NYC TRIATHLON 2015 IS A GO!

What an exciting week it has been! 

Three weeks ago, I registered Tom, my brother Lester and I for the 2015 NYC Triathlon (as a relay team).  Although lotteries and my odds of being picked for one are awful, I was still hopeful that we would be chosen. This past Wednesday morning around 8:30 am an email popped up on my phone.  I opened the email and there it was...

CONGRATULATIONS! You have been accepted into the 2015 Panasonic NYC TRIATHLON. 

I did a happy dance all around the kitchen, whooped a couple of times then posted the joyous news on FB.

Its hard to believe that after years of watching the NYC Triathlon on TV, we're finally going to be in it!  I told Tom that when race day finally does arrive I want him to remind me of how excited I was seeing that email.  My excitement of opening it up and seeing the words "Congratulations! You've been accepted".  I know I'll be nervous jumping into the Hudson river, but I want to remember how fantastic the news felt back on that cold November day.  And besides; before we know it, it'll be here anyway.

LOUISIANA MARATHON 2015:

In the meantime, my brain needs to stay focused on the Louisiana Marathon.  The hotel is reserved, airline tickets are bought,  and I'm up to 20 mile run days...I'm ready for this.  In fact, I feel as though I'm ready a bit too early.  I'm trying to kick it down a notch and change up my training routine with 8 weeks left until race day. I know, not the smartest idea but 8 weeks is still a far way out.

I bought a FANTASTIC marathon training book this week.  I wish I discovered this book sooner.  It's called "Mastering the Marathon: Time-Efficient Training Secrets for the 40-plus Athlete" (by Don Fink).  Yup, that's me! 40+ year old athlete hoping to qualify for Boston.

What I love about this book is that everything is broken down into an easy to follow plan.  The author discusses his "Three Magic Bullet" (TMB) training sessions, which I'm looking forward to doing. They are: Marathon Pacing Session, Long Run Day, and Higher-Intensity Repeats.

Each one of these specific training routines (which he explains in detail) are to be done weekly.  The other days can be filled in with either a moderate paced run or a cross training session, which he also explains in detail.  And the best part? No "junk" miles.  In other words, every run or cross training has a greater purpose.

Since I just bought the book this week, I'm frantically trying to read through it.  On Thursday I tried the Marathon Pacing Session which meant running slower than my marathon pace for a certain amount of time, then running at my marathon pace for a certain amount of time, then a cool down.  In the book he breaks down how many minutes your supposed to do each type of training according to a 16 week plan.  I'm jumping into this at week 8, so we'll see if it makes a difference.  But I was able to complete the Marathon Pacing Session according to his instructions.

Since today is a rest day, I plan on printing out a calendar and filling it in with the specific workouts that I need to complete and the time breakdown of each workout.  I'm one of those people who needs a pre-planned schedule. Its just how I roll.

Can I say with absolutely certainty that I will achieve a Boston qualifying time? No, I can't.  But based on everything that I've read so far, I'm a believer that this book will help me get there.  I just have to stick with the plan and continue being dedicated to the training routine, even during the holidays. And of course, as I go along, I'll keep you posted on the last half of my Louisiana Marathon Training Journey.

Here is my "new" marathon training schedule:
Monday: Marathon Pacing Session
Tuesday: Bike 60 minutes, swim afterwards
Wednesday: Long Run Day
Thursday: Bike 60 minutes, swim afterwards
Friday: High-Intensity-Repeats
Saturday: 60 minute moderate pace run
Sunday: Rest day
* The "bike/swim" days can be swapped out for a moderate paced run if I don't feel like biking and swimming. Since it's been so cold here in the Northeast, I haven't been biking outside but I've been taking spin classes instead.  I'm trying to maintain my biking and swimming skills for triathlon season. 

RUN LONG AND PROSPER

Ahhh, long run day.  You just have to love long run days.  No seriously, you do!

