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Post by dudesky1000 on Dec 26, 2015 14:08:58 GMT -5
2016 is upon us! For those who do not know me, my name is Evan, and I am a filmmaker and runner. At the age of 14, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, and have been fighting it all throughout my teenage and now young adult life. Somewhere in the darkest recesses of an adolescent life, I discovered long distance running, and it has since become not only my personal way to fight back against my disease and the oppressing effects that it can have on a person's life, but also to see what I am capable of--and to push myself to further distances, greater heights, and inspire others in my position that they too can achieve great goals. Now at this point, you may be wondering, 'Evan, you crazy idiot!-- what else is there to prove???' Well, I usually copy and paste something inspirational about Nagano and Yuuji and why they continue to compete in SASUKE (though by now that doesn't really apply to Nagano who really does feel like he has nothing left to prove LOL), but this time I'll just say this: I have had a few incredible years of running. Since I began, I have run a significant amount of races, have logged a good couple of thousand miles, and have improved upon my race times and training paces substantially. I've broken goals and then some that I never quite thought would be within my reach. Yet, I am hungry for more, I am as passionate as ever, and I have new goals and potential to tap into. Physiologically speaking, I have responded well to semi-disciplined training. This year, I am going to really ramp things up with a more by-the-book approach: more miles, easier miles, and more aggressive workouts. I'll be structuring my weeks consistently, I will fully implement track workouts in my weekly schedule in addition to tempo runs, and for the first time, I will be training with two pairs of sneakers--one for base training as usual, and one specifically for racing, speed workouts and tempo runs. I am getting my serious face on and I'm aiming high! (In case you couldn't tell already). The goals are crazy, the training will be grueling, and I'll be having more fun than ever! This is The Year of ASCENSION!2016 GOAL SUBSET 1: Training-Related Goals1. Run 1300 Miles in 2016 (695 Miles as of 9/25/16) 2. Run a total of at least 120 Hours in 2016 (91 hours as of 9/25/16) 3. Average one hour of cross-training per week for the year. 2016 GOAL SUBSET 2: Race Goals1. Break 1:25:00 in the Half Marathon GOAL REACHED at NYC HALF (1:24:15)2. Break 3:30:00 in the Marathon 3. Break 39 minutes in the 10K Sort of Achieved @ last 10K of Bronx 10M (37:19)4. Break 1:05:00 in the 10-Mile GOAL REACHED at BRONX 10M (1:02:25)5. Break 25 minutes in the 4-Mile GOAL REACHED at AL GORDON 4M (24:41)6. Run a sub-6:00 mile in any race GOAL REACHED at AL GORDON 4M (5:52 mile)7. Finish in the Top 100 in any non-cross country or classic race. GOAL REACHED at AL GORDON 4M (86th/4,489)Current Stats:Fastest Mile*: 5:52 (5:52/mile) 2/20/16 Fastest 5K*: 18:48 (6:03/mile) 2/20/16 Fastest 4 Mile: 24:41 (6:11/mile) 2/20/16 @ Al Gordon 4-Mile 2016 Fastest 10K: 39:17 (6:19/mile) 9/27/15 @ Bronx 10-Mile 2015 Fastest 10 Mile: 1:02:25 (6:48/mile) 9/28/14 @ Bronx 10-Mile 2015 Fastest Half Marathon: 1:24:10 (6:26/mile) @ Brooklyn Half 2016 Fastest Marathon: 3:38:54 (8:21/mile) @ NYC Marathon 2014 *I have never run a one-mile or 5k race Best Place Against Field (Below Half): 147th/11,765= Top 1.2% @ Bronx 10M 2016 Best Place Against Field (Half Marathon): 365th/27,410= Top 1.3% @ Brooklyn Half 2016 Best Place Against Field (Marathon): 6467th/50,875= Top 12.8% @ NYC Marathon 2014 Awards: Henry Isola Cross Country 4M 2015: 2nd Place in 20-24 Age Group Race Results: (underline indicates current records) Deep Creek Half Marathon: 1:45:xx (8 min/mile) May 2011 3rd Place of 24 finishers Pretend NYC Marathon 2012: 4+ hours with breaks. November 4th, 2012 NYC Half Marathon 2013: 1:38:48 (7:33 min/mile) March 17th, 2013 1,695th Place out of 14,535 finishers Brooklyn Half Marathon 2013: 1:37:50 (7:29 min/mile) May 18th, 2013 2,250th Place out of 21,427 finishers NYC Marathon 2013: 3:49:59 (lol 8:47/mile) November 3rd 2013 11,077th Place out of 50,266 finishers Fred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon 2014: 1:35:35 (7:18/mile) January 26th, 2014 273rd Place out of 4,027 finishers Brooklyn Half Marathon 2014: 1:34:36 (7:13/mile) May 17th, 2014 1575th Place out of 25,644 finishers Queens 10K 2014: 41:43 (6:42/mile) June 22nd, 2014 254th Place out of 8,460 finishers Bronx 10-Mile 2014: 1:07:59 (6:48/mile) September 28th, 2014 230th Place out of 9,592 finishers NYC Marathon 2014: 3:38:54 (8:21/mile) November 2nd, 2014 6,467th Place out of 50,875 finishersFred Lebow Manhattan Half Marathon 2015: 1:30:06 (6:53/mile) January 25th, 2015 181st Place out of 4,648 finishers Al Gordon 4-Mile 2015: 25:38 (6:25/mile) February 21st, 2015 64th Place out of 1,050 finishers United Airlines NYC Half 2015: 1:28:41 (6:41/mile) March 15th, 2015 657th Place out of 19,454 finishers Airbnb Brooklyn Half 2015: 1:27:11 (6:39/mile) May 16th, 2015 536th Place out of 26,482 finishers Queens 10K 2015: 40:57 (6:36/mile) June 21st, 2015 151st Place out of 8,673 finishers Henry Isola Cross Country (4M) 2015: 26:51 (6:43/mile) August 30th, 2015 16th Place out of 256 finishers Bronx 10-Mile 2015: 1:05:16 (6:32/mile) September 27th, 2015 229th Place out of 9,351 finishers NYC Marathon 2015: 3:43:29 (8:32/mile) November 1st, 2015 6908th Place out of 50,000+ finishers Al Gordon 4-Mile 2016: 24:41 (6:11/mile) February 20th, 2016 86th Place out of 4,489 finishersUnited Airlines NYC Half 2016: 1:24:15 (6:26/mile) March 20th, 2016 447th Place out of 20,149 finishers Airbnb Brooklyn Half 2016: 1:24:10 (6:26/mile) May 21st, 2016 365th Place out of 27,410 finishers Queens 10K 2016: 40:15 (6:29/mile) June 18th, 2016 143rd Place out of 9,952 finishers New Balance Bronx 10M 2016: 1:02:25 (6:15/mile) September 25th, 2016 147th Place out of 11,765 finishersPlanned Races:January 24: NYRR Fred Lebow Manhattan Half CANCELLEDFebruary 20: Al Gordon 4-Mile COMPLETEMarch 20: United Airlines NYC Half 2016 COMPLETEMay 21: Airbnb Brooklyn Half 2016 COMPLETEJune 19: NYRR Five Borough Series: Queens 10K COMPLETESeptember 25: New Balance Bronx 10-Mile COMPLETENovember 6: TCS New York City Marathon 2016 Gear Used:Brooks Ghost 6 (Silver)- NYC Marathon 2013 - Brooklyn Half 2014 Brooks Ghost 7 (Blue)- Queens 10K 2014 - Manhattan Half 2015 Brooks Ghost 7 (Black)- Al Gordon 2015 - Queens 10K 2015 Brooks Ghost 8 (Red/Black) - Bronx 10-Mile 2015 & NYC Marathon 2015 On Cloud (Silver): Al Gordon 2016 - TBD Past Threads: 2012 - NYC Marathon Thread2013 - NYC Marathon Thread2014 - The Year of Improvement2015 - The Year of Discipline
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Post by arsenette on Dec 26, 2015 15:07:03 GMT -5
Looking forward to a great year! I personally love the story telling in these threads. ♥ Geez.. a race is coming up quick.. time to shed those calories from the holidays! LOL
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Post by dudesky1000 on Dec 26, 2015 21:34:48 GMT -5
Looking forward to a great year! I personally love the story telling in these threads. ♥ Geez.. a race is coming up quick.. time to shed those calories from the holidays! LOL Thank you! It's tough to keep finding ways to keep things fresh, but I will try to continue to keep the storytelling aspect interesting! Yeah, first race is a month from now. It's one of the tougher ones too--I'll have to dig really deep if I want to set a PR. No Mexican Adventure this year so we'll see if that truly made a difference or not I definitely ate wayyyy too many cookies this week. And it's not going to get any better with New Years around the corner!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Jan 4, 2016 0:08:59 GMT -5
Started the year off with a bang! A preview of what my weekly training schedule will look like for much of this year: Attachment Deleted(you have to click the image to get a closer look at it) I'm going to try to share as many of these kinds of screenshots as possible this year in the interest of making my journey a little more accessible. Long distance running has a strange learning curve--on the surface, it's not as complex as a seemingly more dynamic discipline such as tennis or boxing or the martial arts, where one must learn several different maneuvers, practice a vast array of drills and develop a quick-witted strategic mind that can decide which of them to draw from in the heat of competition. To many casual runners, running is simply running; sometimes you run fast, sometimes you run slow, sometimes you train hard, sometimes you do some high-knees and stretch a tight muscle or two every now and then. There's nothing really wrong with that way of looking at it; for a lot of people, running really doesn't need to be more complicated than a logical balance of training fast and slow. For many, huge improvements can be made without fancy workouts, a by-the-book regimen or even a tracking device. Just some dedication and caution. However, for someone who has been running recreationally for a few years and wants to take their training and results to the next level, there is an extremely complicated trove of training techniques and disciplines involving to dig into--it's no longer just about distance and intensity. There are many more components that when mastered, can give a runner leverage. Beyond volume and intensity, there's the aspect of the appropriate sequencing of training sessions, recovery periods and methods, diet, physiological balance through cross training, implementation of targeted, race-specific workouts and knowledge and acquisition of the best, most appropriate training gear. This year is my first attempt at putting all of those together...ok maybe except diet In my next entry, I will attempt to explain the training plan I have decided to try this year!
