Almost there . . . and a new PR

HOLY COW!! I am almost there. The race is just a few days away. Just look at the countdown clock at right . . . we are under a week.

On Sunday I ran a 5 mile race that I have run every year. This year, however, I set a new PR, running at a blazing 7:06 pace. My previous record pace was 7:23 for 4 miles, so I'm definitely speeding up.

Now here I am (with a slight cold . . . which will be gone in two days) just days before the big race and I'm beginning to get a little nervous.

2 weeks to go & Last Long Run!!!

Wow! Here we are. Just two weeks to go until Marathon Sunday!
I can't believe that I'm almost there. After months of training and all of the long runs and short runs and medium runs and the early mornings and the late nights . . . I'm almost there.
Today I ran the last long-ish run of my training, 15 miles. They say ("they" being the nebulous marathon gods) that the bare minimum one can do in terms of long runs is two 18 mile runs over the course of the training in order to be adequately prepared. I ran one 18 miler, two 20 milers, and one 21 miler. This is in addition to today's 15 miler. I think at this point I'm pretty well prepared. I'm feeling really good.
Today's run was particularly great b/c I ran it at an 8:03 pace. This is by far the FASTEST I've ever run a long run, or any run over 8 miles for that matter. I think things are falling into place.
I used today's run as something of a dress rehearsal for the marathon itself. I wore the shoes I'm going to wear, as well as the same shirt, shorts and hat.
Now I'm just down to tapering. This week I ran 33 miles. Next week I'm down to 24. The following week I run 14 + the marathon. I am getting so pumped!

The other thing that has gotten me excited is that I received my entry card with my official marathon number on it. I'm going to be wearing number 22054, will be in Wave 2 (of three), and I'll be on the Blue Starting Line in corral D. All this means that I'm right in the middle of the pack in essence, which is right where I belong. For those of you who can't come to NYC to watch my triumphant day, you can track my progress online at www.ingnycmarathon.com. Just enter my name or my bib number (22054) and you can see my split times at every 5k (or thereabouts).

Almost there.

700 Miles . . . 3 weeks to go!

Wow! Here we are. Today is the Chicago Marathon and I want to congratulate my friends who are running in that!! I hope to run Chicago one of these days . . . it's supposed to be a nice race.

In any case, we are also inching ever closer to the big day for NYC as well. Three weeks from today is the big marathon and I'm getting pumped. Yesterday I ran my last 20 miler and in the course of that run hit the 700 mile mark for the year! I can't believe that I've run 700 miles this year . . . that simply baffles me.

My run yesterday was nice. Sara rode with me in the park and that helped immensely (as always) and it was a gorgeous (if perhaps a bit too warm) day. My next long run is 15 and I'm dropping mileage each week like a bad habit . . . but I'm working hard and I'll be stretching in my extra time and I'm counting down the days to the marathon!

Can't wait.

Mission Accomplished (Sort of)

Well . . . if you'll remember that at the beginning of this adventure (almost a year ago now) I had a number of goals that I set for myself. One of those goals was to run a shorter race at a sub 7 min/mile pace. Today I ran 4 miles (by myself, no race) at a 7 minute pace exactly. 28 minutes! It was hard, but I felt great!

Though it wasn't an official race, it felt good to run a common race distance at that pace. I know that I could do it again in a race at this point, no problem. Unfortunately, I won't be able to run a race at this pace before the marathon (or within the official "YOTM"), but it's an accomplishment nonetheless. I regard it as more of a "Mission Accomplished" that our dumb president's claim that we accomplished our mission in Iraq.

Sunday will be the three week mark for the marathon. I'm getting VERY excited and nervous about the upcoming race! On Saturday I'm running another 20 miler and then after that I'm tapering big time for the race. This weekend is also the Chicago Marathon. I have many friends running in that so good luck to all of them! Yay.

Almost There!

At this point, I am less than 5 weeks away from the marathon. A couple of days ago, the official ING NYC Marathon handbook arrived in the mail. This book has all sorts of info on the start, the expo in the days leading up to the race, etc. I'm getting so pumped up . . . I can't wait.

My entire family will be in NYC to watch me run, and I know that I'll have friends throughout the course.

I've been working hard to keep the mileage up and have been running some shorter runs fast and keeping up with the longer runs. I've even been dropping times on the longer runs, doing some of my 12 milers at an 8:20 pace or so!

Lately I've been feeling good, slimming down, and enjoying running a ton. I've got a new pair of shoes in the back of the closet ready to spring into action soon, I've got my tub'o'gatorade that I've been drinking in anticipation of the race, and I'm pretty much all set with BodyGlide for a while. I'm really getting psyched!

Oy! 600 Miles?!?!?!

First of all. I'm sorry. I haven't posted in about a million years . . . but between managing my running schedule and getting back into the first few weeks of school, I've been swamped. The start of school always seems to involve a lot of evening events and stuff and I'm just been super busy.

BUT the running's been going really well. As of my last post I hadn't yet even run 20 miles, but I did my 20 mile training run in Central Park two weeks ago now and it went really well. I ended up running at about an 8:45 pace . . . which was great.

But here I am, having not posted in ages, and I have slipped past the 600 mile mark! I'm almost up to 300 miles on my "new" shoes and I've already got another pair waiting in the wings for me.

Yesterday I went out on my longest run yet, 21 miles. My 20 miler two weeks earlier was made easier by the fact that I did an organized training run in the park with water, etc. This time I was a little nervous b/c I was on my own . . . but Sara came to the rescue, agreeing to ride her new bike along side me for 3 hours while I ran. We did get separated once (my fault) but I have to say, having Sara along with me made all the difference in the world. She held my water, Gu, and Gatorade and all I had to do was run, it was great. I had originally hoped to try to run 22 miles, which is two miles further than my schedule called for, but it just wasn't in the cards. I was hurting by the end there . . . so I stopped a bit past the 21 mile mark. Oh well. I'm confident that I'll manage to handle the marathon nevertheless.

In other news, it is looking like ALOT of my family and friends are going to come out to watch the Marathon in November which is really exciting! I am really gearing up for this and my mileage is peaking now. I have one more 40 mile week before I begin to taper and then the countdown really begins!! Yay.

Whoops!

I'm not sure how this happened, but I let the 500 mile mark pass without fanfare. So consider the fare fanned. I'm already up to 513.

Today was a beautiful 12 in the park. I ran really quickly for a long run, 8:16 pace!

Next week is a 20 miler!

It's Pouring

Well, school has started and already it's pouring. I had a VERY busy first day of school and felt like the work kept rushing in.

On Saturday I was going to swap my long run for Sunday and only do 4 miles. Instead I did ZERO miles. Today was the first day that I didn't run a scheduled run during my entire marathon training schedule. This is a major bummer.

On Friday I decided that b/c Hurricane Hanna was due in NYC on Saturday, I'd leave the long run till Sunday. But come Saturday I never got around to running. I was a lazy slob.

Sunday I'm supposed to run 12, but I might tack on a couple of extra miles to make it 14 so that I'm only 2 miles short this week. Shame on me.

Floating Along

What a week. On Sunday night I went out to dinner with Sara's family and when I woke up Monday, we were all sick. On Monday my temperature reached 102 degrees and I was stuck in the terrible purgatory between really hot and freezing cold. It was one of three things that made me sick on Monday:
(a) Sunday night's Indian food
(b) Hanging out with a sick 10 month old
(c) The onset of the Republican National Convention.

My money's on (c).

In any case I was feeling better Tuesday morning, so I decided that I'd go on the Senior Leadership Retreat as planned. We were to go white water rafting on the Delaware River about two hours north of NYC. It was a blast. I was able to float along down the river with some great kids from the class of 2009 and really enjoy myself.

While with the kids I was able to get a short 4 miler in, but I didn't feel great b/c it was the day after my temp was so high. I think that the physical illness was aggravated by my anxiousness about the fact that the Republicans were nominating a self-declared "pit-bull w/ lipstick" to be their Vice-Presidential nominee while I was out of touch with any mainstream media.

On Wednesday, I was able to get a quick 5 miler in after returning home, and today I ran a nice 6 at a decent pace. Even though I've been getting all of my miles in, lately I feel like I've just been floating along . . . I have been squeezing my runs in when I can instead of really taking time to stretch, warm up, and focus on good runs. I haven't been planning and I've been pacing myself indiscriminately. I'm worried that I'm slowing down a bit. I'm hoping I can focus a bit more on getting in some faster tempo runs and not worry about pace so much on the 6s and long runs.

Tomorrow is the first day of school.

18 Miles!

I ran 18 miles today. I felt good, and ended up running an 8:49 pace . . . right on target with what I needed. In fact, I felt so good that I could've run all the way to Alaska!

Speaking of Alaska, John McCain picked Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Who the hell is Sarah Palin? This is such a transparent maneuver to court Hilary supporters and to appear to be progressive. McCain is dumb.

