The good news? I knocked off 7 minutes from my previous Half Marathon pr.
The bad news? I ONLY knocked off 7 minutes from my previous Half Marathon pr.
The Miami Beach 13.1 began EARLY Sunday morning, start time 6am. I always like to give myself at least 2 hours of "awake" time before any race, so if you do the math the day began before the rooster sang-- and I mean that literally. I was staying with friends who live in a very nice community in Miami but somewhere nearby there was a rooster that performed it's duties quite well-- sounding it's natural alarm at the ripe hour of 4:30am daily! This is not something you would expect to find in a suburb of Miami-- but it is a city full of interesting characters!
Moving on. The temperature Sunday morning was well..... for Miamians, Cold, for a Buffalonian like me, perfect. It was in the 50's but as the sun began to rise-- so did the temperature. The race was well managed and organized. It began on Ocean Drive-- not far from one of my favorite bars-- The Clevelander!!! There were about 2,000 others registered but the start line was wide enough so there was not a lot of crowding.
Without too much fanfare (which I like) The gun sounded. We were off!
I felt really good from the get go. I was keeping my pace to try and meet my goal of finishing closer to 1:30-- That is until mile 4 when my pace slowed. I did not feel tired-- in fact I was barely sweating. My Polar watch had broken the week before the race so I had no instant indicator telling me my pace which was driving me nutz. I relied on the mile markers which each thankfully had a clock. By mile 4 I had noticed my pace was down from 6:55 to 7:30's. I could have pushed even harder here but was concerned of burning out too soon. Next time I will know better.
Also during mile 4, I was forced to do what I've always said I wouldn't: make a mid-race pitstop. I consumed WAY too many liquids pre-race (coffee, gatorade, protein drink, red bull) I could not hold it one more second. I hit one of the many Portapotties along the course route. I made it quick but it still took away 1 minute 23 seconds!
The last leg of the race there was a very challenging hill, which in "flat" Miami is hard to come by. This incline was man made but still pretty tough. The worst part is you climb it twice. The course took you across the Julia Tuttle Causeway, which connects the beach to the City of Miami, and then back again. As challenging as it was by the time you were done with the Causeway-- the race was almost over. Just 5K's left-- and 5 very flat K's!
I was still running strong-- slower thanks to the 2 monster hills , but beginning to pass several people. I finished strong but knew I was going to be closer to 1:40 as opposed to 1:30.
I crossed the line at 1:39:24. A time, given the effort put in, I am quite happy with... not thrilled-- but happy. I told myself before the race I wanted to finish strong and not "burn out" towards the end. I never did "burn out" but I do wonder if the end result would have been better had I pushed it a bit harder in the beginning.
Next time maybe I will.
Results,
Chip time 1:39:24
age ranking: 27th out of 132
Overall: 124th out 1557
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Miami Beach Bound!
FROM BUFFALO
TO THE BEACH!
I am getting things ready for this weekend's Miami Beach 13.1 and getting very excited. I have been training pretty hard and hoping it pays off next Sunday.
It's so nice now that I am no longer a Marathon or Half marathon "virgin". I know a bit more about what to expect and really feel like I am going to enjoy the experience without having too many pre-race jitters.
It was last May when I ran my first half marathon and I can still remember the anxiety I felt leading up to it-- but now-- no more. I am not putting a lot of pressure on myself. I have worked hard and I am confident things will go smoothly ( as I currently knock on wood).
I am still going strong with my plan of a 5k a day with a long run on Saturday-- this past Sat. I ran 11.5 miles and felt pretty good, in fact was able to continue after that with some weight training.
I am shooting for a time of under 1:40-- or at least better than 1:46 which I logged when I ran the Buffalo Half Marathon back in May-- above all though, I am going to enjoy the scenery, the blue Miami skies and water, and the event itself which is promising to be pretty energetic-- full of LIVE music and entertainment along the route.
I am also pumped to hear the course finish line has been moved to take place along the beach!!!
TO THE BEACH!
I am getting things ready for this weekend's Miami Beach 13.1 and getting very excited. I have been training pretty hard and hoping it pays off next Sunday.
