Why NYC?

I haven't really explained why I'm trying to qualify for the New York City Marathon.

In some ways I'm not really sure why either.

My last marathon was Boston in April. It was an amazing experience - the city, the history of the race, the challenging route and the crowds! However, I arrived in Boston less than 100%. I had injured my left hamstring in the Around the Bay Race (a 30k race in Hamilton, Ontario) just 3 weeks before race-day in Beantown.

Add to that being really sick for a few weeks in December and early January and the result is some very negative impacts to my training schedule.

I had easily qualified for Boston in November at the Road 2 Hope Marathon in Hamilton, besting the required time for my age group by almost 6 minutes, finishing in 3:24:45. I felt strong throughout that race and could have finished closer to 3 hours and 20 minutes, but decided to cruise in the last 7k to avoid any injuries that might prevent finishing.

My goal had been to qualify for Boston. There would be other opportunities to focus on speed and faster finish times.

So given my qualifying result in November, I thought with a good winter of training I'd be able to turn in a good time in Boston. That is until a few months later, back in the same city where I qualified for Boston (how ironic), I hurt my hamstring.

As I mentioned, the overall experience of the Boston Marathon exceeded my expectations, my performance however, did not. I struggled at times during the race, not just the usual stuff one experiences at various points of a marathon, but really struggled to the point I almost packed it in at about the 30k mark.

When I finally crossed the finish line in a very disappointing 3:46:34 I told myself, "never again!"

However, once I had a chance to recover, reflect and get over the disappointment, I realized I couldn't end my marathon career on that note! Then I read Liz Robbins' book "A Race Like No Other" which chronicled the 2007 New York City Marathon. Her descriptions of the crowds, the race route and the runners were truly inspirational.

I knew running NYC was a must. And I wanted to qualify for the race based on time, not through the lottery or running for a charity. However, a 3:10 or faster marathon time, required for qualifying in my age group, was not within immediate reach for me. So I chose another option available - use a half marathon time to qualify. it would require a 1:30 or faster time, something I thought I could accomplish. After all I had run a PR half time of 1:38....shaving 8 minutes off over a 6 month time period would be a breeze!

Yeah right! The best I could do was 1:34. So I decided to hire my friend Ian to coach me. He's a former professional tri-athlete, has run many marathons (including NYC) and has coached tri-athletes and runners for nearly 20 years.

So here I am, training for a half marathon in mid-January and setting my sights on NYC for November 2011.

After that who knows, but I hear they have a some good marathons in Chicago, Berlin and London....like golfers, we runners always come back for more!

TGIF!

Another work week in the books and another day closer to Christmas.

Hard to believe really as it seemed like only yesterday I was on vacation enjoying the warm Ottawa weather, golfing, running, sitting on the deck with my morning coffee - enjoying all these things in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.

Now the local golf courses are closed, covered in a thin layer of snow, cold north winds whipping across their fairways as temperatures have plummeted into the double digits below 0C. And I sit enviously here watching the Shark Shootout golf tournament being televised on the Golf Channel from sunny, warm Naples, Florida.

Except for long and/or easy runs, most of my training these days (and for the next 4 months) take place indoors on a treadmill, because trying to run with speed can be a hazardous proposition between December and March in these parts!

So like many fellow runners and golfers who live north of 49th parallel, I wait. I wait for the ice and snow to recede so I can once again safely run along my favourite pathways and stroll down the fairways of my favourite golf courses.

One day closer to Christmas... and one day closer to spring!

Enjoy your Friday.