Training Runs

11/11/2015: Morning Workout, 5:28 a.m. and 6:28 a.m., November Project: Double Trouble

/ Jim McEvoy / Leave a comment

Happy Veterans Day! Here’s to all our veterans who dedicated their lives to protect the freedom we so often take for granted. Without them, we might not enjoy our lives the way we do. Thank you!

Happy Veterans Day!

Onto the running!

I hit both November Project – NYC workouts this morning for a double dose of running. Here’s what we did:

  1. Starting from atop the walkway at Carl Schurz Park, run north toward the Mayor’s house.
  2. Do four “Good Morning, Mr. Mayor!” burpees outside the Mayor’s house, saying one word during the hand clap portion of the burpee, ultimately saying GGMM by the final burpee.
  3. Complete the loop to the top of the walkway.
  4. Do 10 pushups.
  5. Run a loop in the opposite direction.
  6. Lunges across the starting point.
  7. Repeat for 35 minutes.

This workout was very straightforward and not too difficult (at least the first time around). Overall, I ran about seven miles and did close to 40 burpees, 80 pushups, and a bunch of lunges. I got to run with Paul, one of the co-founders of NP_NYC, and we talked about post-marathon weight gain (inevitable and the last thing we should be worried about) and future running goals. I also got to run with my sister. My ankle, which had been bothering me post-marathon, felt good but not 100% recovered, although it was pain-free during the running.

The big news from this morning was that Steve Weatherford, former kicker for the New York Giants, came to the 6:28 a.m. workout. He ran with us, worked out with us, and seemed like a genuinely nice dude. He posted this picture on social media:

Steve Weatherford

Steve Weatherford, former kicker for the NY Giants, at NP_NYC this morning! (repost from Facebook)

In other news, while I’m scheduled to run the NYRR 60k this Saturday, I’m still playing it day-by-day because of my ankle. I’m leaning toward running because I do feel strong for the most part, and in small part because instead of medals, NYRR is awarding belt buckles to finishers (similar to the finishers’ bling at other ultra endurance events), and who doesn’t want a sweet belt buckle for completing a race?

NYRR 60k

Look at that race bling! (repost from Facebook)

Happy running, everyone!

Getting Back to Running After the NYC Marathon!

/ Jim McEvoy / 4 Comments

Wow! Have eight full days really passed since the NYC Marathon? Unreal.

2015 TCS NYC Marathon

Post-Marathon celebrations: Chris, Sarah, and Me, 2015 NYC Marathon finishers; Katie, Ashley, and Kimi, 2016 marathoners in training! (repost from Facebook)

Here’s what I’ve been up to running-wise since the Marathon:

I took six days off from running because I woke up the day after the Marathon with left ankle pain. I had never experienced this pain before, and did not feel it at all in the hours immediately following the Marathon. My left ankle hurt every time I walked, and felt particularly angry with me any time I tried to run. So, I iced it, elevated it, and took Advil for two days. After that I just took it easy until Saturday, when I tried to run with Melissa. After a quarter-mile, the pain was too much, so I stopped.

November Project #betterthanbedtime

Our NP_NYC group ascending onto the Highline, about to confuse/elate/anger tourists (repost from Instagram)

And then on Sunday, the pain had almost completely vanished. Odd, but a welcome change! This allowed me to participate in #betterthanbedtime, a November Project nationwide event during which all 26 NP tribes gathered in their respective cities at 3:33 p.m. and ran unpredictable routes through the streets, stopping occasionally to do exercises. The run culminated in a social gathering at a bar (in NP_NYC’s case, the basement of a bar near Grand Central Terminal). We ran about 4 miles, including a stretch on the Highline, did squats, burpees, a handheld shuffle resembling a hora, and nearly killed ourselves in traffic. Couldn’t have asked for a better Sunday, or a better return to running.

Yesterday I hit the gym for core workout, and then joined up with John Honerkamp’s Lululemon run club. The run club meets every Monday at 7:15 p.m. at the Lululemon at 65th Street and Broadway across from Lincoln Center and does various running workouts in Central Park. This week’s workout included a mile warm-up jog to Cat Hill, 18-20 minutes of Cat Hill repeats (run to the top of the Hill, run back down, run halfway up to the cat statue, run back down, repeat), and a cool-down jog back to Lululemon. A lot of NP_NYC folks came to the run in addition to many new faces. I completed four full repeats in 19ish minutes, which equates to just over 3 miles. Also got to talk to some NP_NYC folks who I don’t usually get to hang with, which was really nice.

