The taper begins!

Here we are, the final long training run is complete (20 miles) and now my runs are merely for maintenance; my mileage drops significantly from here on out.

The last few weeks have been good. My longest runs increased to yesterday's 20 miler, and on my shorter runs I have continued to keep a very good pace with a recent 10 miler being at 7m02s pace with is about 25 seconds a mile faster than needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

I am feeling very confident for the race. Yesterday I ran the first 20 miles of the race and although slow, which was intentional, it was good to get a feel of the course. My goal remains to qualify for the Boston Marathon, for that I need to finish in under 3h15m59s. It's a fierce goal but I am up for it.

The next 3 weeks are going to be very modest pace. I have one final long run of 12 miles which I intend to run at pace, the remainder will be slower as I now need to rest for the race.

Tomorrow I break out the race shoes, it is time to break them in; with 3 weeks to go and about 70 miles left to run the time is ripe!

Best week yet

A great week. For the first time in this training routine I completed all 5 runs this week, plus my cross training.

I stepped off the gas this week with my long run being 12 miles, 5 miles less than last weeks. That said, I ran very strongly for the rest of the runs. My two 4 miler speed days (with Ms Violet in tow) both run at sub 7 minute pace and then my two 9 milers both run at 7m20s pace which is just a little faster than my goal pace for the race.

Once again, I aim to take significant time off of my previous marathon time. In New York I ran 3h54 and then 3h33 in San Diego. For Phoenix I am shooting high; 3h15.

Qualifying for the Boston marathon is the goal, it's a tough one but I am feeling confident. I hope to have a comfortable half marathon at sub 7m30 pace by the race time. That coupled with adrenalin, strong training and vocal support, I hope that will pull me through the rest.

Being my (adopted) home marathon Nicole is arranging for substantial support. I can almost imagine someone at every mile! I doubt it will be that but, every cheer is welcome.

RUN COOKIE RUN!

The halfway point

It has been a good couple of weeks. My long runs increased to 16 and 17 miles in consecutive weeks and I have put down some strong shorter distances also. This week I did a sub 1hr 8 miler (just better than 7m30s/mile pace) and two sub 7 minute/mile pace workouts (4 miles, with the dog!).

I am at the half way stage in training now; 8 weeks down and 8 to go. So far things are going well. I am injury free and aside from a few aches after runs I am feeling good. This week I step backwards; my long run is 12 miles only.

I changed up my training this time by doing my long runs slowly. For some time I have read that you should do your long runs at a 1-2 minute slower pace than your goal race pace but, never practiced it. I am this time and it is very refreshing; I am finishing high mileage runs still feeling strong.

I bought my race shoes this weekend. Kind of early, I won't run in them for 5-6 weeks but they are being phased out so I grabbed them whilst I could. This time I have gone for some performance shoes. The main difference is weight; they are some 4lbs lighter than my training shoes which although this sounds minor it will give me a little more edge on the day. Oh and, they are yellow so I will be easy to spot

on the course!

Clearly I have been AWOL...

So, although it has been a little over 5 months since my last post but it has not been 5 months since I last ran!

Although I had my usual hiatus after the San Diego Marathon I actually got back into action pretty quickly. As a surprise for my birthday my wife planned a trip to New York and the timing was great for a favorite race of mine; the New York Half Marathon.

I had run this race its first 2 years and enjoyed it immensely. The course is exciting; a lap of Central Park and then a chance to run through Times Square. Having been a NYC runner for several years on congested sidewalks, the opportunity to run through Times Square is too good to turn down.

Signing up for the race last minute had its own challenges; I went from pretty minor training to running 10 miles nearly overnight! I had no expectations to perform too well of course, aside from the lack of training we'd also be travelling across the country with a sick 1 yr old and NYC was enjoying some of its famous humidity!

That said, the race was a blast. I ran the first 6 miles or so with my old NYC running buddy Tim. Unfortunately he had a chest infection and dropped off the strong pace we'd started at so the second half of the course was just me and my thoughts!

The NYC crowds at races are fantastic, they really energize the runners. Despite all the factors against me I actually managed to finish in 1h42m16s which was only 26 seconds slower than my best half marathon performance! Tim was able to push through despite having breathing difficulties and finished just a couple of minutes behind me.

Since returning to NYC I have started training for the Phoenix Marathon on Jan 17th 2010. I am now 7 weeks into my 18 week schedule and am feeling strong thus far. Mileage is already racking up; my long run this weekend is 16 miles.

