Race Report: JackRabbit Battle of Brooklyn 10 Miler

Sunday was the 2nd Annual JackRabbit Sports Battle of Brooklyn 10 Miler in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I hadn't raced anything since the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge in mid-June. Coach Jeff was nudging me to sign up for something to see where I was 69 days out from the Marine Corps Marathon. Summer training has been less than stellar but I, and Coach, thought I was in good enough shape to run around 1:15 (my current 10 mile PR is 1:19:50). As always, the wildcard was going to be the weather.

The race started shortly after 8:00 and I felt pretty good early on. After I finished my first loop of the park, I began to feel the effects of the heat and humidity. I saw my heart rate creeping up into the mid and upper 170s. A very dangerous range in ideal racing conditions let alone when it's 75 and 70% humidity. I realized that I needed to make some adjustments so I wouldn't blow up like I did in Vermont. One of the adjustments I made was to walk through the water stops, something I've stopped doing a while ago. I wanted to make sure that the fluid went down my throat and not up my nose. It also allowed my heart rate to come down a little bit. After cresting the big hill in the park for the last time, I dug deep and was able to run a 7:50 final. My official time was 1:19:50, an exact match of my current 10 mile PR.

When I was talking about the race on the New York Running Show Sunday night, Brenn asked me if I felt like I ran the best race that I could on that day. I answered that I thought I did. The weather was far from perfect and the adjustments that I made allowed me to have enough strength to finish strong. I also mentioned that I am not used to first starting a training run, let alone a race at 8:00 a.m. I am usually at the tail end of my run by 8:00 so my body is not used to running during warmer parts of the day. Hopefully it will be cooler for my next race, the Yonkers Half Marathon on September 18.

More of the Same

Today was another hazy, hot, and humid summer day in the Tri-State Area. Temperatures at 6:00 a.m. were in the low 70s but with the heat index it felt like 85. I ran the same route I last week, an out and back to the Oradell Reservoir. This time, I kept things slow and, instead of focusing on pace, I focused on good form. This strategy helped but I still felt deflated at the end. Even several hours after the run, I felt woozy and sluggish.

Someone on Facebook asked why I don't just run on a treadmill inside where it's air conditioned. 1) I don't have one at home, 2) I do belong to a gym but there's no way they'd allow me to hoard a treadmill for hours, and 3) I'm not sure what's worse, running long outside in the heat or on the treadmill where the only thing to look at a TV screen showing the same episode of SportsCenter over and over. 

What bothers me more is that this extreme heat is affecting family plans. We talked about going to Governor's Island or the Bronx Zoo but when we heard that a heat advisory was in effect all day, we scrapped those plans and Mrs. and Lil Ansky went bowling. We didn't think it was good idea to be walking around outside for several hours in the heat.

I've had enough!
 

Is It Winter Yet?

I know I'm not the only one Tweeting, blogging, and Facebooking about how the summer heat is affecting our running and overall state of mind. I, for one, had enough. I haven't had a quality week of running in about 3 weeks. Every run, including those indoors on the treadmill, has been a struggle.

Last Wednesday, I went up to the company gym for some mile repeats. Even with the AC on at full blast, it was still incredibly stuffy in there. I set the treadmill to a 6:53 pace, which is about 5 - 10 seconds slower than usual. I thought I was going die. I started wheezing and couldn't get enough air into my lungs. After I recovered, I decided to slow the treadmill down to a 7:08 pace for the next one. A little better but it felt harder than it should have. I got through 3 intervals and called it quits.

Yesterday's long run was another disaster. I left the house at 6:15 a.m. and wanted to run for 2 hours. At first, I felt pretty good and I thought I was in store for a solid long run. Wishful thinking. Once the sun came up over the horizon, the wheels came off. The last 3 miles of my run were 9:19, 8:59, and 8:59. I drained 40 ounces of fluid on what ended being as 12.56 mile run. Usually 40oz. lasts me 15 - 18 miles.

After the Van Cortland 2 x 2 mile relay last Thursday, I was chatting with Amy about running with asthma. She mentioned that her asthma is worse in the winter months when the air is drier. I am the exact opposite. My asthma is much worse during the summer when it's hotter and more humid. Even with 2 puffs of Albuterol, speed and tempo workouts are tough. I simply cannot get enough air into my lungs. In the cooler weather, the inhaler gets put away (I still take my daily maintenance medicine).

The other thing we both mentioned is that, during the winter, if you are dressed properly, you should not feel cold. If you get warm, you can always take off a layer. When it's 90 and 90% humidity, you can be running naked and there's very little you can do to feel cooler. I know plenty of you that, despite the complaints about the heat, prefer it to the cold. For me, winter cannot come soon enough.