I'm training for the NYC Marathon
Please donate to this worthy cause
You don’t even have to read this full post if you don’t want to! Just click “Donate” to support my effort to raise $3,000 as part of running the NYC Marathon with Team for Kids. They’re a non-profit that funds youth activity programs and supplies across New York and the whole country.
On November 5, 2023, I watched the New York City Marathon at the corner of 4th avenue and 3rd street in Park Slope, near the mile 7 marker. The next day, my good and borderline professional athlete friend Andy texted me that he had signed up for the 2024 marathon, subtly suggesting that I had better sign the hell up myself. Against better judgment I did exactly that.
I say against better judgment because I already completed my quarter-life crisis running competition in 2017, somehow clocking a half marathon in 1:45:35 (an 8:03 pace). This was definitely a rewarding experience, but I also like to joke that my body hasn’t been the same since. It’s funny because it’s true! Right?
Anyway, as of early November 2023, I could run 3 miles at a 9:30 pace, which was really and truly pushing it. To me, running has always been the easiest, but not necessarily the most fun way to get some cardio exercise. You just have to have decent shoes, put them on, and walk outside to get started. That’s a pretty nice deal. I guess I should drill in on the “fun” part for a second though—in a strange way, running becomes fun when it’s more than just a way to squeeze in some cardio. Even though I told myself I’d never run another long race again after doing 13.1 miles, I do recall enjoying the “good day” training runs where I’d push past my previous long mark and, despite being super tired at the end of it, realize that it was not only nowhere close to as torturous as a “bad day” run, but actually somewhat euphoric. I guess that’s what they call the runner’s high.
Fast forward to today, and I’ve reconnected with that feeling again. My most recent long run was 12 miles, and I’m shooting for 14 on Sunday, which will be the farthest I’ve ever run if it goes off without a hitch. I’m not really sure why, but at age 34 I seem to have all sorts of minor ailments popping up as I inch my way toward 26.2 miles. My left knee flared up in late winter as I was running 4 times a week, so I went to physical therapy, took it easy for a month, and ramped up again on 3 runs per week. Early in the summer I was hitting a wall trying to run farther than 7 miles at a sub-10-minute pace, so I started running much slower. Later in the summer my left calf was particularly sore after one run and my right hamstring after another. My right calf is super tight after the loop I ran around Prospect Park last night.
What does that mean? Maybe I don’t stretch enough. Maybe running in extreme heat and humidity takes a toll on your body. Maybe I’m just a 34-year-old guy in average shape who doesn’t run as fast or as well as he did when he was 27. Regardless of the reason(s), my goal is just to finish the NYC Marathon on November 3. All 26.2 miles of it. I’d love it if you could support me in that effort by donating to Team for Kids, a non-profit I’m running with that raises funds to get kids around the country moving in healthy ways.
With any luck, my body will hold up enough to allow the adrenalin of running through all five New York City boroughs to carry me from start to finish without walking or stopping. If so, the whole enterprise will probably take me upwards of 5 hours to complete. While I’m still deep in my journey-is-the-destination phase (genuinely, it is), I would super appreciate your help fundraising $3,000 on behalf of Team for Kids. No donation amount is too small!
And if you’re in New York on Marathon Sunday, yell extra loud as I run by so I feed off of every little boost I can get. Here we go.