a pair of weekend 10 mile training runs

at the start of the month i had planned to run a 10 miler on sunday.  instead i registered for a 10k on Saturday. in actuality, i skipped the 10k on saturday because it was raining cats and dogs when i woke up.  i just couldn't drag myself into the city to run a loop of central park (and thus skipped my first nyrr race and 9+1 point of the year).

instead, i slept late saturday morning and ran 10 miles - in mostly damp and drizzling weather - on the post road when i got up.  it took me 1:27:44 (an 8:37 pace) to cover those soggy 10.2 miles.  it wasn't an especially productive run because I felt lousy about bagging the joe kleinerman 10k.  it was just one of those days.

things turned around on sunday - especially since it was warmer and dry outside.  i went back out for another 10 miler and instead of a slog like the day before, it turned into a pretty decent run.  this 10 miler, despite starting off with a pair of 9 minute miles, wound up as a sub-1:20 finish (1:19:26, a 7:57 pace).  to say i was surprised with that performance is an understatement - it was just a few seconds off the time i ran the norfolk pub 10 miler last month!

here are the splits:

9:00
8:50  19:50
8:08  25:59
8:06  34:05
7:56  42:01
7:24  49:25
7:36  57:01
7:04  1:04:06
7:23  1:11:29
7:56  1:19:26

7:57 average pace

overall, i was successful in doing cutdown miles for most of the run.  excluding the first two miles, the average pace was roughly 7:40-7:45 minute miles.  either way, the pace was a decent improvement from the 8:36 miles on saturday.  it never ceases to amaze me the difference a day can make in running (or almost anything for that matter) :D

2014 nyrr joe kleinerman 10k packet pick-up

i picked up my bib and shirt for the joe kleinerman 10k on the way home from work this afternoon.  it was my first time back to the nyrr club for a packet pick-up in months.  not counting the nyc marathon (pick-up at the javits center), the last trip there for a race bib and shirt was way back in october - for the staten island half.

this weekend's 10k will be a lot warmer than the boston build-up 10k last weekend,  but the forecast is for rain on saturday, so it may be a wet one.  either way, it'll be my first nyrr point on the road to 9+1 for the 2015 nyc marathon!

as always, if you're at this one - say hello :D

2014 boston build-up 10k: race photos & results

on the drive over to norwalk, cbs radio announced that jfk has suspended flights because a plane had slide off the icy runway - that should have been an omen of things to come!  i was only worried about getting in the boston build-up 10k before the forecasted rain arrived.  instead we had a perfect storm of freezing drizzle that covered the course in a sheen of ice. 

running in those conditions was a challenge - and i lost count of the number of runner who fell (some multiple times) and those who called it quits after only a couple of miles because the roads were so treacherous.  i spent 95% of my time focused on foot placement, and still managed a handful of slips - but, luckily, no falls.  the other 5% of my time was spent wiping frozen drizzle from my glasses!  when i finished i was literally covered in ice - my hats (i had on two), the sleeves of my tech shirt, and the portion of my shirt exposed at the bottom of my vest!

and, speaking of time, my 52:44 finish was a relief!  the road conditions made my earlier hoped for sub-48 target seem comical :O

given this 2014 series kick-off, i can only imagine what the 15k in ridgefield might look like two weeks from now (typically the coldest of the series)!

here are the race results from clubct.

the rest of my photos are up on facebook.

january 2014 race schedule

this is the first time in memory that i haven't kicked off the new year with a race or fun run!  i had planned to drive over to westport for the 5k leg of the dash and splash - which was my destination for the prior two years.  i thought i would feel badly for sleeping late and having bacon and eggs for breakfast - before  i laced up and went out for some easy (but frigid) miles.  nope - i missed the socializing, but i was glad for the extra rest :D

instead, 2014 will kick off with the boston build up 10k in norwalk this weekend - and the second race of the series, the 15k in ridgefield, two weeks later. in between those two races, will be a new one or me - the nycruns hot chocolate 10 miler in central park.  i haven't done a 10 miler there since the last nyrr frostbite 10 miler (which may have been almost 10 years ago)!

the big question is what to run at the end of the month.  normally i'd run the nyrr manhattan half.  but since it's been renamed the fred lebow half and removed from the 5 borough grand prix series (in favor of the nyc half), i didn't register for it.  at this point it's still an open weekend, with the race tbd.

otherwise, here's how it looks so far:

1/5- boston build-up 10k
1/12 - nycruns hot chocolate 10 miler
1/19 - boston build-up 15k
1/26 - tbd

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