One of the best things about running the New York marathon this year rather than Chicago, is that I have a couple extra weeks to prepare. While everyone else was feeling the urgency the last few weeks to get their long runs in, I had the luxury of doing a long run of just 8 miles while I was on vacation last week.
But there is a drawback. While everyone else in the Elmhurst Running Club marathon 
training program was running an easy 12 miles this weekend, and then having bagels and juice to celebrate the start of their marathon taper, I had to continue on after running with them for an additional 8 miles. Fortunately, my friend Tom, who is recovering from a torn achilles, was able to help me out by riding his bike with me for the extra miles. It's been a tough road for him, but recovery is just around the corner!
In any case, New York is three weeks after Chicago. So while many of my running friends are geared up and on schedule for October 12, I feel like I'm a little off kilter. And on the morning of the race, I will probably feel really bummed about watching everyone else rather than jumping in with them. But at least it was a glorious day for the 20 miler this weekend, and I've only got one more of those to get through. That will be the Saturday before the marathon, so I should have any running path in the chicago area mostly to myself!
Meantime, I got my big shot at the runway Saturday night! I was one of the models for new fitness clothing at the Fleet Feet fashion show. I know, I won't give up my day job! But it was pretty cool. They cleared the entire store of products, and installed a runway and chairs for about 200 people. The models mostly consisted of store employees, but they had a few media models as well. I was joined by Ana Belaval from WGN, Gail Fischer from Comcast Sports, and (Ramblin') Ray Stevens from US-99 radio. We all modeled UnderArmor running clothes and shoes.
The clothes were pretty nice, and perfect for fall and early winter running. Unfortunately, I had to give them back! I did get to keep the shoes, and I'll have to give them a trial run soon. You don't want to experiment too much with new shoes when you get close to the marathon you are training for.
Anyway, speaking of Fleet Feet, they are having their annual 'Taste of the Marathon Course' run from the store on Monday night. They leave from the Piper's Alley store at 6:30, and when they finish they have food samplings from restaurants along the marathon course. Of course, there are plenty of great ethnic neighborhoods along the course, from Pilsen, to China Town and, one of my favorites is in Little Italy. It's a restaurant called La Vita on Taylor and a great place to do your pasta loading before the marathon. All kinds of great food will be on display monday night. For more info, check out the website www.fleetfeetchicago.com
And I'll see you on the roads....
John, Glad to see that you are running New York. New York is a great course, the crowds are unbelievable, and its New York. Definitely my favorite marathon. we will be watching you on-line!!! I have signed up for Philadelphia Marathon and hopefully qualify for Boston.
Good luck!
Posted by: Justin (Florida) | October 08, 2008 at 09:01 PM