Since I've been training for these upcoming marathons in the fall, I've been really really trying to stick to my running schedule. With the exception of the first couple weeks, I have hit my mileage (and then some) for the past two weeks. However, this summer I also made a promise to myself that, in order to maintain friendships I have often been lax about keeping up with, I would never skip out on plans to get a workout in. Now I know that goes against the principle tenet of marathon running - if you don't put the work in, you won't get the results - but I thought that by sticking to this goal, I would get my workouts done in the morning, leaving my summer evenings free to play.
Well, last night, I had dinner and drinks plans with a friend of mine. It was supposed to be an all-night, ragetastic, 1am girlfest. Instead, I bowed out of drinks afterward, claiming exhaustion, but really wanting to get to the gym to do my favorite Ashtanga yoga class and makeup for a three mile run I skipped on Tuesday.
Does this make me a bad person? I feel guilty explaining my athletic obsession to other people, so I have to lie about it. Also, I feel like, she just broke up with her boyfriend and she was looking for an excuse to get her mind off of it, and all I could offer was a burger and a beer and a hug. Did I do the wrong thing? Should I have stayed out and skipped my workout?
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Mile re-whats?
I've been following Bart Yasso's Marathon Training plan. So after a steady buildup of mileage on both hills and flat terrain, today's workout consisted of Mile Repeats. Now I've read about the infamous mile repeats in books and I can't say the feedback is favorable. But I thought I'd do a little speedwork in Central Park since the weather was nice.
Thanks to Cherie, I found the Great Hill Track to do some measured mile repeats (although I'm pretty sure the track is less than a quarter mile or else I was SERIOUSLY kicking butt on these miles). It felt good to run fast (at first) because I generally don't push my body on my runs - I hold out until I feel pretty comfortable and then I'll kick up a hill or down a hill and try to pass people as part of a little mental competition that keeps me running (ex. "If I can outrun that hottie ahead of me in the blue shorts, he's clearly not a hardcore athlete like me"). The track workout was tough, although it seemed pretty short. Maybe it's because, as I'm increasing my weekly mileage, individual miles seem shorter and much more manageable. At any rate, I think I kept pace (I'm still not exactly sure how long that track is, but it's close enough...we'll call it a wash) and it made me feel good to breathe hard and sweat a lot.
One thing I will say is that I used to do speed work on a treadmill. While it is definitely easier to calculate your mileage and your pace (all you have to do is hit the little buttons!), treadmill running is absolutely snore-tastic. Like I used to be able to run 12 miles on a treadmill in the winter (I know. I effing know.) but now I can barely run for 12 minutes. I remembered that today in the park as I wound up the little path to the Great Hill track at 106th street, right below the behemoth that is Harlem Hill. The foliage along the CP loop up there is so thick that I had no idea that there were even paved trails up there. They're so easy to miss! I finally emerged at the top of the path and it was like a secret society that only runners and small children with kites knew about. It was awesome...like discovering a secret garden (plus, there were bathrooms, and if there is anything that I love more than running it's knowing exactly where the next bathroom is on a particularly long run). As I ran (sans iPod today) I looked up and to the left and to the right and down at my feet. I was running in one of the greatest cities in the world, a city that most people spend all of their lifetime trying to get to or visiting or wishing they could visit, and I was in near silence in the center of it. It was sort of a spiritual moment and, though I'm not a spiritual person (although have been more since I started running so much) I kind of acknowledged the magnitude of the city in which I was running and the sheer smallness of my being in comparison. I was running. In a park. With birds. And trees. End scene. Sometimes, life needs to be boiled down to two word sentences so that you can figure out what the heck you're actually doing with it.
I finished my repeats and jogged on down to 79th street to have some yummy Thai food with my friend Anita. At the beginning of the summer, I swore to myself that I'd never let running get in the way of seeing my friends. I've held pretty strict to that rule and even if I have to miss workouts, I'll always make them up later. Good thing my friends are so flexible and willing to eat around my running schedule (one day I'll become a morning runner...one day). All in all, a good day, despite the inertia at work. In fact, whenever I get a hard run in it's always a good day. Looks like I'll have a lot of good days coming up, since my next marathon is just three weeks away!
