As I nervously laced up my custom built ASICS running flats last week, prior to my 18 mile tempo run, I could not help but smile to myself as I thought I am living every kids dream. As a kid growing up, I was sports mad. When I wasn't forced to go to school I did nothing but play sports or watch sports on tv. At that time professional basketball players were just starting to come out with their own custom built shoes that were becoming available to the general public. I remember wanting a pair of Air Jordan's but not having anywhere near the bills I needed to sport them. I always dreamed of what it would be like to have my own shoe. Now I know.

Ever since I signed with ASICS in 2005, I had heard stories about the ASICS Research and Development Center in Kobe, Japan and the special custom shoes that were being turned out for their athletes. This past spring I had the opportunity to take a two-day trip to Kobe and get a pair of my own shoes built. The trip opened up my mind to what all goes into making a custom pair of shoes and ultimately made me glad I wasn't wearing someone else's custom shoes when I was a kid.

Going to the ASICS R&D Center I knew that they would measure my foot a couple of different ways using cutting edge technology, however I wasn't prepared for all that my 36 hour trip would involve. I had no idea what goes into making my shoes. There were about seven different experts that I met with throughout the day. Some measured my leg lengths, some measured my arch using a high tech device. Then there were a couple stations that I had to be physically put to the test. They had me perform all out leg exercises so they could take into account my leg strength ratio and my strength in relation to other marathoners. The test that I personally liked the best was a running test where I literally ran through the middle of the building on a indoor/outdoor track that runs in and out of the building, landing on plates that measured my ground impact force and reaction time.

At the end of my testing they sat me down and went over all my running mechanics, giving me strengthening and stretching tips. What I love about the Japanese is that they tell you how it is. So when they respectfully told me that I "ran like a girl", I wasn't too surprised and tried to take it in stride. If I didn't get it by now that they were only doing everything in their power to make me better I never would. I thought I was flying half way around the world to get a pair of shoes made but with a company with a slogan of "A Sound Mind in a Sound Body" I should have known I would be getting much, much more than a pair of shoes.

RYANS RESEARCH - Video

After a hard day at the office, I enjoyed some traditional Japanese hospitality when we went to get my first taste of Kobe steak. I can't even begin to describe how good Kobe steak is. You have to go there and try it for yourself. Before catching my afternoon flight the next day, I had the opportunity to visit the ASICS Global Headquarters and meet the faces that make up ASICS. I met many enthusiastic employees but my highlight had to be meeting with the President, Chairman and other VIPs from the Global Office. I admit that I was pretty nervous as they ushered us into a leather chair lounge for our meeting. I got even more nervous when I saw the barrage of suited men walking toward me as I took inventory of my attire, or lack there of. They were very gracious as we exchanged hellos and found our seats. Then the Chairman said something that I was least expecting, "Your wife is so beautiful." Instantly all the tension in my body melted away as I thought to myself I can't wait to tell Sara about this one.

RYAN VISITING SPORTS MUSEUM - Video

I left Kobe knowing that the first time I race a marathon, at The 2009 ING NYC Marathon, in my new custom designed racing shoes, I will have no doubt that I am in the perfect shoes for me. The experts at ASICS took everything that makes me who I am and made a shoe around that. It is easy to take a mold of a foot and make a shoe around it, it is another thing to design a shoe around an entire body, which is exactly what my shoe is. My shoe is not just a customized shoe, it is a customized extension of me.

It took about six weeks till I came home one day from practice to find the very normal looking package waiting for me outside my door that I had been waiting for since my youth. I knew it would take time to make my shoes because I saw the workers putting the finishing touches on one of my buddy's pair of track spikes. It is pretty cool that when I lace up my shoes before The ING NYC Marathon I will see all the faces behind the shoe. From the woman who is responsible for punching the holes, to the technician who analyzed my stride impact force, to the Chairman who acknowledges my wife's good looks, I will feel their support in more ways than through my shoes absorbing the tough roads of New York.

Only 10 days to go until the Chicago Marathon and I am thrilled with the way my training has gone in the last 2 months.  Today marked my last tempo run and the official beginning of tapering for the race.  Although I still have a couple quality workouts to do, my mileage will reduce considerably.  I have been running about 115 miles a week and will reduce to about 80 the week leading up to the race.  Tapering is when we expect to feel exuberant with energy, but our bodies have something else in mind.  Tapering never feels as good as we want it to.  My week usually consists of restless night’s sleep (from not taxing myself in training), a mild headache (endorphin withdrawals) and a sudden feeling of loosing fitness (a five mile run doesn’t feel as easy as it should).  But our bodies have a self-preserving mechanism when it comes to marathon preparation.  We train for months to condition ourselves and then taper to store energy.  Race day arrives and we have all the tools to accomplish the distance.  When you add the buzz and enthusiasm of 45,000 people on the starting line, I consider this the special ingredient, the added boost that drives us.  Tomorrow is my last day at altitude before heading to sea-level to rest. 

