Races – Page 3 – East Coast Appetite

Mini 10K Recap

June 15, 2016June 15, 2016Posted in NYC, Race Recaps, RunningTagged 10K, NYC, Races, Running2 Comments

After realizing I wouldn’t quite be in the shape I wanted for the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K, I decided that the Mini 10K on June 11th would give me a much-needed extra 4 weeks of training along with some girl power. I’ve run one other (almost but actually not entirely) women-only race, last October’s Nike Women Half Marathon in San Francisco. I was looking forward to the sisterhood vibes with the bonus of some of our club’s men setting up a cheering section. Unfortunately, I developed a sore throat the weekend after my birthday (June 2nd) then got major congestion that Monday and Tuesday. Things had cleared up by race day, but I still had a lot of phlegm.

I (we?) got so lucky with the weather; 63 degrees with 63% humidity, but I knew the humidity and temperature would keep rising throughout the day. I dropped off my stuff (post-race brunch means checking a bag for me, plus I still like to wear a layer there since it’s cooler in the morning), then I found a teammate in the corrals. On the way, a teammate and I watched the Girls’ Race and also spotted Molly Huddle. If we’re being honest, I got a little emotional. A teammate had posted a brief synopsis of this event (started in 1972 as the first women’s race; Katherine Switzer helped start it in her fight for women’s inclusion in racing, this Runner’s World article helps illuminate more). The history of women in sport, and especially in running, tends to get me choked up. Case in point: I can’t re-watch the U.S. Women’s 4 x 100 relay team win and set a world record at the 2012 Olympics without crying a little. I can not wait for the Olympics Trials in early July! Said teammate Gabby is a preschool teacher and I used to teach, so we were so happy for the girls running the 2.25 mile Girls’ Run race. We cheered for them and knew that soon we would be cruising down the same finish route.

I was hoping to PR, but knew that my congestion might get the better of me. This was only my 5th 10K ever, as I’m still fairly new to distance racing (my first was in December 2014 and that was the longest distance I’d raced at that point). I really like this distance because of its unique pacing challenges. I have to pace myself and keep something in the tank more than a 5K, but can try for faster speeds than half marathon pace (which admittedly, I would still like to improve upon greatly). Interestingly, NYRR’s new corral system use’s Hill Runner’s pace predictor and according to my 5K PR, I should be able to run a 10K in 54:45. But I’m nowhere close to that (yet). I’m slowly trying to hit more consistent splits of 9:15, then hope to shoot for 9:00 event then break into the upper 8’s. I think I’m just a proportionately faster “shorter” distance person, but am trying to work on races longer than 5Ks this year. I hope to see improvements while marathon training for sure, even though my goal for that is very conservative.

On with the race: It was most of the usual Central Park loop, but we started on Fifth Avenue instead of the loop itself. It was pretty crowded at first but I started to fall into a groove by the time we passed The Met front steps, then entered the park at 90th St.

My paces for the first two miles were the same and very close to my A Goal pace (9:18) according to my Garmin. Unfortunately, both parts of Harlem Hill got the better of me. I slowed way down and my legs felt heavy on the flat parts. I chugged some water and Gatorade while sort of shuffling past the aid stations. I tried to open my stride on the downhill but wasn’t very successful. I figured a PR was out of my reach but chose to press on hard because I knew the PPTC cheer section would be on the last mile. Can’t slow down then! I’m chuckling at my grade adjusted paces from Strava because that 9:47 really does feel like a 9:07, but it’s not. I ran the tangents pretty well and only added on 0.07, as opposed to a full 0.1 from my last Central Park 10K.

I high-fived the cheerers and felt great on the last mile and was able to pick up the pace, but not sprint it in.

My final time was 58:36, which is a solid enough shave off my 59:04 from the NYCRuns Halloween 10K in October.

“Will you accept this carnation?” Bachelor joke material

I got my medal from a volunteer teammate, picked up a carnation (the top of which later got lobbed off in my backpack) and grabbed an apple instead of a pink bagel. After stretching and relaxing in the shade with teammates, I ate an enormous Juicy Lucy burger at brunch. I was one of many PRs Saturday, which gets me jazzed for the next one.

UAE Healthy Kidney 10K Recap

May 20, 2016May 20, 2016Posted in Race Recaps, RunningTagged 10K, NYC, Races, Running1 Comment

When I realized back in March that I maybe was really sort of mostly healed and could run again, I signed up for this race, hoping for redemption from the 2015 version. That day was a sweaty slog through 6.2 miles of humidity and strong sun (historical weather site says 75 and 71% humidity). This Saturday was luckily 68 degrees with 70% humidity. I was unprepared for the sun (time to start running with a visor?) but the temperature felt pleasant overall.

The view of Bethesda Terrace was very different than last week’s pouring rain and features many adorable off-leash dogs.

