What a gorgeous morning for a long run! Just look at that view from the top of the Great Lawn in Central Park:

Overall, I I never quite found my legs on this run. My heart rate spiked more than usual on the hills, and my legs felt more torn up than they’ve felt in months. These factors might have contributed to my less-than-perfect morning:

1. Before the run, I ate some my usual fat-free Greek yogurt with honey and some pinole/chia snacks, a teaspoon of peanut butter, and drank some water, but that was it. I usually also eat two or three slices of sourdough bread, but decided to try a lower-carb combo for the morning run. It might not have worked.
2. I warmed up for what I thought was 12 minutes, but might have only been 10 and, ultimately, might have needed a longer warm-up this morning due to the extra cycling session I did yesterday. Without a sufficient warm-up, I might have spiked my heart rate too much when I initially started to run, making it difficult to find a rhythm.
3. I might also be pushing too hard in general. I usually take Mondays and Fridays off from all running/biking/aerobic activity to give my legs a break. This week, because the NYC Century is tomorrow, I wanted to get an extra cycling session in, and squeezed it in yesterday (Friday). I think a rest day might have served me better.
4. It’s also possible that I’m getting ahead of my abilities. My recent MAF Test demonstrated serious aerobic improvement, and I PR’d at the Percy Sutton 5k, and I’ve been feeling so confident on every run that maybe I need to remember that I came back from injury only 3 MONTHS AGO. I have the rest of my life to improve my running abilities. It doesn’t have to happen tomorrow.
5. And finally, my body either might be gearing up to make another big leap forward in its aerobic capabilities, or I might be plateauing. Either way, I have to listen to it and not push too hard. There are too many races coming up, and I’d rather kick their asses than my own for overtraining or re-injuring myself.

This also brings me to why Time on My Feet’s tagline is, “Running One Step at a Time.” This morning’s run was definitely frustrating, and I felt for a while like I was running without a plan. Enter the idea of “one step at a time.” It means that you won’t run every run perfectly. You will make mistakes. Sometimes you’ll want to go home and never run again. And sometimes, like today, you’ll have an off day for whatever reason, and not be able to explain it. How do you react in these situations?

For me, I try to take it one step at a time. I break the run into easily digestible sections. For the Central Park loop, this might mean telling myself, “OK, you just finished the big Harlem Hill. There are three more hills coming up. Let’s worry about this first one, and forget the other two. OK, you’re halfway up. Slow down so your heart rate stays below 145. Good. Step, two, three, four, breathe in every four steps, out for the next four. OK, you’re at the top of the hill. Pick up the pace a bit. Two more hills and they’re easy. Worry about this first one.” And so on. Using this technique was the only way I could study for the bar exam. A study session might go something like this: “OK, Jim, you know you can’t study for a whole day, let alone a week, let alone two months for this exam. But, you are totally capable of studying for one hour. And after that hour is over, you’re going to get up, walk around, get a snack, and after ten minutes you’re going to sit back down and do it again for another hour.”

Shorten the horizon. Break up your project. Don’t worry about what’s coming so much as what’s in front of you. Deep breaths and feel the confidence build within you. One step at a time. Not every step is going to feel great, but the great thing about feelings is that they’re ephemeral, and you get to choose whether to hold onto them or to let them go.

That said, here are my mile splits for the day. They look different from last week’s group run, which makes sense because when I train using the “180 Formula,” I have to slow down on the hills, and then I run faster on the downhills. Overall, though my pace was almost exactly the same as last week’s (about 8 miles per mile, a solid long run training pace).

I also ran into Raul from November Project NYC, which made my morning a little brighter:

And finally, Vote for Piff! (seen later in the day in NYC).

As always, happy running, everyone!

Next Sunday, September 13, I will be riding in the NYC Century, a 100-mile bike tour through New York City. I am super excited because I missed the TD Five Boro Bike Tour due to my injury. This will be my first bike tour and my first century, so I have no expectations and just want to enjoy it.

(sample of a ride to or from White Plains as recorded on MapMyRun)

To train, I’ve been riding twice a week. My mid-week ride takes me from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to my office in White Plains, New York, approximately 26 miles each way. I also do a weekend long ride, which started at 25 miles and increased between five and ten miles a week until this week’s 80-miler.

