Yesterday was a short day after last week's epic 14 miler (and all the excitement it entailed!) We met at 59th and 5th and ran east and up 1st avenue (not quite the same as on marathon Sunday). It was a little frustrating to stop and go at every block, but we finally hit our stride around the second mile. We ran up to 81st and over to the footpath, then up to 96th street and turned around. I think we were all a little grateful for a short run; the group seemed a bit disorganized. It was ok though--I felt really good through the whole run, and it's been awhile since I could say that. We came back down First Ave and then across in the 60s somewhere (and we found a block of beautiful old brownstones that I'd never seen before. Just gorgeous). We ended back at 59th and 5th.
Yesterday felt easy compared to what's coming up this week. 16 miles on my own due to another weekend trip--and I'm not going to try to run 16 miles in Maine and make it to a 1pm wedding! Right now, the forecast is showing hot and humid, so we'll see how it goes. Cross your fingers for me!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
14 miler
So I'm a bit delayed on my posting. Time got away from me. Anyway, our 14 miler was last weekend. We started at 6:30 in at 72nd and 5th, and I arrived at 6:29. (Thank you, MTA, for all of your awesome weekend construction). So I was a little frazzled at the start of our run and it took me longer than usual to get into a rhythm. We ran around the lower loop of the park and exited at 59th street, then ran west to the WSH, all the way down to Castle Clinton, and back up. It was pretty hot, but the miles passed fairly quickly due to the company. We took a detour through the World Financial Center again due to construction on the WSH. Running in A/C is fun! We recharged at the awesome aid stop (thanks, Lynn and Cindy!) and then turned around to head uptown. BTW, peanut m&ms taste really good at 8 in the morning after running 8 miles.
On the way north, we took a little detour along the river. The views and the breeze were gorgeous. It was a perfect morning for a run. We were also still feeling pretty good, plugging along, when up ahead of us, Rotary Dave took a pretty bad fall. He was down on the ground saying that his chest hurt, so BD immediately got on his cell to call an ambulance. While BD was on the phone, Dave said he had fallen on his hand and bruised his chest, so that's why it hurt. We agreed that he would get checked out anyway, just to be on the safe side. A very sweet maintenance man came over and offered us ice for Dave's scrapes. He returned a few minutes later with a huge plastic bag full of ice cubes, probably as big as Dave's head. BD and Florida Dave stayed with Rotary Dave to wait for the ambulance, and the rest of our group kept running northward. We still had 5 or so miles left to go, but I thought we should've been done after all that excitement. (P.S: Rotary Dave is fine, and it turns out that one of our Galloway runners knows a job developer at the Doe Fund who was able to find out the name of the maintenance man who helped us. He was recognized at work. I was so happy to hear that. He really went above and beyond to help us. Small world!)
Anyway, we headed north, up the WSH. Our group dwindled to 3 by the time we hit midtown. Brittany, Nick and I were the last three standing as we ran back through Columbus Circle, around the lower loop of the park and back to 72nd and 5th. By the time we were done, we were all ready to be done. We really thought the route was longer than 14 miles. It certainly felt longer! But we did it. Nice work, Galloway!
On the way north, we took a little detour along the river. The views and the breeze were gorgeous. It was a perfect morning for a run. We were also still feeling pretty good, plugging along, when up ahead of us, Rotary Dave took a pretty bad fall. He was down on the ground saying that his chest hurt, so BD immediately got on his cell to call an ambulance. While BD was on the phone, Dave said he had fallen on his hand and bruised his chest, so that's why it hurt. We agreed that he would get checked out anyway, just to be on the safe side. A very sweet maintenance man came over and offered us ice for Dave's scrapes. He returned a few minutes later with a huge plastic bag full of ice cubes, probably as big as Dave's head. BD and Florida Dave stayed with Rotary Dave to wait for the ambulance, and the rest of our group kept running northward. We still had 5 or so miles left to go, but I thought we should've been done after all that excitement. (P.S: Rotary Dave is fine, and it turns out that one of our Galloway runners knows a job developer at the Doe Fund who was able to find out the name of the maintenance man who helped us. He was recognized at work. I was so happy to hear that. He really went above and beyond to help us. Small world!)
Anyway, we headed north, up the WSH. Our group dwindled to 3 by the time we hit midtown. Brittany, Nick and I were the last three standing as we ran back through Columbus Circle, around the lower loop of the park and back to 72nd and 5th. By the time we were done, we were all ready to be done. We really thought the route was longer than 14 miles. It certainly felt longer! But we did it. Nice work, Galloway!
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Happy 4th (one day late)!
Three cheers for long weekends filled with fun! This was one of those weekends. Friday night I had a delicious dinner, followed by an early morning run on Saturday (it was a short one after last week's 12 miler). Hot and sticky, but fine otherwise. I went to a fantastic yoga class on Saturday afternoon, and then to a so-so movie with a great friend. The friend part was lovely, the movie, as you might've guessed, was not. I missed my yoga class on Sunday as some friends and I stood in line forever at the Met for the McQueen exhibit, but it was worth it. Such a spectacular show. By Monday, I was worn out from all the running around, but still found some energy for a great dinner and fireworks. I missed my usual trip to Maine, complete with the GRB 5k, but it was still a fun weekend in the city. Next weekend we're scheduled to do 14 miles. *Gulp* Stay tuned...