2013 Marcie Mazzola Race Report

Last turn before the finish

Today's run (Marcie Mazzola 5K): 3.1 miles

This morning I ran the Marcie Mazzola Foundation race for the fifth year in a row. This race was originally scheduled for last April, but the date was moved to the end of June because of a Mazzola family issue. I was concerned about running this race in the summer heat, but the ample shade made it bearable. This year I was joined by a couple of industry colleagues who were running this race for the first time.

As I'd expected, my performance did not match prior races I've done at this distance, but I was not disappointed. In previous years, I was racing every month and that helped me maintain my competitive focus. It's halfway through the year and I've only participated in two races so far. I ran about 15 minutes on the treadmill yesterday to "activate" my leg muscles, with a combination of elevation (training for the hill on Woodhull) and speed. It's hard to know if that helped, but I don't think it did any harm.

Team Emerging Runner arrived at 7:45 AM for the 8:30 start. Unlike the spring race, when the morning temperature requires extra layers prior to the start, it was nice to be comfortable in just my race gear. Registration went fine, and we watched the kid's fun run that happens 30 minutes before the 5K start. Soon after that I saw my friend Bill, an experienced racer, who had never run the Marcie Mazzola race.

Bill and I made our way down to the starting line on Park Ave and I noticed that the crowd was smaller than last year. No doubt this was due to the race date change, because the organizers announced that there were over 500 registrants. The race results showed 15 DNS's, most likely runners that signed up for April but had scheduling conflicts today. There were 103 less finishers this year than in 2012.

Once Bill and I established our position behind the line, we were joined by another friend, Mike, who had walked to the race from his house. Mike runs triathlons, but had not run Marcie before today. As we waited for the countdown, I described the course and tried to prepare them for the hill on Woodhull Rd. Neither seemed intimidated by it.

The official Marcie 5K Pace car

The race started on time and soon after seeing my wife and kids on the sideline, we took the right and climbed the big hill that goes on for half a mile. I felt like I was moving at a decent clip and I passed a number of runners along the way. I'm still experiencing upper respiratory issues and as I made my way up Woodhull, I started to wheeze and cough. I think I'm getting closer to recovery (it's been three weeks now!) but I was concerned about pushing too hard. I backed off the throttle slightly, until my breathing regulated. With all that, I was a little disappointed to see that I ran the first mile in 9:30.

Seconds after the start

In past years, I've run that first mile even slower and still finished in the 26:00 range. I ran as fast as I could today, but missed my average 5K finish time by almost two minutes. I was hoping to break 27:50, but I ended up finishing in just over 28 minutes. If this race had a timing mat at the starting line, I may have have hit my targeted time. Considering the lack of race training I did to prepare, I'm fine with today's number.

Post-finish hydration and electrolytes

I ran miles two and three in the high 8:00 range, bringing my overall pace close to 9:00. I never felt concern about sustaining my pace, although the last segment going east of Heckscher Park, followed by a brief but noticeable hill, always makes it challenging at the end. I always want to break nine minutes, but that didn't happen today. Still, even with a small field of runners, I ended up in the top 40% of finishers.

Racing buddies, Bill (left) and Mike (right)

Bill came in half a minute before me and Mike came in shortly after I'd finished. The path to the finish line is on an incline that has a dogleg that points runners to the chute. I thought the timer said 27:58 when I went through, but the official results have me 10 seconds after that. Either way, I was happy at the end, with my family cheering me on as I crossed the line.

After taking almost three months off from racing, it was great to be back in competition. I didn't have any expectation that I would perform well today, but I didn't want to embarrass myself either. Another Marcie Mazzola race is in the books, and I'm looking forward to my next race, that is likely to be the Dirty Sock 10K. That's a race that demands some real training so I'd better get started. But today, I'm going to focus on a little post-race relaxation.

Will what I do today affect how I'll do tomorrow?

Aspiration or underestimation?

I've only run once since last Sunday and this will go down as the lowest mileage week I've had in over a year. There's no one reason for this lapse, it's mostly circumstantial. Monday was my rest day, Tuesday was taken up with family activities, Wednesday I ran, and Thursday and Friday were days in the city that started very early and ended late. Tomorrow I'm running a 5K so I need to decide whether I should do any running or maintain my hiatus/taper.

I'm tempted to run some intervals to activate my fast twitch muscles (assuming I still have any after a week of sloth) or play out my extended rest and see if that produces a better than expected time at the race. There's an argument for both, although one involves  a lot more sweat and effort. I usually rest two days before a race, although I sometimes cut that to one day for 5K's. If I stay on the rest vector and do well, it might result in a new taper strategy for future races.