I’ll be lounging in Southern California for a few days before heading east. We call these interim days “Camp Oxnard” since the sea-side town calls for a leisure existence.   I look forward to arriving in Chicago next week.  If you are there, please visit the ASICS booth at the Marathon Expo on Friday, October 9th from 1:30-2:30.  I’ll be there to visit with runners and running fans, sign autographs and enjoy the camaraderie of so many fit people on a 26.2 mile mission.  I look forward to sharing the experience with all of you.

I just came home from the gym which means I am “clocked out” for the day.  Although I still need to make dinner, I can’t help but get my blog out on the computer.  With the marathon quickly approaching, I guess I was feeling a little sentimental as I went for my second run through the meadow Andrew and I got married in and through a grove of changing Aspen trees.  The leaves on the wind sounded like rushing water and their color was magnificent in yellows and oranges.  On the run I reflected on this morning’s tempo run.  It was my fastest 10 mile tempo in about four years which, given my leap of fitness every week, has me excited and confident for the Chicago marathon just two weeks away.  I was excited during this tempo because I dug down for something greater when I needed to.  This run was important and I gave myself a little pep talk half-way through the workout.  I needed to find some form of strength right then or I would not have the tools to persevere during the marathon.  Although I was beginning to fatigue, I knew there was something greater inside of me.  Andrew was shouting encouragement from the van.  My teammates Mike McKeeman and Josh Cox had shorter tempos runs because of their half-marathon races in Philadelphia last week.  That is where my answer came.  Although it was going to be my strongest tempo in some years, Mike and Josh jumped out of the team van and ran my last mile with me.  They pushed me.  Hard.  I have never been able to close a run with my fastest mile but my teammates brought the best out of me.  They were the strength I was searching for.  I have always been grateful for my teammates, but this morning moved me.  Literally and figuratively.  This morning will be imbedded in my mind when the going gets tough in Chicago.  At the 20-mile mark, I expect to pull out the image of Mike and Josh and let them help me the last 6.2 miles of the race.  There is strength in numbers and there is nothing like a team when you are trying to accomplish a difficult task. 

 Another great week of workouts under my belt and another week closer to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  With the announcement of more elite runners joining the starting line, I get more excited for the race.  I love the thrill of competition so much that I tried to break away from Andrew, who was  riding the bike, during a 12 mile tempo run this week…what was I thinking?  In my pursuit, I ran my fastest 12 mile tempo run, so I guess it worked out even though I couldn’t shake him going up the last hill.  As I think of the marathon coming up and the 45,000 people I’ll be sharing the starting line with, I can’t help but think that the October 11 race day may be a little extra special for all of us.  Why? Because the 2016 Olympic bid will be announced 9 days prior.  On October 2, the International Olympic Committee will announce which city will host the 2016 Games.  If Chicago wins the bid, there will be extra electricity in the air.  Besides fully supporting Chicago’s bid, I think the timing of the announcement will elevate this year’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon.  Chicago and its people are great hosts to the world I learned when reading Devil in the White City.  The city pulled together for a great World’s Fair, and being a sport fanatical town seems a perfect host for the 2016 Games.  I have always loved running and racing in Chicago because of the sport-friendly fans that line the lake front.  Whenever I run there, I always receive encouragement from runners and cyclists getting in their morning workouts.  Now, we wait to hear if this great city will be hosting the world in the Olympic Games.  There will be quite a celebration on Marathon weekend if that is the case.  I’ll toast to that!

This week brought the first signs of fall and with it the excitement of increasing fitness as the ING NYC marathon draws near. For the first time this summer the shirt is staying on unless we are really running hard and I have already begun craving pumpkin lattes from Starbucks. There are many parts of fall that I enjoy, but the best part of fall is the feeling of being weeks away from top form.

Marathoning is much like cycling. I look up to Lance Armstrong as an athlete who has not only done what I would like to do the equivalent of in the running world, but also because he has used his physical feats to help others. I have read a couple books about Lance where they talk about the timing of peaking for the tour. It’s all about coming into peak form at precisely the right time to win the tour. I remember in a race leading up to one of the tours that Lance won he responded to a reporter's question about what was his goal for the competition and he replied, "to not get last."