I shake my head whenever I hear someone say "I just did a 20 mile run, I'm ready for that marathon".  All I can think is "and good luck with that".

If your plan is to run/walk/run/walk a marathon, its a great strategy. However, your still going to need more than one long practice run.  Remember...respect the race (even if your not "racing" it). Respect the distance! 26.2 miles is a LONG way to go.

DISTANCE RUNNING ISN'T A NUMBERS GAME:

Since there are several variables that go into distance running, you can't focus on distance as the one and only variable.  Long run days are a way to introduce your body to what distance "feels" like.  Its a way to discover what nutrition and hydration your body will need and tolerate on race day.  You'll discover at what point you "hit the wall" and armed with that knowledge you can hopefully prepare yourself to deal with it before it happens.  Mentally speaking? Long run days are the best way to prepare your mind for what lies ahead.  Because trust me, the mental part of long distance running is something that needs to be practiced.

Last year I was training for the Disney World Marathon.  Right out of the gate, I started training too hard and adding distance on too soon. From day one I began over-training and injured my SI joint, my Piriformis muscle and I had posterior hip rotation on my right side.  Essentially, I was a mess.  I began panicking that I wasn't even going to make it to the start line at that point. Mentally, it's an awful way to go into a marathon.

Mile 20 of the DisneyWorld Marathon in 2014

After 7 weeks of rehabilitation, training less but smarter, and finding the most FABULOUS Chiropractor in the state of New Jersey, I made it to the start line feeling pretty good. I did the marathon with my niece and it was our first marathon ever. Even though we didn't have a specific time goal in mind, we still incorporated several long distance runs into our training plan.  Respect the distance!

This year is very different though.  In January 2015, I'll be running the Louisiana Marathon by myself and I have a time goal in mind.  I'd like to see how close I can get to qualifying for Boston.  My dream is to finish in 3:45 but 3:55 or less would technically give me a Boston qualifying time. Even with lots practice, there's never a guarantee on race day. So if I'm taking selfies during the marathon, it means it was a bad day for me.

Long Slow Run Days:

Currently I'm doing long run days again, but this time I'm being smarter and more cautious about over-training.  I run 3 days a week and I cross train with bicycling and swimming.  The more long distance I practice, the more I've discovered that I "hit the wall" at about mile 18.  Part of practice is to make sure that I'm fueling and hydrating properly throughout the entire run.  To me, hitting the wall means that something is off and it can be one or several different reasons.  This is why it's so important to incorporate more than one long run day into your training schedule.

Every 4 miles I eat either a packet of Honey Stingers or a packet of sports beans or a packet of GU (Salted Caramel is the only flavor I can tolerate).  As soon as I'm done eating the entire packet, I make sure to follow it up with plenty of water.  I continue this ritual every 4 miles alternating between different packets of fuel.  This system (eating every 4 miles and drinking water immediately afterwards) is new to me, but so far I'm having good success with it.  Use your long run days to find out what works and doesn't work for you personally.  And, DO NOT DRINK A SPORTS DRINK FOLLOWING GELS, SPORTS BEANS OR GU!  You should drink water after consuming these!

Mentally, I get myself stoked about running...even if it's just a practice run.  Your attitude going into a race or run will dictate EVERYTHING about that run.  You must keep a positive, and if possible, excited attitude about running.  Leave all negativity at home.  I remind myself to relax my neck and shoulders during the run.  I try to smile often because it relaxes me and makes me feel happy.  I try not to dwell on every ache and pain that pops up.  I tell myself "see, this isn't so bad". I practice putting my thoughts somewhere else. 

Anytime I've gone into a race with a negative vibe, I never, ever do my best.  But if I go into a race feeling positive and excited, I typically PR.  So running distance IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD!  Be positive! Be excited! Be confident!  Know that you have practiced this distance more than once and that your body and mind knows how to handle it.  If for any reason you find yourself in pain, you must STOP.  It's never, ever worth injuring yourself!  There will be other races.

