Race Report: NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon

Posted on January 25, 2009 by threlkeld

I went into this race with no expectations and goals that were on the casual side. No time goals, loose pace goals — basically a race strategy predicated on this concept: run as hard as you can for 13+ miles.

I had my usual terrible night’s sleep before the race, about six hours and two Rozerem pills. I woke up groggy and sporting big suitcases under my eyes. My thighs ached a bit, I had a stiff left achilles tendon, and basically didn’t feel that great. Experience tells me to ignore such things as predictors of race performance. I’ve had days when I’ve felt great and have run like crap. And vice versa. So I ignored how I felt, banished all negativity from my mind, and went in with as good an attitude as was possible in wind chills of around 5 degrees F.

Jonathan decided to run this race, despite his better judgment. He has about 9% body fat and practically gets hypothermic if he so much as watches “Touching the Void.” His hands are especially susceptible to cold and we’ve spent the last couple of years searching for the perfect hand warming solution (and finally found it in the form of Primaloft mittens, insulated liners and disposable chemical hand warmers).

But, enough about cold hands. What about the race?

We got there later than I’d wanted to, as I was scheduled to do four miles of easy running, worked around the race. With a PA system blaring threats of tardy runners being forced to start in the back , I did a truncated warmup of a little over a mile. Then spent 10 minutes trying to locate Jonathan at Baggage — critical since not only did he have the bag with my costume change, but also my racing bib. Found him, changed into my minimal running outfit — thin tights, tech tee, light fleece, thin gloves and thin hat. I retain heat like a wood stove (which is probably why I race so horribly in the summer), so I can get away with very little clothing, and usually end up shedding the hat and gloves after a few miles.

Then, the dreaded potty break. I got in line at a women’s room and it took 10 minutes to get a stall. Women really need to get more efficient at dropping their drawers and getting things done quickly. By the time I got to the start, the race had begun a good six minutes earlier. So I was stuck in a mass of slower runners  and for the first six miles I had deja vu of the Bronx Half last year, when I started 10 minutes late and spent the entire race blowing past people.

So the first half was a drag. I was running wide around the crowd (and getting yelled at constantly by race marshalls for not staying inside the cones). Things cleared out on the second loop of the park and I had room around me.

Despite feeling like warmed over dog food this morning, with the exception of one bad patch after mile 10 when I felt queasy, I felt great during the race and enjoyed running fast. I spent the entire race passing people (always an advantage to starting late). In fact, I passed Mary Wittenberg (NYRR’s president) — finally, finally beating her in a NYRR race by 30 seconds. It’s stupid, I know, because she’s older than I am and, as such, is actually fitter than I am. But she always beats me, so it was fun to pass that milestone today.

Official time: 1:36:06. Not my best time, but I suspect it’s my strongest performance in a half so far, given the course and crowds. I was 9th in my AG, “top 10” rankings becoming a pattern for me, and 52nd woman overall.

Jonathan managed to get second in his AG despite not having trained for this. He ran it as a fitness evaluation race, since he’s been focused on coming back from a tendon injury sustained over the summer. But he was on the verge of hypothermia when we met up and has vowed to not run any more races in the extreme cold (which may mean I’m on my own for the some of the training run races coming up in Connecticut). He’s also officially decided that he hates running in Central Park for the exact same reason that I love it — the constant ups and downs — and so will not run any more races there.

Today’s race fun fact: The women’s race was won by Arien O’Connell in 1:23 flat. Regular readers of this blog will remember her as being at the center of the Nike Women’s Marathon maelstrom a few months back. Her half is equivalent to a full slightly faster than what she ran in San Francisco — with Central Park being an arguably harder course. So she’s getting faster…

Filed under: central park, racing | 13 Comments »

The week so far

Posted on January 22, 2009 by threlkeld

Just a little post, since it feels odd not to post something.