It's really hard to go into buildup races for the marathon not in peak form but I know that if I really want the best shot to win NYC this fall I have to be so focused on that goal that I am willing to suffer in the races leading up to the competition. It is a bit ironic that I am writing this less than a week out from my last race, The Philadelphia Distance Classic, before NYC. It is not like I am not going to try and run fast at Philly or that I am expecting to get destroyed (I always go to the line with the expectation that something special could happen), but my point is that focus on the big goal and sacrifice is part of the price of being great.

It’s been a fairly typical week for me: intervals on Tuesday, Tempo run on Thursday and 20 miles hard on Sunday. However, last week was a significant week in that it marked the end of the initial buildup cycle for the marathon. From the time I arrived in Mammoth in the beginning of July till now it has all been about getting a good base level of fitness. Now it is time to go get one last indicator of where I am at before the real work begins. Along with the change of weather this week marks the winds of change in my training fast approaching.

On Sunday I race in Philly, then take a train to New York City where my wife and I will spend the next week. Not only am I looking forward to a week out of altitude to recover and gear up for the intense training awaiting me, but I am also looking forward to announcing some very exciting news that Wednesday. Additionally, I will get to preview the ING New York City Marathon course, which will give me some good images to visualize. On Saturday I will get to watch Sara compete in the 5th Ave mile and then we’ll catch an evening flight back to Reno that same day.

Monday the storm hits. If I am going to win the ING NYC marathon it will be as a result of what is done in those last 4 weeks of hard training before backing off for the race. An exciting season is on the way.

There is nothing like a disappointing race to light a fire under my feet.  Last weekend at the New York City Half Marathon I thought I would have raced better since I had finally put in three good weeks of training.  In what was my worst half marathon time since trying the distance in 2001, I finished so far back from the winner that I stopped counting places.  I can’t blame my performance on the weather, lack of desire or a sore foot.  The truth is, my foot felt fantastic and I am just lacking fitness. Today was my first hard workout after the race and was the best speed session of my season so far.  I have seven weeks until the Bank of America Chicago marathon and nothing gets me going in practice more than the pressure of getting ready to meet my goals.  After this half marathon test, I have a sense of urgency to make every day count.  My focus in workouts is one thing, but I also know I need to focus on resting well, eating well, getting in good weight lifting sessions and believing in my ability to get in shape quickly.  It is easy for me to round into fitness now that my foot is completely healed.  I had a scary setback in June and July when my foot was inflamed and had to take a few weeks off.  It was the same foot I had broken last summer, so I took it very seriously.  My training came to a screeching halt and I rested with some acupuncture and ice baths.  Once the inflammation was down, I did some balance work and strengthening of my feet.  Since returning to running my foot feels strong and my workouts are getting better.  I have less than 2 months to pull everything together.  I have the mind for it and my body is pulling together just in the nick of time.  I look forward to sharing the intensity of the coming weeks with you.  Let’s get going!

Irvine, CA (July 23, 2009) - ASICS athlete Ryan Hall has announced he will run the ING New York City Marathon, November 1, 2009. The event, now in its 40th year, is considered one of only five of the "Major Marathons" in the world. This will be Hall's first time running the ING New York City Marathon and his second Major World Marathon this year placing third in the prestigious Boston Marathon in April with a time of 2:09:30.

"My goal is to become the first American winner of a Major World Marathon, and the ING New York City Marathon is a crown jewel of marathons," says Ryan Hall. "I'm ready to take a bite out of the Big Apple."

Hall will also be running the New York City Half-Marathon in August where he will be a leading contender. Hall has proven himself as one of the best distance runners in the world; he currently sits number two all time on the American list with a personal best of 2:06:17 from the 2008 London Marathon. In 2007, Hall won the men's Olympic Trials Marathon in New York, securing a trip to Beijing where he finished 10th overall. Hall holds the American half-marathon record with a time of 59:43.

Fans can follow Hall on his road to the ING New York City Marathon. For more information visit www.asicsamerica.com.

ASICS Corporation, with more than 50 years of footwear manufacturing experience, offers a full line of performance-driven athletic shoes and technical active sports apparel and accessories. For more information, please visit www.asics.com.

Provided by competitor.com

In the final installment of an exclusive five-part series, Ryan Hall discusses the benefit of training in a group, how he sets up his training and racing schedule and what he hopes to accomplish by the end of his career.

Provided by competitor.com

Part-four of an exclusive five-part series, Ryan Hall discusses the charity he runs for, his first times running Boston and the Olympics and the truth about whether he shaves his legs.

Provided by competitor.com

Part-three of an exclusive five-part series, Ryan Hall discusses setting his marathon PR, American marathoners emerging as true contenders on the world stage and how sticking your own race plan is key for success in the marathon.