Lower Loop of Central Park

Today: 7 miles

Week: 13.5 miles

Workout: Warm-up from YMCA to Niketown, run to Central Park, run 3 lower loops of the park, increasing the pace of each loop.

On my way to the YMCA, I got caught in a thunderstorm. I was dreading having to wear wet clothes on the way home.

I got soaked on my way to Niketown. Once we got into the park, it wasn't really raining much. I didn't intend to run too hard since I did mile repeats yesterday. But I was in a group that was running a pretty quick pace, and once I got going, I didn't want to slow down. By the second loop, we were well under 7:00/mile pace. On the third loop, our group of 7 or 8 was down to 3 people. We were probably close to 6:10/mile for the last mile. Although I didn't want to run hard, I felt fine after the workout.

MILE REPEATS

Today: 6.5 miles

Week: 6.5 miles

Workout: One mile warmup. Mile repeats (4 of them) around the lower loop of Central Park, clockwise. Recover to starting point on 72nd Street Transverse.

18 weeks until the NYC Marathon!

5:54, 6:12 recovery, 5:46, 6:07 recovery, 5:54, 6:57 recovery, 5:43. I think I was taking too much time on the recovery, but it certainly didn't feel like it at the time. It was a good thing Farbod showed up. I wasn't looking forward to running this workout by myself. I could not get my pacing right. I thought the first and third miles were faster than they were.

Before the workout, Stacy shared her training plan for the NYC Marathon. It consists of running "only" three days per week. If her plan works for her, I may use it for Boston, assuming I qualify for Boston. I've never run less than 5 days per week when training for a big race, and it's difficult to imagine running only 3 days per week.

I received an email that was meant for another person today. It was an offer of employment. The position was for a Director of Nursing Rehab. It paid $101K! I was tempted to reply that $101K was an insult and that I wouldn't take the job for anything less than $130K, but I did the right thing and let them know they sent the email to the wrong person.

INWOOD HILL PARK

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 46.5 miles

Workout: Run through Inwood Hill Park and Fort Tryon Park. 44:24 (8:00+/mile).

I haven't done this run in months. It's the run I do whenever I'm running from home. (I've been doing all my runs in Central Park lately.) It's a great run because it goes by TWO Dunkin Donuts towards the end of the run! There's nothing like finishing off a run with a coffee and donut.

I was reading the latest issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids, and it mentioned a 13-year-old girl who runs 40 miles per week. She recently ran a 3 hour 21 minute marathon. In the same issue it mentioned a girl who ran 800 m in 2:23.86, a national record for 9-10 year-olds. I wonder if they eat Dunkin Donuts every day.

LONG RUN

Today: 12 miles

Week: 41 miles

Workout: Two 6-mile loops of Central Park. 1 hr 31 m 30 s

I figured I would do the first loop at a comfortable pace and then, pick it up a little on the second loop. I did manage to run the first loop at a comfortable pace, 45:47 (7:38/mile), but I guess the heat and my lack of any long runs recently affected me more than I thought it would. I did the second loop in 45:43 (7:37/mile), but it was a struggle.

Summer Vacation Has Begun

Today: 0 miles

Week: 29 miles

I began my two month summer vacation today! I'm going to celebrate by not doing any running. My school had a field day yesterday. I was in charge of the standing broad jump. I decided to make a few attempts and also race one of my students. Bad move. My shins are killing me!

But I am now looking forward to two months of really good marathon training. I may even decide to try running twice on some days.

Tiger Woods is Interfering with My Training

Today: 7 miles

Week: 29 miles

Workout: Ran from YMCA to Niketown, then back into park for one loop. 51 minutes

I was planning on running with the Nike Run Club. I ran to Niketown only to see a large crowd gathered in front of the store. My first thought was that the Run Club was meeting outside the store instead of inside. As I got closer I noticed a red carpet. I also noticed a line of people (mostly men) waiting to get into the store. I asked a Niketown employee if the Run Club was meeting today, and he said they certainly were not meeting INSIDE Niketown. When I asked him what was going on, he said Tiger Woods was coming. A woman who had been in front of me and was turned away at the door said, "Well, what if you don't want to see Tiger Woods? I came from out of town to go to Niketown!"

