Race day!

I came, I conquered :) Well, conquered my personal goals anyway, some pesky Mexican guy actually won the race...!

After the build up and tension race day came up fast... I eased into it with minimal training as I was still feeling the results of my muscle sprains however, with a mixture of rest, ice, compression and massage I was able to walk to the start line free of pain.

I had trained for a sub 3h45m finish and therefore attached myself to the 3h40m pace team hoping they can pull me through despite my recent lack of training. The race started very well (albeit 20 mins early which caused some confusion and last minute removal of warming clothes!), I got chatting with a Canadian guy called Barry who was competing in his final marathon. He also had a goal of 3h40m so we stuck together.

Very quickly we left the pace team behind, which is clearly not the idea. We were however feeling very good as we ran through the streets if Brooklyn, adrenaline pumping as we listened to their screams. I think I was perhaps the most supported person on the day, RUN COOKIE RUN!!! was emblazoned on my shirt and I lost track of how many times I heard it shouted, it was literally in the hundreds. Our pace was good, 8m11s average miles, way better than I had hoped or planned/trained for.

"Barry" and I remained strong all through Brooklyn and into Queens. By that stage we had a Half Marathon under our belts and were talking as though we were on a stroll. Mile 16 (the last mile before Manhattan) however is the Queensborough Bridge. We'd been warned by the pacer at the start that the bridge was hellish; no fans are allowed so all you can hear is the pounding of feet and heavy breaths. Salvation is however there; at the end of the bridge is 1st Avenue in New York which was a wave of noise for the runners, if anyone was lagging then the adrenalin shot in the veins from those fans was instantaneous.

For me it was a wonderful moment; I saw my friend Kat and then my wife, daughter and parents. Despite being 17 miles into the race, it felt like the first mile for a moment...

However, I then hit the wall. I liken the moment to being hit by a baseball bat on the knees, all of a sudden (and only 1 mile after feeling so strong) my knees said "enough is enough" and started burning... I still had 8 miles to go...

The wheels fell off at this stage; I was able to run 1 - 1 1/2 miles however at a much reduced pace and broken up with stretches of walking (hobbling). My miles went from around 8 mins to 10 mins, with one at 12 mins. Barry and I had lost each other at the turn for 1st avenue so, my supporter was gone (I later tracked his result and see that he fell off worse than I did), all I had was the supporters ("RUN COOKIE RUN!!!") and my determination to see it through...

Suffice to say, I did make it although I lost likely 10 mins on my time in the last few miles. Approaching and being in Central Park was tough, by this time my calves, hamstrings and of course knees were on fire however I grinned and bared it.

My family support was again in prime position as I turned the penultimate corner on 60th Street Manhattan and with only 3/4 of a mile to go I was able to use their support to push through and even end with a 'sprint' finish of sorts....

My final time was 3h54m47s. I beat 2 of my goals; 1) to finish! and 2) to beat 4h.

As I write this I am back in Arizona and resting up. I intend to take 1-2 weeks off running to allow my muscles to recover and then start training for my next challenge; the Phoenix Half Marathon in January.

The marathon was an amazing experience, from the expo
to the race day and the celebrations thereafter! I can't wait to do another one, it's a hell of a bug to catch!

Weeks 23 and 24

Well, here I am 2 weeks to the day away from the marathon. Fortunately, I am running again albeit not 100% comfortably.

After taking 2 complete weeks off to rest and recover I started running again last Tuesday (the 14th) I ran 3 times this week; 5 miles on Tuesday and Thursday and 4 miles on Saturday. Today (Sunday) I ache a lot... I do however feel that a lot of the aches today can be blamed not on the running but, the 8 tons of gravel that I helped shovel! Not the best marathon training for sure.

I had planned to run 12 miles today, albeit broken into stages of 4 miles with stretching in between. That's not going to happen now so, I will rest and then concentrate on a full week of running next week. My goals will therefore be; 5 runs total, and 1 day of cross training (anything but running basically!). The mileage total will be 26 (hey, a marathon! Maybe I can run the race that way also...?!?!)

Whether or not I am going to be physically capable of running the marathon remains to be seen but, I am going into it fully committed; I picked out my race shirt, and shoes yesterday (spending $200 in the process!). For shoes I decided on the Brooks Glycerin 6. Previous versions of that shoe got me through both my New York Half Marathons so, we have a good history :)

Now that I am winding down my runs it will be important to a) work in my new shoes and b) RUN OUTDOORS! Unfortunately the summer through me one last curve ball with temperatures returning to the mid 90's again this weekend but, it looks like it is cooling down again now.

One thing for sure is; I will never train for a late fall marathon again! It's spring marathons for me from now on...

Week, um 20/21 and 22?!

Injury (and tardiness) strikes!


My avid readers will have noted my updates have slacked recently... With a combination of travelling, and frankly little to write about, my blogging has slipped.


September as a whole started great. I met most of my goals and my long runs increased to 20 miles. However, since my last long run of 18.25 miles on Sep 14th I have run only 32 miles total, in 2 weeks. I have in fact only managed to run 5 of the 12 times scheduled.


Cardio wise, I do not seem affected. I ran 10 miles outdoors in California last week, and 5 miles outdoors in Arizona yesterday. It's injuries however that are causing concern.


As it always seems, I am injured coming into the end of my training. At the moment I have a tightness at the top of my left leg and both my calves are shot after Tuesdays run. Pavement continues to be a problem, with near all my training being on treadmills, road running is difficult.


I skipped today's run doing non impact cardio instead. I will run tomorrow, and again this weekend but the injuries are making things painful. I have significantly dropped mileage already, dropping anymore will start to impact my cardio.


I am in a bit of a difficult spot; I want to keep running but, I know I should pull back before I risk further injury.


To add insult to the injury, my Nike + also gave in on me this week. I hope to replace that soon, it's less than 3 months old and the screen gave up.


I'll be buying my race shoes this weekend, I will wear Brooks shoes but, I am undecided on which type. I have been using their Defyance shoe recently but, the new Glycerin 8 is appealing. I'll be trying them out this weekend. Whichever I decide on I'll wear them the next month to get them worn in nicely for the big day!

Week 19

Wow I hurt! I am just relaxing after a 19 mile run this afternoon. That run was the longest I had done by 3 miles, and probably the last 5 were uncomfortable! Hopefully there will be no residual damage done by the run, my thighs and calves hurt but I had an ice bath when I got back and am stretching regularly.

I totalled 41 miles this week, I missed my Thursday night run as a) it was my parents anniversary and b) I needed a break! Still, 41 miles in a week is a good number and a increase of 3 miles over last week.

The miles continue to increase next week, with the 'cherry on the top' being the 20 mile run next Sunday... All I can say is thank god the NFL is back otherwise I'd go mad on the treadmill.

I took 1 run outdoors this week, on Tuesday, and frankly it beat me up. It's made me realise that I definitely need to strengthen by running a lot of outdoor miles in the next 7 weeks so will aim to do both my Tuesday and Thursday 5 mile runs outdoors this week. Hopefully I will feel better after those runs.

We have a lot of travelling coming up with will create havoc with my schedule. I am already making plans to adjust my schedule to make the most of the opportunities I will have to run.

Here's to hoping I can walk tomorrow, otherwise I'll be asking wifey for massages :)

Week 18

A good week, back on track! As hoped I kept to the schedule and managed all 38 miles which was my best weekly total thus far. Most of the runs were a little uncomfortable however, for different reasons. I had cramps 2 times and also felt light headed once, but that abated after pounding some Gatorade. Overall I am obviously pleased with this weeks efforts however, and the aches and pains can be understood when we consider a week on week mileage increase of 14 miles.

Next week sees a big increase in mileage once again. My long run on Sunday will be 19 miles and the week will see me run for 45 miles in total, and another big jump week on week. Having missed several important runs recently I am determined to 'fulfill' my obligations this week. It's very important as next week will be the first of my longest training weeks...

The first of my 50 miles weeks is next week. I will do 3 of these weeks as I lead into the Marathon. My long run (and longest I will do in training) will be 20 miles, and those weeks will be complimented by two 10 mile and two 5 mile runs.

This week will see me take my running outdoors again starting with my two 4 miles runs on Tuesday and Thursday. I'll then follow that up by adding my Saturday runs as of next week which will alternate between 10 and 6 miles. By the middle of September all but my longest run will be outdoors and, eventually maybe even those will be.

Week 17

I let myself down this week. Unfortunately only 24.5 miles were run despite 41 being scheduled. I missed my Wednesday night 8 miler for a break, and then managed to screw up my times and didn't have time for more than 8 1/2 miles of my long run on Sunday. That was only half what I was due to run. Hopefully there will be no negative impact to my fitness but I need to ensure that I meet all my goals this coming week.

This weeks schedule is a total of 38 miles. A big jump week on week after the shortfalls however very manageable. I have two runs of 9 miles, and my long run is only 12 miles. It's very important that I meet all these goals as from here on out I am basically at my full weekly mileage as I proceed for the last few weeks of training.

Next week will see me run 19 miles and then I alternate with 2o miles runs followed by 12 the week after, that continues through to mid October when my mileage tails off to rest for the race.

I'll be taking my running outdoors again soon. The temperature is dropping and I hope to start running 3-4 times a week outdoors in September and October. I will start with my shorter Tue/Thu runs then add the Saturday run (with the 'Mummy Mountain Running Team'). It's possible I will also add my Wednesday run to outdoors as we get closer also.

Aside from last weeks blip the training really is going well. No injuries to report. I have 10 weeks to go and feel very strong, long may that continue!

Week 16

Well, sleep deprivation got the better of me this week, one guess why...! To be honest, it wasn't just my first born. Aside from the regular awakenings for Ava's feeding during the night, our puppy Violet also choose this week to have 'bathroom' issues and also disturbed every 2-3 hrs. Of course it is too much to expect them to be on the same schedule so, it felt as though we were up every 1-2 hours for a few days!

Despite these disturbances and also my return to work this week, I managed to maintain my schedule through Saturday, letting just that run suffer.

In total I covered 32 miles this week. That was 8 miles less than planned but I am very happy with the end result. The long run this week was 16 miles which I completed today in 2h16m at an average pace of a little over 8m30s per mile. If I could maintain that for the marathon I'd finish sub 3h45m which would be a great achievement.

This coming week sees just a 1m increase in my scheduled mileage, Sunday's run is 17 miles. Of course with my missing this weeks Saturday run I am looking to run 9 miles more this week.

I am in unknown territory now. Not only have I never run as far at one time (today's run was 2.9m longer than I have EVER run) I have also never clocked the this kind of mileage consistently week by week.

The good thing is that I am still enjoying the training and aside from my aching muscles from today's run, I am injury free. I am looking forward to taking more of my running outdoors and plan on going a Scottsdale running team in September for my Saturday 10m runs. By the end of September I in fact hope to have the majority of my runs outdoors as it will cooler by then.

Starting this week I am going to change my Tue/Thu runs to incorporate hill and interval work once each, this will help my overall stamina and strength for the longer runs.

Lets see how it goes!