86 Degrees and #%*! Humidity

West Drive in Central Park

West Drive in Central Park

Today: 14.5 miles

Week: 29 miles

Workout: 63rd Street - Central Park Bridle path with an extra loop - back to West Side Y. Then 5-mile loop.

Last night I got stuck in a diner while a severe thunderstorm was passing through. The windows of the diner were rattling. I didn't think much of it until I went out on my run today. There were downed trees in the 90s on both sides of Central Park all the way to the northern edge of the park. Some of the trees that had been uprooted were huge. It looked like a tornado had passed through Manhattan. It was clear that some of the trees had fallen across the bridle path but had already been cut up. One tree had fallen onto the 102nd Street Transverse. I hope no one was out running in the park last night.

I had intended on going at least 18 miles today, but I gave up that plan after the 2nd mile. Not only was the humidity stifling, I had only eaten a bagel, coffee, and GU all day. By the time I reached the 13th mile, I was so weak that I had to walk. Fortunately, I was at the top of Cat Hill and a food cart was there. I bought a strawberry fruit bar and it worked wonders. It gave me a jolt of energy, and I made it back to the Y without a problem. Of course, I was still the last one to finish the workout.

Still Feeling the Effects of the NYC Half

Today: 9.5 miles

Week: 14.5 miles

Workout: West Side Y - Bridle path - one loop of reservoir - East Drive - Niketown. 40 minute break. Then 65th Street - East Drive - 85th Street - bottom of reservoir - West Drive - 72nd Street Transverse - 65th Street.

I ran the first 6.5 miles today at 7:30/mile and did the rest of the run at different paces, anywhere from 8:00/mile to 10:00/mile. Once again, the humidity was bad.

Human Race Kickoff Event

11 WEEKS UNTIL THE NYC MARATHON

Today: 5 miles

Week: 5 miles

Workout: South Street Seaport - south to Staten Island Ferry - Whitehall - across Brooklyn Bridge and back to Seaport.

Over a hundred people gathered (including Alan Webb, American Mile Record Holder) at the South Street Seaport for either a 3-mile or 5-mile run. After the run, there was a party at Water Taxi Beach. It got a little crowded on the Brooklyn Bridge, but the view was great!

The Human Race in NYC will be on Saturday, October 24th in Prospect Park. Registration began today. You can register at the nike website.

NYC HALF MARATHON

NYC Half Marathon Finisher Medal

Farbod, Denie, and Megan after the race.

Today: 13 miles

Week: 61.5 miles

Workout: NYC Half Marathon - 1 full clockwise loop of Central Park beginning on East Drive around 85th Street - exit at 7th Avenue at the bottom of the park - run through Times Square - 42nd Street - West Side Hwy - Battery Park.

The race went very well. I woke up at 4 a.m., was out the door by 5:00 a.m., and arrived in Central Park at 5:50 a.m. Although it was already warm and humid (77 degrees and 74% humidity), it wasn't as humid as I thought it would be. I immediately went to my corral and was amazed at how HUGE it was. Then, I just sat down and waited for an hour.

When Farbod showed up, I stood up and began to stretch a bit. About 15 minutes before the start, Catherine Ndereba ("Catherine the Great"), a world class runner, walked right by us. She was obviously in the wrong corral and moved into the corral with the professional runners. When Paula Radcliffe, the women's marathon and half marathon world record holder, was announced, my corral let out a huge cheer. It's funny how professional long distance runners are only celebrities to other runners. If they were walking in the streets, no one would notice them.

Since I knew it was going to be hot today, I planned on making the race a training run. I simply wanted to run 1h 30m (6:52/mile). However, early in the race, Tiffany caught me and I decided to run with her. Tiffany had told me early in the week that she wanted to run 1h 23m. There was no way I wanted to try running that time. But when she caught me, it didn't seem like she running at that pace. I ended up pacing her all the way to the finish. We ran some very even splits.

Mile 1 6:25

Mile 2 13:00 (6:35)

Mile 3 19:51 (6:51)

Mile 4 26:31 (6:40)

Mile 5 33:15 (6:44)

Mile 6 40:01 (6:46)

Mile 7 46:37 (6:36)

Mile 8 53:17 (6:39)

Mile 9 no split

Mile 10 no split

Mile 11 1:13:17 (avg. 6:40/mile for Mile 9, 10, and 11)

Mile 12 1:19:57 (6:40)

Mile 13 1:26:35 (6:37)

Finish 1:27:13 (0:38)

Average for race: 6:40/mile

As if running through Times Square wasn't good enough, the song "YMCA" was blaring from the speakers. I had on my West Side YMCA singlet and pointed to it as I ran by people, eliciting cheers. After the race, volunteers were handing out ice cold, wet towels. They felt soooooo good!

