After barely running in June, I finally started running for real around the 4th of July. On Sunday I ran 16 miles at the Hansons Shoe Store training run. I have done this training run many times over the years. Great store, great people, good vibes. This is the first year I have ever only run 16 miles. Usually I get there early and do 2-4 miles beforehand. But this year I’m behind on my long runs. And what a difference a year makes. Last year I did the first 8 miles at 8:30 and the second 8 at 7:45. This year I averaged them all at 8:45, and it took effort.
This is partly due to where I am at and partly by design. I’m trying to get more miles in, and be slow and steady. I want to get to the start with no injuries, and even so, my pace is falling faster than Miley Cyrus’s stock.
I’m using less Eye of the Tiger and more of The Eye of the Puppy Dog. But you don’t run a marathon by being soft. I will need my beast mode before this is over. There will be blood and aches and pains and shredded legs. I'm feeling plenty shredded from my 16 and it's been 3 days.
I’ve only got 28 days of training left. In that time I hope to do 3 more long runs. One 18 miler and two 20 milers. To fit this in, I'm even going to have to cut my taper from the usual 21 days to 17 days.
My flight to New York is booked. I leave Saturday morning and return Monday morning. I will be staying in Greenwhich village, (the West Village I think I’m supposed to say) through a place I booked on Airbnb.com. Airbnb is what I used when I went to Boston and is a great hotel alternative. Especially since when all is said and done, I will probably have $4,000 invested into New York trips just to cross some silly finish line in Central Park. Actually, I did cross it last year, there just wasn’t a medal waiting for me, and I hadn’t run 26.2 to get there.
At the finish. 2013. Hey, where is everybody?
I've been researching how to get to the marathon start in Staten Island since I don’t want to catch a 6 am bus but will be catching the ferry. Usually I would just wing it and follow the crowd, but it seems there's a bunch of neurosis about getting to the ferry, which makes me feel wrong if I’m not being neurotic about it too. So I have asked around and they all give me the same simple directions but my brain makes it more complicated.
Sounds like the marathon itself.
There’s even a youtube video on how to get to the start. The narration begins with the ominous warning: "By the time you start the marathon, you may have spent more time getting there, than you will running it."
So, 28 more days to prepare for NYCM Redux. Part 2. The sequel. As big as I think this marathon will be after last year's event was canceled, nothing compares to this coming up Boston Marathon. I can’t help but be jealous at other runners who have signed up.
Although on a completely different scale, I can relate to those who’ve had to wait over a year to cross the finish line, and train twice. After last year, it’s one of those things that you fear is going to get swiped out from under you again at the last second. Like a monster hurricane is going to wake back up and slam NY. Or who knows what else. My guess the greatest threat to not crossing the finish line is somewhere inside me. Overtraining and making up for lost time is tops on the list.
Eye of the Puppy Dog.
