Running Topics: What running stories do you tell over and over?

What running stories do you tell over and over?

How did I get into running?

During my postdoc years, I used to ride my bicycle ~4 miles to work. One day, both of my bike's tires were flat. Since I did not feel like changing the tires, and I was already wearing my athletic clothes, I decided to run the four miles to work. After a few runs, I started adding more distance to my morning runs going from 4 miles to about 7 miles. One of my coworkers took notice that I was running to work and asked if I was training for something. Although I told her that I was not training for anything, she mentioned that if I ran X number of races and joined New York Road Runners (NYRR), I could run NYC Marathon in the following year. Also, she mentioned that racing was a great way to monitor my progress. The funny thing: at that point, I had lived in NYC for about nine years, without having any idea that NYRR (or any other organizations) hosted weekly races.

The one time I missed my half marathon goal by four minutes.

Ok, so a lot of people miss their running goals by a few minutes, but this one was for a dumb reason. For a NYC Half Marathon (I think 2013), I set a goal to run a 1:45 half. For this course, half marathoners did a full loop in Central Park, ran through Times Square, then down West Side Highway to Battery Park. Before the race, I had the feeling that I needed to poop, but I just thought that it was pre race jitters. Plus, I really wasn't in the mood to poop in a porta potty. However during the Central Park portion of the half marathon, I told myself that I better poop before leaving Central bc I would not know when I would see another porta potty. Unfortunately, I waited in line for about 4-5 minutes, and I don't remember how much time my poop took. Since I knew that I wasn't going to make my time goal, I decided to take it a bit easier during the race, which meant taking selfies in Times Square. Hey, Times Square is closed to automobile traffic only two times a year: 1. New Year's Eve and 2. NYC Half Marathon. I guess that I made up some time while running (or my poop break wasn't as long as I thought), because I finished a lot closer to 1:45 (I think it was like 1:49) than I had anticipated.

Sometimes, I wonder that if pushed myself harder after taking my poop during the race and skipped taking photos and selfies, maybe I would have met my goal of 1:45. Hence my McKayla Maroney "face" from above.

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Random thought while looking for pics from this half marathon: I remember thinking that I was so chubby back then. Now, I would "kill" to be this size again.

Crapping on myself

A few years back, there was a trend of taking ice baths after running (or any intense workout). I think folks still do this because I still see a couple of videos/reels on social media. Peer pressure got the best of me, so I figured why not. While sitting in the my bathtub full of ice water (after a 15- or 18-mile run), I took a fart...no biggie right? Next thing I know, the water in the tub starting to turn brown. The funny thing: During those days, I would treat myself to a Slurpee after my long runs. So I guess the only thing that my body processed before my ice bath was water, gatorade, Gu, and the Slurpee. So my shit water had a "pleasant" smell of Sour Patch Kids (the flavor of my large Slurpee).

Since then, the smell of Sour Patch kids always reminds me of that incident. Also, I never took an ice bath after that incident.

Running NYRR's New Year’s Eave (NYE Run for the first time

Like I mentioned above, NYRR has a program where if you run nine races and volunteer for one, you can gain a spot in the upcoming year's NYC Marathon. For whatever reason, I struggled to fit in all nine of my races in a calendar year. I have a feeling that I might have been injured or maybe a lot of NYRR races conflicted with my weekend teaching schedule. So the NYE Run (4 miles) is the last race of the season where you can meet the nine-race requirement. It just so happened that my 1st year running this race was one of the COLDEST winters that I experienced in NYC as a runner. I think the temperature was around 13F, but it felt like 7-8F with the wind chill. For the this race, there's sparkling cider at the 2 mile mark. While there was sparkling cider, all of the cider was completely frozen...not that I was planning on stopping to have sparkling cider toast with my fellow runners.

Running Topics: Do you consider yourself a runner or a person who runs?

Do you consider yourself a runner or a person who runs? In other words, do you consider running part of your identity, or a thing you do?

My short and easy answer to this prompt is BOTH. This response is based on comparing myself to others. Yes, I know we are not supposed to compare ourselves to other folks. But hey, I "used" to be a scientist, and a lot of my research conclusions were based on comparing results to to baselines.

Kwame as a person who runs:

Typically, I see myself as a person who runs while chatting with other runners. When looking at or listening other runners' blogs, podcasts, social media platforms, general conversations, etc., I'll consider myself more of a person who runs rather than a runner. Yes, I have run "everything" from 5Ks to marathons, and (for now) running a marathon is supposed to be a thing that "makes" you a "runner". At the end of the day, I do not see myself as a runner because I'm not as involved/engaged with the running community - whether in real life or virtually. For instance, I'll show up to a race, run the race, redeem my beer/wine beverages (when applicable), and go home...or go to brunch.

To be perfectly honest, outside of this blog and a few IG/Twitter posts (ok, many posts), I do not really talk about running that much. Yes, I'll mention an upcoming race or a training plan with folks, but I don't get too much into all of details.

Part of this sentiment is due to me being a very average (maybe even below average) runner, and "good" runners (IMO) tend to want to associate with other good runners. For instance, I mentioned in a previous blog that I reached out to my (soon to be former) running club about its marathon training program. Long story short, I pretty much was told that I was too slow (based on my most recent half marathon time) for the program. This type of interaction made me feel like I'm just a person who runs. No worries about the coach's response, because I quickly got over it and kept it moving.

Even when I listen to some running-based podcasts about experiences in racing or training, I often find myself zoning out of the episode or simply not caring. Do not get me wrong, I do find many running-based podcast episodes very entertaining and informative. However, I have to "force" myself to listen all the way through on many occasions. While some of the podcasters that I listen to are merely talking about about their experiences with running, many tend to boast about their achievements. Then again, some runners (or non-runners) might think that I boast in my blog updates. So, I guess all of this is relative.

Outside of my blog and the few social media accounts that I follow, I have NO idea what's going on in the running world. I definitely would be hard pressed to name five male and female runners. It's kind of funny because back in the day when I was not a runner (or a person who runs), I could list dozens of runners (primarily short and middle distance) without really thinking. Now, that's not the case. Eh, I guess it is what it is.

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Kwame as a runner:

I tend to see myself as a runner when I talk to people who do not run or hate to run. I usually have this sentiment when someone asks me something like: How do you run for long? Why do you run? Don't you find it boring? What's the point of running a marathon if/when you have no chance of winning? LOL. I remember a coworker saying (in good fun): You know, 2nd place is the 1st loser. When I look at the dichotomy of this question from this lens, I tend to consider myself a runner when I'm placed on the defensive. Usually with these types of questions, I feel like I HAVE to defend why I run or convince someone that I enjoy running. One little thing about me: I will defend myself verbally without changing my mindset until the cows come home. However, as I have gained more years on this Earth, I have been a bit more open minding and will follow up with a "well, we will have to agree to disagree".

Back in my NYC days, I loved participating in races, and I have been desperate to find races in my new home state of Maryland. Ok, so in NYC, I primarily ran New York Road Runners (NYRR) sponsored races for its 9+1 Program for guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon. However, I remember always (well, most of the time) looking forward to certain races. In this case, since I spent money on race fees and (in a few cases) have travelled to another state or country to run a race, I'll consider myself a runner over a person who just runs. Because if you are not really into doing something, you are not going to pay to do it...or at least my cheap a** will not. ;)

I have been known to fall into a slight depression (albeit for a couple of days) when I realize that I cannot run a particular race due to time constraints or an injury. Also, I routinely experience the common post-marathon blues after completing a marathon. I guess because of these feelings I am a runner because a non-runner would not become upset or sad over these issues.

Conclusions:

For me, I guess it's hard to come up with a clear cut answer of being a runner vs being a person who runs. Part of this is due to me (as well as other folks) having "multiple" identities. That sounds bad; as if I'm talking about multiple personality disorders. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are made up of multiple aspects that truly define us. So (IMO), it is hard to take one part of yourself to define who you truly are. Nowadays, I think there is so much emphasis to place folks into a particular box, i.e., if you are X then you HAVE to be Y. During my teen and very young adult years (I guess sometimes now), I would have to downplay an aspect or two of myself depending on my situation. I guess I did not HAVE to do this, but I felt it was necessary. A couple of examples:

In college, I would downplay listening to rock and alternative music because I would be accused (by some) for trying to be White. Note: I attended a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), so most of my in-person college friends were Black. However, since I went to a predominantly White high school, I would downplay how much I enjoyed Rap and Hip Hop because I wanted to be "more approachable" by my classmates and did not want to be associated with negative stereotypes/biases. I guess nowadays, they call this code switching.

During my travels, I tend to downplay being in the LGBTQ+ community. I will not flat out deny being gay, but I will not go into great detail of my experiences being in the LGBTQ+ community, UNLESS I feel 100% comfortable. I remember being so annoyed/upset with my fake ex boyfriend during our trip to Panama. Well, MY trip to Panama. A trip, in which he was NOT invited BTW. He used the information about my trip, bought a ticket, and a week before my trip was like "surprise, I'm coming" with you. Anywho, one night I told him to stop telling people that we were gay and "dating". Not that I was ashamed. I felt like we were playing with fire because we did not if that part of the country is gay-friendly or intolerant.

All in all, I think it's perfectly acceptable to have multiple identities when describing a specific aspect of your life. If you are a runner, GREAT. If you are a person who runs, GREAT. As long as you are happy with who you are, who cares what others think? I guess I should practice what I preach. This consideration reminds of a saying that I recently heard: What someone else eats does not affect how I sh*t.

NYC Marathon (???) Training - CANCELED

NYC Marathon

Well, the word is out, and we know that the TCS NYC Marathon is not going to happen in November.

Courtesy of The New York Times

Although many folks are upset, I agree with the New York Road Runner's (NYRR) decision not to hold this international, multi-day, 50,000+ running event. Also, I'm glad NYRR let us know in June (at the beginning of most folks' training plans) rather than waiting until September or October to cancel. I will say that NYRR has provided some very fair deferment offers. One can claim a guaranteed entry for '21, '22, or '23 without paying again. Also, one can receive a full refund of his/her entry fees or donate the fees to NYRR's outreach programs. 

Even though I kind of knew that the marathon was going to be canceled, I had planned to train for it and to run only the second half the marathon's course on Nov. 1st, which would take me through 4 out of the 5 boroughs. However, I think that I'm going to modify this training plan because I am not in any kind of shape to train for a marathon. I gotta face facts. 

The main reason for changing this plan: I've gained a good 10 pounds since March, which has made me super slow . . . not that I was a super-fast runner before the weight gain. This is really sad because I was LOSING weight while training for Madrid's Marathon, which was supposed to be held in April. Stupid pandemic. Overall, my cardio "strength/power" has significantly gone down over the past few months in quarantine. At this point, I can hardly get through 3 miles without taking a walk break. So I do not see myself doing any type of long run (10+ miles) anytime soon. Rather than training for a full marathon, I think that I'll focus on training for a half marathon with emphasis on improving my cardio stamina.

What’s next?

Running Challenge 1: One NY Virtual Challenge (Link: ***)

Let’s virtually run 1000K from Buffalo, NY to NYC (more specifically Times Square).

Running Challenge 2: NYCRuns Subway System Challenge (Link: ***)

How long will it take me to run 245 miles - the number of miles between NYC subway system of 472 stations?

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My Running Story

Since nothing has really been happening racing front, I figure that I can use this opportunity to reflect on how running has become an integral part of my life.

