Weekend Mileage

In terms of running mileage, this past weekend was pretty good – I logged about 25 miles in two days.

On Saturday morning I headed up to Rockefeller State Park for a 20 miler with a bunch of runners from the Hellgate Road Runners Club. We were also joined by Chelle - a remarkable runner who gave several of the Hellgate guys a very serious workout!

I opted to run with Alan and Janine at a more conservative pace of about 8 minute per mile pace - give or take. We’d never been to Rockefeller State Park and we promptly got lost in the 1,233 acre preserve. Heading this way, then that way, then back again we ended up somewhere off the marked trails and our sweat soaked map was fairly useless. After frequent stops to attempt to orient ourselves we finally found a knowledgeable runner who pointed us in the right direction and with his help we soon found our way back to the named trails on our map. At about this point it also started raining... Fortunately the rain only lasted 15-20 minutes and we didn't get too soaked because the forest canopy is still pretty thick with foliage.

The trails themselves are great. They provide gorgeous scenery and the packed-dirt trails offer softer footing than New York City streets. The more forgiving running surface is very friendly on the knees but it also absorbs much of the energy return that would normally help propel your stride. As a result, more effort is needed to maintain the same pace on a trail than on the street. And let us not forget the hills!

Personally, I was ready to call it a day at about mile 16. Janine had something else in mind. To quote her: “I feel like shit, but, I came up here to run 20 and I am going to run 20!” Well, that was all the inspiration I needed. I took off and ran the last 3 miles all out (7-min pace). Thank you Janine!

I was a touch stiff on Sunday but still felt ok despite not stretching out much after the 20. Salena and I had some personal obligations and errands to take care of during the day so my “recovery run” had to wait until afternoon. When I did get out for an easy 5 miler it turned faster and faster with each mile. Whoops…there goes my easy workout! Instead I ran a series of negative splits.

• Mile 1 – 8:23
• Mile 2 – 8:03
• Mile 3 – 7:50
• Mile 4 – 7:33
• Mile 5 – 7:18
  

Regardless, it felt great to get out and push the pace. Maybe I’ll take it easy today. Maybe...

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."
-Steve Prefontaine