2008 New York City Marathon Training

Ran The Marathon

2008-11-05T19:10:00.002-05:00

On Sunday I ran my third New York City Marathon. Ran it in 4:23. No real problems encountered. The weather first thing in the morning was cold and windy. Started at 10:20 in wave group 3 with the blue group. Took off a little to fast for the first 2 miles but then settled in for a comfortable pace. By mile 11 I was getting a little hungry after smelling all of that food being cooked in the different neighborhoods. I was carrying 2 Gel Packs and consumed one at that time. Breezed through mile 20 and by mile 22 my left knee started to hurt a little bit. By mile 24 the pain went away. Overall a very good experience.

13.1 Mile Run

2008-10-19T09:34:00.002-04:00

Ran 13.1 miles on Saturday morning. The weather was cool, in the 50's and windy. Ran it in 1 hour and 58 minutes. Burned about 1700 calories. Felt pretty good and had a pretty comfortable pace. Only 2 weeks left for the big race. This years training seems to have gone easier than last year. Hopefully I have not missed anything. Will find out soon enough especially when I hit the 20 mile mark and whether or not my body crashes and burns or will survive the last 6. Should be interesting.

Last 20 Mile Run

2008-10-05T20:46:00.002-04:00

Ran 20 miles Saturday morning. The weather was perfect. Temperatures started in the 50's and very low humidity. Started the run at 9:00 am to get closer to the starting time of the marathon. Ran the 20 in 3 hours and 9 minutes. Felt pretty good for about the first 15 to 16 miles then I started getting a little tight and sore in my legs. This was not as bad as last years training but still noticeable. I also knew that the pain would be gone not long after I finished. Sure enough I felt fresh as a daisy later in the day. Burned 2600 calories. Purchased a new pair of New Balance running shoes today and will break them in this week to see if that will help. This next Saturday I will run 15 miles as I start to taper down for the race.

11 Mile Run

2008-09-30T19:47:00.002-04:00

Ran 11 miles Saturday afternoon. Ran it in a 9 minute pace and felt really good with no problems. Looking forward to the next 20 mile run on Saturday.

20 Mile Run

2008-09-20T20:17:00.003-04:00

Ran 20 miles this morning. The weather was perfect. Temperatures were in the 50's with very low humidity. Met up with my 2 running buddies and ran together for about 8 miles. I then ran the last 12 miles by myself. My objective today was to run the 20 at about a 9 minute pace. However I ended up with a 9:29 pace. Can't really explain it except hopefully at the next 20 in 2 weeks it will be faster. My total time was 3 hours and 9 minutes. I burned approximatley 2600 calories. I felt pretty good for about 15 miles then some soreness started to kick in. I consumed an energy gel at about mile 16.

2008-09-13T13:16:00.002-04:00

Ran 12 miles this morning. This run really felt great. The weather was pretty good, not too humid with the temps in the 60's. Met 2 friends at about 5 miles and we ran together for about 4 miles at an 8 minute per mile pace. I finished the last 3 miles alone at about a 9 minute pace. Burned about 1600 calories. Hopefully next weekend I will do the first of 3 runs of miles or more before tapering for the marathon.

2008-08-31T19:31:00.002-04:00

Ran 10 miles Saturday in 1 hour and 30 minutes. This was a very difficult run because the humidity and the heat was the worst so far. I consumed a lot of gatoraide and water before, during after the run. Felt fully recovered within about an hour.

2008-08-24T07:52:00.002-04:00

Ran 18 miles Saturday morning in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Temperature was in the 70's and humidity was also in the 70's. I wore a belt that held 4 liquid bottles. 2 held water and the other 2 held Gatorade. I also packed 1 gel pack in the belt. I consumed the gel pack at about mile 14. The only real problem was that my left ankle was sore for about 7 or 8 miles. I was definitely stiff and sore at the end of this run. I could tell that just like last year after 17 or 18 miles it is more of a mind exercise than a physical exercise.

2008-08-19T19:24:00.002-04:00

Ran 10 miles on Saturday with about an 8:45 pace. Felt good with temperatures in the 60's and humidity in the 70's.

2008-08-13T17:28:00.001-04:00

Did a triathlon today. Swam about a mile, biked for about a half hour and ran for 30 minutes. Felt really good on the run and picked up the pace quite a bit.

2008-08-10T18:33:00.003-04:00

Saturday I was in Milwaukee Wisconsin and ran 15 miles. The weather was perfect, temperatures were in the 60's with low humidity. Ran the 15 miles in 2 hours and 17 minutes. Felt pretty good after the run, not too stiff. After the run, consumed a great lunch at the Good Egg Blog (http://goodeggblogger.wordpress.com/) compound.

2008-08-05T20:24:00.002-04:00

Today I ran, biked, and swam for 25 minutes each. For a total workout time of 1 hr 25 min. It took 1 mile of running to transition from the bike. The legs felt very rubbery for a while. Very humid and hot. Felt really drained after the workout.

2008-08-02T21:00:00.003-04:00

Ran 10 miles this morning. Very humid with temperatures in the 70's. Ran it in 1 hour and 31 minutes. I ate a banana and a bagel before the run. Also some coffee and Gatorade before the run. I am trying to train so that I eat what is being provided the morning of the marathon. Last year I arrived at the corral area at 4:00 am. That provided 6 hours of prep time. During that prep time Dunkin Doughnuts coffee, bagels, energy bars and banana's were provided.

2008-07-30T20:52:00.002-04:00

Did another mini-triathlon. One hour and 6 minutes total for the swim, bike and run. Will take Thursday off.

2008-07-21T18:36:00.001-04:00

Did a mini-triathlon today. Ran, biked and swam for a total of 56 minutes.

2008-07-19T18:55:00.003-04:00

Ran 10 miles this morning. Met a friend at the mile and half mark. He wanted to run only four miles so I ran the 4 miles with him and finished the last 4 and 1/2 miles alone. Temperature was in the mid 70's and the humidity was in the high 80's. Ran the 10 miles in 1:29. Had a good pace and felt great for the last mile so I cranked it up a bit. Had a bagel and a banana before the run. At the end of the run ate an energy bar and some Gatorade. Burned 1291 calories. Next week hopefully 15 miles.

2008-07-16T15:30:00.003-04:00

Ran 5 miles this morning. Temperature around 78 and low humidity. Ran it in 42:50 with an average pace of 8:33 a mile an burned 650 calories. Felt really good during the run. Ate an energy bar 20 minutes after the run. Then about an hour and a half later went out for lunch.

2008-07-15T20:03:00.001-04:00

Ran 4.5 miles today. Felt pretty good at about an 8:30 pace. Did some weight training after the run.

13 mile training run.

2008-07-14T19:11:00.000-04:00

Ran 13 miles Saturday morning. Temperature was in the 70's and humidity was about 90. Ran with a belt that had 4 bottles . Two were filled with water and two with gatorade. Felt pretty fresh for the first 9 miles. Slowed down to about a 9 minute mile for the remaining 4 miles. Was a little stiff for a few hours afterward.