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Post by arsenette on Jan 4, 2016 0:42:05 GMT -5
LOL I look forward to it
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Post by dudesky1000 on Jan 10, 2016 22:34:53 GMT -5
Another good week is in the books. I'm hitting both my mileage and time goals and though I feel a little fatigued, I'm injury-free and haven been successfully hitting all of my paces. Attachment DeletedIf you take a look at the screenshot of my training calendar, you may notice a pattern! In fact, you may notice a few; Wednesdays are off, Tuesdays seem to be interval workouts, Thursdays seem to be Tempo runs and so forth. My training has never been as structured as this. In this post, I'll attempt to explain how I've come to this training pattern, how the program I'm following works and why it works. The plan I'm following is the Hanson's Half Marathon method, with my own very minor modifications. Why did I select Hanson's? A few reasons--first, I tend to agree with their simple, straightforward, running-centric approach to training; second, even their most Advanced plan peaks at less than 50 Miles Per Week, which is good for someone like me who has been running low mileage; third, it came highly recommended from several people whom I trust. My simplified summary on the Hanson's approach is this; you'll become a better runner by running more often--that doesn't necessarily mean running as many miles as possible, but in order for the body to physiologically benefit over a long term, it helps to run as frequently as possible. The Hanson's program is a 6-day-a-week singles program. No, it has nothing to do with dating! Singles of course is the terminology for running once a day as opposed to doing Doubles, which means running twice a day. The idea behind running 6 days a week is to teach the body to recover between runs more quickly, while gradually accumulating fatigue. As you gain more cumulative fatigue over several weeks (that tired feeling in your legs after running 24 out of the past 28 days, for example), you become more comfortable with running on fatigued legs, which is extremely important in the Half Marathon. NOW, MAJOR DISCLAIMER: This is a HALF-MARATHON specific plan! The whole idea of following this plan is to succeed in running 13.1 miles at a goal pace, NOT the Marathon, not a 10K, not any other distance. Although Hanson's has a book made for the Marathon distance (that was their original book), as far as I am concerned, it's a totally different program with the same principles. Back to the Half Marathon Method--they break all runs down into two categories: Easy runs and SOS (Something of Substance). The easy runs, as we all (should) know, are the bread and butter of a runner's training. They help to improve bone and tendon development, capillary density, VO2 Max, running economy, general endurance, mitochondrial growth and disbursement, glycogen storage and fat utilization, etc. the list of benefits of easy running goes on and on! Then there are the SOS workouts which come in different flavors, each serving a different purpose. These are the runs that produce serious gains and prepare us to race tough. They are the most physically demanding workouts, and as such they can only be done a few times a week. Different types of SOS (Something of Substance) runs: -Speed workouts: these runs are typically done on a track in intervals at the fastest pace, with the highest heart rate. They come in several forms, such as 12x400m (12 intervals of 400 meters), 8x600m, 6x800m, 5x1000m, and so forth. They're designed to make the running muscles work their hardest so they can get used to running fast, among other reasons. But more on that another time. -Strength workouts: Not to be confused with weightlifting, these are essentially longer, slightly slower versions of the speed workouts done either on a track or elsewhere. Whereas the speed workout intervals are measured in meters, these repeats are measured in miles, i.e. 3x1M (3 intervals of 1 mile), 4x1.5M, 3x2M, 2x3M, etc. and are designed to improve endurance at faster paces and lactate clearance in the legs, among other things. BUT, more on THAT another time! -Tempo workouts: These are my favorite! I'm basically doing these the same as I have done them in the past, and that's not only because they've worked extremely well for me, but coincidentally, Hanson's version of Tempo runs is exactly the same as mine: they're done at HMP (Half Marathon Pace) and they can go as long as 10 miles at that pace. These are arguably the most difficult runs--they demand everything you've got and they force you to become comfortable with running at your goal pace for a long time. Which is another way of saying, you're going to feel the burn for a lot of miles AND YOU HAD BETTER LIKE IT! More on the Tempo run, you guessed it...another time! -Long runs: Surprise! Yeah, so Hanson's actually considers the Long run a SOS workout. And it makes sense to me--with the continuous fatigue of the Tempo run and two easy runs on your legs, the long run can be a challenge to get through. But it's really valuable. I've gone at length about the long run throughout the years, so I don't know if it's necessary to break it down any further, but if anyone asks, sure, I can go through it again. What I like about this plan is how all of these runs are taken into account and they all manage to fit into a neat little weekly schedule. If you've been keeping score, you've probably figured out what the day-by-day is by now, but in case you can't see the attached image, I'll lay it out for you: Monday: Easy Tuesday: Speed (replaced by strength later in the program) Wednesday: OFF Thursday: Tempo Friday: Easy Saturday: Easy Sunday: Long At the risk of getting sued for distributing the Hanson's training plan online for free, I won't go into any more specifics about the mileage they prescribe for each of these runs in their 14-week program, but I will say that so far, I've been following this weekly schedule, and I haven't gotten injured or burnt out. And I have to admit I'm pretty surprised, considering the prescribed paces for my goal are pretty grueling. The track workouts are completely new to me--the only time I used to do them was on occasion last summer, 6x800m repeats at a much slower pace. The Tempo runs at race pace are difficult, especially coming right after the Speed workout but so far I've been able to consistently stay on pace. Ultimately, I have no idea how I will fare from following this plan, but so far, given that I haven't died following it yet, and I haven't slowed down from overtraining, I have a good feeling about it. I have my first race of the season coming up in exactly two weeks, so I won't be able to complete the 14-week program in it's full until at least the NYC Half, but as the book says, something is always better than nothing! Stay tuned for more updates. Any questions, feel free to ask!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Jan 15, 2016 13:15:00 GMT -5
