Race Report: Run as One (4M)

Date: April 20, 2019; 8:30

Distance: 4M

Place: Central Park

Weather: 62 F; 100% Humidity with rain

Finishers: 6,108 total (3,245 men / 2,863 women)

Office time / pace: 37:49 / 9:28 min/mi

This race’s major sponsor’s, the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation, main goal is two raise awareness for lung cancer. 

BTW, how cute were the bibs for this race?

It was a struggle getting to this race. One thing that most may not know about me is that I hate running in extreme heat and in the rain. “Extreme” can mean anything above 75 F. 😉 I really debated running this race; but by 8:05am, I finally decided that I would go through with the race. . . keep in mind that the race started at 8:30 am. I pretty much had to “speed ride” from Harlem to the start, about 3 miles. According to Strava, I started my bike journey at 8:21 am. Fortunately, NYRR races have stagged starts. By the time I arrived to Central Park (~8:45 am) many of the runners had not started the race. 

 

Since I would like to get faster at some point in my life, I wanted to employ a strategy of sprints and recovery during the race. The plan was a general easy jog (Mile 1 and 2); fartleks (Mile 3); recovery for 0.5 mi and full “sprint” for 0.5 mi (Mile 4). Yeah, none of that crap happened. Well, I did fartlek during Mile 3. By the time, I arrived at the start, I was kind of pooped because riding a Citibike to the start (there were a few inclines in my route). Also, between my leg work out on Thursday and Citibike’s big ass seats, my ass was pretty sore. I do not have too much to complain about this race or my performance because this was my first race in a month and I recently started running again. I did notice that I was a bit winded on some of Central Park hills but I think the humidity had a bit to do with that (or maybe the cigarettes are finally catching up to me, no pun) Also, with my recent runs, I have not really been pushing myself that much. Hopefully, that will change starting this week. 

 

One of the worst things happened to me during this race. No, not an injury, but my freaking headphones died. This probably was the first time that I’ve ever run a race without any music. Well . . . I had music for the first quarter mile It was a very weird experience; however, I definitely prefer listening to music. I was getting quite annoyed hearing people huffing and puffing down my damn back. 

It was quite nice to actually race, and I’m glad that I decided to run in the rain. Oh, after the race, I had planned to do a recovery run home. I only made it 1 mile in the recovery run before saying fuck it and hopping on a Citibike. 

A couple of questions:

1. Where the hell was the Gatorade after the race? 
2. Why don’t walkers move to the outer edges of the racing pack?
3. For Strava users: Why does the time change when you record a run as a race rather than as a workout?

I’m looking forward to my next race: Japan 4M; May 12. Let’s see if there can be an improvement in time in a few weeks. 

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I know that I have been MIA

I’ve been dealing with some stuff. Buuuuut, it’s not like many people read this thing. 

Well, I have a feeling that the NYC Half will not happen for me. Does anyone have a 10-day half-marathon training plan that they can hook me up with? The last time I ran any significant distance (5+ miles) was over three weeks ago.  Perhaps, I will do my 2017 NYC Marathon game plan for this half-marathon: run the first half “strong” and see where the rest of the race takes me. Hopefully, it will not take me to the emergency room. 

As most of my readers know, I do not really get into the details of my personal life, aside from my pooping, drinking, smoking, and general randomness. BUUUUUUT, I got married on Friday!!! Most of the time from my last entry involved entertaining out of town and out of the country guests. Today, my liver was like: you got one more day of drinking and eating fatty foods, bitch. 

I feel like my Ernie doll, and Burt is MIA.

Catch you on the streets. 

Race Report: Ted Corbitt 15K

Date: December 8th, 8:30 am

Distance: 15K

Place: Central Park, New York, NY

Weather: 29 F, 54% humidity

Finishers: 4,971 total (2,553 men / 2,418 women)

Official time / pace:  1:31:02 / 9:46 min/mi

Swag: Long-sleeved tech shirt

 

This 15K race honors the life of Ted Corbitt, who was the first president of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and the first African-American to compete in the Olympic marathon. During his life, he ran over 223 marathons and ultramarathons, so many cool achievements!!!

Going into this thing, I was not really feeling the race because the weather report called for mid 20 F temperatures. Y’all know that I don’t mess around with super cold or super hot weather. However, I am glad that it did not rain or snow.

I was not feeling mentally strong going into this race, because of a couple of struggling ass short runs during the week. I did a (near) 5 mile run on Thursday, and it was so much of a struggle to finish. WTF? I just ran a marathon last month, but I was struggling to finish a 5-mile run. Since this race takes runners through two loops in Central Park, the plan was to run the first loop and do 400m and/or 800m walk/run intervals for the remaining distance.

Getting to the start was a little of a struggle because I did not set my alarm the night before. Why do I self-sabotage myself so much? I woke up at 6:30ish in the morning and was like I can sleep for about 15 more minutes. Yeah, I guess that 15 minutes became 60 minutes. Well, why did you do that? The race starts near 102nd St. in Central Park, and I live in Central Harlem in the low 120s. Basically, the distance is about a mile or so from the start. I am so glad that I laid out all of my clothes the night before. At 7:30 am, I started preparing the coffee, took a poop (while smoking a cigarette), threw on my clothes, hopped on a Citibike, and biked to Central Park just as the race was starting. I did not mind starting near the back of the pack (even though I was assigned to the B corral) because I knew that I was going to be a little lot slow for this race. Come to think of it, I did not stretch before starting.

