Fall Racing Season

5th Avenue Mile (New York City)

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2008
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Location:

Tarrytown,NY,USA

Member Since:

Jul 20, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Local Elite

Running Accomplishments:

PRs:

400: 53 (97 & 98)

800: 2:01 (98)

1500: 4:17 (98)

5k: 16:35 (08) 16:29 (08)

8k: 28:15 (97)

 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Goals:

  • Set PRs in 800 & 1500, and break 16:00 in 5k, by end of '09.
  • Stay healthy. 

Upcoming races:

Mon Sep 1: New Haven Labor Day 5k

Sun Sep 21: Fifth Avenue Mile NYC

Sun Nov 9: Tarrytown Pilgrim Run 4M

Thu Nov 27: Manchester Road Race 4.7M

 

 

Personal:

I started training again in early '07 after a long hiatus.  I'm 30 and live in Tarrytown, NY, which is 25 miles north of New York City.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.308.500.001.0022.80
Race: 5th Avenue Mile (New York City) (1 Miles) 00:04:40, Place overall: 19, Place in age division: 2
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.000.000.001.007.00

After yesterday's fiasco, I woke up not sure (a) whether it actually in fact was Sunday, September 21, 2008 and (b) whether the 5th Avenue Mile was really going to take place today. It was very Groundhog Day-esque, except that I have more hair than Bill Murray and my wife rather than Andie Macdowell was in my bed.

All the pre-race stuff was pretty much exactly the same as yesterday, except that I felt more tired, more sore, and less motivated.  On the train I was lucky enough to sit next to another Tarrytown runner, Jay, also on his way to the race.  He is a grizzled veteran and gave me a few tips on the course:  2nd quarter is uphill; don't kick too early because the finish line is farther away than it looks (optical illusion); and never, ever feed your Gremlin a Gu after midnight, or it will throw it back up.

Got off at 125th St station again today and jogged down to 5th Avenue.  As I neared 80th St I was elated to see evidence of the existence of a road race.  From then till the start, everything went very smoothly.  The conditions were very good, around 70 degrees with no wind, and sunny.

The race is done in heats and the men's 30-34 heat was at 10:15.  Just in that tiny slice of demographics, there were 330 entrants.  Having just turned 30 2 weeks ago, I was certainly one of the youngest.  Looking around at the starting line, no one stuck out as looking particularly speedy.  Honestly, most of the other dudes looked old, fat, and hairy, and very few were wearing racing flats.

The gun went off and 2 guys shot to the front, one at least 6'4" and the other definitely south of 5'2".  The first quarter was slightly downhill and I came through around 65.  That was faster than I had planned but I thought I felt OK.  I was in 8th place or so.

The 2nd quarter was indeed noticeably uphill.  Right away everyone in front starting melting away.  At the half mile (2:19) I found myself in a situation I never thought I'd be in:  running down 5th Avenue, in the lead by half a stride, with NYPD motorcycles beside me and the timing truck with the big digital clock and a camera crew right in front of me.  It was terrifying.

Well, luckily another dude made sure the sensation was short-lived as he moved decisively ahead of me in the 3rd quarter.  It was downhill and he really took off.  From my high school and college miling days I should have known to push the 3rd quarter, but I didn't or couldn't go with him.  (To add insult to injury, he was from Central Park Track Club, which is kind of like the Yankees of the New York-area running club league: big, deep, rich, and successful.)  By 1200 he had a gap of about 5 seconds on me.  I think I came through in 3:29, which would be a 70-second quarter, way too slow since it was downhill.

I can't remember much of the last quarter except that it went by fast and was not downhill.  The clock said 4:38 when I hit the line.  The heat winner was 5 seconds ahead and 3rd place in the heat was maybe 5 seconds back, so I was all by myself.

The official results said 4:40.  Everyone was saying that official results were 2 seconds slower than what they thought they ran, so it wasn't just me.  There were 2 chip mats, and the finish line was at the first one, but some people said the official times must have been taken from the 2nd mat.  If that's true, it's retarded.

So I was 19th overall (across all age groups, and not counting the local pros and national elites, who were in separate classifications) and 2nd in 30-34.  For some reason, 30-34 turned out to be a super-weak group, but that's OK because it allowed me to get an NYRR trophy and get my name read over the loudspeaker.  But to keep myself humble, I'll note that there was a 52-year-old with a 4:40 and something like 6 guys over 40 ahead of me.  (In fact, the overall amateur winner was 42 with a time of 4:17 - sick.)

