Race #6 -- another personal best

Hit an new personal best last weekend for the 10K. I completed the race at a pace of 8:43, just a few seconds faster than my pace for the 4-mile. This is a good thing and I am very proud of myself!

I had an unusual moment of clarity at the starting line as the wheelchair athlete took off. Here we were, thousands of healthy people, all gathered on a crystal clear Manhattan morning in the playground of New York. And after all the pomp and blathering from the sponsors (in this case the United Arab Emirates) we all stood still and applauded for an impaired person, I don't know if it was a man or woman, who took to the course in a wheelchair. You can't help but get a little choked up every time you witness this.

On Sunday, I did an aggressive 20-mile ride around the park at 18.8mph. With the exception of some rough chafing on my chest, I felt very good afterwards.

I am looking out the window at a cold, damp cloudy day, getting chills as I contemplate race #7. It is taking place tonight in lower Manhattan. I'll be running among a sold-out group of 17,000 other people which is an absurd number. I think the largest race I have done thus far is about 7,000 people.

I have not made any mention of my weight thus far but it has dropped since my quest began. I was probably somewhere near 185 when I started running in the late fall. Now, I am clocking in around 176. This is a huge drop for me because it has come without any kind of noticeable modification of my diet.

Here are the numbers for race #6. One note is that I may have hit an all-time heart rate of 170bpm on this race:

Healthy Kidney 10K
Distance: 6.2 Miles, 10 Kilometers
Date/Time: May 17, 2008, 9:00am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 50 Deg. 80% Hum. Wind 3 MPH
Overall Place: 3053
Gender Place: 2251
Age Place: 313
Finish Time: 54:03
Split Time: 27:19
Pace/Mile: 8:43
AG Time: 49:56
AG Gender Place: 2036
AG%: 53.7
Total Finishers: Men – 3438 Women – 2835 Total – 6273
Age Group 40-44: Men – 463 Women – 259 Total – 722

Race #5 - A Personal Best

Completed my fifth official NYRR Race on Sunday and, in the process, achieved a new personal best pace for the 4-miles: 8:23. Most importantly, I felt pretty good at the finish line.

Here's the lowdown:
New York Junior League Mother’s Day 4M
Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: May 11, 2008, 8:00am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 50 Deg. 80% Hum. Wind 7 MPH
Overall Place: 1114
Gender Place: 845
Age Place: 131
Finish Time: 33:35
Pace/Mile: 8:23
AG Time: 31:01
AG Gender Place: 771
AG%: 54.3%
Total Finishers: Men – 1563 Women – 1756 Total – 3319
Age Group 40-44: Men – 227 Women – 213 Total – 440

Got the word last night that my trainer, Hassan, will be leaving NYC in August and headed back to school to finally finish his bachelor's degree at the University of Kansas. He originally left in 1993 to play defensive back for the NY Giants. It'll be tough to see him go. He's truly changed my life. I'll make suire to tell him so before our final session.

Four more races to go and I'll be set for the 2009 NY Marathon.

It's Been A While

It should be pretty obvious at this point that although I am committed to training, I am not committed to this blog. Hence the infrequent updates with limited details and unimaginative commentary.

For starers, I've been sick for the past week. Thankfully it's just a cold but it's been lingering and sitting here now, a week later, I am still heavily congested. I'm pretty sure I just got really, really exhausted and stressed with all the running around I've been doing apart from training. The problem with getting sick is that it disrupts an already erratic training schedule.

Despite my illness, and a minimal amount of sleep following a Bat Mitzvah, I still managed to get out of bed at 6:00am last Sunday (May 4) and complete the 42-mile Five Boro Bike Tour. The ride was really fun but, unfortunately, not a really strong workout for me. I traded the workout for some friendly companionship with Ted Greenberg and Alfred Kahn. I had ridden with Ted before and he recently started using his bike to get around town so I was encouraged when he asked me to do the ride.

Alfred and I had previously rode together during the 2004 and 2006 rides. He was by my side when I completed the 2004 ride just a few months after being discharged from the hospital and was my regular Saturday morning training buddy. Unfortunately, Alfred demonstrated a low tolerance for discomfort and did not have much interest in riding in colder temperatures or when it rained. So during the winter months while I kept riding, he hibernated. He wasn't even sure when he was last on a bike and had a slight concern about his ability to climb the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

In the end, both Ted and Alfred did a terrific job keeping up a nice pace during the ride. Considering the roads were jam-packed with 30,000 riders, the three of us did a good job of sticking together and it was a really terrific day.
Here's me with Ted on top of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge after completing about 38-miles for the day

Alfred seemed a bit concerned that he was going to have to walk his bike up the bridge but, lo and behold, he made it to the top

And even though I was still feeling congested, I ran eight miles on the treadmill in the gym on Thursday night (May 8). Unfortunately, I did not complete the 15 miles per week that I am supposed to be running at this point (Sorry, Jonathan Wells. I'm working on it).

This Sunday I have a NYRR sanctioned race in Central Park. It's just four miles but, still, it'll get my butt out of bed before 9:00am on a weekend. This one will be #5 -- just four more to go and I'll automatically qualify for 2009.

That's all in the recent past. Here's a look a things from a few weeks ago:

• On Saturday, April 26, I flew around Prospect Park for 23 miles traveling at a speed above 18.5mph.
• On Sunday, April 27, I ran 10 miles in the Park. I wrote down my pace and time but can't find it right now. Suffice to say, I was feeling pretty good.
• On the following Tuesday night, April 29, I ran on the treadmill. I'm pretty sure it was seven or eight miles but I can't be sure.

So, the bottom line is, it's nice to try and keep track of my progress but with the limited time at my disposal, it's probably better to spend it training than updating this silly blog. Especially because I'm not even keeping such great records of my training. Maybe if I take more photos along the way, it'll be a bit easier.

One note: Dave Finke has put his name in to NYC Marathon lottery for 2008. Hopefully his name will be picked and I'll have someone to run with.