Nov 04 2006 05:22 PM
if i can pull it off, this'll be this years' marathon logo, to be applied to my singlet tonight (like the goofy2006 logo seen in my avatar)...
Master Index of Archived Threads
A-P Running Thread
| ScarletKnight41 Mar 18 2006 01:21 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 09 2007 12:11 PM |
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MK and I ran our first 5K of the year. For the first two and a half miles or so we took things really slowly, because MK hadn't run 5K in over four months, and he was struggling. Then, at the end, we make the final turn and the kid announces, "I think I'm going to sprint now" (right at the point where I'm running out of gas, of course). The kid beats me by 45 seconds - lol. Despite the early struggles and despite the cold, it was good to have a 5K to run. The next one is in two weeks, and there are a bunch of them coming up in April (including the [url=http://www.oymp.net/Raceinfo/draftday5k.htm]Draft Day 5K[/url] at Giants Stadium on April 29, where you finish up by running the length of the football field!). And don't forget the [url=http://www.nyrr.org/race/2006/calendar/july.php]Run to Home Plate[/url] at Shea on July 29, where you finish the race on the field (specifically, on the dirt around the field).
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| Frayed Knot Mar 18 2006 03:16 PM |
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I worked very hard on not running any 5Ks last year, so this year I'm going to work on not running any 10Ks. All of this is building up to my ultimate goal of not running a marathon. I think I can do it.
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| Willets Point Mar 18 2006 03:28 PM |
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| metsmarathon Mar 18 2006 03:42 PM |
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good job on the race! the weather this year so far has been very frustrating. on the days when i ant to run, its cold, windy, and/or rainy. on the days when i'm tired, or stuck at work, or just not feelin' it, its friggin beautiful! i've got a few races under my belt so far this year. four, to be exact. the last two were 4-milers w/ NYRR. the gridiron classic on superbowl morning, and the snowflake 4-miler 3 weeks later. ran each of tehm about the same, with a slow first mile, about an 8:15 second mile, an 7:45 third mile, and a 7:15 last mile. it's nice to know i still had that speed in there, and just need to figure out how to tap into it better. my first two races of the year, i think i kinda owe a book report on still... those being the walt disney world marathon and half marathon. that's right. the goofy race-and-a-half challenge. inagural, too. to set the stage, we went down to disney world on thursday, 5 january. the weather was about 70 degrees or so when we got there. the day before it was almost 80. on friday, the weather dropped to 60, and for saturday, the high was only supposed to reach 50. and of course, the morning lows were considerably lower. in fact, at 4:00 am when we had to be at the staging area for the start, the temperature was about 35. very cold. the half marathon went fairly well. the wifey and i ran it comfortably, finishing in 2:33:59, with a pace of 11:44 per mile. the half marathon is a new course this year - in the past it tracked the full marathon until the 13 mile mark, and then split off for an early finish. this year, instead of starting teh half by running through epcot in the wee small hours of hte morning, it starts out on roads just outside of epcot, going towards the magic kingdom, where you still run through the castle, and then return to epcot for the finish. the couse was actually better than we expected, but still, the old course was superior. anyways, that day, the temp indeed gets up to only about 52 degrees, and the next morning, the morning of hte marathon, is about 32 degrees at the same 4:00 am staging area. well, the rapid temperature changes were apparently not a very good thing for the wifey, as she had basically been starting to get sick as a result of this. three miles into the marathon she tells me that, basically, the cold has given her a head old that is affecting her inner ear, and the up-and-down of running is gonna make her hurl after a while! at this point, we were 23 miles from teh finish. the only way we were going to finish the race was if we walked. so we did. we sprinkled in a little bit of running here and there, mostly when there were crowds cheering, or when we were going through parts of the parks, but for the most part, for about 20 miles, we walked. let me tell you, walking is not easier than running. well, it is. but it stil hurts. especially if you've trained for running, and now hafta walk. different muscles are involved. and i've never EVER been so happy to start running at mile 24 as when we decided at about mile 24 to run most of the rest of the way in. we finished 6 hours, 24 minutes after we crossed the starting line, and basically spent 9 hours total over two days running around walt disney world. all in the quest of our medals. i've since been thinking that, in the time it took us to finish just the marathon, if we were to do even a halfway decent job of training, we could probably run both races. (we'd basically just hafta shave 15 minutes off our marathon, and 10 minutes off our 1/2 marathon PR's, which werent all that impressive to begin with) so we'll do it again next year, we think. also, my avatar is the logo i drew on our race singlets, to commemorate the event. of course, i blame all that walking for my latest suspected injury... (i'm developing a very cliff-floyd-like reputation as a guy who is always injured - if it isn't my pulled calf and quad last year, its continuous finger and thumb injuries from basketball and a chonically tendonitised knee) because the marathon took no toll at all on my leg muscles, i jumped back into basketball with both feet. of course, i forgot that the marathon prolly took a toll on my feet as well. so after playing ball for about a month consistently, three or four days a week, my foot decided to start hurting in the beginning of a 6 mile run in early Feb. It really hasn't stopped hurting. it'll get better when i run or play ball, but hurt like hell when im not. i'm getting it looked at on wednesday, of course. which is a rare thing for me to actually seek medical attention for an injury. while i seem to break fairly easily, i also heal fairly easily too, but nor this time.... and i'm leery of the amount of resting i'll be instructed to take. i figure i can tolerate a month of rest easily, but more than two months and i'd start having to worry about being able to run New York this year, to improve on my disappointing effort of last year (that i've finally stopped being p/o'd about!). so of course, i'll report on my medical malady when i find out about it on wednesday.
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 18 2006 06:41 PM |
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<<we finished 6 hours, 24 minutes after we crossed the starting line, and basically spent 9 hours total over two days running around walt disney world. >> The key words being, "We finished." WTG - I'm in awe of you! Hopefully the injury isn't anything serious. Definitely keep us posted!
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| metsmarathon Mar 18 2006 11:45 PM |
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i'm hoping i'll be able to run again (well, cleared to resume running again - i can run now, i just fear that i'm risking damage and further pain!) in time for late april's lincoln tunnel run - a 5k through the tunnel and back - and then an early may race down in disney world - the family fun run 5k companion to the minnie marathon 15k my wife is doing. if i miss those, i'll be bummed. on the bright side, a lengthy period of time with neither running nor basketball may be some good, much needed, rest for my knee... i'm far more pleased with goofy than w/ nyc, but thats mostly because i had entirely too lofty expectations for nyc. the medals are totally worth it, too.
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| metsmarathon Mar 22 2006 09:06 PM |
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well, the early word is "small fracture" based on the initial visit. a half hour in an MRI later, and i've got an appointment lined up for friday morning. ah, suspense!
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 22 2006 09:18 PM |
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That's horrible! I hope that it heals soon.
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| metsmarathon Mar 22 2006 10:15 PM |
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me too. granted, "small fracture" is basically what i expected to hear. what i'm worried about it the mandatory healing period being terribly long. that's what i hope to discover on friday. i'm already dying of inactivity since monday :p
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 22 2006 10:53 PM |
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I can relate. Perhaps there's something you can substitute on a temporary basis, like an elliptical runner or a rowing machine or something? Hopefully you won't be off your feet for too long.
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| metsmarathon Mar 22 2006 11:49 PM |
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a stationary bike would be best for me as it'd get my heartrate up and let me do some work on my turnover... however, i'm not sure i'll be able to much of anything if i have to keep my right foot from getting weight applied to it and the bone in there, and of course if im forced to wear any sort of apparatus, well, that'd keep me off the machines pretty good too. i don't care for ellipticals too much. tried em once or twice, and didnt like em. also, they're more low-speed kinda things, when what i want most is to get faster, and not just stronger or more calorie-burning. same thing with the rowing machine. its just not a good enough running analogue. depending on teh severity and duration of the required immobilization, maybe i can get myself hooked up with some aqua-running. that might be cool... we shall see.
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| Elster88 Mar 23 2006 09:18 AM |
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How long is a 5K again?
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| Frayed Knot Mar 23 2006 09:31 AM |
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It's 1 K more than a 4K
1 Kilometer ~ .62 miles
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| metsmarathon Mar 24 2006 06:33 PM |
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the more wise-ass version would be "five kilometers" so... big news! my MRI shows that i have flat feet. i never knew. i mean, i always wondered why my wet footprints never had that dry spot in there, and instead looked like tose foot-shaped gas pedals that you don't see in cars anymore (did you ever see them in cars, i wonder?), and now i know. they're flat. quite the revalation! on the bright side, there does not appear to be any sort of bone damage, cracks, fractures, or things you might notice wrong with your marow. nor are there any visible soft tissue problems with muscles and ligaments and tendons and the like. so, really, tey have no idea what the heck is wrong with me. well, ok, that's not true. the doc thinks that one of them many foot muscles - one that comes from teh outside, near the base of the ankle, and wraps over the top of the foot, instering into one of the irregularly-shaped small foot bones, near the back end of the ring-toe-metatarsal (quite the medical terminology there, huh? i'm just making it up as i go along.) - is pissed off about something, and where it inserts into the bone is likely inflamed and whatnot. so i'm on some hefty anti-inflammatories (200mg Celebrex) for about 19 pills worth, at one per day, and will be going for physical therapy for ultrasound and heat therapy and the like, three times next week, with a followup thereafter. on a side note, my older sister is a physical therapist at this place, and i had the opportunity to select her as my phyical therapist but turned it down. while the notion of having my sister massage my foot for a week was very enticing, especially after she called said foot ugly today, i decided that it would perhaps be better for our sibling relationship to not elect to do so. i mean, how could i possibly respect her after that? it would just make easters and thanksgivings so awkward! :p so, to conclude the story... there's a good chance i can be running in a week or two. and hopefully without recurrence. but i'll hafta actually ask the guy first...
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 24 2006 08:00 PM |
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marathon - I'm glad that the news was good. And good choice in not having your sister be your medical care provider. There's just too much of an ick factor attached to that. Hopefully you'll be up and running soon!
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| metsmarathon Mar 24 2006 08:16 PM |
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"ick factor" yep. especially where my feet are involved!
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| metsmarathon Mar 27 2006 11:48 PM |
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so apparently, i've got the flattest feet this particular physical therapist has ever seen. and anyone in the office, to boot. i'm relatively unsurprised. what does surprise me is that apparently, i've suffered serious enough ankle sprains in my life that i apparently do not have any semblance of the ligament that stabilizes the foot from rolling inward. which makes sense given how relatively frequently i seem to do that at times. i have no idea when i might have done this. certainly when i was younger and clumsier, i guess. doesn't seem to affect me, except maybe once every now and again i drop like a sack of potatoes when shuffling my feet on defense. i would have expected not having certain ligaments be in tact would perhaps be a bit less transparent... on the running-related front, there's relatively little news, but i've got a pretty red elastic band and some new ankle exercises to do with it.
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 28 2006 07:13 AM |
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Is there an ETA on when you'll be able to run again?
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| metsmarathon Mar 28 2006 10:41 AM |
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not yet, tho based on teh discussion with teh physical therapist, it didnt seem like there was an implicit request for me not to run prior to the visit. that changed as he asked me not to do any running before the next visit. that way they'll be able to know if the foot exercises they gave me are having any positive effect. i assumed, probably correctly, that i should have been taking time off after my first doctor's visit. i was planning on asking at the next session "so when can i start back up with running and basketballing" anyways. so now i have a perfect lead-in! if i were to guess, and in doing so get my hopes up, i would say next week or maybe at the latest the week after. unless there's something horribly wrong! :p
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 28 2006 10:54 AM |
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Hopefully that won't be the case. Based on your description, it doesn't sound horribly wrong. Good luck!
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| ScarletKnight41 Apr 01 2006 05:27 PM |
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My 5K pace is seriously off this year. By seriously off, I mean I'm two or three minutes slower than I was a year or two ago. I just don't seem to have the energy to go full out the way that I had been. Hopefully this too shall pass. I ran a 5K today at the D&R Canal, which is always very pretty with the Delaware River on one side and the canal on the other (although I wish they would schedule this two weeks later - if they ever run this when everything is in bloom, it would be absolutely gorgeous!). I'm thinking of running another 5K in Montgomery tomorrow, so that I don't have to worry about running before hitting the road Monday for Opening Day. I've done 5Ks on back-to-back days before - considering my snail's pace, it's not like I have to worry much about the fatigue factor.
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| ScarletKnight41 Apr 02 2006 12:33 PM |
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I ran the other 5K this morning. 20 seconds faster than yesterday, but you can also lop off another 10 seconds or so, because I was at the back of the pack and there were a lot of runners ahead of me, so it was a slow start. I still don't have my running groove quite back yet, but it felt good to do 5Ks two days in a row and have a faster run on the second day.
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| ScarletKnight41 Apr 23 2006 10:50 AM |
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Running La 5K Loca. Yes, the weather sucked. But there was a local 5K, run by a good race promoter (the amenities are always good, like pizza for breakfast after the run. How many excuses in life do you have to eat pizza for breakfast? I'd say running a 5K is one of the few of them), so I decided to go for it. It was definitely soggy out (it's a good thing that I wore my oldest runners, because I may well have committed sneakercide on them), but the conditions were actually better than they were last year, when it wsa sunny and hot. I'm still off of last year's pace, but this was my fastest 5K of the year by well over a minute! So it was worth getting a bit wet in order to run this one. marathon - How are you feeling? Did you and/or mrs. marathon do the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge today?
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| Elster88 Apr 28 2006 08:44 PM |
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Nothing makes the workout on the treadmill go faster than having SNY on the TV. I'm going to go run a few miles.
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| ScarletKnight41 Apr 28 2006 08:46 PM |
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I'm running at [url=http://www.oymp.net/Raceinfo/draftday5k.htm]Giants Stadium[/url] tomorrow morning.
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| ScarletKnight41 Apr 29 2006 11:15 AM |
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The Draft Day 5K was a lot of fun. MK slowed me down today, but it matters not - we had a good time, especially finishing the race by running across the football field at Giants Stadium. Whether you're a runner or not, sign up for this race at least once in your life - it is a unique experience!
