Overdressed

I don't really know what to do this week, running-wise. I did the last 10 yesterday, which probably meant that I should have taken today off.

But I was sitting in my house, antsy and cold. And there was grading to do! So I pulled on my fleece tights, my NY long-sleeved shirt for inspiration, and a ear band. That was the only way I was getting out the door.

In fact, once I got outside, I realized that the temperature wasn't much different from that in my house. So the run was a bit warm. But I like it that way. You get to sweat, which always makes me feel better about the workout. Did an easy hour, running down to Washington and then to the Navy Yards, before wending my way back to Brooklyn via Fulton. Enjoying the sunlight. My mind is whirring so much these days, I was hoping that the run would slow it down, which it did, temporarily.

Two isssues: I'm still having breathing problems because of the mold on the leaves. And that tendon/calf thing is flaring up again. I'm icing it as we speak but I'm not sure what else to do for it.

I'm thinking about running again tomorrow for 35 minutes, then running on Wednesday for 35 minutes and on Friday for 35 minutes? Any thoughts about this? I left my running schedule at my parents' house a few weeks ago and I'm not sure what to do!

Nerves.

The Last 10 Miles

Sounds like the walk to the execution chamber, doesn't it?

Didn't have execution chamber level of dread this morning, thank goodness, but I was really nervous. Weirdly nervous, considering it was a fun run and, likely, the longest run I'll do between now and next Sunday.

But I did wake up in sweats - both types. Jittered about my house for an hour or so and then got prepped for the run. Sported a long-sleeved shirt, my PPTC singlet, my orange Dunkin Donuts hat from last year's race for good luck, and the girdle. When the Speedy Blonde saw the girdle for the first time, she burst out laughing.

They should be marketed as "Spanx for runners". Sigh.

Oh and, of course, my super-styling wind pants and wind jacket with the PPTC logo on it. And my new shoes. I was set.

Thanks to a ride to the start, the Vivacious Redhead and I were there before the lines, so we got to use the beautiful bathrooms in the beautiful grocery store on 59th and 1st with little trouble.

Grocery stores in my neighborhood smell of cat litter and slightly moldy fruit. There are always flies. This place looked like it used to be a bank. Arched ceilings competed with the gleaming produce and the upswept staircase to the second (!) floor. The bathrooms were empty of cigarette butts and stale pee and full of nice toilet paper.

These Manhattanites have the life!

I was afraid of my clothing choices after seeing Gorgeous. Always one to be warm on a run - at least in comparison to myself - she was sporting full tights. I sat and shivered. Then went back into the gleaming mecca until the very last minute.

LSE and I were supposed to lead the first group - there were so many people, we had to start in waves! That was hilarious. He's way out in front, I'm chugging along behind, and neither of us really have a clue where we are going.

Thankfully, the Speedy Blonde joined us on 166th and helped forge the course. After a fairly quiet start, I found myself chatting with the Speedy Blonde and another speedster - a woman who is just moving to New York and who did a 3:03 in Phillie last year! Wow.

I tried to talk our club up as much as possible. Recruitment has commenced!

Help arrived in the form of much-appreciated PPTC volunteers near 125th, with gatorade, water, and directions for the next part. It's much easier to get lost near the Willis Avenue Bridge when there aren't 40,000 people going the same way........

After a wrong side choice on one bridge, we regained the path. We were cutting around other runners from another club who had started earlier than us. Nothing like passing people to make you feel fast! Good to remember for the 5th Avenue hill. "Keep the pace" I kept repeating to myself on that hill, hoping I would remember come race day.

Chatting and enjoying the brightening day, we turned into the park. I imagined thousands of people on the sidelines, screaming. I picked it up a bit.

We weren't going that fast - still remains to be seen how fast I can actually go on race day. Last year, I had a tough time of the last 10, averaging about a 7:12 but it put me in good stead for the race. Maybe my relaxed pace today is right for my relaxed goals?

We'll see.......Nerves.

Procrastinating doing work by attempting the Saturday crossword - that bully. Almost done! My favorites from today:

Pieces together? Ensemble
Contrivance for taking people for a ride.......Scam

Practice

Doing Friday's crossword, I realized something: it was difficult. More difficult than it should have been.

Sure, there were some weird and cool clues:

Causes of breakdowns: Enzymes

and who knew what a carpet lift was, much less an alternative to it?! I was stuck on some sort of shaving or patching and had to get it on the crosses: T Bar

I guess it's some kind of skiing lift?!

Anyway. Most of the puzzle was fairly straightforward. So why all the problems?

Aha. It's because I haven't been practicing as much. I just haven't been doing a lot of them recently. I've been skipping, thinking that my performance won't decline.

But it did!

Now, doing well on the crossword matters about as much as doing well in a running race, in terms of real, tangible impact. The difference between getting the slightly larger $3.00 plastic trophy or just getting the $.50 medal.

But, there are things that matter much more, tangibly, in my life. Like getting publications. And giving talks. My administration seems seriously to be considering raising the number of students allowed in each of our classes and raising the minimum number of students required to be enrolled before a class will run.

