Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Double Race Weekend

One weekend. Two races. And as of this post, I think I'm still feeling the effects! Not so much the races itself, but because I had to wake up at 5am both Saturday and Sunday, since both started at 8am.

First up was the UAE Healthy Kidney 10k. I was somewhat concerned about this one since I had not put in as much training as I had wanted. Since DC, I wanted to put in a lot more hills and speedwork, and I ended up putting in ZERO. A combination of scheduling and laziness left me with just basic 5 mile training runs in Central Park, with just once doing the full 6 mile loop. Anyway, as mentioned above, it was a 5am wake up call, since the I had to take the 6am LIRR (the 7am would cut it WAY too close for my confort) into the city. Temperature was in the mid 50s, so I went with a basic tech t and shorts.

Got to the park around 6:45am, so had plenty of time to drop off my bag, use the bathroom 50 times, warm up and get to the start. Its been a long time since I've done a 10k (dare I say the last one was this same race last year?), so I went the "safe" route and took a Gu before the start.  Another larger race, so its about 7 minutes before I cross the start. Since its been over a week since I last did a training run, my legs feel pretty fresh. Only problem that I noticed was that it was more crowded than other NYRR races. Usually things will thin out within the first mile, but not this time. Nothing close to the Las Vegas debacle, but it was crowded until after mile 2.  Since I had arrived to the park fairly early and dropped my bag off, that left me a bit thirsty by the start of the race. So near the midpoint, I decided I needed a drink. So I slowed to a walk, grabbed a cup, downed it, and went on my way. Nothing spectacular from this race and I dont feel like I struggled too bad at any point. I didnt try to push it either, and I figured a PR was pretty much out of the question given my (lack of) training and even more so after how crowded it was at the start. In the end, I finished in 1:01:18 at a 9:53 pace. Turns out, I was only 4 seconds slower than last year! which is actually my 10K PR! DARN! Now the thoughts of, "if I only didnt stop for water!" and "darn the crowd!" start creeping in. But whats done is done, and I'm happy with how I did given the situation.

Later on that day after I got home, I actually went out for an easy bike ride, totalling 16 miles. "Easy". I did push it in some sections, but in general I wanted to keep it easy, as to keep my legs loose and blood flowing. Turned out okay I think.

Next up was the Japan Day Run (4M) on Mother's Day. Same deal, different day, but I was feeling the fatigue from the day before, both the run and just lowered energy. But I didnt let the hold me back. Being in the 5000s (lgiht blue) corral, I cross the start much sooner than normal and I'm cruising. Seems to feel good, and running with presumably faster people has me going a little faster. I soon found out how fast, because before I even hit the mile 2 marker, I felt like I was done! It was warm (lower 60s) and relatively humid, because within the first mile sweat was already flying off of me. In fact, I had a hard time keeping it out of my eyes, I had to keep taking my sunglasses off and wiping the sweat from my eyes. So I trudge through mile 3, which also included a quick water break, and I try to kick it up a bit for the final mile, but can't seem to. I was beat. So I just plodded along, finally made the turn on the 72nd crossover, and I went all out. Sprinted to the finish (nearly crashing into the backs of those that had finished in front of me and decide to just STOP), with a final time of 38:11 for a 9:32 pace. Nowhere near my 9:19 PR for 4 miles, but not bad. And it was better than my last 4 miler, the Run as One a couple weeks ago (38:31).

All in all, good weekend, no PRs, but satisfied with my times. Next up with be Wall Street Run on 5/31, and then Celebrate Israel 4M that Sunday, 6/3. Another 2 race week! Why do I do this to myself? Lastly, if you can take a moment and click the "Support My Ride" link up top. Thanks!

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