt of the crowds due to the points race designation and the later start time. So I could just do my thing, then cheer on my teammates in the later race.
 When lining up for the race, it looked like my suspicions would be true...was much less crowded than I thought!! And I didn't even see any other Flyers at first. Finally, Flyer JD came by and we chatted and tried to forget the fact that it was really cold and windy (was glad I decided to wear tights, but dammit, shoulda brought handwarmers for the start.) We got the warning from the race officials that there was "debris on the course due to the windstorm." Great...debris, black ice and crazy wind-this is gonna be fun!! :) Well...didn't turn out as bad as I thought!!
Mile 1 (7:50)-thankfully, not a bad start-it definitely helped that the running lane was wider than it had been in the past. Up Cat Hill...which honestly wasn't as bad as I remembered on the legs, but man...my lungs hated breathing in this icy air. Was pleased when I saw the mile split, so far so good...
 Mile 2 (7:46)-this was Engineer's Gate to the 102nd St Transverse...saw Crazy Bandana-head taking pictures at Engineers Gate. Tried to pick it up, but didn't want to too much...since my least favorite mile would be next. Was happy with this split too...and praying that I would not fall apart on Mile 3 as I have in the past.
Mile 3 (8:10)-The wind had really picked up here by this point. Headwind + West Side Hills=bad combination. At least this mile wasn't as dramatically slower than it has been in the past, and I'll blame it on the wind :)
Mile 4 (7:38)-I could have just run an 8 minute mile and still gotten in under 32, but at this point, wanted better. Was all downhill from here...and they had already put up the mile 9 marker for the 15K which actually was good for me, as I knew I only had .3 miles to go!! Before I knew it, was making the last turn onto 72nd St and had finished!!
Final time-31:24, 7:51 pace (and the first time since February 2005 that I have run a 4-miler faster than 31:5x!) And to top it off, the Flyer women got 2nd place in the 4-miler and I was the first Flyer woman...so a silver team medal for me!! Yeah, a little bittersweet-considering I only got anything because all the faster women were doing the 15K instead...but I will definitely take it!! :)
Afterwards, got my bag with my jacket because it was COLD!!, chatted with Runner26 for a few minutes before her race, then went to 72nd to watch the 15K start...which looked like it was delayed a few minutes because a friggin truck was blocking the road. Then went over to the west side to keep Crazy bandana-head company while he was taking pics...and got to see the lead runners come in!! Boy, I can't blame NYRR for needing more race marshalls-the traffic control was horrible at that final corner-I'm surprised there were not any collisions with the lead runners and pedestrians. Finally, when it got too cold for me to bear, I ran home and changed quickly before heading to the east side to a Flyers captains meeting (and picking up a venti skinny vanilla latte on the way!! boy I needed it...)
So, today's race was a step in the right direction...considering I haven't run more than 17 mpw since the injury and have not done any speedwork or hill training...not too bad!! (And I'm convinced it would have been better if it were not as cold or windy...my breathing was still hurting for a couple of hours afterwards!!) Maybe I am better off with less mileage and more cross-training? Most importantly-the calf felt just fine!! At any rate-good to know where I'm at now, can only build from here...Labels: flyers, race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 3:32 PM |
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| another pointless race!! |
| Friday, February 22, 2008 |
Two years in a row!!
Last March, a club points race got cancelled, now it's happened again-the Snowflake 4-miler has been turned into a "fun run" due to the snow. Which means for me? Sleeping in!! No need to risk re-injury by running on slippery roads. Yeah, I know running in the snow is beautiful and special...but now's not the time for me to partake in that.
Unfortunately, the snow also disrupted my initial happy hour plans...trying to come up with an alternate...Labels: nyrr, race, snow |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 1:14 PM |
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| clarity, or something like that |
| Monday, December 10, 2007 |
what a difference a year made for the Joe Kleinerman 10K...last year, i was under so much stress that I couldn't think, see or breathe straight...meaning many walk breaks. this year, thanks to a nice Flyers holiday party, a couple of tough things taken care of, a fun Toys for Tots run with the Flyers the day before, I definitely was able to think more clearly.
As I had mentioned before, I was really not expecting much here, considering the projected crowds between the next-to-last marathon qualifier and last club points race of the year. The weather was nice and it looked like a good day for running. I jogged a mile to the baggage area to warm up and saw Runner26 and Flyer JT, so we headed over to the start area together...and were joined by Crazy Bandana-head-and he actually lined up with the 3 of us instead of the local elite area where he belonged :) I saw camera in hand though, so guess this was just a fun run for him :-p So we were off...and the 4 of us actually started out together...that woulda made a cute picture. The mile-by-mile lowdown...
 8:38-this split did not surprise me, due to Harlem Hill, but moreso how crowded it was...it didn't really start opening up til mile 3. After this mile, I made it my goal-make sure this is my slowest split of the day.
8:12-west side hills...little better, but still crowded. Saw Flyer BC taking pictures just past 102nd street, and spotted Flyers DG and LG on running on the bridle path and cheering.
