NYC Half Marathon 2010 Performance Report

First, while I'm blogging I just want to mention I had the opportunity to check out the new Run by Footlocker store on Union Square devoted to all things running. They decided to have their official grand opening festivities coincide with the NYC Half weekend. It was a convenient hop to the expo from there. The people working this location (14th Street & University) were all very knowledgeable and intent on pulling out all the stops to serve the NY running community.

I even got this cool T-shirt:

Now onto the race report. It seems like only 7 months ago since the last NYC Half Marathon, oh wait, that's because it was. Having the race in March was a breath of fresh air after last August's sweat fest. It was a crystal clear beautiful day.

I ran this race for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. This year it was my goal to play running rock for it. When I arrived at my little station I was downright giddy when I saw the big blue Lady Southpaw sign. I felt I had conquered the Everest of running organizations, I was playing a New York Road Runners event. It took me awhile to find the right contacts, but once I did I found the organization was very efficient and I really hope to get the opportunity to do more of their events soon.

I got there with plenty of time and leisurely setup all my gear. Last month I had the fiasco of forgetting my mic stand at an event in Brooklyn and I was forced to improvise with some creative use of duct tape (thanks Steve!) This time I had everything all packed up before I went to bed last night and a checklist to look over before I left in the morning. I still managed to forget my sunglasses, but they were optional.

My spot was on 15th Street and the West Side Highway. I was in the oasis for entertainment after Time Square and 42nd Street where there is nothing but stimulation and before the "wall of sound" into the finish. Right behind me was a water station, porta-potties and a "high five station." So in general it was a small point of relief for runners in one of the more difficult parts of the race. They had 11 miles behind them but they were still not done.

It is so interesting to watch a race in its entirety. You really see the bell curve of race paces. It was utterly mind-blowing when the first guy went sprinting by in under an hour from the start! I was star-struck when I saw Deena Kastor. Then the crowd gradually forms until the street is packed and tapers away again leaving you with those not as genetically gifted or facing a race that didn't go as planned and visibly fighting the pain of it. There is really the full gamut of human emotion from elation, to strong focus, to ease, to battle. It was exciting.

For about 45 minutes I was completely eating it up. I was having the time of my life, playing my songs and rocking out. I know people could only hear me for a few seconds as they whizzed past, but I really felt connections to many of them. I especially got a kick from the ones who waved or shouted, "I saw your page on Facebook!" I felt like everything I had been working on so hard was really coming together!

I got through all the "Songs For Running," playing "Engineering Masterpiece," more than once and a couple of covers. Then halfway through my cover of the Cranberries song "Zombie," the sound just cut out! I couldn't believe it. I had my power source charging the entire night. When I checked it, it still showed that it had power. I think maybe it was just shorting out or over heating or something? I turned everything off and turned it on again. It worked for a little bit but then the same thing happened again. That pretty much sums up the rest of my experience. I would turn it off, leave it for a couple minutes then turn it on again, with the sound on lower or playing a less intense song or something. Then, inevitably, it would cut out again after a couple minutes. Sometimes I could make it through a whole song, but most the time only half of one.

So far I have only used this power source for much shorter events. I don't think it had ever been on that long without a break. In the future I think I will break it up into shorter sets and see if that helps. I really don't want to have to buy another one at this point because those things are expensive and this one is so portable! I will probably do some research into and see if there is anything more I can do about it.

It was unfortunate that a large portion of the mid pack missed out on my playing anything. I joined the High Five Station briefly while I let the generator rest. That was super fun too. At some point I just figured f* it and played some of the more straight rhythmic songs without any amplification. Considering that the runners don't get to hear that much of the song anyway, not having sound didn't seem to make that much of a difference. It was a much better vibe when I was trying to sing then just standing there disappointed, looking like I was leaving them dry with the music. Of course I probably looked a little air-headed, as if I didn't realize there was no sound coming out of my amp. Oh well, you live you learn. I still really want to do this again and keep improving on the process!