I thought about waiting to see Tiger in person, but I decided to continue doing my workout on my own. Tiger, the next time you are going to interfere with my run, give me a little advanced notice. I assume his visit to Niketown was last minute because no one from Nike mentioned it during Tuesday's workout.

West Side Run

Today: 8 miles

Week: 22 miles

Workout: 1 mile warmup on my own. Run up West Drive from Y, with the club. Turn around at 96th Street. 29:55 out. 27:27 back. Surge on all the hills.

It was deja vu all over again tonight. I basically did the same workout as last night, except I began on the west side instead of the east side. Today's run was much slower, however, which was fine by me. I was feeling all the effects of the last three days of running workouts, along with the leg exercises in the weight room last night.

Once again, there was some debate on where hills began and ended. Alex didn't seem to care. He was sprinting up the hills!

I will be on vacation after Friday. I think all my running workouts will seem just a little bit easier when I'm no longer working full time and getting some decent sleep.

I'm getting a little frustrated with my plantar fasciitis and Achilles problems. I long to be injury free again. I'm icing the Achilles now.

Is there anyone else out there who is wondering why the NYRRC's Long Training Run #1 is so early? July 12th??? I'm curious to see if anyone goes 20 miles that day. I plan on going 14 to 16 that day. It's more likely to be 14.

NIKE Run Club

Today: 8.5 miles

Week: 14 miles

Workout: Warmup from West Side Y to Niketown. Run up East Drive for 25:50 and return in 23:17.

We were supposed to come back in 24:10. I was in a group of about 7 runners. We probably should have been running a little faster on our way out. We made it all the way around Harlem Hill. I think we were doing about 6:50/mile by the time we were about a mile from finishing. I should have run in a slower group. My calves have been overworked the past three days. Plus I was standing all day at work because the students at our school were outside all day. I hope tomorrow's workout isn't too difficult.

WSY Relay -- Monday, June 22nd

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 5.5 miles

Workout: 3.5 miles on my own. 3x600m around baseball fields by 63rd St and CPW, with about 4 minutes rest in between each 600m.
19 weeks until the NYC Marathon

I felt pretty good considering I raced yesterday. Those 600s were tough. It was a relay race around the baseball fields. There were 5 teams, and each team had 3 runners. Each runner ran a loop and then rest while his/her teammates ran their loop. Then the whole process would begin all over again. Megan and Jeanne were my teammates. All the teams were very spread out, which made it difficult to focus and really run hard. For some reason, these 600s felt much tougher than running on a track. Maybe, it was the uneven pavement, or having to dodge a few people that made it tough. Or, maybe, I just don't have fast twitch muscle fibers. Yeah, that's probably it.

After the workout, we went to the Boat Basin to celebrate Stacy's birthday and bid Alex a fond farewell. Will someone please tell me how the Boat Basin can serve hamburgers without french fries. That's just un-American!

FATHER'S DAY 5 MILE

WSY at Father's Day 5M

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 22.5 miles

Workout: 0.5 mile warm up. Father's Day 5 Mile race in Central Park.

The WSY men's team had a great showing. We came in 15th place out of 47 teams! Bruno led the way with a 29:01. Farbod ran 30:58, Francois ran 33:57, Josh ran 36:16, Stu ran 57:05, Chris ran 35:39, and I ran 30:32. Alanna also ran the race and finished in 50:46. Nice job everyone! Jeanne, Megan, Jess, Stacy, and Denie were out there supporting the team. Thank you!!! Denie wisely skipped the race because of an injury. Don't worry Denie, there will be other races.

