NYC "Marathon" Monday

November 3, 2020

Even though TCS NYC Marathon 2020 was canceled because of this d*mn pandemic, I decide to celebrate (or commiserate) it by running the last 13.1 miles of the NYC Marathon's route.

I know that many folks participated in NYRR's Virtual Marathon, but I just do not have the emotional fortitude to run 26.2 miles alone. I gotta say more power to those folks. Although it was nice to do my own thing for my half/fake marathon, it was kind of depressing and very eerie to run the (last part) of the marathon's route without the large crowds, the signs with funny running puns (e.g. chafe the dream), the medals, the bands, the blue line marathon marker, and the folks handing out beers around Mile 17.

"Marathon" 2020

Marathon 2018

GETTING IT ON - PULASKI BRIDGE, BROOKLYN, NY

Although the last half of the NYC Marathon takes you through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Manhattan again, the Brooklyn part for me was pretty much the beginning of the Pulaski Bridge. Getting to this section of Brooklyn was a bit of a challenge because I was supposed to take three trains - the 2/3 to the 7, to the G. Keep in mind that the G train on normal days is quite a struggle, so one can imagine how much of a struggle the G train would be on an early Sunday morning. Actually, a lot of the struggle getting to my starting point was caused by me. I was so invested in my book, "The Years that Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us", that I missed my connecting stop.

Overall, I had a nice little run around NYC. Since I started around 8 am (the plan was to start at 6:45/7 am), there were not too many issues with automobile traffic. Phew. Also, the mid-40F temperature was perfect running weather for me. Fortunately for me, I finished before the rain started. Although there were no major crowds, which made the streets feel desolate, there were a few random people along the route that were clapping and cheering while running (no pun) their early Sunday morning errands. Also, other folks were running the marathon route so it was nice to feel like I was not the only nut doing this.

I will say that this running my fake marathon has inspired me to get back on track (no pun, again) with my physical training. Also, it made me realize that I have been babying myself during my regular runs. Normally, I'll run a mile and walk 0.25 miles and do that for 6-7 miles, so I definitely need to start pushing myself during my daily runs.

Somewhere in Manhattan

Crossing the Willis Avenue Bridge (Manhattan -> the Bronx)

No crowds in my Harlem neighborhood

I will say that Central Park is absolutely beautiful in the fall, especially now that the leaves are changing colors.

There was some sort of finish line in Central Park near the official finish line. I guess this was for the runners that ran the virtual NYC Marathon.

Although it did not feel the same crossing the multi-colored finish line and having the chance to see your name on the large jumbotron, it was a nice gesture for virtual finishers. And, I took my shot.

Hopefully, things will get back to normal pretty soon (although I know they won't) so we can have a marathon next year. I wonder if NYRR is going to make next year's marathon even larger than the normal 50K running field. I ask because I imagine that many folks, including myself, who were supposed to run this year's marathon will want to run in 2021. The same goes for the folks, including myself, who were supposed to run last year's marathon. I guess time will tell.

What to do? What to do?

September 7, 2020

Since we pretty much know that TCS NYC Marathon is not happening due to COVID-19, I still want to do something to commemorate what would have been the 50th anniversary of NYC Marathon. A couple of weeks ago, NYRR (the running organization that sponsors the NYC Marathon) posted ten reasons why running a virtual marathon would be great on Instagram.

Honestly, none of these reasons look fun. Maybe the one about no stress is probably the only reason that I would ever consider running a virtual marathon. I think for NYC Marathon 2018, I had to wake up around 3:30 am to get ready and make it to the Staten Island Ferry for a 9:30 am start.

Speaking about TCS NYCMarathon 2018, here’s a trip down memory lane.

Heading to Staten Island bright and early

During a marathon, there's always time for a quick marathon

Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to run last year’s NYC Marathon. Looking back, I wish that I forced myself to run last year’s marathon. I did register and was somewhat prepared to run last year’s marathon. However, I flew back from Hawai’i after a work trip the day before the marathon and was very jet-lagged and decided to sit out the marathon. Had I know a freaking pandemic was going to screw up 2020, I probably would have forced myself to run, walk, and/or crawl 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of New York City.

Instead of running a virtual NYC Marathon, I think that I’m going to run the last 13.1 miles of the marathon route.

NYC Marathon route

What I plan to run

Although the full marathon gives you an opportunity to visit various neighborhoods in NYC, the first half only takes you through Brooklyn. For the last half of the marathon, you get to run through a little bit of Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Manhattan again. We are about 55 days from what would have been Marathon Sunday (Nov. 1) so running my fake half marathon will give me a chance to up my daily running activities. Going forward with my training/daily workouts, I plan to add more speed, hill, and long runs to my runs around Randall’s Island.

Here goes and ain’t nothing to it but to do it.

It's been kind of quiet here

August 17, 2020

Since I have not made or met any REAL running or fitness goals over the past few weeks, it has been hard to update this thing. Story/struggle of my life, I guess. This lack of progress is definitely hitting home because my COVID Chunk (aka Pandemic Pounds) is no joke.

But that was then, and this is now because I think that I have a new plan on life.

Over the weekend, I read this amazing book, “The Obesity Code” by Dr. Jason Fung.

This book provides quite a bit of information regarding weight gain and (more importantly) weight loss. According to Dr. Fung (and other folks in nutrition), most diets will be unsuccessful unless you manage insulin levels.

Quick bio lesson: Insulin is responsible for pulling glucose (and other sugars) out of the blood and sending it into the liver. Insulin levels tend to increase right after we consume meals and snacks. In the liver, glucose (a very small molecule) combines with other glucose molecules and is stored as glycogen (a large molecule). Glucose is such a small molecule that it can easily move in and out of cells; whereas glycogen is too large to do this and must be broken down into smaller units. If glycogen is not broken down into its smaller subunits of glucose and moved back into the bloodstream, glycogen will eventually be converted into fat. At the end of the day, one should aim to reduce the frequency and amount of insulin that the body produces.

Since this book kind of lit the fire under my evergrowing ass, here are some things that I plan to do to get back in shape. Or rather, things to start my journey to a healthier lifestyle. Hopefully, I am not trying to do too many things at once. Every month, I plan to revisit this list and add or modify things.

Move from 16:8 to 18:6 intermittent fasting. Eventually, I would like to get to a point where I can do one 24-hr fast per week.
Get to bed (on weeknights) by 11:30 pm at the latest. No more watching Unsolved Mysterious or other random crap on Hulu/Netflix/Amazon Prime till 2-3 am. Hopefully, this will give me a better chance to wake up early, run my morning miles and, do HIIT workouts. Since gyms are still closed, I plan to incorporate some weighted resistance band training.
- Speaking of gyms: I have learned that NYC is planning to slowly ramp up the reopening of gyms; however, I'm still a bit hesitant to visit my local New York Sports Club. I mean, my home gym was pretty yucky and a hot mess before this whole pandemic mess. I do not want to even think about the gyms and our new normal.
Actually follow the hubby's Whole 30 diet; however, I will give myself one (maybe two) cheat days a week. Let's not get too crazy here. ;)
Take more mental breaks during the workday. During these breaks, I plan to go on 10-15 minute walks. If it's too damn hot outside, I'll do a couple sets of planks instead of taking these walks.
I think that is a good place to start for now.

Lets’s see how this goes.