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| metsmarathon Apr 29 2006 08:00 PM |
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i'm so bad at keeping in touch about these things... i'm fully cleared for running and basketball and what not. i did maybe ten PT sessions in all, and i think they helped. or the drugs helped. or hte brief does of rest helped. or the foot exercises they gave me, and that i still do, but not as frequently as i prolly should, helped. something helped, and i'm not sure what, but my feet are as relatively painfree (meaning the new pain is gone, and old pains are largely the same) as ever. of course, the time of has set me back some, and of course, the fact that i've dived headlong back into basketball isnt helping my running. i told my wifey today that i'll be cutting back on basketball so that i can be fresher for running. i put too much pounding into my knees, and its jeopardizing my plans to run nyc again, and faster, if i cant run happily now. we did the lincoln tunnel run. we were going to be joined by my brother, two cousins, and my inlaws, but they all cancelled due to the weather. somehow, they all seemed to forget that the beauty of running in a tunnel is that the weather has no affect whatsoever on you! my sister and her boyfriend "braved the rain" and did run the race. mrs.mm and i started at the back of the pack at the start, and it took us about 45 seconds to get to the line after the gun. we also found ourselves trapped behind slower traffic for much of the first half mile, but we were pretty much chillin' for hte first half anyways. my sister and her BF started up much closer to the front, and hardly had any traffic to deal with. after about the first half mile, i decided to start turning on the racer in me, and accelerated a bit. i'm not sure what my first mile was, maybe around 9 minutes, net? anyways, i start up the incline to the turnaround, and i'm feeling pretty good. as i near closer to the NY exit, i see dave, and he's chugging along at a good clip. a bit later, i see my sister. she's not far ahead of me, but already she's heading in teh other direction. at the turnaround, i slow, grab some water, and walk for maybe 10 seconds. i needed it. all i had on the way to the race was maybe 10 oz of powerade and a large hazelnut coffee from dunkin donuts - light, with sugar. i also had bought a sesame bagel with butter, but hadn't the time to eat it. that would turn out to be a mistake. and so, my water downed, and another cup over my head, i turn on the jets. my sister is quickly in my rear view mirror. i had caught up to her well before the 2-mile mark. i'm cruising, at what should have been a comfortably fast pace - prolly a 7:30 or faster - and i'm thinking, "if i can keep this up, i've a decent chance of catching dave. he wasn't that much ahead of me." of course, then i hit the incline in to Jersey. in the many other times i've run this race, that is where i really make my hay. i'm a hill climber, and this one's not a hard one. annoying, maybe, but not hard. well, that day, it was hard. if only i'd had that bagel! barely up the incline, and my stomach is telling my brain that it is empty, devoid of the fuel my legs were demanding. it was that feeling of almost wanting to puke that i loved at the end of races in cross country, but this was still a half-mile from the finish, at best. and of course, in college, i'd've been going much faster... i still pushed my way up hte hill, but it wasn't the hard charge i should have had in me, it wasn't the constant churning of my legs driving me past all the other strugglers. it was a trudging. i crossed hte line with an official time of 25:23. dave finished at 24:45. i'm pretty sure i could have amde a race of it if i had a wee bit more fuel in me. certainly i would have if the race scored net time, too. oh well. it was a lot of fun. then it rained hard after the finish, and we started to think that maybe the people who'd wussed out really were smarter than us.
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| ScarletKnight41 Apr 29 2006 10:39 PM |
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marathon - I'm glad to hear that you're running again. Perhaps we'll meet up at the Run to Home Plate.
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| ScarletKnight41 May 14 2006 10:22 AM |
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I did a Mother's Day 5K today. Still slower than in past years, but 2 seconds faster than the race I did April 23. I think that part of the problem is that I am not doing as much yoga as I did the last couple of years. I had been taking 2 or 3 classes a week for a while, but now I'm down to one a week due to scheduling conflicts. I think the difference in flexibility is contributing to my slower times. Still, it was a pretty route through the local park, and I had a nice time.
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| Elster88 May 14 2006 05:22 PM |
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Interval training = ouch.
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| Elster88 Jun 07 2006 10:17 PM |
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Trying to get motivated to get on the treadmill. Hopefully if I put it off long enough it'll be too late.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 07 2006 10:28 PM |
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Go for it! All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other.
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| Elster88 Jun 07 2006 10:45 PM |
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I'm going for it. :) I've developed a callous on the second toe of my right foot. Pretty yucky looking. It hasn't affected my game at the bars though.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 07 2006 10:48 PM |
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TMI Elster. BTW, why the treadmill? I'm a total indoor person for most things, but for running the treadmill is a last resort. The weather is great this time of year - why not run outside?
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| Elster88 Jun 07 2006 11:47 PM |
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I need the TV to distract myself.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 07 2006 11:50 PM |
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You're just like my daughter.
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| Elster88 Jun 07 2006 11:51 PM |
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Especially during the season. Nothing makes it easier then having the Met game on.
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| Elster88 Jun 07 2006 11:52 PM |
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Is she a Met fan? Edit: Wait a minute, your kids are young right? Never mind.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 08 2006 08:06 AM |
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She's not a baseball fan. She's almost old enough to drive. Meaning, she's way too young for you!
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| Elster88 Jun 13 2006 07:35 PM |
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Overuse injuries. :-(
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 13 2006 10:09 PM |
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:(
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 17 2006 10:41 AM |
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Today was the race that inspired last year's "Worst Run 5K" post. It once again lived down to my expectations. Let's start with the fact that the race website and flier advertised that the race would cost $20. When my friend and I got there, the sign said $25. Now, keep in mind that this is the fourth year in a row that they have held this event, and there are tons of races held in this area every year - every other race will specify if the pre-registration fee is discounted. This one didn't. There's nothing like quibbling about money at the start of a charity race, I tell ya. The first year this race measured short - less than 5K. The second year it was probably 5K or close enough to it. Last year it ran long. I finished in 34:30, which is a lot quicker than I've been running this year (I attribute the falloff to the fact that I'm taking fewer yoga classes per week than I had been over the past few years), which makes me think that this year's route was short again. I suspect it was more like 3 miles, because at the beginning they directed us to the turnaround spot, and told us that it was at 1.5 miles, and the second half of the race basically backtracked the first. The flier for the race and the race website advertised that there would be pizza after the race. There was no pizza. Just bagels and oranges. My friend pointed out that the bagels weren't even all that fresh. This is the part that hurts most - when I was deciding between this race and the local Father's Day race being held tomorrow, the pizza was the deciding factor. Drat! Finally, there was confusion over the trophies. My neighbor's daughter was second in the 14-and-under category, and my friend's daughter was right behind in third place. But there was some kind of confusion about the trophies, so they didn't even announce the girls' names when they were announcing the winners. So, once again, this qualifies as the worst run 5K I've ever seen. We'll see whether it lives down to my low expectations again next year.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jun 18 2006 11:09 AM |
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In part because of my frustrations with yesterday's stupid race, I ran the Father's Day 5K anyway. I finished in 37:36, which is slower than how I ran last year but is consistent with how I ran this course in May (and, considering the heat, I'm very happy with that time). So I'm doubly sure that yesterday's race was short, because historically I don't drop off all that much when I run on back-to-back days.
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| metsmarathon Jun 18 2006 11:27 AM |
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i don't participate in this thread enough. my buildup for NYC06 is slated to begin soon, and that means i'll be running today, and most days for the rest of the year. i was originally thinking of running the prostate cancer 5miler in central park, but got lazy instead. so now, instead of running 5 miles in central park early in the morning, i'll probably be running a much hillier 6-7 miles in 90-degree weather. laziness isn't worth it, i tell ya!
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| Willets Point Jul 18 2006 03:15 PM |
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Too hot to run?
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| ScarletKnight41 Jul 18 2006 03:47 PM |
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At this hour, yes. It's in the upper 90's today! I'll be out running early tomorrow - probably around 7:00 am.
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| metsmarathon Jul 21 2006 02:38 PM |
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damn! i go online today to try and sign up for the NYRR Run to Home Plate on the 29th, and find out that the darned thing is closed already! that sucks! i think i'm left with very few more opportunities to qualify for the NYC marathon next year, and almost have to run every available qualifier from here on out to guarantee my entry! i don't like this type of pressure. in other running news, i've pulled yet another muscle in my legs! having pulled every major muscle group in my right leg (hamstring 2000, calf 2005, quad 2005) , i've moved onto the left leg - pulling my quad while trying to leg out a single playing softball. i should know better than putting effort into softball. happily, this is my least severe muscle pull yet, as it two weeks later, and i'm back to running - just not sprinting. which is a good thing, cos my marathon training plan officially begins.. um.. now. and my goodness, is my new neighborhood hilly! damn! seriously. i can't go more than a mile without having to climb a hill. in fact, my shortest loop, a 1.15 miler, has me starting and finishing at an elevation of 970' going down to 890' and up to about 990'. sheesh! but at least i can run, i s'pose..
