ALLIE.COM
Road to win the 2009 Goofy's Challenge
at the Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend in January
ALLIE.COM
Road to win the 2009 Goofy's Challenge
at the Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend in January
“Hills are terrific for running.” -- Bill Rodgers (RunningTimes 1/1/2002)
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RACE/ |
PICTURE | NUMBERS | TRAINING LOG |
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11 New York City, NY May 4, 2008
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What balance!!! |
This tour was not officially
time, but I recorded 3.5 hours to ride 42 miles; it includes taking advantage of
some rest stops. I gained a pound after yesterday's race and now need to lose 23 lbs. |
I am adding some cross-training with this bicycle tour to my running. I
was a bit sore from the half marathon yesterday, but this was a
refreshing change of pace.
Lesson -- Must eat better. |
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10 Brooklyn, NY May 3, 2008
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Using my arms as air brakes, I tried to stop short since the running crowd stopped suddenly at the finish line. At least I ran hard at the finish. |
It has been several weeks
since my last long run, but I was able to finish this race in 2:09:58
(9:55 pace). After more weeks of eating junk food, I still need to lose 22 lbs. |
Now I am getting back into long runs. I felt that the poor pre-race
meals over the last day affected me. Also, tightness in the legs shorten
my stride a bit. Lesson -- Need to change my diet and eat healthy; need to do all kinds of stretching everyday. |
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9* East Rutherford, NJ April 26, 2008
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If you put your mouse over the picture, you'll see me approaching the finish line. I cannot believe a person with a baby in a three-wheel stroller is beating me. I need to run stronger. |
It seems that this run was
compromised by a misplaced barrier. They never checked the course before the race, and
therefore, there is no finish time due to an inaccurate distance. But, I did race hard.
This race sadly deserves an asterisk. As to my weight numbers, I still need to lose 22 lbs. Need to work on this more consciously. |
I chose another 5K this week because I wanted to run through Giants
Stadium. I ran in the parking lots, inside the seating levels, up to the
top and down several ramps, and onto the field. In short, the ramps
(like hills) were hard and the many turns challenged my lateral motion
from dodging through the crowds. Lesson -- Should strengthen the ankles for better lateral motion. |
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8 Weehawken, NJ April 20, 2008
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I do not think they were taking individual pictures, but if I find one of me, I'll post it. I am still looking for photos. |
With my first 5K race of the
year, my finish time of 27:00 felt good. This 8:41 min/mile pace
time will baseline this distance. Now, I need to try this pace for a
longer distance. And, as to the weight goal, I now need to lose 22 lbs. I gained a few since my last race. |
I decided to do a short race as a form of speed work this week plus I
wanted to run a tunnel race. Running in a tunnel is pure hills. Start with a down hill till you are under the river then up to the other side and back. I need to work harder on my hill work due to the lactic acid build-up I felt early on with this faster pace. Lesson -- How many times must I keep saying more hill work; must increase lactic acid threshold and tolerate it more. |
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7 Cape May, NJ March 30, 2008
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Besides being very windy and cold, the sun beat down pretty hard (little bit sunburned). That is probably the reason for the overexposed ocean background. While I can modify these pictures, I decided to leave them as they were posted by the photographer. -- need to wear sunscreen though. |
Horrible finish time of
5:19:09 (12:11 average pace) -- slower than Greenbelt race which was
suppose to be my baseline. Weighed myself afterwards, now I have to lose 19 lbs -- need to eat healthier. |
I MUST RESPECT THE MARATHON! It beat me today. I hit the wall hard. I was legless much of the second half. The night before I spent too much time gambling in Atlantic City thus missing rest and a filling carbo-loading pasta dinner; I was hungry and tired early into the race. Also, while waiting an hour for the start, I started walking on the beach -- sand in sneakers is NOT a good thing (blisters). But the good thing is that I didn't have coffee in the morning. As to the race itself, I was running into a strong cold headwind 90% of the race. It was a fight the whole way. This was worse than hills, by far. I don't know how to train for strong headwinds yet. Lesson -- Do not vice the night before; proper nutrition is key; do not play in sand with running sneakers; read about running into headwinds. |
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6 31st New Bedford Half Marathon New Bedford, MA March 16, 2008
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In taking a chance by wearing shorts in this cold weather, I felt more comfortable during the race (still wore three shirts though). But here at the end of the race, the chilled wind froze me a bit. As to the picture quality, the photographer stamped their logo on the low resolution of me. Maybe shaving the stubble off my face would have help clear the photo slightly. |
I beat The Bronx with a
finish time of 2:07:10 and went under a 10 pace by doing this with a
9:42 average pace. As to the losing weight thing, I haven't lost. I still need to lose 20 lbs. |
This was a strange week with
a couple of days of heavy drinking and eating junkfood with my friends
that cause me to stop working out for a bit. I wonder if it was the rest
or something else that help me.
