We Got That Power

Another post that I'm way behind on, but don't fret, I'm getting it done systematically.

Early January is like a desert for races. Someone asked on a run recently "are there any big races coming up?" We said no. "Any races like 5-10km?" No. "Any races with good competition or money?" NO.

It's freaking January on the East Coast. Nobody wants to race. And if you're competitive, you're probably content with training through until spring, when there ARE big races! Unless you are racing indoor track, there ain't shit.

And that's why Ed Aramayo ran the Gotham Cup at the Armory in NYC on Friday evening. Against a field of mostly college kids and a handful of post-collegiates, Ed, who isn't getting any younger, ran the 1000 meter event. 5 laps around the track up there, and he hasn't raced on the indoor oval in 20 months. That season was pretty good though, when he ran 2:32 for 1000m and ultimately went onto a number of outdoor track PRs.

But what could he expect of himself after such a long layoff? He hasn't been doing "track specific" workouts, and his 2 months of working out on the West Coast left him in the red in terms of running mileage. He toed the line and let the race happen. And happen it did. A kid in front of him just after the 2nd lap stepped on the rail and went down, causing a chain reaction of fallers. Ed deftly hurdled them, and went onto win the heat in 2:38.09. Far from a time he would have been happy with, but he followed the #1 rule of racing indoors: RACE THE RACE. Note: he did not get beat by Mary Cain.

Kevin McGrath headed back to Central Park to run in the Joe Kleinerman 10k, a full lap around CP. The torrential rain of Saturday stopped just before the race and held off for it, and apparently it was warmer up there than here (where it was 37 and rainy). A couple of folks ran the BRRC Frozen Finger 5M, including winner Jack Flowers (don't you go to college?!), PJ Anderer, Johnny Lyons, Terry Decker and Denise Knickman, who was 2nd for the women.

Ed earned this week's Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

Hopefully next week I'll put a little more time into giving everyone some fun stuff to read on the blog.