"running goddess" 5k this weekend at lasdon park, katonah

this weekend, lasdon park and arboretum in katonah, will host the inaugural "running goddess" 5k race for women, girls and men (wearing purple).  to quote from the website:

"This inclusive event is a celebration of female camaraderie — all ages and most abilities are welcome. Some of us will run for the joy of competition. Some of us enjoy the fellowship of exercising together. Some of us will set a goal to run for charity or run our first race. Some of us are men who adore the gals in their life so much that they will wear purple to run with them."

this race reminds me of the days i participated in a similar event, the women's distance festival 5k, held at rockland lake in july.  when katie was much younger (8-9 years old), she ran this race a couple of times - and I paced her.  it was a unique experience to be the only guy running in a sea of women.  since I was pacing my daughter it didn't generate too much controversy.  interestingly, after only a couple of races, katie decided that running w/her dad wasn't cool under the circumstance and she insisted on running the 5k w/out me :D

while the event is all about women and girls, the vibe is definitely inclusive.  men wearing purple, to evidence support, are welcome.  the 5k runs across the varied terrain of lasdon park, giving it a trail run flavor.  the location is directly across from moscoot farms, where "run the farm" is held in the fall (a 5 mile trail run).  it's a great location to run!

the running goddess 5k raises money to bring "girls opportunities to excel in life through education and health."  it's a great cause - participate and contribute if you can!

60 miles for the week, 200 for the month!

normally, i don't write up weekly (or, monthly, for that matter) training mileage.  but i'm so pleased to have returned to a 60 mile week yesterday, and a 200 mile month with today's 10 miler at rockefeller state park, that i wanted to post it. this is my highest weekly and monthly mileage in almost a year since i was sidelined with chronic compartment syndrome!  where i typically ran 200+ miles a month, i suddenly found my mileage more than cut in half as i struggled with the recovery process.

the 200 miles for may (so far) was a 50+% increase from the 133 miles i logged in april - which was my first solid recovery month.  i had averaged just under a 100 miles a month for january, february and march.  that period also marked a recovery set-back, if you will.  i thought, with the start of the new year, that i was ready to start rebuilding my mileage base - only to see the increased mileage through february take it's toll.  so i had to dial back the mileage in march and start over again.

hopefully, if things go according to plan, i'll head back to the track in june for some speedwork.  the key is getting back to the point where i can consistently push off my right foot without the risk of  re-aggravating the original injury.  i've been pushing the pace in the latter part of recent races and it seems okay.  but the real test will be on the track running intervals.  stay tuned :D

rundangerously on twitter (finally)...

better late, than never?  after all these years (started the rundangerously blog in 2008, rudangerously joined facebook in 2009) i finally set up a twitter account!  once again - as in getting on facebook - this was inspired by katie, who walked me through the basics :D

maybe it had something to do with 3 straight days of rain.  despite waterlogged runs each day, i found myself becoming stir crazy constantly listening to the rain - and then the wind howling - outside.  but now, with the sun outside and the wind somewhat subsided, i wonder how much of a tweeter i'll be between the running miles :D

so, if you will, follow rundangerously on twitter.

2013 brooklyn half marathon: race report

the 2013 edition of the brooklyn half marathon was my 10th time running this race.  my first brooklyn half, back in 2001, started in coney island and finished in prospect park.  later in the decade the direction was reversed, with the start in propect park and the finish in coney island.  getting the two loops of prospect park done in the first half of the race was a much nicer prospect - sorry for the pun - than having to climb them (twice) with the finish line in sight.  last year, the start was moved to the front of the brooklyn museum and, as a consequence, we only had to run one loop of prospect park.  while i was registered, i didn't run the brooklyn half last year because of an injury - so this was my first time running the new course.

it was also a first in terms of number of runners who participated.  while the brooklyn half has always been popular (it's one of my favorite races) and regularly sold out in recent years, this year saw roughly 21,000 finishers - in a two wave start (also a first).  what wasn't new, however, was the early start - 7 am.  that made for an early wake-up (4 am) and commute down to brooklyn.  this year i car pooled in with some of my friends from Connecticut - who had to get up even earlier!  i met up with them at the new rochelle train station and we drove in with two cars.

since i ran the manhattan half (1:45:31) back in january, i had a minor setback on my road to recovery.  i once again had to cut back my weekly mileage (to the mid-20s) - argh.  when i ran the celebrate life half marathon in march, i couldn't run a sub 1:50 - and struggled to with a 1:51:59 finish.  but by mid-april i was back to rebuilding my base mileage.  i was averaging 40 miles a week (on the road to my return 50-60 mph) heading into the brooklyn half.  that said, i figured a sub 1:45 was a good target for the race.

ironically, my last two brooklyn half marathons were each 1:45 efforts.  i haven't run a sub 1:40 for this race since 2009 (w/a 1:36:53).  be that as it may, i felt pretty good about running a sub 8 minute pace when i lined up on saturday morning.  except for some humidity, we had great weather (mostly overcast skies) for the run.  my first mile, 7:49, was a good start, followed, by a 7:59, and another 7:49 - but that was it for sub 8 minute miles for the foreseeable future!  in fact, the next 3 miles were a string of 8:10, 8:14, and 8:16 - even including the prospect park hills, that wasn't a the pace i had hoped for (hitting the 10k split in 50 minutes, an 8:03 pace).

