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Ryan Hall on the NY Marathon (6 Videos)
20, Oct 2009Ryan 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
I’ve riffed on this before, but seriously.. the Nike Zoom Vomero is an awesome shoe. I swear by them, they’re the only sneakers I’ve run in over the last 2 years. The next pair I buy will be my 5th. I feel like the first few weeks you run in a new pair, there’s a gravity-defying bounce in your step.
After that, they continue to offer up a light weight and highly cushioned ride for many miles. They’re pretty durable for how lightweight they are, but I desperately need a new pair… and I’m embarassed to admit that I haven’t bought new shoes in the last 6 months. To my credit, I own two pairs of running sneakers, and try to alternate sometimes… although the 2nd pair are newbalances and I tend to favor the nike vomeros by a landslide.
The big problem is that they retail for about $125, which is $136 including tax. I know that’s not the most expensive running sneaker out there, but it’s alot. I’ve been scouring the internet all day to find a cheap pair. Last time I got lucky and found a $95 pair with free shipping last time. This time, all legitimate sources are $120 at the cheap end. I’ve been contemplating a supposedly “new” pair off of Ebay that doesnt come with the original box…
…And I just bought them off ebay for $94.41 including shipping. Not a bad deal if it works, but I’m a little nervous since I’ve never bought off ebay before. The guy had a really excellent rating, and seems to sell a lot of sneakers so I’m hoping it’s legit!
Don’t believe me about how awesome these shoes are? Check out what others have to say…
Note: The general consensus is the Vomero 2 was the best version of the shoe, however, the Vomero 4 out performs the Vomero 3. The only real complaints I’ve heard about this sneaker is that they lack a little in the durability department. I agree, I’d like a brand new pair each month!
RUNNING SHOE GURUS
http://www.runningshoesguru.com/2009/04/nike-zoom-vomero-4-running-shoes-review/
- The Zoom Vomero+ 4 is Nike’s top shoe for the cushioning category and therefore is aimed at Neutral to Under Pronators (Supinators).
- “Very well cushioned, felt like they were propelling me forward with each stride, nice room in the toe box.”
PRODUCT WIKI
http://www.productwiki.com/nike-zoom-vomero-4/
- Highly decoupled Crash Pad for natural landing and impact absorption.
- In the outsole it has duralon placement (underneath Cuboid and Met Heads) mirrors pressure path of barefoot running.
NIKESTORE.COM COMMENTS
http://store.nike.com/index.jsp?sitesrc=uslp&country=US&lang_locale=en_US#l=shop,pdp,ctr-inline/cid-1/pid-223555/pgid-241216
- “I made the switch to the vomero it felt like i was running on air bags. I have never felt this much cushion in a shoe when i run. Great design.”
- “The Vomero offers the right support, and promotes a natural stride. An overall excellent running shoe.”
I am not endorsed or sponsored in any way by Nike. But man would that be awesome.
J
50-Days to Break a 5-minute Mile
21, Sep 200950 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
- In: Coach's Corner| NYC in 310
NYCin310 State of the Union
14, Sep 2009Hard 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
@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
- In: Coach's Corner| NYC in 310| Running in NYC
- Tags: nyc half, nyc half marathon
NYC Half Marathon Mania (Aug 16th)
14, Aug 2009I 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
Swimming for Runners
29, Jul 2009First, a quick training update. On Monday I ran 5 treadmill miles at a pretty decent clip. This is significant because lately I’ve had to take off 2 consecutive days after each of my long runs. But I wanted to test myself out, I wanted to see how well I could do on tired legs and it wasn’t easy but hey, mission accomplished.
On my days off from running I’ve done a nice job of hitting the weights/abs for 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after my biking/elliptical. I feel a big difference already and am glad I’m back to doing strength training alongside the half marathon preparation. And with that I’ll segue into the purpose of this post which is to discuss my interest in learning how to swim… and one of my other goals, which is to eventually attempt a triathlon.
The pool is finally complete in my building. I’ve been told it’s about 60ft end to end. After my workout yesterday I decided to take my first stab at swimming a few laps, which proved to be no easy task. After swimming 5 lengths (about 300ft) I was dead. My arms and chest were burning and I was gasping for air. I took a breather, collected myself and cranked out 4 more lengths (I believe that’s 2 laps, a lap is once back and forth, right?).
So aside from it being exhausting, my big problem with swimming has to do with technique. I don’t like to swim with my face submerged in the water because I can’t quite get the breathing rhythm down. The other problem is that if I swim without watching exactly where I’m going, I have a horrible habit of swimming diagonally which is no good. Here are a few clips that demonstrate proper form, hopefully I’ll catch on sooner than later.
J
Tapering for the NYC Half Marathon
27, Jul 2009In 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…
Tuesday Treadmill Tempo Run
14, Jul 2009I rocked it this morning, not sure how or why, but I did. Maybe its because lauren persuaded me to do my run on the treadmill, rather than outdoors. Its been so long since I’ve treadmilled, that I forgot how much easier it is. Either way, it was a big confidence booster to effortlessly bang out a 10k with 7 minute splits, whilst still in bachelor party recovery mode.
Maybe I’ve found the solution to my dreaded outdoor morning runs. Maybe its better to just hit the gym and do them on the treadmill. It’s an easier run, I can pre-set the pace and just go with it and I don’t have to worry about the terrain (see ankle twist, 2 weeks ago). And at least that way if nature calls, I’m a few quick paces from the locker room!
Bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter. If you can find me on facebook, more power to you.
J
Wednesday Night at the East 6th St Track
9, Jul 2009Some good workouts spaced a little too far apart, add in some work/life craziness and some unlucky injuries and that’s about where I am right now with my half marathon training program. I have no doubt i’ll be able to get through the distance at a comfortable pace, but I can feel the speed I worked so hard to build up slipping out from under me.
It kind of sucks but I just have to keep telling myself that I’ve made some amazing gains this year and that when I need to get serious about running again its not going anywhere. That being said I had a pretty good run yesterday.
- 2.5 mile slow tempo run to the east 6th track
- 2 sets each of pull-ups, dips and push-ups at the fitness park
- 4×400’s averaging 1:16
- 2 more sets each of pull-ups, dips and push-ups
- Then a cool-down 2.5 mile jog on the way back
I bumped into @runanskyrun at the track, he was training with the Paragon group. They run a weekly Wednesday night speed session there. I’ve never seen the track so busy, and although it was somewhat challenging to do speed-work while sharing the track with about 200 people, it was pretty cool to be around so many enthusiastic runners.
J
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