NYRR Gridiron Classic 4 Mile Race Report

I finally had that breakthrough race that I have been wanting my entire running "career." That race where you pass everyone, and finish with a pace that you can be damn proud of!!

Yesterday I did the NYRR Gridiron Classic 4 Miler and finished in a time of 25:06, or a 6:17 average pace. Last year I did 28:05. 3 min PR!!! I had two goals for this race: 1) Finish in under 28 minutes and 2) keep all splits under 7:00. I SMASHED both!

Mile 1: 6:12
Mile 2: 6:09
Mile 3: 6:29
Mile 4: 6:14

I also had an unexpected (yet unofficial) surprise and accomplish a goal that I had set for myself this Fall: I (unofficially) broke 20 mins for the 5K split! There was no 5K split marker out there, but I did hit the mile 3 mark at 18:47.37, and based upon my mile 3 split (since the next 0.1 was still in the same terrain area of the park) I hit 3.1 roughly around 19:26, 34 seconds under 20 minutes! BAM!!!

My warmup was actually longer than the race. I did 10 mins steady, then 10 x (20 sec fast, 40 secs easy), 8 mins steady. My average pace for the warmup was an 8:01, so my legs were clearly ready to go fast! I then stood there in my corral for 17 minutes before we got going. Oops!

I facebooked before the race:

I knew this race was going to hurt, so it was more mentally preparing myself to put my body into that pain zone of ultimate hurtness. Embrace the suckage!!

The gun went off, we crossed the start mat, and NOBODY was going for it! I was like, "This isn't a half marathon!! This is a 4 mile race! You should be running this at a 5K pace!!" So I booked it and ran outside of the cones in clear territory and all of the volunteers were yelling at me to stay inside the cones. Why? So I can run slow? HELL NO!!!

I was that guy with the obnoxious breathing problem for the first two miles. I was running so fast wondering when my body was just going to give out. It hurt so bad!!! I was clearly hating life.

When I saw the mile split at mile 1, a 6:12, I was like, "I am running 30 seconds faster than expected. Holy!!! Do I slow down? No no no no, this is a 4 miler, this is SUPPOSED to be happening. Go out hard and hang on for dear life!"

Mile 2, 6:09, I wanted to die again, but I was already half way over and this was possibly going to be all over in 13 minutes.

Mile 3, 6:29, I knew I was going to break 20 mins for the 5K, but I also knew my body was starting to give out. I was in the "hanging on for dear life stage." This was also the hilliest part of the course, and those three uphills really started to take its toll on me.

Mile 4, 6:13, can only be described as copious amounts of slobber coming out of every orifice of my face. I was a mess and hurting REALLY bad. I WANTED THIS RACE OVER WITH ALREADY!!! The last little uphill by 72nd street finally did me in and for the the first time ever I thought I might puke after a race. That quickly subsided, but wow! that hurt!!!

My dear sister even came out and watched the start and finish of the race. Her eyes were wild eyed when she saw the look on my face at just how badly I hurt.

Geez that hurt....

We ran around the bottom of the park to the UES to 77th and Lex to my new favorite bagel place.

Hello ham, egg, and cheese on a whole wheat everything!

You ready for some numbers nerding out?
So exactly 4 weeks ago I did that 10K in the park, where I PR-ed my time by a few minutes to a 43:21 or a 7:00 flat pace. My avg HR for that race was a 181, wheras this 4 miler was a 6:17 avg pace with an avg HR of only 176. So 43 sec/mile faster pace and 5 bpm lower. *disclaimer* it was 48 degrees at the 10K and only 33 degrees at this race. My HR is always higher when it is warmer. * I still think I have become a lot more efficient in the past 4 weeks.

Now here is something new I experienced. I felt completely out of control over my pacing at this race. Of course for a race this short, I don't think you should be in control of your pacing because you should be running all out anyways! I felt a lot more in control at the 10K and even held back slightly in those last few miles. I felt like I was running a LOT harder with a lower HR at this race than the 10K. I guess now it is learning what sub 7 miles feel like?

I am VERY proud of my performance, mostly shocked, but very proud. I never thought I would ever break the 20 min barrier for the 5K split. My coach now wants me to go sub 40 for the 10K this Fall! *gulp!*

Oh, and I looked up the final results. I came in 147th overall, 143 for my gender, out of over 6,000 finishers. Yeah yeah, there is a giant difference between the winner's time and mine, but still, wow!!!