All of which means much more practice for me being a teacher.

But a lot less practice of me actually doing what I am supposed to be doing. The things that will improve my lot in the profession and which improve my chances of getting tenure.

As far as I can tell, the message from the administration is to "work harder". I appreciate that sentiment. After all, we have very nice jobs considered in certain, very important lights.

But we were hired to practice what we do, so that we could get better at it. Those who have taught know that it is fairly mentally exhausting. Most mere mortals - I know of several, very important exceptions but, based on their publication records, they are not actually mere mortals anyway - just can't take a quick break between classes, prepping and grading to pound out another couple of paragraphs on their book manuscripts!

It might be different, teaching different subjects or teaching at a different level. A graduate seminar would likely help instead of harm. Same with a class where you were able to put in minimal effort - like a much-taught huge lecture with TAs to meet with the students and to grade. But we've got none of these.

Without practice, how are we supposed to get better? Now, I could practice other things less - like running, or crosswords. But those things are pursuits that actually help me figure out how to think and to be in the right state of semi-restful-non-fidgetiness to do so.

Those of you who know me will think here "Wow. I can't believe she's ranting about this! What sour grapes! Isn't she the one who is often free in the middle of the day? During the week?" And you all are right. It is a bit of sour grapes. I should suck it up and practice more, at other times. But, you run out of time to practice. Or motivation. And then you might find yourself either without tenure, or in danger of not getting tenure, or a frumpy, single, older academic with lots of cat pictures. At least, that's what I worry about.

You need to practice at the rest of your life, too.

But maybe really successful academics don't care about those other parts. If you don't care about something, no need to practice.

Who Cares About a Nagging Calf Issue when You Have New Shoes!

Actually, I've had the shoes for a while. Nestled up in my linen closet, between the sheets and the pillowcases.

But I haven't worn them. Until today! Nothing like a nice, firm new pair. Adds a spring to your step and a glitter to your eye.


I wore them on the suggestion of the Vivacious Redhead, who thought I should probably wear newer shoes for the marathon. Eeek. (I don't want to think about the marathon!)

"Try them and see if they feel ok", she counciled. We were running down Bedford at the time, getting a suntan(!) in October.

So I did. Yesterday, we ran down Rodgers, cut over to Bedford, then over on Avenue T to Marine Park, where we availed ourselves of the waterfountains, made a quick loop, then back up to the awesome Target and the subway home. A thoroughly enjoyable 11 (?) miles. If only the marathon could feel like that.....

(Stomach roiling)

Isn't it interesting, by the way, that there seems to be no Avenue Q? Instead, there is Quinton Ave. Is is a bad luck letter somewhere? I must investigate......

Tapering makes me antsy. I danced around the apartment, avoiding work because I couldn't concentrate. Forced myself to settle down and work for a while. Then, I couldn't take it. I strapped on my new shoes and ran down Eastern for a quick outer loop of the park. The shoes felt heavenly. The leaves are down and moldering, making me cough and wheeze a bit.

The calf was great during the run but aches now when I move certain ways. I am anti! I don't know how I did this and I'd like to make it stop!

But the weather is still pretty nice. Not so for next Sunday! Being cold is something I just can't stand. It takes more out of me than almost anything else. And standing around for 3 1/2 hours in the cold will be fairly horrendous. I'll bring throw-aways this time but I still can't keep myself warm in those temperatures for that long!

Why do I run races? I get nervous and puky for at least a week before, second-guess myself during most of the training and definitely the days leading up to the race. I berate myself for not taking training seriously enough, or worry about that extra beer. And then, the race itself. I block out a lot but I recall that it is usually painful. Is it just for that medal, that medal identical to 40,000 others?

It can't be. I enjoy running and I love having goals. But competition isn't so good for me. I've never had enough confidence to really enjoy it. Maybe I can get some confidence for Christmas.......

So much stuff to do and get before the race. And then, the grading. I'm worried that I'll fall apart.........

Rainbow!

Racing to meet the Speedy Blonde, I was nervous!

I mean, after all, she is not called the Speedy Blonde for nothing! And I've been under the weather. Getting over there, it was like my taking three days off made me creakier. My calf still hurt, my back hurt and my hamstrings were killing me.

I chalked it up to too much time in bed and kept on racing to meet her. Don't you hate it when work gets in the way of your leisure activities?

While I felt a lot better, we were definitely under the weather during our run today. I can't help but secretly hope that it will be as warm as today, but without all that humidity, the day of the marathon. Think about waiting around in this weather! Oh, the gloriousness.

Despite the rain and my recovery, the run sped by! Both figuratively and literally! We weren't going super slow, I don't think, although I know my body is off ( thank heavens for me being able to keep up!) and I hadn't seen her in so long that we were gabbing the whole way. I miss running with her! Plus, I'd be so much faster if I ran with her all the time........

