birdw0rds

…is a large number of miles.

October 19th saw the bird legs complete an inaugural marathon in the plastic delight of Atlantic City, NJ. Bit of an annoying multi to-and-fro route, a good number of irritating, stumbing, obese, smoking, gambling dejetoids to dodge along the boardwalk, and some stiff breezes along the way, but completed in a respectable 4 hours, 36 minutes, and 59 seconds.  Miles 19 to about 22 were bastadd tough with little left in the legs. By the final 3 or so, however, a second (or ninth) wind materialized and a surprisingly strong finish well under the 4:50 or so that was the goal.

Strictly, the aim was to firstly do the half marathon and then, having missed the last long run planned before the NYC Marathon in 2 weeks’ time, do at least 20 of the full marathon.  Extortionate hotel price and the long haul all the way to AC meant the decision was made to attack the full douffa on the day. Hopefully the legs will recover in time for the relatively hilly Gotham jog.

For the record, here’s the route to my first 26.2-miler:

• An estimated 465 miles in both training and races since February 14th, 2008.
• Approximately 2450 miles on the bike both around town and in long-distance jollies since mid Feb.
• March 30th: Scotland Run, Central Park, 10 km (6.2 miles) – 50 min. 49 s; first ever ‘official’ runnning event.
• April 20th: Run for the Parks, 4 miles – 29 min 55 s; ran this way too fast and almost vommed at the finish line…
• May 3rd: Brooklyn Half Marathon (13.1 miles) – 2 h 2 min 2 s; first half marathon, helped along by having JDB jog alongside.
• May 4th: Five Borough Bike Tour around NYC – yearly 42 mile jaunt around the city with 30,000 other cyclists.
• May 17th: Healthy Kidney 10K, Central Park – 51 min 6 s; good paced loop of the park.
• May 18th: Montauk Century, Long Island – turned into 130 miles out to the tip of LI; a wet and cold finish in a cloud.
• June 1st: Japan Day Run, Central Park, 4 miles – 34 min 14 s; slowed a bit as the heat kicked in.
• June 19th: a calf injury sustained by stewpidly decided to play footie with 20-somethings; out for a very frustrating 8 weeks, in terms of running; missed several events, including the NYC Triathlon.
• July 27th: Harlem Valley Bike Tour – 75 miles; tough hills for recovering knacked leg.
• September 9th: NYC Century – 100 miles around the waterfronts of four of the five boroughs.
• September 14th: Queens Half Marathon – 2 h 11 min 46s; very hot, very slow, pretty miserable 13.1 miles.
• September 20th: Cow Harbor Run, Long Island, 10K – 52 min 22 s; a leg Renaissance in the North Fork.
• September 28th: Newport-Liberty Half Marathon, NJ – 2 h 3 min 35 s; stick and wet, but relatively comfortable around Jersey City.
• October 4th: Great South Bay Half Marathon, Long Island – 2 h 2 min 23s; a bit cooler and a bit quicker.
• October 5th: Bike MS, NYC and NJ – Manhattan turned into a temporary Velodrome and a skim through the Lincoln Tunnel; completed about 75 miles.
• October 8th: sticky run around the tip of Brooklyn to Rockaway to complete 18 miles for the first time.
• October 12th: Staten Island Half Marathon – 2 h 1 min 36 s; a bit cooler still and a bit quicker yet.
• October 19th: Atlantic City Marathon – see above.

Share on Facebook