Alright, I know it says mostly cloudy, but still! Let’s hope this doesn’t change! I really do not want to run 26 miles in the rain!
Now for the bad timing: Allergies.
Of course, my springtime allergies have begun to act up. The timing for this couldn’t have been worse. I am sniffling all the time, I can’t sleep well and I get tired easily. This is not a good combination for someone who wants to run a marathon because both sleeping and breathing are very important for having a good run.
But at least it’s not the swine flu!
(I hope.)
Let’s finish up with another example of good timing. As in, a good time to donate to Charity Marathoners is RIGHT NOW! Just click here! Or here! Or even here!
Or you can find either Andrew or I and sign up on one of our fancy new donation forms!
5 Days to go! If you aren’t convinced about donating or are unsure, then watch the video above. It’s from Jake and Amir (some of the funniest people on the internet right now) and it’s about them applying to be Big Brothers!
Seriously, though, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Brooklyn and Queens is a really great charity. If you want to find out more about them, then go here:
It’s been a very busy past week weeks. Well, actually it has been a very busy past few months. It’s hard to believe that there is less than 10 days before the marathon! Anyway, now that we are getting close to the big day, we really want to ramp up on raising money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Brooklyn and Queens. So here is what we are going to ask from you:
Actually, we definitely would prefer that donations come in person or through the mail. In person is best. So, if that is possible, use that option. If for some reason it is not possible, then you can use paypal, but they charge a small fee, so we’d prefer you to use the other options.
2.) If you have donated, then please spread the word to everyone you know about our cause. I am talking about your mother and father, your children, your aunts and uncles, nephews, nieces, grandparents, great-grandparents, second-cousins once-removed, professors, classmates, friends, enemies, friends of your friends, friends of your enemies, enemies of your enemies, enemies of your friends’ enemies, EVERYONE! Tell them about us and ask them if they would like to donate.
If they say they would like to donate, then you can either collect the donation from them and give it to us, or you can send them to http://charitymarathoners.tumblr.com. Or both.
3.) Andrew was recently featured in an article for The Torch (I wasn’t featured with him because I write for the Torch.) If you want to read it, go here:
They got a few things wrong in the article. For one thing, Andrew does not run for 3 hours EVERY DAY. We ran up to three hours once a week. Also, they forgot to mention our website where people can donate. But overall it is a good article!
We really appreciate everyone who has donated or shown us some sort of support over the last few months. It really means a lot to both of us!
Thanks for reading and if you are a fellow college student, then good luck with the last few weeks of class and finals!
Remember to donate and spread the word! Thanks for all your help!
Wow it’s been a while since we last posted. My last update asked everyone to keep their fingers crossed because I was going to try for 11 miles that week. Well what a difference two months make. Sean and I managed to complete 20(!) miles last Saturday. I still cannot get over it. That translates to three straight hours of running!
The past two months have gone as smoothly as we could have hoped. The runs have gotten longer but they were always manageable. We would finish exhausted and achy but ready for the next one.
This past 20 mile was a bit of a challenge though. We ran on the Long Beach boardwalk which has a flat route that has eased our knee pains. It’s a bit over four miles running back and forth so we just had to loop our run. This may seem a bit boring but it is still a fun run because you have the ocean waves to keep you company. Even better though, the boardwalk is a hot spot for runners and it always helps your confidence when you past someone and they give you a thumbs up to keep going. Sean has even mastered the art of the running high-five.
Last Saturday’s weather did not cooperate with us though. An earlier run on the boardwalk we found ourselves basking in a warm sun that tempted us to the water after we finished (a poor choice considering the water still must have been 40 degrees). This time though we were faced with 30 mile per hour winds
With that long run under our belt, we know we can finish the marathon. The nice part is that we now just have one more long run of 20 miles and then we begin the taper period in which we cut down our runs and rest before the big day.
We have been training for a little over two months and there is less than two months until the marathon. We are over half way through training.
Andrew and I just got back from a 14 mile run about an hour ago. I am exhausted. My legs ache. I am too tired to get off the couch for a shower and I just ate enough food to feed a couple of small African villages.
We are here at the half-way point in our training and I am not exactly sure how to feel. On the one hand, I just ran the farthest I have ever run in my life. I am in the best shape of my life. I am right on schedule and I have completed every one of my training runs without much incident (Knock on wood.). After every run I complete, I get a runner’s high and have a great sense of accomplishment.
On the other hand, I am completely dead. I can barely move… and I only ran 14 miles. I still have 12 miles and 385 yards to go! It is taking a lot of effort for me to beat back the creeping feelings of doubt in my mind. As happy as I am that I just ran 14 miles, I am unsure I will be able to finish the 16 mile run next week, let alone 26.2 in less than 2 months.
It is hard to manage those conflicting emotions. I am dead tired, yet I feel more alive ever. With every run I complete my confidence grows, but so does my doubt that I will be able to finish the next long run.
I really cannot think of any thing else I ever done that works like that and I think it is part of the reason why training for and completing the marathon will mean so much to me.
