Ended the week strong with a 20-miles bike ride on Friday evening (avg. 19.3 mph) and a 14-mile run on Saturday morning (2hrs, 15 min). This is, by far, the longest run I have ever completed.
Two notes:
1) During the bike ride, I dropped a guy on a really nice bike climbing the hill in Prospect Park on my second to last lap. He pursued me and I kept ahead of him the whole lap. He finally pulled beside me near the Zoo and said how hard it had been to keep up with me. I told him how tired I was and invited him to pull me up the hill. He said he didn't think he had the strength so I kicked in and drove up the hill to finish the 20 miles. He never caught me. I use to be him.
2) During the run, I ate a strawberry/bannana GU gel as I entered the last lap. The taste was ok but I think I'd prefer something I can chew. The sticky texture was not unpleasant but I suspect that it did something to my insides that is still with me two days later.
If you have not done so already, please watch Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" embedded below. Dr. Pausch passed away on Friday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 47. I have been following his story for the past few months. His love of life, infectious humor, and contagious enthusiasm is a testiment to the power of the human spirit. He continues to be an inspiration to me in my efforts to complete the NYC Marathon.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Rain
It was a simple question that needed to be answered quickly when my eyes opened at 5:50am this morning: Do I run in the rain, or not?
If it had been Marathon Day, of course I would have run. So, in the spirit of training in real conditions, I left me house in the midst of a thunderstorm, and ran 7.3 miles (2+ laps) in Prospect Park.
An unpleasant, but necessary, experience. With each passing training run I am preparing myself better to complete the Marathon. I guess that's what it's all about.
If it had been Marathon Day, of course I would have run. So, in the spirit of training in real conditions, I left me house in the midst of a thunderstorm, and ran 7.3 miles (2+ laps) in Prospect Park.
An unpleasant, but necessary, experience. With each passing training run I am preparing myself better to complete the Marathon. I guess that's what it's all about.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
#9 - A Biathlon
I completed race #9 on Saturday, qualifying me for automatic entry into the 2009 NYC Marathon. The only thing I need to do now is volunteer for an event some time between now and the end of the year and I've complied with all of the strange and silly NYRR requirements.
As with nearly all of the previous races, the event took place in Central Park. Adding a new dimension to the day and turn it into a biathlon: I decided to ride my bike to the starting line, do the race, and then ride home. Doing so added a 9-mile bike trip to the front and back ends of the 4-mile run.
Not surprisingly, it was not such a big deal. The ride took about 40-minutes each way and my pace for the four miler was 8:30/mile, very close to my previous record for that distance. So, adding a bike element to the day did not diminish my time at all. I might try doing a similar kind of thing in Prospect Park using my house as a home point.
Apart from the stifling heat, nothing really unusual to report. Here's what the numbers looked like:
Run For Central Park
Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: July 19, 2008, 8:30am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 79 Deg. 65% Hum. hazy
Overall Place: 1771
Gender Place: 1302
Age Place: 152
Finish Time: 34:01
Split Time:
Pace/Mile: 8:30
AG Time: 31:25
AG Gender Place: 1200
AG%: 53.6
Total Finishers: Men – 2326 Women – 2281 Total – 4607 Age Group 40-44: Men – 303 Women – 239 Total – 542
As with nearly all of the previous races, the event took place in Central Park. Adding a new dimension to the day and turn it into a biathlon: I decided to ride my bike to the starting line, do the race, and then ride home. Doing so added a 9-mile bike trip to the front and back ends of the 4-mile run.
Not surprisingly, it was not such a big deal. The ride took about 40-minutes each way and my pace for the four miler was 8:30/mile, very close to my previous record for that distance. So, adding a bike element to the day did not diminish my time at all. I might try doing a similar kind of thing in Prospect Park using my house as a home point.
Apart from the stifling heat, nothing really unusual to report. Here's what the numbers looked like:
Run For Central Park
Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: July 19, 2008, 8:30am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 79 Deg. 65% Hum. hazy
Overall Place: 1771
Gender Place: 1302
Age Place: 152
Finish Time: 34:01
Split Time:
Pace/Mile: 8:30
AG Time: 31:25
AG Gender Place: 1200
AG%: 53.6
Total Finishers: Men – 2326 Women – 2281 Total – 4607 Age Group 40-44: Men – 303 Women – 239 Total – 542
Monday, July 14, 2008
Solid Week and 19.6 mph on the bike
Scored a personal best on my bike this past Friday night - 20 miles around Prospect Park at an average speed of 19.6 mph. My previous high average speed was 19.3. There's no question in my mind that the running has been a huge contributor to my bike speed.
Last week, I had a hard workout on Monday followed by a 3.5 mile run on Tuesday, a 7-mile run on Wednesday morning and then an 8.1-mile run on Saturday evening. The interesting thing about Saturday's run was that came less than 24-hours after biking on Friday. I was definitely feeling some minor pain afterwards. But by the middle of Sunday, everything was pretty much back to normal.
These figures exceed all three of my training calendars: NYRR, Runner's World and Hal Higdon.
