Ah, July 4th. The heat. The kids off from school. The strained air conditioners. The sleeping cats. The sweaty cheese. The road races.
Ah, yes, the road races. Today I ran the Putnam County Classic, my first time running this Taconic event. It’s an eight mile course, and man are there some freakin’ hills there in the middle. Many a runner warned me: ”that race sucks!” ”The weather is always horrible!” “Take your 10k time as a predictor. More specifically, take your 10k time, and add 30 minutes.” For such an encouraging community, runners can certainly put the fear into a somewhat novice enthusiast!
Total panic in the media as well. Total heat wave. Stay in if possible. Don’t eat the sweaty cheese.
So I got up, walked to my car, and noticed that I was cold. It was about 70° out. Nice! That’s not to say it wasn’t a rough day — I’m sure by the end of the race it was in the high 80°, but it wasn’t the doom and gloom I had expected. I ran into my running buddies at the race, and we discussed pace. 6:45 seemed like a good target for everyone. Except me. I mean, I think 6:40 would be a great pace in a 10k for me. On a flat course. On a downhill course. In 40° weather. 40° clear weather.
That being said, I lined up and started with my friend Alyssa. She’s been having a great year, and I was thrilled to run with her. So many of the Central Park races are so full of, well, strangers, that it’s hard to know the ability of those around. By being with someone I knew, I was confident that I could base my effort on those around me. I held on to her, and it was a great. Whatever mental load I was carrying due to fear of the course or the weather was lost in my frantic desire to not get left behind!
All in all, it was a good race. It was freakin’ HOT. One of the funniest running conversations I’ve ever heard was between my friend Steve and another runner. There was a bank on the course with digital sign showing the temperature. Steve was commenting on the heat to this slower finisher.
Steve: ”Man, it was hot out there. When I ran by the clock it said the temperature was 80°. What did it say when you ran by?”
Other runner: “Damn, Steve, it wasn’t like I was that far behind you. The sun wasn’t setting. It said 80° for me as well.”
Awesome.
The middle miles were tough, but I did have something left for the end. My splits were 6:46, 6:58, 6;45, 6:51, 7:07 (hills!), 7:11 (see also: hills), 6:58, 6:32 for an average pace of 6:55 and a time of 55:30. Now that I know the course, I can hope to do better last year. And tell people what a horrible race it is. And then tell them I’m lying.
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