Escape to the city

This weekend I fled the punishing heat of Austin to have a vacation in New York. As well as the obvious pleasures of being in the heart of one of the worlds great cities-the fall temperatures of the east coast were ideal for some quality workouts. Central Park has long been seen as a Mecca of American running, indeed the trend setting inhabitants of NY were amongst the first to adopt the 'jogging' boom of the 70s and 80s. Central Parks own website even calls it a running paradise and having run it twice now, I can see how it has got such a reputation.

Central Park offers a sensory tonic to the perpetually busy and sometimes manic streets of New York-offering the benefits of an uninterrupted, winding and undulating running course that tests runners of all abilities. The main loop of the park itself ends up at about 7 miles so a straightforward run can end up as a solid workout for even seasoned athletes. There are also endless distractions to keep your mind busy as you run, you can spot pensioners practicing Tai Chi,  couples enjoying a romantic stroll through the woodlands and teams playing all manner of pick up sports in the inner fields of the park.

I enjoyed a good workout on Friday-completing a half marathon at quicker than race place-around 1:40 which was pleasing given that there are some sturdy hills on the route (Something that you don't appreciate from the classic aerial shots of the park like in the image above). I also don't think the alcoholic intake from the night before represented ideal preparation for a pb either! Nevertheless it's funny to consider that a distance that kicked my ass this spring is now just another workout-definitely a great sign of the progress I have made!

I plan to enjoy the weekend and maybe fit another run around the park before I catch a flight home to Texas. Good luck to all those preparing for Chicago-not long to go now!

The dreaded long run

Read through any marathon training program and the one thing that is constantly reiterated is the need for  'The Long Run'. Generally speaking, for an amateur athlete this refers to a long, steady run at the weekend (to allow for suitable recuperation without the demands of the working day) that ultimately seeks to mimic the marathon itself in pace and duration. Novice runners are encouraged to gradually build up to a distance approaching the 26.2 mile race in months before the race. Inform any marathon veteran that you are planning to run your first attempt at the distance and they will immediately ask about your 'long run' schedule.

In the pre internet years of the 80s and 90s, where marathon running underwent a boom in popularity would-be marathoners often made the mistake of over training and actually running too much too close to the race itself. The result would be muscles and bodies that were fatigued on the race day and a crushing disappointment of a performance that was actually worse than their training endeavours.
With the proliferation of training manuals freely available online, there is no excuse for any runner to repeat such brave but misguided training. Indeed, the marathon taper is now one of the most stressed elements of any marathon training program.

Tapering basically means cutting back on weekly volume and intensity for the final 3-4 weeks of your training schedule. Studies have shown that the physiological benefits of very long run (20 miles +) take around 3-4 weeks to actually manifest themselves in the body.  As the Chicago Marathon is now a month away, I find myself on the cusp of that taper. I have run 15 miles at near race pace and felt good doing so, so the final step is replicate a similar effort for 20 miles. Much debate exists over when to begin tapering down and how hard to train that final month. I think ultimately its about listening to your body and being honest about how you feel and what your body needs in order to enter race week feeling fresh. For me I plan to train pretty hard and consistently throughout September-with my long run of 20 miles coming about 3 weeks before race day. From that day on my goals will be as follows:

1. Stay injury and illness free
2. Increase flexibility and range of motion-thus increasing running economy
3. Reduce body fat through shorter pace runs at lactate threshold

Long runs are like a trailer for the main event, a preview of how your body might feel on race day and a snap shot of the mental fortitude required to push through the 'deep water' of miles 20-26.