Training Update, Fred Lebow Half Marathon: Week 1

Ok, we are back at it for another half marathon.

I have registered to run the Fred Lebow Half Marathon, which is scheduled for Jan. 19. I think this is the only NYRR half marathon that I have not attempted. I've been a bit scared to run this half because it's smack in the middle of January, and New York is quite cold in January. I have seen post-race pictures of guys with icicles in their facial hair. I'm not a huge fan of running a half marathon in Central Park, which is about two loops. I guess that I have gotten over this because I have completed NYRR's 12, 15, and 18 mi training runs for the NYC Marathon.

I mainly signed up for this marathon because of my FOMO from sitting out TCS NYC Marathon. It's NYRR's first long race after the marathon. Actually, I lie, NYRR has a 60K right after the NYC Marathon. 

Another reason that I signed up for this Half Marathon. I think this race will put me at a decent baseline to prepare for and run the United NYC Half Marathon (if I'm selected for the lottery) in March and start training for Madrid's Rock n Rock Marathon in April.

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Sunday: 3 mi

Lordy, it has been a while since my last run, and boy did I feel it. The plan was to run to the gym and lift before heading to a bottomless broozy brunch. I was annoyed after completing this run because my gym is renovating ... once again so it was a cluster f*ck of gym equipment everywhere. Plus, there is no longer any place to stretch and foam roll. Every time my gym "renovates", there's less and less space. CAN I HAVE SOME SPACE TO STRETCH?!! So annoying. Perhaps, this the push I need to cancel my membership and join NYSC.



 
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Monday: 3 mi

Easy run to and from the Bronx. Actually, one of these days, I think I'll do a run to Yankees Stadium. Aside from the Bronx 10 mile, which I have only run two times, I really do not run in the Bronx.

Tuesday: 4.07 mi

I had a nice little run that incorporated one of my favorite running spots in Central Park, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.

Fortunately for me, I finished the run just as it was about to rain. Phew!

Wednesday: Rest

No run since I was traveling to Anaheim, California for a conference.

Thursday: Completed 4.01 mi

A nice little run around a section of Disneyland. Man, the traffic lights in Anaheim are super long.

 I did a loop of Disneyland's perimeter.

I wonder how much Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears go for these days?

Man, some families don't mess around when it comes to Disneyland. I started my run around 6:30 am, and there were large groups heading to the park.

Friday and Saturday: Rest

Unfortunately, I came down with a cold and was a bit tired from traveling, conferencing, and getting caught up with time change. On Friday, I woke at 3 am PST; I guess that I was still on EST. Although I did not run, I did walk to Denny's (0.2 mi) and eat an All-American Grand Slam Breakfast. So the walk to Denny's counts, right?

 
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That's it for my first week. I'm a little bummed that I am sick, and I hope my cold will not get any worse. Right, now it's a head cold, but I feel that the green, gross mucous is coming in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

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26.2 reasons why I’m relieved that I’m not running NYC Marathon

Ha. I guess it was a good thing that I put “maybe” on my Instagram post. 

 
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1. I am not running 26.2 miles.

2. I can sleep in on Marathon Sunday.

3. I’ll be able to root and cheer for folks this year because Mile 22 goes right through my neighborhood. Oh, I get to buy glitter for my signs.

 
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4. I probably can schedule my toe surgery and have time to recover before training for Madrid’s marathon.

5. No Marathon Monday soreness.

6. No painful post-marathon shower. It’s over for me once the soap and water hit the areas of chaffing. 

7. I can have a beer while watching the runners. Well . . . technically, I usually have a few shots of beer while running the marathon.

 
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8. Since I can defer my registration, I do not have to worry about completing my 9+1 for guaranteed entry into next year’s marathon. This is important because the marathon was supposed to be one of my 9+1 races and I am NOT doing that NYE midnight run again. I know this is bad, but I did (for a millisecond) consider selling my marathon bib. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that you are not supposed to do this. 

9. Once the hip fully heals (hopefully in a few weeks), my running motivation will be restored. Usually, after the NYC Marathon, I do not want to think about running until mid to late January. Maybe this will be the year (technically 2020) that I will run NYRR’s Fred Lebow Half Marathon, which will be held on Jan. 19, 2020.

