Too Fast, Too Soon....As Usual. The NYC Half

Today was the New York City Half Marathon. I had big plans of running a good race even though I haven't been focused on my running as much as I should be. I planned to aim for a 1:45 but would have been happy with a 1:48 or really anything under a 1:50. I started strong with an 8:15 min/mile, then did an 8:05 and 8:06. Then came harlem hill. I took it a bit easier on that and averaged an 8:23. At that point, I thought to myself, this is a little hard but I just have to get out of central park and then I'll be home free. FALSE.

I got through the 8 mile point at which point you exit the park onto 7th ave. I then thought it was time to kick into gear, with 5 miles to go. Unfortunately, I didn't have any gears left. I did an 8:03 and then it's unclear what my pace was because the gps on my watch doesnt work in times square and it was acting all crazy. When I got to mile 10, I felt terrible but still tried to push. All I had left was 9 min miles so I did 3 and finished the race feeling pretty defeated.

I ended up finishing in a disappointing 1:52:34, 8:36 pace--a few seconds slower than my race in DC exactly a year ago. During that race, I went out way too fast, faster even than today, but perhaps it was comparable given that in Central Park I was working against some tough hills. The only time I've ever paced correctly was the NYC Marathon last fall when Spencer sent me splits to follow. Apparently I need that kind of guidance all of the time. I also just need to get faster. I've been running since 2007 and ran my first 1/2 in 1:55 averaging a 8:47 pace. 3 marathons, multiple half marathons, and countless other races and I haven't even improved by 15 seconds per mile. Sometimes I wonder why I keep running.



3.20 NYC Half Marathon by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

Dark, Cold, Rainy and.... Awesome

I mentioned in my last post that I've been trying to take it easy this week to prepare for the 1/2 marathon on Sunday and that it has been incredibly boring. Enter Justinia, stage west coast. Justinia or "Stin" as I've grown to call her inspired me to run back in 2007 when I was a summer associate at my law firm. While I had always been a fitness enthusiast, running really wasn't my thing except to drop unwanted pounds in a hurry. Unfortunately, Stin moved to San Francisco last year and left me short one running buddy and lots of inspiration.

Lucky for me though, she makes frequent visits to NYC. Yesterday, she got in for work and we made plans to run this morning. I almost canceled--literally, I sent the text saying we should go another day b/c it was forecasted to be miserably rainy. But Wednesday was her only available morning for a run so I agreed to meet her at 6:45am at the entrance to the park near me.

So, I wake up this morning, look outside and not only was it raining, it was pouring, super wet out and still dark because of the daylight savings change on Sunday. Ugh!! I was seriously dreading this run. Nonetheless, I got ready and headed out the door. When I got to our meeting spot, I complained that it was miserable and my feet were wet. Stin even agreed--she's not used to the cold yucky NYC rain anymore. But we went on our way just the same.

About 10 minutes in, while catching up on each others lives I realized I was having an awesome time and the rain wasn't even bothering me anymore! We were moving along at a good pace despite constant conversation (well slow for Stin, since she's a speed demon, turned trail runner, turned ultramarathoner) We head up the west side to 102nd street, crossed the transverse to the east side and then headed to the bottom of the park and back up the west side. We parted ways at 72nd street, when she headed back to her hotel which was in midtown east.

Stin is one of my favorite running buddies and still my inspiration for running. When I first started in summer '07, I couldn't even make it up harlem hill and she stopped and walked with me and was patient and didn't even seem to mind that it was probably messing up her run. I'm still totally sad she moved to SF but she seems to like it out there, so that's good enough for me. As long as she keeps visiting, and running with me when she does!!

Rainy run with Stin by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

The Taper

A 1/2 marathon is by no means anything approaching the difficulty of a marathon but I'm still cutting down on my workouts this week so that I can have the best race possible. That means no bootcamp and no brick. BORING!!!

This morning I planned to get up and go for a nice easy run in the park by myself. On any other Monday I'd be off to WFBC so that Alex and Ruben could torture me in that extra special way that makes me hate to love them, or love to hate them...unclear. Turns out, I have plenty of motivation to get up at 5:50am to get to bootcamp but NO MOTIVATION to go on an easy run in the park by myself. I snoozed till 8:30am at which time I seriously had to hustle to make it to work on time. FAIL!

