Baby Steps

On Tuesday mornings, I meet a group of Flyers at 6AM to do speed work. Normally, the group alternates between running intervals one week, and hill repeats the next. We do different hills and different sets of intervals in various locations to keep things fresh. 

This week, we tried something new. Some new folks in the group suggested that running on stairs would be a good workout, so we headed for Bethesda Terrace in Central Park to give it a try. 

My day started out with the close to 2 mile run to the meet point, followed by another mile plus to the stairs.

Once there, the rules were explained.

- Single steps only. No taking 2 steps at a time.

- Focus on leg speed. Think of running on hot coals. 

- Run fast (duh!)

We ran 5 x 5 sets up and down the stairs. The Bethesda Terrace stairs have two "sides" separated by a bridge of sorts. Between sets, we wouldn't stop, but rather jog over to the opposite side. You can see the two sets of steps in the picture below, but it was a very different scene at 6AM in November. As you might imagine, we had the steps to ourselves.

The effect was much different than I had imagined. I expected a hard core quad workout, but it turned out to be more cardio. Trying to run fast without taking two steps at a time meant moving the feet REALLY quickly. I almost felt like running in place. 

I think this was an excellent workout. For one thing, it was very different from the usual speed work we do, and it's always good to mix it up. Also, it was great way to work on leg speed -- something that I could definitely benefit from. 

Finally, it was FUN. We had a good group of folks, and although there were a range of paces, we never got far apart -- there was nowhere to go. At the start, some folks were singing the theme to Rocky, invoking the image of the boxer training on steps in Phili. Later in the workout, when the going got tough, someone yelled "where's the singing now?!"  Sure enough, the singing returned.  You can't keep a Flyer down. 

Race to Deliver

This morning was the Race to Deliver, a 4 miler in Central Park.

I've targeted the Joe Kleinerman 10K coming up in a few weeks, and this was a chance to check my progress. My target for today was to run at a solidly sub 7 minute pace, but I did not plan to shoot for my PR 6:38 pace. 

The race started on the 72nd street transverse in the park, which meant that we were more cramped than usual for the first 100 yards or so. I was fortunate, but I heard reports from many friends about collisions at the start. Once we made the turn onto East Drive, it was all clear. 

I ran an aggressive pace, but not too crazy. It would have been easy to go out too fast, especially since Cat Hill was right near the start. When I checked my watch at the first mile marker, I didn't really know what to expect. The time -- 6:36.  

Realizing that I was two seconds faster than PR pace, I went into PR pursuit mode. My strategy was clear: 

 - Maintain effort level for mile 2, and hope for a faster mile since it is downhill. 

 - Tough out the West Side Hills in mile 3, but expect to lose some time.

 - Pick it up to make the last mile my fastest and secure the PR.

Here's how it went:

6:36 Mile 1

6:32 Mile 2

6:48 Mile 3

6:27 Mile 4

26:22 (0:13 PR)

Net Time	Pace per Mile	Overall Place/ Total Finishers	Gender Place/ Total Males	Age Place/ Total in Age Grp.	Age-Grd. Time	Perf. %
26:22	6:35	224 / 5981	210 / 2742	21 / 246	23:37	71.3%

Toward the end of mile three, I saw AW, one of the Flyers I run with regularly in the mornings. He just finished the NYC Marathon 40 minutes faster than I did, so I was very happy to be anywhere near him. Of course, he was probably just taking it easy after the marathon, but still... 

At the end of the race, I was exhilarated. In fact I still am. I love beating my previous best times. I love running a hard fast race. It just feels good.

After the race, I saw AW and DW, another morning Flyer, and my friend PL. It seemed like everyone had a good race. It was especially great to see DW all fired up. He's back in training for his next marathon. I guess that means that the pace of the morning runs is going to pick up over the coming weeks. I'll just have to do my best to hang.

Company Run

This spring, I joined a young company as employee number four. We now have a few more folks on board, but we are still very small.

The "home office" is in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, so I occasionally go up there for face to face time.  I started a 

"tradition" with one of my coworkers that lives in Portsmouth of going for early morning runs when I'm in town. Portsmouth is a great place to run, with beautiful coastal sunrises to en

joy. 

On my last trip (last week), a couple of the other folks got tired of hearing about how nice our runs were, and they decided to join us. They are both in great shape (a swimmer and a biker), but they don't usually run. 

And so I found myself at 5:3

0 AM on Wednesday, out on a 6 mile run with employees 1-4 of our company. 

The run was a great success, and as far as I could tell, fun was had by all. That night, we had a company dinner, with spouses and kids. I couldn't help but notice several more runners in the group. 

Who knows, we may have a regular running group. We'll see.  It certainly looks like my job is not going to interfere with my running addiction, and that is a very good thing in my book.

Running on a Track

Although I live in an ideal location for running, one thing that I've been missing is the chance to run on a real track. I've done speed work at various locations in Central Park, including the reservoir, and the cinder track at the top of the Great Hill, but these spots fall short of a real track.

Folks who run with me know that I'm not a fan of uneven surfaces. The result is that I prefer to run on the road rather than on dirt, which most people think is a bad choice.

