I’m training to run the TCS NYC Marathon this year! This newsletter is a weekly recap of the highs and lows of training, and my best efforts to stay mentally and physically healthy through it. This is week 2/36.
In 11th grade, I made an absolutely unhinged bucket list that included everything from, “get a Nobel prize,” to “win an Oscar.” No game plan, just vibes. It’s wild to think about some of the things that have happened (live in New York, be a published writer) and some of them that just straight-up aren’t possible anymore (get straight A’s in undergrad, get a perfect MCAT score).
I also wrote “run a marathon,” even though I dreaded The Mile in P.E., and would jog/walk to get through it. Like a lot of things on the list, it was scrawled on there because, to my 16-year-old self, it sounded cool, and was the sort of thing I imagined an “accomplished” person would be able to brag about. Again, I need to reiterate how absurd this list was—I couldn’t even tell you how many miles are in a marathon, at that point.
A lot of marathon training plans start by telling you to establish your “why”: a guiding principle that gets you through tough training days, inevitable disappointments, and the ebb and flow of motivation. “It sounds cool,” isn’t going to cut it, so it’s probably time to lock in a real, legitimate, “why.”
During a cycle class, the instructor, in the final “empty your tank” push, told us to do it to “celebrate our health,” (with some ambient, remixed Dua Lipa blasting in the speakers) which I think about often. There’s also that always-misquoted Socrates bit that’s lodged irrevocably into my brain: “It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” And then I think about how, each of the past 10 years I’ve been running, I’ve surprised myself with new PRs and milestones that I never thought possible for myself. “To celebrate my health,” feels like a pretty solid answer to “Why are you running a marathon?”
How I’ve been training:
I watched Dune: Part Two, which means, as usually happens after an action movie with especially beautiful fight choreo, I miss martial arts with my whole heart. The stylization of the Fremen’s lithe, grappling-heavy combat, the brutish no-rules striking of the Harkonnens, and an enthralling one-on-one knife fight with gorgeous eskrima influence—I walked out of the theater ready to duel anyone who looked at me funny.
All this to say, there was a very disappointing lack of knife fighting or hand sparring in my training this week. As soon as my silly little ankle injury feels better, I will get back to getting my butt kicked at my Muay Thai/Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym. In the meantime, long live the fighters—and to all my h8ers, may thy knife chip and shatter, etc. etc.
Monday: Dance/Sculpt class (Dance: fun. Sculpt: dumb.)
Tuesday: Leg day (strong)
Wednesday: Vinyasa Yoga class (there was a cockroach in our studio)
Thursday: Upper body day (humiliating)
Friday: Beyoncé/Taylor Swift/Ariana cycle class (not enough Renaissance)
Saturday: Leg day part 2 ( 🍑)
Miles run: 0
What I’ve been eating:
Some highlights of the week included blueberry kale smoothies; squidgy cafeteria scrambled eggs and breakfast pastries; tomatoey pasta, polenta caprese, and magic brownies pilfered from the test kitchen at work. I made Crispy Noodles With Cabbage from an upcoming cookbook, and this Sheet-Pan Chicken and Potatoes With Lots of Lemon with some beautiful blush-toned potatoes from the farmers market. Also: a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie, a very milky bubble tea, and, during Dune, a large AMC popcorn bucket scarfed down like a feral raccoon. Apologies to my friends with whom I was supposed to share it with.
What I’ve been writing:
I wrote an explainer on Wendy’s don’t-call-it-surge-pricing “dynamic pricing” for Bon Appétit’s weekly food news roundup. I managed to get the phrase “C-suite-conspired hell hole” approved by two editors so, overall, pretty pleased with how it turned out.