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Runner's Log - 26.2 miles @ 8:49 (3:51 Finish!)

I ran the NYC marathon!  My goal was under four hours, and I achieved that.  I also achieved my fundraising goal, bringing in $5,075 for Camp Interactive.  I couldn't ask for a better result after 4 months of training and fundraising.

This was one of the best and worst experiences of my life, honestly.  Doing this for Camp Interactive, along with my teammates and the support of friends and family, was humbling and inspiring.  Running alongside thousands of marathoners from all over the world, many of them running for loved ones, causes, or personal challenges, left me with an unbelievable feeling of solidarity.  Together we were changing the world.

On the other hand, I have never experienced such a battle between mind and body.  At mile 22.5, when I began physically breaking down (heart rate rose, knees/legs got weak, panic was setting in at thought of not finishing), mentally keeping it together and pushing through was one of the hardest things I've done.  And the physical pain that set in moments after crossing the finish line was absolutely tremendous.  

But nothing worth doing is easy, and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

Now I keep asking myself, what's next?

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I fucking did it.

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Here we go.

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Almost game time.

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At the ing nyc marathon expo, gettin my bib.

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Runners log - 2.3,miles at 8:47

Last run before marathon. Feeling good. This is my look of determination. :)

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Support Me On Race Day

There are a few ways you can support me or your favorite runner on race day without having to brave the elements (hopefully there won't be too many elements).

First, the marathon will be televised and streamed on the web so you can catch all the action if you can't be there in person.  For details, visit http://www.nycmarathon.org/broadcast_schedule.htm

There is also an official mobile spectator app which lets you to track your runner in real time.  It's available for iphone and android by searching 'ING New York City Marathon Mobile Spectator App'.

ASICS is sponsoring a Support Your Marathoner program (started last year) encouraging supporters to record videos, upload images, and share messages with their runners that are then displayed on giant screens during the race through RFID tracking of each of the runners.  It's a really cool program and I'm hoping to see a few messages myself next weekend http://www.supportyourmarathoner.com/runners/796663

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Runner's Log - 9.2 miles @ 8:40 pace

Today was the last 'long run' of my training and I took it pretty easy.  I had hoped to partake in the 'Last 10' run yesterday so I could get a feel for the last 10 miles of the NYC course, but I was not strong enough to brave that slushy blizzard nightmare that rolled through here yesterday.

Overall I feel good.  I'm going to log a few miles here and there this week to stay loose before it's time to see what I'm made of next Sunday.

On a side note,  I just hit $3,000 raised for Camp Interactive.  I'm so pumped.  Still a lot more work to do to hit my $5,000 goal, but $3k is a major milestone for me.  

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far.  I'm incredibly appreciative and humbled.  If you'd like to donate, visit http://www.crowdrise.com/patrickcourtney.

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Changing Gears

Long distance running is completely new to me.  As I've mentioned before, a 5k is the longest race I had completed going into my marathon training.  Now I can say, at the very least, that I know what 22 miles feels like.  

And honestly, 22 miles feels a lot like what 10 miles felt like, or 14, or 18.  My body adapted to long distances early, with what felt like a downshift of my respiratory system's gears.

As I start out on a run, I get winded quickly.  My breath gets shorter, heart rate rises, and I start sweating.  It doesn't take long to get there.  However about mile 3-4 or so, everything shifts down.  My breaths get longer, heart rate stops rising, and I fall into a running groove.  

There's probably a technical term for that, and maybe I'll look it up sometime.  But that gearshift allows me to tackle seemingly any distance my legs will carry me.  From there on it's about building up the endurance in my legs to prevent injury and having the psychological discipline to not panic at the thought of 26.2.

So, I think it's true what they say - if you can can do 10 miles, you can do 26.2.  You just have to find your groove.

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Runner's Log - 10 miles @ 8:12 per mile.

It was a great day in NYC and I was feeling charged this morning so I thought I'd push things a bit.  I did two laps around Prospect Park at a fast (for me) clip, about 30 seconds quicker than my pace time.  I started to feel a little strain around mile 8 but coming back down from Grand Army to Carroll Gardens is pretty much all downhill, so I was able to keep it going through the full 10 miles.

My tendonitis has been quiet lately as for the past month or so I've stuck with cross training during the week, and running only on weekends.  Now that I'm tapering I want to try and get some short runs in during the week, so we'll see how my knees respond to that.  

