NYCM: Two Weeks Yesterday

With two weeks to go, I am feeling a little nervous, but very excited nonetheless. I know that when you live so far away, you don’t get to see New York that often, never mind run in the marathon there; so my plan is to not over-think any of it, aim to go out there and have fun, see the sights, take some pictures and finish in a healthy time (without worrying about what that time is!).

I ran a couple of times a week since my last post, plus two weekend long runs. Last Saturday it was HOT. Really hot. I set out thinking I would do 32km but the heat go the better of me and I was starting to cramp after 15km. It was  likely 34 degrees the whole way and really humid. I consumed more than 3 and a half liters of fluid which obviously helped with the cramping, but slowed me down no end. My legs felt pretty good afterwards and I was glad I stopped at 26km rather than over do it.

This weekend, I set off on Sunday morning with plenty of fluid and nutrition, knowing that I had to have a good run to give me the psychological boost I needed. I felt great for the first couple of hours until the day started to warm up. The heat has been a big (negative) factor in my training the last couple of months, but as NY is likely to be pretty chilly, I am not that concerned. Irrespective of the weather, all I was really thinking as I was running was “two weeks today!”

I hit 20km in 2:02 and felt like I had a lot left in the tank and (critically) in the legs. I deliberately took a route that gave me a couple of long slow uphills (like NY bridges) and downhills (like NY bridges) and one steep uphill to test my legs.  Around 23km my route took me back to the park near home where I was very pleased (and lucky) to see Lauren out for her morning run. She doesn’t really like to run with me that much but she could see that the heat was starting to take its toll on me and that I was not going that fast. She ran with me for 4km which was a huge mental boost. I left her as she headed for home and I set off for the last 5km with a full water bottle, heavy legs, and a real sense that I was ready enough for the race.

I planned the route pretty well and was 250m from home when I hit 32km. I stopped, stretched a little and walked home assessing my body, the run, the route, the hydration, the nutrition, the shoes, the… until I realized that I was really over-thinking it all again and all that mattered was that I did the distance, the time was ok, I was hurting, but not enough to have to stop and that I was ready for NY!

Wednesday is a public oliday here and I am looking forward to taking my mountain bike out on the trails for the first time in ages. I will run a couple of 10-12km’s this week and then I will be packing for my trip! BOOM.

New York Marathon - 4 weeks to go.

I never realise how grumpy i am when I dont run until I am running again. And boy, did I have a grumpy couple of weeks.

On Friday evening last week, after almost two weeks of not running and two weeks of holding an ice pack on my calf, i set off with butterflies in my stomach to test my calf. I knew within 300 metres that it was OK and that I done enough. I had been so nervous and anxious to know if i would be going to NY that I hadn't really thought about anything else for days. I ran with my friend Will for about 3 miles before calling it a day - knowing i had done enough.

On Saturday I opted to do a long swim and save my legs for a Sunday run.

On Sunday, i knew that i wasn't up for the race I signed up for, so i stayed in bed and rested. When i got up, the sun was up and it was a nice day. I had a big breakfast, lots of hydration and took some time to do a few little chores around the house. Within an hour i was ready to go and i set off to do a medium-long run around the neighbourhoods and (critically) within sight of the local park and water fountain.

I wont pretend that it was easy, but i banged out 20km and my legs felt pretty good. I know i have lost a lot of key training fitness over the last three weeks which will hurt in NY, but at least I am running again, pain free. There were times when it got pretty hot, but i filled up on water and had a packet of GU Chomps as i ran, trying to ensure that i didn't get anymore dehydration cramps.

Today (Tuesday morning) I am a little stiffer than i would normally be after a 20km run, but i put that down to having gone from 0 to 20km in a pretty much straight shot.

I am ready for NY? Absolutely not. Am I going to NY? Definitely yes. Am I going to enjoy it? Without a doubt!

Trail Innuendo

Whilst out on my favourite run last week at FRIM I noticed that they had changed the trail names and put in some new signage. It was the first time I had run with our mate Robin and as we ran along I was telling him that we were about to come to my favourite part of the run.

Known for my odd unintentional quip, we rounded the corner and much to the delight of Will and Dave, Robin said "So let me get this right, Rob's favourite is the Pinus trail?"

Schoolboy humour? Probably. Are the boys still laughing about it? Absolutely. Will anyone elese think it is as funny as we did? Likely not. Will it make us smile every time we go up there? Without a doubt!

Thanks Dave for the photos :-)

New York Training Update - 6 weeks to go

Training has not been going well. It is three weeks since i posted because i have had nothing to post about. The day after the great 5k race i had in the US, I set off and ran a 28K, fairly fast-paced trail run and felt awesome. I had a little jog the day after that and felt great. I then got on a flight and came home. And it all fell apart.

