see the route at Garmin Connect
I’m proud of my results from the NYC Marathon. I accomplished a goal that I had set months in advance and broke my marathon PR by almost 30 minutes. I learned a great deal about training intelligently, and I completed two triathlons in the lead up to the marathon. Sure, I didn’t meet my A goal time of 3:20, but I ran it after a week of nursing a very late developing shin splint that had me contemplating scrapping the marathon altogether. After a little rest and with Caleb and Kathy’s help, I believe am in a good position to train hard over the winter for a shot at a Boston qualifying time next April in Paris.
Back in the spring, I picked up the Runners World book “Run Less: Run Faster” to see what the FIRST program was all about. I really liked the idea of only doing 3 focused runs a week and adding in 2 or 3 days of cross training. So, I decided to create my own training plan for the marathon based off the principles of the book’s Boston qualifying FIRST plan. I wasn’t under the delusion that I would qualify for Boston this year, but I figured I could really benefit from the speed work and intense intervals to set PRs in races up to and including the marathon. Also, this plan would let me compete in a couple triathlons which I have comtemplated doing for a while.
Here’s the Google Doc plan that I put together.
Following this plan (roughly,) I completed the following races:
Overall, I really enjoyed the FIRST program. I feel like it was a great training plan for me. I didn’t get runner’s mental fatigue because the workouts varied so much from day to day, and my legs had time to recover between hard runs. Of course, it has it’s weaknesses, and I’ll address that later.
Oh, there’s also the whole barefoot/VFF thing that I picked up after reading Chris McDougall’s “Born to Run.”
Woke up at 4:00 to give myself plenty of time to make the 5:30 ferry. I scrambled some eggs, brewed some coffee, and ate a yogurt for first breakfast (hey, it was 6 hours before the start.) I washed that down with 12oz of Accelerade, a sports drink with a 4:1 carb to protein mix. I then spent 15 minutes with a nice hot bean bag on my left shin and took two Celebrex to try to manage the shin pain. I taped my leg for the first of three times, put on the Zensah calf sleeves and the rest of my racing clothes and headed out the door.
The walk to the ferry was about 10 minutes, and it was eerily quiet walking down the Canyon of Heroes (same street as the Yankees parade.) I got to the ferry terminal by 5:15 for the 5:30 departure. Re-taped my leg on the ride over.
Ferry -> Bus -> Fort Wadsworth (pretty uneventful)
Once in the giant encampment/shantytown that was the starting area, I snuck into the Green Village (I am a blue) to hang out with my ultra-runner and uber-socialista friend Sarah Stanley, who refused to stop twittering. Tried to catch a bit more sleep since we had two hours of downtime but mostly just sat on the ground under a tent chilly. Re-taped my leg again.
When Sarah left to get in her wave one corral, I headed back over to the Blue Village in time to clear the pipes (so to speak,) drop off my bag, and get in line. Some people were having a hard time with the starting lines, and they definitely weren’t super organized. I didn’t have a problem. On the way to the starting line, I apparently had a conversation with one of my e-runner friends, experiri. And then, it was time to run.
Mile 0-1 – Here we go. The first mile was a climb up the Verrazano Bridge, and the view from the top deck was amazing. Of course, I started out too fast and tried to rein in the nerves and slow my pace.
Mile 2 – Straight down the bridge into Bay Ridge. This was my fastest mile at a 6:53. Yes, this did come back to bite me later. Grabbed a Gatorade at the water station.
Mile 3 – The beginning of the stretch through Brooklyn. I was still a bit too fast. The good news was that my leg felt fine. Also, I really enjoyed giving all the kids high fives. That changes later.
Mile 4-7 – This was a nice straight-away up Fourth Avenue through Sunset Park and Park Slope. I tried to relax into my goal marathon pace. I was averaging about a 7:25 which was pretty much where I wanted to be. Little did I know that I should have been forcing myself well below my goal marathon pace to save my legs for Manhattan. Grabbed a Gatorade at mile 4 and a water at mile 6.
Mile 8 – Slight climb. My pace dropped to 7:40. It also started to get crowded because we were running on narrower streets. Had a Clif Shot Blok and drank a water.
Mile 9 – I passed Sarah somewhere in here. I saw her just after she had dropped a glove that someone picked up for her. Funny running into my friend out of 40,000+ runners. Pace was good. Took a salt tablet.
