Goals for the unstable

It was pointed out to me that just because some algorithm made to predict times says that I can run a 3:06, I should not assume a 3:05 is a good goal. That is all too true. Lest I appear too greedy, let me assure you all that 3:05 is NOT the goal for this marathon. 3:03 is! Why you ask? Because it's a 6:59 pace, of course.

Obviously, like all marathoners, I have a range of goals. However, I can assure you that "just to finish" is not among them. Really, "just to finish" was the minimum acceptable goal even in my first, under-prepared marathon. I'm competitive. Unfortunately, from a data gathering perspective, I bombed my last real distance race, and although I've totally moved on from that, it's somewhat disconcerting to have not had a chance to do a real live-race fitness test at an endurance distance. So to date the goals have not really developed beyond the tentative stage they were in way back on the first day of this training cycle, June 27, to wit:

The tenative goal is to hit about 3:05 for the race, beat all but about 250 people in the field, and then have a grand time in Hopkinton, Mass. in April.

So, this 3:05 isn't something that I've just pulled out of an algorithm. However, until I actually, really race a race (which will happen October 1 at Grete's Gallop) I won't really know how good this or any other goal is. On the other hand, that the predicted equivalent of my 5 mile time -- quite fatigued, in heat and humidity, on a hilly difficult course -- is 3:06 makes me feel good for a marathon for which I'll be fresh, on a very flat course that I'm familiar with, after 10 more weeks of fitness gains. The only real potential hang ups are injury or weather, but if Jesus really does truly love me, the high on October 29 will be 62F.

Just to put things on the table, here's the breakdown of how I'd like the MCM to shake out:

• C: 3:22 -- my time in my first marathon. Since this was on an average weekly mileage of 20 with a peak of 30, and I'm now averaging 43 with a peak (so far) of 55, I'd consider only getting 3:22 an unmitigated disaster. Really, since MCM is an easier course the the Pig and I've done so much work, anything slower than about 3:15 I'd lump into this category too. This would be worse than running "just to finish." Unless it was due to weather or something dire -- like a broken limb -- I'd seriously consider a new hobby.
• B: 3:10 -- My required time for Boston. Really the minimum acceptable goal.
• B+: 3:05 -- Doable. Will be a challenge, but reachable.
• A-: 3:03 -- Even more challenging. 6:59/mile. I'm not even sure if this is doable yet. Grete will tell me.
• A: 2:59:59 -- This would require a tail wind, and a tectonic shift to make the DC course no longer flat, but a net downhill, and a pack of rabid dogs chasing me during the last 2 miles. Might also require a hand from the Marines.

So, that's it. Some of these will be challenges. Some may be pie in the sky. But although from dreams begins responsibility, meeting responsibility allows one to reach for dreams. And with that said . . .

Tuesday: 6.1 miles - 47:57 (7:52/mile)
Wednesday: 14.8 miles - 1:58:06 (7:59/mile)

Check, Check

So much has happened in the past week, and I've been so lacking in diligence when it comes to posting that I'm not even sure where to start. I guess since this blog is ostensibly about running, I should write about the Club Championship races yesterday. However, before I get to that, let me just say first that Dave Eggers is freaking brilliant! If you have not already done so, stop reading this drivel and go buy, borrow, or beg for a copy of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. This book is, in Egger's terms, a "memoir-y thing" that he's admittedly conflicted about because he's not Irish. Although the work is indeed heartbreaking in places, Eggers avoids all the "woe-is-me" aspects that breed like a putrescent bacterial glob in many memoirs and one finishes the work with the impression that he views the entire genre as a giant joke. Please, please. Go read it.

OK. Moving on to the race. I considered this a "pseudo-race." By that I mean, that I intended to race it as hard as I could, but I was doing no taper nor otherwise materially changing my training leading up to it (other than to replace a Friday tempo run with a regular run on Thursday). Add to that my having just finished a week with my then highest mileage ever (54) and my being in the middle of my new highest mileage ever week (55) and I was in no shape to really hammer this one. My goals were as follows:

• 32:30 -- this is the time that the Magical McMillan Calculator tells me equates to a BQ marathon effort.
• 31:48 -- my time in my one and only 5 miler, back in June; running the same time on fatigued legs would bode well for my training program.
• Anything faster -- that'd just be cake.

So, the race honestly could not have gone better except for two minor (and I mean very minor) snafus. First, when I arrived, I didn't want to race. It was bizarre because normally I'm totally all about competition. Hell, one of my biggest training flaws is that it takes a huge mental effort for me to not try to race people over the Williamsburg Bridge on easy days. But for some reason, yesterday morning I did NOT want to run. Didn't want to race, didn't want to warm up, didn't want to stretch. Kept having thoughts like: "Why am I here? I could be in bed. This will suck." The really weird part is that my thoughts completely shifted about 5 minutes to start and I was totally into kicking ass. I'm really at a loss, but I have no doubt that all this "doubt" cost me some mental sharpness.

The second snafu was that I was nearly hit by a garbage truck. That's right. Less than 800 meters to the finish and a garbage truck pulls out onto the closed to traffic Central Park loop through a stream of runners. To top it off, he's oblivious to the race and commences yelling at the racers while being yelled at by the race official. For the runners' part, we all yelled and scattered around the truck and off the course. Ridiculous. However, the best part of the whole thing was when, after the race while I recounted the story, NY Flygirl responded with one of the smart-ass lines I had written on her blog in response to her complaints about the crowded park: "But isn't this little inconvenience worth it to race in the greatest park on Earth?" Touché Mademoiselle. Touché. So, in the end, the race went off, I finished in 31:41, which is a 7s P.R. (for what that's worth, since it's only my second ever 5 mile race). But more importantly, this fatigued time equals a predicted 3:06 marathon according to McMillan. That makes 3:05 a reasonable target and means that things are progressing more or less on pace.

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Shot of me in the last 200m. I caught the GNY guy at the line.

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After the race, I joined a group of Flyer guys as we ran the course backwards so we could cheer on the women racing who'd be coming towards us. It was a really fun 5 mile cool-down and I hope we do it again. After the women finished up, we had a picnic with all the other Flyers and lots of Flyer kids. Bagels and what had to be the best orange juice I've ever had in my whole life! It was nice to see so much of the club; so many people I'd never seen before. But, as Dorian put it, the Flyer's have so many events you can't make them all!

Today I finished off the week with what I'm calling 14.5, a run across the Williamsburg Bridge, then across the Manhattan and Brooklyn, around the Battery, up to 40th Street on the West Side and then back down to the subway at 14th and 8th Ave. Time was 1:58.

Week-in-Review

Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Rest	13.1 miles	6.0 miles	11.5 miles	Rest	5 mile race 5 miles	14.5 miles	55.1
--	7:53/m	7:43/m	7:50/m	--	6:20/m 9:00ish	8:10/m	--

Runner's High

Not a lot of time for posting today, but wanted to put up a quote from this article on sun tan addiction. (Sorry for the source. I'd seen the same content on CNN yesterday, but couldn't locate the piece.)

