Change-Up in Van Cortland Park

Today, I ran my 10th Road Runners race of 2011. This is significant because after race 9 a few weekends ago, I officially qualified for the 2012 New York Marathon - hooray! Today's race was not necessary for qualification purposes, but it was a very different race from the kind I'm used to here, and I'm glad I did it.

The Peter McArdle Cross Country Classic took place way up in Van Cortland Park, in the middle of the Bronx. The park is large and connects to a network of running trails that go through woods, so it was a welcome change from the road races I've gotten used to. It was a 15K (9.3 miles) course, made up of three 5K loops - not the most thrilling set-up, but there's something to be said for gaining familiarity with a hilly terrain.  By the third go-round I knew exactly where the biggest hills were and was ready for them. (Well, as ready as I was ever going to be.)

An uncharacteristically flat portion of the Van Cortland trails.

I've been going to the gym a lot lately, but I've been riding a stationary bike, lifting weights, and doing short running workouts, so I wasn't very prepared for this sort of run.  Not only was I out of shape, the hills were steep and the day was cold; when I left my apartment, my phone told me it was 37 degrees. Brrr. I dressed well for the race, though, and as soon as my muscles finally warmed up, which took ages, I was quite comfortable. The sunshine, when we weren't under tree cover, helped as well.

I ran a slow race, but a strategic race, which I was proud of. Lots of people barreled by me in the beginning only to run out of steam near the end, and I passed most of them again during the third lap, which was a nice feeling. I also seemed to be one of the only ones near the back of the pack who knew how to run hills. The idea is to shorten your steps and lean forward on the uphill - particularly if it is steep - and then open your strides as wide as possible on the downhill side and let gravity take you down; even though you're going quite fast, this approach actually takes less energy than trying fight gravity and slow yourself down.

Given that I haven't run more than 6 miles at a time in something like 2 months, I was surprised that I wasn't completely exhausted by the end. I held a steady pace throughout and did not fall into my usual post-race stupor once home. Despite my unexpected success (of sorts), this race was a good wake-up call. I've entered the lotteries for both the NYC half-marathon and the Empire State Building Run-Up, a race up the stairs to the top of the Empire State Building. If I get into either or both of those, I'd better adjust my training schedule, post haste.