My Track Record

My training and racing plans have changed somewhat since I last summarized them. It turns out that I have a job interview in New Jersey on March 2nd, putting me in the general vicinity of the USATF 50K road championship to be held on Long Island on March 4th. The limited prize money offered at this race (e.g., $150 for 1st place) isn't likely to draw a super-duper elite field; last year, Jason Saitta claimed victory with a respectable 3:05:59, but 2nd place was 3:22. Since there is a $350 bonus for breaking Saitta's course record, my plan (pending the cooperation of my competitors) is to win with a time of, oh, 3:05:45 or so. If I can indeed cruise to an uncontested triumph, I should recover quickly enough to be in top form at the USATF 100K championship on April 7th.

Speaking of the 100K, I had originally hoped to run it at an average pace of 6:25 per mile. Then came Saturday's workout, at which I tried to run 6:20s for 41.5 miles over moderately rolling terrain similar to that of the race. I felt fine while accompanied by Scott (miles 3 to 25) and Uli (miles 7 to 36), but the last five miles were disastrous, and I wound up averaging 6:22 rather than 6:20. Before (or while) you mock me for my melodramatic perfectionism, note that my average pace would have suffered a lot more had I run any further. And that's a concern, since I had wanted to average 6:25 for the full 100K race. Guess I'd better shoot for 6:30s instead.

All in all, this world domination thing is shaping up to be less straightforward than I'd thought. Damn.

* * * * *

Revised schedule:

Jan. 28: 36.6 miles in Seward Park at 6:23/mile pace

Feb. 11: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em 5K (1st place, 15:15; won a box of chocolates)

Feb. 17: 41.5 miles in Seward Park at 6:22/mile pace

Mar. 4: Caumsett Park 50K

Mar. 22: final long run (25-30 miles at 6:25/mile pace)

Mar. 31: 5,000-meter run at Spring Break Open track meet

Apr. 7: Mad City 100K

Posted by crowther at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

As previously noted, Little Phil is often calmed by live singing. Moreover, he doesn't seem to have strong musical preferences; any old tune will do, even if it's one that he heard two hours ago. Song choice thus becomes a question of what the singer wants to sing.

In general, what I want to sing are songs for which I know all the words. This criterion is much more limiting than I would have guessed initially; I'll start something like "Brown Eyed Girl" full of confidence, but by the second verse I'll be scatting my way to the chorus: "What ever happened/ Tuesdays were so slow/ Goin' down to the old mine/ With a transistor radio/ Laughin' and a-runnin', hey hey/ ... Ah, rats, that's the first verse/ Da da da da da da da da/ Somethin' 'bout a waterfall...."

Then I'll retreat to a song that I know really well, like "You've Got A Friend" or "Eye Of The Tiger." But one can only sing those golden oldies so many times before boredom sets in.

My new strategy is to turn a boring song into an improv comedy sketch. Specifically, I'll start singing the song that begins, "Hush, little baby, don't say a word/ Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird...." and then, after Mama purchases the diamond ring, invent my own spontaneously generated list of items for Mama to procure (and possible defects thereof). So, for example:

And if that diamond ring won't shine
Mama's gonna buy you a copper mine.
And if that mine contains no metal,
Mama's gonna buy you Hansel and Gretel.
And if those German kids get lost,
Mama's gonna buy you tabasco sauce.
And if that sauce does burn your tongue,
Mama's gonna buy you Aqualung.
And if you don't like Jethro Tull,
Mama's gonna buy you a hominid skull.
And if those bones are much too dry,
Mama's gonna buy you a firefly.
And if that firefly won't glow....

It's not the stuff of Grammy nominations but does make the time pass more quickly.

Posted by crowther at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)