It’s 6:20AM and I’m about to head to Harlem for a 5K. I didn’t do my post last night. I just ran out of time. There was a snafu with my therapy appointment then I came home, made dinner, and did a bunch of laundry. I’m surprised that normal life stuff like that hasn’t tripped me up more times this year.
I also watched an episode of Fargo, the television show, last night with my girlfriend. Damn that show is good. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before but now season 3 is on Hulu. Ewan McGregor plays two identical brothers. It’s a little Eddie Murphy-ish but I still dig it. I buy both of them. I’m also kind of loving all of these British and Scottish actors doing Minnesota accents.
The Harlem 5k is my sixth race in the 9 + 1. I have the 5th avenue mile, the Bronx 10 mile, and the Dash to the Finish 5K. I’m on track for the marathon in 2019.
I’m wearing my Harlem 5K t-shirt. I don’t care of it’s lame. I also realize that by wearing it, if I get lost, people might be able to say, “Hey, man, this way.”
* * *
It’s 1:00PM. I’m back home. The race was great. I’m still getting better at the whole thing. I had my clear bag of stuff packed – no backpack to take stuff out of this time. Soon I’ll be like the badasses who are in coral A who just show up, run, and leave. They have their keys and MetroCard on them somehow. I guess I need a fanny pack. I’ll keep you posted.
I ran into my friend Emily in the coral. She’s a badass. She’s not running the marathon this year because she’s done it for four years in a row and also she’s did a too many triathlons this year. So, yeah, that’s Emily. I mentioned how I was doing 9 + 1 for the marathon for 2019 and she gave me the great advice to make sure I signed up for my volunteering. So, I just did that, taking my friend Fred’s advice to do it near home. Hello, Jingle Bell 5K at Prospect Park!
The Harlem course was great. It turns out I love hills. Some people like straightaways but hills are where it’s at for me. Yeah, they’re a pain in the ass to run up but running down the other side makes it worth it. I remember the straightaway for the last 6 or so miles of the Brooklyn Half. That’s when it started to hurt. I need twists, turns, and hills.
I think it was because of the downhills but I P.R.’d my race today. I broke 22 minutes, which was a goal. 21:48, 7:01 mile pace. I did a lot of humid summer running that was torture. Now that it’s cooled off a bit, I feel like I’m back and maybe even a little better off for having continued through rough summer conditions.
After it was over, I walked from Harlem down to the Upper West Side looking for a bagel place and y’all it is surprisingly difficult to find a decent bagel place. In Manhattan. On the Upper West Side. What. The. Fuck. I realized that my favorite bagels in the world are two blocks from my house. So, I got a grande Starbucks and hit the subway home.
Races are good for consuming a bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything. Now I’ve got some Premier League to watch and some bags to pack for my trip to Seattle. I’ll be running a 10K at Seward Park in Seattle tomorrow morning. Who the hell am I?