Running in high school and college

I was a cross country and long-distance track runner in high school. For track and field, my events were the 1600 m and 3200 m. Every now and then, I would run the 800 m, but I absolutely hated running it because it’s not really a sprint, but it’s not really long-distance. Back then, I was not really into running, but it was a means to beef up my extracurricular activities. You know, that one needs something to offset Yearbook Club and Greco-Roman Club. ;)

Although I was not eligible (or interested) in a college athletic scholarship for cross country, I was a walk-on member of Xavier University of Louisiana’s cross country team. Ummmmm, yeah. . . I pretty much walked off of the team after a couple of days. Since practice started at 5:30 am as a means to avoid running in the humidity of New Orleans, I knew that running cross country in college just was not in the cards for me. Also, I had a feeling that I would not want to wake up before 7/8 am during my college years.

Jumping back into running

From 1998 to 2010, I ran for exercise pretty sporadically. In order to get my fix of physical torture, I became more of a cyclist and participated in multiple 50 mi, 75 mi, and 100 mi bike tours.

Some of my biking routes

During my postdoc, I commuted to work (Roosevelt Island to the UES) by bicycle. At this time, I was commuting on an expensive road bicycle (thanks to a really generous monetary gift from a family member), which was light as a feather. The problem with commuting on my light-as-a-feather road bike was constantly having to change flat tires. The roads of NYC are not bicycle-friendly, especially if your bicycle has very thin wheels.

My bicycle’s parking space at work . . . a closet with some of my lab’s radioactive waste.

One February morning, I saw that BOTH of my bicycle tires were flat. Frustrated with the common situation, I figured that I would just run to work. I mean, I already was wearing my athletic clothes and really did not feel like changing and inflating my bicycle’s tires. After a few weeks of running 3.5 mi to work, I started extending these runs. For example, I would run one loop around Roosevelt Island (~3.5 mi), then run my normal route across the Roosevelt Island Bridge, through a bit of Queens, across the 59th Street Bridge, and through a bit of the UES (another 3.5 mi). But, weren’t you sweaty and gross arriving to work? Fortunately for me, there was a Crunch fitness near my job so I would finish my run at the gym, shower, change, and walk 10 blocks to work.

Of course, when coworkers and friends hear that you have started running as a form of exercise, they always ask when you are going to run a half- or full marathon. Since my postdoc lab had a few runners, a couple of my colleagues/coworkers asked this question a few times.

Running and the New York Road Runners (NYRR)

When asked about running a marathon, I looked at folks as if they had 10 heads. To be perfectly honest, I really despised the NYC Marathon (my only marathon reference at the time) because of all of the '“marathon-induced” street closures that would impact my activities every first Sunday in November. One of my coworkers, who would run 7-10 miles during her lunch break told me about New York Road Runner’s 9+1 guaranteed entry program. Basically, if you run nine races and volunteer for one race, you will have a guaranteed spot in the following year’s marathon. So I thought, why not? I joined NYRR, started filling up my race calendar, and became hooked on racing . . . especially half marathons.

First Marathon (NYC Marathon, 2013)

During 2012, I ran all of my nine NYRR marathon-qualifying races plus a few more so I was all set to run NYC Marathon on November 3, 2013.

A few medals for my efforts

Training for the marathon was a bit grueling. I take that back. Training was not THAT difficult, but it was tough for me to stick to a training plan . . . especially when it came to the 13+ mi long runs during the hot summer months. Going into my first marathon, I wanted to have a sub 4 hr time. After the first 8 miles of the marathon, I knew that goal would not happen. But, while running this marathon, I changed my focus to running for fun and enjoying the marathon experience. Well . . . as much fun as one can have running 26.2 miles.

Doing my thing during NYC Marathon 2013. Man, I’m still mad at myself for losing my green racing cap.

