Marathon Sign-up

Yesterday, I officially and formally submitted my application to run the marathon. 26.2 miles of pain, Yes! Running is a most interesting activity. No matter how many training miles I put in, pain and discomfort is a part of every single run. Sometimes it only makes sense at the end of the run when you can see the end and are overcome by a sense euphoric accomplishment. This sense is strongest at the end of a marathon. I can hardly wait for marathon day to come.

Today's Workout Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 74 ft Location: New York City, NY Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 02/26/08 Up/Downhill: [+580/-577] Time: 05:04 AM Difficulty: 3.5 / 5.0 Weather: A Few Clouds 40 F temp; 50% humidity 40 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 9.86 miles Goal: 10 miles Time: 1:18:51 Speed: 7.5 mph Attained: 98% Pace: 7' 59 /mi Calories: 1315 Map

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First Race: Al Gordon Snowflake 4 Mile

My first race in 4 years (I think). It was cold, wet and I felt like roadkill at the end. I loved every second of it.


(Due to inclement weather the race was deemed a fun run and it was not scored, but it was a race to me.)

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 86 ft Location: New York City, NY Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/23/08 Up/Downhill: [+173/-173] Time: 09:30 AM Difficulty: 2.2 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 31 F temp; 81% humidity 31 F heat index; winds N 5 Performance Distance: 4.00 miles Time: 0:28:00 Speed: 8.6 mph Pace: 6' 59 /mi Calories: 560 Map

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Gym Floor and Feet...

A picture of my feet, shoes and the floor of the men's locker room of the gym near work.

The Places I Run...

E. 72nd Street Entrance to Central Park

If you don't know this yet, Central Park NYC is one of the best places to run in the world. It is beautiful, safe and can provide a challenge even for more experienced runners. I am fortunate to live close enough to the park to be able to routinely squeeze in a run before leaving for work in the mornings. This time of the year, it is hard to enjoy the park scenery since as you can see from the picture above it is still dark when I go out for my run. Sunrise happens as I am finishing my run. Sometimes I can't make it to the park in the morning and instead I run on the treadmill at a gym near where I work during my lunch break.


MY Latest Workout

Activity Route: Treadmill Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: -- Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/21/08 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 11:45 AM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 6.38 miles Time: 0:45:00 Speed: 8.5 mph Pace: 7' 03 /mi Calories: 900

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Four Days To Race Day...

If anyone out there reads this blog you might have noticed that I have started sharing information about my workouts, including details such as the running route and my performance during the workout. Hopefully this will help me (and you) track my progress as it gets closer to the NYC Marathon. I will also start posting pictures from races and from training runs.

Saturday, February 15 (Run- Central Park NYC)

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 78 ft Location: Long Island City, NY Elev. Gain: +6 ft Date: 02/17/08 Up/Downhill: [+511/-505] Time: 05:47 AM Difficulty: 3.6 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 32 F temp; 60% humidity 32 F heat index; winds Vrbl 5 Performance Distance: 8.05 miles Goal: 7' 30 min/mi pace for 6 miles Time: 1:04:23 Speed: 7.5 mph Attained: 114% Pace: 8' 00 /mi Calories: 1118

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Saturday, February 16 Run @ 5:39 AM

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 75 ft Location: New York City, NY Elev. Gain: +17 ft Date: 02/16/08 Up/Downhill: [+538/-521] Time: 05:39 AM Difficulty: 4.0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 24 F temp; 49% humidity 24 F heat index; winds Vrbl 5 Performance Distance: 8.07 miles Goal: 7' 30 min/mi pace for 6 miles Time: 1:04:15 Speed: 7.5 mph Attained: 114% Pace: 7' 57 /mi Calories: 1078