I arrived early (around an hour before the start) and got my on-demand bib very quick. I spent my last $3 cash on a blue Gatorade from a cart then checked my bag and ran into some friends and teammates. I forgot how big this race was and how far the start was from the race village. I headed to the corrals 16 minutes before the start and luckily met up with and spotted many similarly paced teammates. We had a nice little pod of 5 that started together and got called out by the announcer.

The first 5K went really well but I remember this also being the strongest part last year before I fell apart in the second half.

I eschewed water the first few miles which was probably unwise, but I really had to pee and was feeling quite hydrated already thanks to the first half of that blue Gatorade (blue is the only flavor I like, but either the regular or the frosty blue will do).

My first mile was slow as planned and I was very proud of my second and third miles because they still felt pretty loose and easy. My tangents were getting worse each mile from the tangents and running around people in the crowd so I tried to remind myself there would likely be an extra 0.2 total.

Screen Shot 2016-05-19 at 9.42.52 PM — My splits make a W shape but the grade-adjusted tell more of a story

The fourth mile is where the semi-struggle began. I knew I couldn’t hang on to my breezy lower 9:00 paces and there were lots of sunny spots, so I slowed my roll. I grabbed some water at each of the last 3 water stations and managed to dump some on the top of my head in the worst of the sun. After the Mile 5 marker, I knew I could push the pace a bit more and try to enjoy the rolling hills. Crowds increased on the South side of the park but it was mainly confused tourists hoping to cross the road. I sprinted in the last 0.2 in part because I saw a teammate and wanted to reel her in.

Happily reunited with teammates after collecting our medals

Overall, this UAE 10K went much better than last year’s where I had my worst 10K ever. I like this distance and am hoping to whittle down my PR for the Mini 10K next month. More reporting on my workouts (McMillan’s and otherwise) to come.

I’m going to be out of town this weekend and have the biggest Brooklyn Half FOMO. To everyone racing (and to those cheering), have so much fun! I hope to get in next year but might also volunteer for a guaranteed spot in 2018 (it feels so weird to type out dates that far in advance. Let’s figure out when I’m running this darn marathon first).

Training and General Update Post and brief Japan Day Run race recap

May 13, 2016May 13, 2016Posted in ClassPass, Race Recaps, Running, TrainingTagged 4 Miler, ClassPass, Races, Running, Training2 Comments

Now that I’m in better physical health and running semi-regularly again and racing, I feel very energized about the next few months of running. Jazzed, even. But I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, knowing that I need to prioritize preventing re-injury and trying to make it to the start of mid-July marathon training for NYCM, much less that November 6th actual date. I ran (haha) an analysis via my data on Strava and MapMyRun (which I used for a few years before getting my Garmin 220 in June 2015) to see what my highest weekly and monthly mileage is historically. I knew that my mileage never got as high as it should have been for any of my half marathons in 2015 due to both injury and falling off my training plans. I have a tendency to cut long runs short and skip that 3rd or 4th run of the week, even when uninjured. I also don’t document my cross-training particularly well digitally, but all those ClassPass spin sessions and strength at Blink lives on in my paper planners, Google Calendar, and vaguely in my memory. All of the apps are interconnected in that Garmin uploads to Strava and Strava uploads to MapMyRun and MyFitnessPal. I’m going to try to increase the inputting of my spin sessions going forward since FlyWheel tells you how many miles you biked.

For my paper planner, I bought a couple sets of these running and barbell stickers from FayeCreates’ Etsy. This is the only decoration my planner (a $15 one from Sugar Paper’s Target collection, I might add) receives. But it’s so satisfying to see an array of pastel running stick figures and weights fill up my calendar, especially now that I’m running more frequently. This is also where I let you all know that I’m fascinated by planner communities, having once been part of (but never posting to) the LiveJournal community for organizers and sometimes browsing the YouTube planner gurus.

The general update is that I DNS the Run As One 4 Miler.I was coming off a very busy week and hadn’t slept well that Friday night (the night before the night before the race is a crucial sleep night, right?) and was dogsitting Elle’s pup Bandit and just wasn’t feeling it. Had much more fun sleeping in and doing a brief run on my way to Smorgasburg with some runner friends in Prospect Park. I got to eat my beloved Outer Borough again, try some fries with duck confit on top, and sample a few flavors of Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. Still on my must-try list are Big Mozz’s mozzerella sticks, Jianbing, and Wowfulls. I think I can skip the rainbow cake, but let me know if it’s any good.

I did, however, end up completing the Japan Run on Sunday, May 8th. The skies opened up and poured down rain as I was picking up my bib at 7:15AM. A bunch of us hung out under the Bethesda Terrace and I ran into a PPTC Teammate then checked my bag and hid in the Meet Hello Kitty tent. Sadly, Hello Kitty didn’t appear until after the race and I wasn’t feeling very photogenic.