Today I am celebrating:

  • The swift, smart policy actions our new President has taken already, less than 48 hours since taking his oath of office.
  • Having finally, and successfully, presented a project proposal to some execs at Large Anonymous Corporation (where I contract as a web editorial content yeoman and quartermaster, and now it seems, web metrics maven as well) — a meeting that has been cancelled multiple times and thus has been hanging over my head (and haunting my dreams) for the past month.
  • It’s Thursday! And that’s so much better than Wednesday!
  • Two days of forecasts above freezing and no precipitation on the near horizon. Perhaps our running path and track will actually be clear next week.
  • A weight loss of 4 lbs. since New Year’s Day including a 0.5%  fat loss. I’ll blow it somewhat this weekend, as it’s Jonathan’s birthday, which includes plans for cake, ice cream, wine, beer and tequila(!). But I’ll be back on the wagon next week.
  • The return to training (and, soon, racing) of Joe Garland. I barely know Joe, but I am looking forward to seeing him again on the roads and at races.

I’ve been stuck inside on the treadmill so far this week. But that’s been fine. It’s a recovery week, so I’ve spent most of those miles zoned out in front of a movie at recovery or easy pace. I did a fast finish easy run on Tuesday that felt a little too easy. This morning I’m doing a longer easy run again with two intervals of 1 mile at 6:40 pace with a 3:00 rest. I’ll see if that feels easy (ha ha).

Sunday is my first real race since the Steamtown Marathon: The Manhattan Half Marathon in Central Park. I had a good race there last year and, weather permitting, I hope to do well again this year. I don’t have time goals yet, and I may even just run this by heart rate.

Either way, I don’t want to waste the opportunity to race all out. I’ll be running three more races in the coming couple of months, but those will be training runs. The next actual race is in late March, a 30K in Connecticut, nine weeks after Sunday’s half. It should be very interesting to compare relative performances between the two.

Filed under: central park, racing, training, westchester | 9 Comments »

Race Report: Ted Corbitt 15K

Posted on December 20, 2008 by threlkeld
ted-corbitt-15k

This was toward the end of the race, since I'd been trying to pass that woman in blue for eight miles. Note the efficient heel strike.

It seems fitting that for the inaugural race to honor Ted Corbitt — known as the father of American ultrarunning, among numerous other distinctions — we would have truly treacherous and trying conditions. A race of 9.3 miles is hardly an “ultra.” But today’s race felt a lot longer than it actually was.

Despite yesterday’s surprise storm — which dumped six inches of snow on NYC, followed by sleet and a plunge in temperatures — a few hundred hardy souls convened on Central Park’s 102nd St transverse this morning to honor Ted. The race was declared a “fun run” to discourage people from going nuts and turning it into a speed skating event. Our timing chips were collected and we were on our own to judge our performances against the clock, the conditions and our peers.

I’d been looking forward to this race for weeks, since it was slated to be a true HTFU* effort. Just how HTFU it would be wasn’t clear to me until I actually headed into the city this morning and saw the conditions we’d be running in: Temps in the 20s with wind chills  between 7 and 18; a steady 8-10mph wind from the north; an outer loop coated in a thin layer of semi-frozen slush; transverses consisting of hard-packed snow. I’d say about 15% of the course was totally clear of snow or slush — I can see exactly where those sections were when I look at my GPS route map vs. the speeds I was running at various points.

Not only was I scheduled to run a 15K race, but I also needed to sandwich it in-between 9 miles to make an 18 mile long run. I ended up with a total run of 16.8 miles. The trains and subways were delayed, so I had to cut my pre-race run from 4.5 to 3.5 miles. Then I ran the race. Then — and this was the last thing I wanted to do — I set out to run the third leg. That ended up being 4 miles since the wind chill plunged 10 degrees in the final 15 minutes, my feet were soaked, and I was on the verge of hypothermia.

I do this for fun, remember?

Race time (unofficial): 1:09:10. I’m very pleased with that time considering the crap I ran through, on a course that’s normally pretty difficult anyway. Average pace was 7:24, but I managed a 6:55 for mile 7 (nice downhill) and a 7:07 for mile 9 (flat).