Anyway, I ran from work and met her at Columbus Circle, whereafter we did a loop of Central Park and then I ran with her to the transverse and back to work. About 8 1/2 miles.

It started pouring at the end of our run. Would usually have been terrible, given my newish shoes and cotton shirt but it was so warm it didn't really matter.

Plus, the rain with the lowering sun made the glimpses of sky between the skyscrapers and the trees pearlescent and eerie. And we saw a rainbow!

I need not to worry about hitting or not hitting my miles this week. Earlier in the week was definitely not a result of me being a hypochondriac. Better to rest up, I'm hoping, than to hit the number I need for the week.

I hope it's not a bad omen that I left my schedule last week at my parents' house.

Now, to figure out when and how much to run next week. That, and how not to freak out before the race, get sick before the race, or freak out during or after the race if I don't hit my goals.

Easy Peasy. It's not like I stress a lot over things......Do I?

Quick post. Back to real life.

Head of the Charles

Tapering is such a strange thing. I am tired during some of these runs and overly energetic for others.

Friday was an example of one where I was tired. Distracting myself with watching the set-up for the Head of the Charles Regatta, I ran an out-and-back that was slightly under an hour. At first, it was so cold and windy that I thought I would have to turn around but, after a while, I was able to get up enough speed that my tights, long sleeves and hat were enough to keep me warm.

Sports events in America - and likely everywhere else - are hilarious in certain ways. People were preparing to watch some of the fittest people in the United States, if not the world, battle it out on the water. Those in lightweight boats might not have eaten for several days to meet the weigh-in.

And here they were, setting up fried dough and clam chowder booths. So that spectators could eat to their hearts' delight while watching these competitors. Hah!

Saturday, my little bro and I waited until noon to run. A bit of a mistake: the regatta was in full swing and, in parts, we had to walk, no matter how rude we were or how much we channelled the tourist-avoidance bred into us from the Brooklyn Bridge. But I was amped all during this run, feeling some pain from my calf but having to hold back to not run more, or faster. Was it the welcome company? Or something else?

Because of some calf and hip issues, I walked yesterday instead of running. Plus, I had some eating and spectating of my own to do!

Now I'm feeling sick, and worried about the marathon as a result. Will hold off from running today. I hope it's the right decision.

A Welcome Reminiscence

Or, how I don't know how to spell.

I've noticed that I've fallen into the academic's habit of always giving subtitles. I must re-train myself!

9:15. GAP was the text reminder I got this morning. Whee! I plotted routes in my head as I ran to meet Superman. I hadn't run with him in ages! It was enough for me to get out the door, though it was COLD ( for me) and my quad was sore when I rolled it in preparation.

Ooh. Flatbush was being redirected. Problem for pedestrians? That was going to be part of my route!

"where are we going?" " you've got an hour, right?" "oh, maybe a bit more.".

I threw caution to the wind, which was quite strong and blew it away in a matter of milliseconds.

"Let's do the cemetery route, to avoid traffic."

So, off we went. Ran through a really weird protest, that included people saying things like, "we want more parking on Prospect Park West!". Which was supposedly a protest against the bike lane that merely made the parking move over about three feet.

Ah. Critical thinking ought to be required for life. I made a mental note to use this as an example against those normative ethicists who claim that we can think rationally all the time, if pressed. And yes, I do have a vendetta against this nefarious group. Which is arational, if not irrational. Luckily, my position supports my lack of rationality!

Back to the run. It was at a nice pace. A bit faster than I had been running up to GAP but, then again, I had been babying my leg in the freezing temperatures and wind. It was only about 50, after all! But, luckily, my leg did not protest. We were at Prospect Park West again almost immediately, it seemed. Superman and I had been gabbing so much that I hadn't even noticed most of the run around the cemetery!

Except that awful, decaying body/rotting garbage reek halfway past the subway cemetery. Yes, folks, that smell is back.

We went around the rest of Prospect Park, though I left him to fend for himself up Flatbush. I shot down Washington instead to run some errands on St. Johns and Brooklyn. So I don't know how that whole 'traffic rerouting' thing affected the sidewalk. Oops. Probably should have told him.

One thing I appreciate and miss so much about our runs is that he doesn't share a lot of the views that I do but he is still a thoughtful person open to changing his mind and open to crusades. One of the topics we discussed was the lack of women in certain levels of any job. He had interesting and insightful things to say about the topic and also listened to my points. Not something of the tyoe I usually get to talk about on a run, unless it is with Ivy League. ( that was a gratuitous mention of Ivy Leagues, by the way. Just making sure everyone is still confused about our status! Heh.)

Got in a bit over 10. I slowed down some after leaving Superman. Had to digest the conversation and plan my writing and reading day.

Plus, my quad was tired. Will it ne'er be right again?

Dramatic sigh.

I need to remember that its ok if I dont hit my magic mile number this week. It's more important to feel good, both for New York and for my running sanity,

Seventh day?

Maker Break

$10 in a Valentine?

Lover money

Statue of a post-wwII- baby?

Boomer Bust

Heh. I love catching up on the crossword.