They let up for the first couple miles of the race, then began pouring again during the final mile. My third mile had been slower than I planned and I knew I was no longer in the running for a PR (had been feeling hopeful after the first 2 miles but my fitness just isn’t there yet). I had to remove my glasses and put them in my jacket pocket because they became too foggy and streaky for me to see. I managed not to run into any fellow racers since my vision isn’t too bad, and had a great sprint finish. NYRR and MarathonFoto did not capture any pictures of me (probably for the best). There was a guy running with his long hair down and in only a leopard-print Speedo who passed me on the third mile. I had hoped to be in some of his pictures but didn’t make it.

My next race is the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K. I had originally wanted this to be a PR attempt, but I think I’m going to instead shoot for the Mini 10K on June 11th instead. That’ll give me enough time to increase my long, slow runs and also try some of the mile repeat 10K workouts from McMillan. I’ll be gambling with the weather but am hoping to be out there more often in heat and humidity in the next month anyway. I feel like my barre and strength classes and spin are helping me get stronger (I kind of love forearm plank pushups now?), so we will see.

Cherry Blossom 5K Recap

April 11, 2016April 11, 2016Posted in Race RecapsTagged 10 Miles, Cherry Blossom, Races, RunningLeave a comment

Yes, you read that correctly. I ran a race. Also, it was not the race I originally signed up for (that would be the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, not the “5K Run/Walk”). But after 5 months of no racing (time has flown! and yet gone so slowly), it felt great to race again.

It was free to switch to the 5K ahead of time, but my bib from the 10 Miler remained the same. I would have been in the light blue corral because I was planning to go for a (high) 1:20something time back when I entered the lottery in December. I had foolishly assumed that regular physical therapy in addition to a grueling ClassPass schedule and gym time could help me shave a minute per mile off my Bronx 10 Mile time or keep my 10K pace for an additional 4. We may never know! I deferred my Broad Street Run entry to 2017 and am no longer planning on a spring half, so the 10 mile distance will have to wait until I am marathon training this summer and fall (or not).

Back to the recap. I went with two teammates from NYC and we hopped to the expo late morning. One was also running the 5K with me and the other was completing the 10.

The National Building Museum was beautiful and I need to come back to see the regular exhibits.

Meb was speaking, so we watched him then picked up our bibs, sadly missing the cutoff to get in the line for his autograph. We had paid extra for the tech tshirt and they’re so nice! A well-fitting maroon New Balance v-neck (for ladies) with a Capitol building visually constructed out of cherry blossoms. We had also paid extra for race medals, assuming we would be running the 10 Miler. Oh well.

Hi Meb!

Then there was shopping. This race expo, held at the National Building Museum, had over a dozen vendors of the usual performance wear, shoes, and accessories. I made a stop at The Stick’s booth for some muscle relief, then we bought coordinating long-sleeve New Balance tech shirts with the logo. I’m still reasonably well stocked with the basics for spring running and didn’t end up needing a vest or down-filled jacket for winter training since I wasn’t really running. I do have a cool new running backpack for run commuting and bringing essentials to the gym, but that’s been my only 2016 gear purchase so far.

Running backpack picture not in action on Saturday at the National Portrait Gallery.

Bought this and wore it on the cold bus ride home.

Morning of the race, the winds were whipping. I wore a tech long-sleeve with a windbreaker (Lululemon Go the Distance) over it, and longer Nike crops. I brought and wore my Brooks Ravennas because I usually run shorter distances (4 miles and under) in my Brooks Pure Cadences, but figured I could use the extra support of the Ravennas for my first race back. I found myself really wishing I had purchased a pair of running gloves this winter. Or just some throwaway gloves. I had my bare hands jammed in my jacket pockets during most of the walk to the start and pre-race time, but it wasn’t enough.

“Corral” selfie (there were no corrals). They let people have heat sheets before the race but then they had to give them back. Also, dude to the left was in 4th as of the bridge, so I guess we weren’t too, too far back.

We waited until the 10 mile runners were off the 5K part of the course and the gun went off right at 8:40am. The 5K was a short and simple out-and-back from the staging area, over the bridge, a small loop then return. My teammate Tanya lined up not too far from the start and apparently had an 18 second delay from the gun to our start. We’re both coming back from injuries and kept the pace slow for the first mile how our respective knees and butt/hamstring felt. Once on the bridge, we were feeling pretty good (there was only a tiny slope to get on it). We saw the leaders pass us after the turnaround with huge lead times (the Belgian guy was flying and won the race). I had been “drafting” a couple for about half a mile, but finally decided to pass. We pressed the pace pretty easily from 10:00 to 9:25 for the second mile.

Once off the bridge and after our second mile, we knew we could pick up the pace safely. And we did. I was breathing a bit more heavily but held steady close to 8:30 then figured 8:00 for the last half mile should be fine, reasoning to myself that all my spin classes were at least this long and I always have something left in the tank for the final sprints there. Tanya suggested I go on ahead in the last quarter mile, then I flagged a bit before sprinting in the finish. I ended up with a 28:16 which is a couple minutes off from my PR, but still pretty amazing considering my injury status.

