20 miles in the books!
The rain let up a little this afternoon, and I got in my 20 mile run. In fact, with my long pants and jacket, I was overdressed compared to the other runners in shorts and a t-shirt. (But then again, I was out there for a lot longer.)
I drove into the city to run in Central Park, since I knew the path in my neighborhood would be full of puddles. I ran the full 6 mile loop, then the lower 5, then the upper 5, and then the middle 4. (Very similar to my last 20 mile run.) That's two trips up the Harlem Hill for those who are counting.
I had a really tough time. The first 8 miles were easy. Then my knee bothered me a little, but not horribly. I stopped for the bathroom once around mile 3, and once around mile 13, where I stretched as well. Those last 7 miles were really tough. I wanted to stop again at about 18 but forced myself to push through to the end. (Kind of an exercise in mental toughness.) I wasn't running fast. It took me 3:30 of running time - compared with 3:12 for the last time. It could be that I hadn't eaten much and it was later in the day. It could be that I was overdressed. Or it could be that I'm just not as well trained, which is definitely true. I've gotten much faster, but I haven't been as consistent with my running. (The job really gets in the way of this hobby!)
In any case, it's done. I don't think the marathon will be easy, but I'm going to try and do it. I had once hoped to run 10 min miles for 4:22, but after today's effort I don't think that's realistic. I guess if I can improve on my 4:43:50 PR, I should be happy.
Unfortunately, advance registration for the May 6th Long Island Marathon is closed, so I'll have to register at the expo. Hopefully that won't be a problem.
Speaking of marathons, I registered for the NYC marathon (which is in November). The deadline for those with guaranteed entry was May 1st so I finally got around to registering. Of course, you may remember that I registered for Chicago last year, and that never happened. I think that's what is holding me back from getting excited about NYC. I do hope to train much better over the summer and fall, and hopefully work towards that 4:22 time. My eventual goal is to run a sub 4 hour marathon.
In the meantime, let the taper begin!
I drove into the city to run in Central Park, since I knew the path in my neighborhood would be full of puddles. I ran the full 6 mile loop, then the lower 5, then the upper 5, and then the middle 4. (Very similar to my last 20 mile run.) That's two trips up the Harlem Hill for those who are counting.
I had a really tough time. The first 8 miles were easy. Then my knee bothered me a little, but not horribly. I stopped for the bathroom once around mile 3, and once around mile 13, where I stretched as well. Those last 7 miles were really tough. I wanted to stop again at about 18 but forced myself to push through to the end. (Kind of an exercise in mental toughness.) I wasn't running fast. It took me 3:30 of running time - compared with 3:12 for the last time. It could be that I hadn't eaten much and it was later in the day. It could be that I was overdressed. Or it could be that I'm just not as well trained, which is definitely true. I've gotten much faster, but I haven't been as consistent with my running. (The job really gets in the way of this hobby!)
In any case, it's done. I don't think the marathon will be easy, but I'm going to try and do it. I had once hoped to run 10 min miles for 4:22, but after today's effort I don't think that's realistic. I guess if I can improve on my 4:43:50 PR, I should be happy.
Unfortunately, advance registration for the May 6th Long Island Marathon is closed, so I'll have to register at the expo. Hopefully that won't be a problem.
Speaking of marathons, I registered for the NYC marathon (which is in November). The deadline for those with guaranteed entry was May 1st so I finally got around to registering. Of course, you may remember that I registered for Chicago last year, and that never happened. I think that's what is holding me back from getting excited about NYC. I do hope to train much better over the summer and fall, and hopefully work towards that 4:22 time. My eventual goal is to run a sub 4 hour marathon.
In the meantime, let the taper begin!
posted by Danny on Monday, April 16, 2007
5 Comments:
A 20 miler in Central Park sounds wonderful to me. I'm glad you were able to get it done. Good luck with the expo registration.
This is a test
Hey, I walked five miles today! I did not do it all at once, though. I did it in 10 or 15 yard increments.
You'll get to a 4:00 hour marathon with training like you're doing! Good luck on Long Island. And I envy you doing the NYCM again.
Great job on the 20! Just take it slow at the 'thon and you'll do just fine!!!
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