Still working on my diet. It's tough because I really have no concept of portion size. I am focusing more on what I eat and less on how much. A Powerbar before a run definitely make a difference.
At one point during the week I weighed in at 172.8, which is the lowest weight I can remember since 2003.
Last week, I had a hard workout on Monday followed by a 3.5 mile run on Tuesday, a 7-mile run on Wednesday morning and then an 8.1-mile run on Saturday evening. The interesting thing about Saturday's run was that came less than 24-hours after biking on Friday. I was definitely feeling some minor pain afterwards. But by the middle of Sunday, everything was pretty much back to normal.
These figures exceed all three of my training calendars: NYRR, Runner's World and Hal Higdon.
Still working on my diet. It's tough because I really have no concept of portion size. I am focusing more on what I eat and less on how much. A Powerbar before a run definitely make a difference.
At one point during the week I weighed in at 172.8, which is the lowest weight I can remember since 2003.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
New Hampshire
Spent the week of June 30 - July 6 with my family and parents in New Hampshire. The only remarkable thing about the week was the consistency of running and biking. I had set a goal of running or biking each day of the trip. I actually exceeded that goal one day by walking 6-miles in the morning with my mother and running 6-miles later in the day.
The running route did not change much. Back and forth between the house and the Tuftonboro General Store. It was a nice 6-mile round trip with a killer hill in both directions. The owners of the store must have thought I was a little nuts, coming in every day at various times and purchasing the same thing over and over again: Gatorade Rain.
I ran about 24-miles and biked 38-miles for the eight days we were away.
I managed to map out a nice 20-mile bike route that took me along the Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Unlike my previous routes, this one had a nice balance of uphill, downhill and flats. It also calculated out to about 21 miles, rather than the 18/19 mile routes that I would round up to 20.
On the final ride, I had a great climb up the last hill to the house, clearly demonstrating the power of regular, aggressive training.
The only other development has been structuring a solid training calendar based on information from Runner's World and the NYRR website. With less than 18 weeks left until the marathon, I don't have any time to screw around. I'm either going to seriously train for this thing or I need to get off the bus. Thankfully, my base mileage is pretty good at this point.
I also bought a new pair of sneakers from Asics. Not sure of the model but apparently my foot has grown from 9.5 to 10.5 in the last year or so.
I continue to struggle with diet and picked up a copy of The Runner's Diet by Madelyn H. Fernstrom, PhD. I'm just a few chapters in and so far, it's a lot of impractical words that have limited application to my needs.
However, a few pieces of information do stand out:
A) 1 mile = 100 calories = 2500 steps.
B) To loose a pound a week, you must have a caloric savings of 500 calories. This can be achieved through increased exercise or reduction of calories.
C) A 3-mile walk in one hour burns the same calories as a 3-mile run in 35 minutes.
D) To loose one pound, you need to burn 3500 calories
Interesting facts to keep in mind.
Footnote: On April 26 I completed a 10 mile run with an average heart rate of 147 bpm and a maximum HR of 167 bpm. Strangely, when I bike, I can get my heart to run much higher (176 or so). I've also seen clearly how the heat and humidity can impact my heart rate, respiration and perspiration.
The running route did not change much. Back and forth between the house and the Tuftonboro General Store. It was a nice 6-mile round trip with a killer hill in both directions. The owners of the store must have thought I was a little nuts, coming in every day at various times and purchasing the same thing over and over again: Gatorade Rain.
I ran about 24-miles and biked 38-miles for the eight days we were away.
I managed to map out a nice 20-mile bike route that took me along the Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro shores of Lake Winnipesaukee. Unlike my previous routes, this one had a nice balance of uphill, downhill and flats. It also calculated out to about 21 miles, rather than the 18/19 mile routes that I would round up to 20.
On the final ride, I had a great climb up the last hill to the house, clearly demonstrating the power of regular, aggressive training.
The only other development has been structuring a solid training calendar based on information from Runner's World and the NYRR website. With less than 18 weeks left until the marathon, I don't have any time to screw around. I'm either going to seriously train for this thing or I need to get off the bus. Thankfully, my base mileage is pretty good at this point.
I also bought a new pair of sneakers from Asics. Not sure of the model but apparently my foot has grown from 9.5 to 10.5 in the last year or so.
I continue to struggle with diet and picked up a copy of The Runner's Diet by Madelyn H. Fernstrom, PhD. I'm just a few chapters in and so far, it's a lot of impractical words that have limited application to my needs.
However, a few pieces of information do stand out:
A) 1 mile = 100 calories = 2500 steps.
B) To loose a pound a week, you must have a caloric savings of 500 calories. This can be achieved through increased exercise or reduction of calories.
C) A 3-mile walk in one hour burns the same calories as a 3-mile run in 35 minutes.
D) To loose one pound, you need to burn 3500 calories
Interesting facts to keep in mind.
Footnote: On April 26 I completed a 10 mile run with an average heart rate of 147 bpm and a maximum HR of 167 bpm. Strangely, when I bike, I can get my heart to run much higher (176 or so). I've also seen clearly how the heat and humidity can impact my heart rate, respiration and perspiration.
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