Run Buff 5k, West Texas A&M University, 13 April 2013

32:12 Finish

On vacation, I had the opportunity to run a 5k with my sister-in-law and her friend.  Both had run 5ks before, but not without stopping or walking, so they both had a goal to run the whole thing. I had a goal to have fun and get a good run in. The race was called the Run Buff 5k and was sponsored by the West Texas A&M University women’s cross country program to raise money for scholarships. 

On race day, it was hot, windy, and stormy.  The race was delayed for about 30 minutes while we waited for a thunderstorm to blow over.  The wind, however, did not diminish.  We spent a full half of the race running headlong into 40+mph wind.   The course ran alongside the western perimeter of WT’s campus, then headed east for about a mile before winding back to the north and west—full sun, no shade.  Most of the run was on asphalt; the rest on concrete.

The organizers called the race a fun run, but it was timed and there were prizes for the top finishers.  What they didn’t have:  WATER.  I was shocked that there was no water on the course.  I’ve never run a race longer than two miles that didn’t have at least once water stop and on a hot day in full sun I would especially expect to see one.  But my shock at the lack of a mid-race water stop couldn’t compare to my shock at the lack of water at the finish. NO WATER AT THE FINISH. I can’t imagine what thinking went into that decision.  There wasn’t even a water fountain or water hose nearby.  I went inside the student center, stole a paper cup from the coffee shop, and had to walk into another part of the building to find a water fountain.  (Sorry about the theft! The coffee shop was closed or I would have bought one and they were just stacked up there, so…)  Also, I did notice some of the schwag bags had empty water bottles, but mine did not.  I suppose it’s possible the RD expected finishers to use the empty bottle to get water from a fountain, but if that was the case I’d be sure every single bag had a bottle.

Anyway, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time.  I did. It is not stressful or difficult for me to run 5k, even under-trained, so I wasn’t ever in danger of keeling over from dehydration.  I enjoyed running with a family member for a change.  My SIL and her friend both ran the whole distance, so they met their goals and that made me happy for them.  I would run this race again, but only if I had a drop bag at the end!

Cherry Tree 10M, Prospect Park, 17 February 2013

1:49:31 finish

I was completely unprepared for this race. That combined with high winds and windchills in the single digits did not make for a great race. I finished ten minutes slower than my 10-mile PR (which was set at this same race back in 2011).

If not for the wind, conditions would have been great.  The most comfortable part of the race was standing in the start corral, which was in a sunny spot protected from the gusts.  I saw a friend at the start and ran with her for about a mile—too fast, honestly. 

Once again, the Prospect Park hill proved to be daunting and I was defeated by it.  I don’t know any way to run it better except to run it more, and that’s really not a priority at the moment.  I’d rather be running off-road!  

Prospect Park Track Club (and the race direction of Michael Ring) organized an excellent race and this remains a favorite of mine, even if today’s effort felt like a #fail.  :)  Ask any Brooklyn runner, and they will name the Cherry Tree as the race with the best giveaways.  No shirts!  This year we got gloves from Trailheads, which were very welcome for such a cold run.  I wore the gloves under my mittens and my hands stayed toasty.   

Two thumbs up—again—for the Cherry Tree 10 Miler!

Lining up to start

Awesome gloves

Finish line

Staten Island Trail Festival 50k, Willowbrook Park, 8 December 2012

7:23 Finish 

It was a perfect day for a long trail run:  in the 40s, overcast, and slightly drizzly.  I got to Willowbrook Park about half an hour before start time.  Bib pick up was fast and it got pretty cold waiting around after that, but I chatted with a really nice woman for a bit before getting last minute directions from the race director.  About a hundred runners lined up at the start line; only about a fourth were signed up for the 50k.

Packet pick up:

Course map:

Most of the first mile was pavement, then we were in the woods.  We had been warned to expect mud and there was mud almost right away—sticky, swampy mud.  It wasn’t terrible.  Messy, but not terrible.  The course ran through some of the parks that make up the Staten Island Greenbelt:  Latourette Park, High Rock Park, and Manor Park.  I’ve run in the Greenbelt before in summer, when it was lush and green, but running in the fall is unbelievable.  It was a feast for the eyes; I couldn’t stop looking at the sparse beauty of it.  I want to go back and run again—more than once—before the winter is over.