Carry on.

Should I be this tired?

How I hate that "Marathon Season" coincides with the second-worst part of the school year.

I'm going to create my own marathon. It is going to be on the East Coast in June. Maybe in Brooklyn. And it will go through such exotic locales as East New York and Sheepshead Bay.

I will be the only one running this race. So I will come in first! Now, to find some volunteers.....

"Was it really that bad? Sure, it was tough, but it probably wasn't so hard." Thoughts as my thumb clicked the 'submit' button on my NYC entry. Stupid memory.

Scheduling a race during mid-terms, and mid-papers, is about as smart as running a race right after final grades are due.


Wait......I've done that before, haven't I? Learning curve. This very thread could be proof against those normative ethical theories that claim that humans ought to be rational in decision-making. Ought implies can. And I seem to be proof that I, at least, can't.

But about 40,000 others are with me on this one.

Seizing the opportunity both for extra distraction-free work-time and a much-missed Wednesday group run, I ran from school yesterday night. Snazzy in my purple long-sleeved, red Adidas warm-up pants and my pink and dark-grey backpack, I raced down the West Side Path.

I should say 'raced'. I've been teaching my students the import of quotes whilst reading Foucault. Not super fast but I was trying. I had left my office too late, concentrating enough that I lost track of time.

Orange, electric blue and lilac greeted me at about Canal Street. Say what you will about smog: it creates a stunning sunset.

Having had some calf and quad soreness, I promised myself, "It's ok to bail. You know where the subway is." But the kinks seemed to rub out as I continued on the run. Over the Brooklyn Bridge, having to stop at times because of the ridiculous amount of foot traffic.

I became one of 'those New Yorkers' that all the tourists talk about with excited disgust: "I can't believe she just cursed us out under her breath as she shoved by us! I think I got an elbow!" I can imagine the tongues clicking in Albuquerque now.

Then. Every light. Which are harder to stop at if you are wearing a backpack. Legs getting tired. Stomach reminding you that, in fact, fried plantain chips do not count as lunch.

But I got there just in time! Started running with the Child Whisperer, the Engineer, Tattoos and the Vivacious Redhead. But there were two interesting new girls - at least ones I had never met -to chat with about running and New York. Plus, down the first long hill, my quad felt tweaked. "I'll take the subway home" I decided.

Got a chance to run with Blondie and Blue Eyes. We finished at a nice, slow pace.

Now, a dillemma. My leg didn't feel twingy anymore. The subway would take longer than running home. And I was hungry! Off I went. I hope that wasn't stupid! (knocks on wood) It is awfully close to the race for me to be this tired, both generally, mentally, and muscle-wise. If today's run feels too much, I'll bail and skip tomorrow, too.

I'm running with my brother on Saturday. The fast one.

Anyone up for a relaxing marathon in Brooklyn? The chicken parts strewn on the sidewalks smell especially nice when they've been baking in the sun all day. I'm envisioning a late afternoon start.........

800's!!!!!

Why ice is my friend right now.

I couldn't find my clothes, didn't know where to go or how to get there, and knew that I was late. I was climbing into the side of a bus via an open window when I woke up.

A stress dream about the workout today and the marathon. Whew! And I knew today was going to be tough. Gorgeous had persuaded me to do 800's with her.

I wisely didn't ask how many. No need to know until it is too late! Plus, I thought we were doing a version of the 800's then tempo run we had done long ago before. I don't get out for speedwork much.

Ran to GAP. Chilly! Knowing we were going to be going fairly fast, though, I shivered through the run to GAP, forgoing the jacket that I really, really wanted to be sporting.

Up comes Gorgeous with a smile on her face. "How many?" "Oh. 10." I found out at the same time that there was no tempo run, so it mitigated the shock.

Really? 10? That was more than I have ever done before in my life.

"It gives you confidence", she explained. "You take your goal marathon time and then do 10 800's, taking the same time in minutes and seconds that you want to do the marathon in hours and minutes. Then, take a break in-between the 800's of the same length."

We settled on 3:15 as our goal pace. From the humidity and the cold, I knew it would be a challenge. During each one, I kept reminding myself that we ran somewhere around this same pace in Bed-Stuy, without stopping. So why were these so hard?

Gorgeous was visibly holding back on the first several, checking herself and slowing down at certain points to stay with me. I expect she could have done all of them much faster than we did. I just tried to hold on.

Good thing: we did all but one in 3:15 or faster. And the one we didn't do in 3:15 was 3:17 and it was something like the 3rd. In the last two 800s, with a flip of her ponytail and a quick sideways smile, Gorgeous was gone.
By the last one, I watched her get smaller and smaller as she pistoned her legs down the side of the park. My quad had started getting sore and so I didn't want to go too fast. Plus, I was tired! Convinced that I had slowed down terribly, I glanced at my watch as I finished up. 3:14:50 something. She just had so much gas left she was able to significantly speed up! Wow.

Doing speedwork with her is good for me but not so good for her. Just happy she agrees to do it sometimes!