I bought my bike, a 30-year-old ten-speed Fuji Monterey nicknamed the Silver Fox, from Greenpoint Bikes in June of 2014. I had just moved to Bushwick, and wanted the bike to get around Brooklyn more easily. I was hooked within a few weeks of riding.

As I’ve increased my mileage and started to save money to buy a more modern cycle, I’ve learned more about different types of bikes, bike geometry, and bike fit. I’ve also learned that the Silver Fox is wrong for me in all categories. The frame is long, which does not properly support my long legs and short torso. No matter how much I try to get the bike to work for me, it will always come up short.

As a result, I had started to experience neck pain on any ride over 15 miles (that is, all my rides), and brought my bike to Master Bike Shop on 72nd Street near West End Avenue. My girlfriend bought her Fuji Absolute (hers is black) there, and I bought my clipless pedals and shoes there. I met with Joe, who does Master Bike’s bike fits, and he raised my seat, tilted my handlebars forward, and advised me not to ride on the hoods. These adjustments and advice saved my neck (literally) during my 80 miler. Thanks, Master Bike!

Armed with a more properly fit bike, and fresh off the prior day’s 14-mile marathon training run, I planned to rest, have fresh legs, and lots of good snacks. The only thing I had, however, was the rest. Before my ride, I walked five miles with my mom, sister, and girlfriend, and spent time carrying the girlfriend around the Central Park reservoir. I’ll call it “training for the bridges” during the NYC marathon! Then, I realized that I had left my KIND Dark Chocolate Chunk bars at my office, and all I had in my apartment was a package of nuts and raisins, some pinola/chia snacks, and a plastic sandwich bag filled with Puffins a/k/a a large helping of sugary goodness. Fingers crossed that this measly 700 calories plus water would get me through 80 miles, I foam-rolled my IT bands, hopped out the door and hit the roads.

Here’s the route I followed: I did half a loop in Central Park, and headed north through Harlem on St. Nicholas Avenue. I then rode alongside the Harlem River, traveled west to the Hudson River Greenway, and down to the southern tip of Manhattan (about 23 miles). I then rode through the Lower East Side and across the Williamsburg Bridge, through Williamsburg and Greenpoint, across the Pulaski Bridge into Queens, across the Queensborough Bridge and up 1st Avenue to 111th Street, and across 111th Street and into Central Park for a half loop (about 39.6 miles). After a short refueling break, I rode six full loops of the Park and two lower loops. My phone died at 76.5 miles, so I didn’t capture the final 3.5 mile splits.

The NYC Century is a tour on open roads, so I wanted to train on the streets. This would have been great at 6 a.m., but not at noon. I nearly got doored four or five times, and I had to stop at lots of traffic lights. Even the Hudson River Greenway drove me nuts, with harsh wind gusts and people clogging the paths. Through the southern tip of Manhattan, I was not feeling it.

The Williamsbridge Bridge and Brooklyn were great. Riding through Brooklyn and Queens is lovely because they’re both much less crowded than Manhattan, and even the Queensborough Bridge is a smooth ride. First Avenue is mostly flat and, despite numerous delivery guys riding the wrong direction in the bike lane, the ride was pleasant. By the time I returned to Central Park, though, I was ready to put in smooth, steady riding that did not involve stopping every three minutes for traffic.

I did one new thing on this ride: I drank a can of Coke after my fourth of six full loops of the Park. I have heard from numerous endurance athletes that a caffeinated beverage late in the day can re-energize the system. Let me tell you, these folks are absolutely right. I didn’t know how tired I was until the caffeine and sugar hit my brain. My final two full loops and two lower loops felt like I had just started riding.

I felt good when I finished, and am ready for the Century next week. I will be doing one more mid-week ride beforehand (probably a 25-miler home from work), and then I’ll get some sleep before the big day. Let me know if you’re riding the Century!

Happy riding and running!

Here are mile splits for the first 76.5 miles. I took a nice break around mile 40 (mostly to eat lots of Puffins!).