Underfoot there were a lot of different trail surfaces.  There were a few short sections of pavement and one of packed grass (my least favorite).  There was a stretch of cinder trail that was part of a multi-use path.  There was a great deal of leaf-covered trail (with rocks and sticks underneath).  And then there was the mud.  The swampier parts had nifty wooden walkways:

The course is mostly single-track and there was a good deal of climb and descent.  In fact, I was surprised at the elevation change.  I expected to climb, but I didn’t expect to climb as much as I did.  There were both short, steep (slippery) climbs and long not-quite-as-steep climbs.  I was impressed with the trail markings, although I still did manage to run off the trail twice in nearly the same spot.  That happened around mile 26 (I think) on the second loop and I was starting to get really tired then and just missed a turn.  And then right near the end I panicked because the volunteers that had been pointing us in the right direction were gone and I thought I was repeating a section of trail and I backtracked and then decided I was probably going the right way. I was very disoriented for a little while.

There were aid stations at the start (loop) and three other points, just about four miles apart.  There was a good variety of food available (although I would have killed for apples and oranges instead of bananas).  They also had Coke, water, PowerAde, and Red Bull.  (I discovered something delightful called a Bagelful at the last station. mmm  I tend to get very hungry after mile 20, so the Bagelful might not be as delightful under normal circumstances.)  

Smiling:

Heading back into the woods:

My only complaint was traffic, which is the fault of whoever laid out the park, not the race coordinators.  There are roads that cross through the park periodically and 50k runners were faced with crossing those roads 14 times.  Most of them were okay, but there were at least four that had a lot of traffic.  I am estimating 15-20 minutes were added to my time from waiting on cars.

Overall, I had a really great time.  It has been a long time since I’ve run a race and really been anxious to sign up again.  I will definitely keep running this one each year and recommend it to others.  Big THUMBS UP to the New York Adventure Racing Association!

Brooklyn Marathon, Prospect Park, 18 November 2012

Finish Time 4:59:53

This race was HARD.  lol  I did not train on enough hills to do well on this course, but I survived and had a good time.  The weather was perfect for a marathon—40s and partly cloudy.  The race had about 500 runners, so it felt just right and definitely not over-crowded.  

The course consisted of two lower loops of Prospect Park (about four miles total), then six loops of the entire park.  If you have never run in Prospect Park before, the big loop is roughly half uphill and half downhill; there is very little flat.  

The most loops I’ve ever done of the park is three (during the Cherry Tree 10-Miler each winter), but I managed to hold on pretty well through the fourth loop.  My heart rate was pretty high after the fourth time up the hill, so I chilled out a little bit on the downhill, but it wasn’t enough.  I hit the hill for the fifth time and just didn’t have it in me to run up it again.  I walked the hill on the fifth and sixth loops.   My overall pace dropped quite a bit from that and I squeaked in just seven seconds under the five-hour mark.

Overall I enjoyed the race quite a bit.  It was like doing a long training run in the park, but with people cheering.  There were some really great spectators the entire time I was running.  Sometimes if you’re slow people drift away before you get done, but there were people cheering the entire time I was running.  

Since I was walking already, I stopped to take a picture of these people with their pots and pans:

They also had this great sign, which was still true, even if I was walking up the hill:

This marathon was my first long race to wear my fabulous Altra Intuition 1.5s.  I ran in the original Intuitions from March until October, then switched to the newer model just in time for my last long training run.  I highly recommend them.  

On the course:

Here is Mike’s DIY Team Norma hat:

NYCRuns puts on a good race and I’m glad I ran this one.  In addition to the usual post-race Gatorade and bagels, each of us got a tiny cheesecake and the fancy medal.

