One foot in front of the other.
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Thanks so much for visiting my site! My name is Brandon Wood and I am the social media manager and a customer service rep for Newton Running. This site and podcast follow my adventures on the way to competing in and training for all kinds of endurance events, especially triathlon and running. Click the "About Me" tab for more info!
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What: Stuffitts! I have spoken about these simple yet awesome shoe savers in the past. Click here to read more about them. I cannot say enough how great they are!
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Hi Brandon,
regarding what has already been said about the NYC Marathon by Gregor in the last episode, I’d like to add few other details.
If you are classified as an INTERNATIONAL RUNNER (NO US RESIDENT) and you wish to run the NYCM there are -basically- three ways:
1. via Charity: they will provide you the race number in exchange of an agreed donation (sometimes they even cover all the other costs (eg flight+accomodation. But this can vary from charity to charity).It’s a win-win situation, you run and at the same time you help someonelse.
2. entering the official lottery on the web: you will get the result in the middle of March;
3. through an international Tour Operator: they are like a typical travel agency, they bring you to run everywhere, as far as you pay all the fees and costs involved. Due to the high demand, you should book in advance your spot (usually the day after the race). It sounds crazy but this is how it works.This year the NYCM took place on the 1st of November so, starting from the following day, it was possible to pre-book your place for the 2010 edition. Then, around mid January-February the Tour Operator will get in touch with you again and if you are still committed to participate to the race, you will have to fill all the forms and to pay the fees.In this way, already in February, you’ll have your secure spot in the race. They usually offer different packages:
+ flight & race number;
+ flight & accommodation + race number;
IT’S NOT POSSIBLE TO GET ONLY THE RACE NUMBER. This has to be associated to a specific package offered.
In this way it’s always risky to take a bet on the lottery, because if you don’t get picked, there are good chances to find no more room left with an Official Tour Operator. In 2007 I chose this way and in fact in all the spots were gone in a matter of weeks. Having said that, we have to consider that due to the current economic situation, the closing date with the tour operator could not be in February like in the past but it could be June or even July. In fact this year I kept receiving e.mails (still from the same Tour Operator I went with in 2007) regarding the race until the end of July. I suppose that after this date, they have to officialize all the participants. This solution is very pricey but as discussed on the spot with other fellow runners, it’s definitely worth it.
a question for you and for all the participants of your blog/listeners of the podcast:
better running in NY (already done) or in Chicago? considering all different aspects:
- the race itself;
- the support you get during the race;
- the city;
- no lottery for Chicago…
-…
I want to have fun while running (?!) but at the same time I want to visit a city for 5 days. What would you recommend then?
Thank you again for your support.
Gabriele
I am a regular listner in Shanghai, love the show. Here is my race report for the Shanghai Marathon:
Race Report Shanghai 2009 Marathon
This is my race report for the 2009 Shanghai Marathon run November 28. This was my first marathon. In the past I have run 2 half marathons and participated in some triathlons. This was my first real race since my injury at the Hangzhou half marathon last year in October. I pulled some tendon in my foot that kept me from running for about 3 months. I began running in February of this year and slowly worked up my volume and intensity. Over the past 4 months I stepped up my training and although I had a ton of work and travel I managed to keep a pretty regular schedule of between 40-70k/week. I was sort of following a 3:30 plan from Runners World UK on my Garmin; however I was usually under the weekly mileage and couldn’t keep some of the paces they were calling out for. In the last 6 weeks or so I gave up the plan and just improvised while keeping the suggested long run distances.
Over the last 6 weeks I really worked on my speed and was starting see some results and was hoping to run a 3:40. I am not naturally a very fast runner so a 3:40 would be a very good time for me. Being my first marathon I realized that it was dangerous to have an aggressive target and in my heart I knew that I would be happy with any race I ran that I finished strong.
My taper didn’t go well. The temperature in Shanghai dropped and it seems like everyone I knew was getting sick. I found that on the Thursday before the race my stomach was rolling and cramping. This happened at my buddy’s place during Thanksgiving dinner. I went home that night and did not sleep well, had to get up about 10 times, and was obviously very worried about the race in 3 days! The next day I went to work but didn’t feel better. I decided that I had to do what I could to solve this problem as I could not put 6 months of training to waste with no race! I went to the doctor and asked for antibiotics and prayed that I had a bacterial infection and not a virus. Strange thing to hope for….
Fortunately I was feeling much better by Saturday. I was a little weak from not being able to eat properly and all the trips to the bathroom but I knew that I was going to be able to run the race.
My girlfriend and I got up. She ran the race as well and finished strong. The race start was at 7:30. It was overcast and pretty cold, about 8 C. We went down to the start where there were 22,000 racers getting ready. There was a half-marathon and a health race (4.5k) at the same time. We all started together, all mixed up. That was strange and made for a very slow start. It took us 7 minutes to cross the start line. I ran the first KM with my girlfriend, we said our goodbyes and then I picked up the pace. There were a lot of people and it was hard to get a good line for the first 5k but I managed to still maintain a good pace. I was clocking around 5:05/k pace and felt great but I forced myself to slow down as I knew I had a long way to go. The first 21k went smooth. I was running real steady and managed to hit 1:53 on the half-marathon mark. All I had to do was keep it going at this pace I would have a great race.
The race goes through the city and along the way there are these groups of old lady cheering squads that are arranged to be there by the city. It is great seeing them dressed in matching outfits cheering for you while they bang on drums or waving confetti at the runners going bye. I found myself picking up the pace and waving whenever I went by a group of them.
Everything went great until about 27k when I started to feel a little pain. I could pretty much keep the same pace 5.15-5.20 that I was running however it was starting to hurt. I put on my music and tried to distract myself. That worked until about 34k when I started to really hurt. I could feel legs slowing down and I could feel the cold working on me. It was windy.
I knew the race from that point on was going to be really tough. It was from then that I started to see myself lose 5-10 seconds on every kilometer and I started to get worried. I really wanted to stop and walk; however I knew if I did that I would never break 4 hours and I would have a hard time trying to my run going again. I pushed through until 39k and was getting pretty slow and feeling all sorts of emotions when I realized that a buddy of mine was running beside me. It was great I had someone to pace me. I stuck with him for the next 2 k and managed to pick up the pace a bit. When I got to 41K I knew I was ok but man it hurt. It was great to see a friend of mine who ran the half-marathon there waiting for me and he ran me in. I pushed that last kilometer because I just wanted to stop running. I still don’t know how to describe the feeling when I crossed the finish line but I think was a huge release of emotion that I had been using to force myself through such an intense experience. It was not joy, or sadness, or relief but mix of the 3. I finished in 3:53.
What I learned from my first Marathon:
Got to eat more during the race I had 2 gels and sports drink. Not enough, I was starving at the end.
Don’t get sick before a race, but if you do restructure your race plan.
Do longer runs at race pace.
Don’t set unreasonable goals.
We are off to Chile to run the Atacama 250K desert race in March!