March Recap

Hello again!!! March has been a great month for training so far. I have made a lot of progress so far. I have been running up to 20.5 miles in one practice. I had a run a few weeks ago that was great. A coach, mentor and I ran from 72nd street down and around to Brooklyn Bridge, across into Brooklyn, over to the Manhattan Bridge, across back into Manhattan, and then back down, around and up to 72nd St. It was an awesome run. Although I was short one Energy Gu, and definitely felt it towards the end. Gu's are what we take during runs to give us a quick shot of calories and fuel. The are little pouches of a syrupy substance. They are usually not the best tasting, but they do the job in refueling our energy. They are required in long runs for runners; as you tend to burn around 3000+/- calories in a 20mile run. We take them once every 45 minutes throughout the run. A couple weeks ago on a Tue workout, we did mile repeat test pieces. I have made a lot of progress from the last test piece a few months ago. I ran my miles in 5:43, 5:38, and 5:50. This past weekend was great too. I ran 20.5 miles in the park; kinda boring, but good. I ran the last 5 with a coach, and he was able to push me pretty well, and I really was able to see how even after such a long run, you are always able to find the reserves and really push it home to the finish. I am starting to figure out my goal time, and the split I will need to reach my goal. The pictures below are of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. The top is the Brooklyn Bridge The middle is of both (B on right and M on left) and the bottom picture is the Manhattan Bridge. Well, that all for now, talk to you soon.

Feb Recap

Well, it has been some time since my last blog update here, so I apologize. I have been doing some serious training sessions, up to 17 miles inside one practice. I have also had a few races too since my last update. I have run in the Bronx Half Marathon, Snowflake 4-Miler, and the Colon Cancer 15K Challenge. The Bronx Half I ran a solid 1:35:00; not too bad for my first 1/2 Marathon ever. It was a cold and very windy day for a race. The third quarter of the race was over the Grand Concourse of the Bronx (about 2 miles). It is a roughly 9 lane road running north/south in the Bronx. The had the entire road closed off for us, but only let us run in the center 4 or so lanes. The part was just wide open and very windy. It felt like I was running against a wall; absolutely painful. The Snowflake was snowed out last minute and turned into an untimed "Fun Run". I still ran and had a decent time, but it wasn't recorded as official on the NYRR site. As for the 15K, I was slightly less pleased with my time; I pulled in a mildly decent 1:03:00. I'm not entirely sure what happened in that race, but I do know my splits were all over the place. Our coaches have been awesome too. They are so eager to help and give great advise. If we ever have an injury or anything of that nature, they are so knowledgeable, and reliable. The pictures below are of the various races that I did this month and last.

5-Mile Fred Lebow Classic

Hey guys and girls!! Yesterday was race day. Weather was perfect, couldn't ask for better racing weather. It was a five mile race commemorating Fred Lebow, the man who really took racing to a whole new level for new yorkers. He made it widely accessible to all new yorkers, instead of just the super fast. I finished the five miles in 33:03 (6:36 miles). I'll take it. That time earned me 167th place out of 5,000+/- runners. The fastest time for the race was 25:22 (5:04 miles), not bad huh? The whole TEAM was there and in great spirits. Everyone did great and was happy with their performances. A great day for Team in Training, all our donors and supporters should be proud and happy. Thanks guys!!!

Back for the New Year

I have been back for about a week now and have started training with TEAM again. Ramon is kicking our butts after the brief holiday. I have also started to receive your donations. Thank you so much those of you who have given, your support has been greatly appreciated. Those of you who haven't yet...what are you waiting for, click the link to the right side of the page and donate, and then come back and keep reading. I can't do this without your help, and I'm training real hard; and remember, no donation is too small. We just did an 11-mile workout on Saturday. Afterwards, Molly and I went for a killer breakfast at a diner right near the park; eggs, bacon, toast, breakfast potatoes, juice, and tea...YUM!! Heading out now, I'll right next week after the race.

Aspen

I've been in Aspen/ Snowmass for a week now with Molly, her family, and our buddy Colin, and it has been amazing. I will used this as my cross training for the week or so that I'm out here. The snow has been incredible; it has snowed everyday. I have been skiing into the glades and back country and found myself in waist-deep powder each time. The last day of skiing Colin and I headed upto the Cirque (12,500ft) tip-top of the mountain and did some of the EX Doubles, an had quite possibly the best runs of our lives. Yep thats it in the left corner of the right picture. The bottom picture is the view from The Cirque before you head down...beautiful. The only thing better than the skiing out here has been the beer after the hard day of skiing. You can really tell a difference in you breathing and heart rate out here with the altitude. I would love to be able to spend the entire winter out here; what an incredible place, we have been real fortunate to spend this time out here. Talk to you when I get back.