There were plenty of people out on the course who cheered as I went by, Chris, Alanna, Josh, Bruno, Jeanne, Pamela, and people from Nike Run Club. I hope I'm not forgetting anyone. It felt great to have people out there cheering for me in the race. It gives me such an energy boost.

I had a great breakfast after the race, and now, I'm still trying to hydrate. 64 oz of Gatorade, and I'm still thirsty!

Summer Streets

Today: 4 miles

Week: 48.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - Park Ave. - Union Square and back.

Today was the second Saturday of Summer Streets, where the city closes Park Ave. from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park. We took advantage of it and ran down Park Ave. Some people ran across the Brooklyn Bridge and back to Niketown. I turned around at Union Square because I'm doing the NYC Half Marathon EARLY tomorrow morning.

Easy Day

Today: 4 miles

Week: 44.5 miles

Workout: West Side Y - lower loop of Central Park - Engineer's Gate - lower part of reservoir - West Drive - Y

I was going to do the 5-mile loop, but my legs were feeling tired from the past couple of days.

Marathon Pace Run

Today: 7.5 miles

Week: 40.5 miles

Workout: 65th Street - Engineer's Gate - extended bridle path - plus extra 1.5 miles on East Drive (out and back) @ sub 7:00/mile pace

It was a nice comfortable run with guys from Niketown Run Club. It was a little humid, but I'm anticipating worse weather for Sunday's NYC Half Marathon. I'm definitely leaning toward a slower pace for Sunday, something closer to 1:35.

Medium Run

Today: 11 miles

Week: 33 miles

Workout: 2 lower loops of Central Park, one 6-mile loop, and another lower loop.

I ran the first lower loop with Allyson and the second one by myself. Then I ran the full loop with Denie, Carl, Farbod, Rob, Stacy, and Greg. I decided to tack on one more lower loop with Farbod. The total time was 1h 28m, about 8:00/mile.

The run was supposed to be at conversational pace, and we definitely kept it at that pace because there was a LOT of conversation going on. Some of the topics: Carl's new job, our facial hair contest, the upcoming NYC Half Marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon, ...

Speaking of the NYC Half Marathon, I want to make it a training run. But I can't decide whether to run it at marathon pace 1:35, which assumes I'll do my NYC Marathon in 3:10 or if I should try for something faster, maybe a 1:30. I think that I could run a 1:26 if I ran hard, but I don't think I could run fast enough to run under 1:23, and keep pace with Farbod. I don't want to run so hard that I get sick and take days to recover.

Recovery Run

Today: 5 miles

Week: 22 miles

Workout: 65th Street - 5-mile loop of Central Park clockwise.

I wasn't sure I was even going to make it out for a run today. Yesterday's 17 miles took more of a toll than I expected. But once I started today's run, I felt better. I'm looking forward to a few easy runs this week, leading up to the NYC Half Marathon this Sunday.

Good Day to Stay Inside with the A/C

Today: 17 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: 10.5 miles in Central Park on the bridle path and various pedestrian paths, 6.5 miles w/WSY up West Drive to track, 6x400s with 300 recovery.

I did the 10.5 miles with Bruno and Farbod. We were running just under 7:30/mile. If it wasn't for the shade along the run and the breeze, I probably would have skipped the WSY workout. The weather today was extremely uncomfortable. My 400s averaged in the high 70 second range.

The best part of the workout? The Gatorade that Bruno had waiting for us at the end!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

12 WEEKS UNTIL THE NYC MARATHON

Today: 7.5 miles

Week: 43 miles

Workout: One loop of Central Park, plus one loop of the reservoir.

I thought about trying to run 10 to 12 miles, but my legs just weren't having it.

Team Championships

West Side YMCA Road Runners

Today: 7 miles

Week: 35.5 miles

Workout: 2 mile warm up from YMCA to 102nd Street Transverse, Team Championship 5-Mile Race.

Both the women and men of WSY really came through today. The women were 19th out of 30 teams, and the men were 20th out of 31 teams. Many people from the team set PRs or were very close to PRs. We were fortunate to have the exact number of men necessary to field a team, 10. For the past couple of weeks, we were worried that we wouldn't be able to field a team. Some people really sacrificed to be here today.

I ran 29:39 in the race. It was the fastest 5 mile race I've run since the 29:28 I did in the Team Championships of 1999, 10 years ago!!! My splits were 5:47, 5:47, 6:02 (Thanks Farbod for pacing.), 6:13 (Damn you Cat Hill!!!), 5:50 (Thank you WSY women for cheering at the finish!).

After the races, we had a great picnic! Loved the curry chickpeas and brownies!

Pre-Race Easy Day

Today: 3 miles

Week: 28.5 miles

Workout: 186th Street, past Fort Tryon Park, left on Dyckman, run along Hudson to foot bridge, turn around and come back.