Wave to Lady Southpaw on Mile 11 of the NYC Half Marathon

After much relentless spamming of the New York Road Runners Club I was invited to play at one of their races! I consider this a major achievement. All the details have been coming together in the past week, so I am blogging this with only 3 days until the big event.


This Sunday March 21st, 2010 will be the NYC Half Marathon. I ran this race last year when it was in August. In my race report I revelled in all the course musicians and fantasized (or should I say prophesied?) playing the event this year. Click here if you care to reminisce. I even mentioned my disappointment that there was a big gap in music on West Side Highway where you need it this most. So now I am very excited to report I will be playing mile 11 on the West Side Highway and 15th Street.

Here is my little section on the course map:





I'm excited to be playing across from the fluid station being operated by the Hudson Dusters, a team I have r*n with as part of HashNYC.com.

Anyone who has run the NYC Half knows that this stretch of the course is one of the most difficult. As I recall, the loop around Central Park is challenging for it's hills and generally establishing your pace. Then there is a thrilling downhill romp through Times Square where you are so excited to be out of the park and there is so much going on it fills you with energy and excitement. This is all well and good until you hit the West Side Highway. The last leg. You feel like you are almost done, but don't be fooled there are still miles to go before you can sleep. I remember assuming I had less than a mile left when I hit the 11 mile mark only to realize I still had 2.1 miles to go. Perhaps I was delirious from the heat, which will not be an issue in March, but that long straight shot to the finish seemed endless.

That's where I come in (well for the fraction of a minute you'll be able to hear me as you pass...) playing my electric guitar and singing to get you pumped up! I will play through all of my "Songs For Running," the E.P. that can be streamed or purchased through Reverbnation and also available on iTunes. I will also be playing some of my favorite covers sped up to 180 bpm. Selections include songs by artists such as: Blondie, P.J. Harvey, Green Day, Ben Kweller, and maybe others I can't think of right now. There will be nothing under 160 bpm.

So if you see me make sure to wave! Or at least smile and nod a little. That won't drain to much energy, in fact it might help.

Check out the full entertainment line-up on the NYRR official page:

http://nyrr.org/races/2010/nychalf/entertainment.asp

Express 3 Race Report

So far 2010 has been a horrible year for the "Running Rocks" blog! There are so many times I've meant to write something and it hasn't happened. Anyway I wanted to get something out for February 2010. Also, I want to record my races of the past month, therefore, I bring you the "Express 3 Race Report."

January 24, 2010 - Manhattan Half Marathon (Central Park)

Overall time - 2:00:23 pace/mile - 9:11

The gist: My main goal for this race was to go sub 2 hours. Therefore, I wanted to run as close to a 9 min. mile pace as possible throughout. Unfortunately, my GI tract did not cooperate. I may have overdone it on the pre-race nutrition and hydration a bit. I was desperate to go the bathroom as soon as I got off the train, then again right before the race start, so it shouldn't have surprised me when I was ready to burst on the course itself. Miles 1-7 went according to plan. Then, mile 8 I got that desperate bursting feeling again. I slowed down drastically and with the Harlem hill on the horizon I was afraid I wouldn't make it if I didn't find a latrine. In the situation I think it was the right decision because I would have continued to slow down and been extremely uncomfortable had I not stopped. However, it's tough to look at that time without thinking if I could just deduct the time it took me to make the extra pit stop I would have my goal. Onto the 2010 Brooklyn Half, I have some unfinished business with that race. That will be a great place to hit my goal!

February 21, 2010 - Cherry Tree 10 miler (Prospect Park)

Overall time - 1:27:37 pace/mile - 8:46

The gist: I was really happy with this time! I ran around lot before the race between the number pickup, the NYSC where I dropped off my stuff and the start (which I overshot by nearly a half mile and had to run back, the PPTC start line was not as obvious as the NYRR corrals...) I feel confident had it been a Half Marathon I could have hit the sub 2 hour goal. This time I really didn't make a lot of effort to do everything right: I didn't get the right amount of sleep and I didn't think much about race nutrition (no gu's or electrolyte beverages on route) yet during and afterword I felt awesome. The only problem was I ended up feeling pretty beat up the next day. My ankle that has been acting up on and off this year felt pretty stiff for the rest of week.

