I left a little before 4 pm to head out to LAX to catch a 7:30 pm American Airlines flight out to Newark EWR Airport with a short layover in PHX. As I am a creature of habit, I reserved for parking at the Marriott LAX. This time I found a spot on the orange level.
Marriott LAX Parking
I took a shuttle ride over to terminal 4 to catch my flight. After getting through TSA security screening, I made a stop by The Market to possibly get something to eat. I don't have a marathon this weekend, so I didn't need to increase my food intake. Since everything was so expensive, I ended up just buying an iced tea. I used one of the self checkout kiosk to pay for it.
My flight out of PHX was scheduled to leave at 10:19 pm. I had to hurry to catch my next flight. When I arrived at the gate and saw that they were still boarding, I quickly ducked into the restroom first. I ended up boarding with group 8 instead of my usual group 5.
Friday 6/26
I opted for getting some shuteye. The plane landed at Newark at about 30 minutes early. I deplaned into terminal A. I decided to take my time and get some breakfast at Starbucks before heading out. On the mobile app, I ordered a double-smoked bacon, cheddar & egg sandwich and a tall flat white.
Newark terminal A
Double-smoked bacon, cheddar & egg sandwich and tall flat white
Starbucks
After finishing my food, I started heading over to catch the AirTrain. I took that over to the train station to catch a NJ Transit train to NY Penn Station. I used one of the ticket kiosks to purchase a train ticket. The ticket cost $17.25 which included the AirTrain fees. The ride over took about 30 minutes.
AirTrain
NJ Transit train to NY Penn Station
I had plenty of time to pass, so I decided to check out Tick Tock Diner for second breakfast. I'm always looking for good steak & eggs and they were participating in the AAdvantage Dining program. They had quite an extensive menu, but I already knew what I wanted. I ordered coffee to go with the steak & eggs. Unfortunately, even though I had ordered the steak cooked medium, it came out very well done. About halfway through my meal, the toast was finally brought out. As I was eating, I saw that the entire wait staff was requesting that people pay by cash. When it was time for me to pay, I paid by credit card as I did not carry that much cash on me. Before heading out, I went downstairs to use their restroom.
Coffee
Steak & eggs
Medium???
Toast
Next I made the long walk up to the NYRR Runcenter to pick up my race packet for Sunday's race. Only the front section was open as they were undergoing renovations. After I was assigned a race bib, I picked up the race singlet.
NYRR Runcenter
Race singlet
Back of race singlet
I then headed up to the Target just past Columbus Circle. Since I wasn't running at least a half marathon on Sunday, I skipped the Gatorade and only bought the usual Good & Gather 1 gallon of purified water. I paid for my item using a self checkout kiosk.
Good & Gather gallon of water
It was sprinkling a bit, so I ducked inside The Shops at Columbus Circle. It was also a bit hot and muggy outside, so the air conditioning inside felt much nicer. Eventually, I went back outside and walked across the circle to hang out at the Starbucks. I got out my laptop and did about an hour's worth of work.
The Shops at Columbus Circle
Work at Starbucks
I then packed up and headed out to the Urban Hawker to eat an early lunch. Per the usual I took the 6½ Ave to avoid pedestrian traffic. Once I arrived, I went downstairs to use the restroom, but it needed a code to enter. I didn't really quite needed to go yet, so I decided to hold it until after my meal. I ordered the #2 grilled chicken with the curry on the side from Smokin' Joe. After I was done, I asked the employee for the code to the restroom. It would turn out that the stall on the furthest left didn't shut all the way, so I could've used that one earlier without the code.
Smokin' Joe #2 grilled chicken
I then walked over to 6th Ave to take the subway from the 47-50 St-Rockefeller Center station. I had a couple of options from this station, D or F train, to reach my hotel. I ended up opting for the D train which I took over to the 9 Av station in Brooklyn.
47-50 St-Rockefeller Center station
From there, I took 37th St to head over to my hotel, the Days Inn Brooklyn Borough Park. That street was a bit sketchy as there looked to a mix of abandoned vehicles, trash everywhere, and people living out of their cars. Still for NYC, it wasn't too bad. The lobby for this hotel was one flight of stairs down from the street level. I checked in and was given room #206. Before coming here, I was a bit wary after reading all of the bad reviews. Thankfully, the room was better than most of the Days Inn that I had stayed in for my travels. I could tell that it had been renovated recently. Some of work done was pretty shoddy. There was a McDonald's located conveniently right across the street. Since I had already eaten 3 times today, I did not go back out to eat again for dinner.
