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RR -- NYRR Queens 10K (Read 42 times)

bluerun


Super B****

    Fourth race of the month… and it needed to be a PR, because the other three were PRs.

     

    Besides, I wasn’t even supposed to do this — I registered for it since I need 4/6 of the Five Boro Series races to qualify for the 2016 NYC Half, and at the time, I thought the Bronx 10 Mile was going to be on a Saturday.  Naturally, a couple of days after I registered for Queens (I hate this race), the Bronx date was released.  Sunday.  Of course.

     

    As if a humid rainy run in Toronto weren’t enough, this was the forecast facing me in Queens:

     

    forecast

     

    Doesn’t that look lovely?!  That course is muddy and mucky and gross even in dry conditions.  I really wanted to wear my GoRun 3s, but I decided to go with the Connect 2 instead because I feel like they have better traction.  Still not interested in slipping on wet surfaces and breaking any bones, thanks.

     

    I volunteered at bib pickup on Thursday for my +1; I brought home Chun’s bib with me, and we decided I’d hitch a ride with him up to Queens and give him his bib then.

     

    Funny little anecdote: around the time he was supposed to be picking me up, someone honked in front of the house.  I went out, opened the car door, was about to get in, and thought, You don’t look like Chun.  Turns out someone called a car service.  Said car service got the address wrong.  Okay then.  Chun was right behind the car service.  Which was still sitting there when we left.

     

    Because of the forecast, NYRR pushed the start time to 9 AM (from 8).  I wasn’t going to complain about the additional hour of sleep, but I didn’t really see how this would help the situation at all, since the forecast looked the same for either hour.

     

    We arrived stupidly early.  There were nowhere near as many people there as I would have expected; we assumed a lot of runners bailed because of the weather.  It was a lot less crowded than last year, when I couldn’t even fit into my corral.  I found out later that thanks to the MTA being its usual unreliable self, hundreds of runners were stuck on a stalled 7 train, which is a big part of why it felt so much less congested this year.  There wasn’t any tripping over others’ heels, even with all the puddles on the course.  Notice that I say puddles, but nothing about actual precipitation.  That’s because it wasn’t raining.  In fact, the sun even peeked out a bit.  (And I have to give props to NYRR for doing a fantastic job cleaning up the course: it was even clearer than last year, when it wasn’t all rainy and gross!)

     

    11218769_10153685599878352_6888563141513232964_n

     

    Everyone stayed dry before the race because I wore a garbage bag.  You’re welcome.

     

    I was aiming for somewhere around 47:15 (7:36/mile), based on last week’s disastrous 15K.  You would think that disaster would still be fresh enough in my mind for me to remember that it takes a couple of miles for the humidity to catch up with me.  I may suck at 10Ks — even though I realized today that I’ve never run one in anything but hot and humid conditions, so that might have something to do with it — but I’ve always managed to run pretty even splits.  This race?  Oh, no.  I ran such a positive split, it’s almost impressive.

     

    splits

     

    First two miles: huh, that’s bizarre, I wasn’t planning to run that fast, but hey, I feel pretty good!  I was also getting a little excited to see that for once, I was ahead of the mile markers.  And it wasn’t just me — everyone’s watches were beeping at the same time, around mile 1.05 and 2.05, or something.  (According to the markers.  I passed the first one at .94 on my watch.)

     

    So you can imagine how it slowly crushed my soul when the third mile marker didn’t show up until I was past 3.05 miles by my watch.  Particularly since at this point, I had already realized that this humidity is going to kill me because I can’t freaking breathe.

     

    It was so muggy that the paper cups at the water stations were soggy.  The fact that I know this at all indicates just how disgusting it was out there; I generally wouldn’t bother taking water during a 10K.

     

    At the halfway point, I started to play the even if I run eight-minute miles from here, I can still PR game.  (It would have been a little funny if I PRed by one second, the way I did last year.)

     

    Mile 4 until around mile 5.75 was an out-and-back stretch.  I usually kind of like that sort of thing, because you can see the runners ahead of you and behind you.  I did, in fact, see Michael on the other side of the road, but I already had precious little oxygen available for the herculean task of breathing; acknowledgement was not going to happen, not today!  By now I was playing the even if I run ten-minute miles from here, I might be able to squeak out a PR game.  Which is not a game I really like to play.

     

    At the 6-mile marker, I saw that I’d really have to make a dash for it if I wanted to PR.  After spending the previous four miles fighting the temptation to give up and let go of the idea of a PR today, I was not about to have it snatched away from me when I was already so close to it.  Don’t ask me where I managed to find the tiny bit of energy that required, because I really don’t know.  I’m just glad I did.