Sarah Palin is less experienced than Barack Obama so his choice of her as running mate completely undermines his ability to atack Obama on experience. In addition, despite this being an attempt to appear progressive, Palin is likely more conservative than McCain. Also, this is an insult to women everywhere. Essentially McCain is saying to female voters (especially Hilary supporters) that they can't possibly be smart enough to see through this pathetic attempt at politics. Does he honestly believe that Hilary supporters will jump right on over to him despite the fact that Palin & McCain are essentially the antithesis of Hilary?

The other thing that bothers me is that the Republicans are touting this as a historic event. Do we not remember that the Democrats had a woman as the VP nominee in 1984 . . . 24 years ago!?!?! McCain's Pick is neither historic, nor brave. Nor is it bold, interesting, edgy, or wise. It is calculating, manipulative, and idiotic.

Has everyone seen this movie, by the way?



I think that this will come back to bite him in the ass! I hope so anyway.

Running Mate

I ran twelve miles today. This is nothing special . . . I have done this before. I ran fairly quickly, getting an 8:39 pace for the day . . . which is pretty good for me, so I was pleased.

I was woken up this morning at 3:30 am by a text message from Barack Obama. He had selected his running mate, Joe Biden, and was filling all of his supporters in via text. I was one of the first to know. Apparently, CNN knew at 12:30, but I was asleep, so I was notified by the text first.

In any case, I was thinking a lot about Joe Biden today as I ran (when you run slowly like I do, a 12 mile run allows lots of time to think!)

I'm not so sure I'm a big fan of Joe's . . . he is, after all, the one who referred to Barack Obama as "clean, a nice looking guy." The most insidious form of racism comes through in our implicit assumptions. He also voted to authorize the war. I respect Obama for selecting someone with whom he does not fully agree, but I find this choice frustrating. Biden is an old school, white male democrat (nothing really too wrong with that), but I'm not sure I see his place on a ticket of change . . . Obama's message has been all about change, and while I know he feels the need to fill gaps in his own experience, he might have done so with someone like Bill Richardson. Richardson also has enormous foreign policy experience, is a person of color, and has broad appeal. Sure he's a little dull, but we have a long history of dull VPs in this country (Al Gore and Dan Quayle come to mind immediately, but they're dull for different reasons . . . )

In any case, I have enjoyed having a my own running mate this past week (thanks Jenna!) and I am looking forward to seeing what kind of moron John McCain selects . . . I think it's starting to look like the Stormin' Mormon!

When to run?

I haven't posted in a while. I guess that's b/c I haven't had much to say. My blog has been pretty dull lately (I knew this already, but it's been confirmed by a number of independent sources recently), but I'm not sure exactly what would make it more interesting other than beginning to include some topics that are only tangentially related to running (if at all).

Lately the thing that I've been thinking the most about it when is best for me to run. During the summer, I've run mostly whenever I've felt like it, but now that school is starting again, I have been limited to either first thing in the morning or in the afternoon when I get home from work. Each has its own benefits, and I'm having a hard time deciding which would be best.

Running in the morning means that it's cooler out and it means that I'm done with my run for the day early on, leaving me more flexible for the rest of the day. I also find that I think more quickly and clearly during the day when I run in the morning. At the same time, it also means waking up early, running alone (most days), and not having ample time to cool off post run.

Running in the afternoon means that I get to sleep in later, but it's also hotter (though this becomes less of an issue later into the fall). I'm bound by my running schedule if I leave it to later in the day, but then I also get to sleep an hour later (or more). I also find that I enjoy running in NY when there are people out and about, it's much more interesting. Often times, however, I find that running in the afternoon has led to cramps. Anyone with input on what they think is best, I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Speaking of cramps . . . Today was a prime example of why running in the afternoon is tough. I came home from work today, walked into the kitchen, and was instantly reminded of the fact that we had baked chocolate chip cookies last night. This, of course, meant that I ate 4 or 5 of them right away, as I have absolutely no will power (more about my abysmal eating habits later). Then I waited about 20 minutes and went for a run. I don't recommend running with a belly full of cookies. Perhaps the next equation I'll tattoo on myself will be "Run+cookies=sick."

In any case, the cookie problem is just one of a series of eating mistakes that I've been making lately. Since I've been upping my weekly mileage and running more, I've been much hungrier than usual. This has then led me to believe that I can eat pretty much whatever I want and eat it in absurdly huge quantities (hence 5 cookies before dinner . . . sorry mom!) In any case, despite the fact that I am running more, and even though I am getting a bit faster each week (I hope) I think my progress would be much better if I ate better food. That's the goal from now on. Eat as much as I want, but not junk food. One cookie is fine, 5 is not. If I'm still hungry I'll eat 5 apples . . . or something like that . . . you get the picture. I would still like to lose 7-10 pounds before the marathon . . . oy.

One last thought for the day. One thing that I really like about my job (there are many) is that so many of my friends and colleagues at work are also runners, this means that I have the opportunity to talk about running at work and the people I talk to are all very good runners! It's like having a coach and a running buddy all in one! Bonus.

400 miles & 15 miles

Two big milestones today!! First of all I broke the 400 mile mark on the year! But in even bigger news, I broke that mark 1 mile into a 15 mile run.

I did 15 today and I felt really great. It was hard, especially at the end, but I set a decent pace and didn't go crazy and was fine. I ended up running about a 8:59 pace which I'm thrilled with and I have to say that I'm really happy with my longest run yet.

Today I'm off to spend the rest of the day at the beach as a reward for running 15 miles!

Running in Indy

Got back from Indianapolis on Sunday night (late). I ran a bit in Indy. It was incredible weather. Four miles on Thursday, ten on Saturday, and four on Sunday. Each was great. The weather in Indy was so nice . . . about 70-75 degrees and no humidity.

On Saturday I did a great 10 miler. I was able to run with the Indy Runners and they provided water and snacks . . . which was perfect. I don't know if it was the weather or the fact I was running with a group or that I'm in better shape, but I felt great. It was the best long run I've had yet. I ran at about an 8:24 pace (which is good for my longer runs) and I even ran the last mile at 7:35!

Things are feeling good.

Strange New Tuesdays

Today is the first Tuesday since I finished my running class . . . I'm not sure how I feel about this. I really enjoyed my running class and found that it did, in fact, make me faster, more confident, and a stronger runner overall. In addition, it was a nice way to get good, quality miles in early in the week. That said, it was sort of a pain to completely lose each Tuesday night to class, and getting down to the UES was sort of difficult as well.

There is another session of the class starting up again today and I thought about joining it, but I just couldn't do it. If I thought it was not easy to get down to class on Tuesdays during the summer, I'm SURE that I'd struggle even more during the school year (which begins far too soon for my tastes). Also, despite the fact that I enjoyed class while I was there each week, I sort of dreaded going to class in the hours leading up to it . . . I don't know why. Thus I didn't join, figuring I'd keep running as I had been, getting my mileage in and just focusing on the marathon.

Today, however, I'm beginning to wonder whether not taking the class for another session was a mistake. I'm glad that I can be more flexible with my time and I know that getting to the UES each Tuesday after work would have me in fits, but I'm concerned that I'll get slower now that I don't have a group to push me through hill workouts, tempo runs, intervals, etc.

So with that in mind, I decided to try to push myself today for my four miler. I ran something of a tempo run, getting four miles done in 30:43 (or 7:41s). Not too bad, just about 20 seconds/mile slower than my PR for the four mile race. I'm going to continue to try to make Tuesdays my "speed" workout days, maybe getting some intervals in, maybe some hills too. We'll see.

Oh and we're inside 14 weeks!

Lucky 13!

Today I ran further than I ever have before (get used to this . . . it will happen a number of times between now and November 2). Thirteen miles was the goal for today and I decided for this that I would run with the NYRR Long Training run. They set up the park just like they would for a race, give you water, food, a number, and pacing guides, and you can get a long run in with support!

I was really nervous going into today's run b/c the last long run I did was 10 miles and I was hurting on that day. I ran in the middle of the heat wave and I ran during the hottest part of the day that day.

Today, however, was much better. I ended up running 13 easily, and ended up with something left in the tank!! I ran about a 8:50 pace which is just slightly faster than my original goal of running nines, but I felt that I could've gone even faster (or run further). By mile eleven I was feeling great, and even considered going for 16 miles. But the last two miles actually ended up being a bit harder . . . giving me some slight knee and hip pain. I'm ok now, but those last two miles made my legs sore.

I didn't want to push myself too much this early and given my hip pain recently I didn't feel that going for 16 was all that wise, but I really felt great today and I look forward to my next long run of 15 miles! I'm getting there . . .

