Results from the PPTC Speed Series #4 are here. The next one is July 22.
Registration for the Central Park 4-Miler on July 18 has closed, though the kids races are still open.
Brooklyn Half
1 month ago
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Long Island Running
For those of you lucky enough to have a place out on Long Island this summer, there are plenty of opportunities for local races.
Three places to check out:
The USATF-LI event calendar
LIRunning.com calendar
Greater Long Island Running Club calendar
Three places to check out:
The USATF-LI event calendar
LIRunning.com calendar
Greater Long Island Running Club calendar
Saturday, July 11, 2009
How'd Your Run Go Today?
It's a simple, innocuous question, and I usually answer it with the same stock answer. "Fine." It's not like anything ever happens on these daily runs ... or does it?
Think about it.
Getting outside and pounding out the mileage has the added benefit of seeing things that you might not ordinarily see, and certainly experience things not found sitting on the living room couch. It's not the exceptional all the time, obviously (though I have seen what purportedly was a dead body) ... but it's still enough to make me want to head out the door the following day. It's those little details.
And it helps to have fun people to run with.
The route of today's run isn't anything particularly special. From Grand Army Plaza, out to the Green-Wood Cemetery, around clockwise, back to Prospect Park to complete the loop, then on to Brooklyn Heights. About 10.5-11 miles, or thereabouts - not at an incredibly fast pace either, but then, it didn't need to be.
But, some of the run highlights:
-- a dead raccoon (blech)
-- almost getting smooshed by an MTA bus pulling out of the bus yard (thank you kind driver for stopping in time)
-- high-fiving a teenager who, along with his friend, looked like he was coming back from a party where he inadvertently fell asleep at 4 a.m. and was just getting home
-- a lively discussion about whether Michael Jackson was in fact buried in Green-Wood (a significant portion of my friends and colleagues are entertaining the prospect that he's not dead)
-- a helpful chat with a park worker at Smith and President about the time the park sprinklers would be turned on (apparently 80 degrees is a key temperature).
My friend at What You Do Not Know Because You Are Not Me often regales me with his running adventures. Since some of his runs are a lot longer, he sees a lot more.
Anyway, here's today's route.
Think about it.
Getting outside and pounding out the mileage has the added benefit of seeing things that you might not ordinarily see, and certainly experience things not found sitting on the living room couch. It's not the exceptional all the time, obviously (though I have seen what purportedly was a dead body) ... but it's still enough to make me want to head out the door the following day. It's those little details.
And it helps to have fun people to run with.
The route of today's run isn't anything particularly special. From Grand Army Plaza, out to the Green-Wood Cemetery, around clockwise, back to Prospect Park to complete the loop, then on to Brooklyn Heights. About 10.5-11 miles, or thereabouts - not at an incredibly fast pace either, but then, it didn't need to be.
But, some of the run highlights:
-- a dead raccoon (blech)
-- almost getting smooshed by an MTA bus pulling out of the bus yard (thank you kind driver for stopping in time)
-- high-fiving a teenager who, along with his friend, looked like he was coming back from a party where he inadvertently fell asleep at 4 a.m. and was just getting home
-- a lively discussion about whether Michael Jackson was in fact buried in Green-Wood (a significant portion of my friends and colleagues are entertaining the prospect that he's not dead)
-- a helpful chat with a park worker at Smith and President about the time the park sprinklers would be turned on (apparently 80 degrees is a key temperature).
My friend at What You Do Not Know Because You Are Not Me often regales me with his running adventures. Since some of his runs are a lot longer, he sees a lot more.
Anyway, here's today's route.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Quick Update
Long week on the work front. But I've raced twice in the past 7 days - in Staten Island and in the Prospect Park speed series (no results yet), so no complaints. Definitely starting to see some of the summer doldrums -- even some of my favorite blogs aren't being updated frequently (ohh, wait, pot calling the kettle black, I guess.)
This weekend, the NYRR has one of their supported long-distance runs, ranging from 6 to 20 miles in Central Park. These runs are especially great if you don't have anyone to do long runs with and/or want to set a certain pace. These are a little earlier in the season than previous years, though there are plenty of halfs (or longer) to help in your marathon preparation. I seem to recall paying $5 to $7 for them - if you haven't signed up, though, it'll cost you $15 for race-day registration (and you don't even get a T-shirt!) The next one is Aug. 1.
There's also a race in Central Park on Saturday, a 5K, for those interested.