FRED LEBOW MANHATTAN HALF 2016 RACE PREVIEWThe first race of the year is coming up and I'm getting my preview in early! Next Sunday is the Fred Lebow Manhattan Half, notoriously known as The Mighty Lebow, or the Half on Ice, or simply, "the one we all wish we skipped"... This will be my third time running this race, and I personally think this is the most difficult Half Marathon that NYRR has to offer. Not only does the frigid air make it difficult to start at a faster pace, but the rolling hills of Central Park are difficult enough one time around--this race takes us through them TWICE! That being said, in both 2014 and 2015, this was somewhat of a breakthrough and confidence-building race for me. Both times, I surprised myself by coming within seconds of breaking milestone goals, a sub-95 and sub-90 half respectively. These near-misses were only encouraging as I looked ahead in the calendar year for opportunities to achieve my time goals. In 2014 I finished in 1:35:35. In 2015 I finished in 1:30:06. Therefore, in 2016, am I destined to finish in 1:25:xx??? Unlikely. Very, very unlikely. Obviously, as we get closer down to the 1 hour mark, which is where the world class runners reside, the differences in level between these 5-minute milestones grow deeper and deeper. Depending on where you are looking from, a 1:35 Half Marathoner is a good or great runner. A 1:30 Half Marathon is undoubtedly a respectable time for a young man in my age group, and an excellent time for anyone else. A 1:25 Half Marathoner is more than respectable. All of a sudden, when you jump to 1:20 or below, a few minutes can make a difference between local legend and elite competitor. For a mere mortal such as myself, making the leap from 1:30 to 1:25 is a long, difficult journey. I don't expect it to be anything like my previous jumps in time.
Mathematically speaking, in order to even set a PR in this race, I have a really tough task ahead of me. I took the time to draw up some statistics from my past two races: The race consists of two laps of Central Park plus about one mile 'final stretch'. Each lap is about 6 or 6.1 miles. 2014 Lap 1: 44:49 Lap 2: 42:37 Final Stretch: 8:08 2015 Lap 1: 42:22 Lap 2: 40:07 Final Stretch: 7:57 My course record: 1:30:06 My Half Marathon PR: 1:27:11 My goal has always been to improve my best time in the Half Marathon, and in 8 Half Marathons, I have always set a PR. My goal for this race is no different. I would LOVE to continue my streak and position myself closer to 1:25:xx for the NYC Half in March. But in order to do this, I would essentially need to cut 3 whole minutes off of my time last year. As if that weren't scary enough--I found myself scratching my head at first, wondering...from where do I cut those 3 minute off? The first lap? The final stretch? I went out twice over the past month to run my Tempo Run in Central Park--my first attempt was a bust, a 41:30 lap with a terrible sense of fatigue by the end. Admittedly, it was a rainy day and I was just coming off of a bad chest cold, but it didn't bode too well for me. YESTERDAY, I went out and tried again, and fared much better with a time of 40:07 (same as lap two in last year's race). But there are three big problems here: First, I was pretty fatigued after that lap, and I'm not sure if I could manage to hang onto that pace through another round of hills. Second, 40:07 at 6 miles is like racing a 10K for me...I'd have to do that twice! (Plus one more mile!). Finally, even if I DID manage to run two laps in 40 minutes, that leaves only 7 minutes for the final stretch--I would need an absolutely perfect race, to the second. The numbers simply do not seem to add up in my favor, any way they're stacked. So it seems nigh impossible for me to set a PR here. But there is one sliver of hope--what I may be capable of with fresh legs. Those two Tempo Runs were during a training period in which I have been running 6 days a week, two of those days per week being brutal workouts. The whole idea of this training program, which I explained in the last post, is cumulative fatigue. When you've only been resting one day of the week, and you haven't recovered properly, you can't expect to run your best race on a dime. So given that I have a week and a couple of days ahead of me, I can do as I did last year on my vacation in Mexico, and fully recover so that I enter the race without a hint of fatigue. Then, and only then, will I be able to know for sure what kind of shape I am in. So, with all that being taken into account, I'm going to go for it! Even a 1:27:10 will be a major success! And, at worst, there's a silver lining in a sub-1:30 finish here--this is a tough course and that's a great time. A year ago I would have taken it and been very happy! On another note, this will also be my brother's very first Half Marathon. I'm very excited about this--brings me back to when I ran my first! I have no idea how he'll do. It'll be really tough for him, but he did really well in the Bronx 10-Mile, and even though he hasn't really trained as much as I did when I ran my first, he's currently in pretty good shape and I think he'll finish in under 2 hours. I'll be proud of him for even finishing--even more proud if he finishes quickly so I don't have to stand around in the cold for long! Right now he's relaxing on a business trip in New Orleans. Let's hope the relaxing pays off for him like it did last year for me! Wish us luck! And warmth!
