Race Report #2: 2010 ING New York City Marathon

So, let’s answer a few questions?

After you crossed the finish line, what happened?  What did you do?  How did you feel?

Tired, but you probably knew that. J  In all seriousness, the 26.2 was not nearly as punishing as the additional 1 mile walk UPHILL on West Drive to the UPS truck to pick up my bag.  It was 42 degrees, I stopped sweating at 22mi and was full-on teeth chattering and shivering.  I was thankful for the mylar wrap, but it was wholly insufficient as my body stopped regulating temperature and was just pissed off.  After devouring whatever food/drink they gave us while we staggered like boxers in line, I thought about jumping into the ambulance for warmth, but it was occupied.  I finally made it to the truck and threw on warm clothes.  I received a ton of congratulations, and for the life of me could not figure out how strangers knew I just raced … ummm, I forgot about the medal around my neck.  The neurons stopped firing somewhere in the Bronx.  Next, I walked thru CP to meet my family and we took one of the better pics ever … the girls were all smiling:

 

My ING NYC Marathon pace setters.

 

On the walk home, my wife kept asking me, “What do you want to do now that it’s over?”  [more on this in a minute]  Once we returned home, I forced Endurox down my throat and ate the food of champions … McDonald’s.  Horrible, I know.  But I had no interest in food at this point.  I showered, dressed and left to celebrate with CPTC at a local pub.  Of course, I couldn’t get a taxi so I had to actually sprint to catch the bus as it was pulling off … so ridiculous.

Adrenaline was still coursing thru my veins as I went to sleep at 9:30pm and awoke (for good) at 3am.  Awful.  At this point, the first signs of soreness hit me.  Nothing terrible, but not great given that I always get delayed soreness 48 hours after a hard workout.  Meaning, if the Monday after was bad, Tuesday would be crippling.  As it turned out, Monday my quads were absolutely shredded.  I wobbled around like an egg for about 4 miles to get any kind of circulation going.  I was a mess.  Today, I’m 50% better.  I can walk slowly and you would not otherwise know I ran a marathon, unless you ran one too.  The only trouble spot is the side of my right heal, which I’m icing.

What did you learn about the experience?

I’ve adjusted expectations so many times for this thing, it’s honestly difficult to benchmark what I set out to do vs. what I internalized during training and the race.  Some folks are verbal learners.  Others are visual.  Still others are experiential or some combination of the three.  I tend to be on the extreme visual and experiential side.  According to everyone except my now famous wife, I’m a decent listener, but I internalize only after seeing and doing.  What does this mean for the marathon?  I had a tremendous training cycle and built a great base.  More importantly, I was 100% physically healthy as I crossed the start line.  However, mentally, I was probably at 60-70% of what was required.  I believed I did all that I was capable of doing to physically tackle the distance, but significant doubt remained whether I would actually cross the finish line.  As a CPTC legend (51 marathons, 53 years old and still a sub-3:00 marathoner) told me in the aftermath, “26.2 miles is a long f***** way.”  Many folks reminded me that the halfway point is at 20 miles.  I disagree.  There is no halfway point.  There is the start and then the finish.  That’s it.  Contrary to the view of the enthusiastic fans, I didn’t feel like I was going to “make it” until I crossed that line.  The point is that I was carrying a burden that hung on my back like a gorilla … not a sense of doom or impending failure, but a nagging “Can I really do this?”  That pressure was increased by the reputation and visibility of our club.   Wearing the CPTC singlet brings a tremendous amount of pride (certainly to me) and lofty expectations.  A DNF or walking would have been horrendous and unthinkable.  Frankly, since August 2009 (when I started this blog), my entire existence has been 11.7.2010.  I had a picture of the finish line on my phone and as laptop wallpaper.  I even had 11.7.2010 as the screen saver at work.  That’s motivating and, in hindsight, very dangerous and unhealthy.  In the days before the race, teammates asked me, “So what are your plans after the marathon? Brunch? Family dinner?”  My wife basically asked the same thing on the walk home.  Hmmm.  Since August 2009, I never visualized life in ANY form after 11.7.2010.  I had no idea what post-marathon life would be like.  Now that, my friends, is tunnel vision.  Not good.

Any lessons learned?

