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Post by dudesky1000 on Mar 20, 2016 14:57:04 GMT -5
Guys, I don't even know how, but if I've ever over-performed, today was some day. I didn't go in even thinking sub-1:25 was an option, even if I wanted to attempt it. Somehow, some way, when I had finished, I had become a sub-1:25 half marathoner. Results in the OP have been updated.
The ascension is real.
The best part: Two birds pooped on me and I didn't even notice.
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Post by arsenette on Mar 20, 2016 14:58:34 GMT -5
LOL Roger that dirty bird! ♥ Take your time and I look forward to the blow by blow report! Congratulations!!!!
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Post by supremekai on Mar 20, 2016 15:18:08 GMT -5
Do you think you'll be able to break 3 hours in the NYC marathon this year?
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Post by dudesky1000 on Mar 20, 2016 15:28:35 GMT -5
Do you think you'll be able to break 3 hours in the NYC marathon this year? Depends on how many birds poop on me along the course. Kidding aside, I will try my hardest for the best result possible. This is the first time that a computer (based on my time today) will actually expect me to break 3 hours, but I don't think anyone I know is expecting me to (including me). That being said, my running career seems to be full of surprises, so if I saw the opportunity to go sub-3, I would go for it! Very unlikely given my past struggles with the distance and the NYC Marathon course in particular, but I will be very determined this year (and I won't have school in the Fall to interrupt my training this time). Thanks for the question!
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 6, 2016 17:16:13 GMT -5
Hey guys!
So those who usually follow my training thread are probably wondering--what the heck happened to Evan!?
This past month and a half, basically starting the day after the NYC Half, has been an extremely busy time for me. In the last month alone, I had to prepare for and shoot a short film, balance 6 classes, do some interviews about Crohn's for media, as well as continue my training as much as possible--which left me no time to write my NYC Half race report or post updates about my training progress.
The short story is that I haven't been able to train much at all since the NYC Half and I'll be going into Brooklyn fresh but pretty undertrained. It will be a miracle at this point if I am able to continue the PR streak and beat 1:24:15. As it is, I still can't believe I just ran a Half Marathon at that pace! I do still have the next few days to get in a couple of good long tempo runs, but the race will largely be a mystery and it'll all come down to course strategy. I should be able to get in the usual pre-race thoughts post before then, so look for that. Otherwise, I'll try to get the NYC Half race report in soon.
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Post by arsenette on May 7, 2016 6:52:22 GMT -5
Cool thanks! ♥
And yeah.. This is Finals season so no wonder you are busy as hell!
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 11, 2016 18:40:53 GMT -5
NYC HALF 2016 RACE REPORT: Open the Flood GatesAt long last, I am here, and I have time to write this post-race report. It has been a while since this race happened, and because of that, my memory of it is a little blurry, so I won't be giving a play-by-play, mile-by-mile like I usually do. If you've been following me, you know that I've run this race three times now, and I've described the course quite a number of times over the past couple of years, so feel free to read up on the course details and my NYC Half history in the old threads (links are in the first post). The NYC Half has always been one of my favorite races--it was the first official race I ever ran back in 2013 (it would have been my second if not for the ill-fated 2012 NYC Marathon), and the second time I ran it, I reached my long-time goal of breaking 1:30 in the Half Marathon. So I have some great memories on this course and the conditions tend to favor me (March is a great time of year for running and the course plays into my strengths). This year, I came into the NYC Half with a LOT of training under my belt (not so much in February but I had a very good Fall and early Winter of training), but I hadn't run a Half in a long time so I wasn't really sure how I would do. I would have had a better idea if the Manhattan Half hadn't been cancelled due to a snowstorm, but in the end, I felt good about my chances of setting a new PR. The time to beat was 1:27:11 (set at the Brooklyn Half last May) and I was raring to go! Because I had last year's mile-by-mile splits to work from, I tried a new strategy: devise a mile-by-mile plan that would mathematically take me to a 1:26:00 finish. Based off of recent tempo runs and 10 months of improvement, I thought it was a perfectly reachable goal, and a much better goal than to go for the sub-1:25 milestone, something I believed was out of my reach. My general plan was to make up time in the first mile and the second half of the race. To make things easy to remember, I actually took a pace wristband from the expo, turned it inside-out, and wrote my own splits on