Great Lawn

Today: 8 miles

Week: 32.5 miles

Workout: Warm-up from Niketown to Central Park's Great Lawn. 7 loops of Great Lawn, alternating 7:00 pace & 8:00 pace. Then, 3 loops cool down and back to store.

I never really warmed up until I did my 7th loop of Great Lawn. I guess that's what happens when it's 13 degrees outside!!!

Mile Repeats

Yesterday: 6.5 miles

Week: 24.5 miles

Workout: 4x1 mile (7:40 - 7:50) along the lower loop of Central Park. 400 m recovery

Unbelievable! My legs are still sore from those lunges I did on Monday.

4x4

Today: 7.5 miles

Week: 18 miles

Workout: Warm up from Y to East Drive @ 72nd Transverse. From there, we did the 4 mile loop of Central Park and immediately did 4 Cat Hills.

The workout was supposed to be done at tempo pace. But I was so sore from Monday's lunges that I couldn't run fast. You know how some old people make all kinds of noises whenever they get out of a chair or get into a chair? That was me at work today!!!

Easy Run

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 10.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - Central Park's East Drive - 72nd St. Transverse - up West Drive to 102nd Transverse - turn around and return.

My legs were soooooo sore from doing lunges yesterday. I had trouble going up and down the stairs at work all day today.

I've been reading Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore. It's a really good read if you're into track & field. Bill Bowerman was the co-founder of Nike. The part I found really interesting was how Bowerman was instrumental in starting the running boom here in the U.S.

West Drive Run

Today: 5 miles

Week: 5 miles

Workout: Central Park @ 63rd & West Drive. At an easy pace run 20 minutes up and return.

After the run, we did some drills. Lunges, skips, high knees, etc. I obviously need to do the drills regularly. Some of the muscles in my legs are so sore. I had trouble walking to the train station.

Bridle Path

Today: 8.5 miles

Week: 25.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - 2 extended loops of the Bridle Path

Today was the second time this week I had people tell me they called me while I was running, and I didn't respond. I'd like to think I am just very focused while I'm running. In reality, I think my body is just falling apart. My hip hurts, my vision is failing me, and now I can't hear. So, for all those people who call my name and get no response, I'm not ignoring you. I'm just beginning my twilight years a little early.

Thursday Night at the Races

Today: 3 miles

Week: 17 miles

Workout: 1/2 mile warm up, 3000 meter race at the Armory's indoor track, 1 mile cool down.

I wasn't sure what to expect in the race. I haven't run a 3000 or 2-mile race in years. They were organizing heats for the race. The guy in charge of heats was calling for 10:41 - 10:50 runners. I didn't think I could run that fast, so I ended up in the "slowest" heat. I figured I would run about 11:00. I tried to stick to a pace of about 88 seconds per quarter mile. I went through the mile in 5:46 - 5:48. I think I was right on pace for the first 9 laps or so. (It's a 200 meter track, so there were 15 laps for my race.) I found myself in third place, right on the heels of the second place guy. I couldn't even see the first place dude and was worried he was going to lap me.

Since I don't have much of a finishing kick, I decided to pass the guy in front of me and put some distance between us just in case he had a kick. The air is very dry in the Armory, and I felt as if I was swallowing sandpaper with each breath on the last two laps. I finished in an unofficial 10:43. I was pleased. I'm looking forward to the next race at the Armory, in February.

Out and Back

Today: 4 miles

Week: 14 miles

Workout: YMCA - counter clockwise around lower loop for 16 minutes and return.

A nice easy run. Trying to take it easy before the Armory races tomorrow night. Plan on running the 3000 meters. I hope I don't get lapped by anyone.

East Drive Run

Today: 5 miles

Week: 10 miles

Workout: Niketown - East Drive to 102nd Transverse & back.

I think the difference between feeling great on yesterday's run and feeling really tired on today's run is I slept 10 hours on Sunday night and 3.5 hours last night. Therefore, in order to run some PRs this year, I need to find a way to get 10 hours of sleep the night before races.

Strawberry Fields Hills

Today: 5 miles

Week: 5 miles

Workout: Warm up to 72nd St. from Y. 25 minutes of loops around Strawberry Fields. Cool down back to Y.

The goal was to run a consistent pace. The times for my loops were 2:52, 2:48, 2:41, 2:39, 2:39, 2:39, 2:37, 2:37, 2:35, 2:28. The average was 2:40, and the total time was 26:41.

