Master Runner is a blog dedicated to helping runners get to the next accomplishment.
To get an entry for my 9th NYC Marathon I’ve decided to raise money with Team for Kids which supports Rising New York Road Runners. Rising NYRR is the NYRR charity that supports running programs schools across the country.
These programs include:
If you’d like to donate to support me and the kids please do so at this link.
Apologizes for posting about a race two months late. After my heart attack gas scare I wasn’t sure how I would race the Brooklyn Half. Turns out pretty well.
I couldn’t sleep well the night before. The race was on my mind. I was hoping for something that would confirm or deny that I should enter the NYC Marathon this year. Something that either would help me believe that I wasn’t done with running/racing or was. Perhaps even a moment of clarity in what should be my focus right now or some truth, imagined or otherwise, about life.
I think I got some of that.
Having given up on sleep. I arrived early that morning. The sun was thinking of beginning to rise but remained elusively in the distance. The race corrals were a tantalizing close at a mile from my house. Far enough to consider an uber but close enough to bike or walk. I went with both biking and waling.
I borrowed a Citibank to make the climb from my apartment in Gowanus to Grand Army Plaza. From Grand Army Plaza I walked to the corrals. The sun rose as I reached Grand Army Plaza. For the first time in what seemed like weeks it was going to be a perfect weather day.
The month leading up to the Brooklyn half had been one of the rainiest months in recent memories. It rain on the weekdays. It rained on the weekend. It rained during work. It rained after work. It mostly rained when one wanted to run. Which made running an act of defiance. Defiance against the weather.
After getting through security and settling myself in my corral. I began to really enjoy the morning. 5:30 AM did not seem too early. It did not seem to harsh. Instead it seemed like a time for rising. A time to take control of life and all its difficulties.
As the corals filled out. It became crowded. Runners struggled to get to the bathroom as they always have but I had already found part of the clarity that I was hoping to get out of this race. I had re-learned something simple that I had forgotten. I can get up very early and start my day with a run.
When the race started I brought back another truth that had gotten me through the 2017 NYC Marathon. Heartrate monitors can tell you how close you are to the edge during a race. This probably deserves a full article but the gist is this:
In this race I really watched my heart-rate…. and for the full race it averaged 163 beats per minute:
The last mile I really red lined with a heart-rate in the 170s. I ran about 10 miles of the race in and out of the 160s. With all of this heart-rate watching I wasn’t watching my splits… which are a bit all over the place:
I wasn’t really watching my splits though… And I had no goals going in terms of time. I did do my best and ran a time that I think proves I can still run and have found a bit of maturity in knowing how I can push my body.
All in all, I was completely satisfied with the Brooklyn Half. I put myself out there. Re-Learned a few things about myself. And found I still had enough left to want to race this year. I left the race feeling pumped up for the rest of my running year.
A definition to work off of as we begin our journey
I remember the first time I heard the term Master Runner. I was at a NYRR race in Central Park in my early 30s and chating with one of the more competitive runners from my team, the North Brooklyn Runners.
My teammate had a goal to place for the Masters Team. Naturally, I asked what was the Master Team? He answered, “Well its not really its own team, the top runners over 40 are in an additional competition for club points.”
To that, I respond oh so its a compeitive thing. What I didn’t understand at the time is that running over 40 by itself is a competitive thing. As one ages it becomes harder and harder to keep going.
Just because things are hard doesn’t mean they’re worth doing. Running has brought me so much in my life. Keeping running in my life fulfills me in ways that I tend to only understand with hind-site. To me a master runner is:
As I start this site. I’m hoping to help inspire and educate others who are on the journey of the life of a runner with me. Wish me luck.
I’m back, it’s 2021 and I’m training for the NYC Marathon again.
Since I last updated this blog I:
I’m restarting the blog to give me something to share my learnings about running as I keep going and experience new things through running.
A lot of the reason I choose Team for Kids was I want to support running as a charity. Running has had a profound influence on my life. To name a few things I can trace my MBA, moving to NYC, meeting my wife, and a good part of my career success to being a runner.
