Countdown to NYC: My Training by the Numbers

By ellen on November 5, 2011

For me, today consists of staying very hydrated, stretching, and relaxing. There’s a permanent feeling of butterflies in my stomach and I know it will be there long after the finish line tomorrow – I’m just trying to contain the excitement.

One big difference between this NYC Marathon and the one I ran in 2008 is my training. I feel like I can barely call what I did in 2008 “training.” Looking back at the last 16 weeks, it gives me a much-needed confidence boost going into tomorrow.

Here’s a look back at my training by the numbers.

  • Weeks in “official” training mode: 16
  • Miles Run: 368 (not including tomorrow’s marathon)

  • Lost Toenails: 1 (let’s hope it stays this way after tomorrow)
  • Incidents of Bloody Toes: 4 (again, let’s hope this number doesn’t change)
  • Brunch dates w/ Emily after long runs: 4
  • Vanilla GU Packets Consumed: 31 (I think… I’ve gone through a case + about 5-7 extras)
  • Tiger Balm Jars Used: 2.5
  • Ice baths / Bags of Ice: 7 / 20

  • Pairs of running shoes: 2
  • Tweets regarding NYCM: Way too many to count, sorry Twitter
  • Massages: 2 (oh, how I wish this number were higher)
  • Runs During Which I Saw the Sun Rise: 6 (thought this number would be higher)
  • Weekly Training Recaps: 15 (16 after tomorrow) – check ‘em here
  • Time Left Until I Run My Third Marathon:

  • Bib Number: 35681
  • Next Up? 26.2

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Marathon Inspiration – The Final Edition (!!!!)

By ellen on November 3, 2011

Ummm, whoa.

For the last several weeks, I’ve been looking to NYC Marathon vids for a little extra inspiration and motivation to get me through training. Now (already?!), it’s the last 3 days before the big day.

And while I’ve been watching and re-watching them more times than I care to admit (especially this one), at this point I need to just focus on the finish line. I’m heading to the expo tonight to pick up my bib, mingle with other runners, and buy totally unnecessary goods. I pretty much can’t wait. It’ll be a nice outlet for all of the energy and excitement that’s been coursing through me.

This is also the point where I need to get sappy and introspective and realize that all the inspiration and motivation is inside me (it’s been there all along! Just like in the Wizard of Oz! Amazing, haha). Really though, there were shortcomings in my training, but overall I’m pretty happy with it and am thoroughly excited to get things started on Sunday.

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The End is Near

By ellen on October 31, 2011

(Source: Funny Marathon Posters)

It’s the beginning of the end (of my last week of marathon training, that is). Oh, and happy Halloween.

So what do I do in the last 6 days before I run the biggest marathon in the world (eeek!)?

  1. Stay healthy. No injuries, no illness. I guess all I can really do here is eat well and not do anything out of the ordinary. And for some reason I’m telling myself that wearing jeans to work for most of the week will help, haha…
  2. Keep my legs loose. A few easy runs, nothing major. I plan to run 4-6 miles on Tuesday and maybe Thursday, and a 20 minute shake-out on Saturday.
  3. Eat well and hydrate. I already drink tons of water – I’ll try to maintain or drink a little more. Tasty and healthy meals are already planned and cooked for the week. And while I said at the beginning of the taper I wasn’t going to booze during the taper (lies, all lies… and failed on multiple occasions), I will hold up that deal this final week. (Famous last words).
  4. SLEEP. Lots and lots of sleep. Luckily, this is never really an issue for me. It just helps me to justify going to bed by 9:30 every night. Seriously.
  5. Try to contain my overwhelming excitement. This is easier said than done. I’m trying to give myself one fun marathon-related activity to do per day. Hopefully that will be enough to hold me over until the weekend. Or at least until the Expo.
So for these activities… yesterday’s? Buying my marathon shirt, letters, and ironing them on. It was a great success!
Getting soooo close it’s scary!

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I’m A Runner

By ellen on October 29, 2011

Pretty much since I started officially training for the marathon (or probably even before that) it was all I could really talk about. I made a concerted effort to not talk about it too much in front of non-runner friends (I figured I would seem like a total bore), and I think I did a pretty good job.

That said, this video is hilarious. And totally hits close to home. Enjoy, runners!

Sound familiar to you too??

———————————–

And in other news, it’s Snowtober! A Snowpocalypse! Occupy Snowstorm! (Any others I missed?) here in NYC. Luckily, the only important day coming up still looks like this:

Let’s hope it stays that way. Oh right, and a week from right now it’ll be the night before the marathon. NBD.

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Marathon Inspiration – T-minus 9 days Edition

By ellen on October 27, 2011

With only 9 days left until the marathon (finally in single-digit territory!), my marathon inspiration for the week is more of a laundry list of things that are getting me (even more) psyched for the big day.

  1. Marathon signs are up on First Ave!
  2. Bleachers are up in the park!
  3. The hilarious and awesome responses from friends and family we’ve gotten from “The Marathon email”
  4. The awesome lady who randomly and excitedly yelled to me last night during my tempo run, “Are you running the marathon?!?” Indeed.
  5. Having all my lesson plans and handouts done through the week following the marathon (this. is. huge.)
  6. Signs all over the subway
  7. The countdown ticker on the marathon website is finally in the single digits… not that I’ve been checking it hourly or anything.
  8. This run
  9. Thinking of all the gratuitous marathon gear I’ll buy from the expo next week
  10. Reading A Race Like No Other (awesome) and timing it so I’ll conveniently finish the night before the marathon
What are you psyched for – marathon or otherwise?