Most competitive marathoners, including the elites, employ a bottoms-up approach to training and racing.   They would start with say, 1500m, work their way up to 5k and then 10k, etc.  Like most “bucket list” folks, I went for the brass ring and tried to hit the projected times to prove that I could achieve a certain time in the marathon.  That’s just not how it should be done.  At some point in 2010 (with the help of teammates and coaching), the light went on and I realized, that to run a great marathon, you need to master the shorter distances first.  Also, along the way, I realized that I’m not too bad on the track either.  The irony is compelling here … I started out as hopeful marathoner … became an ok runner … and completed an ok marathon.  A lesson for the kids out there … crush, not run, but really crush a few 10k’s before you stick your neck out on the most challenging course among the 5 marathon majors.  A number of folks commented how hard I worked.  Relative to “bucket list” folks, sure … I put 55-60 mpw for 4 months.  However, when I joined CPTC, I stopped being a “bucket list” guy and started laying the foundation to becoming a runner.  With no base, I tried to jam in 2 years worth of required work into 10 months to achieve a fairly aggressive goal (3:30, 3:20 debut).  That is just too much to ask too soon on too difficult a course.  That said, I still finished 8,181^st out of 44,829 or among the top 20%, which does not suck for an old guy making his debut who completely blew up in the final 10k.  Funny, when I get away from my teammates (who I love) and mention “debut” and “3:42,” my non-CPTC friends nearly pass out with praise.  Talented group I run with … btw our top guy placed 24^th with a 2:25, in his debut.  A 2:28 debut from another guy with who had a pinched nerve in his foot after mile 1.

What’s next?

1. No running this week.  I may start shuffling again on Saturday.
2. 4-week recovery, building up from 3 days a week to maybe 4 days.
3. Press the delete button on 2010 and anything before it.  Not a typo in that previous sentence.  I’m not using 3:42 as the benchmark for my next marathon (other than stating the obvious – it is waaaaay too much time on your feet – more on this in a bit) or any other past performance.  Notice that race results and PRs are gone from this blog.  I’m starting over.  Complete reset.  When I fully recover and I rejoin my teammates indoors in mid-December, I intend to go out with the fastest group I can without literally passing out and thrash.  I’m not anchoring myself anymore.  Whether coach says 3k or 5k pace, I’m going out harder.  The only way you run a fast 5k or 10k is to run much faster than both.  Same deal with tempos.  More hill sprints and bridge work on my own.  And when I start the next training cycle, no more “easy” runs, per se.  Easy means warming up properly, and then join up with the A group and run at their “easy pace” i.e., 7:15-30s.  In time, that will become easy to me.  What will really change is the emphasis on distance.  In the “off season,” 30-35 mpw at high intensity with 2-3 rest days is moving the ball further down field than 45 mpw at slower pace. I’m blowing up my training program completely.  More on this in the future.
4. In keeping with the speed theme, I will not be running 26.2 in 2011.  I’m giving myself at least 12 months of complete focus on short distance … save for 1-2 target HMs (not sure which or when yet). Regarding the next marathon, it’s very early in the aftermath of NYC, but I’m thinking either Houston or Miami in January 2012.  Houston might be fun as it’s a completely different scene 6,000 runners vs. 45,000.  I might be able to meet up with See Jess Run, too. Miami is even smaller <3,000 finishers.  The timing is great because I can start training in the fall along with the crews getting ready for (2011) New York, Philly and Boston, recover in time for Spring/Summer racing season and still leave myself open to do NYC 2012 in November.

In total, I feel good.  Happy with how much I pushed myself and given all of the lessons learned, I can live with the result.  In time, I will savor what I just did, but it is still too fresh.  That said, I can now turn the page and start over.

I may now be “a marathoner”, but I just started becoming a runner.

Race Report #1: 2010 ING New York City Marathon

Note:  Below is the recap from my training log.  I will offer something more probing and thoughtful in a bit, including lessons learned, what’s next, etc. … right now, I’m a little tired.  Oh yeah, 3:42:34.  I am a marathoner.

