Random Friday Post: More (Bad) Poetry!!!

On Wednesday solo long run I had plenty of time to let my mind wander. Sometimes I think about concrete things like work, weekend plans, or breakfast. Other times I get a snippet of a song stuck in my head--I don't listen to music on my runs, but somehow this still happens--and I end up repeating a line or two over and over. And then, on occasion, I have completely random thoughts and before I know I'm dreaming up stuff like these poems.

What Happens Every Time I'm on the Starting Line
Five minutes to go
Now I really have to pee
I thought I just went


What Happens After Every Race
That race really sucked
My entire body in pain
Just signed up again


A Tediously Brief Ode to the Foam Roller

You bring great comfort to my limbs,
    Which ache from workouts on the track,
Faithfully waiting at the gym,
    Resting gently, upon the rack
        Others use but do not own
        You're there for me, and me alone
       

The Return of the MWMLR!

[Note: For those of you who don't care about training principles and just want to hear about why my run was awesome, skip the first three paragraphs]

If any of you read the title to today's post and are scratching your head, it may be because you're not familiar with marathon training guru Pete Pfitzinger. He literally wrote the book on marathon training, okay, he wrote a book on marathon training, Advanced Marathoning.

While I'm not using his plan this training cycle, I have taken elements of it and incorporated them into the plan my team is using. One big part of Pfitz' weekly schedule is a mid-week medium long run (I'm just abbreviating it as MWMLR to save some keystrokes). I found this to be a particularly beneficial component.

Marathon runners often obsess over the importance the weekend long run. There's evidence that a single weekly long run might not be enough to bring your aerobic capacity to a new level, but in my opinion, the true benefit of the mid-week long run is psychological. If you run 12 to 15 miles in the middle of the week, that weekend long run doesn't seem so intimidating, and if that weekend 22 miler doesn't seem so bad, then it follows that maybe even 26.2 miles sounds a little more doable.

Photo from Flickr use: Norikuroda

Anyway, that was plenty of introduction to bring me to the part where I say that I finally got in a true MWMLR this week after a long time off. While I've been doing mid-week runs of 9 to 10 miles, there's today was the first time in at least 6 weeks.

I did my favorite standby route: over the 59th Street Bridge into Queens, along Vernon Blvd, over the Pulaski Bridge into Brooklyn, along the Greenpoint and Williamsburg water fronts, around the Navy Yard, and over the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall Park.

Today's iteration was particularly awesome because it was extremely foggy this morning. Running through Central Park to get to the Queensboro, I couldn't see or even really hear any cars. It truly did not feel like I was running in the middle of the city. Then, going running into Queens, I could see the lights of some of the taller buildings cutting through the fog, but since it was still dark, I couldn't make out the buildings themselves. It was as though the lights were simply suspended in the clouds.

By the time I arrived in Downtown Brooklyn it was light out, but the fog was just as thick. Running under the Manhattan Bridge (so I guess that means I was in DUMBO) I couldn't see the top of its towers. The Brooklyn Bridge looked ethereal, quite a feat for such an imposing masonry structure. I didn't get to see the sunrise, which is usually my favorite part of an early morning run, but I experienced the city in a new light--a wonderful start to the day.

Race Report: the Narrows Half

In the 5 to 7 weeks before each marathon I try to run a half-marathon tune-up race.*  For this training cycle, I had planned on running the Staten Island Half next weekend but I mad the mistake of holding out on registration and the darn thing sold out.

With only a limited window for running before I need to start getting ready for my taper I looked for local races and stumbled upon the Narrows Half as an obvious choice. Back in April I volunteered for the first iteration of this race and as a result scored a free entry into another NYCRuns event. So, on Tuesday last week I signed up.

The course is flat as can be, a double out-and-back along the Belt Parkway Promenade, beginning and ending at the 69th Street Pier just off of Bay Ridge Avenue. If it's windy, though, it's a tough spot since there are no trees or buildings to block the wind. And with no shade, you kind of hope for overcast skies.

I had to wake up extra early on Sunday since the race was an hour away, but it was probably a good thing since it gave me extra time to digest my usual peanut butter and bagel.  By 8am I was in Bay Ridge with plenty of time for my pre-race warm-up and bathroom visit(s).

The race was scheduled to start at 9, though the race organizers delayed the start 5 minutes because of lines for the porta potties. I lined up towards the front and prepared for the horn. As soon as it sounded I took off.

In the first mile I felt great. This course is super flat and the wind was at my back so the first mile was my fastest in 6:16. The last half I did was Brooklyn which didn't go so well from a racing perspective. As such, I wasn't sure what kind of pace would be realistic but figured there was only one way to find out. I did mile 2 in 6:21, shortly before our first turn-around just past the bridge (the first out-and-back is roughly 5 miles, the second roughly 8).

I talked to another runner (I'm pretty sure he was Australian) for a bit who said it was his first half--he'd never raced over a 10k before--and I wished him luck. We both agreed that running into the sun it felt surprisingly warm.

Although I didn't feel as though I had slowed down, apparently the wind had some affect because the next three miles (3, 4, and 5) were all around 6:30. I'd finished the first 5 mile loop feeling good but knew the second longer loop was going to be much more difficult.

At this point I began picking off other runners. I was trying to stay steady, resisting the urge to speed up or slow down unnecessarily.  I did mile 6 in 6:28 and mile 7 in 6:22. I could see the turn around point, just before the Bath Beach Toys 'R' Us, but knew it was still two miles away. I hadn't looked back in a while so I had no idea how close the next runner was, but I managed to pass another one in front of me.

I did mile 8 in 6:25, and made it to the turn-around and mile 9 in 6:26. Shortly after the turn around a CPTC runner gained on me. I was getting tired at this point and kept assuming he would pass me and that would be that, but I did my best to hang on. Mile 10 was 6:33. I could see the bridge, knowing that it was shortly before mile 11.

We passed another CPTC runner who sort of fell in behind us. I was no determined not to let them pass me if at all possible. At mile 11 I looked at my watch, 6:45.00--Dang it! I exclaimed (okay, I said something else, but I'm not printing it here).

The view on the way to the finish.

Because of the winding course, you couldn't see the finish all that far out, but having run the same stretch three times already, I had a good grasp on the final two miles. I started to speed up, doing mile 12 in 6:38. With just over a mile left, I tried to pick it up again.

The wind wasn't too noticeable, except that it was much cooler running into it, but I could still feel some resistance. I could see the finish as I passed mile 13 in 6:32. I looked at my watch and realized I would have to really hustle to break 1:25, my goal for the day.

Although I tried to sprint home, I could beat the clock and crossed in 1:25:06. The two CPTC runners crossed shortly after me and I congratulated them. We all thanked each other for the extra push in the final miles.

While I certainly would have liked a faster time, I was happy with the result. I hadn't given myself much of a taper--I did an easier track workout on Thursday and took Friday off--and had 50 miles on my legs for the week. a 1:25 is exactly where I need to be for the marathon and it was better than my Brooklyn time, and more importantly, it felt much better too. Now I have two more weeks of solid training before the taper. Hopefully all goes well.
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*A post on tune-up race, when to do them, and what purposes they serve is coming soon.

Photos are from NYCRuns.