Another week of training. Another half marathon. More ab / core work. New PR!
That is how my post Space Coast Marathon week went. After running my 16th full marathon I took the day after off from training. I had to travel to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday and was able to get in some nice recovery running in along the beach and Las Olas Boulevard. Tuesday I ran 3.75 miles along A1A and Wednesday I ran 6 miles down A1A and Las Olas. Thursday and Friday I did RevAbs. Friday I also threw a fast 3 mile run in after My RevAbs core work. I did the first 2 miles at a 7:30 pace and the last mile at a 6:58 pace. I took Saturday off of training to prepare myself for the Brandon 1/2 Marathon on Sunday.
I felt like there was a chance I could PR at the Brandon 1/2 Marathon. My training has been going well. My legs felt very strong after coming off of the Space Coast Marathon. The weather wasn't going to be cold, but it was not going to be scorching hot - which always takes a toll on my racing times. I wanted to run a sub 1:40. I figured I would need to keep around a 7:30 min/mile pace for all 13.1 miles. The Brandon 1/2 marathon isn't scenic, it's not a large race & it doesn't have the bells and whistles most major 1/2 marathons have. It had an accurate course & water stops around every 1.75 miles. That's all I needed. I pushed myself harder than I ever have for a race. I was running around a 7:35 min/mile pace and at mile 10 I was still on track to run under 1:40 if I didn't slow down at all. I finished the race at 1:39:53. It's crazy to think that I was only 7 seconds away from missing my goal. That's one walk break, or just about half a second a mile.
My overall physical fitness has never been better. I know that it is because of INSANITY and RevAbs cross-training that I have been incorporating into my marathon training programs. I also continue to use Results & Recovery to refuel & heal my muscles after intense workouts and Shakeology to improve my overall health & nutrition.
This weekend I am running the St. Petersburg Jingle Bell Run 5k on Friday night and the Florida Holiday Halfathon (1/2 marathon) on Sunday. I will also be participating in the 12-12-12 Half Marathon of Sarasota. The following weekend I have the Color Run 5k in St. Petersburg 12/15 and on Sunday 12/16 my target PR marathon race - Jacksonville Bank Marathon.
If you want to get your training INSANE start using one of our FREE training programs today!
After my New York City non-marathon experience I was really disappointed & changed my training plan from my scheduled INSANITY marathon training to a RevAbs / running hybrid. The first week after the failed NYC marathon I did RevAbs all week and ran 8 miles on the weekend. The next week I did RevAbs 3 days & ran 7 miles two of the days. That weekend I ran the Women's 1/2 Marathon in St. Petersburg, FL.
The Women's 1/2 Marathon was very interesting. Obviously I knew it was a race catered to women. I signed up to run it because of the great feedback my friend Mike had from leading a pace group the prior year. Jackie was running it too & I thought it would be a great race close to home & possibly a new 1/2 marathon PR. Little did I know that they corral the men that register for it in the last corral no matter their expected finish time. Also - it was quite obvious that the race organizers weren't thrilled to have men running their race. If that's the case, they should do what the IronGirl Clearwater race does & not allow men to register.
I lined up in the 1st corral - with the 1:45 pace team & was told by a race official to move to coral 5 & that it didn't matter my goal -- it was a women's race & I needed to start last. So I start walking back, but the corrals were packed and I only was able to walk to corral 2 before the National Anthem was being performed & I stopped to get ready to run. I started off the race strong and ended up catching up to the 1:45 pace team. Ran strong with them until mile 11 and then fell slightly back. The course was beautiful through Downtown St. Petersburg. I especially enjoyed running inside Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. My finish time was 1:45:44. Not a PR, but I'll take it.
If you are a woman looking for a beautiful course in a great city - I would definitely recommend the Women's Running 1/2 Marathon - St. Petersburg, FL. You can't beat the weather & scenery for late November!
After running the Women's Running 1/2 Marathon I went back to my RevAbs / running schedule although it was pretty much just RevAbs. I ran the Tampa Bay Times Turkey Trot 10k on Thanksgiving. Almost 18,000 people were out there running. Turkey Trot races are great to get the metabolism going before a big Thanksgiving meal. I didn't want to run the race too hard because I had the Space Coast Marathon coming up Sunday. I ran the 10k in 46:30.
The next run after Thanksgiving was the Space Coast Marathon. This would be marathon number 16 for me & I really didn't know what to expect. I had originally planned to run NYC for fun & use Space Coast for a training run / practice for Jacksonville Bank Marathon. My goal all year has been to PR my marathon time at the Jacksonville Bank Marathon. The night before the marathon I had dinner at the Apollo/Saturn V center at the Kennedy Space Center. The keynote speaker was Bart Yasso & if you haven't read his book "My Life on the Run" pick it up. He has many great running stories to tell & it is definitely worth the read. I decided last minute I would run with the 3:45 pace team at Space Coast & see what happens. The weather for the marathon was great. I felt strong starting off the race - however - my stomach had other plans. I ended up making three costly pit stops during the marathon. This caused me to lose the pace team and run my own race. No PR. But I was still able to finish in 3:55. So 3 put stops, mental torture and only a loss of 10 minutes & still sub 4 hours? I'll take it. I'm definitely looking forward to running the Jacksonville Bank Marathon December 16. I hope to run around a 3:40 marathon.
