Over the past few months, New York City has been buzzing with runners, eagerly preparing for the ING NYC Marathon. After last years NYC Marathon was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy and the tragic events that happened in Boston earlier this year, runners came together to show strength & solidarity during this years ING NYC Marathon. The Empire Tri Club had a record high of 20 athletes compete in the race!
We had a chance to catch up with Howard Voletsky, a 29 year old Empire Tri Club Member and UES resident, after the race to find out how it went.
ETC: Howard, please tell us about your athletic background and how you got into running & triathlons:
HV: I started running about 10 years as a way to spend more time with my Uncle. 5ks turned into 10ks which eventually turned into my love for marathons. I recently started to transition into triathlons and hope to complete an Ironman in 2015.
ETC: Was this your first marathon?
HV: No, this was my 10th marathon. I’ve run Chicago (twice), Marine Corps, and New Jersey. This was my 6th time running the NYC Marathon.
ETC: How did your race this year compare to when you ran the NYC Marathon Previously?
HV: I ran a 12 min PR (personal record) in relation to my previous best NYC Marathon.
ETC: What was your goal going into this race? (a particular time? just to finish? to beat a past-race time?)
HV: My goal at the outset was to run 4hrs but as the summer progressed I set my goal on 4:15. As the race neared I set a goal of running 10:00 min miles the entire race.
ETC: What did your training look like heading into the marathon?
HV: I tried to run 3 days a week. Tues/Thurs/Saturday. Tues would generally be a tempo workout (“chat pace”) and Thurs would be a speed workout. I did many of these runs with the Empire Tri Club in Central Park. Saturdays would be my long runs which ranged anywhere from 10 miles all the way up to 20 miles.
ETC: Did you hit the wall? What was the toughest part of the race?
HV: This year was the first time I really didn’t hit the “wall”. I got a minor cramp around the 25.5 mile marker that caused me to walk for about 15 seconds.
ETC: What was your favorite borough to run through & why?
HV: I enjoy running through Manhattan because I know I get to see my friends/family along the course. The crowds are unbelievable.
ETC: What was your pacing strategy?
HV: My strategy was to run a negative split. I wanted to go out running 10:00 miles for the first half then slowly increase it for the second half. I was spot on with the 10:00 min per mile for the first half but was unable to speed up the second half. I did pretty well to maintain the 10 min per mile pace through 21-22 miles.
ETC: Do you think you’ll run the NYC marathon again?
HV: I am running the marathon again in 2014. As long as I can get in NYC will always be on my racing calendar.
ETC: What’s next on your race calendar?
HV: I plan on taking a break for a few weeks. I will start swimming next week in preparation for my 2014 tri races (NYC Tri and Ironman Timberman 70.3).
