Saturday, November 20, 2010
My Newest Funnest Race
Last time I casually mentioned that I ran the New York City Marathon. But of course, there was nothing casual about it (well, it was casual dress, but that’s about it).
Earlier this year I decided to take a break from the Marine Corps Marathon and instead run in NYC a week later. The New York City Marathon is an iconic event, it’s pretty much the largest marathon in the world (there were about 43,000 people running), and the image of the start across the Verrezano-Narrows Bridge is one of the most well-known images in modern sports. Sure, the Boston Marathon is more prestigious (everyone has to qualify for that one, whereas New York allows a broader range of ability), but NYC was something I can do now...I don’t know if I’ll ever qualify for Boston.
So, yeah, New York… I managed to get into the Marathon, which was a feat in itself. Then I knew I wanted to run it in under 4h 20m, which was my best marathon time so far. I also knew I wanted to try to run in under 4 hours...that’s something I’m working toward over time, and considering my first marathon only two years ago was run in 4h 36m, it’s a real challenge. I trained through the summer and tried to get myself ready. For the first time I used a GPS watch while training and found the data helped me pinpoint those areas where I might have trouble. It also proved pretty motivational when I saw how well I could keep up my speed during the later miles. My training went great, and I felt that I was definitely on track to set a new Personal Record, and borderline in my goal to break 4 hours.
The weekend was great. I took the bus to NYC in the morning and went to the expo that afternoon. That was a pretty great experience in itself, being surround by runners from all over the US and the world, chatting with folks and also meeting organizers for some of the foreign marathons where I’m hoping to run (ola, Rio!!). I also got asked out on a post-marathon date by a cute guy. My support team – ET, Adrian, and Shawn – arrived that night and of course they got to go out while I had to sleep (SO unfair). Saturday was dim sum and shopping, followed later by a big pasta dinner.
The race itself was so much fun. I was part of a fundraising team, and we all met (about 700 of us) for breakfast at our hotel, then had a police escort for our buses out to Staten Island for the start. The logistics of the race are such that we spend about 3 hours there before we actually start running. It was cold, but my excitement kept me warm.
The first couple miles were cold (I was on the lower level of the bridge, out of the sun) but once we emerged it heated up, and before we knew it we were in the crowds along 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. So many people were out to watch this (I heard one estimate of 2.5 million) and they were screaming and yelling the whole way, bands were playing, some little girl was singing Madonna karaoke...it was a bit intense. The really overwhelming crowd, though, was along 1st Avenue in Manhattan. The smartest thing I did (and will do in future races) was write my name on the front of my shirt -- few things are more motivational than hearing your name being screamed by a crowd!!
I kind of hit the wall around Mile 19 but never stopped to walk, even though I was moving pretty slowly. I made it through the Bronx ok, then came back into Manhattan to run down 5th Avenue and into Central Park (where I saw my cheerleading team!!). I had a last burst of energy during the final mile, but was so happy to cross that Finish Line.
I beat my first goal, running in 4h 7m 52s, and I’m pretty proud of that. Obviously, I didn’t hit the second goal, but I learned from this race and my training for it and that’s going to help me in the future (that goal is still there, but now I’m trying to meet it in the Paris Marathon next April!!).
Not too shabby for a 44-year old guy who just started running a couple years ago. Actually, that wouldn't be too shabby for a 24-year old guy, either.
Earlier this year I decided to take a break from the Marine Corps Marathon and instead run in NYC a week later. The New York City Marathon is an iconic event, it’s pretty much the largest marathon in the world (there were about 43,000 people running), and the image of the start across the Verrezano-Narrows Bridge is one of the most well-known images in modern sports. Sure, the Boston Marathon is more prestigious (everyone has to qualify for that one, whereas New York allows a broader range of ability), but NYC was something I can do now...I don’t know if I’ll ever qualify for Boston.
