NYC Marathon Training Recap – Week #8

Planned Miles: 19 (Completed Miles: 22)

In the words of Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Random: I was today years old when I learned that it’s actually Barbra and not Barbara.

Motivation:

I’m tired of being out of shape. At 217 pounds, I am the heaviest that I have ever been in my life. It’s getting to the point where I’m actually embarrassed to run shirtless. To be honest, I’m kind of hoping that it rains while I’m in Va Beach over Labor Day Weekend so I have an excuse NOT to go to the beach. Since I have less years in front of me than behind me, I need to get my act together.

What prompted this slight freak out? Over the weekend, I volunteered to help out with my running group’s cheer zone for a race. Since we were on the sidelines (are there sidelines in running?) rooting our teammates on, I saw the entire race field from the elite runners to the walkers. Seeing this made me miss when I used to be assigned to lower running corrals (e.g. B and C out of L) . . . and when I was skinner. Now, if I were to sign up for an NYRR race, I’d probably would be assigned to Corral I. Looking at my last NYRR race, Fred Lebow Half (Jan 2020), I was assigned to Corral I. I guess this means that I would be assigned to Corral J if I were to register for a NYRR race. EEK.

Soooo um yeah, Dr. KOS, Jr. needs to get it together.

First Step:

Stop eating so much junk food and snacking at night. Also, start intermittent fasting again and being more cognizant of portion control.

Second Step:

Start actively following a workout schedule. Lately, I have been wasting so much time BSing in the morning before going to work. The hubby typically leaves around 6-6:15 am to go to work. While I do not have to work until 9-10 am, I’m one of those folks that if you wake me up, I cannot go back to sleep. That’s pretty much 3-4 hours that I have to do something productive. Normally, once the hubby wakes me up getting ready for work, I hang out on the sofa until going to work, i.e. moving to my home “office”.

More on this later, let’s get to the training week.

Recap:

For the most part, I think that I completed all of my runs this week. Yeah ME! I gotta say that I was very proud of myself for completing my hill workout. For whatever reason (probably my laziness), I rarely do hill workouts while marathon training. Then, I bitch and moan about being a hot mess while running across the 59th Street Bridge (a thorn in my side) during NYC Marathon. I found a nice little strip of road very close to work that is perfect for running hill intervals.

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This “route” is perfect because, unlike the Harlem Hill section of Central Park, there is not a lot of foot traffic in this section of Manhattan. The only drawback about running here is smelling the nice aroma of BBQ from Dinosaur BBQ Restaurant.

Also, this spot is great because there is park nearby that has a nice, little fountain for cooling off.

Also, I gotta say that I enjoyed my 10 mile long run over the weekend. The low 80 temps made this run very pleasant. Also, I got my life together on Sunday and started this run around 7 am. YEA ME!

Most of my long run was running a few loops around the path that’s just outside of Central Park’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir path. Not sure why I never considered running this outer path in the past. While the Reservoir’s path is nice with amazing views, most of it is in direct sun; however, the path outside of the Reservoir is primarily in the shade. Since we are in the times of COVID, it’s great this path is wider than the Reservoir’s path so it’s easier to distance one’s self from other runners.

This week’s pet peeve:

Subtitle: I’m not crazy.

A couple of times in the blog, I have mentioned that I do not feel like I’m a part of one of my running groups for a few reasons:

1. I do not go to enough events/fun runs/training runs for people to know me.
2. The group is somewhat cliquey.
3. I’m already a bit of an independent runner.

While participating in the cheer zone, I was chatting with another member of the group, and she brought up my second point. Phew. I thought that I was being overly sensitive, which is interesting because I’m not the sensitive type. She pretty much agreed with me in that, while the group is overall nice, it can be a bit challenging to integrate into some of the “cliques”. Also, it’s even more challenging because most of these folks have known each other for YEARS. It’s kind of funny that while we were talking about this very issue of inclusion, the group (about 15 folks) that stayed around after the race took a post-race picture . . . yet no ONE asked us to join the picture. I mean, we were standing RIGHT there chatting and holding the running group’s signs. I guess it’s better than someone asking us to take the picture.

We’ll see how this goes. I might get to the point and say screw it and do my own thing. One saving grace: I notice that folks have been a bit more engaging when I chat with them one-on-one rather than in a group setting.

Goals for the Week:

I think that I mentioned these at the beginning of the post. OH, I’m gonna add weightlifting 1-2 times a week.

Questions of the Day:

Question 1

How many subscriptions do you actively use? I ask this question because last week, I wanted to do a BeachBody yoga workout during a lunch break. I was becoming frustrated because I kept receiving an error message from Apple TV. Lo and behold, I checked my Apple subscriptions and realized that I never renewed my BeachBody subscription.

What prompted this question? Looking at my subscriptions list, I saw that I still have an active subscription to Mens Health.

I cannot remember the LAST time that I read an issue of Mens Health (basically Cosmo for men). Since I have an eSubscription, I would imagine that it was back when I bought my FIRST generation iPad. When was that thing released . . . . 2010, 2011? Also, I have not used the LoseIt! app for at least 2-3 years. Wait, Christopher Meloni is on the cover of this month’s Mens Health? Lemme hang on to this subscription for a couple of months. 😉

Just joking. I guess this subscription was auto renewed because Apple says it’s active until May 2022, so I’m stuck with it for another 10 months.

I addition to these subscriptions, we have Netflix and Amazon Video. Not sure if we need FIVE separate streaming services. After posting this, I’m going to cancel Apple+. Honestly, the last thing I remember watching on Apple+ was Mariah Carey’s Christmas 2020 special. However, folks say that Ted Lasso is pretty good.

Question 2

How do folks feel about businesses requiring proof of vaccination?

New York City will become the first U.S. city to require proof of at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine for a variety of activities for workers and customers — indoor dining, gyms and performances — to put pressure on people to get vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced

NY Times (Link: ***)

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