Bridle Path

Today: 6 miles

Week: 24.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - Bridle Path

Beautiful day! A lot of runners were out in Central Park. A woman came up to me while I was standing and directing runners. She said, "Can you tell your runners to stay on the right?" I just stood there thinking, "Uh...I guess I could tell MY runners that. Who's going to tell the other couple of hundred runners out there?"

Easy Run

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 18.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - 72nd St. Transverse - West Drive - 102nd, turn around, head back down West Drive - lower loop - 65th @ East Drive - Niketown

I stopped by Swim Bike Run before my run in order to pick up some Shot Bloks. I saw a mountain bike that cost $10,000 and wondered how many of them have been sold. I paid just a tad more than $10,000 for my first new car, a Honda Civic, back in 1991. But then, I noticed that the price of the bike had been reduced to $7,000+. And I thought, "well now, THAT price was a lot more reasonable."

Lower Loop

Today: 5 miles

Week: 13 miles

Workout: Ran three lower loops.

Each loop was supposed to be run at a faster pace than the previous one. My loops were done in 14:00, 12:23, 11:46. I was actually supposed to do 4 loops, but my hip was hurting more than normal.

Crosswalk Intervals

Today: 4 miles

Week: 8 miles

Workout: Warm-up from Niketown to Central Park @ 65th & East Dr.- Run hard from one crosswalk to the next, then recover to the following crosswalk. Continue to 97th St, turn around, and return.

Easy Run

Today: 4 miles

Week: 4 miles

Workout: Begin at 63rd & West Drive, run 15 minutes north, turn around and come back.

The actual time going up the West Drive was 15:33, and it was 13:42 coming back. Total: 29:15. We did planks after the run, and they weren't as bad as I thought they would be. I have a difficult time believing I'm getting better at them since I don't do them too often.

20 Degrees

Today: 7 miles

Week: 28 miles

Workout: Niketown - 6th Ave. - Bridle Path in Central Park - 2 loops outside of reservoir - exit 85th St on East Drive - back to Niketown.

I woke up thinking the temperature was going to be in the teens. So it was warmer than I expected, especially when I was in the sun. Don't get me wrong, I still wish it was spring and in the 70s.

East Drive Run

Thursday: 4.5 miles

Week: 21 miles

Workout: Niketown - 97th St on East Drive and back.

It was a little warmer tonight than in previous nights. My legs were sore from yesterday's hill workout.

Cat Hill Repeats

Today: 5.5 miles

Week: 16.5 miles

Workout: Warm up from 63rd St. & West Drive to the Boat House. Ran 7 Cat Hill repeats, beginning at the crosswalk by the Boat House to the stop light at the top of the hill.

I thought I could do 8 repeats, but I probably should have stopped after the 6th one. My times for the repeats were 1:28, 1:24, 1:21, 1:23, 1:22, 1:23, 1:32.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Today: 6 miles

Week: 11 miles

Workout: Niketown -- East Drive -- 72nd St. Transverse -- West Drive -- 102nd St. Transverse -- turn around -- lower loop -- East Drive @ 65th St. -- Niketown

It's amazing how much my body temperature can change during the course of a run. At the beginning of tonight's run, I couldn't stop shaking. Two to three miles into the run, I was almost too warm. But then, the wind would pick up a little, and I would be freezing again. I was reminded that, before I moved to New York, I think the coldest weather I ever experienced in California was 26 degrees. I still remember that 26 degree night. I thought I was going to die. HA!

Out and Back

Today: 5 miles

Week: 5 miles

Workout: Starting on West Drive @63rd St. in Central Park -- Harlem Hill and back.

21:07 out, and 18:21 back, for a total of 39:28. A nice easy run. Then Myrtle and back drills indoors. No planks! Yes!!!

FIRST RUN of 2010

Today: 7.5 miles

Week: 25.5 miles

Workout: Niketown - Lower Loop of Central Park to West Drive - to Lasker Pool and back.

Not too cold today. A little icy. There were quite a few runners out this morning. It was nice seeing Michelle & Alanna, Jeanne & Emma, and Stacy & Will. It almost felt like a West Side Y workout.

The realization that I have to go back to work on Monday (after being off for more than a week) is finally beginning to hit me. No more waking up at noon. It was nice while it lasted.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I was signed up for the Midnight Run but had to skip it due to a foot injury. Hopefully, it's minor. I'd like to get the New Year started off on healthy feet.

All of the NYC running clubs in the Open B category better watch out this year! The West Side Y Road Runners Club is planning on making some noise in that division.

Last Run of 2009

Wed: 5 miles

Week: 18 miles

Workout: 5 miles loop in Central Park

8:00/mile pace. Not nearly as cold tonight as it was last night. Eight people showed up. Peking Duck in Chinatown after the run.

