Saturday, August 27, 2011

2011 norwalk summer series, 11 miler: race photos and results


the norwalk summer series 11 miler was tough going this morning.  the silvermine course is a tough, double loop, without having to factor in the weather.  this time around we had incredibly soggy and humid conditions. i hadn't planned to run it - but tomrrow's bronx half marathon was cancelled in view the anticipated arrival of hurricane irene! 

i didn't have any particular time goal in mind - i just wanted to survive both loops!  i thought an 8:30 pace would do it - but after a pair of 8:45 miles during the first loop (and walking a couple of hills), that seemed to be a stretch.  still, my 1:33:50 (practically 10 minutes slower than 2010's 1:24) worked out to just over an 8:30 pace (8:32) - so i'll take it :D

here are the race results.



Friday, August 26, 2011

2011 bronx half marathon cancelled!


the bronx half marathon was officially cancelled today - so announced the nyrr site:

"Due to the cancellation of all NYC events on Sunday, August 28, the Bronx Half-Marathon and the Henry Isola Cross Country Classic have been cancelled."

it was a direct consequence of the mayor's announcement last night that all city permits were cancelled for events scheduled on sunday.  it was a preemptive response to the approach of hurricane irene.

in any event, it will be my eighth nyrr qualifying race point.  now, after the nyc marathon, i will have completed my 9+1 for 2012 entry :d

Saturday, August 20, 2011

2011 westport summer series, 8.44 miles: race photos and results


it's been a while since i've been to burying hill beach - years, actually.  the westort summer series 8.44 miler starts and finishes there, with a few decent climbs tossed in the mostly loop course.  aside from some lingering humidity, we had some decent weather. 

i didn't have a time goal in mind.  instead i wanted to get in as many 7:30/7:35 miles as i could.  that plan worked well for the first 5-6 miles, but i slowed down enough over the final 2.5 miles to bring my average up to 7:40 for the full distance.  i finished with a 1:04:40 - which i'll take, under the circumstances :D

here are the race results.



Monday, August 15, 2011

conrad schumann made epic leap to freedom over "berlin wall" 50 years ago today!

it was a remarkable 50 years ago today, august 15, 1961, that conrad schumann lept over the barbed wire fence in east berling - that would shortly become the infamous berlin wall - to freedom in west berlin!  he was only 19 years old - and the nascent berlin wall was just 3 days in the making (still mostly barbed wire as the east germans began the process of creating the concrete wall).

this historic image was actually a still taken from the super 8mm film made photographer peter leibing as a crowd of on lookers shouted, "komm ruber!" - "come over!"  it has a special meaning for me because a poster of that image hangs in front of me here in my office as i write this post.  i purchased it in the then divided city, at the  checkpoint charlie museum, during the summer of 1984. it's been with me ever since.

it will always symbolize our innate desire to be free from tyranny!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

2011 westport summer series, 6.85 miles: race photos and results



we had some great weather this morning - and it was even greater to be at the beach to run this morning! the 6.85 miler of the westport summer series, w/one notable hill at the end of the 4th mile, starts and finishes at compo beach.

my goal was to run a sub-7:30 pace, which - depending on whether i use 6.85 or 6.8 miles as the measuring yardstick. my 51:06 finish either barely met, or barely missed (7:28 or 7:31 pace, respectively) that target :D

the highlight was winning a vintage race tee shirt at the post-race raffle :O

here are the race results.







Saturday, August 6, 2011

2011 nyrr team championships: race photos and results



taconic had a great turn-out for the club team championships this morning - and most teams were out in force, actually! despite the overtly competitive nature of this particular race (it's a pair of championship races, with bragging rights :O) - there was overwhelming social dimension. there was plenty of interclub socializing, pre- and post-race. in a way, it hardly seemed like the typical nyrr race in central park!

here are the race results: men and women.