the blank side. This way I could keep track of my goal as I was going and could calculate how far ahead or behind I was. Sounds like a good plan, huh? Either way, any mile-by-mile plan would have an extremely low margin for error. At this point, I'm looking for seconds to shave off here and there; one bad mile would undo 10 miles' worth of saving time. Oh, and there was one other little problem with the strategy...I completely forgot to buy an endurance gel! I always eat one about 5 or 6 miles into the race, and they had always been an essential part of my race strategy. Without a gel to replenish my energy reserves, I worried that I wouldn't be able to hang on for dear life at the end like I usually do. By the time I realized I hadn't bought myself one, all of the stores carrying them were closed and the only ones I had at home were expired... ...Surprisingly, gel or no gel, my strategy not only worked, but it actually turned out to be much more conservative than I thought, which gave me a lot of confidence as the race went on. One of my biggest fears was paying dearly for trying to make up too much time in the first mile. Putting 'time in the bank' by starting off quickly is usually never a good idea. In fact, it's probably the easiest way to kill a possibly good race. So after a fast first mile, what did I end up running for miles 2 and 3? When you look at my splits below, you're going to think I had gone insane! In truth, I wasn't going for broke--I just felt really, really good! I got my second wind right away, I was able to take advantage of all the declines to my satisfaction, maintain the momentum they gave me, and climb the infamous hills without too much trouble. I think my interval runs really paid off here--all of that time running at 6:00/mile pace made 6:10 manageable by comparison, and my legs seemed a lot stronger than the year before. So I came out of Central Park WAY ahead of pace and I could tell on my makeshift pace wristband. Remember when I entered 'the zone' at the Al Gordon race in February? Right around here, I entered it. I didn't even notice my brother standing in the crowds. It was like all of the electricity and energy of Times Square was rocket fuel, channelling through my shoes and propelling me forward. I was feeling good. Really good. Somewhere along the Westside Highway, the unthinkable happened. Just as I did last year, I had finally caught up with the pace leader--except this time, I had caught up to the 1:25 pacer. ...I couldn't believe it, but here I was, suddenly on the verge of breaking the next great milestone...if I could keep up, that is. As we marched through miles 9, 10 and 11, I remained persistent, and began to slowly but surely inch my way past the group. Passing the group actually had a funny mental effect on me--even though I was maintaining a pretty even pace, it seemed much easier to chase after the group as opposed to being chased by the group. It took a hell of a lot of restraint not to look back (they were very close behind me anyway). By the time I approached the Battery Park underpass, and I passed my brother for the last time, the pacer had caught back up to me and was encouraging me to stay in front of him. Extremely excited about how well the race was going for me, I told him how I had never run this fast before. He simply laughed, smiled, and told me to shut my trap and get my butt moving! He was right--the race wasn't over yet! We descended into the underpass--a deceptively difficult final trial in this great race. Down there, your GPS watch becomes worthless--you're left to determine your pace only by the fatigue in your legs and your rapidly beating heart. The curved tunnel makes it impossible to know just how deep you're in and how close you are to the end. With just minutes to go, are you bleeding precious seconds? Are you in danger of beginning the final kick too early? Is everyone around you slowing down? It's impossible to tell. All you can do is hang in there. Of course, at the end of every tunnel, there is light. And as I emerged onto my beloved home course of the East River Bikeway, I knew exactly where I was, exactly how much there was left to go, and I knew with absolute confidence and comfort that I was going to set a PR. With 1:23 on the clock, my mission was not only accomplished, but obliterated. It was at this moment that I realized I was covered in bird poop--how long I had been running covered in bird poop, I have no idea. But as I turned onto the home stretch, I knew one thing: I was going to be a sub-1:25 Half Marathoner. And so I was. And so The Quest had begun. The splits: 1 6:53.4 2 6:11.7 3 6:16.8 4 6:32.2 5 6:24.9 6 6:18.7 7 6:08.2 8 6:01.3 9 6:20.8 10 6:17.8 11 6:22.3 12 6:21.4 13 6:45.5 (tunnel GPS??) .18 1:22 (extra distance is probably the result of tunnel shenanigans) Bib Number: 1156 Overall Place: 448 out of 20,179 finishers Official Finishing Time: 1:24:15 (6:26/mile average)
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Post by arsenette on May 12, 2016 8:36:43 GMT -5
That's an awesome story! ♥ Love what the pace runner told you. HA! So much can happen that last stretch... So happy though that you had a good race! I know you were a little worried because you lost just about a month in February.