I have been back for a little over 2 weeks. The day after i got back, i decided to go out and stretch my legs. Through a combination of fatigue and dehydration from the flight I got a cramp in my left calf and needed to walk home after about 3km. Feeling the residual effects of the cramp, I decided to stay off it for most of the week, trying a little 4k run in mid-late week. It felt tight and a little sore, but improving.

6 days after getting the cramp, Presuming that it was better, I got up early and joined the boys out in the jungle for a trail run that was supposed to be 34km. I was hydrated, i had lots of fluids and fuel with me and we planned a route that would take us back to the cars around 20km to refill.

2km into the run, i knew it was not right, but i thought i would run it off. 10km into the run, my calf was still niggling at me, but nothing really bad. We got to a big hill and i felt great, i had loads in the tank. My heart rate was steady and I conquered the hill without too much concern although i know it really tested my calf. However, I felt like we had just set off. The first 10km was easy and i mean really easy and the hill was not much of a challenge.

The big hill at FRIM is followed by a 3km section which is basically flat (and is my favourite part of the route). We set off at an easy pace when i felt (over the course of literally 3 steps) my calf suddenly seize. I knew i had done something badly wrong. I immediately stopped, rested and stretched before walking  back to the car. My buddy Will, who was not having a great run, decided to stop and walk with me.  Luckily there was a side path that would take us back in about 3.5k (not having to double back the fill 11km).

That was last Sunday. 8 days ago. And it STILL hurts when i run. I have prescribed myself another full week of complete rest (i am swimming and working in the gym - but no leg work AT ALL). My worry is that this will be the third week in a row without any running and I have 6 weeks to go, at least one of which needs to be a full taper week.

The toughest decision will come next weekend. If i am not able to run at least 10km next Saturday morning (six days from now), i think that my New York adventure will probably be on hold for a year! However, i am using positive energy and am going to do everything right. Lots of protein this week, loads of hydration, lots of rest, no booze, ice it every evening and keep all my fingers and toes crossed. 

My next post will either be very gloomy or very happy. Watch this space!

  

Race Report: Leawood Park Labour Day 5km

The Leawood Park trails sit on the Kansas side of the state line in Kansas City and provide miles of beautiful woodland trails. On a walk there on Sunday afternoon we saw a sign for their annual 5km race and decided that, even though  it was the next morning we would sign up.

My (26 yr old) brother in law Trey and his girlfriend Maggie also agreed to run and we organised to meet there at 6:30am for the 7:30am start. I decided to run the 6km from the house down to the race line to warm up my legs and get a few extra miles in.

After a couple of PBJs and coffee, i set off in the dark (and cold!) morning to meet the others and immediately started to regret it. As soon as i hit the trails, i realised how dark it was and how much i was not able to see. At one point a bare-chested runner came out of the dark and was about three feet in front of me before i saw or heard his approach. My run was supposed to be a warm up, i certainly didn't expect my heart rate to jump to 180 before the race even started. My anxiety slowly reduced as the sun came up and the run felt great.

When i got to the start area, the others were already there and had registered and picked up numbers and timing chips. The sun was up at that point and my legs felt great. I had half a bottle of Nuun in the 30 minutes that we were waiting, and jogged a couple of hundred metres every few minutes to stay warmed up. Trey has been running 5kms for a while now and is pretty good shape. A little banter on the start line about who would "dominate" who served to get us both in the mood for a race.

Just before the start, we patriotically listened to the National Anthem and heard a few instructions about the race. When the gun went off, we were pretty close to the back of the 500 strong crowd. Trey took off and was 50m ahead of me with a couple of minutes. Maggie and Lauren told me they would stay together and that i should go; so i started to up-the-pace and pick of runners in groups. Sometimes, on a narrow course it can be frustrating to start at the back of the pack, but with wide open space and a relatively small crowd, being able to pick off runners so easily was a rush and kept me alert for the first km.

The sun was up by then and the day was starting to warm, but nothing like it ever gets in Malaysia and I felt great. At the 2km mark i felt my watch buzz and i realised i was sub 9 minutes and feeling pretty strong. I had lost sight of Trey until we got to the half-way point and i realised i was starting to close up on him. At the turn around i was less than 5 seconds behind him. I was not sure that he knew i was there until a couple of hundred metres later the girls coming up behind us were shouting their support for him and then me in quick succession.

One of the things that reading blogs has done is to help me understand the difference between running and racing. I was determined not to let my (younger) brother in law beat me and i needed a racing strategy. Instead of bolting out in front of him i paced myself to run hard, but also to conserve the energy i needed to finish strong.