Here's an admittedly incomplete list of some upcoming races:
This weekend, the NYRR has one of their supported long-distance runs, ranging from 6 to 20 miles in Central Park. These runs are especially great if you don't have anyone to do long runs with and/or want to set a certain pace. These are a little earlier in the season than previous years, though there are plenty of halfs (or longer) to help in your marathon preparation. I seem to recall paying $5 to $7 for them - if you haven't signed up, though, it'll cost you $15 for race-day registration (and you don't even get a T-shirt!) The next one is Aug. 1.
There's also a race in Central Park on Saturday, a 5K, for those interested.
Here's an admittedly incomplete list of some upcoming races:
July 11, Ladder 5 5K, (XC)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Endurance Challenges
You think running a 20-mile workout is tough ...
Consider the The Death Race from today's New York Times... and a report from the Western States 100 (canceled last year because of fire, back in its full glory this year). The second is a great read because it gives a sense of what ultrarunning is all about, both the good and the bad.
Consider the The Death Race from today's New York Times... and a report from the Western States 100 (canceled last year because of fire, back in its full glory this year). The second is a great read because it gives a sense of what ultrarunning is all about, both the good and the bad.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ohh, The Places I Haven't Seen
Sometimes, you (I) just need a wakeup call. Such as ... one of the fundamental reasons for running:
To explore places that you haven't seen.
In looking back at my running log over the past few months, I've noticed a distinct lack of new places. A lot of Brooklyn Bridge/Prospect Park/treadmill adventures. Not a lot else. Close to, though not quite, a running exploration rut.
So this past weekend was a refreshing splash in the face of doing things that weren't par for the course. Forgive me for this occasional personal interjection into the blog, since it raises an important lesson for me (and perhaps for you as well).
Saturday: Pepper Martin 5-Mile Race in Staten Island.
Let me say: What a friggin' fantastic local race (results are here). This is the perfect example of a community-supported road race (dozens of which take place in Greater New York every year that don't involve loops of Central Park).
This isn't meant to be a diss at New York Road Runners. The amount of races and support they offer, whether it's in Central Park or somewhere in the boroughs, is wonderful. But there are a ton of differences. And we/you/I need to appreciate what else is out there.
Some highlights:
-- The pre-race setup. No having to get into corrals. Or be in line for the race 15 minutes (or more) before the start. This was a fun local race. Yes, a pain to get to - I had a ride, though you could take the Staten Island Ferry and a bus - but well worth the effort.
-- The course. I knew there would be hills (it goes up Forest Avenue to a park, loops around it, then heads down). Knowledge and actually running them are two vastly different things. I'm sure I could find hills like this in Brooklyn - though it reminded me more of the Harlem Hills in Central Park (or those coming off the water near the George Washington Bridge). I didn't have a chance to even drive the course beforehand. Sur ... prise! There's a reason why my mile splits for miles 2 and 4 differed by a solid minute, even as I hit my goal race time.
-- The volunteers. Except for part of the course in the park, where no water stops were allowed, there were water stops, it seemed, every half mile. Small cups, half of which went on my head, half of which I tried to ingest on the fly. Thank you to all, including the kid with the Red Sox cap I inadvertantly almost tomahawked as I tried to get the cup from him.
-- The post-race setup. Bagels, watermelon and grilled hot dogs (I managed to eat two, including one before 10 a.m. I'm not Joey Chestnut). Mmm. Mmm.
-- The awards ceremony. Endless, because there the age-grade categories were in five-year splits, and they gave out tons of trophies. Awesome.
This race had more than 500 people finish. I shudder to think what would happen if it topped 1,000, given the resources and the wonderful volunteers. (No race chips. Shocking). But the uniqueness completely tops a lot of the cookie-cutter stuff we're all getting accustomed to. It's worth thinking about before we resume the grind to get the 9 New York Marathon qualifying races.
Sunday: 7 1/4 miles, including a trip to Ft. Greene Park.
Today was supposed to be a recovery run. In fact, if my balky knee was complaining, I was pretty sure I'd be spending it inside in a low-key workout in the gym. Thankfully my running friends convinced me otherwise.
Part 1 of the run was spent in Prospect Park, very specifically doing a loop that included the trail part of the loop (no, you can't run the entire park by stepping off the curve, and you most definitely have to watch out for the horses, but worth doing).
Part 2 involved a run down Vanderbilt, ultimately reaching Fort Greene Park. And then, after a loop there, heading down Fulton to get back into Brooklyn Heights.
What was notable here was the second part of the loop. I've been so ingrained into heading to Prospect Park taking a very traditional route (Court to Union, or Clinton to Carroll/President), I've neglected other routes. I walk down Fulton all the time, especially on trips to Macy's (please bring back the fireworks to Brooklyn). I didn't quite think about extending that into a run that heads elsewhere, and hitting a park that, with a nice variation of hills and trails, is a worthy addition to the running route list.
