The Joe Nation 2007 NYC Marathon Log

I ran today! It was the first time in a long time. I've been walking, but not running. Today I got all suited up to go to the gym in the A.M., but the gym was closed for some mysterious reason. So I decided to go running instead.

I did two miles, but did the interval thing rather than just running the whole time. What I love about it is that it gave me permission to really open up and GO. I get really bored with the slow stuff, but I know that of course I can only hope to sustain slow stuff, if I even manage to sustain the slow stuff at all (as opposed to walking). But with interval, it was with the knowledge that I'd only do it for a couple of minutes, and it felt great!! I mostly went by my heart rate -- when it had slowed down I'd open up and go fast for a block or so, then walk for a while until I was in a reasonable range (heartbeat went WAY up for the sprints), then jog (slowly) for a while, etc.

My knees are doing better than I'd expected, I worry about them, and they're the main reason I tend to do treadmill-type stuff rather than "real" running. This went well enough that I may try more of it.

s(just wanted to let you know that you're an inspiration, Joe)oz

Way to go! Soz!!

Joe(arrange for more mysterious reasons)Nation

Damn dude... I didn't realize you were 60... and I was quite impressed with your temerity before. I'm very impressed.

Oh.. stop it...

(maybe just a little bit more)

Tomorrow is the Japan Day Four, then I am planning on running home.

Joe(seven and a half uphill)Nation

Now my knees are complaining. Is there a way to tell if it's good, using-muscles-that-haven't-been-used-for-a-while pain, or bad, OK-that-was-more-of-a-pounding-than-we-can-handle pain? It really developed this morning (when I woke up, haven't gone running today) which seems to be more of a muscular thing than an injury thing...

Welcome to my mornings, Soz.

I usually have some sort of ache or soreness the morning after a hard run.
The only way I know to distinguish
"good, using-muscles-that-haven't-been-used-for-a-while pain" from
"bad, OK-that-was-more-of-a-pounding-than-we-can-handle pain"
is by how long it lasts.

I don't believe in running through the pain. Follow a hard workout with an
easy one.

It's probably a little of both. Get some Advil. take three.
Rest those complaining joints today.

Wouldn't hurt, even at this late hour, to put a little ice in a cloth and hold it onto the parts whining the loudest. 5 mins on, 5 mins OFF.
For about a half hour to forty minutes.

In about four hours, take two Advil and keep taking two every four hours for the rest of the day. Last dose as you lay your little head down.

Tomorrow see how things are.

Joe(reduce your distance and speed, then see. Every body hurts sometime)Nation

Well, I am officially an idiot.

Yesterday, the trains were not running from my local stop (181st) and they announced they would not be running this morning either.

Now I lay me down to sleep.

And apparently erase all memories of anything I was told on Saturday.

I breezed out of the apartment with just enough time for the A train to get me to the start on time......and THEN remembered --no A Trains.
So I ended running, first to the Number One train station, it's about 3/4 of a mile, and then running about another mile from 59th Street to the start of the Japan Day Four Mile.(The Number One goes local the whole frigging way to 59th Street so I got there with just minutes to spare.)

It really turned out to be a good warm-up for the run. I missed a personal record (again) by five seconds, but I did improve my time from April.

37:22 thats a 9:20 pace and well within my goals.

For those who do not know how they keep track of everybody: everybody gets a chip for their shoe. You tie it on with these little plastic zipties.


Then at the end everybody lines at these chip lines to have a volunteer cut it off. Hooray for the Volunteers!!!!


There's a computer connected pad at the start and the finish of every race that reads everyone's chips. That way you are only timed for the time you are actually on the course. (This morning it took almost four and half minutes for me to get to the starting line. Adding that time on would suck.)

After the race I trotted, I did not run, I moseyed, I jingle jangle jingled up and around the course again and then headed over to the trains.

Just before getting home I saw some folks enjoying their sport.

There were about a thousand bikes. Really. It took a good ten minutes for them all to pass.