Below you'll find a fabulous article from the NY Times about fueling.  This is the strategy that I'm currently using during my long training runs.  So far it's working out well for me.  And please, don't try anything new on race day.  Practice your race day strategy during practice...or else your asking for trouble and a miserable race experience.
 Happy Running!

SPORTS GELS CAN IMPROVE MARATHON TIMES, BUT PACE THEM RIGHT

My weekly training schedule:
Monday: Run 8-10 miles
Tuesday: Bike 20 miles, Swim 1 mile
Wednesday: Run 16-22 miles, one minute per-mile slower than marathon race pace
Thursday: Swim 1 mile
Friday: Swim 1 mile
Saturday: Run 8-10 miles
Sunday: REST
* Bike and swim days are done at a comfortable pace. I do not kill myself on these days since I want to leave something in the tank for run days

MARINE CORPS MARATHON RACE REVIEW 2014

The Marine Corps Marathon race review 2014 is finally here!  WARNING, it's a long one.  I've broken it down into sections making it easier for you to navigate your way through.

Well, it happened! Hubby Tom FINALLY ran his first marathon.  This from the guy who swore that he would never, ever run a marathon. Too late sucker, now you're hooked!

We drove down to DC the day before the race (Saturday). My niece decided to join in the festivities so we picked her up from Staten Island first.  The drive to DC was easy, with minimal/almost no traffic.  We made it there in a little over 3 hours. 

PACKET PICKUP:
Our first stop was the expo which was set up at the Armory.  We parked at RFK Stadium and headed across for packet pickup.  And then there was the line! Holy Hannah, what a long line.  We knew we were in trouble when we saw food carts following the direction of the line (which wrapped around the building).

The line moved pretty quickly though and before we knew it, we were going though baggage check.  One guy tried cutting the line. Big mistake buddy! Once inside, Tom headed to bib pickup while Julie, Caitlin and I headed over to Brooks for a little shopping.

Tom wanted a Marine Corps Marathon windbreaker and swore they would be sold out by the time he got there. Luckily they had plenty in stock.  He bought his windbreaker, a tee shirt, and he bought my niece a shirt as well.  We wandered around the expo, bought a few more items and then headed to the hotel.

The coveted MCM bib

HOTEL:
We stayed at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza which was located less than a mile away from the White House. The room was simple...2 double beds and a bathroom, but we weren't planning on spending a lot of time there anyway. The hotel was very nice, clean and the staff was very friendly.

We relaxed then headed out for some sights.  This turned out to be a mistake.  We walked around DC, saw the White House, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.  DC requires a lot of walking which was a big mistake before a 26.2 mile run!

We went to The HardRock Café for dinner and had to wait forever for a table.  And I mean forever! By the time we finished dinner and got back to the room, it was almost 10:00 pm.

START LINE, HERE WE COME:
We woke up super early and were at the train platform by 5:30 am.  The metro was located across from our hotel so we took the train to the Pentagon Station...along with a million other runners.  After exiting the train, we walked about a mile to reach "Runner's Village".  Tom wasn't sure if we were allowed into Runner's Village, but we were. As long as we went through baggage check.

No problem! I get it!

Once inside Runner's Village we waked with Tom to the corrals.  It was a chilly morning so Tom wore a throw away sweatshirt which kept him warm until the start of the race.  Julie, Caitlin and I walked past the start line and found a hilly overpass where we could watch the start of the race.

The Marine Corps Marathon is filled with all the pomp and circumstance you can imagine.  As we waited for the cannon to fire (yes the race starts with a cannon fire), we realized the hand cyclists and wheelchair bound individuals would start out with a 15 minute lead.  It was truly an amazing sight to see them set off for their 26.2 mile quest.  We cheered, clapped & rang our cowbells!

