The Day Before the Marathon
It’s finally here. Tomorrow at 9:40am is the start for the first wave competitors in the ING NYC Marathon. I’m running in the first wave, race number 8025. My progress can be monitored real-time here: http://fanalert.ingnycmarathon.org/Alerts.aspx.
My goal is to finish in 3:10, which is 16 minutes faster than my last New York marathon finish time. It will certainly be a challenge, but I’m ready to take it on! Thanks to a co-worker at Dow Jones, Michelle LaRoche-Gould, who tracked down an even-effort pacing chart, I know exactly what pace to run each mile. The spreadsheet is truly a work of art. Check it out here: NYCMarathonPacing.xls
I believe this has been my best training season. I ate much better this season (including more protein). I did every training run on my schedule and really worked hard during the speed workouts. I also did lots of cross training on my non-running days — much of which was core training. I also stayed mostly injury free. I have a minor shin splint which I’m hoping won’t affect my performance — usually I don’t feel the discomfort until after the race.
The weather looks good for tomorrow and I’m all packed. I’m heading off to the train station now.
ING — here I come.