Good week

Last week was a good week back to real training. i logged 55 miles, which is almost better than the previous 3 weeks combined. Just working on getting base miles in. Hopefully this current week i will approach 70. It's difficult finding time to squeeze in runs with Gabriel and the unpredictable amounts of sleep i get, but we're figuring it out.

Father's Day 5 mile

I'm slowly getting back at the running, this week i am at 45 miles with 1 day left. Gabriel is wearing me out, but i'm finding time to squeeze in some miles. I'm off for summer break, so it should get a whole lot easier. Last Sunday, i did the the Father's Day 5-mile in the park. I finished in 30:00, which was slow but exactly to the second the time i told myself i would be happy with. And, Ash and Gabriel came out to cheer me on. I got to see them at mile 1 and stop and give my two favorite people a kiss.

Its time to hit it..........

So, i don't post often, i just dont have time, but a quick update. Its been a challenge lately with the birth of Gabriel 3 weeks ago to get my running in. He is becoming more refgular in his schedule and hopefully soon will I. In March, I ran the National Marathon in Washington DC. My training has never fully righted itself since th NYC Full last year, so my performance was not what i wanted. I finished in 21rst place with a 2:46. My 3rd best time ever. Since then, i have run a few little races, as well as run with Ash and help her finish her "9 races in 9 weeks." Last saturday I did the Brooklyn half marathon. While i had not run in 3 weeks and had very little sleep, i managed to get a 1:23. Not bad considering. Next up, the Father's day 5 mile in Central Park on June 21rst. This year, I qualify for it and I'm so proud to be running it as a father. I can't promise any better updates, but hopefully my training improves, i've got to get going. NYC will be here before I know it.

