The Year I Started to Run

2023

Background story: I began volunteering at the New York Common Pantry in September 2021. In late 2022, after witnessing fellow volunteer, Alex run marathons, I thought to myself, what if I set myself a new goal for the new year, to start running, just run continuously. It was the ONLY goal I had wanted for myself, to see if I can become a runner. It was likely at a NYCP shift for which I had asked Alex how I should start running and he had responded that I would start off with a run/walk interval and had suggested that I'd start in the spring. I remember in early 2023 when I thought to myself, I can't imagine running, maybe I'll just start and fail. I remember all the times I had ran in my life, for the train, or across the street. NEVER had I ran for any other reason. So of course, I think that I'd fail. I've only known Alex from the perspective of a volunteer and I only spectated his marathons and thinking he's only started running several years ago circa 2018 and now he's running marathons, so why can't I? 

In March of 2023, I received a group text from Alex, stating that Steven (WSCAH) had started his journey to run and he shared a Strava screenshot as proof. I honestly was nervous to start, knowing that two others (Steven and Michelle) were also on this journey. Not too long after the group text, I ran my first walk/run interval. To be honest, it felt very awkward to run. In retrospect, my form was probably bad, breathing was all over the place, and I was likely pushing my hardest to get through the run. Less than 2 months later, I would run my first 5K race in FiDi on May 18, 2023. I remember Alex asking me if I wanted to run the Race for the Kids 4M in April 2023, and how I responded was basically, "4 miles? No way, I can't run 4 miles straight without stopping." Alex responded with "you can run/walk it" and for me (personally), I didn't want to embarrass myself walking ANY of the NYRR race. That's my honest truth, so I declined and told him I was going to sign up for a non-NYRR race. In retrospect, that was Alex attempting to challenge me. Between the Wall Street race and November's God's Love We Deliver race, I would run several 5Ks with other organizations (NYC Runs) and out of state in Baltimore (Casey Cares) and San Diego (Pacific Beach 5K). Running with these other organizations that wasn't NYRR placed me in the mindset of, Yes, I belong as a runner, and I can run a 5K, no matter how slow I am and it gave me confidence. 

In November 2023, sometime after the NYC marathon, I remember I was volunteering at WSCAH, and I had asked Alex if I can join Team Osprey and within a day, I was an Osprey. To be honest, I wanted to be part of a team or at least have runners to look up to, to ask for advice, as by that time, I was still a novice runner who knew very little about running. My first race as an Osprey would be at the GLWD race and I remember seeing Alex volunteering/cheering for that race and not knowing any Osprey other than him, I felt awkward to introduce myself to other Osprey as I was very new to the team. 

Team Osprey runs and pre-race meetings with other Osprey were my opportunities to meet other flockmates. 

2024

In late 2023, I had asked Alex if I should aim to run at 10K sometime in the 2nd half of the year, to which he responded, 1st half, and I believe it was that time period for which the Joe 10K and Manhattan 10K were races that were open for registration, and I signed up for both races that year. It was near Thanksgiving for which I developed shin splints and in December I had my first ever hiatus of 5 days of rest (no running). 2024 was the year that I signed up for so many races with varying distances (record number, about 25) and when I asked permission to sign up for the Bronx 10M, Alex gave me the green light. I remember being super nervous and sleep deprived for the Bronx 10M, so I woke up that morning irritated but I ran that race feeling so great, that I remember feeling confident that I can set a HM goal before the year was over. Of course, I spoke with Alex about my goal of running a HM, and it was from that point on, that Alex set up a spreadsheet for my HM run plan. Running a half marathon out of state was the best decision for me. My coworker, Julia, drove down 3 hours from where she lives in Florida to cheer me on for my first half marathon. In retrospect, that made me very happy and seeing her along the course was channeling positive vibes for my abilities to run without that much support. To run a 10K as a first half of 2024 goal and then a HM as a second half of 2024 goal was tremendous for me. My confidence and being able to run without much support or alongside anyone I know, tells me, yes, running a race is a solo experience for me. 

2025

It goes without saying that when you run so many NYRR races the year before, why would those races go to waste, when it's a privilege to be able to enter the NYC marathon? So by year-end of 2024, I told myself, here we go, let's start training for the marathon. I told Alex I wanted to start as soon as possible and I thought I would be on my own but Alex said that he would continue providing a weekly run plan for me. 

