It's time. I always look for purposes to run, and it might not be a bad idea to run for a team in races. I'll be racing under the New York Flyers(NYF) banner from the adidas Run for the Parks in three weeks and on, but my first point race is going to be the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 3rd.
It won't be the first time I race for the team, as I previously ran for Fred's Team(FRED) and Team for Kids (TFK)-- but only in the ING New York City Marathons. Always a team player, I will try to score some points for the team in upcoming races. Hopefully I could get some motivation out of this, and have some fun on the track...
Lack of motivation and an oblique muscle injury highlighted my pre-race preparation for the Central Park Challenge: NYRR 8000 this morning, but I was able to fight through the pain both physically and psychologically and set my PR (33:00/6:38 pace) in an 8K race. For the first time ever, all kinds of emotions went through my mind after I crossed the finish line -- not because of my time, but how the race unfolded.
A lot of stuff happened after the Bronx Half in February – I probably injured my left oblique muscle on March 2nd after I ran a half marathon training run on the trails in Central Park, and I made it worse at the gym the night after. In between I also managed to make a very poor decision that Monday afternoon, which has been an unknown issue since then.
As a result, I had to stop running altogether. I was only able to work on the CrossRamp machine to keep myself active, and I ran on the treadmill a couple of times for only a mile. Honestly I always tried to put my heart and soul to prepare myself before the race (and anything important to me), not this time.
And yes, I had a few “beverages" with my ex-colleagues last night it was my "I.N.A.G.D. Night #4". In fact, I woke up very late this morning I almost missed the start! Since the start time of the 8000 was 7:30 am, I had to get to the start on the East Side by 7:15 am. Walking out the door on the West Side at 6:50 am was bad, and not having a M86 bus at the stop made the situation worse. Basically I had to race walk about 2 miles to get to the baggage area in order to drop off my stuff, and then I had to rush to the starting corral. To add insult to injuries, I forgot to bring my PowerBar (breakfast) with me, and not enough pins to secure my bag. It was a total mess and I had to run the race with very little fuel in the tank. Thankfully, I was able to get to the baggage drop-off area (in the mud) by 7:18 am, and I was able to get extra pins to secure my bib and my bag.
Expectations were high the day I signed up for the race last month. I was hoping to run 34:30 in order to improve my time in a 5-mile run (Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 2007). However, I understood the term “when it rains, it pours”, and all of the sudden I had no expectation whatsoever. Due to time constraint I wasn’t able to settle down in the corral, and here came the start. The track was sttill wet after the morning rain and rooster tails were coming out from runners ahead of me. Entering the 102nd Transverse, I was in good shape where my pace went down to 6:28 and the runners around me were very professional, in which I was able to find a clear path without running around the traffic. I didn’t notice much pain on my oblique muscle, and I was able to use my modified strides to hang with the group.
Though, I started to feel the pain as we crossed the 2-mile mark. Remember what happened in Manhattan Half back in January? I started to feel lose and by the time we approached the water station near the Time Warner Center entrance, I didn’t know if I should take the fluid or not. I pulled in thinking to get a cup of water, but decided to skip the very last second.
Since we were running anti-clockwise in Central Park, we had to tackle several uphills on the East Side – including the Boat House Curve. Knowing that I was running under a 7:00 pace, I continued to keep the pace but the pain began to get worse. I tried to compensate by landing my left foot differently, but my left calf started to ache.
Despite the pain, the 5k split time gave me a little boost. When I looked at the clock I was running at a 6:32 pace, so I didn’t lose too much speed between mile 1 to mile 3. Moreover, I was still running below my best 5K pace (NY Mets Run to the Home Plate 2007) I just couldn’t slow down.
As I entered the final stretch on the Fred Lebow Straight, I spent sometime thinking about the "situation", and it carried me to the finish. My oblique and my lower back hurt, but with a downhill run to the finish I picked up my legs again and blew past the runner ahead of me. I knew I did well in the race, but the joy clearly wasn't there.
I probably learned a lesson here – perhaps I need to understand how to stay positive, have faith and see how the chips are going to fall. These are the only things I can do at the moment.
There were two professional races after ours – including the USA Men’s 8K Championships and the Women’s 8K Invitational. I’m glad that I stayed in the cold for an extra hour because both races were spectacular, and I was able to congrat both winners – USA Olympic Team hopefuls Jorge Torres and Shalane Flanagan at the finish. My next race is going to be the adidas Run for the Parks 4M in late April, follow by the Brooklyn Half. I just hope things are going to come around in April. With Easter coming up, it might be a good time for me to reflect.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t have much training before the Bronx Half due to my illness. In theory it wouldn’t make a difference if you walked to the starting line sick, so it was wise to put myself in recovery mode and pray for the best.
As it turned out, I recovered just in time before the race. However, like many things in life some other things popped up the night before, and I didn’t get much sleep before the race Sunday morning.
The Bronx Half -- it was a very significant race to me in many [bad] ways. I ran three of these prior to the 2008 edition, and I had zero good memories about this race. The first one was in 2005, and it was my very first half marathon. I wasn’t really ready for running 13.1 miles and I finished poorly at 2:06:54. I walked and suffered, and I asked myself “Why am I doing this in July?” But believe me or not I learned one thing or two that day. In 2006 the race was by far the hottest as we ran in the 90-degree heat the whole time. The sun was out and despite having a few showers on Grand Concourse, the race was simply brutal. I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t return the next year.
Ultimately, I ran the 2007 race. The NYRR was nice enough to move the race from July to February. Now Instead of battling the extremely heat, we had to fight the extreme cold. The temperature of the 2007 race was around 20 degrees. And I survived.
For this year’s race, I had to get up earlier in order to catch the 2/3 train at 6 in the morning. Naturally there were some crazy characters in the subway and this guy just scared away a female runner in the middle of Harlem. What else is new?