Year End Review

So, its been a busy year, and i have not actually kept up with my blog, which is no surprise, but i will quickly do a year end review so i can get caught up and start the year out right. This year i have made some big steps toward improving my running times and accomplishing my goals.January-March 2008The fall of 2007 was exceptionally hard on me with too many races so i took the beginning of the year easy and refreshed myself. I raced a few half marathons and improved my times for those courses, but really just got in some easy miles. I took the winter to gear up for the Boston marathon, but tragedy struck just 5 weeks before the race. During a basketball game with the track team i coach, on my way down from a rebound, i landed on the foot of one of the team members and tore multiple ligaments in my ankle. I was immediately hobbled and devastated. I was relegated to crutches for 2 weeks and should have been on them more, but i was too fed up with them. Needless to say, running was off for a while, wasting all the efforts I had put in for the upcoming marathon.April 2008The time off was killing me. After I was able to put some weight on my foot, i decided that I would try as hard as i could just to go to the Boston and possibly walk/jog the race and enjoy it, since i had already paid for it. I was expecting i would not be able to make it but i would try. The week before the race, i ran for the first time, 1 mile. It was painful. I could muster no more than 10 minute mile. It was a humbling experience. In the next few days, i was able to make runs of 2, 3, and 5 miles, each at 9 minute pace. My ankle was sore, but I could tell it just needed some time to stretch.I decided I would race, enjoy myself, and be happy with finishing. I did more than that. I had an excellent day, ran negative splits, and clocked in at 3:02:17, my best time for the Boston by 10 minutes!! I learned a valuable lesson, that going out and enjoying a race and putting no pressure on myself, i really perform.May-July 2008Running a marathon at a 3-hour pace after no running for a month and half and a severe ankle injury does not come without consequence. I took off most of May to recover and than tried to start my training again, looking froward to the NYC half and full marathons later in the year. But, the sudden burst of activity had given me an excruciating case of IT Band inflammation in my knee. I was unable to finish runs longer than 3 miles, and sometimes i could not even walk without pain. After three weeks of constant pain, the only thing i was able to do was road bike. So, i stopped running completely and did purely bike, between 20-40 miles everyday, around and around and around central park. Talk about boring. Plus, my butt was killing me. But, i had to, or else just do nothing. I continued biking till the end of July, where I did my first race with Ash since then knee injury. We did the NYC Half marathon, which started in Central Park, wound through Times Square and finished in battery park. What a great day, although i was still suffering from slight knee pains by mile 10.August 2008This month I got back into serious running, serious miles. My knee pain disappeared and my legs felt much stronger from all the biking. I was able to get my mileage back up to the 80 mile a week range and running finally felt good again. The Nike Human Race 10K , on August 31, was my first chance to competitively race in a very long time. With an entry list of 10,000 runners, i was anxious to see how i would fair. While none of the logistics of the race were stellar, i performed far and above what I expected. I ran 34:45, despite the fact that I had to stop and walk across a foot bridge that was clogged with slow moving, first lap walkers. I was furious, but i was able to kick and shove my way through. I was able to beat my high school best at the 10K and place 10th overall.September 2008
Another month of high mileage, with a 1 mile road race thrown in. I placed 8th in my division and ran 4:43, 6 seconds off my high school best. It was a fun change of pace. I continued to push hard and gear up for the NYC Marathon. At the end of September, we took a vacation to Spain, where I figured I would not get a chance to run. But, surprisingly, i was able to get a few runs in Barcelona and Madrid, my favorite running on the grounds of the 1992 Olympic Park.
October 2008
The last month before the NYC marathon, and my training has been going really well. Now, though, is the time to start pulling back and relaxing. This year I've taken a different approach to my training, I'm really not putting pressure on myself and just going out and enjoying the racing and the running, I have felt that things will go much better. A week before the end of October, I ran a five mile race with Ash in the park, her 3rd in her series of 9 races while she is pregnant, 1 each month.
November 2008
What else would you expect in November but the The New York City Marathon, which took place last on Sunday November 2nd and was by far my best marathon experience to date, and was my first “good” race in a few years. My time was almost 17 minutes faster than last years NYC Marathon under worse conditions and 4 minutes faster than my best marathon time EVER!! Here is a recap of how the day went:
I started my morning early at 3 am (only 4 hours of sleep), not on purpose, but I couldn't sleep. I left the apartment about 4:40 and I was aboard a bus at 5 am and on Staten Island at 5:30am. It was freezing and windy and dark. I sat on my blanket and read my book, sipping coffee and eating bagels till around 7:30. It was ridiculously cold and 20 mph winds were gusting as we stood on the Verrazano Bridge, as we waited to depart from Staten Island. My plan was to stick to my pace, which, was on average a 5:54 per mile for all 26.2 miles. As the race started, I shed my extra layers of clothes and threw them to the side and tried to maneuver through the crowds. I was about 1000 people back from the starting line and it took me about 30 seconds to actually get to the start. It was bitter cold and the wind was stinging. As I started, I was a little excited, and ran the first mile 15 seconds faster than I should have, but after that, I was right on pace, mile after mile. The race wound through Brooklyn, which has enormous fan participation. The people were screaming, yelling, offering food and drinks, braving the blustery weather. I ran on, relaxed and comfortable, continuing to pass people and move up in the crowd. I was enjoying it, running easy. Half of the race is spent in Brooklyn, and at the Half Marathon mark, I was at 1:17:15, which, factoring in the 15 seconds too fast on the first mile, I was dead on my goal of 2:35. I felt great till mile 19, where i began to slow a little, although my pace only dropped about 20 seconds. I came into Central Park feeling strong and my time was 2:39:22, a personal best and my first “good race” in a year. I had finished 118th, and 41st out of American men, in what is considered to be a hard and slow race. It was an amazing performance for me, and one that I know i will only improve on.
I took a week off after the marathon and then got right back to work with the mileage. I did do one more race in November, a 5 mile turkey day run on Thanksgiving morning in Columbia, SC, but under difficult circumstances. I left NYC at 5:00 pm on Wednesday and drove through the night to get to Columbia for thanksgiving and did not arrive until 7:00 am, and the race was at 9:00am. SO, i got in, got some coffee and headed out to the race. With no expectations, i just went out and tried to have a good time. Incredibly, i placed 3rd overall with a time of 28:03. Needless to say, i was thrilled, deserved some Turkey, and slept most of the afternoon.
December 2008
Had to take most of this month off, due to moving apartments (we moved with the Blazer and it took a while). I managed to run the Holiday 4-miler with Ash and race the Ted Corbett 15K, which I did in 54:28 and placed 4th overall. Other than that, running was nonexistent.
Overall, i finished as a good year for running, and I am back on track with my training after the New Years. I look forward to setting new running times and continuing to get closer to my goal of the 2012 Olympics!

Welcome

Welcome to my online Training Journal. I plan to use this blog to keep up with how my training is going as I work towards qualifying for the Olympic Marathon 2012 in London. I've got alot of time till then, but lots of work to do. Feel free to follow along in my Journey.