Interval 600y x 6 - NYRR Class

It was another beautiful day and another hot day.
The temperature of the afternoon might be over 90°F.

But it was eased to around 70°F at 7:00pm, when the NYRR running class began.
Today's menu was interval at the slope in front of the Tavern on the Green.

We started at 60th street of the west drive of the Central Park and ran to north to the Marathon goal in front of the restaurant. It was around 600y course. A set was made of rush at the uphill and easy jog at the downhill. We did six sets.

The time of the six rushes were 1'44", 1'42", 1'40", 1'40", 1'40", 1'34". The total time was 10'00". I did the same training in 10'03" in March. I was not sure if I improved my running. However, I was able to run the final one fastest. It was not bad.

Including 3miles from the round trip from ps6 to the start line, my weekly mileage is 16.1, I have 13.9 to go.

6 miles at another slightly brisk pace

It was another beautiful summer day today.
I started jogging at 6:45pm. The temperature was 80°F at that time.

Today I ran the whole loop of the Central Park; 6miles jog.
I ran at 7'27" per mile pace to finish in 44'44".

The weekly mileage is 11.1, 18.9 to go.

5.1Mile at a slightly brisk pace

It was so beautiful day today. The temperature at 7pm was 73°F; much better to run than last weekend.

Today I ran 5.1 mile loop of the Central Park.
I finished the loop in 38'06", 7'28" per mile pace. It was a little faster pace than my base pace, however I felt very good.

The weekly mileage is 5.1, I have 24.9 to go.

5/21 - 5/27

My next target is 10K race on 7/14/07.
I am going to prepare for it. I have 7 weeks to go.

Because I need both speed and endurance, I have to train to enhance both of them.
As I feel that I have to improve my aerobic capacity, I would like to put the speed work with the NYRR's running class in the center of my training and I would like to enhance my endurance with weekly mileage of up to 40 miles per week.

My training of last week was as follows.

5/24(Thu)

I joined NYRR's running class.
The menu was 6 x 0.25mile run at the track on the great hill of the Central Park.
The rap of each run was 1'19" 1'14" 1'13" 1'14" 1'16" 1'18".
It was so tough work out. I could not keep the pace through the last rap. Maybe I should have run middle raps at 1'15". But it should be good training because I was able to challenge my limit.

Including the jogging from PS6 to great hill, the mileage was 5.5miles.

5/25(Fri)

The temperature was 89°F at 4:30pm. It was so hot.
I ran a 4mile loop of the Central Park.
I did in 36'55", 9'14" per mile.
Due to the speed work of the day before, all of my body were so soar.
I could run only at the slow pace.

5/26(Sat)

I began my training after I came home after the Yankee game.
It was another hot day, the temperature was 83°F at 6:20pm.
I ran the whole loop and the 4mile loop of the Central Park; 10 miles.
The time was 50'38", 8'26" per mile for the whole loop and 32'00", 8'00" per mile for the 4mile loop. The average pace was 8'16" per mile.

5/27(Sun)

I began my training at 11:00. The temperature was 74°F. It was better.
I ran the whole loop of the Central Park.
As I felt that the fatigue from the speed work of Thursday's class was eased, I ran at the brisk pace.
I finished 6miles in 44'52", 7'29" per mile.

My weekly mileage was 25.5 mile. I will run 30 miles next week. I would like to start the morning run.

12miles LSD

Today, I ran 12miles at an easy pace.

Due to the AIDS Walk, the Central Park was so crowded and I could not run there.
So I ran the outside streets of the park.
I started from the Central Park West Avenue at 100th street and head north.
I turned to the right at 110th street and made another right at 5th Avenue to head south to the other end of the park. And at 59th Street I turned to right to Columbus circle and made the final right to the north to 100th street. I finished the course in 56'14".

After the out side rectangle, the AIDS Walk people had gone. So I ran the whole loop of the park.
I finished the loop in 48'30".

The average pace was 8'44" per mile.

My weekly mileage of this week was 21.2.
Next week I am going to run 25 miles.

Health Kidney 10K

Today I participated in the Healthy Kidney 10K race in the Central park.
It was overcast, the temperature was 54°F at 9:00 am. The weather was perfect for running; but my condition was not.

