Training Week 2 - Al Gordon 4 Miler

These weeks are just flying by, let me tell you! You all know about my Tuesday am speed workout, and I'm so happy to hear that a bunch of you have done it and loved it as much as I did. Wednesday I had an easy 6, which although it felt easy, it completely drained me. Maybe because I woke up at 6:30am to take a yoga class before work as well? Maybe. At any rate, Wednesday night was a bit of a weak point for me. I thought I felt great week 1 because my legs had no idea what was going on. I thought maybe my legs were starting to revolt...Get with the program! I was worried I'd be trashed for Thursdays crazy tempo run, but surprisingly I woke up feeling pretty good.

Thursday was a long day, and I was in a major rush to meet the Sasquatch/JDRF people. I was feeling stressed, and just plain exhausted. I had no idea how I was going to run my 9:20 miles, let lone my sub 9:00 mile. Once we got going though, I easily fell into a groove with the group of awesome ladies that came out. Somewhat confusedly, about a mile into our run, a guy called Sasquatch STUD. Us ladies laughed and laughed; for once it wasn't us being hollered at! As we ran the group kind of spread out a bit, with myself being somewhat in the middle. I admit, I have a hard time pacing myself for tempo/progressive runs. It's just not something I've mastered yet. I saw my third mile tick away at an 8:52 pace. First of all, holy crap! Second, Oh no!! Way too fast! Luckily the West side hills slowed my 4th mile down, and I finished (on a lovely downhill) at an 8:30 pace. Fantastic! With this strong run in, I anxiously awaited Saturday morning's race.

The Al Gordon 4 Miler was my first NYRR race of the year, and of course it had to be plagued by ridiculous winds that threatened to turn the race into a "fun run." When I woke up I was relieved to hear the race was still on, then I immediately thought, "Shit, this is going to suck." I was still hoping to beat last years time of 37:57, but I had no idea what to expect with the wind.

I got to Prospect Park early enough to pick up my bib, and by 7:15 I was done. I had hoped I could hang around in the warm school a little bit, but it was crowded and there was no where to sit, so I decided to walk to the start.

The great thing about getting to a NYRR race early is, A) No porta potty lines B) Toilet paper in porta potties, and C) Hand sanitizer in porta potties! Lovely! I checked my bag and walked back and forth a bit. The wind was gusty, but I knew if I stayed in one spot I'd get really cold, as would my legs. I ran into a friend and we walked and chatted for a bit. Around 9:45 we decided to get into our respective corrals. Now, you think, 15 minutes, that's not so bad, right?

Next to me in the corral was this annoying 8-9 year old boy who kept playfully punching and jumping on the adult he was with. While maybe some of you would find this cute, he kept coming dangerously close to jumping/landing on me. Though obviously even if he did step on me, his 80lb frame would have hardly hurt, it was extremely, extremely annoying. Along with his constant question asking ("Do they shoot an actual gun?" "Is it a real bullet?" "I bet it would come down so fast!" "Why are we not running yet?" "What are you getting me for my birthday?" "What sneakers are you wearing?") I couldn't wait to get started! Hey, I'm not a kid person, what can I say?

I fiddled around with music on my phone to pass the time. It was 8am and we weren't starting. I realized my feet were very, very cold. As were my hands. 8:05. I am now trying to control myself some shivering (for what it's worth, I was wearing a t-shirt, long sleeve, heavy jacket, gloves and a fleece ear band) Finally we got moving....

Overall there was nothing spectacular about the race. After the nasty hill in the beginning, I pretty much had "my space" to run, and did very little bobbing and weaving. My first mile was dreadfully slow, and I did some math during the next mile to try and figure out what I needed to do to PR.

I love 5k/4 mile races, because they go by so fast. Before I knew it, we were at mile 3. I knew if could maintain my pace, I'd have a PR. That last mile wasn't easy, but before I knew it, we were heading up that little hill to the finish line! Official time 37:09. I would have LOVED to run under 37:00, and obviously I was very close, but the first warm up mile was just a little too slow. Miles 2-3 were all in between 8:48-9:09, which makes me very happy! My 5k PR is 8:39, so I still have a little ways to go, but seeing those sub 9:00 miles all week has been really encouraging.