Richmond Marathon Training: Week 1

Introduction:

I guess it's another summer, which means another fall marathon training season has begun. This time, I'm setting my sights on Richmond Marathon (link: ***). Reasons for registering for this marathon:

• I heard a lot of positive things about it from the two running podcasts that I follow.

• I've always wanted to run a marathon in my birth state of Virginia. Random trivia: I share the same "birthday" as the state of Virginia.

• Richmond, Va is pretty close to the DC metro area, which is where I currently live. Logistically, it should be a breeze to get there - a two-hour train or car drive from DC to Richmond.

According to the website (and others), the Richmond Marathon is considered America's Friendliest Marathon because this marathon "features spirit groups, party zones, amazing spectators, bands, pickle juice, junk food stops, a post-race party, world-class event execution, and more!" You can even see the 'fun' from the course's map key.

Training Plan:

Although I am super excited to start training, even though my running shape is pretty crappy at the moment, I will admit that I'm a little scared. Why? Last year (around this time), I was super excited about training for the Marine Corps Marathon. My excitement quickly turned into frustration because I had a flare up in my herniated disc. This flare up was particularly bad because I could not walk, run, stand, lie down without some sort of pain or numbness in my lower back for about a month. What a crappy way to end a summer. So, let's keep our fingers crossed that I will not have a similar fate while training for this marathon.

Since I did not accomplish my training and racing goals (due to my injury) for last year's Marine Corps Marathon, I plan to keep the same training goals for my upcoming marathon.

With the "help" of ChatGPT (blog entry link, ***), I ironed out what I hope will be a decent training plan. This time around, I think that I'm going to try to take it a bit easy by doing three runs per week. Since I have been making decent gains in strength training, I really want to ensure that I incorporate hitting the gym in this round of marathon training. In past marathon training seasons, I normally would slack off with strength training. By slack off, I mean, not do them at all. But this time around, I want to keep my momentum going. Again, I asked ChatGPT for some advice on this, and it recommended the following program based on my proposed running schedule.

View fullsize

Mondays: Full body workout.

Tuesdays: 5-7 easy miles and an optional lower body workout. The easy run is something that I'm already doing because I typically will run home from work on Tuesdays.

Wednesdays: Full body workout + HIIT.

Thursdays: Speed work, which will include intervals, hill workouts, or tempo runs. For the interval runs, I hope to use the high school's track that is near my office. Actually, I should confirm if the track is open during the summer months since school is out. Since I now live in a hilly area, I don't think it will be a problem doing hill workouts. Actually, I hope to do most of my hill workouts in Rock Creek Park. Also, an option upper body and core workouts are planned.

Fridays: Rest day or active recovery (e.g., walking, yoga, general stretching)

Saturdays (or Sundays, depending on the weather and my laziness): Long runs and an optional core workout.

Sunday: Full body workout

Hopefully, I am not biting off more than can chew with this program. For instance, after my 10-mile long run on Saturday, I was a bit too pooped to do a post-long run core workout.

"Week" of Training Recap:

LOL. My 1st week was a bit of a struggle (in terms of running) because I ended up only doing a 10-mile long run on Saturday. In my slight defense, my original plan was to start training for this marathon on July 26th. So, the fact that I started something on July 6th is a bit of a win IMO.

Boy that run was a bit tough. The distance wasn't too bad, although I wish that I could run it a bit faster. Although I started the run at 6:30am, it was already hot and humid as hell. I definitely will have to start forcing myself to go to bed early on Fridays so I can start my run before sunrise. Hopefully, doing this will allow me to sneak in a few miles before the heat and humidity arrives. Well, this is not really a foolproof plan because I woke up around 5am, and it was already pretty humid. Oh well, I guess that's life training for a marathon during the summer in the mid-Atlantic region.

A bit after my run, I rode my bicycle to the National Museum of Health and Medicine and had a meal at at Dominican restaurant.

Both experiences were a bit mediocre IMO. I don't think that I will revisit this museum unless there is a really interesting future exhibit. Also, I don't think I'll revisit this restaurant unless I want a greasy stew with really tough beef.

Goals for the week:

-Nightly stretches around 8/9 pm, and getting to bed by 11 pm. Since Planet Fitness has free memberships for "kids" under 18 years old, I really want to get my strength workouts in by 5 am, so it's imperative that I get to sleep early.