I had not run so much after the NJ Marathon because to take the enough rest was my priority. So I was not ready for today’s race and did not set a clear target. Actually I had a target to break 40 minutes, which I missed by 1 second in the Scotland run on 4/1. Also I felt like to try to my challenging pace of 6’20”, which is my acceptable goal of this year.
That turned out to be a mistake later…

The result was…

0- 1 　 6’24” / 6’24”

The first mile was more crowded than I expected. And I have to weave through runners and lost energy.

1- 2 　　6’19” / 12’43”
2- 3 　　6’18” / 19’01”

I should have slowed down in these miles. That was main fault in terms of the tactics of this race.

3- 4 　　6’43” / 25’44”

I could not keep the pace in the toughest mile of the course.

4- 5 　　6’29“/ 32’13”
5- 6 　　6’28” / 38’41”
6- 6.2 　1’24” / 40’05”

I tried to get back, but I could not. I finished in 40 minutes 5 seconds.

I missed both of 40 minutes and 6’20” per mile.
I should have accepted that I was not in good shape due to luck of training to concentrate on breaking 40 minutes. It was a strategic fault which caused tactical fault.

Although I was not satisfied with the result, I think it was a good experience for me. I am in the level where it is not easy to break PR. To do so, I should be ready in both physically and mentally. Next 10K race in July is my target race, I should be at the start line as a better runner than today.

My place was 279 of 5,413 runners, and 249 of 3,084 male runners.

Mr. Kahlid Khannouchi was among the 5,413 runners. He is one of the top marathoner of the world. I got his autograph at the NYC Marathon Expo last year.
He was 14th place with a finish time of 30’06”.

The winning time was 28’08”, which is the Central Park record. Wow…

Next targets

In the NJ Marathon on 4/29, I have cleared the first target of this year, which was to finish marathon in 3:15 to be qualified for the Boston Marathon.

Now it is time to think about the next target.

First of all, I would like to set my target for a marathon. My next marathon is the NYC marathon on 11/4/07, which is 6month ahead.

My ultimate target of this year is to run at a pace of 7 minutes per mile. I can finish a marathon in 3:03'32" with that pace. Yes, it is tough to achieve in half an year.
My challenging target is 3:05'45". The pace is 7'05" per mile.
My acceptable target is 3:08'00". The pace is 7'10" per mile.

For half marathon, I want to set my target pace faster than marathon by 30 seconds.
So the ultimate target is 1:25'00", 6'30" per mile.
The challenging target is 1:26'15", 6'35" per mile.
The acceptable target is 1:27'20", 6'40" per mile.
And my target race will be the Queens Half-Marathon on 9/23/07.

For 10K race, my target pace is faster than half marathon by 20 seconds.
The ultimate target is 38'20", 6'10" per mile.
The challenging target is 38'50", 6'15" per mile.
And my acceptable target is 39'20", 6'20" per mile.
My target race will be the race in the Central Park on 7/14/07.

They are not easy ones, so I may have to adjust later. However, I would like to train for my targets.

- - -
Today, I joined the running class by NYRR for the first time after the NJ Marathon.

Today's workout was 3 x 1mile. It was tough one.
I did with 5'53", 5'55" and 6'02". It was not bad for the first time in 3 weeks and the renewed start for the new target.

NJ Marathon

Finally my big day for the first half of the year 2007 has come, the Sunday of the New Jersey Marathon. It was my second marathon following the NYC Marathon last November.

The race was held in the city of Long Branch, NJ, located middle south area of the State of New Jersey along the Atlantic Ocean. It took me about one and half hour by train from the Penn station of NYC.

I stayed in the Holiday inn express of Long Branch the night before and I arrived at the marathon site at 6:00am. It was sunrise time. It was so beautiful.

Cloudy and relatively low temperature, it was the best weather for marathon.
And the course was almost flat. There was nothing to prevent me from running as I planned.
My target finish time of the race was 3:15, and I planned to run each mile at the pace between 7’20” to 7’25” per mile. With that pace, the projected goal time was between 3:12’18” to 3:14’28”. I intended not to run faster then 7’15” pace especially in the first half. And the course was two of 13.1 mile loops, so I was going to observe the course during the first half.