I ran nice and easy @8:00/mile pace, just trying to loosen up the muscles so that I could stretch out afterwards. I'm looking forward to the Team Championships 5-mile race tomorrow and the potluck following the race.

Bridle Path

Today: 8.5 miles

Week: 25.5 miles

Workout: West Side YMCA to Niketown, Niketown to Engineer's Gate, 1 loop of the extended bridle path, hop onto the reservoir at 86th Street on the west side, 1 loop of the reservoir, exit at 84th Street on the east side, run back to 65th Street.

It was a nice comfortable run at around 8:45/mile. The low humidity made the run much more enjoyable.

Morning Run

Today: 2 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: Run through Fort Tryon Park at 7:00 a.m.!!!

I rarely run in the morning unless it's a race. This particular morning, it felt like I was running through a swamp. The humidity was ridiculous. It took me about 16 minutes to run the 2 miles and about 20 minutes to stop sweating. If it's like this on Saturday for the Team Championships, I will have to readjust my goal for the race.

800 meter intervals

Today: 5 miles

Week: 15 miles

Workout: 1 mile warm up from West Side YMCA to Niketown, 3 mile run in Central Park with two 800 meter intervals @ 5K pace, 1 mile cool down from Niketown to YMCA

Everyone else who was running had a short break between their intervals. However, I had a looooonnnnnng rest between my intervals because I was making sure runners were making the correct turns in the park.

1000 Meter Repeats

West Side YMCA Road Runner Club

(WSY)

Today: 10 miles

Week: 10 miles

Workout: 3.5 mile warm-up in Central Park, run from the West Side Y to West Side Hwy bike path & 59th St, head north, 5x run 3:45 hard (a little more than 1000 meters, under 6:00/mile), and run a 1:50 recovery at a nice slow pace.

I ran the workout with Joe, Farbod, and Bruno. I thought I wouldn't feel too good because of the 19 miles I ran on Saturday, but I felt fine. Before the workout, we received our new West Side Y running singlets. I must say we looked pretty damn cool wearing them.

60-Mile Week

13 WEEKS REMAINING UNTIL THE NYC MARATHON

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 60.5 miles

Workout: Run through Inwood Hill Park and Fort Tryon Park.

This week was my first 60-mile week of marathon training. Today was also my 30th straight day of running. I think I feel a day off coming soon.

LONG RUN

Today: 19 miles

Week: 55 miles

Workout: Begin at the 6th Ave. entrance of Central Park, run to the west side, get on the bridle path, two loops of the extended bridle path, 1 loop of the reservoir, and 1 lower loop. 11 miles total. After a 15 minute break, run one 5-mile loop of Central Park, and a 3-mile loop.

The first 11 miles were at a conversational pace. I did the last 8 miles @ 7:00/mile.

Fort Tryon Park

The Hill at the back of Fort Tryon Park

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 36 miles

Workout: Through Inwood Hill Park and Fort Tryon Park

I made the mistake of running at noon. It was very humid. I felt as if I was hydrating just by breathing in the moisture that was in the air. But it couldn't possibly make up for all the water I was losing through sweating. I hope the Dunkin' Donuts cashier didn't notice all the sweat I dripped on her counter.

Strawberry Fields Hills

Today: 4.5 miles

Week: 30.5 miles

Workout: Warm up from Niketown - 65th St-72nd St. Transverse - West Drive. Run 1 loop around Strawberry Fields. Rest for 90 seconds. Run 2 loops around Strawberry Fields. Rest 2 minutes. Repeat. (6 loops total). Cool down back to 65th St.

I ran at my half marathon pace for all of the loops. It was a good workout, not too hard, but not easy either.

Getting Drenched in Central Park

Today: 8.5 miles

Week: 26 miles

Workout: 3.5 miles from the West Side YMCA, around the lower loop of Central Park, and cutting across to West Drive via the Great Lawn, then 5 miles with WSY up the west side, around the top of the reservoir, down the east side, then meandering all through the park's pedestrian paths, and finally ending up back at the YMCA.

I can't believe the thermometer only read 69 degrees for my 3.5 mile warm up! The humidity had to be about 99%. And then, in the 15 minutes after my 3.5 mile warm up and beginning my run with WSY, the humidity went to 100%. The rain began coming down in buckets. I was completely soaked walking from the front of the YMCA to the corner. We were supposed to do a tempo run around the reservoir but changed our plans because of the torrential downpour. I didn't mind the rain, but the lightning made me a little nervous.

The bridle path around the reservoir was surprisingly OK to run on. After getting to the east side, we spent most of the run on the walking paths in and around the Great Lawn, Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain, etc.

Recovery Run

My latest guilty pleasure.

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 17.5 miles

Workout: Niketown-65th Street-72nd St. Transverse-up West Drive-all the way around Harlem Hills-back to 65th St.