I now have several running partners in Phoenix. Baby Ava joins me for tempo runs, our dog Violet for speed workouts and then two guys from my community for the longer runs (when they are available).

I am excited for this race. That we won't have to travel for the race will be a great benefit. I am confident that with good training that I can beat my time in San Diego. The real golden egg will always be Boston, my qualification requirement for that is 3h15m59s which is a stretch from San Diego but I am confident of chipping more time off and getting nearer to that goal.

San Diego Marathon

What a race! Not the course itself, that was pretty poor in comparison to NYC but my time is what counts; 3h33m20s! I managed to blow away my previous time by over 21 1/2 minutes, more than I could have hoped for.

Conditions for the day were perfect; overcast with a slight wind and 65f. Despite an early start of 6.30am it was very clement and I was comfortable in the staging area in just my running outfit, no sweater etc needed. Our hotel the night before was 1 mile from the start so I got dropped off 30 minutes before the start, a luxury compared to NYC; I had to set off 4hrs before the start !

I had planned on a 8m20 pace for the race, or better. That would put me in at 3h40m, and I joined that pace team at the start. I quickly left them behind however with most of my opening miles at a sub 8m pace, that would put me in at 3h30m!

The course in San Diego starts in the downtown area. There is little residential buildings so the first few miles were sparsely watched as a result. At mile 8 however I had a nice boost with my girls cheering me on. I think I confused the hell out of Ava when I suddenly appeared to say hello and left just as quick!

After leaving Downtown we head along some freeways towards Mission Bay and then Sea World. Nicole and Ava where rushing to meet me at mile 22 so I knuckled down and concentrated on the task at hand.

Despite 'trying' to slow my pace I was still comfortably running at a 8m/mile and had the 3hr30m pace team in my sights. The crowds picked up as the race went along as we got into more residential areas. Many people were handing out fuels for the runners from orange quarters to ice pops to bananas. Any runner will tell you how helpful this is.

As I headed into the high teens on miles I started becoming my own trainer. Previously in the NYC marathon I had hit the wall at mile 18; my knees started giving in and the last 8 miles were hell. This time I knew it would be different, I had trained for it.

Even still, I constantly talked to myself in my head, setting goals "the girls are at mile 22, don't even think about stopping until then..." "you can run 8 miles in under an hour, no problem!".

Unfortunately, Nicole and Ava had problems and were not able to get to mile 22 on time, I had my phone with me for the race so knew in advance and had prepared myself not to be disappointed. At around 22 1/2 miles I took my only break and walked through a water stop. The idea being that if I could drink a good amount of fluid it would see me through the remainder of the race.

By now I was determined to finish with stopping. Hell, I only had 4 miles to go! This was never in doubt once I got a added adrenalin boost at mile 24, my girls had made it! I had no idea they were there until I saw Nicole running towards me with Ava in her arms! They ran alongside me for a few yards and although not as talkative as when I saw them 16 miles earlier, I was delighted to see them.

The race finished in the Marine Barracks. By this time my pace had slowed to around 8m30s a mile however with the strong running at the start of the race I was still way ahead of my hoped time.

As I crossed the finish line the announcer gave me the final (and most welcome!) shout of "Run Cookie... Run!". I already knew how well I had done of course however when stopping my watch and realizing I had knocked 21 minutes off of my NYC time I was stunned.

Overall I came in 834th out of some 20,000 runners, and 120th in my age division. You can watch me cross the finish line on this link, my race number was 3618. I cross the line around 30s after the video starts; http://elite.competitor.com/webcast/sd/archive.html

No, I am resting. Three days later I still have sore calves but I am walking well again. I will be taking things easy for the summer before getting ready for either New York in November (if I qualify through the lottery) or Phoenix in January 2010.

I can already hear Nicole groan...

The Taper

Well, I've made it to the final week of my training (wait for it...) uninjured! This is the first 'long' race I have trained for since moving to the US in which I am going into final preparations not carrying an injury. I've probably completely jinxed myself with that comment.

These last two weeks went well. I actually eased off the schedule a little last week. I had some aching muscles after a 15 miler and so decided to skip the following weeks short runs. It had the desired effect; the following weekends runs were very strong and I have continued that through to the final week.

Despite temperatures reaching 100f daily I am comfortably running running a 7m30s mile pace on a regular basis, and for high mileage. I know I cannot complete the marathon at that pace but it does give me high hopes of beating my New York 08 time of 3h55m. For that race my average pace averaged at just under a 9 minute pace so, I should have it well beaten!

