I'll just pace this... or not.

Central Park Run as One 4 mile race.

Overdressed for this race. I guess I need to start bringing a couple options with me to these races. I think it was 40ish when I left the house this morning. I thought about switching to the tech shirt I got at the race but I wouldn't have a way to carry my cell phone on the run. I felt odd about leaving my cell phone in baggage check. Is that dumb? Do the majority of people check the cell phones?

I checked myself in as 7:15 pace. I didn't really get much of a warmup. They were announcing that if you weren't in the corral at 8:45 they would send you to the back. Not sure if they really enforced this. Maybe they say that every week and I'm just nowhere near the speakers to have heard it before.

So as I'm standing there, I'm wondering how this is going to feel today. I kind of think that I'll probably run it like the 10K. Just hang out around 180-185 HR and not suffer.

Race starts, it's plenty packed. I don't even try to bob and weave at all it didn't look like it was going to get me much. I figure I'll go with the flow. I get to the first mile marker and I figure it's going to be an 8:xx it didn't feel very quick at all. It was a 7:25 and my max HR was 181. Hmmm that's surprising.

Things are opening up a bit, I focus on form on the hills making sure I take what I can get from them. Next mile 7:04 pace, my HR monitor was flaking out or I had a 96 max :-). Well now, that 7:04 has me thinking I need to push myself through this race.

Mile 3 I think is the toughest mile on the course. 7:40 pace max HR 191, avg 182. Yep I've gotta do more hill work. Not awful tho I'm wishing I had switched shirts at this point.

Mile 4 tired legs, I'm not doing a good job at running the down hills. HR is up there and I plan to keep it there to the end. 188 avg, 193 max. 7:28 pace for the final mile.

So what does that give me? 29:38 official time. Not my best 4 miler this year. In fact I think it's my worst outside of the Haiti Jog. Not too far off the mark tho'.

That was my 6th race towards the 9+1 for next year. The 2010 marathon counts as well, so I've only got 2 more races to do and the Volunteering then I'm in for the 2011 NYC Marathon as well.