So, yeah, New York… I managed to get into the Marathon, which was a feat in itself. Then I knew I wanted to run it in under 4h 20m, which was my best marathon time so far. I also knew I wanted to try to run in under 4 hours...that’s something I’m working toward over time, and considering my first marathon only two years ago was run in 4h 36m, it’s a real challenge. I trained through the summer and tried to get myself ready. For the first time I used a GPS watch while training and found the data helped me pinpoint those areas where I might have trouble. It also proved pretty motivational when I saw how well I could keep up my speed during the later miles. My training went great, and I felt that I was definitely on track to set a new Personal Record, and borderline in my goal to break 4 hours.
The weekend was great. I took the bus to NYC in the morning and went to the expo that afternoon. That was a pretty great experience in itself, being surround by runners from all over the US and the world, chatting with folks and also meeting organizers for some of the foreign marathons where I’m hoping to run (ola, Rio!!). I also got asked out on a post-marathon date by a cute guy. My support team – ET, Adrian, and Shawn – arrived that night and of course they got to go out while I had to sleep (SO unfair). Saturday was dim sum and shopping, followed later by a big pasta dinner.
The race itself was so much fun. I was part of a fundraising team, and we all met (about 700 of us) for breakfast at our hotel, then had a police escort for our buses out to Staten Island for the start. The logistics of the race are such that we spend about 3 hours there before we actually start running. It was cold, but my excitement kept me warm.
The first couple miles were cold (I was on the lower level of the bridge, out of the sun) but once we emerged it heated up, and before we knew it we were in the crowds along 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. So many people were out to watch this (I heard one estimate of 2.5 million) and they were screaming and yelling the whole way, bands were playing, some little girl was singing Madonna karaoke...it was a bit intense. The really overwhelming crowd, though, was along 1st Avenue in Manhattan. The smartest thing I did (and will do in future races) was write my name on the front of my shirt -- few things are more motivational than hearing your name being screamed by a crowd!!
I kind of hit the wall around Mile 19 but never stopped to walk, even though I was moving pretty slowly. I made it through the Bronx ok, then came back into Manhattan to run down 5th Avenue and into Central Park (where I saw my cheerleading team!!). I had a last burst of energy during the final mile, but was so happy to cross that Finish Line.
I beat my first goal, running in 4h 7m 52s, and I’m pretty proud of that. Obviously, I didn’t hit the second goal, but I learned from this race and my training for it and that’s going to help me in the future (that goal is still there, but now I’m trying to meet it in the Paris Marathon next April!!).
Not too shabby for a 44-year old guy who just started running a couple years ago. Actually, that wouldn't be too shabby for a 24-year old guy, either.
Labels: Running
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Achieving My Goals for the Year
I do a lot.
Between travel, friends, running, a demanding job, self-development, and more, I have a lot that I want to accomplish. One reason for having such an active life is that I know there will come a point when I may not have the chance to do a lot of new things, so I want to take advantage of the time I have now. One thing I've learned from some friends' and family members' health problems is that that day could be decades away, or it could be tomorrow; you never know. Another reason is, there are just so many things I want to do, so many things that seem interesting, and I want to try them all.
And so, I make goals.
This helps me figure out what I want to do, prioritize what’s important and what’s not, and forces me to think about how to accomplish things so I can better overcome obstacles. It’s not so much that I sit around making lists and plans and itineraries, but I do try to have an idea of what comes next.
Back on New Year’s I didn’t have resolutions, but I did have goals for this year. I met them. In fact, I pretty much met them back in August.
New job This didn't turn out quite the way I expected. Still, I certainly managed to change jobs! I've found that I'm about 1,000,000% happier now that I'm out of the military. I'm not sure it was being in the Air Force that was the problem, as it much as it was the position I was in for the last 4 years (c'mon, I volunteered to go to Afghanistan to get out of my office!). In any case, I really enjoy my work now, and that's made a huge difference in my general happiness.
Travel with Linh This one almost didn't work out even before I tried, but his work schedule became such that we were able to head somewhere after all. The next question was deciding where to go, knowing as we did that we wanted to visit a place neither had been to before, and so we ended up with a fantastic week in Lisbon, Portugal. I've traveled alone a lot, and with a partner or boyfriend back when I had one, but traveling with friends is fairly new for me, and I like it!!
Explore emerging interests I'm slowly getting back into photography. It's fun, and I like grabbing my camera and going for a walk, though it certainly isn't second nature yet to start photographing at random. But I'm getting there. I also went to Bangkok and studied Thai massage, which some of my friends back here have appreciated a lot!
