NYC Marathon

I finished the NYC Marathon, I am in major pain. Can't walk properly and can't even sleep hence I am up at this hour updating my blog. Never going to run a marathon ever again, that's for sure!

Respectable time

So nervous abt the marathon, hope I am able to finish it in a respectable time. Next year I'm going to prepare better for the marathon.

Meetups

So the guy from NJ is named Mike. He's going to call me this week to make arrangements to have coffee on Sunday... I wonder if he drinks alcohol. It didn't mention that in his profile. Or maybe I shd check again. I haven't drank alcohol in over a month. I just don't like the taste of alcohol and I've been trying to save money. I just order a Coke or Pepsi at bars.

I have become a Jets fan... I go to the Jets meetup group. A guy named Howard who I guessed is 45 from his fb page (subtracted the year he graduated high school with this year and added that to 18 to get to his age). I don't think I like him as a boyfriend but he has become a guy friend. I need more of those. He's too old for me and he's balding. Also kinda short and his face is kinda ugly. He sends me text messages even when I'm sitting at the table with him. He's funny.

I'm more of a Giants fan. But the organizers who arrange the meetups for the Giants are assholes. I hate calling people that but these organizers have thrown me out for not attending the meetups. Sometimes I don't attend the Jets meetup but Howard doesn't throw me out.

I used to be organizer of a Yankees meetup group but then no one would show up at my meetups so I stepped down as organizer. Now I go to this other Yankees meetup group. It has more members and people show up to their meetups. Howard goes but he's a Mets fan. He likes the Yankees tho so he's not a diehard Mets fan that hates the Yankees.

Speaking of meetups, I stepped down as organizer of the ballet meetup and the triathlon meetup. I met one couple at the ballet meetup but usually my meetups are attended by very few people. One guy by the name of James I met through the triathlon meetup. He asked me out on a date. But I wasn't sure if it was a date until he paid for the movie and my drink afterwards. I unfriended him the minute I got home from this date. He made me take the subway at 2am when he had a car. Who does that? Yeah he was running the 9 races + one to volunteer to be guaranteed entry to the NYC Marathon next year. So far he's the only guy I know doing the 2010 Marathon in my time range. Wait that's not true. Nori might be running the 2010 Marathon and he runs similar to me, maybe a bit faster.

NYC Marathon in 5 days and counting!!!

I think I'm slowly getting over Marty. He was kinda ugly and I wasn't attracted to him at all. I just liked his personality.

Anyways, I'm not running with Nori or Marty for the marathon. I've decided to run it on my own. That way I can slow down or speed up when I want to and not have to worry about someone else... My aim is to finish this marathon in 4:10... so 9:30 minute miles. I did 9:30 min miles for the Brooklyn Half-Marathon and that tactic was to slow down at the water stops and walk while drinking Gatorade and then speeding up after the water stops to run at a 9-9:15 pace. Worse case scenario is I do 10 minute miles and do it in 4:22 like the LI Marathon. It's my first NYC Marathon so so excited. I was going to ask my mom and dad to wait for me at the finish line, but I don't think I'm going to make them do that. I was also going to ask my friends to come and cheer for me along the route, but I don't think I'm going to make them come out.

On an interesting note, I have to say Marty's treating me like shit. One reason I'm getting over him. He's not the nice guy I thought he was. I know I'm not dating him anymore but the least he can do is respond to me. For instance I sent him a fb message last Sunday asking him if he was doing the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5 mile race yesterday. No response so I sent him an email on Tuesday asking him again abt that and the marathon. Then Wed or Thurs night I see him online and he apologizes to me for not getting back to me via chat, and I tell him thats okay, to let me know. Then on Saturday morning I see him online and he tells me he's not sure if he's running the 5 miler. And then saying judging from our half-marathon (we ran the first 7 miles of the half marathon before I lost him) we prolly can't run the marathon together. I am pretty pissed off since I thought he was my training partner. I even gave him a gift of a running book. If only I can take it back. So I tell him we'll run the races at our own pace and just meet up at the start and he agreed to that. But lately, I've checked his race finish times and they are much faster than what he used to run. I want to caution him not to go out too fast, that's what happened to Rich. He ran the first 20 miles in 8:30-9 minute miles and then he was butchered for the rest of the run and ended up walking and finishing in 4:43... which means he averaged 11 minute miles. To go from 9 minute miles for the first 20 miles, to average 11 minute miles for 26.2 miles means you're walking the last three or four miles. I'd rather keep a 9:30-10 minute mile pace then to go out fast and then burn out before the race is over. If I learned one thing from Team for Kids while training for them is that you should run your last 10k faster than your first 20 miles...

