Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Walking on egg shells..
It's been strange - the last couple of days - I have been very deliberate of where I step, how I place my foot on the stair in front of me, how I step off a curb, how I walk on slippery surfaces. All I can really think of is "Don't get injured!" It reminds me of when I used to BMX race and whenever we were going away for a big event - we always had a bit of a rule that we wouldn't go out and do anything out of the ordinary just to make sure we were in good shape for the event.
It would just seem silly to sprain an ankle 4 days before a race that you've spent weeks preparing for. So I probably won't be doing much once I get to New York, at least before the race! Afterwards, IT'S ON!
And, my new shoes arrived at my hotel in New York (Thank you, Janice!)..whether I am wearing them or not is another story..
Tonight, I'm finishing packing and we leave tomorrow. I don't think it has really sunk in yet.
It would just seem silly to sprain an ankle 4 days before a race that you've spent weeks preparing for. So I probably won't be doing much once I get to New York, at least before the race! Afterwards, IT'S ON!
And, my new shoes arrived at my hotel in New York (Thank you, Janice!)..whether I am wearing them or not is another story..
Tonight, I'm finishing packing and we leave tomorrow. I don't think it has really sunk in yet.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Testing BlackBerry picture email to blog
10K on Saturday, 5K on Sunday - Now.. REST
We did a quick 10K on Saturday... Actually, I say 'we' - but there was nobody else there at 9:00 AM when I showed up at the running room. About 3K in, though, I ran in to Curtis and Steve - and I'm glad I did... This was supposed to be a 16K run and they told me they were only doing 10K... NICE! I now had a reason to only run 10 vs. the 16. :-)
So, did a quick 10K for the last time before the big race.
Then, on Sunday, we did a fun 5K "Great Pumpkin Run / Walk" starting from the White Rock Hospital. Strangely - this was a bit of a tough run. It was quite hilly and you were going down fast then up fast. My achilles hurt a bit and still hurts today.
Anyway - my big mission right now is finding my shoes. I have bought the same pair of shoes twice now and I would just walk into the store and ask for the same pair, same size. This time, however, nobody had them.. Yikes! My shoes are quite bagged and I need a new pair. Luckily, we found some online and I am having them shipped to New York. Not the greatest to run in a brand new pair of shoes - however if they are exactly the same pair - it shouldn't be much of an issue. I'll walk around in them for a couple of days first.
And, to track my progress throughout the marathon, the organizers have set up something called "Athlete Alert."
"ING New York City Marathon runners can sign-up to have five (5) of their friends and family receive e-mail tracking their progress on the course. Splits will be reported at every 5K mark along the course as well as at the start, half-marathon mark (13.1 miles/21.1K), miles 16 through 26, and the finish. This service is free and is a great way for people to keep track of your pace and location."
I have done a couple of things -
a) Set up this blog to receive the alerts. (You can email posts to the blog - so if all works well - it should send an email and automatically update my status.)
b) Set up Suzanne, my dad and my sister as recipients.
My race start time is approximately 10:00 AM EST - 7:00 AM PST on Sunday, November 2nd. If all goes according to plan - this blog should receive automatic updates of my progress. We'll see!
Off to New York in about 48 hours.
So, did a quick 10K for the last time before the big race.
Then, on Sunday, we did a fun 5K "Great Pumpkin Run / Walk" starting from the White Rock Hospital. Strangely - this was a bit of a tough run. It was quite hilly and you were going down fast then up fast. My achilles hurt a bit and still hurts today.
Anyway - my big mission right now is finding my shoes. I have bought the same pair of shoes twice now and I would just walk into the store and ask for the same pair, same size. This time, however, nobody had them.. Yikes! My shoes are quite bagged and I need a new pair. Luckily, we found some online and I am having them shipped to New York. Not the greatest to run in a brand new pair of shoes - however if they are exactly the same pair - it shouldn't be much of an issue. I'll walk around in them for a couple of days first.
And, to track my progress throughout the marathon, the organizers have set up something called "Athlete Alert."
"ING New York City Marathon runners can sign-up to have five (5) of their friends and family receive e-mail tracking their progress on the course. Splits will be reported at every 5K mark along the course as well as at the start, half-marathon mark (13.1 miles/21.1K), miles 16 through 26, and the finish. This service is free and is a great way for people to keep track of your pace and location."
I have done a couple of things -
a) Set up this blog to receive the alerts. (You can email posts to the blog - so if all works well - it should send an email and automatically update my status.)
b) Set up Suzanne, my dad and my sister as recipients.
