Archive for the ‘NYC in 310’ Category

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Ryan Hall on the NY Marathon (6 Videos)

20, Oct 2009

Ryan Hall discussing strategy for the upcoming NYC Marathon. As much as I’d love to see him win, he’s not Kenyan. I’m going to predict a respectable 3rd place finish.

Ryan talks about how he needs to prepare for First Ave…

Ryan claims he needs patience to run the ING New York City Marathon…

Ryan Hall discusses how to stay focused by keeping distance from the media…

Ryan’s stretching routine…

Ryan’s custom Asics shoes…

And his biggest fears…

J

50-Days to Break a 5-minute Mile

21, Sep 2009

50 Days… that’s how much time I’m giving myself to try to break a 5 minute mile. My first day in the process began on Sunday. After a 20 minute warm-up jog, I ran a 5:35 mile at the East River track. That’s about 10-15 seconds faster than I thought I’d be capable of at this point in time, which I’m pretty happy about.

The bad news is that I had planned to also sprint an 800M and a 400M as a time trial. As I rounded the halfway point for my first lap of the 800M, I knew there was no gas in my tank to post a good time. So rather than struggle through the 2nd lap, I decided to make that my final lap of speedwork and finished the 400M in 1:20.

On the upside, my ankle was bothering me less than usual. But the jog home was rough, so although I put in about 6 miles total, I was more or less struggling the whole time. I biked for about 4hrs on Saturday, so maybe my legs were just tired… and of course I’m under-trained from honeymooning, and coming back sick.

My plan for getting back into training mode will be primarily weight training and indoor swimming/cycling while I try to rehab my ankle in preparation for the heavy marathon training mileage I’m about to take on. Now that I ran a 5:35 mile outdoors, I’m also curious about how quickly I could run the distance on a treadmill. I’d guess 5:20, but maybe I’ll give it a try on Wednesday to see how that goes.

J

Best of “Runner’s World Quotes of the Day”

18, Sep 2009

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s always hard to stay motivated. One thing that helps is that I get the Runner’s World newsletters: http://www.runnersworld.com/newsletter/0,7127,,00.html

One of the newsletters is a daily running quote in my inbox. Here are seven quotes that kind of spoke to me in the last month…

It’s the road signs, ‘Beware of lions.’
– Kip Lagat, Kenyan distance runner, during the Sydney Olympics, explaining why his country produces so many great runners

The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
 -Sir Roger Bannister, First athlete to run the mile in less than four minutes

Always take the long term view and train and race smart, with a bit of caution.
 – Bill Rodgers

I often lose motivation, but it’s something I accept as normal.
 – Bill Rodgers, Olympic marathoner

Frustration is the first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I’m content with what I can do and if I’m completely satisfied with my pace, distance, and form as a runner. It’s only when I face frustration and use it to fuel my dedication that I feel myself moving forwards.
 – John “The Penguin” Bingham

Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.
 – Patti Sue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

I run with my head, my heart and my guts, because physically, I don’t think I’ve got a great deal of talent or ability. I started at the bottom and worked up.
– Steve Jones, former marathon world record holder

Thanks for reading, make sure to bookmark my site and come back often. Feel free to email me at Jason@nycin310.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NYCin310.

J

NYCin310 State of the Union

14, Sep 2009

Hard to believe but it’s been over a month since the nyc half marathon. That was also pretty much the last time in the past month that I took running seriously. I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing, I probably could use a break. It just seems a little strange after all the work I put in during the first half of the year.

I got in some great runs during the honeymoon, averaging a 4 or 5 miler at least every other day. I really enjoyed carving out my running routes in a completely scenic foreign terrain. The cities of the French Riviera are stunning, which made the runs much less like work and more about enjoying the views.

Immediately following our honeymoon, I was struck with a week’s worth of chills, aches, sweats and various other unpleasantries that have kept me completely sidelined for the last 7 days. On the upside, I feel like it’s a chance for my muscles and joints to completely recover so at least the time off is productive in that sense.