The race began at 7:46am delayed by 16minutes by unknown reason…

0-1 7'23"/7'23"
1-2 7'02"/14'25"

The start was very smooth; actually too smooth. I tried to slow down gradually.

2-3 7'14"/21'39"
3-4 7'17"/28'56"
4-5 7'22"/36'18"
5-6 7'23"/43'41"
6-7 7'17"/50'58"
7-8 7'23"/58'21"

I was so relaxed and stayed calm. From my experience in the NYC Marathon, I tried to save my energy for the second half. I let other runners pass by me and kept my pace. I took the first Power Gel at the 8mile mark.

8-9 7'09"/1:05'30"
9-10 7'20"/1:012'50"
10-11 7'17"/1:20'07"
11-12 7'13"/1:27'20"
12-13 7'21"/1:34'41"

I finished the first half in 1:35’29”, at 7’17” per mile pace. It was slightly faster than my plan. But both of my physical and mental conditions were pretty good.

13-14 7'11"/1:41'52"

Most of all the runners around me were disappeared after the end of the first loop. They ran half-marathon. Suddenly I had to run by myself. I lost my pace for a while.

14-15 7'25"/1:49'27"

I refreshed my mind to think that the race began from there and was able to adjust my pace successfully. I took the second Power Gel at the 15 mile mark.

15-16 7'13"/1:56'30"
16-17 7'13"/2:03'43"
17-18 7'19"/2:11'02"
18-19 7'27"/2:18'29"
19-20 7'13"/2:25'42"

The course was so flat that I was able to keep my pace slightly faster even in the second half. I concentrated on my pace and my form. By this point of the race many of other runners began to slow down. I used those runners as my target and went from runner to runner.

20-21 7'29"/2:33'11"
21-22 7'27"/2:40'38"

Finally I felt that my pace began to slow down gradually after 20 mile. Now it was mental game beyond that point through the finish line. I took the third and last Power Gel at the 21 mile mark.

22-23 7'21"/2:47'59"
23-24 7'36"/2:55'35"
24-25 7'48"/3:03'23"
25-26 7'49"/3:11'12"

It was not easy to keep my planned pace any more. And the course was slightly up slope in this part of the course. I ran with thinking of the miles left and minutes left. At 24 mile, it was 2miles to go, it was 17 to 18 minute for me, and I had 20 minutes for my target of 3:15. At 25 miles, it was 1 mile to go….

And the final 0.2 mile was….
26-26.2 1'43"/3:12'55"


Finish time: 3:13’21” (Gross), 3:12’55” (Net) / 7’23” per mile
1st Half: 1:35’29” / 7’18” per mile
2nd Half: 1:37’26” / 7’27” per mile
Place: 76 of 1,576 runners/ 73 of 996 male runners

I cleared my target and was qualified for the Boston Marathon!
I think I did very well. I set the target successfully and executed successfully.
I was relaxed and able to concentrate through the race.

My next target is the NYC marathon of this November.
My target would be to break 3:05. I would like to prepare for that.

The last week

4/24
I participated in the running class by NYRR as usual.
The menu of the day was 6 x 0.25mile at a dirt track on the top of the Great Hill of the Central Park.

The time of the each run was 1'33", 1'39", 1'37", 1'36", 1'35" and 1'32". The total time was 9'32", the pace was 6'21" per mile.

I joined 8'00"-to-8'30"-per-mile-in-5K-race gruop that evening. That pace was slower by two minutes than usual group.
I don't need a speed work with the NY marathon 5days ahead.

4/28
The day before the marathon, I ran 4mile loop in the Central Park.
I ran the distance in 29'55". The pace was 7'29" per mile, which was almost the marathon pace.
Now I got ready.

Run for the Parks 4mile

A beautiful and hot Sunday morning, I participated in Run for the Parks 4 mile race in the Central park. The temperature was over 70°F at 10:00 am.

I did not plan to run this race. However, I heard that many of my running mates including Chiho and Yuichiro would run so I decided to run.
This race was another farewell run for Chiho and first one for Yuichiro.

I did not have any image of the target for the race. Only thing I tried was not to run too hard. With the NJ marathon was a week ahead I did not have to challenge my limit in this 4 miler.

The result was…

0- 1 　 6’37” / 6’37”
1- 2 　　6’08” / 12’45”
2- 3 　　6’25” / 19’10”
3- 4 　　6’12” / 25’22”

It was not bad.

