“Training” Recap

Hmmmm, it’s hard to write a recap, considering that I’m not really training for anything. Maybe, I need to say that I’m training to lose some freaking weight. 

Honestly, last week was a bit of a haze. I believe that I did four runs, including NYRR’s Run as One 4M race. I guess that my “training” runs last week were not that memorable.

Oh wait, I lie. 

Last week, I had to attend a conference at the Education Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey. You know, the company that administers the SAT, the GRE, AP exams, etc. Quiet as it’s kept, I did not really get that much out of the conference. One morning, I decided to skip the breakfast session and do a three mile run on ETS’ campus. Since there really is not anything out there, the run was quite pleasant. I mean, it was kind of weird running and breathing clean air and not hearing a whole bunch of city noises. The campus even had a couple of trails that I wondered off on. I wish that I had got up earlier in the morning (or skipped the second session) so I could explore the trails a little more. Oh, this reminds me that I need to send my travel receipts for my reimbursement. 

Seriously, where is EVERYTHING?

Kind of funny, but sad story.

I spent pretty much $30 bucks on cigarettes. Cigarette prices in NJ are substantially cheaper than in NYC. Rather than buying a pack in NYC, I figure that I would “save” 8-9 bucks and buy a pack in Jersey. Unfortunately, there were some train delays, and I was running late for the conference. No biggie, I’ll just buy a pack in the conference center or someplace nearby. Get to ETS’ campus, attend the morning and afternoon sessions, ask the front desk clerk where I can buy smokes (assuming there was a gas station nearby). She tells me that I would have to drive into town to buy cigarettes. Yeah, I don’t have a car (I took an Uber from the train station). Basically, I had to request an Uber to drive me into town ($9.50), buy the cigarettes ($7), then take another Uber back to the damn conference center (surge pricing, $13). Yup, $29.50 for smokes. Another annoying thing. Since I was in town, I decided to get sushi for lunch. Mainly because there was a Chinese & Japanese restaurant across the street from the 7/11 where I bought my cigarettes. Goddamnit, the waiter tells me that the restaurant doesn’t serve sushi on Tuesdays because the sushi guy doesn’t work on Tuesdays. You mean to tell me that the sushi guy cannot teach anyone how to make a freaking tuna roll?!!! Well, my Kung Pao Chicken wasn’t that bad. Actually, I may get sushi on the way home. 

Kung Pao Chicken

Also, my damn fortune cookie did not come with a fortune. 

Ha! randomly searching for these pictures in iPhoto, I came across my some notes from one of the sessions. I don’t know if my handwriting has gotten worse or stayed the same since undergrad. As long as I can read it, right?

The first line says “Mitigating Sigma Panel”

The second line says “Blacks may view tests as a reflection of negative stereotypes.”

Wow! I went off on a HUGE tangent.

During one of my crosstraining workouts, I really did not feel like listening to music so I decided to listen to a podcast from the Marathon Training Academy. I randomly selected the podcast about “Finding the Joy in Running”. This episode was right up my alley because I have been pretty nonchalant about running. Running the Run as One 4M race kind of changed that sentiment. The episode provided some reasons why one may fall out of “love” with running and tips to overcome this feeling. 

• Systems vs Goals: One will not see the results of maintaining a system compared to completing a goal. For example, directly seeing the results of cleaning a room over keeping it constantly clean. 
• Run fun races. Actually, I have never been too much of a fan of themed races (e.g. costume races). It takes me too much work just to get my regular running clothes together and make it to the start of a race on time. You mean, I gotta put together a costume?! No gracias. Well, I could be down for a race that involves beer. 
• Join a running group. I’ve completed the first step (back in Jan.), now I just have to run with the running groups.
• Switch up the types of runs/race (e.g. road races vs trail races). 
• Hire a coach. Nope, I’m too cheap. 
• Sign up for a destination race – maybe a full or half-marathon somewhere in Europe, probably Espana. 

There were a few more things, but the ones listed are the ones that I remember. Maybe I will listen to the podcast again during my bike ride to the gym home. 

Happy running (or whatever), y’all. 

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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. 

Random Thursday

Question edition.

I’m thinking of a quick summer getaway, where should I go? Unfortunately, the hubby can’t leave the US. Maybe another Philly trip? T

Which NYRR races should I register for? I still need to register for 5 more races.

Why can’t I bring myself to run with one of my running groups?

How/when did I gain so much weight? 😉 A couple of my suits are kind of tight.

(Not a question) I’m really excited to run my first race since March. It feels like it has been such a long time since the NYC Half.

Is this summer going to be super hot?

I’m becoming bored with gin, what should be my new go to liquor? Tequila?

Where have I been? Trail running is kinda fun.

Monday Training Update

Although I am not actually training for anything, I guess that I can provide some updates of what I have been up to. 

I tried to do a 7-day running streak. Unfortunately, I only ran 5 days in a row, rather than the full seven days. 😦 I did not run the two last days because I had to work late a couple of times this week and I could not wake up early. It’s the thought that counts, right?

I will say that I actually enjoyed these easy runs (~3 miles). It was quite nice just to run (or in my case, jog) just for the sake of getting out there. Plus, the weather has been lovely over the past few days. Also, it was helpful that I did not use a GPS tracker on these runs. Well, I used Strava,  but I did not really pay attention to any pacing information. As a side note: a few weeks ago, I cracked the screen of my Apple Watch, and it does not work very well. I’m on the fence between purchasing another one or not. Maybe I’ll get another one when I start actually training for stuff and running races. I think my first race of the season is this Sunday (or is it on Saturday?).