There were many other folks in this race who also had 10 mile bibs as well, but I assume we were a fun mix of injured and untrained. I was the 70th female and 159th total out of 1,770. RunPix has no photos of me from the race, but they have a fun little infographic showing me way toward the front of the pack. Top 5% of women in a race? I’ll take it. Now to actually recover and get faster.

We walked back to our hotel as a cooldown and I was honestly thinking about running it in, as my energy was still pretty high and I wasn’t sore yet. We’d had Nando’s for lunch Saturday and I’d stuffed myself with pretzel bread at District Commons the night before, so a huge plate of Roti at Union Station ended up being my main meal after. It felt good to eat something lighter and full of veggies after a race. I also partook in my recent favorite DC-area Starbucks tradition of getting Sweet Potato Loaf with my iced coffee before getting on the bus home. I wish we had this stuff in NYC Starbucks, but I usually content myself with cinnamon swirl coffee cake.

Desserts and snacks posts to come along with ClassPass updates.

NYC Runs Haunted Island Halloween 10K Race Recap

November 5, 2015Posted in NYC, Race Recaps, RunningTagged 10K, Races, Running8 Comments

Since I had bonked in the last mile of the Staten Island 5K and had a ‘take it easy’ half marathon in San Francisco, I really wanted just one PR this fall. My last two 10Ks (UAE Health Kidney on 5/30 and Queens 10K on 6/21) were painful, humid slogs. This 10K featured slightly more crisp weather and the experience of more speed training and cross-training.

I came up with A, B, and C goals in 2-minute increments (55-57, 57-59, and 59-1:01) based on mental math, and my C goal would have me PR. I had ran the 5K version of this race last year, a 10K last December, and another 5K on Roosevelt Island on Memorial Day (where I got my 5K PR of 26:16), but the course had changed just slightly based on construction. Roosevelt Island is very flat, which really helps in the PR department. NYC Runs doesn’t have corrals for this race, so there is some definite bottlenecking at the start of the course, but it gets a lot less crowded by mile 2. I knew to be aware of sidewalk dipping and some uneven footing, but overall I’m a big fan of races on Roosevelt Island and it feels like a pretty known entity.

I took a 70-minute restorative yoga class on Friday night, so I felt pretty relaxed going into this race. The 9:30am start time really helped, too. I had my usual breakfast of 2 mini frozen waffles with cookie butter, some iced coffee, and plenty of water. I sometimes use almond butter if I’m feeling healthy, but speculoos works just as well. It also tastes great with bananas and I have Wafels & Dinges to thank for this combination.

I entered the start corral toward the middle/back with some friends, one of whom (Gabby of Marathons & Macarons) wasn’t shooting for a PR but was still going to race it a lot faster than me. Our teammate Johnny was way in the front, where he rightly deserved to be (coming in 4th overall and 1st in the 20-29 age group). I wasn’t running with music because I wanted to be hyper vigilant of my breathing and my body.

This being a race held on Halloween, there were some great costumes. But I was glad not to be wearing one. I wore my long-sleeved team shirt and planned to roll up the sleeves as needed. I definitely could not have handled the extra bulk of a tutu or the head warmth of a character hat. A teammate who ran the 5K kindly took photos of us 10K runners. I didn’t see her the first time, but then I caught on to where she would be.

I was stuck behind several couples on miles 1 and 2, but decided to keep drafting them until the path got wider. Then came the Minions and the penguins. I noticed 3 separate groups of people dressed up as Minions and am delighted to say that I only finished behind 1 group of them who passed me around mile 4.5. The couple dressed in full-body penguin suits kept with me during their selfies, then sped up and stayed ahead.

I saw some teammates after the 5K, which gave me a little juice for the fourth mile before I inevitable slowed during the fifth. My splits had been looking so good, but my overall average pace from this was 9:30 which means my Garmin (Forerunner 220) and I have some issues to work out.

My Achilles felt ok and my breathing was fine, so I finally took it up a notch on the final mile. My Garmin was off by 0.2, so when my watch beeped for mile 6, I knew that I really had 0.4 miles to go. I managed to stay ahead of a pack of piñatas, much to my relief, then caught and passed the girl in front of me before attempting a sprint finish. My watch had somehow gotten so off time (I saw splits of 9:10-9:24 but nothing slower), that my final time of 59:04 felt a little slow. But it is a PR! And a negative split! I’ll take it!

The finish line photos are not taken from a flattering angle.

I got 48th out of 137 ladies in the 30-39 age group (and 307 out of 646 total finishers). Top half, all right! I grabbed a lot of candy for immediate and later consumption, then we got a very filling brunch. I rested my laurels the rest of the day and foam rolled so that I could make my Halloween debut as Angelina Ballerina later that night, then cheer on NYC marathoners all day Sunday.

Post-race celebrations with candy in my backpack. We are not in costume.

Look at that flatness! I know my first pace spike was in response to cheerers, but I have no idea why I picked it up so much at the 4 mile mark. I think that was when I was struggling with water and tried to take an unnecessary ShotBlok and dropped it.

