Went to watch Up at the Ziegfeld Theatre. Didn't regret it one bit. And when we got home, I ended up taking a short nap. I usually like to do an interval and intense type of workout three days before a race, but I was just too tired. I'll probably stretch and do some core workouts this evening.
And as far as Up is concerned, I give it a two thumbs sideways. The Incredibles and Aladdin are still my favorites.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Kama'aina Potluck
There's nothing like seeing a bunch of Hawaii (or Hawaii spirited) folks transplanted into New York City. It's a great thing that Halawai (http://www.halawai.org) organizes this potluck once a year to bask with others in the aloha spirit, live Hawaiian music and of course the great food. My wife baked some amazing butter mochi and manju sandwiched between a photo shoot and an audition. Not sure how she found the time to do all that.
My favorite part about going to these gatherings is the feeling that I was going to come across someone I knew back home. Sure enough, I came across a neighbor that lived in the same building back home. We'd never exchanged greetings in Hawaii even though we saw each other pretty often. We had to move 5000 miles to get acquainted.
After several hours of mingling and eating, I knew I needed to go for a run to set me straight. I'd had too much sugar. How could I resist all the local treats?? After the run, I had a savory dinner, cup of tea, watched the basketball game, and now putting a good full day behind me.
Training, where have you gone?
My favorite part about going to these gatherings is the feeling that I was going to come across someone I knew back home. Sure enough, I came across a neighbor that lived in the same building back home. We'd never exchanged greetings in Hawaii even though we saw each other pretty often. We had to move 5000 miles to get acquainted.
After several hours of mingling and eating, I knew I needed to go for a run to set me straight. I'd had too much sugar. How could I resist all the local treats?? After the run, I had a savory dinner, cup of tea, watched the basketball game, and now putting a good full day behind me.
Training, where have you gone?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
National Running Day!
In honor of National Running Day, I supposed I owed it to the running world to do my fair share of mileage today. Did an easy run around the park with a good friend and had even hoped to see Deena Kastor since she was hosting a group run today. Alas, there didn't seem to be too many people in the park because of the rain and cooler weather. As for myself, I ended up doing 8.22 miles at 1:07. Probably won't run again until this weekend to keep my mileage down. Will need to do at least one more speed workout this week.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
NYRR Workout | 800m Repeats
There's always something joltingly nice about hard workouts after a long day at the office. It was hard to get going, but I've learned that's only in my head. Also still felt a little stiff from Sunday's race, so I wasn't sure what kind of effort I could put in tonight.
Heading out to the NYRR, I noticed it was also really muggy tonight. When I finally got there, I was already soaking in my sweat. The repeats did feel pretty heavy tonight. The first 3 repeats felt harder than the actual pace. I'm guessing it's because of the heat and leg fatigue.
I also decided to try something different tonight - jumped up to the faster group for the last 2 repeats. It had always been sort of a mental block for me to join that group but it actually wasn't that bad. Here were my results:
1 - 3:10
2 - 3:07
3 - 2:58
4 - 2:59
5 - 2:49
6 - 2:52
(forgot to press the lap btn after the 3rd repeat but I remembered the splits)
The other reason I wanted to jump up to the other group was because I'll be running the Corporate Challenge in 9 days. I wanted to feel that a 3:10 pace is easy so that I could do 6:20 for the first 2.5 miles and try for 6:00 the last mile. It's probably aggresive aspirations, but I prefer to shoot for the stars and miss than aim for the gutter and hit.
Heading out to the NYRR, I noticed it was also really muggy tonight. When I finally got there, I was already soaking in my sweat. The repeats did feel pretty heavy tonight. The first 3 repeats felt harder than the actual pace. I'm guessing it's because of the heat and leg fatigue.
I also decided to try something different tonight - jumped up to the faster group for the last 2 repeats. It had always been sort of a mental block for me to join that group but it actually wasn't that bad. Here were my results:
1 - 3:10
2 - 3:07
3 - 2:58
4 - 2:59
5 - 2:49
6 - 2:52
(forgot to press the lap btn after the 3rd repeat but I remembered the splits)
The other reason I wanted to jump up to the other group was because I'll be running the Corporate Challenge in 9 days. I wanted to feel that a 3:10 pace is easy so that I could do 6:20 for the first 2.5 miles and try for 6:00 the last mile. It's probably aggresive aspirations, but I prefer to shoot for the stars and miss than aim for the gutter and hit.
Monday, June 1, 2009
May 09 Mileage and Recap
Looking at my my events earlier this year, I knew May was going to be busy considering that I had planned 3-4 races: NJ Marathon, Queens Biathlon, Brooklyn Half (skipped), and Japan Day race. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be because I ended up going light on my miles after the NJ Marathon. Here's a look at my mileage calendar for May 09:
As you can see, my post marathon schedule went really easy. I was just happy to have finally qualified for Boston and have been really relaxing since. This is some of the lowest mileage I've posted in a while and it feels pretty good. Fortunately, I've been able to keep up the intensity and managed to post a PR for Japan Day.
As you can see, my post marathon schedule went really easy. I was just happy to have finally qualified for Boston and have been really relaxing since. This is some of the lowest mileage I've posted in a while and it feels pretty good. Fortunately, I've been able to keep up the intensity and managed to post a PR for Japan Day.
Race Report: 2009 Japan Day 4-miler - Final Thoughts
Post race thoughts always linger to the day after for me and I like to learn what I can in the hopes of getting better. Some of today's thoughts...
- I'm very happy about 3 straight PR's, but...
- I could have done the first mile faster with more time to warm-up
- Even with Cat Hill, I think I could have done mile 3 faster
- Try to start closer up front to mitigate traffic and weaving. Actual distance was 4.04mi yesterday, which added about 12-15 seconds to the race.