Thanks to Cherie, I found the Great Hill Track to do some measured mile repeats (although I'm pretty sure the track is less than a quarter mile or else I was SERIOUSLY kicking butt on these miles). It felt good to run fast (at first) because I generally don't push my body on my runs - I hold out until I feel pretty comfortable and then I'll kick up a hill or down a hill and try to pass people as part of a little mental competition that keeps me running (ex. "If I can outrun that hottie ahead of me in the blue shorts, he's clearly not a hardcore athlete like me"). The track workout was tough, although it seemed pretty short. Maybe it's because, as I'm increasing my weekly mileage, individual miles seem shorter and much more manageable. At any rate, I think I kept pace (I'm still not exactly sure how long that track is, but it's close enough...we'll call it a wash) and it made me feel good to breathe hard and sweat a lot.
One thing I will say is that I used to do speed work on a treadmill. While it is definitely easier to calculate your mileage and your pace (all you have to do is hit the little buttons!), treadmill running is absolutely snore-tastic. Like I used to be able to run 12 miles on a treadmill in the winter (I know. I effing know.) but now I can barely run for 12 minutes. I remembered that today in the park as I wound up the little path to the Great Hill track at 106th street, right below the behemoth that is Harlem Hill. The foliage along the CP loop up there is so thick that I had no idea that there were even paved trails up there. They're so easy to miss! I finally emerged at the top of the path and it was like a secret society that only runners and small children with kites knew about. It was awesome...like discovering a secret garden (plus, there were bathrooms, and if there is anything that I love more than running it's knowing exactly where the next bathroom is on a particularly long run). As I ran (sans iPod today) I looked up and to the left and to the right and down at my feet. I was running in one of the greatest cities in the world, a city that most people spend all of their lifetime trying to get to or visiting or wishing they could visit, and I was in near silence in the center of it. It was sort of a spiritual moment and, though I'm not a spiritual person (although have been more since I started running so much) I kind of acknowledged the magnitude of the city in which I was running and the sheer smallness of my being in comparison. I was running. In a park. With birds. And trees. End scene. Sometimes, life needs to be boiled down to two word sentences so that you can figure out what the heck you're actually doing with it.
I finished my repeats and jogged on down to 79th street to have some yummy Thai food with my friend Anita. At the beginning of the summer, I swore to myself that I'd never let running get in the way of seeing my friends. I've held pretty strict to that rule and even if I have to miss workouts, I'll always make them up later. Good thing my friends are so flexible and willing to eat around my running schedule (one day I'll become a morning runner...one day). All in all, a good day, despite the inertia at work. In fact, whenever I get a hard run in it's always a good day. Looks like I'll have a lot of good days coming up, since my next marathon is just three weeks away!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Percy Sutton Harlem 5K
This past weekend I was supposed to be golfing in Hilton Head South Carolina. When that fell through, I was supposed to be lounging on the beach in Atlantic City. Instead, I was waking up at 6am on Saturday to drag my butt up to Harlem to run the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K. Nevermind that I hadn't raced since May 3rd (the New Jersey Marathon). I hadn't raced in so long that I missed the change over to the new disposable chip timers that NYRR has instituted. While they seem more efficient, I'm not sure if the effect is "greener" or not. I mean, on one hand you aren't wasting that little plastic bag and the red ties, but on the other it seems like there is the electronic waste from the chip timer.
I was staying at my brother's place in Queens, so I did not have access to my standard coffee, toast, peanut butter, banana breakfast. I foraged through some drawers and found an old box of Maple and Brown sugar Instant Oatmeal. I could do worse. I wolfed it down, grabbed my race stuff and headed out the door. I made it in time to do a quick half-mile warm up (actually, I was late and ran from the 125th street stop to the starting line at 135tb street...sounds better the first way though, right?). It was unbelievably muggy and I was still battling a nagging cough from a few weeks ago. Needless to say, inhaling in 98% humidity with a slight drag of mucus (ew. I know.) in your lungs feels similar to what I can only imagine inhaling paint feels like. Now do that while running. Uncomfortable, to say the least.