Father's Day 5M Results

The weather was not exactly ideal for a race. 97% humidity??? My splits were 6:00, 5:56, 6:12, 6:13, 6:11. I was hoping to run under 30, but that went out the door after the 3rd mile. I just didn't have it today. I would have felt better about my time if I didn't get out kicked by a couple of guys at the end of the race. You can see a video of everyone's finish at:

Find Your Finish 2009: 5M Fight Against Prostate Cancer - 6/21/09 - New York News and Tri-State News - 7online.com

The next women's and men's club points race is Saturday, July 18th at the Run for Central Park 4 Mile. Improving on our recent women's and men's club points races will be tough, but it will be fun to try.

RACE ANXIETY

Today: 0 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: Rest Day

I guess I'm a little anxious about tomorrow's race. Early this morning, I had a dream that I was warming up for the Father's Day race. It was 30 minutes before the race was scheduled to begin. For some reason, I decide to go watch some TV. Don't ask me how I found a TV. It's a dream. Before I know it, I realize it's 8:29 a.m., one minute before the gun. I run to the start of the race only to see that it's already begun. It's 8:33, and most of the runners have already gone through the start. I quickly go through the start so that my chip will be recorded crossing the starting line. All I can think of is that I'm letting the WSY men down, but that I still may have a chance to record a decent time if I can weave my way through all the other runners. At this point, I woke up and realized that it was all a dream. Whew!

I'm on my way to pick up my race number now. Good luck to everyone in case I don't see you all before the race!

I Probably Should Have Skipped My Run Today

Today: 6.5 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: 5 mile loop and one loop of the reservoir. 52 minutes.

Another bad workout! My legs were heavy. My calves were sore. I stayed on the bridle path when I got to the west side. I shuffled through the entire run. Part of the reason must be my lack of sleep. I think I'll sleep through Saturday and hopefully, I'll wake up for Sunday's Father's Day race feeling refreshed and ready to run fast.

On a happier note, I treated my 6th grade class to ESPN Zone in Times Square today. We had lunch and played video games in the arcade. I shoot free throws worse than Shaq and Dwight Howard.

Feeling Sluggish

Today: 3.5 miles

Week: 10.5 miles

Workout: Run from YMCA, counterclockwise to bottom of reservoir, crossed to West Drive, and ran on bridle path back to YMCA.

I can't believe how sluggish I felt. I had planned on doing a 6-mile run around the park. I had to cut it short, and only did 3.5.

Six Flags Great Adventure

Today: 0 miles

Week: 7 miles

Workout: Walking all over Six Flags Great Adventure with five of my students and riding just about every roller coaster in sight. Well, the good ones anyway. (Kingda Ka was closed!)

Tuesday Night Speed Series

Today: 3 miles

Week: 7 miles

Workout: 1500 meters & 800 meters race at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island.

I completely forgot to get my splits on my watch and won't even know my official times until they get posted on the NYRR website. But I think I recall my splits for the 1500 being something like this: 76, 2:38 (82), 3:56 (78), 4:54 (78). I was in Heat 3, the slowest heat. There were some really fast guys in the other heats. That 2nd lap was horrible. I was afraid of pushing the pace but probably should have. David and George ended up in my heat. It was nice seeing people I knew.

I think I went through the first lap in 4th place. On the second lap, I moved ahead of a couple people and tucked in behind George, who was leading the race. There was a pretty good breeze on the backstretch. I started feeling a little guilty for drafting off him, so I pulled ahead and found myself leading the race. I hadn't planned on that. On the last lap, I wasn't sure how good George's kick was, so I tried to pick up the pace. I obviously didn't pick up the pace, according to my splits. But it FELT like I did. I ended up winning the heat, which was a surprise. In the last 100m, I was just waiting for someone to go by me. (I used to go by the name of "No Kick Mike" in high school.)

My arms and back felt tight on the last lap. The next time I have a race, I need to make sure I do not do pull-ups with Farbod the day before.

I ran my 800 in around 2:24. It was the slow heat again. I think I did a 72 first lap and another 72 for the second lap. I felt like I finished strong, but once again, my arms were tight down the final 100m. I came in 4th place. The first 3 guys were so far ahead of me that I had no hope of catching them. I was satisfied with my times but hope to improve on them during the next indoor series of races in the winter.

