NYC Marathon Training Update XI

Total Distance Ran/Planned: 20.7 mi /26 mi

There really is no point in doing a day-by-day rundown of my training “failures” this week. Buuuut, I did manage to do a 17 mile long run. Don’t folks say that the long runs are the most important runs for marathon training?

Aside from a 3-mile run on Monday, I did not do any runs this week because I was feeling some pain in my Achilles. It was a weird pain, because I experience tightness in both legs. The pain would start off kind of intense in the morning, then become dull throughout the day. I Youtubed some exercises that may help reduce this pain.

On Sunday, I was supposed to run 18 miles, but I ran only 17 . . . Close is better than nothing. I kind of “enjoyed” this run and tackled it as if I was running three separate 6-mile runs.

I really enjoyed the running along the west side of Manhattan, but the east side was really tough because the sun was quite intense and there was not much shade. On a personal note, this run was nice because it allowed me to briefly run down memory lane.

The Frying Pan is a fun club that is in a tugboat. I remember spending many Friday nights here, circa 2005. The only annoying thing is that this club was so far west (for us) because my grad school classmates and I lived on the East River.

The Hudson River and a view of the Freedom Tower from the Westside Highway.

Bridges on the East River – Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queensboro. For this run, I wanted to include a trip across the Queensboro Bridge since it is part of the NYC Marathon. Unfortunately, mile 17 put me in Murray Hill which is about 30 blocks from the Queensboro Bridge. During my run, something told me to cut across Manhattan on 14th Street, rather than running to the tip of the island. Next week’s long run is a 19 miler so I guess I can incorporate the Queensboro Bridge then. 

I met a friend near the Staten Island Ferry.

Oh, look it’s the place where I spent most of my 20’s during graduate school. NYU School of Medicine’s Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences in the house.

Man, this doggie is pretty strong.

A few things from this run:

• My speed was not nearly as fast as I would have liked it to be. A LOT of people were passing me. My original goal was to complete the marathon in 4 hours, but at this rate, I’ll be grateful if I can finish in 4.5 hours.
•  I’m at the distance where I need to bring my running ‘fanny pack’ on my long runs. 
• I had to poop TWICE during this run. 😦  I hate using public restrooms to poop, but I could not ward off the call of nature this time. There have been times when I have gone home while bar hopping to take a dump. I was quite surprised that the restroom on the Westside was really clean . . . For a public MEN’S restroom in a park.

• Speaking of poop, this flavor tastes like crap.

• Pizza is always great after a long run. Casa Pizza  ( *** ) is a random place for a quick slice (or in my case, two slices). Also, the pizzeria has so many varieties of pizza, which is something that I appreciate. During this visit, I think that I counted 13 different types of pizzas. 
• When I finished my run, I wanted to do exactly what this doggie was doing – laying in a puddle of ice-cold water. 

Goals for the upcoming week:

• Buy a new pair of shoes. Yes, I know that I have mentioned this a couple of times in the past, but a brotha has been busy.  
• Figure out an appropriate eating pattern during long runs. As of now, I eat / gu every 6 miles; however, I know that I need to take my fuel during the long runs. 
• Register for some NYRR races. 
• Hill work on the Queensboro Bridge. I even planned out my run that will include two difficult bridges. But, I’ll get to run in three boroughs and along a nice chunk of the NYC marathon. 

One consideration:

Last year, I could not train as much as I wanted because of a super demanding and worthless job; a search for a new job; and the intense heat. The longest distance that I ran during last year’s training was 16 miles. At least I now know that I am at a distance where I know I can finish a marathon. Now, I just have to figure out how to finish the marathon in faster manner. 

See you on November 4th, 2018, Staten Island Ferry!!!