[Watcher]

Hi Dumbfounded.

I was looking at this marathon course map today. Miles 1-7 are run through the streets and miles 8-13 are on the boardwalk. It then goes back to the streets for miles 14-22 and finishes with miles 23-26 back on the boardwalk. I ran a 5k on this boardwalk in 2018 and finished in 3rd place for my age group.

There are 19 aid stations and 13 music venues along the course. This is a 8am start with temps at 52 degrees, which is good, and they rise to 62 degrees with full sun. I have a 10 minute walk to the start/finish line so I don't have to be there at 530am like I did at Philadelphia in 2019.

This is advertised as the 3rd oldest marathon in the United States with it's inception in 1958. I think this is a small marathon with only 619 finishers listed in 2019. Philadelphia had 14,000+ finishers when I ran in 2019.

I was originally signed up for the NJ Marathon which was to be held on this same weekend but was canceled so I'm sure a fair amount of people took the transfer offer to the AC Marathon.

I don't think I trained properly this Summer but I looked at my stats from 2019 and 2020. The training this year was very similar to that in 2019 so I should be fine.

There is a 5k and 10k on Saturday and both a half and full marathon on Sunday so there should be a fair amount of runners. This was offered to me as a replacement race in August so I'm not too familiar with it.

The indoor expo is on Friday and Saturday and already had to be moved outdoors due to covid but I think there is no turning back from holding the race at this point. It's such a production to pick up the racing bib.

I went to kickboxing this morning and I will shut it down now and await the weekend.

[KeepItTogether]

Good luck on your marathon Watcher. I know you'll do great.  I was just in AC in June. 

[Watcher]

Hi KIT.

The 2019 Philadelphia Marathon medallion was the Liberty Bell. It's very impressive and quite heavy. The 2020 Marine Corps Marathon medallion was the Marine Corps emblem with Iwo Jima sand inside the globe.

The AC Marathon medallion is a lighthouse, lol. Oh 'Be the Lighthouse'. I may just stop at 25 miles as an act of civil Hero Spouse disobedience. People are excited because it actually lights up. Well mine better look like the Titanic sitting on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Yes 'Be the Titanic' may have confused some people when they arrived here but they would have gotten used to it, lol.

I twerked something on Tuesday in the gym but my leg feels fine today. I was a little nervous. My coworker is a 45 yr old Crossfitter and he is just breaking down. He had back surgery during the Summer, he then purchased a Peloton which broke, so he then went running and injured his hip.

Shalane Flanagan is a 40yr old woman who is running all 6 World Majors within 42 days. The Chicago lottery opens on Oct 19th. So I was thinking I could be the guy who just wins all the lotteries and actually doesn't run the races.

I see this woman visiting her father since we had that flood in early September. She was 17 and I 15 a very long time ago. We did not date but we always accompanied the couple who was dating that Summer. She went away to college and I went back to high school where I then boarded the Titanic.

Enjoy your day

Thank you

[Watcher]

I found this Irish Pub which was a 1920"s speakeasy. The wood is all cherry wood and its dimly lit with Tiffany lamps. Old newspapers are imprinted on the ceiling. This is how Darth Vader must have felt in the bacta tank.

It looks like Joe DiMaggio was a regular here as his memoribila adorns the walls. This place is called the Irish Pub and Inn. Rooms go for $36 dollars a night but there are no bathrooms. Apparently people didn't bathe back in the 1920"s. I'm not staying here because I'm not that hardcore into history.

Even the tiled floors are amazing. Someone just ordered a Yuengling and IDK how they are not being ushered out of this bar, lol. Yes my spell check is working overtime and this post is taking forever.

One of the perks of preparing for a marathon is drinking Guinness pints on a Friday night. The Guinness here is phenomenal as was the Irish coffee. Oh if the marathon were tomorrow it would be interesting. It could be a sub 4 hour or a disqualification, lol.

See, you too could enjoy a Guinness pint if you trained for a marathon.

I wonder if they have Guinness in Berlin. I already picked up my bib for Sunday. Apparently Bally's has a beach bar and that's where it was but I read online that this place was a hidden gem.

The Irish coffee was also great and ,yes, that is also a prerequisite for marathon training. This training is not for the feint of heart. I'm not going to remember this tomorrow so I need to journal it now.

So if you visit AC, you have to visit this Irish pub on St James Place. You too will know how Darth Vader felt in the bacta tank, lol. Tomorrow will not be as exciting.

OMG, edit for misspelled words is so annoying.

[Watcher]

This morning we had 52 degrees at the start of the marathon after it was 84 degrees on Saturday. I was reading last night that I should wear 2 pairs of socks and so I did. The idea with 2 pairs of socks on is that they absorb the friction, as opposed to one pair, where the sock and sneaker absorb the friction. I have to say it worked. No issues with my feet at all.

I also read that I should carry Tylenol with me as I ran. IDK if that helped or not. Maybe Advil or Motrin would have been better. I wore shorts since I had no pants with me, but I would never run in pants again. The air dries the legs and therefore no moisture is collecting like it would with pants.

I wore a long sleeve leotard type of running shirt to keep the wind off of me with a short sleeve tech shirt over it.

The marathon started on the boardwalk in front of Bally's and there were a few thousand people since it was also a half marathon. We didn't stay long on the boardwalk and exited almost immediately where we ran towards the harbor casino"s of Borgata, Golden Nugget, Harrah's. From there we ran back towards the boardwalk as we passed the Absecon Lighthouse.

So we were back on the boardwalk at mile 8. The boardwalk was not closed so there were tourists out doing there thing. We exited the boardwalk at mile 13 and it was actually more comfortable running on wood than pavement.

