The Beautiful Puzzle Of Marathon Training (And How Much I Miss It)

The fall marathon season is in full swing. Well, virtual marathon season. If you’re running a marathon this year, chances are the race will not be on a marked course with water stops, medical tents, and thousands of other runners. It will likely take place on a course of your choosing, at whatever time you want, over a specified range of dates. There won’t be water tables, gel stations, or free samples of Biofreeze. You will probably run it alone.

It won’t be the same. And I wish I was running one.

Happy Birthday, Blog (And Why You Should Start One)

It occurred to me earlier today that I’ve had this blog for three years. Turns out I just missed the anniversary of my first post, which was September 18. So, I’m a couple weeks late in wishing it a happy birthday. Okay, a few weeks late. Well, just pretend I’m not. What are dates, anyway? What is time? I’m not sure it even exists.

For anyone who wasn’t around as a reader back in September 2017 (all of you), here is my very first post, which was titled “Hi“

When a Runner Can’t Run

I was just looking at my blog stats and noticed someone had recently clicked on my post Ghost in the Shell. I couldn’t remember what the post was about (which I guess happens when you have a three-year-old blog) so I opened it. It’s from February 2018 – several lifetimes ago. At the time, I couldn’t run for a week because the ball of my foot was acting up, so I went to a podiatrist who recommended I didn’t run for a week. I was very sad that I couldn’t run for a week.

Distance

I’ve been wondering what my next post should be about on this blog. In my last post, I wrote that I wanted to transition this space into one that encompasses more about life in general, with not necessarily such a narrow focus on running. There are still running-related things I want to write about: plantar fasciitis, how to work out when you can’t run, playlist recommendations. I will write about these things and I will also write about other things.

Chasm

Last month was the first time since I started this blog back in 2017 that I didn’t write a single post.

There are a few reasons for this. I haven’t been running. I didn’t feel like writing. I haven’t had much to write about. I don’t know about anyone else, but the national discussion following the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day took hold of my attention to the point where, for a few weeks, it felt tacky to post anything about myself.

How Much Does Running Cost?

With the recent shutdown of [gestures to entire universe], I found myself thinking about how much money I’m saving by not buying things I normally buy. Unlimited MetroCard for $127? Don’t need that anymore – I have nowhere to go. I’m not renewing my membership to the NYC Rec Centers (which I mainly joined for the pool) so that’s $150 saved. Road races? Remember those? I’m getting refunds for the cancelled ones I already paid for, at least the ones NYRR has offered to refund so far.

56 Miles in Andes, NY

Wednesday, March 18

This is my first run upstate, ever. I’ve been coming here since the late 80s so this feels like a major achievement. Here I am. A city gal running in rural upstate New York.

I head in a direction I know, making a right onto Route 28 toward Main Street and its one stop light. From there, I’ll turn left four times until I’m back at my dad’s house. Google Maps says it should be about 6.5 miles, and thank goodness for Google Maps because otherwise I would not know how to get back.

This Is Fine: 2020 Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K Race Recap

And now, for something completely normal.

If you read my last post, you’ll learn that there have been times during the past month I’ve wanted to write in this blog. One of those things was a recap of the Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K that took place on Sunday, March 1, 2020, which was exactly seven and a half years ago (or does it just feel like that??). Now that every race is being cancelled in the coming months (and, I am predicting, for the remainder of 2020), I might as well write this recap because who knows when the next one will be (2021, if we’re lucky).

This Wasn’t Supposed to Happen

How do you write something you want to write yet have no idea how to write?

I’ve been asking myself this question for the past three weeks. I’ve wanted to write so many times. I could have sat down and started typing words with no idea what was going to come out, like I’m doing right now, finally, because the pain of not doing it has finally outweighed the pain of doing it.

2020 Boston Marathon Training: Week 3 of 12

Here is week 3 of my training for the Boston Marathon! At the end of this post I have a little story about a running route fail, which might be amusing to anyone who has ever run an unknown route for the first time.

Week 3 wasn’t initially supposed to be a down week, but after fatigue set in at the end of week 2, I decided to make it one. I only ran three times this week: a speed workout, a tempo run, and a long run at an easy pace. Plus a few strength training workouts. I’ll link to all of it below.