Warm UP

I've signed up for the local marathon. It's a 26.2 mile race through the five boroughs of this city.

http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/

This is Me. Peter Derby.

photo courtesy of Sue Pearsall

My first race was in third grade. My parents had four boys. I was the third of four, and I started running when their fiscal strategy to cut back on babysitters began to include bringing us to local 5ks. Now I'm trying to run the ING NYC Marathon.

Here are my brothers and myself, bottom left pocket, back then:

You get the picture.  Marathon Derby is an attempt to put all those years of babysitting fees to use. In many ways, not a lot has changed since then. (Not sure your strategy paid off, Mom.)

This is where I work, a running specialty store, Urban Athletics. 

http://www.urbanathleticsnyc.com/about.html

When the owners, Jerry and Cara,  say, "a home for runners, where they need one," they really mean it. Jerry found me back in February. I was drinking cup after cup of coffee at the burger joint around the corner, Jackson Hole. I was writing "unemployed writer / runner" on a piece of cardboard with a Sharpie when Jerry sat down at my table. The rest is history in the making. 

Since Urban Athletics (UA) is my running home, I will also make it the starting point for most of my runs. Generally I go from 2 World Financial Center where the Downtown UA is located, while other runs will start from the 92nd and Madison location closer to Central Park and closest to the home of the 7 oz. burger at Jackson Hole (http://www.jacksonholeburgers.com/).

Over the next 73 days, till the start of the NYC Marathon, I'll write 26.2 entries to explore the "necessary" elements of training. I'll also log my mileage, try to take my own advice, and talk about running. Recently, I received my United States Track & Field (USATF) Level 1 Coaching Certification.  Since this is my virgin voyage into marathon running, I'll also explore apparel and products related to the NYC Marathon. And I'll be trying to figure just what it is I've gotten myself into and will have regular contributions from marathon correspondents of all levels. Tomorrow is mile 1.