Official times for the 1500 and 800 were: 4:52.6 and 2:23.6

Cat Hill Repeats (Or Not)

Today: 4 miles

Week: 4 miles

Workout: 2 x lower loop, and ran from Y to 72nd Street Transverse on East Drive & back.
20 weeks until the NYC Marathon

The workout was actually supposed to be running Cat Hill 8 times. But since I'm planning on running a 1500 meter race tomorrow at Icahn Stadium, I ran a couple of lower loops before the WSY workout. I did run to Cat Hill with the group and WATCHED everyone do their workout. AND I kept an eye on Chris' bike.

I found it inspiring to see WSY runners working so hard. If that's how we always look during our tough workouts, we must be rather intimidating to other runners in the park.

When we got back to the Y, I did a couple sets of pull-ups with Farbod, who happens to be training for a pull-up competition. He hopes to do 30! WHOA!!!

Puerto Rican Day Parade Run

Today: 6 miles

Week: 37.5 miles

Workout: One full loop of Central Park with Farbod around 6:00 p.m.  Time of run, 44:41 (7:27/mile)

My run today had nothing to do with the Puerto Rican Day Parade.  It just happened to be on the same day as the parade, and I didn't know what else to use as the title for this post.  It was the perfect day for a run.  Sunny, 68 degrees, cool breeze, low humidity.  

WSY is on the Board

Both the WSY men's and women's teams scored a point at the Healthy Kidney 10K and are now among the ranked teams on the NYRRC website.  The WSY women also scored a point at the Mini 10K.  Congratulations to everyone who ran!  The WSY men are looking forward to next Sunday's Father's Day 5 Mile race and hoping to keep up with the WSY women.  

http://www.nyrr.org/resources/clubs/OpenWomen.htm

http://www.nyrr.org/resources/clubs/OpenMenB.htm

NYRR Dash (No Splash) 10K

Today: 8.5 miles

Week: 31.5 miles

Workout: 2.5 mile warmup, 10K at 42:27 (6:50/mile)

I stopped by the YMCA to drop off my things (gotta love those 9:00 a.m. race starts) and ran to the start, which was on East Drive just south of 102nd Street transverse.  Since I didn't intend to run too hard, I went to the back of my corral.  It has been awhile since I've run a 10K race counterclockwise in Central Park.  Harlem Hill is not fun, but it was nice to get it out of the way early in the race.  

My splits were 6:53 (perfect pace), 6:46 (a little too fast, let me slow down a little in the next mile), 6:48 (that's NOT slowing down), 7:03 (that's more like it), 7:01 (another good split, I'm feeling comfortable, saw Bruno running the other way), 6:37 (competitiveness kicks in, a couple of guys tried to go by me with 800m remaining, I couldn't let that happen), 1:17 (last 0.2 miles, nice downhill finish onto 102nd Street transverse).  I forgot to ask if any WSY runners were going to be in the race and noticed in the race results that Alanna ran.  Good job Alanna!  

I had intended to run the 2 miles back to the YMCA, but race finishers were given these fruit popsicles at the finish.  They were delicious.  By the time I finished eating it, I didn't feel like running again.  So I walked all the way back to the Y.  

I was so tired on the train ride home that I slept through my stop.  

FRIDAY RUN

Today: 6 miles

Week: 23 miles

Workout: One loop of Central Park in 44:57, approximately 7:30/mile, with Denie.

The pace felt faster than 7:30/mile because of the heat & humidity.  I'm supposed to be running the 10K Dash tomorrow, but I am very tempted to sleep in.  Maybe I should stop signing up for EVERY race.  

Another Rest Day

Today: 0 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: None.  Unless I count climbing the stairs in the subway station and walking a few blocks.  

I feel like I need to take days off while I can.  Because once this Monday arrives, it will be the official start of my NYC Marathon training.  The training plan I follow is 16 weeks long, but it assumes that I've been running 40 miles per week for 4 weeks before I begin the 16-week plan.  That 4-week time period begins this Monday.  