Man, coming up with 26.2 reasons is tough. 

10. No worrying about having to use a porta-potty.

11. No post-marathon blues. I’m already dealing with the ‘I’m injured and cannot run’ blues.

12. I will not have to deal with the Marathon expo. I’m not really a large crowd, massive lines kind of guy. But, I do like taking this picture.

 
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13. My friends and coworkers will be glad that I’m not going to be constantly talking about the marathon. However, it is a great way to make a conversation about yourself . . . unless you are in a group of marathon runners. 

14.  I will not have to deal with walking another half of a mile (at least) after the marathon to get my bag.

15. No running across the 59th Street Bridge, which always has been a thorn in my side.

16. No stressing out about flying from Hawai’i to NYC the day before the marathon.

17. If I wake up early enough, I can see the top, elite marathon runners in action.

18. No falling short of time goals. I guess not running the marathon is technically falling short of a time goal.

19. Not running this year (hopefully) will make me want it more in 2020.

20. I guess that I do not have to buy new tennis shoes.

21. I probably will have a nice sleep the night before the marathon. Last year, I think that I only got only 3 hours of sleep the night before NYC Marathon.

22. No eye-rolling on the Staten Island Ferry bus to Staten Island. I cannot stand people who are super chipper first thing in the morning.

23. No bloody nips.

24. No constantly dropping F-bombs after mile 21. Once the marathon hits Manhattan for the second time (Mile ~20), I’m pretty much over the entire thing. 

25. I’m going to my favorite Seafood restaurant on Marathon Monday.

26. No monitoring what I eat 48-72 hours before the marathon. Actually, did I ever do that?

0.2. Who wants a heavy medal anyway? 

NYC Marathon Training Update (Week 2)

This will be a quickie . . . kinda

General housekeeping: 

-Boo, I'm coming down with a cold. 

-This week has been pretty hectic workwise, so it has been a bit impossible to complete most of my runs. 

Monday: Planned, 5mi easy; Actual, 60ish-minute swim

I did not have a very fun swim because the pool's water was a bit too warm and the water was a bit murky. God knows what pesky microorganisms I "drank" in the pool. :( Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to my running group's fun run after work for the 5-mile run.

Tuesday: Planned, 7mi hills; Actual, Rest

Too much work stuff going on.

Wednesday: Planned, XT; Actual, 90min XT

I lifted weights for this XT. Normally on my XT days, I lift in the morning and hit up Zumba in the evening. This week, my Zumba instructor (and many who teach at Crunch) was at a Zumba convention. The last time we had a Zumba substitute, the class was a bit of a struggle so I opted out of this task.

Thursday: Planned,5mi easy; Actual, 3.2mi and XT

Instead of running the whole 5 miles, I decided to run as much as I could and went to the gym after. As a matter of fact, I literally ran to the gym and did a whole bunch of stretching.

Friday: Planned, 4mi easy; Actual, 12mi

Realizing that I had to attend a work conference from Friday to Sunday in Hartford, I figured that it would be better to do my long run on Friday before leaving NYC rather than trying to fit it in on Saturday or Sunday. This conference is held every year around this time, and I always say that I'm going to wake up early and do my long run before the scheduled conference events. Most of the conference events start at 7:30/8:00 am, so I would have to wake up super early to do the long run, shower, change, and make it to the events. After failing at this task every year for 4 to 5 years, I thought: Duh, why don't you just do the long run BEFORE you leave NYC?

Random thought: We need to start a "revolution" so we can wear business causal, rather than business, at conferences It's too damn hot to wear suits during the summer. 

Although I ran 10 miles (on the treadmill) last week, running these 12 miles on the streets of Manhattan and Queens made it feel like an actual long run.


Even though the weather was cooler last week, I decided to run on the east side of the park and over a bridge where I would be constantly exposed to the morning sun. Why would you do that when you are always bitching about the sun? I figured that running in the sun would give me a base once the temps rise again. We'll see if this works.