This year they moved the baggage area away from the start/finish line, which made it very difficult for people to navigate the area. Thankfully I was there early so I didn’t have to fight the extra elements, but I was distracted. I was distracted the whole time until 10 minutes before the race, and I had to force myself to put my focus in the race.
The weather was mild compared to recent years and I actually had my running shorts on. Off we went at 8 am, and I quickly picked off people one by one on the outside of the road. The traffic wasn’t bad at the start and I was able to hit the 7:00/pace earlier than expected.
I picked up the speed after the 4-mile mark and I felt good running uphill on Mosholu Parkway. Thanks to my broken arm last April I stopped all my upper body training until the end of 2007, but I was able to pick it up again in 2008, and it definitely helped my running. Unfortunately, my left forearm still hurts at times, and I still can’t put more than 22 ½ lbs or the metal plate and the seven screws are going to pop out right through my skin.
Going back to the race… My pace dropped down to 6:55/mi and it was time to maintain my speed, especially the fact that there were 3 people running at the same speed so it was good to run as a group.
I encountered a slight problem when I arrived the 6-mile mark. I went into the corner way too hot (it’s an auto racing term, meaning too fast,) and the water stands were right there at the exit (another auto racing term.) I was unable to grab my water twice, and I had to put on my brakes to stop. I almost slipped and dropped dead. Thankfully I didn’t injure myself, and the journey continued.
Now we were entering Grand Concourse for the most difficult 4-mile in all of 5-Borough Half Marathon Series. Not to mention that the headwind picked up all of the sudden and we had all kinds of issues running forward. I was still with my group and we started to duck behind each other for shelters – a real energy burner right there.
It was the first time I ran up front with not too many people running around me in a half marathon. It was a nice feeling. Though, I was still distracted when we turned around on our return trip on Grand Concourse at the 8-mile mark. I was still looking for someone on the other side of the road.
I looked at my watch and my pace went back to 7:00/mi. I tried to maintain my speed but fatigue started to sink it at the 12-mile mark. I struggled a bit but I was able to maintain my form until the final front straight. With the finish line ahead of me, I saw a runner 20 feet ahead of me and I was determined to pass him before the line. With the help of my iPod (I wore it for the first time in 46 races, and I was listening to What Hurts the Most from Cascada at that moment,) I used my final boost to pick him off and I was able to past him. I crossed the line at 1:34:11 – about 1:30 faster than my previous PR, which was set at the 2006 Staten Island Half-Marathon.
My next race is NYRR 8000, which will take place on March 15th. I added this race because of my poor performance at the Manhattan Half. In the meantime, I’m starting to prepare for the New Jersey Marathon on May 4th. I just ran a 13.1-mile training run on Sunday at 7:46/mi pace I think my condition is quite good. We’ll see what happen.
The 2008 season kicked off with the Manhattan Half Marathon at Central Park. Even though I ran the Midnight Run on New Yea’s Eve, it wasn’t really a race so the wait was way too long. Thankfully I was able to see the movie "Spirit of the Marathon" on January 24 to fill the gap. This is my movie review on Facebook:
"It was worth it to trek all the way to Astoria to see this "limited edition" movie since I couldn't get any tickets in Manhattan. Spirits was inspirational, and it was interesting to see the common thread between professional marathoners such as Deena Kastor and regular runners who wanted to finish the Chicago Marathon. As a runner myself I got goose bumps at times because I could relate to the characters in the movie. Overall it was a very special night at the theater."
And my personal comment: "I run. Don’t ask me why and I’ll never tell you why."
Why I had to go to Astoria for a movie? There was only one showtime with only two theaters showing in al of Manhattan. Naturally I couldn’t get any tickets and I ended up going to Astoria to see it, thank you so much for putting in the effort. Anyhow, it was a good movie, four and a half stars.
And I managed to pick up a cold as I was stuck in the 1 train for more than 20 minutes because of the constructions at Columbus Circle. It was 1 in the morning, I had to work the next day and I had a race 2 1/2 days later! I was really sick after work and my teeth were all screwed up, I just set myself up for a disastrous outing.
Then came race day. I felt reasonable good and on the way to drop of my bag I bumped into my ex-colleague Jim from SM. Small world.
Under the circumstances I fell back at the starting line and started with the 8 minute pace runners. Oddly enough, I finished the race exactly at 8:00/mi. I started well and I was passing runners at the Fred Lebow Straight, but after Harlem Hill something went really wrong. I realized that I was stuck in gears I had absolutely no extra energy to push forward. I was able to run but I just didn’t have the extra kick, and I ended up following the crowd to the finish line. The run was beyond flat and the bagel at the finish line was hard as a rock. What happened to the hot chocolate and a warm shelter at P.S. something?
Like my life in general, I sucked it up again and finished the race. I was able to use the lesson I learned from the NYC Marathon back in November, anything could happen and sometimes you just need to learn to accept the results.
Though, I was happy for my running partner Stacy, who set a new PR in a half marathon. The race was only thing, but my health was the other. My cold went from bad to worse following the half marathon, and I had to take a sick day the day after. Honestly I hadn’t been this sick since 1995 when I was a sophomore in college. I remember the trip to High Street (in Columbus Ohio) where I looked for a bottle of NyQuil in the drug store. I still remember the scene vividly, the way I took that little bottle off the shelf in the store.
Despite my illness, I determined to get better before the Bronx Half, which took place two weeks after Manhattan. I had very limited training due to my sickness and the cold weather, but I was able to rely on the cross ramp machines at NYSC. I’m not a treadmill person I ran 5k on it a week prior to the Bronx Half and I sweated like a hog. I just couldn’t deal with the heat, that’s all.
It's time.
