300 Miles & a PR!!!

Saturday was a BIG day in my running. I ran a race in central park . . . actually it was the Race for Central Park, a 4 mile race that was my sixth of the year. I also hit the 300 mile mark for the Year of the Marathon upon completion of the race.

In addition, in this race I set a personal record on time for the 4 mile distance. My previous record for the 4 mile race was a 7:40 pace . . . the first race I ever ran. On Saturday, I was able to destroy that record, running at a 7:23 average pace and completing the race in under 30 minutes! I was really excited! After the race I saw Bob Glover, who is the author of my running book and the head coach of my running class, and told him that his book and class helped me set a PR. He didn't really care at all . . . but I was practically skipping home after the race b/c I was so pumped to run so well. I feel great that my running and focus over the last few months is really paying off. It's also VERY gratifying to work hard towards a goal that you've set (breaking 30 minutes for a 4 miler) and reaching it. Now I can set new goals!

Saturday night I went out to Brooklyn to celebrate my friend Alec's departure from the city . . . not really to celebrate his departure . . . really to wish him well . . . and then today I ran a nice easy, four mile run up the west side. It was hot and humid, but I felt good today.

Next week is an easier week. My long run is back down to 8 miles and I have no race, so I'm looking forward to a little bit of recovery in preparation for the following week when I run 13 miles for my long run!!

As I mentioned earlier, Saturday's race was my sixth of 2008, meaning that I have to only run three more races this year in order to guarantee my entry into the NYC marathon for 2009! I'm almost there.