It's so nice now that I am no longer a Marathon or Half marathon "virgin". I know a bit more about what to expect and really feel like I am going to enjoy the experience without having too many pre-race jitters.
It was last May when I ran my first half marathon and I can still remember the anxiety I felt leading up to it-- but now-- no more. I am not putting a lot of pressure on myself. I have worked hard and I am confident things will go smoothly ( as I currently knock on wood).
I am still going strong with my plan of a 5k a day with a long run on Saturday-- this past Sat. I ran 11.5 miles and felt pretty good, in fact was able to continue after that with some weight training.
I am shooting for a time of under 1:40-- or at least better than 1:46 which I logged when I ran the Buffalo Half Marathon back in May-- above all though, I am going to enjoy the scenery, the blue Miami skies and water, and the event itself which is promising to be pretty energetic-- full of LIVE music and entertainment along the route.
I am also pumped to hear the course finish line has been moved to take place along the beach!!!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Blogging Break.. I'm Back with a New Plan!
Hey guys-- If I still have friends on here :)
I have been terribly busy with work-- and workouts-- and have not posted on here since my marathon report. I promise you though this does not mean I have abandoned my love of running!
I did not take much time off after the marathon. Although it was still tender a few weeks post marathon, my ITband is doing much better. One thing I have not done since the race? Run outside! And it's killing me. The weather here has been snowy and cold and after running 26.2 miles in miserable conditions, in Orlando of all places, I am DONE with the cold.
My new best friend? The treadmill. I still dislike it compared to running outside on a nice Spring, Summer, or Fall day but I am learning to live with it. I am also doing some stellar speed work and enjoy the instant data the treadmill provides.
I have decreased my mileage per week quite a bit, averaging about 20 to 25 miles per week.
I am essentially running a 5K every day, 5 days a week. 1 day is a long run of 7 to 10 miles. I am also adding SERIOUS weight training to the schedule which has been going great. I am looking/feeling better than I ever have.
OK- the next race? Well, plenty of 5ks planned over the next couple of months but I need another big goal.. I am planning to run the Miami half marathon in the beginning of March... But ready for a full marathon after sometime in April. Any ideas?????
Hope you are all well and I look forward to checking out your blogs!
I have been terribly busy with work-- and workouts-- and have not posted on here since my marathon report. I promise you though this does not mean I have abandoned my love of running!
I did not take much time off after the marathon. Although it was still tender a few weeks post marathon, my ITband is doing much better. One thing I have not done since the race? Run outside! And it's killing me. The weather here has been snowy and cold and after running 26.2 miles in miserable conditions, in Orlando of all places, I am DONE with the cold.
My new best friend? The treadmill. I still dislike it compared to running outside on a nice Spring, Summer, or Fall day but I am learning to live with it. I am also doing some stellar speed work and enjoy the instant data the treadmill provides.
I have decreased my mileage per week quite a bit, averaging about 20 to 25 miles per week.
I am essentially running a 5K every day, 5 days a week. 1 day is a long run of 7 to 10 miles. I am also adding SERIOUS weight training to the schedule which has been going great. I am looking/feeling better than I ever have.
OK- the next race? Well, plenty of 5ks planned over the next couple of months but I need another big goal.. I am planning to run the Miami half marathon in the beginning of March... But ready for a full marathon after sometime in April. Any ideas?????
Hope you are all well and I look forward to checking out your blogs!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The LATE Disney Marathon Report
If you are in a hurry, I will give you the short version:
I did it! I finished. I hit my goal of under 4 hours by running a Negative split. It was cold, painful but it was fun.
If you are still around, here's the full race report:
I set out for Florida three days before the big event. My direct flight to Orlando was perfect, on time, and comfortable. Everything was going smoothly. Everything except the weather! The high on Thursday was in the 50's. By sunset, it was approaching the 30's!!! So much for escaping the Buffalo chilly weather!
