Running Topics: What running stories do you tell over and over?

What running stories do you tell over and over?

How did I get into running?

During my postdoc years, I used to ride my bicycle ~4 miles to work. One day, both of my bike's tires were flat. Since I did not feel like changing the tires, and I was already wearing my athletic clothes, I decided to run the four miles to work. After a few runs, I started adding more distance to my morning runs going from 4 miles to about 7 miles. One of my coworkers took notice that I was running to work and asked if I was training for something. Although I told her that I was not training for anything, she mentioned that if I ran X number of races and joined New York Road Runners (NYRR), I could run NYC Marathon in the following year. Also, she mentioned that racing was a great way to monitor my progress. The funny thing: at that point, I had lived in NYC for about nine years, without having any idea that NYRR (or any other organizations) hosted weekly races.

The one time I missed my half marathon goal by four minutes.

Ok, so a lot of people miss their running goals by a few minutes, but this one was for a dumb reason. For a NYC Half Marathon (I think 2013), I set a goal to run a 1:45 half. For this course, half marathoners did a full loop in Central Park, ran through Times Square, then down West Side Highway to Battery Park. Before the race, I had the feeling that I needed to poop, but I just thought that it was pre race jitters. Plus, I really wasn't in the mood to poop in a porta potty. However during the Central Park portion of the half marathon, I told myself that I better poop before leaving Central bc I would not know when I would see another porta potty. Unfortunately, I waited in line for about 4-5 minutes, and I don't remember how much time my poop took. Since I knew that I wasn't going to make my time goal, I decided to take it a bit easier during the race, which meant taking selfies in Times Square. Hey, Times Square is closed to automobile traffic only two times a year: 1. New Year's Eve and 2. NYC Half Marathon. I guess that I made up some time while running (or my poop break wasn't as long as I thought), because I finished a lot closer to 1:45 (I think it was like 1:49) than I had anticipated.

Sometimes, I wonder that if pushed myself harder after taking my poop during the race and skipped taking photos and selfies, maybe I would have met my goal of 1:45. Hence my McKayla Maroney "face" from above.

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Random thought while looking for pics from this half marathon: I remember thinking that I was so chubby back then. Now, I would "kill" to be this size again.

Crapping on myself

A few years back, there was a trend of taking ice baths after running (or any intense workout). I think folks still do this because I still see a couple of videos/reels on social media. Peer pressure got the best of me, so I figured why not. While sitting in the my bathtub full of ice water (after a 15- or 18-mile run), I took a fart...no biggie right? Next thing I know, the water in the tub starting to turn brown. The funny thing: During those days, I would treat myself to a Slurpee after my long runs. So I guess the only thing that my body processed before my ice bath was water, gatorade, Gu, and the Slurpee. So my shit water had a "pleasant" smell of Sour Patch Kids (the flavor of my large Slurpee).

Since then, the smell of Sour Patch kids always reminds me of that incident. Also, I never took an ice bath after that incident.

Running NYRR's New Year’s Eave (NYE Run for the first time

Like I mentioned above, NYRR has a program where if you run nine races and volunteer for one, you can gain a spot in the upcoming year's NYC Marathon. For whatever reason, I struggled to fit in all nine of my races in a calendar year. I have a feeling that I might have been injured or maybe a lot of NYRR races conflicted with my weekend teaching schedule. So the NYE Run (4 miles) is the last race of the season where you can meet the nine-race requirement. It just so happened that my 1st year running this race was one of the COLDEST winters that I experienced in NYC as a runner. I think the temperature was around 13F, but it felt like 7-8F with the wind chill. For the this race, there's sparkling cider at the 2 mile mark. While there was sparkling cider, all of the cider was completely frozen...not that I was planning on stopping to have sparkling cider toast with my fellow runners.

Running Topics: Do you consider yourself a runner or a person who runs?

Do you consider yourself a runner or a person who runs? In other words, do you consider running part of your identity, or a thing you do?

My short and easy answer to this prompt is BOTH. This response is based on comparing myself to others. Yes, I know we are not supposed to compare ourselves to other folks. But hey, I "used" to be a scientist, and a lot of my research conclusions were based on comparing results to to baselines.

Kwame as a person who runs:

Typically, I see myself as a person who runs while chatting with other runners. When looking at or listening other runners' blogs, podcasts, social media platforms, general conversations, etc., I'll consider myself more of a person who runs rather than a runner. Yes, I have run "everything" from 5Ks to marathons, and (for now) running a marathon is supposed to be a thing that "makes" you a "runner". At the end of the day, I do not see myself as a runner because I'm not as involved/engaged with the running community - whether in real life or virtually. For instance, I'll show up to a race, run the race, redeem my beer/wine beverages (when applicable), and go home...or go to brunch.

To be perfectly honest, outside of this blog and a few IG/Twitter posts (ok, many posts), I do not really talk about running that much. Yes, I'll mention an upcoming race or a training plan with folks, but I don't get too much into all of details.