The study [was] published in the journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. . . . Half of tanners were given an inactive drug and half were given a drug (naltrexone) to block the effects of endorphins and other brain opioids.

The researchers found that with the opioid-blocking medication . . . surprisingly, four of the eight frequent tanners reported nausea or jitteriness. . . . "The finding was unexpected and is consistent with the hypothesis that frequent tanning may be driven in part by a mild dependence on opioids, most likely endorphins," said co-researcher Steven Feldman. "The nausea and jitteriness induced by the medication are consistent with symptoms of mild opiate withdrawal."

While the study is small, it supports the hypothesis that tanning behavior may be driven by endorphins in much the same way that the so-called "runner's high" helps to motivate runners.

Perhaps we do need a 12 step program?

Ran 13.1 today, the Queensboro Loop plus an add-on of two loops around McCarren Park in 1:43:13.

If you'd told me 2 years ago that I'd run a half marathon in sub-8's, I'd have just barely thought it doable. If you'd told me that I'd do it before work I'd have thought you crazy. If you'd added that it was three days after doing 21 miles also at sub-8, I'd have probably had a coronary from laughing so hard. Oh how things do change!

On Strength

Zeke has been conducting an informal survey of marathon times versus mileage over the past few weeks and just posted the results. It's really interesting in that it shows an almost linear correlation between average weekly mileage run and marathon time improvement, that is, up to about 80 miles weekly average where the line begins to flatten out. The survey results depict graphically what many people know (even if we've never personally experienced it) to be true -- more miles equals better results. Although statisticians may quibble over the details, it's sufficient to alleviate whatever doubts I may have had about mileage.

However, I would note that the survye doesn't take into account a person's being on the so-called "improvement curve" as a new runner. In personal experience, my half-marathon time dropped over 15 minutes after 2 years of averaging about 20 miles a week. On the other hand, in a way this further illustrates Zeke's point that more mileage equals better results. The weekly view simply doesn't capture what was happening. Allow me to illustrate, although I was running 20 miles/week during my first half marathon build-up, my 3 year rolling average was much less:

• Year 1 = 0, Year 2 = 0 Year 2.0-2.5=0 Year 2.5-3.0= 20/week.
  
• That comes up to about 500 miles over three years--an average of about 3 miles per week for the period

In my second half-mary, the three year rolling average was more like:

• Year 1=15/week, Year 2=15/week, Year 3=20/week
  
• That comes up to about 2500 miles over three years -- a rolling average of about 16 miles per week for the period

So, even though weekly mileage didn't increase, leading into the second race my yearly average mileage was much, much higher. This is why the most successful marathoners are in their late 20's and 30's. It takes time to build up the yearly rolling average necessary to be a great marathoner.

Fascinating. This is a fantastic survey in that, if nothing else, it promises continued improvement over time for anyone willing to put in the effort to succeed. This is truly a sport that rewards the patient.

Week-in-Review

Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Rest	10.7 miles	4.1 miles	11.3 miles	Rest	21 miles	6.75 miles	53.9
--	Tempo	7:39/m	7:46/m	--	7:43/m	7:47/m	--

This is my first week over 50 -- ever. However, in line with Zeke's survey, I can report some personal successes that I'd attribute to the increased mileage. In my first marathon training, wherein I averaged approximately 20 miles per week for the duration, my 21 mile run knocked me flat for 2 days. In this cycle, as you can see from this week, I followed up 21 with a relatively quick 6 and change the following day. Also, I find it encouraging that this 21 mile training run was faster than my marathon race pace during my last Mary. Some of that is due to starting training at what I peaked at the last time (30 miles/week). Some is due to having a few more years to build my rolling yearly average mileage. Hopefully these positive signs will carry forward. There are 11 weeks to go, and I'm itching to hit a fitness-gauge race to see where I am and what goals I should shoot for. I don't think my ability to hit the 3:10 BQ is in question, I'm wondering how far below that to aim. Although the Club Championship next week should give me some good information, I'm dying for Greta's Gallop Half Marathon, which is four weeks before the MCM and should give me a solid view of what I can expect. Can't wait!

Memories

It's funny how life can suddenly put you in a place that you've been before, but everything is different. For today's run, I decided for a change of scene to loop around Battery Park and then head up the Hudson. The upper Hudson part of the route passed through Riverside Park, which was a run that I used to do quite often when I was in Law School during my first New York life, but haven't at all since I moved back to the City at the beginning of the year. So, it shouldn't have been a surprise as I headed up past all the sights and sounds of the West Side that I'd think back to the last time I did that run and how things have changed.

It was the spring of '04. I'd just picked up running regularly after I'd gone home for Christmas break and my Mom had told me I was putting on a few pounds -- as she patted my belly. Love you, Mom. I'd targeted the Brooklyn Half Marathon as a race because (1) I'm a competitive S.O.B., (2) if I didn't have a target on the calendar that'd be a challenge I wouldn't stick with it, (3) the race was in April, which would let me run it as a farewell to N.Y.C., if Erin and I needed to move away.

I hit this point in the reminiscing at the northern part of the Cherry Walk portion of Riverside Park, with both the tower of Riverside Church in sight and Grant's Tomb, which I'd see at the finish of every run from Columbia and I viewed as a giant beacon calling me to the finish. That really brought back some memories of how things were then. See, at the time that this was going on, Erin had a job offer in D.C. I had nothing. Thanks in part to the economy's tailspin in '02 and in part my own uncertainty and lack of direction, I'd utterly and miserably failed at landing a post-graduation job. If I could list the firms I interviewed with -- and had callbacks to -- it'd be impressive. A who's who list of the New York legal world that impressed (I later learned) the friends I'd make in D.C. simply because they'd offered me interviews. "wow, they talked to you?" Of course, that was neither the standard for myself nor any other Columbia graduate. I must have done 50, maybe 75, interviews over my second and the first half of my third year of law school, and the rejections flowed like water. So, we were going to move to D.C. Erin had a job there. I could get a fresh start -- although we were really uncertain about how things would turn out. I don't think either of us were really thrilled about the move, but both viewed it as the best shot we had of coming out ahead.

And through all of this, I'd started running. I'm not sure if it was to get away or to get ahead. The goals at the time were modest. 9mm on training runs. 1:45 for the Half. I was thrilled every race where I put in a sub-8 time. Success after success was an amazing (and sometimes melancholy) counterpoint to my professional career. And, by the way, on that Half, I finished in 1:49:44. Four minutes off the pace. Which I was upset with for about 15 minutes -- until I realized that, unlike my job search, the answer here wasn't zero-sum. Even though I missed the goal, the race remained a success. And perhaps, that was something that I could learn to bring to other areas of my life -- sometimes, success isn't winning; sometimes the success is the full effort of the attempt. The simple fact of participating in a sport was uplifting. And, in the end, for every failure we must succeed at something. Too much failure beats down the spirit, tramples the will to even try to excel. I think the running helped in ways that I could only appreciate later.

