I Wonder If I Can Do It

Chris B

I wonder if I can run the New York City Marathon in 3 hours and 12 minutes. Why 3:12? Well, that is the time projection given by my VDOT score of 49.62, a running-based metric serving as a gauge of my current fitness given recent race results. It is also the core metric used by the Run SMART Project team to derive the paces on the customized training plan I received as a participant in the NY Flyers Marathon Training Program (MTP).  

I have now faithfully participated in a Run SMART-coached program for three consecutive sessions: MTP 2013, W(inter)TP 2014, and this summer's MTP 2014. In fact, training with Run SMART and the Flyers is the only way I know how to train for a marathon given that last year's NYC Marathon was my first. It definitely has been a successful partnership.  

My goal race last year was the NYC Marathon, which I ran in 3:31:45. Since then, I have only seen my race times at every distance get faster. So here I am, 13 weeks into another MTP, with a whole year of Run SMART knowledge in my arsenal, staring down the barrel of my new marathon projection time of 3:12!  

Sometimes I wonder if that is realistic for me, but who am I to question years of studies performed on elite runners....hold it! SCREEEECH ...studies performed on elite runners." That's like another race of people, right? Are those results even applicable to me? Has anyone done a similar study on people who like to drink craft beer, eat chicken wings, and sing bad karaoke at dive bars? Doubtful!  

Anyway, what is 3:12 besides a VDOT time projection? It was never even a goal of mine, but then again neither was running a marathon. Maybe on some level, that is what life is about: setting new goals and trying like hell to achieve them. So 3:12 it is then. Bring it on!    

Actually, let me give myself what I'd like to call the "sorry Jack, but I've got a day job 3-minute grace period" given that whole "studies performed on elite runners" bit. I probably should give myself a few more minutes under that thinking, but hey, if you're going to set a goal, it might as well be a lofty one. So 3:15 it is.  

NYC Marathon 2013

Ok, time to get pumped up! Here is a David Letterman-inspired Top 10 list.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Will Run a 3:15 NYC Marathon

#10:  I train according to a plan masterfully crafted by the Run SMART Project team, and based upon the teachings of arguably the world's greatest running coach, Dr. Jack Daniels.

#9:  I train with the New York Flyers.

#8: My awesome girlfriend, Beth L (ok, now she's going to be embarrassed), who's also a Flyer, is training for the marathon, too.

#7:  I've got a foam roller, The Stick, and a Cryo Cup.

#6:  I religiously refuel within the magical 30-minute post workout window.

#5:  Sometimes I do yoga-for-runners at Jack Rabbit's running store.

#4:  The same little plastic beads that make up the material used in the dashboards of BMW cars make up the material used in the soles of my running shoes.

#3:  Coach Joe Yates stepped in for 2 weeks and kept the show rolling while imparting some pearls of wisdom like "let's not run down that hill and 'corral' one of those cows. Instead, let's walk down that hill and 'corral' them all!" Marathons are about patience and preserving your energy for when you need it the most. "And by the way, swing those arms!"

#2:  Coach Brian Rosetti and team are great coaches who are constantly offering their cautionary tales of the risk of getting lost in the moment and over-running early on in the longest of races, and how just 'banking' seconds in the front half of a race can cost you minutes in the back half.

Summer MTP 2014 -- Active Stretching Session

#1:  My VDOT says 3:12. Now that's what you call banking time, baby!

I wonder if I can do it....

-Chris B.