Within another hundred metres, i had caught Trey and sat on his shoulder pacing off him for about a km. I hit the 4km mark in 18:01 and felt like i still had plenty in the tank. Head up, running strong, I was watching Trey hard and with 700 metres to go, I saw his head starting to go down and his arms swinging a little more wildly. I knew he was struggling and took my opportunity on the only (slight) up-hill of the course. I went by him hard and knew from the sound of his footfall that he wasn't with me. I crossed the line in 22:22. 10th in my age group and 102nd overall. A new PB for the distance. Trey came in about 10 seconds behind me and the girls finished strong a couple of minutes behind him.

The race was great. Beautiful course, well organised and perfect for a PB. Water bottles, fresh from the freezer were available at the end and were a great way to cool down.

My new trainers served me well, my time was a really good confidence boost that my training is not that bad, and my PB was an awesome bonus. I am super impressed that in a field of 500, almost 100 people broke 22 minutes. Impressive stuff. Hats off  to the race organisers on a job well done. Great job too to Trey and the girls for their strong races. Trey will probably say he let me win, but that 10 or 12 seconds put a grin on my face that lasted days...

New York Training Update - 9 weeks to go

It is Sunday night and another week has gone by. I know i have not uploaded my last post yet, but i thought i would write another post anyway. We are in Kansas City Missouri, Lauren's home town and I have had another disappointing week (of running). I have had a great week of vacation, but 5 short runs, totalling 30km is not doing my NYCM training much good.

Yesterday, we attended the wedding of our good friends Andrew and Meghan and the 'partying' meant that i was not in a good state to do a long run today. Whilst out walking, we did see a sign for a 5km race tomorrow that allows walk-in registration so that will be fun and has eased my guilt about a poor running week, just a little.

The new shoes are proving to be really really great. I feel like my posture is improved, by shins and calves feel strong and overall, they were a good purchase. I had a sneakey look on amazon a couple of minutes ago and they are on sale.. I might just buy myself another pair for when these run out..

Lauren and I ran four times together this week all on the "trolley trail" in KC. The route of the former state line trolley is gradually graded which leads to a nice 4km flat to downhill run out and a surprisingly tough slow up-hill back.




KC Trolley Trail in the fall.


The route is great because of where it is located and because it has a GREAT coffee place to sit and chill out at when we were done.


Despite being very relaxed on vacation i am starting to stress out about my training. I have just had two weeks without a decent long run and next week is likely to be slow and short because of the two days travel it will take us to get back! I am determined to make up for it, without injury when i am back home next week!

New York Training Update - 10 weeks to go

I am writing this from 30,000 ft in the air, somewhere between LA and Kansas City. We have just spent an awesome weekend with our friends Mark and Angie; that included some great restaurants, new shoes and a great run down the famous California boulevard.

I left home last week without trainers. I have been putting off buying new shoes for a while because i knew i was coming to the US and I wanted some advice on what to buy. Running shops here have all the brands but very little real understanding of what to offer.

The morning after we arrived, we found ourselves in a great running store in Santa Monica called Top to Top. A cool, laid back, runner-dude who looked a little like shaggy from Scooby Doo helped me out and with some good old fashioned discussion, a quick glance at my gait and my feet he brought me some recommendations. Running up and down the street outside, I knew immediately that the guy knew his stuff and choosing between two options was pretty tough.

I have very narrow feet and a fairly even, mid foot strike, so i needed a (relatively) light weight, neutral shoe. The result... The new Asics Gel DS Sky Speeds; in bright Orange. As I explained to the guy, i am not planning on attending a fashion parade, so the color is not important;- but i kinda like them...

With the travel and the jet lag, i only managed 30km this week in three runs, which is not great for my NY training, but there was one run that made it worthwhile. Taking advantage of the fact that we were staying in Marina del Rey, (right next to Venice Beach) Lauren, Mark and I (in new shoes) set off for a pier to pier run on Sunday morning. We didn't go too early, so it was starting to get warm, but the route from Venice Beach pier to Santa Monica pier and back was awesome. The people-watching made the 9.5km round trip go by super-fast (although we were not running that fast). the weather was fantastic and the beaches are like something out of Baywatch! Meeting a very-pregnant Angie for coffee in a oh-so-cool Cali coffee shop at the end made me truly realise why so many people move to the coolest city in the world.

All in all, a great week for life,  not a great week for NYCM training. New shoes are great. 10 weeks to go. When I get off this plane, i am not sure when i will get a chance to upload this post, but hopefully i will have run a bit further by then.