That was utterly terrifying and I regret having joined you (comments welcome)

[NYC_MW]

Pleasantly surprised this week. Maybe it's the weather but all runs were better than expected. Also started Steve Gonser's (thanks to @sandam1 for mentioning RunSmart in the main forums) Planksgiving challenge on Wednesday night. Oof, my core needs work.


Tuesday--another go at Cat Hill repeats, splits are much better than they were last time. Nerdy me found a website (graphmyrun.com) to compare the two and am a happy camper (a little annoyed I can't adjust the y axes, but that's what I get for being too lazy to figure out how to do the histograms properly in R). Boy was it a humid day.

Saturday--efforts felt better and easier towards end of run and very surprised to see each mile split was faster as run progressed too. Whatever this is, I need to bottle it up for the future.

 

[NYC_MW]

1st race week simulation of the training plan. Saturday was hard, but am just glad it got done. Monday was fun since I realized I was ~1 mile short of the 200km Strava badge while at work, so decided to just go out in street clothes/shoes at dusk. Thankfully we have a campus that lends itself to running, so it worked out (probably weirding out people driving home though haha).


But of course, highlight of the week was getting to cheer on the >50k amaze-balls people doing the NYC Marathon! I love cheering/spectating at races. It's definitely more fun than running them . It was so hot and humid (and with a rain spatter halfway through), this year's participants get extra points. Taking a cue from the main forums, added oranges to my bag of bananas/chocolate/water to hand out; caught a good dozen of my friends on the course, though sadly missed a couple runners including @Baloo in MI (sorry!!). Did manage to snap pics of the guy juggling and the one running with a pineapple balanced on his head (my friend spectating elsewhere saw them too so presumably they both did it for the whole 26.2 miles ).

 

[lookingforsunshine]

Did manage to snap pics of the guy juggling and the one running with a pineapple balanced on his head

Forget the Pumpkin King— this man is now my Pineapple King. I love pineapple more than any food. During MW, may I (and we all) gather energy from him.

 

[NYC_MW]

Tuesday was a surprise. 1st set was a little wonky due to various phone notification issues, but the rest of it wasn't as bad as I was seriously dreading. Might be starting to come around to speedwork. Not ever going to like it (heck, still not convinced I like running in general), but it's not quite as scary as it once was. Luckily, there's a ~200m track near me, so that made it easier. Also cool because it was the day of the lunar eclipse, which started just as I was starting the run.



Also finally sat down and tinkered with R to get good graphs. Makes me happy I'll be able to overlay similar workouts over each other to compare.


In other news, reading all the nutrition tips in the main forum has been helpful. I'm very bad with fuel and nutrition. Most runs are fasted. When I start hitting double digit mileage, will either grab something beforehand (usually a minibagel with PB or last night's leftovers) or start popping a Honey Stinger chew every 3-4 miles. Thanks to tips from DISers, have also started adding a Nuun tablet at the end of longer/sweatier runs. For the two marathons I've done, it's been the minibagel + Honey Stinger waffle beforehand and a Honey Stinger chew every 2 miles, but I've faded at the end of both (due to multiple issues, but sub-fueling likely also a culprit). Though, PB half was done with neither fuel nor water (granted, it was in NY in mid March). Had tried GU gels way back when I started running and did not like them, and Clif Bloks are too hard to chew and stick to my teeth. So this weekend, stopped by the store and picked up gels from Maurten, Honey Stinger, and UnTappd to try over the next couple of long runs. Stay tuned.

 

[Baloo in MI]

View attachment 717057

1st race week simulation of the training plan. Saturday was hard, but am just glad it got done. Monday was fun since I realized I was ~1 mile short of the 200km Strava badge while at work, so decided to just go out in street clothes/shoes at dusk. Thankfully we have a campus that lends itself to running, so it worked out (probably weirding out people driving home though haha).
View attachment 717061

But of course, highlight of the week was getting to cheer on the >50k amaze-balls people doing the NYC Marathon! I love cheering/spectating at races. It's definitely more fun than running them . It was so hot and humid (and with a rain spatter halfway through), this year's participants get extra points. Taking a cue from the main forums, added oranges to my bag of bananas/chocolate/water to hand out; caught a good dozen of my friends on the course, though sadly missed a couple runners including @Baloo in MI (sorry!!). Did manage to snap pics of the guy juggling and the one running with a pineapple balanced on his head (my friend spectating elsewhere saw them too so presumably they both did it for the whole 26.2 miles ).