From there we ran to Longport and made our way back to Margate City where I think we spent too much time. I had a very good 20 miles at that point before I started to wear down at mile 21.

I had no pain and that was surprising since I had this leg issue all week, most likely from kickboxing. At mile 21 my groin and one thigh were just shot. No issue with my feet, back, nor lungs. The muscles in the legs just start to shutdown.

Lucy The Elephant had scaffolding up so that was a disappointment. We were back on the boardwalk at mile 23 and my leg muscles were done as the calves began to act up.

There was absolutely no entertainment so IDK what the organizers were talking about. I did make all my water and Gatorade stops and I utilized a gel every 3 miles but those things really don't sit well in the stomach after awhile.

People were cheering me on at about 100 yards from the finish line but I was so nauseous at that point. I crossed the line, grabbed some water and just layed down. All I needed was a pillow and I would have been good to go.

I went back to the hotel, showered, and took a nap. I then went out to dinner but my system is shutdown. I ate but it took forever to get the food down.

Yes I never want to run again. So marathon #3 is in the books. IDK. Maybe I should explore finding a woman and settle down, LOL. Enough of this running already.

Have a good night

[UrsaMajor]

I wonder if they have Guinness in Berlin. I already picked up my bib for Sunday. Apparently Bally's has a beach bar and that's where it was but I read online that this place was a hidden gem.

I am sure you could find a pint of used motor oil (Guinness) in Berlin if you wanted to but first, it would probably be either 300 or 500 ml - We don't do "pints" on the continent <snort>  and the second question is ... Why?  There are WAY too many good German beers to try first....

<ROFL - Let the Flame War over Beers begin!>

[Watcher]

LOL UrsaMajor,

Well my next beer should be in Germany. Today I was able to walk down the stairs. I put on a t shirt this morning and I was like, wow, this is why you run, lol. I think my abs have shown up again so now I have to lay off the sweets. Well it could be all in my head. IDK....it could be from the wind burn.

I was talking to my co worker yesterday and she was telling me I have to take advantage of this marathon running while I'm healthy. I was very good for 20 miles but then I got complacent for the final 6.

I noticed during my previous 2 marathons I had 3 rough miles and then I worked myself out of it. In this one I remained a flat line for the final 6. "Oh I just want to finish" or "I'm not going to win anyway" is mental weakness I was reading.

At mile 24 I was done listening to that "horrid" country music and I even stopped for a photo at mile 25. People cheering me on at that point we're so annoying with their finish strong advice and I had a few choice replies in my head.

My Garmin usually vibrates at every mile when I run and then I check the time. For the marathon it was not vibrating which was good because I wasn't obsessed over time. At mile 20 there was a road side clock and at that moment I knew I wouldn't reach my objective so that is when I began to drift mentally.

Oh and never send the alimony check prior to running a marathon. Just in case. 

So I have to look into some different training techniques for next year. The marathon is broken into 3 parts. 1st 10 miles/2nd 10 miles/last 10k. So I have to find a way to improve my 20 mile time while having something left for the final 10k.

Well I think I will start again in May and train thru August with Berlin being in September and New York in November. London could be October but I won't know until February. It's time to start focusing on these World Majors.

Thanks

[Watcher]

I think my marathon recovery period ended today. I went to the gym last Wednesday and Thursday and was all kinds of sore so I took it easy the past 3 days.

I can return to the gym this week and there is no need to do any running at the moment. I might have something scheduled in November.

I probably could have run the NYC Marathon but I made my choice last February and chose to defer it to 2022 never thinking that it would actually be run this year.

So we will continue to see what happens.

Have a good night.

[Watcher]

This morning I returned to the gym after 5 days of rest. We had a Nor'easter yesterday which fouled up my plans. Anyway it felt good having no aches and pains. I have some Metatarsalgia going on in the ball of my foot which has been here prior to running the marathon.

I think the culprit is the burpees, push ups, and planks. I haven't had this instructor in awhile and she commented on my tan. She asked me if I had been on vacation. Well I looked at her strangely because a tan is a byproduct of GAL activities.

Such strange creatures these non- LBS are, lol.

Later she mentioned that I actually seem to have grown taller. Well I know I have been stuck in LBS puberty for quite sometime, however it was the ankle socks, which accentuate the length of the legs, thus giving the illusion that one is actually taller.

There were only 3 people in class today so that meant one on one individual sessions. So the instructor holds the pads, on her hands, like giant gloves. She then gives out the combinations that are to be thrown. She swings back so you have to pay attention to the sequences or you are gonna get hit upside the head, and since I'm taller, that would mean decapitation.

It's like a dance as you are pretty close to each other and she kept telling me I should not be afraid to hit her, lol. Usually I have some beefy male holding the pads if it's a slow class.

Anyway, I must have been intimidated by her female-ness because I was moving my feet backwards and she kept yelling at me to stop running from her. So while I may have been intimidated it was also a turn on at the same time, lol.

Unlike most men who believe that all women are into them, I'm normal. I only believe 50% are into me.

So I survived my close combat encounter this morning with a female. Tomorrow it's a beefy male instructor so it won't be as exciting. I will call that one Debbie Downer Thursday.

Friday is "alledged" Man Hater Friday instructor where I usually leave with some new ailment because she likes to take it out on the men. Well I believe she really doesn't like women since I'm the only man in her class, lol.

Enjoy your day everyone

[UrsaMajor]

The Friday instructor is like Mikey in the Life Cereal commercial.....

"He won't eat it, he hates EVERYTHING!" 

except her motto is "She won't go easy, she hates EVERYONE!"