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Post by arsenette on Jan 15, 2016 22:57:30 GMT -5
Geez January is flying by so fast.. Good luck next week and look forward to the post-race results! ♥ Good luck brothers!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Jan 22, 2016 16:16:35 GMT -5
This just in! Due to the incoming snowstorm, the race has been CANCELLED! Very disappointing news--I really wanted to see if I could pull off this difficult PR attempt and see how my brother was going to do. Alas, I will need to wait until March for a rematch with the Half Marathon distance, and he will need to wait until MAY for his first Half. Until then, I will resume training as planned!
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Post by arsenette on Jan 22, 2016 21:56:18 GMT -5
This just in! Due to the incoming snowstorm, the race has been CANCELLED! Very disappointing news--I really wanted to see if I could pull off this difficult PR attempt and see how my brother was going to do. Alas, I will need to wait until March for a rematch with the Half Marathon distance, and he will need to wait until MAY for his first Half. Until then, I will resume training as planned! Uuuuuugh I totally forgot about that.. and you were worried about rain.. LOL Buckle up sparky!
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Post by arsenette on Jan 26, 2016 10:51:32 GMT -5
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Lennon
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Post by Lennon on Feb 9, 2016 22:37:21 GMT -5
I'll definitely be reading a long your journey here. I'm training for my first half marathon that happens in October. I'm learning some valuable information from reading your posts. Good luck to you in March!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Feb 10, 2016 19:53:05 GMT -5
I'll definitely be reading a long your journey here. I'm training for my first half marathon that happens in October. I'm learning some valuable information from reading your posts. Good luck to you in March! Hey Lennon! Glad to hear I've got a reader who's currently training for a Half. Not an easy task but I hope that with some of the information I share from my training, you'll be able to have a great training season and a great race! On that note, I realize that I haven't been posting updates for quite some time--the school year has inevitably gotten in the way of my ability to type out my usually long posts. The next race is coming up soon! It's the Al Gordon 4-Mile, and both my brother and I are registered for it. I've had some very good speed workouts recently, and I'm becoming more comfortable at faster paces, so I am confident that I'll be able to improve upon last year's time. A full pre-race post will come soon.
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Post by dudesky1000 on Feb 18, 2016 17:32:06 GMT -5
AL GORDON 4-MILE Pre-Race Report
The winter has arrived, and with it, the first race of the year! Of course, this wasn't supposed to be the first race of the year at all--that was going to be the ill-fated Fred Lebow Manhattan Half. But thanks to winter storm Jonas, the year of Ascension begins with the Al Gordon 4-Mile; a short, fast, freezing sprint through Prospect Park. And Josh is back for a repeat of his first race!
A quick review of last year's race:
Last year, this race was run on a BITTER cold morning. There was ice and snow all over the roads, and the air was simply frigid. My brother and I joked about sitting it out because it just seemed so brutal out there--but he was eager to run his first race and, well, I couldn't voluntarily sit out of a race if you paid me. Literally. It was run as a classic race with a reduced field size and no frills, and only a brave 1,000 showed up. Despite the cold, I ran a very strong race, finishing in 64th with a time of 25:38. Despite being bundled in WAAY too many layers to race, Josh ran an impressive 30:36 for his debut. It was actually a pretty enjoyable race and we were immediately set on doing it again in 2016--yeah, we're crazy.
This year, things are looking a little warmer and a little more competitive! The forecast points to a much warmer weekend than last year, and, barring another surprise last-minute snowstorm, the conditions should be very favorable for a fast race. Another big change is the expansion of the race--it's no longer a 'classic' sized race! NYRR decided to add it to their list of viable races for their 9+1 qualification program for the NYC Marathon. So I expect to see a lot more faces than last year, and as a result doubt that I will place nearly as high as I did last year (I have never placed top 100 in a 9+1 race).