February 28, 2010 - Al Gordon Snowflake 4 miler (Prospect Park)

Overall time - 32:29 pace/mile - 8:07

The gist: Great race! This is a PB for my fastest race pace ever!! I think it really helped that I ran the same loop three times last week in the Cherry Tree 10 miler. It made this one seem like a breeze. My ankle was a bit stiff in the beginning. The thing I found in the first mile was that it actually hurt more if I went slow and less the faster I went (good incentive to speed up!) Also this race started with the big "North Hill," which meant a lot of the people directly around me slowed way down and I couldn't stand it. So, knowing the course as well as I do, I knew that I could take the hill relatively fast without sabotaging myself later (especially knowing we'd only do it once!) As a result I sped around the outside and passed a ton of people going up the hill (thanks to Coach Sasquatch and his killer hill repeats!) Then when I got to a faster paced group I settled back into the pack. I also knew mile 3 would be mostly downhill and used that to my advantage. Mile 4 I felt like throwing up a little, but managed to pull myself together going up the last hill on Center drive into the finish line. I was singing the words to my song "Engineering Masterpiece" in my head and it really helped a lot for the final push.

Al Gordon is actually the first race that I've run two years in a row. It's a bit disappointing that it went from being a 5K to a 4 miler this year because I really wanted to set a new 5K PR and also it makes it harder to compare the times but the improvement is clear:

2009 Al Gordon 5K Overall time - 28:54 pace/mile - 9:19

Overall I have made a lot of progress this year. I wish I could say it was all because of the new music I've been working on. In a way it is because it has inspired me to do a lot of extra research into running and testing of what works and doesn't. As a result I have added a lot more "quality running" work outs (tempo, intervals and hills) and have tweaked my biomechanics. Going from a heal to a mid/fore-foot strike has helped me get faster. Unfortunately, it has also assisted me in getting my first running related injury- the ankle thing. I have a theory on where I went wrong there that maybe the subject of a future post.

2009 Brooklyn Half Stats - Overall time - 2:17:28 pace/mile - 10:29

Brooklyn Half Marathon 2010 - You will be toast!!

Music and Motivation

I was running the Manhattan Half Marathon on Sunday and as usual, at some point my mind started turning to what I would put it in the race report. Then, a sad fact occurred to me: I had not put up a single post in the month of January! This is a first in "Running Rocks" history! Well, it's not too late, so here we are in the last week of January with a post. My work life and personal life is undergoing some transition at the moment, which has thrown me off on my Lady Southpaw stuff. It's upsetting to me because I wish Lady Southpaw Music was my work life, but unfortunately things are not so simple at this stage.

ANYWAY, I'll probably put together my race report this weekend. However, I wanted to get a quick post up this morning before January has completely slipped through my fingers.

The people at AudioFuel, a running music project in London, have alerted me to a very cool program they are sponsoring. AudioFuel has teamed up with the Virgin London Marathon to bring us the website musicandmotivation.com. On the website you can get athlete's running playlists, free AudioFuel tracks, an interesting pdf on running psychology (which includes the benefits of using music) and the Monthly Motivation newsletter. It's free, I signed up and downloaded it all and they haven't been spamming me, so it's all good.

The main thing I want to alert you to is their call for running music. Go to this link to nominate good running songs:
http://www.musicandmotivation.com/motivating_run/top/10.html

Every month until the London marathon they are going to publish an official training iMix with people's picks for their favorite running music. I just looked and the Lady Southpaw track "Engineering Masterpiece" is already in the running for January! I encourage you to go in there and add your vote. Of course you can also add whatever else you want after that. As far as I can tell you can write in whatever you want. Although, in order to be published in an iMix, it probably has to be on iTunes already (which, luckily, "Engineering Masterpiece" is published on iTunes!)

Thanks! Keep running and rocking in 2010 everybody!