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My Latest Work Out Data

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 76 ft Location: New York City, NY Elev. Gain: +13 ft Date: 02/15/08 Up/Downhill: [+501/-488] Time: 05:29 AM Difficulty: 3.5 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 35 F temp; 56% humidity 35 F heat index; winds SW 12 G 21 Performance Distance: 8.03 miles Goal: 7' 30 min/mi pace for 6 miles Time: 1:05:43 Speed: 7.3 mph Attained: 112% Pace: 8' 11 /mi Calories: 1072 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 20 +0' 09 7.2 -0.1 +52 ft 2 7' 58 -0' 13 7.5 +0.2 +43 ft 3 7' 48 -0' 23 7.7 +0.3 -59 ft 4 8' 42 +0' 31 6.9 -0.4 +7 ft 5 8' 28 +0' 17 7.1 -0.3 +56 ft 6 7' 54 -0' 17 7.6 +0.3 -53 ft 7 7' 45 -0' 26 7.7 +0.4 +13 ft 8 8' 32 +0' 21 7.0 -0.3 -39 ft end 8' 20 +0' 09 7.2 -0.1 -6 ft Versus average of 8' 11 min/mile

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Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Countdown to the 2008 NYC Marathon Begins...

I checked the NYC Marathon website today and for the first time I saw the official countdown to the 2008 race. As of time of this posting, the countdown stands at 262 Days 16 Hours 52 Minutes. Applications for the race will become available starting on February 25.

Long Run Non Run...

The planned long run for this last weekend which I was so nervous about did not happen. I wish injury was to blame or that extreme weather was the culprit. I can't even blame it on some personal matter taking priority. The truth is I completely freaked out. Training for a marathon is almost as much mental as it is physical. To endure the physical demands of training, which some times involves running long mileage for hours at a time, one has to be mentally tough. I am not sure whether I am physically ready for long training runs yet, but one this is for sure I was not mentally ready this weekend to do it. That is something I'll have to work on. I think confidence will come through consistent weekly mileage and weekend racing.

The day before the long run...

Less than 24 hours to go before my attempt to complete my first long training run in many years. I am actually kind of nervous. I am afraid of not being able to complete the run and being extremely depressed about it. I'll try to go through my old pre-long run day routine which involves making sure I am well hydrated prior to the run and to have a substantial carb rich meal the night before. The plan for the actual run is to get up at 4:45 AM and be out of the apartment by 5:00 AM. Depending on how I feel after the first couple of miles I'll decide whether I will attempt to do 12 miles or stick to the original plan and only do 10 miles. I think the toughest challenge is to figure out what pace I should keep to be able to complete the distance.

Building Up to a Long Run and Racing

We are half-way through the first full week of February and I am starting to think about participating in a road race, the first in at least four years. I find it remarkable that just a few weeks ago I was having difficulty running on the treadmill for Thirty minutes without having to stop or start walking. Today I am able to run at least Forty-Five minutes at a healthy pace of 7:30 per mile without having to slow down or stop.

With the progress I have made in mind I looked at the NYRRC racing calendar for upcoming races that would provide a challenge but not kill me, and I decided on the Al Gordon 4 Mile race on February 23 in Central Park. I am all signed up for it, but before race day I will attempt at least two 10 mile long training runs. I will attempt the first long run this coming Saturday. I shall report on how that goes. Stay-tuned.

New York Giants Superbowl Champs...

Congratulations to the New York Giants for a historic Superbowl win.

Training Update 1

When I started this blog less than a month ago I was running maybe an average of 10-12 miles per week and at best had been averaging that kind mileage for only a few weeks prior. Before that it is safe to say that my entire mileage for all of 2007 was at most 40 miles. Since my first post on this blog I have run a total of 89.9 miles or by another metric I have run 12 hours 7 minutes and 5 seconds. I have run at least 5 miles a day for 14 of the last 17 days. I have updated the most important piece of running equipment. I have retired my old Nike running shoes (probably had 300 miles on them) and started running on a brand new pair of Brooks Axiom 2 shoes. Finally I expect to incorporate long runs to my weekly training starting next weekend with a goal of participating in my first road race in 3.5 years by the end February.