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Equipment Post - These are the Brooks Adrenaline shoes I train with.  They're built for stability, as I have a bit of an outside roll out naturally which this helps correct.  I have two pairs, one for shorter runs and one for longer runs, the pair for longer runs are a half size larger.  Overall these shoes have been great, they've held up well, provide a lot of support, and have gotten me to this point.

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The 22 mile route - completed 10.16.11.  

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10/16 Runner's Log - 22 miles @ 8:35 - Achievement Unlocked!

Let me preface by saying I squeezed in a 5 miler between my last run and this one, so i haven't gone a full week without running as this blog would indicate.

I DID IT.  I hit my peak training distance for the NYC marathon.  I stumbled the last few miles but I made it to 22 miles at a pace I'm proud of.  Felt great.  I feel ready.

Now I have to keep my conditioning in check as I taper down and allow my body to heal from the beating it took today and the previous 20 miler a couple weeks ago.

It's amazing to feel more excitement than nerves at this point.  Having done 22 today, I know I can do 26.2.  Psychologically that is a huge win.  4 months ago I could barely do 5 miles.  I've come a long way and I'm almost there.

And a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me by donating to my cause, Camp Interactive.  My latest donors include:

Body Elite Gym

Marisa Rospos

Kevin Flynn

Tris Carver and Marina Landis

Rand Niederhoffer

Richard Dedor

Pavel Shub

Blake and Rachael Dirksen

Siobhan and Jim Borger

Marco Noto and Tony Marroney Noto

David Dunlop

Jimmy Pickwick

Thank you all so much.  I'm currently at $2,000 raised.  Help me get to $3,000 by donating at http://www.crowdrise.com/patrickcourtney.

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10/8 Runner's Log - 4 miles @ 8:00

Have had very little time this week to get a run in, much less exercise at all.  The best I could do this week between traveling to Minnesota for a funeral and Illinois for my college reunion was 4 miles.  However the 4 miles was in 85 degree weather, which is a lot hotter than what i've been running in lately here in NY.

I hope to get back into the routine this week and do one more final long run (18 miles or so) before I start tapering down for the big race!

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10/1 Runner's Log - 20.14 miles @ 9:03

I set out to do 19 miles today, but runkeeper shat the bed about 7 miles in and i was running blind the rest of the way, and I ended up doing 20.14.  I hit a wall at what i think was mile 15 or so, then 16-18 weren't bad, and then the last 2 miles or so were very tough.  Hips, quads, and calves were all tightening up, but at least this week I had plenty of fluids to hang in there.

This is the first run so far that has left me feeling more confident about finishing the marathon.  The failed 17 mile run last week was a blow to my ego, and this helped to bring me back.  Next week I'm dropping back down to 13 miles, then a final 20 miler before tapering down for the race.

For those of you on Runkeeper, connect with me here: http://runkeeper.com/user/patrickcourtney/

[killthepavement]

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killthepavement:

Congratulations to Patrick Makau Musyoki who set a new World Record Marathon time at the Berlin Marathon! 2:03:38!!!! That is INSANE! He is a machine! Oh I wish I was Kenyan.

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8/24 Runner's Log - 16.7 miles @ 8:35

This is the second in a series of personal record distances in my attempt to get up to 20 miles before I need to start winding down for the race on November 6.  Last week (I missed the runner's log for this) I did 14 miles at 8:36 pace.  

Both runs left me completely out of steam and very tight/sore.  I've been down with a cold this past week so I haven't been able to get out and cross train in between long runs, which I'm sure contributed to being unprepared for today's run.  That, and it was a very humid morning.

I think I experienced my first close call with dehydration at the end of today's run.  At about the 16 mile marker my back and legs started tightening up quickly, and I was feeling thirsty.  I didn't have any liquids left, so I thought I'd just power through and finish my goal distance of 17 miles then pop into a bodega for a gatorade.  At about 16.4 I started getting tingles in my back and a strange sense of anxiety creeped up in me.  I could feel my heart rate rising and at that point I knew I needed to stop so I cut the run just shy of my goal and grabbed some liquids.

A friend of mine suffered from dehydration at a half-marathon just a couple weeks ago, which he said hit him without much notice before crippling him just shy of the finish line and putting him in the hospital.  Since then I've been very cautious of how much liquid I'm drinking and am playing it as safe as I can.  Today I think I got a little too close to the danger zone.