Josh and I both have time goals! I'm going for a treacherous 24:59 and Josh is aiming to break the big 30. I think his chances are better than mine--but I do think I can pull my goal off. How will I do it?
This winter, if there's one workout I've been truly consistent with, it has been my intervals, which I have been running at 6:00/mile pace. Granted, I'm running these intervals at fractions of miles (usually half miles or 3/4 miles) and nowhere NEAR 4 consecutive miles, but 6:15 might not be terribly out of reach. It really depends on how I handle the hills and if I have a good start. It'll be pretty clear what's going to happen within the first few minutes--it's just a matter of my recklessness once I figure out if I'm in for a fight. If I have a slow start, say, 6:30/mile (sheesh, so much for a SLOW start...), then I'll at least know how a 6:00 mile feels and the kind of effort I'll have to exert to do that.
Other than that, there's not too much else to say. I'm really excited to finally race again (It has been over 3 months!) and think I'm ripe for a good result (been 5 months since the Bronx 10-Mile). This will also serve as a good test to see how much fitter I've become since the marathon, especially looking ahead to the NYC Half next month. Let's see what that winter training has done!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Feb 20, 2016 10:07:01 GMT -5
Official results are in! Josh and I crushed it!
Josh in 28:54
Evan in 24:41
WOOOOO!
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Post by arsenette on Feb 20, 2016 11:15:44 GMT -5
WOW!!!!!!!! ♥ That's friggin' awesome! Can't wait to read the post report! Well done both of you! WOW Josh did awesome! Grats on breaking 30!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Mar 3, 2016 0:17:14 GMT -5
AL GORDON 4M 2016 RACE REPORT - LIFTOFF!I was itching to race. I had waited a long while since November. I was like a caged animal ready to pounce toward the scent of prey. And I had found the perfect prey--a fast and furious 4-Mile race was exactly what I had a hankering for. I wasn't the only one who was hungry however; both my brother and I were out for blood! I resolved to make a few changes after the 2015 NYC Marathon in an attempt to continue my improvements in speed and strength. I began to follow a new training book closer to my abilities and for the first time I purchased not one but TWO new pairs of running sneakers. For my regular training runs, I would continue to run in my Ghost 8's (I have been running with the Ghost series since 2014 now starting with the Ghost 6), but for my quality workouts and races, I would run in On Cloud's Cloud (a much lighter shoe). The year seemed to be getting off with a bang until the Manhattan Half was cancelled--I would have to wait another month to put a great winter of training and my new sneakers to the test. Well, what better way to start than a relatively pressure-free race? I don't really consider myself a 4-Mile specialist or particularly good at the races 10k and below, so I didn't have nearly the same nerves as I would have going into a Half. Therefore, I was pretty pumped! My goal would be an ambitious but reachable 24:59. Also running this race was my brother Josh. He finished last season with an awesome run at the Bronx 10-Mile, crushing everyone's expectations, including his own, setting himself up for another exciting year of racing. Last year's Al Gordon 4-Mile was his first race ever, which would make this year's race his first to run twice. Having recently run a perfect 30:00 time in August's cross country race, his goal going into this one was to break the 30-minute barrier. Last year's Al Gordon 4-Mile was characterized by the harsh cold. It was FREEZING, and as a 'classic' $10 race with no medals, t-shirts or any frills to speak of, only about 1,000 brave souls showed up to run. This year, we were in for something completely different... ...It was WARM! It was SUNNY! There were no patches of ice or clouds to speak of. Upon arrival I stripped to just my shorts and my 'Evan 48' singlet--it was THAT warm out and I knew that if I kept my tights on, I would overheat. There were also a lot more people! This year, the race got upgraded to full 9+1 status (9+1 races are the NYRR races that serve as qualifiers for the NYC Marathon. If you run 9 of these and volunteer for one of them, you gain guaranteed entry to the following year's marathon) making it over FOUR times the affair it was last year in terms of competition. With my projected pace of 6:18, I was granted access to the 'A' corral, second only to the 'AA' corral reserved for only the truly elite. Josh was seeded in the 'D' corral. At the start line I met up with a friend named Serge who I train with occasionally over the summer. He recently broke 25 minutes in the 4-Mile and 1:30 in the Half, so he and I are running at a very similar pace these days (even though he's 10 years my senior!). It wasn't always that way--I once struggled to keep up with him as he was running his easy pace on a long run. I asked if he was going for a PR today (which would have given me someone to chase after), but he wasn't, feeling undertrained for an attempt. He encouraged me to go for my goal though, so now with a friend rooting for me, I felt inspired. The gun went off and he wished me luck, hanging behind. MILE 1The race began like many others--the rest of my corral, and in fact, the corral behind me came trampling ahead of me at an alarming pace. With a goal pace of 6:15, I knew that I really couldn't afford a slow start, so I did everything I could to keep up with the pack without peaking too soon. Within the first mile came the only major uphill--thankfully I climbed it with plenty of gas left in the tank. 6:27. MILE 2