Given my utter lack of focused training for this race, my goal for tomorrow is to finish below 27:50. If I met that goal it would be the slowest 5K I've ever competitively run, but I'd still be okay with it.

I'm tapering my taper

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I didn't run or post yesterday or Monday and this will hardly count as one. My schedule has been full this week and I'm still dealing with my cough, though that hasn't been the reason for skipping my workout on Tuesday. I did manage to get out this morning before getting tied up all day on work related items. This is a taper week and I'm certainly getting the "less running" part down.

The temperature was close to 80 degrees at 8:15 AM when I went out on my run. I knew that I should try to generate some speed since I'm going to be racing on Sunday, but I really didn't push my pace. Nothing to report except that I was glad to get back on the road.

Tomorrow and Friday will be early city days so I don't know when I'll get my final taper run in. I felt good on the run after a couple of day's rest, although I am still dealing with this annoying cough. My biggest concern right now is whether I'll have a voice by the time I make a presentation tomorrow afternoon.  This isn't going to be a big mileage week, but I hope to get back on schedule next week.

When breathing gets tough, do the run easy

Easy like Sunday morning

Today's run (street): 3.2 miles

I'm finally feeling some relief from this endless cough, mostly because it's moved up into my head. I'm coughing less, but I'm now dealing with a bout of laryngitis. About twice a year, I completely lose my voice to this affliction. I can't complain (and no one would hear me if I did) because I sound terrible. Despite that, I feel fine.

Near the end of yesterday's run, my breathing started feeling restricted and I wondered if this chest cough may be related to a newly developed pollen allergy. My concern was, with even greater heat and humidity this morning, I'd have more trouble breathing than on Saturday. I considered skipping my workout or doing a hike instead. Ultimately, I chose to do a short, easy run to get my week's mileage into line.

I went out slowly and almost regretted my decision to bring my Garmin. I often wish I could just go out and run, unencumbered with tracking tools like GPS, a stopwatch timer or a heart rate monitor. I also know myself well enough that, if I ran without tracking, I'd end up reconstructing the run by estimating the time and mapping the route on Gmaps. Besides that, I always like to capture the route map in Garmin Connect.

My run started easy and stayed easy. I never approached my lactic acid threshold, although I did bring up my speed over the last quarter mile. It was at that point yesterday when I detected some restriction in my breathing. Today, that was not the case. I don't know if it's because my lungs are clearing, or if it's simply related to running easier. Either way, I was glad to get some miles in today, as I start my taper for next Sunday's race.

Hey runner, got a light?

Seriously?

Today's run (street): 4.4 miles

I was about halfway through today's run when I noticed a guy exiting a small neighborhood park, holding a cigarette. I saw him from about thirty feet away, walking towards the street. The man began crossing the road and I wondered if I'd need to run around him. As I got closer he asked, "Got a lighter?" I yelled back, "I run, why would I smoke?" I didn't hear his response, but I'm sure it wasn't a compliment regarding my active lifestyle.

There were lots of people out this morning, and almost everyone I encountered on today's run made me question the intelligence of the average person. Shortly after my exchange with cigarette guy, I saw two women walking side by side on the right side of the road. My neighborhood has no thoroughfares, but a few roads (like this particular one) have steady traffic. I felt I should advise them on the danger of walking with your back to traffic. They acknowledged my point, but I saw them later on the run and they were still tempting fate on the wrong side of the road.

These women weren't the only people I saw walking with traffic, but I decided to stop playing safety patrol after that. There was a couple walking on the right, who spaced themselves so wide that the man was positioned in the middle of a busy road. He was a big boy, and I just hoped his size would be noticeable to drivers who would brake, thinking he was a Fiat 500.

Between the careless walkers, cyclists without helmets and drivers that ignore stop signs as a matter of course, I'm often frustrated with neighborhood running. That's why I love running Stillwell, Trailview and Bethpage. Except, of course, for those big hills.

Good day for a run and a great day for a party

Morning scene, before the fun and frenzy

Today's run (street): 3.7 miles

Happy summer! School is done and both kids are kicking off vacation this week with pool parties. Wednesday, my son had his soon-to-be 9th grade buddies to the house. That one was easy. No decorations, basic snacks and no structured activities. My daughter is hosting a bunch of 15 year-old girls today and the planning has been far more intense. To be fair, it's also a birthday celebration for her. My duties were to set up the music downstairs and to get the pizza later. My wife is taking care of everything else, which means it will probably go very well. Sounds like it is.

