Back to running!
Since I hadn't ran in a good three weeks - *cringe*, I know, but you have to remember I was hiking 8-12 miles a day at altitudes of over 6,000 feet, so it wasn't like I was sitting on my butt here, people! - I definitely wanted to start out all easy-like. I set my mind on the "small loop," as it's now called, which goes up across the 97th St. transverse and comes back down right past the reservoir. It's a little over 3 miles, plus some 1.6 miles warm up and cool down total.
I started running with my friend Y who lives pretty close to me and is training for the NYRR Queens Half Marathon in late July. The first time we went it was mutually beneficial, because I showed her some of the trails and paths I'd learned in Central Park (which I quite deserve knowing, I think, based on how many times I got lost in the snow in there!) and she provided some company and kept me on pace to go a little further. It ended well; we felt good and I was glad I could jump right back into it.
Until the next day, when I went by myself, and I got a cramp so bad I had to stop halfway through and walk back, O the humiliation! I blame it on the Chipotle, which was eaten about 3 hours before the run, so I thought it would be okay, but alas! Chipotle is definitely not a runner's food. Never again... at least on a day I plan on exercising.
That completely bashed my motivation into a tiny bloody pulp, so I didn't go the rest of that whole week. Catching up on work, going back to class and learning that our abstract was due the next week, taking a trip up to Connecticut that lasted from 5:20am to 11:30pm to look at venues and going a little stir-crazy in the car... that was that week.
Then Y suggested running on Monday again, and we went, and it was good. We did the same small loop and I felt a little better. I went on Wednesday in the muggy rain with a hoodie and my Formula 1 baseball cap (to try and goad my legs into going faster through association?) and that was only ok again. I'm seeing a pattern here. Run with Y, feel good. Run by myself, feel ick. I'm pretty sure she's controlling my pace so I don't burn out halfway through at this point. So when class lets out early yesterday and I see a message from Y to go running at around 7pm, we go. I suggest stretching the distance a little bit this time, which means from the 72nd St. transverse to the 97th St. one. She suggests running in the opposite direction, "to work out my right leg more this time" because the road is tilted to the side to drain away rainwater. We set off, and it's like merging into I-84 traffic - there are literally thousands of people running.
Something like this. Totally insane!
We see about 10 groups of 20 people running those chain drills, where the last person runs to the front of the line, and the next person runs to the front, etc, and a ton of other individual people dodging them. Herds of serious-looking bikers hurtle by with barely an inch between their wheels. Where have all these people been?? I can't believe they were running inside on treadmills - even New York doesn't have that many to compensate for them. Maybe the nice weather turns an exercise switch on. Anyway, we're going, and feeling pretty good - nay for the near-collisions we almost encounter with people going the other way with death grimaces on their faces... they are NOT going to move aside for you, so if you value your life, you'd better move out. of. the. WAY! - until on the other side of the park Y somehow cuts her nose with her finger mid-tissue blow and we have a mini- (or, probably in her opinion, major-) nosebleed crisis. It took a while to get it under control, and we almost head back but she mans up, plugs it with some tissue and we run the short distance back. So proud of her! Her running jersey now has battle scars.I didn't time it, and it probably would have been inaccurate anyway because of that long stop on the west side, but in my vastly knowledgeable experience it was probably around a 9:00-9:15 minute/mile pace, at around 5 miles distance (not counting the warm up and cool down). That's pretty good, for both of us! I got back at around 8:45 and, upon discovering the glaring lack of food in the apartment, broke down and ordered pizza, which I quickly demolished. Then I passed out on the couch. Attractive, yes, I know.
This morning I'm still kind of tired, despite sleeping like a rock, and my legs are a little sore, but I'm taking all these as good signs because I was up and active. The relay is rapidly approaching and I definitely do not have time to sit around now!
Some new running partners, new routes and timed runs are all coming soon.
Also, Y has a rocking blog called Awesome in New York which offers tidbits and tips about great places to eat or visit in the city and has a bunch of amazing giveaways! Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area or plan on visiting.
"The will to win is worthless, without the will to prepare."