New Shoes

Having run over 330 miles on my old pair of running shoes, I decided that it was time to get another pair. Most people suggest that you switch to new shoes after anywhere from 300-500 miles on one pair. Since I'm sort of a heavy guy I decided that I'd stay on the lowish end of that range. But I'm not just going to stop using the old shoes all at once. I am going to slowly break in my new shoes so that I don't get blisters or anything from them. For instance, last night I had my speed class and since it's a harder workout, I decided I'd wear my old shoes. Today, however, I was only running an easy four miles, so I decided it would be a good first day to begin to wear in my new shoes. This Saturday I'm running 13 miles and I think my old shoes still have enough cushioning to last that long and my feet are really comfortable in them so I'll wear them instead of risking bad foot issues in new shoes. In the end I think I'll most likely end up putting close to 375 or 400 miles on the old shoes as I phase the new ones in.

I went with the same exact shoe, Asics Gel 2130s. I like them and they support my feet well. I haven't had any shin or knee pain in these shoes at all (knock on wood!).

Today's short four miler (actually closer to 4.5) was good. It was the same run that I did a week ago today and I felt like crap last week and this week I shaved four minutes off my time, running sub eights. I almost never run faster than 8 minute miles during the week. This is a good sign! I'm feeling good and looking forward to my long run this weekend.

Running Class is over

Today was my last running class. I haven't signed up for the next session and I have some mixed feelings about it. I love the push that the class gives and the speed work that it provides, but it is also a huge pain in the ass to get home so late on Tuesday nights (or Thursday nights) and not see Sara. I'm torn. I don't think I'll do it again before the marathon, but I do want to make sure to get some races/speed work in before the big day . . . otherwise I'll stagnate.

Today we did 6 times 1/4 mile hill repeats. After last week's totally crappy class I ran with the 7:30-8 min/mile group even though I could have run with the 7-7:30 group. I should have run with the faster group b/c I felt that I was too fast for the group I ran with. I was in the front of the group each time . . . oh well.

This week is pretty easy. No races and all four milers . . . oh wait . . . except for the 13 miles that I'm running on Saturday. Last week was relatively easy and this week will be a stretch for me over the weekend, but not too bad otherwise. I'm actually looking forward to the run on Saturday. I've joined with the NYRR for the long run which means that I'll get water at throughout the race, as well as GU and other support. Plus, it's just nicer to run long with groups. My long runs are just getting longer and longer . . . I suppose that's the point. Every other week I keep upping my long runs until I hit 22 miles! Then I begin to taper in preparation for the marathon! I'm getting psyched!

Chicago!

We just returned from having spent the weekend in Chicago with our friend Evan. Evan's maternal grandparents were celebrating the 85th and 80th birthdays as well as their 60th wedding anniversary. We had an absolute blast! I had never been to Chicago before and this was a really incredible opportunity.

For starters our accommodations were top-notch. We got to stay in the John Hancock Building, Chicago's second tallest building after the Sears Tower. In the photos at left you can see the the building itself (the tallest in second photo) and the view from the apartment that we stayed in on the 84th floor (top photo)!!! The apartment belongs to a friend of the family's who let us stay there for the weekend, and it was truly incredible. We had amazing views east out over Lake Michigan and north to the north side of Chicago. We could even see Wrigley field from our perch up in the sky!

Sara and I took walks up and down Michigan Ave, saw Millennium Park, took a sailboat trip in the lake (with great views of the skyline), and overall had a really amazing time.

I got two nice short 4 milers in this weekend. I was able to run along Lake Michigan both times. There is a fabulous path along the lake that is paved and clearly very well used! It was beautiful. On Sunday Sara and I even took a little dip in the lake after our run, enjoying the beach pictured above.

It was a great trip and I got some great Chicago running in. I think I might want to run the Chicago marathon some time in the future . . . that'd be great!

Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right . . .

. . . and I'm pretty sure that two lefts don't make a right either . . . but it might be possible that two bad running days can lead to a good one . . .

Tuesday and Wednesday's runs this week were just terrible. Tuesday night I had my running class. I usually enjoy class. It's a challenge, but not an impossible one, and I usually find myself having a lot of fun pushing my legs to their limits . . . not this time. This week we ran 3x a short hill fartlek loop. We ran very quickly up two LONG hills and then recovered on the downhills and flats. The total loop (that we did three times) was 1.4 miles. Add to that the warm up and cool down runs, we did about 6 miles again . . . which is normal and fine and good. I think, however, that I was dehydrated, not feeling well, tired . . . I don't know what, but I didn't run well at all. I even had to drop back a pace group after the first two loops of hills . . . otherwise I'm not sure I'd have been able to finish the workout.

Wednesday morning I decided I'd get up with Sara to get my run in b/c I had a meeting downtown and lunch with friends (also downtown). I didn't want to do the same old out and back four miler that I always do so I figured I try something new and go by time and a few other distances I thought I knew. The run sucked. I felt sluggish and awful and I wasn't breathing well, my legs hurt (most likely a holdover from the previous night's class) and it was just bad all the way around. When I got home and actually mapped the run, it ended up being 4.5 miles and I was running faster than I had thought . . . so it wasn't a complete waste, but I still didn't feel that great about it.

Today I was nervous. I had to run 8 miles b/c I'm out of town this weekend (going to Chicago) and I wasn't sure I'd have time to get anything longer than four miles in. I didn't set an alarm b/c I wanted to get a good night's sleep, and just decided I'd go when I woke up. Last night ended up being much cooler and so I slept much better, and today was MUCH cooler than it had been and I was running earlier in the day. So being cooler and well rested meant that today's run didn't go as poorly as I thought it might have based on the two previous days. I did the same 8 mile path to the SE corner of Central Park and ran it faster than I ever have, shaving about 40 seconds off of my total time or 5 seconds off of my pace. Not too shabby. I think it's a good sign that each time I run 8 miles I get faster . . . let's hope that trend continues with the longer distances.

300 Miles & a PR!!!

Saturday was a BIG day in my running. I ran a race in central park . . . actually it was the Race for Central Park, a 4 mile race that was my sixth of the year. I also hit the 300 mile mark for the Year of the Marathon upon completion of the race.

In addition, in this race I set a personal record on time for the 4 mile distance. My previous record for the 4 mile race was a 7:40 pace . . . the first race I ever ran. On Saturday, I was able to destroy that record, running at a 7:23 average pace and completing the race in under 30 minutes! I was really excited! After the race I saw Bob Glover, who is the author of my running book and the head coach of my running class, and told him that his book and class helped me set a PR. He didn't really care at all . . . but I was practically skipping home after the race b/c I was so pumped to run so well. I feel great that my running and focus over the last few months is really paying off. It's also VERY gratifying to work hard towards a goal that you've set (breaking 30 minutes for a 4 miler) and reaching it. Now I can set new goals!

Saturday night I went out to Brooklyn to celebrate my friend Alec's departure from the city . . . not really to celebrate his departure . . . really to wish him well . . . and then today I ran a nice easy, four mile run up the west side. It was hot and humid, but I felt good today.

Next week is an easier week. My long run is back down to 8 miles and I have no race, so I'm looking forward to a little bit of recovery in preparation for the following week when I run 13 miles for my long run!!

As I mentioned earlier, Saturday's race was my sixth of 2008, meaning that I have to only run three more races this year in order to guarantee my entry into the NYC marathon for 2009! I'm almost there.

91 & Humid + Long Run = HARD

I'm exhausted. I just got home from running 10 miles. Oy! Actually as I sit here and write this, I realize that I literally just got home . . . I need to stretch . . . be back in a few minutes . . .

OK, I'm back.
So today was my long run this week, and it was the longest yet, 10 miles. I expected that today's 10 miles would be an effort roughly equal to the first time that I ran 8 miles, maybe a bit tougher. I was wrong. It was a LOT tougher. For one thing, today is HOT HOT HOT, 91 and humid as this post's title suggests. Also I ran right in the middle of the day, leaving home a few minutes after 1pm . . . this was not smart. I should have run earlier in the day to avoid the worst of the heat.

In any case, it wasn't terrible, but I cheated a bit (sort of). Sara had me really freaked out about heat stroke and over-heating, etc. so I was trying to be really fully aware of how I was feeling so I didn't push myself too too hard. It will be increasingly important for me to learn to decipher the difference between discomfort and danger. So somewhere between the 7.5 and 8 mile mark I stopped, thinking that I'd call it quits. I thought felt a little light headed, and between Sara's warnings and the scary situation I had when I volunteered at a very hot race and was caring for a woman who collapsed, I was a little concerned (although I'm sure I would've been fine). I saw a vendor and got some water (I'd already finished the bottle of water I was carrying). But after drinking a bit of cooler water, I was feeling much better, so I decided to continue on. In all I think I stopped for 5 minutes, but I didn't walk, I was in one place . . . did I cheat too much? Thoughts?

Then I continued down the west side highway to 15th street and turned to go across town on 15th street. BAD IDEA. I need to stop running across town. I ended up stopping at each traffic light along the way and dodging pedestrians, movers, construction workers the whole way. It is simply much easier to run down the path and not have to stop every few feet. So at each avenue I had a bit of a rest break over the course of the last mile or so . . . Cheating??