-Pack my food and clothes for the next day by 6-7 pm. Actually, let me add an alarm right now to my phone for this and the above goal.

-Make an appt with my podiatrist to have the excess skin scraped from in between my 4th and 5th toes.

-Look into registering some local summer and fall races.

Running Topics: Artificial Intelligence & Running

It is no big secret that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay. While I have not really used it, I have been somewhat intrigued by its uses (in particular, ChatGPT). I recently attended a workshop that was a crash course on dos and don'ts for developing ChatGPT prompts.

ChatGPT pretty much is a large language model (LLM) that uses AI to understand and generate "human" text based on data input and contextual understanding. Basically, one should be able to ask ChatGPT something, and it should spit out an answer for you. Well, the answer may or may not be what you are looking on based on your prompts.

For sh*ts and giggles and to avoid doing housework, I decided to ask ChatGPT to give me a marathon training program. I figured this would be a good way to test ChatGPT because:

• I'm running Richmond Marathon in November, and July 1st was Day 1 for my training program. Actually, July 26th is supposed to be my first day of training, but I figured why not start sooner.

• This will be my 7th or 8th marathon, so I would know if ChatGPT could give me a "legit" result (well, legit for my needs)

My prompt pretty much asked ChatGPT to develop a marathon training based on the following parameters:

• 135 days

• 3-4 running days that include one 10+ mile long run each week

• speed workouts (e.g., tempo, interval, and hill runs)

• strength training

• a rest day

Overall, I was satisfied with what ChatGPT spat out, I did have a couple of minor issues.

ChatGPT did NOT give me a 135-day (~20-week) training program. Instead, it gave me a 16-week training program. I guess that I can deal with this, because (based of my limited understanding) ChatGPT does not actively conduct research. Instead, compiles its answers based on information that is already out there. Maybe it's better to say that it cannot create something out of nothing, instead of saying it cannot actively conduct research. From my experience training for marathons, most marathon training programs typically are 12 to 16 weeks. Although I asked ChatGPT for a 20-week program, I guess the best it could do was provide a 16-week program, which is more common.

I would have liked a bit more variety for the speed workouts, particularly with the interval workouts. For the interval workouts, ChatGPT pretty much increased the number of intervals with the same distance instead of changing the number of intervals and distances. For instance, ChatGPT wants me to run eight, ten, twelve 400m intervals with 200m rest over the course of the training program. However, I would prefer something where the interval distance would also change (e.g., 400m, 800m, 1600m, etc.). This limitation probably is on me because I did not really specify the type of intervals that I wanted to do during the training program. I also ran into the same issue with the hill workouts because ChatGPT did not provide any information about these workouts. Again, that's on me because I did not give it a lot of details in my prompt.

Everything else from my ChatGPT-generated marathon training program looks pretty legit. Actually, I think they are legit because the other things for my program (e.g., HIIT workouts, easy runs, and strength training) are pretty general/generic. I think that I'll play around with ChatGPT and ask it for more specific types of HIIT, easy run, and strength training workouts. Ugh. I hope that I saved the prompt that I used so I will not have to start over because ChatGPT might give me a different answer for the same prompt. Maybe, that might be something for me to test out.

Actually, I did somewhat play with a specific workout. Since I'll be in Spain later this month, I asked ChatGPT to give a 14-mile long run in Santander. Here's what it gave me.

View fullsize

Unfortunately, ChatGPT could not give me a map/route for this route. According to the hubby, I've already been to these places during several of our trips to his hometown and 'should know' where these places are. LOL. To be honest, Playa de los Peligros is the only place that I can remember off the top of my head. I only remember Playa de los Peligros because it translates to Beach of Danger(s). While writing this blog post, I asked ChatGPT the reasons for this beach's name, and this is what it told me:

The origin of this name is historically linked to the navigational challenges that mariners faced in the past. The bay near the beach has a complex system of currents and submerged rocks, which posed significant hazards to ships and boats trying to navigate the waters...Despite its name, Playa de los Peligros is now known for its calm waters and beautiful scenery.

I will say that ChatGPT is right about its beautiful scenery. This is a picture that I snapped when I ran along the Beach of Danger(s) last year.

Running Topics: Running Topics: Why are you grateful for this photo? Who and what are you grateful for in the photo?

Preface:

After running (pun intended) this blog for a few years, sometimes it is a bit tough to come up with topics to write about. Fortunately for me, Sara Kurth has published a massive list of potential blog topics that focuses on running (check out her blog here, ***).

Updated Preface:

Since there has not been anything too interesting going on in my running life, I thought that I would write some blog posts based on these running topics. Hopefully, my running life will become more interesting once I begin Richmond Marathon training next month.

Open your phone and find a photo you like. Why are you grateful for this photo? Who and what are you grateful for in the photo?

This photo was taken a couple of hours before my first (and what I thought was going to be my last) NYC Marathon back in 2013. Although I lived in NYC for about 11 years before running my first NYC Marathon, I never really considered actually running it. It's kind of funny because of the massive amount of street closures, I kind of "hated" NYC Marathon. During NYC Marathon Sundays, if I left my apt, I would hang out somewhere downtown (e.g., E. or W. Village or Alphabet City) since the marathon route did not go through mid and lower Manhattan, my life would be largely unaffected.

So what changed?

When one of my coworkers (during my postdoc years) found out that I had taken up running, she informed me about New York Road Runners' (NYRR) 9+1 Program. A program that allows folks to obtain a guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon if they ran nine specific races and volunteered for one race. I guess that I'm grateful for that coworker who introduced me to NYRR. From 2010 to about 2015, I lived on Roosevelt Island (the red circle on the map below), which is right in the middle of the East River.

During NYC Marathon Sundays, my activities were affected because the tram that takes you from Roosevelt Island to the (lower) Upper East Side would drop you off near where the marathon runners would enter Manhattan for the first time after running across the Queensboro Bridge. Also, on some Sundays, I would have to go to lab for a couple of hours to complete some work that probably should have completed during the week. If I went to lab during the marathon, which was ALL day, I would have to walk more or less 20 blocks out of my way to get to work. So, I guess beginning to run NYC Marathons was kind of like if you can beat them, join them. ;)

I am grateful the photo above for a few reasons:

1. The calm before the storm: Although I was not smiling in this picture (then again, I rarely smile in pictures), I was in an high state of euphoria. It was "exam day" for me, and I "knew" that I would be successful from all of those months of training. I went for the low hanging fruit and gave myself a goal of just finishing the marathon.

2. New opportunities: Prior to participating in NYRR's 9+1 plan, I had no idea that there were road races all around NYC. Ok, maybe I knew of road races in the city, but they did not really interest me at the time. This allowed me to do something a bit more productive during a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Also, it gave me an opportunity to enter new social circles and meet new people outside of biomedicine.

3. Planning and doing something: Having completed a Ph.D. program, I was no stranger to planning and completing something. Training for this marathon was a bit of a paradigm shift for me because I dedicated five months to train for an optional event in my life. Back then, most of my planning involved figuring which restaurant to have bottomless mimosa brunch.

4. A smaller KOS, Jr.: Sometimes, looking at this old photos makes me a little sad because these pictures show the amount of weight that I have put on over the past decade. I have been working on slimming down for the past few months. But, pictures like this show that I still have a lot of work to do. The funny thing: Back then, I thought I was huge compared to my college (pre NYC) weight.

5. Supportive friends: I was a bit surprised that several of my friends were so supportive of me running this marathon. Also, I was so happy that folks wanted to hang out for dinner and drinks after I finished the marathon. Since I never really heard my friends talk about NYC Marathon, I did not expect them to come out and support during and after the marathon.

Race Report/Rant: DCFR Pride Run 5K

DATE: June 07, 2024

DISTANCE: 5K

PLACE: Congressional Cemetery, Washington DC

WEATHER:  83F

OFFICIAL TIME / PACE: 32:14/ 10:22 min/mi

FINISHERS: 1297

SWAG: Tech T, medal, beer, dancing, random nibbles, annoyance ;)

General Overview:

Last friday was my first (and probably last) Pride Run as a resident of the DMV. The race was organized by the DC Front Runners (DCFR), and it took place in a cemetery of all places. According to the DCFR Pride Run website, on the why of having this race in the Congressional Cemetery.

