Quick Weekly Update

Well, the streak run was going well, but I had to break it on Friday and Saturday.  I had to pull an all-nighter at work; I think that I arrived home around 5:30 am. I thought my all-nighters were supposed to end when I stopped conducting biomedical research as a scientist. Also, I did not do a run on Friday, but I managed to get back to the daily runs on Sunday. 

I’m a little sad that I had to break the streak and felt like I had failed at life. Perhaps, I can try another 30-day streak after I heal from next month’s foot/toe surgery. Maybe not,  I’ll be training for the NYC Marathon in November. 

No time to do a day-by-day update, but most of my runs involved running up and down the Hudson River, which has great sunset views and nice breezes from the river. Plus, the weather this week was great, aka not hot as hell. 

On one of my runs, I was asking myself “why does outside smell like a goddamn zoo?”

Turns out NYC has “enlisted” a herd of goats to clear out a part of Riverside Park ( *** ).

I swear this city comes up with some of the most random crap. Ok, I would be cool with this idea/randomness in most smaller cities. However, NYC is full of riff-raff. You know folks are going to throw their junk food, trash, booze, etc in the goats’ enclosed pen. Plus, it smells horrible. Well . . . I guess the smell is not that bad if you like the smell of zoos. 

On Sunday, I got my “+1” out of the way for NYC Marathon 2020 by volunteering at NYRR’s Italy Run (5M). I served as a course marshal, near mile 1.2, and it was a nice experience to see the entire race from the leaders to the last finishers.

The top three runners right after Mile 1

Since cannot run for a few weeks after my foot/toe surgery, perhaps I can volunteer for another race or two. 

Although most folks volunteer only once a year (including yours truly) to gain their guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon, I would like to volunteer more frequently – even if it is a race here and there. Earlier this year, I looked into NYRR’s Leader-In-Training program, but NYRR only trains folks to lead volunteers for the NYC Marathon. I wonder why NYRR does not have something similar for the other larger races like the Brooklyn Half, Staten Island Half, the Bronx 10 mile, etc. Eh, oh well. At least, I can say that I tried. 

Usually, NYRR country-themed runs, has a very vibrant post-race celebration. The Italy Run was no exception. One thing I can say about this city is that people LOVE waiting in line for stuff. 

I really hope this was not a line for free Nutella or to take a picture and ring the bell in front of the Marathon 2020 9+1 sign. 

Time to do some work. 

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Wasted Week

Because of my ongoing foot saga, there was not much of anything going on last week, in terms of training. Technically, I could have performed easy exercises, but I was kind of like what’s the point. Plus, I was in a bit of a bummy mood. Also, on a couple of days, I really did have intense foot/toe pain. 

Basically, I have a heloma molle (or a soft corn) that is in between my fourth and fifth toes (note, you may be grossed out by this pic, *** ). Anywho, I finally made it to the podiatrist on Friday and received annoying news. The podiatrist told me that surgery is the only way to treat this issue (actually that was not the annoying part). And, by surgery, it involves shaving a small piece of bone in my fourth and/or fifth toe. I was like ok, no biggie. Let’s schedule the motherfucker. He removed the white gunk (or dead skin) that had accumulated in between the toes. Then he was like, I’ll give you some ointment and let’s have a look at the toe again, take some X-rays in three weeks, then schedule the surgery. 

Ok, I’m totally confused. 

1. You said that I would need surgery to alleviate my pain. Why do I need to make ANOTHER damn appointment? 
2. I have been dealing with this thing for a couple of years now. Actually, I went to the same podiatrist back in Feb. 2018. Clearly, it has not gotten any better (technically) in 15 months. 
3. This is one of the reasons, why I prolonged treating this issue. In February, I went in for my appt, he cleaned out the gunk; scheduled a follow-up appt in 3 weeks; I missed the appt because my foot wasn’t hurting; 15 months later, we are back a square one. I’m not being lazy by not “cleaning out the gunk”. He had to use a scalpel and scissors to do it. I guess that I could do it myself if it was not so hard to see in between those toes, cut the gunk, and manage NOT to cut any live skin. It could work if I had human pretzel capabilities. 
4. Is this a scam for me to pay, yet ANOTHER copay?

On a brighter note. At least, I can get back to running because my foot has not a single issue since Friday. 

Ugh. 

Food Pic of the Week

Still trying to get back into my blogging groove. 

Tomino Taberna Gallega

192 Grand Street, NY, NY 

Actually, I do not have any food pics for this week so I guess that I will go back to last week. The bf husband and I hit up Tomino Taberna Gallega for some northern Spanish bites. Honestly, this place can do no wrong in my book. The food (according to the husband and his crew of Spaniards) is pretty authentic and reasonably priced. Plus, they have a wonderful happy hour and make delicious gin cocktails. It’s funny that everyone says how popular gin is in Spain but I could not find a decent gin cocktail the two times that I visited. Oh, I remember. They do not really do gin n soda over there; it’s all about gin and tonic. Try ordering agua con gas (soda water) over there, and they’ll look at you like you have 10 heads. 

It’s not a Spanish excursion without a Spanish tortilla. BTW, I love the runny egg tortillas. 

Although this was a gin and tonic, the tonic water was not super sweet and not taste like musty water. 

I wanted to post a pic of the cod empanadas with an AMAZING carrot puree, but WordPress is being picky. With my mind constantly in the gutter, I love messing with the pronunciation of the Spanish word for carrot. It’s zanahoria, but I screw with the husband by saying zanaHORIA with extra emphasis on the (w)horia . . . even though you are not supposed to pronounce the “h” or hache in Spanish. 

Random recommendation: If you are visiting this place, try to commute from West to East. Going East to West, you will hit a couple of smelly fish markets on the way. The few times that I’ve been here, I had to wait a couple of minutes for my appetite to return. 

Random Thoughts Thursday: NYC Half Marathon Edition

Ok, I’m trying to get back to my normal blogging ( and yelping) life.

Here are a few things that have been running around my head (no pun) about this past half-marathon.

-I’m glad that I went for it, and the half marathon has jump-started my interest in getting my ass (literally) back in shape. Hopefully, I’m gonna follow up with some goals in upcoming posts. Once I submit this post, I’ll sign up for a few races to start my 9+1 journey to the NYC Marathon in 2020.

-Since my Apple Watch has a crack in the screen, it was kind of cool running a race without focusing on time. Actually, it was quite freeing.

-Speaking of my Apple Watch, that fucker is going to cost to $300 to fix. The damn watch was $350; I guess that I should have purchased the extended warranty.

-Seriously, where were the crowds? Now that I think of it, I finished the Half Marathon around 10 am, so maybe the race was too early for the crowds to come out and cheer for folks.

-I found out that many folks did not receive a medal. Ummmmmmm, wouldn’t NYRR know how many people registered for the United NYC Half Marathon? Perhaps, NYRR assumed that many of the registered folks would not show up to the race or not finish. You know something like, ordering 10% less food than the number of people that you invite to an event. Here’s the other thing (purely my opinion), I really do not see the point of receiving medals from races. Usually, the day after the race, my medal will go in a random bag or drawer, and I’ll probably not see it again until I move. I’m more interested in the technical tees. 

–What an inspirational story. Thomas Panek is the first blind runner to complete the half marathon with guide dogs (Westley, Waffle, and Gus).

-I wonder if this guy ran the half marathon with this basket from the security checkpoint?

-Added insult to injury. Thanks a lot for the reminder, Facebook. I was so close to meeting my goal (a sub 1:45) for the NYC Half back in 2016. I had to take a stupid poop during mile 3 three. 

-Oh, I’m not a fan of Honey Stinger Energy Gels; they are way too viscous for me.

Food Pic of the Week

Although I am not a fan of Valentine’s Day . . . AT ALL. 

The Bu made a delicious chocolate cheesecake dessert. Now, I kind of want another slice. 

 

Have a kick-ass weekend. 

15 Things on the 15th . . . 15 Facts about Me

Ok, once this entry is posted it will be the 16th; but technically, I wrote the post on the 15th. I got this idea from Tractorsandglam’s blog. 

Here goes. 

1. Legally, I do not have a middle name. In Ghana, many folks combine their middle names with their last names. When my father immigrated to the States in the early 70s, he did the same. Speaking of half-assed paperwork. On my birth certificate for the place of origin of my father, it has Africa. Really, Virginia?!!! I’m sure that on June 25th, 1980, it was well known that Africa is a continent – NOT a country
2. My favorite alcoholic beverage is gin. Most of y’all probably already knew that. 
3. I almost drowned in Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon Basin. It was scary, and I lost a really nice watch. 
4. I break out in hives whenever I see people with various types of skin disorders. Thankfully, it does not happen that much nowadays. 
5. I love all of the Friday movies. I can probably recite most of the scripts for Friday and Friday after Next. “ Yes, you did. Cause my sister-in-law’s baby cousin, Tracy. told me that she saw you at the show all hugged up with some tramp. Now, tell me who she was.”
6. Thanksgiving is my favorite family-based holiday. 
7. Although I have a Ph.D. in Molecular Oncology and Immunology, I no longer do scientific work. However, I do miss conducting biomedical research from time to time. This reminds me, I have to respond to the reviewers’ comments for my manuscript. Ugh, I’ll do it tomorrow. 
8. I really wish that I would follow more events in the news. 
9. I’m an extroverted introvert. Although I can be really social, I kind of hate meeting new people. 
10. Sometimes, I really hate being the only person of color in groups. 
11. I think that I sing (and dance) much better than I do. 
12. I wish that I was about 6 inches taller. 
13. I really loved Christina Aguilera’s Spanish language album, Mi Reflejo. I think it was released back in 2001. 
14. I have never seen a single Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie in its entirety. Oh Well. 
15. I have been in only two fist fights as an adult. Which is surprising, because I do talk quite a bit of shit. FYI: I won one and “tied” for the other one
16. (Ok a bonus fact). Sia’s “Breathe Me” makes me a little misty-eyed. I think it’s because the song was featured as the last scene during the last episode of “6 Feet Under”, one of my favorite shows of all time. 

Random Thursday

• San Antonio is a lovely city.

The Alamo at night

• I really enjoy the face-to-face experience involved with recruitment and mentoring young scientists.
• I kinda want a martini.
• I also kinda want a nap. I guess hanging till 2:00 am after a cross country airplane trip and having to wake up at 6:30 am wasn’t a good idea.
• I can’t believe that I went to a bar called Cowabunga.
• You know that you are in Texas when your uber driver picks you up in a pickup truck.

• Doesn’t this cake look nasty ass hell. Also, it did not help that there were at least six flies in the display. 

• 

I guess Iberia Air thinks that I’m German.