Sunday, February 25, 2007

Al Gordon Snowflake 4 Miler

At 8:00AM Saturday I ran the Al Gordon Snowflake 4 miler hosted by the New York Road Runners Club. Well over 2,200 men (and as many women - though the women's start was an hour later) charged through Central Park.

Stiff winds made the 20 degree weather feel much colder. Fortunately the sun helped to warm things slightly. I opted to go with my newly acquired CW-X Insulator Pro tights which are rather pricey but do keep you warm and allow for a good range of motion. As an added bonus they look and feel pretty good too.

photo by Jared Mestre
This was a Club Points race but I wasn't wearing my team singlet (shame on me) which is why there is only this profile shot of me...

Splitting the men's and women's starts helped with the typical congestion of the first few miles. I also had hopes of absolutely destroying this race by running it in under 25 minutes. Thus, I lined up toward the front of the queue. The horn sounded and we were off.

The first mile was a challenge for me as I didn't stretch or warm-up properly. My breathing was labored, my legs felt dead and as I passed the first mile marker I was already behind -- 6:22. I stepped it up a bit and clicked off the second mile in 6:14.

Going into the third mile I settled into the pace, got my breathing under control and my dead legs got some life. Cat Hill reversed all that leaving me with a split of 6:28 and no hope of a sub 25 minute race.

The final mile of the race was mostly flat with a down hill sprint to the finish. I held my pace and then surged the last 400 meters for a 6:14.

While short of my goal, my official time of 25:23 still represents a pretty fair personal record. Prior, my best 4 miler was a minute and a half slower.

Congratulations to my fellow teammates for their terrific efforts!

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
-Muhammad Ali (became the Heavyweight Champion on this day in 1964)

11 comments:

DebbieJRT said...

Congrats on your PR!

Stephanie said...

Great job Josh!

Bridges Runner said...

Wow! Excellent job! A minute and a half PR for 4 miles? That's huge.

JustRun said...

Nice job! And brrrr!

Deene said...

good job! it's the new duds that put a bounce in your steps!

Rhea said...

You crushed your PR! Congrats on a job well done.

Chelle said...

Slightly warmer temps and a decent warm up...that sub-25 will be yours, oh yes it will. Excellent race. Don't those PRs feel good?!

Phil said...

Great PR in very cold conditions.

Morrissey said...

congrats josh! that's an awesome time!

Rich said...

Man, that's a cold race! Nice job though!

nyflygirl said...

great job!! those conditions were definitely not ideal for racing (which was why i made a game-time decision to tempo it)...there are 2 chances next month to go for the 25!!

I'm curious about those tights...I see them everywhere, do they really help that much? (i'd more be hesitant of wearing anything that draws that much attention to the lower body...though vanity has no place in running...)