Richard Moy, Author at Rich Moy Runs

What Our Newborn Son Has Taught Me About Running

February 25, 2019February 18, 2019 by Richard Moy

The twelve of you who subscribe to this blog might have wondered where I’ve been. And I get it. I haven’t posted anything since September, when I lamented the fact that the Giants did not draft Josh Rosen. But, I’m back with life news! Jess gave birth to our amazing son last December. He was a shade over 7 pounds, had an APGAR score of 9 (whatever that means!), and has been screaming at me ever since.

Most new fathers (I think) have learned lessons from their kids. What surprised me were the lessons that our son taught me about running—and how quickly they became obvious. Here are a few of my favorites.

There’s a First Time for Every Mailbag

March 27, 2019September 5, 2018 by Richard Moy

When I was 15 years old, I spent Memorial Day Weekend at a bible camp in the middle of nowhere. Near the back of the main hall, envelopes with each person’s name scribbled in Sharpie marker were taped to a wall. The pastor told us to write “encouragement cards” to our friends. By the end of the weekend, there were approximately zero encouragement cards waiting for me in my envelope.

So I’d be lying if I said I was nervous about soliciting questions for a mailbag column on this blog. “Will anyone actually submit anything?” I asked myself. “Or will this be bible camp all over again?”

OK, fine. I added a question that I wanted to answer. But after asking very nicely, I also heard from a few of you. So with that, onto the (first ever) mailbag!

2018 Ragnar Trail Vermont Race Recap

December 19, 2019August 10, 2018 by Richard Moy

When I was in the sixth grade, every kid in America had to have a Furby for the holidays. It was a battery-operated owl that was no fun to play with and looked a lot like Rob Reiner. Any time a department store announced that they had received a small shipment, people dropped everything they were doing to wait in line for hours, even though they knew they probably weren’t leaving with one.

For Team Bhatti Heat, the idea of finishing a Ragnar Trail was a lot like waiting in line to buy a Furby. When we saw the marketing emails for this year’s race in Vermont, we cleared our schedules in hopes that *this* would finally be the time that it wasn’t miserable outside.

So when I saw the forecast for Ragnar Trail Vermont, I couldn’t help but laugh. Did we slip and slide our way to another DNF? Read on to find out.

Of Course There’s Rain in the Forecast for Ragnar Trail Vermont

February 25, 2019August 2, 2018 by Richard Moy

Yesterday, I woke up and saw nothing but thunderstorms in the forecast for this weekend’s Ragnar Trail Vermont. I’ve gotten better about reserving my panic until race day, so I didn’t jump to any conclusions.

Then, the folks that operate the Ragnar Trail Series posted this fun little update: “Due to rain in the forecast, which tends to slow teams down, we will be moving everyone’s start time earlier by one hour.” Most people probably didn’t blink an eye when they read this, but I’m not most people.

Think back to the last time you overanalyzed a relationship with a girlfriend or boyfriend. What did he mean when he said that? What does she really think of my shoes? Did she notice that I just ate 35 Chicken McNuggets? These are the types of questions I’m currently asking myself about Ragnar Trail Vermont.

Still, this is Team Hot Bhattis’ third Ragnar appearance, and we’ve learned a few things since our first attempt in 2015. Here’s why I think we’ll be OK this weekend.

It’s Week 1 of Marathon Training and Everything Already Hurts

February 25, 2019July 5, 2018 by Richard Moy

Last year, I couldn’t wait to start training for the New York City Marathon. Each time someone asked me how I was feeling, I’d say something along the lines of, “I just spent hundreds of dollars on shoes, energy gels, and compression socks! I’m so excited for the first 20-mile long run!”

This past Monday, I woke up with lower back pain and briefly considered taking a sick day. When I realized it was the first day of marathon training, I thought of at least three dozen things I would have preferred doing. Among them were activities such as renewing my driver’s license, building IKEA furniture, and hailing a cab in Midtown Manhattan on a Friday night.

Since then, I’ve gotten over that feeling of dread. I’m even kind of excited about marathon training now! But I’m also turning 32 this summer, and if I’m not careful about how I train, I’ll probably rue the day that I took up long-distance running as a hobby. Here’s how I plan (or, hope) to keep things fun.