I layered up heavily, so Fort Wad was not uncomfortable at all.  No issue with logistics, irrigation or corrals.  In fact, thanks to @GCass and @mpatent, I was completely prepared for race week and marathon Sunday.  Lost the 2 layers of sweat pants and heavy jacket just before crossing the start.  Went out with Kinvaras, Nike splits, CPTC singlet under thermal long-sleeve top w/ t-shirt over it, beanie and 3 layers of gloves.  V-N bridge (and most of Brooklyn) was very windy (~14mph).  Made it up and down in control 8:29 up, 7:20 down (really put on the breaks on the decline). Had my own bottle of Cytomax, so no need to stop at the stations until Mile 5 when I thru out the bottle.  Overall, hydration was never an issue – hit most of the stations alternating between G and water.  1 Gu before race, 4 during every 6 miles.  Used Nuun tabs.  Sufficiently warm, I discarded the thermal, t-shirt and heavy gloves.  10-10-10 plan was 7:45, 7:35, and then gut it out.  Felt in total control and holding back from thru Mile 7 (8:29, 7:20, 7:47, :46, :46, :47, :46).  Beginning at Mile 8 my lack of experience on the terrain started working against me.  The grade of the hill along LaFayette Ave in Brooklyn was surprising.  That and my left quad started acting up like it did at Grete’s. I tried to lock into thinking about anything else, but it was a struggle as Mile 8, 9 were 8:10, 8:12. I remember teammates saying you will alternate between feeling horrible and decent and it’s just a matter of fighting thru the episodes.  I pulled it back together on Bedford Ave into Williamsburg w/ Miles 10, 11, 12 at 7:49, :54, :48 and feeling pretty decent heading into Pulaski Bridge.  Overall, I stayed in the moment and didn’t think about the next bridge or hurdle coming up.  I’m not certain what happened at Pulaski.  Maybe it was the cumulative effect of the wind from the start that caught up to me.  Given where I started (Wave 1, corral 14) I expected more shielding from the crowd of runners, but was not so lucky.  I did too much work on my own … I guess.  I don’t remember Pulaski being horrible as I went over it, but the splits after it tell the story – Mile 13 (8:35), 14 (8:18).  I didn’t feel like I expended a ton of energy, but couldn’t get any turnover (recurring theme here).  Queensboro Bridge was rough.  All the mental tricks in the world didn’t help, so I just grinded and held on until the crown – Mile 15, 16 (9:37, 8:57 – ugh – hoped the Garmin signal was broken at this point).  Coming on to 1st Avenue was a nice pick me up.  It was here that I let go of “I’m racing” and tried to enjoy my first marathon … slapped hands with the crowd, looked around a bit and still managed to put the wheels back on (temporarily) Mile 17 (8:01).  Mentally, I was very much in the game, but the turnover slowed dramatically as we went further along in the 80s and 90s – Mile 18 (8:35), 19 (8:44).  I was clearly approaching “the Wall” but it did not feel like what I expected … never a sense of “I want to quit” or “I can’t move another step”.  Rather it was extreme frustration at not being able to generate even easy run turnover.  The Bronx did not help my mood, either.  Miserable scenery.  Sparse crowds.  I may start hating the Yankees because of it.  Bleh.  Miles 20, 21, 22 (9:07, :24, :34).  The only good coming out of the Bronx and Harlem was @robgill, @GreggLemosStein and especially @almadelcorno who chased and primal screamed at me for 50m.  At this point I started doing real mental math and knew I had a punchers chance at something 3:3x:xx.  5th Ave pretty much killed that notion entirely as I passed the Wall of Orange.  I heard everyone especially @mpatent who just said keep grinding.  I wasn’t upset as much as I was trying to will every fiber to pull out some 9:00 miles (Jesus, I just wrote 9:00 miles) to get me sub 3:40.  I felt like I couldn’t waste an eyelid of energy acknowledging anyone at Mile 23 (9:17).  I did slap hands a blow a kiss to my wife and kids at Mile 24 (9:18) and then commenced to grinding, pushing, fighting, clawing anything near 9:00.  Didn’t happen.  Mile 25 (9:03), Mile 26 (9:27 – realized the jig was up at that point).  Some how eeked out 7:51 pace for the final quarter and done.  This is not the place to go thru lessons learned, but I did not have a sense of jubilation or relief at the finish … more so a laundry list of what I will do to adjust my training and race execution.  I believe in my fitness and relative to folks I trained side-by-side who finished sub-3:30, I know my goal was rational.  I lack experience and certainly underestimated the challenge of the course.  Also, you can train all you want, but until you run 26.2 miles at any pace, there remains mystery and doubt.  That mystery and doubt weighed on me for a long time before and during the race. Still, given where I started in February 2010, I’m more than pleased with the effort.  I can take this experience into 2011 (no marathon) and focus on becoming a good overall runner.  Maybe TR let’s me run another in 2012.  Funny that the marathon started as a “bucket list” item, moved to an albatross and has now become the catalyst for me to become serious.  Thank you to all of the Orange who sent well wishes and cheered … I heard you all, but was battling.  It was a good day.  Bringing the heat on the track in December.