View attachment 717062View attachment 717063

I did take orange slices from one person. Would have been cool if it was you! But, I really appreciated the support even though we did not connect. Honestly by 13.1 I was pretty much in zombie mode.

I can’t believe that someone actually juggled while running that race! Wow!

 

[NYC_MW]

Pretty uneventful until Saturday. One of the visiting grad students in the lab next door, I, wanted to do their first race, so she and J signed up for the Donuts 5k. Decided to join for the half since I had enough volunteer credits for a free race and who doesn't like donuts? Figured on just adding extra mileage before or after (spoiler: did not learn from the last time that this probably wouldn't actually happen).

Snag 1: as usual, MTA was doing track work so getting to the race required 3 different trains.
Snag 2: mother nature decided this was the week to drop temperatures drastically (not as bad as for many others, but plenty cold enough that standing around before and after the race was not fun).

Sunrise while heading to Corona Park from the subway

The course was 3 loops around much of Corona Park, pretty flat (except for the back and forth over the Meadow Lake Bridge), and lots of fun views (including this statue of original G.O.A.T.)

Statue of LL Cool J with his boombox

Went out intending to run at long run pace, and use the chance to practice new fueling options and rely solely on course hydration (for the first time). Wore long pants, long-sleeve shirt + short sleeve over it, ear warmers, and gloves + a hothands packet (which was not hot). Had the usual minibagel + PB and 8oz of water pre-race, and brought along a strawberry kiwi Honey Stinger gel and an Untapp'd Maple Syrup packet. We started at the 12min/mi and up corral because there wasn't any more room in the 10-12min one, but that was fine. Left J and I after we crossed the start and settled into an easy pace. That did not last long: it was too cold and I got too caught up in the adrenaline of a race and people around me, oops. Decided a couple miles in to throw the 18 mile long run plan out the window and just enjoy the race. Except when going over the bridge, I was breathing pretty easy and having fun. Stopped and walked through water stations at 5.5 and 10miles, and took the Honey Stinger gel at mile 10 (taste was not bad, texture still a little weird, but I could see myself swapping in a couple of these for the chews in a full. the most annoying part of it was having to slow down to get it all in instead of being able to keep running with the chews). Picked up the pace at mile 12, and sprinted in the last 0.3 for final time of 2:05:55. For not giving it full race effort, I was pretty pleased. I was NOT pleased, however, to find that they ran out of donuts, and I was probably in the middle of all the finishers, which means a lot of people didn't get their donuts
Did a cooldown mile-ish, cleaned myself up as much as possible, then walked another cooldown mile-ish to find I, J, and other friends for hotpot in Flushing to celebrate (a very yummy post-race meal).


Medal from race. This bling gives rD a run for their money (picture does not do justice to how shiny and big the medal is).

 

[Naomeri]

I hate when races run out of the promised food—I’d be especially mad about missing out on donuts!! They could at least hand out coupons for a local shop or something.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Left J and I after we crossed the start and settled into an easy pace. That did not last long: it was too cold and I got too caught up in the adrenaline of a race and people around me, oops.

I have the same problem

I was NOT pleased, however, to find that they ran out of donuts, and I was probably in the middle of all the finishers, which means a lot of people didn't get their donuts

RUDE! How can you have a donut run and run out of donuts??

 

[GollyGadget]

It's me. I do not like donuts. It's really kind of a shame because they used to be my favorite vacation treat. Sadly, a donut mile changed that forever.

Still a bummer that they ran out though! I'm wondering if they thought less people would show because of the cold.

 

[NYC_MW]

It's me. I do not like donuts. It's really kind of a shame because they used to be my favorite vacation treat. Sadly, a donut mile changed that forever.

This is why I'm afraid to do one even though it sounds appealing

 

[Baloo in MI]

I volunteered at a donut run for my daughters cross country team this past summer. Let me just share, based on that morning I would NEVER do one myself And I love donuts - unfortunatley.

 

[striker1064]

I was trying to figure out why a donut mile wouldn't be fun, but after some research yeah I don't think I would eat donuts, THEN run!

 

[NYC_MW]

Someone told me about the Krispy Kreme Challenge this morning: 2.5 miles, a dozen glazed donuts, 2.5 miles.

That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Even if it does raise money for a good cause.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Someone told me about the Krispy Kreme Challenge this morning: 2.5 miles, a dozen glazed donuts, 2.5 miles.