I forgot to start my watch at the beginning of the run, but I think it took about 45 minutes or so, about 8:00/mile. It was another humid evening. My legs haven't quite recovered from last night's mile repeats, but they weren't too bad either.

Mile Repeats

Today: 12 miles

Week: 12 miles

Workout: 3.5 mile warm up on my own in Central Park, 1 mile warm up with WSY Running Club counterclockwise from the Y to the middle of 72nd St Transverse, 3x1 mile repeats (2 clockwise, 1 counterclockwise), 3 minutes of jogging between the miles, 3.5 mile cool down.

The 1st and 3rd mile repeats going clockwise were slightly downhill, which makes the time on the 2nd mile surprising since we were going the opposite direction, slightly uphill. My times were 5:44, 5:25, and 5:34. Bruno, Farbod, Joe, and I were tightly bunched on the first two mile repeats. We got a little spread out on the last one. I was hurting on the last one. I thought that I was going to be around 5:50, so I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at my watch. I could tell that everyone was working hard because there was very little talking going on.

I'm going to remember this workout when I start hurting in the Team Championship race in a couple of weeks. It will remind me to keep pushing through the pain, and good results will follow.

I did the cool down with Bruno and Farbod. I would not have gone by myself. I felt completely depleted of any kind of energy after the last mile repeat. Even now, as I sit here in front of my computer, I feel a little dizzy and nauseous. I wish I had a camera. Everybody looked like they had just run a muddy cross country race. The ground was wet, and there were a couple of muddy sections we had to run through.

14 WEEKS UNTIL THE NYC MARATHON

Today: 11 miles

Week: 57 miles

Workout: One 6-mile loop of Central Park, then one 5-mile loop.

I ran the 6-mile loop in 45:15 (7:37/mile), and the 5-mile loop in 36:45 (7:21/mile). The total run was 1h 22m (7:27/mile). Before I began the run, I had every intention of running 16 miles. But once I came through the first 6 miles, I knew it wasn't likely to happen. It was too humid.

Bailing on the Long Run

Today: 9 miles

Week: 46 miles

Workout: 65th St & East Drive to Engineer's Gate, 2 loops of the extended bridle path, exit Engineer's Gate-south to 72nd St. Transverse, across to West Drive, around lower loop to 65th St.

I had planned on running my long run today. But I woke up and just didn't feel like I had a long run in me. So I tried to take it easy and save the long run for tomorrow. My run today lasted 1h 37m.

Before heading out on my run, I happened to be walking in Central Park, near the Central Park Zoo. It was about 7 a.m., and there was a bike race in progress. On the newly paved road, someone had written encouraging messages in yellow chalk. It must have had something to do with Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG cancer foundation. I thought some of the messages were interesting, so I took a few pictures.

First Run in the Nike Skylon

Today: 5 miles

Week: 37 miles

Workout: Bridle path @7:20/mile.

Wow! The Skylons are light! I still prefer the Nike Vomeros for most of my training runs, but I can see myself using the Skylons for short runs or races.

The first mile was probably closer to 8:00/mile, while the end of the run was probably close to 6:50/mile. The total time was 37:43, and it was probably a little more than 5 miles. I sure wish I could do more of my runs on trails or grass.

Recovery Day

Today: 7 miles

Week: 32 miles

Workout: YMCA to Niketown, Niketown to 65th St., 4-mile loop of Central Park counterclockwise, Niketown to YMCA.

I did the the runs from the YMCA to Niketown and back @ 8:00/mile and the 4-mile loop @ over 10:00/mile. It was drizzling during the entire run. My legs weren't as tired from yesterday's tempo run as I thought they would be, but I was still glad to not be running hard today.

Tempo Run

Today: 10 miles

Week: 25 miles

Workout: 4 miles from 63rd St on the west side of Central Park, around the lower loop to Engineer's Gate, across the bottom of the reservoir to West Drive and back to the YMCA, 1 mile warm up with WSY to 81st Street, 4-mile tempo run around the top of Central Park to 72nd Street Transverse and East Drive, 1 mile cool down around the lower loop.

I ran the first 4 miles at 7:30/mile. I did the 4-mile tempo in 26:42 (6:41/mile). But the first mile was probably close to 7:30-7:45, and the last 1.5 miles was probably close to 6:00/mile. I ran first mile of the tempo run with a group, the 2nd mile of the tempo run by myself, and the last two miles were done with Bruno, or chasing Bruno. I felt great on the tempo run despite the humidity and quick pace.

Scary Horse!

I see this horse whenever I exit through the back of my building. It creeps me out.

Today: 5 miles

Week: 15 miles

Workout: 1 mile from Y to Niketown, 4 miles @ 10:00/mile from Niketown to 102nd Street Transverse and back.

What an ugly day. My legs were tired out from the past three days of workouts. I think I will need another day to recover.