West Side Hwy

There is a car in there somewhere.

Today: 6 miles

Week: 20.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - West Side Hwy - 28th St and back to Niketown

I'm ready for spring.

Snow Day

I'm going to take the day off from running today.

Thursday Night at the Races

Today: 2.5 miles

Week: 14.5 miles

Workout: 1500 meter race, 800 meter race, 10-person 10K relay.

I fell asleep and got to the Armory just as they were calling for the men's 1500. I didn't have any time to warm up. My goal was to run 38-second laps (200m per lap). It didn't quite happen. Although, I did manage a 37-second last lap. My unofficial time was 4:49. I stumbled going into the homestretch and got passed by two guys. Argggghhhhh!

I only planned to run the 1500m. But since I paid $15 to register, I figured I may as well run another race and get my money's worth. So I jumped into the 800m. I ran 75 seconds for the first 400m, and 72 seconds for the second 400m, to finish in and unofficial 2:27.

After the 800m, I was going to stick around to watch the 10-person 10K relay. Each person runs 5 separate 200m legs. While I was sitting in the infield, a guy from the Van Cortlandt Track Club asked if I wanted to run on their team. I joined their team, and ran the second leg. I figured it would be like running an interval workout, five 200m intervals. But it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. My legs were already tightening up after my second 200m. You would think that there would be a decent break waiting for the 9 members of your team to finish their 200m legs, but by the time I caught my breath it was already time to do my next leg. Still, it was a fun race.

Today: 6 miles

Week: 12 miles

Workout: Niketown - lower loop - 72nd St. Transverse - E. Drive - 102nd - return to Niketown via E. Drive.

Rain and 36 degrees. I don't mind running in the rain or running in cold weather. However, I don't like running in BOTH! My hands are still numb.

Today: 6 miles

Week: 6 miles

Workout: One full loop of Central Park.

45 minutes.

Today: 10 miles

Week: 42.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - 4 mile loop in Central Park - 3x lower loop

Beautiful day! The park was full of Run for Haiti runners. I can't believe my legs are still sore from Wednesday's mile repeats. I think this has been the most miles I've run in a week since August or September of last year.

Future Olympic Sports

Since curling has become an Olympic sport, I have some other suggestions for future Olympic sports.

1. darts

2. jacks

3. text messaging

4. marbles

5. musical chairs

6. beer pong

7. modern biathlon (text messaging and driving, with obstacles of course)

8. team paint ball

9. flying kites

10. remote control car racing

11. whack-a-mole

800 Meter Intervals

Today: 7 miles

Week: 32.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - 85th St. & E. Dr. 4x800m repeats from 85th to 95th, recover back to 85th.

Ran at a comfortable pace in a group, about 7:45 - 8:00/mile. Legs were sore from yesterday's mile repeats.

Mile Repeats

Yesterday: 6.5 miles

Week: 25.5 miles

Workout: 4 x 1 mile on the lower loop of C. Park.

I didn't intend to run too hard, but it turned into a hard workout. The recovery between repeats were a little long. 6+ minutes. My repeats were 5:56, 5:47, 5:44, and 5:42.

Washington Heights

Today: 6.5 miles

Week: 19 miles

Workout: Niketown - 102nd Transverse - W. Dr. - Harlem Hill - Niketown

Easy run. Slush on the road. The trees looked nice with snow on them.

Yesterday Evening: 6.5 miles

Week: 12.5 miles

Workout: 63rd & West Dr. - 102nd Transverse & East Dr. & return. Surge on all the hills.

Coogan's Course

Morning: 6 miles

Week: 6 miles

Workout: 0.5 mile warm up to 174th & Ft. Washington Ave., run the Coogan's 5K course, plus another 2.5 miles.

I ran the Coogan's course with David. I hadn't run in the area for months and was reminded how hilly the Coogan's race will be, but I am looking forward to it.

Today: 7 miles

Week: 23.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - 85th & E. Dr. - across to W. Dr. - top of park - return

Thursday Night at the Races

Yesterday: 1 mile (but it seemed sooooooo long)

Week: 16.5 miles

Workout: Mile race at the Armory on its indoor 200 meter track.

When the man organizing the heats called for 5:00 - 5:05 milers, I momentarily thought about joining the heat even though I felt I was only capable of running 5:12 or so. But when he saw he didn't have enough people, he called for 5:05 to 5:08 milers. Still, no one joined the heat. I looked behind me to see who was still waiting to run and began to worry that I would get stuck in a slow heat, so I jumped into the heat. A few others must have been thinking the same thing because 3 or 4 more people joined the heat after me. I figured I'd rather be the slowest guy in a faster heat than the fastest guy in a slow heat.

