Category Archives: race

Week of lack of running and 5th Avenue Mile recap

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I almost ran more in my long run last weekend than I did this entire week (16.6 miles). Running fail. Such is my last 3 months of half-baked marathon training.

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A car-free 5th Avenue

After slacking off last weekend after the long run, I was so proud of my 6 miles on Tuesday evening. Then it all went downhill, mainly due to work commitments, but then Thursday night I woke up every hour with throbbing pain in my right hip. I could barely walk Friday and had to call out of work sick. I spent most of the day on the couch hobbling between the kitchen and bathroom. I could not move without being in pain. This isn’t the first time I suffered from hip pain and it typically starts at night and usually by mid-day I am feeling much better. This time it was a lot worst and the pain lasted until Friday evening. Then I woke up Saturday morning fine. What’s wrong with me? Hopefully I’ll find out this week; I’m making an appointment to see a physical therapist/sports medicine doctor.

Ready to go!

Ready to go!

I tested out my hip on Saturday afternoon with an easy 45-minute run and I felt fine, which meant I could run the 5th Avenue Mile, right? I’m pretty sure doctors would not agree with my logic. I got to Central Park this morning early enough to get in a little over 3 mile warm up, picked up my bib, checked my bag that only had the race shirt, and was ready to go in my corral with 10 minutes to spare.

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Waiting for the start

I was in the Women 30-34 group but was in the back of the chute. When the gun went off at 9:10, I spent the first 0.25 miles dodging people. 0.5 miles in, I was at the top of the 5th Avenue hill, out of breath and could see the finish looming ahead, but it wasn’t not close enough. Remind me why racing a mile is fun? Josh was standing by the finish line, about 100 meters off. I waved at him but was focused on trying not to hurl until I crossed finish. My official time was 7:03 (15 seconds off my PR last year), and no, I didn’t hurl. Phew!

That’s me trying not to hurl!

I know I am not in as good of shape as I was last year, so I am pretty pleased with my time though I do wish it was 4 seconds faster. I have absolutely no strategy for a mile race. It feels like it should be a distance that you can sprint the whole time, but that’s a naïve marathoner’s perspective. After watching Nick Willis and Jenny Simpson win the professional races on TV, it looks like I may need to formulate a strategy for the next time I race a mile. Essentially instead of trying to sprint the whole race, I should gradually work up to a sprint for the last 0.25 miles. I’m pretty sure I do the opposite of that now.

Josh's shot of the finish

Josh’s shot of the finish

Regardless, the 5th Avenue Mile is a great race and one I hope to keep running in years to come. It’s extremely well organized, easy to spectate, and the field is not terribly crowded. Plus how often do you get to sprint down a car-free 5th Avenue? Thank you NYRR!

With the week coming to a close and the NYC Marathon less than 50 days away, I hope the hip pain stays at bay and I can have a stronger latter part of the cycle.

P.S. There’s still time to help support my cousin, Derek and the Alzheimer’s Association!

Tell me about your running week!

Important day, France Run recap, and runner’s high

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Before I start the post I want to write, I need to note that today is a very important day. Aside from my birthday, this is probably a close second to the most important day in a year (just kidding, well, not really, but maybe). Happy Birthday, Josh!

It’s no secret that over the last month (good thing the month is ending soon), I haven’t been too good about finding time to blog or run. I announced in July my NYC Marathon plans but even though my heart wasn’t into training, not running regularly or not joining as many team runs was never part of the plan.

IMG_3579Since coming back from vacation, I made it more of a priority to get out as much as possible this week. With the great weather, I managed to fit in two barre classes, and 4 runs so far (still hoping my recovery run happens later today). Waking up with the sun is therapeutic and being able to make it out to cheer on my team during hill repeats reminds me of why I do this in the first place.

Yesterday, I ran my first long run in weeks. I was signed up to run the inaugural France Run 8K in Central Park so the plan was to fit in a couple miles as warm-up beforehand, run the race at marathon goal pace, and run a couple more miles as cool down. I wanted to reach at least 11 miles by the end. When the alarm went off in the morning, I cursed myself for doing this and after 10 minutes of snoozing, I made it out of bed. By the time I made it to Central Park in one of the cooler summer mornings, I was excited to get this done.

IMG_3580I was able to fit in 2.5 miles at true warm-up pace (around 10:05), watch the set-up of the start line and was in my corral with 10 minutes to spare and enough time to eat a Honey Stinger Chocolate Waffle while waiting for the start. I’ve found that when I get really hungry right before a run, the waffles do the trick. My stomach can handle these unlike with other foods. The goal of the race was not to race but to get some quicker miles in my legs. I haven’t done any speed work in weeks and knew I just needed faster leg turnover to remind myself I can still do it. An 8K as I learned this week is around 4.97 miles. My splits according to my Garmin:

Mile 1: 9:26 – The race wasn’t too crowded, at least in my corral but with the attempt of starting conservative and Cat Hill, this was my slowest mile.
Mile 2: 8:48 – The flatter part of the race and I started to feel pretty strong.
Mile 3: 9:02 – Then Harlem Hill came, so I naturally slowed down.
Mile 4: 9:07 – By this point my hand started tingling and since I hadn’t had any water since I got into Central Park (almost 7 miles earlier), I walked through one of the water stations to hydrate.
Mile 5: 8:21 – My favorite stretch of Central Park’s outer loop is from around 85th Street to 72nd Street on West Drive. I love the shade from the trees, Delacorte Theater, and The Lake. I pushed harder this mile and left enough gas in the tank to sprint into the finish line. When I was crossing the finish, my watch was showing 6:55 pace.
Official finish time: 45:04; Pace: 9:05

IMG_3586I felt so strong that I wished the race hadn’t just ended but it was the perfect time to run into Amanda and Libby. We caught up quickly (man, I wish we had more time to chat) and took a quick picture. They were off to run another 6 miles and I was aiming to get a little over 3 (at a much slower pace) to cool down. The cool down felt great. I ran into another teammate, Fred who also ran the race, and then my cousin, Norman who just completed his +1 volunteer. He biked the course at the front with the winners. After quick stops to chat, I was off to finish the rest of the cool down. Instead of 3, I ended up with 4 (at 9:36 pace) to put my total mileage at 11.5. Breaking up the run into the three segments really helped. I ran each piece at the times I wanted, built confidence in my fitness level, and more importantly soaked in the endorphins around me.

IMG_3587Yesterday was the runner’s high I needed and missed. It reminded me that running is more than marathon training, the races I’ve completed, or how fast I am going, but more about being with the community. Running has introduced me to so many great people and friends and a sense of happiness, satisfaction and belonging. Thank You Running!

Your turn – share with me your runner’s high from the weekend!