Here's where things really got cooking. With the only uphill battle behind me, I confidently lengthened my stride and surged into my track interval pace--something I had spent a lot of time practicing since December. Mathematically, this mile was essential; I needed to bring my average pace down to as close to 6:15 as possible to give myself a chance to seal it with a fast second half. I began to catch many of those who had leapt ahead of me at the start, and I couldn't help but feel brilliant for shedding my extra layers--I was perfectly comfortable whereas those around me looked to be overheating. Toward the end of this mile, things started to get a little testy, but I knew that there would be a major downhill coming up, so I held onto my pace. When I started running 6:00 pace in my track workouts, I struggled to sustain it for even a minute and a half. But now I had held it together for a full mile to log my fastest ever in a race, putting myself on the brink of going sub-6 for the first time. Mathematical mission accomplished! 6:03. MILE 3At this moment, I entered 'the zone'. Having brought my average pace to exactly 6:15 with a major downhill ahead, I began to feel that my goal was well within my reach-- I lost my sense of doubt. I entered this state of mind... I stopped counting minutes and glancing at my watch. I felt unlimited. I almost forgot that there was a connection between my legs and my brain. I wasn't struggling-- I was just flying. And as I woke up to the BEEEEEP of my watch, I looked around in awe. The field had thinned considerably. I looked down to my watch in shock--I had crossed the rubicon into the 5:xx/mile territory! I had logged a sub-6 minute mile in a race! I WAS capable of breaking 6! 5:52MILE 4Now that I was well ahead of my goal and aware of it, I began to dial things back just a little. I still had a mile to go after all, and that's no picnic at these paces. Naturally, things suddenly got really hard and as the minutes went by, my legs began to feel heavier and heavier. In the final half mile, a shadow of a doubt resurfaced as I failed to see the end in sight. As my watch reached the 24-minute mark, I still couldn't see the finish line and I began to panic--I felt like I was sprinting as hard as I could. Finally, I turned a corner and the finish line was just ahead--I raised my arms and howled to the skies. The hunt for sub-25 was over. I met my goal. 6:12JOSHAfter hobbling through recovery-land, I ran back to the finish line to what would become of my brother. I have to admit--as much as I love racing and participating in these events as a runner--there's such a thrill to be had as a spectator. There's little that is as exciting as rooting for your fellow runner, knowing that they are aiming for a big goal, and watching the clock continue to tick closer to that goal like a bomb in an action movie. I'm always on the edge of my seat, trying to identify my brother in the distance amongst a sea of runners. Well, turns out I wasn't the only one hungry for a PR! Just after the 28 minute mark, I spotted him dashing triumphantly toward me. Just a week ago, I led him on a practice time trial so he could see what it would feel like to try to run a 7:30 average pace. He had a tough time and cramped up in the last mile, coming nowhere near the time I paced him for. But today was a different day-- he met his goal by over a minute. FINAL RESULTSEvanOfficial Time: 24:41 Place: 86th out of 4,489 JoshOfficial Time: 28:54 Place: 546th out of 4,489 FINAL THOUGHTSThis was really a case of the 'perfect storm': I came into this race really fresh, there were absolutely ideal conditions (sunny with no wind in February) and the course played right into my strengths. I feel like I made some really smart choices--taking my tights off to stay cool, pacing the first two miles really precisely, and keeping my mind distraction-free by entering an almost meditative state. I felt really light and fast in my new racing sneakers, so I am particularly pleased with the purchase. I had never raced in that kind of shoe before so I really wasn't sure what to buy when I went shopping, but I couldn't have been more comfortable and happy. I also felt rewarded for my consistency and my effort in my speed workouts, which I worked very hard to improve in over the last few months. And in the end, I didn't even feel too physically beat. Goal-wise, I hobble away from this one having met not one, not two, but THREE (!) of my major race goals. In this race, I broke 25 minutes in the 4-Mile for the first time, I ran a sub-6:00 mile in a race for the first time, and I placed in the top 100 in a marathon qualifier for the first time. Need I say more? YATTA! The Year of Ascension has definitely begun. And up next, it's the NYC Half. Let's go!