Ok, let’s get to the damn race.

The race started off really slow even for being near the back. I think the cold made folks a little cautious about slipping. Also, I think many folks are still coming off of the marathon and were doing this race to finish up their 9+1 requirements for next year’s NYC Marathon. I think that I had the perfect amount of clothes for this race/weather. I never felt too cold or too hot.

Head: a Baseball cap and a head/ear band

Upper body: A singlet, two long-sleeved technical tees, and a very, very light hoodie

Lower body: A pair of shorts, tights, and over the calf socks

Hands: I only needed my gloves for the bike ride to and from Central Park

The crowd was pretty packed for most of the first loop (~4 miles). I decided that it would be too much work to zig in and out of the pack to pass people, so I figured that I would just “enjoy” the race. Although the weather was below freezing, I’m really glad that it was a sunny morning. Actually, it was a very picturesque run. Too bad that I could not take many pictures . . . dumb iPhone. I remember last year that it snowed a little bit towards the end of the race so this year’s race was leaps and bounds better than last year’s.

Finishing the first loop, we were able to see some of the elite runners finish. Man, they were so freaking fast. Ok, the annoying part of the run where I wasted some time.

I wanted to shoot a quick video of the top three runners, but my phone died. It’s getting that time of the year when my phone does not do well in cold temperatures. Before shooting the video, the phone’s battery was at 60%. After the quick, five-second video, the battery went to 2%, and the phone died. I am so glad

that I had my iPhone external battery/case. If you are in the market for a case/external battery, I highly recommend this case from Gasopic ( *** ). I completely charged my phone back to 90% and there was still 75% of reserved juice in the case. Although it’s a little bulky, I love this thing.

I think that my second loop went better than the first. Although I have not really investigated my splits, I definitely was passing folks and did intervals between two light posts starting at mile 7.

Interesting randomness:

• I ran a better marathon this year.
• I ran a faster Ted Corbit last year.

What’s the point of this info? I figure since I was in better shape this year, based on my marathon finish, I would do a better job for this year’s Ted Corbitt run. I guess that you can never use one metric for predicting your finish for a run.

Last year’s Ted Corbitt 15K

This year’s Ted Corbitt 15K

Eh. Oh well . . . what’s done is done.

With the conclusion of this race, I earned my 9+1 guaranteed entry for next year’s TCS NYC Marathon. 

Man, there were so many people waiting in a line to take a picture with the 9+1 sign. I swear, NYCers love to wait in lines for the most random shit. I pretty much took a selfie and kept it moving. It was far too cold to be bullshitting around in a line. 

I hopped on a Citibike and rode my ass home, and the BF had breakfast waiting for me!!!!

• Anyone else doing NYRR’s 9+1 program for next year’s marathon? If so, which race was your favorite?

Random Thursdays

I’m trying to get back into my weekly flow of blogging again. I seem to have fallen off of the wagon with blogging . . . although, it’s not like I have a million followers, so whatever. 

Ok, let the randomness begin

• What the hell are the kids (not) learning in high school? Last week in my Biology lab section, I was lecturing about X-linked disorders, which meant a discussion about hemophilia among the various royal families. Please tell me why none of my students knew anything about the Bolshevik revolution? Not even my student who has an Eastern European background.
• Why do people enter and exit the elevators so damn slow? I’m like hurry the hell up and get out of the goddamn elevator because I have 80 million emails that need responses.
• I start my United NYC Half Marathon training plan next Monday. I’m a little afraid because I HATE running in the cold (and in the extreme heat for that matter).
• From the start of my training period, I’ll have 69 days until the Half-Marathon.
• Speaking of 69 and being random. I have a tattoo of the cancer astrological sign (a horrible mistake from my early 20’s). Back then, I kind of went a little crazy when I moved to NYC – I had red hair, got a couple of tattoos and a few piercings. Anywho, most people think I got a 69 tattooed onto my shoulder. 

I mean, it’s a 69 if you turn your head to the damn side

• I still do not really understand Instagram. Maybe I’m doing it wrong. BTW, you can find me @Swosei12.
• My office group is having a holiday potluck. What should I make? Someone already stole my plan to make a tres leches cake. 
• Why are many of my favorite YouTube personalities beefing with each other. I swear they are all in cohots with eat other. 
• Woo hoo!!! Saturday is the last race (Ted Corbitt 15K) that I need to run for my NYRR’s 9 + 1 program for 2019’s NYC Marathon. 

Ted Corbitt 15K

• This bar should change the sign to say – You can pee for a fee. 