There were so few of us running that the volunteers recognized me as I did multiple loops. Three cute guys, all bundled up and huddled together, saw me approaching prior to the start, with a race number. At first they were confused, thinking the race had started and I was in the lead. Then they figured out that I was just warming up and instead yelled, “You can do it!” For some reason, we all thought that was hilarious. A few others noted that they’d seen me three times rather than two (since I passed by them on my third, extra leg of 4 miles), with one cajoling me, “You can stop running now!”. I thanked a lot of volunteers today.

Despite the conditions (and the considerable effort it took to get there and back on foot from Westchester), I’m glad I did this run today. Central Park was stunning, with a fresh, white coating of snow over everything. People all around us were sledding, cross country skiing and throwing snowballs. A winter wonderland oasis in a city where snow otherwise presents little more than a filthy burden.

After struggling to get out of my wet shoes and socks in a portapotty and endeavoring to get the feeling back in my fingers, I didn’t have the energy to trek the quarter mile to get a half frozen bagel from the boxes on the 102nd St transverse. Unfortunately, the one piece of food I brought with me, a PowerBar, had the appeal (and consistency) of a slate roof shingle; frozen solid! So I found a great little diner on 103rd right across from the subway stop, Jimmy’s, where I got a toasted bagel and hot chocolate.

*Harden The Fuck Up.

Filed under: basebuilding, central park, eating, racing | 8 Comments »

Oh, Ted.

Posted on December 19, 2008 by threlkeld

For those of you without TV or radio, the east coast is in the midst of a major snow dumping. We’ve gotten about 6 inches of snow so far, and it’s still coming down steadily. I trudged into Manhattan today via foot, train and subway to pick up my race bib and chip. Surprisingly, there were other idiots at NYRR’s offices doing the same thing. But I wonder how many of them came all the way from Westchester. I’m the biggest idiot, dammit! Me! Me!

And apparently the online world abounds with still more idiots. I’ve had hits from lots of people using keywords related to tomorrow’s NYRR race in Central Park, the Ted Corbitt 15K (formerly known as the Hot Chocolate 15K). The search referrals started last week and picked up to a frenzy (eight searches) today.

I don’t dare drive in this mess tomorrow. The traffic report today was comical: “It’s accidents, accidents, accidents all the way up the NY State Thruway and I-95!” So, I will again make my way in via shoeleather express and public transportation. And, since I’m not only racing tomorrow but also doing 9 training miles around it, I’ll need to arrive in Central Park at the ungodly hour of 7:30 at the latest. That means leaving the house by shortly before 6:00.

The alternative is doing this run inside on the treadmill. Frankly, I’d rather run with a bunch of other idiots in sub-freezing temperatures and high winds. Anyone who’s ever done an 18 mile training run on a treadmill will understand this. Besides, there’s free hot chocolate and bagels awaiting. And, if some of the faster runners turn out not to be idiots, I could always place well in my age/gender group.

Filed under: central park, racing, training | 3 Comments »

Winter Basebuilding: Week 4

Posted on December 16, 2008 by threlkeld

09spr-base-04Ahh. A recovery week. And not a week too soon.

With a 25% reduction in volume, I was flying on my feet this past week. I truly needed the day off on Monday, as I was quite tired. Tuesday’s 20 minute effort at 10K was not that difficult physically — the real effort was mental for this run for some reason. I wonder if not running for a day had something to do with that.

I did Friday’s tempo effort on the track, which was a pleasure that day since there was almost no one there. Although at one point I was the entertainment for a PE class of bored eight year olds. I couldn’t help but wonder: did they find me fast or slow?

The centerpiece of the week was Sunday’s run, for which I was lucky to have good weather. Nice and cold and not too much wind. I felt fantastic during this run, managing to crank out eight miles at the end at around 10 seconds per mile faster than my early October marathon pace, all at a lower heart rate.

