A New Master: Getting Better with Time

2017 United Airlines NYC Half - 1:28:15

For me, running is therapeutic. And my way to fight  depression. After embracing running in my 30s from absolutely no running in my 20s, I have a little perspective now that I can share. I have a good grasp of how vastly different life has been during both times. I ran in my teens and grew to hate it. That hatred carried into my 20s, until I decided to try it again for the challenge of running a marathon. I love the challenge, I hate the stress. I can say that about a lot of things in my life. As I enter into another decade, I’m grateful for how far I’ve come and look forward to the challenges ahead.

Running as therapy:

Living in New York City is stressful. It’s expensive. People are in your face almost constantly. No matter how nice people appear to be after 9/11, there are still plenty of rude ones. And the weather is so unpredictable, it can disrupt whatever plans you may have.

I work construction. Construction is stressful. Clients demanding your services and for its completion yesterday, even though they requested today. Government regulators making sure you are performing your duties with priority to the public. And for the amount of stress that comes with the job, the money isn’t enough to get ahead in this expensive city.

So I run. Not away from but towards the stress. Convert the stressful, anxiety filled energy into a healthy, therapeutic energy. An energy that brings benefit to the body for fighting disease, anxiety, and ironically… stress. Using the running’s stress to fight negative, depressing, unproductive stress. It is sort of an oxymoron but its true. By setting goals for myself, like shooting for faster race times, and taking on new challenges, like training for an Olympic triathlon, you add stress to beat stress.

Embracing another decade:

Swimming as cross training - Chelsea Piers

With the tools to defeat stress that took me a while to learn, I embrace another decade in life. Feeling younger and healthy despite being grayer and slower. Yes slower! My body aches more now after every run or workout than just 5 years ago. Recovery has become a way of life that go hand-in-hand with my running. I took up triathlons for cross training. It works better for me than weight training. Those who knew me in my 20s remembered me for being all about weight training. That has changed. I’ve evolved. Plus I had a hernia, so I had to seriously cut back. And that freed up time for more running.

As I was saying, entering a new decade has me equipped with many lessons learned. I am able to perform better athletically despite getting older and slower physically, which requires me to apply these lessons on a daily basis. The Results: I ran my 3^rd fastest half marathon at the 2017 United Airlines NYC Half . More swimming for cross training, less running to allow recovery time, and my consistent but not as frequent as when I am marathon training, massage regimen.

So I remain optimistic that I can perform to even faster times, without stressing the times. Whenever someone asks, “What time are you shooting for?” for any particular race. I always reply,

“I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do the best I can.”

And that is really how I see it. Speaking out loud an actual goal time adds stress. Like when I was shooting for the Boston Marathon. Every marathon I would shoot for a BQ time and then some, and every one I would be disappointed. Scrambling to figure out where I went wrong as the post marathon blues would settle in. Although the challenge was fun, the stress sucked. I am so glad that is over with. April 2018, I’ll finally get to run Boston. In the back of my mind I would like to do it again, sure. Just like when people ask me about goal times for any other race, sure I have a number in the back of my head. But I don’t need that kind of stress. It’s enough that my job and regulators hold me accountable for things I do at my job, no need to add stress by being accountable for race time goals I profess to the world. No thank you, I got into running to defeat anxiety and unhealthy stress, not add to it.

Clip from my run portion of my first indoor tri in Garden City, NY - January 6, 2017

As a side note, the 2017 United Airlines NYC half felt like any other race. I did surprise myself by running a sub 1:30. My training focus has been for my next marathon and improving my swim. The usual culprits came back: left hamstring weak and on the verge of re-injury, as well as my chronic right hip problems I've been having during training. I was forced to take it extra slow along the West Side of Central Park. And by mile 11, I just didn't have the legs to run a negative split. I did finish strong in the last mile as I approached the tunnel. Check my Strava stats for this race below:

https://www.strava.com/activities/906363218

Conclusion: the War Against Depression

I spent years diving deep into numbers behind a computer screen. Sitting behind a desk visualizing and coming up with plans that would eventually become reality for the public to use. It is depressing when these plans don’t work out as visualized. People can get hurt as watchdogs oversee your activities, ready to punish you. Clients prioritize their pockets over the public that leaves you in a peculiar situation to keep paying the bills in an ever increasing costly city. All this allows for depression to settle in very quickly.

Trying Normatec boots for the first time - March 2017

Especially after a marathon, when 3 or 4 months of training has completed. What now! Did I get the time goal I wanted? How long can I keep doing this? Oh you ran two marathons within a month of each other? Did you take the time to digest what happened in the first one? Were you adequately prepared for the second one? Are you in over your head? How many friends did I cancel on to accommodate my training? Who’s birthday did I miss?

