Transitioning

Man, it has been a long time since my last post. I am really going to try to update this thing once a week. Who would have thought that the summer would make up too much of my time. 

Quick Points:

1. Queens 5K Race Recap

2. Next Steps

1. Queens 5K Race Recap

Although I was unable to sign up for the Queens 10K (one of my favorite races because it is in another location besides Central Park), I did have a bit of a blast running the 5k. Based on my times from previous races, I actually qualified to start in the first corral . . . probably, because the majority of the "big time" runners ran the 10K. 

Race bib pickup at NYRR Annex. 

It was a little rough making it to the 7:45am start, because I had to take TWO buses from Brooklyn deep into Queens. Ack!! I had to wake up at 5:20am to make into Queens on time. Plus, I stayed out till about 1:30 am, which gave me about 3-3.5 hours of restless sleep.

I guess drinking Moscato Mamas and eating fried and honey-soaked chicken wings at Dallas BBQ the night before a race is not a great idea. 

I got a little distracted (or thought that I was smarter than Google Maps) and I got off of the bus a lot further than I wanted to. I think that the walk to the start area took about 35 minutes. This 30 minute walk was quite annoying because I only had about 10-15 minutes to stretch and mentally prepare for the race. 

No clue where I am. 

It was a cool experience starting in the A (first) corral because you could see all off of the pre-race activities, live. 

I had a "blast" (which some minor annoyances) with this course - mainly the twists and the turns that were incorporated into late course. The beginning of the course was a little tough for me, because I left my water in the bag that I checked, so I was extremely thirsty while running to the first fluid station. For many of the NYRR races the fluid stations are at every 1 mile but the first station was at mile 1.5, which really threw me off.

Queens 5K Course

All in all, I had a good run without a personal best, although I ran the 5K at a 7'25''min/mi pace. However, I do not think that the pace was too bad because I was out late the night before and I had a VERY early wake up time on race day. 

Some photos from the day. 

2. Next stages. 

I am moving through my marathon training workout plan and I now I have finished my "foundation" month. I am really excited (and a little scared) to embark on this next stage of my Montreal Marathon training. This portion of the plan will incorporate more speed and Fartlek runs to improve (hopefully) my stamina and speed. These types of workouts are great for me because I really wanted to complete this marathon in 3 hours and 45 minutes. 

Speaking of marathons: I have signed up for quite a few races to meet the 9 portion of the 9+1 NYC Marathon qualifying plan, sponsored by NYRR. In the 9+1 plan, one has to run 9 races and volunteer for one event. Here are the races that I have signed up for:

1. Achilles Hope and Possibility (4M)
2. Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe (4M)
3. NYRR R-U-N 5K
4. France Run (8K)

I just have to figure out when to do my long runs during the weeks of races. I know that some people incorporate the long runs into the race (e.g. run the race and keep running to complete the long run). But, I'm one of those people who likes to run his races as fast as possible, so fast that I will not have any energy to run another step once I cross the finish line. I guess that I will do the long run during the middle of the week for race weeks. We shall she how this goes. 

If everything goes according to plan, I will be done with all of my qualifying races by the end of August, which means I (hopefully) will be running the NYC Marathon in 2017. 

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Just running for now

QUICK POINTS

1. New training plan
2. It's hot out there
3. Marathon training runs.

1. New training plan

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am not feeling the marathon training plan that the My Asics app has constructed for me. I did not care for the program because there are no gradual long runs - basically you go from 8.5 mile weekly longs to 11.5 miles, then to 18.5 miles. However, I did find a plan that is a little more suited to how I would like to do my long runs. 

I'm in the second week of this plan and so far it is going ok. The first month of the plan lays the foundation for the rest of the 20 weeks, then the next months incorporates tempo, fartlek, and hills training runs. 

2. It is (going to be) hot as hell out there. 

Ok, so it is not THAT hot outside . . . yet. But, anyone who has experienced an NYC summer knows that July and August can be unbearable, in terms of temperature. My issue is I am a terrible runner in hot weather. For what ever reason, my body overheats VERY fast, which is weird on the genetic level because half (probably more) of my DNA comes from the Subsaharan part of Africa. For example, I did my run around 8;30am and the temperature was around 75, I did the run fine but I felt crappy at the end. At this point, 75 degrees will be nothing compared to the 90+ degree weather later in the summer when my long runs will be 15+ miles. Obviously, I managed to do it a few summers ago when training for the NYC Marathon but I just stopped for some long runs (i.e. at 18miles for a 21 mile long run), because it was too damn hot. Then, on top of that I get annoyed with holding a bottle of water for more that an hour and the sunscreen becomes all sticky and icky.

