Quick update from yesterday

I posted yesterday before NYRR had released everyone's places. Turns out I finished 507th overall and I placed 127th for my age group, which I believe is 30-34. I can't even begin to express how humbled and surprised and happy I felt to find all of that out.

And yes, my cheeseburger last night was the best cheeseburger I've had in a long time. Buttermilk Channel in Carroll Gardens has maybe become my vote for the best burger in the neighborhood.

Marathon is over! 2 hours 53 minutes and 8 seconds!

Well, today I ran my first marathon ever in the ING NY Marathon. I couldn't be happier with my finish time. I ended up finishing in 2 hours 53 minutes and 8 seconds for a pace of 6:36 / mile, which is a whole lot faster then I anticipated running and satisfied my goal that I had set for myself of qualifying for the Boston Marathon (which I promptly registered for when I got home). I felt amazing the whole run until around mile 22, but sucked it up for the rest.

The marathon itself was a pretty amazing sight to behold. From start to finish. I had a hard time walking when I finished, and admittedly, I got a little choked up when I stopped running. Choked up enough that one of the race volunteers asked if I was ok because I think they thought I was in pain (which I was). But yeah, amazing day.

Now I'm going to eat a giant cheeseburger and drink some beer.

week long update

holy crikeys. work this week was brutal. i put in about 6 x 17 hour days in a row but i was still able to get in 4 runs this week of 5-6 miles each.

I got home around 2 am last night from the trip out of town for work. Today I went on a 10.7 mile run at what was possible a bit too fast of a pace, but I think I needed it to get of the mental block last week's work week gave me. So, I ended up doing it in 1 hour 7 minutes and 15 second for a 6:17 pace. This week, work is light and I have a lot of time off, the glory of being a freelancer. So, I'm going to do my best to catch up on sleep and eat right and just get ready for next sunday.

15.44 mile longrun

Today was pretty much the final of my big longruns before the marathon before I start my taper.

I went out for a 15.44 mile loop that I'll put in below. I felt pretty good for the most part. It seemed to take a long time for my legs to warm up and feel good, but other then that I had plenty of energy the whole run. It's amazing how 2 months ago a 15 mile run seemed like such a monumental endeavor, and now, after doing the 22 miles last weekend, my attitude as I left my apartment today was completely different. Today was more like "Ah, a nice short longrun today. That should be good" Man, running this much, I feel like most people consider me a crazy person, but I know anyone else who is training for a marathon or has done one before knows exactly what I am talking about.

So, today, 15.44 miles. It took me 1 hour 52 minutes and 20 seconds for a 7:16/mile pace.

Now begins the taper. I am leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to drive down to Myrtle Beach for work for the next 6 days. Work's going to be insane this week and I am likely looking at 12-13 hour workdays every day, but I better be able to make time for some good beach running.

2 weeks to go.

6 mile moderate longrun

Short distance, good pace. 6 miles in 39:25 for a 6:34 pace.

3 day update

I'm getting lazy here. Whoops.

Wednesday I went to the track for some mile repeats at a 5k pace. 2 mile warmup. 4 x mile repeats @ approx. 5:52-5:55 with a 3 minute active recovery jog in between. Finished with a 2 mile cooldown. My legs felt a little heavy that day. I believe it's because I may have gone a little too fast on the longrun the day before.

Yesterday I had planned to run, but the freezing rain motivated me to change my schedule around a little bit and take a rest day instead.

Today, I couldn't sleep so I went out super early this morning for a longrun that was about 7 miles. Around a 7:00 pace. It took me a while to get my legs feeling good, but I think it was because I had only slept about 4.5 hours and I am also much more used to running in the late afternoons/early evenings as opposed to right when I get out of bed.