The shirt for this race was the same logo as last year’s tech t-shirt but was a cotton long-sleeved shirt and I love it. They ran out of (unisex) mediums so I grabbed a small. It’s very fitted but I can still wear it over a tank, as seen below before my rowing class.

This was possibly my final race of 2015 because I need to heal my tendons, so it was nice to go out on a PR.

Nike San Francisco Women’s Half Race Recap

October 23, 2015October 27, 2015Posted in Destinations, Race Recaps, San FranciscoTagged Half Marathon, Nike Womens Half, Races, Running, San Francisco3 Comments

I found out that I got into this race via lottery in early July and decided to take the plunge. I wanted at least one fall half (and was still planning on running the Richmond Half). This was my first destination race and my first that wasn’t NYRR or NYC Runs. I asked around and everyone who had run the race before said it was an amazing course and that they had a great time. I felt overdue for a trip to the Bay Area, so I decided to make it a full 4-day trip, from Friday morning to the last red-eye out Monday night. I’ll make this post focus on the race and other activities (and swag), then make a separate “what I ate” post because y’all know I went HAM out there before and after the race.

The pre-race activities were fun and helped instill a bit of the ‘community’ feel for such a big race. I enjoyed the Friday Get Focused workout and bonded with my Airbnb housemates who were also running. I ended up skipping the Saturday morning shakeout run because I had walked over 5 miles Friday and close to that on Saturday.

Posing after packet pick-up during the swag purchasing point #1 at Niketown. I needed a Dri-fit hat anyway.

I found my name on the Niketown store window pretty quickly as well as a friend’s who I didn’t know was running the race.

Stretching to Hotline Bling with my housemates during the Get Focused workout.

My goal for this half was just to finish without Achilles pain, since I knew a PR was out of the question and my eventual goal for sub-2 will have to wait a little longer. I ended up going even slower than I planned on and after the first few miles and hills, decided to not have qualms about stopping for pictures or walking through water and snack stops. I don’t usually race with my phone (just my Garmin Forerunner 220), but used both so I could enjoy some tunes and snap some shots. I ran my running club’s singlet with Lululemon Top Speed Crops because they have a zippered pocket as well as smaller waistband pockets. I wanted to bring shot-blocks with caffeine and keep the free gel along the course in there in case I didn’t need it.

I was at the front of Wave 2 because my housemate was going for a 9:10 pace, but I wisely decided to step to the side and drink more Nuun (cup #2 of 3 pictured below), so I ended up more in the middle of the pack. The first wave took off right at 6:30, and I crossed the start line around 6:41am.

The first few miles had some uphills and I was trying to reconcile the course map in my head with the neighborhoods I had already visited Friday and Saturday. This was a pleasant distraction for the first 5K or so.

We entered Golden Gate Park, which was my favorite part of the run. I had hung out there before when visiting and loved the waterfalls and bison, so I actually did take some quick shots this time. There was some crowd support and bands, along with ample enough water/Nuun stops. I grabbed a small peanut butter bar close to the 10K mark but didn’t eat it because I was a smidge thirsty. As seen below, I was clearly grooving to my tunes.

I felt pretty strong exiting the park and took a Vanilla Gu I had grabbed, but definitely slowed on the first of the 2 hills out. The crowds were picking up a bit as we headed to the Presidio. I remember passing the 10K mark back in the park, but not the 15K mark. There were lots of twists and turns through the neighborhood; if I had been really racing this, I would have tried to run the tangents better.

I tried to focus more on making it past THE hill and enjoying the downhills, along with admiring the scenery. I’m not good at running selfies and didn’t want to mess up a high-five or pass my sweat to a stranger, so I kept my arms to myself but grabbed a few shots at good pause points.

After the hill, I knew there were only 2 miles to go and that they would be a mix of downhill and flat. What joy! I felt strong during these, took my final 2 shot blocks, and shoved the chocolate truffle into my zippered pocket for later. I definitely wasn’t flying by the water by any means, but I had a pretty good pace going here. There were a few music groups out, including taiko drums and a Chinese dragon dance.

The finish was around a corner and snuck up on me a bit because my watch was over 0.2 miles ahead. I went for the flat-out sprint for the finish but moved myself into the middle so I could have a good finish photo (not usually my strong suit).

Nailed it (but please do not look at the knees of the poor guy behind me). I finished in 2:25:34, which is over a minute per mile slower than my previous two halfs (NYC and Brooklyn, both this year). But I guess I did stop for a picture of the bison paddock in Golden Gate Park. And I did shuffle slowly up those hills. So, my sub-2 hour half might have to wait until 2016.

The exit went really smoothly in part because they handed us large reusable grocery bags from Whole Foods (with lots of goodies inside), so I could throw everything else into there. Tiffany’s necklace in a box? Throw it in the bag. Hot pink water bottle full of cold water? Drank a lot of it, then threw it in the bag. There was no wait for the Portapotties, so I headed there first. I then got into what would be closer to a 1-hour line for Finisher gear, not knowing everything would be available back at Niketown or on the website. Fortunately, I befriended a couple of other ladies in line and they got the following picture of me. I did not want to wait in line for the official finish photos in front of the light teal backdrop. These motivational words would just have to do.