Now I'm back in training mode. It looks like I'll be running 1/2 marathons the next two weekends. Then back to the marathon distance with Jacksonville Bank.
I'll continue to mix INSANITY & RevAbs into my training. Let me know if you would like any of the FREE INSANITY marathon training programs
My INSANE marathon training for NYC came to an end last week. I was tapering down for the NYC marathon and couldn't have been more excited! The last 4 years I have been dreaming about running the NYC marathon and this was going to be my year. Well, we all know the end result of this story by now. Obviously life had other plans and my dream of the New York City marathon is on hold. Living in Florida I definitly understand the effect a hurricane can have on a community. I live right on Tampa Bay, and if a hurricane hit Tampa I am sure it would be devistating. My only gripe about NYC before I move on is that it should have been canceled before Friday evening. I received notice about the cancelation from friends and family via facebook and text messages as I was leaving the NYC marathon expo with bags and bags of souveniers, my bib, etc. It was very dissapointing to find out as soon as you are walking back to your hotel after being at the expo and getting pumped up for the event. I would have much rather had them cancel the event as soon as the hurricane hit. That way I could have been able to re-arrange my schedule, get refunds on most of the travel arrangements and use that towards running the NYC Marathon in a future year. The New York Road Runners do not have any answers as of now to what will happen next year. Will they open up the race to all 2012 runners? Will there be fees associated? Who knows. All I know is that my next marathon distance race will be the Space Coast Marathon on November 25, 2012 in Cocoa, FL. After that I have Jacksonville Bank Marathon and then Disney Goofy Challenge. I might sign up for the Clearwater Marathon, but I do not know for sure as of today. All that this means is INSANE marathon training has resumed!
One of the reasons I was especially bummed out about the canceleation of the NYC marathon is because I have already committed myself to the Berlin Marathon next year. Another World Marathon Major event held September 29, 2013. If I did NYC 2013 that would be two major races back to back, vacation, travel.... and who knows -- possible cancelations! I am excited to run in Germany. The Berlin marathon sounds like an amazing event and I am looking forward to running the 40th anniversary Berlin Marathon.
I purchaced another workout program recently to mix up my INSANE marathon trianing routine, RevAbs. I just started using it a few days ago and so far I have enjoyed the workouts. Some of the catch phrases in the videos seem a little cheesy but the ab workouts are no joke and I really want to concentrate more on my core area. A strong core creates a strong runner! I am going to incorporate RevAbs into my training from now until Jacksonville and will be updating this website with my review/results!
I wanted to leave this post with some photos of my NYC trip. On "marathon sunday" Jackie and I ran a 1/2 marathon around Central Park with thousands of other displaced runners. Enjoy the photos and if you have any interesting NYC Marathon stories feel free to leave a comment below with them!
-James B.
 Welcome to InsaneMarathon.com! I will be updating this page with information about running, fitness, and health/nutrition. I wanted to use this first blog entry to introduce myself to those that do not currently know me or my story. I ran my first full marathon in October 2008. It was the Chicago Marathon & it changed my life forever. Since running the Chicago Marathon in 2008 I have ran a total of 15 full marathons, countless half marathons and an unimaginable amount of 5k's, 10k's, 10 milers, 8k's, etc. etc.
My goal with InsaneMarathon.com is to help YOU achieve your goals & dreams. If your dream is to finally sign up and run your first 5k or if you are getting ready for your first ultra marathon, I want InsaneMarathon.com to be the first place you think of for support. Some of you might not enjoy running as much as I do. That is perfectly fine & there are many other programs and nutritional products available for you to use to hit your goals. We will discuss and review them on InsaneMarathon.com. I have personally had amazing success with the INSANITY fitness program. Now that I am incorporating INSANITY into my running regime I have really seen and felt the results. I have three marathons planned for this fall/winter & am looking to run a personal record at the Jacksonville Bank Marathon December 16, 2012. I currently hold my marathon PR on that course.
I am looking for REAL feedback from YOU. Please try the marathon and 1/2 marathon training programs, join us for a fitness challenge group. Lets hear about your results, your frustrations & your success stories.
I will leave you with a success story I received earlier today while finalizing the InsaneMarathon.com Facebook page.
"I used Insanity, P90x and running to prepare for my first 100 mile race Nanny Goat. Less than a month after that race I ran another 100 mile race sub 24 hour at Western States Endurance Run. My crew was also awesome and they helped me a ton. All I can say is BRING IT!!!!!" - Ace E. commenting on my Marathon Maniacs Facebook page posting.
-James B.
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