7:58-downhill mile! Uptown Girl was cheering near the reservoir...but not sure if she saw me, as who was right by me? Crazy Bandana!! Boy he really must have been taking this one  easy...
8:13-around the bottom of the park...kinda uneventful. Saw a couple of Flyers running in the opposite direction
8:21-Cat Hill. Tried to take shorter strides, to not tire myself out on this hill...I was keeping position and even passing people, so I guess it worked. Dr. Evil passed me and tried to scare me but his evil tactics didn't work this time. :-p
7:43-My plan was to try and run steady, then pick it up for the last 1.2...I guess it worked!! Saw Uptown Girl and JS cheering near the reservoir again, and BC taking more pictures (including this action shot) But dammit, a sidestich snuck up on me again...tried to breathe deep and ignore it...
1:35-sidestich still there, but figured I'd gut it out. The chute was narrow and crowded, but tried to push as hard as I could. Flyers JB and JA were cheering right before the last turn to the finish, which gave me a nice boost to kick it in!
Final time-50:40, 8:10 pace. Can't really tell since there was not an official 5K split, but looks like I may have run negative splits. And actually, I was a little surprised to see a time still in the 50s, I actually thought it was going to take 10 minutes to do the last 1.2 miles...guess no one is good at math 5 miles into a race. :-p
Hung around for a bit after the finish, chatted with other Flyers...but dammit, no Krispy Kremes!! I thought this was tradition for this race :-( Did an easy coupla cooldown miles up/down CPW to give me 10 miles for the day (leaving me less than a mile shy of 30 miles for the week)
So, this was a good workout...yep, workout, not race. I have honestly come to the conclusion that when you are not in the 74% AG group-you really can't expect to run your best in these ridiculously crowded races. So, I think the plan for next year will be as follows...use the NYRR races to get my 9 qualifiers in/support the team for points races/do long runs-but if I am chasing a time goal-look outside NYRR (with the exception of races like the Mini 10K and Club Champs, where I can get a clean start.) Again-any suggestions for good (local) non-NYRR races are welcome!!Labels: flyers, race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 2:03 PM |
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| underwhelming |
| Monday, October 29, 2007 |
I think I can use that word to describe all of NYRR's races these days.
Ran the Marathon Kickoff 5-miler yesterday. Honestly-was quite uneventful and underwhelming. 42:16, 8:27 pace, splits 8:23/8:13/8:41/8:24/8:35 Just wasn't feeling it after mile 1, and pretty much ran the whole thing as a tempo effort.
I wish I could get excited about races again, but it's been hard these days...Labels: race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 2:15 PM |
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| broken. |
| Monday, October 22, 2007 |
ugh. another day, another crap race.
Since NYRR assumes that everyone in the NYC area is doing the marathon (and therefore no need for short races in October)-and in an effort to do a race that doesn't deal with the Central Park hills-I decided to run a 5K near my NJ hometown. I ran this 3 years ago, weather was perfect (though a little windy,) the course was flat, I ran a PR (22:37) and placed 2nd in my age group. I thought it was a great race and wanted to do it again-but couldnt in 2005 (injury) and 2006 (marathon.) Well here was my chance. But a lot changes in 3 years...
First, the weather. This freakishly hot fall was continuing and I felt it even during my warm-up. Considering how affected I am by the heat, it didn't look good. This race was not chip-timed, and there were no pace markers by the start so it was sort of a free-for-all. I managed to get a decent spot-before anyone says it, yeah, maybe I didn't deserve to be up close (in the first couple of rows) but there were people ahead of me who had less of a place being there. Spoiled by chip technology, I guess...Anyway, the horn goes off and we're running. The first mile is pretty flat and clocked in at 7:43...not bad but a little bit slower than I wanted...
Here was a change that was not for the better. Near the end of mile 2, there was a very annoying hill-it was short but it still was enough to effect us-kind of reminded me of mile 13 of the Queens half!! And it definitely took its toll as mile 2 was 8:24. And it was really getting hot...the course had little to no shade. (The fact that the race started at 11:15 didnt exactly help...)
So I had to average 7:52 or better for the last 1.1 to at least break an 8-minute pace...easy enough, right? The race ended on a long straightaway where I could see the finish line in the distance. I tried picking up the pace...but just. could not. get. there. I was quite surprised at the last 1.1 miles being 8:51 (hate it when there is no mile 3 marker) and my final time was 24:58. Didn't even break an 8-minute pace. So disappointed. And to add insult to injury, I didn't even place in my age group, I was one place out of it.
A friend said to me "It's okay to feel disappointed, but it's not okay to feel broken. Broken is when you give up." I haven't given up-but I do feel broken. Basically-this past winter broke me. I feel like a pale shadow of what I used to be, and no matter how hard I try, or what I do, I can't fix the problem. I had 1 decent race this year...so what? Does this mean I can only run well when it's 50 degrees and I am 3,000 miles from home? I don't know. I'm just feeling so lost and confused now.Labels: race, running |
| posted by nyflygirl @ 8:39 PM |
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