NYCRuns website

Brooklyn Marathon website

Race Times

2/17/2013, Cherry Tree 10M, 1:49:31

12/8/2012, Staten Island Trail Festival 50k, 7:23

11/18/2012, Brooklyn Marathon, 4:59:53

9/22/2012, 5th Avenue Mile, 7:40

6/30/2012, Take Your Base 5M, 1:03:26

3/24/2012, NJ Ultra Festival 50k, 7:11:47

2/19/2012, Cherry Tree 10M, 1:45:32

2/12/2012, Valentine 5k, 28:31

1/28/2012, Brrrooklyn Hot Chocolate 10k, 58:50

12/4/2011, Join the Voices 5M, 46:48.37

11/20/2011, Philadelphia Marathon, 4:50:17

10/9/2011, Staten Island Half Marathon, 2:19:11

5/21/2011, Brooklyn Half Marathon, 2:19:13

4/3/2011, Urban Environmental Challenge 10k, 1:14:35

3/27/2011, Colon Cancer 15k, 1:34:29

2/20/2011, Cherry Tree 10M, 1:40:49

12/11/2010, Peter Rabbit Cross Country 3m, 29:45

11/7/2010, NYC Marathon, 4:47:34

9/26/2010, 5th Ave. Mile, 7:34

7/3/2010, Lamesa Jubilee 5k, 28:35

6/24/2010, Wall Street Run 3M, 27:57

2/21/2010, Cherry Tree 10M, 1:52:40

12/6/2009, Joe Kleinerman 10k, 1:04:09

11/22/2009, Race to Deliver 4M, 38:49

9/26/2009, 5th Ave. Mile, 7:43

9/20/2009, Queens Half Marathon, 2:29:23

7/18/2009, Run for Central Park 4M, 42:17

6/13/2009, NYRR Dash 10k, 1:11:36

5/31/2009, Japan Day 4M, 41:39

5/19/2009, Wall Street Run 5k, 29:47

4/19/2009, Run as One 4M, 45:11

11/27/2008, Turkey Trot 5k, 31:20

11/8/2008, Run for the Barrio 5k, 31:38

9/27/2008, Race for the Cure 5k, 31:05

9/13/2008, Mayor’s Two-Mile, 19:54

8/2/2008, Paul & Mike’s Excellent Mile, 9:07

7/19/2008, Las Fiestas de Amarillo 5k, 35:09

5th Avenue Mile, Manhattan, 22 September 2012

7:40 finish

This was my third running of the New York Road Runners 5th Avenue Mile.  The course runs straight down 5th Avenue, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 80th Street to Grand Army Plaza at 60th. 

My PR for this race is 7:34, which I did not expect to beat since I don’t speed train.  My race strategy for this race is literally “run like hell” and hope not to fall down.  I did add a long warm-up this year and tried to relax, finishing six seconds slower than my best time. 

Me at the 3/4 mile mark.

Take Your Base 5M, Coney Island, 30 June 2012

1:03:26 finish

This was my first time to run the Take Your Base 5-Miler, which is organized by the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball team to benefit the American Cancer Society. It was also my first race post-injury and it was a STRUGGLE. I was diagnosed with posterior tibial tendonosis in April and did not run for about seven weeks. I was only cleared to return to running (with walking mixed in) about three weeks before the race and I was not at all acclimated to the heat.

Race day fell in the middle of a heat wave.  It was 85 degrees and humid at the start line.  The course took runners from the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium on Surf Avenue to the boardwalk, where we ran all the way to the west end, turned and ran all the way to the east end, turned again and ran back to the stadium.  NO SHADE.  My only complaint related to the race was the lack of water stations.  There were two (one at each end) and I think under the conditions at least one more in the middle would have been better.  

The course passed by the New York Aquarium, which has vending machines right on the boardwalk.  I actually stopped and bought a bottle of PowerAde while seriously considering whether I should DNF.  About that time I saw a runner from my online forum pass by and decided to catch up to him and say hi.  We chatted and ran together the remaining two miles of the race.  I really think I would have quit if I hadn’t seen him.  I was overheated, my heart rate was super high, my foot was starting to bother me, I hadn’t slept well the night before, I just wasn’t having a good day.

