Staying Young at the Manhattan Half

Does it start with M? no. N? no. O? no. P? no.

Determination has passed by stubbornness, and is headed straight for desperation. I am at mile 8 of a half marathon, and what am I doing? I'm going through the alphabet, trying to remember the name of a runner that passed me more than 6 miles earlier.

The runner had offered a pleasant greeting when she went by, but I couldn't come up with her name, so "hey!" was all I could offer in return. This is a teammate that I often chat with at the races, but try as I might, I couldn't come up with her name. It was very disconcerting. Was old age catching up to me?" Having just had a birthday a few days earlier, I was on the lookout for telltale signs of slippage, and this certainly fit the bill.

I refused to give in. I decided to greet her by name at the finish line. With 12 miles to go, there would be plenty of time to remember her name. I just had to think...

And think I did. I was on PR pace and holding steady, but my mind was completely focused on coming up with that name. A two syllable first name, and a one syllable, Asian last name. It was on the tip of my tongue. For 6 miles.

So now I find that my goal for the race has changed. I came here to feel young by running a PR. Now I must remember this name, or there will be no way to outrun the feeling of aging. But I'm running out of letters. Mile 9 comes and goes.

Q, R, S, T... don't forget Th.... No. Wait, back up, what about Sh... Sh... Sh... Shirling! Shirling Tsai! That's it! Quick, say it three times so as not to forget. OK. I'm good. Now where am I? Mile 10.5. Pace? Solid PR pace. How much gas in the tank? There is gas in the tank. I pick up the pace, running my fastest mile for mile 12 (6:49). I am young again.

About a 1/4 mile from the finish, I see Shirling up ahead. I catch her at around the mile 13 sign and call out a cheery "Hi Shirling!". One more goal achieved.*

I cross the finish line at 1:33:28 (7:08/mile), a PR by 2 minutes. My 2010 goal of running a half at sub 7 pace seems in reach. And why not? I'm getting younger every day.

_________

* Shirling finished just ahead of me, as she so often does. No worries, I don't have to be faster than Shirling to remain young, I merely have to remember her name (thank goodness).

2010 Goals

This year, instead of just setting short term reasonable goals as I go, I'm going to set some ambitious, year-long goals. Most of these goals will require me to get substantially faster, but I've got a year to get there, right?

I've arranged the list in order of AG difficulty, so it should be that the toughest goals are last. You may notice though, that the list is also in descending distance order. This reflects my tendency toward better performance in short races. The idea is that for me, these goals are more or less equally difficult -- with the exception of the first goal, of course.

1. Re-qualify in Boston (3:30:59) - AG: 65.51
2. 3:20 Marathon (7:38 pace) - AG: 68.77 %
3. Half Marathon at sub 7 minute pace. (1.31) - AG: 72.67 %
4. Sub 40 minute 10K. (6:27 pace) - AG: 76.16 %
5. Sub 19 minute 5K (6:07 pace) - AG: 77.07 %

In the mean time, there will be plenty of short term goals, but this list gives me something to look back at when year's end comes.

Until then, May the road rise to meet you...