Running as Art

The other day I got thinking about how running is like art. I recently read the Pose Method of Running and it really appealed to me because it structured running technique like mastering an art (dance especially.) I’m still experimenting with “Pose Method” running, but the technical side is another topic for another day. Instead, I am thinking about how running and the creative process share a lot in common. I’ve mentioned it before, but I love to focus on form. Like dance, Pilates and yoga often have you trying to construct an ideal pose with your body. So, in the same way running can be a performance in perfect form. My theory is that if biomechanically I can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible while emulating those who are really talented, it will make it easier to run faster and longer. Ideally, rather than killing myself to run faster I would like to make running faster feel more comfortable and as seemingly effortless as possible.

Of course in a sport like running this is only part of the beast. I don’t mean to downplay the importance of real quality running exercises like speed intervals and hill repeats—those are essential in improving cardio endurance. They also produce very tangible results when it comes to feeling more comfortable while running. The idea of running as a performance is more about the mental attack strategy.

I like to have the image of a champion in mind. Imagination is a very useful tool in running. It helps when you can delude yourself a little into thinking that you are performing spectacularly no matter what those horrible race photos show.

My mother is not a runner. Recently she was telling me about her attempts at running and it was easy to spot why she hated it without seeing her run. First of all she referenced how “all the pounding,” took its toll. Maybe this is something you get used to, but for the most part it sounds like evidence of a heavy untrained stride. Just having the image in mind of a light gentle stride could be a good way to start mentally training.

Also, the other interesting thing she said was that as she was running she imagined sports announcers commenting on her performances and saying things like “Oh man, she is really struggling! She is not doing well at this at all!”

This is very similar to the “inner critic” that is sometimes talked about when trying to craft a work of art. Often the thing that holds you back from creating something that is really great is that voice in your head that tells you it’s no good. The truth is that most ideas are pretty weak when you first have them, there’s a process of things that happen before something becomes really good. Therefore you have to be forgiving of those early incarnations of an idea and just roll with them until you unearth their true potential. In essence you have to create this image or fiction first of what it is you are trying to do that is really great. Then you have to work your ass off to live up to it.

So basically, when you are just starting your run you have to imagine those sports announcers saying positive things. For example, “She’s really putting her heart out there under these difficult conditions.” Or “for some one who hasn’t run in several years she is performing at the top of her division.”

You may call it self delusion but a little of that is necessary to grease the wheels.

Then the next step is to have some clear goals that you are trying to achieve. Qualifying for the Olympics or writing the Grammy award winning song of the year may be a bit lofty. However, you can say today I want to run and not feel too much tension in my shoulders or get through the whole thing without walking. Those things are attainable. As you improve your goals will be higher, but it is important to know where you are and what you can do.

The last thing is to take that small goal and knock it out of the park. You can become a master of running for long periods of time without stopping or releasing tension in your upper body. You push yourself to make those periods even longer.

Virtuosity is the ideal of art. To become so good at something that people marvel in the beauty of it. The wonderfully open-ended thing about it is that sometimes you can be brilliant at something that is simple: like having a pure singing tone or writing a lyric that really resonates. It doesn’t have to be a grand unattainable thing.

That can also be the goal of a good run. That it is a performance to be marveled at. In a professional sense this would mean a world record time. For a normal person it could mean getting in 5 miles when you were so tired you thought you’d only be able to pull off 3. Or maintaining perfect form and not having pain after the run. You can define the goal and then when you nail it you get the euphoria of accomplishment.

That is the essence of a beautiful piece of art and a beautiful run.

P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Joe Kleinerman 10K Race Report

I had a great race this past Sunday! It was the second event that I participated in as part of Team in Training (TNT). They call it the "Fast Track 10K." If you don't already know about TNT, it is definitely an organization worth supporting in some way. They help people train for endurance events (usually triathlons, marathons and half marathons) while raising money for cancer research and patient services. It is specifically for blood cancers like Leukemia and Hodgkins Lymphoma but because of the nature of blood cancer the research is helpful for learning about all forms of cancer. I first got involved with TNT in 2008 when my aunt was fighting breast cancer and my grandmother (also a breast cancer surviver) was just diagnosed with Chronic Leukemia. Thank God, they are both doing well now.