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| ScarletKnight41 Jul 21 2006 02:44 PM |
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Wow - I didn't realize that the Run to Home Plate could close out! I had been on the fence about that one, especially since I have a conflict on that day. Now my decision has been made for me. Sorry about the quad, but at least you're running again. I hope you get those qualifiers in!
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| metsmarathon Jul 21 2006 05:41 PM |
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i know! who knew there was a quota! i'm doubly bummed. not only did i really want to run this year, but i also need the race as a qualifier, which it hasn't been in the past. sigh.
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| Willets Point Jul 26 2006 04:32 PM |
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You guys ever think of running this race?
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| ScarletKnight41 Jul 26 2006 09:24 PM |
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Nope - 5 miles is my limit.
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| metsmarathon Jul 27 2006 09:18 AM |
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um... yeah... 39.3 miles in two days is my upper limit.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jul 28 2006 09:55 AM |
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YES! I just got in, and I'm sucking air. I should have made myself go out earlier.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jul 30 2006 11:44 AM |
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marathon - in retrospect, that Run to Home Plate yesterday had to have been brutal! There's no shade on that course, and by 10:00 yesterday it was really hot. I went out very early today - 7:30. The strategy paid off - I ran my long route of the week, but it didn't take nearly as much out of me as Friday's run, which started about 8:45. In weather like this, and hour or so can make a big difference!
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| ScarletKnight41 Aug 11 2006 04:55 PM |
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This was a gorgeous day for running - I loved being out this morning :) I also had fun this afternoon - my friend is a fundraiser for a special needs school, and the school is considering having a 5K fundraiser. We spent some serious time this afternoon talking about 5Ks - what works, what doesn't, what she should and shouldn't do when organizing one. It was cool being considered an expert in something that I enjoy doing so much.
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| Giant Squidlike Creature Sep 12 2006 05:07 PM |
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Get out and run.
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| metsmarathon Sep 13 2006 09:04 AM |
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i'm running the inaugural Disneyland Half Marathon this sunday. part of the course takes us into Edison field, at about mile 10. i'm not sure if it'll be like hte NYRR Run to Home Plate wherein you run along the warning track around the playing field, or if we actually get to run on the field of play and cross the actual home plate. the course description tells me that i will in fact be crossing home plate, but i fear it could be hyperbole. and no, i'm not ready for it. the farthest i've gone is 8 miles, which is considerably short of 13.1 miles. i hope the extreme hilliness of my local running will in some way make up for the lack of mileage, but i know better. good thing i plan on running the darned thing slowly! this will bring to, i think, two, the list of major professional playing surfaces on which i've competed. hopefully that giants stadium race thing won't conflict with the lincoln tunnel run sometime soon, so i can bring it to three.
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| ScarletKnight41 Sep 13 2006 09:38 AM |
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Very cool - have a great time! And I hope to see you at this year's Draft Day 5K :)
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| metsmarathon Sep 13 2006 11:29 AM |
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if what i'm seeing now is correct - that the lincoln tunnel run is on the 22nd, and the draft day run is on the 29th, its a very real possibility.
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| metsmarathon Sep 19 2006 05:51 PM |
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that place the Angels play sure is nice to run through. but it doesn't feel nearly as enormous as shea does. maybe its how we came in...? in the disneyland half marathon, the stadium was just before the 10 mile mark - actually, the left field fence was the ten mile mark. we entered through a tunnel at the base of the right field foul pole, and ran straight along the warning track towards the backstop, then turned left and out along the left field line, and out through another, similar tunnel. this leaves openness on your right side, and stadium on your left as you enter the park. at shea, you come in through the center field fence, and 400 feet away from you is home plate, and 55,000 seats looming overhead. its a much more enormous place, tho maybe its my blue-and-orange goggles talking. the place in anaheim, while impressive, didn't feel nearly as imposing, or dramatic. there was also no crowd near the stadium. or along the majority of the course, for that matter. as far as marathons and half marathons go, i would have to say that the disneyland half marathon is by far my least favorite one that i've done, i think. i mean, the whole disneyland thing is cool, and running through the parks is cool too... but anaheim sucks to run through, and almost ten of the 13 miles were in the streets of anaheim. flat. wide. boring. no crowds. no cheering. nothing. it was almost like running through an industrial park with palm trees scattered about, and a high school marching band stationed every two miles or so. the california adventure and disneyland portions of the race were pretty good, but pale in comparison to the walt disney world experience. i imagine that is largely because hte race was smaller and lower profile - being only a half marathon, with no full marathon in sight - and also because it was the first time, and the spectators both local and non-local aren't seasoned marathon viewers. what i mean is that since it wasn't a full marathon, you're more likely to get people trying their first half marathon, and often their first real race. many of these are walkers, which is fine. with first-time participants, you have first-time spectators. first-time spectators are, to my experience, more likely to cheer the individual than the event - they're tehre for their mother, who's running or walking her first half marathon, and they're saving all of their enthusiasm for her. what that leads to is a very quiet race course. especially in the streets, where the primarily industrial-commercial nature meant there were really no neighborhoods to run through, and therefore no walkup spectators. more quiet. experienced spectators are more liekly to cheer the entire crowd along, instead of focusing on one person. this was particularly maddening at the finish, when we run through downtown disney. the course was lined with people, but they weren't making ANY noise to speak of. a handful were, sure, but there was no raucous cacophony compelling you to ignore that twitch in your thigh that threatened your upright posture with a sudden crumpling to the ground. that raucous cacophony is what makes a marathon, in some respects. without it, you're just hurting yourself! the winding of the course for the first three or so miles through the california theme parks was also a bit less than i was expecting, and used to from the disneyworld races. see, it was brighter here, and one of the truly great parts of the WDW marathon and half marathon is running through epcot in teh pre-dawn, with the park glittering and glowing as if filled with magic. disney magic. the dusk dimmed that effect in claifornia adventure, and there was no such effect in disneyland. i also didnt think they had the park music turned up as loud, but that could just be my memory lying to me. it seemed quieter. and finally, the seminal moment of the walt disney world marathon and half marathon - running through the gate of the castle - was not so much here. the castle is so much smaller here, and the leadin is briefer and narrower. it was more a bottleneck than a destination.
we got across just as it seemed likely to disintegrate into chaos. it had me thinking some very un-disney thoughts! i'd have to say though, that with all of the negative things i said up there, i'm glad i did it. it was the inagural race, and the medal is cool. i mean, i'm probably not going ot run this one ever again. but i'm glad i did it, and on the whole, it was fun. my time, for the record, was 2:31:04, which put me at 4622nd, in a field of ~9400 finishers, 2331 among 3640 male finishers, and 183 among 296 males aged 25-29. not bad for having run no more than 8 miles at any time in the previous... well... probably since january... onwards and upwards to NYC06! i have a lot more running to do!
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| ScarletKnight41 Sep 29 2006 09:12 AM |
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I'm sorry that the course wasn't a better one, but still envious and impressed that you ran it. Scan that medal NOW!!!!! MK and I are running a local 5K tomorrow, and another one on the 15th. I'm not expecting to do particularly well, but it's been a few months since I've run a race, and I'm looking forward to having a good time with my son :)
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| metsmarathon Sep 29 2006 09:32 AM |
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i'm running the 5th avenue mile tomorrow, and the Norway Run 1.7 miler on sunday. in between, the wife and i need to run 16 miles to get back on track for NYC06. she's not running the other two races cos she wants a break from marathon-running after this year. but i need them to get into new york next year, so i get to run extra.
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| ScarletKnight41 Sep 30 2006 11:24 AM |
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MK and I ran that 5K this morning. I finished in a pokey 39:08. But I hadn't run a race in over three months, and I enjoyed being out there on this gorgeous morning. MK, OTOH, ran his best race ever. He left me in the dust and finished in something like 36:30. He didn't win any prizes this year because he is now in a higher age category (last year he won a prize in the 9 and under group, but with double digits he's now facing tougher competition), but he did a very nice job. In the past he has had trouble running the entire way, often complaining about his legs being tired, but today he was a little Energizer Bunny - he just kept going and going :) His reward was a post-race spread of pizza and ice cream. Not a bad breakfast for a 10-year-old <g>
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| metsmarathon Sep 30 2006 02:24 PM |
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congrats! today i ran the 5th avenue mile. 16 more miles await me; it looks like i'll be running them in some sprinkles. it was the fastest i've ever shuffled my feet. i say shuffled because usually i have a lot more leg lift, and leg extension, when i'm trying to run fast. i was very low on my feet, if that makes any sense. i dindt want to push too hard, what with my 16 further miles looming for the afternoon, and my hammys were feeling pretty tight. so i shuffled. despite that, i came in at 6:22; and i suspect my net time will be around 6:15! i was hoping as the gun went off that i'd be able to run an 8:something... at least crack nine! i started out in the back of my heat, with all the other 15-29 yo males. i started very slowly, and a quarter mile in, i already felt spent, and was constantly shifting gears to maneuver in the crowd. the second quarter mile was uphill, too. but the whole race i was passing people. and when i got to the 1/2 mile mark, and saw 3:20, i started to think that maybe i was going faster than i realized. at the crest of the hill, about 70th street, i accelerated a bit, and settled into a fst cruise for the rest of the race. well, until about 200m to go. i tried shifting gears there, but shifted too early. i shifted when i saw the 200m sign, instad of when i passed it. big mistake. i was was gassed. had nothing left for a kick at the finish. i was hoping to be able to cross the line under 6:15, but couldn't muster the juice. that nagging 16 again, i think. 6:22. that's my fasted time ever in a one-mile race. in my racing career, this was my first mile. i've had faster individual miles, but they were parts of longer races. i had NO idea i could run the darned thing that fast. and my legs feel fairly fresh. well, off i go. time to figure out where exactly i'll be running the rest of this afternoon, thanks to google earth.
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| ScarletKnight41 Sep 30 2006 02:44 PM |
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Wow - I'm impressed! That's fabulous marathon. Best of luck with the rest!
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| metsmarathon Sep 30 2006 06:20 PM |
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whew... 15.5 miles, 3 hours, 14 minutes.
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| ScarletKnight41 Sep 30 2006 07:52 PM |
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Wow! Just Wow!
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| metsmarathon Oct 05 2006 07:10 PM |
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this is me running. http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=11768&ID=27250189&FROM=photos&BIB=6136 this is also me running. http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_photo.asp?EVENTID=11768&ID=27252273&FROM=photos&BIB=6136 both are from just before the finish of the 5th ave mile, taken mere feet apart. i look so much happier in the first.
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| ScarletKnight41 Oct 05 2006 08:17 PM |
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Very cool marathon :)
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| cooby Oct 05 2006 08:20 PM |
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Okay, for pic #1, I ordered one of the Package A, and on pic #2, I ordered three of the posters (Package H) and one of the Finisher's certificates.
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| Elster88 Oct 05 2006 08:24 PM |
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Speeding is illegal marathon. I should have you arrested.
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| ScarletKnight41 Oct 20 2006 01:31 PM |
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October 20, 1999 - I was new to running, and I generally didn't run outside when it rained. But I ran outside that day, despite the weather. Considering how I felt about the Mets' NLCS loss the previous night, there was something wallowingly appropriate about the experience. October 20, 2006 - Wash...Rinse...Repeat.
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| metsmarathon Oct 20 2006 01:54 PM |
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i don't run in the rain unless i can't help it. in college i figured out that running down the one cobblestone hill on campus when wet was a factor in my runners knee, and ever since, i've avioded most rainy day running, unless htere's a race or a lsd (long slow distance) training session i need to get it on that particular day. i'm hoping its dry later so i can run today. i'm terribly in the mood to run 6. then a 5k on saturday, and 20 miles on sunday. my weekend is going to suck. but not as bad as last night. oddly enough, one of my more enjoyable and best races in college was in a terrific downpour. but that was before a) my knees started to ache and b) i started to get good
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| metsmarathon Oct 22 2006 11:08 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 23 2006 09:07 AM |
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20 miles today. two weeks to the new york marathon, and i'm so totally not ready. but the 20 went fairly well. i ran it in about 3 hours, 43 minutes, which is about an 11:11 mile pace. if i can do that for new york, i just have to then run the final 6.2 miles in a 15:53 pace, and i'll have beaten my time from last year. if in run the final 6.2 miles in a 12:20 pace, i can beat 5 hours. which all sounds rather doable, but still, i'm worried that i haven't done nearly enough distance running. also, mrs. mm, has backed out of running it with me. which is sad, because she was looking forward to it, and i was looking forward to running it with her. (she just wasn't able to train up for it enough. but we're still doing the goofy race and a half challenge.) oh well. now i can have a cheering section!
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| ScarletKnight41 Oct 23 2006 06:59 AM |
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I'm totally in awe of you. Best of luck at the marathon!
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| MFS62 Oct 25 2006 12:12 PM |
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http://sports.yahoo.com/sa/news?slug=ap-chicagomarathonwinner&prov=ap&type=lgns Later
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| ScarletKnight41 Oct 29 2006 12:36 PM |
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I did Race for the Cure today. We decided that MK would skip this race this year, because he had things going on at Sunday school. It's always inspiring and emotional to see so many people turn out for this event. Over 20,000 were on hand (there are several races - the Men's 5K, the Women's 5K, the 5K and 1 mile walks, and the kiddie races) - some running in memory of loved ones, some running in celebration of loved ones, some running in celebration of their own successful fights with cancer. I always find it fulfilling to be a part of this event. I should have worn my older runners though - my shoes got really muddy (mostly before the race - a little bit during the run) because the campus that hosts the race was soggy after yesterday's rain. But it was still worth it to be there.
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| metsmarathon Oct 29 2006 12:44 PM |
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i'm kinda in the midst of my "weekend of stupidity" i decided to term it that last night at dinner. why? because yesterday, i ran almost 14 miles (and finished a half-marathon's worth of distance in about 2:14:00, which was pretty good), and had a 5 miler this morning - the poland spring marathon kickoff. why is this all so stupid you ask? well, at dinner last night, the wife and i were talking, and she decided that she wasn't ready to give up on new york yet, and so she'll be running about 14-16 miles this afternoon - she also did the kickoff today, but did not run yesterday. so in these two days, i will have run 33 or 35 miles. folks, this is not how to taper for a marathon!
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| Edgy DC Oct 29 2006 01:08 PM |
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My friend Brian ran Marine Corps this morning. His goal is to break 2:50. "So Edgy," he asks, "when are you going to come running with me?" "Um, never. I might someday run behind you, but..."
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| metsmarathon Oct 29 2006 04:51 PM |
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yikes, 2:50! my goal next year is to run nyc in about an hour slower than that... faster if i can, but the stated goal is sub-4:00 in this year's nyc marathon, i'm hoping my wifey and i don't double his time! how did he do, anyways?
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| Edgy DC Oct 29 2006 05:07 PM |
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I just checked the site and saw he came in at 3:05. He's gonna be pissed, but he had a crick in his back all week. It looks like he had a solid first half, but pushed himself, hit the wall hard, and walked the last three miles.
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| Edgy DC Oct 29 2006 05:18 PM |
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He finished 183rd among the men and 189th overall. Amazingly, no womens broke 3:00.
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| metsmarathon Nov 03 2006 11:40 PM |
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don't forget! on sunday you can cheer along your favorite cranepooler as he struggles through the 2006 ING NYC marathon, either on the chilly streets of new york city, or lounging at home, in comfy warmth. www.ingnycmarathon.org is the place to look online for all the cool information the race day tracker apparently comes online on sunday. i think all you'd need to do would be to enter my bib number #44571 and you'd get all the cool info. if there's to be any cranepoolers along the course, let me know where you'll be, and i'll try to stop by and be recognizeable.