It's October 26, 2025, one week from the NYC Marathon. I won't lie and say that I had a great training cycle. I pushed and pushed so hard to meet all my weekly runs and literally only skipped one workout and requested another down week after a down week. I will admit that it was EXHAUSTING and I felt so defeated but I met each run day with discipline and completed the run plan. 2025 was the year that I slowed down on pace and on time for races AND my runs. While there is nothing wrong with that for me, I actually ran at those paces because I was listening to my body. When I ran the Bronx 10M and the Jersey 5K, I was a bit disappointed in my times because at the end of those races last year, I felt like a champion. I understand that when you're marathon training, it's a different beast than just running. The best race this year was hands down, the Cherry Blossom 10M. Not only did I have like a 4+ minute PR, I got to run the race with 2 birds on the team. I know that before 2025, I always treated each race like it should be my best performance, but it wasn't in the cards for me this year. What I learned in 2025, is that yes, I went out too fast on the Brooklyn Half and for that race and the Bronx 10M, I underfueled. I told myself that I'd learn from my mistakes. For most of my training block, I've been running on my own because I've sacrificed a lot of summer sleep and early mornings for the long runs. It is MUCH harder to run on my own than it is to find a group to run with. I also stop a lot more which doesn't prepare me for proper pacing. I also didn't run with others because my goal for this marathon is to just finish and I felt that the way to do that is to run solo. When I did the Last 10 this weekend with several birds, it reminded me that it is easier to run with others and that maybe next year, I'd do that more. 

My Running Experience

I will admit that the hardest part of running is starting and continuing, BUT once you get into a consistency, it becomes habit and you don't think about it anymore. You just wake up and you run because it's part of you now. You don't complain and you sacrifice sleep and social events just to run. 

I will also admit that there were a lot of negative thoughts in my mind for about 6 months even though by then I had developed the habit. I questioned why I ran. I questioned why I raced. I question why do I want to keep going? I question what is the reason for running as consistently as I did because by that time, I wasn't even training for anything. 

I will also admit that it's frustrating at times to run solo and still not be able to find runners who run my pace. Maybe I'm not meeting enough people.

When I joined Team Osprey, I felt intimidated by all the marathon experienced runners and I felt so insignificant. In my mind, I was like running with the professionals/elites because they all went through it, and they understand all the ailments, but I knew nothing. I didn't feel like I belonged to the team because of their experience. So I decided to join meetup runs with Not so serious running group on Sundays to run with other new runners like me. While I felt like I belonged to this meetup group, our goals were not aligned. I still went to meetups because I wanted to meet new runners in our shared experiences. Over time, I realized that I'm much better off running on my own and as early in the morning as I can because if I'm training for a half or the marathon, I should prioritize my training over socializing with others. While Team Osprey has been a great support system at races, I understand that most non-race runs are Manhattan based and very early. Also, not many runners on the team run my pace at 10 min/miles. It was these factors that made me realize that training for the NYC Marathon is a solo journey because I do live in Brooklyn and I should be able to run whenever and wherever I want---and honestly, I get bored of repeated routes. I had thought about joining other run clubs but unless those run clubs are true to the pace group that they run at, I don't know if it's for me. I hope to try and train with them, but I don't know for sure if I would follow through with that plan. 

While most people that ask me about my feelings about the marathon, I don't know why I would be excited to run my first. I'm nervous AF and terrified of failing. The last thing I want is to talk about how excited I am, because I'm not. I need to be further along on my journey before I am excited. Sometimes I think that I should have waited one more year before I run the NYC marathon because I wanted more HMs under my belt before I think I'm ready. I know that I can walk parts of it, but that's not what I want. I want to feel confident and know that running 20 is possible and that my mental strength has been tested enough to push through 20. But I don't know if that is true. Not yet at least. 

GRATITUDE

I've expressed so much gratitude to Alex in person, via text, and showing up to races, etc., to be truly appreciative of everything he's done for me from giving me advice about running, to planning my run plan for HM and marathon, to answering all my questions, dumb or not, and cheering for me at races. I'm grateful to have started my run journey with Alex supporting me from day 1. I would NOT be running at this point of my journey if it was not for him. I don't know how to thank Alex, other than with words and supporting him in person. 

Thank you Team Osprey flockmates: Tanya for advice on all things running, especially kettlebell suggestion that has become my strength training workout. Karen, Shaina and Lisa for running with me individually as it's not easy to find my pace group runners to run with. Other Osprey flockmates: thank you for being sweet to me and getting to know me even if it's just kudos on Strava, it goes a long way for me. I'm grateful for flockmates that have cheered with me, for me, and also volunteered with me. I don't expect to know everyone on a deeper level but I'm always appreciative of friendly birds.