I took up running as an adult shortly after getting my first post college job. I would say I was out of shape but I had never been in shape. But more accurately I was a little depressed, gaining weight and spending a lot of my time indoors.
Running was and still is a way to get outside, socialize, and think. In the early day I was a social runner, using running to meet new people. I also would run and use the time to think about my place in the world. Eventually running even took me somewhere… New York.
My first NYC Marathon in part helped me get into NYU Stern. I was wait-listed at Stern and decided to enter the lottery for the marathon. I was accepted into the 2003 NYC Marathon and finished in just under five hours. A few months later I was accepted into Stern and made my way to New York. Since that day in August of 2004 I have not left.
Later, in 2006 my future wife and I went to watch the NYC Marathon on our second date. It was on this date that we really connected. Our first date was much more casual, a meeting of two strangers at a restaurant in Manhattan. On this second date, two kindred spirits were watching thousands of people accomplish one of life’s great accomplishments, winning the NYC marathon.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate what being able to return to running has brought me in terms of stability, friends, and mental health. When I’ve hit a point in my career where I struggled I’ve often I wish I had found running sooner then I did in my life.
Today, in 2019, running is giving me time to myself. Whether its before the rest of my family gets out of bed or on the way home from work my time running is my rare alone moments where I can do a little bit of what I once had a lot of time to do. This can be as simple as listening to music or a podcast or as complicated as trying to solve a big problem at work in my head.
Running has had such a profound effect on my life. As such, I’m raising money for Team for Kids so that the next generation might find running earlier in life.
The week before the Brooklyn Half I had a strange sudden illness. While getting the family ready for the day I had chest pain. It wasn’t a sharp pain. It was a sensation I had never felt before and was associated with a feeling of vertigo. I’d call it pressure with a side of nausea.
Not wanting to ignore anything resembling chest pain I made a doctor’s appointment. I’m a member of One Medical and was able to book an appoint with a nurse practitioner later that morning. I didn’t think I was having a heart attack but I wanted to be sure. The thought of my kids growing up alone spurred me into action.
Immediately they called me and emailed me out of concern that I was having a heart attack.
I ignored them. Not sure thats the best thing to do but I didn’t seem to be dropping dead.
When I arrived I was quickly taken. The Nurse was concerned. Apparently often people arrive with complaints of chest pains and leave in an ambulance. The word’s “Chest Pain” causes alarms to go off in thier system.
The examination was pretty standard. My vitals were taken. I was asked to describe the sensation that I felt. I was asked about my family history. The one non-standard thing was he took and EKG.
Actually… he had the EKG machine ready when I walked in. Apparently, everything on the EKG machine looked normal except my resting heart rate; 54 beats a minute. However, given all the running I’ve done over the last two decades that wasn’t completely out of place.
The big thing that I learned was in a heart attack most of the time the pain is great and is shooting down the left side of your body. In my case, what I experienced was most likely some type of gas. In fact, in the Brooklyn Half it became very clear that I was experiencing gas.
The Practitioner’s recommendation was to take some Tums and take it easy. I did just that, dialing back my running until the Brooklyn half. I did however go straight back to work.
Despite not having anything serious to deal with, I would encourage everyone to go to the doctor anytime you think you could have a condition that would affect your long term health. Especially a heart attack. One of the reasons we run its to maintain and improve health so that we call can live long and fulfilling lives. To do that we need to understand that we are mortal and can sick.
Its been quite a while since I wrote an update. As usual, life sometimes gets in the way of running. The good news is despite the issues I’ve started to hit a stride in training the last 3 weeks.
As you can see in the above, I managed to increase my weekly milegage by about 4 miles a week and incorporate a long run into my training. This is clearly far off from the old days where I could log a 30, 40, 50, or even a 60 mile week without a problem but its progress.
I’m carefully managing two injuries as I try to increase my training. My left foot has/had a case of plantar fasciitis that started to flare up about four weeks ago but then calmed down with rest. Likewise, I hurt my neck using my laptop in January and it occasionally feels like its about to flare up.