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| Nymr83 Nov 03 2006 11:44 PM |
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i'll be... at home watching football, but good luck!
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| Frayed Knot Nov 03 2006 11:46 PM |
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I "hit the wall" at 20 last year. This year I've trained better and should be able to get that last 6-pack down as I watch them guys run on TV.
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| Johnny Dickshot Nov 04 2006 08:09 AM |
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MM -- The Dickshot Family will be cheering you on from the halfway mark, prolly @ Greenpoint Ave & Manhattan Ave., or maybe down at the foot of the Pulaski (Brooklyn side). What're you gonna be wearing? Good luck!
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| ScarletKnight41 Nov 04 2006 08:26 AM |
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Good vibes for a great race marathon!
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| metsmarathon Nov 04 2006 05:22 PM |
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if i can pull it off, this'll be this years' marathon logo, to be applied to my singlet tonight (like the goofy2006 logo seen in my avatar)...
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| cooby Nov 04 2006 07:24 PM |
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Hey, best of luck, marathon!
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| ScarletKnight41 Nov 05 2006 12:01 PM |
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marathon - I tried tracking you, but the website isn't loading :(
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| Johnny Dickshot Nov 05 2006 06:11 PM |
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Well, we didn't see metmarathon but we waited an awful long time. Hope ya finished, buddy! Unless, you're among the leaders we shot here just past the 20K mark in Greenpoint. The eventual winner, I believe, is in the pack in the red singlet. That USA guy was leading, don't know where he finished. Love watching the race. Junior had a great time too and got high-5s as the runners passed by.
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| metsmarathon Nov 05 2006 11:46 PM |
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dangit... the foot of the pulaski bridge was one of our walk breaks... i should've had my eyes peeled better, but forgot where you said you'd be. we passed thru there at about 2:30 into the race. we were both wearing blue singlets with our names on 'em, "tom" and "anne" there's a good chance you saw us, and we saw you, but didn't know it at the time. sorry bout that! (for some reason i thought you were going to be on the manhattan side of the queensboro. danged reading comprehension. i feel dumb now.) we ran the race in 5:27:ish net time. only 5 minutes slower than my time from last year. which has me very impressed with us (mostly my wife) this year, and me really kicking myself all again for last year! she barely trained, and, like i said, just changed her mind against cancelling last saturday. and the sunday long run went south, too, as her kneee locked up on her at 10 miles into the 14-miler, and we ended up barely making 12. and she was sick today! but she hung in there, and put together a solid, mostly consistent race. the last half was a fair bit slower than the first half, but she didn't really ever bonk, she just faded in her endurance. but again, we finished in pretty good time. she's very glad she ran today, but is paying for it in soreness. me, i'm not doing too badly... i'm more tired from all the steps required to run a marathon at a slowish pace, but otherwise ok. now, we just have to refresh our bodies and start really piling on the mileage for the goofy's race and a half challenge in early january! our splits are as follows:
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| DocTee Nov 05 2006 11:55 PM |
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Congratulations-- you guys rock. As a kid growing up in Manhattan (18 mile mark) I always wanted to run in one--especially after I would return home from workat 1030 pm and pass a severely disabled athlete who was still comp(l)eting her run (accompanied by Guardian Angels)...one of these days, one of these days
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| Johnny Dickshot Nov 06 2006 07:03 AM |
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As shown above we actually watched at the corner of Manhattan & Milton, just a block or two past the 20K sign (Just before you made a right onto Greenpoint ave, then the left toward the bridge). I was kinda kidding -- there were so many thousands of you out there, it was impossible to pick out anyone. I could see the clock at the 20K mark -- IIRC the leaders came in at just over an hour (?)
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| ScarletKnight41 Nov 06 2006 07:05 AM |
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marathon - that is so awesome that, despite your injuries over the past year, you came back to complete this race. Kudos to you and mrs. m!
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| soupcan Nov 06 2006 09:28 AM |
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Congrats marathon! Great accomplishment! My dad has run the NYC twice - 1978 (age 42, time 4:19:46) and 2001 (age 65, time 5:58:37) and my sister's husband ran it yesterday (age 45, time:4:44:52). I spoke to my bro-in-law last night and he said it was incredibly painful and exhilerating and he had the greatest time. Every year I tell myself I should run it but, you know...
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| ScarletKnight41 Dec 09 2006 12:12 PM |
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MK and I, along with a friend of mine and her daughter, went up to Freakin' Rutgers this morning and ran the [url=http://recreation.rutgers.edu/bigchill/]Big Chill 5K[/url]. It's a fun event - there's no monetary entry fee, but you do need to bring an unwrapped toy for charity. There were over 2,600 participants, and it gave MK a chance to see my school for the first time. Even though it was a chip race, the race times were posted based on the clock. My 37:48 isn't as slow as it seems, because it was close to a minute before we really started. MK bolted ahead of me after the second water station and finished well over a minute ahead of his slowpoke mom :) It was cold, but otherwise bright and sunny today - not bad weather for our final 5K of the year.
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| metsmarathon Dec 09 2006 03:05 PM |
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very nice. i will be running exactly twice before the ned of the year - a 10k tomorrow, and a 10-miler the following saturday, both in central park. tomorrow gets me into next year's nyc marathon, and next sunday is because i'm already signed up for it. as for why i'm only running twice before the end of the year (and until the silliness that is the goofy race-and-a-half challenge at the walt disney world marathon and half marathon) i have only two words... plantar fascitis. stupid frickin plantar fascitis. i must be getting old or something, cos i'm freekin' falling apart. anyways, since i'm mostly on the shelf, my wife is training alone for the 1.5 marathons in january. and i have to now go meet her with a heated car, at the 12 mile mark in a 16 mile training run.
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| ScarletKnight41 Dec 09 2006 03:08 PM |
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Darn - I thought you were over that :( Feel better (and best of luck to mrs. marathon with her training).
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| metsmarathon Dec 09 2006 05:51 PM |
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nah, this is a totally brand new injury! i'm too cool to keep on aggravating tha same injury over and over again! the big ol tendon running from my right big toe to my heel started bitching at me the week before the marathon. i decided a few weeks ago to see a doctor about it, and a physical therapist. so i'm getting regular PT, with foot exercises, ultrasound, electro stim, and a nice guy rubbing my foot. and every now and again my sister stop in and says hi. so my physical therapist suggested that maybe i should not run if i wanted to be able to run disney, and while on the face of it it makes no sense to not run in preparation for a marathon, i don't think the nature of plantar fascitis is such that marathon training is good for it. i'm annoyed, because this is the type of injury that can become a chronic thing. much like my patellar tendinitis! eh, but as good as i seem to be at getting myself injured, i'm just as good at healing. so i'm optimistic, still.
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| ScarletKnight41 Dec 09 2006 06:01 PM |
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Here's to quick healing!
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| ScarletKnight41 Dec 26 2006 04:47 PM |
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Weather permitting, I plan to start the New Year off with a local 5-miler on Monday. There is something very satisfying about showing up late in the day at my friends' post-New Year's Eve gathering in my new race shirt while they're in various states of recovering from the previous night <g>
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| ScarletKnight41 Dec 29 2006 01:52 PM |
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Hey marathon - check this out for future reference - [url=http://www.bermudaraceweekend.com/home.htm]Bermuda International Race Weekend[/url]
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| ScarletKnight41 Jan 01 2007 12:38 PM |
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The weather didn't permit. The idea of driving in the rain scared me off, and the thought of the conditions of the off road portions of this run after a night of heavy rain was the final straw. I'll go for it again next year.
