Thanksgiving Week

Hopefully everyone had a good Thanksgiving. I was worried that I would skimp out on my exercising this week due to Turkey Day, but I am happy to report that I got in a lot of eating as well as running/gym visits this week. I was even able to squeeze in an 8 mile run on Thursday morning before I met my brother and took the train at Penn Station to see the rest of my family. I wasn't planning on running that long before I left but I wasn't sure how many miles I would be able to get in this week, so I figured as long as I was out there I might as well do it. In addition, the Thursday run was an attempt to kick start my "promise" to myself to try and get in one long run every week (long being 8-10 miles) during the Fall/Winter. The reason being - 1) since I'm only running 3 days per week, I want to try and keep my mileage up to around 20 so I can keep up a consistent base and 2) this way I will not have to start from scratch doing long runs if I want to do a half marathon during the early part of next year, since I will have been running them more or less every week. Well, here is the activity report from the past week:

-Monday - abs / weights
-Tuesday - spinning
-Wednesday - off
-Thursday - 8 miles (68 minutes and change - about an overall 8:30 pace not including the brief couple minute rest stop after the first 4 mile loop)
-Friday - off
-Saturday - chilly day at around 35 degrees - ran the 6 mile loop with no stops for an overall time of 49:13 or around an 8:12 pace - I was pleasantly shocked to see that especially since I was running by myself.
-Sunday - ran 5+ miles consisting of the bridle path to Tavern on the Green and then the roads the rest of the way around Central Park back to Engineer's Gate

Race to Deliver 4M - 11/18/07

One good thing about the Race to Deliver was the start time. It was nice to look on the calendar and see a race that starts at 10:00AM. The perfect time - you don't have to wake up too early on a weekend and you are not wasting your day by the time it's over. The weather was a little chilly on the way to the transverse, but was fine once the race started. There was some raindrops coming down on my walk over to the park but luckily they held off for the entire race.

I was definitely happy with my overall time of 29:25. This is the fourth race in a row in which I was satisfied with my performance, including the Fitness 4M (7:21 pace), Queens Half (7:59 pace) and Poland Spring Kickoff 5M (7:40 pace) before this one. I know that good race performances usually come in waves and you just have to ride them as long as you can. You can never predict how long they are going to last - just enjoy it and try and figure out what is contributing to your success so you can replicate in the future. The race started on the 72nd street transverse so I was expecting to have a pretty slow first mile due to the usual congestion. I was weaving in and out for the first mile but was suprised to see that I was able to run a 7:57 split. At that point I knew that I would have a chance for a pretty good race. Usually the first mile is so slow that I have to make up too much time during the rest of the race, which is especially tough for a short race like a 4M. Once the roads opened up, I seemed to lengthen my stride a bit and feel like I was getting faster. I ended up running negative splits for the rest of the way. I felt good throughout the race and my breathing was never really strained that much. However, I am beginning to tell how the colder weather is affecting my muscles. It is taking a little longer than usual to warm up and stretching before and after the run is getting a little more strained. No matter what troubles I am having with my stretching, I need to make sure to keep it up.

Splits for the race: 7:57, 7:23, 7:10, 6:55 - overall time: 29:25 and pace: 7:21. It was pretty exciting to see the 6:55 split time. I believe this is only the second or third time that I can remember ever doing a sub 7:00 split time in a race.

Rest of the week: No abs/weights this week, spinning on Monday at 91st and 3rd, 6 miles on Weds, 6 miles on Thursday, off on Friday, about 4.5 - 5 miles on Saturday, and 4M race on Sunday.

Week of 11/5/07

Pretty straightforward week - nothing exciting

Monday - Ran with the downtown group run approximately 6.2 miles
Tuesday - spinning at 76th and 1st
Wednesday - off
Thursday - 6 miles with the group
Friday - abs class
Saturday - off
Sunday - great crisp/cool weather - ran a little over 5 miles on the bridle path

Thinking whether or not to substitute a longer run per week since I'm only running about 3 days per week during the fall/winter. Nothing too long - maybe just substituting a 6 mile run on the weekend to about 8 or 9 miles to keep the weekly mileage up to a maintenance level.

The Electricity of Marathon Weekend

Nothing beats marathon Sunday in NYC. The only thing that can beat it is having the Olympic Marathon Trials in the same weekend, which is what happened this year. Since I wasn't running the marathon, I was excited to volunteer for both races and be able to cheer on the elite athletes and my friends running the marathon from the best seats in the house - right on the course.

At the Trials, Ryan Hall blew by the elite field at around mile 16 or 17 and looked as good as anyone I have ever seen finishing a marathon. He looked relaxed, pumping up the crowd, and was just cruising at a speed which I will never experience in my life. He looked amazing! Good luck to Ryan Hall, Ritz, and Brian Sell in Bejiing. I'll be cheering for you guys. The euphoria of Ryan Hall's race was countered with the passing of Ryan Shay during the race. It's a tradegy to see that happen to such a young guy and elite athlete. Ryan was in the hearts of everyone there that day.

After helping out with Trials, I was pumped to be one of many Flyers manning the Power Gel Station at mile 18. Marathon Sunday is always electric in the city and it did not disappoint. The weather was almost perfect for running - cool/chilly and sunny. The streets were filled with people cheering for friends and strangers alike. It's a feeling you can't understand unless you are there. Bands and music playing, hi-fiving, lifelong dreams being fulfilled - it's just awesome. I love it. Besides the fun of helping out, it's great to see all of your friends running up close and being able to cheer them on. They all looked great.

Congrats to all who competed yesterday!

Otherwise, it was kind of a light running week. I found my way to abs on Monday and spinning on Tuesday while running 5 miles on Weds, and 5 miles on Friday. With the pasta dinner on Thursday and the events this weekend, it was a little tough to squeeze in some miles. No worries though - one week isn't going to hurt at all.

Why We Run - The Bond Between Runners

I got this article from AK and it does a great job trying to explain the close bond and relationships created among runners that non-runners have trouble understanding.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/23Rrunners.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

10 great places to warm up to a winter marathon

Trade the holiday sugar rush for a runner's and start training for the finish line at one of these picturesque destinations. Bart Yasso, recently inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions, is a Runner's World race promotion director who has raced in more than 1,000 marathons, from Mount Kilimanjaro to Antarctica. He shares his picks for winter marathons with Kathy Baruffi for USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2007-11-01-10great_N.htm