One Week Away

Next Sunday is the New York City Marathon. It will be my 4th NYC Marathon in the last 6 years. With just 1 week to go, the focus of my attention is on the race. I love Marathon Week in NYC. Not too many things can take over The Big Apple, yet that event can. People from all over the world run in it. I do have the advantage of running it before, so I know the course well. The countdown to the race is on.

Snow

There was actually snow on the ground this morning. It felt like Winter outside. I went for a 7-mile run today and the sun was shining. It feels much warmer this afternoon. The weather forecast calls for more snow tomorrow. 2 more months before the first official day of Winter. Time to bundle up.

Gray Day

Here is a poem a wrote today.

GRAY DAY

The sky is Gray
On a cold Autumn day
Here on the news
I have the blues

The slow drizzle of rain
like tears from the pain
Fall to the ground
Not making a sound

What is left of the leaves
Fallen from the trees
Faded colors scattered
Orange and yellow tattered

The clouds hide the sun
When this day is done
The light of the night
shines tomorrow bright.

Stretching & Weights

I didn't go out and run today. Instead I just concentrated on stretching & weights for my exercise program. It always feels like I'm tuning my body like strings on a guitar when I do those exercises. I want to be in the best possible shape I can for the New York City Marathon next week.  

Taper Down

It's that time of year when the bicycle riding stops. Eventhough the sun is shining, It is windy and cool outside. I keep the bike inside. The New York City Marathon is less than 2 weeks away and I'm tapering down with my training. It will be a challenge to get under 4 hours this year. I haven't done it in the last 2 marathons I've run in. I feel like it's as much a mental thing as it is physical. I want so much to do it. We'll see how it goes.

Dear Diary

I was looking at a diary I wrote 20 years ago and I was determined back then to write an entry everyday. My book didn't have spell check and I wasn't using the dictionary. It was my routine to write about my life. Oh dear diary.

Friday Night

There has been plenty of rain this Summer & Autumn. The thunder woke me up last night. Tonight it is dark outside. The weekend begins.

28 Days Left

4 weeks from today, I will be running in the New York City Marathon. This will be my forth NYC Marathon in the last 6 years. My goal is to get under 4 hours. I was able to do that for the first time last year. My finishing time was 3:53:42. It has been a disappointing year for me so far in the 2 marathons I've run in. Both Long Island and Yonkers took me over 4 hour to complete. My training for New York City has been strong. The weather where I am is great, so I'll be riding my bike today. It's all about the fundamentals of training. I begin the taper down process as to start saving my energy for the marathon. Finishing the New York City Marathon under 4 hours would be a personal victory for me. Just 28 days remaining before the start of the race. I'm looking forward to it.

Post Half Marathon Reveiw

I didn't sleep very well last night. It was raining outside and all I could think about was running today's race and getting wet. It never did rain. The weather conditions were good. When the race started, I was determined to set an fast pace for myself. I did just that. It was back & forth with my pace afterwards. I finished with a time of 1:44:37. That's an 8 minutes per mile pace. For some reason, I felt like that extra gear wasn't there today. It might be a conditioning thing. 5 more weeks until the New York City Marathon. I'm looking forward to it.