Hmm that was a long paragraph but too lazy to divide it... :)

Calf Injuries

So I reinjured my calf yesterday, running 5 miles. I don't think I should have kept running on it. This time instead of resting it for 4 days, I'll rest it for 10 days. I really want to run this marathon. I'll miss Marty for a week and a half. I've decided that I really want to run this marathon above all else so I'll use Marty as a training partner. So what if I fall in love with him. I've fallen in love before. After the marathon is over, it'll be over. He would have met my parents, my brother, and even Paddy. I might get to meet his younger brother Seamus.

Friday In

I wonder how many people read this blog. I think I can think of only two. I might start another livejournal account to have my own journals where no one reads it. Took this off of my Facebook link.

Spending a Friday in. Have a long training run tomorrow at 7am.

I have to make a decision on whether or not I want to continue having Marty as a training partner. I think I'm falling for him. Not good. Trying to fight it. I really want to run this marathon with someone else, that will ensure me running the marathon. This'll be the eighth year that I've wanted to run the NYC Marathon. Ever since 2001. No excuses this year as I'm self-employed and have all the time in the world to train. The real question is that if I run the August 16 NYC Half-Marathon I'll get an entry for the 2010 Marathon. Who am I going to train with then? James? He lives in NJ and tried dating me when I wasn't interested in him.

Marathon training

Got my first injury while training for the NYC Marathon. I strained my left calf muscle running on a treadmill on Wednesday. Luckily it didn't snap or pop, I think it's either a grade 1 or grade 2. The doctor said it was grade 1 but I wasn't entirely truthful when he was poking my calf muscle so who knows. Hope it's only grade 1.

I met this guy Marty last month. He's training for the NYC Marathon and agreed to be my running partner. I met him on Match.com so we were dating until I broke it off this past Monday. He's not looking for anything serious since his last relationship was serious and he didn't enjoy it much. I'm not going to try and convince him to be in a relationship with me, so I decided to just be his training partner. I am happy with my decision. I hung out with him on Tuesday night as friends and had the best time ever. Too bad I'm injured now. I was supposed to go running with him tonight. I may be able to get back to running as soon as next Friday but Marty's going to Boston next weekend. So prolly won't go running with him for another two weeks. Hope he still agrees to be my training partner.

Race #5

I ran the 3 mile Wall Street race tonight. It was race #5. Halfway through my race qualification. Going to try and finish my 9 races + 1 volunteer by the end of June, before I move back to my parents on June 29. I am going to run 10 miles on Saturday and if I successfully complete that run, I'll run the Brooklyn Half-Marathon on May 30.

A guy who was running the race talked to me on the train ride down, but I wasn't so talkative. I don't like talking to strangers, I find.

Ocean Drive or Long Island Marathon?

I'm determined to run a marathon next late winter or early spring since I can never get into the NYC Marathon. I'm torn between the Ocean Drive marathon the last weekend of March or the Long Island Marathon the first weekend of May. It'll probably be easier to train for the Long Island Marathon since it'll be warmer from February to April as opposed to training from December to February.

I am also not sure if I should hire a trainer to devise a running schedule for me. Maybe I will try to devise my own running schedule and for my next marathon, which will be the 2009 NYC Marathon (I finally will get into it next year, don't ask me how), I can hire a trainer so that I can do it under 4 hours.

My original goal is to run 10 minute miles for the whole duration, which would lead to a time of about 4 hours, 20 minutes, but we'll see maybe I'll start walking after the first 20 miles!

NY Team For Kids

Help me donate to a good cause:

NY Team for Kids

I am running this year's marathon in November and will raise the goal pledge of $2,500.

Team for Kids is a vital source of funding for NYRRF youth fitness and character-building programs. In 2007, Team for Kids members raised $3.5 million, allowing more than 25,000 kids to participate in NYRRF programs every week. By 2010, NYRRF would like to teach 100,000 kids per week how to make running a habit and to set and achieve goals. To reach that goal, NYRRF will need $7 million in contributions. NYRRF receives grants from private and public foundations, corporations, and individuals, but donations to Team for Kids is a substantial and important source of funding that makes the current scope of programming possible.

These programs are an alternative source of after-school activity for young adults. It enables them to lead healthier lives. Please help me in raising funds for this much needed program.

My Entrant # is 221724.