So, I was on this run in my Second New York Life. Erin and I had spent a miserable 18 months trying to make D.C. work until on a wing and prayer we decided we needed to try New York again. Now, I'm in a career that (although I often bitch about the hours) I enjoy and am proud to be a part of. Erin's in a job that she really likes and can take her places. We've gotten our lives out of the morass of uncertainty that followed us as we left NY 2 1/2 years ago. And the running, well, the goals are a bit different now. So, I ran. Stronger, happier, more certain of my path and my objectives than the last time I'd crossed this way. In a way it was the same. In a way, completely different.

Route: Williamsburg Bridge, Battery Park, N. on Hudson R. to 125th Street, S. on Hudson R. to 14th Street.
Distance: 21.0 miles
Time: 2:41:54 (7:43 pace)

Resolution -- Failed

After reading this article on Joe LeMay, a 2:13 marathoner who works a 9-6 job with a 40+ minute commute and runs two workouts daily, I made a resolution that I wouldn't complain about how work interferes with my running hobby anymore. I figured that if I wanted to do it and do it well, I'd just need to suck it up and make time. However, I've found that I just have to get in one last whine. Getting home from the office at 10:30p makes getting up at 5:30 for a 11-miler really suck! (If I wanted to lawyer-ize this, I'd say I wasn't complaining about work, but lack of sleep. But I can take responsibility for failure, damn it! No arguing on the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin at this blog.) In lighter fare, Joe LeMay has published the best endorsement for fiber supplements that I've ever read -- ever. (Uh, not that I've read that many plugs for fiber supplements. . .)

Halfway through the 50 mile week! Tonight's the Flyers Summer Social, which should be a good time. I've pre-paid on the theory that'll make me more likely to actually leave the office by 8 to go. Despite lack of sleep the last few days, my runs have been excellent. I think it's that the temps have dropped down into the upper 60's to low 70's in the mornings combined with last week's step-back in mileage. For example, today I felt like I was going slow, but every checkpoint was ahead of plan. Of course, it could just be that I bought new shoes.

Wednesday: Pulaski O&B: 4.1 miles in 31:23 (7:39 pace).
Thursday: Queensboro Bridge Loop: 11.3 miles in 87:44 (7:46 pace)

By the way, the Queensboro Loop's one of my favorite runs. Not because it takes you past the UN, or treats you to vast panoramic views of Midtown, or because it let you run directly along the East River. Oh No. It one of my favorites because it takes you past the Long Island City Taxi Garage! All those bright yellow cabs in the morning make me smile like the bright yellow sun does.

Like a record baby! Right Round Round Round!

Today's workout was supposed to be 10 miles with 5 at tempo pace, which I do at the McCarren Park track -- round and round and round for 20 laps. There's a 7 mile tempo later in the schedule; I may have to come up with a different system by then . . . 28 laps?!? Oh my! Because I missed a turn, the overall distance was closer to 11 than 10, and my 2.5 mile warmup turned into a 3.2 mile warm-up, which I guess is ok. More warmup's better, right?

From the apartment, I went straight down Metopolitan Ave to Kent Street. Kent's an odd street along the Williamsburg waterfront. The pavement's been torn out mostly and the lots closest to the river either hold vacant warehouses that are clearly being stripped out to make room for future yuppie condos or lots that have been leveled and cleared to make room for future yuppie condos. Off the side streets are warehouses that now house stores (some vacant) that will cater to the people who will live in the future yuppie condos. Because Kent's on the water though, it provides clear panoramic views of the entirety of Manhattan below, say, 50th Street. Hopefully, when they start building highrises there, they'll at least build some type of waterfront park that has public access and a bike path. Also, hopefully by that point Erin and I will have enough cash socked away for a down payment on a future yuppie condo. Finger's crossed.

The tempo run went fantastically. The first lap was a little quick, 1:32 instead of 1:40, but by the second lap I'd settled into a steady 1:38-1:40 pace. Felt much stronger this time that two weeks ago too. Unlike last time, where it took a while to find the rhythm, I settled into the fast pace almost immediately and held it strong for most of the run without much difficulty. On the other hand, like last time, I started to struggle a little about a 1.25 miles from the end (but, obvously, this time that was a mile farther along), which isn't surprising to me. However, I held onto the pace knowing that by the time there were only 3 laps left I'd be close enough to home to be mentally over it. Two tough laps out of twenty? I think I can handle that. And if the marathon only involves 800 meters of toughness, I'll be golden!

10.7 miles with 5@32:52 (6:34/mile)

Hey! That's too fast!

So, yesterday I joined a number of other Flyers to pace lead for the NYRCC Long Training Group runs, where:

Participants will be divided into groups by half-minute intervals from 6:30 through 11:00+ minutes per mile. All groups will cover 20 miles, but individuals may shorten their distance to suit their training needs. Runners faster than 7:00 may begin before the 7:00 group; however, no pace leader will be provided.

Since this was a cutback week for me, I only paced for 11 miles with the 8:00 group.

Crack of Dawn
Actually a little before. By the actual crack of dawn, I'd already laid in bed staring at the alarm for ten minutes wondering why it was going off at such an unholy hour, showered, had coffee and a bagel, changed, woken up and hit the subway (in that order). The trip in from Williamsburg to E. 102d Street is a hike at the best of times; I allowed 75 minutes for travel before 6 on a Saturday morning. Fortunately the trains went perfectly. Flyer Nicole, when she, JBL and I went looking for some pre-race snacks, suggested that the run start earlier to beat the heat next time. I was like, "Dear god, Nicole! I'd have to be up at 3:30 to get here earlier. Cut the Brooklyn guy some slack." And honestly, after the heat wave earlier in the week, the 72˚ start seemed downright chilly, which I believe led to . . .

A little fast there
I ran sweeper duties for my group on the first 6 mile loop. Ran at the back of the group to work at keeping up with the stragglers. We were zipping through a little quick, about 7:30 on the first mile and then 7:45's for the next 3. After the second mile, when I got to the mile marker, I'd hang out until my watch said 8:00 to let the people coming know they weren't slow, just the group was fast. The pack slowed on the last two miles to around 8:10's, so a lot of people who'd been strung out behind managed to catch up in the last 1/2 mile. Chatted with a guy who'd run a 60K recently, but said it hurt his knees. He also said that he was running in trail shoes with over 600 miles on them and, because of work, was only running 3 days on a good week. I was thinking, "lucky it only hurt the knees. Nothing about what you've said says, '60K's a good idea'." But, I did my encouragement thing and then moved over to chat with a 47 year old lady who told me all about how Dave Matthews is God's gift to music. "He's very big on the college campuses." It's so funny the stories you here in packs.

The breakaway
On the second loop (5 miles) I switched to the front. However, we absolutely flew through the first mile -- my watch said 7:00 flat, which caused some consternation amongst the pace leaders until we realized that the mile marker was short. We'd only actually done about 7:30. Still way too quick for the 8:00 group. This is where having someone with experience plays in. Our lead pacer notices a group in the front and asks how far they're going. "11" "11" "11" So, he says, "You guys should pick it up then without the group. Go strong to the end." At this point, I volunteer to pace lead the 7:40 group, so we can split off the people pulling the 8:00's too fast. And off we go. I have about 9 runners and we pick up a few more over the next mile or two, 7:40, 7:45, 7:40. The group holds together really well until we start to catch up with the first 8:00 pace group, but by then we were all in the last two miles so it didn't matter so much.