Right now, I have two rules when it comes to training/resting:
When I think about Sunday versus Saturday rest, right now Saturday is better for running as I’m generally fresher on Saturday. Sometimes taking care of kids can wipe you out.
I have no doubts on my ability to crush it in the Brooklyn half. I felt much stronger after my 10 mile run this weekend then last weekend and even had a bit of bounce in my step during the run. I’m going to aim for a 1:55 time or so.
This was a great running week for me. I felt great, ran a lot, relieved stress, and managed to fit a good amount of running into my busy life.
I managed to get a solid 5 days of running in which is more then I’ve been able to make happen in recent weeks. What made this week easy was the drastic improvement in NYC weather/daylight. With temperatures in the 50s and the sunsetting past 7pm it was much easier to get out and run.
Sunday: We came back from Saint Kitts Saturday night. I woke Sunday with a mission, I was going to run a lap of prospect park. While the family ate breakfast I put on my running gear and headed out. Immediately, I knew this wasn’t going to work out.
My hamstrings we’re silly tight. The combination of not running for a week, swimming, walking on the beach, picking up 30lb 2 year olds, sitting on airplanes and in ubers, had tighted up my hamstrings majorly. I resolved to run/walk to the top of the slope, to touch Prospect Park and then head back.
Sure this was a compromise. But given my fitness level and some of the challenges I’ve had staying healthy is paramount.
Afterwards, I got on my Viper (Vibrating foam roller) and rolled out my legs.
Monday: Monday I ran home from work. I brought my backpack and packed all my clothes into it. I left my computer at work and hauled home slowly at an average pace of 11 minutes per mile.
The hamstrings were still tight but manageable. Running up the Manhattan side of the Manhattan bridge presented a bit of a challenge. But I took my time and made it happen.
Afterwards, I rolled out again and had a great dinner of Atlantic Salmon, vegetables, and Brown Rice.
Tuesday: Another run home from work. My hamstrings felt better, my pace improved to 10:18 per mile. It was a bit warmer and I still had a backpack full of stuff.
Afterwards my legs felt a little restless. I had a hard time falling asleep that night. The lack of good sleep made me resolve to take Wednesday off.
Wednesday: A day off. Slept great. Felt much better.
Thursday: This time, my run home from work involved a backpack loaded down with a Macbook Pro.
I happened to have no meetings scheduled for Friday. With the time largely free I decided to work from home. I specifically choose by running backpack to hold my laptop Macbook Pro. It did its job wonderfully, holding the laptop, a down coat, two shirts, pants, boxers, socks, and a belt.
Friday: Working from home allowed me to get a morning run in after our nanny arrived. I immediately headed out to Prospect Park. I took a slightly irregular route. There was a house on 8th Street that I was curious about that I wanted to run by. So rather then take my usual direct route to Grand Army Plaza I ran down 3rd Avenue to 8th Street to check out the house.
With the house checked out I entered the Park at 9th street and took a leisurely lower loop. It seemed like everyone was in the park compared to other late morning weekday runs I’ve gone on. I finished up and got home to get to work.
Saturday: Saturday I was feeling pretty tight from running on Thursday and Friday. With a full day of activities already on the calendar I took the day off. With temps in the 60s late in the day it was a great day to spend time with people you love.
Sunday: While my family ate breakfast I did a full lap of the park. I felt some tightness coming up the hill but it was otherwise a good run. Also, I managed to beat the rain which started soon after I returned home.
As the day progressed my legs tightened up. Making me think I may have over done it. Only time will tell.
Next Week’s Plan: I’d like to pull off something similar in the coming week. If I can run home 3-4 times and get 1-2 weekend runs in I think I’ll be in good shape to continue to make progress toward getting back in shape. With the Brooklyn Half Marathon looming in May and a goal of breaking two hours I feel like I can reach the goal if I just keep plugging away each day.