Now, I'm icing in the hopes that my quad will quiet down. Fingers crossed!

Top 5 and Bottom 5

Ivy League got me thinking about this question. What are your top 5 and bottom five runs for the past year?

Not an insignificant task to think of these. My memory is terrible. Plus, I'm a philosopher. So I have to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions for each category, properly delimit the category - in what way do you mean 'top'? e.g. - and then stop arguing with myself enough to come up with the list.

The list is still forthcoming.

Here's the ones I thought of so far, in no particular order.

Top Five:
The run to Rockaway that we did last Friday. Eery. Amazing. Surreal. Everything you could hope for in a run. Except maybe more water fountains.

Owl's Head to the Promenade to Ocean Parkway. I loved finding that connecter between the Promenade and the Boardwalk. And little stopping until Ocean Parkway. Plus, it is flat. Bad for marathon training, good for running ease.

Eastern Parkway to the cemetery to (almost) Forest Park and then back down through Queens and East New York. Neat park views, some nice hills. Plus, it's not so often that you get seeming drug addicts telling you to 'go, girl! and keep running! and way to train!'

After the initial craziness, the run with Story Finder up to the George Washington Bridge. The sky was psychedelic. The wind was a lot and so were the hills but almost no stopping and great and varied architecture the whole way.

Last one? Maybe one of the runs from work when it was snowing. Again, surreal. Only one out there. The wind is blowing. It's snowing hugely. And everything looks frosted. I love icing. Maybe the run where I then did a loop of Prospect Park?

Bottom Five:
The aborted run with the Speedy Blonde in Central Park and down the East Side. It might have gotten into the top 5, had I not been in so much pain that I had to stop.

I had forgotten this one - must have blocked it out. But Ivy League reminded me and it definitely goes on the list: me and him, experiencing low blood sugar at the end of a hot 15-miler in Central Park. Loops never agree with me, even if they are varied loops.

Also thanks to Ivy League: the run up Union from the Brooklyn Bridge in the blizzard last year. The run where I fell into a snowbank. A couple of times. Brrrr.

The last long run to Coney Island and back with Superman and the Speedy Blonde, before the Phoenix marathon. The Speedy Blonde wanted to catch up with people and I had slept very little the weeks before. Thinking about that run makes me wince.

I can't think of any others, although I'm sure that there are some. Maybe that's the beauty of my memory: I forget so much, I forget bad stuff the most!

Any other thoughts? Runs that people really liked? Hated? Why?

Serenity

after the madness.

Found out that I needed to help my father with something 10 minutes before I would have to leave to catch the train. Scrambled mess, running around finding my books while talking to a friend about a fight and figuring out how to cancel my plans for the weekend.

I actually had plans! Sigh.

Worked on the train, knowing that I wouldn't be able to work until after I left my parents' house, likely with little to no sleep. "Mobile Home Dweller".......Snail. Hah!

Yes, I worked on the crossword, too.

Stayed up late with the night owl and got up early with the early bird. Who proceeded to stuff me with egg whites. Then said I should go run.

What can you do? It's my dad. So I did.

Luckily, massaged my calf the night before, so it was feeling better. Still started off slowly because of the massive amount of eggs in my stomach and because of various pains. My quads were tired, too.

Beautiful Baltimore! The sun and the lack of wind was fantastic after the previous two days. And I got to satisfy my nostalgia and people-watching instincts and my nosiness all at once. People out on their stoops, with their doors wide open! Sweet.

Up from Friends School to Northern Parkway, then over to Roland Avenue. Down through the name change to University. Had a one-sided yelling match with an idiot who was trying to turn on red right under a "no turn on red" sign. Sigh. Down Charles Street. Waved 'hi' to all the houses I knew. Going a bit faster now.

It's a bit lazy, actually, to do this route. Most of it is downhill. But I was happy to be out at all. My quad twinged enough at first to contemplate turning around but I realized the futility and settled back down.

Past the train station, all the new businesses, and down to Mulberry, which is just before Fayette. Took that over to St. Paul's. St. Paul's all the way back to the car.

Not a fast run. Good because I remembered about 30 minutes ago that I never took my asthma pill. That could have been bad!

Few people out walking. Those that were seemed calm. After the hecticness of the day before, I felt like I was floating down the street.

The streets were breathing a sigh of happiness. "That could have been worse!" Everyone was working off a collective hangover, thanking the heavens that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Thousands of people had been pounding down those streets just the day before.
Gu packets stuck to the sidewalk were the only evidence of the great race - the Baltimore Marathon - the day before.

Between 10.5 and 11, though I'm not sure if this run counts. It was likely pretty slow. I didn't even time it. Too busy floating.

Oof!

A long weekend! After rolling on Friday night, I hoped to be up for the Saturday group run. I needed some social interaction! Rolled out of bed and checked the legs. My right calf had a knot and with a bit sore. Massaged it a bit and declared it 'good to go'. When I started running, it sent out a sharp twinge. "Be quiet!" I screamed inside my head. It shut up.

