Fun Run

I got into JFK from Sydney on Friday night, so my plans for the race on Saturday were to just use it as a reason to get out of bed and get moving.

I called a friend from the cab, and he told me that the race had been changed to a "Fun Run", due to weather. It didn't seem that bad out, but I guess they were worried about rain turning to ice.

The race had been scheduled as a club points race, which would mean that there would be a big turnout from my club mates, and that in general, the fastest folks would be out. As a fun run, however, there would be no chips, clocks, awards or scoring of any kind. When this happened last year, I didn't go out, but later heard that it was a really fun event, with just a few people running in a snow covered park. I was pissed that I didn't go out that day, so I wasn't going to miss this one. And let's face it -- a fun run was all that I was up for anyway.

When I got out to the race, I was clear that this was not going to be the same sort of event as last year's fun run. That time, the weather had in fact been really intimidating. This time, the forecast was wrong. There was no new snow -- I think the concern had been about ice, which didn't materialize. It was actually a nice morning for a run, and a good number of people showed up.

I wandered in late -- hey, why show up early for a fun run? When I got there I found the starting area was pretty full. There were no pace markers, so it was even more of a free-for-all than usual. The front section had metal gates, and hopping those to push my way in didn't seem in the spirit of a fun run, so I just entered at the back and moved up as much as I could. I could see that it was going to be a slow start, but I reminded myself that I wasn't trying to break any records. Geez, just relax. It's a FUN RUN dammit!

After the start, it was really slow. I was actually walking a couple of times on the 102nd transverse (itsafunrun,itsafunrun,itsafunrun). After we made the first turn turn, it opened up and I was able to get up to pace. Although my training had dropped off (stopped) during my last week abroad, the upside was that my legs felt fresh and I was loving the feeling of running.

For the fun run, the NYRR had not put up the usual big mile marker signs, and had instead just drawn markers on the road. I missed the first marker, so I don't know my first mile time, but I hit the two mile point at 14:55. My guess it that this broke down to something like 8:05 and 6:50. The third mile (cat hill) was at 7:05, and the final mile was 6:37. Besides the first mile, these were real race pace times for me, so I didn't really take it as easy as I thought I would.

Hey, it was a Fun Run right? And what's fun for me is going out and running as fast as I can. May we all have many fun runs ahead!

Sydney

The last few weeks, I've had to cut back on running, due to work and other life circumstances. I'm through the tough period now (famous last words), and ready to get those steady miles going again.

I have just returned from a 2 week work trip to Sydney. I didn't run as regularly as I would have liked, but I did have a couple of wonderful runs. I took the camera with me on just one run, but it was a great one, with gorgeous views. Temps in the 70s made it that much nicer.

The Route: From my hotel, I ran to Hyde Park, to the Domain, down along the water to the point at Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, around the U to the Sydney Opera House, through the Circular Quay to the Rock, up the steps to the Harbor Bridge and across. Turned around and crossed the bridge back, took the pedestrian path on the Cahill Expressway above the quay, and the steps down into the Botanical Garden. Wandered through the garden back to the Domain, and returned to the hotel the way I came (via Hyde Park).

Redemption

This morning was the Gridiron Classic 4 mile race in Central Park. I had promised to pick up numbers for myself and my friend Peter, and meet him near the start.

Now why, you ask, would I make such a ridiculous promise for the morning after the Flyer's Gala? Well, to be honest, only because I didn't look at my calendar. I planned to jog over to the NYRR office, pick up the numbers, and jog down to the start, but when the alarm went off this morning, I had to question my plan. Perhaps I could take a taxi to the NYRR office, another taxi to the start, give Peter his number, and go back home to sleep a few more hours.

After I dragged my ass out of bed, I started to feel better, so I started off on my jog, with enough money in my pocket to revert to the cab plan if needed. Once I got running, I felt still better. By the time I met up with Peter, I felt ready to race.

At the start, we were told that we would have a lane and a half to run in for most of the race. In the past, the NYRR tried to squeeze the field into the rec lane as soon as they could. The result was that tons of runners strayed outside of the official course. Today's setup worked beautifully. It was tight for the first mile or less, and from then on it was wide open. I didn't see a single runner stray outside of the boundaries.

I started out with a 6:59 mile -- respectable, but I would have to pick it up to PR. When my second mile was 6:28, I realized I had a shot. I hung on over the West Side hills for a 6:50 third mile. A PR was still possible, but only if I smoked the last mile. The set up was right -- the last mile was mostly downhill, and I wasn't too tired. I also had a little extra motivation. Last night I was given an award for "Most Improved" runner, based on some questionable data. It would be great to put together a good run the next morning. Also, my best AG% was 69.8, and I was dying to break 70%.

I gave it everything I had and ran the last mile in 6:17. In the end, I PRed with at 36:35 (6:38 pace) with an 70.7 AG%. OK, it wasn't 72.2, but breaking the 70% mark was a big goal for me, so I'm pretty happy.

All in all, a good weekend. Cheers.

Gala

When I joined the New York Flyers last year, everyone in the group runs was talking about the Annual Awards Gala. They made it sound like a great event, but I didn't go since I didn't yet know many folks in the club.

I did attend this year's Gala, which took place last night, and I was not disappointed. My wife came, and was able to meet some of the amazing folks that I've been telling her about, including a lot of the folks from the 6AM group runs, and the entire Flyers Black relay team from the Need for Speed Relay.

After lots of drinks and food, the group sat down for a presentation that included an entertaining slide show, introduction of the new executive board, and lots of awards. So many awards, in fact, that there was even one for yours truly -- "Most Improved".

I was a little embarrassed during the description of my "achievements" when one was included that wasn't real. Those who read this blog, may remember a mistake made by the NYRR in timing a race in July. They credited me with a time that was a good deal faster that my real time, and the MC mentioned the resulting 72.2 AG%. In reality, my best AG% was 69.8. Oops. Improved, yes. Just not quite that improved.

Oh well, what could I do? I accepted the award with a smile and left it at that. When Trakmaniak came up to me and congratulated me specifically mentioning the 72%AG, I still didn't say anything. I just didn't want to go there during the event (sorry Trakmaniak).

Despite being a bit embarrassed about the award, I really enjoyed the evening. The folks that put it together did a great job, and the spirit of the club was overwhelming. One of my favorite moments was when the new club President asked members of the club to stand who had helped with various club activities. As he went down the long list of events, more and more people stood, until by the end it seemed as though there were more folks standing than not. Go Flyers!