Since I did not do my hill workout, I wanted to incorporate a big hill or two during this run. What better "hill" to attack than the Queensboro Bridge, which always has been my nemesis during the actual marathon.

Overall, the run was just ooooookay; I did have to walk a couple of times. Oh, I did stop for a few minutes during mile 7 or 8 to pee at a Crunch gym.

Saturday (modified): Planned, XT; Actual, XT

I pretty much did a bunch of stretching and lower back exercises in the hotel's gym.

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Sunday (modified): Planned, Rest; Actual, Rest

Once I arrived to NYC, my rest pretty much was meeting the hubby and his friend to have drinks. Maybe, I'm messing up the concept of "rest" days.

OMG, the food (and beverages) at Tomino Taberna Gallega is so AMAZING

Plan for this week:

-Since I did not realize my conference would be during the same weekend of NYRR's Team Championships, I have to register for ANOTHER race.

-Mentally note where most of the Central Park water fountains are located.

-Buy a new pair of running shoes.

NYC Marathon Training Update (Week 1)

General housekeeping: 

-I think training week 0 really did a number on me because I was quite tired most of this week.

-Man, the heat was no joke this week.

 
I'm all sweated out after walking 6 blocks (~12 minutes).

I'm all sweated out after walking 6 blocks (~12 minutes).

 

Monday: Planned, 5mi easy; Actual, 4mi

With temps in the 90s, there was no way that I was going to run with my running group so I did a treadmill run at the gym. Ain't nobody got time for all of this heat.

Tuesday: Planned, 6mi hill repeats; Actual, yeah right

I woke up all prepared to run in Central Park, but I was super groggy. I just could not get it together for this run and decided to go back to sleep.

Wednesday: Planned, X-train; Actual, X-train, lap swim

I finally made it to an NYC's adult open swim program. Many of the outdoor pools have FREE open swim either from 7 am to 8:30 am or from 7 pm to 8:30 pm. I opted to swim from  7 - 8:30 am in a pool that is about one mile away from my apt. Knowing NYC's planning for these types of programs, I was expecting a complete sh*t show, but the program was managed very well . . . at least on my first visit.

 
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Breath-holding contests back in the day were one of the things that made swimming fun as a kid. What are they going to get rid of next, Marco Polo?

You know what? Swimming laps can definitely show a runner how out of shape he/she really is. I was pooped after continuously swimming for 45 minutes . . . well, maybe it was closer to 30 minutes. Also, my flip turns are now quite atrocious.

Thursday: Planned, 5mi easy; Actual, Rest

I think Wednesday's swim took it out of me because I was quite exhausted. Although I planned to run after work, I received some bad financial news and did not care about running. Instead, I was all mopey and went to McDonald's for my comfort food of a Quarter pounder with cheese combo meal. Ugh, is it me but are most McDonald's in NYC riff-raff as hell? Some of these folks act like you are bothering them when you ask them to do something that is part of their job. 

Friday: Planned, Rest; Actual, Rest 

Eh, nothing to report.

Saturday: Planned 10mi race; Actual Rest

Due to the extreme heat conditions, NYRR decided to cancel the 10mi Marathon Training Run. Good, because I did not want to run outside in 100-degree weather.  Although the run was canceled, I had planned to run my 10 miles at the gym. That did not happen because I kept putting it off. "I'll go to the gym at 8am" became I'll go to the gym at 10 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, and so forth. Long story short, I did not make it to the gym. However, I did get a lot of housework and professional work completed.

Sunday: Planned, Rest; Actual, 10.5mi easy 

Although this week literally has been HELL in NYC, I knew that I could not let a week go by without doing a long run especially this early in my training plan. I think other folks had the idea of running indoors because I had to wait about 30 minutes for a treadmill. I was a bit selective with my treadmills because I wanted a treadmill that was near a fan. The run was just eh. I typically get really bored with treadmill running after 7/8 miles, but I powered through.

Because of the weather, this week was a bit tough for running. I thought I read somewhere that your body needs 2-3 weeks to acclimate to summer running. I guess my body needs two acclimation periods - one for 80-degree weather and the other for 90-degree weather.

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