Run a marathon for fun Back in May ET and I flew off for a weekend in Cincinnati to run the Flying Pig Marathon. This was my "run for fun" race, which I really needed after running for time in Hong Kong and instead getting to know the paramedics afterwards. I tend to have a little more endurance in my legs than ET so he started fading at Mile 18 while I was still thinking we could set a new Personal Record. Rather than take off and leave him, though, we kept running together, which made for a GREAT finishing effort (never mind that he told me to shut up as I was encouraging him at the end lol).
Start a business I created a consulting firm in August. I haven't done much with it yet, as I've been settling into my teaching job, but I anticipate some cool opportunities in the next year.
Sometimes, new goals will emerge…it isn’t just a New Year’s thing. For example, I made the decision to run this year’s New York City Marathon, and that turned out pretty well.
When I was a kid I was one of those pretentious little twerps who tried to organize the other kids into things. I remember my mom telling me that maybe I should just focus on having fun. She was sort of right, but I’ve found a happy medium that is allowing me to have a pretty incredible life.
So, any suggestions for next year’s goals???
Between travel, friends, running, a demanding job, self-development, and more, I have a lot that I want to accomplish. One reason for having such an active life is that I know there will come a point when I may not have the chance to do a lot of new things, so I want to take advantage of the time I have now. One thing I've learned from some friends' and family members' health problems is that that day could be decades away, or it could be tomorrow; you never know. Another reason is, there are just so many things I want to do, so many things that seem interesting, and I want to try them all.
And so, I make goals.
This helps me figure out what I want to do, prioritize what’s important and what’s not, and forces me to think about how to accomplish things so I can better overcome obstacles. It’s not so much that I sit around making lists and plans and itineraries, but I do try to have an idea of what comes next.
Back on New Year’s I didn’t have resolutions, but I did have goals for this year. I met them. In fact, I pretty much met them back in August.
New job This didn't turn out quite the way I expected. Still, I certainly managed to change jobs! I've found that I'm about 1,000,000% happier now that I'm out of the military. I'm not sure it was being in the Air Force that was the problem, as it much as it was the position I was in for the last 4 years (c'mon, I volunteered to go to Afghanistan to get out of my office!). In any case, I really enjoy my work now, and that's made a huge difference in my general happiness.
Travel with Linh This one almost didn't work out even before I tried, but his work schedule became such that we were able to head somewhere after all. The next question was deciding where to go, knowing as we did that we wanted to visit a place neither had been to before, and so we ended up with a fantastic week in Lisbon, Portugal. I've traveled alone a lot, and with a partner or boyfriend back when I had one, but traveling with friends is fairly new for me, and I like it!!
Explore emerging interests I'm slowly getting back into photography. It's fun, and I like grabbing my camera and going for a walk, though it certainly isn't second nature yet to start photographing at random. But I'm getting there. I also went to Bangkok and studied Thai massage, which some of my friends back here have appreciated a lot!
Run a marathon for fun Back in May ET and I flew off for a weekend in Cincinnati to run the Flying Pig Marathon. This was my "run for fun" race, which I really needed after running for time in Hong Kong and instead getting to know the paramedics afterwards. I tend to have a little more endurance in my legs than ET so he started fading at Mile 18 while I was still thinking we could set a new Personal Record. Rather than take off and leave him, though, we kept running together, which made for a GREAT finishing effort (never mind that he told me to shut up as I was encouraging him at the end lol).
Start a business I created a consulting firm in August. I haven't done much with it yet, as I've been settling into my teaching job, but I anticipate some cool opportunities in the next year.
Sometimes, new goals will emerge…it isn’t just a New Year’s thing. For example, I made the decision to run this year’s New York City Marathon, and that turned out pretty well.
When I was a kid I was one of those pretentious little twerps who tried to organize the other kids into things. I remember my mom telling me that maybe I should just focus on having fun. She was sort of right, but I’ve found a happy medium that is allowing me to have a pretty incredible life.
So, any suggestions for next year’s goals???
Labels: Friends, Life, Running, Travel, Work
