Almost There...

Less than three weeks to go until Jersey. I was able to get in my third and final 20 miler last week (for the second marathon training cycle in a row) - while my body was feeling the pain towards the end of the run, I was happy to be able to push through to the end. I have only one more long run to go, a 15 miler this weekend, and then it is onto the taper.

Last week had elements of fun and training all rolled into one. Knowing that I was going down to DC for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler starting on Saturday morning, I had to figure out what my best plan of action would be to fit in my third and final 20 miler. Should I add it onto the 10 miler in DC (probably not the best idea since I don't know the area at all and the race already starts at 7:40AM)? Should I try and squeeze in the run during the week, and if I did would I have enough time to recover before doing a 10 mile race on Sunday? Since I wasn't working last week, I decided to do the Monday night downtown run (6 miles), get in a strength training workout on Tuesday since I have been neglecting it for a couple weeks and my legs were paying the price, take the day off on Wednesday, and then go for my 20 mile run on Thursday. I figured that by running on Thursday, and resting on Friday and Saturday that my legs would have enough recovery by the time Sunday rolled around.

The hardest part about the 20 mile run was the heat wave scheduled for the entire week in NYC and planning out my route with at least one or two people to join me for at least a little bit. With temperatures in the low 70s for most of the day, I waited until 5:30PM to start my run. I was hoping to start a lot earlier, but I did not want to run in the heat if I could avoid it. By the time I started the run, the temperature cooled down a bit and was quite comfortable by the halfway point. I ran the first 10 miles on my usual Central Park and Westside Highway course. Running along the Hudson River felt great its shady areas and cool breezes. This portion of my run just seemed to be flying by - feeling almost too easy. I was cruising along at around an 8:20 pace and felt like I could just keep on going for miles. I knew that this feeling couldn't possibly last for the entire run (although I hoped it would) and knew that I had to reel myself in just a bit. The end of the first 10 miles had me back in Central Park and meeting up with JB and CK. It was a bit tough trying to figure out a meeting spot due to the fact that I didn't want to stop running at all, but I was happy to see them at nearly exactly the time and place we planned. Knowing that I would have some company for the next several miles was a big boost to me. We ran a few miles on the roads of Central Park and then veered onto the Bridle Path for another couple of miles. JB and CK stayed with me until about mile 15 or 16 when I began to feel myself start to tire. I was doing well cardio-wise but my legs were starting to get sore and my knees were getting stiff and painful. Knowing that the final 4 miles were going to be on my own was going to be really tough and a be a true test of mental strength. Only a few minutes after I was on my own, the aches and pains started to get worse. While I thought about stopping the run at mile 18 or 19 (it was becoming a big struggle for me), I knew that had come too far now to stop short of my 20 mile goal and I needed to push through the pain. I would have regretted cutting the run short- feeling that I had given up instead of pushing through. I would have time later on to rest. Luckily I kept on going and was able to even pick up the pace on my final loop of the reservoir. I couldn't wait for it to be over. This run showed me how quickly your body can turn on you no matter how good you are feeling. However painful, this was a good lesson for me to go through only a few weeks to go before the marathon. Don't get cocky. I could be feeling great for 10-15 miles but it can easily be taken away a couple miles later. This was definitely not one of my negative split runs, to my disappointment. Remember this feeling and don't let it happen again come race-day. I was happy and proud of my overall time but not too happy with the run strategy and pacing. I went out too fast and paid for it at the end. Steady...Steady...Steady. It might be a boring but it gives me the best chance of feeling strong at the end of the race.

Overall distance: 20 miles; Overall time of 2:52:39; Average pace of 8:38.

With the 20 miler out of the way, I was excited to head down to Washington DC with the NY Flyer crew and have fun - get in a run, check out the Cherry Blossoms, and visit my cousin all in the same weekend. Although I wanted to get a good run while in DC, I decided to just go out and enjoy myself and run whatever pace I felt comfortable with. Just before the start of the 10 miler, I ran into JT and we decided to start the run together. I glad to see that we were able to run the first 5 miles side by side, chatting and enjoying the scenery. It was fun having some company on the course and we were going at a good pace to boot - around 8:00 per mile. The course was very scenic and fun. The crowds were very enthusiastic and were cheering on the runners for the entire time. After sucking down a PowerGel after mile 5, I was feeling pretty good and decided to pick up the pace. I saw that JT wanted to slow down a little bit so we parted ways for the time being and we would meet up after the race. At this point, I felt strong and wanted to try and get faster as the race went on and go for an overall pace of under 8:00 if possible. Mission accomplished - I was able to sneak in an overall time of 1:19:10 for an overall pace of 7:55. I felt relatively good throughout the race, was able to keep up a consistent pace that got faster towards the end and didn't have many aches and pains. The only complaint about the race was the lack of Cherry Blossoms along the course :) The locals told us that they peaked about a week or two before we got there.

Split	Avg Pace
1	8:26
2	7:55
3	7:57
4	7:47
5	7:47
6	7:52
7	7:51
8	7:36
9	7:35
10	7:20
0.17 mi	6:38
Summary	7:48

Well, the heavy lifting part of the schedule is now over and I need to concentrate about staying healthy and mentally strong for the next few weeks. One more long run and then it is onto the taper.