The perks
Free tank (That Erin says makes me look like a road cone) and company for a long-ish run. Also I got to be an expert for a day. People asking about plans, training advice . . . but I'm not a coach. The Flyers should really think about putting disclaimers on our shirts! And to see some other folks and bloggers (NY Flygirl has a list.)

The downside
Had to go into work afterwards. Into the office by 10:15, but because of a horrendous cab accident on Lexington (I heard the screaming from my 15th Floor window) and the 1/2 hour I spent gawking at the cab that'd jumped the curb, the ambulances and police, etc. I didn't actually get started until about 11:00. Left at 6:30. The reward for this diligence? After I meet a friend who's in town on a salsa tour, I get to go back to the office this afternoon.

Week-in-Review

Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Rest	8.6 miles	5.0 miles	8.2 miles	Rest	11 miles	4.25 miles	37.05
--	8:00/m	7:46/m	7:36/m	--	8:00/m	7:17/m	--

Next week: 50 miles. I shouldn't be nervous about it, and I don't think I would be if the target were 49.5 instead of "50". Tomorrow's a day off. Focus starts on Tuesday.

Ouch!

I noticed from your blog that you seemed to be a fan of floyd landis. What do you think about him now that he has had a positive drug test and everybody knows he is a cheater.

... and similar comments from several (about a dozen) other people. So, although I was ignoring it, here's my take on Landis.

First, let me point out that I'm not the only person who was enamoured with the guy. Team CSC rider Bobby Julich said on July 20:

Floyd Landis' Stage 17 ride on Thursday was the most amazing ride I have ever seen in my life and will go down as one of the best rides of all time, and Landis will go down as one of cycling's gutsiest riders.

And similar comments were made throughout the world of cycledom. And why not admire the guy? As I quoted earlier from an article, this was a guy who not only said that he worked harder than everyone else, but published his workout schedule, in a beat me if you can sort of way! That sort of open, "I have more talent and work harder, so screw you" attitude's fantastic in an athlete and worth admiring. (Incidentally, a discussion on Landis with Coach Joe of the Flyers led to one of my new favorite quotes: "The only person who trains too much is the person who beats you.") Work hard and prosper is a great thing to admire for runners especially, because unlike swimming (which is all technique) and amateur cycling (which is very equipment dependent) running is totally based on work. If you do the time, you will improve.

But I digress, let me throw out the first conspiracy theory of the day, because no matter what the results of the 'B' sample, when President Bush says the guy has "amazing strength of character," then there can be no doubt that this is all just a big French plot. Our great leader would not lie! And Lance has said that he's "skeptical" of the lab performing the tests, which has been investigated for questionable practices in the past. It must be a Frenchie plot! We believe in you, Floyd!

Nah, I'm just kidding. If the 'B' test comes out positive on Friday, which is likely, then forget it. The guy's done. Two year ban from cycling. Two more years from Professional racing. Four years out of the sport pretty much ends the Landis career. You may think of cycling as dirty, but a lot of that perception is due to its actually trying to punish (and punish brutally) people that it catches. (How effective it is at catching them is another story.) And note that there's no presumption of innocence in cycling, as shown by the reinstatement of 18 riders suspended on suspicion before the Tour, after they'd been cleared by the Spanish courts. One has to admire cycling for at least trying, unlike most American sports. And if Landis cheated, he gets exactly what he deserves for being stupid and winning a Stage on a day that (1) he knows he's doping (2) with a drug that wouldn't really help him and(3) when he knows the stage winner is always tested.

Of course, if you're an ESPN addict, then you have probably followed their advice and just don't care. For me, I'm going back to my pre-Tour pick: Levi Leipheimer, who's now switching to Team Discovery.

Here's the last few days. . .
Tuesday: 8.6 miles, 68:49 (hot and miserable), 8:00mm
Wednesday: 5.0 miles, 38:48 (treadmill, I love AC), 7:46mm
Thursday: 8.2 miles, 62:21, 7:36mm

Coming up
Saturday: 11 miles as a pace leader (8:00mm) for the NYRRC's Long Training Run.
Sunday: 4 miles, easy.

Decadence

That's how it feels to have two whole days off work! Saturday was the first day I did nothing for my job since July 4. Yay! Sunday, I just feel lazy.

Erin and I had a fantastic vacation day to a Le Refuge Inn, a B&B on City Island, off the coast of the Bronx in the Long Island Sound, which you can get to by subway! We were treated to the owner's room and had a fantastic dinner. I had escargot, peppercorn-encrusted steak and creme brulée -- yum! Erin had . . . Who cares? Did I mention that I had escargot, peppercorn-encrusted steak and creme brulée? YUM! We met another couple from the B&B. They were taking their first vacation from their daughter in the 2 years since she was born and the four of us hit a bar for martinis before dinner. (They were $2.25 EACH! Can't get that in Manhattan!) Unfortunately, husband had a few too many and passed out before dinner. Finally, we were treated to fantastic views of Eastchester Bay, Pelham Bay and the Long Island Sound -- assuming we were willing to walk the staggering distance of 2 blocks across the island. And it was really nice for Erin and me to be able to spend some time together for a couple days since we've both been stretched a little thin over the past month. Of course, when we got back the first thing we did was go get Italian ices from Ralph's. I guess no matter where you go, there's always something you'll miss from home.

At the B&B, Erin was interviewed by News 12: the Bronx -- "As Local As Local News Gets". (Note: this is a pay link! BOO! News shouldn't be for pay.) The station was doing a story on the B&B we were staying at and we were accosted for an interview on our way in -- after we'd been walking around antique and ice cream shops for for the better part of 2 hours in 95˚ heat. All sweaty and gross and just perfect for dinner-time television. Erin did very well on the interview. I, on the other hand, was completely tounge-tied. The interviewer, although an otherwise attractive woman -- about 5'10", slender, athletic build -- had about 10-12 6" long black hairs sticking out of her neck. Every time I was asked a question, I deflected to Erin because I was totally afraid I'd do a Freudian, "This place has great beard . . . uh, I mean bread. And I love the hairs -- chairs, I meant chairs." We apparently got airtime in the Bronx last night at 7.

Otherwise, the weekend's been really relaxing. A very nice way to spend the anniversary.

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Me with Eastchester Bay in the background

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Erin, chilling in the "nook" in our room

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The Lobster House

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Me looking cool

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Erin showing off

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Pelham Bay

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And, the week-in-review. Saturday, did what I call the 5 bridge run. This is a very challenging 17.8 mile loop that I recommend for anyone who needs to run an 18-20 flat run (i.e., run this loop instead of the 20). I left it about 1/2 mile short for only 17.2 miles. That was plenty on a hot, hot, hot Saturday morning. As of today, we are at less than 3 months to the MCM. On the one hand, it seems like it's so close. On the other, my god there's a lot of training left to do!

Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
5.0 miles	9.0 miles	5.0 miles	10.33 miles	Rest	17.2 miles	Rest	46.53
8:56/m	T: 4 mile @6:40	8:19/m	7:46/m	--	8:08/m	--	--

Acclimation

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So, I must be becoming acclimatized to the warm weather. Whenever you look at the weather at 5:30 a.m., it's 80 degrees with 82% humidity and you think, "Gee, that's not so bad," then it must be August! Six days of running in a row are down. I have to say that I'm glad that's over. Despite the strong pace for today's BS Run (80:15 for 10.33 miles, 7:46 pace) I could really feel the fatigue of the past week. Start to finish. But it's good to have moved some weekend runs because now I know that I can definitely relax over the weekend. Erin and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary (today!) by going to a B&B Saturday night. Now, over this weekend the last things that would be acceptable would be for me to (i) get up Sunday morning at the B&B and leave to do a run or (ii) me not going running but being cranky because I missed my goals. And since I'm a spaz, the second possibly's too much of a risk to not plan for. I don't want to be a jerk and ruin things, so a little fatigue now's well worth it. And Saturday, we're going to have bubbly, dinner and relax! Fantastic.

Weird stuff's been happening in my neighborhood. I know I've mentioned neighborhood composition a lot, but again . . . it's older ethnic Italians, hipster spillover from the East Village, blue collar Puerto Ricans and Orthodox Jews. With this mix, it might not be surprising to learn that there aren't a lot of people out running at 6 am. In fact, in the last 2 weeks, I've seen exactly . . . 2 (between my apartment and the Williamsburg Bridge.) So, when I started regularly running in the neighborhood in March (treadmilled through the winter) I was something of an anomaly. People out gave me looks that ran the full spectrum from complete indifference to incedulity that some skinny, sweatty, white kid with no tattoos or leather was running through the neighborhood. However, now that I'm a regular that's all changed. Today marks the FOURTH time in the last two weeks that I've been stretching out in front of my apartment after a run and some older gentleman's come by to offer encouragement. I've gotten thumbs up, "good job"s, and "way to go"s. All have been from older men -- well over 60 -- often either overweight or having some other ailment, e.g., one was walking with a cane. The whole thing's weirding me out a little bit.

Anyway, this'll be the last post until next week because of this weekend's trip. Bye all. Have a wonderful weekend.

Maybe there was something to that Easy Run

Yesterday was an "easy" day, replacing a "rest" day because Erin and I are going "out of town" for our anniversary this weekend, and I've rearranged the schedule. By "out of town," I mean that we're leaving Brooklyn for a B&B in the Bronx, which really seems like it's a different country. It's going to be fantastically fun, but the travel is revealing my inner spastic-ness, in that I immediately rearrange the training schedule. As Ryan, who's also shooting to BQ (but in Chicago), and who's running the same schedule as me (but a week ahead) put it: "I'm finding that I'm not only committed, but borderline compulsive about keeping my training plan." Yup. That's it in a nutshell. I'm such a spaz.

Today was 9 miles with 4 at tempo. I expected this to be really tough, since it'd be my fourth day running in a row, something I haven't done since several weeks before marathon training began in earnest. It was tough, but not awful. Most of the difficulty was in congestion on the track (really, do you need to walk 4 wide across the inside three lanes on a turn? Is that really necessary?) and a headwind into the near turn, although there was definitely some residual fatigue from Sunday's 15 miler. Despite challenges, the tempo was in 26:39 or 6:40 average pace. Perfect. The worst part of the run though was during the easy portions -- the 5 miles of warmup/cooldown that I did on the McCarren Park 2/3 mile dirt loop. At the north end were two bums, passed out on the park bench laying on top of each other. No problem except I passed them 4 times and I think the smell was worse each time. The last time through, I'm not sure what happened, but one of them was laying on the ground. Don't know if the one on the bottom decided he didn't like being smothered or if the one on top just rolled off the bench and couldn't get up.

By the way, remember a few weeks ago the post that mentioned the Orthodox Jewish man running in dress slacks and an oxford on the Williamsburg Bridge? I was browsing some Flyer photos during a break yesterday and apparently someone else noticed him at a race. Honestly, this is the guy. I remain impressed.

Photo Run #1

I've been toying with the idea of a photo-run, where I take pictures as I run around, almost since I started the blog. Since I've rearranged the schedule to take away a rest day and replace it with an easy run, I figured today's a good day for the experiment since the camara will force it to be a really easy run. The route's the Williamsburg Bridge O&B. (Note: the photos are in reverse chrono order) Hopefully this'll be a recurrent feature.

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Early morning commuters

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East River from the Williamsburg Bridge, heading back to Brooklyn

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Good morning Chinatown!

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More commuters on the J Train

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East Village from the Bridge (Erin points out that the lamp is somewhat phallic.)

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Bridge's tower

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Halfway across the Bridge; speaks for itself

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Although it looks like just a fence, it's really a shot of Manhattan

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Oy Vey!

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The worst part? Where the path goes out of sight is only about 1/2 way up the bridge.

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Statute in square at base of Bridge in Brooklyn

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Bank, with the Williamsburg Bridge's pedestrian walkway passing in front.

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Graffiti

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Driggs Ave

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More Graffiti, I'm not really sure what it's supposed to be

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Left over Italian flags from the World Cup (as if this blog doesn't already have enough photos of Italian flags).

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The start, right in front of my apartment.

Race Walkers?

For a change of scenary (and since I needed to head into the City for work anyway) I decided to do today's long run in Central Park. I'm super bummed to have missed JW's Ventillator Run, but with the L train on the fritz, I wasn't willing to travel 3 hours involving multiple trasfers and shuttle buses for it. Bad timing.

So, when I arrived in the park, the Metropolitan 15K Racewalk Championship was in progress. Now, I've seen a lot of silly athletes in my life. Runners with silly strides, arm motions, butt wiggles. Runners in silly outfits, but more often bikers in really silly outfits. I've even seen runners with silly arm swings and butt-wiggles in super silly biker outfits. However, I've never seen anything quit like racewalking. It has the silly arm-swing, a super-silly butt wiggle (especially for the faster, uh . . . walkers) and some fantastically silly racewalker outfits. If any of you remember the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Hal becomes a racewalker, there was actually a guy dressed like THAT! Of course, any sport where the average age at a Championship event appears to be pushing 60 has got to be somewhat silly . . . or possibly shuffleboard.

The best moment was when a guy with his kid in a jogging stroller, stops to deal with the kid. He pulls into the race-walking course to avoid getting hit by a runner or cyclist while he's playing dad. A race official runs up and yells at him. At this point, the closest racewalker was in sight, about 1/2 mile away -- at least 4 or 5 minutes. Guy says, "I'll be done long before they get here." But race official won't let it go and yells at him. Dad starts jogging away, but flips the guy off on the way. Weird. I guess that race official had the power go to his head. Lest you be outraged, the kid was oblivous to all of these shenanigans and looked to be having a great time watching the people in the park. He waved at me as I ran by. I waved back.