Down deep, for just a second, something in my brain said " Why didn't you pick THAT sport, you dumbass"

Joe("um. I like self-locomotion?" "Yeah, well you got the loco right.")Nation

So you didn't run home?

~~~

Good work JoeNation! you're quite an inspiration.




(do we get to cheer you on next week?)

The plan to run home up the Hudson river got nixed right after I got my chip clipped. I was already on the East side of the park so I just headed up and around. So ...about nine miles today instead of eleven plus as planned. [size=7]wuss[/size]

No race next week (there's a real disappointment)
There's a Women's Only 10K on Saturday, mebbe I could rent a wig and run as Joan Nation.

It's sex discrimination, I tell you!! Just because women were kept out of the races for men for ten thousand years! Now we men have to stand on the sidelines and watch them go by. The Nerve!!
The Curves!!
The ponytails jouncing in the breeze!
The swinging hips!
The uncontrolled bounc--um,,,er.. where was I?

I like running with women, even the top competitors seem to be having more fun.

Joe(so many ponytails)Nation

Yay Joe! Good goin'.

My knees have settled down -- occasional ouches, especially when I take stairs, but not so bad.

Ponytails are a great metronome. A good steady swing means that I've got a good steady pace.

Stairs are the most damnedable things we have ever created.

I'm very glad the knees are settling down. I'm going to guess that it wasn't the distance but the way you ran the fast parts. Check the sound of your feet striking the pavement and (okay, here's the mystical yogi part) try not to make any sound at all.

You will find by leaning forward just a little more, the clip-clop will almost disappear and so will the protests from the joints.

Joe(No, Gus, not beer joints)Nation

Nice race, Joe, you'll be setting new PRs soon.

About three quarters of the way through my run this morning, I started
feeling nauseous. I slowed down to a walk until things subsided and then
resumed the run, with my dignity and the contents of my stomach intact.
That's the second time it's happened in the past month or so, both times on
weekend mornings.

Hope the knees have fully calmed down, Soz.

Keep on keepin on.

How's the heat out by you, George? It's been beastly hot here -- just cooled off a bit as of today, and our weather is usually a bit before yours -- and hot = nausea, often.

Remember, Joe, I can't really listen for anything, but I used to be an actual runner and know how to run soft. I do think it was mostly good muscle usage. Will try it again later and see how it all goes.

Not as hot, but very humid.
I was running on an empty stomach [insert joke here] and I think that may
have had something to do with it.

Oh, for pete's, I am an idiot.
What you are trying to achieve is a sense that your feet are floating on the pavement, not slapping it.



Running on an empty stomach? What kind of a joke could one make about that?

Joe(oh yeah......Hey, You shoulda used your feet!!! HAw Haw)Nation

I knew I could depend on you.

Does any weekend go by without a race in Central Park?

Good little article about the Well Watered Athlete HERE

There aren't as many as you think and a lot of them are held on Saturdays which for me is not a good day. I have to be at work by nine AM.

I run all the Sunday races I can. I missed one back a few weeks ago in order to go see the Yankees get whipped by the Red Sox, Mother's Day I missed a four mile because I incorrectly read it as a women's only race, and two weeks from now I will miss the Father's Day Five Mile because I have to go to Florida and sit on the beach for ten days. I guarantee you I will not be doing any running on an empty stomach down there.

There is something going on every weekend in the Park but not necessarily a running road race. Cycling takes a number of weekends on the roadway and baseball, baseball, baseball -there are perhaps two dozen games going on at any one time from eight in the morning to pitchy black dusk.

Last year, in order to qualify for the Marathon, I had to get my boss to let me come in late on three Saturdays. (I only needed one, but hey.) And I traded one Sunday of work for another in order to run the NY Half.

So far this year I have six qualifiers including today. I need nine.

Looking ahead I may need a couple of late Saturdays again.

Joe(I thought a co-ed race was just for college girls)Nation

dope

For Boston (at least back in the 80's) you needed to have run a
TAC-sanctioned marathon under a given time, depending on your
age and sex. What does the NYC require?