Category: Races

Ming!!!!!!!!!!

This morning I ran Boomer’s Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe 10K in Central Park. It was 68 degrees at the start and cooler than the last few days, but the 93% humidity and hard sunlight made that temperature no piece of cake. I only had a very rough goal of doing sub-8:00s or under 50 minutes, and I did those better. I pulled off this 10K in 46:51, managing 7:34s.

What’s funny to me is that 7:34s is exactly one minute per mile slower than what I was running back in late April! I pulled off 6:34s in a race only a few months ago.

However, I am getting stronger. I still am carrying about 3 more lbs. of weight than I’d like, but it’s been a good week for fitness. That I ran 8+ yesterday probably didn’t help my speed today, but the race atmosphere compensated by giving me some decent splits. I got in a sprint at the end … and just inside the sixth mile my “totem,” Ming, zipped by. I laughed out loud! He shows up in my races at the funniest times.

Elizabeth ran the race, too. I think this is the first time she actually beat me. “Creamed” is probably a more appropriate term. She managed 43:07, or 6:58s. She had a tough race herself, but still it was an impressive job.

Here are my unofficial Garmin stats. Photos will hopefully but up in a few weeks on my Photos page.

Another Steady “Race”

This morning I did the Achilles Hope & Possibility 5-Miler in Central Park. I finished in 37:57 (7:36s).

The start of the race was about 70 degrees with moderate humidity. Overall it was warm but good running weather. I set out to keep an even pace and not push myself. Generally, I did just that, though I did start to push just a little bit toward the end, eventually leading to a super-fast sprinting finish that had me overtake some people far ahead of me. I ended up doing “considerably” better in this weekend’s race then last weekend’s. Not really sure why other than maybe my mental game improved a bit. I’m feeling that my cardiac system needs strengthening, particularly my heart from pumping oxygenated blood into my system as I run.

I biked to and from this race (just like last week), which is an enjoyable tradition. Nothing much to report for this “race,” though. Just another “race” in which I didn’t (truly) race!

My Unofficial Garmin Stats:

Not a “Race” Per Se

This morning I did the Portugal Day 5-Miler in Central Park. In 71-degree weather with 63% humidity, the conditions felt good and felt warmer as the race went on. I finished in 39:24, or 7:53s.

Obviously, these aren’t the kind of results you’d expect from someone who qualified again for Boston by doing Boston just two months ago. These results are the result of sitting for hours and hours of late as I tweak code for website designs I’ve been working on. My lack of cardiovascular support was to be expected.

Because of that, I didn’t set my sites on any very high goals. I roughly aimed to do 8:00s, but more in my mind was to not race, and instead just run, and run slow at that. I think I achieved those goals as I didn’t get competitive with other runners and I let floods of people pass me. I did get out one of my famous sprinting finishes, fists pumping like a machine and all.

My Garmin died just before the race, probably the result of missing the charging contacts. I wasn’t upset, though. In fact, a lack of Garmin may have helped me stay focused on my non-competitive goals. Here are manually entered stats: