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A picture is worth 1000 words, or more.

I have been using pictures to fill my blog instead of writing regularly. It is impressive how consistently Mike has been blogging since he started his training blog. Is there any way I can learn to blog like him? No! But I can take photos and he probably can't! So I am going to rely on the photos to fill in the empty spaces.

The move to UES is done. I am getting back to my running routine. And the pull-up challenge is getting close. More on that later. Perry told me about the "kick" and how that may not be cheating, and how it can double your pull-up count. I am learning the "kick", believe it or not!!

Manhattan rainbow

Rainbow over Empire State building.

Random guy: "Crazy shot, Ha?! Right over the building!!"

Glasses and skyline

What to eat before a run?

Snack before run

Dripping cinnamon doughnut

Aggressive goose

Aggressively protective geese at Riverside Park South

The one in the foreground was ready to attack.

West Side Highway Out and Back run

This Monday we ran the West Side Highway run. We warm up by running from the Y to under the highway at 59th street and West Side Highway. We always pass the hospital where I work and usually run into a few friends or coworkers who are surprised to see me running with a big group. 

This time, we did a 30-minute out and 30-minute back run. The idea is to go easy on the out part, and then accelerate coming back. The total time ends up being less than an hour if you run a negative split. I was a little worried about this run since the first time I noted the hip problem was during a fast out-and-back run on this course about two months ago.

Things went OK. I ended up running with Bruno the whole time. We went faster than what I had in mind on the out part, going all the way to WTC site. That is about 4.4 miles in 30 minutes. That is about a 6:40 pace. Coming back took us 28:14 making it a good pace of 6:14. I had to try all sorts of different breathing methods to cope with this pace. There were many moments when I was ready to slow down and let Bruno go, but ended up staying with him. 

Mike was running ahead of us. He was going at a steady fast pace on the way back, and even though we pushed hard, we were not able to pass him on the way back. Later he said that he jumped a few red lights so we wouldn't get close to him. Mike, be careful! 

Today, I may not be able to go with the group, but I will run by myself a bit earlier. 

Mike on his new blog has listed his daily and weekly mileage. That is a great idea. Getting close to the marathon training season, I have to come up with a plan to keep track of my running. 

And thanks to all of you for your comments on the mini-10K video. 

The WSY RRC Women's Team runs in Central Park, Mini-10K race

Mike, the marathoner-blogger

Mike has started blogging. We were having brunch after NYRR Women's Mini-10K, and Denie and Mike were making fun of how infrequently I write here. Then Mike announced that he is serious about starting a blog on marathon training. And a day later, his blog debuted on blogspot. He has promised/threatened to share a lot of stories from our training runs. His blog can be found here:  michael-traininglog.blogspot.com

It turns out neither me nor him are the veteran bloggers in the running group. Erika has a blog that goes way back. 

Now the question is: who is going to blog more consistently?

DNF

I had my first DNF in thes year's Jersey Shore Marathon. Not a fun experience by any stretch of imagination but a good lesson in how NOT to run.

I had too little miles under my belt for the last 4 weeks before the race. The right hip pain that started on bother me on a West Side Run had become severe enough to prevent any run longer than 3 miles. I had done only one six-mile run and one four-mile run in the last two weeks before the race. Foolishly, I called this type of non-training a good taper and plunged into the race.

I ran too fast too early. Following a fast girl who ended up winning the women's marathon, I passed the half-marathon mark at 1:28. At that point, I was feeling OK with enough energy in me to be hopeful for a good finish.

Things started falling apart at mile 19 when I had to slow down. From there till mile 21 I had the most precipitous fade imaginable. I ended up facing legs that were not willing to move at all on mile 21. I had to stop running. Even walking became impossible. I had to get transport to the finish line!

Next race is Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 30th!