Leave a comment Go to comments Rather than foolishly attempt some over-reaching pronouncement about why I lace them up most everyday, I thought I would briefly chronicle the reasons as they come to me:
1. Me Against Me Continue Reading
Timeline
Monthly Running Review – March 2010
April 8, 2010 a marathoner6 comments
| March | February | % Change vs. Prior Month | |
| Days Run: | 25 | 19 | 31.58% |
| Total Miles: | 171.1 | 171.1 | 0.00% |
| Miles per days run: | 6.84 | 9.00 | -23.96% |
| Total Running Time: | 24:23:44 | 25:14:15 | -3.34% |
| Avg. Pace per Mile: | 0:08:33 | 0:08:54 | -3.38% |
Race Report #2: 2010 ING New York City Marathon
So, let’s answer a few questions? Continue Reading
Race Report #1: 2010 ING New York City Marathon
Note: Below is the recap from my training log. I will offer something more probing and thoughtful in a bit, including lessons learned, what’s next, etc. … right now, I’m a little tired. 
Oh yeah, 3:42:34. I am a marathoner. Continue Reading
1
A fairly ho-hum morning. I did my 2mi shakeout and ran opposite of this guy on the Reservoir. You may heard of him … Continue Reading
2
Scheduled rest day. And when I mean rest, I mean that I have spent a total of maybe 2 hours on my feet. You would think I’m bed-ridden with as little physical activity as I’ve undertaken today. I managed to pack up the marathon bag 95% complete … need to add food, my special drink (Cytomax) for the wait at Fort Wadsworth and extra bottle for the first 2-3 miles. Given all the advice about how cold it will be while waiting (high 30s), I will look like an Eskimo. Once I discard the multiple layers, the core racing look will be the following … Continue Reading
3
What did I do today? Like most hygienically-friendly folks, I took a cold shower to wake myself up this morning. Wait. That was my 4-mile jog, which included the final 2.2 miles of the marathon course. It was 46 degrees with wind and rain … awesome marathon weather … if you are sadistic and live in Wales. Fortunately, the forecast for Sunday still looks favorable. Despite miserable conditions, I was in high spirits … 3 days away! I noticed as I turned into CP that the actual mile markers (signs) are up. I’d be lying if that did not incite quicker turnover on what was supposed to be a steady state run. I wound my way south down Cat Hill to briefly exit the park and run along Central Park South (still on course) and turned back into CP when I saw the bleachers outside of Columbus Circle. [Whoa … it’s getting real.] I made my way up the final 400 meters near Tavern on the Green and in all its resplendent glory … Continue Reading
4
This morning I shuffled around the Reservoir for a slightly longer easy run (6 miles). The international contingent is definitely here … their excitement (and bright colored gear) is palpable. The temps creaped up slightly from yesterday … 44 degrees, which meant that a double layer of thin gloves did the trick … no frozen fingers. Unless another severe cold front hits us, I would imagine low-40s for a 9:40am start on Sunday. BTW – other than a minor flare up, I have not obsessed over the weather much. [Side note: I seem to be in the habit of brief moments of anxiety that go away forever … I had 10 minute a marathon freak out about a month ago, but have been calm since. Same deal with weather.] The forecast for Sunday does look favorable: Continue Reading
5
And the excitement builds …
Thursday: I had been waiting for that “I’m ready” moment for the last few weeks. I’ve had great workouts, but more of the check the box variety. In the final tempo of this cycle (and last hard workout), I had my moment. We ran a simple 5mi tempo at HMP finishing the final 2.5 along the actual marathon course. Our coach prohibited warned us against sprinting or striding those last few miles in hopes of creating muscle memory for 11.7.2010. At the time, I just wanted to execute the workout properly and fall near the HMP range (7:15-7:20) without doing anything stupid … yeah, I’m defensive. So I started off … well behind Runner’s Kitchen, who I knew would be hammer this one. Some of her speed must have rubbed off because with zero effort I was at 7:23 after the first mile. Feeling good I fell into the downhill on Mile 2 (7:09) and at that point realized I had something going. When I glanced down at the watch after Mile 3 (7:13), I decided that I needed to pull back, because I was getting loose and itching to hammer it. I eased up during Miles 4 & 5 (7:17 each) and then could not resist opening up a tad for the final 200m as we passed the bleachers at the finish line 0:44 (5:38 pace). When I stopped, I had a subtle fist pump going as I knew I was ready for NYC. Overall 7:13 pace. Continue Reading
So … How’s Taper Going?
Meh. I know enough not to magnify minor aches and pains, but they are still annoying. I try to avoid the disease cocktail that is the subway, but it’s a challenge as the buses are crazy crowded after work and I’m impatient. While full on hypochondria has not overtaken me (yet), I do walk around with a bottle of Purell like it’s the magic potion. I will say that I was more excited about the race a couple of days ago (I’m certain that it will come back). I’m finding taper is not some otherworldly elixir… “then poof you feel great”. Runner’s Kitchen posted an interesting article about tapering. The point is that taper is more like rehab. Beating up the body for 4 months requires a few weeks of repair before the big day. Even though I’m about 50% thru the taper, I’ve given up on “feeling amazing”. If it happens, great. In reality, if I can avoid doing anything stupid in the remaining workouts, stretch and eat properly, then the physical is about is good as it’s going to get … which is all you can hope for come race day. It’s 200% psychological now. Continue Reading