So when I got home from work at 10pm I had to change into my gym clothes and go to the gym. Oh yes, the god awful dreadmill. I did 2.5 easy 9-9:30 min/miles then did the last mile at an 8:35 pace. At that point, Equinox was closing so I had to vacate the premises so the folks there didn't give me those evil "I want to leave so can you please get out of here" stares. Being the recipient of those stares is no fun---I used to give those very stares when I worked at the gym in college.

Anyway, pretty boring workout really. As excited as I am for the half marathon, I look forward getting back into bootcamp next week.

MONKEYBARS!!!!

I've been going to Warrior Fitness Bootcamp for about 6 weeks now and I am definitely feeling and seeing some improvements both in my body and performance. Today was a big day for me though. I worked super late and didn't get into bed until 3am so I was worried about my energy levels--I even slept the extra 15 minutes and took a cab down to class. I needed not worry though because today was my best WFBC class ever. I felt pretty quick on our laps and kept up with Evan, who is probably one of the speediest in the 6:30am class. Then on our 2 minute situp trial I busted out with 95 situps. At that point I was feeling pretty amazing.

So, finally we get to the obstacle course. I dig deep and jump on the first monkeybars and get halfway through them! So, I got across maybe 10 bars that get higher and higher up as they go along. Ruben gave me a hard time for not getting through all of them, but I was ecstatic. Then, when I got to the high wall, I scaled it all by myself and got over and then did it again the second time. Apparently if you work hard and stay consistent, you see improvements!! Now, time to set new goals. I definitely want to get through that 2nd half of the monkeybars in the next 3 weeks. I say 3 because next week is a WFBC-free week in preparation for the half marathon on March 20. Then, I'm going to tackle climbing that old-school gym rope up to the ceiling.

On another note, last week was yet another week of running albeit with some technical difficulties. My heart rate sensor is broken and doesn't work with my watch :( On Wednesday, I ran with Alanna and ipod didnt work. Nonetheless I've been working hard and waiting to see results. Here's a recap:

Tuesday Terrier Tri spin and 3 mile run

Wednesday 5.5 mile easy run with Alanna
3/2 5.5 Miler with Alanna by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

Friday 6 mile tempo run with Terrier Tri and 1 mile (total) warmup and cooldown
3.4 6 mile tempo with Terrier by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

Saturday 14.5 mile long run with Amanda
March 5 14.5 miler by kelila83 at Garmin Connect - Details

Just 2 more weeks till the half! Gotta stay consistent from here till March 20 (except for maybe a mini taper) and hopefully I will kick some ass on this race.

Could Easy Swimming be a Remedy for Soreness?

On this past Sunday I went to my first indoor triathlon swim practice. I was a little concerned because I also did a 14 mile run that morning. We warmed up with a 200 (8 laps) and then did 6 laps of kicking with the board. Kicking with the board was pretty difficult because my legs were definitely sore from the run. We did a number of drills during which I was reminded how terrible I am at swimming. We did catch up freestyle with the board, catch up freestyle without a board, some drills focused on kicking, drills on breathing and a bunch of other stuff for an hour. Finally, at the end of practice we did a 25 for time. It took me 28 seconds. Ugh. How am I ever going to be a good enough swimmer for this triathlon?

On Monday, I woke up for WFBC and didn't have my usual post-long run soreness. I haven't figured out whether this is because of the swim on Sunday night or because I took Saturday off. Either way, I was ready and able to redeem myself from the week prior. Specifically, on some of the 4 lap drills I was able to lead the pack and really show some speed. As a result of my improved performance, I was upgraded back to the faster group. I will not be letting the downgrade happen again--I was not pleased last Wednesday! Another plus of Monday's WFBC session--I got about half way through the monkeybars. I'm seeing some definite progress here. I think my aim will be to get through the monkey bars by early April. I still struggle with getting up the high wall. Today Chelsea, one my fellow warriors, stood behind me and gave me a tiny push up and over. The push and encouragement was just what I needed. I would like to be able to do that wall completely on my own by early April as well. I wonder though, once I can get through the whole course, what will my new goals be?