Deconstructing the Cow Harbor course



Moo-ve along runners!

I'm done with my taper and now on my second day of rest from running. This is my standard methodology when preparing for a race. I assume that a marginal day of recovery is more beneficial than a marginal day of conditioning. Anyway, that's the plan. Since I'm not running today I feel especially energetic. It's psychological of course. At least I think so. It would be disappointing to reach my peak on the day before a big race.

I've reread BJS's notes on his practice runs along with an article from a local newspaper that broke down the race mile by mile. Cow Harbor seems like a series of mini races aggregated into a 10K distance. Mile one is more downhill than up - a trap for those who look to bank time early by ripping through the streets at maximum speed. Mile 2 is the infamous Widow Hill where those who came out too fast quickly regret that decision. Mile 3 is for recovery and I need to be careful not to push too hard knowing the worst hill is behind me. Mile 4 provides an opportunity to gain time lost early on the hill and mile 5 is more challenging because it's a slight incline along Waterside Ave. that can wear you down by the end. Mile 6 has another hill but compared to earlier, it's more about annoyance than intimidation. After the hill it's a toboggan run to Main Street and then the finish line. This last part is where I hope to have enough left in the tank to keep my goal time on track.

I'm planning to do my race number pickup tonight to save a little time tomorrow morning. I'm excited for this race and looking forward to the experience. I'll need to set up the DVR tonight so I can watch myself cross the finish line on the News 12 broadcast. See you at the finish!

Great expectations - Estimated finish times for Cow Harbor

The Cow Harbor website has a link to a list of registered participants that includes projected finish times. There are over 5,500 people on this list so the range of estimates is very broad. I noticed that a dozen or so runners have listed projections in the 27 minute range. This struck me as pure hubris as the current course record is 28:22, set by Ryan Hall in 2006. I recognized some names among these confident racers from Running Times and Runner's World and it looks like I'll have some competition on Saturday! I am sure that the elite runners submitted these record breaking times so they would be included in the first wave to go at the start. If I ran in the 5 minute mile range I'd do the same. Anything to get out ahead of people (like me) who are likely to be around mid-course at the 27 minute mark. I'm enjoying the lead up to the Cow Harbor race. I like the strategy, the excitement and the fact that so many people I know are planning to participate. It feels like a big deal and it's probably the biggest race that I will run unless I move up to a half marathon distance.

Yesterday my daughter ran with her cross country team on a training route through Stillwell Woods. She enjoyed the experience and I'm really hoping that she develops an affinity for trail running. It would be great to have her company when I run there on those early weekend mornings. A recovery trail run with the Cross Country Kid this Sunday would be a perfect post-race workout.

Training is over -- bring on Cow Harbor!

Yesterday's run (Central Park): 3.2 miles at 11:36
Today's run (street): 2.5 miles at 8:57

Yesterday I headed to Central Park with JQ for a refreshing run around the lower and upper loops below the reservoir. The plan was to take it slow and we did. It was a nice change to my normal CP runs where I start fast and hit the hills aggressively. JQ runs intermittently and is looking to increase his frequency. He's no newbie, despite this being more work for him than for me he had no trouble conversing throughout our 3+ mile excursion. Coming at the end of some of the hardest training that I've done prior to a race, yesterday felt somewhat like play. Great conversation and midday exercise without too much sweat made for a pleasant afternoon in the office.

This morning I returned to the street for my last run prior to Saturday's race. I wore the Kinvaras that I'm favoring right now and sped along the streets of the neighborhood at a brisk pace (for 4 AM). If I had any real hills in the neighborhood I'd have attacked them hard so I targeted roads with inclines as much as possible. I'm fairly tuned for the race at this point but, in retrospect, I may have benefited by running the race course more than once in practice. I'm not sure another practice would have made a big difference except to gain confidence by summitting the James Street hill more than once. I don't know how I'll do on the 25th but, no matter what, I've done my best to prepare for what's to come.

Decisions, decisions

My dashboard display read 50 degrees this morning as I drove to the train station. The weather reports are predicting temperatures in the low 70's around noon today, great conditions for a lunchtime run. My Cow Harbor training cycle is near its end and I think I'm in good shape for next Saturday's race. It's too early to tell what the weekend weather will bring but the reports right now seem promising. I won't count on that. I remember being promised a "beautiful Sunday" the day of the Dirty Sock Run in August. It didn't turn out too beautiful with the heat and high humidity and rain coming down near the end. No matter, the Dirty Sock was still a great event.

With the highly changeable conditions of early fall weather it's hard to know what gear will work best on race day. I'll go with one of my short sleeved wicking shirts and racing shorts but I'm not sure which shirt and shorts to bring. Historically my race day clothes have been chosen by Team Emerging Runner, usually for their color and design more than for their performance attributes. I'm biased toward lighter weight stuff for Saturday and I have some ideas about what may work best.

I'm still on the fence about which running shoes I'll wear. The Brooks GTS 10's always deliver but they aren't as light as some of my other pairs. I've raced in the Saucony Grid Tangent 4's once (NHP 8K) and had a fine experience with them. I'm wearing them on today's Central Park run to help me decide if I should call on them again. I'm also considering the Kinvaras that I wore on Sunday when I did interval training. The Kinvaras are great, lightweight and comfortable, but they don't have any stability correction. I need to decide if that's important for a run barely over 6 miles. The last time I ran with them was on the third long run over a three day weekend. I developed some heel soreness in the last two miles so I'm slightly sensitive to the lessor cushioning they provide.

Finally, there's all the other stuff: My hat (probably my Jackrabbit model), my gel (the Orange Mandarin GU) and water bottle -- Amphipod, an 8 oz Poland Spring bottle or just rely on the water station? I won't decide  any of this now. That's what Friday night is for.

Why race if you're not gonna win?

Well this is it -- race week. Five days to the start of the Great Cow Harbor 10K. I don't know what it is about this race that fascinates me but I've thought a lot about it since I signed up in August. Racing is a curious thing. Unless you are very fast, the chances of placing overall, or even in your age group, is statistically very low. So if it's not about winning, why do we race? The easy answer is because it's inexpensive fun. You register for a event and you have weeks to enjoy the anticipation. It's all upside until you reach that inevitable part of a race where you are pushing to your limits and questioning your decision to enter in the first place. No matter what, once you cross the finish line everything is fine and the pain is forgotten. Bananas and bagels never tasted so good, water was never so refreshing. Even Gatorade is palatable. I'm sure there are aspects of racing that tie into our natural instinct to compete, although most recreational runners are really competing with themselves. I honestly hope BJS and Dave do great even if that means beating my own time. I'm not just saying that because it's likely that they will.

I was going to do a hard run with a friend at lunchtime but my schedule won't allow it. I'll need to defer that to October. It's just as well on this taper week that I don't push as hard as I normally might. Saturday and Sunday were both great and different workouts. I guess I'll take a page from the quote of the week and savor the rest. My friend FS ran the 18 mile pre-marathon tuneup yesterday in Central Park. She was remarkably unfazed when I saw her this morning. Three times around the park means three times over the Harlem Hills. No matter what I've put myself through of late it won't touch that effort. I'm looking forward to my run tomorrow with JQ. The weather should be cooler than today with less wind. I think we'll keep the pace moderate but the hills on the lower and upper loops will keep it interesting. Today I'll just enjoy my rest.