Fit to be Tied

Once again, my running life has caused me to question one of the fundamental building blocks of my personal foundation.

After reading an article in Runners World, I realized that I didn't know how to tie my shoes. Ouch.

For my entire life, I have been tying "Granny Knots". I don't mean that I occasionally  mess up. I tie my shoes the same way every time.  The wrong way. Oh, the shame...

Now I am retraining, and the results are well.... satisfying. I will definitely try some training runs without double knotting, and if that works, I'll try racing that way. That's right, you heard me. I'm going to race single knotted. I expect at least a 5 second per mile improvement. After all, a double knot must be heavier, right?

The article claimed that about 50% of folks had the same problem. Are you wondering if you do it right? 

If you are more the "intuitive type", I suggest this video:

If you are more the "analytical type", take a look at this:

Be prepared, though. If you find out that you've been doing it wrong, it may be a bitter pill to swallow. All I can say is, tomorrow is a new day.

Better Half

Race Report: The Manhattan Half Marathon

I showed up at the Manhattan Half with TH and PL (as usual), and I was pretty fired up to run. One of my goals for 2009 is to improve my times for half and full marathons, which don't compare well to the times I run in shorter races. 

This is a long term goal, and I hope that my half marathon times will improve throughout the year. That said, my PR for the half marathon distance was old (Queens, 2007) and needed to be broken. Today certainly felt like the day.

The first mile went quickly, at 7:18 -- well ahead of PR pace. Either I was going out too fast, or I was headed for a solid PR. As it turned out, I was able to hold pace pretty well. I was even able to run really strong in the last mile. It was the first time I've had anything left at the end of a half marathon. I ended up with a 1:36:01 (7:19/mile), a PR by almost 4 minutes.

After the race, PL, TH and I stumbled upon a very quirky place called Patisserie Saint Honore at 189 Columbus (68th Street).  It's a tiny hole in the wall with just a couple of chairs along the wall, but if you happen to look up, you'll see a very cool, out of the way upper level with a couple of tables made cozy with some benches and cushions. We had "Morrocan Eggs", which were a delicious semi spicy tomato-y creation, and coffee. We took our treats to the upstairs area, which we had to ourselves, and told our races stories. Good times.

Resurgence of the 5K in NY?

The NYRR just announced that this year's Al Gordon Snowflake race will be a 5K in Prospect Park (Brooklyn). This is good news, from where I stand. 

I like the 5K distance, but I have only run it twice (Coogan's 2007 and Coogan's 2008). The only time I've run Prospect Park was at the end of the Brooklyn Half Marathon (ouch!). A 5K would be a chance to give Prospect Park a try on um... fresher legs. 

From what I've heard, the NYRR used to run 5K races in Central Park. The routes were "out and back" however, which meant using twice as much road space as a loop race. When the races got too crowded, they stopped running 5Ks in favor of 4 mile races, which can be done in one "inside" loop of the park. 

Hopefully, the Al Gordon change is a sign that the NYRR wants to run 5Ks again, even if they need to explore new locations.

This year we have at least two 5Ks in town: the Al Gordon 5K on Feb 21, and the Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks Run in Washington Heights just a week later. This gives me two shots at my first official goal for 2009 --- (drum roll please)

Run a sub 20 minute 5K.

If I can't hit my goal in one of these two races, well there are 5Ks outside of the city, and plenty of training time left. But hey, why put it off?

Good Start

Yesterday was my first race of 2009 -- the Fred Lebow Classic, a 5 miler in Central Park. It wasn't really a target race, but I've been feeling good, so I figured I'd see if I could push my PR of 33.52 (6:46/mile). 

I jogged over to the start with TH and PL (it really is nice to have so many races just a jog away!). It was cold, but not too bad, and the roads were clear. I saw cap'n GW near the corrals. He wasn't racing -- just saying "hi". 

I ran mile one in 6:41. I didn't feel like I had gone out crazy fast, so the PR attempt was on. Mile two (mostly downhill) was faster at 6:36. Mile 3 held steady at 6:38, and I was starting to believe. 

I had worked up a pretty good buffer for the expected slow down in mile 4 (Cat Hill).  This point in a 5 miler, with 2 miles to go, and a big hill coming up, is usually when the going gets tough for me. I have to really dig deep for the next mile before the home stretch burst of energy comes. This time, however, I wasn't feeling the usual struggle. I actually felt pretty strong. 

When I topped the hill and saw that mile 4 had gone by in 6:41 -- below PR pace -- I realized that it was in the bag. For the cherry on top of the sunday, I looked up and saw several of my fellow morning runners, including FA, CB and I think VB, jogging the other way. I waved to them and they gave me a huge cheer. 

I really felt like a million bucks. The other racers around me were giving me looks varying from laughing to envy to "is that fair?". I felt bad for them. Not only did I have the unfair advantage of a cheering section, but those same folks cheering had also made me train with hundreds of repeats on the very hill we had just raced up. 

The last mile flew by, ending on a fast downhill. With a 6:30 mile 5, my time was 33:06 (6:37/mile), a 46 second PR. 

Afterward, I saw a bunch of folks including a lot of the morning crew. There were plenty of PRs, and a whole lot of smiles. The speed work must be paying off.

Running to the Edge of the World

On my first morning in Japan, I took advantage of the jet lag and went out for an early run. I was in Tsudanama for one night, in the Chiba prefecture just outside of Tokyo.  This area is a combination of urban sprawl, suburban and rural cultures that you don't find in the US.

I headed out from the house in a residential area near the Kesei (Train) Station, and headed North. After taking a long pedestrian bridge over the JR tracks, I found myself on a paved path running through farm fields. The sun was just coming up, and roosters were crowing. 

After about a mile, I came out of the farm area, to a good sized road that had a nice looking bike path along it. There was a line of trees between the road and the path, and occasion park benches. I followed the bike path for a long time, and it changed in character as it passed through commercial, residential and more remote areas. I kept expecting the path to come to an end, but it just kept coming.

It was a Saturday morning, so most of the office workers were still in bed. For company, I had the elderly folks, out for their morning constitutionals. The older folks in Japan never cease to amaze me.  They seem to stay healthy and active to impossibly advanced ages. At times like this, when they own the street, the country takes on a wholesome feeling that

 contrasts strikingly with the cell phone hustle of the younger generations.

As the path stretched on, I started to imagine what its end would look like. At first, I pictured a nice park,

with a map of the path on a sign. Later, my imagination became more dramatic. Surely I would arrive at cliff overlooking the ocean. Japan, after all, is an island. How much longer could I run in a straight line? When I started to imagine I would find the edge of the world, a la "The God's Must Be Crazy", I thought I better turn around. 

Running back through the farm fields in full daylight, I had a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji. I had forgotten that on a clear day Fuji-san was visible from so far away. And this was shaping up to be a clear day if there ever was one.