Hi all,
I didn’t run this race. In order to automatically qualify for the 2009 NYC Marathon, NYRR members now have to run nine races and “volunteer” at one. I had hoped to volunteer at the Club Championships (I’m not a team member and not eligible to run that event), but I think everyone else had that idea, too. So, I picked the Fitness 4-miler, which holds difficult memories for me, anyway (I was hit by a car the evening after I ran this event in 2006).
My call time was 7:30. I had gotten up early to walk my neighbor’s dog and to cover any delays caused by the MTA’s continuing disruption of my subway line, so I ended up arriving just after 7. I received a goodie bag and a massage (there were no lines and I told everyone I was a volunteer) and then headed over and checked in about 10 minutes early. Because of NYRR’s communication efficiency, I didn’t receive an e-mail telling me where to check in (even after calling the NYRR and requesting the information and receiving a promise that I would get it by e-mail). I assumed I checked in at the start-line area, but was wrong. The woman offered to transfer me to chip-clipping, but I’d committed to being a Northwest course marshal and didn’t want to leave them short a person, so I walked a mile up the west side of the park until I found the group. Doug, the volunteer coordinator (wrangler?), was giving people instructions about course marshalling and pulling people off the group to stand along the course. I positioned myself in the center of the group, towards the inside of the course, so that I would stay in the group as long as possible and guarantee a short walk to check-out at the end of the shift. It turns out that there was an uptown check-in where I was supposed to have gone in the first place. Thanks for the info, NYRR! Anyway, I arranged it so that I ended up at the 72nd Street Transverse crossing. I could see the finish line from where I was standing!
There were 4 of us at the transverse with Doug. It’s a difficult area, because tour groups come in from Strawberry Fields and want to cross the course into the park. We cut off two of the three entryways to funnel the crowds and control them better. We had to keep them, the cyclists, the regular pedestrians, and the racers from colliding. The general plan is to allow a line of five to cross in two sections (first to the edge of the race course, across the cyclists and non-racing runners lane, and then across the race path), but the tourists didn’t always understand that clearly. Luckily, we had no collisions and only one or two nasty cyclists (I had been promised I’d be cursed out, but I won’t hold it against Doug that it didn’t happen). The entire event went fairly smoothly, with only two incidents of note.
During the men’s race, I was on my way up to help guide a tour group to the single pathway to the road and I turned back in time to see a Korean Road Runner fall. He clutched at the fence (wire mesh with 4” open squares), but couldn’t hold himself up and he hit the pavement headfirst. His head actually bounced off the road. I ran back, pulling a fresh bottle of water out of my backpack and Doug was there, too, along with some spectators. He kept insisting he wanted to finish, so, after cooling himself off and getting some fluids in (and washing some of the blood off his face), Doug walked him to the finish (he was on the phone with medical the entire time) and he went to medical after getting his chip clipped.
The other incident was the appearance of a wild turkey on the road. Apparently, there are two wild turkeys in the park and this one decided to wander around on the road while the men were racing past. She was unfazed by the activity, sauntered across the cyclists’ lane to peck around the grass for awhile, then wandered back into the road and settled into the inside course lane for a while. Finally, she flung herself up and over the afore-mentioned wire fence and hung out there ignoring barking dogs and snap-happy tourists (including me) until some curious children herded her out of my view.
Congratulatory treats (I finally qualified for the 2009 NYC Marathon): I went to Bouchon Bakery at Columbus Circle and got myself a chocolate bouchon and a plain scone (which was delicious with and without Nutella).
Next up: Expedition Everest Challenge (9/27), Grete’s Gallop (10/4), Staten Island Half Marathon (10/12), Tower of Terror 13k (10/25)
Turkey pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157607168616558/
9/11 Bells and Flags of Honor pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157607168923730/ (Fr. Judge, who was the chaplain of the fire department when he died on 9/11, was from my church and there is a procession every year from my church (St. Francis of Assisi at 31st and 7th) to Ground Zero. These pictures are from the beginning of the procession when the vehicles and people were gathering in preparation for the Mass before the procession.
Showing posts with label central park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label central park. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wall Street Run 5.20.08 and Media Challenge #1 5.21.08
Hi all,
To avoid overwhelming you, this will be a double recap, covering my 2nd and 3rd races in 5 days. I ran the Wall Street 5k on Tuesday, May 20th, and the first Media Challenge on Wednesday, May 21st.
Race number 14 was the Wall Street Run. We ran 3 miles through the Wall Street area, starting at the World Financial Center, running past the World Trade Center, then zigzagging across the island until we could run back up the west side to finish at the World Financial Center.
Goals: to run between the water stations and to finish in under 30. I had just run the Alumni Run on Saturday and still have the first Media Challenge tomorrow night, so I didn’t want to burn myself out, especially because this race is so crowded and it’s hard to run fast, anyway.