In all, it was a fine first 10 miles. Harder than I expected, but not too difficult. I'm a little frustrated that I ended up stopping first for water and then so often going across town . . . but in the end I ran (not walked) each of the 10 miles eventually (even with little breaks in between) and I had a decent pace going. My route took me from the front of my building on 181st street down to 14th and 5th in Gramercy, a total distance of about 10.1 miles. I ran that in 1:29:06. That is an 8:50 pace per mile. This is most likely not completely accurate as I stopped my watch at my water break and each time I waited for lights at avenues. So when I was running I had a good pace, but factor in my stopped time and my pace drops significantly . . . oh well. Still not too bad.

The only other problem today was the train on the way back. As I've mentioned before, I don't like running out and back. I enjoy a good loop, but in my neighborhood I've found that I really prefer running in one direction. So for my long runs, that's what I've been doing. Today the A train took forever to arrive at 14th street, and then when it did come it was packed. After running 10 miles I was sweating like crazy and really smelly!!! I can't even begin to express how self-conscious I was on the train. Then to make it worse, I had to stand most of the way and the train simply crawled all the way up. ARGH. I think I'm going to start making my long runs out and back along the path and just gauge them so that I don't half to go up the crazy hills in the last half mile of a 15 mile run . . . or I'll have someone meet me downtown with stuff and I can shower downtown at my in-law's house or something . . . I need to figure something else out.

I'm beginning to get into some meatier runs now and I'm getting excited and nervous. This is going to be very hard work . . . but that shouldn't surprise me! Saturday I'm racing 4 miles . . . I'm hoping to set a PR and assuming nothing catastrophic happens, I'll hit the 300 mile mark!

Good News/Bad News

Well today and yesterday were sort of a mixed bag. Not great running today, but I felt really good yesterday. So here's the breakdown.

Last night (Tuesday) I had my weekly running class. We did mile intervals, so we ran 1 mile three times (this is different than running three miles b/c we do short "recoveries" between each mile). I was fairly pleased with my pace for the miles, running each in about 6:49. Our total mileage for the class last night was about 6, which is nice. I'm always glad when I can get good miles in early in the week.

Today, however, I ran a short 4 miler and I didn't feel so hot. For starters, when I ran at about 4:30 this afternoon it was still a gross, sticky 91 degrees. This does not make for the most pleasant running. The afternoon's heat, coupled with the fact that I'm running 10 miles tomorrow (in what looks to be equally gross weather) made me decide not to time my run today. I wore my watch, but didn't measure my time at all. This way, I didn't have any pressure to run particularly fast or push myself too much in the heat. I feel as though I ran my normal pace, but am not at all concerned about how long it took me.

The other thing that bothered me today was the fact that I felt a bit "heavy." I put "heavy" in quotes b/c I just felt slow and sluggish. This is most likely due to the fact that the weather was so oppressive, but I also attribute it to the fact that I'm not losing weight at quite the rate that I had hoped for. I think I'm eating way to much these days and the stuff I'm eating is not good. For instance, today at lunch I had two Rice Krispie Treats, not to mention all the other crap I had for lunch. I would have been fine without those two sweets. If I'm still hungry, I should eat an apple. I have been warned that dieting is not wise while training for a marathon, but I feel that I could be making better food choices than I am now . . . I have this feeling that since I'm running so much more than I ever have, that I have license to eat whatever I want . . . which is not really the case.

I'm also realizing that I'm just not stretching enough before and after I run. I've been better about it than I used to be, but the fact is, I need to build time in around my runs to make sure that I'm stretching enough so that I don't hurt myself in any way. If I can't find the time to stretch now, during the summer, then I'm really in trouble once the school year starts up . . .

Looking ahead, tomorrow I'm running my longest run ever, 10 miles. I'm pretty nervous, mostly about the heat, but I'm going to go out and do my best. The nice thing about scheduling a long run on Thursday is that if I find that I can't finish, or something happens, I can still find time to get the long run in later in the week. I'm not sure when in the day I'll run tomorrow, but knowing me it will most likely be mid-day, which means I need to sleep a lot tonight and hydrate a lot tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Saturday I'm running a race in the park, 4 miles. Assuming that my long run goes well tomorrow and that I'm feeling good after Friday's day off, I plan on going for a sub 30 min time . . . this would correspond to a sub 7:30 pace. We'll see!

Park to Park - 10K

Today was my second 10K race ever. A 10K is 6.2 miles, and today's race was the second half of the Naples/New York Park to Park race. The first half is run early June each year in Naples, Italy, and the second half is run in NYC in July. We took the full 6.2 mile loop of the park today and though it was a little hot and muggy, I felt really pretty good about my effort.

I ended up finishing in 47:56 which translates to about a 7:43 pace per mile. I was hoping to run at about this pace and I think I could have even run faster except for the fact that the first mile was VERY slow due to a crowded race and people who were not corralled properly.

In any case, I felt really good about my run today. My last 10k race I ran in over 50 minutes at about an 8:04 pace . . . so this is certainly an improvement over that. I finished strong and had a little juice leftover, so I wish I had pushed a bit more during the race itself.

Next weekend I have a 4 mile race. I have gotten quite familiar with the 4 mile distance at this point and my goal is to break a 7:30 pace for the race next week!

I'm now done with week 2, the marathon is 16 weeks from today!!

Another 8 Miler . . . then rest!

Phew. I'm exhausted. Yesterday I got in another good 8 mile run, but that took my three day running total to 17 miles. I don't think I've EVER run 17 miles in three days in my life before. I actually felt pretty good about my run on Thursday. I was a little sore in the hips (this of course makes me nervous) and the middle miles got tough, but after 45 minutes I ate a GU (tm) and picked it up a bit. I started of a bit fast this time around than I did for the first 8 miler . . . this could certainly have contributed to the fatigue I was feeling mid run yesterday.

As it turns out, however, I ran the same 8 mile route 2 minutes faster than I did last week. This corresponds to a 15 sec/mile drop in my pace! Not too shabby. I'm not sure why, but I always prefer to run out and take the subway back on these longer runs . . . for some reason that's a bit easier for me psychologically. In the end, it was a good run though . . . I'm pleased.

Today is a day off and tomorrow is an easy run of 3-4 miles before I run a 10K race on Sunday. I'm going to really relax today and not push myself too much today or tomorrow.

Obsessed!

It has become increasingly clear that I have become obsessed with two new things in the last couple of weeks.

The first is the newest smartphone from RIM the blackberry bold. My (seemingly endless) two year cell phone contract is up next month and I'm super pumped to switch to AT&T and get my hands on the sweet new blackberry pictured at left. I've been reading all sorts of techno-geek blogs about the bold and how it stacks up to the iphone, etc, and Sara is getting sick of it. I think I wasted 3 or 4 hours on the internet researching the bold (aka BlackBerry 9000).

My other current obsession is running. I have been eating, sleeping, dreaming running lately. It has to do with two major things. First of all I'm increasing my mileage a lot now. Last week I ran 22 miles, and I'm running 24 this week. Couple that with the speed class I'm taking, and the fact that I've been reading my training book every day, I can't get running out of my head. I'm loving it.

Yesterday evening I had my running class and we did a fairly tough 6 mi fartlek workout. Fartlek is where you include short to medium length speed bursts in a normal training run. It was fun but also tough. Then this morning I was up early to get a quick 3 miler in before work. Tomorrow I'm going to run 8 again. I'm really enjoying all th energy that this running is providing and I can't wait to get closer to the big day!!

1 down; 17 to go!

I have finished my first official week of training! Today I ran my short run, thereby completing week #1 of my 18 week training program. I'm pumped. The ING New York City Marathon is 17 weeks from today! Wow.

I did a great little run across the GWB today. I don't know why, but until last night I hadn't really thought about running across the bridge, but when I was looking at various routes on MapMyRun.com I realized that it made perfect sense. I was aiming to run 3 miles today, a nice little short run at a faster pace after yesterday's long, slow run. I started out and immediately I knew that I was in for it. My legs were still pretty sore from the long run yesterday, so I decided not to push myself too much and just to enjoy a nice jog across the bridge.

I enjoyed running across the river and I got to the entrance of Palisades Park where I'm sure there are paths, etc, so I look forward to using this route more when I go for longer runs, and despite the fact that today was humid (not too hot though) it was a really enjoyable experience.

When I got home and mapped out my route, however, I realized that I ended up running 3.66 miles, more than I had thought, in a time of about 30 minutes. This translates to an 8:13 pace/mile . . . not too bad for the day after a long run. I felt like I was going much slower than that.

I'm feeling pretty good about my training right now. I'm reading my training book pretty religiously these days and I'm feeling pretty fast, and I'm getting pumped for the marathon in November. I feel like I've been working towards this for so long and I can't wait to finally be increasing my mileage significantly and having completed my first week is very exciting! It's funny how ready I felt for the 8 mile run yesterday and how ready I feel already for a 10 miler, and I still have almost two weeks until I run it! I'm really excited.

