Race Recap: NYRR 18-Mile Marathon Tune-Up

By ellen on September 25, 2011

  • Date: Sunday, September 25, 2011
  • Time: 7:00am
  • Location: Central Park. The race started on the east side by the 102nd Street transverse. It was 3 counter-clockwise loops of the park.

  • Conditions: At 5am this morning, when I looked before the race, it was supposed to rain – 80% chance. I was actually hoping for rain, thinking it may cool things off a bit. It didn’t rain, but it was incredibly humid. Got a little sunny towards the end. Not pleasant, but certainly not the worst conditions I’ve run in this season.
  • Pre-Race:
    • Pre-race, things were not looking good. Although I hydrated really well, I was sidelined with some unfortunate stomach issues. I headed home early from a friend’s house to relax, drank a Nuun, and hoped I’d feel better in the morning.
    • I didn’t feel awful in the morning, but my belly felt empty and I was concerned about dehydration despite drinking tons of water the last few days. I ate 1/2 piece of fresh sourdough w/ pb. honey, and sea salt. Felt good enough to go and give the race a try.
  • Race Time:
    • I felt great starting out. When I saw the weather yesterday and realized how humid it would be, I decided to stick to 10:00min/mile pace. I kept this pace almost exactly for the first 2 loops. The third loop slowed down a bit – I was really really warm at this point and my legs were starting to feel the effects of Harlem Hills x3.
    • Because of my stomach issues last night/this morning, I felt hungry earlier than usual. I took Gu at mile 4, then every 6 after that (10, 16). This worked really well. I drank little swigs of Gatorade in between Gu miles.
    • As much as I tend to fear hills, I feel really comfortable running them. I dominated hills and took it easy on the downhills.
  • Official Time:

  • Overall:
    • I don’t know what the issue was on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I’ve had more issues pre-race this season than in others. Even though it turned out fine, I’d rather figure it out and not have the same pre-race experience before the marathon (and fear of trots – sorry).
    • This was a huge confidence booster and (if I hadn’t said it before) I really really can’t wait to run the marathon. I did a lot of visualizing during the race which helped the miles tick by. (Some thoughts included, but were not limited to: marathon day outfit, funny signs I hope to see, which bar I will go to after, and when I would do a training run on the last few miles of the course).

So, great day. I sit here now post-ice bath covered in Tiger Balm watching football. I’m beyond excited for the marathon and it’s crazy to think I only have a handful of these long runs left. 

Posted in Tagged , , , , , , 7 Comments

Race Recap: Mini-10k

By ellen on June 11, 2011

 

  • Date: Saturday, June 11, 2011
  • Start: 8:00am
  • Location: Central Park. Start on Central Park West, above Columbus Circle heading north. Enter the park at 90th and follow the loop clockwise to the finish at 67th on the west side.

  • Conditions: Ugh. Humidity City. Cloudy, 66 degrees. Humidity? 95%. Thank god the sun wasn’t out!

  • Pre-Race:
    • Well, things didn’t go as planned the night before. I had anticipated a quiet afternoon/evening at home so I could rest, watch a movie, and get to bed early after a tiring week. Instead, I went to the grand opening of my new neighborhood beer garden. And had pints of half the draft menu — which included, in case you were wondering, a Stella, a Six Point Sweet Action, an Allagash White, and a Radeberger Pilsner.
    • Came home and downed a bowl of pasta and a Clif bar and went to sleep (early, at least) but without setting my alarm. Hm.
    • Luckily, I wake up insanely early all the time so I hopped out of bed at 5 ready to roll. We do our grocery shopping on Sautrdays here, so Saturday morning the pickins are lean. I wound up having a crappy pre-race breakfast of water and a handful of little sugared wheat puffs.

 

Yes, seriously.

