2011 JP Morgan Challenge Race Report - a race PR!!!!

Tonight, I ran the 3.5 mile JP Morgan Challenge in Central Park.  It was 81 degrees and the humidity was 37%.  A nice night but a little warm for a race. Like last year, I was in corral #2 due to the expected time I submitted.  Being upfront in a fast corral in this race is key, as nearly everybody else in the corral is my speed level, and thus the race theoretically shouldn't back up once it starts.

My goal coming into this race was to run a sub 7:00 minute per mile pace, something I have never done in Central Park or anywhere else, for that matter (my previous personal best, or PR, was 7:12 per mile for this hilly race and a 7:11 per mile for a 4 mile race in Central Park).  A month ago, I ran a 5-K in California (after running 9.2 miles at an 8:30-8:40 pace as a warm up on "long run" day) at a 7:07 per mile pace, then a PR for me, but that race wasn't very hilly, so a sub 7:00 pace in hilly Central Park, for me, is a real challenge.  I never have a problem running sub 7:00 miles in my races or in training, but I've been unable to hold that pace for an entire race (I always die on the late hills).

I got into the coral about 40 minutes early and did a little IT band stretching.  I didn't do a pre-race easy run, which I found myself regretting during the first mile.

Mile 1 - The race was off fast this year.  From the start, the pace was around 7:10 per mile (unlike last year when my pace was around 8 minutes per mile early on).  Everybody was moving pretty fast and I only felt a little held back during the first mile at a few points.  My legs and lungs immediately started burning out of the gate, something I haven't experienced before.  This was likely due to the fact that (1) I didn't do a pre-race warm up and (2) I'm not used to going so fast out of the gate (I usually run a few easy miles before pushing the pace).  About halfway through the first mile, I felt pretty crappy.  My heart rate was in the 160s so that was pretty good given the speed, but my effort level felt very fatigued.  I knew that the race started uphill, so I kept telling myself to push through it, but I also kept thinking that today was not my day. 

Mile 1 split:  7:03, average heart rate 166

Mile 2 - I knew that mile 2 was net downhill so I could make up some time, so that was my goal.  I felt good on the downhills and was running 6:40-6:45 for most of this mile, at this point feeling a little better but still working.  I recovered a bit during this mile, which was good.   Love downhills!  I was hot so I got a cup of water, took a few sips, and poured the rest over my head.  This helped a little.  This mile ends up hill and I was definitely tiring at this point, slowing at the end of the mile.  My heart rate was in the low 170s.

Mile 2 split:  6:58, average heart rate 172

Mile 3 - I was definitely tired at this point, but I knew my goal was within reach.  I knew that this would be the toughest mile, as it is a slow, grinding, uphill mile most of the way.  I started at 7:05 per mile, then my watch read 7:12 and at the 0.67 mile point it read 7:20.  Damn!!!, I thought, there's no way I'm going to run a sub 7:00 race now.  So, I decided to give it one last push.  My pushing the pace, coupled with getting over the last hill to start descending, enabled me to make up some time.  My watch read 7:17, then 7:15, then 7:11.  Yes!!!

Mile 3 split:  7:06, average heart rate 176. 

Last 0.5 miles -   I knew at this point that I had an outside shot at going sub 7:00 per mile.  The last 0.5 has a sharp downhill (cat hill) and then finishes uphill on the 72nd street transverse.  I ran down the hill hard and my pace was 7:05, 7:00, 6:55, 6:50.....I knew this wasn't fast enough but I just couldn't run any faster down that hill.  I passed Mary Wittenberg, president of the New York Road Runners Club (she's fast), only to see her breeze by me at the bottom of the hill (she actually cut me off!!!!)  I was way too exhausted to say anything (normally I would have said "great move!").  At this point, I thought to myself, "this is the closest you have ever been to breaking 7:00 and you may not have another shot, ever, so push yourself for the last 0.25 miles".  So, that's what I did, giving it everything I had.  The last 0.25 seemed much farther, and when I crossed the finish line I had nothing left.  I actually had to stop to but my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

Last 0.58 miles, 6:27 pace, average heart rate 180 (my Garmin said I ran 3.58 miles and many of my friends had around the same distance): 

Overall:  6:57 pace (PR!!!!), average heart rate 172 (maximum heart rate during the race was 185).

Click here for a link to my Garmin watch file

Week 16 Chicago Marathon Training plus a Rabies Advisory in Central Park?

Rabies Advisory in Central Park? 

