Random Acts Of Running 3

This weekend was a scorcher, with temperatures reaching near 100F!!  But many of us brave Agonites ran in this heat, because you know, we love the pain! 

Which reminds of me of a song that frequently runs through my head when I'm running in heat:

Strangelove,
Will you give it to me
Will you take the pain
I will give to you
Again and again  

Running is a f-ing STRANGELOVE indeed!

Queens 10K

Last week (July 1) quite a few of us braved the heat and did the Queens 10K.  I forgot to mention some of the people who ran the race in my last post.  Jen, Gio and Mark also ran the race, in addition to Lisa, Xena and me.  Xena managed to come in 4^th in her under 18 age group again, even though she had done like 20 miles before the race, and she did the race as a “fun run”.  Had she not ran the miles prior to the race, I think she could’ve won this thing! 

Jen pointed out that I didn’t mention that they were running in my last blog.  I’m so sorry girl!!  So in my humblest apologies, I offer my topless photo.  O-M-G! It’s not THAT kind of topless!  Get your mind out of the gutter!  It’s completely SFW – and it’ll give you a chuckle.

Van Cortlandt Park Invasion

We started early (like 6:45AM) but we arrived in style in our luxury chariot driven by Prince Gio who came to pick us up in the City.  It was wonderful.  Smooth ride up to the park, place to store our stuff, and he even had a cooler filled with ice cold sports drinks for post run cool down!! 

The weather was a lot cooler than expected, probably in the low 80s for most of the run.  And guys, Xena lied!  The flat part was mostly shaded with raspberry bushes.  It was cool, green, and gorgeous.  At one point we even had sprinklers from the nearby golf course giving us a spritz!

The hills were a bit awkward as it was a cross country track with weird wooden step-like structures.  But I guess it’s there so that you don’t fall straight down the hill?  The hills are naturally in the mountain, so that was shady as well.  Overall, it was a nice run.

Xena is organizing another run on August 11.  Not sure if we’ll have a chariot, but it’s definitely worth going out there.  People are so nice!  They say “Good morning” to you as you pass them!  Even the cyclists are nice and they say “Thank you” when you let them go ahead of you! 

Central Park Conservancy Run (4M)

This team points race is this weekend (Saturday).  The weather is supposed to be much better than the past couple of weekends, so it should be a good run!  If you haven’t already declared your participation, please let Mr. Tom know.  I think we now have enough men and women to count as a team.  Yay! 

Now this being a weekend some of you may be incorporating it into a long run...at least I am.  Here's a look at my workout for Saturday. 

Total:  16 Mile Long Run

Warm Up:  5Ms easy.

Key Run #1 - Race:  All Out Effort – 4Ms

Post Race Active Recovery:  2M easy – 9:00 miles or higher.

Key Run #2 - Marathon Pace:  3Ms

Cool Down:  2Ms

Team Brunch

Due to lack of interest, we won’t be having a Team Brunch post Conservancy Run.  We should have one soon, though.