Days Inn Brooklyn Borough Park
McDonald's across the street
Saturday 6/27
I woke up and got ready to head over to Central Park for my volunteer shift at the Front Runners New York LGBTQ+ Pride Run 4M event. I had registered for a volunteer shift with Start & Finish duties. It was still dark at about 4:30 am when I walked over to the Church Av station to catch the F train. I timed it so that I would get to the volunteer check-in spot at about 6 am with the shift starting at 6:15 am. I got off at the 57 St station and walked over to the park.
Church Av station
Along the walk over to the Naumburg Bandshell to check in for my volunteer shift, I came across the Wimbledon Court at the Wollman Rink. I wasn't sure if it was opened to the public, but I kind of wished that I had went further inside to get a glimpse. I also saw that the Tartan army had met Robert Burns.
Wimbledon Court in Central Park (Wollman Rink)
Looks like the Tartan Army had met Robert Burns! :D
They were still setting a few things up when I arrived. Off to the side, a few of us noticed a rather large racoon. It was a frightened mother trying to transport her babies from one tree to another which was further away from all of the people that had gathered for the race!
Pride run
Racoon mom
I showed my QR code and got checked in for my volunteer shift. I was given the usual reflective fluorescent yellow vest. I also was given the sign for the Start & Finish as I was the first to show up for this group. I found an open area to wait. When the group leader in training showed up, she took over the sign. I then went over and grabbed a bag of pretzels and a bottle of water as I had not eaten breakfast.
Volunteer check-in
Snack and water for volunteers
Eventually the group leader gathered us up and gave us last minute instructions. He had a thick accent so it was a bit hard to understand him at times. He then arranged us in a circle and numbered us off. He wanted us to share our names and how many marathons we had run. I was a bit hesitant to share my actual number when it came to me because everyone ahead of me were all in the single digits or planning for next year's NYC Marathon to be their very first! When I shared that I had run 296, there were people murmuring and making comments, asking if I did anything else. I don't know. Perhaps I don't look my age, but this was done over 23+ years! When I started, I hadn't turned 30 yet! Today, I'm already in my 50s! Anyhow, you should do what you love, right? I already see myself in my twilight years of marathon running. Some days, my lower back makes me feel like I was more like 80!
Start & Finish volunteers
Coach Ben
It wasn't until about a quarter after 7 am before we started heading out to the start corrals. The assignments were up for first grabs. I got corral E with another guy. For this race, we were given a sign to help enforce corral assignments. The corral was for bibs assigned to E or letters earlier in the alphabet. While the majority of the runners did abide by the rules, there were those that really didn't care and just went in an earlier corral.
Pace vehicle
Start corral
Once all of the runners had gone through, we were instructed to bag up the trash and carry those bags with us over to the start line area. It just so happened that our position seemed to be a sweet spot for runners to toss their half empty water bottles. It got too heavy and the bottom tore. We had to double-bag it with another bag that was practically empty. Next we went over to the finisher chute area just across from the Bethesda Terrace. As people were using the restrooms there, I went back to the volunteer check-in tents to grab a bottle of Gatorade. Our finish area duty was to just help direct the finishers.
Finish area near Bethesda Terrace
Gatorade
Woody and Buzz
Once all of the finishers had gone through, we were told to help ourselves to any of the finish line food. I passed on the multi-colored bagels, but I did get an apple and another bag of pretzels. Before excusing us, the group leader had us line back up in our original order. That was his way of checking to see if anyone had gone AWOL.
Rainbow bagels
Apple and pretzels
After being excused early, I returned my vest and started heading out of the park. It was about a quarter after 10 am, so I decided to get some breakfast at the Starbucks across the street at Columbus Circle. On the mobile app, I ordered an egg, pesto & mozzarella sandwich and a tall flat white. By ordering a breakfast sandwich or wrap twice this week, I earned 75 bonus stars.