I fell short of running a full 20 miles as planned during my training but did cover 15+ miles multiple times, running 18 miles on one occasion. For the race I am going to link up with the 3h30m pace team which is an 8 minute pace. It's possibly a little aggressive but I will try and stick with it. Anything above a 3h40m time is the goal.

The key this time is to not stop. For New York I hit the wall around mile 18 and stopped multiple times over the final stages. That caused my average pace for the whole race to fall dramatically.

If I can complete the race without stopping I will be delighted. Training this time has gone well and was almost exclusively run on pavement. As a result my legs are in their best condition ever for 26.2 miles of pounding!

Wish me luck; "Run Cookie Run!

The downward spiral...

For all of you worried about my training for the last weeks I am pleased to say that despite procrastinating on my blog, the running continued.

I am now 3 weeks away from the race day and am beginning the taper. Yesterday was my final 'long' run of 15 miles and it's downhill from here. I am feeling pretty good, some soreness on my hamstrings but nothing too bad; some stretching and massaging over the next few days will sort that out.

The training has gone well. Aside from the unintentional vacation from running when in the UK I have managed to meet most of my goals and have actually run 368 miles so far in preparing for the race. By the actual race day I will have over 425 miles under my belt in training for a 26.2 mile race! Craziness.

This last week was actually my strongest in regards to distance. Over 5 days I covered 43 miles which included an 8m and 10m at around 7m30s pace and a 15 mile run at just over 8min pace. My times in comparison to the training for the NY Marathon are incomparable, if I can just manage to maintain a sub 8m15s pace per mile over the course of the race I will comfortably beat my previous time.

It's good timing that my mileage is declining as it's hit 100f daily now. As an added bonus, snakes are starting to appear on my runs! In the last week I have seen 2. I actually ran over 1 of them with the jogging stroller (Ava is my new short distance running partner!). I kind of cut it in half; does the same rule apply to snakes as with worms? Cut one in half and it becomes 2 snakes? Guess not; no head...

Back from vacation

When I take a vacation, I really take a vacation. After my fantastic week hitting all my mileage goals we set off to the UK visiting family and despite fully intending to run 7 times during the trip I managed to run just the once! It was a nice run though, in central London alongside Hyde Park! I hadn't run in the city for many years and it bought back fond memories of a 'OOCL' lunchtime running group I had been a member of.

Since returning from the trip however I have quickly got back on track. Although not as many miles as due per my training schedule I managed to total 28 miles this week with my long run being 12 miles. The long run was very strong, with an average pace of 7m37s for the mile.

Rather than jumping back into my full schedule I felt it was better to ease into it to hopefully avoid injury. I will build up next weekend again and then slip back into the schedule thereafter. I am now reaching the heavy mileage stage of the training, my longer runs are 20 miles hereon. We're under 8 weeks away from the marathon now and, assuming I stay healthy I am very confident of beating my previous time.

My Sunday running partner Trevor completed his Ironman today beating his goal by 5 minutes which is a fantastic achievement. Trevor hopes to continue to join me on my long runs at least through to early May which would be a great help. 20 miles with just your mind for company can be taxing!

For a more humourus (but rather outdated) take on this blog visit readcookieread.blogspot.com

That's more like it!

Wow, what a week. It's been a long time since I hit all my mileage and this was a strong one; 40 miles covered which was a staggering 24 miles more than covered last week!

After the recent disappointing weeks with runs missed to due work or sickness I was determined to get a full week of training behind me. Despite starting the week with a tight right calf muscle I pushed through and set some strong times throughout including an 8 mile run at 7m30s pace which is dead on 1 hour. That was an anomaly, we're getting into the serious mileage now so I need be careful. My long run this week was 16 miles which is not something you can afford to mess with!

The 'Norterra Running Club' is started to gain some steam; we are now three! I am delighted to say that 'Brett' is our newest member, we met yesterday at a community event.

A Trade Show for local residents was held on Saturday in which residents displayed a variety of home businesses and services. My wife in fact debuted her new business Lemonade Events and had some positive feedback which is exciting. Whilst my wife worked the stand I walked between the other displays with our daughter and right opposite was a stand for a local race which I naturally made a bee line for...

TriPhx is run by a Brett and Kristin, a Connecticut family who moved to the area around 1 year ago. They set up the company as a side business and are organizing an adventure trail run within our community.