Lululemon run club

Gotta love the wall plaques of Coach John behind us 🙂 (repost from Facebook)

What’s up for the rest of the week? I’m going to do a MAF test either today or tomorrow to gauge my aerobic fitness. I’m guessing that I’ve taken some steps back because of all the racing, so it’ll be good to see what I need to do as I prepare for my next group of races. I’ll also hit NP_NYC for both sessions tomorrow (Happy Veterans Day!), and probably do a Central Park loop on Thursday. I’m still up in the air about the NYRR 60k because of my ankle, so I will see how I feel as the week progresses. While I really want to run my first ultramarathon this weekend, I do not want to cause any permanent injuries to my body. Oy uncertainty!

Hope everyone else is recovering well from the NYC Marathon!

Happy running, everyone!

10/30/2015: Morning Workout, November Project, 6:25 a.m., Bethesda Fountain; NYC Marathon Thoughts

/ Jim McEvoy / 1 Comment

I’m going to break this entry into two parts: This morning’s November Project NYC workout, and my random marathon thoughts.

But first! Bib and newly-tagged NYC Marathon shirt! Soon to have my name and (possibly) blog URL tagged on it:

November Project NYC Marathon

Woot! Neon is the way to go!

NP_NYC Workout at Bethesda Fountain

So . . . Paula Radcliffe, Bart Yasso, Desi Linden, and Dean Karnazes worked out with us this morning. What?! No big deal. Also, Brogan Graham, one of November Project’s co-founders, pounded out burpees, push-ups, dips, lunges, and bear crawls with us because #justshowup and #whatisthis. We also had lots of people in town from other Tribes for the marathon. Just awesome to see so much NP love this morning!

Bethesda Fountain

Bethesda Fountain, much brighter than it was this morning.

The workout consisted of two phases: During phase 1, we broke into two large groups. Both groups began by doing 20 burpees. Then Group 1 lunged through the terrace near Bethesda Fountain in Central Park while Group 2 bear-crawled. At the end of the terrace, everyone ran up a flight of stairs and then bunny-hopped up a second flight. Then everyone did 10 push-ups, 10 dips, and then back to the beginning for more burpees. Repeat for 20 minutes.

Bethesda Fountain Terrace

The gorgeous terrace.

Most of us NYC marathoners took it easy, and I got to do push-ups with Brogan and meet some members of the NYC Tribe that go to the 6:28 a.m. Wednesday workouts (I’m generally a 5:28 a.m. guy). There is something wrong with me when I think that 60 burpees is an easy, pleasant way to start the day.

Phase 2 of the workout was a “burnout.” Essentially, everyone not running the NYC Marathon started at the Fountain end of the terrace, did four or five burpees, and then ran through the terrace, up the stairs, down the stairs, and back to the start. The rest of us lined the terrace and cheered them on. It was wild! Each interval was timed, so if you didn’t make it back to the start in a set time, you joined the cheering squad. We went through seven or eight rounds before the final round, which was just crazy. NP_NYC’s Jason “won” the burnout, with Rob a few steps behind. NP co-founder Brogan also put forth a strong showing, demonstrating the meaning of “leading from the front.”

Marathon Thoughts

I’ve written race previews about my other recent races, but the NYC Marathon needs no introduction. I outlined the course in my pace strategy post, and all of my posts about training have essentially been about training for this race. I believe that, considering my injury which kept me from running between April and June 25, I trained as well as I could, and I am ready to run a solid race.

Of course, doubts have crept into my mind. During my 22-mile long run, I felt the burn in my legs at mile 21. I also did not log tons of miles, peaking at about 50 miles in my peak training week. These two facts could lead me to be concerned that I am not ready to run this marathon as fast as I want.

But poo poo to them! I have to remember these things as well:

  1. During those early weeks of marathon training in July and August, I was still returning to running after injury.
  2. During that return period, with the support of my doctor and physical therapist, I was biking upwards of 100+ miles per week as I prepared for the NYC Century Bike Tour.
  3. Also during the pre-return and return period, all the hours I spent in the pool, which, combined with my time on the bike, helped me build a solid aerobic base on which to begin marathon training.
  4. My solid performances in the Bronx 10-Mile (6:02/mile pace) and Staten Island Half (6:10/mile pace, with a strong sense that I could have run slightly faster if not fearing for my life on the boardwalk).
  5. Maybe most importantly, all of the love and support I have received from my family, friends, girlfriend, NP_NYC, coworkers, and what I might call the Spirit of the Universe, or, in a less spiritual sense, the feeling that I’m not in control of the world, and that my lack of total control is OK with me.

More thoughts to come tomorrow. For now, happy Friday and, if you can (I’m having a hard time), think about something other than the NYC Marathon.

Happy running, everyone!