**Author's Note**
I use the phrase "long run" pretty liberally here . . . it is relative as far as I'm concerned. A true "long run" is about 18 miles, but I'm not there yet!

The long runs begin!

Today I took my first long run of the marathon training! While 8 miles is not very long to any seasoned marathoner . . . this was the longest run I've ever taken . . . and I felt great! I took a nice route down the river path to 72nd street and then cut across 72nd to Central Park West and ran down along the park to Columbus Circle where I took a left to go across the bottom edge of the park to the SE corner. 8 miles.

I ended up running it in 1:12:22 which is about a nine minute/mile pace, but I'm not sure that this is a completely accurate reflection of what I really did. First of all, I'm almost positive that I negative split the run. This means that I ran the second four miles faster than I ran the first. I suppose that for my longest run ever, that's not a bad way to go, but ultimately, I think I could've run the whole route a little faster, getting in under 1:10. Also, I left my watch running for a few seconds while I waited at various intersections. I wasn't standing still at these times, but I wasn't moving forward either. Usually I'd just run in place and keep the watch going. This might have added a little to my time as well, though I'm not sure how much. By the end, I was worried that I'd finish too slow, so I practically sprinted across Central Park south in order to finish in 1:12 . . . but who knows. For my next long run, I think I'm going to try to go out a little faster to begin with. I was going very conservatively to begin b/c I wasn't sure how much I'd need in reserve, but I ended up being fine. I'd like to push myself a bit in my next few long runs.

All in all, though, I'm very happy with my first 8 miler of the training. I definitely had something left at the end, meaning that I could've gone a bit faster, but I don't think it's completely bad to average 9 min/mile (my goal marathon pace) for my first run over 7 miles EVER and to feel that I had something left in me at the end. I actually feel pretty pumped right now! I can't wait to go out and run some more tomorrow.

Next week, my long run is another 8 miler, but I might combine this with a 10K race . . . and the following week my long run is a 10 miler, but again, I might combine this with a four mile race. Although I'm sort of interested in running the four miler by itself to see if I can set a PR and then running my 10 at a different point in the week . . . perhaps Thursday . . . so we'll see.

Yay.

Good runs

I've had a few good runs in the last few days. I have already done 11 miles this week, which means I'm halfway done with the week's mileage. I am running 22 miles this week, in the first "official" week of my training calendar. Tomorrow (Friday) will be my day off, but Saturday I am going to run 8 miles! I can't wait. I'm actually really excited to get such a long run in . . . it will be my longest ever and I know that I can do it!

I'm having a little bit an adjustment period now that I'm back to NYC. The breathing is fine, but it's much hotter here and more humid . . . I guess I can't win. In any case I'm feeling good so far this week, and I'm hoping things go well on Saturday.

You might have noticed that I've removed my calendar from the bottom of the blog. This is due to some issues with Google calendar's functions when you have multiple calendars. But I'm going to add an "upcoming runs" section over to the right that I'll update regularly.

That's it for now.

Altitude Running

Wow. It's been a long time. I've been super busy though and I was in Colorado Springs for a conference for the last 8 days. Today was my first day back home in a long time.

I knew that I really had to get some good runs in this past week, but I was a little worried b/c I also knew that I'd be super busy at the NAIS Summer Diversity Institute (SDI). SDI was amazing and really helpful. I'm looking forward to taking much of what I learned back to work to make Riverdale a more inviting, equitable, welcoming place.

As it turned out, I was able to get some good runs in, totaling about 17 miles. I was supposed to run 20 miles last week, the last week of my "base building" phase, but on Sunday I was exhausted and took the day off. BUT I am hoping that my 17 miles at 6000 ft will suffice when I try to run again in NYC.

I didn't enjoy running in Colorado Springs at all at first. The altitude made it hard to breathe, and the dry air made me really uncomfortable. I never thought I'd miss humidity, but I think this was taking it to the extreme! I ran 3 on Tues., and 4 each on Wed. & Thurs. Then I took Friday off, and ran 6 on Saturday. My long run Saturday was actually my best and I look forward to running here at sea level to see if I can tell a difference at all.

Again, I took Sunday off b/c I was really tired both physically and emotionally from SDI, but I think I'll be ok. I am slightly worried, however, b/c this week I have to run 22 miles . . . that's a jump of 5 miles. I'm concerned that I didn't get in enough weeks of 20 miles, but we'll see. My last four weeks (you can check for yourself on the calendar at the bottom) went 17, 20, 20, 17+. So maybe I'm ready for 22 this week. We'll see. On Saturday I have to get an 8 mile long run in. That'll be sort of hard, but I'm excited to give it a try. I just hope it's not too ridiculously hot and humid.

I am also skipping my running class tonight. I'm tired, and I miss Sara, so I didn't feel like being gone tonight. That means that I won't have a speed workout AND a long run in the same week when I'm up mileage a lot. Probably for the best.

So, I'm back and you can expect more posts in the coming weeks as I begin my formal training schedule. It starts today!

Nantucket!

I love Nantucket. I had an absolute blast at Jenna & Jonathan's wedding.
This will be quick b/c I am tired and I'm leaving for Colorado Springs tomorrow, but I ran over 11 miles this weekend in Nantucket. I had two very good runs, 7 mi and 4.5 miles, and I felt pretty good!

This week I'll be in Colorado springs for a conference, so I might not be able to post for a while, but I'll be running a bunch there too of course!!

So long for now . . .

Running Class Conundrum

Last night I had my third running class and I felt as though I really ran well, but nevertheless, today's class led to a bit of confusion.

The run we were supposed to do was a tempo run. A tempo run is a workout where you run about 25 seconds slower than your 5K pace. We did a four mile tempo run. I have been working under the assumption that my 5k pace is about 7:40 (reasonable given my 7:42 pace on the 5 mile run on Sunday). Therefore I imagined that I'd run the four miles at about a 8:05 to 8:10 pace.

I started out the run at a good pace and I felt good. But then I finished the first mile in 7:19! That was too fast for the tempo run. I tried to slow down and really get a good sense of what my pace should be. The coach told us that we were running too slow if we could carry on a conversation, but that we were running too fast if we couldn't get a couple of words out either. I was able to say a few words to the person running next to me, and so determined that I was fine. I felt I could run faster, but at the same time this wasn't a simple, laid back run. I ended up running the four mile loop (the same loop that we run in the park for races) at an average pace of 7:35!! This is much faster than I've ever raced that distance and really confused me. Does this mean I should be running my races at a faster pace? Maybe I could have run 7:30s in the father's day race had it not been so freakin' humid!!

My next two races are in July and I have a few speed workouts between now and then, not to mention a week of running at high altitude in Colorado Springs (I'm going to a conference). I'm hoping that when I come back and get ready for those races, I'll be in really good shape. The first of those races is a 10k and I won't be that fast for 6.2 miles, but the next race is a 4 miler and I expect that I could run that in under a 7:30 pace. That's my goal. The only slight problem is that I'm supposed to be running long runs on those days (check out my calendar below!) so if I run down to the park and then race, I'll be slower . . . but I can always tack on another few miles after the race . . . we'll see.

This morning I took a great early run along the river, getting 4.5 miles in before work. It is a cool, crisp, clear day. I was actually excited to get out of bed at 6 am and go running . . . I imagine that this is a good sign for my training.

Happy Father's Day

Today was the Father's Day, Fight against Prostate Cancer, 5 mile race. I felt like I ran pretty well, though I think I could be doing better. I'm started to get a little frustrated with myself and how I can't seem to get my pace to drop much at all. It is silly to think that after just two speed classes, I'd be significantly faster, but I was hoping for a lot today nevertheless.

A bit of the way into the first mile, I began thinking to myself . . . 'Hey, you're running pretty well here . . . Maybe you could do this race in 7:30s' Needless to say, I did not run the race in 7:30s . . . BUT I did set a PR for the 5 mile distance of 38:32 (or 7:42s). I felt pretty good about my time after all.

I also ran MUCH more consistently this time than I ever have in the past. I ran the first and last miles at about 7:35 and the middle three a little slower, but all at the same pace. I was feeling good.

Today's race takes me to 4 for the year . . . leaving only 5 to do to get my nine in this year! Yay.

High on Running

I just returned home from my second running class and it was great!! I don't know if it's because I'm a little high on endorphins now or what, but I feel great. Today we probably ran about 5 miles, or maybe 6 miles, but it's always hard to gauge how far we've gone. More importantly is the fact that we ran hard. We ran 6 x 600 yd intervals at a pretty fast pace. I was psyched that I got faster for each of my first three times and then was able to hold my pace for each of the last three times. I ran 2:02, 1:59, 1:54, 1:54, 1:54, 1:55. I was proud of myself that I was able to keep pace for each of them and I even felt like I could run another one when I was done. I also love the way we have nice, long, slow warm up and cool down runs before and after each run.

