At the start of the last decade, I had just discovered running– by force, no less, at The Island School. My Crohn's disease was just newly under control for the first time, and thanks to an incredible streak of luck and an incredible amount of support from my teachers, family and doctors, I managed to embark on a semester abroad experience with no phone, no internet access, on an island with no hospital. Most students were given the option to train for and complete a 4-Mile swim or a Half Marathon by the end of the semester. After I failed the swim test due to my asthma, there was only one option for me: I was going to train for my first Half Marathon.
And by golly, I loved it. I struggled, but I loved the struggle. For the first time, I felt like I was in physical control. For the first time, I was able to embrace my body's limitations. And for the first time, I scored a major victory over my disease. I finished the Half Marathon in 1:46:10.
I loved it so much, I was ready for another. And another. And another.
And now, at the start of 2020, I will be running my 20th Half Marathon. And the time to beat? 1:17:20.
FRED LEBOW HALF - PRE-RACE THOUGHTS:
Throwback to this finish line pic from 2014!
This will be my 6th running of the Fred Lebow Half (formerly known as the Manhattan Half). The course has varied over the years, but it generally consists of multiple Central Park loops, including all of the major hills multiple times. It is therefore the toughest NYRR Half Marathon by consensus, and not usually thought of as a course to set a personal best time.
Yet, 5 out of 6 times, I have managed to set a personal best here (even by a measly one second last year!). And with luck, this year will be another good one!
One more throwback pic, this time from 2015!
It will be very challenging to pull off, but a PR would be an important step toward my new ultimate Half Marathon goal - to break 1:15. I believe that if I can cut off at least 30 seconds from my time, I will be close enough to make a serious attempt at the NYC Half in March or the Brooklyn Half in May. If I can run 1:16:xx on this course, I just have to do what I did last year and improve my time by less than 2 minutes on a faster, easier course.
COURSE STRATEGY
Training-wise, I think I am exactly where I need to be. My last race was the NYC Marathon where I ran my fastest time by 5 minutes, and since then, I've continued to sharpen. I've logged some promising Tempo runs in Central Park and have maintained a relatively high mileage (by my standards).
Therefore, I think this race will come down to course strategy. As a matter of fact, the course has undergone a last minute change!!
The new course! Rotated for your convenience :)
Now, the race begins just beyond 102nd street on the East Drive and begins by climbing Harlem Hill, does two full Central Park loops, and ends just below 102nd on the West Drive. Yes, that's right... there are now three(!) Harlem Hills in the race course.
The change was due to the construction on the 72nd St transverse, where the course used to pass through. Since the course has runners completing multiple laps of the park, the construction would have created a bottleneck between those who were still on their first lap, and those who were on their second lap, usually directed to run in an adjacent lane.
The new elevation chart! Rotation not necessary :)
The pros of this course change are: no more speed-killing sharp turns around 72nd street; an additional round of the awesome downhills before and after Harlem Hill, a slightly fast portion that was added just south of 72nd on the West Drive; one less round of Cat Hill, one less round of two out of three 'sister' hills on the West Drive.
The cons of this course change are: one less round of the ultra-fast mile just beneath the West Side 'sister' hills; an additional round of the dreadful Harlem Hill; the race starts on a steep downhill which encourages going out too fast; can't use last year's race to create new pacing strategy as easily.
As you can see, I'm trying to think optimistically here. All in all, this may actually be a net positive change for those aiming to run a faster time, which is surprisingly good news! But how does it get done, with no exact splits to compare this course to?
Here are my planned splits for this race:
The overall strategy is to start conservatively and then more or less run by effort, rather than try to maintain a specific pace. Going up Harlem Hill in 6:10 may seem aggressive, but there are two fast downhill stretches to balance it out. I think the most difficult part will be hitting all of the splits between Harlem Hill 2 and Cat Hill 2 during the second loop. I've been able to run a bit faster for a full Central Park loop in my Tempo runs this season, but at the end of those workouts, I've been pretty tapped out. So continuing to hold a pace close to that for more that double the length is possible, but it will be very hard, especially daunting in miles 8-11. That being said, if I can get over Cat Hill 2 in one piece, I am confident I can make it happen.
It's 2020, and after 19 Half Marathons, I am used to the hurt of the last few miles. I've run Halfs where I PR'd by just 5 seconds, and last year at this very race, in the most brutal conditions I've ever run in, I PR'd by just 1 second. Even if it looks like I am down and out, I will give it my all. I've ventured far beyond my wildest dreams... why not reach a bit further?
Wish me luck! And good luck to all those who will be running on Sunday!
-Evan 48