8.25 mile long run

8.25 in about 56:20 for a 6:50 pace. I started out easy and picked it up to a good moderate pace halfway through. I felt great the whole run. Especially the last 2/3. For the most part I had the new Baroness record on that just came out today. It's good...initially I don't like it as much as the previous record, but I have a feeling it will be a grower with more listens. There are a few glorious riffs on it though. Speaking of glorious riffs, "The Volcano" by Old Man Gloom came on after the Baroness record ended. Holy crap. I just came to my senses recently and put all the Old Man Gloom songs on my ipod shuffle that actually have riffs and aren't just 3 minutes of ambient noise. That song is so brutal and so glorious I must have looked like a crazy man to any bystander I happened to run past as I was listening to it.

22 mile long run

So today was the biggest long run that I will have before the marathon. As a matter of fact, 22 miles is the longest distance at one point that I have ever run in my life, including the old high school cross country days.

I did a big loop that I'll post below. This run felt a lot better then the 2 previous 20 mile runs I did. I consciously tried to start out at an easier pace for once which I think was a big part of my success. Didn't have to stop and walk at all for any cramps today, and I felt good enough to burn in the last mile in 6:40. My legs felt great until I stopped running at the end, then they were pretty damned angry at me. In the end it was a total of 21.91 miles in 2:46:50 for an average pace of 7:37/mile.

Tomorrow = rest day and since I don't have to work, I do believe I am going to rest like it's nobodies business.

Also, many big hugs and congratulations to my brother T.J. and my buddy Chris for finishing the Chicago Marathon today. Totally sweet dudes.

2 day update. easy long run yesterday, hard longrun today

Yesterday I went on a nice 6.5 mile run at a conversational pace. All felt good. About 7:00/mile in the end.

Today, I went for about a mile relaxed for a warmup, then 8.3 miles at what felt like my half marathon pace. Then about a mile easy for a cooldown. I got the 8.3 done in 52:05 for a 6:18 pace. A little slower then my pace in the brooklyn half, but still a great feeling workout. Once I got over the initial soreness of my feet (which i attribute to being on my feet all day at work in less then appropriate shoes) everything felt strong after that.

Tomorrow I'm taking a rest day.

6 mile easy long run

Just as it says, I ran 6 miles at a comfortable easy pace today. About a 7 minute pace overall. I felt fine. My legs were a little tired after yesterday's workout and being on my feet all day yesterday and today at work, but nothing too bad.

8.5 mile tempo/threshold run

I did a 2 mile easy warmup followed by 2 x 2 mile bursts at a 5:35/mile pace with a 3 minute jog recovery in between. I finished up with a cool down that was a little more then 2 miles to get about 8.5 in for the day. I felt much stronger today then I have in the last few weeks. Both physically and mentally. Best run I have had in a while.

Sunday Long Run - 15 miles

I went out for a good 15 miler yesterday. Actually, it was 14.8. Over to Prospect Park and then up Flatbush, across the Manhattan Bridge, up to 14th street and then down the west side to the Brooklyn Bridge and home. Everything felt good and solid the whole run. I picked up the pace quite a bit for the last 2 miles because I felt strong enough to. 1 hour 45 minutes and 49 seconds in the end for a 7:04 pace.

4 weeks to go til the marathon.

Today, I took the day off.

8.24 mile long run

Did an 8.25 mile loop through dumbo and fort greene and then down the west side of prospect park. I ran it in 56:26 for a 6:51 pace. The whole run felt nice and easy and relaxed.

I also ended up getting off my ass to go the Burnt By the Sun and Tombs show last night. I got there too late to see Black Anvil play which bummed me out a bit. It was my first time seeing Tombs, which is weird cos I feel like they play every good metal show in NYC. The were pretty awesome. I hadn't seen Burnt by the Sun play in a good 8 or 9 years. I forgot how ridiculously brutal their drummer is. I was also probably the skinniest guy at the show by a long shot. But, given my stature, put me at any metal show and that will likely be the case. BBTS slayed. I'm glad I worked up the energy to get out of the house. Awesome show.

7.25 mile long run

Yesterday = rest.

