Since I actively maintain a running blog with updates on WordPress, I’ll just provide training update links to that page.
NYC MARATHON TRAINING RECAP – WEEK #4
Since I actively maintain a running blog with updates on WordPress, I’ll just provide training update links to that page.
Link: NYC MARATHON TRAINING RECAP – WEEK #4
Trying Some New Things
Running:
I have mentioned a few times that one of my 2021 goals was to run 2021 miles this year. At this point, there is no chance in hell that I’m going to meet this goal for my NYCRuns challenge.
According to the plan, running 2021 miles over 365 days averages out to about 5.5 miles per day. Looking at my standings for this challenge, I’m supposed to be at 566.5 miles at Day #103. Cleary from my status report, I’m am nowhere near this distance so another blogger gave me an excellent idea to run 2021KILOMETERS instead of miles. If I make this switch, I think my daily mileage would be about 3.6 miles over the remaining 365 days. So yeah, I’m going to go that route.
Let’s get social I:
For quite some time, I have been interested in getting more engaged with the running community in NYC (and beyond). With my low numbers of followers on Instagram and Twitter (I think that I’m doing social media wrong), I do not think that social media engagement for running is the way to go; perhaps, face-to-face interactions are better for me.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to participate in one of Run & Chug’s fun runs. Pretty much, members meet in different locations around the city, run about 3 to 5 miles, and have a couple of beers in a nearby bar. Although I arrived late and missed out on running with the group (I did a solo run), it was quite nice to hang with a new set of runners.
Everyone in the group was quite welcoming to a “newcomer”. Technically, I have been a member of this group for about six years, but I think that I participated in only one or two runs. My limited participation was because of location. When I was working and living in Brooklyn, it would be next to impossible to meet this group in someplace like Union Square Park by 7 pm for a run. Hopefully going forward, I can participate in more of the group’s runs since I live and work in Harlem. Actually, lemme see where the next run is located right now. Oh cool, the next run will start in Central Park (near Columbus Circle).
Let’s get social II:
Recently, I have been trying to get more involved with my other running group, Front Runners NY. Although I have been running for years and have conquered multiple full and half marathons, I decided to sign up for this group’s running clinic. I thought it would be nice to get back to some of the foundations/basics of running. Like Run & Chug, I have been a Front Runner for years, but I do not know anyone in the group because I do not participate in many of the group’s sponsored events. I did find it a bit strange that I was the only black person at the clinic with about 50 attendees sponsored by a group promoting diversity within the LGBTQ+ community.
I think the running clinic will help with this problem because my participation will give me a chance to meet new members and work my way up the group’s social calendar. Also, I did sign up for the Cheer Committee (even though I’m not the most cheerful person). The Cheer Committee pretty much makes sure there are at least three folks available to cheer (or in my case, modestly clap) for members running races, or doing weekend fun runs and long runs.
You are not a social runner?
Since I started running back in 2011/12 as a means to decompress, I never saw a reason to run with groups or participate in running clubs. Back then, my reason for running was to get away from people and work. Now, I have been missing some sort of interactions with folks who might have similar running goals. I think the pandemic has something to do with this feeling because I have not had that many opportunities to hang out with my regular friends.
Bouldering:
Walking up and down W125th street for the last three years, one may see some pretty interesting things. For me, I saw a bouldering gym (The Cliffs at Harlem) and would think to myself: I should check it out. Last week, I finally bit the bullet and gave it a whirl. Note: bouldering is pretty much rock climbing, but you do not climb as high because there are no ropes involved. After my first lesson, I gotta say that bouldering is way harder than it looks. Even as I type this entry, I can still feel the soreness in my fingers, hands, and forearms. Bouldering definitely awakes those unused muscles and tendons in your arms.
I got a month to figure out if I will continue with the sport. The bouldering gym in my neighborhood has a pretty nice deal for Harlem residents. For $49 bucks, Harlem folks get 1) 30 days of unlimited climbs; 2) two bouldering lessions; and 3) two guest passes. Also, if you decide to upgrade to the yearly membership, the initiation fee of 99 bucks will be waived.
Plans for the week:
-Sitting down and planning out my weekly fitness routines. I want to have a set schedule because I feel like I’m being pretty random with my workouts. Perhaps, I should dedicate a Google calendar to fitness.
-Have a heart-to-heart with myself about my eating habits. While I have been intermittent fasting, I’m not losing a significant amount of weight because my eating habits during my feeding window are crap.
-Stretch more. I want to start doing yoga in the morning and 15 - 20 minutes of stretching before going to bed.
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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.