Track and Field Blogs - Magdalena Lewy-Boulet

I LOVE New York City

This weekend I will have another chance to compete at the ING New York City Marathon. If you have never witnessed this race, all I can say is that I hope one day you will have the privilege to run the race or be one of those badass spectators. The ING NYC Marathon is the place to race in the fall. I will give you 3 reasons why I strongly believe that: 1. The New Yorker Road Runners Club puts on the most professional event in the world. The support and care they provide to the athletes is beyond what I have experienced even at the Olympics. If any organization has the experience and understanding of performance at the highest level, it would be the New York Road Runners. 2. Then there are the most passionate and loudest spectators who love this even and stand by you from the start to the end and finishing in Central Park in spectacular. 3. Only the best marathoners travel from all over the world to grasp the opportunity to compete in this race because this is the most challenging race in the world and you want a shot at performing your best here on the streets of NYC.

After a 10 hour journey from the bay are to NY, I made it to NY safe. The weather was rough and the ride was very bumpy and I don’t get scared very often. This is why I usually arrive in NYC 3-4 days prior to the race to acclimate to the time change and allow recovery from traveling. On Thursday I will attend a school function and do a Q&A with young kids, which will be a lot of fun for me. On Friday, I will attend the marathon expo with the Saucony crew, sign posters and talking to runners about our final hours of preparation for the race.

I will then rush to my hotel room and glue myself to my computer and my cell phone to get updates on the Pac 10 XC Championships. I will be cheering for the CAL Bears as they toe the line and compete in Oregon. The cross-country season is coming to an end and the best is yet to come for the Bears.

As a full time coach, a mom and a marathoner who trains on average 120 miles per week, I find the final days of marathon preparation a treat. There is very little running going on, lots of rest, massage, stretching and visualizing the best race scenario. Because of my delayed start in marathon training caused by knee accident in Beijing, I had to approach training a little differently. I was very fit going into Olympics, went through a taper before the Olympic marathon, but did not finish the race, took a couple of weeks off and had to start up again 7 weeks from the NYC marathon. I went through ups and downs at first and finally 3 weeks ago I started to feel strong in my workouts and confident in my training. I am excited to get back out and compete against the best marathoners in the world.

Many athletes ask me what I do the day before the race in regards to training and nutrition. I always go for a 30 min morning run, stretch out and light massage. I take a nap and attend the technical meeting for the elite athletes where all the rules of the game are presented to us. I sip on GU₂O through out the day to get my fluids in and electrolytes. I eat small snacks frequently and rest. Then the fun part comes; I get to fill up my water bottles with Tango-Mango GU₂O and duck tape my GU Energy Gel to some of the bottles and I turn the bottles in before I head out for an early pasta dinner with my husband. I love relaxing the night before with Riche, as he is the most supportive person in my life. He takes all the stress away from my shoulders and keeps me positive and relaxed…just the way I like to feel before races.

Best of Luck to the Golden Bears at Pac 10s this Friday and a former bear Bolota Asmerom at the ING NY marathon debut!

Go Bears,

Chewy