Webb on the Fly: Countdown to the Marathon

The New York City Marathon is here! This is my third consecutive marathon in the greatest city on earth. I don’t know what’s more of a challenge, training for the race or the actual event itself?

When I started three years ago, I had always wanted to do a marathon but didn’t think I could run that far. You know the old adage, “You have to walk before you can run?” Well, you have to walk before you can run a marathon too. The way it happened was kismet. I got an SOS fundraising call from Harlem United, one of the most effective and progressive HIV/ AIDS service providers in the country, to join their team. Within hours of that phone call, I was seated, totally by chance, next to a woman at dinner that night who had just run her 9th marathon.

A light bulb went on when this veteran runner, who came to the sport in her 30’s, told me about the James Galloway run/walk training method – where – intelligently- you walk one minute for every four minutes you run. So, like a tortoise, rather than a hare, I slowly but surely trained, entered and then broke the five-hour mark.

It really is an experience of a lifetime to enter the New York City Marathon. It sounds corny, but it’s true, it’s up there with seeing a dream destination like Paris for the first time, or giving birth to a child, which shows you what you’re made of physically. The crowd is amazing, as far as your eye can see, there are people from all over the world surrounding you, every one of them moving in the same direction toward a single goal.


I had the very good fortune in the last few months that my position as fashion director of Sector watches (distributed by CIRCA) took me to Milan, Barcelona, and Geneva. In keeping with my training regiment, my sneakers, Sector Expander watch and heart rate monitor traveled with me. I found that European cities are spectacular to run though because of the architecture, but tricky to navigate because of winding roads and bumpy streets that can cripple a rubber-necking runner.

Milan has a beautiful park in the walls of an old castle that was gorgeous to run through. Chris and I stayed at the Bulgari Hotel which was just a nice trot over the cobble stone streets of the luxury shopping district past the Cathedrial Duomo to the Castello Sofrzesco. The hotel gym was perfect to unwind in after a run with its full-on marble Turkish steam room.

Barcelona, besides being surprisingly great in every way from food to shopping to atmosphere to architecture, is also a surprisingly great city for runners. An early morning sprint from the Hotel Omm, up the Pasejo de Gaia, in the shadows of two magnificent Gaudi buildings was an awesome way to start the day. A quick dip in the hotel’s black granite lap pool knocked out all the kinks from pounding on the roads.

Lake Geneva is dotted with runners at any given time of the day or night. The fountain in that gushes 250 feet in the air like a geyser is mesmerizing. The banks of the river are paved with concrete, so even though it’s a straight shot for as long as you’d like to go, it can be tough on your knees as a runner, but the view is worth it.

In the two last months, I’ve logged close to 80 miles on my sneakers. According to my Sector Expander watch, which gives my heart rate for a ten minute mile (around 155 bpm’s), I’ve happily burned nearly half a million calories (472,000 to be exact). I hope and I pray I’m ready for race day!

A Big THANKS to the team at Sector for sponsoring me and donating to the important work they do at Harlem United. Good luck to all the marathoners this Sunday. I’ll see you at the finish line!

Cheers,
Veronica

CIRCA wishes Veronica and all of her fellow runners best of luck in the 42nd annual New York City Marathon this Sunday!

For more on Veronica’s marathon preparation: NY One, Vogue.com, Fox 5 Morning Show

Images: Lake Geneva; Courtesy: Edie Boschen
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