new york road runners

So Much To Catch Up On!

/ Jim McEvoy / Leave a comment

Wow. Sometimes you live your life and realize that it’s been DAYS since you last updated your blog. So, let’s do it! Four days of marathon training, condensed into one post.

10/15/2015: Morning Run, 6.2 Miles

After November Project NYC’s intense Wednesday session, Thursday morning’s run felt like a welcome return to form. Straightforward loop of Central Park. Not much to report. I also hit the gym at lunch to do some core and stretching work.

10/16/2015: Morning Run, 8 Miles

As this past week was my final week of high mileage before the marathon, I wanted to get in at least one additional long run before my final 22-miler. I really wanted to run 9, but the extra ten minutes I spent in bed before the run prevented that. No big deal. The weekend mileage more than made up for that one missed mile.

Later on this day, my girlfriend and I hosted a horror movie marathon for some friends. We curated a list of meta horror films, including “Scream,” “Murder Party,” “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil,” and “The Cabin in the Woods.” We scheduled five films in total (the fifth film, “Return of the Living Dead,” is not meta horror but amazing nonetheless) and, while we only made it through three, I applaud our friends for sticking around into the wee hours. In fact, both Melissa and I were shocked that anyone RSVP’d yes at all! We will have to do this again.

Scream the Movie

10/17/2015: Morning Workout: 180 Pushups, 180 Situps, 56 Burpees; Afternoon Run, 5.2 Miles

November Project NYC’s Friday workout involved no running. Instead, the Tribe performed 180 pushups, 180 situps, and 56 burpees. Ouch! When I saw that workout posted on Facebook, I thought, “Damn, I have to do that because #solidarity.”

This was a tough workout. It took me about half an hour to complete all the moves. I started by breaking it down into manageable chunks: sets of 20 pushups, 20 situps, and 6 burpees. After doing five sets like this, I changed the set to 10 pushups, 10 situps, 6 burpees, 10 situps, and 10 pushups. I picked a spot of grass near the 72nd Street entrance to Central Park, and people took pictures of me, cheered me on, laughed at me, and stared awkwardly. Sounds about right for NYC!

After depleting most of my glycogen, I ran 5.2 miles through the Park. This was a surprisingly good run on a gorgeous day, although it took me about 20 minutes to find a rhythm.

Later that evening, Melissa and I went to our friends’ CBGB’s-themed murder mystery party. My character was based on Billy Idol, so I spray-dyed my hair platinum blonde, painted my nails black, and wore tight pants and Doc Marten’s. Melissa was a Cyndi Lauper wannabe, so she wore lots of bright colors and turned her hair pink. I got so excited about the evening that I actually wrote the song that my character wrote based on his bio. Such a fun evening! We’re thinking about doing one of these mystery parties at our place. Just need a theme . . .

Murder Mystery Party

Melissa and Jim, a/k/a Anna Filaxis and Byeezus Idolatrus

10/18/2015: Morning Run, 22 Miles: The Hardest Run of the Training Season

So, not surprisingly, I only slept about six hours each night. I also failed to pick up GU packs for my long run. No worries, I thought as I threw on my running shorts on Sunday morning. I’ll replace the GU with a sandwich bag filled with candy corn! I also skimped on pre-run nutrition, eating only Greek yogurt and a spoonful of peanut butter before the run.

Because I’m running the NYRR 60k two weeks after the marathon, I wanted to use this run as both a final long run and a training session for that race.  For the marathon, I wanted to perform a training run that lasted about as long as I anticipate being on the marathon course. Dr. Maffetone talks about the benefits of this in his book The Big Book of Endurance Training, and other anecdotal evidence from friends who have run marathons supported this theory. So, as my goal time for the marathon is 2:55, I thought that 22 miles at my maximum aerobic heart rate pace of 7:45-8 minutes/mile would do the trick.

For the 60k, I wanted to preview the course, which involves a 5.2 mile loop of the Park plus eight 4-mile inner loops of the Park (72nd Street transverse to 102nd Street transverse). So, I figured that I’d run a 5.2 mile loop and four 4-mile loops to get to 21, and then finish it off with another mile. I thought it would be a good idea to get a sense of what it’s like to run Cat Hill five times.

