Today was pretty relaxed. had breakfast at the Yorkville Diner, one of my favorite places. Went with my daughter to where I thought I was supposed to take the bus to the start on Staten Island. (more on that later) Then we went over to Central Park and I pointed out where I would meet her after the race. After getting back to her place, I started reading the race guidebook and realized that I wasn't taking the bus, but the ferry which was all the way down southern Manhattan. Going onto the website, I figured out which trains I would have to take. Whew! dodged that bullet! Imagine going to the site for the buses and being turned away and having to make a mad dash on the subway to catch the right ferry! After solving that problem, while my daughter was out celebrating Halloween with her friends, I wandered over to this Japanese restaurant that was actually owned by a Chinese couple. The food was excellent and I was happy to be able to stick with my race routine of chicken and rice.
During dinner, I finally decided on a plan for the race. I had been wavering between sticking to the exact pace that would get me a 3:25 to 3:30 time and the more riskier plan of going out on a pace for 3:20 and trying to hang on. I had tried the former plan at the Boston marathon and it had not worked out. Mostly because of a very painful back and two pit stops because I drank a lot of water/gatorade before the race. I decided to try for the 3:20 pace from the start and to see if I could hold on for a decent time.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
10/29/09 to 10/30/09 Road to the NYC Marathon notes
It's the evening of my flight to New York. As usual, I worry about forgetting something and won't be able to relax until I get on the plane. Dropped some cash for the usual flight junk-magazines, water, candy and a pen. Yes, I did forget two things. A pen and my prescription strength ibuprofan. As usual, the Virgin boarding process goes smoothly and we leave on time. I manage for a change to get some sleep. It was mostly a half hour here and there. But, when we arrive, instead of feeling exhausted, I feel pretty rested.
10/30/09 Friday
Take the E train down to my daughter's office and drop off my fairly heavy backpack. Lightened up, it's an easy walk down 35th street to the Javits Expo. Short lines for my number, chatted a bit with the guy about the race and as usual, when he learns I live in the Bay Area says how much he wants to come out for visit. Despite the obvious temptations, I limit my buying to a pair of Mizuno shorts for the race and a cool Mizuno backpack that was on sale. I also got to talk to Anthony Edwards about his charity Shoes4Africa and told him about Hope Runs. He is a nice guy and it was interesting to hear what he had to say.
After that, I picked up the backpack and took the train to my daughter's apartment on the upper east side. Took a nice long hot shower and then read and napped until she came home. Then we went out to eat, watched her favorite shoe The Office and crashed.
10/30/09 Friday
Take the E train down to my daughter's office and drop off my fairly heavy backpack. Lightened up, it's an easy walk down 35th street to the Javits Expo. Short lines for my number, chatted a bit with the guy about the race and as usual, when he learns I live in the Bay Area says how much he wants to come out for visit. Despite the obvious temptations, I limit my buying to a pair of Mizuno shorts for the race and a cool Mizuno backpack that was on sale. I also got to talk to Anthony Edwards about his charity Shoes4Africa and told him about Hope Runs. He is a nice guy and it was interesting to hear what he had to say.
After that, I picked up the backpack and took the train to my daughter's apartment on the upper east side. Took a nice long hot shower and then read and napped until she came home. Then we went out to eat, watched her favorite shoe The Office and crashed.
10/19/09 Pre-Race thoughts and Goals
After completing my last 3 hour run before tapering for the race, I decided to jot down my thoughts and goals for the NYC Marathon.
THOUGHTS
1) Get a good start at 7:40 to 7:50 per mile pace.
2) Remember to hydrate after mile 10, bring the Sport jelly beans
3) Focus on maintaining pace, especially after mile 15.
GOAL
1) Run a sub 3:30 race.
THOUGHTS
1) Get a good start at 7:40 to 7:50 per mile pace.
2) Remember to hydrate after mile 10, bring the Sport jelly beans
3) Focus on maintaining pace, especially after mile 15.
GOAL
1) Run a sub 3:30 race.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
LIVESTRONG DAY
Tomorrow is LIVESTRONG DAY. That is, it's October 2nd. What does that mean? It is the anniversary of when Lance Armstrong found out he had cancer. From that point on, he fought the disease and began helping others fight the disease. SO ON LIVESTRONG DAY, WEAR YELLOW!!!!
Monday, September 28, 2009
One Month to go
It's exactly 4 weeks until the New York Marathon. Since my injury, I have backed off on the milage and the intensity. It seemed to work at the Redwood Park 30K where I did a 2:59 which is a PR for me. Training since then has been in the 30 miles per week with some 12 mile runs and some quick 7 miles runs. One two hour run as well that was fine. I hope to get in a 3 hour run this week. Then two weeks of marathon pace runs leading to the peak week of October 19th. We'll see how that goes. Until then, just plodding away.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Taking the Test
Today, Saturday, September 5th is race day. I can't say I've been looking forward to this since I've been injured. There are risks. The risk of making the injury worse, maybe even bad enough to keep me out of the New York Marathon. Another risk is running a poor race and having my ego bruised. Injury or not, I expect to win my age group. I may not have any right to expect a victory, but I do.
I kept to my race routine. Eating toast and a croissant with coffee on the drive to the race. Listening to the radio, or at least pretending to, I say outloud the good workouts I've had despite the injury. I recite to myself that I've been smart to mix cycling with running. I tell myself that I've run this distance 4 times and have gotten 3 first places and 1 second place in my age group.
Checking in, I get my number, go to the bathroom and walk back to my jeep. I pin my number on the shirt, put on my trail shoes and do some stretching. All around me are other competitors. College students and their friends, older men wearing their team gear, preening and talking about big races to come or big races they've done in the past. Women chattering away about anything not to do with racing. Like a show, it goes on all around me, but I am not a part of it. I am in my shell. The same shell I've entered before races since I was 11.
The starter yells "go" and the runners in the 30K and 50K start up the hill. It's a steep hill and I concentrate in taking short quick steps and breathing regular. The first part of the race is a 20K loop that goes up and down for long stretches. My glute and quad are fine, I'm surprised. Gradually the crowds thin out. Coming down through the forest to the feeding station, I grab a cup of energy drink and run back on the course. My split time is good and the pain is not so bad that it doesn't slow me down.
The last 10K is really grim. I have to focus eveything I have in maintaing a pace. Something that is hard to do when the hills are so steep that walking them is just as fast as trying to run. I deal with it, passing some men, all younger than me. On one downhill section, a woman passes me and I don't see her after that. It didn't bother me, I have my own goals. On a downhill section, my calf cramps up and my foot catches a tree root. SPLAT! I go face first on the ground. I'm stunned and a little scraped up and dusty all over. Still, I get up and go back running. Not much choice, really when you think about it. 2 miles to go and I try to keep up with two male runners but eventually they gap me and I don't keep up.
Coming down the last stretch, I catch up to two women running for a team from Auburn which I can tell by reading the back of their shirts. I keep a steady pace and resist the urge to showoff and sprint past them to the finish. One of the nice things about trail racing is that its not road racing and this is one example, they enjoy their moment undisturbed. I look at the clock at the finish and am a little shocked. 2:59, a new personal record by six minutes. I didn't expect that, not with all the walking I did.
As I'm sitting on a bench eating my chili (another trail racing tradition) two of the guys that finished in front of me ask me about my race and how old I am. When I tell them, they're surprised. One of them says "when I'm as old as you, I hope I can run as fast as you did" which was a compliment, I think. The results are posted and I am happy to learn that I finished 18th overall and 1st in my age group. It was a happy drive home.
I kept to my race routine. Eating toast and a croissant with coffee on the drive to the race. Listening to the radio, or at least pretending to, I say outloud the good workouts I've had despite the injury. I recite to myself that I've been smart to mix cycling with running. I tell myself that I've run this distance 4 times and have gotten 3 first places and 1 second place in my age group.
Checking in, I get my number, go to the bathroom and walk back to my jeep. I pin my number on the shirt, put on my trail shoes and do some stretching. All around me are other competitors. College students and their friends, older men wearing their team gear, preening and talking about big races to come or big races they've done in the past. Women chattering away about anything not to do with racing. Like a show, it goes on all around me, but I am not a part of it. I am in my shell. The same shell I've entered before races since I was 11.
The starter yells "go" and the runners in the 30K and 50K start up the hill. It's a steep hill and I concentrate in taking short quick steps and breathing regular. The first part of the race is a 20K loop that goes up and down for long stretches. My glute and quad are fine, I'm surprised. Gradually the crowds thin out. Coming down through the forest to the feeding station, I grab a cup of energy drink and run back on the course. My split time is good and the pain is not so bad that it doesn't slow me down.
The last 10K is really grim. I have to focus eveything I have in maintaing a pace. Something that is hard to do when the hills are so steep that walking them is just as fast as trying to run. I deal with it, passing some men, all younger than me. On one downhill section, a woman passes me and I don't see her after that. It didn't bother me, I have my own goals. On a downhill section, my calf cramps up and my foot catches a tree root. SPLAT! I go face first on the ground. I'm stunned and a little scraped up and dusty all over. Still, I get up and go back running. Not much choice, really when you think about it. 2 miles to go and I try to keep up with two male runners but eventually they gap me and I don't keep up.
Coming down the last stretch, I catch up to two women running for a team from Auburn which I can tell by reading the back of their shirts. I keep a steady pace and resist the urge to showoff and sprint past them to the finish. One of the nice things about trail racing is that its not road racing and this is one example, they enjoy their moment undisturbed. I look at the clock at the finish and am a little shocked. 2:59, a new personal record by six minutes. I didn't expect that, not with all the walking I did.
As I'm sitting on a bench eating my chili (another trail racing tradition) two of the guys that finished in front of me ask me about my race and how old I am. When I tell them, they're surprised. One of them says "when I'm as old as you, I hope I can run as fast as you did" which was a compliment, I think. The results are posted and I am happy to learn that I finished 18th overall and 1st in my age group. It was a happy drive home.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Suffering for my Sport
The photo above is the last half mile of the 2009 Boston Marathon. By this time, I knew I had missed my goal time. My back was killing me, quads and hams too. Truly a suffer fest. why do I bring this up? Because in two months, I'm going to New York and will be trying to redeem myself. Since my last post, I've been alternating cycling with running. It seems to be helping, although after a quick run, I hurt, a lot. This Saturday (September 5) I have a 30K trail race which will be a test on my fitness. More on that later.
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