Grimace and Bear It: 2019 Great Cow Harbor 10K Race Recap

Hooo boy it’s been twelve years since I ran this race I’m about to recap! Wait, no… hold on… it’s been eight weeks. That’s it? It feels like twelve years. Weird.

I’ve apologized for being behind on this blog. I hope everyone knows how sorry I am by now. The funny thing is, once I start writing I LOVE it and I’m like, why did I not want to write? I love to write! What’s my problem? Still trying to figure that one out but I’ll be sure to update everyone once I do!

Anyway, let’s get to this favorite race of mine: The Great Cow Harbor 10 Kilometer Run in my lovely childhood hometown of Northport, Long Island.

Quest for the Holy Pint Glass: Northport Downhill Mile Race Recap

I guess it’s somewhat ironic that one of my shortest races has taken a heck of a long time to recap. This is partly because I’ve been so busy with photography work lately, for which I am grateful. I’ve also been focusing on some fun, new, creative upcoming projects that I’m SO excited about and will let everyone know about in time. But right now, let’s get this done. This was a super fun race!

Those who follow me in places other than this blog may have already heard the story of how I decided to skip this year’s Queens 10K and instead take a 5:55 am train to Northport, Long Island, to run its annual mile race. A brief backstory:

Is This Hell?: 2019 Popular Brooklyn Half Race Recap

The 2019 Popular Brooklyn Half was my fourth race in four weeks. As I get to the end of this recap, you will see that this is many races to run in four weeks, and perhaps too many races to run in four weeks.

This fourth race was a good learning experience. I was tired in ways I had never felt. It was by far the hardest race I’ve ever run, including both of my marathons (one of which, by the way, was one of the four races I ran in this four week period).

I Am the Warrior: 2019 Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K Race Recap

It snowed like crazy on Saturday morning. At least, crazy for NYC. Several inches coated the ground. It was the good kind of snow: soft, light, and dry. As it turned to city slush, running on the sidewalks was impossible. I ran a comically slow two miles in Riverside Park on unplowed pathways, lifting up my feet up on every step, essentially doing high knees for 26 minutes. Yes, my pace was 13:05 minutes a mile, the slowest it has ever been.

The next morning was a complete reversal of the day before. The snow had mostly melted, the sun was shining, and I ran the fastest 5K of my life. Would you like more details about this? Great, here are too many of them.

Make Yourself At Home: 2018 Great Cow Harbor 10K Race Recap

The Great Cow Harbor 10K is my favorite race that I completely ignored for 18 years.

I first ran the race in 1999 at the tender age of 25. I was a casual but dedicated runner, having run a handful of 5Ks, a copy of Runner’s World in my mailbox each month (yes, the print edition), and boasting a solidly middle-of-the-pack racing career. My 5K times were in the 8:45-9:45 pace range from what I recall, and I had never run a 10K before. Hell I don’t even know if I had run 6 miles. Maybe I had. If I had, it was my “long run.”

Cow Harbor is the nickname of my hometown of Northport, Long Island. Similar to calling New York City “The Big Apple,” it’s a fun moniker that no one actually uses in conversation. The backstory is that Northport used to be called Great Cow Harbor until I guess someone decided it was less of a mouthful to simply name the town for what it was: a village with a port on the north shore of Long Island.

I’m Coming For You, Sevens: Greenlawn Fire Dept. Halloween 5K Race Recap

HELLO NEW 5K PR!!! This morning I ran the Greenlawn Fire Department, Engine Company, Halloween 5K and was really pleased with not only the race, the organizers, and the weather (upper 50s, sunny but shaded by lots of trees on the course), but my 25:06 finish (8:05 pace). I beat my last 5K, which was 3 weeks ago, by 20 seconds.

My last three 5K races show a steady improvement:

Commack 5K, Aug. 12 – Time 26:39 / Pace: 8:34
Elwood 5K, Oct. 1 – Time 25:26 / Pace 8:12
Greenlawn 5K, Oct. 21 – Time 25:06 / Pace: 8:05

Running With the Boys: Elwood Endowment Education 5K Race Recap

I love racing. It makes me nervous and I breathe real hard and get all sweaty and sometimes a cramp will make me feel like someone is stabbing me in the side of my stomach, but I also get to eat a lot, and, in the case of this morning’s race, set a new PR!

Elwood Endowment Education 5K
Greenlawn, NY
Chip time: 25:26
Pace: 8:12