- Still can't figure out how I ran 6:19 pace for 3.5mi in last year's corporate challenge. Yet, I feel faster this year.
- Racing down hills to make up time will always hurt more the next day than running up hill
- Not running 10k the day before as previously planned I'm sure helped keep my legs fresh
- I'm enjoying taking time off from long runs for now
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Race Report: Japan Day 4-miler
First of all, here is the official line from the race:
Here is my race according to my Garmin 405.
Quick summary:
Finish time: 26:14*
Pace: 6:33*
Overall place: 166
* PR! Previous bests were 26:33/6:38
This was one of those races where I would be satisfied with the time my max effort gave. I wasn't sure if max effort was going to be a PR, but I entered the race pretty well rested and relaxed. I was more concerned about some friends doing a race for the first time today and making sure that it was worthwhile for them.
Got to the race at about 7:45am. That was a little late because I wanted to warm up. Left my friends and Sara after the cab dropped us off so I could do some warm up yardage. I wanted to start off this race faster than the last race, which to me meant about 6:30 or so. I also wanted to to see if I could run the last mile sub 6.
Mile 1 (from Garmin splits: 6:43 covering 1.01m - 6:40 avg )
Like I said, I wanted to start off faster than my last race. NYRR speed classes 3 wks ago were 800m repeats and I wanted to try and replicate just a little less than the effort of 800m @ 3mins. I ended up doing 6:43, which was a little slower than I'd hoped but didn't feel too bad considering that the 1st mile was rolling hills. Max HR was 181, which means I was serious today.
Mile 2 (from Garmin splits: 6:24 covering 1.01m - 6:22 avg )
If you're wondering, the extra .01 mileage comes from the weaving and running with traffic. The second mile included the descent from the highest point of the park so I wanted it to be a fast mile. Max HR was 184, indicating that I continued to push.
Mile 3 (from Garmin splits: 6:50 covering 1.01m - 6:47 avg )
This mile included Cat Hill so I knew it was going to be a slower mile. I tried to approach this mile as damage control. I didn't like seeing my time above 6:40's, but I felt like I was starting to red line so I had no choice. Max HR of 189 confims that I was red lining.
Mile 4 (from Garmin splits: 6:19 covering 1.02m - 6:11 avg )
I don't monitor my HR during a race, but I knew it had to have been high because I was hurting. As I passed the mile 3 marker, I knew there was no way I could do a sub 6 mile. I tried to shoot for 6:15. Thankfully, a fast local runner passed me. I tried to keep pace with her but failed. The final 800m was some of the most painful 3+ minutes of my racing life. I just tried to draw from my previous workouts/races to remind me that I could hold on. Finally crossed the line at 26:17. Max HR was 193. That's the highest HR I've ever had and seen that only one other time during last year's urbanathlon.
I didn't go into today's race thinking of a PR but glad I came away with one for the third straight race now: Run As One, NJ Marathon, and today. Last year, I didn't want to run these shorter races hard. They hurt. I'm discovering, though, that they're rewarding in a different way.
Japan Day NYRR event page
Here is my race according to my Garmin 405.Quick summary:
Finish time: 26:14*
Pace: 6:33*
Overall place: 166
* PR! Previous bests were 26:33/6:38
This was one of those races where I would be satisfied with the time my max effort gave. I wasn't sure if max effort was going to be a PR, but I entered the race pretty well rested and relaxed. I was more concerned about some friends doing a race for the first time today and making sure that it was worthwhile for them.
Got to the race at about 7:45am. That was a little late because I wanted to warm up. Left my friends and Sara after the cab dropped us off so I could do some warm up yardage. I wanted to start off this race faster than the last race, which to me meant about 6:30 or so. I also wanted to to see if I could run the last mile sub 6.
Mile 1 (from Garmin splits: 6:43 covering 1.01m - 6:40 avg )
Like I said, I wanted to start off faster than my last race. NYRR speed classes 3 wks ago were 800m repeats and I wanted to try and replicate just a little less than the effort of 800m @ 3mins. I ended up doing 6:43, which was a little slower than I'd hoped but didn't feel too bad considering that the 1st mile was rolling hills. Max HR was 181, which means I was serious today.
Mile 2 (from Garmin splits: 6:24 covering 1.01m - 6:22 avg )
If you're wondering, the extra .01 mileage comes from the weaving and running with traffic. The second mile included the descent from the highest point of the park so I wanted it to be a fast mile. Max HR was 184, indicating that I continued to push.
Mile 3 (from Garmin splits: 6:50 covering 1.01m - 6:47 avg )
This mile included Cat Hill so I knew it was going to be a slower mile. I tried to approach this mile as damage control. I didn't like seeing my time above 6:40's, but I felt like I was starting to red line so I had no choice. Max HR of 189 confims that I was red lining.
Mile 4 (from Garmin splits: 6:19 covering 1.02m - 6:11 avg )
I don't monitor my HR during a race, but I knew it had to have been high because I was hurting. As I passed the mile 3 marker, I knew there was no way I could do a sub 6 mile. I tried to shoot for 6:15. Thankfully, a fast local runner passed me. I tried to keep pace with her but failed. The final 800m was some of the most painful 3+ minutes of my racing life. I just tried to draw from my previous workouts/races to remind me that I could hold on. Finally crossed the line at 26:17. Max HR was 193. That's the highest HR I've ever had and seen that only one other time during last year's urbanathlon.
I didn't go into today's race thinking of a PR but glad I came away with one for the third straight race now: Run As One, NJ Marathon, and today. Last year, I didn't want to run these shorter races hard. They hurt. I'm discovering, though, that they're rewarding in a different way.
Japan Day NYRR event page
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