Central Park is my favorite place in the world. What other large city has a hilly, 6 mile race track in the middle their city? Sometimes when I run in Central Park, I see a raccoon, skunk, or other little critter. Once earlier this year I saw a raccoon so big that I at first thought it was a little dog. I froze in my tracks... it froze...my heart starting beating super fast....I suspect the same for the raccoon....then it thought about what to do.....I was still frozen....and then it scampered into the North Woods of the park. Today as we were walking around Central Park, we saw the rabies advisory sign above. I did some searching online and found a bunch of articles saying that 3 rabid raccoons were found in Central Park in 2009 and that 20 animals tested positive for rabies throughout New York City .  What I find peculiar about this is that this is the first I've heard of it.  Maybe I live under a rock?  My kids, 4 and 2, go to a school on Central Park West and go to Central Park to play everyday (definitely lucky kids).  I am in Central Park almost every day and I go with my family to Central Park every weekend. Despite all of this, today was the first day I saw one of these signs or heard of a rabies advisory, nearly 10 months after the rabies alert came out.  I guess it took them a while to get the word out, because surely I would have seen those signs somewhere or heard about it somehow.  I really would have panicked had I known that the big dog-like raccoon I was near might have been rabid.


Now for my Chicago Marathon Week 16 Summary
I just finished week 16 of my Chicago Marathon training.  Only 1 week until the race (10/10/10).  I'm in heavy taper mode this week.  I'm running 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, and 3 on Thursday.  Then I will take off Friday (travel day to Chicago) and Saturday.  Hopefully I'll be fresh for race day.  The forecast looks dry, with a temperatures projected to be in the low 70s.  Uh oh.  The low the night before is projected to be in the mid 50s, so hopefully with a 7:30 A.M. race start time, so hopefully it will be cool at the start.  Of course we all know that weather projections a week out are worthless, but all marathon runners look at repeatedly to get the latest updates.

I had a good week of training for week 16.  I ran 5 times, 27 miles (5.2, 6, 5, 3, and 8 miles).  I feel good, although my right knee/IT band started hurting yesterday and I caught a cold on Friday too.  My 3rd marathon taper and my third cold during the marathon taper.  Oh well.  I also got my New York Road Runners volunteer event done this week by volunteering for the 1.7 mile Norway Run (my friend JS came in second overall with a 5:01 per mile pace - he is awesome!) and the 13.1 mile Grete's Gallop half marathon.  Since I have run 9 races and volunteered for 1 race in 2010, I now have automatic entry into the 2011 New York City Marathon.  Totally sweet!!!!!!!!

Over the last week, I listened to my body and ran easy, letting my body dictate my speed.  What's funny is that all of my easy runs have gotten much faster over the last few weeks.  3 of my 5 runs were done at a sub 8 minute pace (5.2 miles at 7:58 pace, 6.04 miles at 7:49 pace, and 8 miles at a 7:42 pace).  My other 2 runs were 5 miles at an 8:25 per mile pace (in Washington DC, where I stopped to take a lot of pictures) with a moving average of 8:02 per mile and a very easy 3 miles at 8:39 pace.  No question that my fitness level is at its peak right now. 

For my 8 mile run today, I went out very easy because I was feeling crappy because of my cold.  A half mile into my run in Central Park I looked down at my watch and it showed a pace in the low 8s.  It felt very easy to me, so I held the pace.  After I was warmed up (usually takes 3-5 miles), I felt even better and started to push a little.  I still felt great, so I pushed miles 3 and 4, took the pedal off for miles 5 and 6, still felt great, so I pushed miles 7 and 8, finishing mile 8 at a 6:37 per mile pace.  A great and confidence building final run before tapering.  My splits in order were (click here for the Garmin File)

mile 1 - 8:11
mile 2 - 8:00
mile 3 - 7:44
mile 4 - 7:22
mile 5 - 8:08
mile 6 - 8:00
mile 7 - 7:32
mile 8 - 6:37

Overall - 7:42 per mile

I'm excited to go home for the weekend.  I arrive in Chicago on Friday, will go to Kenosha on Friday to stay with my mom Friday night (which I'm really looking forward to), then will go to my friend RL's house in Highland Park on Saturday.  We will go to the marathon expo on Saturday, I will stay at his house Saturday night, then we will drive to the race Sunday morning (one of RL's friends is also running the marathon and will come with us).  I will come back to NYC on Sunday night.

Recently, a guy that I met doing my first triathlon sent me some pictures from the event, and here is the one of me that I liked...