NYRR 6K Jingle Bell Jog Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY

The last of my 9 NYRR races for the year!

After work on Friday, we drove out to visit our friends in Brooklyn and spent the night at their place. Such a good time, I wish we would do this more often.
Instead of driving to the race and trying to search for parking. We took the subway. It probably took us 50-60 minutes or so to get to the race. 30-40 min of that was spent walking. It was a really beautiful morning and so it was really a nice way to get the day started.

Once again, I knew I wasn't ready to be in my assigned corral. (I haven't run since the race last Sunday. I'm still taking antibiotics) Deciding where to start is tricky tho. I think this race is a little smaller, so I decided to just put myself in the middle of the 2nd corral.
Once we made the first turn, it was obvious to me that I should have gone back another group. I was being passed, non-stop for awhile. (It reminded me of my bike at Timberman once I threw in the towel on that ride.) Eventually, the passfest stopped and I was in a group that it seemed I could hang with.

Somewhere around mile 2, I guy in a x-mas tree costume is running by me. For whatever reason, I thought to myself, "I can't let a X-mas tree pass me". So I turned it up a notch and started to follow him. As it turns out, the tree was faster than I was today. I then started to look for some other targets to keep me moving.

Well the next one worth mentioning was an older guy just ahead of me with about 600-400m to go. As I went by him (slowly), I think he got a look at my grey hair and he put me into his age group, because he was determined to stay with me. Eventually I got a number of steps ahead of him. I actually thought to myself as I was running towards the finish, "don't look back to see where he is". Turns out I didn't need to. They have a chip reader out ahead of the finish line so they can announce people as they reach the finish. Just after I crossed the line, the announcer called out "77 year old, John Doe". Dang! He's got 36 years on me! I sure hope I can still move like that at 77!
I'm really not joking about this guy thinking that I might have been stealing his Age Group win, it's happened to me before. (Tewksbury 5 miler report.)
If I was thinking, I would have turned around and talked with him, but the finish line at an 8 min/mile pace starts to really get crowded in a hurry. So they volunteers are doing their best to move people forward so that people can get to the timing mat at the finish.

So I finished on a 7:56 min/mile pace this morning. I really expected to run closer to 9 min/miles. The fact that I put myself into the faster corral pushed me around the course.
I'll have to keep this in mind when I get myself back into shape. When I'm feeling good, I'll make a point of getting to the very front of my corral. I really think it would help get the best performance out of me.

So what's next? Figuring out what's up with my right foot is at the top of my list. I've got my triathlon training calendar fairly well planned out all the way to the first 70.3 in June. Now it's just a matter of getting healthy and motivated again.

Video of the race start.

NYRR 5 miler "join the voices"

I ran a NYRR 5 miler this morning in Central Park. It was probably the last thing I wanted to be doing. I'm on day 7 of dealing with a nasty sinus infection and I'm still feeling miserable. Unfortunately, if I want to be guaranteed entry to the NYC Marathon next year. I've got to go and finish this run.

I went to the doctor on Friday and got an antibiotic. In terms of my sinuses, I'm definitely improving. Unfortunately the antibiotic added a bad stomach into the mix. Ugh! I had figured I could jog/walk this run. Now I'm wishing I had Imodium. Ha! Actually now I really wish I was done with my 9 races already...

I ended up being completely overdressed for the race. I've been cold all week. (fevers probably). I also figure if I end up walking this I don't want to freeze. When I left the house it was 28. I think it was nearly 50 in Central Park just a couple hours later.

I was number 1111 but I joined in with the 4000's corral. I don't know what pace that is but I'm figuring just under 10 min miles today if I'm lucky. Actually I'm just hoping I don't have to stop at the portajohns at the half way point!

I had to look quite the fool out there running. I didn't want to check a bag because I planned on getting back to my car and out of town as quickly as I can. It was so warm that I ended up tying my sweatpants around my waist and eventually was carrying my jacket as well. Whatever. Just get to finish and go home.

At the mile markers, I noticed that I was faster than a 10 min/mile pace. The 4000's got me there faster than I expected. My stomach cooperated. I finished in 44:17, which is a 8:52 min/mile.
My abs were hating me towards the end of the run. My quads felt like they wanted to cramp as I was walking to the car. My right heel is quite painful now that I'm sitting at home writing this.

I suppose there might be something good that comes out of this sinus infection. After discussing my sinuses with the doctor. I asked if she had any suggestions as to who I should see about my foot/ankle issues and I got a couple recommendations. I haven't checked to see if they take my insurance yet tho'.

Anyhow, that was my 8th NYRR race of the year. Next Saturday will be my 9th and final.
I was starting to wonder if they were going to drop me into a slower corral because I feel like I haven't had a good NYRR race in a long time. Maybe more than a year. So I looked it up. Turns out I ran a 7:16 at the 5K back in March. Which is only 3 seconds slower than my fastest in 2010. So I guess I'm safe for another year. Hopefully NYRR 2012 will be a bit speedier for me.