“Beyond the Historic Congressional Cemetery being a beautiful and peaceful place to hold an event, it’s also rich with history.  Not only is it the burial site of members of Congress, Civil Rights leaders, Women’s Suffrage leaders, and notable members of the FBI, but the cemetery is also the final resting place of Leonard Matlovich, an American Vietnam War Veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal, and a gay rights and AIDS activist in the 1970s and 1980s.”

I hate to be one of those folks who always compares one city to another, but I have to say that I think Front Runners NYC (FRNY) does a better Pride Run than DCFR. However, I think DCFR solely organizes its Pride Run, whereas FRNY collaborates with the New York Road Runners (NYRR), which has more resources, to organize its Pride run.

I don't know, but it felt kind of weird running in a cemetery. Actually, I take that back, it felt a little disrespectful to run a race in a cemetery - especially when some folks were using tombstones as spots to place their post-race beers and other post-race crap.

Ok. Yes, I did see that the Congressional Cemetery was the location of the race. BUT, I assumed that the race would be held in a park or the neighborhood NEAR the cemetery, not inside of the cemetery. Well, I can cross running in a cemetery off of my bucket list. Wait! Well, I can put running in a cemetery on my bucket list, then cross it off of the list. ;)

The Course:

Hee Hee. Is it me, or does the course kind of look like a snake?

Overall, I thought the course was a hot a** mess. I'll qualify that statement by saying that I thought the course was a hot mess for the number of folks (~1200 runners). Why? For about 90% of the race, there were limited places to pass, and we were pretty much on top of each other until the last 200 or so meters. The worst part: about 1.75 miles into the race, there was a hairpin turn so what was a one-way "street" became a two-way "street" with even less room to move when the faster runners were returning to the cemetery.

Another thing that made this race a congested mess: The organizers did not have any sort of corralling system, except for the folks that were running at a sub 7-minute/mile pace. Of course, many folks nowadays do not have any self awareness. So, folks lined up near the front of the racing field knowing that they were either very slow runners or were planning to walk. I do not understand why people do this. If you know that you are planning to walk a race, LINE UP IN THE BACK. There was absolutely no reason for folks who lined up near the front to start walking as soon as they crossed the start line. I'm actually surprised that there were not more injuries. During the race, I almost tripped a few times because some folks would just come to an abrupt stop before walking. Also, the fact that most of the course was on cobblestone and uneven paths did not really help matters.

Other than those two (major) issues, I had a bit of a blast. ;) I'll say that it was a different experience running a race at 7 pm . . . Well, the organizers started late, so we didn't begin running until 7:30 pm. Ugh, the humidity in the mid-Atlantic is no joke because it was still humid AF at 7:30 pm. Man, I cannot wait until I lose enough weight so I will not be too self-conscious over running shirtless.

I'm not sure if my finishing time is truly reflective of my effort. On one hand, I probably could have run faster, but I did not want to risk injuring myself or others while running in the congested pack. On the other hand, maybe I ran faster than anticipated because whenever there was some free space or an opportunity to pass a group of walkers or slower runners, I took it.

I'll say something nice: I thought the medal and T-shirt were nice.

Although there was a post-race party, the hubby and I decided to drink our beers and head to the nearest spot to find food. Also, I did not really want to stick around, because I thought it was a bit weird to have a post-race dance party in a cemetery. Fortunately for us, there was a nearby bougie food court that had a nice selection of food options. This worked out well for me because I was hungry AF, but I did not know specifically what I wanted to eat. I pretty much had a modest spread of post-race bites.

Concluding Thoughts:

While I think it is/was great (and important) to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride (especially because I'm in the community), I do not think that I will run this race again. Maybe next year, I'll donate what I would have paid in registration fees to an LGBTQ+ organization. OR, I'll register with the intention of walking the 5K, BUT I will be sure to start at the back of the pack.

Something that I noticed. While living in NYC, I joined FRNY after chatting with some FRNY runners during the post-race party of my first NYC Pride Run, which was held in Central Park, NOT in a cemetery. Upon finishing the DCFR Pride Run, I had no interest in chatting with any of DCFR members (absolutely no shade to DCFR), I simply wanted to finish my beer, change into a dry shirt, get a feeding, and go home. Actually, I thought it was interesting that DCFR did not have a booth or table for attracting potential members. Maybe they had a table or an area, but I did not see it since I left shortly after finishing the race.

Playlists: