I have updated this in light of the good comments.

Races

I ran into J&J a week ago. I was recovering from my 2.5 miler. They were preparing for their respective 5K and 10K on Memorial Day. Jonathan asked why I was not performing as well this year as I had a couple of years back. It is an issue that I’ve debated with myself — and it’s nice that runners can criticize one another without offense being taken — and I think I simply need to keep things structured and not allow them, as I have, to meander. So that’s the goal for the Fall, whether I race the marathon or just target a shorter race in November. I realize I’ll be slower. I want to minimize the drop-off and need to remember what worked before and do it again.

It’s hard to place too much on a summertime race, and while Summer’s not here technically it sure is physically. That’s a reason to build toward a May race as the target one, i.e., the one you count back from when developing a training schedule, which allows one to carry that fitness forward as she transfers to the Fall season.

Anyway, I’ve made some advances, some might call them retreats, in my racing schedule. I decided against the Fairfield Half; I’m just not ready to run that far that fast.

That means that I have no immediate focus. That means that I have started to think of racing the marathon on Nov. 7. That means that my runs now are intended to get my base up. I wish I had a larger one coming in. But I don’t. I’m leaning toward the race, but it’ll depend on how the next couple of months go, in terms of build-up.

I’m struggling a bit in the heat, although by a considerable conscious effort I hope to slow things down. Years ago I wore a Polar HRM to slow myself down. I’m trying the same thing with my Garmin, albeit without the HRM. Keep it slow. In times past I’ve found it difficult to get comfortable at slower paces. It doesn’t, however, feel so difficult now. So this time I hope it works. It was OK yesterday, although a tight Achilles tendon forced me to stop about 3/4 of a mile from home, at about 8.5.

Even better, today was two laps on the Twin Lakes/Nature Study course. Each loop is about 4.6 miles. The beauty of it is that it’s largely in the shade throughout and I park in a parking lot by a stable (yes, one does come upon horses now and then; they have the right of way) so can stop each lap for water and gels. That ability made all of the difference in a twenty-miler a few years back, and it helped today as well as I did a quick stop for water after one loop.

It was a “no way” run; early on I think there is no way I’ll finish but I get moving, reined in by the need to keep the pace even, and I finish. It was pretty humid.

Speaking of Garmins, folks seem obsessed, even some quite quick ones. Robert (see below) and I recently had a debate on the utility of wearing a Garmin in a race. He raced the quite good point that it can come in handy in the first half-mile or so to get a sense of how fast (or slow) you’re going after the gun. Good point there. I find it useful in training as well, particularly for long tempos and MP work, in addition to keeping-it-slow stuff. It is just a tool though, and it can be an inaccurate one.

Race-wise, it’ll be chiefly Club races plus a few 5Ks at Van Cortlandt. I am doing the running leg of the Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon on September 12. It’s about 5.2 miles around the Stockbridge Bowl, finishing at Tanglewood, in Lenox, MA. There’s a bike then a canoe, then the run. Should be fun (although there’s a potential conflict with a Club race the day before). (Alas, it’s also on the day of the Tuckahoe Challenge.)

I’m also passing on the Rockies 10K next weekend. Again, I can’t get my head around that one either.

So I’m dusting off my Daniels.

The Bar

I was in Hartford, Connecticut Friday to be admitted to the Connecticut Bar, having passed the exam and gotten all of my paperwork in order. Although the ceremony was in the Connecticut Supreme Court Building, it was not in the courtroom itself — you could get pictures there afterward — but in a larger hall for the Connecticut Historical Society. Some states have ceremonies, some just have you send in a document. The U.S. Supreme Court allows you to go either way; I sent my document in but I’ve been there when sponsors stand up and formally move the admission of someone before the Court itself, which takes place before the argument of the cases on that day’s docket.

It was a pain to get there, and we spent the night before at a B&B in Glastonbury, just southeast of the city. I managed to get a bit of a run in, on a trail near the B&B, but it was hot and I died and was quite happy to get back to the inn and some a/c. Quick drive up to Hartford. The ceremony itself was nice. A bit over 100 people being admitted overall, and my wife assured me that I was not quite the oldest of them.

It’s good to be reminded that the law is a profession and that we are held to higher standards than we would as tradesmen.

Warren Street

I noted that Khalid Khannouchi ran for Warren Street. So did Pat Petersen, and I worked out with him a number of times. An animal.

Here’s a thread on LetsRun: Whatever Happened to Pat Petersen?

Speaking of Warren Street, one of our newest members, Robert, was 14th at the NorthFace 50-miler in Virginia on Saturday. I’m not saying I endorse this kind of behavior, but he has a good report [fixed link]. I would be remiss if I didn’t also note that my former clubmate Herb also ran a 50-miler, his up in Maine. I’ve mentioned both of them before as guys who just love to run long ways and who both do it well. Return

Update

The comments on this are great, albeit going both ways. I confess that I went to leaning very much towards the NYCM to leaning against after reading Stephane’s posts. What matters is doing it well. The race is only five months away, and I don’t have the background I want. Don’t mean to be a drama queen, but it’s still an open question. Back to Top

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