Then there was a long, slow, painful walk to the shuttles. I snacked on my banana, chocolate milk, and peanut butter bar before the bus, then was able to shower and nap and move on with my 3 post-race meals.

I would try another Nike Women’s event for sure, especially if running with friends. In fact, I might enter for their Toronto 15K next June. I’m planning to run the NYC full marathon next November, so I probably won’t be able to race SF next year at that point in my marathon training, but we’ll see.

Staten Island 5K Race Recap

October 15, 2015October 23, 2015Posted in Race Recaps, RunningTagged NYC, Races, Staten IslandLeave a comment

I decided a few weeks ago to race the Staten Island 5K as both the 9th (and likely final) race in my 2015 NYRR 9+1 program and also to try for a new and improved 5K PR. My previous one of 26:16 at the NYCRuns Memorial Day 5K seemed like it could be improved upon, especially with my 7:24 mile at the 5th Avenue Mile. Plus, it looked like a relatively flat course (though nothing is as flat as Roosevelt Island) and I’d been regularly incorporating speed workouts into my runs and workouts. The race was at 8:30am on Sunday with the half marathon to start at 8:45am, ideally for less interference. I’m not sure how that went.

I made the A corral for the first, and probably only, time in my NYRR race career. There was also a B corral. Showing off my letter before the bag dropoff.

I had taken the 7am ferry, so by the time we entered the Richmond County Ballpark, I was able to use the bathroom and drop off my stuff. I was not able to obtain more water (the fountain was turned off and there were no concessions) or do a proper warmup. We were a little unclear about where the start line was and it took some guesswork and following the crowd.

My A goal was to get sub-26 and my B goal was to beat my PR of 26:16. Neither happened. I went out too fast, clocking an 8:06 mile, then an 8:10 mile. At this point, my right hamstring/glute felt really tight but more significantly, my cardiovascular fitness failed me first. I was heavy breathing. I was thirsty. I downed some Gatorade at the 2nd water stop, but should have drank more before. I had to walk then slow jog through the water stop, sloshing Gatorade all over myself. There was an incline at a slight bridge that I normally wouldn’t have minded, but it was brutal to dehydrated, not in sub-25 minute shape me.

The photos show my struggle. They are bad. So bad. My Strava numbers are a little bit off from what I remember my Garmin splits being. I will say that I somehow found it in me to have a sprint finish, where I passed 7 people or so in the last 100 meters. It helps that a faster coworker (who won an age group award) cheered for me on the homestretch and that I found some sort of Gatorade-induced speed within myself.

Yikes. On the plus side, my 5K performances as a whole have been stronger in age-graded % than any of my other distances (except for the mile), so I did successfully lower my NYRR pace per mile by 30 seconds. (They now adjust it to an equivalent 10K time. LOL so hard at my desire to get even within 5 minutes of what they think my equivalent 10K time is. I’m about 10 minutes out so far). If this is indeed my final NYRR race of 2015, then I won’t have a chance to speed up until the Al Gordon 4-miler next February where I’ll be 4 weeks out from running the NYC Half (and probably trying for a half marathon PR there if I’m not doing any more fall races).

I got some water (not enough), stretched out, then ran another slow 4 miles around the course before cheering on teammates running the half. I also hopped in the Iron Throne of baseball bats. I was trying to smirk like Cersei. We then experienced a lot of issues when trying to get brunch. Two of the restaurants I had bookmarked were closed and the third was only open for a private party. I ended up getting a Butterfinger Blizzard from the Dairy Queen back in the ferry terminal.

A pre-race photo with my teammate Jana who was in the Top Ten for the 25-29 age group in the half. Look at me, so full of hope and anticipation. Look at her, so actually race-ready.

I might try out the Staten Island Half next year in an effort to try out all of the 6 borough races (since I did 4 this year), but will probably not travel quite so far for a 5K again unless I think I’m going to love the course.

Bronx 10 Mile Race Recap

October 1, 2015October 23, 2015Posted in Fuel, NYC, Race RecapsTagged Bronx, Races, RunningLeave a comment

On Sunday the 27th, I was fairly ready for my morning when the alarm went off at 5:21am (so I can snooze until 5:30). I had signed up for this race back in June and it’s my 4th of the NYRR Borough series (ran the NYC Half, Brooklyn Half, and Queens 10K earlier this year). This race was my first ten-mile race ever and my first race in the Bronx. I had originally wanted to keep at 9:35 pace throughout, but as my heels started giving me trouble in mid August and continued throughout September, I slowed my goal down to 9:45/mile and then to anything under 10/mile. I want to stay healthy for the Nike Women’s Half in SF October 18th, so I decided to treat this as a training run more than anything.