Finished with my slowest 5-mile race time to date, but I finished and that felt like a really big accomplishment under the circumstances. 

This was my first race as a member of the Prospect Park Track Club. I joined right before I got injured.

The starting line was in front of the stadium; the finish line was behind homeplate.

Nothing better than walking on the beach after finishing a race!

NJ Ultra Fest 50k, Sussex County, 24 March 2012

Finish time 7:11:47

Since this was my first-ever 50k, I had gotten pretty nervous in the days leading up to it, mainly wondering if I had trained well enough.  But races wait for no one, whether you’ve trained well or not, so I made my way to the starting line bright and early.  

The weather was perfect, in the 50s (and overcast most of the day), and there was no long wait in a corral before we started.  We gathered around for instructions just a few minutes before start time and ran when we heard go.  The course was a 10-mile loop that consisted of a short out-and-back, a long out-and-back, and a circular route through the Sussex Count fairgrounds.  We had been told that there had been rain several days before the race, but the course was mostly dry thanks to our warm, dry winter.  

That was true, but…

Over the course of the day and the hundreds of feet over the trails multiple times, the damp areas of the trail turned into muddy bogs that expanded and expanded and expanded…  By the end, there was a large area on the far side of the loop that had to be carefully navigated in order to avoid your entire foot being sucked down into dark thick mud.  There were several smaller areas that were the same and a couple of small jump-able puddles became large un-jump-able puddles. There was also one large water crossing and several bridges shored up by strips of plywood to navigate.  Otherwise, the trail was made up of an old road and we ran over packed grass a good deal.  It wasn’t a terribly difficult course, but it was a constantly changing course.

The race itself was well-supported, with a full aid station at the far end and a water stop in the middle.  Each loop ended with a run through all the campsites (and applause) on the fairgrounds, then through a building where your time was logged.  At that point runners had the opportunity to eat/drink and use the restroom—a REAL restroom!    

I enjoyed running.  Everyone was so nice.  We were passing each other head-on and so many people told me “Good job” or “Looking good.”  I’m still not sure if this is typical ultra etiquette or if I just looked haggard enough that people wanted to encourage me, but I tried to return the favor and urge other people on.  My legs and feet stayed fresh longer, probably due to softer surfaces.  However, I did have an IT band issue at mile 15 that made it excrutiatingly painful to run for several miles.  By mile 20 it had settled to a dull ache, so the last loop was actually faster than the second one when I was limping part of the time.  I nearly stepped on a snake, I tripped over a tree root, and I will now for sure lose one toenail, maybe two.  But I finished fairly strong and I am looking forward to trying this distance again.  In the meanwhile, I need to do some much longer trail runs.

All finishers were given really nice medals, a tech shirt, and fleece jackets!!!  Of course, it’s too warm to wear it this year, but I surely will next winter.

Things I learned:

1)  Trail conditions can deteriorate quickly and unpredictably.

2)  Orange Heed tastes like watery baby aspirin and it is NASTY.

3)  A little Coca-Cola near the end of a race is a good pick-me-up.

4)  DNFs are common in ultrarunning and I need to suck it up that I will have some.  

5)  When you get tired in a trail run you can’t shuffle along like you do on the road; you still have to pick your feet up.

6)  Sunburn is likely when you’re on the course for hours and hours.  Wear sunscreen!

7)  Beyond 26.2 miles, your entire arms will be hurting along with everything else.

50k runners getting last-minute instructions

Running across the fairgrounds headed for the finish

All done!

Awesome stuff!

Thanks to my precious husband for photos and video!

Cherry Tree 10M, Prospect Park, 19 February 2012

1:45:32 finish

I still love this race.  I fell in love with it in 2010 and I still love it.  This year we had perfect weather, maybe even a little on the warm side, and a new start line.  We also had a fabulous giveaway:

I had been telling my husband recently that I needed a hat with a bill and that would cover my ears (for snow running, if we ever have snow again).  Well here it is!  Last year we got ear wrap thingies and I literally wear mine all the time…like, nearly every run all winter.