My resting heart rate is now solidly in the low 40s most days too.

I can hardly believe that I’m nearly halfway through basebuilding already. I’ve enjoyed doing the work and seeing progress, however subtle.

For Basebuilding Week 5 the mileage shoots back up to 85 and I start introducing doubles, on back-to-back days, no less. Then I test out my new and improved wheels and engine in a 15K race in Central Park on Saturday.

Filed under: basebuilding, central park, racing, training | 3 Comments »

“What’s it like to race a marathon?”

Posted on November 23, 2008 by threlkeld

Specifically, the New York Marathon? This race report from Pascal Lauffer vividly describes the agony and the ecstacy.

Filed under: central park, inspiration, racing | 4 Comments »

2008 NY Marathon: the view from the curb*

Posted on November 3, 2008 by threlkeld

What’s more exciting: running a marathon or watching one? You can’t do both at the same time. But you should do at least one or the other once in your life. I’ve done the former four times, and now, the latter once. Here, I provide my awestruck impressions of watching the fastest people in the world running within 10 feet of me yesterday morning.

First of all, it was a total pain in the ass to get to the Bronx yesterday. I did it the wrong way, taking a train to Fordham and then walking about a half mile along Fordham Rd to the 4 line. That took forever to arrive and then I discovered that it doesn’t stop at 138th St, where I wanted to be. So I had to get off at 149th, walk into the bowels of the subway system to catch the local 5 train and endure another 15 minute wait in a rat- and cockroach-infested dungeon. I found myself wondering if it was all worth it.

Here’s the right way to get there from Westchester: Take the train to 125th St, walk two blocks, then hop on the 6 line north for one stop to 138th St and 3rd Ave in the Bronx.

I arrived at about 10:30 and milled around for 20 minutes, carefully setting up my camera to take poor quality pictures. I planted myself on 138th, just east of 3rd Ave (and just after the 20 mile mark), before a water table, thinking perhaps they’d slow a bit at that spot.

This little area was not the “dead zone” in terms of spectators I’d expected. There was a crowd on 3rd Ave and a band, and a few pockets of people to the west. But it wasn’t like the scene on 125th St in Harlem, where I went and hung out after I’d seen all the elites go by.

Here I will admit that I suck as a photographer. I may have learned never to experiment with new shoes or fueling strategies for the marathon, but I threw caution to the wind yesterday and experimented with the camera that I don’t know how to use properly. I tried the “burst” mode, which I thought would take a series of full sized shots of each runner in motion. Instead, I got a series of postage stamp sized shots. All of my runners are tiny.

So, I’m not going to embarrass myself further by uploading tiny photos. Especially when there’s a perfectly good series right here. Since I have no intention of running this race in the near future, I’ll go watch again next year and I’ll learn to use my camera properly by then.

The elite women

The excitement builds in the minutes before the first runners arrive. Someone barked “Ten minutes!” into a bullhorn at 10:50. Then, at 10:55, a new update: “Radcliffe first, Petrova second, Goucher third.” A few minutes later, we saw and heard the helicopter, followed by the roar of police motorcycles. They came around the corner and there was so much noise and activity that the two runners (Radcliffe and Petrova) were lost in the mayhem around them. The motorcycles and camera truck passed and suddenly it seemed very quiet.

The two women passed by me and I was struck by the fact that I could actually hear them breathing. Radcliffe, although only 5’8″, seems much larger in person. And she runs like a fucking machine. Petrova was hanging off her shoulder, looking like a little bobbing tugboat, but a tenacious one. One look at Paula and you knew she was going to win. Goucher came through about 15 seconds later, also looking larger than life, and wearing a facial expression that was, paradoxically, both relaxed and determined.

Incidentally, Petrova, 40, broke Priscilla Welch’s 1987 masters world record for the marathon yesterday by over a minute, with a finishing time of 2:25:43. I don’t think this was mentioned once in the televised coverage, which was too bad.

Tune came through shortly thereafter, followed by Wami (who is one of the most light-on-her-feet runners I’ve ever seen, and tiny). I was expecting Catherine “The Great” Ndereba next, but instead saw Jeptoo. Then a few others: Simon, McGregor and Morgunova. Then a big pause and the last few women who I would recognize came through: Lewy-Boulet, Scotswoman Hayley Haining (who is built like a tank; I wonder if that’s what I look like under my 24% body fat) and 19-year-old newcomer Ilsa Paulson, who is a tiny little wisp of a woman. I was disappointed to not see Kim Smith of New Zealand; it appears she dropped out just after the 30K mark.

The elite men

With the second-tier elite women straggling in one by one, the excitement began to build anew: In a few minutes, the elite men would start coming through. Once again, you could tell when the moment was near, with the arrival of a helicopter and phalanx of cops on bikes.

I was rooting for the Brazilian, Gomes Dos Santos, to win — and here he was in the lead! Goumri was right on his heels and looking very strong. Next up: Bouramdane, Tergat, Rono, Kirui, Macharia. And, finally, some Americas: Abdi, Rohatinsky, Lemkuhle. After that, I stopped recognizing people, with one exception: I saw James Carney, who looked awful. He was jogging along, looking slightly bewildered. He turned and asked another runner, who was passing, a question, and I thought, “He’s about to drop out.” When I got home and watched the coverage, I could see what happened: He went nuts and led the pack from the start, running like a rocket straight into a head wind for the first half mile or so.

Some familiar faces

Just a few: Takashi Ogawa, a friendly age group rival of Jonathan’s, was powering his way through to a 2:50 finish. He looked good when I saw him. A few minutes behind him, I spotted Zola Budd. She is no longer the barefooted rail that she was during her cross-country and track days. Perhaps 20 pounds heavier, she still managed to break three hours in her first marathon yesterday. Finally, after I switched positions to go watch the throngs in Harlem, I saw fellow running blogger Pigtails Flying (who I have not met, but who sent me a picture so I could look for her). She also ran a huge PR yesterday (42 minutes!), breaking 3:55. Go Pigtails!

*In honor of Paula Radcliffe, maybe I should say “kerb.”

Filed under: central park, elites, everyday life, inspiration, racing, westchester | 12 Comments »

The problem of losing fitness

Posted on November 1, 2008 by threlkeld

And I’m not talking about running fitness. I’m talking, of course, about drinking fitness.

Since I’ve been watching the calories to keep from becoming even more manatee-like during these weeks of post-race recovery, I had not a drop of alcohol all week. Until last night. I thought I was being restrained: two sets of a beer and a vodka shot (a trashy favorite of mine; Yuengling and Svedka, if you must know). I thought I’d be fine.

Woke up at 4:30 with a raging headache. I managed to get back to sleep until about 8:00, but felt like warmed over Alpo. I was surprised — I’m a complete lightweight after a mere week!

Since I had a 10 mile run scheduled for this morning, I forced myself out the door at 10:30 and, lo, it was good. I managed an 8:29 pace at 80% max heart rate. Over a somewhat hilly course, no less.

I still have a headache, but I feel much better than I did a few hours ago. Honestly, if you can get your head out of the toilet and your ass out on the road, a good run does wonders for a hangover.

I’m planning to go out and watch the NYC marathon from the sidelines tomorrow. I’ve never actually “spectated” a marathon before, so I’m curious. It’s also probably the best assemblage of elite women in the race’s history. How can I sit at home and miss seeing them fly by live? I’m going to hang out in the Bronx near the Willis Avenue Bridge: Mile 20, aka “The Wall”. Since this is the point in the race where a runner’s fate over the remaining miles becomes most evident, I’m hoping it will offer a dramatic vantage point, both for watching the elite men and women as well as the “Joe the Runners” who will follow them. If I get some good snaps, I’ll post them here.

