NYC running - many choices, but there's only one Central Park

Today's run: Central Park (planned)

It's looking fairly gloomy on this Friday the 13th morning. The local news station predicts that the low cloud cover will burn off by noon and that nice weather will follow. I'd be happy to keep the overcast skies and just eliminate the threat of rain. It's been a few weeks since I've done a Central Park run and I miss the experience. I'm planning to return to the park today and I have high hopes for relatively cooler temperatures and low humidity.

Last summer I covered a lot of the city during these summer Friday excursions. AG, who knew most of the running routes in the NYC and surrounding areas, introduced me to the west side bike paths, the Old Croton Aqueduct trail and the experience of running over the Brooklyn and GW bridges. I ran north on the bike paths earlier in the summer with my friend Steve but other than that I haven't migrated far from Central Park.

Bike paths at Chambers Street

It might be fun to run south on the bike path to Chambers Street as we did often last year. It was a one way trip that ended downtown near Whole Foods. After the run we could walk a block to Whole Foods and get some recovery drinks (I liked the bottled water with added electrolytes) and we'd hop on the subway back to the office. I suppose I could do that today for a change of scenery. Still, Central Park is seductive and it has the hills I really need for my training. I'll wait until noon to see how I feel and whether the weather will cooperate.

A kind surprise from the Emerging Runner, Jr.

Today's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes

This morning I walked into the guest room to see my running clothes and gear laid out for my morning run. I had gone to bed early and neglected my usual setup process so I was confused to see everything neatly in its place. Then I saw a note from my daughter explaining that she was concerned that I'd forgotten to do this the night before. It was very thoughtful of her and I felt a little bad about not using some of the carefully selected items (like my headlamp) but I wanted to do some cross training this morning on the elliptical. Having all my towels and workout clothes ready certainly saved me time.

My focus on speed in preparation for the upcoming Dirty Sock and Great Cow Harbor runs has extended to my elliptical workouts. I found that I could maintain a rate that's 9% faster than I had been achieving a month ago (at the same level of resistance). It would seem as though the the extra effort I'm putting into running has improved my speed all around. I plan to test that tomorrow with a run in Central Park if the weather holds up. I've been running faster but I haven't really faced any challenging hills. Central Park provides plenty of those and I'm curious to see how I do on them.

7:04 pace for 2.8 miles? All it takes is a little math

Today's run (street): 2.8 miles at 8:59

Once again I managed to squeak under the 9:00 per mile threshold for my early morning run. While I haven't been all out sprinting during my runs I have been putting a lot more effort into the process. It makes me wonder how far I could really push it without my heart rate moving into dangerous territory. 8:59 makes me happier than 9:00 but, regardless, that pace range was characterized as "pedestrian" in an article I recently read in a running magazine. How insulting! I may run at a pedestrian pace but  according to other articles I'm really much faster than that. Based on what I've also recently read, here is the Emerging Runner Guide to rationalizing your pace:

1. Every 5 degrees above 60 adds 20-30 seconds per mile to pace
@ 75 degrees (3 x -15 seconds) =  8:59 - 45 seconds = 8:14

2. Every 10 degree difference above 60 at the same relative humidity = 35 seconds per mile
@ 75 degrees (1.5 x 30) = 8:14 - 45 seconds = 7:29

3. Age compensation (compared to fit 20-something runners) and 4:00 AM start time
Lets just subtract another 25 seconds...

Using the above guide I see that I'd actually achieved an average pace at 7:04 per mile this morning. How about that?! I guess I'll need to work a little harder or find more formulas to get me into the 6:00 range.

Doing what it takes to stay under 9:00 per mile

Today's run (street) 2.5 miles at 8:59

I'll admit that I like my current focus on speed and pace and I've been looking forward to my early morning runs even more than usual. I'm not running fast at 4:00 AM but compared to the paces I maintained throughout most of July, I am running much faster. My definition of a decent pace begins at around 9:05 per mile. I'm generally pleased when I meet or exceed that time. My psychological threshold is 9:00 minutes and that's when I feel like I've accomplished more than merely covering my distance. Right now, in the midst of summer, 9:00 per mile is much harder for me to break than when I'm running in 20-30 degree temperatures. I want to do better on the Dirty Sock run this year and I believe that consistently training at paces around 9:00 per mile will get me there. However, trails can become more difficult based on their condition. If it rains close to start time all bets are off.

I managed to break my psychological threshold this morning, clocking an 8:59 pace for two and a half miles. It was already close to 80 degrees when I left but without the sun I felt like I could push without straining. I'm focusing primarily on form (vertical alignment, arm positioning) and cadence. On my slow days in July, I hovered around 80 SPM and on longer runs would fall as low as 78. These days, as I run, I think about how quickly I'm turning over my stride, how high my trailing leg is going and how much time I can spend off the ground. Higher cadence does influence stride length but I think that's okay. In Born to Run, Christopher McDougal writes about the advantages of a shorter stride for mid-foot running and I agree that it does provide a feeling of moving along well.

My friend BJS sent me some notes that he made from his Cow Harbor 10K training last year. They are extremely helpful in understanding the course and setting expectations. He mentions a couple of big hills that must be respected. I think that will be the theme for one of my upcoming weekend training runs. The Dirty Sock course has no measurable elevations but, even so, I'm expecting that hill training will help me.

MOO(ve) over! I'm running the Cow Harbor 10K!

I missed the Great Cow Harbor 10K race last year because it conflicted with a family trip. I was eager to sign up for the 2010 version but discovered that we have a family event on the same day. Those things happen and though I was disappointed I understood the reasons. On Saturday we got the official invitation in the mail and my wife brought it over to me and said "We don't need to be there until 4:00 PM. You can run Cow Harbor." I wasted no time getting signed up and registered.

I've run nine races since returning to running in 2008. Most of these races have been of modest size, typically 200-600 participants. I did run with a relay team at last October's Cape Cod marathon which numbered almost two thousand runners but it still didn't seem all that big. Cow Harbor is big and it's also a RRCA Championship race so it attracts elite runners from all over the world. The field is big, over 5,000 participants, that I'm certain will feel like a huge crowd while I run through the quaint harbor side town of Northport in September.

Speaking of big races, I got a report from Adventure Girl that the Haulin' Aspen half marathon trail race in Bend, OR was a fantastic event. Her descriptions sounded grueling but she called it fun. Look for a full recounting in an upcoming Running Gone Wild post. Although I am excited about Cow Harbor, my sights are set on my next race: the Dirty Sock 10K that is scheduled for Sunday, August 22nd. I plan to stay with my focus on speed during this week's training runs and to begin introducing more hill training on weekends. The Dirty Sock course is relatively hill free but the Cow Harbor course will clearly present some elevation challenges.