The last “long” run has come and gone. That consisted of another pre-sunrise arrival to the Staten Island Ferry to head over to Staten Island to jog out 13.1 miles. Thank goodness I live in Brooklyn now as my trip necessitated only a short subway ride across the east river – *hint* the subways were a mess. Anyway, I’m pretty certain we surprised a few people waiting for the ferry at 7AM. Probably two weeks a year do you see as many people in the ferry terminal on a lazy Sunday morning. The ferry ride was pretty and the weather was absolutely ideal. However, the key to my day was keeping things in control as this was just a long run for me, not a race. So hard when you’re feeling good.
I brought my trusted ipod shuffle to accompany me for the 13.1 miles. I’ve never done Staten Island so this was a new venture for me. No clue on the course which makes it more exciting. I used the sing test to tell me if I was running too hard. If I couldn’t sing a full line of a song while running, too fast. I did not want this to be a fast race at all – if anything looking for 1:55-2:00 so somewhere around a 9min mile. As you can see below, with the exception of one mile which was a pretty nasty hill, things were a little faster.
The race itself was not so interesting. The scenery with the exception of the parts by the water was pretty ugly. I did get some fun brightroom shots that they hopefully caught – including one that I jumped in front of the camera. Hope he caught it! The ipod gave me the needed support today to maintain focus for where I’m going. I never felt out of control and that was the main purpose of this race. That and race #8 of the year to qualify for NYCM next year:) Along the race route I ran into DM, PM, AH and NYCe (via twitter). I think there were a few others that recognized me but who knows:) I also ran into experiri (twitter) at the baggage check area. My legs felt fine post-race. However, not so fine after the 6-7 extra miles of walking after the race – stupid subways!!!
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Last night I was meeting up with a friend TC for a Nike event. They usually have a run before the event so I figured I’d go check it out. Plan? I figured if it ended up being a faster paced run I’d do the shorter one to be ready for a week from Sunday. It’s not close enough to not put one more tempo effort in. Out we go through midtown to get to the park and immediately the pacer takes off and we’re zig-zagging through Central Park. I have no clue where the heck we’re going and just manage to follow the blinking light he has on his shirt. He had said we’d do 4 miles since everyone else was but immediately we broke off from most of the group as the pace was well..*ahem* a bit quick. Let’s just say the first mile was probably a 9:15 or so to get to the park. The pace got quicker as we continued on the run and I also realized this was not a four mile run. Like a woman in full taper mode, I started venting to TC that this was a taper and I don’t want to get hurt because of some stupid run..blah blah blah. LOL – runners are so funny when it comes to preparing for race day. Quickly I realized, hey dummy, you can talk and just consider it one last quality workout.
That it was as we whizzed around the trails, the Great Lawn, Reservoir, and finally down the west side back to City Sports in Midtown. Total mileage was around 6.5 miles and pace came to around 8:23 (including a last mile in 7:20). Hmmm I like that pace:) I commented to TC that the last part of a run is like a horse going back to the barn – they take off!
So that’s it kids. Off to Penn State today for recruiting for my company so no time to train today but hopefully I’ll squeeze in a workout at the hotel tomorrow morning before the interviews.
Now the key is to stay healthy and stay away from doing anything stupid. Can I just put my body in a bubble til Oct 25?
Bring it on MCM. 10 days and counting til DC becomes my playground…
You rock
Even though it wasn’t the best race – note to self, never do the SI half – you still rocked it! You are awesome! And I had a lot of fun meeting up with you for some yummy Olive Garden! MCM will not know what hit them! Congrats again
I love that you’re so fast that your slow long runs are what my goal times would be like. 🙂 Sounds like you’re in great shape for MCM!