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.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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.
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