Today = 7.25 mile longrun. I did a loop from Carroll Gardens up the brooklyn heights promenade, over the brooklyn bridge into manhattan, then back across the manhattan bridge and headed straight home. 48:25 was the final time for a 6:40 pace. Overall, I felt pretty good. No complaints. Now I'm going to go watch Jeopardy, eat a salad, and drink a beer and decide whether I want to stay in on a friday night by myself watching 6 feet under on netflix, or whether I want to muster the energy to head out to Cake Shop tonight to go see Tombs and Burnt By The Sun.

interval day. mile repeats.

I did about a 2.5 mile warmup followed by 4 mile repeats at an approximate 5k pace with a 400 meter recovery jog in between each interval.
mile 1 - 5:55
mile 2 - 5:48
mile 3 - 5:42
mile 4 - 5:39
Finished up with a 2 mile easy cooldown to get about 9.5 miles in for the day.

For the most part I felt pretty good for the duration of the workout today. Weirdly enough, in high school workouts on the track were always my least favorite days of cross country and track practice, but for some reason now they are some of my favorite workouts to do. Go figure.

That all being said, I do feel like have the initial symptoms of a cold setting in. I can't tell if it's a cold coming, or if it is just bad allergies. But, just in case I think I may either take tomorrow off or take it super super easy.

easy day

Instead of my usual pre-plotted loop, I decided to just go out the door and go at a nice easy conversational pace and head wherever my run took me. I ended up going out for about 45 minutes winding my way mostly around empty desolate streets of red hook. The weather today was my ideal running weather. Cool, slightly breezy, slightly overcast. I decided that the big pier that stretches pretty far out into the water behind the ikea in red hook may be one of the most peaceful spots in the city. It helps though if you keep your back to the ikea so you can try and pretend it is non-existent.

update for the last couple days

I took Sunday off to recover from saturday's behemoth. Yesterday I went out for an 8.3 mile longrun in about 56 minutes. Around a 6:44 pace. I started out a little draggy, but around mile 3 my body started feeling like it should. The rest of the run was nice and smooth. It started dumping buckets of rain with about a mile left in my run. The rain also coincided with the exact moment "In Fiction" by Isis gets absolutely brutal. Rain + Isis brutality = i start to run like a psychotic. Pretty much my ideal way to end a run.

20 miler part 2

Yesterday I went for an easy 6 miles at about 7 minute pace. Today I went out and did the same 19.76 mile loop that I did last weekend. I decided to go today instead of tomorrow because the weather is awesome today and tomorrow the forecast has 100% chance of rain. I felt better this week then last week. My muscles in my legs weren't screaming at me as loudly around mile 17 as they were last week. As an experiment again, around mile 15 today, instead of taking a gel i tried some of the clif shot blocks. They basically taste like fruit snacks. They went down a lot easier then the gel last week, except right around mile 17.5 I got a horrible stomach cramp, which honestly I think was from the clif blocks. I tried to run through it, but it got the best of me and I had to walk for about a minute or so for it to go away. Once it was gone I made it home the rest of the way no problem. All said and done, 2 hours and 23 minutes. A little faster then last week. About a 7:14 pace...right where I need to be if I want to make the 3:10:00 cut in the marathon.

7 mile hard long run

I took yesterday off. My body needed it. Today i went for my 6.9 mile loop through dumbo and fort greene. I did it in 44:40 for a pace of 6:28/mile. Up until about mile 5 I was feeling pretty exhausted, but I also didn't realize I was running that fast, so it makes sense I was so tired. After that I did about a mile real slow for a cooldown to get in 8 miles total for the day

6.83 long run

Not too long, not too short. My legs felt like cement though. Maybe I really should take tomorrow off. Went over the brooklyn bridge and then back over the manhattan bridge to come home. I picked up the pace considerably on the inclines of both bridges and took both the first and last mile of the run pretty easy. Did it in 44:55 for a 6:34 pace.

Also, as I was running across the brooklyn bridge, i got thinking. I wonder how many tourist have pictures that they are taking of their kids or significant others, where in the background they can see my skinny, shirtless, sweaty, bearded self running by. I like to think lots of them.