Gorgeous and I had planned to run the Williamsburg Bridge but events and the group intervened. It was cold and incredibly windy and there was a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge scheduled for that morning. Some 20+ people suggested Owl's Head, the Promenade and Ocean Parkway. Fine.

Then they suggested going down Ocean Parkway first. No way. I'd had enough of Ocean Parkway and, for those who wanted to do a shorter distance, they would only get the cruddy part and not the beauty of the beach.

So we split up. One group ran one direction, the other went the other way. Then we split up even further. Kentucky, Tattoos, Gorgeous and I all started off at a nice clip and decided not to wait for the rest of the runners until we got to Owl's Head. The Engineer was with them: he knew the way. He knows all of Brooklyn, pretty much!

Gorgeous led the whole run. Impressive, considering she had already run 8 miles and was doing a 20-22 mile run that day. It was the longest run Kentucky had done in months, so he was happy to hang back. I was just trying to keep Gorgeous in sight!
Ran down to the cemetery, down 5th and over to 67th. Very little stop and go on 5th, which was pretty amazing. I think, because of the cold weather, a lot of the sidewalk congestion was dissipated. Yay! Less video game running! We did a loop of Owl's Head and then waited for the others. Took off again.

Now I was tired! My calf was a bit angry with me. And so was my hip. Plus, I started to get so ravenously hungry that my stomach felt as if it were eating itself. The problem with eating too early and not eating enough!

Luckily, I mentioned the Bagel Hole and persuaded Gorgeous to go with me! Kentucky dropped off at the side of the cemetery. We ran around the rest of the cemetery and dropped Tattoos off along the way.

Now it was just me and Gogeous. And a big, long hill. Great. Super legs versus super slow.

I watched her poster-worthy arm pumps all the way up and tried to copy. But my water bottles were heavy. So I reduced to a plod.

Back over to Prospect Park West and down 13th to the Bagel Hole. Then, ran over to Ozzies for coffee while Gorgeous finished up her run by running home. Thought about running to meet the rest at Grand Army. Decided that I couldn't imagine running another step. Took the train home. Then took a nap. 13 is a lot after the run on Friday!

Top 10, Three Times Over!

My new favorite long-run route. Plus, not one but TWO Ivy League-ers. Wow. I was just happy to be there.

"Running Routes for the Urban-Curious". Ivy League's new business tag line. Seriously. I go on the best runs with him. This run even beat my Promenade to Ocean Parkway run, which I thought was a pretty fantastic route. Surreality is key.

NY to most people: Times Square. Crowded streets. That burning metal smell of the pretzel carts. Cars, lights, cars, lights, park. Ah. At least we're in the park. More people. Bikes. EEK - got sideswiped by one! More people.

Surreal NY: Seagulls and an empty beachfront. Sand in your running shoes. "Keep NYC clean" trash cans being whipped by the salt-tinged breeze off the ocean. Interspersed by "Beware of Dog" signs and lots of young men who don't seem to keep regular business hours. tore

Ivy League and LSE met up with me at 9:00am at GAP. The day before, with the Vivacious Redhead, I had experienced some asthma problems, even after taking my inhaler twice. The butterflies in my stomach tore each others' wings off in their schitzophrenic cartwheels. I brought my IPod just in case. "Running with the Devil" could always be my companion, if they majorly outclassed me. "I've already had a fantastically productive morning", I rationalized. "Curtains washed. House cleaned. Work started. And around-the-house dance party, of course." So, really, how was I ever expected to keep up?

Last long run before the NYC marathon. And I'm not particularly prepared.

From GAP, we ran down Prospect Park West and Prospect Park Southwest. I had explained to LSE the basic idea behind the runs Ivy League and I do together. That's the loop-around. You go at your own pace and loop back around every so often if you are ahead. Everyone can go at his/her own pace. Perfect for me for this run, as I had been worried that I should do a solo long run, to get the psychic power from doing so. This way, I could run by myself for a lot of it, while knowing that people are around me, pushing me a bit. No one likes to seem like a complete slacker!

LSE insisted on etiquette, at first, making sure to slow down to run with me or Ivy League. After a while, though, he realized we were serious about the loop-around and became more casual, running off for several miles and coming back to check in. He still must have been holding back a bit, as we could always see him up ahead. But once he started doing that, the run got back into a good, familiar rhythme: this is what Ivy League and I do on all of these shared long runs.

Once we hit the circle, it was off to Ocean Parkway. I had worn the Girdle (aka compression shorts) and my long-sleeved Boston shirt, afraid of the wind and the possible rain, while trying not to overdress for this borderline weather. On Ocean, I found myself staring off into the pink clouds poking out of the bright blue sky, smiling ridiculously because of the colors and the sun, and thinking that I should have worn a tank top or at least short sleeves. Without the wind, it was pretty warm.

We saw three other joggers on Ocean Parkway: a record, even for a weekend morning, which it was not, and for a more normal time of day. More and more surreality. Warm, sunny, joggers, McMansions. I could have been in Alabama! Except for the whole joggers part.

