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Had a great run today. The schedule called for an easy five miles at an 8:07 pace.

I clocked the first mile at 8 minutes, and increased the pace because I was feeling great. Miles two through four were 7:30. In my last mile, I did a few sprints and brought the pace to 6:40.

1. 8:02
2. 7:30
3. 7:35
4. 7:23
5. 6:41

I won’t run tomorrow, as Sunday is the Chilly Cheeks trail run. It’s a 7.2 mile trail race. Sponsored by Pretzel City Sports, the Chilly Cheeks is one of their toughest races, maybe its MOST challenging course on a “per mile” basis. I just LOVE the tagline for this race:

“The only thing colder than this race is the race director’s heart!”

Fifteen avid “hamilton area trail runners” (including myself) will carpool to the race in Reading PA.

Repeat three times:

• 12 Cross-over pushups on the bosu with feet on slider discs
• 20 v-sits

Repeat three times:

• 8 pike pushups (almost like handstand pushups, but with feet up on a bench)
• 20 Straight leg hops (push-up position, pop legs up and over the bosu, and back)

Repeat three times:

• 10 x Squat thrust complexes (Squat thrust, negative push-up to floor, roll over to back, v-up and back with legs straight, roll back to stomach, push-up, kick legs back in and stand up)
• 10 x 50 lb bb Bicep curl into arnold press

Repeat Three times:

• 12 Side to side incline pull-ups on smith (hands 2 shoulder widths apart, pull chest up to each hand – alternate each time)
• 10 Side leg extensions (push up position, legs on stability ball, slowly swing leg out to the side and hold for one second, alternate legs)

Repeat three times:

• 15 overhead extensions, 40lb db (roll back onto stability ball, hips raised, extend dumbbell overhead stretching the chest, keeping elbows slightly bent)
• 10 each side: Reverse crunches with cross-over reach behind (lock feet under a machine, lean back and twist to left, reach with right arm behind you, and return)

The plan this morning was to do five miles overall, including two 1600 meter speed drills at a 6:22 pace, with an 800 meter jog in between.

Plan fulfilled and I focused on running form throughout. I noticed I had to pay a little more attention to my form during the second 1600 meter block. The speed work was from mile 2 to mile 3, and mile 3.5 to mile 4.5.

Mile 1: 8:10
Mile 2: 8:00
Mile 3: 6:18 (1600 meters – speed block)
Mile 3.5: 4:03 (800 meters – recovery)
Mile 4.5: 6:21 (1600 meters – speed block)
Mile 5: 3:59 (800 meters – recovery)
Cool Down.

Today’s run was a solid six miles. I aimed for an 8:07 pace. My bruised foot called for attention since I’ve been landing mid-foot in my runs, but I managed to maintain my pace.

1. 8:16
2. 8:04
3. 8:01
4. 8:04
5. 7:55
6. 7:32

I ran seven miles today. I’m trying to get back into a more intense running schedule. Plannig for swimming, karate and weight-lifting tomorrow, then a ten mile run Sunday morning.

1. 8:13
2. 8:07
3. 8:05
4. 7:52
5. 8:00
6. 7:55
7. 7:47 

As I was off from work, I ran from the house past the NJ Department of Motor Vehicles HQ, along Lower Ferry Road to the NJ D&R Canal Path. I ran a few miles along the canal, then returned home.

It was nice and cold today, and most of the canal was frozen over.
Weather.com for Ewing, NJ: 16°F; feels like 2°F.

After the run, I curled up with a nice cold chocolate Muscle Milk shake.

Warm up – half mile at 8:00 pace.

• Five sprints @ 15 degree incline on treadmill:
• 60 seconds at 8:00 pace, 90 secs rest
• 60 seconds at 8:00 pace, 90 secs rest
• 60 seconds at 8:00 pace, 45 secs rest
• 30 seconds at 7:00 pace, 45 secs rest
• 30 seconds at 7:30 pace
• # Heart rate elevation.

Repeat three times:

• Pushups with added weight on back
• Body weight squats with feet close together to sitting position on bosu (30 seconds)
• v-sit position, throw weighted ball to partner, forward, right-to-right, then left-to-left

Repeat three times:

• Hip rolls for 30 seconds (feet elevated on stability ball, 12″ apart with hips off floor, stabalizing with arms)
• Jumping lunges for 30 seconds
• 10 decline pull-ups (alternate hands each rep [plyometics])

Repeat Twice:

• 8 Modified Barbell curls 50 lbs (raise to 90 degrees from bottom; lower to bottom and raise 180 degrees; down 90 degrees and back up; lower 180 degress back to bottom.)
• 30 seconds of squat thrusts

Repeat Twice:

• Squat hops. start in squat position with hands on floor, leap forward onto hands, then follow with legs down the hallway and back.