Good news! Charity Marathoners now has a facebook group.
I know things are slow right now. But we are all busy with class, work, and well… running. I have all these great ideas for blog entries, but by the time I get home, I am dead tired and just want to go to sleep.
The key to training for a marathon is taking a long run once a week and going a little bit further each time. The concept is simple but by the middle of training it can seem a bit intimidating. Right now the furthest I have run is about 9.5 miles. That is no small feat but think of it this way: I am not even half way there! And at the end of that run I was a mess. I hurt my foot in the last mile (I think I am fully recovered now) and for the next several hours everything hurt. My back ached, my shoulders felt like they needed oil from the constant swinging of my arms when I run, and the pain in my legs were so deep that I swore it was coming straight from the bones. I stretched for a bit then just crawled back into bed and felt sorry for myself. That run was demoralizing to say the least.
The crazy part is I couldn’t wait to go out and do better next week. I know the long runs hurt, but they let you know how much better you are getting. With my foot injury though, I limited myself the following Sunday and decided that it would be best not to run further than I did the week before. I hit the track and finished 9 miles. Of course, all that pain came back (thankfully that foot pain was not nearly as bad) but I still felt accomplished (thank you runners high). This week I am going to try for 11 miles. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Like Sean, I’ve been getting a lot of crazy looks when I tell people that I’m training for a marathon. Why would I subject myself to hours of agonizing training through freezing weather, Queens’s traffic, and the occasional angry dog?
To be honest, I have a hard time answering this question myself. I only started running track in my junior year of high school. I am not a naturally talented runner, and I think I get by mostly on my long stride. After I graduated high school though, running became just a way for me to stay in shape and I quickly lost any speed and stamina I had during my high school career.
Last summer I interned at Broadridge Financial and they participated in the Marcum & Kliegman Workplace Challenge. I signed up, trained a bit, and had a great time at the race. The race was 3.5 miles along Jones Beach and the energy from the race was palpable. Everyone just felt really good about themselves and for the first time in a while I felt the Runners High. I was hooked again. I found myself signing up for Robert C. McAvoy Labor Day race in Long Beach. This was a 5 mile race and I trained more for this one. I finished strong and had a time of just less than 40 minutes. More importantly though, I felt the same rush again from finishing the race and I knew I was going to stick with running. It really boosted my confidence and got me thinking about going out for longer races.
So naturally after finishing a 5 mile race the next progression should be like a 10K (6.2 miles) or maybe a half marathon (13.1 miles) right? Well somewhere along the way I’ve picked up the “go big or go home” mentality and I said I might as well try for the marathon. I really love the challenge of it. Most people tell me they can barely run a mile and here I am trying to run 26.2. It seems impossible and quite frankly, I love doing what people think is impossible. It’s as simple as that.
As for running it for charity, I have been looking for a way to give back to those around me for a while, but I have had trouble finding an organization that I could believe in and really be passionate about. Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City is a fantastic organization. I know they really deserve some support and I will be volunteering there soon to get a better idea of how the money we raise will help them.
I love to run. Really, I do. But there are somedays where I just wake up and don’t want to get out of bed. Today was one of those days. I woke up, rolled over, shut off the alarm and just lay there dreading the four mile run I had ahead of me. I just wanted to stay in my warm and comfortable bed.
Then I get on to my computer to check the weather and I saw that it was 30 degrees with a wind chill that felt like 20. I said some obscenities underneath my breath, but I forced myself up. I knew that if I wanted to successfully finish the marathon, I had to run. No excuses.
After I was ready, I got myself outside and began to run. For the entire first mile, I was in a horrible mood. I just did not want to be outside. I said to myself, “Why am I awake on a Sunday morning, when I could be sleeping in a warm bed?”
I finished the first mile and then I turned a corner to find an icy wind blowing in my face. Now, I was really upset. I was cursing— sometimes under my breath and sometimes out loud. I’m positive that I scared several passers-by. But I kept running.
As I reached the third mile, I caught my reflection in the glass window of some shops. I realized that I was running pretty fast, but I was also going at a comfortable pace. I thought back to the beginning of my training. Four miles used to be a pretty long run for me. Now, it’s my shortest run of the week. Soon, I won’t even be running anything less than five.
I’m not sure exactly what happened, but something clicked in my head right then. Maybe it was the realization that I was in some of the best shape of my life. Maybe it was the realization that the faster I ran, the sooner I would be back inside and out of the wind. Whatever it was, I ran the next two miles like a madman. I was so impressed with myself, that by the end of the run my mood had completely changed. I went from being angry at the world to being ecstatic.
It’s funny how that works. That situation has happened several times before, but I don’t learn. Sometimes I wake up dreading the miles ahead of me, even though I know that the run will completely change the way I feel. I shouldn’t be surprised by it anymore when it happens, but I am. Every time. And I am sure, even though I have written about it here, that it will happen again soon.
We are three guys who are training for the 2009 Long Island Marathon and along the way, we intend to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Brooklyn and Queens. You can find out more about us here.