The first mile was so crowded with the runners who were much slower than I. So I have to weave through them and lost 10 to 20 seconds. It could not be helped. It was the Central Park…

The bad point of my run was that although I intended not to go too fast in the second mile to prevent slowing down in the third mile, I failed.
Maybe I ran too fast in the last half of the first mile to get away from the crowds and kept that pace in the second mile.
The most part of the third mile was uphill, so I was among many runners who slowed down there.

So if I tried to run my best race in this course, I should line in front position as possible of the starting area. Also I should run the third mile in the pace not slower than five seconds than other miles. I would like to run within 25 minutes in some races this year.

My place was 95 of 6,575 runners, and 88 of 3,300 male runners.

After the race, we gathered to say good-bye to Chiho and Yuichiro.
We took a picture in front of the cherry blossoms. It was like a typical graduation picture in Japan.

LSD in the Rockefeller States Park

On a beautiful Saturday morning, I went to the Rockefeller States Park. I headed to Tarry town by Hudson line of the Metro North, from there my running friend picked me up to take me to the park.

I ran the trail course in the park with other six running friends.
We gathered there to run with Chiho, who was supposed to leave NYC to Japan next week with her husband, Yoichiro. It was a farewell run for her. She stayed 2 and half years in NYC. It is usual for Japanese people in NYC to go back to Japan after there assignment periods are done. Most of them stay only 3-5 years in NYC.

Chiho was one of the first running friends I had. We saw after a half marathon race in Queens April of last year. Before I saw her and other friends, running was lonely act for me. I trained alone and ran races alone. However, after I knew them I realized that I could obtain something to share with other guys through running. It made big difference on my running life.

We ran about 15 miles trail course in 2 hours and half.
The course was so beautiful and full of up and down; it was pretty good training course.
Actually we did not realize that we ran so long time and so long distance. It was easy to run speaking with friends, especially with running friends.
With best weather, best course and best friends, I thought that it was one of the best and forgettable run ever.

2 weeks to go

4/17(Tue)
I participated in the running class by NYRR as usual. It was raining and chilly evening.
There were less runners than usual participated in the class. Because it was the next day of the Boston Marathon those who ran there were not there.
The course of the day was along the east edge of Manhattan along the East river. We ran from 81st Street to the bridge at the 106th street. It was 1.25 miles course. We ran through there three times.
I was not fully recovered from last Saturday’s half marathon in Brooklyn. So I felt so tired after the first one and was not sure I was able to do next two runs. But I did.
The time of each run was 7’52”, 7’45” and 7’40”. The average pace was 6’13” per mile. I managed to keep up with other runners and ran through three laps. It was a good exercise.

4/19(Thu)
I ran along the whole loop of the Central Park.
It was a beautiful evening. The temperature was 60+.
I finished 6miles in 46’17”; it was 7’43” per mile pace.

NJ Marathon is 9days ahead.I will run 12 miles tomorrow and run 4miles race on Sunday and taper the training mileage next week to ease my fatigue.

Brooklyn Half-Marathon

I ran half-marathon in Brooklyn last Saturday. It was my second one of this year.

The race is one of the NYRR Half-marathon Grand Prix, which consists of 5 races in 5 boroughs in NYC.

It was so beautiful day. The temperature was 41F. It was the best day for a running race.

My plan for this race was to run a build-up training, to run with picking up the pace gradually.
I think I might be able to run at 6’45” per mile pace to finish 1:28’30” if I tried. However, as I have NJ Marathon 2 weeks ahead, it is not very wise to challenge my limit in this half marathon.
So I planned to run the first 4mile at 7’15” per mile, next 5miles at 7’00” and last 4.1 miles at 6’45”. The finish time would be 1:31’40”, which was my PR.

The course was from the Boardwalk of the Connie Island to the Prospect Park.
As I saw it, there were two points to care along the course; first 3mile and last 4miles.
The rest of the course was so flat and straight.

The first 3mile was on the Boardwalk. At the start line, there were almost 5,000 runners, and the Boardwalk was narrow. So if I lined up back of the crowd I would loss a couple of minutes.

The last 4miles was in the Prospect Park. There ware some uphill there. The first one was so long and tough to run after 10miles at race pace. So I kept in mind that I should save some energy for the hill.