But I can’t wait to get excited about running again. To get myself into good enough shape where I can start setting PRs and generally raising the bar. The next big goal is still pretty far off in the distance (Feb 28th Gasparilla Marathon), so I need some short term goals to work towards.

One of them will be setting some short distance PR’s at the track. I’d like to figure out what my best track times are for the 400M, 800M, 1 Mile and 2 Mile times are. Another one would be completing a triathlon (although we’re technically exiting triathlon season). Plus I have yet to run an up-to-date half marathon PR, which I’d like to do before Gasparilla.

And of course Gasparilla, which will be a pretty steep challenge in and of itself. I’d like to run a 3hr 25min Marathon which is about 15 minutes faster than my current PR. But there’s a lot of good reasons I think I can step up to the plate.

  • I shaved about 20 minutes off my time from 2007 to 2008.
  • Training through the winter might be easier than summer, not as hot and better for long runs
  • And not as ‘busy’ except for the holidays, which are still 50 days before the race.
  • We have a full gym in the building, including treadmill. Training has never been so convenient

Hard to believe but it’s been over a month since the nyc half marathon. That was also pretty much the last time in the past month that I took running seriously. I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing, I probably could use a break. It just seems a little strange after all the work I put in during the first half of the year.

I got in some great runs during the honeymoon, averaging a 4 or 5 miler at least every other day. I really enjoyed carving out my running routes in a completely scenic foreign terrain. The cities of the French Riviera are stunning, which made the runs much less like work and more about enjoying the views.

Immediately following our honeymoon, I was struck with a week’s worth of chills, aches, sweats and various other unpleasantries that have kept me completely sidelined for the last 7 days. On the upside, I feel like it’s a chance for my muscles and joints to completely recover so at least the time off is productive in that sense.

But I can’t wait to get excited about running again. To get myself into good enough shape where I can start setting PRs and generally raising the bar. The next big goal is still pretty far off in the distance (Feb 28th Gasparilla Marathon), so I need some short term goals to work towards.

One of them will be setting some short distance PR’s at the track. I’d like to figure out what my best track times are for the 400M, 800M, 1 Mile and 2 Mile times are. Another one would be completing a triathlon (although we’re technically exiting triathlon season). Plus I have yet to run an up-to-date half marathon PR, which I’d like to do before Gasparilla.

And of course Gasparilla, which will be a pretty steep challenge in and of itself. I’d like to run a 3hr 25min Marathon which is about 15 minutes faster than my current PR. But there’s a lot of good reasons I think I can step up to the plate.

  • I shaved about 20 minutes off my time from 2007 to 2008.
  • Training through the winter might be easier than summer, not as hot and better for long runs
  • And not as ‘busy’ except for the holidays, which are still 50 days before the race.
  • We have a full gym in the building, including treadmill. Training has never been so convenient
  • There are no hills in Florida and the Feb 28th weather will be perfect

So that’s my state of the runner’s union for right now. Maybe one of the first things to do will be register for the marathon so that I’m fully committed.

J
J

NYC Half Marathon Pics

11, Sep 2009

Here are Lauren’s pictures from the NYC Half Marathon… all the greats, Tadese, Ryan, Paula and Jason. Also, my brightroom pics.

[gallery link="file" columns="2"]

NYC Half Marathon, Mile 2 Footage

16, Aug 2009

@dnorton has some good footage from around the 2 mile mark, pretty amazing how far ahead Tadese Tola is already by this point…

J

Think it was hot on the nyc half marathon course today? So do these people!

16, Aug 2009

@brianfaheynyc: Struggled in the heat+humidity but toughed out a 1:56:20 in today’s NYC #half-marathon. Kept running when my legs were begging me to stop.

@ChildrenofPeru: Just finished the NYC Half-Marathon!! VERY hot weather, but I finished!! A lot of people running for charity We need to do the same! Ideas?