My friend, Andrea, had signed up to run this race, too, so I picked up my gear and headed over to her place (she lives near the World Financial Center). Andrea has a year-old daughter, so she wasn’t able to train much. I think the last time she raced was the Wall Street Run back when it was run to and from the South Street Seaport, which was before my running time. I didn’t tell her, because I didn’t want to pressure her, but I had decided before the race to stay with her the whole time and help her along, if she needed it. We walked over to the start, I dropped my bag, and we lined up, snaking our way through the uncorralled crowd to try to get closer to the front and ahead of as many walkers as we could. We couldn’t hear the announcements, but finally heard the horn and started our walk towards the start. We finally started running and started off much faster than I expected. The first few twists and turns went pretty well. We hit the first mile at 9:13, but Andrea thought we’d been running for about 10 minutes, which I took as a good sign. Every time I looked at her, she was focused and determined. I didn’t keep a running commentary (because I’m not good enough at running to maintain a conversation), but I would point things out or say things just to distract her. At one point, during the second mile, we were in the middle of the snake and could see runners on the parallel streets to the right and left of the street we were on. That is always one of my favorite moments of this particular course. We passed the water station and Andrea said she didn’t need to stop, so we kept going. I had warned Andrea that I would insult her baby to make sure she kept up with me and, at the start, I was telling myself to give her the first mile, but we were nearly at the second mile marker before she started dropping back. I first mentioned that I thought her baby was developing a squint. Andrea told me later that she hadn’t heard me clearly, but she reached out to grab at me, so I know she understood the gist of it! We came around towards the turn back up the west side and I told her I was going to stick with her to help her avoid the temptation of going home as we passed her building. She was doing really well, but when we hit the final stretch along the river, the course bottled up and I lost sight of her. I kept looking for her, but with so many runners in such a narrow place, I finally just gave up and tried to pick it up. The last 100 yards to the finish line were jam-packed and we had to slow to a jog to get across. I pulled off to the side to wait for Andrea, but she had crossed behind me. She told me later that she was nearly directly behind me, which is why I couldn’t see her. I was so happy for her! We finished the last mile (though I think the 2nd mile marker was long, so mile 3 might have really been short) in 9:04!! She did an amazing job and I’m hoping she’ll run some more and maybe join me for more races. She’ll be taunting me about my nieces to help me keep up with her in no time!!
Official stats: my official time was 28:45 for an average pace of 9:35. My splits were 9:13, 10:33, and 9:03. I was 3090 out of 4301 total runners, putting me in the 29th percentile. It was 50°F with 93% humidity.
Celebratory treats: My parents had sent me some Almond Royales and Scotchmallows from See’s candies, so I shared them with Andrea.
Race pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157605122105732/
Race number 15 was the first Media Challenge. We ran twice and then some around the lower loop in Central Park for a total of 3.5 miles.
Goals: I didn’t have any real goals. I haven’t run this distance since August of last year. I checked my PR, which I set in August last year, and it was 29:40. My PR for the previous year was 32:10, so I hoped to finish somewhere in between.
I got to the Park early and ran a loop to warm-up. The rest of the teams showed up and it started to rain. It wasn’t too bad and I’d brought a plastic bag for my jacket. I started off at a fairly comfortable pace and tried to hold it through the race. It was a struggle to get around the first loop, especially when a guy, running against traffic (we run the race counter-clockwise, which is the official direction, according to the arrows painted in the lanes, so we had the right of way and he should have been yielding to us), came towards us yelling “Step off!” as he came. I had to step around him, but I yelled that he was going in the wrong direction. He said something back, but I couldn’t hear what it was. My annoyance kept me going and I started hoping I’d see him on when I came around on my second loop. I stopped for water, as usual, and walked until I got to the start of the final loop. I started running again, picking off some of the people who had passed me while I walked. As I came down to the bottom of the Park, I saw the step-off guy coming at me again, so, as he approached, I yelled “STEP OFF” and totally startled him. He responded by telling me to “Run another mile, white trash.” I was too amused to be offended by the racial slur. At least I didn’t elbow him, which Sue suggested was the appropriate response to his rudeness. With the rain and the humidity, I ended up walking twice on the second loop, including a break to use my inhaler. I managed to get back on track and ran across the 72nd Street Transverse and down to the finish without stopping, but I had no kick left and was extremely nauseous. I gave Sue my card and learned that I was the 3rd female finisher from my team, which means that I was a scored runner!* Sue was running a cool-down, so I grabbed my jacket and headed off to the Time Warner Center to shop for treats.
Official stats: my official time was 30:28, for an average pace of 8:43. My splits were 15:29 (for 1.8 miles) and 15:06 (for 1.7 miles). I was the 42nd female (we track by gender in these races). It was in the low 50s, humid, and rainy.
I found out today that my company took second place and that I’d won a trophy for second fastest female master. Again, this is because Sue, who was jogging the course because she’d raced track Tuesday night (running a 5:27 1500 and a 73-second 400 in her leg of the 4x400), came in second overall. I hadn’t expected to win anything because our young fast runners were held up in a meeting and the first four women from our team were all masters. I didn’t realize that we had all finished ahead of any masters running on other teams. I don’t have my trophy yet (I skipped the after-party), but I’ll take a picture when I get it.
Celebratory treats: I stopped at Bouchon Bakery on the way home and had half of a chocolate chunk cookie and half of a double chocolate chunk cookie. Tomorrow, I’ll have the chocolate Bouchon – I find they taste better the second day.
Next up: Japan Day 4-miler (6/1) and possibly the NYRR Anniversary Run (it starts at 5:30 am on 6/4, so I have to think very carefully about it, especially given the MTA’s complete cock-up of the trains in my area!)