Didn't have to stop much on Ocean, so kept up a good but comfortable pace. I was coughing and was really phlegm-y (ugh) but my lungs were behaving themselves. Ivy League had the coughs, too, so I didn't feel as self-concious as I sometimes do about my semi-regular coughing. "It must be so annoying to run by me in races", I remarked to myself for the 100th time.

Down Avenue T to Marine Park. Surreal in that a) its a huge suburban-type park in the middle of the largest borough of NYC and b) I had just been there the day before, with the Vivacious Redhead. Stopped for the first water and gu and then headed off. I had, as usual, brought both water bottles. Everyone appreciated this by the end of the run. Surrounded by water for much of the run but no potable water until the Rockaway boardwalk.

A quick jag over to Avenue U (V?) and then down over to Flatbush. Ran a ways on Flatbush. Very urban. Different urban than East New York: more like an urban shell? Lots of empty sidewalks, fast cars and boat docks. We went down this for a while.

Then the bridge. "You are the awesomest route planner ever!" I screamed at Ivy League after finishing the bridge, once I got my breath back from the biting wind that tore it out of me. Marine Bridge is, hands-down, the bridge with the best view in all of NY that you can run over on a regular basis. Plus, the seagulls. And the cross-wind. First pushing you across, next toying with throwing you over into traffic. Quixotic and refreshing. I was smiling like Ed Macmahon had just rung my doorbell. And I was really glad that I hadn't taken off my shirt like I had wanted to when running along the sunny and less-windy Flatbush. It was cold!

Totally uncharted territory. We were over in Riis Beach now. Just off the bridge, we ran into some sort of recreation area, with a ginormous parking lot, lots of rusting grills, and nothing else except seagulls and two cars. We were running down a six-lane road in NYC. In the middle of the road. Eery in its blustery stillness. Stopped for more gu and water: Ivy League's bottle was almost empty and mine didn't have too much left. "Gotta look for water."

LSE again off in the lead, we ran into more suburban wonderland. Waving to the landscapers and lawn-mowers outside of looming houses they likely did not own. Sunlight through the trees. For a nosy person like me, this was pretty awesome. I could imagine how others lived. "I'll bet at least some commute to Manhattan. Or maybe just to Brooklyn. How many cars would the whole family have to have? How long does it take to clean that place?"

Then, we cut over to the beach. We were running on the boardwalk. In October. In Rockaway. Seagulls, sand, sunshine and surreal. I kept seeing those NYC trashcans.

We were on and off the boardwalk for a while. LSE ran on the beach with the seagulls while Ivy League and I stuck to the springy boardwalk. Somewhere during this part of the run, I began to think, "Did I slow down a lot? Am I really really tired? Or are they picking it up?"

Of course. It being the last 5 miles, Ivy League picked it up. Without warning. Knowing that I would try to keep up if I could. Sometimes I think he's a pretty effective coach that way. Other times, I curse silently inside my head and watch him disappear into the distance. Today, I hung on just a touch behind him. Counting down the beach streets now: 125, 124, 99....... The boardwalk was being repaired, so a quick sad run down a busy side road littered with half-rotted animal carcasses and then back onto the beach. Down to 27. And I wasn't too far behind them! How did this happen? Maybe it was the fear of being lost and alone in the middle of Rockaway.

"Aah. Now we just have to get to the subway." Except, why did we pass the subway? Where are we? And why are they running so fast? My weak quad started to pull a bit. I resolved to use this as an excuse not to tear off like a crazy person and to just make sure that LSE and Ivy League were enough within my fuzzy eyesight that I could see when they made a turn. "Oh, I was just tacking on to make sure we had done 20" Ivy League explained after they abruptly turned around in front of me. Hmmmph. I had already done 1 1/2 before meeting them. I was a bit pouty by this point but brightened at the thought of the subway.

Got them to stop before getting on the subway so that we could get some snacks and walk around a bit to cool down. The muscles, not us. By this time, the temperature had dropped significantly and the wind had picked up even more, which was quite a feat. LSE tried to buy a sweatshirt to prevent hypothermia but could only find an aqua t-shirt with a screen-printed "I :heart: Rockaway." Tried not to laugh but didn't succeed. Though I kind of wished I had the shirt after sitting on the subway, waiting for it to go somewhere!

Long subway ride home. Mott Avenue stop on the A is a long ways away from Hoyt, which is where we had to transfer to get back to the 2/3. Could have walked from Nostrand but I was shivering so much by this point that I didn't think I'd be able to make it unless I ran. Which wasn't going to happen. Decided that was my ice bath.

About 22 miles in 2:47 or 2:48, assuming I stopped and started the watch accurately. I likely didn't, as I don't think I was going that fast during the run. Still, we must have averaged under 8/mile, which is good enough for me right now. Tired enough that I couldn't finish Friday's crossword. Must try again today, when the brain has started functioning again.

