Day Eighty Seven - "Are You Quick, Bill?"
I was never much of an athlete growing up. I played plenty of sports, I just stunk at all of them. The one I was halfway decent at was baseball, which I gave up on at about 12 years old to the dismay of my old man, who was a heck of a baseball player himself. I decided to concentrate on basketball, which was my favorite as a kid and ironically, the sport I was the absolute worst at. I mean, just terrible. Couldn't shoot. Couldn't dribble. Couldn't pass. I mean, yeah, I was the drizzling shits at the plate in baseball but at least I had some defensive skills. In basketball I could really do well was try hard and maybe take a charge now and then. It may sound like I'm just being self depricating here, but trust me, video tape exists of just how rotton I was at sports as a kid. And we're not even touching football yet. Yeah, my brilliant idea as a freshman in high school was to play football...which I had never played before...a sport that I didn't even fully comprehend. Fortunately my school was small and soccer was the sport of choice in the fall, so the football team took every warm body it could get it's hands on. I played for two years and stunk it up every single day. We were the worst team in the smallest league in the state. Sometimes I like to think that, for a time, I was quite possibly the worst high school football player in the nation.
This is going somewhere, trust me.
After the football season of my sophomore year I finally decided that I was done with organized sports and moved full time into the world of theatre and music as a way to fill the after school hours. Most of my friends, however, were still athletes. Ted Sherry was probably the best athlete in the school (and the valedictorian of our class for good measure - he's now a doctor and I wish he was an asshole or something so I could hate him). Ted and I had lunch together during senior year and we used to crack eachother up pretty regularly. I remember one day the head of the athletic department at my high school (who served as a lunch monitor during our break) was at our table talking to Ted about...I dunno...sports I guess. Probably soccer. The topic was quickness. How important quickness is in sport. Ted was quick, an advantage for him on the field. The conversation came to it's natural end and I sat there eating, having nothing whatsoever to contribute. There was a moment of silence when Mr. Link could have said "see you later guys" and Ted and I would have gone about our day. What Mr. Link said instead, for some unknown reason was this. "Are you quick, Bill?" I appreciate that the guy was trying to involve me in the conversation. I really do. But it was pretty much the most awkward question he could have posted which only served to underscore the fact that I was nothing close to resembling an athlete in high school. I just smiled up from my sandwich and told him that no, I was not quick. Mr. Link walked away and Ted and I laughed for pretty much the rest of the period.
This is all a roundabout way for me to tell you that in the Dempsey family, speed is not necessarily one of our gifts. And the reason I am thinking about this today is because, being the competitive idiot that I am, I watched the stupid Today Show Runs A Marathon wrap up yesterday and found out that the chick that ran for The Today Show finished the NYC Marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes on Sunday. I mean, that's a really fast marathon. We're talking 8 minutes and 1 second per mile. For the whole race. That's incredibly fast, by my standards. I mean, I've been saying this whole time that I'd like to finish Phoenix in 4 hours (9 minutes 16 seconds per mile), but in the back of my head I have been telling myself that just finishing will be enough and as long as it's 4:30 or under I'll be happy. But dammit, that Today Show lady had to go and post a REALLY impressive time and now I'm feeling all competitive again.
Please don't take this as a sexist thing. Trust me, I accepted LONG ago that there are a million and one women out there who are stronger, faster and generally superior to me in every physical manner possible. It's a novice marathoner thing. If she can do it that fast, why can't I?
Oh yeah, because I'm not quick.
It also doesn't help that I ran into a friend this past weekend at the wedding that just completed his first marathon in 3:58. Now the pressure is really on.
Which brings us to last night's run. As per usual, Mondays are a day off, but since I did nothing but sit in a car and eat McDonald's on Sunday, I decided to make up with a run last night. But since I was stewing in my competitive juices all day yesterday, by the time I got home (after discovering on the subway that I left my keys at work, turning around, getting my keys and going home again) I was ready to push myself. I decided to run the 6 mile loop in Central Park as fast as I could, just to see how I would do. Not that I expected to be able to duplicate the effort over 26.2 miles, but just to see what I was working with.
