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NYC 2003 - My First Marathon
by Chris Lear

Chris Lear.

Over the next six weeks, Chris Lear, a Colorado-based full-time sales representative and freelance writer, will be sharing his training diary as he prepares to run in this year's edition of the ING New York City Marathon — his marathon debut. Lear, like the vast majority of this year's entrants, is not a full-time runner. Yet, as for most of the competitors running this year's event, November 2 will nonetheless represent the culmination of months of hard work and planning. Each finisher, in the end, will have his or her own story to tell. In coming weeks, Lear will share with you his story: his goals, dreams, triumphs, and disappointments as he prepares to tackle the 26.2-mile behemoth for the first time. He hopes you'll enjoy the ride…

Entry #6, September 18, 2003

I don't think the sign on the scoreboard at the Colorado College track that reads "Elevation 6,200 feet" is supposed to intimidate the locals. Obviously I ain't local enough yet, because I distinctly thought "Oh, shit" when I looked at it before embarking on my first session of repeat 800s this past Thursday.

Even though I went into the workout without much in the way of expectations, I didn't get off to a great start. I had set a goal of doing the halves at 5:20 mile pace, but I found after just 400 meters at that pace it still felt pretty quick. I believe if my hamstrings could have talked right then they would have been looking up at me like a couple of pint-sized Gary Colemans, saying, "What you talking 'bout, Willis!" Fortunately my mind was able to override the plaintive twinges of my hammies ("Shut it, fool!") through the remainder of my first half, and again on the second half.

Then on the third one, I made like Stella and got my groove back. I wish I could say it was due in large part to a steeling of my resolve or some other such inspirational maxim, but the reality is that I felt completely at ease and in control on this one because I was sucking off the pace of my friend Carl Lievers, the 2002 Colorado College cross country captain. All thoughts of pace and effort vanished as I focused solely on staying relaxed and staring at his back. Granted, I'm running at a much slower clip now than when I used to turn corners on the track. But still, the feel of it brought me back to the days when I was training for the mile and getting through workouts by only having to concentrate on nailing the few intervals where I was running point, so as not to let down the fellas running with me by missing the split. And it reminded me of just how rare and admirable it is to possess the will to hammer solo track sessions.

I came back to reality when I looked at my watch: three seconds slow. No wonder it felt so easy. I made up for it on my fourth and final interval, closing strong to finish in 2:34.

I'll take it. Have I improved since I started this training program? Absolutely. Heck, if I hadn't signed up to run NYC 2003, I never would have tested myself even this much. A more pressing question in my mind now is whether or not I can do a session of 10 800s in the mid 2:30s before November 2. I aim to find out.

If I'm to get to the point where I can execute that workout, I know I'll need to keep upping the miles while I insert strides and such things. That's why I followed my track session with an hour and a half run, and then a hill session of 6 x 3 minutes up a hill whose grade reminded me of Arb Hill in Ann Arbor.

Best of all is that I wrapped up the week in style with — minutes-wise, at least — the longest run of my life: 2 hours and 15 minutes. In sum, in a week that brought me back on track for the first time in a long time, it's safe to say I feel as if my training on the whole is back on track as well.

Have a good week,
Chris
     
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