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elkid
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Joined: 18 Nov 2002
Posts: 8353
Location: hiding out in Philly
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 Posted: 12/20/04 - 10:44 Post subject: Coachie v. the Protege at the NYRRC Holiday 4M
Got up, dressed, went to DD for breakfast. Took a bus, then 2 subways, to NYRRC HQ for packet pickup. Walked 13 blocks to the race start to await the arrival of my Protege who happened to be in the city this weekend, so I happened to challenge him to a race. (Mistake; that fast b@stard summarily kicked my ass despite a bum foot. At least I have my 10K victory over him.) We finally meet up on the grassy knoll by North Meadow and freeze in the 32 degree, 61% humidity weather until the race starts. No wind, so perfect winter race conditions. We don our COACHIE and PROTEGE Santa hats I'd had made and head to the race start. I'm familiar with the course, as it's a slightly shorter first loop of the 15K I ran two weeks ago. I usually run a 4M race as a shorter 5M, but this time around I decide to run it as a longer 5K and prepare for pain. I'm not feeling super confident because my training's been erratic and slow beyond compare, but I'm feeling stronger than I have in a long time. More enthusiastic.
The horn blows, and we're off. Sort of. With over 3,100 runners it's kind of tight, and the first mile is a lot of dodging, weaving, and shuffling. At one point I thought we'd slow to a walk we were moving so slowly. By mile 2 things spread out a bit, and after jockeying positions for a while I see Protege pass me a final time at 2.5. I think I can catch him if I really go all out, but I realize that's not in my best interest and settle in to race the best race I can with as much effort as I'm willing to give. Mile 3 there's a long steady climb. My hillwork isn't suited for this: I go up big quarter mile hills and then go down again, not these long gradual uphills. I'm a little tired from the effort of the first 2 miles, but keep on going. Mile 4 I realize I have a PR, and smile. I settle in, reflect on the racing year I've had, and bring it on home.
Stats: 39:27, 9:52 pace. Course PR, distance PR by 1:24. Splits: 9:40, 9:31, 10:20, 9:56. 2,123/3,105, beating 32% of the field. Nice to end the year with a 4M PR, beating the one I'd set as my first NYC race this year in February in this very park. 
With this race I ran better than I have lately, but mostly I saw. Things I'd seen before, some new things, and things I'd somehow recently forgotten. I saw a perfect sunrise over Manhattan. I saw a lot of people in Santa hats. I saw concern in my Protege's eyes when he saw how bad I look after a hard run race. I saw the beautiful Guggenheim through the trees of Central Park. I saw me earn my 2005 ticket into that greatest of races, NYCM, as this was my ninth and final qualifying race with the club. I saw proof positive that for me lackluster mileage leads to slower pace, but I also saw I haven't completely lost my speed. I saw that a PR doesn't have to be huge to be meaningful: that a small one is good enough for race results I'm happy with. I saw I don't need to push myself to the brink to do well. I saw the end of racing year that had more highlights than lowlights, with a lot of knowledge gained along the way. Most importantly, I saw in my final race of the year, in my beloved city, that I'd begun my journey to my way back.
Next up: heading to my PR park for the Hamilton Hangover 5M on New Year's Day.
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