I suspect, however, that I may not be the only one who feels a little funny about doing speed work on uneven surfaces. If I run a 440 intervals on the reservoir, for example, it feels like every 5th stride or so is a slight misstep, and at that effort level it seems risky.

I've known for some time that there is a track at Riverbank State Park, and this morning I finally got up there. It turns out that it's just a 20 minute run from my apartment, which works out perfectly. 20 minutes warm-up, some intervals at the track and 20 minutes cool down, and I'm home in a reasonable time. I could even fit in a speed workout on a weekday morning before work. 

The track itself is really nice. An eight lane, 400 meter track made of that nice soft red surface they use these days. It's the ideal for me - softer than dirt and smoother than the road. It felt really comfortable, even running hard.

This morning, I had a relatively light workout: 4x400 and 2x200. Next time, I'll do more. Here are the times:

4x400 meters:

 127

 131

 130

 127

2x200

 40 

 41

The park is open 7 days a week from 6AM, so I imagine that I'll be up there again soon. PRs, watch out!

Back at it

After two days off, I was back out running this morning. TH and I did a four mile loop at an easy pace, and I was very happy to find that I had no marathon soreness at all. 

Aside from my wingman duties, my main goal this year was to finish without feeling beat up, and it seems that I succeeded. This makes me very happy. I now have hope that if I train and run smart, I can include marathons as part of my long term running life. Woo hoo!

So what's the next goal? (Yes, yes, must have goal must have goal must have goal must have goal).

Goal: Run a 10K at sub 7 pace. My current PR is at 7:01 (this won't do, no no no).

When? I'll give it a try at the NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10K  on December 7. As good a time as any.

Before that, I'll see what I can do in the 4 mile Race to Deliver  I don't think I'm ready to PR there yet, but it will be a good prep run for the 10K.

One more thing.... I've been slacking off on the blogging lately, but I'm feeling more motivated now. So for those few who read these pages, I promise to do better.

See you out there!

Wingman

Yesterday, I ran my second marathon, and it was an entirely different experience from the first. I went as companion, pacer, wingman, whatever you want to call it, to my good friend Peter, who was running his first.

Peter's goal was the official goal of all first time marathoners -- to finish the race. Of course, as with most first timers, he also had a "secret" time goal. In his case, it was to finish under 4 hours. 

Since my first and only marathon was barely under 4 hours, I was hardly qualified to be a pacer, but I planned to stick with him and offer what support I could.

At the start, we met up with our mutual friend TH. The three of us actually stuck together for the first 18 miles, which was quite a feat in the crowded marathon field. It was truly a blast. The first 18 of the NYC Marathon is a giant party, and it was great to share it with my friends. 

Heading up the Queensboro Bridge at mile 15, I saw a runner with a pair of odd looking sandal-like things stuck in his belt. I recognized the footwear, and I when I caught up to him, I recognized the runner. We had run together in the Flyers "Bridges and Arches" run in Central Park earlier this year. During that run he had actually been wearing the unusual footwear, which he explained were Vibram FiveFingers. They were VERY thin, and I was amazed at how tough he was to run in them. At the marathon, however, they were tucked in his belt -- so what was he wearing? NOTHING. That's right, he ran the NYC Marathon barefoot. I seriously can not even imagine. Did he finish? Yes he did. Absolutely stunning.

Last year, I finished in an OK time, but I felt really beaten up (even though I wasn't barefoot). It took quite a while to feel fully recovered. This time, I was able to finish feeling strong, which is a huge win for me. 

So how did we do? Peter and I finished side by side in 3:58:54. This morning Peter called to talk about training for the next marathon. 

Starting Small

Last weekend I ran the annual Fifth Avenue Mile, one of my favorite races.

Last year, I set the ambitious (for me) goal of going under 6 minutes, and just managed to do it. It was a great day. This year, I was still coming back from my "non-injury" slump, and I didn't know if I was going to be able to match last year's time.

The race is unique amongst NYC races, in that there are age group heats. This means that each age group winner gets to literally break the tape -- a real plus for the masters and veterans. Although I am not in contention to break the tape, I still love it that I can see the winners finish ahead of me. 

With all the separate heats, comes another difference. There are no starting mats. It's "gun time" only, which means that if you are really watching your time, you have to line up early and get to the front. I was not feeling so confident, and I ended up in a starting position a good bit behind last year's.

Once the race started, though, I felt good. It took a few seconds to reach the start, and there was a good bit of bobbing and weaving after that, but I still hit the first quarter mile at 1:30. I tried to maintain effort for the up hill second quarter, and hit it just under 3:00. Again, maintaining effort on the downhill third quarter, I came in well under 4:30, and I knew a PR was within reach. At the 1500 meter mark, GW was there, screaming at me 

to kick it into gear. I gave it everything I had and finished with a 5:52. 

I was very happy with this time. Five seconds ahead of last year's time, 35th o

f 151 men in my age group, and a 70.5% AG. 

The over 70% AG in particular, I take as a sign that I am returning to top shape and ready to challenge my PRs at longer distances. 

To view more photos of race winners like the one on the right, click here.