  • Race time:
    • I was in the green corral, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to the start of a race (major benefit to not having men in it). I think I crossed the start only about a minute after the horn.
    • I went up CPW a bit on the fast side. I was at about 8:00 at the first mile which made me a little nervous knowing that I don’t usually run well in the humidity and that there were quite a few hills approaching.
    • Mile 2-3 was by far my slowest. I intentionally slowed down a bit and got jammed up a bit at the water station. Ugh. And for the record, at this point I felt like I had already sweat like 3 pounds off of me.
    • Mile 4-5 were meh. The hills were pretty much over and I just wanted the race to be over too. I settled into a pace that I felt I could keep for the rest of the race.
    • Mile 5-6.2 I had gas left in my tank to push it to the end. And that was okay for me. I couldn’t even pick it up when it was 800m left… 400m left…
    • The Finish: I felt like I was going to barf. (Didn’t, in case you were wondering). Felt pretty awful, in fact. But really happy it was over.
  • Official Time:

  • Overall:
    • It wasn’t my best 10k, but it certainly wasn’t my worst. I really can’t believe that I was actually less than a minute off of my PR for the distance. Pace wasn’t so bad at all, and I really can’t complain! There may be hope for me after all with this humid summer running!

CONGRATS to all the women who ran the Mini-10k! And, of course, anyone who raced today or will tomorrow. What are your running plans for the weekend? AND, have you ever been surprised by your performance in a race?

——————————————-

Have you checked out my running book club? Here’s my review of Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running by Rachel Toor. I’ll be reviewing What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami the first Friday in July, if you want to join in!

 

Posted in Tagged , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Marathon Monday: A Walk in the Park

By ellen on August 30, 2010

Saturday morning I did my long run of the week. Keeping my less than stellar run in the back of my mind, I stayed positive and set my sights on my goal: 13 miles. I had a lot working in my favor that morning before I even rolled out of bed:

  • near perfect weather conditions (especially for August!)
  • moral support (since it was an NYRR-organized run, there would be tons of other runners and support staff along the way)
  • built-in fuel stations

And I have to be completely honest, I laid in bed at around 5:30 seriously considering blowing it off. My rationale? I could just run a ton of loops in the park (like I did instead of the last NYRR trainer) across the street. And sleep in more.

Eventually, my conscience won the battle and I got up and got dressed.

I kept it simple with my morning fuel and had a Carrot-Chia-Spelt muffin I made a few days ago from Oh She Glows (umm, delicious, and great pre-run fuel, btw), a cup of Japanese Sencha tea, and some water. I got my gear and headed out to the subway.

I should mention here that by “gear” I generally mean my shoes. I hate carrying/holding/transporting pretty much anything when I run. No iPods, no water bottles, nothin but a plain old watch. All I had today (but necessity only, I assure you) was a single key to get back in my building and my metrocard. Both fit nicely into the little back pocket of my spandex. My race bib was already attached to my shirt. This aversion to carrying things also explains why I almost always try to schedule long runs on long race weekends…

Once I got there, the run was pretty standard. Nothing to noteworthy to mention (which, I suppose is good and bad). I ran the 13 I set out to do and moved between pacer groups (9:30 and 10:00) as I saw fit.There were a few times when I could feel one of my knees… or my ankle. It didn’t hurt at all, but my theory is that you should never feel the presence of a single joint. They were talking a bit, so I iced them down afterwards to be careful. I also discovered a nasty bloody toe situation after I got home. One rubbed against the other and the dried blood stuck them together in a single red mega-toe. Nothing painful, though.

So? It’s done. Next week I’ll shoot for 15 alone, and step-back the week after. I’m doing quite a bit of cross-training in the next few weeks, and I’m looking forward to seeing how that makes me feel in the next few long runs.

Countdown to the marathon? T-minus 68 days and counting…

How are your long runs going? If you aren’t running a marathon, would you ever want to? Why/why not?

Posted in Tagged , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

"Restaurant" Review: Central Park Picnic

By ellen on May 22, 2009

Memorial Day weekend has always been my official start of summer. My friends, most of whom get “summer hours,” and I made Friday happy hours in the park a regular thing last year. It was one of my favorite parts of the summer (second only to my wedding and honeymoon, haha). Well, today marked the first Central Park picnic. We each bring our own snacks and stuff. I thought I’d review our spread this week instead of the usual restaurant.

It’s nice that there’s a Whole Foods right at the park. I biked down and stopped at WF to grab some snacks. My go-to strategy for these BYO picnics is:

  • bring as many fruit/veggie-laden foods. You never know what else will be there
  • bring a nice big bottle of… water. Haha, Pellegrino is my pick. It’s a little more special than tap
  • a deck of cards lends itself to endless possibilities
  • sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen

This was an excellent kick-off. Enjoy some of my pics below. Happy summer!

Posted in Tagged , , , , Leave a Comment