4 mile recovery run

alright. so i lied yesterday when i said i wasn't going to run today. i got home from work and i didn't feel like sitting on the couch, so i went out for a real easy 4 miles. my legs were sore from yesterday, but surprisingly i felt really good. giddyup.

20 mile long run

Yesterday I went on an easy short run of 4 miles to recover from friday's workout and to prep me for today's longrun. That gave me about 51 miles for last week.

Today I embarked on a 20 mile longrun, or actually it was only 19.76 according to mapmyrun, but I'm gonna round up because it sounds a lot more awesome when you say you went for a 20 mile run. I went from carroll gardens up through williamsburg and greenpoint, over the pulaski bridge into queens. Then I went over the Queensboro Bridge and ran along 59th street to the west side highway where I went down to chambers, cut over to the brooklyn bridge and home. I did it in about 2 hours and 26 minutes which about a 7:23/mile pace.

Overall I felt ok. Usually on my long long runs I will take a water bottle with me, but today just for the hell of it I decided to take one of those Gu gel packets with me. I ate the gu around mile 15 and I don't know if it actually helped me finish my run or not, but when you have been running for almost 2 hours and you are sweating and beyond tired and all you want is to stop and drink something cold and sleep forever, it is pretty disgusting to ingest something which can only be compared to consuming warm paste. If I didn't have water on me, I think I would have been screwed.

Most of the run I felt alright as I said. Around mile 18 though, right after I got over the brooklyn bridge back into brooklyn, much to my regret I let the exhaustion in my legs get the best of me and I stopped to walk about 200 meters and stop at a water fountain. Other then that, i think everything was okay. I got home and drank a ton of chocolate milk and gatorade and ate some bread and string cheese and took a 30 minute shower. Then I headed to Jon's house to watch the Bears beat the Steelers and drink a bunch of beer and eat some hot dogs and hamburgers.

Tomorrow = rest day.

interval day - 9 miles total

I took the day off yesterday. My back has been bugging me since sunday and i figured it was in my best interest to take a day of rest. So I rested by watching a bunch of Mad Men on dvd with Eleanor and then we ate a ton of pork ribs for dinner that her roommates dad sent. Pretty awesome day.

Today I went for an easy 2 mile warmup, then headed down to the track in Red Hook where I did 6 x 800m repeats with a 400 m recovery jog in between each interval. I did the first 5 at about 2:43-2:46 and then the final one at about 2:37. Easy 2.5 mile cooldown for about 9 miles total for the day.

10.7 mile longrun

so, i meant to go out for a nice long tempo run today, but like an idiot i just ended up running the whole run really hard. i know i'm not supposed to do that, but too late now. i put in 10.7 miles in 1 hour 10 minutes and 15 seconds for an approximate pace of 6:34/mile. blood and thunder came on the old ipod and i couldn't help but play it 3 times in a row. i blame mastodon for my running harder then i should have today.

recovery day

took it real easy today. went out for a 30 minute jog at a nice and easy pace to work out the kinks and soreness in my legs from yesterday. everything felt pretty good.

15 miler long run day

so, i neglected to post for the last few days so here's a quick catch up. on saturday i went out for an easy 4 miles that if i recall i took real slow and ran in about 30 minutes. i took it easy because i was intending to do my long run yesterday, but the forces of nature prevented it. so, after saturdays run i ended up getting in 50 miles last week which i'm pretty damned pleased with.

yesterday morning me and my special lady friend woke up much earlier then we are used to on a sunday morning to run in the Komen 5K to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. Eleanor signed us both for it and even if she may say otherwise, i thought it was pretty fun to go run a few miles with her. That's also because i'm a huge nerd. So, I had planned to go for my longrun of the weekend later in the day, but after waking up so early and already running a little bit, i couldn't get the energy for it, so i ended up going out for an easy 4.5 miles early evening yesterday to give myself a total of 7.5 for the day.

that brings us today where it took me a while to work up the mental courage to go out, but i finally did and did a nice big loop starting in carroll gardens, running up to williamsburg across the williamsburg bridge, through the l.e.s. and west village making it to the park on the west side highway up at 14th street and then taking the park down to the brooklyn bridge and back home. at the end of the day it was 15.16 miles in 1:46:40 for a 7:02/mile pace. Much to my surprise, given how lethargic i felt before the run, i felt pretty awesome for the majority of the run today. No cramping and i barely touched my water bottle.