Yesterday was a difficult day for me. My coughing reached an apex (I'm hoping) and I spent most of the day on calls. I'd decided early on that I didn't have time to run. With the way I felt, it seemed a better idea to skip my workout. I just looked at it as a recovery day. I was hoping later that my cough was receding, but it was back in full force overnight. It does seem better today.

Although I probably spent two hours trying to get to sleep last night, I felt well enough this morning to get outside. The weather was sunny and not yet hot, so I set off in the hope that my lack of sleep wouldn't affect my running performance. I don't think I set any personal records today, but I didn't feel bogged down either. I even extended my distance a little, figuring that I should get in more mileage since I had the time.

It's been a busy week for business, but I covered most of today's interactions before lunch. People rarely schedule meetings on Friday afternoons in the summer. The exceptions are my business colleagues in LA, SF and Seattle who have three more hours of morning than I do. So far, it's been quiet, except for all the yelling and splashing by the pool.

I'm a little more than a week away from the Marcie Mazzola 5K and haven't done much to prepare, besides following my normal running schedule. I figure I can just turn up the jets on race day and get through it since it's only 3.1 miles. That assumes, of course, that I can live with my worst 5K time ever.

Testing a grape theory

Treating the symptoms

Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

I'm sure people are as tired of reading about my cough as I am of of having one. My cough was as bad as ever this morning. My daughter had her annual checkup today and my wife mentioned her lengthy cough to the doctor. The pediatrician said it's likely to be allergy related, that the pollen is really high this year. She suggested taking Claritin. The only version we had was children's grape chewables, but I went for it. I'm not sure whether it's helping, but I'm a bit better than yesterday (and earlier today).

The weather was highly cooperative this morning and I took full advantage by running around the neighborhood. It actually felt cold when I first stepped outside. It was a combination of shade and breeze that masked the heat from the sun and humidity. The run went well, and with middle and high school finished, there was less car and bus traffic to contend with. I was surprised to see that my pace was faster than I expected.

These weekday runs are all pretty much the same. I can vary my route a little, but by now, every road looks as familiar as my back yard. I literally have hundreds of identical route maps on Garmin Connect. There's only so many combinations of streets that take me around for at least three miles and then back home again. The great thing about these runs is that they give me thirty or so minutes of relief from coughing. Tomorrow I'll start on adult doses of Claritin. Perhaps that will give me something to write about besides coughing.

Great cough run cough

My lunch meeting

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

I really hate this cough. I'm not concerned about it because my daughter endured it for three full weeks and (thankfully) she is over it now. Someday, I'll get over it as well. As disruptive as this cough has been, it hasn't really affected my workout routine. I've noticed that I never cough while I'm running or somehow active. Too bad I can't be active all the time.

The weather was iffy this morning, so I did a treadmill run using progressive speed increases every quarter mile. It was humid, so I blasted the fan. My cough had woken me up during the night and I was concerned that I'd be dragging myself through my morning run. But I was surprised by the level of energy I was able to maintain. It ended up being a pretty good workout, although I would have liked more recovery time afterward.

A train derailment at Penn Station last night made the morning commute difficult for LIRR riders. I prepared for an awful experience, but things had improved by the time I went in. I covered almost four miles on foot, according to my Fitbit, and that - somewhat - made up for my large lunch. I coughed the whole train ride into and out of the the city and frequently through my meetings. I look forward to improvement and I'm hoping that it happens soon. But recent history tells me it might not get better for a while.

Eight chukkas at Bethpage

It's basically croquet-soccer on horses

Today's run (track): 3.5 miles

Happy Father's Day! I've written often about Bethpage State Park as a great place to run, but there are many other things to do there. This afternoon we decided to take in a few chukkas of polo for the first match of the season. It was quite an experience, which I'll cover further below.

This morning I started things off with a track workout at the local high school. This was not a speed exercise by any means, but it was a nice change from running in my neighborhood. I set off at a brisk clip as I made my way around the walkers positioned in the lane in front of me. Runners generally know to keep the inside lane open for faster traffic, but walkers usually don't follow that unwritten rule.

I did ten laps, five clockwise and five the other way. I had considered running some intervals, but I'm still battling this chest cold. I was hoping that this run might enhance my immune system, rather than wearing me out to the point where I became susceptible to a relapse. I felt good at the end, worked out but not exhausted.

