Running in Central Park

It was billed as the "Central Park 4 Miler" on Sept. 12. We were scheduled to visit my son, daughter-in-law & granddaughter for that weekend. My daughter-in-law Briana emailed me "any interest?" Interest? Oh yes indeed - I most definitely had interest! And so it was that I had a chance to run with Chris & Briana in the Central Park (that's NYC of course!) 4 Miler.

To those who have just begun to run, who are over 50, and who have family members who are experienced and talented runners, you can imagine what a thrill it was to be invited to run with my kids.

Central Park in NYC is of course the world famous park in the heart of New York City. The race route wound around some of the best real estate in Manhattan. It was gorgeous. Weather was perfect & made for running - a cool, clear & crisp almost-autumn morning in the Big Apple.

We arrived at 9am for the start of the men's race. While a few of our family went to see the men start their race, Briana & I went to the exhibits and encountered Bob Harper from NBCs Biggest Loser TV show. Pictures were taken - he's very nice and was very accommodating as I gushed "I love the show. I have your DVDs", etc. :D He was there to lead the women in a stretching routine. So Briana & I stretched with Bob Harper and about 200 women runners. Very cool. Great fun.

The women's race started at 10 am. We walked over to the start line and of course I found my bib color denoted that I start at the very back of the pack. No problem. I get it. I'm no Joan Benoit Samuelson - I just want to be there, run my race, and do my best. So as I'm standing there, waiting for the race to start, my son Chris arrived and told me "I'm going to run with you". I was quite surprised - didn't realize he was allowed to do this, but looking around I saw other men also running with the women after they finished their race.

So Chris ran with me, pacing me and coaching me as we ran together. I tried to match him step for step, realizing after the first 1/4 mile that he was indeed pacing me. Mile one, stop for water, mile 2 - feeling good, stop for water & walk a minute or 2, mile 3 - how are you? I was better than I thought I'd be - we're running the entire mile - not run/walking. Chris suggested I only walk at the water stops if I could between mile 3 & 4. At mile 3 1/2 I was starting to fatigue, so I walked about a minute, then continued running. At mile 3 3/4, Chris said, listen - do you hear the loudspeaker & music? You're a 1/4 of a mile from the finish line. Did I need to walk for a minute? No - I was fine! As we came upon the finish line, he held back and then told me - go for it Mom - sprint now! So I took off and ran as fast as I possibly could.

I PR'd that race - finished it in 00:53:03 - and ran a 13:15 min/mile all the way. This is two minutes faster than I've ever run consistently throughout a race. For me - it was an incredible achievement, considering that in January, I was walking on my treadmill at 3.0 mph (20 min mile) and feeling as though I was about to collapse because it was too fast.

This is what running has given me. A feeling of utter joy at knowing that my body is capable of performing like this, AND being able to run with my kids. That I've improved that much in nine months is astounding to me.

Briana's time was a PR for her, which elated us! We all took pictures, then headed home for (what else?) New York bagels with cream cheese & lox. My Central Park 4 Miler - I had a ball.

13.1 - Training for the Half

I ran 13.1 miles this morning along the incredibly beautiful Cape Cod Canal. Actually, this is the second time I've run 13 miles there. Training for a half marathon is apparently not easy. It's a grueling, sometimes painful, exhausting, time-consuming labor of love, not unlike childbirth. I'm exhausted, exhilarated, proud, and sore. Mostly proud, very sore.

Having made the commitment to "run the Harwich 1/2", I set out to train for it. My daughter-in-law told me that the body can run double what it's trained for, so after running Falmouth's 7.1 miles, I started training for the Oct. 4th Harwich 1/2 Marathon. I decided to be very very faithful to my training plan which required me to set the alarm for 5am five mornings a week and be out running at 6 am. In that first hour, I get dressed and do basics, make a pot of coffee and drink a cup or 2, eat a banana (or a 1/2 bowl of oatmeal if I'm out of just about everything in the cupboard - I can't stand the stuff), pack my hydration belt with Clif Shot Bloks, a bottle of SmartWater, my cell phone, house key, and get mentally ready to run. Typically my friend Jan pulls up in her enormous GMC Yukon at 6:00 on the dot and off we go.

Weekly runs are usually around the neighborhood; due to its topography, my neighborhood is a perfect training ground for Cape Cod races: rolling shaded hills and open flat roads & views of Cape Cod Bay with its wide beach as a reward for finishing our run. A typical week's total mileage is 30-35 miles. This past week we ran 3, 5, 7 and 6 miles on each of those four mornings and then did a long 13.1 mi run along Cape Cod Canal this morning for a total of 34 miles. I've been doing this since the week after Falmouth (Aug. 9th). One of my toes is starting to turn a funky color but I understand that this is normal for long distance runners.

I drove the Harwich 1/2 race route yesterday. It looked hauntingly familiar - shaded rolling hills, flat roads leading to a beach along Nantucket Sound - a double Falmouth! - and an unexpected turn onto the Cape Cod Rail Trail - the Cape's bike route for cyclists. A spectacular race route to be sure. Driving the race route seemed endless, but I watched the mileage on the dashboard and what I thought was one particularly dreadfully long stretch turned out to be only 2 miles! I can do that!

The rest of the training plan calls for me to taper off a bit on my long runs. I'll miss next week's long run - I'm running the Central Park 4 Miler on Sat. with my son & daughter-in-law. (I'm more excited about that than anything. What an experience to run a race together! I can't wait.)

The following week's plan is to run a 10 and then a 9 mile long run in order to allow my body time for recovering and regrouping before running the 13.1 mile race.

So I think I'm done for now. Not done in - just done. I've finished the bulk of my "1/2 mary" training. The next few weeks will consist of 5 miles on those 4 mornings and a tapered long run for two weekends. That's it.

Harwich is 4 weeks from today. Am I ready for the half? I hope so. I think so. :-)