Lately, running has been hard and I’m not totally sure why. I feel more tired lately, despite running fewer miles overall in the last 6 months. Certain distances at certain paces leave me wiped out for multiple days, whereas before I could bounce back up within a day at most. >>> Last year, I ran two Orchard Street Runners (OSR) races from the Bread Route Series – these races are unsanctioned open street races at 2AM in the middle of NYC. The unmarked courses take runners through the city streets, sidewalks, parks and landmarks at night. Only in NYC can this type of event occur. It’s just not about being fast; having street-smarts, maneuvering traffic, and managing navigation under physical stress are key to a fast finish. >>> When the “Dad’s Route” race was announced in early June, I told my friends I wasn’t going to run it. Why? I’m not in shape. I already did it last year. I want to feel good if I run this. I don’t want to pay for it. It’s going to disrupt my sleep schedule for days. Truly, I can’t remember the last time I was not excited for a race and I was actively stone-walling myself so I would not participate. >>> Registration closed on Wednesday June 25 at noon, to allow organizers to prepare for the Thursday night/Friday morning event. Once the deadline passed, of course I felt FOMO, but this was not unexpected. I made my peace. >>> The week leading up to race day, NYC had a 3-day heatwave Mon-Wed. I ran on Monday with my As Is crew in feels-like-105 degree weather. We did it! 5 miles. Probably hottest As Is I’ve completed in the 3.5 years I’ve participated. >>> On Thursday June 26, two things happened: 1. Race registration suddenly reopened; the organizers wanted a record turn-out so they allowed for last-call registration until 3 PM (T-11 hours). 2. The heat wave was over. The forecast for Friday morning was now low-to-mid 60s, with some humidity, but at least 35 degrees cooler than the past few days. >>> I hadn’t run since Monday evening. I was supposed to run Thursday morning but overslept. I had evening dinner plans. Why not just run this then collect miles? My friends Jooahn and Victoria had just returned from Mexico and would be there. Allan was also considering signing up last call. But still, why did I want to suddenly run this? >>> Today, I’m still this figuring out. Jooahn texted why the spontaneous signup. Literally I replied “idk – felt like doing something hard and uncomfortable and OSR reopened the registration today”. >>> Suffice to say, this race was a blast. Check out the pics. In retrospect, I think my friend Alex’s recent passing had something to do with the change of heart. There are only so many more opportunities for me to do these types of races, the next opportunity being next year. Sure, I can do it next year, but what if I can’t? There was no compelling reason not to run – I wasn’t injured (I’m cleared to run by multiple doctors), I wasn’t sick. As long as I could find a pace that was comfortable and sustainable, I could do it. And I did.

This past June, the running community lost a beloved friend - Alex Chui. Personally, Alex is the first close friend I've lost in my lifetime. As a friend of mine said recently, "It's not a time to be sad; it's a time to tell stories about Alex and bring family - aka the running community - together!" I wrote the following piece for his memorial site. I can't say enough how special the running community is to me - please take a read (linked below) -- The Moment I Knew I Was a BRidgeRunner https://www.forevermissed.com/therealchiu/stories?short_code=Xb6nBAZW __

Following the United Half, the next big NYRR race is the RBC Brooklyn Half. Not to be confused with the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half. Apparently there was a lawsuit between the two orgs to settle who owns the rights to the title Brooklyn Half, and NYRR won. Any ways, this race is notorious for wildly humid and sometimes rainy weather. I ran this in 2023 and it was hot and steamy. The race starts near the Brooklyn Museum, goes through Prospect Park, and goes down Ocean Parkway ending at Coney Island. My friends and I posted up in Prospect Park to cheer our fellow runners. I think this year's sign captured the mood well. 60s, with 90% humidity, 60 degree dew point. Many runners gave a thumbs to compliment the cheering sign. I think I'm going to stay away from this race and stick with cheering :)

One of the coolest races I've come across in NYC is the East River Ekiden. 100% community organized, the East River Ekiden is an unsanctioned 50K Japanese-style relay comprising five legs of 5K, 8K, 12K, 15K, and 10K, in that order. Most legs use the greenways and bridges of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan; the final leg runs from Evil Twin Dumbo through Fort Greene and Bed-Stuy to Evil Twin Ridgewood. I've done this relay for 4 years now. It's not your typical race. It's cool that organizers like David Alm and others create these events that are community-centric and accessible to runners of all abilities (for example, teams submit a predicted cumulative finish time; organizers will have slower teams start first, followed by faster teams in waves, such that final leg runners will finish around the same time). Oh, and it rained again on me during this race. 2/2 for rainy races :)

Hi All! Again, thank you so much to everyone for your support and kindness. I can't believe I've hit my goal so early, and you all continue to support the Morton Arboretum. Thank you! Now that spring is approaching, I'll be in touch in the next few weeks about plant cuttings. Don't be shy about reaching out to me if you have a specific plant request OR if you need some spring plant advice. The March running highlight is always the NYRR Half Marathon. Did you know this is the second of two events that closes roads through Times Square??? The first of course is New Year's Eve. This race starts in Brooklyn near Prospect Parks, carries you through the Brooklyn Bridge (formerly Manhattan Bridge), up the FDR, through Times Square, and finishes in Central Park. Lots of friends were running. Recently, I've gone to more races to cheer and support. We posted ourselves at Mile 10ish on 42nd Street. Shoutout to my friend Jooahn for providing his runner friends with Krispy Creme donuts. Lots of run clubs will organize and post out throughout the course. I always tell my friends tell me what you need on the course and we'll bring it to you - water, gels, beer (whatever it takes to finish haha) Added some pics below. Next race for me - East River 5000 Ekiden in April 2025!

For the 4th Year in a row, I ran the Prospect Park Cherry Tree 10 Miler. It's 3 loops around the Prospect Park main loop in Brooklyn. If you know the park, you know there is a gnarly big hill to tackle, well, 3x. This race is always held on the Sunday of President's Day Weekend. I'm not sure how I came across this event, but it's a great tune-up/stay-in-race-shape motivator. Weather has been all over the place: 2022: Cloudy, 26, felt like 20, coldest 2023: Partly Sunny, low 40s, best weather 2024: Windy, Cloudy, 30, felt like 19, not bad 2025: High 30s, Rainy, Windy, Wet (not snowy), Miserable This was definitely a mental slough. It literally started raining hard t-minus 5 minutes before the start. I hit big puddles right at mile 1. Foggy glasses the whole time. I didn't have to be here. But I came with friends who were also running. Plus, I connect with my friend Steven around mile 5. We were running the same pace more or less so we stayed together and pushed other ahead. Believe it or not, the last time we ran together was Fall 2021. We met at a run group hosted by a great non-profit called Release Recovery. We see each other in passing at various run community events, but it was awesome to actually run together once again. Shoutout to Asian Trail Mix (@asiantrailmix) for cheering and bringing energy to this cold wintry run. Every year here in the park, I notice snowdrop flowers. They're little bulbs that emerge right around Feb/March that droop downwards. These white bell-like flowers are winter resistant. They cells have some anti-freeze properties, so they're okay hanging out in 20 degree weather. They're always a sign of the approaching spring. Some pics added to the gallery - cheers! https://pptc.org/blog/2025/2/11/cherry-tree-race https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/cherry-tree-myth https://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/plant_profiles/snowdrops

Hi Friends, Thank you so much for your support to-date. This means a lot to me, and make me all the more excited for this race and this initiative. January was a rough time for running, not gonna lie. Generally I almost exclusively run outdoors. *Fun fact, I've run in temps as low as 0(F) and as high as 100(F). Last winter was certainly more mild and easier on the body. Thus, for this winter, I'm running less and sticking to 3 days of running per week. I run with three run groups primarily - As Is Run Club, BRidgeRunners, and Old Man Run Club (OMRC). Below are some "As Seen On My Run" flicks from January. OMRC hosted their annual Lunar New Year Run, which entails a Lion dance ceremony at the end.  More updates to come. Updated plant pics included in the gallery as well. Cheers, Irving 

Periodically I'll post updates here to catch you up on training progress, and other fun plant updates.