May 15, 2005
STUDENT LUDGATE CRANKS TO A PR with DL INSPIRATION!
Coach-
I hope this finds you well. As I told you in an earlier e-mail, I have committed to running all five races of the NYRR 1/2 Marathon Grand Prix. My going-in goals were to finish every race (I'd never run this distiance before), run faster each time, and stay focused on my breath. The first race was in Brooklyn in March. For that race, unsure of how I would handle the distance, I went out slow (9:00 splits) and picked up at the end, finishing in 1:54:56 (8:46 pace).
Race 2 was yesterday in Queens. My ego-mind was squawking at me all week with reasons not to run - too busy (buying a house, my son's birthday today, lots going on at work), inconsistent practice the past couple of weeks, too little running in my cardio mix. What tipped me to go was your recent DL describing your first bike race in a while. I loved that you attacked at the beginning to see how your body would respond, and that despite getting dropped at the end you still learned something you never would learned in the middle of the peloton. My favorite part of the story was your response when the first guy to join your breakaway asked you how strong you were, and you said "don't know...just testing".
I decided then not only to run, but also to test myself by going out in 8:00 splits and seeing how long I could hold the pace. I knew at some point my legs would complain (my ego-mind is correct that I have not been putting enough road miles on my legs lately), but figured this was the most direct path to find out where I was at.
My results? The first 7 miles I cruised, locked into a great rhythm and knocking off 8:00 splits like clockwork. In miles 8 and 9, my splits began to slow by a few seconds, then at mile 10...I began "to be in some difficulty", as Phil Liggett might say. My CV strength was fine, but my legs began to tighten up precipitously, causing my stride to get short and choppy. By mile 13 (split 9:46...argh) I was getting dropped left and right. I hit the tape in 1:53:46 (8:41 pace), 1:10 faster than last time. While not happy with the bonk (I've got real work to do before the Bronx race in July), I met my overall goal of going faster each race, and I walked away knowing I had tested my limits and left nothing in the tank.
Namaste-
Student Ludgate
New York, NY 