The people are so nice and I really enjoyed the camaraderie of a common cause. In 2008 I ran the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon. Here is a video of a song I wrote for my fundraising. It was a great experience so I was really happy when one of the coaches, Jasmine Graham of Pace For Success, contacted me about mentoring for the Fast Track Program this year. This was my first time being a mentor and I was really thrilled to watch my mentees cross the finish line. It was a new kind of satisfaction. Now, I want to do it all again and be a mentor for New York 2010! I am psyched!

So, onto the race itself. I had some definite time goals. After doing a few half marathons this spring, summer and fall I had increased my fitness level and felt it was time to take my 10K time up a notch. So far I had been unable to get my New York Road Runner's bib pace below the 9 minute mile despite sub 9 minute performances in local 5 mile races. I ran the the Nike Human Race with the idea that it would be my "before" time and Joe Kleinerman was my "after" time demonstrating the effectiveness of having the training schedule and a support system of TNT. I was really hoping for a 8:50 min/mile at Nike, but alas, my "before time" ended up being: 57:25 with 9:14 min/mile pace.

The first couple miles were rough because the crowd was a lot thicker that I thought it would be and I started too far back in it. I know you are supposed to start conservative but I felt like I was running so slow I was practically going backwards! I managed to do a lot of weaving and zig-zagging in that first couple miles so it didn't hurt me too much. As usual I was completely stupid about time. I didn't bother wearing a watch after the last couple races where I managed to botch up hitting the button every time (I always forget about it at either the start or finish.) This time I was so worried about the crowd I forgot to look at the start time so I never knew how much to deduct. Annoying.

The weather was pretty cold but beautiful! Central Park was lit up in all its glory by the sun's rays. The day before had been so rainy everyone at the race was grateful for the sun. Despite making my nose run like a faucet (which was really attractive) the cold didn't effect me much and that was a good thing. I sped up pretty significantly through the middle miles of the race and managed to hold on through the end. Harlem hill was early so I was still weaving through the slow crowd at that point and it didn't impact me too greatly. However, Cat hill was toward the end, so when I got over that I really felt like I was done. Still, I knew I only had 1 to 2 miles to go at that point and I really wanted that PR. I stayed strong through the end with the purple TNT crowd cheering me on at the finish line (another definite perk of running with TNT.) I also love it when there's a song I like blasting at the finish, it always makes me ridiculously teary. This time it was "Run" by Ben Kweller, a definite favorite that I like to cover sometimes.

So, the time. I knew I had PR'ed but I didn't know by how much. The time on the clock was 56 something. So it was possible I PR'ed with a low 9 minute mile which would have been a bittersweet victory. Again, I was so annoyed that I neglected to look at the start clock. I am going to write it on my hands next time! Look at the start clock dammit! It wasn't until I got home and looked it up on the nyrr results page that I got my time:

Finish Time - 53:12 Pace/Mile - 8:34

HURRAY!! I was walking on clouds the rest of the day.

One Month to a New Decade

I can't believe it's already December. Actually, it is now December 4th, exactly a month from my dreaded birthday, sigh. Hopefully, I will have an announcement regarding some sort of birthday run/performance very soon (because how else would I want to spend my birthday but by running and playing music?)

Anyway, so far December has started off pretty well. On the first I was fortunate to participate in the first ever NYC "runners' tweet-up" (that I know of anyway.) I know a few twitter haters who don't see the point of it, but I have found so many like-minded, awesome people through twitter it's pretty unbelievable. To those who don't like or don't get it, the secret is that it's all about who you follow. Yes, it would be great to get thousands of followers but to have a good experience first you have to find smart people to follow so you have good quality news feed. You can also follow some good lists, that's a new way to do it.

The tweet-up was so much fun! There was such a talented group of runners at first I was intimidated by the talk of Boston qualifications, ultra-marathons, and people actually winning races (I didn't know that was possible among mortals.) However, that was easy to get past because everyone was just so gosh-darn nice and cool.

We met at Bethesda fountain. There was a brief handshake and stating of names and twitter aliases. This included pigtailsflying and nycbklyngirl who organized it, BrklnRunner, runanskyrun, SpeedySasquatch, NYCe, sclevine, MikeJOConnor, and agaliza.