My race start time is approximately 10:00 AM EST - 7:00 AM PST on Sunday, November 2nd. If all goes according to plan - this blog should receive automatic updates of my progress. We'll see!
Off to New York in about 48 hours.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Athlete Alert - Testing email to Blog..
This is a test post to try the email to Blog setting for the Athlete Alert at the NYC Marathon.
You register email addresses and they will send out emails to family and friends of the runners status.
So, I have set up this blogs email address as a receiver and it should update my whereabouts directly to this site!
GB
GB
Thursday, October 23, 2008
24K on Saturday, October 10th
Wow - it's been a bit since I last wrote. Time flies!
As I write this, it is saying there are 9 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes and 20 seconds left until the start.
Am I ready? Who knows!!
I was supposed to run 32K on Sunday, October 11th. However, I was in San Diego for my friend BJ's wedding. He and Laurel were married at a spectacular ocean front mansion in La Jolla, California. Check out this aerial view of the property - http://tinyurl.com/laurelandbj
Anyhow - I decided that I should run the morning of the wedding rather than the Sunday afterwards. Even though I had sworn off drinking for the month of October - here I was in sunny San Diego, on a boat cruise the night before the wedding... I mean, come ON! So, a few "Light" American beers aren't going to hurt anyone. I had a couple and I was good to go.
The next morning I really dreaded having to run. It was very warm out and I had no fuel and I was supposed to run 32K. I couldn't even find a sports shop in the are to buy power bars.. I was also in a bit of a time crunch because we were being escorted to the wedding on chartered buses and I couldn't miss that. So I grab my water belt and took off. I figured I'd run 16K in one direction and then just turn around and I'd hit 32K. Around the 10K mark I figured I wasn't going to make it to 16K in time to get back to the hotel to shower, change and make the bus. I hit 12K and turned around, hit the shower back at the Hard Rock, grabbed a couple of bagels to go for Suzanne and I at Maryjane's Coffee Shop, walked to the bus (Ran into the wedding party into the lobby...I was a tad behind..) and was good to go.
The Garmin readout from my watch is pretty cool because it shows San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, etc. as part of my route -
I definitely noticed the lack of fuel but was EXTREMELY proud of myself for getting out there and running it on a vacation like that.
Last weekend was another story... I was in Las Vegas last weekend and I brought all my gear and was ready to rock another 24K. But, I've been having this serious kink in my neck that has my left arm throbbing with numbness. It was also about 80 degrees in Vegas and I just wasn't feeling up to it. So, the 24K didn't happen.
This weekend, we are in full taper mode so we're doing 16K on Saturday and then a fun 5K and 1K run on Sunday - it's called the "Great Pumpkin Run" I'm pretty sure the crew at Innovative Fitness has us running while carrying a pumpkin for at least 1KM of this fun event.
It's really getting down to the nitty gritty and there's a lot of buzz going on between the people I know who are running it. There are face to face conversations, emails, text messages, Facebook posts - everyone encouraging each other and talking about last minute strategy, do's and don'ts, tips, information, etc.
Also, I've noticed that doing an event like this - you seem to be made more acutely aware of everything to do with Marathons. Sort of like when you're looking at a new car - all of a sudden it seems like that same car you are looking at - everyone is driving one - they're all over the place.
Anyway, I read this cool story about Rod Dixon and Geoff Smith in the New York Marathon in 1983. I guess Geoff Smith was leading the marathon for most of it and at mile 26, Rod Dixon caught up and passed Geoff Smith and won by 9 seconds.
Here's a picture of Rod Dixon standing and Geoff Smith on the ground -
Devastating for Geoff Smith!
Anyway, Dixon's time back in 1983 was 2:08:59. The cool part is that Dixon is running it again this year, at age 58, 25 years after he set that record in 1983.
I'm not running this for a personal best or best time - I'm just looking forward to completing it and giving my fellow runners a High 5 at the end! In 9 Days!
As I write this, it is saying there are 9 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes and 20 seconds left until the start.
Am I ready? Who knows!!
I was supposed to run 32K on Sunday, October 11th. However, I was in San Diego for my friend BJ's wedding. He and Laurel were married at a spectacular ocean front mansion in La Jolla, California. Check out this aerial view of the property - http://tinyurl.com/laurelandbj
Anyhow - I decided that I should run the morning of the wedding rather than the Sunday afterwards. Even though I had sworn off drinking for the month of October - here I was in sunny San Diego, on a boat cruise the night before the wedding... I mean, come ON! So, a few "Light" American beers aren't going to hurt anyone. I had a couple and I was good to go.