Egg, pesto & mozzarella sandwich and tall flat white
Egg, pesto & mozzarella sandwich
After I was finished with my food, I wanted to use the restroom. However, it needed a code and they were busy, so I decided to hold it. Since I had the appetite of a hobbit, I decided to eat again at Shinjuku Ramen before catching a subway ride back to my hotel. They had just opened so the place was empty. After I was seated, I ordered edamame and their shoyu ramen with pork. I then used their restroom to wash up. I first came to this ramen shop because they were listed on the AAdvantage Dining Program website. However I kept returning because their food was always good. I also recently started using the Upside app and I could double dip and earn some cash back as well! Times have been tough financially, so I've found myself having to penny-pinch every chance I get!
Edamame
Shoyu ramen with pork
It had already started to rain a bit when I went to pay the bill. Fortunately, the rain was very light and the 57 St station was right around the corner. I caught the next F train back to my hotel in Brooklyn. It was just a few drops of rain here and there on the walk from Church Av station. It wasn't much, just enough to get the ground wet.
57 St station
I proceeded to veg out in my room until it was about 4:30 pm. I placed my order on the mobile app for an early dinner from the McDonald's across the street. I ordered a McChicken sandwich for $2.59 and cashed in 7000 reward points for a free Quarter Pounder with cheese. With tax, my dinner came out to be $2.82.
Picked up an early dinner
McChicken
QPC
After I polished off my dinner, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's 4 mile race. Not sure if I was still feeling a little blue from having missed out on last weekend's Grandma's Marathon, but I was not looking forward to running tomorrow's race. Still, I needed to stay focused, as I needed it to finish out my 9+1 to gain a guaranteed spot for the New York City Marathon in 2027!
Flat runner
Sunday 6/28
Although the distance was the same, today's race started 15 minutes later than yesterday's race. Since I had already picked up my race bib, I didn't need to show up too early. I didn't leave my hotel until about 5:30 am. Once again, I caught the F train from Church Av station and got off at 57 St station.
Columbus statue
The Mall Literary Walk
Achilles Hope & Possibility
Start line
Women's Rights Pioneers
German Shepherd
Indian hunter
Queued up in corral E
The first wave was released at 8:15 am. I didn't cross the start line until 8:22 am. It was quite congested during the first mile up East Dr. It was understandable as we started running up cat hill. I was just happy for that first mile to be under 8 minutes. The second mile was mostly downhill as we made it up to the 102nd St Crossing. From the crossing, I took a wide turn onto West Dr as I was overheating and needed to take a walk break. At this point, I didn't know which was worse, trying to run up and down the 3 sisters or the humidity!
1: 7:43
2: 7:37
3: 9:03
4: 8:52
4.05: 0:16
Finish: 33:31
Click here for my Garmin data.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, I received my finisher medal. The lanyard was really nice. While I was hoping to run all 4 minutes in under 8 minutes, finishing the race safely was still the goal. Even with the 2 slower miles, I still ran faster than last year's 35:52. My fastest for this race was a 30:59 back in 2018.
Finisher medal
Close up of medal
Back of medal
I continued down the finisher chute and then made my way over to the post race area by the Naumburg Bandshell. I got in line for ice cream. They had a few options from which to choose. When it was my turn, I opted for their vanilla ice cream sandwich. Boy did it hit the spot in this warm and humid weather!
Ice cream line
Post race ice cream!
After finishing my little post race treat, I stopped by the table at the bandshell to check out the drawing. The prizes were:
- 2 year Peloton App+ subscription
- In-person Peloton class for two people
- TD swag bag
- Framed print from A Little Shop in NYC
- Football signed by Tiki Barber
Drawing
Along the way out of the park, I took a photo of my medal with the mall in the background. My presbyopia was bad enough that I couldn't tell if it was in focus. It ended up being a bit blurry. I decided to get some breakfast again at the Starbucks at Columbus Circle. On the mobile app, I ordered a double-smoked bacon, cheddar & egg sandwich and a tall flat white.
