This past Sunday was a perfect running day.\u00a0 It was sunny and dry, and the air was crisp and within that special window of temperatures that enables you to wear just the right amount of clothing to feel light but warm.\u00a0 As usual, I had a number of friends and teammates running this year, so I made my plans to try and cheer them on at various points of the course.<\/p>\n
Mile 8 in Brooklyn has long been a favorite spot for me since it’s where runners make a hard right turn from 4th Avenue onto Lafayette Avenue and where the energy level of both athletes and supporters is just fantastic.\u00a0 I decided to tour this year’s event by bicycle, so early Sunday morning, I geared up and headed downtown.\u00a0 It’s rare when NYC offers that much peace and tranquility, but it felt that way Sunday morning as my street, 5th Avenue, was deserted as police and race officials prepared for the 45,000+ runners destined to run on it in a few hours.<\/p>\n
I made it to mile 8 and was lucky to see a tremendously fast teammate named Tim (eventual finish time was 2:50!).\u00a0 Finding anyone in the crowd of runners was a big challenge, especially if you’ve been scanning for the person or people you want to see.\u00a0 Your eyes begin to glaze over and a mere few seconds of looking away could make you miss that person you were trying to find.\u00a0 I found myself suffering that glazed-eye syndrome when all of a sudden, a certain girl caught my eye.\u00a0 She was Carin, my teammate from the Spring Couples Relay this past May.\u00a0 I was so excited to see her that I drew a blank on her name.\u00a0 Instead, I blurted out, “Go you!”\u00a0 Pretty lame on my part, but the enthusiasm was there even if the brain wasn’t operating right.\u00a0 Just as I high-fived her, my great friend Chris called out my name.\u00a0 Apparently, Chris met up with Carin and Fernando early on and they ran together until mile 7 and change when Fern took a pee break.\u00a0 I was thrilled to see Chris and before I knew it, Fernando came by.\u00a0 He stopped, we hugged, and I told him how proud I was of him.\u00a0 He’s faced a lot of physical battles this year with injuries galore.\u00a0 Though it was his 7th NYC Marathon in a row, it would prove to be his slowest.\u00a0 It was also his hardest and in that sense, he deserves even more credit for fighting through so many obstacles.<\/p>\n
After Fernando, I figured I needed to high-tail it back to Manhattan and meet up with my Terrier Tri teammates who chose 92nd and 1st as their meeting point.\u00a0 I rode like a madman across the Manhattan Bridge and found myself in a very competitive mood with respect to other cyclists.\u00a0 I was the fastest by far, but I didn’t need to be riding as such a breakneck pace.\u00a0 Once I got to the meet-up point, my coaches and teammates were in great spirits, both to receive me, and to cheer on so many different runners.\u00a0 Coach Robert is apparently fluent in Italian, so with his megaphone, he cheered on the scores of runners with Italia shirts.\u00a0 Sure enough, I had missed our teammate Tim since he had just run by.\u00a0 I did the math and realized that he had run from mile 8 to mile 18 or so faster than I had cycled it (albeit after waiting to see my other friends and a far more circuitous route).\u00a0 So impressive on his part.<\/p>\n
I knew it would be difficult to see Carin, Chris, and Fern from the east side of 1st Avenue, so I thought about going up a few blocks to 95th to meet up with Fern’s family, but crossing the street was a near impossibility.\u00a0 Instead, I decided to ride to my apartment.\u00a0 I was pretty cold and thought a change of clothes was in order.\u00a0 Plus, getting the dogs some fresh air seemed like a good idea.\u00a0 Once changed, I charged downstairs with the girls and scanned the crowd for my friends and teammates.\u00a0 Fortunately, 5th Avenue by me is a mere 4 lanes wide including the parking lanes, so it was considerably easier to look for everyone.\u00a0 I did see Carin, didn’t see Chris, and figured that Fernando would be soon to pass by as well.\u00a0 As in past years, I wanted to run with him for a couple of blocks, but doing so with two small dogs could be problematic.\u00a0 So, I picked them up and held them out for runners to see.\u00a0 In many cases, I could see how they buoyed the spirits of some tired athletes.\u00a0 My place is at mile 21.5 or so of the marathon course, and it’s usually within the 20-22 mile marks that people hit the proverbial wall.\u00a0 Running with Fern at that point could help him a lot with both him looking forward to seeing a friend, and the residual effect for another few blocks thereafter.<\/p>\n
When I finally saw Fern, he was walking and with a glum face.\u00a0 He smiled when he saw me and we walked three blocks together.\u00a0 He told me about his cramping thigh, his tendon issue in his ankle, and various other issues.\u00a0 I tried to buoy his spirits as best I could and tried to get the girls to lick his arm or something cute like that.\u00a0 Eventually, he said he was going to try running again, so we hugged once more, and I wished him good luck as he gave it another go.\u00a0 I found out later that his finish time was 4:30, and while that’s certainly a good ways off of his personal record of 3:27 (or so), the fact that he was able to fight through to the end is really admirable.<\/p>\n
Chris finished with a VERY impressive 3:43 time, and Carin finished with a 4:21 time.\u00a0 I think that she was disappointed in her time based on finishing in 3:51 last year, but she’s a very good runner and will assuredly get it back down next time.<\/p>\n
After seeing Fern, I got a sandwich and retired my spectating efforts for the day, aside from looking out the window many times thereafter.\u00a0 I felt good about not running this year.\u00a0 Next year will be my year, and I can only hope that I’ll have a day like Chris.\u00a0 Then again, if I have a day like Fern, I’ll still feel pretty good because both of them (and Carin) are pretty impressive to me.<\/p>\n
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Today was day one of Ironman Germany Training.\u00a0 After about six weeks of taking time off from training, I’m about 14 pounds heavier (EGAD!) and my cardiovascular fitness is pretty bad.\u00a0 I still play lots of sports (two football teams, and one soccer team), but that kind of static motion doesn’t create true fitness.<\/p>\n
I ran my favorite 3.93 mile loop that takes me from my apartment to the northern loop of Central Park, and back home.\u00a0 In no uncertain terms, it hurt.\u00a0 I didn’t feel good at all.\u00a0 My feet hurt, my lungs hurt, my heart rate was through the roof, and maintaining good technique was inconsistent at best.\u00a0 I knew this would be the case, so I’m not terribly disappointed or surprised.\u00a0 I expect that by the end of the calendar year (if not sooner), I’ll feel strong and fit and considerably lighter.<\/p>\n
Tonight, I’ll cycle on the indoor training for the first time and tomorrow, I’ll swim before soccer playoffs.\u00a0 Thursday will be an early morning indoor spin class with my triathlon team, and I’ll swim that night again.\u00a0 Friday will be an early morning run.\u00a0 With plans to see the Dave Matthews Band that night, I’m hoping to be up early enough Saturday to attend another indoor cycling session.\u00a0 It’s actually a double-header of 2.5 hours, so needless to say, I’m getting on board in a very intense manner.\u00a0 I think that I need to, and I think that body will respond well (albeit with some soreness).<\/p>\n
More to come on training progress and hopeful weight loss.\u00a0 14 pounds:\u00a0 really?\u00a0 What was I thinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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