Going forward for the near future, I think that I’m going to alternate between weeks of 3 runs/week and doing 7-day streaks. We’ll see how this will play out. 

Over the past week, I have been hitting the gym and I even attended my first Zumba class in God knows how long. Why do I manage to stand behind the most struggling dancer in the entire class? It never fails.

        

It was nice to see my old “acquaintances” and my old hater fans in Zumba. 😉

Oh, wait. Since today is/was the Boston Marathon, I saw this article ( *** ) from the Washington Post about cheating in marathons in my Facebook feed. I still do not understand why people feel the need to cheat to gain entrance in this marathon. I guess that running the Boston Marathon is an honor, but how is it an honor if you cheated to get in? And, is it really THAT big of a deal?

Random Thoughts Thursday

Man, it has been so hard to update this thing. When do you folks find the time? Actually, it’s not an issue with time; but rather, an issue of not wanting to look at a computer screen at home after sitting in front of a computer screen for 8-10 hours at work. My goal is to try to update at least three times a week. We’ll see how this goes. 

On to the randomness. 

• I have been in a training lull for the past few weeks. Hopefully, that will change now that I have a few races on the calendar. 
• I still have not ran with the two running groups that I joined back in January. 😦
• Anyone check out the news about the pictures of a black hole ( *** )?
• Word on the street is that I may have an opportunity to visit Hawai’i this fall. 
• I’ve been watching old episodes of Family Matters on Hulu. As a 39-year old, I find Steve Urkel’s character to be quite annoying and distracting from the show’s focus around the Winslow family. I can understand why there were some issues with the older cast members about the character development of the Urkel. 
• The weather is finally getting nice in NYC. Spring is my favorite season.
• How do folks keep up with all of their social media accounts? Between my professional, personal, and job accounts, I have to manage 6 separate accounts. Plus, update 3 blogs. Clearly, I have not been doing a good job with blogging. 
  • Professional stuff: Twitter and LinkedIN
  • Random stuff: Instagram and Facebook. 
  • My program’s social media accounts: Instagram and Twitter
  • Running and training (I use both terms very loosely): WordPress and Squarespace (personal website)
  • My thoughts on higher education and scientific communications: WordPress. 
• My mind has been so scattered lately. 
• Married life is nice, but I have not noticed any real difference between married life and monogamous dating. Maybe, it’s due to my laidback (for the most part) personality. 

Enough randomness for now. Let’s see what y’all have been up to. 

Random Thursdays

• My first trip to Detroit, MI. For some reason, Martha and the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” has been on a constant loop in my head. Whenever I think of Motown, that’s one of the first songs that pops into my head.
• I’m kind of bummed that my hotel does not have a gym nor are there many places to run around here.
• I did attempt to do a quick Beachbody workout this morning, but there were issues streaming the workout.
• Speaking of Beachbody, I’m not a fan of Shaun T’s new tattoos.
• Yup, it is time to lose some weight because my suit pants are getting a little tight.
• I’m not wearing a full suit for the conference and I don’t mind too much.
• I wonder if there is a Crunch Gym nearby. Ha, my Uber just passed a Cruch Fitness.
• Do you use social media in your professional life? For example, do you have a separate work and personal Twitter/Insta/Facebook?

Getting my life back on track

Now, that the excitement of the United NYC Half Marathon is over, it’s time to get back to business. Buuuuut, what is my business? I really have no idea of where to go to next in terms of running and general fitness. Well, actually, I would like to drop a few pounds by the end of summer. I’m thinking around 10 – 15 pounds. Wasn’t that my plan at the beginning of the year? 😉 Over the past couple of months, I have been a little a lot laid back with working out and watching what I eat/drink, which have manifested itself into a larger beer gut.

Although I do not have anything major to train for. Note: I need to register for some NYRR races so I can do 9+1 for 2020’s NYC Marathon. I do have a long-term goal of becoming a better marathon runner. I mean, can a brother become a sub 4-hr marathon runner? I have an entry for the 2019’s NYC Marathon, which gives me about 8 months to become a better marathon runner (hopefully, no injuries will derail me). The plan for this week is to come up with a couple of preseason workout regimens (and actually stick to it/them) before I start my marathon training in the summer. Although I did not perform as well as I would have liked in the United NYC Half Marathon, it is a nice feeling to know that I can run 13.1 miles without much training.

Please hook me up with any long-term marathon training plans that you may have. All suggestions are invited and welcomed.

Personal Health:

I have a couple of things that I need to take care off.

I got a new tooth. So that is off the list. 😉

Visit a goddamn podiatrist. Actually, once I finish this entry, I am going to find one. For the past year or so, I have been dealing with a soft corn (technically a heloma molle) between my pinky and ring toes on my right foot. I did not want to put the images in this post, but you can check out what they look like here ( *** , *** ). This issue is caused by the constant rubbing/friction between my fourth and fifth toes. Yes, I know that I should have gotten this taken care of while ago, but I did not want to miss the NYC Marathon or last week’s Half-Marathon because of foot surgery. You know, it’s better to “ignore” an injury than dealing with it, which is a Y chromosome thing. Also, the pain is pretty manageable depending on the type of shoes and socks that I wear. The most common way to fix a soft corn is to have some bone shaved off of the fourth and fifth toes to provide move space preventing the two toes from rubbing on each other.

I have been trying to cut back on the cigarettes. Before going to work, I leave my smokes at home so I will not smoke during the day. It has been going ok for the past 1.5 weeks. It’s actually getting to the point where it’s going to be impossible to buy cigarettes in NYC.