Next an airplane flew overhead. We saw a group of Navy SEAL parachutists jump out. As they approached land, each parachutist unfurled an American flag. Two large Osprey aircrafts did a fly by and before we knew it, the howitzer fired and the runners were off!!!  It was so awesome being a spectator for a change.  Thousands and thousands of runners charging downhill, ready to complete their 26.2 mile journey.  We clapped, we cheered, we held up signs and rang our cowbells with enthusiasm and pride!

Tom wasn't far back from the start, so we waited and cheered as he ran by. He looked happy. After cheering for the runners we headed out to find a Dunkin Donuts. It was a long, long walk but we finally found one near our hotel.

THE RUN COURSE:   I'll let Tom himself describe this:
As you head past the start line and into the city of Arlington, you're quickly met between Miles 1 and 2 by your first challenge of the day: The largest hill on the entire course.  Crowd support is great here and you charge up and over the hill - for better or for worse.  After you crest the hill, you head back down the grade but are soon met by a several smaller hills as you travel through the spectator-lined streets of Arlington, across the Key Bridge over the Potomac River and onto the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway in Georgetown.  This tree-lined roadway is an out-and-back section of the course and also has many spectators cheering you on.  It eventually takes you down towards one of the mentally-tougher parts of the course, Hains Point, which you come to between Miles 10 and 11.

Hains Point is a peninsula of land astride the Potomac River, with the Jefferson Memorial located right at the beginning.  The road is tree-lined and pretty but there are very few spectators (one notable exception this year being a man standing with his two young children and carrying a sign that said "HONEY, NOW THAT MARATHON TRAINING IS OVER, CAN WE HAVE SEX ON FRIDAYS?").  At Mile 12 you come to the Blue Mile, which commemorates the fallen servicemen and servicewomen from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.  The path is lined on the left-hand side by posters with the names and photos of many of the deceased and with volunteers carrying American flags.  It is a somber reminder of the price many have paid, and most runners traverse the mile quietly looking at the posters, with the only sound you hear being that of feet hitting the pavement.  At the end of the Blue Mile, you are at the halfway point of the race and, coincidentally, the tip of Hains Point, where you turn to head back towards the city.  Although it encompasses only about 5 miles of running, Hains Point feels like a much longer trek and when you finally exit at around Mile 16, you begin to once again hear the welcome sounds of the spectators on the National Mall.

The next four miles on the National Mall are a highlight of the race.  You begin near the Lincoln Memorial and head east past the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Institution, to the U.S. Capitol, where you turn around and head back west.  This area is probably the most densely packed with crowds of spectators holding signs and cheering you on.  It should be noted that, if you look at a map of the MCM, this section of the course is shaped much like a penis, with the Capitol itself sitting at the "head".  This leads to a plethora of humorous signs in the crowd stating that variations on the theme of "You've Reached The Tip".  Unfortunately, it was shortly after passing the tip when the wheels began to come off for me.  Slight cramping in my right leg that I had begun to feel at Mile 18 now had become much more severe and was now affecting my left leg too.  Somewhere before Mile 19, both legs seized up and I basically had to "hop" like a demented Easter Bunny quickly to the side of the road to stop.  There, several spectators asked me if I was OK and a husband and wife even offered to massage my legs.  I thanked them, declining the offer but I did take a bottle of Perrier the wife offered as I began what could best be described as a limp/run/limp that would carry me the remaining 7 miles or so of the race.

"Beat The Bridge."  This is the mantra of the MCM.  Located at Mile 20 is the 14th Street Bridge that takes you from Washington, D.C. back into Virginia.  If you don't get over the bridge by 1:15pm (which would equate to running roughly a 14 minute per mile pace), you are taken off the course and placed on a "sweeper" bus, ending your race and denying you a finish (and the prized finisher's medal).  There are no spectators allowed on the bridge and the police are actively patrolling it to ensure that only runners with bibs can cross.  Up until the cramping began, I was holding onto an average pace of approximately 9 minutes per mile and had an outside shot at finishing in less than four hours.  Now, as I limped towards the bridge, I was still more than two hours ahead of the sweeper bus but I knew that my hope for a sub-four hour finish was over.  It was here on the bridge where I saw many others also breaking down, some battling cramping like me, others appearing to be dealing with breathing issues or nausea.  As other runners passed by, those of us among "The Walking Dead" trudged across the mile-long bridge, finally reaching Mile 21, with the relief of knowing that, as long as we could at least walk, we would be able to finish.