Baseball Field Intervals

Today: 7 1/2 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: 3 mile warm up on my own, 2 loops of baseball fields with group, 3 sets x 2 loops of fields (4:27, 4:18, 4:13) , 1 loop recovery (3:00, 3:14), 2 loops cool down at end of workout.

I don't recall what my times were the last time I did this workout. I think I was consistently slowing down on the 2nd loop of each set. I kept passing through the first loop somewhere around 2:05-2:07. It was annoying to constantly run through the cigar smoke of some guy puffing away on one of the park benches. That had to slow me down a little. Other than that, I was surprised that I didn't have to dodge more people on the path. I love the slight downhill near the end of the loop.

There weren't too many people who showed up for the workout today. I wonder if people get intimidated by speed workouts. Maybe more people would show up if the workouts weren't sent out in an email, and then, when everyone showed up, Stacy or Bruno sprang the speed workout on everyone. HA! Stacy and Bruno, I was just kidding if you're reading this. I like knowing the workouts in advance.

After the workout, we went to the Boat Basin and celebrated David's birthday. It was definitely a nice place to hang out, but I could not figure out why it took so long for us to get our food. Also, why can't they serve fries with burgers??? Potato chips instead?! You can't be serious!

David took out his digital camera and placed it on the table. The table actually tilted to one side. I am not kidding! It was HUGE! I think David mentioned that it was one of the first digital cameras ever made, right David? Of course, I'm only kidding. I still have a 1MP Kodak digital camera that takes pictures that are so grainy, you can't identify the people in the picture.

Stacy related an interesting story about a member of the YMCA. I will have to keep an eye out for her and make sure I NEVER engage her in a conversation. Ask Stacy to do an impression of the woman speaking. Stacy, you need to break ALL contact with this woman. It's going to be a big waste of time! Although, it does make for some entertaining stories.

Randall's Island 1500 meters

Today: 0 miles

Week: 9 1/2 miles

I skipped the track meet today.  I will try to make it to next Tuesday's track meet on Randall's Island.  I wish this plantar fasciitis and Achilles problem would just go away, especially since I want to start getting into marathon training soon.  

If there a few of you who plan to do the Philly Marathon, I'll probably come out and watch.  

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

These books are available for borrowing.  Let me know and I'll bring them with me to our WSY workouts.  Don't worry about rushing to return the books.  I don't charge late fees.  

John Grisham

The King of Torts

The Innocent Man

The Appeal

The Last Juror

The Brethren

The Runaway Jury  

The Chamber

Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code

Angels & Demons

Digital Fortress  

Travel  

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

In a Sunburned Country

There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled

I'm a Stranger Here Myself

Neuromancer

No Country for Old Men

House of Sand and Fog

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Human Stain

The Glass Menagerie

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Forty Million Dollar Slaves

Fast Food Nation

The 9/11 Commission Report

Plan of Attack

Undercover Economist

The Best American Sports Writing 2004

The Basketball Diaries

In Cold Blood

Blackhawk Down

Teacher Man

Ghost Soldiers

Genghis Khan

Bringing Down the House

Liar's Poker

The Perfect Storm

Into the Wild

Into Thin Air

Running with the Buffaloes

The Yankee Years

Outliers

Woody Allen  

Side Effects

Getting Even

Without Feathers

My Library

On Sunday, after I was done hanging with NYRR Mini 10K participants and supporters, I mentioned to Rob that I was heading to Barnes & Noble to look for a book. I wanted to buy The Tipping Point or Blink by Malcolm Gladwell because I had just finished reading his other book Outliers and enjoyed it very much. Rob mentioned that he had The Tipping Point and would let me borrow it. It saved me $15 that day. Not only that, he gave me another book he thought I might be interested in reading. Thanks Rob!

This got me thinking. I have a ton of books at home that have been sitting on shelves for years. I will probably never read these books again. I'm going to take a quick inventory and list some of these books on this blog. If anyone is interested in borrowing them, just let me know, and I will bring them to the Y.

Mini 10K Videos

Success! I managed to upload the videos from the Mini 10K onto Facebook. Unfortunately, I had to compromise the video quality in order to do so. Now all the women in the video look like washed out pixels, floating through Central Park. Maybe, I'm exaggerating a little, but not much.