And that’s what happened. Before the 8am gun, I sipped some Gatorade (only available up near the start because of the Bronx 5K that was occurring) and stopped to talk to a speedier teammate on my way back to my corral. By the time I was done drinking and about to line up, the corrals were all moving up closer to the start. I slipped in somewhere near my “I’ letter but ran into teammates who were in G and H, then a friend who was in J found me. She and I went over our goals for the race (1. finish 2. steadyish pace 3. feel “ready” for our upcoming half marathons) and agreed to at least start together.

We carried on a conversational pace hovering around 10 minutes for the first 5 miles, clocking in a 9:45 third mile, then a slower 4th mile when we slowed for some water. We got to see the winners and sub-elites after the turnaround when we were done with 3 miles and they were done with 7, which was amazing. We applauded for a lot of them and Jaime was able to let out a fair amount of wooos for the women. I then got to see some fast PPTC teammates and cheer for them (and vice versa), which was a huge boost. I was smiling a lot through the 10K mark and enjoying the upbeat tunes around the park turnaround. Our legs were definitely feeling heavier right around the 5 mile mark, so I popped 2 pink lemonade Honey Stinger chews and washed them down with some Gatorade. The mild downhills gave us a lot to look forward to. Our chitchat grew more intermittent and we tried to count down the hills remaining. I took 2 more Honey Stingers at Mile 7 with some water.

Finally, with only 1.5 miles to go, I was feeling ready to “finish strong”. I picked up the pace to a 9:30 then sped up the last mile to a 9:00, and a sprint finish. The finish line really snuck up on me after a small uphill/downhill. I was hoping for some finish line photos, but MarathonFoto only has the cheesy ones I took with Jaime, including where the photog told us to bite our medals. Better than sorority arm, I guess?

I can’t wait to wear the shirt for this race because it is neon green and will hopefully help with visibility at night. I’m so glad I got to do this race for my 4/6 (guaranteed entry to the 2016 NYC Half!), see some more of the Bronx than my usual work-related Fordham Rd. jaunts, and feel more race-ready for SF.

Waving hello to the final water station teammate

Strava Pacing and Elevation Profile

After the finish, clutching Gatorade cup

Fifth Avenue Mile Race Recap

September 24, 2015October 23, 2015Posted in NYC, Race RecapsTagged Manhattan, Mile, NYC, Races, RunningLeave a comment

After boldly declaring back in June that I was taking the rest of the summer off from racing, I actually did. I ran one final 5K at the Al Goldstein Speed Series on July 1, then went on vacation back down South, where I managed to crank out just a few sweaty miles in both Richmond and Durham, choking with humidity. I went on a mid-July “runcation” in the Berkshires with my running club and managed 7 miles on a towpath in the rain along with some Appalachian Trail hiking. During the group run, I actually had to remove my glasses for the last 3.5 miles because they were so streaked with a blend of sweat, rain, and oils that my vision was more impaired with them on. Aside from a few solo park loops, I cheered on my teammates at NYRR Team Championships, lounged by a few pools, took a free SoulCycle class in Montauk, and took an entire 7 days off from running in mid-August by accident. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I joined ClassPass in late August as well, in hopes of finding acceptable cardio alternatives, semi-regularly attending yoga to really stretch out my tight legs, and trying new-to-me stuff like barre and SurfSet. Needless to say, my return to the gym and the 3 or 4 days a week running schedule was not a smooth one. The weekend before the 9/13 5th avenue Mile race, I had to adjust my goals a bit. My A-goal was still sub-7 minutes but this seemed highly unlikely. I negligently was in the Hamptons during Labor Day weekend, when I had otherwise planned on a track time trial, so I chose to push it on a treadmill instead on the Tuesday before. I huffed and puffed my way through a half mile at 8 MPH (7:30 minute mile), slowed down for a half mile, then squeezed in another half mile at 8.1 MPH (wow, really upping the ante) during the Serena vs. Venus Williams U.S. Open game. This let me know that I could at least go under 8, where an 8:10 was my fastest 5K split this year so far. I really wanted to hit under 7:19 because this is the best mile time of mine that I can remember from High School. I was a sprinter and hurdler from 8th grade – 11th grade, so the mile always seemed and felt like an impossibly long distance to me. The longest I ever ran at a meet was 800m, so it’s good to know I’ve had the same mental pacing issues for the last 1.5 decades. Would it feel really cool to beat 16-year-old me? Yes. I am the same height but have an extra 30 pounds on my frame.

I rolled up to the Met Steps (so Gossip Girl!) at 8:20am or so Sunday morning, collected my # and T-Shirt (I’m not normally a fan of non-tech shirts but oooh this one is soft) and dropped off my bag after packing some Honey Stinger chews into my zipper pocket for the extra miles after the race. I wanted to cheer on the 15-29 Women (Group A) but was still in the bathroom line when they began. Good thing I’m new to Group C. I grabbed a few water cups after and sipped them slowly and slipped into the middle of my corral after the 15-29 Men started. I saw some much faster teammates of mine squeezing along the left side to get near the front, where they belonged. I happily stayed in the middle-back of the corral. At 5’9, I felt like one of the taller ladies, but I’m sure some of that was just the uneven ground.

