Every summer (since 1983) New York State Parks puts on the Summer Run Series – about 8 runs at different state parks across Long Island on Monday evenings throughout the summer. It really is a great value, for $90 or so you have entry to 8 races at beautiful locations, great support, post race snacks, a t-shrit and entry to win raffle prizes. You have to register in April, and spots fill up quick so I usually wake up when registration opens at like 6AM. This year happened to be the 40th anniversary year which was cool because they had some retro themed logos on the free race shirt and hat.
I like these races but also kinda hate them sometimes – Monday evening is a weird time for a race. I get it, summer weekends are busy with other things, people work during the day and all, but adjusting training to these races can be tricky because typically I put long rides and runs on the weekends and recovery day Monday. So adding a race to those recovery days isn’t always ideal. It’s also at 7pm, which means nutrition can be an issue because that is right around dinner time. I’m a morning person, I like racing in the morning when I feel fresh. I don’t like going to work all day, planning a sort of late lunch and putting dinner off until after the race. Sometimes after work I am just tired mentally – getting into a race mindset where I have to exert myself isn’t easy after a stressful day. And finally but maybe most annoying to me is the weather. June, July and August nights are generally hot and humid, like 85F and dew point of 70F – not fun running weather.
But there is also lots to love about the summer run series, it’s a great way to see the state parks of Long Island. The organization is top notch, from packet pickup to race day parking, to course marking, race day course changes, everything is very well organized and communicated. The only blip this year was a couple races starting 5-10mins late to allow for late arriving cars to park. The value is outstanding, 8 races with free race photos, free tshirt, water stations, post race snacks, a hat this year, all for $90 is amazing when some popular 5K’s or 10K’s alone can approach half that price or more (not to mention another $50+ for race pictures). The energy of the race and crowd is good, runners come out with their families, running groups have their tents, and even if it’s hot, it’s summer it’s supposed to be hot so just get sweaty and enjoy it.
This year I was tentative about the summer run series mostly because of an injury from the spring that made me skip my spring marathon. But by mid to late June my running was back on track and I started to get excited for the races and to see what kind of times I could do in a 5K. I didn’t really adjust my training too much, I planned a 10K training block for Cow Harbor in September and just added the 5Ks on Mondays (which turned out to maybe be not a great idea).
The first race I did was Sunken Meadow and it was brutal heat wise. But it was a nice intro to the series for me, and I placed 18th overall which was pretty cool, and 2nd in my age group which was really cool. Though 1st in my age group passed me with about 100m to the finish. This race helped set the expectations for the rest of the summer, I ran a 18:34 in hot humid conditions and had just started regularly running again – so my goals for the rest of the summer were to improve that time with a stretch goal of breaking 18.
The next race was Robert Moses, on the beach in the sand. That was rough, running in the sand is hard. It was also only a mile so pretty fun after all that, and the ocean is right there for a nice swim afterwards, and there was free ice cream.
Finally 3 weeks after the first 5k I was ready for Belmont Lake, and expected to break 18 this time, and felt great for the first mile going out in 5:31 (17:08 pace) thinking I could possibly break 17:30! Then gradually slowed and held on as best I could for the second mile (in 5:59) thinking I might be able to salvage a sub 18 and that I should have gone out a bit slower. And the last mile was a real slog, I just did not have any energy left. Still managed 18:21 and 13 seconds faster than Sunken Meadow – but would have to work on my pacing.
The following week I was ready (again), I had looked up 5K pacing strategies. I decided to try even to negative splits, I wouldn’t go out so fast. The Caumsett race started and I went out in 5:40, a little faster than I planned. The next mile had some (very small) hills but I eased back off the pace in a 6:01, unlike last race I was still saving something for the finish though. And the last mile I really pushed it coming in at 5:55. That run felt more in control and I had some energy left at the end for a kick, but finish time was still a let down, even though it was 18:14, 7 seconds faster than the previous week.
When it was time for the Hempstead Lake race I was ready to go out even slower, aiming for something like 5:42, but ended up in 3rd or 4th place leading a couple runners group out in 5:33. After the first mile the runners passed me and I tried to hold on and keep some energy for the last mile finishing mile 2 in 5:58. For the final mile I was tired but ready to go, until the course hit a small hill. It was maybe 100 yards long and a very gentle gradient, but it was enough to sap my remaining kick and I just held on from there till the end to finish with a final mile of 6:03. Overall 18:09, which I was pretty happy about, plus I finally broke into the top 10 overall which broke my 3 race streak of placing 13th.
Heckscher was the last 5k of the summer and I was feeling pretty tired coming into the race. I think the accumulated load of the summer training was catching up to me, but I still had a shot to break 18, though when the day came around I didn’t really feel like it would happen. The race started and I went out at what felt like a very slow pace, after the first half mile I was worried it was too slow and tried to pick up the pace but it was really windy and we were running straight into it so I couldn’t really go faster. I went through the first mile in 5:45, and after a mild panic realized this is probably a good pace, and continued on. The second mile went by in 5:44, I was still feeling good going into the last mile. I started picking up the pace and put in my kick and saw the finish line with the clock going, it was 17:55, 17:56, 17:57, and I was still ages away from finishing, I wasn’t going to make it under 18. But I felt good and finished strong with a final mile of 5:42. With a final time of 18:02 and I was pretty happy with that. I’m pretty sure that’s the fastest 5K I’ve ever run (certainly the fastest since high school). Plus my watch put my 5K time at 17:43, so maybe the course was long and I did break 18. Either way it left me happy. Below is a table with my results and weather.
| Race Location | Date | Distance | Time | Avg. Pace | Mile Splits * | HR (avg/max) | Temp / Dew Point ** | Place | Age Group Place |
| Sunken Meadow | 06-26 | 5K | 18:34 | 5:58 | 5:31 / 5:55 / 6:06 | 182 / 192 | 79 / 71 | 18/1759 | 2/66 |
| Robert Moses | 07-10 | 1 Mile | 6:54 | 6:54 | 3:16 / 3:45 ^ | 172 / 183 | 87 / 74 | 13/1275 | 1/37 |
| Belmont Lake | 07-17 | 5K | 18:21 | 5:54 | 5:31 / 5:59 / 6:23 | 187 / 200 | 86 / 73 | 13/1618 | 3/58 |
| Caumsett | 07-24 | 5K | 18:14 | 5:52 | 5:40 / 6:01 / 5:55 | 171 / 179 *** | 82 / 73 | 13/1462 | 2/51 |
| Hempstead Lake | 07-31 | 5K | 18:09 | 5:51 | 5:33 / 5:58 / 6:03 | 184 / 196 | 82 / 65 | 7/1157 | 1/43 |
| Heckscher | 08-07 | 5K | 18:02 | 5:48 | 5:45 / 5:44 / 5:42 | 183 / 199 | 78 / 74 | 10/1478 | 1/51 |
^ Half mile splits because the race was only 1 mile
** Temps taken from JFK historical data
*** I did not have HR chest strap for this race, only wrist based optical senor so there are expected inaccuracies vs. other races
And looking back it was a great series of races, and I managed to improve my time each week, and by over 30 seconds for the whole summer. Also I didn’t adjust my training so I probably could have run faster – for example the day before the final race I ran 11 miles, with 6 of those at a 6:45/mile pace. That’s a hard workout. Normal next day is rest or 40min easy recovery run, not all out 5K.
Which leads me to probably running too much. Two or so weeks after these races ended I was doing my Sunday workout and had some heel pain. Turns out I have plantar fasciitis which develops from overtraining. This winter will have more swimming and biking than running and next summer I will have to plan better if I want to do these races and avoid injury.