I didn't do much of a warm up, maybe 6 or 7 strides. I decided to shoot for 38 or 39 second laps, which would lead me to a 5:08 mile. The first two laps felt great. Of course, that was just the adrenaline. I quickly realized that my legs were not ready to run a fast mile. I think I somehow managed to run 39 second laps and pass a few people. (I ran the first lap in last place!) I passed a couple of people and stayed behind two guys who seemed to have the same pace as I did.

After 800 meters (I passed in 2:35), I wasn't sure if I could maintain the pace. With 3 laps to go, I felt the guys in front of me slow down, so I passed one guy. With 250 meters remaining, I passed the other guy and ran about 36 seconds for my last 200 meters. I timed myself at 5:09. I was satisfied with the time.

Snow Day

Today: 5 miles

Week: 15.5 miles

Workout: 85th & Third Ave. - 4 mile loop of Central Park & back.

The YMCA closed early today, so our running club workout was canceled. The park was nice. Farbod and I weren't the only runners out there. Unfortunately, school is in session tomorrow.

Today: 4.5 miles

Week: 10.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - clockwise on lower loop - West Dr. - 86th - run along bottom of reservoir to 85th & East Drive - 72nd - West Drive - lower loop - back to Niketown

Easy run. After my run, I walked toward the West Side and stopped at a deli on 6th Ave & Central Park South. As I was leaving, I forgot my backpack. I was almost at the YMCA before I realized I wasn't wearing my backpack. I ran all the way back. I think I did a 2:30 half mile! I was so worried I wouldn't find it there. It turns out that the people who work at the deli held it for me. I was soooooo relieved. The only thing of any real importance in the backpack was a flash drive that holds a lot of my lessons for school.

Easy Run

Today: 6 miles

Week: 6 miles

Workout: One clockwise loop of Central Park.

We ran a nice comfortable pace, just under 8:00/mile. The run took 49 minutes. For those of you who are scratching your head and wondering how a 6-mile run @ 49 minutes can be UNDER 8:00/mile, it's because the run was a little farther than 6 miles.

Gridiron 4 Mile

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 33 miles

Workout: 1.5 mile warm up. 4 mile race in Central Park.

It was 17 degrees at the start of the race, but it didn't feel that bad. (Of course, as I type this, the tips of my fingers are still tingling.) I wasn't even sure I'd be able to wake up for this race.

I ran a bit faster than I had intended. I only meant to run the race as a relatively easy workout. My splits were 7:03, 6:43, 6:47, and 6:30. The total time was 27:03.

Today: 6 miles

Week: 27.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - East Drive - 108th Street & Return to store.

The weather forecast was for 3 to 6 inches of snow today. I went to sleep last night expecting to wake up to a blanket of snow. Surprise! Surprise! When I woke up, there wasn't a flake in sight. I was actually disappointed. Still, it was pretty damn cold. It amazes me that we still can't predict the weather accurately despite all of our technology. Hot chocolate after a cold run is sooooo good.

I was heading home on the train and fell asleep. A woman poked me awake before the train left for the service yard. Whew!

I'm supposed to run the Gridiron 4-Mile Race tomorrow. I hope I can wake up.

More Hills

Yesterday: 5.5 miles

Week: 21.5 miles

Workout: Warm up from Niketown to Strawberry Fields. Run 6 loops of Strawberry Fields. Hard up the hill, recover downhill, even pace on the flat.

These were my times up the hill: 39 seconds, 35, 31, 33, 30, and 28. Felt great.

Strawberry Fields Loops

It's a good thing my market doesn't carry these regularly.

I'd eat them every day.

Today: 5 miles

Week: 16 miles

Workout: 9 loops of Strawberry Fields, trying to maintain an even pace.

Splits for each loop were: 3:09, 2:53, 3:02, 2:55, 2:53, 2:56, 2:55, 2:53, 2:49. It wasn't as consistent as it should have been, but more importantly, I don't feel completely worn out.

Today: 7 miles

Week: 11 miles

Workout: Niketown - clockwise on lower loop of Central Park - 72nd St. Transverse - East Drive - 102nd & return.

I ran between 6:30 and 7:30/mile for the first half of the workout. On the way back, I ran about 10:00/mile.

I'm refueling on Cheez-it crackers and Iced Animal Cookies now.

Out and Back

Today: 4 miles

Week: 4 miles

Workout: WSY - counter clockwise around the lower loop of Central Park and up East Drive for 18 minutes, turn around and return to Y.

We did some planks after our run. I doubt I will be as sore tomorrow as I was the day after we did those killer lunges last week.