Race Recap​

During this race, I started out incredibly strong. I ran the first mile at around a 6 minute per mile pace as I weaved in and out of people. We started behind a good majority of the people and the starting line wasn't made for that many people.

I ended up running a 7:29 minute per mile 5k. This was definitely towards my upper limit at the time - my stomach was all over the place after the race, likely due to caffeine and food eaten before the race.

This was the first race I've done as a group of friends that I've "won!" Going to CRC has been incredible for my speed and performance on race day.

What next?​

For now, I like training with no plan. I really like the 5k race distance honestly because it is right around the distance for a soccer game. My goal is to run a 20 minute 5k and then continue to push it down further and further.

Introduction​

Over the course of the past few months, I have been working on a side project called AthElites.io. I wanted to build a platform that would allow me to be more honest with myself and help me keep track of my workouts better. I built the application using expo and I was very proud of the application. AthElites was published to the app store on June 26th, 2022.

The Idea​

AthElites differentiated itself from other mobile fitness trackers by using customizable audio cues to help a lifter breathe, brace, and perform movements. The goal was never to teach a new lifter how to perform a movement, but rather help intermediate and advanced lifters take their workouts to the next level.

I will say, this was the part I was most pleased with of the project. Using the Expo Speech Synthesis API, I was able to get a prototype that was relatively customizable. This idea may be released as a standalone application because I do really like how this operates and has lots of potential. I realized in my own training that I find it hard to accurately count the number of repetitions in real time, and this eased the cognitive load while working out. This is something I will likely strip down and either release as a re-branded application (likely called "Cues" or something to that effect), but I have no desire to work on the project right now.

The Numbers​

Here are some super big numbers for my first real project!

Money​

The only thing I spent money on was the AthElites.io domain.

Users​

At the time of stopping the application, App Store Connect looked like:

Social Media​

I found out the hard way that creating content is time consuming and I find it boring. I think trying to make videos and have a content calendar was a large part of the reason I stopped trying to build this application, since I really hated putting in the effort to slowly grow organic content. My approach was off and I wasn't focusing on actually driving app downloads by trying to sell the application; I thought the application would sell itself through the half-assed content I was creating. I liked twitter the most because it was the easiest to actually create - most of the tweets were easy and I quickly learned that joining the conversation on twitter was the best way to get likes and impressions, especially on trending topics.

Why stop?​

I've decided to stop working on this application for a few reasons. The main reason is I have decided to shift my goals and I need to cut back on the project I'm trying to do at once. I didn't burn out, but I really am not enjoying this project any more. I had lots of great ideas in the beginning and I think there is still a place for a mobile application to disrupt the current state of the mobile fitness tracking market.

The main reason I am cutting the experiment is that I watched a video discussing how to build a business without taking on debt. The video focused on a “sales first” entrepreneurial mindset. I realized that this project was not following a “sales first” flow because I was focusing too much on what the product actually was, and not trying to sell the project.

Social media is hard. Trying to build social media as a primary means of selling to people via TikTok and instagram without actually knowing what you're doing is hard. I was making videos as quickly as possible, an

Am I Giving Up?​

Hell no I'm not! I'm working on another project with a friend and I'm going to take some time for myself to be creative and try and think of new ideas. I like to solve problems, and when I think there is a problem that can be solved with technology or building a website, I am ALL game.

But You're down $50​

Yes, I am down $50. I'm very fortunate that this was not a lot of money to me and spending this money to further along my learning was well worth it. I learned so much about what goes into building a product and more importantly, building a product that people will actually buy. This whole experience has me thinking about shifting my focus to figuring out something I'm passionate about and enjoy enough to try and make a business.

What I've Learned​

I've learned a few things, but the primary hurdle I overcame was asking people for help. I attended some meetings with SCORE mentors, which was a big deal for me. I tend to like to find the answer online or figure things out on my own. I used these meetings as guidance and confirmation that I was on the right track. I've also learned about my own time management and project management. I tend to work best when I can focus all of my time and attention at the task at hand.

I also learned about SEO and strengthened my understanding of what goes into building a business. I feel like I've gotten closer to building something that people will pay for!

Acknowledgements​

To Ellie, Sarah, Matt, Simone, Mom, Dad, and anyone along the way that encouraged me. Thank you for your support and guidance! I’ve learned so much about running, lifting, stretching, and myself while doing this. I didn’t think I’d learn this much while doing something I’ve technically already done before!

Old Port Half Marathon - 2:15:47​

My primary goal for this half marathon was to run a half marathon in under two hours.