     

    unofficial2

     

    PR by thirteen seconds.  Nowhere near what I should be capable of running — it should be at least a minute faster.  And yes, I’m a little annoyed that I didn’t manage to even break 48:00.  But when you consider this…

     

    weather

     

    …I guess I should just be glad I didn’t die.

     

    I paid the requisite visit to the med tent to get an ice wrap for my knee.  It’s probably stupid to even bother, but I think it does help a bit; it hurts much more the next day if I haven’t iced it after a run.  Even though I feel like it doesn’t matter what the hell I do anymore, because this is just never going to stop hurting.

     

    I don’t have an official time yet; thanks to the 7 train debacle, NYRR left the start mat up for an extra hour, so it will take some time for them to release the official results.  So I don’t know my placement, but I guess that doesn’t really matter.  It is a PR, give or take a second either way.

     

    Garmin stats: 6.32 miles in 48:06, 7:37/mile.  Which, come to think of it, is almost exactly the pace I needed for that 47:15.  If I would have run 6.2 miles, not 6.32.  (I’m sensing a theme here… same thing happened in Toronto.)  For the 6.2 miles, unofficially, 48:02, 7:44/mile.  Not quite good enough.

     

    I should probably run a 10K in decent weather one day.  Just to see whether I’m really incompatible with the distance.

    chasing the impossible

     

    because i never shut up ... i blog

    Docket_Rocket


      You sure write a funny RR.  Great job!

      Damaris

       

      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

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        Nice job, Blue.  It would be nice to see some good weather for you for a change.  But, PR!

        Cyberic


          Love your RRs!

          Congrats on the race

          PADRunner


            Nice job. Congrats on another PR.


            From the Internet.

              Maybe you need to sneak up on the 10K next time - find a race where you can register on site once you're SURE the weather is going to be good, wear a disguise on the way there so the weather doesn't figure out your plan and suddenly go to shit.

               

              Congrats on the PR even though the conditions weren't great, and thanks for an entertaining RR!

              onemile


                Nice. Can I have some of your PR magic?

                Jill.


                Penguin Power!

                  Great job PRing in those conditions.  I ran the race as well and holy crap was it muggy.  Nice call on arriving stupidly early.  I'm sure you've heard about the whole ordeal with the 7 train going down and people not making it on time.  Now some people are claiming that anyone who registered for the race should get 9+1 and 4/6 credit which I think is a bit ridiculous.

                  Upcoming Races: Run as One 4M (4/24) * Japan Run 4M (5/8) * Brooklyn Half (5/21) 

                  bluerun


                  Super B****

                    Docket -- trust me, it wasn't at all funny at the time!!  Thanks.

                     

                    Jay -- but if I got good weather, I wouldn't have any excuse for a sucky race!  (Who, me, a pessimist?  Never.)

                     

                    Cy, PAD -- thank you!

                     

                    Lauren -- you know, there ARE some fall/winter races here that are a 5K and a 10K... I just always choose to do the 5K (and I've PRed there a few times).  Technically, I could do them both, since the 5K starts half an hour before the 10K.  That will end well, I'm sure...

                     

                    onemile -- the magic involves being really crappy at a given distance so that you can PR without it being TOO hard.  Magic formula, see?

                     

                    sapf -- ugh, yes, did you see the NYRR pictures?!  Everyone is literally dripping.  (As for the train debacle... I don't think people who just decided to stay home because the weather was nasty should get credit.  But how can you prove that?  Glad it's not my problem to find a solution here.)

                    chasing the impossible

                     

                    because i never shut up ... i blog

                    music_girl117


                      You are a PR machine!  Good work.   And yeah, high dewpoints are nothing to sneeze at; you have nothing to feel bad about.

                      PRs:

                      5k - 22:53  (May 2015)

                      10k - 50:00 (unofficial; part of 20k race, March 2015); 50:33 (official; July 2016)

                      HM - 1:48:40  (Apr. 2015)

                      LRB


                        This reminds me of a 10k I run during the last few days of August, or first week of September depending on the year. With dew point north of 70 and temps to match, it is just a complete and utter mind job!

                         

                        You really put the pedal to the metal this month. Wu Tang up in this piece, blaze that shit yo.

                         

                        What's next?

                        bluerun


                        Super B****

                          music_girl -- thanks!  Sometimes I manage to convince myself that conditions won't be as bad as I think they'll be... this time I was right.  They were worse.

                           

                          This reminds me of a 10k I run during the last few days of August, or first week of September depending on the year. With dew point north of 70 and temps to match, it is just a complete and utter mind job!

                           

                          You really put the pedal to the metal this month. Wu Tang up in this piece, blaze that shit yo.

                           

                          What's next?

                           

                          Couple of 5Ks in July, I think... I don't see any more PRs on the horizon for a while.  But then, I guess you never know...

                          chasing the impossible

                           

                          because i never shut up ... i blog