*The Media Challenges are scored by the finishing place of each of the top 5 male finishers and each of the top 3 female finishers, so, the lower the overall score, the better.
To avoid overwhelming you, this will be a double recap, covering my 2nd and 3rd races in 5 days. I ran the Wall Street 5k on Tuesday, May 20th, and the first Media Challenge on Wednesday, May 21st.
Race number 14 was the Wall Street Run. We ran 3 miles through the Wall Street area, starting at the World Financial Center, running past the World Trade Center, then zigzagging across the island until we could run back up the west side to finish at the World Financial Center.
Goals: to run between the water stations and to finish in under 30. I had just run the Alumni Run on Saturday and still have the first Media Challenge tomorrow night, so I didn’t want to burn myself out, especially because this race is so crowded and it’s hard to run fast, anyway.
My friend, Andrea, had signed up to run this race, too, so I picked up my gear and headed over to her place (she lives near the World Financial Center). Andrea has a year-old daughter, so she wasn’t able to train much. I think the last time she raced was the Wall Street Run back when it was run to and from the South Street Seaport, which was before my running time. I didn’t tell her, because I didn’t want to pressure her, but I had decided before the race to stay with her the whole time and help her along, if she needed it. We walked over to the start, I dropped my bag, and we lined up, snaking our way through the uncorralled crowd to try to get closer to the front and ahead of as many walkers as we could. We couldn’t hear the announcements, but finally heard the horn and started our walk towards the start. We finally started running and started off much faster than I expected. The first few twists and turns went pretty well. We hit the first mile at 9:13, but Andrea thought we’d been running for about 10 minutes, which I took as a good sign. Every time I looked at her, she was focused and determined. I didn’t keep a running commentary (because I’m not good enough at running to maintain a conversation), but I would point things out or say things just to distract her. At one point, during the second mile, we were in the middle of the snake and could see runners on the parallel streets to the right and left of the street we were on. That is always one of my favorite moments of this particular course. We passed the water station and Andrea said she didn’t need to stop, so we kept going. I had warned Andrea that I would insult her baby to make sure she kept up with me and, at the start, I was telling myself to give her the first mile, but we were nearly at the second mile marker before she started dropping back. I first mentioned that I thought her baby was developing a squint. Andrea told me later that she hadn’t heard me clearly, but she reached out to grab at me, so I know she understood the gist of it! We came around towards the turn back up the west side and I told her I was going to stick with her to help her avoid the temptation of going home as we passed her building. She was doing really well, but when we hit the final stretch along the river, the course bottled up and I lost sight of her. I kept looking for her, but with so many runners in such a narrow place, I finally just gave up and tried to pick it up. The last 100 yards to the finish line were jam-packed and we had to slow to a jog to get across. I pulled off to the side to wait for Andrea, but she had crossed behind me. She told me later that she was nearly directly behind me, which is why I couldn’t see her. I was so happy for her! We finished the last mile (though I think the 2nd mile marker was long, so mile 3 might have really been short) in 9:04!! She did an amazing job and I’m hoping she’ll run some more and maybe join me for more races. She’ll be taunting me about my nieces to help me keep up with her in no time!!
Official stats: my official time was 28:45 for an average pace of 9:35. My splits were 9:13, 10:33, and 9:03. I was 3090 out of 4301 total runners, putting me in the 29th percentile. It was 50°F with 93% humidity.
Celebratory treats: My parents had sent me some Almond Royales and Scotchmallows from See’s candies, so I shared them with Andrea.
Race pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157605122105732/
Race number 15 was the first Media Challenge. We ran twice and then some around the lower loop in Central Park for a total of 3.5 miles.
Goals: I didn’t have any real goals. I haven’t run this distance since August of last year. I checked my PR, which I set in August last year, and it was 29:40. My PR for the previous year was 32:10, so I hoped to finish somewhere in between.
I got to the Park early and ran a loop to warm-up. The rest of the teams showed up and it started to rain. It wasn’t too bad and I’d brought a plastic bag for my jacket. I started off at a fairly comfortable pace and tried to hold it through the race. It was a struggle to get around the first loop, especially when a guy, running against traffic (we run the race counter-clockwise, which is the official direction, according to the arrows painted in the lanes, so we had the right of way and he should have been yielding to us), came towards us yelling “Step off!” as he came. I had to step around him, but I yelled that he was going in the wrong direction. He said something back, but I couldn’t hear what it was. My annoyance kept me going and I started hoping I’d see him on when I came around on my second loop. I stopped for water, as usual, and walked until I got to the start of the final loop. I started running again, picking off some of the people who had passed me while I walked. As I came down to the bottom of the Park, I saw the step-off guy coming at me again, so, as he approached, I yelled “STEP OFF” and totally startled him. He responded by telling me to “Run another mile, white trash.” I was too amused to be offended by the racial slur. At least I didn’t elbow him, which Sue suggested was the appropriate response to his rudeness. With the rain and the humidity, I ended up walking twice on the second loop, including a break to use my inhaler. I managed to get back on track and ran across the 72nd Street Transverse and down to the finish without stopping, but I had no kick left and was extremely nauseous. I gave Sue my card and learned that I was the 3rd female finisher from my team, which means that I was a scored runner!* Sue was running a cool-down, so I grabbed my jacket and headed off to the Time Warner Center to shop for treats.
