I don’t usually write race reports for 5k’s, but you guys really helped me with my run planning and execution and I saw some really nice gains tonight, so I wanted to thank y’all.
Here’s the RR: http://wp.me/pT7eM-7j
21:33 which was good for 29th OA.
Still the hilliest course I’ve raced on.
Any advice on how to get my splits ( 6:55/7:37/6:58) closer to the same time is greatly appreciated 
Cheers.
You need to get out into Upstate NY or Western NY or VT. Van Cortlandt is a racetrack compared to much of the rest of the state. Good job though, always nice to start to see the gains you can actually make.
Yeah everyone there’s all, “you gotta get out to Orange County if you think this is hilly!”
I was trying to ignore them and live in the moment of my moving up 11 spots int he ranks
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What was the temperature during the race? Just wondering.
It was nice out. Probably 72-75° or so.
Not too muggy either.
You need to get out into Upstate NY or Western NY or VT. Van Cortlandt is a racetrack compared to much of the rest of the state. Good job though, always nice to start to see the gains you can actually make.
It’s fairly quick, for sure; the back woods you can really fly through. But Cemetery Hill buried me the first 8k I raced there. Plenty of ups and downs on that course to destroy your legs.
I ran Van Cortlandt back in HS at Kinney XC championships (later Foot Locker) (92-94) Back then there was a stretch going into the woods with a lot of sand that really put the breaks on any fast times. IS that still there.
Well the first 3/4 mile and the last 1/2 mile are on loosely packed gravel, if that’s what you mean…
I feel slower on it, but maybe I just don’t know how to run on gravel. It’s a little slippery for me. I like to run on the grass on the side and people get upset when I kick up mud (like last night! ^_^).
I remember going to Van Cortlandt Park in 1978 for an XC race as a hgh school freshman at Seton Hall Prep. The next year, I transferred to Montclair H.S. and we didn’t do that race. I bet it hasn’t changed much since then.
Where were the big hills on the course? Rollers throughout the course or mostly the second mile? Where was the last .1 miles?
A lot of times, you really have to pay attention in the middle third of a race. It’s easy to lose focus and mentally drift away from what is going on. You get through the first mile on adrenaline and the third mile because you know you are almost done. Wake up during the second mile! Find somebody by you and just attach yourself right behind them. Focus on a small dot or logo on the back of their singlet and don’t let them get away.
Also, if you just keep racing you’ll improve your pacing overall. Train the way your race- try to negative split every run, even if it is just a few seconds faster on the way back.
Well here’s a link to my TGT’s file:
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/sr/RYE47N7UUN3PSMT6WHW2AR2EWY
Elevation profile looks like this:
http://i53.tinypic.com/10hj2a0.png
I guess mostly rolling hills after the first mile…I feel like I’m training on hills and therefore I should be racing better on hills…and maybe I am. Maybe if I weren’t training on hills, my second mile would be closer to an 8 min pace.
I went out slow enough that by the time I got to the hills, I would power through and pass everyone I got to. I was only passed once, and that was the sprint finish. He beat me by less than a second. I would focus on the back of each person’s jersey until I dropped 'em
Not t sound full of myself, I was 29th OA, 5th AG - I know I’ve got much work to do!
Negative splits means each mile is faster than the one before it?
Well the first 3/4 mile and the last 1/2 mile are on loosely packed gravel, if that’s what you mean…
I feel slower on it, but maybe I just don’t know how to run on gravel. It’s a little slippery for me. I like to run on the grass on the side and people get upset when I kick up mud (like last night! ^_^).
It all depends on the course you are racing there, but I don’t rermember running on any true gravel paths in our college meets there. More like a dirt/cinder toe path. Spikes (my preference was 3/8" but would run 1/2" in the mud and 1/4" if the path was rocky in places) help out a lot when dealing with loose dirt/cinders. Though I don’t recommend them on a true gravel path as there is a tendency to damage the receptacles; they will pull through the spike plate and jut up into the footbed . I had a pretty bad run of luck my sophomore year in HS where I trashed 3 pairs of spikes that way. Did it to another pair in college about 2 miles into an 8k. But since it was a dual meet against our rivals, no pulling out. Just tossed the shoe to my track captain and finished barefoot. Fortunately (or unfortunately, due to lack of traction) it had been raining all week and the ground was soft. Just not 300m of rocky trail through the woods.