A few things went wrong almost immediately out the door. First, the weather had dropped 10 degrees from the previous day, so I wore gloves for the first time this year. This made it more difficult to check my heart rate monitor during the run. Second, the annual breast cancer awareness walk happened to be that morning, so the Central Park loop was completely mobbed, despite the fact that the walk was supposed to be confined to a lane the size of an NYRR race. This made it difficult to get to water fountains and to maintain a steady pace. I had to duck through groups constantly, and wound up running on the grass every couple of minutes. Third, because of the crowds, I drank much less water than usual (once every four miles as opposed to once every two). And finally, candy corn, a/k/a pure high fructose corn syrup and food dye, provided no energy boost.

So, by mile 21, my legs were screaming. A combination of frustration at the crowds plus poor nutrition and water intake plus OK-but-not-great sleep plus the new angle of not being able to check my heart rate constantly added challenges to the run. It took a lot of willpower to fight through that final mile. I ran slightly harder than I wanted to as well, ending up with a 7:34 minute/mile pace (which included a jogged first mile). Maybe worse was the hardcore sugar craving I had after the run, which lasted most of the day and involved some sodas, Halloween candy, a mocha frappuccino, and a milkshake. That’s how you nail your pre-marathon nutrition plan!

While I was disappointed in how I performed on this run, I am so glad that it happened now and not on November 1. It just reinforces things I already know: 1) sleep properly; 2) relax in the crowds; 3) eat and drink properly; and 4) when you perform poorly, your body gets out of whack, which inspires additional poor nutrition choices. I’m probably being too hard on myself, but hey!  want to rock the marathon.

Here are the route and mile splits from the run. That last mile was a real pain.

Central Park Run22 Mile Run Splits

I finished up Sunday watching the Rangers lose to the Devils with my friend Sam at MSG. We talked all things training and marathon and Rangers hockey as my legs recovered, and my emerging favorite player Oscar Lindberg notched his fifth point in six games as a rookie. As Sam said, no one has told Lindy that he’s not supposed to be this good yet, and that’s a good thing. I then got dinner with my friend Nick, who is back in NYC from San Francisco.

New York Rangers Oscar Lindberg

LGR!

All in all, a good training bloc, and an even better bloc of fun and good times with good people. It’s taper time, so I’m envisioning about 20 miles this week plus lots of time in the gym to stretch and do core work.

NYC Marathon in less than two weeks!

Happy running, everyone!

Race Recap: Staten Island Half Marathon, October 11, 2015, 1:20:51, 6:10 Pace

/ Jim McEvoy / 1 Comment
Staten Island Half Marathon

Staten Island Half Marathon Banner (repost from nyrr.org)

Here we go!

The recap before the recap (seems fitting for Staten Island): I ran the Staten Island Half Marathon this weekend in a time of 1:20:51 (6:10/mile pace, 37th place overall, 12th in my age group). Totally pumped about my performance, the gorgeous day, and all the good times and success of my sister with her 18-plus minute half-marathon PR and my other friends’ strong performances.

2015 Staten Island Half Marathon

Staten Island Half Marathon Banner (repost from nyrr.org)

Now let’s recap the day.

I woke up at 5:15 a.m., ate my standard breakfast of non-fat Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of honey along with two slices of sourdough toast, one covered in peanut butter, and a banana. I threw on a long-sleeved running shirt and a North Face thermal, remembering last year’s frigid Staten Island Half temperatures (it turned out to be a 70 degree day). As I wrote about in my race preview, I had been battling a slight cold for a week and a half. This morning, the cold had subsided, and I could almost breathe entirely through my nose.

I met my sister at the 72nd Street 2 train, and we rode down to the Staten Island Ferry across from a guy whose snores reminded me of a male walrus. After a good chuckle (and then a move down the train car when it got too weird), we arrived at the Ferry, met up with our friends Ashley, Kim, Mike, and Sam, and made it to Staten Island around 7:30 a.m.

Once off the boat, I checked my bag, ate another banana, and went for a 20-25 minute warm-up run with Sam who, despite having PR’d at the Brooklyn Rock n Roll Half Marathon the previous day, looked strong. We expressed our gratitude for the opportunities to participate in so many races, and about how pumped we are for the NYC Marathon. I ran into some people I know, slapped a few high fives, ate another banana, and then headed to my starting corral.

