Monday: Lots of errands in the city on my day off, so I opted to walk instead of take the train to various stops. I ended up walking over two miles, went to lunch with Brian, it was quite a lovely CHILLY Monday!
Tuesday: Runmute home from work with Kristin. (She is actually another teacher, we just happened to have the same name AND same spelling!) She pushed me through our CHILLY 4.25 mile run.
Wednesday: Kettlebell workout for 15 minutes, yoga for 15 minutes. Enough said.
Thursday: ANOTHER cold runmute! I had to go solo this time, but I ran 4.25 miles in 22 degrees feels like 4 degrees. The wind was CRAZY! I also forgot my hat, so I wrapped my scarf around my head, it did the trick!
Friday: Plyometrics and yoga with my 3rd grade students. I was tired. SO tired. But we worked it out and did very well. I, again, was sore. (I blame the jumping squats!!!)
Teaching the kiddos warrior 2...we do our session in the hallway!
A true test of my No Gym January came Friday night! On my way home from work, it started snowing like crazy. It was so sudden, in fact, that my friend went into a store with no snow in sight, and came out to me waiting in a covered car, wipers in a frenzy! So, I knew Saturday's long run would be iffy. I had a busy day; work in Queens, baby shower in Brooklyn, then ladies night sangria style in Manhattan. Three boroughs in one day! When I woke up Saturday morning, the white stuff was still around, it was dark, and clearly ice everywhere. Pushed to Sunday it was! Even though the conditions were rough Saturday, I saw plenty of runners getting out there in group runs, albeit running safely, and pushing each other despite the elements!
Insert: Set up an event to be excited for! Mr. Miller is away for the weekend, so I decided to host a Bridge to Brunch run; run over the Queensboro Bridge to a FABULOUS brunch spot in Astoria. A group run followed by yummy food is a great fun run to mix things up and get out of the winter chilly blues!!!
Today's group run was fabulous! I ran 4 miles before this run to reach my long run total. I averaged 9:20, which was perfect for my 9:15-9:30 goal! When we all met up we were ready to go. The group included Ashley, Leticia, Theodora, Kim, Carla, Stephanie, Jenny, Nadia, Bernadette, Kristin (Speedy coworker) and Emily. My total pace ended up being 9:33/mile, pretty good since I slowed down for the second 4 miles to make sure the group was okay...always a teacher...
We ran over the Queensboro Bridge, which was mostly cleared of the white stuff...
Fried chicken and waffles!
Posed for a tricky group photo with a semi-professional photographer/server...
And left full and happy.
Want to organize a running get together? Here are some tips to get you outside, motivated, and moving!
1. Send out an open invitation, encourage extra invites and forwarding it! I know a few NYC runners personally, but I communicate with a lot on Twitter, sans email address etc.(I didn't want to send public tweets of the invite...got to have SOME sort of privacy!!!) I sent the following invitation, made on PicMonkey, and told my friends to invite everyone and anyone they think would be interested!
2. Pick a unique place as your destination. A great frozen yogurt place, a bar specializing in craft brews, or a restaurant that serves a a variety of tasty options (Ding ding ding, that's what I chose!) I was so excited to hear a few of the runners had been to this restaurant already and were excited to return to it! Also, a reservation is a HUGE plus! (They had an hour wait when we arrived...then walked to our table!)
3. Send out an email two or three days before the event with tips and directions. Sending an email too far in advance makes people forget. In my email, I specified times, the route, addresses, and directions for those taking the train to brunch. Also, this gives a reminder to people who inevitably have to cancel.
4. HAVE FUN! I had a great time chatting with many runners today, learning what works for them, upcoming races, and Saturday night revelry.
So, get out of a gym, be social, and run!
How about you? Have you ever organized a running event? Do you shy away from group activity? Want to join next time? TELL ME ABOUT IT!
7 comments:
I like running with a group on days I don't want to hit a certain pace. It brings a playful quality that my training runs often lack. And breakfast afterward is fun too, I used to be part of a Saturday morning training group when I lived in OKC. We'd run at 5am, everyone would be done with the 10 miles by 7am; then we'd have breakfast.
Ah I wish I could have done this!! This sounds like tons of fun! But yeah I did a long run Friday thankfully before the snow
The bridge run sounds amazing -- wish I could have been there! Definitely let me know if you plan another one :)
oh my goodness, that food looks amazing and the run looks like so much fun! You are so awesome for no gym january. I have been such a wimp about braving the elements. I give you major props. You have definitely learned to be creative and still fit things in.
I'm amazed you did two runmutes in this crazy weather! I love the idea of running to brunch, I will have to get my girlfriends together for that.
Thanks so much for organizing! It was so much fun.
love the idea and your invitation!! i've thought of doing this with a few long island girls one weeknight and then getting coffee afterwards!! time to make a thought into action! thanks for the push!!!
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