Official stats: my official time was 30:28, for an average pace of 8:43. My splits were 15:29 (for 1.8 miles) and 15:06 (for 1.7 miles). I was the 42nd female (we track by gender in these races). It was in the low 50s, humid, and rainy.
I found out today that my company took second place and that I’d won a trophy for second fastest female master. Again, this is because Sue, who was jogging the course because she’d raced track Tuesday night (running a 5:27 1500 and a 73-second 400 in her leg of the 4x400), came in second overall. I hadn’t expected to win anything because our young fast runners were held up in a meeting and the first four women from our team were all masters. I didn’t realize that we had all finished ahead of any masters running on other teams. I don’t have my trophy yet (I skipped the after-party), but I’ll take a picture when I get it.
Celebratory treats: I stopped at Bouchon Bakery on the way home and had half of a chocolate chunk cookie and half of a double chocolate chunk cookie. Tomorrow, I’ll have the chocolate Bouchon – I find they taste better the second day.
Next up: Japan Day 4-miler (6/1) and possibly the NYRR Anniversary Run (it starts at 5:30 am on 6/4, so I have to think very carefully about it, especially given the MTA’s complete cock-up of the trains in my area!)
*The Media Challenges are scored by the finishing place of each of the top 5 male finishers and each of the top 3 female finishers, so, the lower the overall score, the better.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Media Challenge #4 (3.5 miles) 7.24.07
Hi all,
Race 22 was the fourth Media Challenge of the year (timing and injury prevented me from running the second and third – you haven’t missed any recaps). We run 3.5 miles – twice counter-clockwise around the lower loop in Central Park and then some.
Goals: There’s only one water station on this course and it’s at the finish, so I was going to have to run over 1.7 miles at a shot to keep from walking between rest stations. I was hoping to run 9:15s (based on my 9:11 pace in the 4-miler last weekend).
No warm-up today. I lined up towards the back with John (we were discussing the wonderful Jany) and took it easy going around the bottom of the Park, at which point I told John to go on ahead without me. I didn’t want to start out too fast without having warmed up and breathing was a bit difficult with the heat and humidity. I chugged along, keeping my eye out for News Corp runners (unlike my team, they actually have matching shirts, so were easy to spot). My team is now in third place, but close enough that even one good night could bring us to the top and I knew that News Corp is one of the teams we need to beat.* I passed a number of runners, including from my own team and picked a rabbit wearing the News Corp shirt and bright red shorts. I didn’t catch her on the transverse, so I knew I’d lose her when I stopped for water after the first loop. I started running again on the downhill and felt good going around the loop. I caught up with and passed every female who had passed me when I stopped for water (I only compete with females in these events). As I came around to the 72nd Transverse, I saw my rabbit again. I didn’t want to push it too hard, but as we moved towards the west side of the transverse, I started counting down the pavement lines between us, finally passing her just as we hit the turn onto the West Drive. I passed several other runners, but was only passed by one man before the finish.
Official stats: I finished in 31:45 for an average pace of 9:04 over the 3.5 miles – not a PR, but my second fastest time for this course, so not too bad. I was the 56th female finisher. My splits from my watch were: 16:08 (8:58 pace for the 1.8 miles), 15:36 (9:11 pace for the 1.7 miles). It was 74° with 65% humidity.
Celebration treat: hot chocolate soufflé
Next up: The NYC Half Marathon (8/5), Media Challenge #5 (8/8), and, hopefully, the Run for Home Plate (TBD).
Thank you for all your support!
*Each runner is scored by their place in the race. The scores of the top 3 females and the top 5 males are combined to determine each team’s score. The team with the lowest number of points wins. Our total was 68, so there’s a very good chance that we won. I’ll let you know when Sue, our team captain, gets the details and passes them on to us. She’s on vacation, so thanks to Mayumi for stepping up to the plate and leading us on to victory!
Race 22 was the fourth Media Challenge of the year (timing and injury prevented me from running the second and third – you haven’t missed any recaps). We run 3.5 miles – twice counter-clockwise around the lower loop in Central Park and then some.
Goals: There’s only one water station on this course and it’s at the finish, so I was going to have to run over 1.7 miles at a shot to keep from walking between rest stations. I was hoping to run 9:15s (based on my 9:11 pace in the 4-miler last weekend).
No warm-up today. I lined up towards the back with John (we were discussing the wonderful Jany) and took it easy going around the bottom of the Park, at which point I told John to go on ahead without me. I didn’t want to start out too fast without having warmed up and breathing was a bit difficult with the heat and humidity. I chugged along, keeping my eye out for News Corp runners (unlike my team, they actually have matching shirts, so were easy to spot). My team is now in third place, but close enough that even one good night could bring us to the top and I knew that News Corp is one of the teams we need to beat.* I passed a number of runners, including from my own team and picked a rabbit wearing the News Corp shirt and bright red shorts. I didn’t catch her on the transverse, so I knew I’d lose her when I stopped for water after the first loop. I started running again on the downhill and felt good going around the loop. I caught up with and passed every female who had passed me when I stopped for water (I only compete with females in these events). As I came around to the 72nd Transverse, I saw my rabbit again. I didn’t want to push it too hard, but as we moved towards the west side of the transverse, I started counting down the pavement lines between us, finally passing her just as we hit the turn onto the West Drive. I passed several other runners, but was only passed by one man before the finish.