As disapointing as the chilly temps were, I am not one to let weather dictate my mood. I checked into my hotel and called family and friends who had arrived a day earlier. I threw my luggage into the hotel room, and hopped on a bus straight for the Disney Marathon Expo. It was a very cool experience. The Expo was huge, and had some pretty cool exhibits, inlcuding the KT tape booth. If you've been following my blog, you know during training I was struck with ITBS. A common but painful injury for runners, often times due to overtraining. I had purchased an ITB strap which is placed around the knee to provide support. It was not working well and I still experienced a lot of discomfort during my last few runs that week. I noticed the KT exhibit was offering free tapings of IT bands. This specific tape is allegedly used by professional athletes and the gentleman working the booth really sold it as a "miracle" cure to the pain. I agreed to have it taped up-- which he said would last through the race. Upon getting up off the table and walking around I did notice immense relief and was VERY optimistic that I was going to be just fine come Sunday.
I woke up early Saturday and made my way to EPCOT to watch friends cross the finish line for the Disney Half Marathon. It was very difficult navigating around Disney that day. Many roads were closed and it took me an hour to reach the finish line. I was super dissapointed I did not get to see Brian from " A Runner's Blog" come in. He hit his goal finishing under 1:30.. Congrats to him! Especially considering the weather was downright miserable. Record Cold with freezing rain... It really was like I never left Buffalo!
After enjoying a late and high calorie mexican lunch with my family, I returned back to my hotel room to get things ready for Sunday's marathon. The forecast called for a dry but VERY chilly morning, high in the 20's!. I laid out my MANY layers of clothes, gels, gloves, hats, etc., popped an Ambien, and was out by 8pm. The alarm quickly went off at 2am. I consumed one powerbar, and two cups of coffee. I met my fellow runners with Roswell in the Hotel lobby, after some photos, we hopped on the bus and were shuttled off to the start line. As any big Marathon, there was quite a bit of waiting outside, in lines, to get to the start. This normally would have been fine had it not been so damn cold out there. Many of us were huddling to stay warm. One of the big highlights of this moment, In the thousands of people there-- I did get to meet fellow blogger B.o.B. from Discom-BOB-ulated Running. She was not running but there to cheer on a friend. She is as beautiful in person as the photos on her blog.
After checking our bags, visiting the porta potties, we were off to the start. It was a long but nice walk. My pacer Brenda was keeping me excited and motivated. She was very concerned about my IT band but I still wasn't feeling any pain again, convinced this KT tape was making it all better.
By the time we reached the start and got in our corral the first wave of runners ( the elite gang) were off. The start was good but did not seem as great as last year's at least judging by the video I saw of it on Youtube. There were fireworks, and music, Video screens, and of course all the cast and characters of Disney. We were off... SLooooooooowly. I had wanted to maintain around an 8:30 to 8:42 pace. This was impossible for the first few miles. The road was packed with runners. Brenda said we were holding around 9 minute miles. This left me a bit frustrated at the time but now believe it was for the best, forcing me to slow it down and not use up all the jet fuel.
By the time we reached mile 6 it hit. Remember the so called "Miracle Tape" that was supposed to "wipe the pain away"?? Well, it failed. Miserably. My IT band was killlling, worse than ever. Luckily, I was carrying my IT strap, which I was told I would no longer need with the tape. We stopped at the next aid station, Brenda had to go use the porta potty, while I sat on the side of the road, stretched my IT band and wrapped the strap around my knee. The pain was awful but ironically walking seemed to make it worse, running made it feel a bit better.. Strange right?
We continued on, although in the back of my mind I feared my knee was just going to completely give out. It was easy to get distracted though by looking at all the wonderful "sideshows" they had along the route. The best part is around miles 10 and 11 when you run through the Magic Kingdom, zipping down Main Street USA and through Cinderella's castle, and then greeted by hundreds of screaming supporters on the side. By mile 12 our pace was picking up but we were still destined to hit the halfway point in just over 2 hours--- If I didn't pick it up I could kiss that sub 4 hour goal goodbye.
By mile 15 it all started to come together. The pain never went away in fact only became worse but thanks to tylenol and my very energetic pacer we began to sail. Each mile passed by VERY quickly, miles 20 and 21 outside Hollywood Studios were a bit boring. You run up one side of the road and down the other. The lack of distractions here made me realize the pain in my IT band was joined by major aches in both feet and legs. But I still did not "hit the after mile 20 wall" everyone talks about. Yes I was in pain, but not at all tired and by this point I had consumed just 1 energy gel. We zipped through Hollywood Studios. This last leg of the race was pretty cool. Lots of crowd support and great scenery. By mile 23 I was feeling the pain everywhere but we were holding our pace. Brenda and I were determined to finish this thing under four hours... At times, running 8:10 to 8:20 to get the job done. We passed miles 24, 25, and were greeted by the singing choir at mile 26. I could hear the crowd, see the finish, and at this point, the pain began to dissapear. I held back the waterworks but was feeling overwhelemed by emotion at this point. We crossed the finish line at 3:56:28!! I ran a "negative Split" running the second half faster than the first. I am still amazed by this. I have always lost it in the last part of any race.. But this day I had my eyes on the prize!
I greeted my family and friends, took pictures, picked up my bag, and then.. it was done. I was satisfied. Content. The hard work, weeks of training paid off. The experience was incredible-- unforgetable. I truly enjoyed running 26.2 and will absolutely run another... When, Where?? Thats for another post, another day. For now, I celebrate. Mission Accomplished!
I did it! I finished. I hit my goal of under 4 hours by running a Negative split. It was cold, painful but it was fun.
If you are still around, here's the full race report:
I set out for Florida three days before the big event. My direct flight to Orlando was perfect, on time, and comfortable. Everything was going smoothly. Everything except the weather! The high on Thursday was in the 50's. By sunset, it was approaching the 30's!!! So much for escaping the Buffalo chilly weather!
As disapointing as the chilly temps were, I am not one to let weather dictate my mood. I checked into my hotel and called family and friends who had arrived a day earlier. I threw my luggage into the hotel room, and hopped on a bus straight for the Disney Marathon Expo. It was a very cool experience. The Expo was huge, and had some pretty cool exhibits, inlcuding the KT tape booth. If you've been following my blog, you know during training I was struck with ITBS. A common but painful injury for runners, often times due to overtraining. I had purchased an ITB strap which is placed around the knee to provide support. It was not working well and I still experienced a lot of discomfort during my last few runs that week. I noticed the KT exhibit was offering free tapings of IT bands. This specific tape is allegedly used by professional athletes and the gentleman working the booth really sold it as a "miracle" cure to the pain. I agreed to have it taped up-- which he said would last through the race. Upon getting up off the table and walking around I did notice immense relief and was VERY optimistic that I was going to be just fine come Sunday.
I woke up early Saturday and made my way to EPCOT to watch friends cross the finish line for the Disney Half Marathon. It was very difficult navigating around Disney that day. Many roads were closed and it took me an hour to reach the finish line. I was super dissapointed I did not get to see Brian from " A Runner's Blog" come in. He hit his goal finishing under 1:30.. Congrats to him! Especially considering the weather was downright miserable. Record Cold with freezing rain... It really was like I never left Buffalo!
After enjoying a late and high calorie mexican lunch with my family, I returned back to my hotel room to get things ready for Sunday's marathon. The forecast called for a dry but VERY chilly morning, high in the 20's!. I laid out my MANY layers of clothes, gels, gloves, hats, etc., popped an Ambien, and was out by 8pm. The alarm quickly went off at 2am. I consumed one powerbar, and two cups of coffee. I met my fellow runners with Roswell in the Hotel lobby, after some photos, we hopped on the bus and were shuttled off to the start line. As any big Marathon, there was quite a bit of waiting outside, in lines, to get to the start. This normally would have been fine had it not been so damn cold out there. Many of us were huddling to stay warm. One of the big highlights of this moment, In the thousands of people there-- I did get to meet fellow blogger B.o.B. from Discom-BOB-ulated Running. She was not running but there to cheer on a friend. She is as beautiful in person as the photos on her blog.
