NYC Marathon was yesterday. It was a great time. I am happy that I had my pr at 4:03:22 still waiting to pass the elusive 4 hour mark. It was unusual race. I had good first 1/2 and good last 5k and had struggles through queens until the Bronx. I did a few new things, firstly I wore my ipod, which i do not usual wear for marathons. I wear it for training and shorter races, but not marathons. I also tried the arm warmers and I liked them until it warmed up a bit.

Shoes: Brooks Ghost wear great, just as they were in Chicago. I felt the pavement a bit more yesterday, but the shoes have just completed 2 marathons in less than a month.

Weather: Great weather. Worst part was waiting in Staten Island in the cold before the race. But the arm warmers worked great. Kept my arms warm before the race and the Brooklyn section.

Pace: I can't help for picking up my pace in Brooklyn on 4th Avenue. I am feeling good and especially when you get to Park Slope you can really hear the support. But long term I think I need to work on it.

The new coral system. Excellent. I started 20 minutes before I was sopposed to. I did not have wiggle around slow runners and walkers. Last year the bridge was like an obstacle course.

Overall it was great race. I think I am going to try to plan more strategy for NYC next year, but we will see. Go run.

I think I will take a week off from running. Focus more on speed this winter do a winter and spring marathon and skip the Knickerbocker 60K.

NYC Marathon Weekend. I am excited for the NYC Marathon tomorrow. I went to the expo last night to pick up my number. I am beginning to really feel the spirit of the marathon. The NYC Marathon is an amazing event. It is fun seeing the people from all over the world coming to the city. I am excited about the weather. It is going to be almost perfect marathon weather. It will be cold in the morning. The 6:30 Staten island ferry will be a good ride. I am excited about the new corals, I won't have hopefully waste energy weaving through slow people. I am feeling good. I feel well rested after Chicago and my ankle that I tweaked jumping for the subway on Monday seems heeled.

At the expo I sat in on a question and answer gathering with Ryan Hall, Brian Sell, and Dathan Ritzenhein. They were fabulous, and answered everyone questions about training and the Olympic experience. It was great to see athletes so open about their training. I asked them about their recovery routine and Dathan said he will relax and have a couple of beers. Ryan said he won't run for a couple of weeks. It is good to see them so candid about their training routine and gives inspiration to us at the back of the pack.

I talked to the Brooks rep and am excited for the new Cascadia coming out 1/1/09 and it will be bright yellow and black. I am excited for that. I also talked to the people pushing my January Marathon plans Miami or Rock N' Roll Arizona. We will see. I think I should see how everything goes on tomorrow. If I feel good I might even do the Knickerbocker 60K on November 15th.