Six days after setting my PR at the ING NYC Marathon, I did the Mud Run at McGuire Air Force Base with a group of avid runners.

Thanks to Bill for suggesting this race!

This is a first for the event and it was great – 6.2 miles of mud and sweat.
The 10K course encompassed different types of terrain, including asphalt, dirt, hills, water hazards, a jaunt along the tarmac, and of course, mud! There were mud pits, rope climb walls, belly crawls, a tire course, wall climbing, creek traversals and more. It’s the most fun I’ve had at a race.
I am definitely doing this again in 2009!
Here are some pics I took of my teammates along the course: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sconzof/sets/72157609922432845/

I completed the ING NYC Marathon yesterday with a finish time of 3 hours, 16 minutes and 58 seconds. This is my best finish time for a marathon, an improvement of about ten minutes over the last NY Marathon I did in 2006.

In the spring of 2008 I ran the NJ Marathon in Long Branch with a finish time of 3:46:28, so my time in NY is actually a 30 minute improvement in a harder race, just seven months later.

Next time I run the NY Marathon, I must remember to bring a sleeping bag and/or thermal foil. Waiting in the cold at the base of the Verazzano Narrows bridge for four hours before the start of the race is quite a task. Unfortunately, there is no way around this since runners in the first wave must catch the mid-town bus at 5am to get to Staten Island before 7am when the bridge is closed off to traffic. There are a few large tents which fill to capacity very quickly. But they are not heated; they just help block some of the cold wind. I snapped a few photos of the staging area with a disposable camera, since it’s an experience I don’t think is fully appreciated 🙂

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.

Tomorrow is my last 20 mile training run before the NY Marathon on November 2, 2008. The remaining two weekends consist of shorter and shorter “long runs”, as part of my scheduled taper. I believe the last two long runs include a 12 mile run on the 19th and an eight mile jaunt on the 26th.

I decided to travel to Long Beach Island for my training run tomorrow. I’ll compete in the 18 Mile Race. Once I cross the finish line I plan to double back to mile marker 17, then make my way back to the finish to complete the full 20 miles. My training schedule calls for a 7:38 pace, which is 23 seconds slower than my target pace for the marathon. It will be a challenge, but I’m ready for it. I did this course last year with a finish time of 2:53:05; I remember it was very warm that day for a 10:30 am run.

This past week I ran eight miles on Tuesday, did six miles of speed work on Thursday, and ran seven miles on Friday. Thursday’s speed work included a warm up, followed by a three mile fartlek run at a 6:18 pace, then a cool down. I did this on the treadmill. To make the speed work more challenging, I did a 45 minute core workout just prior to the run. This included the regimen below. Yesterday I ran the seven mile course (gmap-pedometer is great) at a 7:29 pace with the last mile at 7:07. Then I left work at a reasonable hour for the first time in many months to make it to my evening karate class.

What follows is the core-body workout I did on Thursday. The first part I like to call “Don’t put down the plate.”

Holding a 25 pound plate, repeat the following exercises three times:

1. Front raises x 12
2. In place forward lunges with twist x 12
3. Squat and tap the plate on the ground, lift and press the plate overhead x 10
4. Reverse raises x 12 (Standing position, start with plate overhead and arms locked, slowly lower the plate until the arms are parallel to the floor, and return to overhead position)
5. Side bends (hold plate at right side, left arm over top of head, bend at waist to the right, lowering the plate to the ankle and return; after 10 switch sides); each side x 10
6. Overhead tricep extension x 12
7. Hold the plate directly in front with arms locked for as long as possible (I try to do this in front of a mirror so I can keep my eyes trained on my reflection through the hole in the plate)
8. Between each set, put down the plate and do six pull ups, then hold the pull up position as long as possible.

Repeat three times:

1. Jump from the floor onto the rounded side of the bosu and do a squat; jump back to the floor and back to the bosu with no pause, x 12
2. Push-ups with one arm on the bosu, switching arms between each push-up x 10

Repeat three times:

1. Suitcase squats with the kettlebells, standing on the bosu, x 10
2. Bent over rows with kettlebells, standing on the bosu, x 10
3. Upright rows with the kettlebells, standing on the bosu, x 10 

Repeat three times:

1. Static hold for as long as possible in a modified push-up position; hands positioned away from the body making a 30 to 45 degree angle with the floor 
2. Double-arm dead cleans into push presses with the kettlebells, x 10
3. V-sits with feet on the stability ball, x 10