Filed under: central park, drinking, elites | 1 Comment »

Fall Training: Weeks 16 and 17

Posted on September 14, 2008 by threlkeld

And…yet another twofer report. It’s just been easier to bunch these up into fortnightly reports, especially since in my current haze of exhaustion the weeks are a total blur anyway.

The first week of September provided somewhat drier, yet still warm, temperatures — up until the end of the week. It’s hurricane season — I know: so what? — well, we get the hurricanes after they flatten villages and kill people in the Gulf. They don’t kill us, but they irritate the hell out of us.

I started extending the length of my recovery runs by a mile or two to bump up the mileage. Other than that, things looked the same as in previous weeks: Lots of recovery running plus two or three hard sessions per week.

Week 16 consisted of 13 sessions, most of them (as per usual) recovery runs. Highlights included another sorry attempt at one of Frank’s Killer Tempo Runs. Given the weather and the fact that I seem to be incapable of running fast on the track, I approached this run loosely, doing 25 laps on and off heart rate in the high 80s/low 80s. Good enough. On Thursday I attempted another marathon pace run. I made adjustments due to the conditions (high dew point and windy). I hit 7:15 for a couple of the miles, but was slower for most others. Then the week was capped with a 10 mile race in South Nyack, a normally sticky race made even stickier by Hurricane Gustav. Again, slower than I wanted to go, but it was okay.

In week 17, this past week, also featured 13 sessions. I did another, longish tempo run, but this time on the roads. Instead of doing mile repeats as originally planned, I decided to do quarter mile surges at a pace anywhere from tempo to slightly faster than marathon pace, followed by quarter-to-half-mile easy pace recoveries. With temps in the 60s and a dew point of 55, this run went extremely well. Since the weather was really bad for the first part of the week, I moved the tempo run to Wednesday. Which meant I had to skip the midweek long run if I wanted to be in decent shape for the weekend. So I spent the next few days focusing on recovery so I could get ready for another big weekend effort in Central Park: 20+ miles with 12 miles at marathon pace effort.

A look back at training week 16:

  • Monday: 7 miles recovery pace (AM); 5 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Tuesday: 7.4 miles tempo pace (AM); 6.8 miles recovery pace (pm)
  • Wednesday: 6.9 miles recovery pace (AM); 6.2 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Thursday: 14 miles marathon pace (AM); 4.8 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Friday: 6.9 miles recovery pace (AM); 4.6 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Saturday: 6.9 miles recovery pace (AM); 5 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Sunday: 10 mile race (AM)

Total mileage: 91.2 miles

And training week 17:

  • Monday: 7.1 miles recovery pace (AM); 6.2 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Tuesday: 6.9 miles recovery pace (AM); 6.2 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Wednesday: 9.8 miles tempo pace (AM); 4.8 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Thursday: 6.9 miles recovery pace (AM); 6 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Friday: 6.8 miles recovery pace (AM); 5 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Saturday: 20.4 mile long run with 12 miles at marathon effort (AM); lots of eating and sleeping (PM)
  • Sunday: 6.9 miles recovery pace (AM); 6.1 miles recovery pace (PM)

Total mileage: 99 miles

Paces these past two weeks:

  • Recovery: 9:30 – 10:45
  • Tempo: 6:32 – 7:21
  • Marathon pace: 7:15 – 7:30
  • Long: 8:04

Right now we’re in the grip of Ike’s heat and humidity. This morning was another run in Hades, followed by a run in a slightly higher circle of Hell in the evening. It was only after catching up on my blog reading that I realized that the Queens Half Marathon was held this morning. Bravo to the hardy souls, including Pigtails Flying (who PR’ed! Yay!), who braved 87% humidity to run that race this morning. I’m glad I wasn’t there…

Coming up in Training Week 18: This is the last big week of training before my three week taper begins. I have 100 miles planned, with hill work, a midweek long run, and another very long run on the weekend with lots of fast miles.

Filed under: central park, racing, training | 1 Comment »

Fall Training: Week 13

Posted on August 19, 2008 by threlkeld

A little late in coming, but it was quite a week last week and I’ve been sleeping when I haven’t been working (or propped glassy-eyed in front of the Olympics).