It was a smaller race, around 2,000 people, so I didn't feel like I was tripping over anyone to get into my run zone. There were some pretty steep hills on the way up, and I clocked my first mile at around 7:59. Good, but not great, since I was already inhaling Benjamin Moore and my first mile is generally the fastest (because I go out fast and then have to pull back toward the end). However, I didn't take into account the fact that BECAUSE the first mile was largely uphill, a good amount on the back half was downhill. I really didn't think I was going anywhere near fast (because I wasn't calculating my mile splits, only my overall time) and didn't expect a very fast finish. That was, until I got to the 3rd mile marker and the clock read around 24 minutes. I was shocked. I was about 30 seconds from the gun time, which meant that at my current pace, I was definitely under 8 minute miles. That has never happened to me. I crossed the finish at 24:07, averaging 7:46 minute miles.
I'm still on a runner's high about this. After running races for 6 months from Spring 2008 - Winter 2008/2009, I happily watched my times drop dramatically. But all my spring races I paced around the same: 8:15 minute miles, 8:00 minute miles, 8:30 minute miles. I just wanted to elusive "sub-8 minute mile". I ran the New Jersey marathon, took some time off, traveled a bunch, and effectively stopped racing. But my marathon training has effectively put me in better shape -- upping my mileage, combining hill and speed work, doing longer and longer runs. The result has been shaving FOURTEEN SECONDS off my 5K pace.
I'm running a marathon in 3 weeks and I am hoping to run it sub-4 hours. Until the Percy Sutton 5K, I thought it would be tight, but now I'm way more optimistic. Who would have thought that such a terrible weekend for making plans would turn into one of my best racing weekends ever?!
I was staying at my brother's place in Queens, so I did not have access to my standard coffee, toast, peanut butter, banana breakfast. I foraged through some drawers and found an old box of Maple and Brown sugar Instant Oatmeal. I could do worse. I wolfed it down, grabbed my race stuff and headed out the door. I made it in time to do a quick half-mile warm up (actually, I was late and ran from the 125th street stop to the starting line at 135tb street...sounds better the first way though, right?). It was unbelievably muggy and I was still battling a nagging cough from a few weeks ago. Needless to say, inhaling in 98% humidity with a slight drag of mucus (ew. I know.) in your lungs feels similar to what I can only imagine inhaling paint feels like. Now do that while running. Uncomfortable, to say the least.
It was a smaller race, around 2,000 people, so I didn't feel like I was tripping over anyone to get into my run zone. There were some pretty steep hills on the way up, and I clocked my first mile at around 7:59. Good, but not great, since I was already inhaling Benjamin Moore and my first mile is generally the fastest (because I go out fast and then have to pull back toward the end). However, I didn't take into account the fact that BECAUSE the first mile was largely uphill, a good amount on the back half was downhill. I really didn't think I was going anywhere near fast (because I wasn't calculating my mile splits, only my overall time) and didn't expect a very fast finish. That was, until I got to the 3rd mile marker and the clock read around 24 minutes. I was shocked. I was about 30 seconds from the gun time, which meant that at my current pace, I was definitely under 8 minute miles. That has never happened to me. I crossed the finish at 24:07, averaging 7:46 minute miles.
I'm still on a runner's high about this. After running races for 6 months from Spring 2008 - Winter 2008/2009, I happily watched my times drop dramatically. But all my spring races I paced around the same: 8:15 minute miles, 8:00 minute miles, 8:30 minute miles. I just wanted to elusive "sub-8 minute mile". I ran the New Jersey marathon, took some time off, traveled a bunch, and effectively stopped racing. But my marathon training has effectively put me in better shape -- upping my mileage, combining hill and speed work, doing longer and longer runs. The result has been shaving FOURTEEN SECONDS off my 5K pace.
I'm running a marathon in 3 weeks and I am hoping to run it sub-4 hours. Until the Percy Sutton 5K, I thought it would be tight, but now I'm way more optimistic. Who would have thought that such a terrible weekend for making plans would turn into one of my best racing weekends ever?!
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