Today I was a little worried about class b/c of my experience over the weekend with the collapsing lady(see previous post) and b/c it has been so hot and humid lately. But today I made sure that I stayed hydrated and didn't eat food that I knew would stick with me too long. I also had a Gu prior to running and then had a Cliff bar right after. I felt pretty good. In fact, I would consider doing this class again soon, but doing twice a week b/c I think I could get even more out of it.

I'm really getting into this whole running thing lately. I know that this is silly to be realizing now, but I have been running more lately than I ever have in my life and as Sara has pointed out, I now have a serious hobby that I'll probably have for life. I just picked up a copy of Runner's World magazine the other day and now I'm getting even more excited for the marathon to come. But in addition to that, I'm also getting excited about getting into running more seriously and decreasing my race times over the next couple of years.

This weekend, on Sunday, I'll be running a five mile race in the park. I'm hoping that my two speed classes will have a positive effect on my time and that I could maybe set a five mile PR. I haven't run that many five mile races, so it shouldn't be too hard to do. This will be my fourth race of 2008 which, having already completed my volunteering requirement, will bring the number of remaining races to still needed to complete to 5. I signed up for two in July, I will run the Poland Spring Marathon kick off, the marathon itself (duh), and that will leave just one more race to run in order to guarantee my entry into the 2009 Marathon . . . YES.

In terms of my overall training, I need to really run full weeks for the next three weeks. I need to run at least 5 days per week and run at least 20 miles per week. This will mean that I'll be really ready for my first week of official training in July when I begin ramping up with 22 miles per week that week. I'm pumped.

Some thoughts on the last few days . . .

Well . . . I only ran three days this week . . . but they were fairly productive days of running.
I had my running class on Tuesday which was awesome, but I didn't end up running on Wednesday b/c I was tired, but also b/c I had an evening engagement. Then Thursday, I got a few miles in, but I was still fairly sore from my class on Tuesday. Friday night was Prom (see left) and so I didn't run then either.

On Saturday I was volunteering (volunteering at one race is a new added requirement for guaranteeing entry into the following year's NYC marathon . . . I'm already planning on running in 2009) at the NYRR Mini 10k. This is a huge women's only race that attracts big name runners from around the world and has a fairly long history here in NYC. The top three U.S. female marathoners ran in the race and it was very cool to watch them race. While watching these amazingly fast women race was cool, the weather certainly was not! I couldn't believe how hot it was on Saturday. I had planned to run down to the park for the volunteering (to get a good long run in) but b/c Friday night was prom, I was tired and I had to carry stuff for a picnic I was going to later. Saturday morning was cool and clear, but by the time the race had begun, it was HOT and HUMID. This was the first really oppressive day that the city had seen yet these season, and I don't think even the winner of the race was setting any records.

I was stationed at about mile 6 of the 10k course and about 35 minutes into the race a women collapsed near me. It was a very scary experience and I'm glad that I have at least the most basic first aid training b/c I was able to help a bit. That said, I still felt woefully unprepared for this circumstance . . . ahhh. Then a few minutes later, another woman collapsed right at the same spot. I think that the combined facts that we were at the end of the race, that it was the first really hot and muggy day of the year, and that we were positioned at the end of a hot sunny hill all joined forces to make our location the one with all of the excitement.

After the race I met some friends for a picnic in the park and we ended up playing whiffle ball and eating good food, and relaxing in the sun. But after sitting all day in the heat, playing games, etc., I wasn't really ready for a run on Saturday so I skipped it.

Today I ran a good 6 miles to the park and then took the train back up home. I ran early in the day, which I'm really glad about, and then had the whole day to spend with Sara on her BIRTHDAY! My six miles today brings me to 17 miles for the week which is fewer than the 20 miles/week that I ought to be running at this point but I began to realize that this is OK. Two weeks ago I ran 17 in an attempt to run 20 but I hurt my hip and didn't run on Sunday that week. Then last week I only ran 11 b/c I was hurt. I don't think it would make sense to then jump right back up to twenty. I think running 17 this week is probably fine, then I have three more weeks at 20 miles each to be ready to start increasing mileage in preparation for the marathon itself. The only thing I might have done differently would be to take more shorter runs rather than running only three times but for more mileage . . . but oh well. At least I got the miles in. Hopefully next week I'll be able to get my 20!

Running Class

Yesterday I took my first running class and it was great!! The picture to the left is of the northern hills in central park. The top half of the loop is a hilly 1.2 mile section that we ran at about our race pace. The bottom stretch is a flat portion that we used as a recovery portion. It was hard, but I really enjoyed the run.

I ended up running a little over 7 miles (good for a Tuesday), and it was on average, a good pace. We did the hills three times and on each pass, my pace dropped. I ran too quickly to start . . . but I really enjoyed it.

I'm really looking forward to continuing with the class b/c I think it will have a measurable affect on my times in the shorter races. I'm not running another race until June 15th so I have one more running class before that, and I'm hoping to get closer t0 7:35 min/mile, or at least a personal best . . .

Japan Day

Yesterday I ran a race called Japan Day. It was really nice b/c it was a very small race with very few participants (~2500 people) which meant that I was able to start close to the front and get into my pace fairly quickly. I ended up running a pretty decent race (30:48) and coming about 8 or 9 seconds shy of my personal best. I ran the first mile very quickly at 7:33, but then I slowed significantly running mile 2 at 7:47, and 3 at 7:56, but then finished well on mile four at 7:31. Overall I had an average pace/mile of 7:42.

The four mile race took me to about 10 miles for the week (I only ran half of the week) and I didn't have any hip pain at all. This could be a result of the fact that I took some time off earlier this week, but is most likely due to the prescription anti-inflammatory that I've been taking. In either case, I'm glad to be running again and hopefully my next race will be a little faster still.

Doctor & Running Again

Phew! First of all, let me just say that I love that I have health insurance. Getting hurt (or sick) really highlights how lucky I am to have health care that is very good and very reliable through my employer. It also highlights how big an issue it is for America that we don't have universal health care! Terrible.

Yesterday, I went to a sports medicine doctor b/c of the pain in my hip. The doctor's visit, the x-rays, and the prescription all cost only $35!!!!! Needless to say, I am very fortunate and I sincerely hope we can get a president in the white house who can fix the health care crisis that America is facing!

BUT . . . back to my hip. Dr. Roth told me that I have irritated my sciatic nerve, prescribed some anti-inflammitories and some physical therapy, and sent me on my way. He was very nice and though the visit took longer than I had expected (to be fair, I was a little late . . . ), it was a very pleasant experience, as doctors' visits go. He also said that I could run without worrying too much about any issues, as long as I wasn't in too much pain. He even gave me the go ahead to run my race on Sunday in the park!!

So, given the green light by Dr. Roth, I ran for a couple of minutes last night, getting just a short 2.5 miles in. Despite the brevity of the run, it felt great to get out again and to move. It had been too long since I had last run (see previous post). The best part of my running was . . . NO PAIN. And now, the next morning, I'm still pain free . . . so I'm hoping that I'll be ok.

I ran 16 miles last week before I hurt myself and I won't get more than 10 in this week, but I'll be able to run my race and continue my training without too much difficulty!

3 days . . . no run . . . Tom go crazy!

AAAHHHH. It is now Wednesday, and I haven't run since Saturday. I'm freaking out a little bit. I am going to try to run today. I've been pain free since yesterday morning and I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, so if I hurt again today after my run, I'll be able to talk to the doctor about it. I'm a little frustrated by this for a number of reasons, but some of those are:
(a) I'm running a race on Saturday and I was hoping that I'd have a good time b/c I would have started by running class by then . . . BUT . . .
(b) I missed the first day of running class. It worked out ok I think b/c it was basically monsooning yesterday in NYC, and as Sara pointed out (she's always looking out for me!) yesterday was my first pain free day b/c on Monday I tried to run with very painful results
(c) I need to be at my base by June 1st and I really need to make the first week of June a 20 mile week
(d) I'm nervous that the sports medicine doctor I go to see will tell me not to run or that I have hip failure or something like that . . .

In any case, I hope to get a good four miler in today and we'll see what happens. I don't want to overdo it, but I'm really losing patience for this.

Sore Hip

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I have sustained my first injury of the year . . .
On Saturday, I ran a really good 6.5 miler from my apartment on 181st Street down to the east side of Central Park. I felt great, had a good pace, and really enjoyed running from point A to point B (rather than running in a loop or an out or back . . . the run had a point).
BUT when I got to the park, after I had finished running I developed a major pain in my hip. That afternoon I couldn't walk without a limp and then on Sunday I had a big time limp as well. Monday (my normal day off) I tried to run a bit, but I wasn't able to get more than 3/4 of a mile in before I had to stop for pain.