So, the run. One full loop (6 miles), one lower loop (5 miles) and the Middle 4 (4 miles) for a grand total of 15. This was hard. I know I've said it before, but Central Park's a hard place to run. On a good note, it was only about 70 degrees when I got started and was raining slightly, but that didn't quite make up for the difficulty of the terrain. Oh, well. It'll toughen me up for later, I suppose. Time was 1:58:45 (7:55 pace).

Week-in-review
4 down and 14 to go! Second week in a row over 40. Legs are starting to feel fatigued now. Most runs, they don't feel quite fresh, but I don't know how much the crazy-a$$ work loads been inhibiting recovery and how much is related to actual training.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Rest	8.0 Miles	5.0 Miles	10.33 miles	Rest	4.0 Miles	15.0 Miles	42.33
-	7:17	7:54	7:49	-	7:02	7:55	-

Tour Spoilers Present

OK. The title's fair warning. If you're in the U.S. and you're waiting on the primetime coverage of Le Tour, this post has spoilers and you might want to wait until tomorrow to read it. If you can't wait (I know my readers are so rabid.) then I've put the Tour section in RED.

So, I'm going to have to quit talking about the Tour. After the ups and downs this week, I'm glad it's about over cause my heart can't take it. After falling 8 minutes on one stage, regaining 7.5 the next day, and then a transition stage, the whole Tour for Landis came down to this morning's time trial. Everything clicked for him today, as he finished a solid third, took a 1 minute lead over Pereiro and is positioned to cruise into Paris. I was watching while trying to get some work done this morning, but didn't get a lot done because once Landis went through the first time check 1s down on Honchar (who won the time trial earlier in the tour) but only 10s ahead of Periero, the tension level was too high. Although Landis slowed over the course relative to Honchar, Pereiro slowed more. You could tell the relief in the post-race interview. The bonk aside, he just out-raced the field. Do you think that the rest of the world is getting pissed about Americans winning the Tour?

OK, I've been in the office waaayyy too much in the past few weeks. We went to a firm-wide happy hour on Wednesday. One of the partners says to me, "So have you done any cool summer stuff . . . oh, I mean . . . nevermind, you've been at the office too late for that." Then, at the weekly associate's meeting, our liason to the Partner's Committee is asking about assignments, going around the room, "what do you have going on?" Like that. He gets to me, and says, "OK. I know you're really busy. Moving on." However, as good news, I finished up a project on Friday. This means I'm only now being pulled in 4 directions at once instead of 5! No rest for the wicked. Last night, I left early . . . 8:30 p.m.

I did 4 miles today in McCarren Park. These are always weird runs for me, because on the one hand, they should be easy. The route's pancake flat and 2/3 of it's dirt, as I make four 2/3 mile loops around the park. On the other hand, because there are no hills, at my normal effort I run it at about a 7 minute pace (Compared with the 7:45 I run for 5 miles when the Williamsburg Bridge is part of the route.) But, the route's so much easier, that it's not really a tempo run. It's strange how huge a role terrain plays in time. Hopefully, 40s/mile faster on no more effort is a good sign, since the Marine Corp Marathon is pancake flat.

I'm not going to give the detail on the last week's runs that I missed posting because of work, other than to say that my 10 miler on Thursday involved a new route because the police had the Manhattan Bridge blocked off. I'm calling it the B.S. Run because it's a loop of Lower Manhattan that passes, among other sites such as the AMEX, the NYSE and the N.Y. Stocking Exchange, the Wall Street Bull. A nice "flat" route that only involves about 3 miles of climbing because of only one bridge, it's significantly easier than the BMW Run that I'd planned. At 7:49/mile (with really "dead" quads), again, it's amazing what a big difference a change of terrain makes.



Thursday 10.33, 80:48 (7:49/mile)
Saturday 4.0, 28:07 (7:02/mile)

Easy Does It

After arriving to work on Monday to hear, "See Senior Partner. All hell's broken loose," from the secretary before even a hello, my rest day Monday wasn't really all that restful. Tuesday didn't really improve things. So, despite several requests from Erin to go to the Philharmonic's performance on Central Park's the Great Lawn, I was really in no mood. I was in such a funk that I really thought that I'd strangle the first person to look at me cross-wise, and with the amount of wine I expected to be present, that'd probably happen way too quickly. In short, I was going to be absolutely no fun. Besides, despite its being a relatively short day, the concert started at 8 and I didn't leave the office until 8:30 anyway. (We'll go for sushi this weekend to make up for it, E)

So, I hit the gym for my tempo run (at 90 degrees at 8:30p, outside was not happening) that I'd skipped that morning with the theory that beating up some miles would be better than taking out my bad mood on someone else, like Erin when she got home. And after hammering out 8 miles, with 4.25 at 6:45 pace I felt much better about myself. It's good to accomplish goals and that's one of the nice things about running. Everything else may be a whirlwind, but I can meet at least one goal. So, hopefully that feeling of accomplishment will carry over into the next few days.

Another benefit to last night's run was that it made today's easy run really an easy run. Today's route was the Billy-burg Bridge O&B, for 5 miles in 39:30. However, with only 12 hours off since my T-run, I really had no desire or ability to run it much faster. So, it was squarely within (okay, a little faster) "easy" pace. It was . . . pleasant. Of course, the fact that it was only about 70 degrees I'm sure contributed immensely to my good feelings towards today's run.

In other news, yesterday was huge for Le Tour. The route finished on L’Alpe d’Huez, probably the most famous climb on the Tour. It was on this climb where Lance actually passed Ivan Basso (who had a 2 minute head start!) in a time trial in 2004; it's a stage in which reputations are made. Anyway, this year wasn't a time trial, but when the peloton exploded on the lead-in hills it created numerous opportunities for strategy amongst the leaders, as rider after rider from the breakaway group dropped back (while recovering) to meet up with and pace their gc men. A strong finish amongst some young riders who hung on after the breakaway (giving some return morale to Team CSC after the disastrous disqualification of Ivan Basso), fantastic team strategic riding, jockeying for position and time amongst the g.c. leaders and the claiming of a 10s lead over Pereiro for Landis to reclaim the Yellow Jersey, just a fantastic race.

Speaking of Landis, the guy may be my new hero for this interview quote, provided courtesy of Zeke:

"Everybody wants to say, 'I couldn't win because of this or that,' " he says. "To my way of thinking, it doesn't matter if your goddamn head fell off or your legs exploded. If you didn't make it, you didn't make it. One excuse is as good as another."

Landis takes a sip and leans forward in his chair. "There's only one rule: The guy who trains the hardest, the most, wins. Period. Because you won't die. Even though you feel like you'll die, you don't actually die. Like when you're training, you can always do one more. Always. As tired as you might think you are, you can always, always do one more."

Tuesday: 8 miles in 58:30, 4.25 at 6:45/mile.
Wednesday: 5 miles in 39:30, 7:54/mile.