@DanielJRoberts: Brutal NY half-marathon. many, many times, almost lost it. head cold + poor air Q + HEAT of NYC=two hours of sustained pain.

@eruelle: Just finished the NYC Half-Marathon!!! Weather was VERY hot… But I finished!!! And my knee seems ok!!! Still waiting for time…

@fashionablylate: Just handled my fourth consecutive NYC Half-Marathon — haven’t missed one yet! Hot out there, son!

@hoffrocket: nyc half-marathon, woohoo! hot, hot, hot.

@ndrapiza: Ran 13.1 mi on route ‘NYC Half-Marathon’, in 1 hr 45 mins 27 secs (pace: 8 mins 2 secs) using shoes Nike LunarTrainer+. Ave BPM 172–Hot!!!!!

J

1:37:54

16, Aug 2009

That was my time in today’s nyc half marathon. It works out to 7:29 splits. I’m still not quite sure what to make of today’s NYC Half. I did ok, especially considering the weather, but something about it wasn’t as gratifying as I had hoped it would be. Excuse me while I go negative for a little bit (which I rarely do, so again, bear with me)…

Even with an early 7am start, it was hot and it was sticky. I wish it would have started even earlier, 6am would have been fine by me. I really liked this race in theory, but why the hell does it have to go down in the middle of august? Also, I really disliked the first 7 miles of central park. Getting killed with those rolling hills in the first half makes for a much less enjoyable second half. And again, like many other nyc runners, I am bored to tears of racing in central park. It really makes it less of an “event” when more than half of the race is the same tired course many of us run week after week.

The 2-3 mile stretch through times square was great, and I really enjoyed getting back onto flat terrain. It was nice to see people out there cheering. And the tall buildings provided plenty of shade. This was actually the coolest stretch of the course. I deliberately slowed down to enjoy the reprieve from the heat.

But then the west side sucked. Again, perhaps it’s because, much like many other new yorkers, I spend too much time training on the hudson river greenway. So the 3-4 miles leading down to Rector street were very stale, and as the sun rose in the sky, it became progressively hotter. I felt myself slowing down alot, and was still barely getting passed. I felt like everyone in my immediate reach kind of hit a collective wall out there. A wall of heat and humidity.

Umm, what else sucked? The water stations were plentiful, especially towards the end which was good. I hate gatorade endurance formula, so I made a habit of grabbing the gatorade AND the water and mixing them together. I have a bone to pick with people who grab their beverage and then start walking alongside the water station. If you’re going to walk while you drink, that’s fine, but please move out of the way so other runner’s can access the station without tripping over you.

Oh, I thought of something I actually liked. Receiving an ice cold wet towel at the end of the race kicked ass. I don’t think I’ve ever run a race where they were passing them out at the end, but it was amazing. And of course it felt good to run as part of a fundraising team, and seeing fellow ACS runners along the course was encouraging. Am I glad I raced? Of course, I’m totally glad I did it. I’m probably just bitter I didn’t PR!

A big congratulations to Tadese Tola and Paula Radcliffe. And to everyone who completed today’s nyc half marathon!

J

NYC Half Marathon Mania (Aug 16th)

14, Aug 2009

I have to say, I’m starting to get real exctied about this weekend’s NYC Half Marathon. The weather looks like it will be pretty good, the field this year is spectacular and I’m really looking forward to running the 13.1 mile NYC course and seeing how well I trained.

NYC Half – The Weather
http://tr.im/NYCHalfWeather

So it definitely looks like its going to be hot, reaching up to 88 degrees during the day. But the race starts at 7am, so I’m crossing my fingers that we start off at the low of 70 degrees and it stays that way mostly until the finish. It’s a good incentive to finish fast. And anyway, I can live with hot, as long as the hummidity is low, there’s no wind and no rain (so far 0% precipitation and no mention of wind in the forecast).