What's next on the list? June? Correction.. next week!
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 12, 2016 11:08:36 GMT -5
What's next on the list? June? Correction.. next week! The Brooklyn Half is in just 9 days...it came up super quickly! It will be my 10th Half Marathon!
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 13, 2016 17:27:56 GMT -5
THE QUEST
The time has come.
Nearly five years ago, in May 2011, I ran my first Half Marathon--a brutal run in the Bahamian heat. I finished in roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes. I had pushed myself to my absolute limit, and I was battered. As I lay on the sacred ground beside the Island School flagpole, our de facto finish line, I looked up into the sky with a dream.
To do it again. And again. And to continue to improve.
Two years later, I would fulfill that dream by running two more Half Marathons and my first NYC Marathon. What happened on Eleuthera was not a fluke. I could triumph over myself and my health at home--something I had thought impossible in my most dark years as a teen embattled with Crohn's.
In 2014, I took it a step further. I broke 1:35, improving my Island School time by over 10 minutes.
In 2015, I exceeded my own expectations by breaking 1:30.
And now, as of March 2016, after running 9 Half Marathons, I have brought my Half Marathon PR to unforeseen heights, breaking 1:25.
So the time has come for the ultimate challenge. The challenge that shall now be referred to as 'The Quest':
A sub-1:20 Half Marathon. If I can break this milestone, by running a time of 1:19:59 or better, I will have improved upon my Island School time by a staggering 25 minutes, which is the fastest I can honestly imagine being able to run in the future.
I know I have said that before, and I have a history of underestimating myself, but now I actually DO think that it is possible for me to achieve this goal. And I think it is very possible that I am able to achieve it in the near future--not at the Brooklyn Half, and maybe not next year, but I am confident that it is within my reach if I can continue to improve at the rate that I have been. It will be extremely difficult: to do so would be to run at a 6:05/mile average pace or better, which I have never averaged in any race, EVER. But I think it is doable with enough training and discipline.
You might think that I am being coy by making this the 'ultimate goal', but being a numbers freak myself, if you look at my stats, I'll be the first to admit that it is difficult to see myself ever reaching the 1:15 milestone. Every year, I've been able to improve my time by a few minutes (2014-2015 being the aberration), but as you go faster and faster, improvements become more incremental. The leap between 1:35 and 1:30 is much smaller compared to the chasm I now face between 1:25 and 1:20. And even though I have become A LOT faster than I used to be, I had always been capable of running a 6:10 or 6:05 mile here and there--it is my STAMINA that has improved the most, to be able to hold onto those paces for longer and longer. But my top speed has still not gone into the 5:xx/mile realm, and that's a realm I'll probably dip into here and there (like I used to with 6:xx), but I really doubt that I'll be able to maintain those kinds of paces for any long distance race. There's a point where you have to be a natural, and though I may be wrong, I'll need to run a 5:59/mile pace for at least a 4-miler before I can even dream of it. I'll need to run several miles below 6 minutes in a Half just to complete The Quest.
So, with all of that said, The Quest is on. I have 4 minutes and 16 seconds to go.