Part of this sentiment is due to me being a very average (maybe even below average) runner, and "good" runners (IMO) tend to want to associate with other good runners. For instance, I mentioned in a previous blog that I reached out to my (soon to be former) running club about its marathon training program. Long story short, I pretty much was told that I was too slow (based on my most recent half marathon time) for the program. This type of interaction made me feel like I'm just a person who runs. No worries about the coach's response, because I quickly got over it and kept it moving.

Even when I listen to some running-based podcasts about experiences in racing or training, I often find myself zoning out of the episode or simply not caring. Do not get me wrong, I do find many running-based podcast episodes very entertaining and informative. However, I have to "force" myself to listen all the way through on many occasions. While some of the podcasters that I listen to are merely talking about about their experiences with running, many tend to boast about their achievements. Then again, some runners (or non-runners) might think that I boast in my blog updates. So, I guess all of this is relative.

Outside of my blog and the few social media accounts that I follow, I have NO idea what's going on in the running world. I definitely would be hard pressed to name five male and female runners. It's kind of funny because back in the day when I was not a runner (or a person who runs), I could list dozens of runners (primarily short and middle distance) without really thinking. Now, that's not the case. Eh, I guess it is what it is.

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Kwame as a runner:

I tend to see myself as a runner when I talk to people who do not run or hate to run. I usually have this sentiment when someone asks me something like: How do you run for long? Why do you run? Don't you find it boring? What's the point of running a marathon if/when you have no chance of winning? LOL. I remember a coworker saying (in good fun): You know, 2nd place is the 1st loser. When I look at the dichotomy of this question from this lens, I tend to consider myself a runner when I'm placed on the defensive. Usually with these types of questions, I feel like I HAVE to defend why I run or convince someone that I enjoy running. One little thing about me: I will defend myself verbally without changing my mindset until the cows come home. However, as I have gained more years on this Earth, I have been a bit more open minding and will follow up with a "well, we will have to agree to disagree".

Back in my NYC days, I loved participating in races, and I have been desperate to find races in my new home state of Maryland. Ok, so in NYC, I primarily ran New York Road Runners (NYRR) sponsored races for its 9+1 Program for guaranteed entry into the NYC Marathon. However, I remember always (well, most of the time) looking forward to certain races. In this case, since I spent money on race fees and (in a few cases) have travelled to another state or country to run a race, I'll consider myself a runner over a person who just runs. Because if you are not really into doing something, you are not going to pay to do it...or at least my cheap a** will not. ;)

I have been known to fall into a slight depression (albeit for a couple of days) when I realize that I cannot run a particular race due to time constraints or an injury. Also, I routinely experience the common post-marathon blues after completing a marathon. I guess because of these feelings I am a runner because a non-runner would not become upset or sad over these issues.

Conclusions:

For me, I guess it's hard to come up with a clear cut answer of being a runner vs being a person who runs. Part of this is due to me (as well as other folks) having "multiple" identities. That sounds bad; as if I'm talking about multiple personality disorders. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we are made up of multiple aspects that truly define us. So (IMO), it is hard to take one part of yourself to define who you truly are. Nowadays, I think there is so much emphasis to place folks into a particular box, i.e., if you are X then you HAVE to be Y. During my teen and very young adult years (I guess sometimes now), I would have to downplay an aspect or two of myself depending on my situation. I guess I did not HAVE to do this, but I felt it was necessary. A couple of examples:

In college, I would downplay listening to rock and alternative music because I would be accused (by some) for trying to be White. Note: I attended a Historically Black College/University (HBCU), so most of my in-person college friends were Black. However, since I went to a predominantly White high school, I would downplay how much I enjoyed Rap and Hip Hop because I wanted to be "more approachable" by my classmates and did not want to be associated with negative stereotypes/biases. I guess nowadays, they call this code switching.

During my travels, I tend to downplay being in the LGBTQ+ community. I will not flat out deny being gay, but I will not go into great detail of my experiences being in the LGBTQ+ community, UNLESS I feel 100% comfortable. I remember being so annoyed/upset with my fake ex boyfriend during our trip to Panama. Well, MY trip to Panama. A trip, in which he was NOT invited BTW. He used the information about my trip, bought a ticket, and a week before my trip was like "surprise, I'm coming" with you. Anywho, one night I told him to stop telling people that we were gay and "dating". Not that I was ashamed. I felt like we were playing with fire because we did not if that part of the country is gay-friendly or intolerant.

All in all, I think it's perfectly acceptable to have multiple identities when describing a specific aspect of your life. If you are a runner, GREAT. If you are a person who runs, GREAT. As long as you are happy with who you are, who cares what others think? I guess I should practice what I preach. This consideration reminds of a saying that I recently heard: What someone else eats does not affect how I sh*t.

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.

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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.

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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.