Joe Kleinerman 10K

I raced another 10K on Sunday. On the good side, I set a new PR. On the bad side, they didn't have donuts. :-)



I signed up for this race about a month ago, along with a bunch of friends. We don't actually race together, but it's fun to go through the experience together. We can talk about it before, go through it together, and then rehash it afterwards. I always try to draft new runners into running races with me. I'm usually asked "why do I have to pay money to run 5 miles, when I can do it for free myself?" Once they try it however, they're usually hooked.

So anyway, this race was in Central Park as usual. We met up just outside the park. I thought we started out pretty early, but by the time we got everybody together, used the portapotties, and put our baggage away, we were late. (The baggage was far from the start which is always annoying.)

It still amazes me how many nutcases there are out there who run races in the cold winter. The official race temperature was 36 degrees, and there were 4844 finishers. Coming late to a crowded race is a bad idea. We started way in the back which made for a very difficult race.

In the beginning I had no room at all. I ended up being one of those annoying runners jumping on and off the curb, just to find room to run. I know I'm not going to win the race, but on the other hand, I don't come to (and pay for) races to do another training run. And so it felt like a cross country race going up and down onto the side of the road.

I somehow managed to finish the first mile in about 8:12. (I'm estimating, because I forgot to start my watch until a couple of minutes in. Sigh.) That included the first part of Harlem Hill.

Mile 2 had the second half of the hill, but a little more room. I finished in 7:59.

I was actually pretty tired at this point, and wondering if I was pushing too hard. I think I backed off the intensity a bit, but with the hills behind me, my time improved. My next few miles went by in 7:33, 7:35, and 7:31.

As I headed into the last mile, I was pretty psyched with all of my last few splits. I knew I was going to set a new PR so I sped up a little. Mile 6 went by in 7:17. As I crossed the mile marker I turned on the jets for the last 0.2 and finished them in about 1:18 (or a 6:30 pace).

My finish time was 47:23, for a 7:38 pace, and a new PR. I'm excited to keep setting PR's, but I feel that I'm capable of more under better race conditions. (Which is good, because then I can set another PR next time!)



As for the donuts, I thought this particular race always had donuts. Something about Joe Kleinerman liking donuts. I was looking forward to them, because they're somewhat "guilt-free" coming at the end of a race. (Actually, the person who originally told me this was NYFlygirl. I saw her after the race, and we shared our disappointment about the donuts!)

In terms of my 1000 mile goal, I actually did get a run in on Friday. And now, depending on which log I look at it, I'm over 966 miles. It's definitely within reach.

In terms of the next running goal, I'm still not sure. Some friends of mine are running half marathons on January 27. Some in NY, and some in Miami. I did the Miami one last year, and I'm still considering a return. I'll have to make up my mind soon. My plantar fascia has actually been bothering me more, and I'm not sure I should do a half anywhere. We'll see.

Also in January are the Thursday Night at the Races. These are some short distance races on an indoor track. I'm kind of interested to see how fast I can bust out a mile. I always mean to do these races, but then have trouble getting there. I'm going to really try to make it this year.