1

A fairly ho-hum morning.  I did my 2mi shakeout and ran opposite of this guy on the Reservoir.  You may heard of him …

Umm … 2008 Olympic and 2x Chicago Marathon winner.  Sammy Wanjiru.

So if you have followed me this far, you might be interested in how I manage during tomorrow’s race.  Below is the tracking info to help you … if you want to help me, please scream at me on the course or at your phone, computer screen or anything else.  I will feel the vibes …

Bib: 14242

Team: Central Park Track Club – New Balance

Tracking Site: ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert

Live Coverage at Universal Sports

Race Strategy.  Yes, it’s my first marathon.  Yes, I’m supposed to enjoy the experience, the spectacle of it all.  Blah, blah, blah.  I did not suffer thru freezing temperatures in December, or get completely humbled at my first CPTC workout or trash myself thru intervals in 98 degree weather to “enjoy the experience.”  Does that mean I expect to do something special tomorrow?  No.  I expect 3 things beginning at 9:40am ET tomorrow in Staten Island.  Control. Believe. Compete.

Control. Start – Mile 10.  Goal pace: 7:45.  I intend to go out 10 seconds slower than MP to preserve energy for the balance of the race.  Even though my starting corral is only among the 1^st 20% of participants, it will be a blessing in disguise to go out slower in a crowded setting [Note - peak into 2011 goals: get fast enough to qualify for local competitive corral].  After the spectacular and likely very emotional start, the hill that is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will provide a nice reminder to ease into this thing. The other key here is fuel, fuel, fuel.

Believe.  Mile 11-20.  Trusting the training will be the theme.  I intend to drop to 7:30-7:33 pace.  I imagine mile 11 might be challenging to get comfortable with that turnover, but if I hydrate smartly during that those first 5 miles (water, Gatorade, GU), I should be encouraged by others around me slowing down because they hammered to early.  Nothing is more energizing that passing people.  I will likely draw up the 2 x 4 mile tempo which gave me the confidence that I can recognize pace and get quicker when I need to.  This portion of the course is tough as it includes 2 hilly bridges, but does end with the explosion of noise on 1^st Avenue back in Manhattan.  Believing in the training and all the 20s and tempos and speedwork.  Believe.

Compete.  Mile 21-Finish.  Guts. Guts. Guts.  I have no idea what I will have at this point.  Hopefully something.  Given all the sacrifices and time invested by others in me, this is just about digging deep and competing against the pain. Compete.

So what are the goals?  I respect the distance too much to toss out a number.  I’ve trained at a certain pace, feel good about my race strategy and have tapered well.

IT IS SHOWTIME.

2

Scheduled rest day.  And when I mean rest, I mean that I have spent a total of maybe 2 hours on my feet.  You would think I’m bed-ridden with as little physical activity as I’ve undertaken today.  I managed to pack up the marathon bag 95% complete … need to add food, my special drink (Cytomax) for the wait at Fort Wadsworth and extra bottle for the first 2-3 miles.  Given all the advice about how cold it will be while waiting (high 30s), I will look like an Eskimo.  Once I discard the multiple layers, the core racing look will be the following …

Kicks by Saucony Kinvara Pro Grid.  I had a great post (trust me) about racing flats written and Word Press somehow ate it … seriously.  Anyway, I love these shoes and wore a previous pair to death during training.  They are like slippers on my feet.