Official stats: I finished in 31:45 for an average pace of 9:04 over the 3.5 miles – not a PR, but my second fastest time for this course, so not too bad. I was the 56th female finisher. My splits from my watch were: 16:08 (8:58 pace for the 1.8 miles), 15:36 (9:11 pace for the 1.7 miles). It was 74° with 65% humidity.
Celebration treat: hot chocolate soufflé
Next up: The NYC Half Marathon (8/5), Media Challenge #5 (8/8), and, hopefully, the Run for Home Plate (TBD).
Thank you for all your support!
*Each runner is scored by their place in the race. The scores of the top 3 females and the top 5 males are combined to determine each team’s score. The team with the lowest number of points wins. Our total was 68, so there’s a very good chance that we won. I’ll let you know when Sue, our team captain, gets the details and passes them on to us. She’s on vacation, so thanks to Mayumi for stepping up to the plate and leading us on to victory!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Race for Central Park 4-miler 7.21.07
Hi all,
Race 21 was the Race for Central Park 4-miler – we ran the new 4-mile course of Central Park, starting on the East Drive, just south of the 68th Street, crossing at the 102nd Street Transverse, then down the west side to finish on the 72nd Street Transverse.
Goals: To run between water stations and to finish with a 9:30 pace (38:00).
After staying up ‘til midnight to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I got less than 5 hours of sleep, and was sorely tempted to skip the race. It was originally meant to be a training run, because I intended to race the Run for Home Plate 5k, but with the postponement of that event, I had to race this one. I had arranged to meet Lana and Barb at 8 at the baggage check, but ended up at the Park by 7:30. I wandered around, wishing I’d eaten something, and checked out the various sponsors’ tents. I found Lana and Barb and we headed over to the start with plenty of time to stretch. We lined up at the 9-marker, wished Peter Ciacia (as far as I can remember, he has started all of the NYRR races) a happy birthday, then started at a slow walk when the gun went off. Three minutes later, after a false start or two, we were able to pick up the pace and cross the start line. With no warm-up, I knew it would be a slow first mile, so I skipped the water station. We hit the first mile marker at 10:08 and I calculated that I’d have to run 9:20 miles to hit my goal and wasn’t confident I could make it happen. I started pulling away from Lana and Barb, though, so I waved back and just let my legs go. I didn’t push myself and I felt comfortable. After crossing the 102nd Street Tranverse and heading down the rolling hills on the West side, though, my legs started to feel tired. At times, it felt like I was dragging my legs forward. I tried my visualization trick of imagining the world passing beneath me as I lifted my feet, but it didn’t work. I continued to struggle until I hit the water station just before the 3rd mile marker. I walked a bit longer through this water station (about 30 seconds), then took off running again. As I got up to pace, someone passed me and looked back at me. It was my friend, LK, whom I haven’t seen in over a year!! I was so happy to see him, but he told me to go on ahead because I had only 8 minutes to make my goal time. We agreed to meet up at the finish and I started putting on the speed. I wasn’t feeling tired anymore, but I didn’t push myself too much, either. I waited until I caught sight of the 78 lamppost,* which meant that I had about a half mile to go. At that point, I picked up the pace and started picking off the yellow- and orange-shirted runners. I was disappointed to find nothing left for a finishing kick, but was delighted when I stopped my watch with a final mile at 8:16! I don’t mind not having a finishing kick with a mile time like that!!
I walked back to try to watch LK, Lana and Barb finish, but there were so many runners coming through that I only saw Barb finish. I grabbed some plums for Lana (I can’t eat them, but I know she likes them) and headed over to where we’d agreed to meet after the race. We chatted a bit, then I went back to the Bandshell to watch the awards ceremony and to not win the raffle. I also stopped by the Cabot Cheese tent for some samples (there was no way I was going to eat cheese before the race), then headed home.
Official stats: I finished in 36:47 for an average pace of 9:11 over the 4 miles. I was 2427 out of 4038 total finishers, putting me in the 40th percentile. It was 63°F with 70% humidity. My splits from my watch were: 10:08, 8:46, 9:44, and 8:16.
Consolation treats: one of my favorite breakfasts – Golden Syrup-flavored oatmeal with Hotel Chocolat chocolate gems and Chocolate Abyss (hot chocolate that Lisa sent from England) and for lunch, a cheese soufflé with a spinach salad, a slushy Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper, and some Carnival Skittles.
Next up: Media Challenge #4 (7/24) and the NYC Half Marathon (8/5)
Thank you for all your support!
*The lampposts in Central Park are numbered according to the corresponding street number. I use them to count down the blocks as I head towards the finish of my races. For non-New Yorkers, there are about 20 street blocks in a mile.
Pictures from the race and random pictures are available here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762404971960&pid=&wtok=0wurESBBcZ8g4NFKv_SOHA--&ts=1185153845&.src=ph
Race 21 was the Race for Central Park 4-miler – we ran the new 4-mile course of Central Park, starting on the East Drive, just south of the 68th Street, crossing at the 102nd Street Transverse, then down the west side to finish on the 72nd Street Transverse.
Goals: To run between water stations and to finish with a 9:30 pace (38:00).