I loved this race and doing it with Matt, Sarah, and Ellie. The entire day was a lot of fun, and we met up with our friend Craig who lives in Portland after the race. I did NOT like the hills towards the end of the race. My pace was really good up until around mile 10 when we had to run up a giant hill.

The hills destroyed me, but I was able to get my heart rate down in the downhills by taking longer strides to catch my breath so I had another little burst of speed right at the end. I think I needed to take it easier in the first half of the race because I was keeping with a ~10:00 minute per mile pace for the first half and that dropped after the halfway point to about a ~10:30 minute per mile pace. We didn’t know the course, and all of us agreed that we would be much more conservative in the first half of the race if we knew how tough the hills would be at the end.

How'd I do?​

So, I didn’t reach my goal of under 2 hours. But, I consider this a successful race. I knocked 12 minutes off my previous half marathon time and didn’t walk the entire race (other than to throw back some water instead of choking on it). However, I consider this a win. I learned so much and found that I enjoyed running for the first time in my life. I’m extremely happy with all my progress and I feel great - lifting is much easier now that my cardio isn’t absolute garbage, and it is now much easier to throw on my shoes and get a quick run in!

The Training​

This started when Sarah said she was interested in doing another half marathon. I had been running here and there, going sporadically without a plan or a goal. I wasn't too fond of running and I thought “why the heck not”. After I asked Ellie for a plan to make sure I could run the race, we made a Run Gang group chat with Sarah, Ellie, and me where we talked about our runs and shared progress. We eventually brought Matt into the Run Gang when he decided to run the half as well!

I cannot stress how much that group chat helped me. It kept me grounded and motivated after a shitty run, and it jacked me up after victories.

This was the first time I had followed a plan with a group of people and a coach (Coach Ellie!!!). I’m used to picking a plan and following it entirely myself, with little discussion about what I’m doing with anyone else and no one to keep me accountable when I’m not feeling motivated. I know I’ve tried to subtly get insight from other people, but I’ve never had a whole group of people I can reach out to or someone with significantly more knowledge than me on a subject coaching me while training. I loved it!

Another new thing during the training for this half was doing runs with a group of people. We ran an 8-mile run with the Run Gang, and even though I went super slow I ended up talking to Coach Ellie about everything under the sun. Some of the most comfortable and memorable runs I’ve had were 12+ min per mile pace runs with Ellie chatting about everything. I liked these runs and want to do more of these runs with anyone that will do them with me.

I learned that I really shouldn’t be pushing the lifting and the running at the same time because then I’ll end up sleeping 10 hours a night and still taking an hour-long nap during the day. Lifting heavy OR running hard - both are unmaintainable right now. I’m hoping that as I improve my work capacity, I can fit both the lifting and the running in and get closer to both of those goals. Early on in the plan, I found it hard to adhere to the schedule. As time progressed, I felt that it was getting easier to adhere to the schedule for running, but lifting was taking a backseat. I also found that the long runs would destroy my knees, and while I felt mentally fine, my knees would hurt for a good few days. I also felt like my calves were tight, but long stretching usually cleared that up. These got MUCH better after I got a new pair of shoes. Shout out to the Runner's Alley for Nuun tablets, Gu, shoes, and sunglasses!

I was pretty frustrated that I couldn’t fit lifting and running in as frequently as I wanted to. I ended up reaching out to Simone, who gave me incredibly detailed responses on her theory and approach to lifting and running. Simone ran in the 2022 Boston Marathon and worked out twice a day for the entire training cycle. I found out that through our discussion, I am likely overanalyzing my workout plan and that it is OK that lifting takes a backseat while training for a half. I reevaluated my lifting plan and organized it differently so that I focused more on exercises that would complement my runs, while still making sure to hit the compounds to keep some level of muscle (chin-ups, bench, squat, deadlift, OHP, lunges, core). This helped me refocus my lifting, something I had been neglecting.

What am I taking away from this experience?​

To me, this was so much more than just running a half marathon. I learned that there are so many people around me who can answer questions I have, I just have to ask the question. I’m hoping to keep asking questions and learning from more and more people around me 😊. But a special thank you to Ellie, Matt, and Sarah - you guys were the first and I appreciate your encouragement more than you know.

What’s next?​

In the next few weeks, I’ll be running a 4-mile race and the B.A.A 10k. For my next training, I’m going to be training for speed next! I’d like to get back into the gym, so I’m going to be training for a 5k and also running a 12-week lifting program. I know I can run a 5k, so I’ll be focusing on speed, pacing, and trying to get my time down. There is also a half in November that the gang is thinking about doing in Delaware, so that might also be coming soon.