The next morning I really dreaded having to run. It was very warm out and I had no fuel and I was supposed to run 32K. I couldn't even find a sports shop in the are to buy power bars.. I was also in a bit of a time crunch because we were being escorted to the wedding on chartered buses and I couldn't miss that. So I grab my water belt and took off. I figured I'd run 16K in one direction and then just turn around and I'd hit 32K. Around the 10K mark I figured I wasn't going to make it to 16K in time to get back to the hotel to shower, change and make the bus. I hit 12K and turned around, hit the shower back at the Hard Rock, grabbed a couple of bagels to go for Suzanne and I at Maryjane's Coffee Shop, walked to the bus (Ran into the wedding party into the lobby...I was a tad behind..) and was good to go.
The Garmin readout from my watch is pretty cool because it shows San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, etc. as part of my route -
I definitely noticed the lack of fuel but was EXTREMELY proud of myself for getting out there and running it on a vacation like that.
Last weekend was another story... I was in Las Vegas last weekend and I brought all my gear and was ready to rock another 24K. But, I've been having this serious kink in my neck that has my left arm throbbing with numbness. It was also about 80 degrees in Vegas and I just wasn't feeling up to it. So, the 24K didn't happen.
This weekend, we are in full taper mode so we're doing 16K on Saturday and then a fun 5K and 1K run on Sunday - it's called the "Great Pumpkin Run" I'm pretty sure the crew at Innovative Fitness has us running while carrying a pumpkin for at least 1KM of this fun event.
It's really getting down to the nitty gritty and there's a lot of buzz going on between the people I know who are running it. There are face to face conversations, emails, text messages, Facebook posts - everyone encouraging each other and talking about last minute strategy, do's and don'ts, tips, information, etc.
Also, I've noticed that doing an event like this - you seem to be made more acutely aware of everything to do with Marathons. Sort of like when you're looking at a new car - all of a sudden it seems like that same car you are looking at - everyone is driving one - they're all over the place.
Anyway, I read this cool story about Rod Dixon and Geoff Smith in the New York Marathon in 1983. I guess Geoff Smith was leading the marathon for most of it and at mile 26, Rod Dixon caught up and passed Geoff Smith and won by 9 seconds.
Here's a picture of Rod Dixon standing and Geoff Smith on the ground -
Devastating for Geoff Smith!
Anyway, Dixon's time back in 1983 was 2:08:59. The cool part is that Dixon is running it again this year, at age 58, 25 years after he set that record in 1983.
I'm not running this for a personal best or best time - I'm just looking forward to completing it and giving my fellow runners a High 5 at the end! In 9 Days!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
27K on Sunday
Sunday, October 5th, I ran 27K in Vancouver. I was in Vancouver for a wedding on Saturday night - and Suzanne suggested that I hook up with the Running Room location in Vancouver and join their Sunday run. So, I did.
It was a nice change of scenery. Running along the seawall down through Granville Island, Kits Beach, Jericho Beach, out to the end of Point Grey Road to NW Marine Drive. And then back the same route.
You'd think I would have learned my lesson already - but it turned out that I didn't have enough fuel for breakfast so I found the run really exhausting. I got to about the 8K mark and didn't feel like continuing. However - if you've ever been to Kits on a Sunday morning - you'll notice that there are hundreds of people out there being active - running, riding, walking their dogs, kayaking, etc. So you have to keep going!
All in all a good run - a bit slower than normal but the knee held up. I'm feeling a little kinked in my lower back and left hip - and I hope to have that dealt with by going to Chiro / Massage. That's all for now!
It was a nice change of scenery. Running along the seawall down through Granville Island, Kits Beach, Jericho Beach, out to the end of Point Grey Road to NW Marine Drive. And then back the same route.
You'd think I would have learned my lesson already - but it turned out that I didn't have enough fuel for breakfast so I found the run really exhausting. I got to about the 8K mark and didn't feel like continuing. However - if you've ever been to Kits on a Sunday morning - you'll notice that there are hundreds of people out there being active - running, riding, walking their dogs, kayaking, etc. So you have to keep going!
All in all a good run - a bit slower than normal but the knee held up. I'm feeling a little kinked in my lower back and left hip - and I hope to have that dealt with by going to Chiro / Massage. That's all for now!
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