4
Our trip to the Big Apple
This past weekend we flew out to the big city for the Notre Dame – Army game at Yankee Stadium. This was my fourth trip and I think I can safely say that New York City is the greatest city in the world. Seattle is a close second, but I absolutely love NYC. Click here to see all of the pictures from our trip.
Us in our seats at Yankee Stadium.
The Christmas tree going up in Rockefeller Center.
The University of Notre Dame Marching Band taking the field.
Us in Times Square.
The 24 hour Apple Store.
Robyn strolling through a tunnel in Central Park.
November 24, 2010
3
3:21:03 | Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
I could not have asked for a better day to run yesterday, granted it was a little on the chilly side, but after about a mile into the run, I shed my sweatshirt and embraced the crisp 35 degree temperature. The sun was out, the winds were calm and the course was primed for a fast finish, things could not have been any better. My goal was a 3:10:59 (~7:16 pace) and as I crossed through the midway point (1:34:45), I was ahead of schedule and could not have felt any better. I was running with the 3:10 pack, conversing with those who wanted to converse, and thinking to myself, “I’ve got this”.
We crossed the 30K (18.6 miles) line in 2:14:31, which meant all I had to do was run 7.6 miles in just under 55 minutes. In my head I was ecstatic, 7.6 miles in 55 minutes, piece of cake, that’s just under 8 minutes a mile. I’VE GOT THIS! Well sports fans, what happened at mile 22 and the remaining 4.2 miles I am not sure I will ever know. Now, I’m not going to get too graphic here, but to put this in simple terms there was a battle between my GI and my legs that was one for the ages, so much so, I had to make four, YES FOUR, #2 pit stops in the remaining 4.2 miles. I think what’s most frustrating about this is that I feel I can run through pretty much any sort of leg pain, muscles cramp, or mental dilemmas that are telling me to stop, but when it’s you vs. your bowels, well that’s a battle you cannot win.
With that said, take a gander at my splits noting in particular the blazing 40 minutes it took me to run the last four miles.
SPLITS
1 – 7:37
2 – 7:02
3 – 7:02
4 – 7:11
5 – 7:06
6 – 7:08
7 – 7:14
8 – 7:15
9 – 7:46 (pee break)
10 – 6:56
11 – 7:09
12 – 7:07
13 – 7:16
14 – 7:12
15 – 7:16
16 – 7:21
17 – 7:14
18 – 7:09
19 – 7:05
20 – 7:19
21 – 7:13
22 – 7:37
23 – 8:22 (stop #1)
24 – 12:07 (stop #2)
25 – 10:16 (stop #3)
26 – 9:14 (stop #4)
Me with my coach and female WINNER of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Jackie Dikos.
…and with that, marathon number 11 is behind me. Time to find my next race.
November 7, 2010
0
Game time!
With the marathon looming, final preparations are being made; from topping of my energy stores, to extra time on the foam roller, to creating my pre-race playlist. That’s right, I’m a big fan of music for motivation. I actually don’t run with music, in fact I can’t. Back in the day, I used to run with music, but those were the days when I ran just to run, rather than running for time.
Now I realize not everyone is an Eminem fan or maybe it’s just because I used to live on 15 mile (just a little 8 mile reference for you), but I don’t think there is a better song out there to get pumped up to than ‘Til I Collapse’. Honestly, one second into the song, a rush of adrenaline runs through me, it’s almost surreal. Just take a look at the beginning lyrics and tell me that this is not the perfect song for a marathon. I love it!
‘Cause sometimes you feel tired,
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.
Here. We. Come.
November 2, 2010