I started out up the hill we graduated on last week. I felt really good. Very strong. I was cruising, passing the few runners that were out enjoying one of the last warmish nights of the year. I made it to the Resevoir and still felt fantastic. I was really pushing myself, but still feeling fresh. I passed the 72nd Street Transverse and headed up the West Side hill towards Tavern On The Green, and that's when it hit me. My lungs were burning for the first time in a long time. It was the opposite of what usually happens to me. My body felt great, but I was winded. I started to cramp up and knew right then that I couldn't keep this pace up much longer. I got down to Columbus Circle and stopped my stopwatch.
20:31. That's how long I had been running. I went and checked this morning and the distance I covered was 2.68 miles. In 20 minutes. I don't know if that sounds good or what, but I can tell you that it's the fastest I have ever covered that kind of distance in my entire life. Course, I burned out completely, but still, I kept it up for that long. I would have out run Jason in a scary movie at the very least. Yes, these are the things I think about when running. If you haven't figured out yet that I am an idiot, well, you're hopeless.
I took a 3 or 4 minute break. Walked up to The Time Warner Center and back, stretched a bit, then started my stopwatch again and started on the second half of the run. I hated that I had to stop, but within the first minute I knew how much it helped. The thing is, I got my breath back very quickly and fell into step without any effort at all. More than anything, that is where my training paid off last night. I was still pushing myself for the last 3.32 miles, but definitely keeping things more controlled than on the first half, ensuring that I wouldn't have to stop again. I finished up back in Harlem on a dead sprint - or as close as I could come to one - at 47:31. Exactly 27 minutes on the last 3.32 miles - a little over 8 minutes a mile.
So, factoring out the 4 minute break I finished the 6 mile loop in 47:31, or just under 8 minutes a mile. And I gotta say, as disappointed as I am that I had to stop and take a break, I'm still pretty impressed with myself. Not that I am dumb enough to think I could have kept up that pace for much longer, but it gives me hope for 9:16. It's still going to be tough and I've got a long way to go, but I've got some time and that nasty competitive streak on my side.
Next step is getting the same loop in under 50:00 without stopping. As always, I'll keep you posted.
More donations came in last night as I was running. Much love to Aunt Patty, Uncle Martin and the boys. Congrats on Baltimore, Patty! Can't wait to see you guys at Thanksgiving and hit up The Manchester Road Race again. And thanks to fellow runner Elliot, who has always been abundantly helpful and supportive of everything I have ever talked to him about since the day we met.
DAY 86
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 6
TOTAL MILEAGE - 181.93
PS - If you see a raccoon trying to cross the road while you are running clap your hands real loud. They'll clear out of the way. They'll stare you down the whole time like they're doing you some HUGE favor, but they'll move just the same. And that's a running tip.
This is going somewhere, trust me.
After the football season of my sophomore year I finally decided that I was done with organized sports and moved full time into the world of theatre and music as a way to fill the after school hours. Most of my friends, however, were still athletes. Ted Sherry was probably the best athlete in the school (and the valedictorian of our class for good measure - he's now a doctor and I wish he was an asshole or something so I could hate him). Ted and I had lunch together during senior year and we used to crack eachother up pretty regularly. I remember one day the head of the athletic department at my high school (who served as a lunch monitor during our break) was at our table talking to Ted about...I dunno...sports I guess. Probably soccer. The topic was quickness. How important quickness is in sport. Ted was quick, an advantage for him on the field. The conversation came to it's natural end and I sat there eating, having nothing whatsoever to contribute. There was a moment of silence when Mr. Link could have said "see you later guys" and Ted and I would have gone about our day. What Mr. Link said instead, for some unknown reason was this. "Are you quick, Bill?" I appreciate that the guy was trying to involve me in the conversation. I really do. But it was pretty much the most awkward question he could have posted which only served to underscore the fact that I was nothing close to resembling an athlete in high school. I just smiled up from my sandwich and told him that no, I was not quick. Mr. Link walked away and Ted and I laughed for pretty much the rest of the period.
