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My Journal To The NYC Marathon
Pg. 1 June 15-28, 2011
Pg. 2 June 29-July 31, 2011
Pg. 3 August 1-8, 2011
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Urban Runner Blog
Brooks Dyad =1/2 - MIZUNO=86.2 - TTL MILES FOR THE WEEK=6
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Aug 8, 2011 - 89 togo. Gym workout today. Strength, core, resistance, speedwork and a 4 mile run. But all together with warm ups and cooldowns 6 miles. My middle toe on my left foot has a blister and a newly formed black toenail. Hmm... gotta post a picture of that. Going shopping for motion control and heel strike protection running shoes tomorrow. Lots of stretching tomorrow, until I hate it. I'm longing for fall.
Changing leaves, cooler days, early sunsets and the smell of Gotham. Goodnight. Aug 07, 2011 - 90 togo. I thought yesterday was the 1st time I ever ran 15 miles. But it occurred to me that in the Army I did a few 20 mile road marches. For some reason I thought I had done them in 2 and a 1/2 hours, but it was probably more like 6 to 8 hours. With full field pack of course. I was thinking of the pregnant lady I saw during my run yesterday and was wondering, if when asked, do women, speak of the joy and splendor of giving birth and or subconsciously leave out or repress the part about labor pains and how it felt like it would never end. Cause, when I recount yesterdays longrun, I know I went from Argyle Forest to San Marco. Yet there are portions of the run where I ask myself, did I run thru there? And they coincide with the segments of the route where I was having the most difficulty. The low points of the run. My training schedule says 6 mile recovery run for today. Yup, really, they call it a recovery. My body has other plans for recovery. Like lots of stretching, ice, Advil, APY 60 yoga. Oh... and a couple of Coronas. Ice cold please with a lime. Aug 06, 2011 - 91 togo. Wow, what a run. I'm so becoming a fan of urban running. It's like a workout and a show all in one. Started in Argyle forest and ended up on San Marco Blvd and Cedar. 15.2 miles in 3:10. Most unremarkable start. That is until I reached Bailey's gym on Blanding and saw the guy yelling and giving everyone the finger. Then on Confederate Point and Blanding, I ran past a woman walking in the middle of the street northbound on Blanding in a black stretchy material dress. She had pulled the front part of the dress down exposing her breasts and waving at cars as they drove by. It's like she had an extra set of arms. I remember thinking... is that her hand she's waving with? She can't run with those, they'd be smacking her in the face. She'd be pummeled. Gang bangers, muggers and hookers oh my. Anyway, at that time of the morning everyone's a potential predator. This is how I deal with it. I don't want to judge, nor do I wanna be so cumbaya, can't we'll get along that I'm gonna let my guard down. So, whenever I spot a potential bogey up ahead, #1, I pick up my speed. I prefer to call it ramming speed. #2, I maintain eye contact and watch the hands. #3, I put on my game face, and full speed ahead. So far, all I get is a wazzup and a wide birth, or a "bela ese loco", (watch that nut in Spanish). Reminds me of the scene in Blackhawk Down. At the end, when they're running thru the streets of Mogadishu trying to reach the U.N compound for safety. Anyway, once out of the badlands and in the relative safety of Avondale, I grabbed an orange juice at the Fox diner and kept going. Around Memorial park, off Margaret street, I was hurting. I wanted to quit. Thats' when I saw a pregnant lady... she must've been 7-8 months along. She was wearing a supportive meshlike belt, which I guess was for supporting her belly. As she blew by me, leaving me behind eating her dust, I couldn't help but to think... "and I was bitching about wearing an 8 lb camel back". It also dawned on me (and maybe it's just me), but, there seem to be more women runners than men. Total admiration for the courage and strength of women. I can use some of that in my running and probably in my life as well. Oh, by the way I need to tweak my route map for yesterday. Instead of ending on Margaret street, I went on to Cedar street in San Marco. 2 tenths more. I just hate doubling back. It's like doing a long race, and seeing the elite runners on their return leg, and realizing, you have 40 minutes togo. 6 Aug, 2011 - 91 togo. It's 4:45 AM. Do you know where your runner is? In a few minutes, this one will be somwhere between Argyle Forest and downtown Jacksonville. Goodmorning Jacksonville. =)' 5 Aug, 2011 - 92 togo. Or 3 months and 1 day. Or 12 weeks and 1 day. Anyway ya spin it. It's the home stretch. I can almost taste it. I see myself running down 4th avenue towards downtown Brooklyn. Past me o'l high school. Distant hangouts. Good and bad. 15 miles tomorrow. Wendi wonders why I don't run the trails, paths and routes that other runners run. We've deduced that I'm an urban runner. Since I seem to run on the streets and thru traffic and questionable neighborhoods. Maybe, subconsciously, I'm psyching myself out for the South Bronx leg of the marathon. Me, running and marathon in the same sentence. Still trying to get used to that. I look at my body, and I still don't see a runner. But when I search my heart and soul, there he is. I've never ran a marathon. I feel like I've ran this marathon 1000 times before. I know every inch of this route. All 26.2 miles. The streets, subway and bus stations, hotdog vendors, bodegas, from Staten Island to the finish line in Central Park. I even know the spot on the Verrazano bridge where they filmed the scene from Saturday Night Fever. As a kid we hungout in Fort Wadsworth. Never occurred to me... that's where the race starts. Fast forward 40 years and I feel like I'm taking 47,000 people on a tour of New York City. Tomorrow, I run 15 miles with purpose. Have a great weekend all. 4 Aug, 2011 - 93 togo. Speedwork today... EXCELLENT, 27 minute, 2 mile warm-up. 800'S from 3:38:76 - 3:49:04. 400's from 1:10:06 - 1:12:04. 18:40 2 mile cooldown. I know, I should've slowed down for the cooldown. Couldn't help myself. Amazing workout. Thank you skip for the FTM training plan. This was awesome. Total 6 mile workout today. Psyched, for my 15 this Saturday. To all of you doing Tour De Pain this weekend, Skip & Tom, Joyce, Amy and anyone else, I may have forgotten... I bid you new P.R's. Run safe. 3 Aug, 2011 - 94 togo. Went to the gym this morning. Opted to crosstrain instead of run. Boy, that was a mistake. Can someone say, Ride Purely Made-up. And for the record, it's not the instructor I have a problem with. She's badass.., huge fan. Love her Ananda Balasana pose, (Yoga... look it up). It's the program, I have a problem with. 2 Aug, 2011 - Streets glistening wet Blurring heat rising warms the soul Five point two miler |
08/06/2011 15 Mile Run |