(courtesy of New York Road Runners)

My favorite moments of my first marathon:

• Taking the Staten Island Ferry packed with excited marathoners first thing in the morning. Since Hurricane Sandy canceled the previous year’s marathon, the running field was the largest in the history of the NYC Marathon.

• Entering the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn after crossing the Verrazano Bridge. The excitement of the crowd was so powerful. I had to laugh at people holding signs that said “You got this! Only 25 miles to go!!!”

• Seeing familiar faces along the course.

• Entering Manhattan after crossing the 59th Street Bridge. The roar and energy from the crowds on First Avenue were very invigorating, which was very helpful at Mile 16. Man, the roaring was so loud that I could not hear my music.

• Crossing the multicolored finish line and getting my medal.

• Having a steak dinner and a couple of gin and sodas (I think there may have been champagne too) with friends after finishing. Boy was I starving. Right before dinner, I ate an ENTIRE apple (including the core) from my post-marathon goody bag.

My (un)favorite moments of my first marathon:

• The time waiting to start. Since it was my first marathon, I took either the 1st or 2nd ferry to Staten Island because I feared that I would not make it to the start in time for my wave. I think I took the 6 am ferry for a 10 am start. Although arriving to something four hours early seems a bit crazy, but the logistics of getting to the start were kind of intense. You had to take the ferry over, wait in a long ling to take the bus to the start village, pass the security checkpoints, find your village (green, blue, or orange), and deal with bag drog. But they say that it’s better to be 3 hrs early than one second late.

• The 59th Street Bridge. This bridge has a steady incline, which normally is fine; but it’s a bit annoying after running 15 miles. I would learn later that the 59th Street Bridge will always be the thorn in my side for the NYC Marathon.

• The 59th Street Bridge (II). Unfortunately, I tripped TWICE while running across this bridge. Quite a few runners abruptly would switch sides while running across the bridge; probably so they could get on the correct side before entering Manhattan to see their friends and families. One person cut right in front of me, we tripped. Another person dropped his/her water bottle; I stepped on it and fell.

• Although I did not physically hit the wall (i.e. completely depleting my glycogen stores), I did have a small mental breakdown around Mile 21. This is the portion where you enter Manhattan for the second time. Man, I was over the whole thing. Fortunately for me, a couple of my fellow runners gave me a bit of a pep talk. This is the point of the marathon where I wish that I did not put my name on my shirt because I was sick of people calling out my name (or rather my initials). Yeah, I was a bit of a crabby patty at that point, but my attitude did change for the better when we entered Central Park around Mile 23.

• My first shower and the day after. Oh my word, water + soap + chaffing = a horrible nightmare of pain. The next morning I was sore . . . everywhere. The next day when I ordered sushi for lunch, I had to call the delivery guy waiting outside of my apartment and ask him to leave food outside of my apartment because I was too sore to walk and open the door. For future marathons, I make it point to go out and walk around to help with recovery. After my second NYC Marathon (or was it my third?), I went to work the next day. Technically, I did not really want to work, but I had to start an important 7-day experiment that I wanted to repeat once more before Thanksgiving break.

• Post marathon blues. A week or so after the marathon, I lost all sense of meaning because I dedicated four months of training for this huge event and now it was over.

The takeaway because this is getting long

Although running my first marathon was tough, I knew that I would want to run more in the future. I wish that I performed better, but I would not change my experience for anything. Because of COVID-19, the future for NYC Marathon 2020 looks pretty bleak. This is really unfortunate because we should be celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the NYC Marathon. Last week, Boston canceled its marathon (which was already moved from April to September) for the first time in its 124-year history. Looking forward, I guess NYC can really celebrate in 2026, which will mark the 50th year anniversary for the five-borough NYC Marathon.

A little bit of trivia

The original NYC Marathon (1970) was multiple loops in Central Park. To celebrate the U.S. bicentennial in 1976, a marathon that hit all five boroughs was proposed. Although this five-borough marathon was supposed to be a one-time event, it was such a success that it became the marathon course that we know today.