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Posts tagged "running"

Thursday, Jan 14th, 2010 ↓

Running On

Today was the first day since New Year the daytime temperature got above freezing in WB. Was able to leave work a little early, during daylight, and after a quick errand, I decided to stop by Kirby Park to see if the paths were runnable. The park paths were clear, so I decided to climb up onto the levee to see if the riverside path was ok.  It looked pretty dry, but on my way downhill to the car I slipped on a patch of black ice and fell right on my ass.  Scraped the hell out of my right arm.

I did motivate myself to do a 6 x 1/4 mile interval workout on the treadmill back at the hotel.  Not a lot of fun, but having the intervals as goals make the time go by quicker.  Ran 4-miles total.  Showered, then sat in the whirlpool and swam a few laps.  I rarely swim - must have been inspired by “Up in the Air.”

I gave this blog a running name, but have rarely written about running. The name is only obliquely about the sport - the title is that of a wonderful Russian/Soviet movie of the 1980s.  The film is Chekhovian in more ways than one.  At the time I started the blog, I had run for many years, but wasn’t sure if the sport would sustain my interest.  In the past year, I ran over 1300 miles, competed in a bunch of races, found a great running team and generally started feeling less like a guy who exercises and more like an amateur athlete.  Not sure when, but maybe someday, “Autumn  Marathon” will be a more literal title.

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Tags: running
Monday, Jun 1st, 2009 ↓
Spring Half MarathonOn Saturday, I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon - my athletic goal for the past six months.  It was a warm, humid day and the race was huge - nearly 12,000 participants announced by the NY Road Runners club.  Perhaps because of the size of the race, the weather and a head cold (the lingering souvenir of a recent business trip), I ran quite a bit slower than expected, finishing the race in an official time of 2:02:55.  The first 3-4 miles felt ok - I was running 8 minute to 8:30 minute/mile pace which was around my target for the entire event.  But as we ascended the final hill in Prospect Park, my energy and pace dropped off significantly.  The final six miles of the race were flat and boring heading out to the beach and each one felt as if it could be my last.  By mile 10-11, my pace must have been 10 minutes/mile or slower.  Final time represented a pace no faster than some of my longer training runs.  Nevertheless, getting to the finish line meant accomplishing an important goal which is to be acknowledged and celebrated.  It was fun to hang out by the beach for a few minutes with my PPTC teammates.  Running with a team is soooo much more fun that working out by myself: the “Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” is definitely overrated.It’s summertime now, even if the calendar doesn’t admit it yet, so now is the season to enjoy the beach, some tennis  as well as faster and better runs! Photo from Flickr (via mason13a)

Spring Half Marathon

On Saturday, I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon - my athletic goal for the past six months.  It was a warm, humid day and the race was huge - nearly 12,000 participants announced by the NY Road Runners club.  Perhaps because of the size of the race, the weather and a head cold (the lingering souvenir of a recent business trip), I ran quite a bit slower than expected, finishing the race in an official time of 2:02:55.  The first 3-4 miles felt ok - I was running 8 minute to 8:30 minute/mile pace which was around my target for the entire event.  But as we ascended the final hill in Prospect Park, my energy and pace dropped off significantly.  The final six miles of the race were flat and boring heading out to the beach and each one felt as if it could be my last.  By mile 10-11, my pace must have been 10 minutes/mile or slower.  Final time represented a pace no faster than some of my longer training runs.  Nevertheless, getting to the finish line meant accomplishing an important goal which is to be acknowledged and celebrated.  It was fun to hang out by the beach for a few minutes with my PPTC teammates.  Running with a team is soooo much more fun that working out by myself: the “Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” is definitely overrated.

It’s summertime now, even if the calendar doesn’t admit it yet, so now is the season to enjoy the beach, some tennis  as well as faster and better runs!

Photo from Flickr (via mason13a)

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Tags: running