Brett is a serious athlete; he has completed over 40 triathlon, 5 marathons (including an Ultra) and many shorter races. Although currently on the recovery stage after the Ragnar Relay in which he ran 33 miles of a 200 mile relay he joined us for a period of today's long run. Ironically, whist out on our long run two weeks ago Trevor and I caught the tail end of this race but had no idea what it is! I am hopeful that Brett and Trevor will continue to meet up for long runs in the next two weeks whilst my family and I are visiting the UK.

My training is going to be challenging these next two weeks. We travel to London on Thursday, and stay for 10 days. I have some serious mileage scheduled during the trip. Naturally I will aim to do as much as possible but it's obvious I will miss runs. That's another reason why hitting my mileage this week was so important!

The last 3 weeks

Those who know me well will not be surprised to hear that I am starting to have some aches and pains. As of writing, I have a sprain on my right calf. Not too severe however it's annoying. This is the same injury that caused me to worry about the 2007 New York Half Marathon however, history shows how it didn't bother me!

More annoying however is the cold I have had for the last 2-3 weeks. I just can't shake it. I've had various moments of hot/cold flushes, nights of waking bathed in sweat, aching bones and joints, sore throats and the latest is a runny nose. All this together has made the last 3 weeks a challenge!

I have kept up with my training to a degree however am starting to miss important runs. This last week I will have missed my two 7 miles runs and only complete my long run of 10 miles and two short runs of 3 miles. That means I am 14 miles down on my weekly goal. The previous two weeks run similar stories; 3 miles missed here and there, and one long run being cut short due to an inability to breathe easy with the cold.

Aside from the calf strain I am physically feeling OK which is good. My long runs are mostly going well. This upcoming week will however be a challenge as all my midweek runs increase mileage and my long run is 16 miles.

My long run partner Trevor is getting close to his event (a half Ironman in California) and this will be last time we run together before then. His race is actually in three weeks however I am travelling with the family to the UK and will have two long runs scheduled whilst over there.

There is still a long way to go, 11 weeks to be precise, so these little set backs in the last 3 weeks are not of concern. Being strong here on out is the key!

I like new stuff

Despite the global economy being in the toilet, Mrs Cookie and myself are trying our hardest to keep things afloat. As a result, and despite my constant claims of needing to 'cut back' I managed to drop $200 on some shiny toys this weekend. I justify these as required for my continued training of course.

What did I buy you ask? Well, a new pair of strides and an iPod Shuffle! Honestly, I needed the shoes. I needed to retire 2 pairs of shoes and so purchased a new pair of Brooks Defyance 2 as a replacement. I ran in them on Sunday night and they felt great, ironically during that run my knees felt the best they had all day! Yay for spongy shoes! The iPod however is a little less easy to justify but I'll find a way.

This week I ran a total of 23 miles. I missed my Thursday night 3 miler due to work however met all my other goals including a Wii Fit cross training workout on Monday. The week was due to be easier but the drop down in mileage from last week which was disappointing.

I have a BIG leap coming up now; 31 miles are scheduled for the coming week with the Saturday long run being 13 miles. For that, Trevor will join me and this is the first of only 2 weeks when our individual training schedules mesh perfectly. Until now, he has been running on after I stop, this is where we cross paths and his mileages holds or declines whilst mine increases.

Over the next few weeks my mileage will slowly increase towards a max of 50 miles a week, I anticipate having a running mate for no more than 15 of that. See, I already justified the iPod...

Week 2

Not great but, a good week. I missed one run of 3 miles but aside from that I hit all my goals. As a result I actually ran 2 miles less than last week for a total of 24 miles run.

My long run of 11 miles this week was good, completed in a time of just over 1h30m which equates to a 8m11s pace. If I can keep that kind of pace going as my distance increases I will be delighted.

For next week, my midweek and Sunday runs increase to 6 miles but my 'long' run is a modest 8 miles only. This is a rest week on my long run, this step back will occur every 3 weeks and is a nice respite from the long runs. Unfortunately, the week after I bump up 5 miles to 13 miles! I will already be half marathon ready!

The time has come for some new shoes. Two pairs that I purchased in mid 2008 are approaching 300 miles so it's time to retire them. I will be getting another pair of Brooks but, I am not sure whether to go for a paid of Defyance 2 (I will be retiring a pair of Defyance 1 so am familiar with them) or a pair of 'Summon'. This is a new shoe for Brooks, I plan on a visit to Runners Den this coming weekend for a test run.

I am enjoying being back in training mode.
The commitment is challenging, it takes
me away from my girls more than I want
but I hope they understand how much I
enjoy this.

A great week

My first week back in training and I met all my goals. A total of 26 miles ran and 10 miles biked.

