Does Size Matter?

All of us here at runningprofs have done our share of big marathons -- New York, Chicago, Marine Corps, Dublin, and for one of us, (Max) Boston.  There's no substitute for the rush and the adrenaline of the start, and the pull you get from the steady line of runners.  

More recently, I've run a few smaller races.  Spencer and I ran the Hamptons Marathon in 2011 (300 or so).  This year I ran Brooklyn (500ish).  Both have been small races and great experiences.  There's something wonderful about wandering up to the start 30 minutes before the gun and still having time to stretch, use the port-o-john, check your bag and line up.   In the smaller field, there's something joyous about the conversation groups that form along the way as pace groups form and unform.  This is particularly nice in a marathon, where the pace is not so hard that you can't chat.  There's something spectacular about the conviviality at the finish as you have time to thank the folks who dragged you through the last hard miles, congratulate the folks who passed you and then cheered you at the end, and to cheer the folks you passed as they finished.  

A second question is what effect the size of the field has on your time.  In a big marathon there's often jockeying for running room from beginning to end -- a sharp turn here, a stutter step there.  These take a toll.  In a smaller race, it's easier to settle in, listen to your body and just run.  Yesterday, in the Brooklyn Marathon, even thought the course was 6 times around a hilly loop (with three times around a slightly less hilly loop), I felt like the familiarity of the course, the steadiness of the pace, and the pull of a small pace group made all the difference.

So which is better for a fast time, a big race or a small one?

Thoughts??  

Race Report -- Love them shoes!!

So, today was the second running of the Brooklyn Marathon.  I signed up for it while Sandy was raging outside, and I assumed (correctly, as it turns out) that that the NYC Marathon would be cancelled.

Instead of 47,000 runners, the Brooklyn Marathon was capped at 500.   The course was six full laps and three short laps of Prospect Park.  It was a perfect day.  Low 40s at the start, rising into the 50s.  I went out hard.  By halfway, it was clear I was going to set a PR or blow up.  I kept waiting for the wall, and it never came.  Usually I start to slow at mile 20.  I did slow some, but not much.  Even the last two miles were under 9 minutes.  I finished in 3:42.15 which was a PR by a little more than 10 minutes.  All in all, a good day, and a good finish to the season.

It is still a bit of a puzzler why I'm suddenly setting PRs.  I think part of it is that I've been running with better form.  Part of it is that I've been running with lighter minimal shoes.  Whatever it is, I'll take it.

UPDATE: Here's a link to some photos at the finish.  The guy in yellow and I kicked together for the last 100 yards. Thanks dude, whoever you are!

Am I the only one . . .

Who has a short window to capture the momentum required to head out for a hard workout? I planned my morning around heading out for tempo intervals at the track. I got waylaid on the way back from coffee. Now the excitement has diminished. I'm heading out now, but $10 says I get to the track, run a few laps hard, and end up going for a mid-distance run to fill up the time.

Once when I tried to become a golfer (don't say it) I had a great drive, or a great chip, or a great putt, or something -- and I complained to my playing partner, who was a golfer, that "I'd be good if I could just be consistent." He responded, "no, you are not consistent because you are not good."

Difference between being a professional and being a weekend warrior: the ability to get in the right frame of mind at will rather than hoping that the frame of mind occurs on its own with sufficient frequency actually to get something done. This most definitely extends to writing as well.

Veteran's Day 10K

Its a perfect time of year for road racing. It was 42 degrees and sunny with still air as we raced out and around Hains Point and back. I wouldn't say I ran fast, but I did run my second fastest ever 10K, despite this run's coming late in a higher-than-average-mileage week. So I'm sanguine about the result.

I love out-and-back races with fast fields. The lead pack must have been holding sub-5-minute miles. Even A__, whom I know to be a 35-minute-some 10K runner, was well out of contention for recognition this time.