Take it easy, y’all

Race Report: Race to Deliver 4M

Date: November 18th, 8:30 am

Distance: 4M

Place: Central Park, New York, NY

Weather: 42 F, 51% humidity

Finishers: 5,283 total (2,416 men / 2,867 women)

Official time / pace:  34:24 / 8:30 min/mi 3

Swag: Long-sleeved tech shirt

This is a race where running and charity come together. Race to Deliver with God’s Love We Deliver is an organization that provides food to NYCers who live with severe illness. God’s Love We Deliver has provided 1.8 million meals to over 7,000 people, which is quite a feat. This organization has been providing these meals for over 30 years, and this was the 25th anniversary of the race. After running this race last year, I looked into volunteering with this organization, but most of the volunteer slots are during weekdays (mornings and early afternoon), which did not really work with my schedule. Perhaps, I will visit the site again (after writing this post) to look into volunteer opportunities. 

I was a little tired when I arrived at the start because I flew into NYC the night before. What’s with me and flying the day before races? But, it was not a big deal because the race is only four miles. Although I had a B corral assignment, I decided to go to the C corral. After starting, I guess that I should have gone to D or E because those folks started out REALLY fast . . . for me. One of my upcoming fitness/running goals (a post on that later) is to become a faster runner.

Technically, I guess that I did become a faster runner because my stats from last year’s Race to Deliver Run was 35:21 min with 8:51 min/mi pace. 😉 Yes, I know that this probably is not a significant improvement from last year’s race.

There is not too much to write about this race, because it was a simple (near) loop in Central Park. I did not really run with any goal in mind, so I was really surprised that I ran faster than last year’s race. Maybe I was hungover (or still drunk) for last year’s race. 😉 Actually, now that I think about it, this year’s time would have been faster, but I had to take off one of my shirts and tie it around my waist.

After the race, I hopped onto CitiBike and rode about 3 miles home. All in all, it was pretty general and ho-hum run.

On my bike ride home, I saw this castle-like building, which I have never seen in the 16 years of living in NYC.

Random Thoughts: Ultramarathon

Although I have not run any distance farther than 26.2 miles, I have to give mad props (do folks still say that anymore?) to the folks who ran the NYRR 60K, which was held the day before this race. The running field was quite small with only ~300 runners. On top of that, the 60K is about 9 loops in Central Park. Running 26.2 miles through five boroughs takes some mental fortitude, and I can only imagine what mental strength you would need to run 9 loops and see the same crap 9 times. I do not have any desire to ever run this race. I would not mind running a 60 K (maybe), but it definitely would have to be in the woods or along a route where the scenery would change from time to time. In addition, it would take extra strength because this is not a popular race so the crowds are slim to none. Many times, the energy of the crowd is what got me through certain parts of the NYC marathon. Again, mad props to the runners and finishers of NYRR’s 60K.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving week. 

Race Report: Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K

It’s been so long since I ran a race that I’ve forgotten my general template for the race reports.

Date: November 3rd, 8:45 am 

Distance: 5K 

Place: Manhattan, New York, NY

Weather: 53 F, 86% humidity

Finishers: 10, 859 total (5,113 men / 5,746 women)

Official time / pace:  30:24 / 9:47 min/mi

Swag: Beanie hat

This was the first time that I have participated in this race. In previous years, I thought the race was far too expensive for a 5K. I totally understand the need for the high price tag since NYC has to close quite a few streets for this race. However, this time around I was really behind on my 9+1 schedule. Also, there was NO WAY in hell that I was going to run the Midnight 4M on Dec. 31st, which is the last race of the year. 

I was very fortunate to make it to this race because I arrived at my apt around 2-2:30 am after my trans-Atlantic flight. However, I knew that skipping this race was not an option if I wanted to have guaranteed entry into 2019’s NYC Marathon. 

On to the race. 

This race starts at the United Nations, takes you pass Grand Central, New York Public Library, and through Central Park.  Aside from running through the streets NYC, which is rare for many of NYRR races, one of inviting features of this race is the chance to run the last part of the NYC Marathon in Central Park.

Arriving at the start was so invigorating because everyone was in high spirits because of the NYC Marathon, which is the day after this race. There was representation from so many countries; I saw huge contingents from France, England, and Argentina. 

I really did not put much effort, like most folks, running this race. Since I was jet-lagged, the plan was to walk the first half and do some sprints for the second half; however, I ended up jogging the whole thing.

Since this race was a few weeks ago, I can’t remember the details of how I ran (or rather how I jogged). I do remember that I really was not feeling the run. All I wanted to do was to get my bib at the Marathon Expo and have a long, long sleep to rest up for the marathon.

After the race, I treated myself to a breakfast quesadilla, which tasted more like a punishment instead of a treat.

 

I’ve been such a bad blogger

Could a brotha write an update every now and then?

Life has been super intense these past couple of weeks. I guess that I have not fully caught up from my vacation in Madrid, the marathon, and recruiting for my school at a conference. These are the things that I hope to update in the next few days.

Race report: Race to Deliver (4M)

Coming up with a year-long marathon (and diet) workout/training plan

My trip to Indianapolis 

Debating if I should start a higher education in STEM and scientific blog. I started a scientific blog last year, but I could not consistently update when I started my job search. BTW, I celebrated my year anniversary at my new job.

Toe injury update. OH, I should make my doctor’s appointment ASAP.

Book Report: The history of the marathon

I’ll be back later

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