The result was…

0-1 7'04"/7'04"

1-2 6'50"/13'54"

2-3 7'07"/21'01"

3-4 6'48"/27'49"

Maybe it was because I started from 7minutes per mile mark, the start was much smother than I expected. I was able to set the tone soon. But 6’48” in 3-4 was too fast, so I slowed the pace.

4-5 7'00"/34'49"

5-6 7'01"/41'50"

6-7 6'50"/48'40"

7-8 6'50"/55'30"

8-9 6'50"/1:02'20"

The middle miles were along the Ocean Avenue, it was so flat and straight.
After 6miles I picked up the pace as I planned. It is not so easy for me to keep the same pace in such flat and straight road; I tend to run faster. But in this race, I found a Mexican runner who was running at the slightly faster pace than my pace just ahead me at 6mile mark. I followed him. He was the best pace keeper I ever had. I was able to run at exactly same pace from 6 to 9 mile because of him. Actually I was not sure he was a Mexican or not. He might think that I was a Chinese.

9-10 6'50"/1:09'10"

10-11 6'47"/1:15'57"
11-12 6'24"/1:22'21"

12-13 6'36"/1:28'58"

Now we were in the Prospect Park.
The uphill between 10mile and 11mile was tough as expected, most of all the runners ahead slowed down so much. The pace keeper also did. But I did not. That was the hill that I focused on during the race. I saved my pace only to run through the hill, and it paid off. I passed almost all the visible runners on the hill all the way.
I was able to pick up my pace last three miles with using runners up ahead as target. Finally I was able to run as the race strategy in Bob Glover’s book.

13-13.1 0'35"/1:29'33"

Wow, I broke 1:30 for the first time!

As a result to start at slightly slower pace might help me. I was not sure whether I could brake 1:30 if I rushed at 6:45 pace from the start to aim 1:28’30”. I might get tired and slow down.

It was interesting and good experience to think about my pace in the NJ Marathon 2 weeks later.

My place was 256 of 4,847 runners, and 234 of 2,828 male runners

.

6 miles at the base pace - 3 weeks to go

It is the fiscal year end closing season. It is the busiest time for me.
I was not able to have time for running on Monday and Tuesday. I cancelled the running class for the first time in this session.

Today I managed to come home early and started to run from 7:45pm.
I ran around the whole loop of the Central Park.
The sun had just settled. It was cloudy and the temperature was 45F°.

Today I tried to run at my base pace of 8minutes per mile. And I did.
I finished 6 miles in 47'39", 7'57" per mile.

I'm not very sure I have time however I would like to run 40 miles in this week. I have 34 to go.

4/5 - 4/8

4/5(Thu)
I ran in the morning before work. It was the first morning run after the NYC marathon.
I jogged around the 4-mile loop of the Central Park. I finished 4 miles in 34’20”, mile 8’35” pace.
Running in the quiet park with hearing birds’ singing, morning run is my favorite.

4/7(Sat)
A walk off home run by A-Rod made the worst game into classic game. Today’s Yankee game was exciting. The bad news was Igawa and Matsui…
I ran after returning to home from the game. I jogged around the whole loop of the Central Park at brisk pace. I finished 6 miles in 44’41”, 7’27” per mile pace.

4/8(Sun)
I did long run training of 22 mile.
It was the second of this season. The first one was 18 mile on 3/25.

It was cloudy and windy. The temperature was 37°F.
I ran 3 whole loop (6 mile) and 4 mile loop.
I was supposed to run at 8’30” per mile pace. But I starter too fast and ran even faster at the second and third whole loop. My time was 48’54”, 47’44” and 47’25”, the pace was 8’09”, 7’57” and 7’54” per mile. Yes, it was too fast.
I was so exhausted in the last 4 mile loop. Both of my physical and mental condition fell down. I was not able to keep the pace. It took 37’11” to finish 4 miles, 9’38” per mile pace.
It was not perfect, but it was good training because I realized that my winter mileage was not enough to run the marathon at my best pace. I have to decide race pace for the NJ marathon in 3 weeks. Today’s training provided me much information on my condition, which I should consider most in planning the race.

2 miles x 2; 4weeks to go

Tuesday is NYRR running class day.
I participated in the class as usual by taking a day-off to watch the game.

It was a nice weather day today, however it was a little cold at 6:45pm when the class began.

Today's menu was 2 x 2 mile run in the Central Park.
We started at a small bridge close to the entrance at the Columbus Circle. And run north to the 72th street cutoff. Turn right at the cutoff to the East Drive. Turn right again at the East Drive and run south along the drive to the goal in front of the Tavern on the green.

The time was 12'26" for the first one and 12'27" for the last one. It was 6'13" per mile pace. It was not bad. Especially it was important for me to be able to keep the pace in the second run.

After that we ran extra 3 miles. I think the pace was 7'30" per mile.
My weekly mileage is now 7 miles; I have 38 miles to go.

Scotland run 10K

I participated in the Scotland Run 10K race in the Central park.
Today it was overcast, the temperature was 45°F at 10:00 am. It seemed that rain was about to start. It was a little cold morning.

My weekly mileage is 34.8, 0.2 short of the target. It is fine.

Scotland Run is one of the events of the Tartan week, which is a Scotland promotion event held in Manhattan from 3/31 to 4/14, built around Tartan day of 4/6.
This morning 5,717 runners were cerebrated by bagpipes. Some runners wore kilt skirts.

My last and only 10K race was on 12/11/2005; I did not run a single race of the distance last year. At that time my finish time was 48’36”, 7’50” per mile pace. It was not bad record for me in 2005. But my running was so improved through 2006, so to break the record of 2005 was not my target of today’s race. Today’s target finish time was 41’00”.

The result was…

0- 1 　 6’33” / 6’33”
1- 2 　　6’24” / 12’57”

2- 3 　　6’19” / 19’16”

3- 4 　　6’35” / 22’51”

4- 5 　　6’20“/ 32’11”

5- 6 　　6’28” / 38’39”
6- 6.2 　1’22” / 40’01”

I made it!!!

I tried not to push too much in the first half of the race, especially the second mile. It is typical failure for me to run the second mile too fast. Because in the first mile it is usual to have some delay due to the crowded course, and run the second mile faster than planned pace to recover the delay; like first mile at 7’00” and second mile at 6’00”.

Fortunately I had minimum time loss in the first mile today. And I did not run too fast in the second mile, in stead I found the pace smoothly.
The toughest part of today’s course was the north hill, which was from the last half of the third mile to the first half of the fourth mile. It was tough as I expected however I ran very well both in the uphill and downhill.
The fifth mile and six mile were also tough, but I had enough stamina to keep under 6’30” per mile. It was first time for me to run at that pace in the last mile.
I think today’s race was one of my best races. I am so satisfied with the result. However, I would like to break 40 minutes; two seconds…

My place was 144 of 5,717 runners, and 137 of 3,176 male runners.

12 miles at an easy pace

It was clear at 10:00am in NYC. The temperature was 48°.
There were so many runners in the Central Park in this spring Saturday. I thought that some of them should be in the training of the Boston Marathon on 4/16.

Today, I ran 2 whole loops of the park; it is 12miles.

I started at an easy pace of around 9 minutes per mile and picked up the pace to the base pace of 8minutes per mile.
The time was 51'48" for the first loop and 48'26" for the second one.
I finished 12 miles in 1:40'14". The average pace was 8'22" per mile.

My weekly mileage is 28.6, 6.4 to the target.

I will run 10K race tomorrow in the park.
Because the first 3 miles of the course is tougher than the rest I should try not to push too much in the first half. I would like to keep 6'30" per mile pace through the race and finish in 41'00".

It was a so beautiful spring day today, and yes, it was Friday.

Today I ran the whole loop of the Central Park.
I started at 7:30pm; the temperature was still 63°F at that time.

I finished 6miles in 46'25". It was 7'44" per mile pace.

My weekly mileage is 16.6; I have 18.4 to go for my target of this week.

6mile at the base pace

It was clear, but it was not like summer like yesterday.
The temperature was 58°F at 7:00pm.

Today, I ran the whole loop of the Central Park, 6miles.
I tried to run at my base pace of 8minutes per mile, and I did.
I finished 6miles in 47'55", 7' 59" per mile.

My weekly mileage is 10.6. I have 24.4 to go.