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Post by arsenette on May 14, 2016 5:33:49 GMT -5
And we will be cheering every step of the way! ♥
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 20, 2016 20:02:15 GMT -5
Airbnb Brooklyn Half 2016 Pre-Race ThoughtsHere we are again! To cap off a fantastic week in my life (I have just graduated from NYU Tisch TODAY!), I'm lacing up my sneakers and embarking on a victory lap of sorts at the Brooklyn Half. Because I've literally been going to and from graduation events all week, and I've been living it to the fullest, I haven't had time until just now to get this in--I'll be going to bed in just a few hours so I'll try to make this quick. History: This will be my 10th Half Marathon! It is my 4th time running this race (my first was in 2013) and my brother Josh's first time--in fact, it is his first Half Marathon ever! So wish him luck! As is the case with the NYC Half, I have a lot of good memories and a lot of experience on this course, so I am going into it very relaxed, knowing exactly what I'm getting myself into. Of course, one somewhat forgets the intricacies of a course in the span of a year, but having already done it 3 times (with no changes to the course) I can visualize things pretty well. Where I am now: I'm coming into this race with a lot of confidence and, same as last year, nothing to lose. Just like last year, I broke my big yearly time goal at the NYC Half in March, so in a sense, this one is a bonus round and an opportunity to take myself one step closer to The Quest: the all-alluring goal of a sub-1:20 Half Marathon. I feel as though I'm in decent shape (no worse than I was back in March) and although I haven't gotten in as many long training runs as I'd like, I'm learning to accept the fact that I'll never truly feel prepared--just like I do with my pursuits in filmmaking. One can always do more--but so far, it hasn't stopped me from being able to improve. The stakes: So as I mentioned above, the stakes are pretty low for me tomorrow. I have zero expectations of being able to even come close to 1:20:00, and I will not be attempting it, so that's not even on my mind. On the other hand, this is a nice opportunity for me to set a new PR and, if I can manage to pull that off, I will have technically brought my Half PR streak to 10! (If you count my first Half as an automatic PR, if not, then I'd need to PR one more time after tomorrow). I'm not putting more pressure on myself than usual because of this, but it would be pretty neat if I could pull it off. Especially considering this race is practically coming on the 5th anniversary of my first Half Marathon, it would be pretty cool. The goal: My goal is to PR by at least one second. That means I'll be aiming for a 1:24:14 or better. If I can get into the 1:23:xx club, I'll be extremely happy. And if I'm in as good shape as I was in March, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to do it, as long as I have a good day. The course: I mostly feel good about my chances because this course is a little easier (and MUCH flatter) than the NYC Half course. First of all--Prospect Park is a joke compared to Central Park. Fewer and far less daunting hills. I've always said that this course is more challenging for its mental obstacles than physical ones: the greatest test is remaining mentally steady during the infamously never-ending Ocean Parkway stretch (from miles 7-12, it's virtually a complete straightaway with no elevation changes or spectacles--just a plain-jane roadway). Having experienced it a number of times, and knowing that I'll (hopefully) only be spending about 30 minutes on Ocean Parkway, it doesn't intimidate me like it used to. So again, if I'm in as good shape as I was in March, I should be able to score a faster time than I did when I had to deal with the Central Park loop (curse you Harlem Hill!). The only cautionary thing is the first-mile downhill where I'll have to be careful not to go out too fast. If I mess that up, then I'm doomed. The strategy: Because the mile-by-mile strategy I implemented in the NYC Half proved to be successful, I am going to do the exact same thing--create my own splits based on my Brooklyn Half race history, and chop off just enough seconds from each mile to equate to my goal time. I have to give my brother credit: he came up with the idea to invert the pace wristbands they hand out at the expo (so that the blank side is facing outward) and write my custom splits onto it. Because I've just passed the 1:25 milestone and I'm not going to bother to attempt the 1:20 milestone, I'm once again awkwardly between two pace groups that they offer. So without further ado, here is my game plan! Last year's splits: 1- 7:09.6 2- 6:44.1 3- 6:20.9 4- 6:28.0 5- 6:42.3 6- 6:39.5 7- 6:05.3 8- 6:29.5 9- 6:37.9 10- 6:42.6 11- 6:38.9 12- 6:35.1 13- 6:30.3 13.1: 1:27:11This year's plan: 1- 7:00 (-10 seconds) 2- 6:30 (-14 seconds) 3- 6:20 (-1 second) 4- 6:20 (-8 seconds) 5- 6:30 (-12 seconds) 6- 6:30 (-9.5 seconds) 7- 6:05 (same) 8- 6:20 (-9.5 seconds) 9- 6:25 (-13 seconds) 10- 6:25 (-18 seconds) 11- 6:25 (-14 seconds) 12- 6:20 (-15 seconds) 13- 6:20 (-10 seconds) 13.1: 1:24:14 (-2 minutes and 57 seconds)On paper, this strategy appears pretty daunting. I'll be the first to admit it! Shaving more than 10 seconds off of over half of the miles at this pace on a pretty flat course will certainly be a challenge, and a true test of my stamina rather than my ability to use elevation changes to my advantage. Will I be able to pull it off? WHO KNOWS?! Turning to my brother for a quick second-- I want to just write a little paragraph on his experience, as it could be useful for some who read this thread who might be considering signing up for their first Half Marathon. First of all, this is a great course for a first-timer: the lack of seriously challenging hills makes it more about running the distance, and if you're like him and mostly train on a flat running path, it's a good place to start. The furthest he has ever run is still 10 miles (at the Bronx 10-Mile in September), but he seems pretty confident and prepared to survive 13.1 miles--and for good reason! He did really well in the 10-miler and has been running more often since then. So even though he hasn't necessarily been running 'weekly mileage' in the traditional sense, he put in the quality miles when he could, so I think he'll have a good race. He will NOT be using endurance gels and he will be running in one of my old pairs of Ghost 7's, the pair he has been training in. He is entering this race with NO time goal. His goal is just to finish and maintain a running pace the whole way, which I think he'll do, though it might be a little testy when he gets to the middle of the Ocean Parkway segment. The NYRR race predictor (which has been pretty accurate for me) predicts that he will finish somewhere between 1:43 and 1:46. I have my own personal prediction, which I have been keeping secret from him: I agree with the race predictor and think he will finish faster than my first half, in around 1:44 or 1:45. But I haven't told him because I don't want to put any pressure on him. Hopefully after I finish, I can limp back to the cheer zone and be there for his finish. Our bib numbers are 15088 (Josh) and 15089 (me). I am in the A corral and Josh is in the C corral. As always, if you dare to wake up at 7am, you can track us on the live results page at liveresults.nyrr.org/e/NYRR-BROOKLYN-2016#/tracker/REYMVLFUThat's about all! Wish us luck!
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Post by arsenette on May 20, 2016 21:15:58 GMT -5
Good luck! I skimmed through it now but will read more later over the weekend. This is my last weekend before the Japan trip so my hair is on fire... So while I'm running around doing errands I'll keep a thought out for you and your brother! Have fun! ♥
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 21, 2016 13:54:59 GMT -5
Official results are not in yet but I can tell you already--it's going to be a fun race report. Epic race, dramatic retelling will be happening.
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 22, 2016 17:15:33 GMT -5
AIRBNB BROOKLYN HALF 2016 RACE REPORT: Seconds, Anyone?5AM. The alarm goes off. It's showtime. 6 hours of sleep? No matter. Nobody was sleeping anyway. Josh and I walk to the 2 train. Wrong platform. Oops. Bye bye 2 train. When's the next 2 train? 10 minutes? Lovely... 2 train comes. All local stops. We're practically the only Wave 1 people on board. Corrals collapse in 30 minutes ...Looks like it's going to be a close one. 30 minutes later...not a close one. Still on train. Corrals collapse. Race begins in 20. Flashbacks to arriving late in 2014 begin. Anxiety sets in... Train arrives. Race starts in 8. Josh and I sprint through the doors, leapfrog over the stairs, dart through the (horribly insecure) security checkpoint, and begin wading through the sea of Wave 1 runners in an attempt to get to our appropriate starting places. We take the smelly but effective shortcut of running through the port-o-potty lines. Josh arrives around where C corral was. We hug and wish each other luck. I continue to push until I can go no further...the front of B corral. This will do. Race starts in 2. A sigh of relief. Thank goodness I peed before leaving home. National anthem starts. Gun goes off. The games begin! Starting position turns out to be quite appropriate. Usual first-mile stampede ensues. Everyone going bananas. Downhill is delicious and hard to resist...confidence is soaring. Time is placed in the bank. Mile 1: 6:26 (34 seconds ahead of goal).Out-and-back segment begins, downhill ends. Everyone still going bananas. Confidence still soaring. Pace still soaring. Course seems unusually crowded...not surprising considering a record field of almost 28,000. The elites run by in the opposite direction. "Ooh"ing and "Aah"ing ensues. Live music is pumping and more time is placed in the bank. Mile 2: 6:26 (38 seconds ahead of goal).There goes Josh! Go brother go! Josh speeds by in the opposite direction. Looks like he's having a great race. Looks like I'm having a great race too! We enter Prospect Park. Pace begins to escalate into overdrive. Confidence begins to escalate into overdrive. I run past my friend Serge. Hi Serge! Looks like he's on pace for a PR. Bye Serge! Looks like I'm on pace for a PR. But...is it just me, or is it actually starting to get pretty hot out here? No matter. The bank of time is too big to fail! Mile 3: 6:12 (46 seconds ahead of goal).Banana time is over. Spectators start thinning out. Hype dies down. Body heats up. ...This is beginning to get pretty tough. Am I really that far ahead of pace? Maybe I should slow down a little... yeah, I can afford to slow down a little. Especially before the big hill comes... I think I'll dial it back a bit. Mile 4: 6:20 (still 46 seconds ahead of goal).
