Yeah… so I’m only 4 days late with this, but my laptop died and I was without Internet access. Doesn’t mean I’m not excited about the results from Sunday’s race!

First, I think I need to start off with an apology. I was really hating on the new scale and scope of the 2013 Brooklyn Half. I felt the NYRR had turned it into a complete circus by opening it up to so many people and building such hype around it. I really expected a slow, pushy and generally unpleasant race. I proclaimed many times both in-person and on Facebook that this, after participating six out of the last seven years, would certainly be my last Brooklyn Half.

Xavier and I on our way to bag check.

The actual experience was quite literally the opposite of all my expectations.

I had a really good time, enjoyed the race and finished with a good feeling in both my heart for Brooklyn and my legs for running. Bravo NYRR.

With that out of the way, here’s what happened with JGBC runners:

• Xavier Cuadrado – 01:44:24 (first half-marathon and second race ever!)
• James Patchett – 01:39:50 (just shy of a 2:00 PR!)
• J. Geoffrey Badner – 01:27:28 (2nd best time at this race)

• Christopher Archie – 01:48:06

Though this was sort of a “B” race for Archie, he did crush the 01:50:00 goal we had set as a target. Well done!

Surf, sand and success at the 2013 New Jersey Marathon yesterday. Despite a nagging respiratory infection, a last-minute calf blowout and a wicked headwind, Matthew Imberman ran a 20 minute course PR over last year’s race and a 5:00 marathon PR.

• Matthew Imberman – 03:18:51 (PR)

Congrats to Matt! Hopefully he can recover in time to do the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k in D.C. on June 2nd.

The race experience was a little weird as it was like a morning-long flash back to another life. I haven’t done a multisport race since 2008 and the whole time things kept coming back to me that I had completely forgotten about — what to pack in my bag, how to arrange my transition area, the best way to portion out the effort on the bike, my propensity to cramp up on the second run if I push it too hard in the first mile.

Adding to the weirdness was the fact that I opted for the road bike over the tri as I felt more comfortable with my bike skills that way. I’ve never done a race off the tri bike. This left me confused about my riding position and I definitely lost several seconds due to the less aero face to the wind.

Anyway… it was hard, but in the end things turned out well. I came in 2nd in my age group and 28th overall. My 2 mile run / 10 mile bike / 2 mile run results came out to be:

Run #1 – 12:06 / T1 – 0:58 / Bike – 30:39 / T2 – 0:43 / Run #2 – 13:07 / Total Time 57:35

Best part was catching up with Jonathan, Nicole and the old City Coach group. Pointing out hawks and airplanes with baby Simon was fun too. Team photo below.

I do not want to jeopardize my health and need an expert. I have had people tell me “I won’t be able to run marathons again” and I need someone else to be my inspiration when I feel discouraged or want to give up. When my friends/classmates are out partying constantly the last year of college and telling me that training for a marathon is lame, I do not want to lose sight of my goals and ambitions because of their lack of support of what makes me, me.

I raced today too… alone because everyone backed out. Jerks! Anyway… I placed 3rd overall in the Lost Brook Trail Race 5M.

• J. Geoffrey Badner – 00:37:19 @ 7:27 (PR. I haven’t done a 5M race in years)

This is a nice little race that’s only 45 mins from Brooklyn. I recommend trying it out. The course is challenging due to the narrow trails and rocky terrain, but it’s not very hilly. I had to wait for short open patches to employ my road racing speed, but I would imagine that anyone who’s a capable trail runner could do very well here. The guy who won came in about 2:00 ahead of me. Never saw him after the first turn.

The only let down was that there was no hardware for anyone other than the first male and female in each race (10 mile, 5 mile). Not that I really care about adding another medal to the collection anymore, but I waited around for 70 minutes for the “awards ceremony”. That kinda sucked.

There was no crap for JGBC runners today at the 2013 NYRR Scotland Run 10k. Congrats to James and Xavier!

• James Patchett – 00:45:00 @ 7:16 (PR)
• Xavier Cuadrado – 00:47:24 @ 7:39 (PR because it was his first race… ever!)

Both are training for the Brooklyn Half-Marathon in May and we used this event to explore how to fine tune their pacing. I like to use 10k races and/or individual 10k time trials as predictors for half and full marathon distances. I insert them into a slightly reduced week of training. No taper. I find this approach and the 10k distance provides the right amount of challenge for an athlete without over-taxing them and negatively impacting their training the following week.

Additionally, unlike a 5k, the 10k distance provides a fair prediction of lactate threshold. That’s because, for most of the people I coach, a 10k has them running at or slightly above their lactate threshold for 30+ minutes. I like to take an athlete’s average heart rate for the final 30 mins of a 10k and use it as a benchmark for lactate threshold. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s cheaper and easier than testing blood lactate levels.

Listen for yourself in this really great podcast where Dr. Noakes talks to the guys at Trail Runner Nation for 90 minutes. Very insightful and interesting.

When you’re done, you’ll probably want to run out and buy his new book Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports. It’s top of my reading list for spring break next week in Florida.

The NYC Half kicked off the spring racing season today. JGBC runners had a great showing.

Jordan Young – 01:21:12 @ 6:12 (PR)
Matthew Harper – 01:23:00 @ 6:21 (PR by 1:10)
Christopher Archie – 01:56:38 @ 8:55 (C race)

In addition, my favorite City Coach runner had a great day despite a shortened training cycle.

Carol Chera – 01:53:41 @ 8:41 (missed PR by :11)

I’m going to be speaking at a prep session for runners doing the Brooklyn Half-Marathon at JackRabbit Sports in Brooklyn on March 21st @ 6:30pm. It’s free and open to anyone… even if you’re not running the race.

Topics I’ll cover will include the items below followed by a Q&A session:

The Course

Understanding the challenge before you get to the start line is important to your success. We’ll review the recent route changes.

Goal Setting

Aiming too high (or too low) can frustrate even the fittest runner. Learn how to self-evaluate your ability and target the right goals, even if you just want to finish the race.

Training Approach

Different goals require different training approaches. We’ll discuss long run and key workout strategies.

Nutrition & Hydration

What to eat/drink and when is always a confusing topic for runners. Here we’ll go over basic guidelines to help you find what works for you during the race.

Race Day

Every race needs a plan… what’s yours? Here we’ll go over how to approach the day of the race and review race day dos and don’ts.

While this is focused on the Brooklyn Half, I think anyone interested in running half-marathon will benefit. Hope to see you there.