And we were off! I hadn’t reset my Garmin Forerunner 220 to beep every .25 miles because I planned to run the first half sub-8 then see how I felt. Of course, how does one feel after a quick but not sprinting half mile? Like they can pick up the pace. I went out a little fast (whoops, 6:50, didn’t mean to see you there!), slowed for the uphill, then figured that since my heavy breathing wasn’t super audible, I could really speed up in the last 200m. I chose one other tall lady to catch up to and picked her off in the final 50. I couldn’t choose between quicker turnover and longer strides, so briefly resembled a fawn learning how to run. A friend tried to get a picture but I was just too fast for an iPhone on the final 100m. My watch said I’d cracked 7:24, which is exactly what NYRR agreed on. My stated B-Goal was sub-7:30, so that felt pretty good. Do I think I have a sub-7 in me? Yes, sure. Could I inch it down to 6:45? No, probably not at my current fitness and injury level. But those are goals for next year, when I hope to join my teammates at some local track meets after winter speed training classes. I’m coming for you, track mile. It’s been over a decade, but I’m coming for you.

I watched the D, E, and F groups run before squeezing in a conversational 4 miles around the reservoir with 2 of my teammates. My Achilles were hurting something fierce; I had worn my Ravennas instead of my Pure Cadences in anticipation of the extra miles, but I think all that time sprinting would have been painful either way. We then got some crepes and iced coffee before checking out the local speedsters and the pros. Sadly, I missed most of the Masters and Malcolm Gladwell’s heat, among others. I definitely plan on racing this again next year

MarathonFoto got some terrible pictures of me during the race and a few after both solo and with teammates. The solo shots have me convinced that I need to learn some poses other than “sorority arm”, “peace sign” and “congratulatory arms up”. Will double-thumbs-up make a comeback? Stay tuned.

Fall Racing Schedule

September 18, 2015September 19, 2015Posted in NYC, Running, San Francisco, VirginiaTagged Races, Running, San Francisco, Staten Island, TrainingLeave a comment

I’m already many weeks into my latest Half training cycle but feeling fairly unprepared. I’ve cut a few long runs short (did I learn nothing from Brooklyn this May?) and tended toward cross-training in lieu of some of those mid-week 3-milers. After battling and beating plantar fasciitis this spring in my left foot, I’ve had some Achilles pain the last few weeks. But I am feeling way better this week after increased mileage and cross-training. My next 2 races are:

The Bronx 10 Mile

The Nike Women’s San Francisco Half

I registered for the Bronx 10 Mile back in June along with the Mile, knowing it would sell out. I then entered the late-June lottery for Nike SF and got in early July. The timing is great other than a busy wedding weekend in between the two, leaving me wondering when to squeeze in another 10+ mile long run. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, either before I depart DC, the day before the wedding, or after I come back.

I’m considering adding on the Staten Island 5K plus some extra miles SI around that day (October 11), which is exactly one week before Nike. I’m not even trying to hit a personal record in SF, due to those killer hills, shown in red above. Instead, I just want to enjoy my time and consume all that race swag. Assuming I’m relatively injury free after the Bronx, I plan to sign up for the following races:

NYC Runs Haunted Island Halloween 10K. I ran the 5K version last year and while I got a 5K PR earlier this year on a similar Roosevelt Island course, I am overdue for a 10K PR. I hated life and the humidity during both the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K and the Queens 10K and walked through the water stops. I think late October weather might be perfect to best myself on either of those runs. I’ll be cheering on many of my friends in the NYC Marathon the day after, so hopefully a race the day before will get rid of my marathon FOMO. Plus I’ll be going out for Halloween that night before waking up Sunday to cheer on my marathon running friends. I live right along the course then will probably take the subway to the finish.
The Staten Island 5K on 10/11 OR the Race to Deliver 4M on 11/22. Either one will be my 9th NYRR race this year and thus my final race in the 9+1 series. I could of course do both and hope to improve on my NYRR best mile pace. I’m also considering the Jingle Bell Jog for this reason because it’s near me in Brooklyn. I did my volunteer time back in April at the Japan Run and had a great time but am also glad to have it out of the way now that everyone is trying to squeeze in their races and volunteer credit.
Richmond Half Marathon on 11/14. Why yes, I would love a hometown race with the option of getting both Dixie Donuts and Sugar Shack Donuts after. This would be the Half I want to PR on this year. There are hills, but I’m pretty sure they’re more gentle than those in San Francisco. A friend who ran it last year told me there’s great crowd support, plus my family is pretty much obligated to attend and cheer me on. It would have been even more reasonably priced earlier in the summer, but I’m glad I’ve waited to register so I can watch for injuries.

So, after a fairly slow summer, it looks like fall will be pretty busy. Let’s hope I stay injury-free and that the weather cooperates.