Yesterday was the fifth annual Bridie Goldstein Run for Children in Syosset, to benefit mercyFirst, a Syosset not-for-profit human service agency serving more than 4,000 children, teenagers and families each year in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties. Bridie was a committed nurse and runner who worked for mercyFirst and died tragically in an automobile accident in 2003. Local events, especially ones where there is much meaning in participating, where some inspiration can have unknown impact on those who come together for the event is a good thing. The race takes place on one of my favorite roads and evertime I run by mercyFirst I am inspired by Bridie to be more committed in my life.

The day was COOL with temperatures in the low 30s, sunny and dry. A lovely crisp late autumn day! Two hundred plus runners set out on this 5K run along the streets of "downtown" Syosset. The course is mixed with flat sections, downhills and uphills. It is a typical terrain for the northshore.

I went out just to be in it with no great expectations. My left hamstring has been tender so I did not want to aggravate it. My first mile clocked at 8:22 and knowing that long uphill inclines and hills remained I decided to settle in for a good work out. I finished at 26:38.2 (pace: 8:35), about a minute off my previous PR the week before. This was the 3rd fastest 5K I had run in some sixty 5K races in the past 5 years. I was pleased - A good workout! As I was checking the final results , I noticed that I placed 3rd in my age group out of 8 - go figure.

Tis the season … for Turkey Trots, and yesterday beheld numerous opportunities to participate in races in the area ahead of partaking in feasts to celebrate Thanksgiving. For the 3rd year in a row, I opted for the 4 Mile race in Huntington. I like this race because it benefits the local Community Chest. Yesterday was a perfect day for it! Temperatures in the low 50s, sunny, light breezes and a big crowd of a 1,000 plus runners. The Huntington race is an out and back, mostly flat, but has a few “nice” rolling hills at the half way point. The course also is along Huntington Harbor with many great vistas and an incredible maritime flavor.

This year my running buddy, Brian Feist, joined me. At the race I also met up with Mark Heyligers and his sons, Steven and Eric. Naturally, the race was attended by the many GLIRC runners and I ran into my buddies, Bill Halperin and Mike Polansky, GLIRC President. Also there was Steve Jonas and Bob Allen. Everyone had a great race and we posed for photos afterwards.

My left hamstring had been bothering me since last Sunday’s race so my goal was to take it easy and stay steady and not aggravate my hamstring. As it turned out, I was able to maintain a consistent pace. After the race and even today, my hamstring seems OK and I am relieved that it appears that there is nothing serious about it. My results were good, in fact, I came in 55 seconds faster than my previous 4 mile PR, set in July, with an overall time of 35:07 and a pace of 8:46:45.

Runner's World has lots of neat stuff; LOTS! One particular item is a training calculator that calculates times for different distances based upon a time of any given distance.     For example, I put in 53:18 for a distance of 10K and it calculated the following:

1 Mile	7:42
5 Kilometers (5K) (3.1 Miles)	25:35
5 Miles	42:22
10 Miles	1:28:19
Half Marathon (13.1 Miles)	1:57:35
Marathon (26.2 Miles)	4:05:10

The really wild thing is that when I ran my 5K race on Sunday, it was within 1 second of the calculator.     Based upon the calculator, if I continue to train and train smart and learn to be more consistent, a sub 4 hour marathon looks achievable.     Rock on!

Yesterday was the Mineola Mustang 5K Race. A perfect race day, cloudy and cool; temperature around 42 degrees. Happily, I ran this race with a PR of 25:38 (pace: 8:15) breaking my previous PR from 5 years ago by 34 seconds. (Results) Wow!

This was the fourth consecutive time I ran this race; A big improvement this year:

Year	Time	Pace
2004	28:33	9:14
2005	29:04	9:22
2006	29:05	9:23
2007	25:36	8:15

It seems my blog has become my place for race reports. Soon I will no doubt tire from giving race reports and get back into other running thoughts and opinions. Its hard not to race report when the PRs keep on coming, particularly as the years keep coming as well. When your running shows improvement as reflected by PRs, it is such a high - it signifies you are doing better; performing more at your potential; getting closer to the those mega and perhaps unspoken running goals and dreams.

I'm kinda blown away - just completed the Rockville Centre 10K Race (Results) in 53:18, representing a PR by more than 4 1/4 minutes. Admittedly, the conditions were cool, brisk and dry - but that kind of improvement is, well frankly amazing. It’s hard to tell how fast I am going while in the thick of things and only when I pass the mile markers do I get a sense of my pace. At mile one I was doing an 8:48, very fast for me particularly early on. I seemed to maintain that pace and when I got to mile 4, I was at 34:56 or 8:44 - I knew then I was going to PR as long as I did not crash. I figured I could take it easy for mile 5 and push it thereafter. Down the stretch I kicked and ended up with a pace of 8:35, a pace I don’t achieve in 5K races. A VERY satisfying race!

Yesterday was bargain day – got 2 pairs of Mizuno Alchemy Wave 6 running shoes for $99.90; no shipping fee. I should be set for a long time.

Watching the NYC Marathon last week was so exciting! They had ideal weather conditions! I watched on TV the women’s start; then went out for a 7 mile run and when I returned home, watched the women’s and men’s finishes. There is something so inspiring and magical about the NYC Marathon!

The day before I was on the treadmill in the gym watching the men’s Olympic trials, running with elites, virtually – it was so cool. I was dismayed and saddened, like most of the running community, to learn when I got home that Ryan Shay, collapsed and died. Such a tragedy for this 28 year old, newly-wed, elite runner with so much life ahead of him.