Staten Island Half Marathon 2015

The view from our warm-up run (repost from Facebook)

Once in the corral, I ran into Steve from November Project NYC, who said that he had run and won a 100k race in Long Island the previous day. WHAT? Congrats, Steve. I would have taken the day off. I took my first GU gel, hopped up and down for a bit, and then BOOM! We were off. I crossed the starting line 18 seconds after the horn.

Before I continue, I want to put this race in the context of my running experience over the past year. Last year’s Staten Island Half was my first half marathon ever. I ran a 1:44:42, and remembered a hilly course with a heartbreaking hill at mile 10. I also felt like the flat section between miles 4-9 never ended, and that I could barely drag myself across the finish line. In other words, even though I trained decently for the race (3 runs during the week with a long weekend run), the course owned me.

This year, however, after a year of running, recovering from injury, running slow to race fast using the Maffetone Method, strength training, and generally taking a “do your best and forget the rest” attitude toward running, I found this course incredibly manageable. The rolling hills in the first three miles felt flat to me, and I cruised through the first four miles into the flat section in 25:00, right on the 6:15/mile pace that I planned for those miles. Before I knew it, I had taken my second GU at the aid station after mile 4 and was clearing the 10k point at 38:46, faster than I have ever run an actual 10k race. Everything about this race felt like it was in my control.

While I had intended to pick up the pace after the 10k mark, I maintained that 6:15/mile pace for three additional miles. I attribute this to three things: 1) running on the boardwalk for miles 7-9 was unsettling, and I honestly thought that I might slip on a loose board and eat it; 2) I held back in anticipation for the mile 10 hill; and 3) I had some reservations about my slight cold. Ultimately, though, I arrived at the mile 10 hill feeling strong.

This year’s mile 10 hill was different from last year’s: It was on a running and cycling trail, not the main road, and it felt like it snaked up and around forever. Despite that, I shortened my stride, slowed my pace, and climbed. One runner charged up past me and promptly slowed at the top.

Once through the top of the hill, the race was on. I charged down the hill and back onto the main street, grabbed water at the mile 11 aid station, and began the steady downhill to mile 12. I passed a couple runners, yelled out, “Looking good, guys! Keep it up,” and turned onto an industrial road that led through a warehouse district. As I turned another corner, I saw Myles, another NP_NYC member, running about 50 yards in front of me. Woot! This pumped me up so much that I had to restrain myself from sprinting to pass him.

2015 Staten Island Half Marathon

Staten Island Half Marathon Banner (repost from nyrr.org)

After a couple more minutes, I came up next to Myles, yelled a lot of endorphin-influenced obscenities, and we raced alongside each other up a hill and back onto the main road again. Myles got the jump on me for a bit, but I pulled next to him again. We ran into a group of NP_NYC folks cheering us on, and I ran over for some high fives. My legs and lungs screamed, but with half a kilometer to go, I couldn’t let up.

Myles and I rounded the final corner down the hill and into the stadium. I took the final turn way too tight and lost a bit of jump, but the finish line sprang into my sight. Less than one hundred yards to go! Cheering! Pain! I forced my legs to turn over a few more times and Boom! Across the finish line.

While I set my goal at 1:20 or better, 1:20:51 represents a ~16-minute PR for me in the half marathon. Also, although time goals are important, the real goal is to work hard and have fun. And that I did! I negative split the race, making that three races in a row with negative splits, and I proved that all the hard work I’ve put in the past six months since my injury has been worth it.

2015 Staten Island Half Marathon

Staten Island Half Marathon Banner (repost from nyrr.org)

While I wonder whether I could have pushed it harder out of the starting corral and brought my time down by a minute, I can only say that I’ll take that into consideration for my next race. And somehow this race time-qualifies me for next year’s NYC Marathon, so that’s pretty cool! Ultimately, I feel that I can correct these pacing issues with more experience.