Week in Review

With a 70+ hour work week in the bank, this week missed some run specific posts. Here's the review of the past few days. After a much-needed rest day on Friday, I went for a shortie 4 miler on Saturday. I didn't mean for it to be a tempo run, but with the day off and finally being mostly recovered from last weekend's race, it turned into one. I saw I was on 6:50 pace through 3/4 of a mile, slowed down because it was supposed to be a recovery day. But when I hit the 2.1 mile turn around at 15:15 and still didn't feel like I was putting in that much effort, decided to roll with it. Final, 4.1 miles, 7:02 average pace.

Saturday afternoon Erin and I met a co-worker and her boyfriend to see Superman Returns in Imax 3D at Lincoln Center. Imax rocks! 3D . . . not so much. The movie's fun and moves well, it really doesn't seem like you're there for almost 3 hours. On the other hand, I never realized how much of the plot of Superman revolves around getting big objects in position to fall so that he can catch them. And, it's impossible for the movie to have any dramatic suspense. The guy can't die! So, you pretty much know how it's going to end. (BTW, Spacey is a really good Lex Luther)

Anyway, when we arrived home from the movie, the week caught up with me . . . and hard. Despite plans to go out, I was asleep on the couch by 7:30 and had moved to the bed for the night by 8. I even missed Team Phonak and Landis inexplicably give nearly 30 minutes to Oscar Pereiro in Le Tour, allowing Pereiro to catapault from 42d to First! HUH? You've got the yellow jersey and you give a dangerous competitor (Pereiro finished 10th to Landis's 9th last year) both 30 minutes and the G.C. lead? It's . . . bizarre. Sunday's stage featured a horrendous crash. In a six man break-away, the fourth and fifth riders hit some loose gravel and lost control. Verbrugghe (fourth) slammed the guard-rail at 35mph and went flying; Canada (fifth) hit the ground at 35mph and then got hit by the sixth rider, Kessler, who himself then hit the guardrail and went over in a full somersault with his bike. Kessler managed to regain a bike and continue to the finish. Canada and Verbrugghe each broke limbs; Canada also broke his collarbone and Verbrugghe had horrendous cuts from his encounter with the guardrail. Just horrific.

Sunday, after 11 hours of sleep I awoke actually feeling refreshed. I met the Flyers in Van Cortlandt Park for a 15 mile trail run. Despite being directionally challenged and the heat challenged, we still managed to make it back in 2:15:00. Afterwards, I spoke with Coach Joe about my Bronx Half Marathon. He tells me that my shivers were signs of moderate heat exhaustion, "not quite where we'd be concerned about you having a heat stroke yet, but still a concern." Uhhh... and the term "heat exhaustion" sounds so innocous. He also pointed out what I found weird -- when you're overheated you feel cold? Apparently. No wonder that race was so awful.

Here's the week. First week over 40 miles. I'm pretty pumped about that!

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Rest	8.1 miles	4.1 miles	10.25 miles	Rest	4.1 miles	15 miles	41.7 miles

Rushed and Tired Legs

Short post today for two reasons. One, this morning's 10 miler's left me a little pressed for time. Two, with work having picked up, I don't have all that much to write about. My days since the Fourth have gone thus: Get up, drink two big glasses of water, run, stretch, blog while cooling off, shower, get dressed (hopefully ironed the night before), work until 10, come home, iron (hopefully), go to bed, rinse, repeat. Since I've been at work more or less from 9a to 9:45p for the last week (with the exception of the Flyers HH last Friday) haven't really had a lot of time for exciting personal things. And, although work's been really interesting over the past few weeks, as a lawyer I can't really blog about it. Bummer.

On to the running. My legs are literally fried. This week added a Wednesday run to the schedule to bring the total to 5 days of running per week. Although I was doing 5-6 most weeks in the spring, for marathon training I'd initially dropped it to 4 with the overall volume being the same and each run being a longer workout. Now, I'm reintroducing more workouts to increase overall volume. The upshot (downshot?) of all this is that today was my first time running three days in a row in about a month. Add to that the lingering fatigue of the abortive Bronx Half Marathon, the really annoying DOMS that followed on Monday and Tuesday, 13 hour work days, and a late night last night with some wine (It was my birthday!) and I was dreading today's run. Absolutely woke up this morning thinking, "Do I really, I mean really, want to put myself through this?" But I reminded myself that I needed to try out my new MP3 player Erin gave me for my birthday ("It's small so you can run with it." Thanks Hon!) so after about 15 minutes staring at the ceiling I managed to roll out of bed and go.

The run was ok, even though half-way through the upslope on the Brooklyn Bridge I was beginning to wonder if I'd make it. I listened to Bloc Party's Silent Alarm for the first 30 minutes, but then realized that I was probably going too fast for my legs. So, at a light I switched to the much more mellow Plans by Death Cab for Cutie, which was perfect. Erin and I saw Death Cab in concert a few months ago at the Hammerstein Ballroom with Franz Ferdinand, a great concert band that's also fantastic for fast running. Obviously, they were out of the question today.

Wednesday: 4.1 mile Pulaski Bridge O&B, 31:22 (7:39/mile)
Thursday: 10.25 mile BMW run, 81:30 (7:57/mile)

Remove Foot from Mouth

Boy, my neighborhood really showed me who was boss on Sunday. When I got home from work on Sunday the first thing I saw (and heard!)was a cement truck sitting in the intersection covered in green and red balloons with an immense Italian flag hanging out the window, blasting its horn. Then, flying up Graham Ave was a pickup truck loaded with people, including an Italian Granny sitting in the back Clampett-style waving her own Italian flag (twice the size of she) and what appeared to be a bottle of Chianti. The entire neighborhood was draped, soup to nuts (or to give a little shout out to the festivities, ab ovo ad malum, even though that's Latin), in Italian flags. Flags from windows and on vehicles and on poles attached to the buildings. People waving flags in the streets and from their vehicles. Reminded me somewhat of when Kentucky won the NCAA basketball championship when I was in college, although this was decidedly less "riot-esque." Turns out the neighborhood can both have large parades and has people who care about the World Cup. My mistake.

When I got home, my landlady was out on the stoop with her sisters, husband, and lots of younger people (kids? neices and nephews? i nipoti?) Apparently, this hoopla had been going on for several hours. She'd informed Erin that we live in an Italian house and today we'd better be Italians too. When Erin got home I learned she'd been running around the neighborhood with the camera. Turns out our local Italian bakery had closed off its block and set up a giant big screen for the game and the whole neighborhood was out. (By the way, if you want gelato, it's totally worth the trip to Brooklyn to go to Fortunato Brother's.) Here's some of her pictures.









Today's workout was 8.1 miles. When I woke this morning, it was clear a tempo run wasn't happening. My hamstrings were so tight that I was just hopeful they'd loosen up enough that I could do the whole run. Strangely, as I was climbing over the Williamsburg Bridge, my legs continually loosened up and I felt stronger as the run went along. Of course, that's how the Bronx Half Marathon was supposed to go! Oh, well, I guess it was a rebound. The route was across the Williamsburg Bridge O&B, with 2.5 miles at the McCarren Park track (wanted to switch to the softer surface). I'm calling it 8.1 in 63:15 (7:49 pace).