Otherwise, I’m relaxing.  Did I mention I hardly moved all day? I’ve been carbing up and hydrating consistently.  Tomorrow hydrating will become more like an obsession until later in the evening.  I imagine it being a tough night to sleep and I don’t need to exacerbate it by popping up every 20 minutes … if you know what I mean.

Last thing, I’ve mentioned my wife fairly often on these pages.  But as you have seen over the last 14+ months there is no way I could attempt to do what I’ve done with out her help.  She’s the backbone of the family and I’ve been planning Operating Marathon Makeup for a couple months now.  In fact I’ve started to put it into effect in the last few weeks … to some success.  As fortune would have it, a CPTC teammate approached me recently to ask whether she would be interested in being interview for a piece in the Wall Street Journal on marathon families.  I thought it would be a nice way to bring her into the process even more directly and give her a much deserved moment in the sun (to fillet me, of course).  Here’s the link.

Tomorrow … tracking info, the race strategy and goals.  We are down to 2 …

3

What did I do today?  Like most hygienically-friendly folks, I took a cold shower to wake myself up this morning.  Wait.  That was my 4-mile jog, which included the final 2.2 miles of the marathon course.  It was 46 degrees with wind and rain … awesome marathon weather … if you are sadistic and live in Wales.  Fortunately, the forecast for Sunday still looks favorable.  Despite miserable conditions, I was in high spirits … 3 days away!  I noticed as I turned into CP that the actual mile markers (signs) are up.  I’d be lying if that did not incite quicker turnover on what was supposed to be a steady state run.  I wound my way south down Cat Hill to briefly exit the park and run along Central Park South (still on course) and turned back into CP when I saw the bleachers outside of Columbus Circle.  [Whoa … it’s getting real.]  I made my way up the final 400 meters near Tavern on the Green and in all its resplendent glory …

Oh yeah, today was also Expo Day.  Really Expo 20 minutes because that is about all the time I spent at the Javits Center.  My mission was to get the bib, bag and make a quick swing thru with my wife.  I was specifically looking for items for her and the kids (for putting up with this marathon stuff), but neither of us was inspired enough to make a purchase (nor wait in the insane lines).  I’m a bit jaded on the Expo as this is my home turf and I am fortunate enough to see gear year around.  Expos are important but generally for out-of-town folks looking to take a piece of the event back home.  All good, just not my thing.  More importantly, I wanted to get off my feet.  I got me some running to do soon.

It’s almost time … 3.

 

4

This morning I shuffled around the Reservoir for a slightly longer easy run (6 miles).  The international contingent is definitely here … their excitement (and bright colored gear) is palpable.  The temps creaped up slightly from yesterday … 44 degrees, which meant that a double layer of thin gloves did the trick … no frozen fingers.  Unless another severe cold front hits us, I would imagine low-40s for a 9:40am start on Sunday.  BTW – other than a minor flare up, I have not obsessed over the weather much.  [Side note: I seem to be in the habit of brief moments of anxiety that go away forever … I had 10 minute a marathon freak out about a month ago, but have been calm since.  Same deal with weather.]  The forecast for Sunday does look favorable:

On the food front, I have not yet begun “carbo-loading” … I hate that phrase.  I have not necessarily been depleting, per se, either.  Since late last week, I have reduced my normal intake of carbs (no rice, pasta at all, but eating bananas, popcorn, some candy) while increasing protein (chicken, eggs) and all the goodness from my everyday spinach salad.  I’ll slowly start introducing carbs tonight (Cheerios) and ease into them more tomorrow and the succeeding days.

Tomorrow?  Pick up the bib, etc. at the Expo.  I went last year to take it all in … tomorrow I want to get in and out quickly and get off my feet.  I’ll post bib, wave and tracking info later this week.  Until then, 4 …