My long run of 10 miles was very strong this week, completed in just over 1hr20m, that's an 8min/mile pace which translates into a into a sub 3h30 marathon! That's definitely a little pie in the sky, it would be a 25 minute improvement on my NYC marathon time but it's nice to think about!

Next weeks total mileage increase by only 1 mile, and that's on my long run so I'll be doing 11 miles next weekend. I'll be doing that with Trevor, my Saturday running partner. I was pleased to hear this weekend that Trevor is planning on running through the end of April with me which is a great help. I sometimes question if I would be motivated to run 10+ miles alone and he feels the same way, those long runs can get a little dull.

As I get more into the mileage I need to make a
decision on some accompaniments.

My previous iPod died during the NYC Marathon
training so, I am overdue a replacement. This
time I will not be worrying about having the Nike+
distance/pace training system however as I am also
trying to decide whether to purchase a GPS running watch.

The Garmin 405 is rated as being excellent
but, has a hefty price tag. Every month I say I need
be less 'spendy', buying iPod's and GPS watches is
not going to help!

Here we go again

I can hear Mrs. Cookie sigh. Today is day 1 of my new 18 week Marathon training schedule. I have signed up for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon on May 31st. Last time I did this Mrs. Cookie got a weekend in New York for my endeavours, this time she gets a weekend on the beach, that's a pretty good trade I think?!


Once again I'll be following the Hal Higdon Marathon guide, but this time stepping up to Intermediate II level. I've been base building for the last 4 weeks and have quickly built up to being comfortable for 7-8 miles.


This last week was my final 'base' week and it was a good one. To ensure good mileage I went longer on Tue/Thu than I usually would (5 miles both times) with a 3 miler sandwiched in between. Then on Saturday I ran 10 miles with the Norterra Running Club (read Trevor).


We didn't actually plan on running 10 miles but, we took a wrong turn. I spent the last couple of miles trying to work out why our pace was so slow, a quick visit to MapQuest solved that; we'd done 1 mile more than planned! A bad run suddenly turned into a great one, 10 miles at 8m20s pace. If I can keep that up for 20+ miles in May I will be delighted.


My schedule this week calls for a total of 26 miles. At the peak of my training I will be running 50 miles a week.

Sorry Mrs. Cookie, think of the beach!

In da club

Norterra Running Club is a go! After the disappointing turn out last (that would be nobody...) my new running mate 'Trevor' joined me this week.


I find running with company is so much easier. I hadn't run more than 4 miles in 2 months yet we went for 7 miles this morning at a good pace. That puts me well on track for my San Diego training which starts in a couple of weeks. By the week of Jan 26th I need to be capable of running 8 miles so, I am essentially there.


Running 7 miles alone today would never have happened. Trevor is training for a Half Marathon in April so, whilst our training schedules may not jive completely we should be able to link up for regular runs.


Having not had a running partner since leaving

NYC (the BIG DOG Tim!) it's nice to get some

company again!

Is a one person running club, still a club?

I have to ask as the inaugural meet of the Norterra Running Club had a turnout of one only; me.

There I was all bright eyed and bushy tailed waiting for my fellow runners in the cold for our 7.30am start. 7.30 came, and went. 7.40 came and, still no one arrived so, I went on my own.

Everything has to start somewhere I guess, hopefully

somebody else turns up next week!

New Year, new goals!

So here we are, 2009. Topping 2008 on a personal level is likely impossible but, I am up for a challenge!

I've made a few resolutions for the new year; run stronger, eat better, be a better husband :). I also am planning on making this blog more exciting! Although focused on my running still, I'll be expanding to all goings on in Cookie Land.

I've seriously procrastinated since the marathon. Since that day I have run a combined 11 miles only (in 2 months). I really struggled to motivate myself since the big day so, with a new year I am hoping to start off with a bang.

I started a running club for our community, the aptly named 'Norterra Running Club'. We have our inaugural meet this Saturday. 4 people have checked into the club so, hopefully someone will turn up! We're going to run 5 miles this weekend but if a success this will be used for long training runs, 20 mile runs alone can get dull...

In preparation for the run I went out last night and did a slow

3 miler, my first run in a month. It felt good and I have no ill effects.

Ava and Ms. Vi bought Mrs. Cookie and I Wii Fit for Xmas so, I am sure my weeks efforts of strength training, yoga and aerobic exercising on that set me up well! I still can't believe I managed to hurt my shoulder doing the Wii 'press up challenge' though...