I don't know if I'll be running in that track meet at Randall's Island today. The weather is yucky, my legs are sore from yesterday's workout, and I'm sleepy. Give me a second and I'll come up with more excuses. 24: Season 7 just arrived in the mail from Netflix! Oh, and I really should get a haircut.

West Side Hwy

Today: 9 1/2 miles

Week: 9 1/2 miles

21 Weeks Until the NYC Marathon

OK. I'm a little shocked at the moment. Imagine my surprise when I saw that there were actually people who signed up to follow this blog! Suddenly, I feel a little pressure to make the blog mildly entertaining. Obviously, just blogging about my workouts is not going to be enough. I'm going to rely heavily on my fellow running club members for their witty conversations and suggestions for this blog.

Upon meeting everyone at the Y, one of the first things Stacy announced was that there would be a change in the Wednesday workout. We would not be doing mile repeats on Wednesday because of the Corporate Challenge. Yes!!! (I mean...DAMN! I was sooooo looking forward to that workout.)

Today's workout: run to the bike (oops, I mean running) path along the West Side Hwy, run 30 minutes downtown, turn around, and come back. It seemed simple enough before I started. I didn't want to run too hard because I intend to run the 1500 meter race at Randall's Island tomorrow. I figured I would settle into a comfortable pace. Bruno and Farbod were running a little too quick for me, so I ran solo. After turning around and heading back, I felt good and picked up the pace. Despite my best intentions, I ended up running a little too fast. Oh well. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Maybe it was the humidity or something else, but my legs felt drained after the run. Although, I don't think I felt as bad as Farbod who seemed to be limping a little and Denie who was complaining about his left buttocks. (Don't ask me about it. I only report what I hear.) Erika wasn't injured, but she shared her freakish shin muscle and her "tennis" muscle with us.

After everyone had finished with the run, Stacy decided that we would do some repeats around the baseball fields on Wednesday. Then, we will be going to the Boat Basin for a little relaxation AND to celebrate David's birthday!

In case you haven't seen Farbod's video of the Mini 10K on YouTube, what are you waiting for?! Check it out! I'm sure Farbod is a great doctor, but I think he has a future as a photographer or videographer.

NY Mini 10K

Total Miles: 0

Weekly Total: 22

I didn't do any running today.  My plantar fasciitis and achilles has been acting up.  Instead, I met up with Denie, Farbod, Stu, and we watched the WSY women run the Mini 10K. (Bruno was supposed to be there but had some ...uhhhhh...technical difficulties with his alarm clock.) The women did awesome, 16th place out of 43 teams!  Alanna  62:40, Jeanne 52:33, Stacy 43:19, Megan 48:52, Erika 48:26, Meggie 60:11, Courtney 46:34, and Claudina 55:52.  Way to represent the team!  I hope the men can do just as well on the 21st, at the Father's Day 5-Mile.  

We met at the Y before the race.  Erika had a hilarious story about an encounter with a one-eyed, one-tooth homeless person.  I'm not going to repeat the story because she probably has it on her blog.  I think it's sufficient for me to say it involves some coffee and what may or may not have been a wink.  I'll let her tell the story.  

I shot some video of everyone during the race, but I couldn't figure out how to upload the video onto my Facebook page in a reasonable amount of time.  Arrrrggggghhhh!  It was driving me crazy!  I'm not exactly the most technologically savvy person in the world.  Makes me wonder how someone like me is even able to do a blog.  Not only that but I realized that I thought I was interviewing some people with my video camera, but I neglected to push the record button.  DOH!   

After the race, some of us went to Fiorello's (is that spelled correctly?).  I wasn't impressed with my burger, but it was a great day to sit outside and eat.  I learned something new about Erika.  She cannot watch a movie that has snakes, particularly colorful snakes.  Well, I guess she CAN, but bad things happen if she does.  Once again, if you want details, ask her about it.  Let's just say that there was an incident involving a LARGE woman.