This is all a roundabout way for me to tell you that in the Dempsey family, speed is not necessarily one of our gifts. And the reason I am thinking about this today is because, being the competitive idiot that I am, I watched the stupid Today Show Runs A Marathon wrap up yesterday and found out that the chick that ran for The Today Show finished the NYC Marathon in 3 hours 30 minutes on Sunday. I mean, that's a really fast marathon. We're talking 8 minutes and 1 second per mile. For the whole race. That's incredibly fast, by my standards. I mean, I've been saying this whole time that I'd like to finish Phoenix in 4 hours (9 minutes 16 seconds per mile), but in the back of my head I have been telling myself that just finishing will be enough and as long as it's 4:30 or under I'll be happy. But dammit, that Today Show lady had to go and post a REALLY impressive time and now I'm feeling all competitive again.
Please don't take this as a sexist thing. Trust me, I accepted LONG ago that there are a million and one women out there who are stronger, faster and generally superior to me in every physical manner possible. It's a novice marathoner thing. If she can do it that fast, why can't I?
Oh yeah, because I'm not quick.
It also doesn't help that I ran into a friend this past weekend at the wedding that just completed his first marathon in 3:58. Now the pressure is really on.
Which brings us to last night's run. As per usual, Mondays are a day off, but since I did nothing but sit in a car and eat McDonald's on Sunday, I decided to make up with a run last night. But since I was stewing in my competitive juices all day yesterday, by the time I got home (after discovering on the subway that I left my keys at work, turning around, getting my keys and going home again) I was ready to push myself. I decided to run the 6 mile loop in Central Park as fast as I could, just to see how I would do. Not that I expected to be able to duplicate the effort over 26.2 miles, but just to see what I was working with.
I started out up the hill we graduated on last week. I felt really good. Very strong. I was cruising, passing the few runners that were out enjoying one of the last warmish nights of the year. I made it to the Resevoir and still felt fantastic. I was really pushing myself, but still feeling fresh. I passed the 72nd Street Transverse and headed up the West Side hill towards Tavern On The Green, and that's when it hit me. My lungs were burning for the first time in a long time. It was the opposite of what usually happens to me. My body felt great, but I was winded. I started to cramp up and knew right then that I couldn't keep this pace up much longer. I got down to Columbus Circle and stopped my stopwatch.
20:31. That's how long I had been running. I went and checked this morning and the distance I covered was 2.68 miles. In 20 minutes. I don't know if that sounds good or what, but I can tell you that it's the fastest I have ever covered that kind of distance in my entire life. Course, I burned out completely, but still, I kept it up for that long. I would have out run Jason in a scary movie at the very least. Yes, these are the things I think about when running. If you haven't figured out yet that I am an idiot, well, you're hopeless.
I took a 3 or 4 minute break. Walked up to The Time Warner Center and back, stretched a bit, then started my stopwatch again and started on the second half of the run. I hated that I had to stop, but within the first minute I knew how much it helped. The thing is, I got my breath back very quickly and fell into step without any effort at all. More than anything, that is where my training paid off last night. I was still pushing myself for the last 3.32 miles, but definitely keeping things more controlled than on the first half, ensuring that I wouldn't have to stop again. I finished up back in Harlem on a dead sprint - or as close as I could come to one - at 47:31. Exactly 27 minutes on the last 3.32 miles - a little over 8 minutes a mile.
So, factoring out the 4 minute break I finished the 6 mile loop in 47:31, or just under 8 minutes a mile. And I gotta say, as disappointed as I am that I had to stop and take a break, I'm still pretty impressed with myself. Not that I am dumb enough to think I could have kept up that pace for much longer, but it gives me hope for 9:16. It's still going to be tough and I've got a long way to go, but I've got some time and that nasty competitive streak on my side.
Next step is getting the same loop in under 50:00 without stopping. As always, I'll keep you posted.
More donations came in last night as I was running. Much love to Aunt Patty, Uncle Martin and the boys. Congrats on Baltimore, Patty! Can't wait to see you guys at Thanksgiving and hit up The Manchester Road Race again. And thanks to fellow runner Elliot, who has always been abundantly helpful and supportive of everything I have ever talked to him about since the day we met.
DAY 86
TODAY'S MILEAGE - 6
TOTAL MILEAGE - 181.93
PS - If you see a raccoon trying to cross the road while you are running clap your hands real loud. They'll clear out of the way. They'll stare you down the whole time like they're doing you some HUGE favor, but they'll move just the same. And that's a running tip.
posted by Demps at 8:25 AM
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