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| metsmarathon Jan 01 2007 12:44 PM |
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ooh, bermuda. unfortunately, that's the weekend after the WDW marathon weekend, so the earliest i'd be able to run it would be 2009 (next year's 15th anniversary disney marathon has a special medal that's like a total secret, so we just gotta do that one!)
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| ScarletKnight41 Jan 01 2007 12:52 PM |
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That sounds cool marathon. I'm planning on doing the 10K in Bermuda next year. D-Dad and I were already considering a weekend in Bermuda next January to celebrate my graduation. Finding the race weekend just sealed the deal <g>
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| metsmarathon Jan 01 2007 12:55 PM |
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oh really? that's cool! the 10k does sound rather appealing... i wonder if we'd be ready to run one of those after 42.4 miles the previous weekend...? (family fun run 5k + half marathon 13.1 miles + marathon 26.2 miles = 42.4 miles in three days) i ran a mile yesterday, btw. my foot didn't really bother me at all. i'm pretending that means i'm ready to run this coming weekend!
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| ScarletKnight41 Jan 01 2007 12:59 PM |
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Think about it. If you do make it down for the 10K, the first round of rum swizzles are on me :) I'm glad to hear that your foot is doing better. Best of luck next week at Disney!
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| metsmarathon Jan 12 2007 11:22 AM |
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if it got up to 70 in new york city, how hot do you think it was in lake buena vista, florida, on saturday? 85 or so. friends, that is excellent weather for visiting a major theme park, walking around, riding rides, and generally enjoying your vacation. what it is not, however, is good marathoning weather, no matter how early the race starts! the weather was in the low-mid 80's all throughout the walt disney world marathon weekend, with morning lows dipping in to the 60's. there was abundant sunshine, with puffy white cumulus clouds making guest appearances from time to time. the first race of the weekend was the "pirates and princesses family fun run 5k" which had a new course. instead of taking us from the Epcot parking lot, into the worlds showcase and alongside spaceship earth, with a finish coincident with the marathon finish, this year, they took us through Disney MGM studios. The staging area for the start was too shallow, and the lineup for the start wasn't contained within the fenced off area that they had, so people started filling in wherever - a lot of people ended up to the left of the start, behind some spectators who had arrived early. what they didnt realize when they did, was that there was a temporary screen/fence there that the spectators were standing behind. so about a third of hte participants in the 5k, who had tried to move forward towards the start, now had to about face, swim upstream against the crowd, and find the end of the fence, and then rejoin the race. further complicating the race was that, since it was a family fun run, you've got a lot of people who've never really been in a race before - a lot of newbies, a lot of walkers, and a lot of parents with little kids. the problem is that these categories of people follow very poor race etiquette, and its the reason that i almost never run big "fun runs". these people all think that the coolest thing in the world is to be at the start line, ignoring the fact that there are actually people behind them, and that these people intend to go faster than them. and the start is also rather narrow. so you've got a lot of people walking slowly, and many of these people, being friends and family, are walking together. side by side. on a narrow course. with many faster people behind them. one group was six wide! usually its the walkers, sometimes its slow runners, and many times there's a little kid involved. now, i don't want to come off as too much of a curmudgeon, but that's just awful race etiquette. slower traffic should not be up front, because that clogs up things for those behind, lessening the experience for most - nothing says fun like herding across the start line in a fitful step-stride-step-step-stride staccato - and even endangering their fellow participants, as its easier to misstep when you cannot see the ground ahead of you. anyways, after about a mile, the course opened up a bit, and we were able to chill out in a comfy pace. i think we crossed the line in about 31 minutes, but i wasn't paying much attention - i was still ticked off from the start. the next day was the half marathon. get to the staging area at 4:00 am for a race start at 6:10 am. in the past, we'd be huddled together wearing tyvek tearaway shirts and pants under a black garbage with a head cutout, trying to contain as much body heat as possible. this year, that was entirely unnecessary. it was in the upper 50's or lower 60's for race time, which wasn't bad at all. but we knew it would get hotter. this year, they tried out a wave start for the half marathon. what this means is that they separated out hte runners into three waves. wave A started at 6:00, wave B, our wave, started at 6:10, and wave C started at 6:30. the waves were broken down based upon your projected finish time. if you claimed that you would finish with a faster time than, i think, 2 hours, 30 minutes (or so), then you were in wave A - and they required proof from a recent race that you were capable of such a pace! we claimed a pace just slower than required proof. wave B held those runners who claimed a faster time than 3 hours, and wave C held the remainder. at 6:00, the first group of runners started. after they had cleared the starting line, wave B moved forward to the starting line, and waited for 6:10 and our own start. once we cleared, wave C would follow to the start line, but they were supposed to wait 20 minuted between our start and theirs. that's just too long. the reasoning behind the wave start is so that the people in each of the waves get their own start. how grand. i think this is because people had complained about how long it takes to get to the start when the whole race goes off at the same time. personally, i think that shuffling forward for 15 minutes is better than waiting around for 30 minutes, and then still having to shuffle forward for a few minutes anyways. luckily for the Wave C'ers, it was warm. last year would have been awful for them, with a 33-degree start temperature. beyond the start, the race went along fairly well. at the expo, the wifey and i had both bough those fancy CWX tights that they advertise in runners world, that supposedly are structured so that they give support to your joints and muscles. we thought about wearing them for the marathon, so as to help stave off muscle cramping and what not, but since they were tights, and it was hot out, we decided to give them a trial run in the half. about three miles in, we knew that we would not be wearing them on sunday. it was just too darned hot! we ran a very consistent race, and took it easy for the most part. every 8 minutes, we walked for two minutes. wash, rinse, repeat. we also walked up every hill we encountered, partly to save energy, but mostly to less-aggravate my plantar fascitis. unfortunately, this walking led to an accident at about mile 7. approaching the Disney's Contemporary hotel, there's a big dip in the bus route above which runs a finger of the seven seas lagoon (or whatever the big lake is called). its basically a short tunnel, with a steep entry and exit. we decided to walk up the exit, but, not wanting to get in the way of everybody else running, we moved over to walk up in the gutter. my wife stepped on the edge of the gutter, and rolled her ankle on the 1/2" drop, and down she went. i heard her exclaim something - "oh!" maybe - and turned, and was by her side in a flash. she had a scrape on her hand, and shin, but was otherwise ok. we walked up the hill, and continued onward. in the magic kingdom, she stopped in a restroom and washed out scrape on her hand, and later we stopped in a medical tent to get some antiseptic applied. but it wasn't too bad, and surely could've been worse. i pointed out every tripping hazard we came across for the rest of the weekend. its a good thing she loves me. we finished with a time of 2:37:34, and a pace of just over 12 minute miles. not bad considering she had only run about 30 miles since new york, and i had run even less. we napped after breakfast, vegged out for a while, ate dinner, more vegging, and went to bed around 9. sunday morning, we're back at the staging area at 4 am, and the start again is at 6. its cooler and more humid than the day before for the first half of the race. after a bathroom stop at 2 miles, and some running, we see the 5:30 pace group, run alongside them for a bit, and then vow to fend them off as long as we can. we run the first 15 miles consistently between about 12 and 13 minutes. the clouds overhead shield us from the sun, and there's a light fog in some parts of the course. the race to this point was going smoothly, and rather quickly it seemed. then the clouds parted, the fog lifted, and we started running due south, right into the bright sun. this was not a positive development. by the end of mile 16, wifey was shot, and the pace group was about to pass us by. she was already fighting dehydration, and we had given up on the 7-minute run, 3-minute walk tempo that we started the race to stave off fatigue as long as possible. we ran though parts of the animal kingdom and its parking lot, miles 17 and 18. but trouble loomed on the horizon. the long three mile stretch of I-4 beckoned. this was where we had our first ever encounter with the wall in our first marathon, and it was a boring stretch of mostly flat, straight highway. with new black pavement. and the sun baking down one it. it was an oven. we walked the next two and a half miles heading east, with a high, hot sun, and no clouds. it was about 10:40 when we reached the turnaround, and could put the sun to our backs and head west for a half mile to the big overpass on our way to MGM and the finish. the whole time we were walking, we had it in our minds that we would not allow ourselves to finish in more than six hours, but the more wifey struggled, the more jeopardy that was in. the last three and a half miles are the best part of the course, as you enter MGM, then run along a waterway to Disney's Boardwalk and Yacht & Beach club, then you spend the last mile running around the world's showcase, past the sphere, and finish in the parking lot. but still, wifey struggled. we were getting powerade as frequently as it was available, and walking when necessary, but time was running out! we got to mile 26 with maybe three minutes to spare. 0.2 miles to go! the race was on, but... not too quickly... our net time was 5:59:02, with a 13:41 pace. we were freakin' exhausted! happy, but exhausted. that night, we went out to Shula's Steakhouse to celebrate. it took us about two days before it felt like our brains had rebooted from the sheer exhaustion. walking wasn't too challenging, though rapid movements were. monday and tuesday we visited the parks, and, wearing either our Goofy medals or Goofy finisher t-shirts, fished for compliments the whole time, which is really the best part of the whole weekend :) so now we're back in new jersey, and it's cold out. we can walk again, and wifey thinks that she's only a few days away from being willing to run again - maybe this weekend if its not raining. me, i have physical therapy for my foot tonight. interestingly enough, it didn't bother me at all with the running. but after walking around the parks for two days, its unhappy now. definitely more tingling and palpable stretching than there had been last week. so no more running for me for a while again. i'm back on the recovery wagon!