I had big miles again last week and three hard workouts: 99.4 miles with a tempo session on the track, a midweek long run and a big 24 miler in Central Park.

A look back at the week:

  • Monday: 6.1 miles recovery pace (AM); 6 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Tuesday: 6.8 tempo run (AM); 4.1 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Wednesday: 14.3 long run (steady pace) (AM); 4.8 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Thursday: 6.3 miles recovery pace (AM); 4.5 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Friday: 6.1 miles recovery pace (AM); 5 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Saturday: 6.4 miles recovery pace (AM); 5 miles recovery pace (PM)
  • Sunday: 24 mile long run (various paces) (AM)

Total mileage: 99.4 miles

Paces this week:

  • Recovery: 9:30 – 10:40
  • Tempo: 6:33 – 7:20
  • Marathon pace: Pffft!
  • Long: 7:40 – 8:30

The weather was somewhat better on a few mornings, but most days it was hot again. Too hot to hold desired paces. Again. If I hadn’t done some successful marathon pace running last week during a rare cool and dry morning, my confidence would be completely shot at this point.

Tuesday’s tempo run was an experiment with something I found called Frank’s Killer Tempo Run: 25 laps around a track, alternating between marathon and 5K race pace. I’m not sure how many runners’ deaths Frank is responsible for, but this workout nearly killed me. In fact, it was impossible to run at my (projected) 5K race pace of 6:30 for most of those quicker intervals. The usual problems: heat, humidity, blazing sun, and 8-10mph winds. *sigh*

Still, it was a good workout and I’m sure it did me some good because it basically wrecked me for the rest of the week. I’ll do it again, but next time I’ll run the faster loops at 10K race pace, which is closer to what I was able to do anyway.

Wednesday’s 14+ miler went very well. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I can sometimes do good back-to-back days, with the fatigue delayed until after that second hard day. I usually feel great (and run well) after the first hard day, in fact.

But I do pay for it during the latter part of the week. I gave myself three days to recover and get ready for the longest run of this training cycle, a 24 miler. Because I hate myself, I decided to do this one in Central Park. I had planned to do 10 at marathon pace, but, alas, the tireness after banging away at close to 100 miles for three weeks — combined with the relentless hills, heat and humidity — meant that marathon pace running was not to be.

I did manage about 6 miles at marathon effort (although not marathon pace), which I was fine with. Hey, doing the other 18 miles at 8:30 pace is nothing to sneeze at, considering. So I made peace with my legs and with myself and looked forward to this week’s recovery period of low mileage and low intensity.

We went out to dinner Sunday evening (for the great caloric blowout a 24 miler calls for) at a newish place in Tuckahoe, The Tap House. Nice place, but unfortunately the food was mediocre. With the exception of Sammy’s Downtown in Bronxville (where we had a very nice dinner on Christmas Eve), the restaurant pickings up here have been slim. I always end up wondering afterwards why I bothered going out when I can cook great stuff myself at home. They do have some interesting beers there, though.

Next week begins the month long “peak” period, otherwise known as Julie’s Odyssey of Pain and Exhaustion. Four weeks of high mileage, high intensity work with lots of marathon-specific running. Including a 10 mile tuneup race* (pray for cool weather). So I want to make damned sure I’m recovered going in. I’ll be running somewhere in the neighborhood of 55 miles this week, perhaps less if I’m still feeling tired as the week progresses.

Coming up in Fall Training Week 14: Two full days off on Monday and Tuesday. Then recovery running all the way through Saturday, topped with a leisurely paced 14 miler on Sunday.

* This is the best race ever, as far as I’m concerned. The post-race party features fresh ravioli, ice cream — plus beer poured from a spigot attached to the side of a van. Now there’s a reason to run 10 miles fast!

Filed under: central park, drinking, eating, everyday life, training, westchester | Leave a comment »

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