I passed up a fun long weekend back in our hometown to run
this race. This race would be my longest run ever. I’ve been concerned about it
because I’m right at the point of a marathon schedule where I get injured.
Also, I’ve really been having trouble staying motivated at about the 12 mile
mark of my long training runs. I was hoping that being in a race would give me
a push through that tough spot. Also I wanted to see if I could get out there
and just run my pace without any help beyond a simple lap counting watch.
I set everything I needed, out the night before.
Some key gear, that I didn’t use before:
Asics running shorts (the pockets are large enough to carry
gel flasks)
Gel Flasks (carrying 2 with liquid EFS Kona Mocha)
CEP compression sleeves.
Sole dual layer socks
Black Cherry Shot Blocks to eat before the race.
Baggage: EFS recovery powder in a shaker and a bottle of
water to mix it with after the race.
I woke up at about 4AM to leave just before 5AM. Hoped to be
in the city by 6AM.
Ate my oatmeal and got out the door on schedule. Everything
was going well. I was up near the race start at 6. Unfortunately, there was a
street fair of some sort happening nearby. So they were towing ALL the cars on one of the Avenues. Which meant side street parking was tough to find. I
spent 30 minutes looking before realizing I was out of time. Found a parking
garage and crossed my fingers that it wasn’t going to cost too much. $12. Whew!
I did look into this the night before but didn’t see anything under $30 online.
Race start is in the North East corner around 104th
St by the way. Run is counter clockwise.
I walk/jog to the start. I’m definitely later than I wanted
to be. I had to check my bag and get online for a “Bio Break”. As soon as I saw
the lines, I knew I wouldn’t be starting the run when the horn sounded. I also
knew that if I tried to run, I’d find that there would be lines at every pit
stop along the way for the first 3-4 miles. So I waited it out. (I really didn’t
have a choice).
I cross the timing mat at the start line about 8:30ish after
the horn sounded. This definitely allowed me to run my pace to start because I
had so much room due to the lack of people. Of course it also meant that I
would eventually have to run through all of the slower paces. Which turned out
to be not so bad.
In my rush to make it to the start, I forgot my gatorde
bottle in the car. I was going to need to hit the first few water stops.
As I was running through the first crowd, it was kind of
interesting to see the vibe of this group. Some people fast walking. Some
people “running” but so out of breath I was worried for them. (this is between
mile 0 to 2). Then there was one lady that was singing along with her iPod…
terribly. I felt badly for anyone around her that might be spending significant
time within listening distance of her.
So my goal for the day was to run a 9:30 pace the entire
time. That actually would probably be my secondary goal. My primary goal is to
not get hurt! During my shorter mid week training runs, I feel that my legs
feel like junk for the first 3 miles. Well that wasn’t the case today. I felt
really good right from the start.
First mile 9:30 (ding!),
2nd mile 9:38,
3rd mile 9:06. You could probably create the
elevation profile based on my splits.
4th mile 9:21
5th mile 9:26
6th mile … I missed it because I was running to
the water table. I am forearm blocked by a guy crossing ahead of me to the
table who doesn’t want to slow down to pick up water. Then pushes me again on
his way out. (Ever feel like tripping somebody?). But just then from behind I
hear shouts of “Move to your left!!!” being repeated over and over. That would
be the bikes making room for the lead racer. I realize I started 8 minutes
late, but this guy was finishing 12 when I was at the 6 mile mark. Very cool to
see the speedsters running through, although I think from this point on he had
a significant advantage because of the cyclists making room for him. (he
finished the race in 1:34:47 a 5:16 pace).
6th & 7th
mile 18:20
8th mile 9:32
9th mile 9:23 … Feeling really good to this
point. I finished off my first flask of EFS but along with the water I’m curious
if I’m over doing it with the calories. My stomach feels a bit odd. Maybe I
should have waited longer to start with the EFS because I had the shot blocks
at the start.
10th mile 9:13
11th mile 9:26
12th mile 9:16 … Typically this is where I just
want to stop running. That’s not the case today. The only issue at the moment
is that I’m starting to feel the miles in my legs.
13th mile 9:30
14th mile 9:37
15th mile 9:44 … At this point I’m pretty psyched
about the fact that I’ve just run 15 miles without walking anything but water
stops.
16th mile 9:30 …
17th mile 10:11 … This would be a climb. Hamstrings are getting
tight and my stride feels very compressed. I “funny walk” for a bit in an
attempt to get some length back into the hamstrings. (Well not exactly like in the
video but you get the idea). I can’t help but feel concerned about cramping
although it doesn’t feel like that’s going to happen.
18th mile 9:30
Total 2:50:22 for a 9:28 pace 1925th overall/4320 1316th male/2275 223
Age Group or 394
Obviously I am pleased with the results. I ran the pace I
set out to run with very little discomfort. That was VERY encouraging.
Although I couldn’t help but think about the additional 8.2 miles I’d
have to run for the Marathon. I’d say I
started to feel every hill starting around mile 14. Up or Down. Immediately
after the race 8.2 more miles sounded like it was going to be a problem. (and
it might be). But now that I’ve looked at the Marathon Course Map and I’ve
broken it up. I feel better about it.
16 miles gets me into Mahnattan. Which was my main goal for
the year.
18 puts me half way to the Bronx.
20 puts me to the Bronx
21 and I’m out of the Bronx
23 I’m alongside the park and about a 5K to the finish.
There is a good chance there could be some bad miles towards
the end but at least I’ve finally shifted my mindset to get to the Marathon
finish line instead of just taking what I can get.
As soon as I finished running, I went to my bag and mixed up
my recovery drink and chugged that and switched into a dry shirt. This is the
first NYRR event I’ve done where I saw a ton of post race stretching going on.
Me? I was all about getting my hamstrings stretched out and finding some water.
I thought I was doing fine while I was running. Now that I’ve stopped, I was
really feeling kinda funky. I should have brought a few bucks with me.
Unfortunately my cash was in the car. Once I was in my car I just wanted to get home. I had
some Gatorade and a bit of water left over from the drive in, it would have to
do.
It took an hour to get home. I stopped to pickup 2 bags of
ice. Filled the tub and in I go. Then the 2 bags of ice got added. I probably
should have had a bit more ice , or maybe I’m getting used to cold ice
baths.
Once I was done with that. It was time to eat. But what? I
should have prepared better for this. I was very hungry at this point and ended
up ordering a pizza. Probably not the best choice. I watched some of the
Jets/Dolphins game while I was eating. It was a close game but I wasn’t very
interested. Eventually I set my cell phone alarm for an hour later and fell
asleep. Woke up to find out that I was eliminated from my NFL Survival League.
Knew I should have picked the Bills! I had the 49ers.
I finished the day by going and getting a massage. I felt
pretty good but I know the next day or so could be ugly.
I guess the one thing I haven’t mentioned that shouldn’t be
overlooked is this. My stride felt great! My right leg has been so funky for
sooo long. I’ve kicked the inside of my left ankle so many times over the last
couple years. Not Today!! I really hope it stays like this. It’s nice running
and not feeling like you are going to injure yourself!
And finally, it’s nice to have a new “longest run ever”, I’ll
worry about pace for some other event in the future. Right now it's cool just to have covered the distance.
1 comment:
Congrats on your new longest run ever!
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