even my favorite stretch of the race - ocean parkway - did little to speed up my pace.  my split for the 15k was 1:15:55, an 8:08 pace - and at 10 miles it was 1:21:22 (also 8:08).  but things looked up from there because i had grabbed a handful (3) of gu's at the mile 8 aid station.  the double strength caffeine gu's that i ate in miles 9 and 10 kicked and i ran a series of cut down miles for the last 5k (7:48, 7:36, 7:18 and 0.54) in a 7:36 pace!  but even with that last burst of speed, i crossed the finish in 1:45:01 - missing the sub 1:45 by only two seconds.

the overall 8:01 minute pace was a mild disappointment.  but that was more than offset by how happy i was with the last 5k - not only with the 7:36 pace but, most importantly, i had no pain in my foot when it was done.  this is the second race in a row (on the heels of the norwalk mother's day 10k last weekend) where i was able to push the pace in the last few miles.  while i haven't been too thrilled with the slow pace of re-building my base mileage, it has begun to show results.  next month, if all goes according to plan, i will finally be back to the track for some speedwork :D

here are my race photos.
and here are my photos from the pre-party (packet pick-up).

2013 brooklyn half marathon: race photos and results

despite a little humidity, it was a great day to run the brooklyn half marathon.  despite the early wake-up (4 am), i was no worse for the wear after 13.1 miles.  i missed my time goal (a sub 1:45) by just 2 seconds, w/a 1:45:01 finish.  but i was more than pleased with that - especially on the heals of a 1:58 at the celebrate life half a couple of months ago!  the recovery is progressing a pace :D

here is my race report.

here are the race results from nyrr.

here are the rest of my photos on facebook.

2013 brooklyn half marathon pre-party

it was fun walking over the brooklyn bridge this afternoon, although it was punctuated with occasional drizzle.  packet pick-up for the brooklyn half marathon was moved to brooklyn (dumbo) this year.  it was a great location - literally, under the brooklyn bridge.  but the entire thing was way over-hyped in my opinion

the race itself will go off in two waves, with more than 25,000 runners lining up for the run down to coney island!  this will be my first time running the new course (which includes just one loop of the park).  i'm looking forward to it :D

2013 norwalk mother's day 10k: race photos and results

it didn't seem like it would be good morning to run.  it rained the entire drive over to calf pasture beach.  luckily, it was down to a light drizzle by the time i got there - and just a few drops by the time we started.  half way through the sun even managed to make its appearance.

as for the race itself, the mother's day 10k was my 5th straight 10k since the scotland run at the beginning of april.  i ran a 48:40 at the westport minute man 2 weeks ago, so my time goal would be a sub-48 this time around.  my recovery/base building has be going well and i wanted to push the pace a bit to see how my foot would take the extra stress.  if all went well i want to get back to the track and start doing some speed work.

i started off with a pair of sub-7:30 miles - i thought was too fast.  i slowed to a 7:45 for mile three, then had a pair of 7:35 miles.  after 5 miles my foot was no worse for the wear and a felt good continuing to push the pace for the final mile. i crossed the finish in 47:05, a 7:35 pace overall.  i was more than pleased with that outcome (and could probably have squeezed in under 47 minutes if i hadn't slowed down in mile 3).  all in all, a great morning :D

here are the race results from hi-tek

more photos posted on facebook.

may 2013 race schedule

it's hard to believe another month has arrived.  seems like it was yesterday that i posted the april race schedule and now i'm putting up may!  the highlight for this month is the brooklyn half marathon - one of my favorite races (whatever the course configuration). last year, while i was signed up for it, i couldn't run it.  so this will be my first time running the course when it starts outside of prospect park (albeit alongside the park). while i'm totally psyched about the race (and even the rumors that the field has reached 25,000 runners!), i'm not pleased with having to trek into brooklyn to pick up my bib and shirt.  hopefully, the weather will oblige and i'll use it as an excuse to walk over the brooklyn bridge :D

i haven't given much thought to the rest of the month.  normally, if i wasn't in my base re-building phase, i'd want to head down to long island for either the greenbelt 50k or the long island marathon - both good choices for early may.  but the half will be my longest race distance for the month.  i'll head over to norwalk for the mothers day 10k and greenwich for the jim fix 5 miler during the memorial day weekend.  i'm still not sure what other races will round out the month, but the van cortland track club's summer series kicks off on thursday 5/23 and i'll probably head down for that one.

aside from races, i'm also scheduled to do my volunteer requirement at packet pick-up for the healthy kidney/japan day races.

here's how the schedule looks so far:

5/5 - mha on the move 5k
5/12 - norwalk mothers day 10k
5/18 - brooklyn half marathon
5/23 - vctc summer series 5k
5/27 - jim fixx memorial 5 miler

as always, if you're at any of these races - say hello!

update:  a new addition to the schedule is the mha on the move 5k at fdr park on sunday morning!