Year End 2009 and Back on the Marathon Trail

I am keenly aware that my blog entries have been sincerely lacking over the last couple of months. This is due to a combination of blog fatigue, lack of notable things to write about, and lack of a marathon or important race to train for and document. Things have changed now that I am training for the New Jersey Marathon on May 2, 2010. This has given me focus and direction and a race to look forward to.

Looking back on 2009, it was a great running year for me. I was able to stay healthy for nearly the entire year, my race times came down considerably, my pacing was starting to get under control, and I was able to PR in every distance that I normally run, except for the marathon, including my first venture into running the mile (6:00 - Fifth Ave Mile, although this doesn't count as a PR), 4 mile (26:56 - Run as One), 5 mile (34:48 - Club Team Championships), 10K (44:23 - Healthy Kidney 10K), 15K (1:07:37 - Colon Cancer 15K), 10 mile (1:15:09 - Cherry Tree 10 Miler) and half marathon (1:38:20 - Long Branch Half Marathon). Everything seemed to be clicking at the right time and I was feeling really good. The bar is now set pretty high for future years. It might be a while until I approach a lot of these accomplishments. For the first time, I felt that I had a chance at a PR for every race that I entered. My "off season" regime had a big role in that (running three days, spinning/weights, long run of at least 10 miles every week), as well as my increased confidence, and importance that I placed on improving my pacing as a big priority. While my pacing ability still isn't great, it has gotten a lot better and it is something that needs to continue to improve if I am going to reach my goals in New Jersey (which will remain under wraps). I am probably most proud of my half marathon times from this year. I made a huge jump in this distance and was able to bring down my time on a consistent basis, and not just as a one time event. Prior to this year, my best time was around 1:42, and I had to make a concerted effort if I wanted to even approach that time. In 2009, I ran 5 half marathons, all of which would have beaten (or come within a few seconds) of my previous PR and I feel that I can now call myself a sub 1:39 half marathoner with confidence and feel good using that time as a basis to come up with a marathon goal for this year.

Philadelphia -1:38:23
Staten Island - 1:38:44
Queens - 1:40:14
Brooklyn - 1:42:29 (only 3 weeks after Long Branch)
Long Branch - 1:38:20

I continued the half marathon trend by running the Manhattan Half a couple weeks ago as my first race of 2010, and as a gauge to see how my body is doing at the beginning stages of marathon training. It was a pretty frigid day, but it was not too bad for running. I knew that I was not in a position to go for or even approach a PR due to the hills of Central Park, the cold weather, and also no desire to, but I was hoping to run around a 1:42-1:44, which is exactly what I ended up getting. I felt good and I was hoping that this was a sign of good things to come. I was able to run a 1:42:14, for an overall pace of 7:48. This would have tied my PR prior to 2009.

Mile 1 - 8:06
Mile 2 - 7:57
Mile 3 - 7:41
Mile 4 - 8:03
Mile 5 - 7:55
Mile 6 - 7:43
Mile 7 - 7:48
Mile 8 - 7:51
Mile 9 - 7:36
Mile 10 - 8:12
Mile 11 - 7:32
Mile 12 - 7:38
Last 1.1 miles - 8:08 (7:24 pace)

The other significance of this race was the fact that it was my last one without a Garmin. I finally took the plunge and bought one. Many fellow bloggers and friends have had great things to say about the Forerunner 305, so now I have one as well. My main reason for getting one was to be able to accurately see how my pace fluctuates during races, adjust accordingly, and also to not have to map out my long runs to the tee in order to run a certain amount of mileage. Now I can allow my Garmin to lead the way. I have been using the last couple of weeks to get used to the Garmin and learn all of the basic features. So far - mission accomplished. The heart rate monitor is still in the plastic and will come out at a later time.

I am now in the seventh week of marathon training and this will be my first week of having a long run with significant mileage (15). The first six weeks didn't feel too much like training since they weren't that much different from what I've been doing over the last year. The longest run has been 10-13 miles and has felt good. The 15 miler coming up this weekend will be my longest run since I was training for the Philadelphia Marathon in 2008. The schedule I am using has a max week of 40 miles and three 20's. I am excited for the upcoming marathon and am looking forward to it.