The race itself was fairly uneventful.  I had run ten miles the day before, so my legs weren’t exactly fresh, but I was treating the race more as a training run so I wasn’t too worried.  I had a goal time of 1:50 and came in under that.  The finish line seemed slightly less well-organized than in the past, but it could be because I came in so late.  I also wasn’t able to go back to Bishop Ford High School this year for the post-race hot chocolate and festivities; I literally arrived, ran, and left.

Last year this lake was mostly frozen over. You can see it here.

Valentine 5K, Prospect Park, 12 February 2012

28:31 finish, 5k PR

Two PRs in two weeks in a park that I could never imagine running fast…it’s a 2012 miracle.  I registered for the Valentine 5k on a whim, because I found out it was part of a race series and I was already registered for the other two races.  (If you run all three you get a bag.  I’m a sucker for schwag that isn’t a t-shirt.)  

Race morning was COLD.  C-O-L-D.  The high (for NYC) winds meant windchills in the low teens and I didn’t even come close to getting warm until halfway through mile three.  At that point, what did it matter if I warmed up?  I just ran as fast as I could and beat my former 5k PR by four seconds.  Yeah, it’s not much, but when you’re me and you don’t train for speed, it’s a big deal.  lol

This was a Brooklyn Road Runner Club race and they did a bang-up job.  Check them out here.  They put little heart stickers on our bibs, which I thought was a nice touch. :)

Brrrooklyn Hot Chocolate 10K, Prospect Park, 28 January 2012

58:50.02 finish, new 10k PR

This was an awesome race, and not just because I ran it faster than expected.  

I’ve been looking for opportunity to run races that are NOT organized and hosted by New York Road Runners, so I’ve been paying attention to races posted on NYCRuns.com.  Steve Lastoe, who runs the site, also directed this race, which is part of a three-race series called the Freeze & Fuhgeddaboudit Series.  There were some problems with timing, mainly that the NYCRuns brand new timing system didn’t work, so the race was turned into a “fun run” at the start line.  No matter, because I was still going to race it!  Most everyone was running with GPS anyway and the small number of runners meant the finish line clock was nearly dead on.

I’ve had some very good short training runs lately, but I didn’t expect to run as well at this race—or come close to a PR—because of the hill in the northern end of the park.  It kicks my butt every time I run there.  It helped that the start was directly at the bottom of the hill and I was fresh for the climb during the first loop.  With the exception of the minutes I was climbing the second time, I felt good the rest of the race.  I made a point to not look at my Garmin and to go more by effort.  I’m wondering now, of course, if I could have pushed it even a little more.

After the race we were treated to hot chocolate that was DELICIOUS.  I really mean it was DELICIOUS.  I think I might start having hot chocolate after every cold weather run.

**A side note:  This was my first race outing as a member of the Prospect Park Track Club.  Maybe that made me faster.

I don’t know where this delicious chocolate-y goodness came from, but I wish I did.

We got mugs for this race!

I met this really nice guy while waiting for the bus and helped him get to the park for his first-ever race. He finished in a very respectable 1:01!

Join the Voices 5M, Central Park, 4 December 2011

46:48.37 finish

I finally broke the curse of the five-mile race.  This was the fourth I registered for and the first I actually ran; I got sick before the other three races.  I must still be experiencing some extra fitness from marathon training, because I actually ran a lot faster than I expected to.  

I really loved this course.  We started by Tavern on the Green (former), then headed south around the bottom of Central Park, up Cat Hill to the 102nd Street Transverse, down West Drive, with a finish on the 72nd Street Transverse.  It doesn’t hurt that I’ve run this same loop multiple times with Achilles, but leaving Harlem Hill out of the equation and the mostly downhill last mile was awesome.

This race was a fundraiser for Voices Against Brain Cancer, in honor of the late NYRR president Fred Lebow (1932-1994) and all others who have fought brain cancer and brain tumors.

Post-race awards at the bandshell.  That’s Tony Danza in the blue shirt to the right of the blue wall.