After staying up ‘til midnight to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I got less than 5 hours of sleep, and was sorely tempted to skip the race. It was originally meant to be a training run, because I intended to race the Run for Home Plate 5k, but with the postponement of that event, I had to race this one. I had arranged to meet Lana and Barb at 8 at the baggage check, but ended up at the Park by 7:30. I wandered around, wishing I’d eaten something, and checked out the various sponsors’ tents. I found Lana and Barb and we headed over to the start with plenty of time to stretch. We lined up at the 9-marker, wished Peter Ciacia (as far as I can remember, he has started all of the NYRR races) a happy birthday, then started at a slow walk when the gun went off. Three minutes later, after a false start or two, we were able to pick up the pace and cross the start line. With no warm-up, I knew it would be a slow first mile, so I skipped the water station. We hit the first mile marker at 10:08 and I calculated that I’d have to run 9:20 miles to hit my goal and wasn’t confident I could make it happen. I started pulling away from Lana and Barb, though, so I waved back and just let my legs go. I didn’t push myself and I felt comfortable. After crossing the 102nd Street Tranverse and heading down the rolling hills on the West side, though, my legs started to feel tired. At times, it felt like I was dragging my legs forward. I tried my visualization trick of imagining the world passing beneath me as I lifted my feet, but it didn’t work. I continued to struggle until I hit the water station just before the 3rd mile marker. I walked a bit longer through this water station (about 30 seconds), then took off running again. As I got up to pace, someone passed me and looked back at me. It was my friend, LK, whom I haven’t seen in over a year!! I was so happy to see him, but he told me to go on ahead because I had only 8 minutes to make my goal time. We agreed to meet up at the finish and I started putting on the speed. I wasn’t feeling tired anymore, but I didn’t push myself too much, either. I waited until I caught sight of the 78 lamppost,* which meant that I had about a half mile to go. At that point, I picked up the pace and started picking off the yellow- and orange-shirted runners. I was disappointed to find nothing left for a finishing kick, but was delighted when I stopped my watch with a final mile at 8:16! I don’t mind not having a finishing kick with a mile time like that!!
I walked back to try to watch LK, Lana and Barb finish, but there were so many runners coming through that I only saw Barb finish. I grabbed some plums for Lana (I can’t eat them, but I know she likes them) and headed over to where we’d agreed to meet after the race. We chatted a bit, then I went back to the Bandshell to watch the awards ceremony and to not win the raffle. I also stopped by the Cabot Cheese tent for some samples (there was no way I was going to eat cheese before the race), then headed home.
Official stats: I finished in 36:47 for an average pace of 9:11 over the 4 miles. I was 2427 out of 4038 total finishers, putting me in the 40th percentile. It was 63°F with 70% humidity. My splits from my watch were: 10:08, 8:46, 9:44, and 8:16.
Consolation treats: one of my favorite breakfasts – Golden Syrup-flavored oatmeal with Hotel Chocolat chocolate gems and Chocolate Abyss (hot chocolate that Lisa sent from England) and for lunch, a cheese soufflé with a spinach salad, a slushy Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper, and some Carnival Skittles.
Next up: Media Challenge #4 (7/24) and the NYC Half Marathon (8/5)
Thank you for all your support!
*The lampposts in Central Park are numbered according to the corresponding street number. I use them to count down the blocks as I head towards the finish of my races. For non-New Yorkers, there are about 20 street blocks in a mile.
Pictures from the race and random pictures are available here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762404971960&pid=&wtok=0wurESBBcZ8g4NFKv_SOHA--&ts=1185153845&.src=ph
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Scotland 10k 4.01.07 Recap
Hi all,
Race 11 was the Scotland 10k. The course was once around the big loop clockwise and then some to finish at Tavern on the Green.
Goals: As you know, my knees are in bad shape. In addition to the bursitis, I have patellar tendonitis in both knees after last week’s half marathon. In addition to running between water stations, I was hoping to run each mile at sub-10 pace. I had a distance PR goal of 58:06 to beat, but would have to run really smart, if I wanted to make that happen. I’d already decided not to go out strong and just run comfortably, with no finishing sprint. I spent most of the weekend calculating where I’d have to be at certain points to make this happen.
