Monday, July 14, 2008

Weekend Recap

My long endurance training took a little bit of a twist this weekend.

Instead of a 20 mile long run on Saturday, I broke it up into an 11-miler on Saturday and a 9-miler on Sunday. While some would see this as a failure of sorts, I’m counting it as an experiment called the double long weekend run. For those who’s never heard of it, the idea is to do two consecutive medium runs within 24 hours at slightly faster than the usual slow long run pace to build consistency and break up the hyped up emphasis on the single slow long run. Sounds perfectly logical and rational, right? It doesn’t at all sound like I was just trying to skimp out on doing the 20-miler, does it? Of course not, what a rhetorical question!

My Saturday morning run was dreadful because I slept too late the night before, woke up too early that morning, and got annoyed by the maze of barricades restricting the roadways at Central Park at 8:00AM in preparation for the Bon Jovi concert at 8:00PM later that night. (Seriously, folks, was that really necessary to set up roadblocks 12 hours before the concert!)

Sunday’s run was a bit more pleasant. I got to run with my parents (first time ever!) in a beautiful park next to a bay. I even extended my run to do the full 9 by running through an Army Reserve Training Facility. I ran through that section of town pretty quickly because there were signs everywhere reminding me that I was under the jurisdiction of the Army Reserve, which I interpreted to mean that I was fair game for target practice while I was on their property. This part of the course notwithstanding, the entire 9 mile trek was quite scenic and enjoyable, and I was able to maintain a relatively good pace throughout the run.

After we showered and cleaned up, my parents and I went for a nice barbecue at my aunt’s place which was just a block away from where my parent’s lived. My mom and aunt had invited all their neighborhood friends over for a summer party. There were about 20 people at the party that night. Oh, did I mention that my parents only moved into their new place just a few short months ago. Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. My parents actually have more of an extensive social network living in an obscure section of Queens than I do in the middle of Manhattan. Go figure! At least there was good food, good conversation (I met a newbie marathon runner at the party) and good times to be had all around. If only I could carbo-load like that before my marathons!

14 comments:

Andrew is getting fit said...

Running with your parents sounds great. Does the whole family wear bandanas?

Anonymous said...

I aspire to be your parents.

Sun Runner said...

the Bon Jovi concert at 8:00PM later that night.

What is most intriguing about this is that Bon Jovi is still a big enough draw to be able to pull off a concert in Central Park. One that requires roadblocks, no less. I guess I'm surprised he hasn't ended up on the nostalgia tour circuit with a few other washed-up hair metal bands from the 80s, or, even worse, been reduced to playing state fairs and regional festivals honoring various agricultural products.

Nitmos said...

I'll be curios to see if you have results with that - 2 medium runs in place of a LR. I'm paranoid about not going the distance. I start getting all wimpy and scairt that I can't actually do a marathon if I don't knock out some 20 milers.

nwgdc said...

i agree with nitmos! please do well in the marathon and put my worries to rest!

Steve Stenzel said...

Stupid Bon Jovi. Good for nothin...

Glad you got in the 2 runs though...

Meg said...

Sounds like a great weekend! Your parents can run 9 miles?! That's impressive!

Ax said...

Hey Lam, I've been a little behind in reading blogs, but I wanted to say that I enjoyed your piece on the Runner's Lounge. It was nice to get to know you a little better. Good luck with the last stages of your marathon training.

C said...

My parents couldn't run nine feet let alone nine miles. You have one fit family!

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say thanks for coming over to the bbq, since its nice to have a familiar face around when theres so many new people.

For everyone else, I'm Laminator's cousin, who's house he came over on Sun night. Also I know my aunt and uncle (refering the Laminator's parents), only ran 2 miles (or maybe 4, there and back? I'm not sure), but no more than 4 miles. I'd be pretty impressed if my parents ran 9 miles as well. By the way, I'm not a runner.

Laura said...

Hey Lam - I'm thinking of coming out for the SFM. Are you doing the pasta dinner the night before?

I'm deciding at some point this morning whether to book/register... will keep you posted!

sRod said...

My dad biked next to me for a bit during a run. It got boring for him really fast. That's about as close as I've ever gotten to running with my parents.

Irish Cream said...

Ooh, I too am very interested in seeing the results of your split long-run . . .

P.S. I was beyond annoyed with the Bon Jovi concert and I wasn't even anywhere NEAR Central Park that day! Just having to hear about it all the time from a few amped up co-workers was enough to piss me off!!

The Laminator said...

On behalf of my parents, I'm thanking everyone for their comments!

Andrew - no, no one wear bandanas in my family, except the one and only Laminator!

Sarah - I agree...you have to hand it to the guy. I think his songs transcends across different generations.

Nitmos, nwgdc - Ye of little faith!
Of course whatever I do is going to work! Actually, I only made this a double medium because I had already done three 20s which in retrospect was a bit excessive for me.

Steve - Haha, Thanks!

Meg - No, my parents only ran 2 miles and walked back 2 miles...still, I'm very psyched that my obession has rubbed off just a little.

Reid - Thanks for the compliment. Judging from your progress on your mile runs, I know you're running very well this summer too!

Xenia - No, my parents didn't run 9, but we are still one fit family!

JK - Thanks for visiting cuz...and yes, the party turned out quite fun. So when are you getting your boat and taking me on a ride?

Laura - Fantastic news about SFM. I won't be at the pasta dinner but will definitely meet up at some point.

sRod - My parents actually suggested that for a future run too. They bike, I run. I think that's fair.

Irish - Will see about the double medium. I blame it all on Bon Jovi!

 
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