People. When we have nice things, we do not have to ruin them. We can just enjoy the things. Separately.

 

[azrivest]

Now you're making me hungry for spaghetti

 

[striker1064]

People. When we have nice things, we do not have to ruin them. We can just enjoy the things. Separately.

Not seeing the problem here. Elf was pretty misunderstood.

 

[NYC_MW]

Breaking in the new Saucony Endorphin Shift 2s this week (had run ~10 miles with them on the treadmill before testing on the road): they feel quite tight around the midfoot and outer edges of feet aren't quite happy for the first couple of miles of each run, but I think one of the current shoes felt like that before they got broken in as well? Debating whether or not to get a second new pair since the current rotation shoes (Ride 13 & Kinvara 12) have hit ~350 miles each. Feels like they've still got quite a bit of mileage left, but RunKeeper is saying it's time to switch; maybe will decide pending results of Berlin Marathon lottery.

Just setting off for long run on Saturday when ran into A who was run/walking the dog (Mandu) she and her family are dogsitting for the holidays. Had gotten to meet Mandu when at A's house for Thanksgiving dinner and he was super friendly and jumped all over me. A let me run/walk with him for a bit and it was so much fun (though not so much when he decided to chase after the squirrels and I had to scramble to pull him back). Pretty impressed that he was trusting enough to run off with just me, though his speed was much slower when we headed away from the basketball courts that A and her kids were at and picked up when heading towards the courts (in both directions) . Definitely have new admiration for all the people who run with their pets.

Gratuitous shot of supercute Mandu on Thanksgiving

 

[NYC_MW]

A week of bipolar temperatures. Race simulation week 3 (of 4)


Monday: Managed to snap a shot of the most complete rainbow I've ever seen (and each of the colors are so defined!) on the way home after BoMF. Excuse the chopped up car in the middle as it took a panorama shot to get the whole thing.


Tuesday: Was able to overlay this outing with the last time I did these hills and happy to see paces are faster (though temps also much lower so it's probably more due to that than actual increased fitness).


Friday and Saturday: Hadn't hit the prescribed long run distances in a couple of weeks so told myself that all the miles had to be done but also gave myself the permission to go as slowly as needed to not flame out. Happy to report that it worked; finished both days feeling really good. Saturday was drizzly/rainy throughout but that actually made everything feel better. Went out to Randall's Island (to redeem the disastrous long run there during Chicago training), and it was so peaceful and quiet (with almost nobody else out except the ducks and geese).

Tested Maurten 100 and UnTapped Maple Syrup at ~9.5mi and 14mi. UnTapped was definitely waayy too sweet so that's a no go. But the Maurten was great (sadly for my wallet)! Sweeter than expected, with taste and texture almost exactly like konjaku jelly. So the plan now is likely: half--Honey Stinger chew every ~4 miles; full--Maurten every ~6.5 miles with the usual pre-race fuel. Will test this strategy during last simulation week.

Costumes: Still need to test them out, but mostly set. 5k: Anastasia from Cinderella; 10k: Helen (one of the aunties) from Turning Red; Half: Mr. Smee from Peter Pan (yes, that is duct tape, which may get slowly pulled off as the race progresses ); Full: Eeyore.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

love the costumes!!!

catching up on the donut convo: one time I did a bike event with a similar premise: the more donuts you ate (they were the cider kind bc it was in the fall), the more time you got taken off of your overall time. Unfortunately I got VERY lost during this ride (phone died) and added 10 miles to the distance and also got last place because of it. But I did eat a lot of donuts.

 

[NYC_MW]

Good week. Second yassos attempt felt good as well. Looks like I managed to go out a little faster but faded more at the end compared to last time.
Saturday long run was after a pretty full morning of volunteering and didn't manage to finish before it got dark. It's weird how I'm totally okay with running in early morning when it's dark but not so much in the evenings. Brought some chews along for fuel but didn't end up taking any.

Thursday night, I (the visiting grad student from the lab next door) wanted to experience NY holiday magic before heading home to Europe the next day, so she, J, and I went out to take in the Rockefeller/Saks/Macys lights and go skating in Bryant Park. I maybe go skating once every 5 years and the rink was definitely too crowded (and with a lot of people who were not steady on their feet). The whole time I kept telling myself: "If you break something one month from Marathon Weekend, I will not forgive you". Thankfully, all good

Next up: peak week with four day in a row simulation