The next three miles are an out-and-back through Crystal City, where there are again crowds of spectators lining the streets there to cheer you on.  I continued my limp/run/limp gait throughout, getting encouragement from the spectators and even taking a small Dixie Cup of beer from some college students who I had read always make an appearance at the MCM.  As you head north out of Crystal City, it's only a little over two miles to the finish.  Here, near the Pentagon, you have few spectators but the volunteers and the Marines are there to continue to cheer you on.  Shortly you pass by the Runner's Village where the day began, which seems like forever-ago, and head towards the starting line, where the crowds are once again waiting.  You run through a long line of spectators lined up on both sides, several-people deep, screaming and cheering you on.  Here's where I finally saw Arletta, Caitlin and Julie again.  Arletta stepped out and ran with me for a few seconds as I limped/ran/limped past the 26 mile mark.  She gave me a quick hug and an "I love you" and told me she'd see me after I finished.  I was disappointed that they had to see me limping towards the end but it definitely lifted my spirits to have them there.

The final 0.2 miles are exactly what you would expect from the Marines: A steep climb up a hill. Even here, at the very end, they make you earn that medal.  I decided to ignore the cramping and try to run, getting to about 10 feet or so of the finish line before having to revert back to my Easter Bunny "hop" as I crossed over the timing mat.  4 hours, 43 minutes and 27 seconds after I had begun, my marathon was over.  I then proceeded towards the famous Iwo Jima statue, through lines of newly-minted young Marine second lieutenants (both men and women, all looking sharp and squared away) who shook our hands and congratulated us and where one young female lieutenant placed a finisher's medal around my neck.  As it says on the back of the medal: Mission Accomplished.

One last note: Throughout the course, the support and enthusiasm of the volunteers and the Marines was evident.  At water and food stations, both civilian volunteers and Marines (enlisted men and officers alike) enthusiastically handed out water, Gatorade, food, etc. and cheered/encouraged the runners on (there was even one station which was manned entirely by young women from the U.S. Naval Academy).  And throughout the entire course, there were Marines standing by cheering us on.  It's clear that this race is important to the Marine Corps and they take it - and their roles in support of the runners - very seriously.  This race is truly a credit to them and I'm proud to have done my small part to pay honor to them and to their service.  OORAH! and Semper Fi. 

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY:
* We pre-purchased metro cards in advance. That was a good call!

* I do not recommend doing a walking tour of Washington DC the day before the marathon! Your body will pay a price on race day.

* As New Yorkers, we found DC to be a bit strange.  A lot of stores and food places (especially quick serve food places) are closed on the weekends, especially on Sunday. We should have pre-planned our Dunkin Donuts route before we started wandering around town trying to find an open DD shop.

*  DO NOT WALK THROUGH PARKS! Walk around a park, across from a park, but NEVER THROUGH A PARK.  There are a LOT of homeless people throughout DC.  Some will be obnoxious, intimidating and follow you asking for money. If walk through a park your just asking for it.

* Hydrate more throughout the week.

* After the race, the lines getting into the train station was insane! The line for the taxi was insane! Had we stayed at a hotel in the Arlington section, we could have avoided the crowd and stayed to enjoy the after party.  Next time, we're staying in Arlington.

The MCM is an AMAZING experience for both the runners and spectators! I honestly can't say enough great things about this marathon!  They don't call it the "People's Marathon" for no reason.  Someday in the future, we will run the Marine Corps Marathon...together.