After checking our bags, visiting the porta potties, we were off to the start. It was a long but nice walk. My pacer Brenda was keeping me excited and motivated. She was very concerned about my IT band but I still wasn't feeling any pain again, convinced this KT tape was making it all better.
By the time we reached the start and got in our corral the first wave of runners ( the elite gang) were off. The start was good but did not seem as great as last year's at least judging by the video I saw of it on Youtube. There were fireworks, and music, Video screens, and of course all the cast and characters of Disney. We were off... SLooooooooowly. I had wanted to maintain around an 8:30 to 8:42 pace. This was impossible for the first few miles. The road was packed with runners. Brenda said we were holding around 9 minute miles. This left me a bit frustrated at the time but now believe it was for the best, forcing me to slow it down and not use up all the jet fuel.
By the time we reached mile 6 it hit. Remember the so called "Miracle Tape" that was supposed to "wipe the pain away"?? Well, it failed. Miserably. My IT band was killlling, worse than ever. Luckily, I was carrying my IT strap, which I was told I would no longer need with the tape. We stopped at the next aid station, Brenda had to go use the porta potty, while I sat on the side of the road, stretched my IT band and wrapped the strap around my knee. The pain was awful but ironically walking seemed to make it worse, running made it feel a bit better.. Strange right?
We continued on, although in the back of my mind I feared my knee was just going to completely give out. It was easy to get distracted though by looking at all the wonderful "sideshows" they had along the route. The best part is around miles 10 and 11 when you run through the Magic Kingdom, zipping down Main Street USA and through Cinderella's castle, and then greeted by hundreds of screaming supporters on the side. By mile 12 our pace was picking up but we were still destined to hit the halfway point in just over 2 hours--- If I didn't pick it up I could kiss that sub 4 hour goal goodbye.
By mile 15 it all started to come together. The pain never went away in fact only became worse but thanks to tylenol and my very energetic pacer we began to sail. Each mile passed by VERY quickly, miles 20 and 21 outside Hollywood Studios were a bit boring. You run up one side of the road and down the other. The lack of distractions here made me realize the pain in my IT band was joined by major aches in both feet and legs. But I still did not "hit the after mile 20 wall" everyone talks about. Yes I was in pain, but not at all tired and by this point I had consumed just 1 energy gel. We zipped through Hollywood Studios. This last leg of the race was pretty cool. Lots of crowd support and great scenery. By mile 23 I was feeling the pain everywhere but we were holding our pace. Brenda and I were determined to finish this thing under four hours... At times, running 8:10 to 8:20 to get the job done. We passed miles 24, 25, and were greeted by the singing choir at mile 26. I could hear the crowd, see the finish, and at this point, the pain began to dissapear. I held back the waterworks but was feeling overwhelemed by emotion at this point. We crossed the finish line at 3:56:28!! I ran a "negative Split" running the second half faster than the first. I am still amazed by this. I have always lost it in the last part of any race.. But this day I had my eyes on the prize!
I greeted my family and friends, took pictures, picked up my bag, and then.. it was done. I was satisfied. Content. The hard work, weeks of training paid off. The experience was incredible-- unforgetable. I truly enjoyed running 26.2 and will absolutely run another... When, Where?? Thats for another post, another day. For now, I celebrate. Mission Accomplished!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
T Minus 5 Days and Counting!
There really is no turning back now. The Walt Disney World Marathon is next Sunday and I am as ready as I can be.
The past couple of weeks have been rocky to say the least. I was stricken with ITBS, forced to sit out the past two weeks only picking up training this past weekend. The good news, My pace is on target. My IT band is still a bit tender but nothing a shot of cortisone won't temporarily take care of. I am meeting with my doc tomorrow where he will hopefully give me the injection. If not-- I am confident I will finish the race. My knee is tender-- but those two weeks off really made a difference.
My goal time is under 4 hours.
I leave Thursday so I can partake in all of the race weekend festivities which include, from what I am told, a kick ass expo!
After the race-- a well deserved vacation in MIAMI!!!!!!
I will keep you all posted and hope to update through my travels!
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