Prospect Park in the Fall [video]

A beautiful early November weekend took me outside pretty much the entire weekend. Along for the ride was my favorite thing: my camera. So, I made this video:

Ultramarathon Results

More than two months ago, I ran in and completed my first ultramarathon. It was one of the most rewarding athletic experiences of my life and my hips just stopped being sore from the run. Because I ran it in a hurricane and my coach/nutritionist, Nolan, and I had to drive back to Washington DC that day, we ditched out early and I never saw my final time and results. After lots of checking and waiting, the results were finally posted!

I placed 15th overall and 2nd in my age-group (20-29). Due to the hurricane like conditions, the times were definitely slower than in past years, but I’m still pretty impressed with some of the times that were posted, especially by the over-50 crowd. Long distance runners definitely hit their peak in their mid-3o’s, but winning an ultramarathon in your 50′s? That’s just ridiculous.

Distance: 31.2 miles
Weather: Hurricane-like conditions
Time: 4:50:22
Pace: 9 minutes+ per mile (much slower than I wanted it to be, but again, I cite the hurricane-like conditions)
Muscles Pulled: 7

Check out the results here or just look below!

 

 

Belize in Photos

A 10 day trip to Belize gave me plenty of opportunities to explore Mayan ruins, scuba dive in the Belizean coral reef, kick sharks in the face, and eat lots of food. Also, I took a whole bunch of pictures. Check some of them out right here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Apartment Is (almost) On Fire!

An auto store next to my apartment caught fire. I live in the white building on the right. Yikes.

It’s official: signed up!

I have officially signed up for an ultramarathon after taking a 12 mile jaunt to Queens earlier this Memorial Day afternoon. I feel confident, healthy, and dedicated to doing well in this race, no matter what I read on other sites. For example this one:

Before you begin your ultra marathon training, you need to have at least 3 consistent years of running experience. You should also have completed at least 3 marathons. Your marathon finishing times aren’t important.
- marathonpal.com 

Sure, I would say that I have at least 3 consistent years of running, with some soccer and cycling thrown in there. And of course I’ve completed loads of marathons. Honestly, who hasn’t? I mean, I’ve never actually finished a marathon, or even signed up, but I’m sure I’ve metaphorically completed many marathons. For example, after a really hard day at work, I tend to say things like: “Wow, I had a marathon of a day at work today” (that’s 1) or after watching a triple overtime basketball game: “What a marathon of a game!” (that’s 2) and plenty of people I know will attest that my life motto is: “Life’s a marathon, not a sprint” (not really).

So, it’s pretty easy to see that I’ve completed at least three marathons. I can’t even begin to count all the other metaphorical marathons I have ran and completed. There must be dozens of them.

I have signed up for The Green Lakes Endurance Run, a 50 kilometer run in western New York, near Syracuse. The race takes place on August 28th and is a good couple of hours from where I live, so if anyone has a car they want to lend me, that’d be great.

Timothy Ferriss and Running

Tonight, I met Timothy Ferriss. He’s a cool cat. He wrote such hit books as Four Hour Workweek and Four Hour Body. In the latter book, he experimented on his body to do all sorts of strange things, like gain 34 pounds of muscle in one month or go from a 5k to a 50k in 12 weeks. He is one of the leaders of today’s lifestyle design and his book is inspirational for any of those looking to find their next great adventure.

As you may know, I’m a sucker for adventure. I like to do things just for the sake of doing them, especially if there is a competition involved. As you know from my previous post about running the entire length of Manhattan, I have decided to train and run an ultramarathon myself. Over 30 miles of trail and mountain running. So far, I’ve been following Tim’s ultramarathon plan, which calls for less long-distance running (which is usually the norm for training for long-distance running – crazy, right?)  and more short sprints and crossfit training and strength training.

After 10 days of training, I’ve been sprinting, using my new Russian Kettlebell for legs and core strengthening, and have put on five pounds, but feel stronger and fitter, so I hope, and don’t think, it’s fat weight.

Over the course of the next 11 weeks, I’ll be sprinting and squatting and rowing my way to ulramarathon success, with a few trips to Iceland and (hopefully) Costa Rica thrown in. Also, I’m growing a bushier beard.

Me and Tim:

The Greatest Run. MAP.

Last Saturday, May 7, I woke up at 6:30am, sent a message to my brother and sister-in-law congratulating them on their first baby girl, Emeline, ate two pieces of peanut butter toast, and headed out the door. I rode the subway 1 hour and 15 minutes north from my home in Park Slope, Brooklyn until I reached Dyckman Street, also known as 201st street, at the northern tip of Manhattan. I turned on my iPod, started my Nike+ armband and began what would turn out to be the finest run, and a defining moment, of my life. What followed was a re-discovery for running, a new appreciation for New York City, and a confirmation on my notion that I was born to explore.

I am currently trying to gather all of my thoughts and feelings from the run, but in the meantime I have mapped my entire run with some of the standout landmarks I passed along the way. Download the file (it’s utterly massive) and check it out. Make sure to zoom in and out to get the a sense of scale and distance.

Enjoy!

The Manhattan Project Map