So That was Fun

So I ran like a complete turd last Sunday up in NYC. I finished a
nasty 45th in 16:41, and am pretty sure that I was passed in the last
mile by a guy with size 15 feet...at least that is how his clown's shoes sounded with
how hard they were pounding the pavement on the way by. I got out the first half mile pretty well, and then we climbed for about 3-4 blocks and I was immediately
in the red zone. Going through the mile I expected to hear 5 flat or so, and I was at 5:13. As we climbed again into Fort Tyron Park overlooking the Hudson(also known as the Cloisters I think) I was officially hating life and my form had fallen into the crapper. At the top of the hill at 2 miles I was a crawling 10:38 and was ready to finish at that point. On the way back towards the Armory we had another three to four block climb at about 2.5 and I was pretty much done. Not a good effort that's for sure. Luckily, I don't think I can race that bad again and I won't be running on any courses close to that hilly the rest of the spring. The after party at Coogan's was fun though, with free brunch and adult beverages. Thanks to Herc and Jen for getting up really early, and making the trip up. At least you got to see the City League Championships at the Armory while you waited for me to finish my cool-down, and got to drink free Coors(The Original(Piss)).

I got back out the door with Breton and Mike Rankin on Monday evening and had a nice 8 miler with them. Mike is back for Spring Break from St. Joe's, and is a former runner for Breton at Paul VI. He had a huge breakthrough last year as a senior and ran 9:12 for a full 2 miles indoors, and Breton's coaching certainly was a major part of that. He has continued to run well at St. Joe's for Mike Glavin, and after a great frosh cross season he ran 14:48 for the 5k indoors. Not a bad start. On Tuesday morning I got out the door at 6:30 with Elkan and we drove to Lloyd Hall on Kelly Dr. for my long run of 20 miles. My friend Jon Miller met us there, and biked the entire distance with me, handing me GU, water, and Gatorade. He was a huge help, thanks again! Elkan went 8 miles with me, most of the first loop of the River, and then ran home. I went through 10 really relaxed at 66:40, and felt good. I slowly started dropping the pace, and on West River Dr. I ran 5 or 6 miles between 6:05-6:20. Every couple miles I made myself take fluids and took 2 GU's the entire run. Since it was in the 30's, when I spilled water on my hand it was not the most enjoyable sensation. The combination of frozen GU and ice water was pretty sweet. Anyway, after I finished my second loop of the River I was at 17 miles and all I needed to do was head a mile and half out and then back on Kelly. At 19 miles I decided to push a bit, while attempting to maintain form. Good practice for the marathon. I ended up running my last mile in 5:49, and the entire 20 in just over 2:09. My last 10 was around 62:20. A good effort, and not nearly as hard as my run 9 days prior with Curtis...which was the point. Thanks again Jon and Andy!

On Wednesday I did a light 7.5, and enjoyed just letting the body recover. I opted to take a complete off day on Thursday, sticking with my routine of 1 complete off day a week as a hedge to ward off any major issues. Yesterday I got out for an easy 25 min. shakeout in the AM before work. After a couple very good appointments with my Dad and some clients, I was back to my parent's house to meet Jay Simon for a track workout at Haddonfield HS. We warmed up on the Adrenaline Run course(where the 5k I am running will be held next Saturday), and then jogged down to the track. I did 12x400 meters with 200 jog(which was about 65-70 sec. recovery) and I averaged 72 seconds a 400. My fastest 400 was my 12th, and it was in 69.8. Having not turned over the legs in awhile other than the minute on minute off workout last week and the 5k, I was pretty pleased with the effort. I did get extra time between the 6th and 7th to put on my road flats. But getting some solid track work in three days after the 20 miler gives me a decent confidence boost. Especially after the display of disgusting I put on up in NYC on Sunday. Like anything, you either suck it up and move on or you pack it in. I certainly chose the former.

On a very sad note, one of the top US female marathoners Sally Meyerhoff passed away this week in a tragic bike accident. She had just won the Rock N' Roll Arizona Marathon, and was also training for the Ironman World Championships in October. Not knowing her other than seeing her compete over the years for Duke I was pretty taken by the outpouring for her and the glowing comments people have made about the passionate way she lived her life. I am going to take a quote that she initially had posted which is from Steve Jobs that I think is pretty profound:

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma- which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other people's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. "
- Steve Jobs

Till next time.

Eric