Race #1 and #2

The past seven days represent, by far, my greatest advances towards achieving the goal of completing the NYC Marathon.

First, last Sunday, 3/9, I entered and completed my first scored race to qualify me for automatic entry into the 2009 NYC Marathon. Although it was just 4 miles, the concept of getting out of bed, taking the train in to Manhattan and running a race was completely foreign to me a couple of months ago. Here are the numbers:

Colon Cancer Challenge 4M
Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: March 9, 2008, 9:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 32 Deg., 43% Hum., Wind 14 MPH
Overall Place: 1323
Gender Place: 850
Age Place: 129
Finish Time: 37:12
Pace/Mile: 9:18
AG Time: 34:22
AG Gender Place: 804
AG %:49.0%
Total Finishers: Men – 1337 Women – 1466 Total – 2803
Age Group 40 – 44: Men – 179 Women – 131 Total – 310

This past Saturday, 3/15, I completed the second qualifying race. Once again, the accomplishment was simply showing up and running. This seemingly simple 8k (4.9 mile) race began at 7:30am on the Upper East side (102nd Street) and required me to get up at 5:00am and trudge through the rain to get to the starting line. Here are the numbers for that race:

Central Park Challenge
Distance: 4.9 Miles, 8.0 Kilometers
Date/Time: March 15, 2008, 7:30 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 41 deg., 82% humidity, wind 9 mph
Overall Place: 1231
Gender Place: 896
Age Place: 133
Finish Time: 46:44
Pace/Mile: 9:24
AG Time: 43:10
AG Gender Place: 888
AG%: 49.4 %
Total Finishers: Men – 1137 Women – 644 Total – 1781
Age Group 40-44: Men – 163 Women – 55 Total – 218

Although my pace was a bit slower, I was pleased to be able to complete five mile. As I have explained, the NYRR organization requires each runner to complete nine scored races during the prior year in order to automatically qualify for entry into the NYC Marathon. I am 2/9 of the way there.

Capping the weekend off, I took my bike out today for a a quick 17 miles around Prospect Park on Sunday. I was not going for speed. However, using the heart monitor, I was able to move my BPM to 171, which is the highest I have ever seen it outside of the gym.

Interestingly, when I run I tend to pace ouside of my zone for optimal caloric burn. When I ride my bike, I stay inside the zone almost all of the time. I'll start keeping a closer eye on these numbers as well.

Big Weekend

This was probably my single biggest weekend dedicated to the pursuit of the Marathon goal.



1) As noted, I completed two laps around Prospect Park on Saturday in roughly 64 minutes, creating a new personal best.

2) On Saturday night I formally submitted my lottery application for the 2008 NYC Marathon (November 2, 2008). I am entry #228793. I'm in for $11 at this point but, if I am selected, they will charge me an additional $125. Mentally, this was a big step. Considering that March 1 was the first day to submit a lottery application, I'm pretty on top of this thing.

3) On Sunday, facing a bitterly cold headwind, I took my bike out and did 10 miles. My speed was pathetic but, considering that I have not been on my bike for months, I'll take it. I think the speed was about about 16.5 mph.

4) I finally purchased my birthday present: a Polar heart monitor. In speaking with the salesman, he told me that a person's maximum heart rate can be calculated as 220-age. That would put me at 177 bpm. I've measured myself at 165 so that's not far off. I'll begin playing with it in the gym tomorrow and record the numbers here.

All told, I am exhausted.

Pain

Set a new personal best in the park today: two laps in 64 minutes. Conditions were excellent, about 45 degrees with minimal wind.

I said afterwards that the exhilaration of putting those numbers on the board was tremendous. But the pain I force myself to endure is nearly unbearable.

I felt it in my knees all day today and want to begin taking a joint supplement to ease the pain.