I also realized that I was so annoyed with my Half Mary results that I forgot to put up last week's week-in-review. Here it is:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Rest	12.05	Rest	8.6	Rest	3.5	13.1	37.25

Bronx Half Race Report

I suppose that it's possible the Bronx Half Marathon could have gone worse for me. For example, if the subway derailed on the way home. Or maybe if a gang turfwar had broken out at mile 8 and I'd been shot -- actually, that might have been an improvement. Before you go any further, I should warn you that this will be a whine-fest, pity party that will likely bring your mood down below my black toenail. If I were you, I'd stop reading and go find a happy blog. If you like train wreck stories, read on. . .

It all started when I woke up at 5:10 to get ready. I was out of cereal. I always have cereal before a race. It's a thing. It takes me over an hour to get to most start-lines and I need to be fortified. Oh well, I can adapt. I went to the Bagel Store (yup, that's it's name) across the street for breakfast and then caught the train. So far so good. The L comes and I'm into Union Square. The line I'm needing has three trains, the 4, 5 and 6. The 4 will take take me to the start. As I'm walking through the station, I notice that people in front of me are suddenly running. It's the 4! Despite a mad sprint towards the platform, I don't make it and the doors slam in my face. Ten minutes later, the 6 arrives. Now, for you non-New Yorkers, the 6 is the local train to the 4's express, stopping at about 4 stops for every one the 4 stops at. Plus, it will only get me about halfway to my destination. However, I know they're running on the same track because of weekend work below 42d Street-Grand Central, but that once I get to Grand Central I should be able to switch to the 4 Express. I take the 6. When I arrive at Grand Central, I detrain and hang out for another 15 minutes before the 4 comes. It's going to be tight, but at this point I'm still thinking I can make the start with time for a warmup. However, when they announce the next stop, I discover that there's no express service. It was really nice of MTA to NOT put that on the weekend service advisory. This might be a problem. I change into my shoes and pin my number en route because I realize I won't have time at the start.

The station closest to the start is out of service. I'd allowed time for a walk to the start, but apparently not enough. The roads up in the Bronx don't follow the train tracks or a grid. We weave east, west, south at one point, I think? We walk past a parking lot of Verizon trucks, and the storage yard for Subway trains. And dog shit. It's everywhere. Like every three sidewalk blocks. (Not city blocks, but blocks of the sidewalk.) So, foul -- at least when Brooklyn has a Half, the train drops you off near the start, which is on the Ocean. This is a dump.

So, with all my delays, instead of arriving 30 minutes early, I'm at the baggage check at 5 minutes to start! At this point, my stomach starts gurgling and growling like Thomas' during a long run after burrito night. I run toward the facilities, but see that we're decidedly undersupported. There's like 3 lines to the Porta-johns with about 80 people in each. This is a problem, but after the start gun goes off, people suddenly start moving more quickly (and a few ditch the line). So I get to the toilet. I walk in and the first think I notice is that there's no t.p. Great. The next thing I notice is that someone has left a full pack of tissues next to the hole. Things could be turning around. Then I notice the "present" on the seat. Apparently, someone missed and left a nice 6" high, slimy brown pile sitting on the side of the seat. I'm not really even sure how that's possible! I mean, if you apply ass to seat, it's pretty hard to miss. I decide maybe I don't really need to go the the bathroom after all.

So, I finally get to the start after the last of the walkers have gone through. There's a NYRRC race official yelling us to the start. "Come on people. Hurry. Let's move." I mean, at this point we've already missed the start by several minutes. What's the rush? I chat with a guy near the start to fish out if he'll plow through the crowds with me. His target pace is 7:15 (he'd spent over an hour looking for parking) which I thought was too slow. Little did I know.

There was no clock at the start, so I don't know how long I'd missed by. I looked at my watch at the first mile marker. . .8:12. Hmmm... It seemed like I was going faster than that, even with all the weaving I'd had to do and having to jump from the road to the sidewalk and run around shrubberies and toys sitting in front of stoops. But who can judge pace when no one around you is going faster than a 10:00mm? I should be flying past them, even at 8:00mm. But I figure I'd better speed up. As I approach mile 2, my watch reads 8:17. Now wait a minute! I'm looking at the time, not my splits! I'd forgotten to hit my watch! Arghhh... I switch it over. I missed the first 2 water stops because of the crowds of people stopping. Actually, I dart to the far side of the road, but still nearly have nastly collisions from people stopping to walk across the race route to get a drink. Oh, this is going to be a long run. . .

Miles 2-6 were pretty uneventful. I was feeling more tired than I should have been, but my watch said I was hitting between 6:50 and 7:10. A little off the pace, and I felt I was working a little harder than I'd have liked, but I'd been through a lot this morning. And I got to cheer for slower Flyers as I was passing them. At 6 miles, I was still feeling ok enough to pose for a picture.
At about 6.5 miles, I caught John Ward, who organizes the trail runs that I sometimes do. He said I was looking good and I believed him . . . stupid, stupid, stupid. At about 8.5 miles, I started feeling cold. I mean, cold and shivering. It was freaky, although I thought perhaps it was just having dowsed myself with too much water. I definately couldn't hold my 6:50 pace anymore. By 10 miles, my quads were cramping. Slowed some more. At 11 miles, my chest started to feel tight and I was having problems getting air. And I was really feeling cold. It was actually kind of frightening and for the first time ever, I stopped and walked through a water stop in a race between miles 11 and 12 to try and recover a little poise. I trudged through the last 1.1 miles in a daze. Nicole said she yelled at me near a turnaround in that stretch, "but you didn't look up." Ward caught me with a little over 1/2 mile to go. I was really just trying to survive the march back in. To finish off the festivities, after I made it back into the City, I grabbed a shower at the New York Sports Club before going into the office (yup, had to work this afternoon). When I pulled out my clothes, my singlet I'd thrown in the bag after the race had soaked my "clean" pants through right in the crotch. Perfect. Great ending to a big FUBAR.

My gun time was 1:44:50; my chip time was 1:38:43; a 7:32 pace. Which is 30s off my PR pace I set on half as much training volume back in March. It's also 17s slower than the pace I'll need to maintain for 26.2 in October to get a 3:10 marathon finish. Finally, its over 2 minutes slower than my first half in the Flying Pig Marathon, a race I was admittedly undertrained for. That's disheartening. The silver lining is that my watch time for the last 11.1 miles was 1:26:22, which means that those first 2 miles (when I was trying to get clear of the crowds) were at 6:10 pace despite the weaving. That's good news because it means that the last 4 miles of this race were a true bonk and not a reflection that I'm can't do this. So, hopefully this disaster is just a blip. (And, I've added my PR times to the sidebar so I could feel better about myself.)

Now though, I need some advice because today's subpar run has left me in a quandry. Tomorrow's a rest day, but Tuesday I'd planned to convert my scheduled threshold workout to a recovery run in light of the race. But with the bonk, I don't know whether the treat today's Half as a non-event and push through the threshold run or keep my planned recovery run. Thoughts from "real runners" out there?