Tis the season before the New York City Marathon and wow, where has time gone?
When New Balance offered me a chance to run 5 weeks ago, it felt like I had “plenty of time”. Time is up and I’m back to resting, recovering, and tapering.
Last week was more of a recovery week from the Atlantic City Half Marathon and 20 miler. I feel confident I’ll be able to finish the New York City Marathon, but my goals have shifted.
| Monday: | Hike with Shawn |
| Tuesday: | Rest |
| Wednesday: | 10 miles averaging 7:52 pace |
| Thursday: | Rest |
| Friday: | Easy 60 minutes |
| Saturday: | Pennypacker XC Open: 21:00 |
| Sunday: | 15 Miles |
Thoughts:
I didn’t mean to take 3 days off from running (originally I planned 2), but my body was tired and I have no regrets. My good friend and coworker went for a beautiful hike (and one of my favorite in NJ). The Stairway to Heaven is a tough hike but worth the view. It was by no means a rest day though.
Pennypacker Cross Country Open 5k:
I’ve wanted to do the Pennypacker Cross Country Open 5k for a while. This year the only way to make it work was to run beforehand and a fast finish 5k as the last 3.1 miles (for a total of 10.1 miles). I haven’t run cross country in a while, and it was a lot of fun. The Pennypacker Cross Country Course is used a lot of local high schools. I’m happy with my effort at the of a longer run, plus on cross country terrain.
Sundays Long Run:
On Sunday, I ran 15 and it was one of the hardest runs I’ve done in a while. The rain and wind, made it difficult and obviously my body didn’t feel great after the race the day beforehand. I am happy to get it done, although my confidence could use a boost.
Next Week:
As I go into New York Marathon weekend, I plan to taper down. My goal for the marathon is to start and finish healthy. Right now, I would be ecstatic with anything under 3:30, but I’m not putting a time goal out there. As I said last week, I do believe this will be my last marathon for a while and it will be nice to start and finish the race healthy.
Posts from the Week:
New Balance 1400v6 Shoe Review
Atlantic City Half Marathon (1:36.27)
Hiking Pakim Pond in Brendan T. Byrne State Park
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Questions for you:
How was your week of running?
Are you running New York City Marathon?
I ran the NYC Marathon six times between 2001 and 2006. I live in New Jersey, and it’s still a tremendous hassle. First I have to go to packet pick-up in Manhattan. Then I have to get to the start on Staten Island. Finally I have to get back home. Plus, it’s VERY expensive. I now avoid ALL NYRRC events. There’s too much irrational exuberance associated with them.
Instead, I will be running the Delaware & Lehigh Half-Marathon for the 6th time on November 3rd. It’s MUCH less expensive, easier to get to and the people in PA are MUCH nicer. It’s more fun as well.
NYCM is expensive, but I enjoy the atmosphere and the excitement around the race. I agree getting to Manhatten isn’t my favorite thing, but I enjoy the race overall. Best of luck this season in your marathons!