One foot in front of the other.
Here I am, 5 days, 20 hours and 40, 39, 38, 37…seconds away from my third marathon this year, the Philadelphia Marathon. Scratch that, from my third marathon EVER!
It really is hard to believe that a year ago I had never run a race longer than four miles and now I am an Ironman. I don’t want to do too much reflecting on this year yet, because it’s A) not over, and B) I will do that around Christmas.
The Philadelphia Marathon was almost kind of an afterthought for me at first. I knew that I wanted to do a fall marathon and I didn’t get in to the New York City Marathon. It is also an opportunity to run with someone I have wanted to run with for a very long time (well, a long time in terms of my running life), Allan Gyorke, one half of the Running With the Pack Podcast. We began podcasting at about the same time and share a lot of the same audience (if you’re reading this and have NOT checked out RWTP, please do!).
Our plan thus far is to find the 3:50:00 pace group and get in front of them. At that point we will just run at what feels comfortable to us. We will, however, have an alarm set on our Garmin’s to let us know if we go BELOW a certain per mile pace. This is to keep us in check and not let our excitement get the best of us.
I have also been coaching with Jeff Kline (PRS Fitness) and I have to tell you, he has me running in ways I didn’t think possible six months ago. I am so much faster and more efficient that it truly will be a challenge to not let my brain get ahead of my body. I want to finish this race strong, not limping!
In any event, if you’re in the Philly area for the race, give me a shout! I’m sure I will be writing more on this over the next five days, so stay tuned!!
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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I’m excited for you, man! Can’t wait to hear how it goes. Good idea to have your Garmin alert you if you get too carried away. Much better to go out at a pace that seems too slow and have plenty in the tank for the second half of the race than to succumb to the “death shuffle” for the last few miles. With the way you’ve been training, I’m sure you’ll do great. Enjoy the experience!
All the very best to you and Allan. I hope you have a great time. We have all come a long way over the past year. It will be a lovely time Christmas, when we can look back and hold our heads high knowing what we have achieved. Regards
Trea
Brandon
Best of Luck in the Philly Marathon this weekend. I will also be running and it will be my first marathon. I’m reviewing my training log over and over to try to convince myself that I’m ready. With Boston closed for 2010, I’m looking to qualify for 2011 (a 3:15 is needed) and I am terrified! But I’ve been using your podcasts and positive attitude to keep me going on those long runs. I’ve done the work, now it is time to run. Best of luck to you and everybody else running Philly this weekend.
Congrats on the baby! My wife and I had our first in September (a boy, Nolan). Its made Marathon training a bit harder. As a note, NOTHING will prepare you for this, so don’t try. Throw the books out. It’s amazing how much it changes you… and although I am tired all the time… the changes are for the better.
Matt U
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Brandon Wood and Brandon Wood, radioryan. radioryan said: Media update Oh Man! Only Five More Days Until the Philadelphia Marathon … http://bit.ly/6OK0C [...]
So interesting to read your post! I’m doing the Philadelphia Marathon, which will also be my third marathon this year, and my third marathon ever. I’m not an ironman – yet. I’m signed up for Lake Placid 2010 (volunteered at 2009). Which one did you do?
I’m glad that I’m not the only person that jumped full throttle into the endurance lifestyle.
Good luck at Philadelphia!
Good luck to both you and Allen. I’m sure you will do great. I’m looking forward to hearing the report on both podcast.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by ironbrandon: Oh Man! Only Five More Days Until the Philadelphia Marathon! http://digg.com/u1GTdG...
Very simple. Good luck, and i hope you atain all the goals you have set for yourself during the race.
Kev Ev
Wow! you are a machine Brandon! keep it up! such a long way in such a short time! awesome!
Good luck tomorrow Brandon! It’s a nice course and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. And congrats on getting 3 marathons in your first year. That’s solid.
(fyi — I tried to comment just a second ago and got a 500 Internal Server error then a 405 when I hit refresh to try again… I know I’d want to know if that was on my site…)