Blurry post race medal photo
Double-smoked bacon, cheddar & egg sandwich and tall flat white
After I was done with my sandwich and coffee, I started heading down 8th Ave. As I walked, I decided on getting some more breakfast at the Junior's on W 49th St as I was kind of craving their steak & eggs. I arrived at about 10:50 am. I asked the guy if I could sit at the counter. Unfortunately, he informed me that breakfast stopped at 10:45 am. Dang, I was late by 5 minutes. I headed back outside. As I pulled out my phone to check out my other options, I heard a tap on the glass behind me. He motioned me to come inside. He decided to make an exception for me. As I hopped in the seat at the counter, I ordered my usual, coffee and their steak & eggs with grits and rye toast.
Coffee
Steak & eggs with grits
Pride cheesecake
After I was done with my meal and paid my bill, I thanked the guy for making an exception for me. I then headed over to the 6th Ave to catch a subway ride back to my hotel from the 47-50 St-Rockefeller Center station. I was fine with taking either the D or the F train. The D train showed up first, so I hopped on. I took that over to the 9 Av station.
9 Av station
At about 5:30 pm. I went across the street to pick up dinner at McDonald's. I ended up ordering a Daily Double at full price for $4.89. I used a mobile app deal for free medium fries for when the Mets scored 5 runs.
Daily Double and medium fries
Daily Double
Monday 6/29
Not sure what happened with my original flight, but I received a notification on the mobile app that it was delayed from a 8:05 am departure time to 4 pm! The plane was a 777, so with the recent events with American Airlines, I would put my money on it being a flight crew issue. Thankfully, I was able to get myself on the next available flight out at 11 am. That meant that I didn't need to check out of my hotel so early! I adjusted my departure routine. I didn't check out until about 7:15 am to start heading to JFK Airport. After dropping my keys off at the front desk, I walked over to the Church Av station. This time I caught a G train. I took that over to the Hoyt-Schermerhorn St station to switch over to the A train. I much preferred heading out to Howard Beach instead of Jamaica whenever I needed to get to JFK. Once I reached Howard Beach, I took the AirTrain over to terminal 8. The cost for the AirTrain ride was $8.75.
Hoyt-Schermerhorn St station
Howard Beach
After getting through TSA security screening, I went over to the Starbucks near gate B8 to get some breakfast. Per the usual, I placed my order on the mobile app. My order was for a tall flat white and double-smoked bacon, cheddar & egg sandwich.
Starbucks T8 gate B8
Tall flat white, double-smoked bacon, cheddar & egg sandwich
After I finished my breakfast, I started heading over to gate 37 for my flight. Thank goodness, there were no delays with this flight. As I had a basic economy ticket, I was auto-assigned a seat during check-in. Since I travel solo, I really don't mind. I do mind that they had changed it so that it no earned any miles. More often than not, I get assigned either an aisle or window seat. However, this time I was assigned a middle seat.
Major flight delay for my original 8:05 am flight!
When my row mates had all shown up, I fastened my seatbelt and put on Avatar: Fire and Ash. Honestly, I didn't want to watch this totally unnecessary movie, but there wasn't another movie in their library that I wanted to watch. As I had expected, it was rehash after rehash with pretty much the same story and message. They even managed to beat Avatar: The Way of Water in length, beating it by 5 minutes at 3 hours and 17 minutes. It was perhaps great for those that long for certain countries to be returned to the natives, to people that had a greater appreciation for nature and its preservation. I would advise skipping this fictional movie and instead watch some actual historical documentaries.
At a little over an hour into the flight, the flight attendants started serving meals. For a flight between JFK and LAX, even those in economy had to be served a meal. I opted for the turkey cobb sandwich. In addition to the sandwich, the box included a bag of Harvest Snaps and an Aztec cinnamon bar.
Turkey cobb sandwich
A couple of hours later, the flight attendants came down the aisle to serve some snacks and drinks. I went with cran-apple juice. Every now and then, due to the ambient airplane noise, they would only hear the first part and give me cranberry juice. I was perfectly fine with that.
The plane landed at LAX at just before 2 pm. We were let off at terminal 4. After using the restroom, I made my way out to the curb to wait for a shuttle ride back to the Marriott to retrieve my car. It was quite a chaotic scene to watch the mess of cars up on the departure level. On the drive home, I followed the onboard navigation which took me south on the 710 to catch the 91 east. It was a little bit longer distance-wise, but sometimes it can get quite congested on both the 605 north and 60 east freeways.
LAX terminal 4
Marriott LAX Parking
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