My sister, Ashley, Kim, my girlfriend, Melissa, and some other folks and I had post-race brunch at Fraunces Tavern where we celebrated my sister’s epic PR. One year ago she ran a 2:28 at Staten Island and felt like death for days after the race. Yesterday she ran 2:09 and could have kept running. Amazing. Inspiring. But the best part? She’s taking an NYRR running class beginning tomorrow because she wants to improve her running. I love it! Can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

2015 Staten Island Half Marathon

Staten Island Half Marathon Banner (repost from nyrr.org)

NYC Marathon approaches: less than three weeks! I’m going to do one more long run next week, and then it’s taper time. This week will include some other longish runs in the Park, and an easy NP_NYC session on Wednesday.

I also want to thank everyone who’s liked my posts on Facebook and Instagram, written to me about my running, or just said hey these past couple of months. Starting this blog seemed like the perfect way to combine my love of running and writing into one happy corner of the Internet, and I’m grateful for everyone who’s stopped by, read what I’ve written, and clicked a thumbs up or a heart. It means a lot, and I hope that I am giving something back by writing about the things I love.

As always, happy running, everyone!

Race Recap: Bronx 10-Mile, September 27, 2015, 1:00:20, 6:02 Pace

/ Jim McEvoy / 2 Comments
Bronx 10-Mile

Reposted from nyrr.org

The recap before the recap: I ran the Bronx 10-Mile on Sunday and finished in 1:00:20, good enough for a 6:02 minute per mile pace and 76th place overall out of over 9,000 finishers. I could not have been more excited about my performance and the great time I had before, during, and after the race, and am so grateful for all the cool people I know who inspire me to work hard.

Now for the full recap!

True to my race preview, I ran two miles on Saturday morning, the first mile at about a 10:00/mile pace, and the second mile interspersed with 100 meter strides. I ate good food (plus half a chocolate shake with my girlfriend – gotta love Shake Shack), and got a full seven hours of sleep. I prepped my race gear and made a mental breakfast checklist that evening.

So, when I woke up at 5:45 a.m., I felt refreshed and ready to go! That didn’t stop the nerves from creeping in, and I used the bathroom three times before heading out. I ate two slices of toast (one covered in peanut butter), a banana, and one cup of non-fat Greek yogurt with a teaspoon of honey. Stomach full and gear secure, I headed out at 6:20 a.m.

I jogged 13 blocks to meet my sister and our friend Mike at Columbus Circle/59th Street, and we hopped on the D train to Yankee Stadium. The ride took about 15 minutes, and we talked to the conductor about the race (she was very interested in all the runners on the train). Mike and I grew up in the same town, so we filled each other in on what we and our mutual friends are up to.

November Project Bronx 10-Mile

Pre-race photo 1: You all good?

Once off the train at 161st Street, we checked our bags, hit the restrooms (again!) and met up with our November Project NYC buddies at 164th and Grand Concourse to take a team picture. As usual, everyone from NP_NYC was cheerful and full of encouragement. We talked briefly about the course and the chilly air, and then split to warm up. I ran a half mile, found another group of NP_NYC folks in the same spot as before, and took group photo 2!

November Project Bronx 10 Mile

Pre-race photo 2: F*ck yeah!

I headed up to my corral about 15 minutes before the start and talked to some folks I knew, including Steve from NP_NYC and my good friend Sam from high school. I ate my first of two gels and stood at the back of the A corral, which was fine by me: I start too quickly when at the very front.

And then we were off! I crossed the start line 25 seconds after the horn. Runners jockeyed for position for the first quarter before spreading out. The Grand Concourse sloped slightly upward, and then rolled gently up and down for the first mile. I passed the mile 1 time marker at 6:30, logging a 6:05 pace. This felt very fast (I anticipated a 6:15 pace for this race), but I felt great and went with it.

The next two miles contained additional rolling hills, with a steep uphill during mile 3 coming out of an underpass. I paced myself and ran easy on the uphill as other runners surged past me. I ran mile 2 in 6:12, and mile 3 in 6:20, putting me at about at 6:12 pace for the first three miles. I cruised down the final downhill off the Grand Concourse and into the first part of the north course loops feeling strong and focused. A number of spectators yelled “F*ck Yeah!” or “Let’s Go, NP!” when I ran by with my November Project #grassrootsgear, and I smiled and screamed “F*ck Yeah!” right back at them. Having never run for a team before, I loved every second of this.

