Amazingly, New York was nearly three weeks ago. When people ask me about the experience I try not to overstate how awesome it was. With a little perspective it seems to get better and better!
The agonizing training runs of the summer paid off as I was completely prepared physically for the marathon. I achieved the goal of a sub-4hr marathon, which allowed me to exercise some demons from my last race two years ago. It wasn't easy, and overcoming the doubt and factors that made some of my training difficult this summer is gratifying. Support from my wife and family during training was a significant factor.
I was able to appreciate New York and the support from the city during the race. I was worried that I'd be too focused on the goal and miss the atmosphere. I didn't tunnel in on myself, but rather looked around and tried to interact with the environment as much as I could. I know that for the first 15 miles or something I felt like the race was actually going by too fast, that I wanted the miles to last longer. Miles 15-21 were more in line with what I wanted them to be, and the last part dragged on a bit. I wish I'd felt better coming into the park at the end, but I'm not complaining.
So for the past two weeks I've not really stopped running much at all. First week after the race, Zero Week, I rested Mon-Wed and ran 3.5 easy miles on Thursday. I then ended up taking the following few days off from running as well. This rest was great, but I was jumping through my skin, wanting to get back out there. So the following Monday (Week 1 of recovery) I did 8.5 miles. I ran five days in a row, for a 26.5 mile week. This week I'm on pace for a 40-45 mile week.
My next venture is the Disney Goofy Race & 1/2 Challenge in January. Is this insane? I don't think so. Why? Because in January 2012 I'll be 39 1/2 years old, and what better way to celebrate that than by running 39 1/2 miles? I know, it's 39.3, actually, but I'm sure my Garmin will say I ran .2 miles more than the course. I plan to look like I do in this picture after running 1.5 marathons over a weekend!
Check back to this blog to follow my progress during the next few weeks. I'm planning on getting better. I'm not going to stay the same, and I'm not going to allow myself to get worse.
The agonizing training runs of the summer paid off as I was completely prepared physically for the marathon. I achieved the goal of a sub-4hr marathon, which allowed me to exercise some demons from my last race two years ago. It wasn't easy, and overcoming the doubt and factors that made some of my training difficult this summer is gratifying. Support from my wife and family during training was a significant factor.
I was able to appreciate New York and the support from the city during the race. I was worried that I'd be too focused on the goal and miss the atmosphere. I didn't tunnel in on myself, but rather looked around and tried to interact with the environment as much as I could. I know that for the first 15 miles or something I felt like the race was actually going by too fast, that I wanted the miles to last longer. Miles 15-21 were more in line with what I wanted them to be, and the last part dragged on a bit. I wish I'd felt better coming into the park at the end, but I'm not complaining.
So for the past two weeks I've not really stopped running much at all. First week after the race, Zero Week, I rested Mon-Wed and ran 3.5 easy miles on Thursday. I then ended up taking the following few days off from running as well. This rest was great, but I was jumping through my skin, wanting to get back out there. So the following Monday (Week 1 of recovery) I did 8.5 miles. I ran five days in a row, for a 26.5 mile week. This week I'm on pace for a 40-45 mile week.
Check back to this blog to follow my progress during the next few weeks. I'm planning on getting better. I'm not going to stay the same, and I'm not going to allow myself to get worse.
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