There are so many questions that add that unhealthy stress and depression. But the beauty about this running lifestyle is: I shut my mind off, put on my running shoes, and run. The important questions get answered during your run. The rest can wait. And my life gets better. Because the run helps me not stress the small stuff. The big stuff gets dealt with through epiphany. Its like the miles help the blood circulate better to your brain, for better thinking, and less distractions on the open roads. And that will continue as run my first marathon outside of the United States: The 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon, April 23! Couldn’t ask for a better way to make my Masters debut. 

Winter Hibernation and Recovery

My winter running season is officially over upon conclusion of the 2016 United Airlines New York City Half. It was a learning experience to say the least. The words, "less is more" became more meaningful than any other time in all my years of running. If I'm going to have a strong Fall season, then shifting gears and getting the right balance of intense training and recovery is essential. 

Tight security and a cold 1st day of Spring #unitednychalf

This winter saw me take more frequent rest than in recent years. This aggravating hamstring has been a problem I can't seem to shake. I did a 17 day rest after the New Year (only running Joe Kleinerman at a slower pace), another 17 day rest after the cancelled Fred Lebow, and every other day workout with only high intensity once a week and at least 3 days rest before a race. It helped in allowing my legs to be fresh for all out racing but the post race hamstring pain would pretty much erase several days of healing time. 

It's colder out so it takes longer for your legs to warm up. Pushing the limits to reach my race pace to a sustained level probably caused some of the injured muscle fibers to abruptly undo any healing progress I made thus far. So after running races that sustained my fitness level (only PR at Washington Heights 5K at 19:03), another rest is in order. 

 

I'd say one more week of no running after a 1:29:58 performance at the United Airlines NYC Half. My teammates were great with motivating me to push through during the race. So many inspirational stories, such grit and determination. Mentally I'm at a state where I know I can do better. And Spring, my favorite time to build up my miles and speed is now upon us. As my relentless pursuit continues, the next stop: 2016 Airbnb Brooklyn Half. That's 2 months of honest preparation to give the best performance of my life! 

Bib #1090 at the United NYC Half Experience

Central Park Track Club Teammates: Felipe (Chile), Shane (Aussie), and I warming up at Whitehall Terminal before we celebrate our finish. #globalcitizens

Prelude to my NYC Marathon Dream.

The half marathon is certainly my favorite distance. Long enough to be a challenge but short enough not to devastate you. I have a good number of them under my belt since my Team-In-Training days, so preparing and training for one isn't as strenuous as it used to be. Today's NYC 1/2 is definitely worth writing a little something about. It may not have been my best performing race, but certainly my most fun half marathon.

Security was definitely on point with dogs and swarms of police in the pre-race and baggage areas on 59th Street. I was actually surprised at how cold it was. Up until a couple days ago, the weather man mentioned 50's (F) and it was hovering between 25 and 30 until the race start. So after emptying out early (lessons learned from Miami) and checking my bag in, I just made it to my coral before the national anthem. It was certainly nice seeing all the North Brooklyn Runners wishing each other the best and inspiring each other to be their best. Along with the crowds and the ABC-7 cameras I knew this was going to be fun.

So the gun went off and of course, I kept to my normal 7 to 7:30 min/mile pace. I haven't run in Central Park since the Joe Kleinerman 10K so I was a little intimidated by the Harlem Hills after mile 3. I took it slower than I should have and ended up costing me overall. A much faster NBR teammate advised me later that it was best to keep my splits at an even pace. Even though the hills are rough in the beginning, running them hard would have been ideal. I would be tired running down the West Side Highway but I would have held a faster pace. Instead, I ended up having to gun it after mile 11 to make up for any time loss. 

Oh well, it was fun. I couldn't help giving high fives to spectators along the side that stuck their hands out to me in Times Square. The wind after mile 7 and turning the corner down the West Side at mile 8, can also be a place that cost me some time. And finally, every time I wrap my legs, I tend to run slower. I wore the knee high socks because I wanted to keep my legs warm while wearing shorts. That has consistently resulted in shin splints. I'm certainly my worse critic. No race is perfect, and we get better with repetition. 

So with a 1:32:40. I am certainly happy. Post-race felt fine. Shins were a little sore but I didn't have the side stitch problem thanks to my new breathing exercises I learned in my last NBR form run. And I can't say enough about the crowds, especially entering Wall Street to the Finish Line. It was one big "NYC 1/2" sign that made you feel really special. Prepackaged post-race refreshments and the words of congratulations from the volunteers was the icing on the cake. Well done New York Road Runners, well done. If this is what you did for 20,000 half marathon runners, I can imagine what it will be like for the 50,000 marathon runners that run through the boroughs this November. Until then, I am patiently waiting for that dream to be fulfilled.