Investigative reporting

I was inspired by the Runner's World take-down of Paul Ryan, so I thought I'd look into the NY Times report that Paula Broadwell taped part of her biography of David Petraeus while running 6-minute miles together in Afghanistan.

I've run a few 6-minute miles -- a very few -- so I was pretty sure an athletic late-30s woman and an athletic late-50s man would find it quite difficult to converse with any substance at that pace.

According to Athlinks, Paula Broadwell (assuming I have the right one -- the name and age fits) is indeed athletic, with at least one 1:36 1/2 marathon and a handful of mid-20s 5Ks and mid-40s 10Ks to her credit. David Petraeus doesn't just look it -- he is very athletic. In 2002 at age 49 he ran 1:03:46 in the Army 10-miler. That's serious speed. A reported 33-something 5 miler is also very respectable.

But neither of those sets of results suggests somebody who can run 6-minute miles, much less converse while holding a 6-minute pace. OK, so this isn't the expose of the decade, but it's my own little contribution to the marketplace of information.

UPDATE: I've had a short e-mail exchange with a "Senior Editor for Standards" at the New York Times. The characterization in the article comes from Broadwell's co-written biography. Here I quote him quoting the book:

"[Petraeus] had invited Broadwell to join him and his team for a run along the Potomac River. 'I'd earned varsity letters in cross-country and indoor and outdoor track and finished at the top of my class for athletics at West Point; I wanted to see if he could keep stride during an interview. Instead it became a test for me,' she wrote. He eventually increased the pace 'until the talk turned to heavy breathing, and we reached a 6-minute-per-mile pace. It was a signature Petraeus move. I think I passed the test, but I didn't bother to transcribe the interview.'"

The Times' characterization (relevant portion quoted below) was something quite different!

"She had unusual access, she noted in promotional appearances, taping many of her interviews for her book while running six-minute miles with Mr. Petraeus in the thin mountain air of the Afghan capital."

Looking for magic

I'm at that stage in the marathon prep. where putting on the shoes is less a thrill than a chore. Every run seems to have a purpose, and there's the stress of not hitting the target -- x minutes per mile for y miles with z rest -- and so on. I have to remind myself that there are times when I run because I love it.

This morning I went out for an easy 30 minutes. Man was I stiff. After shuffling up College to Mass. to 10th Street, I found the legs turning over a little faster when I hit the Monon Trail. When I turned left at 16th I realized I was committing myself to going longer than I had planned but at that moment I wasn't complaining. Running down 16th is no particular joy, but after 5 miles I turned left on the White River trail. The warm ground interacting with the cold air made for a low fog over the river and the grass and I had the trail to myself. (I thought of early late-fall mornings rowing on Lake Cayuga when the same effect resulted in eights moving silently and nearly invisibly, with only 8 heads emerging above the fog.) By the time I was on the home stretch I was 60 minutes in and feeling my lack of morning nutrition. I held on for a good finish down Mass. Ave.

9 miles wasn't in the plan, but sometimes you just have to go with it. Sure glad I did this morning.

28 days later

Its been 28 days since I wrecked my knee and associated muscle groups at the Chicago Marathon.  I haven't run a step since then.  I have been doing 4 days a week at the gym of varying combinations of elliptical, bike, and pool work.  It all feels ok until I try anything with true weight bearing impact.  Someone really freaked me out on election night who in a well being way asked me "Do you think you will ever be able to run again?"  I sure hope so but plan to stick to the training, massage, and maybe even some accupuncture for another month or so and see if I can ramp up for at least the first half of our Rome jaunt.

In the meantime, I have been obsessing about the nightmare vision of the other 28 days given to us by Danny Boyle which included fast zombies.  If Boyle is right, I am doomed since I have no chance of outrunning the fast ones but should be easily able to avoid and evade the traditional slow shambling kind.  Also I am a little baffled by the growing prevalence of zombie runs where volunteer zombies try to grab you from the sand traps and shubbery where they are hiding on the assigned cross-country courses.