After a Father's Day lunch, we headed over to Bethpage for the polo match. The Empire Passport once again proved its worth, allowing us to park for free in the main lot rather than pay the $10 parking fee for the event. Once we walked up the hill, we were greeted at the entrance where we paid $5 for our two adult tickets. Kids were free today, but I'm not sure that will be the case all summer.

Fast action

The Polo Grounds were set up with grandstands and across the way was a large tented VIP area where patrons were served drinks and food. I'm guessing their entry fee was bit higher than $5. We made due with items from the snack bar that were on sale at reasonable prices. Our seats in the grandstand put us less than 30 feet from edge of the field that is the size of nine football fields.

We enjoyed watching the match and it was relatively easy to follow the action. Polo is sort of like a combination of croquet and soccer, played on horses. Those polo ponies are extremely agile and do an amazing job of getting their riders to the ball. The players whack the ball dozens of yards ahead of them and scoring is frequent. The final score of today's match was 9-5, won by the local team.

A Lambo and a Lotus

After the 4th chukka there was a halftime break where spectators were able to walk on the field and over to the other side. Maserati was showing cars and it was fun to check them out. Better still, there was a Lotus, along with some classic Ferrari's and Lamborghini's. I would have been happy to just look at these cars the rest of the afternoon.

Scary to watch

Near the end of the second half, there was a shocking moment when one of the polo ponies collapsed during play. The rider tumbled off and play was stopped while they attended to the downed animal. The park people surrounded the horse with trucks to keep spectators from seeing what was happening and they eventually put the horse onto one of the horse carriers. No word was given on its condition but they did resume play.

We watched the rest of the match and made our way back to the car where we ran into some friends who were also at the match. We agreed that it was a great experience (despite the unfortunate incident with the horse) and a great thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Most importantly, it was a really nice way to spend Father's Day with my family.

A run on the road and hike at Caumsett

Take a hike!

Today's run (street): 3.9 miles

Yesterday was a tough one. Bad coughs can be exhausting, and I never got to the point on Friday where I felt strong enough to do a workout. I was determined to run today, but not if it would compromise my recovery. The weather was near perfect and, while I was still coughing, I decided to head outside.

I would have liked to do a tempo run but I settled for a more moderate pace. I'd coughed all throughout the night and morning, but not once on the run. It seemed as though every landscaper in the area had come to my neighborhood to work, so I needed to be wary of workers and equipment as I made my way past all the trucks. I used the sidewalks when things got too tight.

Even though it was a fairly short run, I felt very tired by the finish. Despite that fatigue, I was glad to return to the road. Since my bout with pneumonia in early 2010, I get concerned whenever I develop a cough like this one. In this case I'm confident that it's nothing but a cold. Extremely annoying, but nothing particularly severe.

Entrance to the Caumsett grounds

After lunch we headed to Caumsett State Park for a hike on the paved trails. It's a great park with beautiful grounds, including views of Long Island Sound. We finished our walk and spent some time in the "Walled Garden" where the kids played a scavenger hunt game using pictures taken on their cell phones. I want to return there for a run sometime, although I'll need to be prepared for a lot of steep hills.

Scavenger hunting in the Walled Garden

Workout sidelined

My chest cold now includes a deep cough among its symptoms. This cough, along with a full morning of conference calls, prompted me to postpone my workout. I was optimistic about running later, but I think I'll call it a rest day and move on. I'm hoping that skipping today's run will help my recovery. My favorite workouts are typically the longer base runs I do on weekends, so I'm counting on getting outside tomorrow.

Run turned back at the driveway

Today's run (treadmill): 3.2 miles

I watched the garage door rise to reveal a rain covered driveway this morning. It had looked dry from the window, but that was obviously an illusion. I wasn't interested in running in rain-soaked conditions that would obscure my vision and saturate my shoes and socks. I turned around and headed upstairs to wait for my wife to complete her treadmill workout.

Today's schedule was tight and I wanted to get in my run before I got caught up in business calls. I've been fighting a mild chest cold and could have used that as an excuse to skip my workout. I figured that I should at least try a run and see how it felt. I wasn't looking to push myself too hard after a couple of hard runs on Tuesday and Wednesday. I did pretty well, but I skipped the progressive speed increases.

I'm getting closer to my next race and I know I should begin tuning my runs towards speed. I'm not sure which approach to take: intervals or tempos. I can't really do speed work at the track during the week because school is still in session. If the weather is clear over the weekend, I may head to the high school. I think all the hill running I've been doing is helping to build my fitness, but I don't know if it's also helping my speed.