Some options:

• Do the runs at 3am
• Do the runs on a treadmill and incorporate “hills” by increasing the grade. I think that running 18 miles on a treadmill would be insanely boring. Hell, I think running 3 miles on a treadmill is insanely boring.
• Run at night. It’s still can be hot but not as bad.

Maybe the late evening/ night may be the better option. According to accuWeather , the 64F is the average temperature in Montreal during the last week of September. Perhaps, I can do the shorter runs in the heat and the longer runs at night. We will see how this plays out. Any tips or suggestions for summer running?

3. Marathon training runs

One of the cool things about living NYC is the fact you have so many different places (new and old) to see while training.

Roosevelt Island run - 4.1 miles. 

oosevelt stand is a small sliver of an island that is located in the East River. Well actually it is a tidal strait and not a river, but I guess saying the East Tidal Strait would be too much of a mouthful. I used to live on this island for about five years, so I wanted to incorporate  a short run that started on the island and ended on the Upper East Side. Also, I wanted to incorporate some hills in the run by climbing the helix toward the Roosevelt Island bridge and running across the Queensboro Bridge. The run itself was a little tough because I took a week break from running so I was getting back into sport again. 

Bushwick to Williamsburg Run 5.7 miles (supposed to be 6.0 miles)

 I was supposed to run the NYRR Retro 4-Miler race but I overslept on Sunday morning and missed the race. Argh!!! So, wasted money and a wasted 9+1 opportunity to qualify for 2017 NYC Marathon. I did an semi "in and out" run where I ran to the East River and finished the run at the gym to an HIIT workout. 

This run incorporated the Williamsburg Bridge, which has quite a bit of graffiti and kind of defines the bridge. I wonder when does graffiti becomes 'art."?

Something's amiss

QUICK POINTS:

1. Marathon training app randomness
2. First long run

1. Marathon training app randomness

The title. My graduate advisor, always used to say "something's amiss" whenever I got random results for certain experiments. This statement clearly applies to my training program that I will change in a couple of days. 

For my half marathon training plan, I used (and loved) My Asics training app because 

My Asics Run Training App

1. it's free.
2. the app is adaptive. 
3. it incorporates your training schedule into your phone calendar, so you can schedule reminders. 

Seems relatively simple, right? The issue that I am having with this program/plan is the the lack of increased long runs later in the program. Typically, in most marathon training programs, the "trainee" has to complete weekly long runs that gradually increase in distance as you progress through the program. In July - August (10-16 weeks) of the My Asics Training app program, I would be alternanting between 8.5 and 11.5 miles for my long runs. However, my first REAL long run (18.5) occurs at the end of August - four weeks before the marathon. Most training programs have a runner complete 16-18 around week 16/17; however, one gradually increases to that distance. In this program, you upgrade from 11.5 to 18.5 miles within a week. This seems crazy to me. 

I think that I will keep the app but just do my own training plan . . . maybe it will adapt to a real program. However, I will follow the program outlined in this Stackfitness.com article, written by Matt Fitzgerald. 

   Hopefully, this new plan will give me a little more confidence to train for the Montreal Marathon. 

2. First Long Run

I completed my first week of training last week and I had a nice little 6 mile (I was supposed to do 5.5) run in Central. I did a general route but I ran north on the West side of the Park rather than on the East side of the Park. 

The weather was nice and the Park was relatively empty; perhaps, the Brooklyn Half Marathon had a role in reduction of weekend runners. I did a very easy, laid back run at a 9'12'' min/mi pace, which is off a submarathon pace (9'00'' min/mi). But, it was the first 3 mile plus run that I have completed since the Half Marathon 

Song of the run

Getting back on that "horse"

I have been a little busy for the past few weeks with life and with trying to enjoy our fake spring here in NYC. But, it now is time to get back to working and maintaing this "blog." And what do I mean by "working"? MARATHON TRAINING. I have decided to test my "luck" and the power in my back, ass, thighs, calves, and feet and run the Rock n Roll Marathon de Montreal in September.

Over the past few years, Montreal has become one of my favorite cities in North America and I need a reason to visit this wonderful city every year. I think running 26.2 miles through a city is a pretty good reason to visit this laid-back town.

The course, itself, looks pretty easy . . . once you get over the running 26.2 miles part. However, there appears to be a "nice" and long incline for about 8 miles after the first third of the run. I guess that I will have to incorporate more hill work (something that I did not focus on with my first NYC marathon) - good thing there are no shortages of bridges in NYC. 

Ready . . . Set . . . RUN!!!!! Over the next 132 days, I must complete 85 training runs which will consist of over 521 miles, based on my interactive My Asics marathon training app.

See ya on the streets.