Mile 10-13 – The end of the Brooklyn stretch carried us through the Hasidic neighborhood of Clinton Hill where the cheering fans disappeared. I did get a single hive five from a Hasidic girl which was nice. The great crowds returned in Williamsburg. I even accepted a banana which disqualified me from the Olympic Trials. I’ll save the Olympic contention for another race.
Mile 13.1 – Hit the half way point running over the Pulaski Bridge. My shin felt good, but my hamstrings were starting to get a little tight. I was now slight over my goal marathon pace. Took a Hammer Gel.
Mile 14-15 – Woah, there’s the Queensboro Bridge.
Mile 16 – Now, we start the climb. My conversation, all conversations, stopped while we concentrated. Hamstrings were feeling tighter and tired. My ankle also started to ache. Well, at least my shin left ok. My pace was a very sluggish 8:48. I should have been able to run this faster… we’ll fix that for next time.
Mile 17 – We run down the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, and I can hear the crowd on 1st Avenue. It’s not as loud as I expected, but they are there. Grabbed a Gatorade and ate a Clif Shot Blok. Pace was a 7:40. I won’t see that goal marathon pace again.
Mile 18 – Ashley was cheering at 86th Street. I stop to give her a very salty kiss which I’m sure she enjoyed.
Mile 19-20 – Running up 1st and over the Willis Avenue Bridge into the Bronx. My hamstrings are pretty much done. I haven’t bonked like my last marathon, but I can tell that I’m at the end of my ability to run strong. Take two Shot Bloks with caffeine. It can’t hurt to get that extra shot of energy now.
Mile 21 – the Bronx mile. The Bronx fans are out supporting us, and as much as I appreciate it, I’m not wasting any energy to give high fives.
Mile 22 – back through Harlem on 5th Avenue. Still haven’t completely bonked, but I’m now running an 8:11 pace. Took a Gatorade and a salt tablet.
Mile 23 – What the F*** is this hill? I don’t recall 5th Avenue being this steep. No legs. My mantra – “don’t walk… don’t walk…” Grabbed a water, took a caffeinated Shot Blok and my last Hammer Gel.
Mile 24 – We are in the park and people are cheering. Yay. I love you people. Mantra – “I’m going to finish.” Oh, Cat Hill, as usual, can suck it. I HATE that cat!
Mile 25 – Downhill! Praise the Lord! We turn onto Central Park South. I know this street. I’ve walked this route. It’s not far. Just run. And there’s Tigger. People are cheering for him. I must beat him!! My 8:35 pace isn’t helping me beat him.
Mile 26 – After passing Tigger, it’s just time to stop thinking and get to the end. Only .2 miles left!
Mile 26.2 – DONE! 3:28:38.
It wasn’t my 3:20 A goal, but I was happy with this marathon. The second half of the marathon was far tougher than the first. I made some big strides in my training, but I think I’m moving past the FIRST training method for my next marathon. The big problem with FIRST is that you don’t get the benefits from high mileage weeks. My speed and strength improved tremendously this year, but ultimately, I didn’t have the legs to finish strong. So, here are the training changes I’m going to make for Paris in April.
I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on this later, and I’ll come back to make updates as they come to my ADD-riddled brain. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Now, you get your prize by calling *edited out my administrator*
Great race report Daniel – didn’t realize you were using the FIRST plan. Glad you beat Tigger!
Awesome race report Daniel. It is great that you were able recognize the lessons learned and to change your training program for Paris.
You ran a great NYCM! Congrats on a great PR!!!
Very useful and detailed race report! :) It’s really inspiring to read about other people’s goals and how they’re going to get there. Great job, Daniel!
Very cool. Your time matched my 3:28:38 at this year’s National Marathon.
Great report! I’ve learned a lot about fueling and about race report length. Thanks!
Dude, awesome race and race report man! NO ONE expects that hill coming down 5th Ave towards the park…hahaha, it’s totally unexpected AND A KILLER! You’ve come a long way in your running in just this last season alone. I’ve been very impressed. You’ve got the momentum and a solid plan on how to keep it going. That BQ won’t elude you for long!!! Rock
Great race Daniel. I felt the same way going up 5th avenue, total surprise hill. Way to stay strong and good luck in your training for Paris.
Matt