Confidence hits a speed bump. Pace hits a speed bump. Breathing starting to feel labored. Legs starting to feel heavy. ...This "slowing down a little" does not feel any easier than the pace before. In fact... am I falling behind? Hmmmm. No matter! There's plenty of time in the bank! Battle Hill here I come! Mile 5: 6:33 (43 seconds ahead of goal).Holy ****--I'm screwed. I went out too fast. I can feel it now... this is going to be a rough day. Confidence is dropping. Lactic acid is building. Heavy breathing ensues. And there's still over half the race to go...with Ocean Parkway...oh lord. How much time do I have in the bank again? A lot? Whew... alright, well, if I stay at this relatively-but-not-really-conservative pace, maybe I'll start to catch my breath. Battle Hill was a losing battle, but the war can still be won! Mile 6: 6:32 (41 seconds ahead of goal).The much-needed downhill mile commences. THANK YOU BASED DOWNHILL! A little time is lost but a little faith is restored. The legs and the lungs begin to feel a little better as gravity does the work. Everyone goes bananas one last time...we know what's coming. And it's not going to be pretty. If I can just hang onto this pace... Mile 7: 6:06 (40 seconds ahead of goal).Ocean Parkway ensues... and there's one little problem with my watch that I can no longer deny or use to my mental advantage. The mile markers in my watch and the mile markers on the course are not in sync. In fact, my watch has been going off around 30 seconds before each physical mile marker. So in reality, at this point I'm only about 10 seconds ahead of pace. Normally, this is not a concern, but because it looks like this will be a close one... it is going to matter a lot. Mile 8: 6:19 (11 seconds ahead of goal).
Doubt ensues. Ocean Parkway is at its most intimidating. Everyone's bananas are gone--the raceway is ominously quiet. There's a long way to go...am I still falling behind? Is the pace on my watch accurate? A guy near me is wheezes with fury. I notice how hard I myself am breathing. I look up at the street signs. Avenue H. Avenue I. Avenue J. ...How many letters are there in the alphabet again? Repeated internal alphabet reciting ensues. Watch beeps too early again...damnit... Mile 9: 6:25 (11 seconds ahead of goal).Body is feeling brutal. Feeling slow. Feeling hot. Feeling very, very dehydrated. Still, fighting on. Hi 1:25 pace group... bye 1:25 pace group... this SUCKS! I never want to run again. I want this to be over with... is that Avenue S I see in the distance? No? Only Avenue R? Ughhhhh. Watch beeps earlier than usual. Mile 10: 6:27 (less than 10 seconds ahead of goal).Endless Parkway continues...fatigue is escalating. The thirst is REAL. Water is so tempting... but to slow down to grab a cup would certainly end my PR chances. And I'm not ready to give up just yet--though it seems to be a lost cause with over 3 miles left to go. I push a little bit to keep my chances alive. But I'm entering redlining mode. Mile 11: 6:23 (less than 10 seconds ahead of goal).The end is near. For both Ocean Parkway and my PR hopes. Two consecutive 6:20 miles seem impossible at this point. My body begins to enter power-save mode beyond my wishes... frustration would ensue if I had any emotional energy. The suffering of those surrounding me compounds my perception of struggle. Time is seriously bleeding ...Is this finally where my PR streak ends? How did I run this fast in March? Did I really kill my chances by starting too fast? Watch beeps too early again...grrrrrr. I can already taste the bitterness of disappointment...or is that bile I just coughed up? I cross the mile marker exactly on pace. Mile 12: 6:26 (on pace with goal).The moment of truth ensues. A lone volunteer offers a hand for a high-five. Instinctually, I high-five him. He yells some random encouragement. It goes through one ear...and it stays in there. Like an echo chamber. I so badly want to speed up and make this goal. If only I could somehow... who am I kidding? I didn't come all this way to go out with a whimper. It's never over until it's over. SNAP OUT OF IT AND GET GOING!Body enters full survival mode--pace escalates despite fatigue. Heart rate escalates despite exhaustion. Lactic-acid-ridden legs scream against the pounding of pavement. I do not feel like a free bird... I feel like an elephant running for its life and a swamp of molasses. This level of effort is foreign territory for me. But it's my only hope. 4 minutes left on the clock. Luna Park approaches. Everyone goes bananas again. Spectator with a Trump poster adds to hilarity: "He's built a wall before the finish line!" I cannot tell if I'm hallucinating. I feel like I'm on the edge of consciousness. Like I'm going to die. 3 minutes left on the clock. 800 meters to go...that's exactly one track interval at the pace I've been training at! 1 minute and 30 seconds left. 400 meters to go. We enter Luna Park with great fanfare. Losing steam...still too far to begin a final kick... Watch beeps early again... Dang technology! Just one tenth of a mile to go!!!!! I limp up the ramp to the Coney Island boardwalk (the ultimate punch to the gut after all this), make the final turn, begin to hear blare of the SASUKE warning klaxon in my head, can see the finish line ahead of me with just seconds to go ANDDDDDD {Spoiler}By the very skin of my teeth, I MAKE IT! Official Finishing Time: 1:24:10 (5 seconds ahead of goal) More reflection (featuring complete sentences) to come!
