I went out with the goal of a minimum 16 miles. Given how I have been feeling lately, I thought that distance made sense. I started late @ 11:16 a.m. I probably should have swung by to check out the pros competing in the NYRR Fifth Avenue Mile race this morning, but I was happy to sleep in and let my wife run before me.
Thankfully, the weather could not have been more accommodating for a LR … 61*, 60% humidity and a nice crisp breeze. I took a warm up lap around the Reservoir Path (1.6 miles) and then made my way to the Outer Loop (6.02 miles). As I was moving along, I felt relaxed and balanced. Not pushing pace, but not holding back either. Everything was flowing … I felt plenty hydrated throughout the first Loop. No need for a mid-Loop water break, so I waited until mile 7 (Central Park Boathouse) to release, refuel with a GU (Tri-Berry) and pick up a Gatorade for the next Loop.
Rather than repeating the entire Outer Loop, I chose the 5.1-mile alternative … generally the same except you eliminate the North Woods and Harlem Hill (144 ft. elevation). Feeling strong, I felt no need for water break, so I again circled the park and refueled at the Boathouse (last GU). At this point, I was a bit surprised how good I felt – breathing easy, legs were solid.
I expected the final Loop to be a struggle, but I just kept motoring along. I wasn’t really focusing on pacing … it would be what it would be. I just let my mind roam free (no music/headphones for me). I was feeling very confident about hitting 16, but then decided to take a shot at 18. To a person, long distance runners will tell you the difference between 16 and 18 miles are far more than 2 miles. Until I did it, I thought struggle might be psychological. Let me tell you it is 100% physical. At this point, your fuel tank is empty (glycogen at 0.00) … GU does not help, Gatorade does not help. At about 16.25 miles, I suddenly felt a strange, sharp pull in my ribs, side cramps and a slight headache. I stopped, grabbed a drink, stretched and said there is absolutely no way I am not finishing this off. It only slightly helped. My body wanted a porterhouse and baked potato. The vendors in Central Park are great, but they were not wheeling a cart from Peter Luger’s Steakhouse. I made it, but it was brutal.
When I finished up and looked at average pacing I almost fell over … 9:38. Stunned. Absolutely. Stunned. But for 2 bad patches, (guess which miles those were … at 17 and 18) I would be skipping happy. The vast majority of splits were 9:10-9:30. For mile 16, I threw down an 8:38 (high end of 10K pace). It’s not necessarily the better pacing that I’m happy with … it’s how easy it felt. I only incorporated tempo runs in the last couple of weeks and am seeing results. This is pretty sweet!
My goal is to get down to 8:30 half marathon pace by January. I might just be able to do it.