As the group started off my immediate instinct was to stay with the back of the pack. I wanted to chat with BrklnRunner a bit because I enjoy her blog and she's been such a nice supporter of this blog so I was really excited to meet her in person. Then as the group started taking off I thought, what the heck, why not try to challenge myself a bit and see if I can keep up with some faster runners for awhile? I don't get this opportunity often. If/when I get tired I'll talk to the people behind me then.

To my surprise I was able to keep up the entire time. Although, what truly floored me was how easy it was! These guys were all running their fun run pace and we were chatting almost the whole time. As a result there was a real sense of ease about it. At one point, when I was in the middle, I had the feeling like I was in a moving car because I wasn't putting in the effort to run at all. I think it helped that I started off running and chatting with agaliza who was interested in playing guitar. First of all because he had the most smooth efficient running gait ever so he set a good example and second because when I was encouraging him about the guitar it got me so excited and energized I wasn't worrying about running fatigue.

As the group continued to spread out I found myself alongside pigtailsflying and NYCe and I just wanted to pinch myself. Earlier that day when I was thinking about whether to do the tweet-up for sure I was looking at their blogs, marveling how smoking fast they are and now here I was running with them.

When we reached the end of 5 miles it came out that we had run it faster than I had run my recent 5 mile race PR. Admittedly the last mile or two did not feel as easy as the first couple, but I held on and I made it to the end with the middle pack. At this point some people went back to the back pack people but I felt pretty tired so I was happy to stop running. I had been standing there for hardly a minute when runanskyrun asked me to join him on the bottom loop. The next thing I knew I was running again! He told me about how he had once run from his home in New Jersey to Yankee stadium which I thought was pretty cool. According to his Go Wagon the total distance for the run was 10.15K with time of 54:15 which is a 8:36 min/mile pace. He finished the 5 mile part a bit ahead of me so my result technically was a few seconds higher. Still, I was amazed that I had run that while talking most of the time. I was a bit disappointed with my 10K result at the Nike Human Race in comparison but I'm really looking forward to see how the Joe Kleinerman 10K goes this Sunday!

Ironically as I was traveling from the boonies of Brooklyn to Central Park I was reading Chapter 36 of Pose Method of Running: "Overcoming the Fear of Running." In it is this little gem of a paragraph:

At its core, fear is a reflection of personal uncertainty. What we do not know, or know very little about, creates an emotional void in our performance. When we try to run while dealing with uncertainty, that void quickly fills with fear...fear if running too hard, fear of not running hard enough, fear of injury, fear of success and fear of failure.

Runners habitually underperform because they fear performing better.

The chapter deals with some of the mental challenges associated with running. This is not to say running is all mental, but it definitely plays a role. The thing is I feel this sense of doubt clouding many aspects of my life. I know what I love. I have no problem doing training exercises, and spending quality time running just like I have no problem practicing singing, playing guitar and writing songs. In my heart these are the things I want to do. So, if the criteria for success is just doing what you love than I am successful. Still, I get so grouchy trying to push myself beyond my comfort zone. To get to a higher level I want other people to be able to appreciate what I am doing too. That, I struggle with that a lot. Perhaps it's my mid-western, middle class, Catholic background but it's really tough for me to be pushy. I know I need to be more assertive about setting up gigs and getting people to listen to my music but I really hate asking. I worry that people won't get it or won't like it and that I'm just not that good. I feel like the next songs I'm working on will be better so I'll wait until they are done (this goes for every song I write I always think the next one is going to be better. ) I have never found a stable career path or line of work that I can tolerate for long. It's always been about running (very recreationally) and music. I hate risking having this vision fall apart at my feet because it is what keeps me going. In short, it is fear as a reflection of complete uncertainty.

In music as with running I take it to a level I am comfortable with and luckily that level continues to rise little by little. It is a bit of a conservative approach and it works for me to some extent. Still, I would like to blast through some of my self-imposed obstacles and become the artist and runner that in my heart I know I could be. I definitely feel that stupid biological tick. I don't have forever.