It’s that time of the month…

time to join up with Coco & Deborah for their ultimate coffee date.

This weekend I will run my third NYC marathon.  So I’m got a “New York state of mind.”

1.Over coffee…

I’d tell you that although I ran the NYC Marathon in 2019 AND 2023, I am still a little stressed about the logistics.

In 2019, I started at 10:30 am and chose the 7:00 am bus (and still had a long wait in the cold.)

Last year I had to choose the 6:15 am mid-town bus and I did not start until after 10:55 am. Luckily it wasn’t as cold.

This year, I decided to stay in the Financial District so I could walk to the Staten Island Ferry.  I chose the 8:00 am ferry. Then you have to take a bus to the start village.  My start this year is still 10:55 am.

We’ll see if this was a smarter choice.

2. Over coffee… 

I’d tell you that last year I was in the Orange Wave which started at the top of the bridge.

• Pink has the least climb and it has four 90 degree turns.
• Blue has about 30 feet / 9 meters more climb than Pink. It has two 90 degree turns.
• Orange has about 50 feet / 15 meters more climb than Pink. It has four 90 degree turns.

In 2019, I started in the Green wave (which is now Pink) so I was on the bottom.

Truthfully, I don’t remember much after the big cannon went off and the playing “New York, New York” with Frank Sinatra… I was so excited, I just ran over that big bridge…

So now, I’ve started both ways and I’ll tell you that I don’t remember a difference between starting at the top or the bottom of the bridge. It’s exciting either way.

So this year it’s pink. Bottom. A full circle.

3.Over coffee…

I’d tell you that in 2019, I was in a similar wave as last year and this year (due to a fast NYRR 10k time). IOW all the runners around me were much faster.

My projected finish time was 4:30 and I finished in 5:29. I was totally happy with that!

I had a similar projected finish time last year and I finished in 6:00 (while walking with a calf cramp for 16 miles). I was thrilled with that time. I thought it would be much slower.

This year? I couldn’t care less about my finish time.  I have no clue how it will go.

4.Over coffee…

I’d tell you that last year I followed Hal Higdon Novice plan very closely. And much more closely than 2019 (when I had to travel more for work).

It didn’t seem to matter… I trained better and it went a lot worse.

So this year, I didn’t stress about my training. I minimally ran during the week and completed as many long runs as I could…

I just want to finish and hopefully I will…

and without pain would be ideal.

5.Over coffee…

I’d tell you that I couldn’t have trained for this race without the support of my running friends.

That includes my “virtual” friends too.

Happy Running! What’s new with you?  Please share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It’s Friday so I’m also linking up with bloggers, Me (My First 5K and More), Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and the Running Teacher!

So Join in!

And don’t forget to link back to your hostesses and visit some other bloggers.