As a competitive effort, it was mixed.  I was initially elated with the time and place.  After all, I have done literally ZERO mile-focused speedwork, little 5k-focused speedwork, my last month of training has been a wreck, and I ran the thing half injured.  On the other hand, I realized later I could have pushed a lot harder since I wasn't collapsing at the finish line.  I need to re-learn how to go totally balls-to-the-wall.  Also, I should have pushed the 3rd quarter and should not have let the heat winner get away so easily.

Afterwards caught up with the coach and other runners from Westchester Track Club, which I just joined.  Watched the elite races from a vantage point about 200m from the finish.  Lagat, Symmonds, Sullivan, Lukezic, Rankin, and Leer all jogged by on their warm-ups.  Also Erin Donohue.  Didn't see Nick Willis, Rowbury, or Sara Hall warming up.  Right after the women's race, Ryan Hall ran right past.  I thought he looked the same as always, but someone from the club said she thought he looked "heavy."

Later in the day, lifted weights at the Y (lower body/abs).

Triax: 107 

Adistar: 63

Cumulus: 306.2

Glycerin: 45

NB 826: 9

Comments(4)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Planned day off.  Feeling a little run-down.

Lifted weights (upper body).

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.300.000.000.007.30

7.3M in 54:50 (7:30 pace).  Ran at about 12:30pm at Rockefeller, S/F Gory Brook.  Very nice fall day: sunny, 70, pretty dry. Easy pace, felt pretty good.  Longest run in over 2 weeks (ouch).

Injury report:

Left achilles: Not too bad. A little stiff during the run, slightly sore afterwards.  Iced the last 2 days.  Still very stiff in the mornings, but less painful than before.  Probably should continue to lay off the speedwork, as much as I might want to do it.

Right forefoot: A lot better.  A little tender at the end of the run.

Knees: A little sore and crackly just like in the bad old days.  I chalk that up to slacking off on strengthening and stretching over the last month or so.

Quads are quite sore from lifting 2 days ago, but that's muscle soreness only.

Triax: 107 

Adistar: 63

Cumulus: 313.5

Glycerin: 45

NB 826: 9

 

Comments(2)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

7 miles cross-training equivalent on the bike at the Y this morning.  56 minutes, covered 18.2 miles.  10min wu + 5x(4min hard, 4min easy) + wd.  Not a very hard workout as I could only get my HR to mid-160s on the workbouts.  That was 110-115rpm @ 10 resistance.  

Achilles didn't feel too bad but I wanted to get some kind of quality so I thought it safer to hit the bike.  I really hate bike workouts, though.

Also did my full lower body and core routine.  Worked hard at that at least.

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Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.008.500.000.008.50

8.5M steady in 57:30 (6:45 pace).  Elevation gain/loss of 600 feet.  Ran at noon at Minnewaska SP.  Weather 60 and nice - beautiful fall day.

Had the opportunity to run the dirt/gravel carriage roads up at Minnewaska, about 75 minutes' drive from my house.  Did the green/blue counterclockwise loop.  First 5 miles uphill (600 feet), last 3.5 downhill.  Last 3.5 miles in 6:16, :05, :09, :24.  Will call it marathon pace.  Wasn't planning on running hard but the legs wanted to go and the Achilles wasn't bothersome.  The first half, felt like I was laboring a bit and had an upset stomach.  Felt better and better as the run went on, and the 2nd half was just awesome.  Phenomenal views from up there too.

Best run in a month, Achilles also feeling the best in a month.

Lifted weights (upper body) in the morning before we left, and walked 7 miles with Alana and Ann after the run.

Triax: 107 

Adistar: 71.5

Cumulus: 313.5

Glycerin: 45

NB 826: 9

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

Achilles was sore again after yesterday's solid run so I had to hit the bike.  6 miles CTE.  45 minutes covering 15.1 miles.  HR mostly 140-145, mostly 105-112rpm @ 9 resistance.  It was one of those days where it was a victory just to get myself to the Y to do this.

Add Comment
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
13.308.500.001.0022.80
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