38 Days in a Row and Counting

This streak is not intentional.  I just seem to end up doing them whenever I'm training for a marathon.

On Sunday, I decided to do a long run since I wasn't able to do the long run with Niketown on Saturday, due to the Harlem 5K.  I met up with Farbod and Lou, and we ran down the West Side Highway bike path.  Along the way, we met up with Chuck.  We ended up running down to the tip of Manhattan and running up the east side.  I finally ran out of energy near the 6th Street track, after 15.5 miles.  I had to stop and walk to the train.

When I got home, I bought a bag of ice, dumped it in my tub, and sat in it for 15 minutes.

Yesterday (Monday), I felt like running on a track, so I ran down to Riverbank State Park.  I did 4x200 with a 200m jog in between.  Just enough to remind my legs what it's like to run at mile race pace.  After that, I ran down to the West Side Y.  I did another 7.5 mile with the WSY Running Club, along the West Side Highway bike path.  My grand total was 15.5 miles for the second day in a row.

Percy Sutton Harlem 5K

My NYRR bib has shown a pace of 5:55 on it since 2009.  The last time I ran a 5K race or longer with a pace under 5:55/mile was in 2002.  That finally changed this past Saturday.  It helped that the course wasn't nearly as hilly as the course for the Coogan's 5K.  I was actually hoping to run under 18:00.  However, the humidity and my position in the corral probably hurt my chances.  Still, it was a satisfying race.

My splits were 5:57, 5:51, 5:43.  I had a mental letdown in the last 1/2 mile.  I thought I saw the finish line, but it was actually just a blue sign that said "Harlem."  I hadn't even reached the 3-mile marker.  Once I realized my mistake, I couldn't pick up the pace again and just cruised across the finish line about 30 seconds later.  The results of this race makes me want to train for shorter races and race on a flat course.  I'd really love to do the Carlsbad 5000 in San Diego but will probably have to wait until 2014.  I can just feel the fast twitch muscle fibers in my legs slowly deteriorating.  

The WSY men's team did great, 10th place overall (2nd in the Open B division) and 8th in the Masters division.  

No break yet

The streak continues.  33 days and counting.  On Saturday, I ran 13 miles with Niketown.  Then, on Sunday, I ran the NYRR Long Training Run #2.  I was hoping to make 16 miles with the 7:00/mile group if I felt good.  However, the weather was so nice that morning, I decided to take advantage of the day and run farther.  On the final 4-mile loop, I decided to run on my own.  One other runner came with me and together we caught up to another runner, who stayed with us.  By the 18th mile, I realized I should have probably stopped after 16 miles, but by then, it was too late.  The last couple of miles were a struggle.

According to my watch, I ran 20.4 miles in 2:20.  That worked out to 6:53/mile.  I don't think I could have kept up that pace for another 6 miles.  Obviously, I need more training if I expect to run a 3:05 marathon.

Time for a Break

I ran 13 miles on Saturday, 6 miles on Sunday, 9.5 miles (8x Cat Hill) on Monday, and 6 miles yesterday.  This was on top of some tough workouts last week.  I felt like I struggled getting through Monday's hill workout.  I ran 5 miles through a thunderstorm on my own, and my legs felt extremely sluggish.  There was a tempo run scheduled for today's West Side Y's workout, but there was no way I could run at tempo pace today.  Instead, I ran another 5 miles with Benny and Denie.  I ended up running faster than I thought I could.

I knew I hadn't taken a day off in awhile.  But I was a little surprised at how long it's been.  Today was my 26th day of running, in a row!  I think it's about time for a day off.

Times Squqre #first2fly

Our tribute to the closing ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics on Sunday.

 Chuck, Denie, Farbod, and Me.

 Elmo doesn't look ready to run.

Trying to avoid traffic in Times Square.

I thought Elmo was just promoting his character.  But as soon as the picture was taken, he asked me for money.  

Tempo Run

Tough run tonight.  I'm tired of this humidity already!  I did a mile warm up, ran a 4-mile tempo @6:33/mile.  I ran a slow mile for a slight recovery.  Then I ran another 4-mile tempo @6:32/mile and a one mile cool down.

What made this run particularly tough was the workouts I did the past three days.  I did a 10.5 mile run on Sunday, 10x400m repeats on Monday, and 10 loops of Strawberry Fields yesterday.  I need a day off.

Team Championships

80 degrees and 87% humidity at 8:00a.m.?!  I was hoping for a sub-30:00 5-mile, but the weather changed my goals.  I ended up running 30:45 with splits of 6:07, 6:01, 6:09, 6:23, 6:05 for an average of 6:09/mile.  The first couple of miles were OK.  As I crossed the 2-mile marker, I was thinking that it was taking a lot more energy to run 6:00/mile than it should.  The fourth mile included Cat Hill and was  brutal.  I usually don't grab water at the fluid stations, but I grabbed some on this day.  I was so glad to finish this race.

Nike Flyknit Racers

On Monday, I went on my first official run in the Flyknit Racers.  I did 10 repeats on the Strawberry Fields hill.  The Flyknits felt good, extremely light, of course.  I could not quite sense whether the shoes had enough cushion for me since I only ran a total of about 3 slow miles on my warm up and cool down. But they definitely have more cushion than the Lunar Spider or the Zoom Streak.  I think the true test will come on Saturday in the Team Championships 5-mile race.

Yesterday, I ran 3 lower loops with the Niketown Run Club.  We did "lamppost pick-ups."  I've been assigned to pace a group of runners who are trying to do a 8:30/mile marathon.  It was very satisfying to see runners working hard to finish the workout.

I've done two 50+ mile weeks and feel like my marathon training is going OK.  My long run has only been 12 miles, so I feel I am a little behind in that regard.  And I will be missing the long run this Saturday because I'll be running the Team Championships.  But I'm not too worried.