I'm worried b/c I haven't been able to run much, but also b/c my running class starts today and I don't want to miss the first class, but I'm nervous about pushing myself too much if I'm hurt. So far today I haven't had much pain, but I don't want to ruin and forward progress I've had by running too soon. I'm going to make an appointment to see a Sports Medicine Doctor to see if I'm hurting myself too much.

I might still go down today to see if I feel like running, but I don't know.
More later.

3 Down, 2 to go!

Well, my goal of running five days this week is more than half completed. I was able to get runs in on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday for the first time in a few weeks. Running three days in a row is a new kind of challenge and I found that I lagged a bit today. I ran slowly this morning and didn't really feel like I had much energy or strength in my legs. This could be do to the fact that I ran three days in a row, but I think that the more likely bet is that I had a pretty good run yesterday evening, so this morning I wasn't fully recovered. Thankfully I have Friday off and a long weekend with nothing planned to get some good mileage in.

Also, if I can manage 10 miles this weekend (which shouldn't be hard . . . I've run at least 10 miles for the last two weekends and nine miles the weekend prior to that) I will have hit 20 miles this week. Remember that I need to be running 20 miles per week from now until I start increasing my mileage on July 1st. I'm feeling pretty good lately, though, despite a less than stellar run this morning.

On another note, I've been keeping track of my weight in my food journal for the last three days, and I have been doing much better lately. I'm still eating too much crap, but at least I can manage to shed a couple of pounds at the same time . . . hopefully that'll keep up!

Treadmills Suck!

Today I had to run a bit, but I didn't feel like running early in the morning. BUT I have an event tonight at work, so I brought stuff with me to run after school. BUT it was raining when I wanted to go, so I decided to go to the gym and run on the treadmill.

As usual, my treadmill running was cut painfully short b/c I can't stand running on treadmills. I only ended up running 3 miles today, when I had hoped to run at least 4 (maybe even 5). I am going to have to run more tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon, and then I have to run on Thursday morning b/c my Thursday evening is full with a variety of celebrations. It is P's birthday, the tower house bash, and then Diana's concert all that night!

I shouldn't complain. If training for (and running) a marathon were easy, it wouldn't be seen as a major accomplishment. I'm really enjoying the running I've been doing, and I'm really getting psyched for the marathon (even though it is still 165 days away). I think this is going to be so much fun, and I'm really enjoying it. Plus I'm feeling in better shape than I've ever felt, so I hope that this continues and I can keep finding the hours b/c I'm enjoying the benefits of all this running!

Day 200!

Today is day 200 of the Year of the Marathon. This means that I have been blogging for 200 days and keeping track of everything that I eat for 200 days! At right you'll notice the countdown clock has 166 days left on it. This is obviously b/c 2008 is a leap year.

The running is going pretty well these days. I ran about 18 miles this week, up from 17 the week before and I'm feeling pretty good about my fitness, my form, and my overall running health. I haven't yet run 5 days in aweek, but I'm hoping that this will be the week for it.

Things at work are really starting to quiet down now and I'm psyched that I've been able to focus so much on running. I'm really looking forward to this summer and being able to log some serious miles!

I'm also very excited about my running class which is going to start a week from tomorrow on Tuesday, May 27th. I'll be running in that class every Tuesday for the next ten weeks and I hope that I really get some solid speed out of it. Perhaps my next 10k will be a bit faster. I think this is an important step in my goal of dropping my 5k time to under 7 min/mile . . . which if you'll remember was one of my original goals. I'm not sure if I'll be able to cut 45 seconds off of my time between now and the marathon, but there's always next year. I'm really making an investment now to ensure that running becomes a serious, long term habit for me and I'm really enjoying it.

So that's it for now. Today's my day off, but Tu, W, and Th should be 4 mile days each (I hope).

Healthy Kidney 10k

Today I ran another race. It was my second race of the year, leaving only seven to do in order to qualify for the marathon for next year. I was a little disappointed with my time today. I ran the 10k (which is 6.2 miles) in 50:04 which is an 8:04 min/mile pace. I had hoped to break the 8 minute mark, but alas, I did not.

I might have been able to break it had (a) the first mile not been so slow due to the fact that this race was PACKED and (b) that I hadn't stopped timing myself after the third mile. After I completed the the third mile, I accidentally hit "stop" on my watch instead of "lap" which I didn't realize until I was mostly through the fourth mile. This meant that I had no gauge, whatsoever, about what kind of pace I was running. I ran the first mile in about 8:15 (see comment "a" above), but I ran miles two and three in under 8 minutes each. I only wish I had paid more attention to the second half of the race!

In addition to the fact that I didn't run as well as I had hoped today, I've also been feeling a little spunk lately. For one, I have been eating really badly lately. I really need to eat more conscientiously in the next few weeks b/c I think it's having an effect on my running. Sara asked me what the point of keeping a food journal was if I wasn't going to change how I eat . . . I didn't really have an answer for that.

Also, I haven't been running enough lately. I really need to step it up and challenge myself in the next two weeks. I need to be at 20 miles/week by June 1st and I'm at 17 now, so that's not a problem, but now I need to focus on really making those miles count for something. I think that I might take a running class with NYRR in order to work on my speed, form, and efficiency for the marathon. The class is once a week for 10 weeks and I think it will really push me hard! Then, when I run another 10k I won't be so pissed at myself for running too conservatively and then beating myself up about.

I'm going to go out for 4-5 miles tomorrow to make this another 17 mile week or so. I also need to start running 5 days/week instead of the four that I'm managing now. That will also make a difference in my training.

But all in all, things are going well and I'm enjoying all of the running that I've been doing. Hopefully I can keep working towards the big day!!

PS - That is a picture of a kidney b/c today's race was the Healthy Kidney 10k. Also, I haven't had many pictures in my posts lately.

Indian Wedding Weekend

Wow! What a weekend. I spent the last few days in the ATL going to Sara's friend Sudha's wedding. If you ever have the opportunity to attend an Indian wedding, GO! I had the most amazing time this weekend in Atlanta, dancing, partying, having a good time!

I ran a little bit too. I originally had the goal of running a lot last week. I wanted to get runs in on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I ended up getting runs in on all of those days except for Thursday. Last week was super busy, but I ended up making up for the fact that I didn't run on Thursday b/c I ran 11 miles this weekend. I had a nice long run on Sunday which felt good.

More later.

Going Well

Well, as I posted (briefly) last time, I have set a goal of running on the same schedule that I'll need to adopt for a large chunk of this summer. This would be my first week of this schedule and if I run 3 miles each of those days, that makes a 15 mile week, which leaves just five miles to add by June 1st. Well . . . so far, so good. I ran last night before our tennis match for 30 minutes (3+ miles) and then I got up early this morning and did it again. That brings me up to 95 miles for the YOTM so far, which is nice, but also makes me feel more like I'm getting something done.

This morning it was really nice to run early b/c it has started to (finally) get light much earlier. I was up by 5:15, out of the door by 5:35 and home by 6:05 and it was light for most of my run . . . it is also getting warmer and it was really nice to run at 57 degrees this morning.

I'm discovering that finding the time for these runs is not at hard as I thought it would be for two reasons. (a) It only takes 3o minutes to run over three miles . . . finding 30 minutes isn't that hard. (b) If I just make running a priority, I'll make the time for it.

So all in all, I'm feeling pretty good these days and I'm hoping that this will lead to success down the road in November!

Quick Post

Howdy! I'm in Philly for a conference, so I'll make this quick. I ran 54 minutes yesterday, 6+ miles. I felt pretty good, but I got a cramp and my legs were a little sore.

Today, just a quick 3+ miler, 30 minutes.

Feeling good overall, climbed some good hills today and that felt pretty good.

I have decided that I need to run each day that I'll be running at my base next week, even if the mileage is low, just to get into the rhythm. That means off Mon., run Tues, Wed, Thurs, off Friday, run Sat. & Sun. We'll see how it goes.



More later.

Finding the Time!

I ran last night. I got a good little three miler in, but I've been frustrated the last two weeks by how little I've been able to run. I'm reading this book The Competitive Runner's Handbook, and he is talking all about mileage goals and running 100 miles per week, and I'm looking at my calendar and realizing that I need to get to 20 miles/week by June first (one month away) and I've been getting frustrated. I get up at 6 am to get to work by 7:30 and then most days I'm not home until after 6pm. This leaves little time for running and I'm getting sick of it. So yesterday, I went for a little three mile run (it may have been more . . . in fact I know it was more, it could have been close to 3.5 or 4 . . .) and I was happy to be able to do that.

I started off just running for 30 minutes b/c the author of my running book has said a couple of times now how important it is just to get the days in. I think I agree. I am hoping that if I can get into the habit of running 5 times per week, then increasing the mileage won't be that hard. I just need to actually get the days in, and find the time. If I can run five three milers in a week, that's fifteen miles. From there it is not that hard to tack 1 mile onto two of those runs, and then turn the Saturday run into a 6 miler and BAM, I'm at my base. It's not that far off, but I'm still stressed about it nevertheless. Having people always asking me how the training's going helps motivate me to, so keep asking! That's what this blog is for after all.