Tweaked my foot somehow! These injuries are really starting to annoy me!

18 + 20 = 0

Today: 6 miles

Week: 13 miles

Workout: Niketown - East Drive to Lasker Rink - back to Niketown

It was 18 degrees tonight, and there was a 20 mph wind. So it felt like 0 degrees. When my face starts to sting, I know it's pretty cold. My TEETH were cold!

One good thing about such cold weather is there aren't as many people walking. I didn't have to zig zag my way through crowds on my way to Niketown.

West Side Hwy

Today: 7 miles

Week: 7 miles

Workout: Warm up from Y to West Side Hwy. Run 18 minutes south @10K race pace. Turn around and come back.

We were supposed to run negative splits. I don't know about everyone else, but it didn't happen for me. I guess I went out harder than I usually do. I must have expended a lot on today's run. Two hours after the workout, I'm still feeling nauseous.

Wednesday: 4 miles

Week: 15 miles

Workout: YMCA -- 15 minutes uptown on West Drive and back

Only four people, including myself, showed up for tonight's workout. After the run, we did some running drills indoors. High knees, butt kickers, A-skips, etc.

The other day I forgot my Nike sensor for my Nikeplus band. I ran 5 miles, but did I REALLY run???

Mr. Jerk

Today: 5 miles

Week: 11 miles

Workout: Niketown -- 72nd St. Transverse -- West Drive -- 102nd St. Transverse turn around -- go around the lower loop to 65th St. -- Niketown

On West Drive, some guy was running the other way. I was running on the inner portion of the recreation lane, next to people and tried to move in to give the guy a little more room even though he had plenty of room on his right. He was running in the bike lane. He didn't move an inch and ran into my shoulder. Not only that, I found out after the run that he did the same thing to a female friend who was running behind me. What a JERK! What made it even worse was that he LEANED INTO her. There wasn't any runner on his right, no bikes, and no cars. All he had to do was move 4 inches to his right and he would still have been in the bike lane. So if you happen to have the same experience in Central Park, let me know. I would love to find the guy and ask him why he can't move when there is clearly enough space.

If you have any suggestions for how a runner should deal with this guy, let me know. Someone who is not paying careful attention is going to get seriously hurt by this guy because he won't move and will end up knocking someone down.

Also, what is the "correct" direction to run in Central Park? Mr. Jerk was running counter clockwise and probably feels that's the "correct" direction. That's probably why he refuses to move. But, of course, there are plenty of people who run clockwise, including some running groups that sometimes have as many as 30 to 40 runners running together. I'm curious to see how Mr. Jerk responds when a large running group approaches him from the opposite direction. Are there any signs in the park that indicate the direction runners should be running? Running magazines will often say runners should run against traffic because it's safer to be able to see oncoming cars. That would mean running clockwise in the park. I would love someone to clarify this for me. I've been running in Central Park for 16 years now, and no one has given me a satisfactory answer. For the record, I run in both directions depending on which way the runners I'm with want to run. But I try to make room for runners coming the other way.

So, to all you runners who use Central Park, watch out for Mr. Jerk.

Mile Repeats

Today: 6 miles

Week: 6 miles

Workout: YMCA -- 1 mile warmup -- 4 x 1 mile clockwise, around lower loop -- recover across the park

At first, I thought the mile was a little long since my first repeat was 6:00, and it felt faster than that. But now I think it was short after looking at the times for the next three miles, 5:39, 5:34, 5:32. I don't think I'm in shape to run those times yet. On the other hand, most of the mile seems to be downhill, so maybe it's possible. Let's just call it a good workout and leave it at that. EVERYONE (Bruno, Jeanne, Megan, Greg, Rob, Denie) did 4 repeats.

WSY Awards

Earlier this week my running club had a party to celebrate our second year in existence. And I received this AWESOME ribbon!

Bridle Path

Today: 10 miles

Week: 22 miles

Workout: Niketown -- 6th Ave & Central Park -- extended bridle path -- and 2 loops on the outside of the reservoir.

I had two pairs of gloves on, and my hands were still cold. I did put on some tights today. Not many people came out today. I ran with Meggie. Alanna also jumped in for the last few miles. We are supposedly getting 6 - 10 inches of snow today. As of the end of our run, however, it still hadn't begun snowing.

Brrr

Today: 6 miles

Week: 12 miles

Workout: Niketown -- 5 mile loop in Central Park

28 degrees and still wearing shorts! However, they WERE long shorts.