While I didn't walk on the two hills, I ran them slowly which is proving hill training is working. And, a repeat offense of 20 oz coffee drinking before the race having that negative effect. Notes -- I need to replace my old sneakers and get more BodyGlide. Lesson -- Try taking rests and adding a little debauchery during training; train harder on hills; wean off the coffee. |
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5 45th Caesar Rodney Half Marathon Wilmington, DE March 9, 2008
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Wow, this is a bad finish line picture. But, there are lots of things I want to talk about here. 1) Notice the pain in my face. Hard race! 2) Look in the background, we are on top of a hill but it looks and feels more like a cliff. 3) Look at my belly area, I was wearing four shirts due to the cold and windy conditions but it really looks like I must loose weight. As of today, my goal is to lose 20 lbs. 4) Look at my pant leg. It was a strong wind. Raising my hands and flattening my chest adds drag. I should have raised them all the way. -- need to pose better for the photos. |
I am treating these races as my long weekend training runs. I was faster than my last half in Rock Hill with a time of 2:15:09 (10:19 pace), however, still slower than my Bronx time.
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This race includes a very long upward slope over several miles that
killed me. It forced me to walked a bit, which affected my time. Also, I
had a Starbucks Venti-size coffee before the race which I later
regretted due to the lack of port-o-potties along the course. Lesson -- Train on hills more; do not drink coffee before the race; lose some weight; reduce drag. |
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4 5th Celebrate Life Half Marathon Rock Hill, NY March 2, 2008
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Since I had time to throw up some peace signs, it shows that I wasn't racing hard -- need to race harder. |
I sadly finished slower than the Bronx half with a time of 2:17:24 which is a 10:29.3 pace. | I have been sick for a few days. The night before I was on NyQuil.
And since I had no desire to cook, I ate two cans of Chef Boyardee
Beefaroni on top of that. Plus, this was one of the hilliest races I
have ever done.
Lesson -- don't run when sick; don't take drugs; eat real pasta; train more on hills. |
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3 47th Washington's Birthday Marathon Greenbelt, MD February 17, 2008 |
I was trying to keep my posture, but after 20+ miles into the race, it was impossible. |
My finish time of 4:59:59 is an 11:27 min/mile pace. Since I wanted to baseline a long distance race, I drove to Maryland to do this marathon. |
Happily, without a training program in place, I finished just shy of
five hours. I need to pick a plan soon. And to help me with my posture, I need to strengthen my core and lose some weight, ASAP!. Lesson -- Find a training program. |
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2 The Bronx, NY February 10, 2008 |
My posture is a little off here -- need to fix that. |
I ran better than the Manhattan half by 10 minutes and 48 seconds. I finished in 2:12:25 which is a 10:06 pace.
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It was windy, cold, and hilly. Lesson -- Train more on hills. |
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1 New York City, NY January 27, 2008 |
It doesn't look like I am going fast -- need to go faster. |
My finish time was in 2:23:13 which is a 10:55 pace. This is my half marathon baseline in 2008. Now my training will start and the times will just get faster. | I was not prepared in training and in clothing. Lesson -- Be conscience of the clothing. |
TOTAL RACE/TOUR MILES in 2008 so far: 179.2 (2 Marathons + 6 Half Marathons + 2 5Ks + 1 Tour)
Site updated: May 11, 2008
Any questions or
comments or changes you want to see, please contact me and I will write back
--> lawrence@allie.com