5

And the excitement builds …

Thursday:  I had been waiting for that “I’m ready” moment for the last few weeks.  I’ve had great workouts, but more of the check the box variety.  In the final tempo of this cycle (and last hard workout), I had my moment.  We ran a simple 5mi tempo at HMP finishing the final 2.5 along the actual marathon course.  Our coach prohibited warned us against sprinting or striding those last few miles in hopes of creating muscle memory for 11.7.2010.  At the time, I just wanted to execute the workout properly and fall near the HMP range (7:15-7:20) without doing anything stupid … yeah, I’m defensive.  So I started off … well behind Runner’s Kitchen, who I knew would be hammer this one.  Some of her speed must have rubbed off because with zero effort I was at 7:23 after the first mile.  Feeling good I fell into the downhill on Mile 2 (7:09) and at that point realized I had something going.  When I glanced down at the watch after Mile 3 (7:13), I decided that I needed to pull back, because I was getting loose and itching to hammer it.   I eased up during Miles 4 & 5 (7:17 each) and then could not resist opening up a tad for the final 200m as we passed the bleachers at the finish line 0:44 (5:38 pace).  When I stopped, I had a subtle fist pump going as I knew I was ready for NYC.  Overall 7:13 pace.

Friday: Scheduled rest day.

Saturday:  I took another reconnaissance mission at 7:45am and 45 degrees along the final 10 miles of the course.  While it was definitely productive and time well spent, I can’t take too much away from the experience.  Why?  I had fresh legs on Saturday, while on race day I will have 16 at race pace under the belt when I start the final 10.  Still, I did observe that miles 16-22 are relatively flat, including Willis Ave. and Madison Ave. bridges.  The world changes when you hit 110^th and 5^th Avenue.  The hill is not so much steep as it is relentless.  A solid 20 blocks of grinding up hill.  I did my best to imagine feeling like crap and grinding thru this stretch.  We’ll see how it works this Sunday.  Once you re-enter CP at 90^th, it is all too familiar and I, without, thinking quickened the pace from sheer excitement.  The workout ended up being a progression … 8 miles at easy pace with the final 2.5 at MP, again finishing at the NYC finish line.  10.5 miles.

Sunday: Uneventful 3 mile shakeout.

Before I forget, October results:

 

	October
Days Run	22
Total Miles	200.2
Mi/Day	9.1
Running Time	27:49:31
Avg. Pace	8:20

 

200 miles is not bad for 2 weeks of taper, plus a mini taper for the tune up race in the middle of the month.

Monday: Scheduled rest day.

Tuesday:  No CPTC track workout for me tonight.  The camaraderie is always great, but at this point, trudging down to the track to run a few easy miles in the dark seemed risky.  I’m still defensive.  Instead, I opted for a dawn cruise + 4 x 300 w/ 100m recovery.  As I was warming up (in 38 degree temps) on the Reservoir, I was very happy to run into Runner’s Kitchen who was doing the same thing.  We jogged for a loop and then I begged off to get to the intervals.  Our coach told us these were to just get the heart rate elevated and generate some pop in the legs.  Results – :62, :66, :63, :63.  I felt relaxed and in control.  It was the last chance to get some turnover before Sunday.  I finished up with another spin on the Reservoir and ran into an elite decked out in hot Nike gear.  I did not recognize him … not one of the profiled elites, but clearly someone near the top of the heap on Sunday.  5 miles.

And now, the countdown really begins.  5.

So … How’s Taper Going?

Meh.  I know enough not to magnify minor aches and pains, but they are still annoying.  I try to avoid the disease cocktail that is the subway, but it’s a challenge as the buses are crazy crowded after work and I’m impatient.  While full on hypochondria has not overtaken me (yet), I do walk around with a bottle of Purell like it’s the magic potion.  I will say that I was more excited about the race a couple of days ago (I’m certain that it will come back).  I’m finding taper is not some otherworldly elixir… “then poof you feel great”.  Runner’s Kitchen posted an interesting article about tapering.  The point is that taper is more like rehab.  Beating up the body for 4 months requires a few weeks of repair before the big day.  Even though I’m about 50% thru the taper, I’ve given up on “feeling amazing”.  If it happens, great.  In reality, if I can avoid doing anything stupid in the remaining workouts, stretch and eat properly, then the physical is about is good as it’s going to get … which is all you can hope for come race day.  It’s 200% psychological now.