I got to the Park early and lined up to get the Scottish flag painted on my face. There was only one face painter, so it was slow going. There was a serious set-back when a photographer for the Daily News saw a little boy in line and decided to take him to the front of the line to take the pictures. I objected to the wrangler, but she didn’t care. None of the racers were very impressed. His face painting took 3 times as long as anyone else’s, too, because the photographer kept taking pictures. Finally someone at the front of the line said something strong (I didn’t hear it) and the photographer stepped back and apologized. I waited an extra 5 minutes (which was less than it otherwise might have been because several people stepped out of line when the photographer started screwing everything up) and was finally successful. I ran into Paul, who cautioned me about the bursitis (thank you, Paul), and I promised I was going to take it easy. I dropped my bag and headed to the start with less than 5 minutes to spare. I wasn’t planning to do a warm-up, to save my knees, just in case, but I realized that I’d forgotten my inhaler and had to run back to get it out of my bag. Then, I had to run to the start, which was good, because it let me get a feel for how my knee was doing. I lined up on the side behind the 9-minute marker (ever optimistic) and took off at a nice easy pace. I allowed myself to get boxed in and generally did what I could to keep my pace back. I decided to try to run evenly. I’d calculated that 9:20 pace would get me through to a PR, but wouldn’t leave me any room for error. I skipped the first water station. I knew that I wouldn’t have many extra seconds to spare and also, for some reason, I tend to run faster coming out of the water stations, so I hoped this would keep my pace more even and protect my knee. I didn’t feel any pain in the first few miles. It wasn’t until I was coming up to the 3rd mile marker in the Harlem Hills that my knee started to bother me. The uphills were a little wearing, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The flats and downhills were great – no pain at all. I skipped the next water station, too. As we came around the top of the Park, two girls were talking about the lack of spectators cheering us and exclaiming about the hill coming up. I told them it wasn’t as difficult as it appeared and one of them said that the last hill had nearly killed her. I told her this one wasn’t as bad and to keep her arms low to save energy. As I ran off ahead, I heard her saying that I was their cheerleader. That made me smile, but did not hold me back. I left them to find other cheerleaders and made my way up the curve to finish off the top of the Park. At the 102nd Street Transverse, the New York Flyer bagpiper was there, playing us along. I kept moving easily along, no effort at all, and was soon passing Fred. Coming down the East Side was wonderful! The dogwoods and/or cherry trees were in bud and some were even in bloom. The trees were white and pink and red. No matter how nice the weeks have been, the weekends have been so cold. It even rained a bit today. So, the promise of Spring really made me happy! As with the last race, I spent a lot of time doing math in my head. I had calculated that if I hit the 4-mile marker with 22 minutes to spare, I could slow to a 10-minute mile pace and still set a PR. That didn’t happen. I passed the next water station and pushed it a little coming down Cat Hill. On the way to the 5-miler marker, I calculated that if I hit it with 12 minutes to spare, I’d be able to slow at that point to a 10-minute mile pace and still set a PR. I made it with half a minute to spare, so I felt like I could relax and pay more attention to my knee, which, while not painful, was feeling a bit of pressure. As we passed the carousel, there was a whole group of men shouting and cheering and high-fiving runners, which really helped me along. I moved easily around the bottom of the Park and saved some energy for the slight uphill before the finish. I tried not to sprint, but couldn’t help putting on a little push, hoping to finish in under 56 minutes. Didn’t happen. After I finished, I got my picture taken by Brightroom and, as I was heading over to get my bag, I heard someone call out, “La Lynx!” I turned around and there was Fabian. We chatted for a bit and went over to meet his brother Roberto. They had finished faster than I had, but had run 12 miles before the race and were running another 2 after! I went over to the stage and watched the winners get their prizes. Then the raffle happened. I have yet to win anything at a raffle, but I keep trying! I didn’t win this time, either, but Mark did and he gave me his prize! It was so nice of him!! He headed off – it was quite cold and he didn’t have a coat – but I stuck around to watch the crowd “strip the willow.”
Official stats: I finished in 56:14 for a 9:03 pace over the 6.2 miles, setting a distance PR by over almost 2 minutes! I was 3075 out of 5717 runners, putting me in the 46th percentile. It was 45°F (7°C) with 60% humidity and 5 mph winds. My mile splits from my watch were: 9:59, 9:04, 8:57, 9:03, 8:36, 8:51 and 1:47 for the final two-tenths of a mile (8:55 pace).
Celebratory treats: I had already set aside my non-chocolate treats: TastyKake Butterscotch Krimpets, which I’d saved for this occasion, some Churro-flavored Bugles (mmm . . . Churros), and, in case I did manage a distance PR, two dark-chocolate Magnum candies, which my cousin sent me from Italy. Those Magnum are unbelievably good – I wish I could find them here. Anyway, yesterday, I realized that if I did manage to set a distance PR today, that I’d have set distance PRs in every race I ran during Lent and that would need something special. Whole Foods let me down again, but I did find chocolate walnut cookies, so I’m having one of those. The clerk at Whole Foods commented that they looked really good, so I offered one to her, but she wouldn’t take one until I explained that I’d given chocolate up for Lent and would only be eating one of the cookies, anyway. She snuck it into her apron and I hope she’s enjoying it!
Next up: The Brooklyn Half Marathon on April 14th.
Thank you for all your support!
Here is a link to some random pictures, including pictures from the race, and some food shots: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762396026889&pid=&wtok=OwJbH6Adsfe3pYFtrFvlVw--&ts=1175469491&.src=ph (as always, there’s commentary in the slideshow). Here’s a video I took of the Strip of the Willow dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrV6VeowSr0.
Race 11 was the Scotland 10k. The course was once around the big loop clockwise and then some to finish at Tavern on the Green.
Goals: As you know, my knees are in bad shape. In addition to the bursitis, I have patellar tendonitis in both knees after last week’s half marathon. In addition to running between water stations, I was hoping to run each mile at sub-10 pace. I had a distance PR goal of 58:06 to beat, but would have to run really smart, if I wanted to make that happen. I’d already decided not to go out strong and just run comfortably, with no finishing sprint. I spent most of the weekend calculating where I’d have to be at certain points to make this happen.
