Exercise and Fitness - Olympic spirit!

[baxus]

6 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

I was at mile marker 24 at the New York City marathon yesterday to support a friend and seeing everyone competing has kind of inspired me to shoot for that. It was amazing seeing the runners feed off the energy of the spectators. 

Trust me, every single runner is grateful for your support.

The boost I got from the crowd when I ran Berlin half-marathon is something I'll never forget. I mean, a guy holding a "It's not that far anymore" sign after 14-15km, or the teenage girl yelling: "You're all winners!" as loud as she could to the whole crowd as we're passing around her are just some of the images that will remain carved in my memory till the day I die.

5 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

Right now I'm just preparing for a 5k and that seems hard enough but I think if I work my way up I might be able to qualify for it the year after next  

I hate driving over the Verrazano but running over it could be fun. It would be awesome if an a BWB group ran together. 

You need to qualify for Boston, but I'm not sure there's qualification for the New York marathon. There's the whole lottery thing and all that. It's a tough one to get into.

I've never been to New York and I have never run a marathon, but I'd try to do it if we had a BWB group running together. It would be a really great way to meet some fellow boarders.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

42 minutes ago, baxus said:

Trust me, every single runner is grateful for your support.

The boost I got from the crowd when I ran Berlin half-marathon is something I'll never forget. I mean, a guy holding a "It's not that far anymore" sign after 14-15km, or the teenage girl yelling: "You're all winners!" as loud as she could to the whole crowd as we're passing around her are just some of the images that will remain carved in my memory till the day I die.

You need to qualify for Boston, but I'm not sure there's qualification for the New York marathon. There's the whole lottery thing and all that. It's a tough one to get into.

I've never been to New York and I have never run a marathon, but I'd try to do it if we had a BWB group running together. It would be a really great way to meet some fellow boarders.

In New York each borough has a half-marathon and my understanding is that you need to complete all five of them .  I'm not sure how it works for overseas runners. 

Every time someone came by who looked like they were stuggling got a big ovation, and if they had theit name on their shirt bigger still. 

I've never run any kind of race at all and that might provide me with the motivation I need.

[baxus]

I didn't know about those half-marathons.

Either way, that way is out of the question for me since it would require 5 trips to New York which is out of my price range at the moment.

As it is, I would need to apply for a lottery and win it. Chances are around 1/3 or something like that.

[3CityApache]

I was once wondering why majority of runners improve their personal best results during official public races, not during trainings, which are much more frequent after all. And that includes also non-professional athletes. Of course there is the question of attitude or wearing race shoes instead of training ones, but these are minor things that wouldn't make such a difference. So the only answer that seems to make sense to me is the support of the spectators. It really gives you a kick.

[ljkeane]

1 hour ago, baxus said:

 

As it is, I would need to apply for a lottery and win it. Chances are around 1/3 or something like that.

I don't know about New York but my Dad's done the London marathon a few times, which tends to be a tough one to get into. Apparently the easiest way to get in is they tend to give a lot of places to various charities so if you agree to raise money and run for them it's fairly straight forward to get in. I'd think they probably do something similar in New York.

It's starting to get a bit dark and cold when I in from work now. It's taking a bit more willpower to drag myself out for a run or to training.

[baxus]

Yes, sponsors get some of the places, charities get some and I don't know who else, but finding a New York based charity organization willing to give one of those places to a guy from Serbia doesn't seem likely.

Majority of spots are available for applicants but too many people apply and there's a lottery to see who gets in.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Mr. X can expand upon this, but the most reliable way for NYC-area people to get a slot in the NYC marathon is to do something called the 9+1 Program by New York Road Runners. http://www.nyrr.org/join-and-give/become-a-member/run-9-give-1

You have to run in 9 NYRR sponsored races and volunteer at one, and you'll get an entry slot in the next marathon.

[Xray the Enforcer]

3 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

In New York each borough has a half-marathon and my understanding is that you need to complete all five of them .  

I do not think that this is accurate. Here's the list of things that will guarantee entry into the NYC Marathon: http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/plan-your-race/getting-in/guaranteed-entry-for-2016

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

1 hour ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

I do not think that this is accurate. Here's the list of things that will guarantee entry into the NYC Marathon: http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/plan-your-race/getting-in/guaranteed-entry-for-2016

I have to ask my friend how she qualified. She might have gone into a lottery after doing the half marathons. she wasn't garuanteed a spot. 

[Mr. X]

The NY Road Runner 9+1 (run 9 races and volunteer to work one race in a calendar year) is the way to get automatic entry in to the NYC Marathon. I did the 9+1 program in 2010 and ran NYC in 2011. You can also qualify with suitably fast marathon times.

The only other ways I know of are running for a charity (raise a certain amount of money to gain entry, which is what I did when I ran Chicago in 2012) or doing it as part of a travel package (which is a common method for many of the European runners).

The 5 borough series is a mix of half-marathons, a 10 mile race, and a 10K. If you run 4 of the 5 races in a calendar year, you get automatic entry to the NYC Half Marathon, which usually takes place in March and features a course that starts in Central Park, goes through Times Square, continues down the west side, and ends in South Street Seaport. The NYC Half also has a lottery system for general entry.

