Two PRs in Six Days!
Posted by Admin on August 24, 2009 in Training
This past Saturday, I ran in the 2nd annual Percy Sutton Harlem 5k running race. For me, the race had significance on a number of fronts. Primarily, it was super close to where I live in Harlem. Secondly, it was considered to be a “qualifier” race by the NY Road Runners Club; completing nine such qualifier races in a calendar year (and volunteering in one as well) automatically qualifies one to participate in the NYC Marathon the following year. I’m well on my way to qualify for the 2010 NYC Marathon, but I’ll likely defer my entry and run in 2011.
My good friend Helene had planned on meeting me at my place before the race, and I offered my apt. as home base to a work friend as well. They were thankfully both on time and we headed over to the race start in fairly miserable weather. At 7:30 a.m., it was rainy, muggy, and generally very unpleasant. As any regular reader of this blog knows, these conditions spell disaster for me. My expectations were naturally fairly bleak.
It rained fairly steadily in the 30 minutes or so before the race. Even as I lined up in my starting corral, I wondered if having my iPod on the arm was going to be a problem given that the arm-band holder itself wasn’t perfectly waterproof. Fortunately, just before the starting gun went off, the rain stopped. Nice.
One quick note: I am really, really patriotic when it comes to social things like races, sporting events, etc. When they play the national anthem, I almost always sing along, hat in hand, other hand over my heart, etc. I suppose it’s my way of appreciating the freedom that I enjoy in this country. I don’t know any other way to live; with all the liberties we have as a society, especially in the greatest city in the world, any kind of oppression or inability to run freely and with safety is 100% foreign to me. I just don’t want to take this great freedom for granted.
In any event, when a woman sang the anthem, most folks did not sing along nor take off their hats. Not a big deal I guess; to each their own. But what I found odd was that that same woman sang the Negro anthem after the national anthem, whatever that is. Okay, we were in Harlem, the center of black culture, but it seemed antiquated to me to sing that anthem since I don’t know anything about it, nor seemingly did anyone else in my immediate area. I’m not suggesting that ignorance is okay, but I’m not sure that I fully understand how or why the Negro anthem came to be included in the opening ceremonies. Frankly, I don’t like the word Negro since it reeks of racism from yesteryear but if it’s the official name, like as a proper noun, then it’s not an issue. Again, I’m ignorant about this… but not on purpose. Bottom line is that it was the first time I’ve heard it at any event, small or large, public or private.
Back to the race. I was so close to the start line that the differential between the official clock and my watch was two seconds. It sure made my math on the course much easier to calculate. Though we had jogged to the race start an hour earlier, that warm-up seemed to have worn off since the first half-mile felt difficult. Also, contrary to what I had thought the course to be, it did not go up St. Nicholas Avenue which is a steady incline. Instead, it went up Edgecomb Avenue which is flatter, but which includes two short, sharp hills. No big deal though; I’m good with hills. As we approached the one mile mark, I found that my time was 7:06. Whoa! No wonder the run felt so hard; I was running way into the red zone and at a faster clip than ever before.
I was slower in the second mile knowing that I had a pretty good thing going, and with the strategy that I’d lay it all out in the third mile. But, I found that it was hard to maintain an easier pace; I kept accelerating. My second mile clip was 7:15. Okay, a bit slower but still very, very good. As the course proceeded downhill, I took long, loping strides and tried to bring down the heart rate by 5-10 beats. It worked fairly well and at the turn for the final half-mile, I tried to maintain a longer stride but with a faster cadence. That also worked; I got to three mile marker with a 7:03 time! When I crossed the finish line, my time was 22:08 and knew right away that it would be HUGE personal record. The final pace was 7:08 which smashes any previous pace (except for a one mile race a few years ago). Incredible!
So let’s review; I had a p.r. at the NYC Half-Marathon last Sunday, then six days later, got another at a 5k. By the way, in between, I ran another 15 miles in training. That’s 31 miles, 2 personal records, and one happy hombre! I’m beginning to like this running thing!
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