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| Johnny Dickshot Jan 12 2007 11:35 AM |
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Congrats on breaking the 6-hour barrier! Is it like, a generally accepted practice to tune for a marathon by running a half-marathon the day before and 5-K the day before that? If that's what the schedule was?
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| ScarletKnight41 Jan 12 2007 11:36 AM |
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Thanks for the recap marathon. Glad that you finished in the nick of time :) Scan those medals - inquiring minds want to see them! FWIW, I never start at the front. I'm very mindful of the fact that I'm a slow runner. And narrow starts just suck in general - race organizers should be more mindful of that. Best of luck with the healing. I can see how walking can stress your muscles more than running - you were more prepared for the running. So - do you think you're up for Bermuda after Disney next year?
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| metsmarathon Jan 12 2007 02:35 PM |
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thanks. Friday 0900 - 5k there's a reason they call it Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge. it is certainly not accepted practice. i'm not sure if too many other marathons offer the ability - most, i think, would run the half marathon and full marathon on the same day. there were 3000 goofy runners out there. the fastest goofy placed 12th in the half, and 14th in the full. that's just nuts! my goal for next year, i think, is to complete the whole damned thing in less than 6:30, our time for the marathon last year. it requires about a 9:55 pace, which should be well within the bounds of my ability. provided i heal quickly enough, and stave off further injuries this year. i've gotta ask the wifey about bermuda. that could be very much fun, but if we do run a faster goofy, the recovery is gonna be tougher. we shall see.
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| ScarletKnight41 Jan 12 2007 03:47 PM |
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Definitely consider Bermuda. It is such a beautiful place!
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 03 2007 10:26 PM |
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It looks like it will be the treadmill for me this week.
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| metsmarathon Feb 03 2007 11:14 PM |
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i'm running tomorrow. gridiron 4-miler in central park. central park is so much farther away from home now...
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 03 2007 11:17 PM |
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Good luck!
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 04 2007 09:55 AM |
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I had a last minute change of heart and decided that I'd deal with the cold over the treadmill. It wasn't too bad out there - at least it wasn't windy. But it was freakin' cold!
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| metsmarathon Feb 04 2007 11:14 AM |
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oh. my change of heart went in the other direction, and now i feel like such a wuss!
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 04 2007 12:08 PM |
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Well, I wussed out New Year's Day. I think that the added travel adds to the odds of wussing out on bad weather days.
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 09 2007 08:54 AM |
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On Wednesday I made it a treadmill run, but I didn't feel like doing that two runs in a row. So I bundled up and went out this morning. It actually wasn't bad - cold, but not bad. But here's the kicker. I had a coupon on Propel water, so I took one along on the jog. I'm drinking throughout the run - no problem. But when I finished, I tried to take a drink and I got nothing. Upon inspection, the water droplets at the top of the bottle had frozen! Yeah, it was cold this morning.
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| metsmarathon Feb 09 2007 11:29 AM |
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its so cold that if i leave my ipod in my car during work, it won't turn on when i go to the gym to ride the bike or run on the treadmill. after sitting in teh gym for a half hour to an hour, it then becomes able to turn on, and shows that it is nearly fully charged. the moral of the story is that i ran, for the first time since Disney, for two miles on tuesday on the treadmill at lunch, and would have run farther if i wasn't bored stupid from the lack of music in my head to distract me from my distaste of treadmills. and for those two miles, my foot didn't bother me at all from the plantar fascitis. so i might be getting healed, finally. in lieu of the treadmill, i'm going to brave the cold this weekend and actually run on real roads and real hills, which should be a good test for my foot.
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 09 2007 11:47 AM |
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I'm glad to hear that your foot is on the mend :) I never use headphones when I run - I'm always afraid that I won't hear oncoming cars. But I must have the TV on when I'm on the treadmill. You're right - treadmill runs require distraction. Yeah, bundle up and you'll be fine this weekend. After the first mile, you almost don't notice the cold :)
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| Willets Point Feb 09 2007 11:53 AM |
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<thread police>Maybe you want to start a 2007 thread?</thread police>
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 09 2007 12:12 PM |
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I changed the thread title. Happy, Copper?
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| Edgy DC Feb 09 2007 12:23 PM |
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<thread police partner>Well, it's not the title. We just need to archivesome long threads to cut down on the file size.</thread police partner>
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 09 2007 03:07 PM |
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With all due respect, I'd like to keep this thread going, unless it's truly problematic. It's nice confining running discussions (both meanings of the word) to one place.
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| ScarletKnight41 Feb 14 2007 10:05 AM |
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This is definitely a treadmill day.
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| ScarletKnight41 Mar 11 2007 10:33 AM |
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This was a fabulous morning to run. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. I haven't seen so many people out jogging in ages! The Draft Day 5K at Giants Stadium is April 28th. It's a real hoot to be able to finish up by running (or walking) the length of the football field. Anyone want to meet me there?
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| metsmarathon Mar 11 2007 02:20 PM |
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hmm... might be a nice warmup for the jersey shore half marathon the next day...
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| Farmer Ted Mar 13 2007 04:13 PM |
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I registered for the NYC Marathon lottery. Didn't get in last year. Hoping I get picked this year to get it over with.
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| Gwreck Mar 14 2007 02:46 PM |
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Good luck. I had a lot of fun cheering on marathon day (it comes right through the 'hood). I think I read that you automatically get in after 2 years consecutive denials (?).
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| metsmarathon Apr 03 2007 11:28 AM |
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the weather is really nice lately! and just in time for my belated training-up for the long branch half marathon, part of the new jersey marathon weekend! whee! why does my stupid town decide to have a 5k the same day as the Draft Day 5k? and why do i have to go to yuma freakin' arizona in mid april, causing me to miss out on the lincoln tunnel run, a personal favorite, and a nice NYRR 4-miler that's a gimme qualifier for next year's NYC marathon? oh, right. work. damn work! sigh... got my guaranteed entry packet for New York yesterday. yay!
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| metsmarathon Apr 27 2007 07:05 PM |
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sk, you gonna be at the draft day 5k tomorrow?
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| Willets Point Apr 27 2007 07:16 PM |
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Psst...SK is at the secret forum.
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