Flyers Marathon Training Program -- It's That Time!



Annie B

Ladies and gentlemen, lace up your Nikes, reset your stopwatches, and put your race faces on because it’s finally, officially, inescapably Marathon time!

All over the country the weather is cooling down and runners are speeding up. Many of the nation's biggest races are between September and November, and thanks to the Flyers Marathon Training Program, I've had the pleasure of training with people who have run many of them. From Chicago to New York, the MTP has been helping us all get mentally and physically prepared for these monster races, and also remind us to be excited about them.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed at the prospect of running a marathon, no matter if it’s you’re first or your thirtieth (I’ve been told). The sheer mileage you have to put into training takes up as much time as a second job, and you know that each late night is going to result in a harder run the next morning. Here in New York, where everything from the subway to The New York Times is promoting the marathon, it can be daunting to know you do have to finish 26.2 miles before you can smile as big as that guy in the subway ad. 

NO Silly Blogmaster,
Not that Type of Subway Ad!

When I found out I qualified for New York, my first thought was ‘YES!’ and my immediate second was ‘Oh no.’

Luckily for this first-time marathoner, I found the Flyers and the Marathon Training Program, which has kept me fit, positive, and totally pumped to run this race. The MTP is staffed with enthusiastic and knowledgeable coaches who have done so much  -- including to stand in relentless downpours every Wednesday for the past six months -- in order to train us, and their support has been invaluable.

Frankly, all it took was for coach Todd to say ‘You’re running 10 miles tomorrow’ for me to do it. Before that, I didn’t know I could run that far. As the miles increased, I found that being held accountable for my mileage by both my coach and the fellow Flyers made a massive difference in how I trained, and truly, made it really fun. It’s been great to progress as a group, and to train with people with the same goal -- to compete in a marathon -- and on top of their full time jobs.

In addition to the Wednesday workouts, there have been a number of organized group runs in nearby parks and the famous 3-Bridges Run, all with set pace groups. Pre-MTP, I’d always considered running a solitary and painful thing. These group runs, while difficult, were so much fun I might have run them even if I wasn’t training for a marathon.

So, thanks to the MTP, the great coaches, and the very friendly and funny Flyers I’ve been running with all summer, I’m excited to run November 6th, and, more importantly, I feel that I’m prepared do it. Without the Flyers, I simply would not have put in the miles, nor would I have known what I was capable of doing. And, I would have been way more grumpy about training.

Good luck to all Flyers running fall marathons, congrats to those who already ran theirs, and if you are running on November 6th, I’ll see you there!

-Annie B

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Interesting Races in Interesting Places -- The Reykjavík Iceland Half-Marathon

Annie B

On a crisp, clear August morning, I found myself trailing a red balloon attached to a grinning bald man with an enthusiastic gait. He was a pacer, and I was negotiating how to keep up with him while dodging the unpredictable bops-to-the-face from said balloon. We had just passed a guy in a gorilla suit dancing to techno and I was in the process of high-fiving two jolly older gentlemen blaring ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ from a box truck. I could hear at least three different accents singing along in the pack around me- Monty Python transcends language barriers- and I was laughing so hard I forgot I was racing. My watch told me I was 30 minutes into a half marathon, but my brain told me I was in the midst of a party. The tourism bureau had it right -- Reykjavík: Pure Energy!

Only a week before this multilingual sing-along in Sauconys, I was finishing a Flyers Marathon Training Program practice and everyone was discussing upcoming races. A large contingent was running the Bronx Half Marathon, while others were going to a race in Pennsylvania. I, thinking myself pretty clever, announced that I was also running a half next weekend…in Iceland.

The response? ‘Me too!’

I had clearly underestimated this bunch. Two other Flyers were planning on running in Iceland. Dave K was running the Reykjavik Half Marathon, and Celia K was running the Reykjavik Marathon (and she subsequently came away with a killer PR)! I was with a friend who was a first-time halfer, and we were all there for an Icelandic adventure, which is exactly what we got.

Dave K, Annie B and friend Gareth

I genuinely cannot say enough about this event. It was the friendliest, funniest, and most pleasant race I have ever run. After sweating myself within reach of a new dress size each weekend in the heat of this New York summer, the brisk Icelandic weather was a welcome reminder that running is actually fun. As we ran through downtown everyone seemed to be out on their front steps cheering.

Family Fun - Break Out the Trombones!

Children were banging pots and pans, locals shouted encouragement and there was even what appeared to be a family band playing ‘When the Saints Come Marching In’ with an elementary-aged moppet wailing away on the trombone. We ran over medians, across roundabouts and along beaches. As the pack spread out, I realized I hadn’t even seen any of the mile markers, only to look down and spot an 8K sign attached to a traffic cone. We were already at 8K?!

The official entrant tally was 12,481, but as we all ambled into the corral at about 5 minutes to the start, it only felt like 200 runners. I crossed the start line seconds after the initial horn, and didn’t even get my heels stepped on. This clearly was not Manhattan.

The course was truly stunning. It was mostly flat which made the runners with pace balloons clearly visible, and went along the coast with some of the most striking scenery I have ever had the pleasure of running in. Think of the Rockies without peaks, or in Seattle on a really nice September day. There was only one hill -- a switchback at about the 16k mark, but it had a Mars Bar pit stop right before you hit it which distracted me from the fact that it was, you know, a hill. I’m convinced this was border-line genius.

Heading Straight to the Atlantic Ocean
with Volcanic Mountains in View

Even though this is a huge international event (1,400 of the entrants are from outside Iceland) I really felt like I was out for a morning run with a lot of very friendly neighbors. Everything about it felt lighthearted and fun. Toward the 19K mark, as the halfers turned for home and the marathoners split for the long haul, a local radio DJ was blasting ‘Living on a Prayer’ inducing another mass sing-along and making the final 3K kick seem almost inspired. Crossing the finish felt pretty great, and there were plenty of high-fives and Powerades to go around. I even found my friend in the post-race mêlée without any trouble.

Over the weekend, I met many other travelers who had come to Reykjavik specifically for this race. In fact, all of people staying at my small guest house ran, and my flight over was packed with a group from Marathon Tours & Travel. The whole weekend is an annual festival for Iceland. Reykjavik’s birthday is celebrated with fireworks the night of the race, and downtown was full of live music, street performers, and food for Culture Night. Also, a major perk of running this race is that your number gets you free admission to any local geothermal spa for a post-run soak. And there are many to choose from.

I would absolutely run this race again, and strongly encourage others to run it, too. In less time than it takes to get from New York to Boston on a Friday night, you can be in a beautiful country with a lively athletic culture, active nightlife, and a local spa. They also happen to have really good beer (Try a Thule. Trust me.). Everything about this trip was good-natured. Twice over the weekend, people pulled over on the side of the road to ask if we were lost and offered to drive us to our destination. We even squeezed in a breathtaking mountain trek and a glacier climb, and I was back at my desk by Tuesday morning.

Run in Reykjavík. I can promise you will not regret it.

Annie B.

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