I've noticed too that lately i've been posting very little about metal and this has turned 100% into just a training diary, so on that note to offset a little bit i will include this absurdly amazing video by Amon Amarth

Long run day - 8.3 miles

So, I ended up taking yesterday off. I had every intention of running. But I was over at dave's house and ended up having a couple beers with him. The very reason i left his house was so i could go home and get a run in before it got too late, but by the time i got back to my apartment, it was hopeless. So yesterday inadvertently ended up being a rest day.

Went for a long run today. 8.3 miles in 55:46 for about a 6:43/mile pace. It took a couple miles for my legs to feel okay, but after that it was a pretty easy run. The weather was shit though. Rain and wind. And for some reason my ipod shuffle would on play 3 songs in a loop, so i heard the same mastodon, fugazi, and jesu song about 5 times each.

Mile Repeats - 9 miles total for the day

Went down to the track in Red Hook today to do a speed/interval workout.

2 mile warmup followed by 4 x mile repeats with a 400 meter recovery jog in between each interval

i felt pretty awesome throughout the whole workout today and clocked some good times.

mile repeat 1 - 5:34
mile repeat 2 - 5:35
mile repeat 3 - 5:31
mile repeat 4 - 5:31

Nice and consistent. Then I wrapped everything up with a nice easy 2 mile cool down. All in all a 9 mile day.

Came home and chugged a glass of chocolate milk and ate some bread and cheese. Holy crap, chocolate milk is the most quality thing ever after a run.

long run day

this is for yesterday. went on a long run on my oft traveled loop through dumbo and fort greene. 6.9 miles in 46:45 for a 6:46/mile pace. my legs felt a little sore and heavy for a good portion of the run. i also should have waited a little longer to let the peanut butter and jelly sandwich i had 20 minutes before i left digest, but i wanted to get home in time for jeopardy so i just went for it. i think later tonight i'm going to go down to the track in red hook to do an interval workout. giddyup.

4.3 miler recovery run

Did a little loop up to the brooklyn heights promenade today. It was primarily a recovery run from yesterday. I felt pretty good, which is surprising taking into account how beat down i felt last night and this morning from my run yesterday. Ended up doing 4.3 miles in 29:05 for about a 6:45/mile pace. Coming back home some kids hanging out in front of the skate shop on smith street called me Forrest. Yeah, pretty original. I haven't heard that one yet on any of my runs.

Coney Island 18 miler

Man. I suck at updating this thing. I had really only intended to use it for a training diary so I could keep track of how much mileage I'm getting in prepping for the marathon, but my lazy ass couldn't work up the motivation to post anything for the last 6 weeks. So, here goes another try.

Anyways, that headlines not too correct. I really ran 17.66 miles today. Went from my house down to coney island and back.
Did it in 2 hours 3 minutes and 20 seconds. About a 6:59/mile pace. Not bad. Although I need to learn to slow down my longruns a bit so I don't fuck myself over by the time the marathon rolls around. Also, listening to At The Gates helps immensely when you're running for over two hours. Also it's nice to see the ocean and the boardwalk at the halfway point.

Other thoughts, getting psyched about the new Baroness record coming out soon. Also the song Dark Horse that Converge recently put up on their myspace from their upcoming record slays better then anything else i've heard in a while. Those guys are such fuckin pros.

Hail Satan....and Running

My name is Matt. I'm 30 years old. I live in Brooklyn, NY. I used to play in a heavy metal band. Now I am training for the 2009 NY marathon. It will be my first. I qualified for the marathon by running the 2009 Brooklyn Half Marathon in a fast enough time of 1:21:51. For the marathon I am setting a personal goal of 3 hours and 10 minutes. This is to be my platform to talk about 2 of the things I love the most in life. Heavy Metal and Running.