Getting into a Groove

For some strange reason, Madonna’s “Into the Groove” has been in my head for the past few days . . . hence the title of today’s entry.

Some new kicks:

I have finally purchased some new running shoes, which was a bit of a struggle. Here’s the shoe story of my life. I went to a local Jack Rabbit store to purchase a pair of kicks. The salesperson was so excited (maybe it was a slow day in the store) to show me all of the new models of shoes from New Balance. After telling him the specifications of my big and wide feet, he pretty much told me that the store had only 3 options for me. From my personal experience, once you go past a size 10.5 (if the place offers half sizes past 10), running shoes options dwindle to about 50%. Then, that percentage goes down even further if you need a wide shoe. In addition to the reduced number of options, the potential running shoes tend to have the most ugly arrangement of colors.

I went with these Brooks Ghost 13 because the other option of shoes was butt ugly.

With this purchase, I feel a bit like a traitor because I have been wearing New Balance running shoes for the past decade. You know, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I took them out for a test run (errrr, drive) on a treadmill, and they seem to be ok. All is not lost because a colleague told me about Joe’s New Balance Outlet (Link: ***), which carries larger-sized running shoes. Also, I was told that they carry wide shoes up to EEEEE.

Running recap:

Even before purchasing my new kicks, I have been running about 3 - 4 times a week. Yay me! It has been a slow climb because I’m pretty much doing Galloway’s Run-Walk-Run method. With this method, I have been mostly alternating between running 400 m (or 800 m) and walking 200 m. Although I’m moving slowly, I do realize that Rome was not built in a day. Also, I am pretty happy that I’m back to running full loops in Central Park (~6mi). Hopefully, in the upcoming weeks, I can transition to more continuous running.

Over the past few months, it has been really hard to jumpstart my motivation for running. Yes, a part of this was due to my lack of interest in running outside during winter. But, I also think my low motivation was caused by not having anything to train for. I have realized that doing virtual challenges does not work for me because there is nothing like an in-person race to really get you into competition mode. While this “competition” is more with myself (or the “stopwatch”), it’s easier to push myself when I have someone running the same race.

The plan is to use the next couple of months to get in some sort of pre-marathon training shape to start training for TCS NYC Marathon. Isn’t so strange that I feel like I have to get into shape BEFORE training for a marathon? While we do not know if NYC’s marathon will happen on the first Sunday in November, it could not hurt to train for it. If this year’s marathon is canceled (again), I do not think that I will be too disappointed. Perhaps, I can settle with running a smaller full or half-marathon if the NYC Marathon is canceled. Let’s see where the next few months will take me.

Getting social:

A while ago, I wrote a post where I discussed how difficult it has been for me to integrate into my two running groups. Over the weekend, I "gave" my LGBTQ+ group another shot and volunteered to participate in the group's cheer zone for folks who were either racing or doing their long run in Central Park. I gotta say that I had a nice time cheering for my fellow runners (I guess technically they would be my teammates). Maybe I will start participating in some of the group's weekly fun runs.

Plans for the week:

-Clean/organize my running drawers. I have two full drawers dedicated to my running clothes, but the drawers are a complete mess. It’s beyond time to toss out the running clothes that I never wear. Oh, I have accumulated so many running clothes because many races give your a technical “finisher” shirt.

-Start executing a sleeping plan. I need to start getting to bed and actually going to sleep earlier so I can start my runs earlier in the morning.

-Plan to run a couple of New York Road Runner or NYCRuns sponsored races in April.

Find me on social media:

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"Speed" Demon

Just a quick entry, while I wait for my experiment to finish. 

Since I have been slightly off with my marathon (now half-marathon) training, I realize that I have been neglecting the speed work what is necessary for a long-distance training program. Ack!!! Now, there is less than 25 days and 10 hours until my race in Montreal. 

