running

A big thank you to all my readers - it's been a blast writing about my experience training for the New York City Marathon and it was fun discovering, playing with and sharing all the fun digital tools that helped me track my progress and marathon race statistics along the way.

This post is the end of the road for 'Running for food'.

Go run. Then run some more.

I finished the ING New York City Marathon in 4 hours and 36 minutes and 52 seconds.

I was rockin' the race for the first 13.1 miles. Had I kept up my pace I would have posted a sub-four hour race.

(click to enlarge image)

But around mile 18 I hit the wall...worse than that, I started feeling nauseous and stopped consuming carbs (I was wearing my iFitness belt which was stocked with blocks and beans)...

...that being said, it was a great race - the weather held out and there were only a few showers around 5am so that by the time I hit the Verrazano-Narrows bridge the pavement was dry.

My favorite poster created by a spectator read: "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever." I must have seen at least three posters with the same phrase and each one made me smile.

I was interview over e-mail about my experience running in the marathon and here is some of what I wrote...

I have been a casual runner since college - so since 1996. I was initially attracted to the sport because it is so low maintenance. All you need is a good pair of shoes and everything outside your front door becomes fair game....I trained for 21 weeks. I ran three to four times a week, strength trained twice a week, incorporated yoga stretches into my cool-downs and improved my diet by eating less processed foods....I was one of the lucky 18% who got picked for the 40th running of the ING New York City Marathon via the lottery. All the training, all 21 weeks, was totally worth it. The experience of running through the streets of New York City will be with me forever.

Miles ran - REST

As runners we pride ourselves on our ability to consume large quantities of food. We also eat foods in strange combinations. Yes, the secret is out.

Co-workers, family and friends may accuse us of 'eating like a bird' because of our fit frames; but if they've spent a single meal with us after a long-run - the gastronomical view is not for the faint of heart.

When was the last time you fixed yourself something like a Bacone? A bacon cone (featured in this video) filled with scrambled eggs and country biscuits topped with gravy...

Think you've eaten a meal that tops one of the dishes pictured in this video?

Send me the photo and I'll post it on my blog.

Feel free to tell me why you were eating it, how many miles you ran before you consumed your gross-tastic meal and be sure to include your name so you can get the credit you deserve!

I have been training consecutively for 20 weeks in preparation for the ING New York City marathon.

My RunWell tracker reports that I have logged 491 miles.

I never would have donated as much food as I have to this date - 678 non-perishable food items - unless I were training for a marathon.

I decided to express my excitement for my upcoming race by making a significant donation of non-perishable goods. Below is a photo of a 15 lbs bag of rice, several industrial-sized cans of fruits and vegetables and Halloween candy that I dropped off at my local food pantry.

And I like round numbers.

So I'm going to top off my 'piling on the pounds' tally to 800.

8 days and counting to race day!