Friday, August 5, 2011

2011 escarpment trail run: race report



sunday was my third escarpment trail run in the last six years (previously, 2006 and 2009). if i could, i'd line up for this one ever summer - it's probably my favorite trail run! even so, it seems to get the best of me because i haven't managed to break five hours yet. my 5:23 for 2011 was 20+ minutes faster than the 2009 mudfest, but still 3 minutes shy of my first run in 2006. i'm now half-way to my 100 mile shirt :D

as with most events, a newly scheduled run briefly tempted me to change plans - the twilight 6 hour pajamas run in queens the night before. i normally go out of my way to run b.u.s. events, but since i missed escarpment last year because i had to drive katie up to summer camp that weekend, i had no intention of passing it up to run an ultra the previous night! emmy opted for the pj run - and was in no condition to tackle the "wall of manitou" the next morning!

still, i met up with emmy in bedford and we drove up to windham together. instead of running, she hiked part of the trail. there were plenty of familiar faces at the start: todd, barbara, hiroshi, christine, hiro, yuki, johnny, and marge - to mention just a few. the trail conditions and weather were great! with no rain the night before (ala' 2009), the ground was relatively dry. and, as a bonus, the heat and humidity were manageable.

dick vincent got us underway just after 9 with a blast of the horn. my time goal was a sub-5:30 finish. while i wanted to shoot for a sub-5, my legs weren't recovered from vermont 2-weeks earlier. as it turned out, i had a great first half - pretty much a sub-5 hour pace. but as i suspected going in, fatigue would eventually catch up with me on the second half of the course. i reached the peak of windham, after a 3.3 mile climb, in a solid 54 minutes (13 minutes ahead of my 2009 pace).

the descent off windham was equally productive. i reach the 6 mile aid station (manned by volunteers from the wolfpit running club) in just over 1:32 - and was averaging just over a 15 minute pace for the first third of the course. just before i reached the third aid station, at the base of blackhead, todd caught up to me. we ran in together in just under 2:09. i said hi to lisa glick, volunteering there, and then todd and i set off to climb blackhead.

it took me just under 28 minutes to reach the top, todd was already there - and headed out as i stopped to refill my water bottle and grab some chips. johnny and i headed off blackhead together, but he quickly flew down the steep descent. my trip down to dutchers notch wouldn't go as smoothly. just as the first wave of drops began, i got a calf cramp (shades of 2009)! a girl running just behind me saw me nursing my calf and offered me an s cap! it worked some magic, and i was back on the move again!

it took me just under 45 minutes to reach the next add station - at the base of stoppel point. and the climb up to stoppel took just over 47 minutes! i reached the top of stoppel at 4:09 - and smiled when the volunteers announced the next aid station was just 1.7 miles away! those were a grueling, technical 1.7 miles - that opened up to the initial field of boulders, where the "final" aid station was located on a huge boulder, with a fantastic view of the lake at the finish. i put "final" in quotes because that was the last aid station - 2.5 mile to the finish.

but dick added one more, about a mile from the finish - new for the 2011 edition. as i climbed down from the aid station i met up with lisa. we ran the last 2.5 miles together, encountering a handful of people along the way who gave us varying distances left to go! we saw emmy about 1.5 miles from the finish and then john holt less than a quarter mile past her.

in hindsight, i probably could have pushed the pace a little and broken 5:20 - but i was more than pleased with the 5:23 finish. i'll definitely be back for the 2012 edition!

in an aside, on the drive home from the 2009 edition, we were stuck on the taconic when it was shut down because of the tragic car crash that killed 8 people. i couldn't help but note the documentary, "there something wrong with aunt diane" had just been shown on hbo to coincide with the 2 year anniversary of that horrendous incident!

here are my race photos.

Monday, August 1, 2011

august 2011 race schedule



august will be a low-key racing month for me. most, if not all, of the races are short distances.

it kicks off with the nyrr club team championship on saturday (which will be race #7 on the road to 9), followed by the sgt. keith ferguson 5k - run over the brooklyn bridge - the next day. as a former brooklynite, i love the idea of running back and forth across the bridge :D

the middle of august will be back to back weekend in westport for summer series races. the 6.85 miler is on 8/13 and the 8.4 miler is on 8/20. in between is a tuesday night trip to new canaan for the wavney 3-person relay.

i may make a trip back to brooklyn for the "battle of brooklyn" 10 miler on 8/21 - still undecided about that one. it's a summer version of the cherry tree 10 miler :D

the month ends with the bronx half marathon - it'll be my 8th nyrr race for 2011. with the nyc marathon in november, that should give me my 9 races for guaranteed entry into the 2012 marathon.

here's what it looks like so far:

8/6 - nyrr team championshiops, 5m
8/7 - sgt. keith ferguson 5k
8/13 - westport summer series, 6.85m
8/16 - waveny summer xc series, 3-person relay
8/20 - westport summer series, 8.4m
8/28 - nyrr bronx half marathon

as always, if you're at any of them, say hello!