Healthy Kidney 10K
If last week’s 50K was a test to see if I could go slow and long, today was a test to see if I could go short and fast. So I decided to see if I could go fast at my first NYC Marathon qualifier – 6.2 miles around Central Park. I am happy to say that I still have some speed in my legs. I ran the 10K in 42:56, a personal record.
It really wasn’t that hard to do. I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. My legs felt loose and the weather was nice a cool. Perfect for running a hard and fast effort. I was a little nervous just at the start of the race, as I haven’t run hard in several months and only twice in the past 11. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to take putting out a hard effort, but it turned out I needn’t have worried. My body just ran it like it was something that I did every day. It’s nice to know I could still push myself.
When I went out, I had no idea what I would have to run to make a PR. I hoped I would PR as I didn’t want a hard effort to go to waste. When I got home later and was able to check my records, I saw I had the PR by almost a minute; breaking a record that went back to February 2003.
The toughest part of the race was the last .2 miles. I was already running hard and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to push harder to pass a few more runners or to try to try to hold off anyone trying to pass me. The question was soon answered as someone tried to pass me in the last couple of hundred yards, which turned on the competitive spirit inside me. I not only held the person off, but it motivated me to catch a few runners in front of me. According to my Polar HR monitor, I raised my HR to 99 percent of max. I don’t remember the last time I did that.
So anyway, I still felt good enough after the race to do some more running, but I had to get home for my son’s baseball game. I thought maybe I’d have time later in the day to get in another run, but it didn’t work out. Just as well, as the weather turned pretty nasty.
My plan for tomorrow is to do an 80 mile bike ride in Prospect Park. I asked my coach if I should go up to Harriman State Park or if I should just ride the 3.4M loop. He made the point of saying that my perception of my fitness does not nearly match the reality. He means that I am much more fit than I am giving myself credit for. He feels that what I need to do more mental training and what better way to do it than to spend several hours on my own in the park. Nothing like a mind numbing 3.4M loop to train one’s mind. So that is what I am going to do. I may as well sign off from this now so I can get up nice and early and get it started.
It really wasn’t that hard to do. I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. My legs felt loose and the weather was nice a cool. Perfect for running a hard and fast effort. I was a little nervous just at the start of the race, as I haven’t run hard in several months and only twice in the past 11. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to take putting out a hard effort, but it turned out I needn’t have worried. My body just ran it like it was something that I did every day. It’s nice to know I could still push myself.
When I went out, I had no idea what I would have to run to make a PR. I hoped I would PR as I didn’t want a hard effort to go to waste. When I got home later and was able to check my records, I saw I had the PR by almost a minute; breaking a record that went back to February 2003.
The toughest part of the race was the last .2 miles. I was already running hard and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to push harder to pass a few more runners or to try to try to hold off anyone trying to pass me. The question was soon answered as someone tried to pass me in the last couple of hundred yards, which turned on the competitive spirit inside me. I not only held the person off, but it motivated me to catch a few runners in front of me. According to my Polar HR monitor, I raised my HR to 99 percent of max. I don’t remember the last time I did that.
So anyway, I still felt good enough after the race to do some more running, but I had to get home for my son’s baseball game. I thought maybe I’d have time later in the day to get in another run, but it didn’t work out. Just as well, as the weather turned pretty nasty.
My plan for tomorrow is to do an 80 mile bike ride in Prospect Park. I asked my coach if I should go up to Harriman State Park or if I should just ride the 3.4M loop. He made the point of saying that my perception of my fitness does not nearly match the reality. He means that I am much more fit than I am giving myself credit for. He feels that what I need to do more mental training and what better way to do it than to spend several hours on my own in the park. Nothing like a mind numbing 3.4M loop to train one’s mind. So that is what I am going to do. I may as well sign off from this now so I can get up nice and early and get it started.
posted by Rebel at 8:28 PM
1 Comments:
Nice job with the PR. And the 50K. And Boston... haven't read for a while, but it sounds like you've been very busy.
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