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Post by arsenette on May 30, 2016 22:15:13 GMT -5
Finally had time to read it. I read it aloud to hubby while in my hotel in ikebukuro. He loved reading it being a former cross country person he stopped me after the first sentence... "Wait.. This kid does sub 7 on friggin halves? Damn that is impressive!" ?
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Post by dudesky1000 on May 31, 2016 8:50:47 GMT -5
Finally had time to read it. I read it aloud to hubby while in my hotel in ikebukuro. He loved reading it being a former cross country person he stopped me after the first sentence... "Wait.. This kid does sub 7 on friggin halves? Damn that is impressive!" ? Hahaha that's awesome. I wanted to try something different for this one, glad you liked it! Hope you are having an amazing time over there!
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Post by SasukeForever on May 31, 2016 11:07:08 GMT -5
Finally had time to read it. I read it aloud to hubby while in my hotel in ikebukuro. He loved reading it being a former cross country person he stopped me after the first sentence... "Wait.. This kid does sub 7 on friggin halves? Damn that is impressive!" ? And if Arsenette's hubby approves, you're doing something damn well
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Post by skythenewark on Jun 4, 2016 18:20:59 GMT -5
Hey man, I really enjoy with your story, how you have Crohn's disease and how you break your own Personal Records. I have a question I had in mind to ask you. So i'm a High Schooler going to my Sophomore Year, and I'm actually considering about going on my school's Cross Country Team. I'm good at running but i'm not really great in Endurance. The reason why I'm doing this is because I'm a High School Swimmer, and I'm hoping to improve endurance so I can prepare for next season. Do you know any training I can do to get better in running? Thank you
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Post by dudesky1000 on Jun 11, 2016 1:58:54 GMT -5
Hey man, I really enjoy with your story, how you have Crohn's disease and how you break your own Personal Records. I have a question I had in mind to ask you. So i'm a High Schooler going to my Sophomore Year, and I'm actually considering about going on my school's Cross Country Team. I'm good at running but i'm not really great in Endurance. The reason why I'm doing this is because I'm a High School Swimmer, and I'm hoping to improve endurance so I can prepare for next season. Do you know any training I can do to get better in running? Thank you Haha, finally a question and I don't get to answer it in a timely manner! Thanks for the kind words and thanks for the question, hopefully I can help. Sorry it took so long--I was wrapping my latest short film and have been running all over the place (literally and figuratively) for the last week. Glad to hear you are considering joining your school's XC team. I was neither good at running or endurance when I was a Sophomore in High School (I began running in junior year)--so by virtue of that simple fact, I think you are already starting out a step ahead of me! Swimming and running are two very complimentary sports and forms of conditioning, hence their inclusion with biking in Triathlon events. When your legs are beat from running, swimming offers excellent no-impact aerobic development. With that being said, to become a better endurance runner, one needs to run longer and more often. I recommend two things: If you aren't already, implement a long run into your training schedule. This doesn't have to be a super-long run (make it a 2-3 miles longer than your goal race distance), but do it once a week. The second suggestion is to go easy and slow on most of your training runs--this will not only make it easier to run over longer distances, but it will actually increase the amount of time your are spending on your feet, which will only result in great aerobic development. To have endurance, you've just got to force your legs and your lungs to get used to working for long periods of time--not working HARD per se, but stimulated. Even if it doesn't feel like a workout, you're still benefitting a ton from easy running. Those two simple things should be a good start to improve your endurance. What's your experience like? And your goal race? Ideal time goal? These would help me give more detailed advice!
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