Holiday 4-Miler Update

The results are up on www.nyrr.org. My official time was 37.56, slightly better than I thought, though I was in the bottom fifth of men in my age group, placing 263rd out of 330. There's a metric I can work on for the next race.

There were 4,878 finishers, and official temp was 27 degrees with 13 mph winds.

Run 59 - Holiday 4 Miler

Mrs. FA and I ran the New York Road Runners' Holiday 4 Miler this morning. We reigstered for this race shortly after the CCM. Over time, I grew tired with the idea of it, grew tired of running, wary of the cold, and anxious to get it behind me and take a break. At registration in October, my goal was 37 minutes. Standing in the starting pen at 7:50a today, with temps in the high teens, I was certain of 41, 42 minutes or more. At the end of the race, my watch said 38.15. I tried to memorize my splits along the way. I can't get the time to add up, but I know the last mile was my best, under 9 minutes.

I totally exceeded my expectations. The crowd (more than 7,000 runners!), the weather (cold, crisp, and clear) and the course were invigorating. I'll run again on Monday, and am looking for another event.

Peace, fellas.

Run 58

I had only 25 minutes and didn't want to out-and-back, so headed off on my usual resevoir route but left the resevoir track early and looped back on the Park Road, running the Great Hill in reverse and exiting the park at Adam Clayton Powell Blvd to run surface streets back home. I ran a little harder than ususal due to the hills. I am not going to run again before the race Saturday. Having a hard time getting excited for it, frankly. More thoughts on this later.

Run 57

Took a typical turn around the resevoir tonight. I was a complete stress-ball after work, and needed the run. Nothing remarkable about it, except the cold. That, too, faded in importance, around mile 2.

Peace, fellas.

Run 56, Michigan Avenue

Checked another box this week with a run down Michigan Avenue in Chicago, yesterday afternoon. I didn't calculate distance. I ran from my hotel for roughly 15 minutes and then back again, with a short walk along the lakeshore at the turnaround point to think and enjoy the scenery. I got out at 7:00am, it was 25 degrees, and I had a low grade hangover, so not my most auspicious run. Still, I continue to enjoy taking advantage of my travel schedule to get out and run in different cities.

Holiday 4 miler is a week from Saturday, or at least four more runs from now.

Short story from run 55: so I was chugging past the mid-point on my usual 5k loop, by the pump station on the downtown side of the resevoir, when I caught sight of a fetching youngster, strecthing, turned away from me, in tights and a snug yellow windbreaker. I thought, wow! Here's motivation. I wonder if she'll head in my direction. Then the runner turned towards me. It was a dude.

Run 55

Checked the box tonight. Run 55 was my usual 5k loop around the resevoir, which I haven't run in a few weeks. Ran it in 30.30, not great for me, not bad for me, either. If I stick to my plan the race of 12/13 will be run 60, a round number. I like that.

Run 54

Ran ~ 3 miles in ~ 27 minutes on Saturday afternoon, sneaking away with Mrs. FA from her parent's place for an out-and-back to the edge of their subdivision. It's ugly what a long weekend of heavy eating can do. I was happy with my time, but felt sluggish and breathless. Sticking to bran and veggies this week.

Run 53

Got out for just 2 miles yesterday (Wednesday), one mile uphill, and one mile down. I wanted to make up for lost runs last week and stay active through the holiday, with its opportunities for overeating. I'm fairly uncomfortable this morning. Don't know if it was too soon after Tuesday's late afternoon 5k, or the big hill, but I feel sore and worn out. Resting now. Enjoy your turkey boys. Peace,

Run 52

In the ADKs today. Mrs. FA dropped me 5k from home, and I ran it in 29.10. Rained lightly the whole way, temps in the low 40s, and a bit of snow and sleet still on the road from last night's freezing rain. I did not stretch before the run, and stretched only my shins and calves afterwards. We'll see how that goes.

I am aiming for a short 2.5 miler tomorrow afternoon, as the feasting will start in earnest when my folks arrive later in the day.

If I don't blog again, I hope all the big and little Agricolae, VTRs, Bennus and Phatrunners have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Riverside Run, #51

So I haven't run since last Sunday. It was a long work week, with multiple family commitments in the evenings, etc. (The bigger of the little FAs turned 8 on Thursday. Unbelievable.) So I wanted to shake off the week with something new, and not obsess over distance or time.

I ran to Riverside Park, downtown to the Intrepid, and up 43rd Street to 8th Avenue where I hopped on the C train to head home.

Google says it's 4.48 miles. I ran it in 49.10, nearly an 11 minute mile pace, which I'm glad to say is slow for me. I did stop to walk 2x for a minute each time, and stopped once to heed nature. Not sure how long that took. Whatever. It is great and clear and cold in NYC today, and windy on the riverfront. I like that route, and think I'll extend it for long weekend runs.

I'm also starting to think about trying a run with the iPod. Will certainly blog about that. Chaka Khan's Ain't Nobody was the earworm on this run; it shifted over to Zep's Travelin By The Riverside Blues when I hailed the big carrier.

Peace, fellas.

Tough Week

No posts for two days! That's a record for this crowd, lately. This is a tough time for me. I always find the weeks immediately before Thanksgiving are super busy, as if clients are startng to clear the decks for holidays and year-end. I haven't run since Sunday, shanghai-d by preparations for a trip to Tampa, and the trip itself. The trip was very positive and may lead to a super exciting opportunity, but I've had few cracks to fill, ala Agricola. When I was a kid we had a family friend, a carpenter, who used to say you gotta give something to get something, sometimes.

I'm slammed today and my local industry's big annual affair is tonight. I aim to go light on the booze and hit the road tomorrow morning. We'll be upstate most of next week so I hope to be firmly back on plan by Thanksgiving. Looking forward to posting, and to seeing yours, too.

Peace,

Run 50, 5-miler

Our church in Port Henry is five miles from home. So I ran home after church. I had never run five miles and wanted to push past that barrier. The route loses elevation overall; it is mainly long gradual downhill stretches with flats here and there and a few, very short climbs, and my right ankle hurt real good in the last mile. I ran it in 45.10.

It was a good morning for a run. Temps in the 40s, breezy, slightly overcast. There are a few points along the route where you can look down on Champlain. I stuck around after mass to stretch behind the pews. I like very much being alone in a Church, and it set my head before the run.

I feel that I should remark on run 50. There it is.

Peace, fellas.

Run 49

I got out tonight with a plan, for a change. I aimed to run the first mile in 10, then speed up to 9 minutes for the second mile, and try for 8 on the third.

Well, the first two miles went as planned. My HR was in the mid 170s for nearly all of mile 2, and when I hit mile 3 I was certain I could not speed up and sustain a faster pace. So I dropped the HR to 165-ish for the next half mile, then took it up over 170 again for the last half mile. Finished 5k in 30 minutes, 29 seconds, not as fast as I'd hoped.

Average HR was 168 and Max HR was 181, both higher than usual. I'm starting to appreciate the HR monitor's value for pacing again.

I've laid out a schedule to get in 13 more runs before the Dec 13 holiday race. I've got a bit of travel in there, Tampa next week, Chicago after Thanksgiving, so we'll see.

Peace, boys

A New Race

In a recent post I mentioned a mid-December Reindeer Run in nearby Schroon Lake. I was wrong about that; it's in far-off Queensbury. But Mrs. FA and I registered for the NYRR's Holiday 4-Miler on Sat., Dec. 13, in Central Park. (We joined NYRR while at it.)

That's about a month away. I am thinking I'll aim for 37 minutes. I haven't run since last Thurs. But I'll be back on the road tomorrow.

Peace,