A few workouts have passed since my last post:

Sunday:  I mentioned to a couple of CPTC teammates that I’m not great with heights and not necessarily fired up about running the bridges during NYC.  I don’t have any storied history with fearing heights, so it was kind of a surprise when I was driving over Bay Bridge in October and nearly started convulsing.  That experience unleashed a fair amount of anxiety about 4 months of training potentially getting flushed down the toilet if I freak out on any of 5 bridges greeting runners on marathon Sunday.  In an effort to work thru any potential issues and to see unfamiliar parts of the course, a teammate graciously agreed to accompany me.  To top it off, it was his birthday.  I felt bad that I would be shuffling along at turtle-like long run pace when he is a 2:39 marathoner.  He’s a good friend.

We started at the SE corner of Central Park (60^th & 5^th Ave) and zig-zagged thru midtown until we reached the FDR path along the East River.  This is principally the same route I take to the track for Tuesday night speedwork.  Once we reached south of 6^th street we veered west to begin the ascent up and over the Williamsburg Bridge (connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn).  I’m sure I complained as we went over it, but in hindsight, it was not horrible.  That said, my thoughts about WBurg really do not matter since it’s not on the marathon course.  Still, I felt no anxiety at all crossing the bridge.  In fact, I kept looking around and marveling at the spectacular views … so that’s a good thing.  We touched down in Brooklyn and proceeded to traverse Miles 11-16 of the course.  The signs detailing the route were already up, which is exciting.  We worked our way thru Brooklyn, cruised over Pulaski Bridge and then scaled Queensboro bridge (connecting Queens and Manhattan).  The latter is a beast.  No sense in kidding you or me.  At that point in the race it’s just accepting punishment and grinding thru it.  In fact, aside from now being able to visualize the completely foreign portions of the course, the run was important in the sense that my teammate gave me advice regarding the quiet spots (e.g., Hasidic section of Williamsburg in Brooklyn + pretty much most of Queens + the bridges) and the need to really focus.  We finished up on 72^nd and 1^st Avenue back in Manhattan.  A very educational and enjoyable 14.5 miles.  This upcoming Saturday, I plan to run the final 10 miles of the course which includes both familiar and unfamiliar territory.  More reconnaissance work.

Monday:  Normally this is a scheduled rest day, but with plans for a day trip on Tuesday, I needed to get the speedwork done.  Our coach distributes our weekly workouts on Monday night.  Therefore, I would be my own coach so to speak.  I researched the type of workout assigned 2 weeks before NYC 2009 and Boston 2010 and decided to go with it.  8 x 600 @ cruise interval pace (with 200 recovery).  Since I was not heading down to the track at 6:45am, I took my talents to the East Drive of Central Park and got to it.  Results: 2:21, :19, :19, :19, :20, :20, :17, :10.  In effect,  6:31 pace down to 6:01 pace, which is fine.  I felt in control.  After a brief cool down, I called it a morning at 6.4 miles.

Wednesday:  5.5 mile slog in 70* and 90% humidity.  Eff you summer.  This was a slog.  Felt like garbage.  But for all the great advice I’ve received about recovery runs, tapering, etc., I might have been worried about my fitness and 11.7.2010.  And I’m not even going there about the weather and what if’s.  Instead, I was just glad to turn the page.  On to the next one.

The Final Hurdle?

After surviving the capstone 22-miler (last 10 @ MP) last Sunday, last night represented another milestone workout on the road to the NYC marathon.  It’s a workout that I have yet to successfully execute with my teammates.  2 x 4mi (no recovery) with the first 4mi loop at MP and the second 4mi loop at HMP.  Big time progression.  Back when the CPTC road crew was prepping for the Boston Marathon, I completed a single loop and called it a night.  My second attempt was a solo effort when on vacation this past summer.  Last night, would be my shot at “glory”.  I had no excuses as it might have been the very best night to run I’d ever experienced … low 50’s and slight wind.  Anticipation among the team was at a high … big turnout, lots of focus.  NYCM is on the horizon!  A major litmus test for all of us.