I got to the Park early and lined up to get the Scottish flag painted on my face. There was only one face painter, so it was slow going. There was a serious set-back when a photographer for the Daily News saw a little boy in line and decided to take him to the front of the line to take the pictures. I objected to the wrangler, but she didn’t care. None of the racers were very impressed. His face painting took 3 times as long as anyone else’s, too, because the photographer kept taking pictures. Finally someone at the front of the line said something strong (I didn’t hear it) and the photographer stepped back and apologized. I waited an extra 5 minutes (which was less than it otherwise might have been because several people stepped out of line when the photographer started screwing everything up) and was finally successful. I ran into Paul, who cautioned me about the bursitis (thank you, Paul), and I promised I was going to take it easy. I dropped my bag and headed to the start with less than 5 minutes to spare. I wasn’t planning to do a warm-up, to save my knees, just in case, but I realized that I’d forgotten my inhaler and had to run back to get it out of my bag. Then, I had to run to the start, which was good, because it let me get a feel for how my knee was doing. I lined up on the side behind the 9-minute marker (ever optimistic) and took off at a nice easy pace. I allowed myself to get boxed in and generally did what I could to keep my pace back. I decided to try to run evenly. I’d calculated that 9:20 pace would get me through to a PR, but wouldn’t leave me any room for error. I skipped the first water station. I knew that I wouldn’t have many extra seconds to spare and also, for some reason, I tend to run faster coming out of the water stations, so I hoped this would keep my pace more even and protect my knee. I didn’t feel any pain in the first few miles. It wasn’t until I was coming up to the 3rd mile marker in the Harlem Hills that my knee started to bother me. The uphills were a little wearing, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The flats and downhills were great – no pain at all. I skipped the next water station, too. As we came around the top of the Park, two girls were talking about the lack of spectators cheering us and exclaiming about the hill coming up. I told them it wasn’t as difficult as it appeared and one of them said that the last hill had nearly killed her. I told her this one wasn’t as bad and to keep her arms low to save energy. As I ran off ahead, I heard her saying that I was their cheerleader. That made me smile, but did not hold me back. I left them to find other cheerleaders and made my way up the curve to finish off the top of the Park. At the 102nd Street Transverse, the New York Flyer bagpiper was there, playing us along. I kept moving easily along, no effort at all, and was soon passing Fred. Coming down the East Side was wonderful! The dogwoods and/or cherry trees were in bud and some were even in bloom. The trees were white and pink and red. No matter how nice the weeks have been, the weekends have been so cold. It even rained a bit today. So, the promise of Spring really made me happy! As with the last race, I spent a lot of time doing math in my head. I had calculated that if I hit the 4-mile marker with 22 minutes to spare, I could slow to a 10-minute mile pace and still set a PR. That didn’t happen. I passed the next water station and pushed it a little coming down Cat Hill. On the way to the 5-miler marker, I calculated that if I hit it with 12 minutes to spare, I’d be able to slow at that point to a 10-minute mile pace and still set a PR. I made it with half a minute to spare, so I felt like I could relax and pay more attention to my knee, which, while not painful, was feeling a bit of pressure. As we passed the carousel, there was a whole group of men shouting and cheering and high-fiving runners, which really helped me along. I moved easily around the bottom of the Park and saved some energy for the slight uphill before the finish. I tried not to sprint, but couldn’t help putting on a little push, hoping to finish in under 56 minutes. Didn’t happen. After I finished, I got my picture taken by Brightroom and, as I was heading over to get my bag, I heard someone call out, “La Lynx!” I turned around and there was Fabian. We chatted for a bit and went over to meet his brother Roberto. They had finished faster than I had, but had run 12 miles before the race and were running another 2 after! I went over to the stage and watched the winners get their prizes. Then the raffle happened. I have yet to win anything at a raffle, but I keep trying! I didn’t win this time, either, but Mark did and he gave me his prize! It was so nice of him!! He headed off – it was quite cold and he didn’t have a coat – but I stuck around to watch the crowd “strip the willow.”
Official stats: I finished in 56:14 for a 9:03 pace over the 6.2 miles, setting a distance PR by over almost 2 minutes! I was 3075 out of 5717 runners, putting me in the 46th percentile. It was 45°F (7°C) with 60% humidity and 5 mph winds. My mile splits from my watch were: 9:59, 9:04, 8:57, 9:03, 8:36, 8:51 and 1:47 for the final two-tenths of a mile (8:55 pace).
Celebratory treats: I had already set aside my non-chocolate treats: TastyKake Butterscotch Krimpets, which I’d saved for this occasion, some Churro-flavored Bugles (mmm . . . Churros), and, in case I did manage a distance PR, two dark-chocolate Magnum candies, which my cousin sent me from Italy. Those Magnum are unbelievably good – I wish I could find them here. Anyway, yesterday, I realized that if I did manage to set a distance PR today, that I’d have set distance PRs in every race I ran during Lent and that would need something special. Whole Foods let me down again, but I did find chocolate walnut cookies, so I’m having one of those. The clerk at Whole Foods commented that they looked really good, so I offered one to her, but she wouldn’t take one until I explained that I’d given chocolate up for Lent and would only be eating one of the cookies, anyway. She snuck it into her apron and I hope she’s enjoying it!
Next up: The Brooklyn Half Marathon on April 14th.
Thank you for all your support!
Here is a link to some random pictures, including pictures from the race, and some food shots: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762396026889&pid=&wtok=OwJbH6Adsfe3pYFtrFvlVw--&ts=1175469491&.src=ph (as always, there’s commentary in the slideshow). Here’s a video I took of the Strip of the Willow dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrV6VeowSr0.
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