There will be no correct clothes....

The milage ramp up continues.

I ran 19 today in the park, and suffered no ill effects.

That run made this week my second 58 mile week in a row.

Still, 26.2 seems like a really, really long way.

19 is a lot, but I would need another hour to finish a marathon. I was not up for another hour of running today, that's for sure.

The NYC marathon is still 2 months out though, so no worries, right?

I did a great yoga session with TH at Yoga To The People tonight -- power Vinyasa -- a great way to wrap up long run day.

NYC Half

Yesterday was the NYC Half Marathon. In order to do my best, I felt that I would have to interrupt my marathon training -- taking off the day before, and probably the day after, as well as generally not pushing to hard last week.

I decided instead to "train through" and run the half at a moderate pace. I have been on a roll ramping up the mileage, and it just didn't seem like a good time for an interruption.

That plan lined up very well with the brutal heat and humidity on race day. I was very happy that I was not pushing for a PR in that weather.

The down side was that my casual attitude about the race caused me to make a couple of stupid mistakes. First, I didn't put on any Body Glide. When it is hot or raining, and the race is longer than 10K, I always put some on. Next, I didn't bring a bag with a change of clothes for after the race. Hey, I'm local right? Finally, I wore the brand new Flyers singlet that I had picked up the day before. The perfect storm.

Well, at about mile 3 I was completely soaked through with sweat, and new shirt was seriously irritating my right nipple. I could just picture myself sitting on the subway with a gorgeous blood stain (or two) running down the full length of my singlet. I started thinking about where to exit the course. I wanted out.

Then a strange thing happened. Having given myself permission to quit, I relaxed and got into a comfortable groove. I saw lots of friends, some running, some spectating. DW flew by looking very happy. GW was there, looking smart in his TFK Coach singlet. Someone called my name, and I saw LH standing with CC (did I hallucinate that?). I was really having fun.

I thought I would bug out after one loop, but at the end of the loop I was having a good time, and I knew from the park to Times Square was the most fun part of the course. So... I kept going. The entertainment did not disappoint, and I ran my fastest mile just cause I was having so much fun.

At about mile 10 or 11, I ran into a First Aid tent and asked for a band aid. They gave me one, and I took off, trying to put the thing on my wound as I ran. Of course, it was completely hopeless because I was soaked. Somehow, though, I was still not bleeding.

At that point, I figured I may as well go ahead and finish. The last couple of miles were hard, but the Flyers were manning the water stop at mile 12 -- not to be missed. It was like a party there.

The race brought my mileage for the week to 58 -- a record for me. My time was 1:39:12, four minutes slower than my PR, but good enough to keep me happy. Aside from the skin irritation, my body felt great. And by some miracle, I wasn't bleeding. My new shirt was unstained.

My fears of embarrassment on the trip home assuaged, I called it a grand success and headed for home. There I had a shower (painful), and a nap (completely painless).

Once a Runner

While in Maine, I visited the Maine Running Company, and saw that they were selling Once a Runner, by John L. Parker.

I had heard that this novel was very popular amongst runners, so I grabbed a copy. I was not disappointed. I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks of themselves as a competitive runner. (By "competitive", I don't mean "fast". I mean anyone who trains aggressively to improve their race times.)

Parker apparently self published the book in the 1970s, and sold it out of his car at running events. It eventually became a cult favorite of runners.

Here's something funny -- someone liked this book enough, that they actually produced a fake movie trailer. Check it out.

Last year, Parker published a sequel called Again to Carthage. I'm sure I'll be picking that up soon.

Summer Streets 2009

(The gang at one of the quirky water stops along the way)

It's time for Summer Streets, when NYC closes Park Avenue to traffic from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge.

I met up with TH, JF and JS to run the route. We took a comfortable pace, and chatted as we enjoyed the scene. It was really a pleasure, and the time flew by. By the time I got home, I had done 15 miles.

There's one more day of Summer Streets -- next Saturday (the 22nd) from 7 am to 1 pm. Get there early to beat the crowds!

Fresh Pond

After getting back to NYC this week, I had to turn around and make a quick trip back to New England for a meeting. I took the opportunity to visit my sister in Cambridge, and we enjoyed a morning run together.

She took me on one of her favorite routes: around Fresh Pond. It's a really nice 2.5 mile loop -- a scenic path that's not at all crowded. We ran to the pond from her place and did 2 loops -- a little over 8 miles in the end.

I should point out that this was her regular route and pace, and that the blood soaked socks were just a fluke. It had nothing at all to do with keeping up with her super-fast big brother.

Wrap up

(Maquoit Bay -- taken during last weekend's 17 miler)

I have been neglecting the blog while on my "Running Retreat" for the past few weeks, so here a quick wrap up. (I returned to NYC on Sunday).

I raced a 5K in Portsmouth, N.H. with a few work mates. (Company HQ is in Portsmouth). My predicted time was "just under 20", and I came in at 19:59. No joke.

I knew three other people in the race. We each placed 6th in our respective age/gender groups. Now that's just weird.

I took advantage of the cool Maine mornings to ramp up my weekly mileage. I'm running 50 mile weeks now, which is more than in previous years .

Each Saturday, I ran long: 15, 13 and 17 miles. The long runs felt good -- much less painful then in previous years. Part of this (I think) is because the long runs are a smaller percentage of my weekly miles. I may be getting the hang of this....

Running into culture

Symphony Hall, as seen on this morning's 13 miler.