I viewed the workout as an opportunity to execute a mini portion of my marathon plan.  Start conservatively (at or slightly slower than MP), get into a rhythm and then drop it to a comfortable level.  In short, stay control.  Results only told part of the story: 1^st loop = 7:44, 2^nd loop = 7:23.  I jogged the first loop and maintained reasonably consistent splits thru the up and downhills (7:46. 7:41, 7:47, 7:39).  The point was to keep a sizable reserve and turn the screws on the second loop.  After easing into the 5^th mile, I got into the HMP range without expending much energy (7:39, 7:22, 7:25).  I was pleased with this level of execution … keeping it very comfortable and in the flow.  The final mile came and the urge to turn it up was hard to resist, as it’s largely downhill (Cat Hill) heading back to the start.  I fell into the downhill naturally and maintained a decent cadence to finish off (7:08).  Overall for the 8 miles = 7:33.  This is right in line with where I want to be.  I felt strong throughout and kept the energy distribution at an acceptable level.  I left a lot in the tank and felt like I could have run comfortably at that pace for awhile.  Unlike the actual marathon, last night there were no fluid stations.  Also, I will have the benefit of the full 3 weeks of taper.  Right now, I am 5 days into taper.  All signs are pointing in the right direction.  It’s almost time and I’m nearly ready.

Snapshot of a 1st Time Marathoner’s Build Up

We have completed the build up portion of the training program.  Woot.  Now the small bit of tapering properly and that thing on November 7th.  Since I have closed the major portion of the training cycle, I thought it might be interesting (to me at least) to dissect the build.  It seems like yesterday when I embarked on Pfitzinger’s 18 week / 70 mpw plan.  Ha.  After fumbling around thru much of July, I abandoned that madness … I’ll likely follow it for my 2nd marathon.  Instead, I lunged for the 55 mpw plan and it agreed with me (and my family).  Now, without further adieu, below is a brief snapshot.  If the info below is not sufficient to satiate or makes no sense, feel free to either leave a comment and I’ll respond.

			Number of  Sessions:
Month	Workouts	Miles	Speed	Tempo	17mi+
July	27	193	3	4	0
August	22	229	1	4	3
September	22	213	4	4	3
October	13	128	2	2	3
Totals	84	762	10	14	9

What does any of this tell me, or you?  By integrating both the guidelines of Pfitzinger’s plan, my coach and CPTC workouts, I had a reasonably balanced program.  NOTE: ANY AND ALL CONCLUSIONS DRAWN HEREFROM ARE SUBJECT TO COMPLETE REVISION AND DENIAL BASED ON THE RESULTS OF 11.07.2010.  Had to toss that in there.  Seriously, though, I don’t see many outliers here.  July was designed as a slow burn month with no longer runs to speak of.  In fact, I struggled to properly execute a 12 mile run for most of the month.  In my defense, I (and any other idiot) running in NYC in July might as well have been running in the Amazon.  I found my stride, so to speak, in August and have not looked back since.  When I dive into the actual workouts themselves, I would have certainly liked to execute the tempos better, but that’s water under the bridge.  At bottom, I am where I am.  And based on today’s capstone long run, I’m in decent shape.

While the final exam is on 11.7.2010, today was progress report day.  22 miles w/ 10 @ MP.  Early steady state pace 3 x 2.5mi BPN (8:54, 8:49, 8:42). Erred on side of caution with MP portion – took it to Rez (dirt, flat) to keep left quad happy. Understood I’d be slower on dirt, but I’ll take that trade-off for now. Aside from health, it was a practical move too. There was a walk-a-thon with gobs of people taking up well over half of the roads in Central Park. Battling with cyclists, walkers and runners on the remaining half did not seem productive. I’ll get plenty of road work in next couple of weeks (CPTC tempos + running last 10 of NYC course). On Tuesday night, our coach told me don’t be surprised if I’m a little flat for the MP portion due to 4 months of build, peak weeks, etc. As usual, he was spot on. Legs were slightly flat, but still near MP @ 7:36 overall w/ 6 x 1.58mi Rez (7:45, 7:39, 7:32, 7:40, 7:35, 7:35, and .37mi @ 7:15). Afterwards, more steady state miles on outer Rez. In all, reasonably satisfied. I kept waiting to feel terrible during the MP bit, but it never came in full force. I bounced between feeling decent for the vast majority of the run to “this is more work than it usually is” (briefly stopped to GU after 3rd loop). Idiot tourists were out in abundance on the Rez, but I was not shy about shouting at them. Growling “coming on your left” is understood in any language. Today marked my 4th 20+ miler of this cycle and concludes the build up portion of our show … on to the taper.