NYC Half – The Field
http://tr.im/NYCHalfPaula
http://tr.im/NYCHalfRyan
http://tr.im/NYCHalfTheField
http://tr.im/NYCHalfDropouts

The Women
So there’s plenty of big news about the field. Obviously, Paula’s late entrance into the race is significant, especially if you’re a female who thought she had a chance at winning. It’s pretty wild that she’s doing this only 7 days before the Championships marathon in Berlin. I don’t know how her coach let her decide on that. Paula’s greatest competitor is probably last year’s winner Catherine Ndereba.

And of course Deena Kastor is a contender, although her name as an American distance runner doesn’t seem to hold as much weight lately with Kara Goucher stealing the spotlight (who will be unfortunately absent from this race). In other Women’s news, Lornah Kiplagat, representing the Netherlands backed out at the last minute from a nagging injury.

The Men
And of course there’s the great white hope, Ryan Hall, America’s current ‘greatest distance runner’ who already owns the U.S. record for the half-marathon at 59:43. With Patrick Makau Musyoki (and his 2nd best-ever 58:52 half marathon) backing out last-minute with tendonitis, Hall has an even better chance at taking the race. But not withought a serious fight with local favorite Abdi Abdirahaman and last year’s winner Tadese Tola, who completed the course in 1:00:58.

NYC Half – The Course
http://tr.im/NYCHalfElevation
http://tr.im/NYCHalfMap

And here are my thoughts on the course. First, it sucks that this race starts in Central Park. Anyone who’s done more than 2 or 3 NY Roadrunner’s races would probably appreciate a change of pace. But I’m sure for practical reasons, this is the way it needs to be. The last 7 miles are sure to be awesome at least and that’s what counts.

Elevation-wise, 0-2.5 miles is rolling, but mostly downhill. There are a few short hills in the park between miles 2.5-6mi but then starting at the 10k mark, the entire race is downhill for a few miles and then perfectly flat starting at mile 9. So my race strategy is to play it conservative for the first half, and then run progressively harder, shooting to break a 7 min pace for the final few miles.

Good luck to everyone who’s running on Sunday!

J

Tapering for the NYC Half Marathon

27, Jul 2009

In my running career, I’ve completed 4 half-marathons (Philly, Long Island, Miami, Sarasota). I’ve had a pretty consistent training program for all of them (except Miami, which I retro-fit into my schedule). For the NYC Half Marathon, suffice to say, I’ve been less than consistent.

I started off strong, doing 10-milers as far back as May. Then from about half-way through June, to about half-way through July, I hit a wall of weddings, bachelor parties and other extended weekend festivities that took a toll on my training schedule.I started getting back on track two weeks ago.

My 11-miler in Prospect Park went pretty well, as did last weekend’s 12-miler in Central Park. I’ve been filling in the gaps much better during the week, running more frequently and adding in substantially more cycling (both indoor and outdoor).

So now the question is… now that I’m gaining some traction, how does this affect my taper schedule. Do I ride the wave of good training in an effort to “cram” or do I invest in a good solid 2-week taper and hope that my last minute hustling paid off enough to go the distance at a semi-respectable pace.

I’m leaning towards cramming… but doing so intelligently. Because of all the “down time” in the middle of my training cycle, I’m not mentally burned out, and my nagging injuries haven’t been nagging so much lately. So I’m of the mind that I should be able to train fairly aggressively in the final weeks leading up to August 16th, without too much repercussion.

Going to back to an older post from back in the day, when I actually had intelligent things to say about running: http://www.nycin310.com/?p=513

Minimum Time Between Hard Workouts and Races

Type of Workout

Sample Workout

Days before tune-up race or next hard workout

Days before goal race

Tempo run

4 miles @ 10 mile race pace

3-5

6-8

Long run

17-20 miles

3-6

7-10

VO2 max Intervals

6 x 800 @ 3 km race pace

4-6

8-11

Based on Pete Pfitzinger’s chart I can fit in 2 more weekend long runs prior to race day, and still…


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