2019 will be my 9th New York CIty Marathon and the first time I’ll run it for charity. Over the next few months, I need to pick a charity, start to fund raise, and start to train. I can’t wait as its one of the things I look forward to the most every year that I have an entry.
Why I’ve ran the NYC Marathon nine times is one of those things that deserves its own post. In the absence of having written it, suffice to say its been a part of a few of the most important moments in my life.
Picking a charity will be a challenge. They’re are literally hundreds of charities to choose from. Which one makes sense seems to be a compromise between what cause one wants to raise money for, how much money to raise, and side benefits the charity gets you for the rack.
In terms of a cause, I am fortunate to not have too many tragedies in my life. So picking becomes harder for me. As I suspect that if one had a personal tragedy to dedicate the race to one would simply pick that charity and dedicate the race to that charity. If someone close to me had a tragedy that I could easily connect to a charity I would proceed to raise money for the charity.
For what I’ve gathered, the New York Road Runner’s Official Charity, Team for Kids has the lowest minimum fundraising guarantee. However, it’s relatively close to the minimums other charities offer. Team for Kids is at $2620 + $100 for joining team for kids + the race registration fees. Other charities start at $3,000 and include the fees.
Likewise, some charities offer a training group/team. I already have one so this is of low interest for me. My only other charity marathon was to raise money for the American Cancer Society and I did not do a single training run with them. I did wear they’re ringlet and appreciated their cheers on the race course.
So stay tuned. I think I’ll figure out which charity to use in a few months.
As I write this post, I’m on vacation with my wife and two sons (Ages 6 and 2). I have not done any training on this vacation and currently don’t have plans to. Training on vacation, just like deciding to train at all is a bit of a very personal decision. It depends on what you want to get out of your vacation.
A few typical things that come to mind when I think about what people want to get out of a vacation include:
At the end of the day, spending time with my loves ones is what I want to get out of my vacations the most. With kids that go to sleep at 8pm and wake up at 7am, most days I see my kids for 3 hours tops. Vacation lets us spend an entire week together which hopefully helps mold who they are a bit more than I can do on a typical workday.
If I find time to do any training this vacation it will be while the family is occupied. Most likely this is during some sort of rest period. My wife tends to get first dibs in these rest periods as she’s said it’s really important to her to find the time to work out. For me, its of secondary importance.
Whether or not you run on your vacation is your decision. I fully support you in it. I think this is one of those you can do no wrong decisions. As they’re are benefits both ways. The most important thing is probably to go on vacation. Which is something we call could use more of.
In 2017 I was surprised beyond words that I won the the NYC Marathon Lottery. It felt like I had done the impossible, after coming off three consecutive NYC Marathons to get a fourth when I hadn’t done my 9+1 felt like something that shouldn’t happen. But it did. This year, it did not, which leaves me in position to run my second charity marathon ever. More on that later but I have some thoughts on the lottery first.
First, I love the lottery, the inclusiveness of it is something that has brought me to NYC in the first place. I won the NYC Marathon lottery in 2003. That brought me to my first marathon and in someway resulted in me moving to NYC , getting my MBA, meeting my wife, and becoming a multi-decade New Yorker. I can’t imagine my life if I hadn’t won that Lottery.
Second, I think the lottery is rigged in favor of fast people and people coming from under represented areas of the country/world The second point is basically stated on the about the drawing page:
I’m kinda convinced that speed is part of this. The year I won, I had a 4 miler as my last race with the NYRR translated into a sub 3:10 Marathon. Their has to be more room at the top of this race then the back. Note to self… I need to get faster.
The specific state of Origin thing seems important too. The smaller the place your from the more likely you are to make it.
Finally, I used to be a big believer in thinking about a lottery win as a two year win to run the marathon. Back when the Marathon cost a reasonable amount of money insteady of several hundred dollars I ate an entry twice because I wasn’t ready to run the year I had an entry for. But with the current $255 to $338 cost for the NYC Marathon I think if you’re in it you should run it. Its not worth putting out that money twice.