Yesterday, I decided to do three "speed" ladder intervals - 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m, 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m with minimal recovery in between intervals. I remember hating this type of workout back in high school but I did notice that my times  improved with it. With 25 days until the race, there will not be enough time to notice any differences from my speed work, but it will prepare my legs for quick sprinting that I will have do during the half-marathon. Overall, the run was kind of fun, because it was a nice change to breaking up the distances. I think that it gives your mind a chance to rest and regroup, which you do not really get an opportunity to do when running 10+ miles. Speaking of minds. I must have had early Monday morning brain because I screwed up the calculations for the first two intervals. As I showed above, the distances are in meters; whereas, my GPS tracker measure distance in miles. With my brain fart, I was equating 100 and 200 meters with 0.1 and 0.2 miles, respectively. This is crazy because: 

1. I have been involved with track and field for years, so I should know these distances quite well. 
2. I am a scientist who deals with using the metric system on a daily basis. I still do not understand why the U.S. does not use the metric system, but that subject is the topic of a different blog for a different day. 

The route in Saratoga Park in the Bed Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. 

Even though I messed up a bit with my conversations, it worked out a little bit because I ran an extra distance that I had originally planned to do. What does not kill you will make you stronger, right?

All in all it was a fun run, because the park, with its oval walkway, near my apartment building is perfect for these types of runs. 

Song of the run: Shakira's "Ciega, Sordomuda." 

Although much of Shakira's style has changed, call it an artist's evolution, this song still is one of my favorites for getting some speed out of my legs. 

Ok, so moving forward in the week. I plan to do a 7-8 mile (depending on what time I wake up and how hot it is outside) tempo run. I am going to aim for an 8:10 - 8:30 min/mi pace. Plus, I plan to do my last long run (a 12 miler) this weekend, so I can get an adequate tapering period. I have not given much thought to the route but I think that it will include the Williamsburg Bridge, downtown, and the Westside Highway in Manhattan. I do not believe that I have done any runs on the Westside of Manhattan.

NYC Half Marathon Training Run (???/45)

The East side gets no love.  

4 mi; 8'21'' min/mi; 146 ave bpm; 5, 149 steps; 428 calories.  

After class on Wednesday, I decided to do a quick run up the East River greenway into Harlem. What a  bad idea because the greenway is closed (once again) at 79 street, so my run became a back and forth run. I hate changing my running plans at the last minute.  

The route ... Sorta  

The rant 

This supposed greenway has been "in progress" since I moved to NYC -BACK in 2002!!!  The West side has its nice greenway with beautiful sights into New Jersey and various activities and parks. Where is ours (although I now live in Brooklyn, I will always be an east sider at heart)? I firgure by now, 2016, there would have been a continuous greenway that would go around the entire island of Manhattan. This probably happen in 3019, if the island of Manhattan is not underwater by that time. But, I guess you gotta make lemonade out of lemons. 

What a beautiful site, huh?

Roosevelt Island ( "the little apple in the big apple"), the East River and the Queensborough Bridge. Hey, you can see my old apartment building from here. 

This was a quick update because the mobile app did not save the previous draft, and I did not feel like rewriting the entire post.  

NYC Half Marathon 16/45 and "Treadmilling" because of a Little Blizzard

Distance: 5.02; Time: 42'38''; Pace: 8'29'' min/mi; Average BPM: 148 (but I spend 11 minutes in peak zone); Steps: 6, 414

I guess that this will be a photoless post because my Image capture does not want to sync with my iPhone. It is always something with these devices. 

Today's training charge consisted of the following:

• 0.5 mi warm up (I did 0.25mi)
• Three intervals of 1 mi fast and 0.5 mi easy
• 0.5 mi cool down (I did 0.25)

Unfortunately, NYC somewhat is still under snow so that means I had to do yet another treadmill run. Today's run has been the second treadmill run in 4 days so I am getting a little bored of it. Lucky for me, I cannot wear my contacts for the rest of the week, so I cannot really see anything while I am running. I feel like I do not push myself hard enough on the treadmill (today was a bit different). I think, similar to life, you get on a particular speed, become complacent, and stay at that speed until you are done. During my 2 mile interval, I did try to play around with the speeds to switch up my motivation a bit. I will say that  practicing my breathing techniques probably is the only good thing about running on the treadmill. Oh, maybe the ambient temperature and quick access to your water and towel play a factor too.

*I wonder if there will be a towel boy/girl on the Half marathon course?*

Since I cannot post any photo to this thing this will be a quick post. Plus, I am very busy writing  job applications. I just needed a quick time out from reading my CV for the 100, 000th time.