Phils NY Marathon Blog by phil78

I think others have said it but what a fantastic day, managing to beat all my expectations. My time was 3:46:27 so under my goal of 4hrs but I dont think time really matters.. just to be part of such an occasion was a privilege and definitely something I want t repeat. The weather was awesome, the crowds were fantastic.. my one and only complaint was that a 4am bus meant I was waiting at the fort for over 5 hours before the start and despite lots of layers of clothes and plenty of hot coffee I got really cold and yet I was better prepared than others so god knows how cold they must have been. It wasnt so much the length of time but perhaps they should have heaters and blankets next year.

There are so many race highlights its difficult to narrow down.. crossing Verrazano bridge, entering into Brooklyn and getting the first cheers of support, running up 1st Avenue and the masses of support, entering central park and obviously the finish.

I found it much harder going than anticipated and hit the wall at mile 19. Not having hit it in training and having done many long runs this was a bit disappointing but I guess I hadnt done any long run at race pace which may have been my downfall. Those last 7 miles were sheer hell and I really relied on the crowd support to get me round but thankfully they were fantastic!

Definitely got the bug now and have my place for Tokyo in March. Now that I know how tough a full marathon is I want to do more training and think I need to include some faster runs rather than just mileage. Hopefully I can get down to the 3:30 area.

Anyway good luck to anyone reading who has a marathon coming up and to anyone reading who is contemplaing running NYC then I cant recommend it highly enough! 

So here we are just 6 days away! Ive been pretty lazy in the last week or so mainly stuffing my face and drinking far more than I should be doing. I did a half marathon last Sunday and meant to take it easy but the competitive urge overtok me and ended up running 1:36 which meant the next 3 days my legs were pretty sore. Still although it was probably a bit silly it was good to get a decent long run under my belt before heading off for NY since the previous long run had been such a disaster. Certainly regained my confidence.

I managed a 10k walk/jog yesterday which was my first outing since but took it very easy indeed. Went to the running shop near where I live and stocked up on jelly beans, bought some new socks and a running belt.  Nothing like a last minute shopping spree to calm the nerves.

WIll probably do a short run Wednesday night then a swim on Thursday. Friday evening Im flying out.. Saturday will be friendship run, registration and past party then Sunday the big one!! Everytime I think  about it I get butterflies and feel a little sick. God knows what I'll be like on the bus on Sunday at 4am! Best of luck to all of you running. Hopefully will be able to post a few days after the race!

In the tapering stage now and like others on here have found my bus leaves at 4am on the Sunday morning in New York. Ouch!  Hopefully the jet lag will convince me thats not an unreasonable hour to get up in the morning will have to wait and see!

Cant say Im that pleased with my last few weeks training. My last long run I did on Tuesday night and was really the first time Ive not felt comfortable at all. This maybe due to the fact that I'd stupidly chosen to wear a cotton T-shirt and got major nipple chaffe but at least I learnt my lesson there and will be back to the trusty lycra come the 2nd Nov! It was a little bit disconcerting to have a bad run so close to the actual race but Im being fairly philosophical about it.. My view is thats the bad one out the way hopefully! Also Ive put in the mileage so fingers crossed all should be well.

The next two weeks before flying out I am planning to do relatively little. Going to do a VERY very easy half marathon on Sunday with a couple of friends (should be 2h30 kind of pace and lots of walking!) but that'll be the only run of any note. Other than that a bit of swimming and cycling as I dont want to get any stress injuries at this stage in the game!

The butterflies have started now. The hardest part is hopefully over and very close to reaching my 5000 pound target which Im delighted about. That sponsorship should really spur me on! Really looking forward to it now... hope the next 2 weeks go quickly..

Last week was fairly light on the mileage front since I was entering my first triathlon on Sunday in Murakami about 300km north of Tokyo. We got up to Murakami on saturday afternoon and registered and met for orientation. When we had a look at the sea I got rather nervous. The swell was absolutely huge and the thought of doing 1.5k swim in it had me rather worried. Anyway the rumour was that they were going to probably cancel the swim which whilst I was worried about it had me very disappointed to since this was going to be my first triathlon and only attempt at one until next year. After a big past dinner we got all our stuff ready and had an early night. I slept well despite the nervous eneergy and only hope I get such a good nights kip in New York.

On Sunday morning although the wind had died down we were soon told the swim had indeed been cancelled and instead we'd be doing a 1k beach run then the 40k bike and 10k run as planned. The race was started in 3 waves and somehow due to age I found myself in the first wave though had my 4 mates I was doing it with in the same wave which made me a little less nervous. Im glad Ive done this start and the 10k run I did for the Nike Event as I reckon it'll make me slightly less nervous come Nov 2nd. Well that was the plan anyway!

The race itself was brilliant. Particularly the bike. Ive never been all that great at cycling but just had one of those days where everything clicked. The scenery was stunning as we travelled out 20km along the coast. Along the way it seemed that everyone who lived there had come out to watch us though this being Japan the average age of the supporter was about 70! COming back I got a penalty for crossing the mid marker in the road whilst overtakeing and had to get off my bike, lift it up before I could start again. This was a bit annoying as the rule hadnt been explained to us foreigners and in fact the 4 friends all got penalised for this as well. Anyway I finished the whole thing in a total time of just over 2 hours 2 mins. The bike was 1hr 13 the run 44mins and the beach sprint 5 mins. Was pretty delighted with this and cant wait to try a few more triathlons next year.

Felt pretty good yesterday and managed to get out last night for a 16k very easy run in the drizzle. Its been a while since my last long run though so am planning to do that tonight.. eeek.