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Post by dudesky1000 on Mar 17, 2016 23:54:43 GMT -5
United Airlines NYC Half 2016 Pre-Race ThoughtsIt's March Madness already in the not-so-new year and here we are again, in the days before my favorite race of them all, the NYC Half. This will be my 9th Half Marathon, 18th race overall, and third time running this race (I didn't qualify for it in 2014). It will also be my first Half Marathon in almost an entire year, since the Brooklyn Half last May. The course itself is a perfect summation of Manhattan (it's a wonder why they don't call THIS the Manhattan Half when the actual Manhattan Half is just a couple of boring Central Park loops ). You start in Central Park and run a full loop with the exciting added touch of an out-and-back around Frederick Douglass Circle for miles 1-6. Rounding out the first half of the course is the iconic Times Square mile--other than the New Year's Eve ball drop, this is the ONLY time Times Square is completely blockaded, making the occasion all the more special. The entire second half of the race is a fast and flat trip down the West Side Highway starting with the Freedom Tower in the horizon, through the Battery Park underpass and ending near the South Street Seaport. It's got a little bit of everything and two distinctly different halves: the first half of the course is notably hilly and the second half is downhill and windy. Last year, if I had to sum up this race in one word, it would be 'breakthrough'. It was essentially the moment of truth--my personal best was within seconds of a sub-1:30 half marathon and I was on a (still active) streak of PR's in the half. In order to continue that streak, I needed to finally break that 90-minute milestone and enter a new echelon of amateur running. It took a carefully calculated strategy and a lot of effort, but after a difficult first half, I managed to catch up to the pacer and beat my goal. It was an incredible feeling to have finally reached what was once unreachable--and to have done it at the NYC Half, the first race I ever ran, which I had missed out on the previous year and worked hard to re-qualify for--that was icing on the cake! This year, things are a little different, but the challenge is even greater. After breaking 1:30, my next ambitious time goal is to break the next milestone: running a Half Marathon in under 85 minutes. Right now my PR sits at 1:27:11, a solid 2+ minutes away. It's about halfway between where I was a year ago and where I'd like to be. It's very unlikely that I'll be able to reach that goal this weekend, and I'll have another attempt to break it in a couple of months when I'll be better trained, so my goal is to simply PR--hopefully with a time of 1:26:xx. How will I do this? Now we get into the fun of mathematics! Here's the breakdown: NYC Half 2015: 1:28:41 Goal: Beat 1:27:11 Net difference: 0:01:30 Thanks to coincidentally convenient numbers, the math is very simple: in order to PR, I must beat last year's time by at least 1 minute and 30 seconds. That's 90 seconds I have to makeup over 13.1 miles. Now we get into the fun of looking at my mile splits from last year: 1 7:25.6 2 6:23.6 3 6:35.1 4 6:49.2 5 6:49.2 6 6:35.0 7 5:58.2 8 6:06.7 9 6:29.7 10 6:47.2 11 6:41.4 12 6:29.6 13 7:22.9 (Tunnel GPS lol) 14 2:09.5 0.3 (not sure what happened here) At first glance, there appear to be two prime opportunities to make up for lost time: Miles 1 and 13. Indeed, I did run Mile 1 very conservatively last year--that was a part of my plan to start slow and catch up later. On the other hand, it's really difficult to know how accurate Mile 13 was because of satellite shenanigans in the Battery Park underpass. In a recent tempo run in Central Park, I tried to simulate the first lap of this race. I was pretty winded by the end, but I did manage to run the first mile in 6:47, which would put me 38 seconds closer to reaching my goal--not much, but enough to inch my way closer to the magic number (90) with every mile. Another strategy to consider is to focus on improving my splits in the second half as opposed to the first half. Last year, I think I was complacent to run alongside the pacer (who was locked into a 6:45 pace) which led to my Mile 10 and 11 splits. I think I can probably bring those down to at least 6:30 each, giving me another 28 seconds. This might be the more intelligent approach because I haven't logged many long runs recently and I might burn myself out if I start too quickly. So, taking all of this into account, here's what I would consider a 'perfect race' for me Sunday, mile-by-mile: 1 7:00.0 2 6:30.0 3 6:35.0 4 6:45.0 5 6:45.0 6 6:35.0 7 5:58. 8 6:05.0 9 6:29.0 10 6:30.0 11 6:30.0 12 6:25.0 13 6:25.0 13.1 1:28.0 Total: 1:26:00 The idea behind this plan is to give myself an easy but faster first mile, a slower but easier second mile, a very slightly faster rest of central park, an equally fast Times Square and a MUCH faster second half. The make-or-break math is definitely in the West Side Highway, where I hope to really dig deep into Bronx-10-Mile-type paces. Now that I know my top speed to be below below 6:00, running 6:25's late in a longer race isn't so scary anymore. I am actually pretty confident that if all else goes well (weather, wind, enough sleep and no other random issues), I might be able to pull something like this off. On that note, it's time for me to get some sleep--so I'm going to wrap this up! My bib number is 1156, the highest I've been in this race (Wave 1 Corral 1!). As always, you can track me on the NYC Half Official App or the live results webpage. Race begins bright and early at 7:30am. Wish me luck!
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arsenette
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Rambling Rican
Posts: 16,616
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Post by arsenette on Mar 18, 2016 3:24:22 GMT -5
I'll be asleep (LOL) but good luck! Look forward to the post-race wrap-up! ♥
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Post by dudesky1000 on Mar 18, 2016 14:57:37 GMT -5
I'll be asleep (LOL) but good luck! Look forward to the post-race wrap-up! ♥ Thanks! Looks like we're going to see some snow and wind Sunday morning. I think the winter is making up for the fact that NYRR cancelled the Manhattan Half in January! lol
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