I'm posting a map, that, while most likely not the exact route I ran, is a good example from the park ...
To explore places that you haven't seen.
In looking back at my running log over the past few months, I've noticed a distinct lack of new places. A lot of Brooklyn Bridge/Prospect Park/treadmill adventures. Not a lot else. Close to, though not quite, a running exploration rut.
So this past weekend was a refreshing splash in the face of doing things that weren't par for the course. Forgive me for this occasional personal interjection into the blog, since it raises an important lesson for me (and perhaps for you as well).
Saturday: Pepper Martin 5-Mile Race in Staten Island.
Let me say: What a friggin' fantastic local race (results are here). This is the perfect example of a community-supported road race (dozens of which take place in Greater New York every year that don't involve loops of Central Park).
This isn't meant to be a diss at New York Road Runners. The amount of races and support they offer, whether it's in Central Park or somewhere in the boroughs, is wonderful. But there are a ton of differences. And we/you/I need to appreciate what else is out there.
Some highlights:
-- The pre-race setup. No having to get into corrals. Or be in line for the race 15 minutes (or more) before the start. This was a fun local race. Yes, a pain to get to - I had a ride, though you could take the Staten Island Ferry and a bus - but well worth the effort.
-- The course. I knew there would be hills (it goes up Forest Avenue to a park, loops around it, then heads down). Knowledge and actually running them are two vastly different things. I'm sure I could find hills like this in Brooklyn - though it reminded me more of the Harlem Hills in Central Park (or those coming off the water near the George Washington Bridge). I didn't have a chance to even drive the course beforehand. Sur ... prise! There's a reason why my mile splits for miles 2 and 4 differed by a solid minute, even as I hit my goal race time.
-- The volunteers. Except for part of the course in the park, where no water stops were allowed, there were water stops, it seemed, every half mile. Small cups, half of which went on my head, half of which I tried to ingest on the fly. Thank you to all, including the kid with the Red Sox cap I inadvertantly almost tomahawked as I tried to get the cup from him.
-- The post-race setup. Bagels, watermelon and grilled hot dogs (I managed to eat two, including one before 10 a.m. I'm not Joey Chestnut). Mmm. Mmm.
-- The awards ceremony. Endless, because there the age-grade categories were in five-year splits, and they gave out tons of trophies. Awesome.
This race had more than 500 people finish. I shudder to think what would happen if it topped 1,000, given the resources and the wonderful volunteers. (No race chips. Shocking). But the uniqueness completely tops a lot of the cookie-cutter stuff we're all getting accustomed to. It's worth thinking about before we resume the grind to get the 9 New York Marathon qualifying races.
Sunday: 7 1/4 miles, including a trip to Ft. Greene Park.
Today was supposed to be a recovery run. In fact, if my balky knee was complaining, I was pretty sure I'd be spending it inside in a low-key workout in the gym. Thankfully my running friends convinced me otherwise.
Part 1 of the run was spent in Prospect Park, very specifically doing a loop that included the trail part of the loop (no, you can't run the entire park by stepping off the curve, and you most definitely have to watch out for the horses, but worth doing).
Part 2 involved a run down Vanderbilt, ultimately reaching Fort Greene Park. And then, after a loop there, heading down Fulton to get back into Brooklyn Heights.
What was notable here was the second part of the loop. I've been so ingrained into heading to Prospect Park taking a very traditional route (Court to Union, or Clinton to Carroll/President), I've neglected other routes. I walk down Fulton all the time, especially on trips to Macy's (please bring back the fireworks to Brooklyn). I didn't quite think about extending that into a run that heads elsewhere, and hitting a park that, with a nice variation of hills and trails, is a worthy addition to the running route list.
I'm posting a map, that, while most likely not the exact route I ran, is a good example from the park ...
Friday, July 3, 2009
Five-Mile Festivities on the Fourth
The best way to honor America's birthday? Try a road race. The 31st annual Pepper Martin race takes place on Staten Island in the West Brighton neighborhood - the five-mile race starts at 9 a.m.
Directions are on the application. For those of us without cars, you can get there by taking the Staten Island Ferry and the S48 bus.
Results from last year's race, courtesy of Staten Island Runner, are here.
Directions are on the application. For those of us without cars, you can get there by taking the Staten Island Ferry and the S48 bus.
Results from last year's race, courtesy of Staten Island Runner, are here.
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