Joerg put a bug in my ear this afternoon after reading the last post, he said;
“Can I be the next person uttering a wish about what you can write
about? How about writing about that there basically does not exist any
“negative” criticism of photography in the blog world?”
This is something I have thought about a lot, most of what you read is “check this out..” and you have a paper thin endorsement of someone else’s work, but little engagement.
Maybe I will write about that someday.
However, on a completely different note, I have mentioned running in the past here, and I wanted to share my run with you from tonight-10 miles, average pace, but lots of gas left in the tank at the end and faster all the way. Runners call this “negative splits” or mile split times that decrease the farther you go.
So tonight was one of those nights, the first time in a long time I have had no pain, no issues, no heat, no fatigue, just miles unfolding without incident. I have entered a half marathon scheduled this weekend in Central Park, “Greta’s Gallop”, two laps and a bit of the park, on what should be a fresh fall Saturday morning. The idea today was just to get an idea of what I would be feeling like at mile 10, and to establish a pace that I could be comfortable in.
Generally you don’t want to go out too fast, the first mile is just to get loose, and in my mind, actually the first six miles were to just relax into the distance. Here are the splits:
1.0 8:24
2.0 8:31
3.0 8:34
Alright, so here it is obvious to me that I am going out too fast, time to reel it back in.
4.0 9:06
5.0 9:05-cliffshot here YES 50mg Caffeine!
6.0 9:00
this is more like it.
7.0 8:44
8.0 8:34-second cliffshot, nothing like ANOTHER 50mg CAFFEINE!
9.0 8:28
10.0 8:00-7:15 at end
And the negative splits. Part of it I must attribute to Cliff Shots, whoohoo.
But it wasn’t the time or the speed or the distance (or the caffeine) that made this run special. It was everything along the way. Rosh Hashanah had plenty of Orthodox, rank and file and probably lapsed Jews, out with the young ones hooting on the Shofar or ram’s horn, awakening us all to the new year. Near the lake, Tashlikh was being observed, prayers casting the sins into the water. Send a few for me please…
So contrast that with kids longboarding down the hill crouched low on their boards, the light fading, and seeming like everyone going faster, including me! Of course the cyclists, pelotons going 25mph and those really crazy folks running pushing strollers uphill, I’m not sure how they do that. It was a scene.
Mile 9 rolls around and it is the beginning of the hill leading up to Grand Army Plaza. Steep but short, depending on the day I don’t have too much trouble with it. Well, clearly something was different, I blew up the hill like it wasn’t there. I think the fact that it was getting really dark makes you feel like you are getting faster. But even then, I wasn’t breathing hard. Behind me, just under my iPod blasting Toto’s “Hold the Line” I hear another set of footsteps, tracking up behind me and starting to pass me, looking strong. Well, fella, “It’s On Like Donkey Kong!”
You don’t want to look like you are reacting, but gradually I let it unwind, and still going uphill at this point, left him in the weeds. That was a strange thing, after 9 miles, to have a kick left. So, fine with that, who else can I reel in? A couple other people joined me at this pace, sometimes you attract runners like the rabbit at a dogtrack. And there are lots of very talented runners in this park, people who regularly leave me in the weeds. I stopped for water halfway, took a quick 3 sips, and bolted back to regain the group. Well even that was no big whup, so I decided, lets just let it all out. Before the Nike+pod came undone it was registering 7:15/mile pace, not sure if I can believe that, but the train was moving now, and I carried that all along the rest of the length of the park until the exit at The Pavilion Movie Theatre, where I warmed down for another quarter mile on the way home.
Looking ahead to Saturday I feel I know what I need to do. Of course a lot of other things come into it, running in the morning vs. running at night which is what I usually do, breakfast, the weather, other runners who will undoubtedly be peeling past me sub 7 minutes. But if I take it in stages, the opening 3 miles warm up, a comfortable middle 7, and a race for the final 3, I think I will have a good day.
Sub two hours would be very good, and based on the 10mile estimated time of 1:30 I am just squeaking in at 1:59 for the half. Depending on the hills, I think I can do better than that…thanks for listening…
You’ve caught the Murakami bug! Any spill over to photography like his to writing?
Cheers
Yeah I just read that book too.
no luck so far…