After my run yesterday, Sara and I made turkey burgers. It was great. We made them from great ground turkey we got at the farmer's market, with spinach, red onion and rolls we also got from the farmer's market. Only the cheese and condiments didn't come from the market. It was delicious . . . not to mention concrete evidence that you can build an entire meal from ingredients produced in a sustainable way, but that is also local! I have no idea if the food was organic, but it was sustainable and we're pumping our money back into the local economy which is so much better than buying groceries from a huge chain who then sends the money to other states or countries. If it means that we can't buy bananas anymore, so be it. It's a better way to live. I know this sounds incredibly smug and self-righteous, but I can feel my carbon footprint getting smaller!

Good Long Run

I feel great! I just came back from my longest run ever! The last time I ran was on Sunday (a week ago) when I did the run for the parks. I had a long week with many evening plans and tennis matches, which then meant that I took Monday through Friday off of running. We didn't have tennis practice on Friday, so my plan was to get home early and run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for a total of about 13 miles so that my mileage this week wasn't lower than last week.

Yesterday (Friday), however, my colleagues in the college office and I went out for lunch. It ended up being a late lunch and I had a few beers, so by the time I got home at 5:30 or so and walked the dog, I didn't feel much like running. (On a side note, we went to a cool little place for lunch called the Boat Basin Cafe. It's located right on the water at the 79th Street boat basin. The food was mediocre, but it was a fun place to have lunch.) So instead of running, I ate too many leftovers for dinner, followed by too many Thin Mints (we are FINALLY done with the girl scout cookies I ordered), and drank too many beers. I ended up falling asleep in front of the Yankee game. (In case it's not clear from my Friday evening activities, I'm bachin' it this weekend - Sara's in the ATL with her family).

Today I woke up and felt a little annoyed with myself for eating and drinking too much in my lonely bachelorhood, and so decided I would go for a long run today. My goal was to run 54 minutes along the path (27 minutes out and 27 back) which would be at least 6 miles (assuming I kept up at least a 9 min/mile pace). I ended up running 61 minutes for 7 miles (an 8:42 pace). I felt great. I was breathing well and my legs were feeling really good. I was even able to run up the hills all the way back to my front door. This was fabulous. I have never run 7 miles before and my run today really felt great. I know that not all my runs between now and the marathon will be this good, but accomplishing this today was a huge mental leap for me. I can now see myself running the long training runs more easily than I had expected. I worry sometimes that because I'm doing this by myself (not that I don't have support, but I don't really have a training buddy) that I'll lose motivation, but today proved a huge accomplishment for me. This run was also important b/c in May I'm running a 10K race, which I've never done, so I wanted to be sure I got some longer distances in before then. It was also really nice to set a goal for myself today and then to totally break it easily! Next time, I'll set a harder goal.

Speaking of goals . . .

If you'll remember, in my first two posts of this blog I set 7 goals for myself. This seems like as good a time as any to revisit those goals and to check in on my progress.

Goal number six, to run the NYC Half-Marathon Grand Prix, is already out of the window. I have already missed at least two (maybe three?) of the half-marathons (there are five, one per borough) so there's no way I can meet that goal.
But what about the other goals?

Goal 1 - To get my weight down to 178. - Who knows. It's not there yet, but the intense training has yet to begin . . . still not out of the question.
Goal 2 - Run More - I'm doing that. I will have to run at least 5 days per week when I'm training, so that's not a problem.
Goal 3 - Finish the marathon - still on track here.
Goal 4 - Finish the marathon in under 3:45. - What was I thinking?? This is absurd. I will be thrilled if I can finish at all! I'm going to revise this to say under 4 hrs.
Goal 5 - Run one short race at a sub 7 min/mile pace. - I will have to do some serious speed training to get this done, but I'm still going to try. This summer I'll be able to devote lots of time to running.
Goal 6 - See above
Goal 7 - Become more regular. - Done

I'd also like to add another goal.
Goal 8 - Become more flexible and stretch more. If I'm going to be doing all of this running, I really need to stretch more, so my goal is to build time for stretching into my running time.

Finally, I'd like to point out a few features of my blog. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you'll find my running calendar which has runs I've completed in green and runs I've scheduled in red. Also, along the right hand side of the page, at the top you'll find the total number of miles I've run as well as a countdown clock to the marathon. Enjoy!

Run for the Parks (v. 3.0)

Today was my first race of the year. Until today, I hadn't run a race since Thanksgiving of last year in Indianapolis. I have a particular fondness for the Run for the Parks because it was this run that first really spawned my interest in running races two years ago. In the spring of 2006 I had been running more than I ever had before. Sara saw an ad in the subway for this race and asked if I wanted to try, so I did. This was my first experience with an NYRR race or any race at all for that matter. I trained hard for that race because I was unsure how to run a race, or what to expect. My only goal for that year was to run at an 8:30 pace or so. I ended up running my best race ever that year, 30:40 for 4 miles, a 7:40 min/mile pace.

Two years later, I was again nervous. I haven't run a race in a while, my running has been sporadic at best lately, my legs were still pretty sore, and my watch has been on the fritz. Nevertheless, I ran my second best race ever today, running 31:11 for the race, a pace of 7:47 min/mile. The other great thing is that I'm confident that if my legs weren't so sore, I would have been able to beat my personal best of 7:40. My breathing today was not terribly labored and it was mostly my legs that [again] were the limiting factor in my pace. I felt strong coming into the last couple of hundred yards, and I felt good going up hills today.

My 3rd mile is always the slowest in these races, so one thing that I know I need to work on is more consistent pacing. My watch farted about mid-way through the first mile today, unexpectedly resetting, so I only had a mile by mile breakdown for the last three miles on my watch. To make it even harder, there was no clock at the starting line to tell me when I crossed the start (starting my race time) which means that when I got the first mile and saw the clock reading 8:38, I didn't know how close that was. It was only once I got home and check my official results that I could figure out that my first mile ended up being 7:43. The next three miles were 7:43, 8:07, and 7:36 respectively. I ended up placing 1503 in a race of 5863 people and 1246 out of 3054 men in the race. I felt really good today and am pretty psyched about how well I ran.

This race brings my week's mileage up to 12.5, the best so far this year. I'm hoping that I can find time to get 14-15 miles in next week. Increasing my mileage will be hard until tennis is over, but it's important. Who ever said that training for a marathon would be easy? I'm watching a fascinating NOVA special on people training for marathons and I'm finding it very cool, but I'm reminded what a task I still have ahead of me! Today, however, I really felt great about my run and for the first time could really see myself running a marathon.

After the race today, I went the Museum of Natural History for the first time since my mom got me a membership for my birthday (Thanks mom!) and then went to lunch with Asher and Diana! It was a good weekend, and I'm going to take tomorrow off!!

Spring has Sprung in NYC

Wow!! What a week in New York. It has been warm and sunny all week long . . . which is the greatest! At school, this means that the kids are all wearing next to nothing (not so great!) and sitting outside playing frisbee, lacrosse, soccer, etc. I have mixed feelings about the spring fever the kids at Riverdale get this time of year, but it's hard to stay mad or annoyed when the weather is so nice. What's made this week even better, though, is the fact that I get to spend large chunks of time outside every day with the tennis team. This has contributed to my tan and to my overall good mood. I have been loving the weather! Incredible.

Speaking of the tennis team, we are now 7-0 (the only undefeated varsity team in the school) and we are on a roll. I'm psyched for the boys on the team and we're all having a great season! The extra time outside is great and as the days get longer, and the weather nicer, I get happier and happier that I decided to coach again this year.

Today the weather has continued to be spectacular and I took a short run up to the farmer's market to do a little shopping. I'm still pretty sore from my little exercises the other day, so I took a slow jog for a little over two miles at a leisurely 9 min/mile pace up to the market and bought fresh bread, cheese, turkey sausage, apples, onions and some beautiful oyster mushrooms. I can't wait to dig into the mushrooms. It was really nice to have a short, easy jog to get a little of the sore out (it seems to have worked) and I'm really excited for my race tomorrow. I woke up this morning really dehydrated, so I'm drinking tons of water today and taking it easy so that I can really run well tomorrow and finish in under 32 minutes! I really love the Run for the Parks each April b/c it was the first race that I ever ran with NYRR and tomorrow will be my third time running it. I'm hoping for the weather to continue. Sara and I are going to take it easy today, maybe go for a walk in the park, and really enjoy the weekend.

Last night, we kicked the weekend off right by ordering a pizza and taking it, along with a few beers, up to the roof deck of our apartment building. At about 7:30 the sun was setting and we were a slice or two into the pizza and in heaven. It was incredible. For any of you who haven't yet visited our roof, there's nothing better than going up there with a beer or a glass of wine on a beautiful spring evening and watching the sun set. Wow.