Around Mile 4 I sucked down my second gel, grabbed some water, and estimated my pace at about 6:15 minutes per mile. This seemed right to me, but I still felt strong as I paced off a runner clipping at faster than 6:15/mile. We pounded fists and fought through the flat loop.

As we emerged from the loop, we ran alongside the next wave of runners. So many familiar faces and “NPs!” from Billy, Tricia, my sister, Ashley, and Sam, and maybe others I left out. I may have gotten a bit too exuberant with the high fives, but whatever! I was feeling it.

The second loop at the top of the course found us east of the Grand Concourse on a pleasant tree-lined street. The out was a smooth downhill, and the in a steady uphill. I ran mile 5 in around 6:10, and mile 6 at a sub-6 pace. Mile 7, the smooth uphill, had me reconnecting with the Grand Concourse for the final push home at about a 6:10 pace. I danced a bit to the DJ music at the head of the Grand Concourse (where all the loops connected), and mentally prepared for the final three-mile push.

The second I passed the mile 7 marker, I accelerated and focused on passing the next runner. At first this proved easy: A number of runners who had charged up the mile 7 incline were slowing down, so I overcame about ten runners before mile 8. Once mile 8 hit and the course became almost exclusively downhill, it was on. Every step became more difficult, but I kept my eyes focused ahead on the next runner, reeling him or her in to the rhythm of my breath in sync with my steps. The field had thinned a lot, so when I would pass a runner I would hear his footfalls for a few seconds, and then nothing but my own feet and breath.

I passed the mile 9 marker in a net time of 54:35, which shocked me. If I could run a 5:25 final mile, I could break the one hour mark! I had not even considered this before the race, so I buckled down, grabbed some water, and pounded the pavement. As we approached the finish line, I heard cheers and saw lots of people gathered. No one was behind me. The runners in front of me were too far away to pass. I kept the pressure on myself and crossed the start line with an official time of 1:00:45, good enough for a net time of 1:00:20. Woot! I danced a bit to the awesome tunes of DJ Kool Herc, grabbed some official finisher’s photos with my finisher’s medal, slammed a bagel and apple down my throat, and reveled in the fact that I somehow ran a 6:02 pace, only six seconds off my BEST 5K PACE!

Bronx 10 Mile

Post-race photo with Sam!

I later learned that my sister ran a PR pace, which is amazing considering she never ran before two years ago, and only really started getting serious about it last year. She doesn’t believe me, but she is my inspiration for running. She stays consistent with her training plan, hits the NP_NYC workouts hard, and has shown such consistent improvement. Kate is great, and now you know!

Bronx 10 Mile

Post-race endorphin-laden smiles.

After a short rest, I gathered my belongings and ran about 5-6 miles home, crossing the Macombs Dam Bridge into Harlem, and then down through Harlem to Central Park. I didn’t clock these miles, but I imagine they were pushing 10 minutes each. My foam roller never felt so good!

Post-race celebrations found my sister, my girlfriend, and I down in TriBeCa with my parents, aunt, and Mom’s cousins. That group ran the Tunnel to Towers 5k, which they’ve done every year for the past four years. The event honors Stephen Siller, a member of FDNY who died at Ground Zero after running from Brooklyn to the World Trade Center through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel on September 11, 2001, in an effort to provide immediate assistance to the relief efforts. The run tracks the path he took on 9/11, and it’s just a really profound experience. The foundation created in his name also provides amazing benefits to wounded warriors.

We ate a tasty brunch at Añejo, talked about our respective events, and smiled and laughed a lot. My legs felt surprisingly good, although my right hip was definitely more sore than the left (but not in a bad way). I was happy to get home afterward and chill on the couch, watching “Boyhood,” the Netflix DVD that my girlfriend and I have had on our TV table for about two months.

In conclusion, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I credit the Maffetone 180 Formula and training slow to race fast for my recent successes. I also credit NP_NYC and all their support. Also family, friends, and anyone who’s been reading this blog. It’s been a great journey, and I’m excited for the next couple of weeks of racing and all running beyond!