Hospital for Special Surgery Chat Transcript

The United NYC Half is coming up on March 15, and while training for that I followed this helpful Facebook chat conducted today by physical therapist Mike Silverman of the Hospital for Special Surgery. Here is an edited transcript of that chat, which I think will be beneficial to all runners. I recommend following @HSpecialSurgery on Twitter like I do. - Mark

Gear Review: ASICS Abby Tank & Tiger Capri

By Rachel | First, I want to thank ASICS for letting me choose any outfit I wanted from their ASICS Meatpacking District Store! I chose this Abby Tank and the Tiger Capri instead of clothes for FREEZING weather. To be honest, I can't stand running in weather this cold. It has been in the teens almost every morning. It is just so hard for me to motivate myself to get outside for a run.

Countdown to 2015 TCS New York City Marathon

This includes updated info below on the 50% increase in lottery entries in 2015!

So there I was at the doctor's office, dealing with a deep cough, and continuously reloading the TCS New York City Marathon signup page as the clock hit high noon. I had my credit card ready, already had a tweet composed, and was determined to be the very first runner to claim guaranteed entry for the November 1, 2015, race. I would be the first signup. That, of course, is when the good doctor walked into my room and began the checkup.

Alas, I had to wait 15 minutes before entering, but it's DONE. I'm in. That's how I excited I get when it comes time to claim that guaranteed entry. It's something I and many others work so hard for during the course of a year, running at least nine scored New York Road Runners races and volunteering for another so we can get that all-important 9+1 exemption. It guarantees entry for the following year's NYC Marathon. I will always do 9+1 as long as I'm able in life.

An Evening With ASICS Teammates

Thanks to NYC Marathon veteran runner Noelle from ASICS America HQ in Southern California for treating a batch of us ASICS bloggers in New York to an awesome night on the town! Left to right are Erika @bgg2wl, Gregg @nycsweat, Famous ASICS Mannequin, Noelle @run_noelle_run, Megan @runlikeagrl, Grace @leangirlsclub and yours truly @Marathoner.

We met tonight at the ASICS Meatpacking District Store next to my MLB HQ, and first there was a 4-mile run along the Financial District path to World Trade Center area and back. One of the best runs I've had in a long time, solid pace in the 9s. Then it was back to #ASICSMeatpacking for some shopping, courtesy of ASICS. "Pick out an outfit" are some of the coolest words I hear, and I asked if it was OK to do my random shopping for Rachel, our 19-year-old runner who is a contributor on this blog. (I'll let Rachmo show you the outfit in her upcoming gear review of it!)