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NYC Marathon Training Week 13: Taper Time!

By ellen on October 17, 2011

The long awaited taper has begun. I’m now 21 days out from the NYC Marathon.

This week was a tough one – I was sick and had a crazy work week, but it came together in the end (mostly).

I had off on Monday for Columbus Day, so I took advantage by doing my speed work on the track that day. I was fighting a little head cold and felt it the whole time. The workout was 10x400m repeats with 400m RI. I ran well – coming in much faster than the prescribed times, but felt awful the whole time (sorry about the snot rockets, Baker’s Field…)

The rest of the week was a wash for me with looong work days and a cold, but I got it together for the 20-miler on Saturday. It was ridiculous, and it turned out to be a bit disjointed (more of a 17+3), but I got the miles in and am ready to taper.

I’m thoroughly looking forward to a 10-mile “long” run next weekend. Hitting the last 10-ish of the course (but cutting off the Bx).

Happy Taper!

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Marathon Inspiration

By ellen on October 13, 2011

So this one may not be running-related, but it’s beautiful. And New York-y, and basically just incredible. You can always imagine yourself pounding the pavement across the city. Enjoy!

Love.

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Marathon Inspiration

By ellen on September 29, 2011

I now have 37 days until the marathon — yikes! I’m gearing up for another 20-miler this weekend — because 3 loops in Central Park last weekend clearly wasn’t enough.

Enjoy this clip of Meb winning the 2009 NYC Marathon. My favorite part of this? It’s one of the few videos I found that shows the start pretty well… the cannons blasting, “New York, New York” playing, people packed together like a subway at rush hour, and flying sweatpants/shirts being thrown all over the place. It’s pretty crazy. And totally awesome.

Enjoy.

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NYC Marathon Training Week 9: Final Stretch

By ellen on September 18, 2011

I really can’t believe it’s been 9 weeks of training! And that the marathon is only 48 days away! I can feel how close it really is, and my training is finally back on track.

Luckily after two consecutive stinky weeks of training, I’ve got my mojo back. It was a long week at work (first full week back and lots of time on my feet) but I made it work. I had two nice runs during the week, a little cross-training, and an awesome long run yesterday. I couldn’t be happier.

Here’s how the week went down:

  • Monday: Reformer Pilates
  • Tuesday: Early morning speedwork on the treadmill. The treadie is terrible, and certainly not how I want to do my speedwork or start my day, but it worked.
    • 1/2 mile warm-up, 1600 @ 8:11, 400m RI, 3200 @ 16:42 (8:21 pace), 800m RI, 1600 @ 8:11, 400m RI, 1/2 mile cool down [6 miles]
    • I coached XC on Tuesday night and ran another 1.5 miles. Bonus.
  • Wednesday: Rest
  • Thursday: 5 miles
  • Friday: Rest
  • Saturday: Epic 17 miles
  • Total: 30 (finally)

Saturday’s run was easily my favorite long run of the last 9 weeks of training. The weather was perfect and the miles and time flew by. I really didn’t have high hopes for this run because I fueled poorly on Friday and didn’t get much sleep on Friday night. Apparently that made no difference.

The route took me from home all the way down the WSH and over the Brooklyn Bridge.

After last week’s hilly run in the Palisades, this was very easy on my legs.

I feel really great about this week – and happy I finally made it to 30 miles (which I should have done weeks ago). With only about 7 weeks left until the marathon (ahhhhh), this was just the kind of week I needed to get me going again.

 

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Over the River and Through the Woods

By ellen on September 11, 2011

and up the hills, and down the hills, and up the hills, and down the hills…

The river in question is the Hudson, and the woods are the Palisades. This week’s long run was a doozy. I’ve been adamantly avoiding hills on my long runs and just trying to get the miles in (hello, WSH). While NYC isn’t a very hilly course, there are, of course, some hills. And I should do at least a couple long runs that involve some hills to prepare, right?

For some comparison, here are elevation charts of my last few long runs (pretty accurate, except for maybe the few miles I ran getting to/from the subway, etc.)

Below is the elevation chart for the long run I did on the WSH in weeks 2, 3, and 4 of training. Pretty flat, eh?

West Side Hwy Long Run

Here’s the loop in Central Park that I did in week 5 (it’s the 5 mile lower loop 3x). A bit hillier.

Central Park Long Run

And why do I seem to suddenly care about hills? Here’s the NYC marathon course elevation chart. Of course the bridges present a bit of an incline – Verrazano is a long hill, the Queensboro is a bit shorter, but just as steep. Verrazano climbs to about 250ft; the Q’boro about 150. There are small, barely noticeable hills in Brooklyn, but nothing compared to rolling hills around Central Park. There’s a slight elevation change in the last 3 miles of the course, from Fifth Avenue to the finish. They don’t seem like much, but at mile 23 can feel like a mountain.

NYC Marathon Course

For the sake of comparison, here’s the elevation chart for the run I did yesterday over the GWB and up the Palisades.

GWB + Palisades Long Run

Certainly much hillier than the marathon course, but fairly comparable. While I’m not to going to start doing all my long runs on the Palisades (ahhhhh), I’ll try to do maybe 2 more hilly long runs before the marathon (one will probably be the 18 mile tune-up in Central Park). It was good to mix it up and get my legs used to that burning feeling that accompanies a huge climb at mile 14.

Do you opt for flat long runs to get the easy miles in (like I usually do)? Or tackle the hills? 

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