Hills are my friends. They should be yours as well:-p Last night our weekly speed session led us to the fabulous Harlem Hills at the northern end of Central Park. We did the loop clockwise as a prequel of the 10k to come next Saturday. And not just once...not twice...oh yes...THREE times is the charm. Perfect 10K training....and just enough to get those juices flowing (and yay for my suggestion being used:-)). The loop is 1.15 miles and the recovery was across the transverse or ~.26 miles.
So the time came to split into groups and this time Coach Sponge made sure I went out hard as he helped pace me through the first couple laps. It was hard but manageable as is evident by my splits which...surprise, surprise...we're right on target! Most impressive to me is the negative split for the second half which is definitely the harder portion of hills.
8:16 (4:32 + 3:44) [pace per mile: 7:19 + 7:02]
8:06 (4:23 + 3:43) [pace per mile: 7:04 + 7:01]
8:04 (4:21 + 3:43) [pace per mile: 7:01 + 7:01]<---argh if I knew...I would have given just a nudge more to get under 7!
I also picked up a new way to break up the nastiness of those hills by splitting it into chunks. It is such a mental exercise....and should come in handy for the races to come.
So the mini...yeah I am starting to get a number in my mind but it's all going to come down to how everything shakes out that day. I think there will be a whole lot of redemption going on but hey...can't be too cocky because that 5K certainly taught me a thing or two about that!
Also - how to get rid of race t-shirts:
Last night I brought a dry shirt for after the run since a bunch of us did post-speed dinner. So I just hung it on the fence because who wants a scuffy old shirt? So I do the workout and socialize a bit….and head to the fence to get my shirt. There's an old homeless dude in a wheelchair with about 3 shirts (all of them were our shirts...). He then goes "oh is this yours?" LOL…even if it was, I instinctively answer "no." Fortunately for another teammate, as he ran shirtless, the homeless dude didn't take his running shirt....:-p Guess you had to be there but it was pretty funny to see this homeless dude because I know my shirt wouldn't fit him!!
So my gridiron shirt is in homeless man land.
And finally - today begins year 4 in NYC for me...oh my
So the time came to split into groups and this time Coach Sponge made sure I went out hard as he helped pace me through the first couple laps. It was hard but manageable as is evident by my splits which...surprise, surprise...we're right on target! Most impressive to me is the negative split for the second half which is definitely the harder portion of hills.
8:16 (4:32 + 3:44) [pace per mile: 7:19 + 7:02]
8:06 (4:23 + 3:43) [pace per mile: 7:04 + 7:01]
8:04 (4:21 + 3:43) [pace per mile: 7:01 + 7:01]<---argh if I knew...I would have given just a nudge more to get under 7!
I also picked up a new way to break up the nastiness of those hills by splitting it into chunks. It is such a mental exercise....and should come in handy for the races to come.
So the mini...yeah I am starting to get a number in my mind but it's all going to come down to how everything shakes out that day. I think there will be a whole lot of redemption going on but hey...can't be too cocky because that 5K certainly taught me a thing or two about that!
Also - how to get rid of race t-shirts:
Last night I brought a dry shirt for after the run since a bunch of us did post-speed dinner. So I just hung it on the fence because who wants a scuffy old shirt? So I do the workout and socialize a bit….and head to the fence to get my shirt. There's an old homeless dude in a wheelchair with about 3 shirts (all of them were our shirts...). He then goes "oh is this yours?" LOL…even if it was, I instinctively answer "no." Fortunately for another teammate, as he ran shirtless, the homeless dude didn't take his running shirt....:-p Guess you had to be there but it was pretty funny to see this homeless dude because I know my shirt wouldn't fit him!!
So my gridiron shirt is in homeless man land.
And finally - today begins year 4 in NYC for me...oh my
energetic
Is this yours?
Next time you'll know to hide your shirt deep in the bushes like I did!
hills
Emré