Ok, I haven’t been able to post for a few days. I’m back to explain my PRs.
5k – I think this may be my finest running hour. I ran this time at a cross country invitational during my senior year on a day when our top two runners were out with injuries and our coach was looking for someone to step up. My previous PR was around 16:20 so I was a little worried when the opening split was a 5:05. I had never been that close to the front of the pack in a race before and it was more than a little uncomfortable. I persevered, however, and stuck with the leaders for much of the race. Upon entering the final stretch I was gassed. At this point 2-3 other runners passed me, but I managed to hold off several others and ended up with a 10th place finish. 10th place with a 15:50? You have to understand that, at the time I was in high school, central New York was absolutely loaded with DI running talent. My 15:50 was about a minutes behind the winner and a sub-15 was usually required to win an invitational. I managed an honorable mention all-league that year, but I was a very average runner in high school.
Five miles – This was a really fast training run in January 2006. The mileage was measured with my Garmin, so I don’t count this as a legitimate record. I’ve never raced a five miler otherwise.
10k – I’ve only run two 10k races ever – both in the late 80s. I have no recollection of my times, but they were much faster than what I have designated as my current PR. This time comes from a 10k split (that I believe to be short) from a half marathon that I ran in June 2006. I was running a great race that morning until I tweaked my hamstring in the 9th mile of that race. I ended up limping in to the finish, although that time was then a modest PR. A very disappointing race.
15k – This time came from a race that I ran in November 2006. My mileage leading up to this race was mediocre and I did zero speedwork. I had no expectations for this race, so the PR was a little surprising. My previous PR at this distance came from my high school years when I was in great shape but had no idea how to tackle this distance from a strategic standpoint.
10 miles – Another split from a half-marathon. This time, it’s from my half PR effort in April 2007. I’ve never raced a true 10 miler.
20k – Another training run. I’m relying on my Garmin again for the mileage, so this is another PR that I don’t put too much stock in.
Half-Marathon – From the Skunk Cabbage Classic in Ithaca, New York. I ran this race on April 1, 2007 as a tune-up for the New Jersey Marathon later that month. It was a cold (38 degrees), rainy, blustery day with occasional gusts of wind of up to 40 mph. I thought that I might PR, but I wasn’t expecting the weather. Apparently the weather wasn’t an issue because I got stronger as the race progressed. My last mile was run at a 6:20 pace and I felt like I had at least a little something left in the tank at the end of the race.
Marathon – The New Jersey Marathon on April 29, 2007. I’ve run three marathons, but this one, my second, was my only true effort at the distance. I was woefully unprepared for my first marathon but somehow managed to hold onto a BQ pace for 24 miles. From there I blew up in spectacular fashion in a 3:22:xx effort. I trained with a purpose for my second marathon. I did all of the long runs and all of the speed work prescribed by Jack Daniels. During the race, I ran with the 3:10 pace group and stayed with them for the first 22 miles of the race. At that point a started to slow down some, but managed to hold on to my Boston Qualifying time. It was frustrating to watch the pace group slip away ever so slowly. I was worried for the entire second half of the race that I might blow up again like during my first effort so the BQ was not a certainty until I actually crossed the finish line. I should have been happy, but my oxygen-starved brain didn’t realize that I had qualified at first because I somehow forgot during the race that my qualifying time was a 3:15:59 and not a 3:10:59. So, for the first few minutes after crossing the finish line I was under the impression that I had missed the cut-off by exactly one minute. You can imagine my delight when I realized my error.
Running: lots of easy miles. I have some intervals on the schedule tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they go.
5k – I think this may be my finest running hour. I ran this time at a cross country invitational during my senior year on a day when our top two runners were out with injuries and our coach was looking for someone to step up. My previous PR was around 16:20 so I was a little worried when the opening split was a 5:05. I had never been that close to the front of the pack in a race before and it was more than a little uncomfortable. I persevered, however, and stuck with the leaders for much of the race. Upon entering the final stretch I was gassed. At this point 2-3 other runners passed me, but I managed to hold off several others and ended up with a 10th place finish. 10th place with a 15:50? You have to understand that, at the time I was in high school, central New York was absolutely loaded with DI running talent. My 15:50 was about a minutes behind the winner and a sub-15 was usually required to win an invitational. I managed an honorable mention all-league that year, but I was a very average runner in high school.
Five miles – This was a really fast training run in January 2006. The mileage was measured with my Garmin, so I don’t count this as a legitimate record. I’ve never raced a five miler otherwise.
10k – I’ve only run two 10k races ever – both in the late 80s. I have no recollection of my times, but they were much faster than what I have designated as my current PR. This time comes from a 10k split (that I believe to be short) from a half marathon that I ran in June 2006. I was running a great race that morning until I tweaked my hamstring in the 9th mile of that race. I ended up limping in to the finish, although that time was then a modest PR. A very disappointing race.
15k – This time came from a race that I ran in November 2006. My mileage leading up to this race was mediocre and I did zero speedwork. I had no expectations for this race, so the PR was a little surprising. My previous PR at this distance came from my high school years when I was in great shape but had no idea how to tackle this distance from a strategic standpoint.
10 miles – Another split from a half-marathon. This time, it’s from my half PR effort in April 2007. I’ve never raced a true 10 miler.
20k – Another training run. I’m relying on my Garmin again for the mileage, so this is another PR that I don’t put too much stock in.
Half-Marathon – From the Skunk Cabbage Classic in Ithaca, New York. I ran this race on April 1, 2007 as a tune-up for the New Jersey Marathon later that month. It was a cold (38 degrees), rainy, blustery day with occasional gusts of wind of up to 40 mph. I thought that I might PR, but I wasn’t expecting the weather. Apparently the weather wasn’t an issue because I got stronger as the race progressed. My last mile was run at a 6:20 pace and I felt like I had at least a little something left in the tank at the end of the race.
Marathon – The New Jersey Marathon on April 29, 2007. I’ve run three marathons, but this one, my second, was my only true effort at the distance. I was woefully unprepared for my first marathon but somehow managed to hold onto a BQ pace for 24 miles. From there I blew up in spectacular fashion in a 3:22:xx effort. I trained with a purpose for my second marathon. I did all of the long runs and all of the speed work prescribed by Jack Daniels. During the race, I ran with the 3:10 pace group and stayed with them for the first 22 miles of the race. At that point a started to slow down some, but managed to hold on to my Boston Qualifying time. It was frustrating to watch the pace group slip away ever so slowly. I was worried for the entire second half of the race that I might blow up again like during my first effort so the BQ was not a certainty until I actually crossed the finish line. I should have been happy, but my oxygen-starved brain didn’t realize that I had qualified at first because I somehow forgot during the race that my qualifying time was a 3:15:59 and not a 3:10:59. So, for the first few minutes after crossing the finish line I was under the impression that I had missed the cut-off by exactly one minute. You can imagine my delight when I realized my error.
Running: lots of easy miles. I have some intervals on the schedule tomorrow. I’ll let you know how they go.
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