This morning Laur and I took the subway from Brooklyn where we were cat sitting to Central Park with her Aunt Boo and ran the NYRR Healthy Kidney 10k. This race had an internationally elite field consisting of past NYC marathon winner Marislon Gomes dos Santos and some really fast dudes from Kenya (however, no one broke Dathan Ritzenhein's 2007 course record!). We were not in contention to break any records but we did have some fun along the way and moved one step closer to qualifying for NYC 2009! Here's the damage:

10k (6.2 miles) in 1:17:08 (12:26 pace)

including:
Mile 1- 10:57.19
Mile 2- 24:48.05 (13:50.86 mile- Laur was in a lot of pain in her knee here and stopped to walk/stretch for a while)
Mile 3- 37:50.75 (13:02.70 mile)
5k- 39:07.55
Mile 4- 50:47.29 (12:56.54 mile)
Mile 5- 1:03:24 (12:36.90 mile)
Mile 6- 1:14:59 (11:35.41 mile)
10k- 1:17:08 (2:08.42 two-tenths)

I wish Laur's knees would start cooperating with the rest of her, I know it frustrates her that she can't run as fast as she's definitely capable of doing because her knees get wonky- feel like they're going to give out with each step. I've been in situations where my knees have hurt, mercilessly and it SUCKS! I empathize with her, a lot. We need to get her healthy so she can reach her full potential. The race was very fun otherwise, with a lot of playful banter going on between Laur, Boo, and myself. The weather was hotter than I had anticipated and I wound up sweating it out in my long sleeve Shamrock marathon shirt (once again, it seemed as if everyone I passed yelled out "HEY SHAMROCK!" to me, funny). Overall a pretty good day in the park, even if I couldn't enjoy any of the post-race food because of my stupid dietary trial!

Tonight I drove Laur into Manhattan where she was babysitting on the Upper East Side. My plan was to hang out in the city while she babysat and use it as an opportunity to do a nice, leisurely long run, taking advantage of Central Park and surrounding areas. First I ran from the east to the west sides looking for a Citibank and a grocery store, which took me about 30 minutes and 3 miles, I figure. Then I took a little break and finally set off on my long run about 2130. I decided I would run to Central Park from my car, do a loop, head back to my car for refueling, and then run around the city a bit. That's just what I did, and to great success. I don't know EXACTLY how far I went total, but I mapped out my approximate route from memory afterwards so here's the damage:

14 miles in 2:05:30 (8:55 pace)

including:
Central Park lap: 54:24 (9:04 pace)

For the second half I ran back to the Park, clockwise around it attempting to follow the NYC marathon finish route, then over to the West Side and back to Columbus Circle. Then I headed downtown along 6th & 5th Avenues. Basically whenever I came to a red light, instead of stopping to wait I just crossed the street or ran up towards the next avenue so I could be in constant motion. I made it down to 42nd & Broadway, where I ran into a bajillion tourists and ran in the street for a bit. Then I got a call from Laur around 48th & 5th that she was done, so I booked it back to 72nd & 1st, coming in just over 2 hours for the entire run. Mid-run refueling consisted of a few handfuls of peanuts, some orange and cran-apple juices, and some milk chocolates. My legs felt good (I had both wrapped with pre-wrap) and while they were sore and tired afterwards, there are no lingering or nagging injuries or pre-injuries. They actually feel BETTER than they have been! Hope this continues for the next 5 and a half months :)

I had intended to do a run of about 6-7 miles today but I just never got going and by the time I headed out the door to do my run, I had to hurry it up because Lauren was going to be getting into the Wantagh train station at 1835 (giving me about an hour to run, shower, get to the train station). I decided to run a little quicker than I have been and do only about 3-4 miles. I felt good, even if it was brief. Here's the damage:

5k (3.1 miles) in 23:10

including:
Mile 1- 7:30
Mile 2- 15:10 (7:40 mile)
Mile 3- 22:34 (7:24 mile)
5k- 23:10 (36 second for 0.1 mile)

This felt pretty easy, obviously a faster pace than I've been doing for my runs of late but I guess one quick run won't hurt. The funny thing is, this is only 30 seconds slower than the 5k I ran in September and I was really shot at the end of that. How far I've come! Anyway, I managed to shower and get down to the train to pick up the darling girlfriend and a good time was had by all :)

I drove into NYC today, Laur and I had tickets to see The Hush Sound, Phantom Planet, Motion City Soundtrack, and Panic! at the Disco there at 6. I was mostly excited to see her, to see The Hush Sound, and thirdly to run in Central Park. I got in early enough to go next door with her and watch her eat the most delish looking smac (mac& cheese) ever. Which is big for me to say, bc as a rule, I tend to hate mac & cheese and have only had it once in my life, a few weeks ago at her parents house. Maybe it was because I was hungry, or maybe because this was "gourmet-ish" mac& cheese. Afterwards, I got changed into running attire and headed to Central Park to do an easy outer loop of the park, very much like the first time I went there, only without being too shy to see Laur afterwards. Central Park running is always good for knocking you down a peg or two if you're getting a bit too full of yourself, because there is always people there that look like they've been at it for much longer and are much faster/talented. Instead of being discouraged by seeing this, it gives me something to aspire to now (new Mark outlook :]). The weather was bee-ee-ay-you-tiful, my only regret is not getting to share it with Laur. I got into a rhythm of heel striking the downhills as that seemed to put less stress on everything and midfoot striking everything else. I love that it's hilly, it helped change up things from the mostly flat running I've been doing, and gave me enough feeling of pushing myself, even on an easy run. Here's the damage:

6 gorgeous miles in 49:40 (8:13 pace)

and a ROCKIN' GREAT TIME with the darling girlfriend afterwards! :)