 

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

That's all good to know but I have time to figure out how I'm going to qualify. I can't run more than a half mile without feeling like death. 

[Mr. X]

Many of the 9+1 races are on the shorter end of the spectrum: 3.1 to 5 miles. And there is no minimum requirement in terms of finishing time for each race, as long as you finish them. So you can start easy and work your way up.

[3CityApache]

2 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

I can't run more than a half mile without feeling like death. 

It'll get better soon if you are consistent and run regularly, don't worry. I admire your attitude anyway. I run regularly for 1,5 years now and I'm still not sure if I'm ever able to run a marathon. But I do plan to run my first official half-marathon some early next year. But before that I need to run half-marathon distance during training at least couple of times more (I've managed to do it twice so far). And perhaps I could achieve my goal of breaking 50 minutes for 10k before that as well.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

4 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

It'll get better soon if you are consistent and run regularly, don't worry. I admire your attitude anyway. I run regularly for 1,5 years now and I'm still not sure if I'm ever able to run a marathon. But I do plan to run my first official half-marathon some early next year. But before that I need to run half-marathon distance during training at least couple of times more (I've managed to do it twice so far). And perhaps I could achieve ma goal of breaking 50 minutes for 10k before that as well.

Thank you, I'm running three days a week now. I might take things up a notch to five. Right now I'm just focusing on trying to run for more than five minutes at a time. I've been nagging friends to join me, I feel like with a second person it will be easier to push myself . Yesterday I was able to do 2.8 miles in 42 minutes but a sizable chunk of that was walking. 

A buddy of mine said when I'm ready he'll do a 5k with me. I can't train with him because he lives 2 and a half hours away by car. 

I really want to challenge myself and stick with it. I had planned on preparing for the Golden Gloves but it is too expensive. Running at least doesn't cost a thing. 

[3CityApache]

3 minutes ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

Thank you, I'm running three days a week now. I might take things up a notch to five. Right now I'm just focusing on trying to run for more than five minutes at a time. [...] Yesterday I was able to do 2.8 miles in 42 minutes but a sizable chunk of that was walking. 

If I'm any judge, three days a week seems perfect for now. I would try not to overdo if I were you, it might dishearten you even easier than the lack of progress. And the progress will come, no doubt. I also started running using Galloway method* (runs interspersed with fast walks), systematically extending periods of runs and shortening periods of walks. After a month or so I didn't need walking anymore.

* I know a person who runs marathons still using Galloway. She has made one lately with the time of 4:05 hours. Admittedly she needs to walk for a minute or two after running at least 5-7 km. But that means 5-8 walks on the marathon distance.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

42 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

If I'm any judge, three days a week seems perfect for now. I would try not to overdo if I were you, it might dishearten you even easier than the lack of progress. And the progress will come, no doubt. I also started running using Galloway method* (runs interspersed with fast walks), systematically extending periods of runs and shortening periods of walks. After a month or so I didn't need walking anymore.

* I know a person who runs marathons still using Galloway. She has made one lately with the time of 4:05 hours. Admittedly she needs to walk for a minute or two after running at least 5-7 km. But that means 5-8 walks on the marathon distance.

I was using a similar method but I stopped it was the because after a certain point it went from running for 8 minutes to 20. There was no way I could have done.

I use the S Health app on my phone and the 5k program is really long. The first portion gradually stretches you out over ten weeks and light jogging doesn't even start until week 9 and I'm ahead of that and the distance right now is only 1.67 miles. I'm able to run until I get a stitch which is good I think. 

I saw some runners doing that Sunday. 

Also I'm taking recommendations for my playlist .  

[3CityApache]

2 hours ago, Arch-MaesterPhilip said:

I was using a similar method but I stopped it was the because after a certain point it went from running for 8 minutes to 20. There was no way I could have done.

I suppose programs and special methods are fine, but I never used one. I mentioned Galloway because there is only one rule there: run, and when you can't run anymore, start walking. And when you're ready, start running again. The proportions between running and walking are totally up to you. And you realise you change 'em very fast, in my case after only couple of weeks I was able to skip walking entirely.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

48 minutes ago, 3CityApache said:

I suppose programs and special methods are fine, but I never used one. I mentioned Galloway because there is only one rule there: run, and when you can't run anymore, start walking. And when you're ready, start running again. The proportions between running and walking are totally up to you. And you realise you change 'em very fast, in my case after only couple of weeks I was able to skip walking entirely.

I don't let it tell me when to walk or run. I'm close to the point where I don't have to and if I do I keep it to a minute or less. 

[Eponine]

If you're trying to increase your running vs. walking distance, consider using a familiar course with varied landmarks. You have an idea in your head of where you're going and what you need to do to push yourself a little farther instead of relying on a stopwatch. 

I need to find a Thanksgiving 5K.

 

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

Just now, Eponine said:

If you're trying to increase your running vs. walking distance, consider using a familiar course with varied landmarks. You have an idea in your head of where you're going and what you need to do to push yourself a little farther instead of relying on a stopwatch. 

I need to find a Thanksgiving 5K.

 

I run in a familiar place that has the distance posted so I have a vague idea of far I'm running .