A New Old Regular

I am so lucky in lots of ways. Including having friends and running partners that are willing to trust me a bit and to go someplace different.

The Vivacious Redhead and I met up for a run this morning, like has been the usual this semester. And, as has been usual for the past year or so, she has been my weekday during-the-day running partner. And we were about to go on our usual cemetery-then -fort-green-then-coffee running route.

After all, it does eliminate at least some of the traffic issues and crowding issues endemic after about 8:30 am in New York in any borough.
But she listened when I suggested something else - even though it didn't, perhaps, sound appealing at first.

Ivy League would have appreciated the route. That is, it was definitely urban and outside of the Park Slope comfort zone.

But, the route down Bedford was interesting, satisfying for the voyeur in all of us, and beautiful. A new old regular.

As it was new, we got a bit lost at the end. But, as with all good adventures, you don't always know either where you are going or where, precisely, you will end up.

Ok. Enough platitudes from me. Or were those cliches? Anyway....

We ran from Park Slope down Eastern Parkway to Bedford, across Flatbush and down to S. Turned on S instead of T because of some police activity. Lord. There are some huge houses that desperately need architects down there!
Down Nostrand to T, then over to Marine Park. Found a running, albeit messy, water fountain, and a loop. Back over to Bedford, where we tried to find the 2. Too bad that almost no Brooklyn College student seems to take the subway!
After a lot of wrong turns, we found the 2 and a Starbucks in the Target. CoffEe and a quick subway ride home!

Plus, the coolest old-school Sears building. Old enough to have A 'Roebucks' on the sign!

Why do I crave the different in my life so much during exercise? When I am so routine-oriented and anti-surprise in so many other aspects?

Ran about two hours today. Hope that wasn't a mistake, given the challenging run in challenging weather scheduled for tomorrow.

Soaked up the sun.

Weirdly Sore

Today is one of the few days this semester that I would have actually been able to run with the group tonight without shirking work responsibilities.

So, I'm sore, in two different ways. Can a body get late-onset soreness? Inquiring minds want to know.

I felt great after the race, except for the whole 'can't breathe' thing. Felt great on Monday. Felt good running to work yesterday.

Ok. Felt good part of the way to work yesterday. A emerald-rare quality to the morning: purple-pink-blue and fragrant, with a carpet of leaves from the hail the night before. Practicing pumping my arms up the hills and picking up my step.

I even weighed my backpack: it was only about 15 pounds.

But, by the time the Penn Station Stop rolled around on the West SIde Path, my hamstrings and, especially, quads, were kinda sore.

And the marathon is less than a month away. So, no delicious company-filled run for me tonight. Instead, just me and my estranged television. Maybe we can kiss and make up this evening.

Part of why I like running to work, insasmuch as I do, is that the run gives me time to plan my day and to figure out what will go where in my week, as well as to figure out what sort of non-lecture-based exercises I'll force (heh!) students to do in class.

Yesterday, I was calculating furiously. Monday was a grading marathon that left little room for prep. I was to cover someone else's classes yesterday, run a reading group, and go to some meetings and an observation. Doing the jig-saw in my head, I was really getting freaked out for someone who, according to most of america and the NYT editorialists, only has to work 8 hours a week.
But then I remembered. I had worked at home for two hours before running to work. Where I was able to do some of my work in lycra shorts with a killer view of the water, before rolling into my office at 8:45am. Or maybe even 9:00am. So what if, yesterday, I didn't finish work until 9:30pm? Another day, I might decide is Saturday. And that Saturday is really Thursday.
How would I do at a real job, I wonder? And does mine count as a 'real job' or no? Does a 'real job' have to be 9 to 5? If so, none of my relatives' jobs would count. Theirs are more like 9 to 9, or something sadly American like that.

I never did much like wearing a tie.....

To Manhattan and Beyond!

Or, over the Bridge and Back.

The beauty of the running forum! I suckered Craft Beer into going on a run with me this morning, to break up the grading irritation. It was only 8:40am when I left the house but, boy, was I ready for that break!

My long sleeves were clearly excessive on such a nice morning: I had been tricked by the earlier chilliness to the day. Sweating was still welcome, though. I might have a bad memory but I remember enough about the layers of last winter to enjoy being a bit too warm!

My legs weren't sore at all. They weren't even particularly tired! Even more of a testament to what I wrote about yesterday's run. The lungs are weak because I don't push them. The only thing that was at all sore was my gluts but that's a common thing now, post-injury.
Having an injury can really change one's stride. Mine must have changed just a bit, so that my gluts get more of a workout than they used to. Who knows: next time you see me, I'll have a rear that your mother warned you about!

Hah. That made no sense. Inanity is funny.

The run was a total pleasure. We talked about beer, his son, and locations of parks in Brooklyn and Queens for the whole way over the Brooklyn Bridge and back.

For such a nice day on a holiday weekend, there were few tourists out! Only 2 close encounters of the bike kind. All in all, two thumbs up.

I was having such a good time, after leaving him at 6th Ave., I picked it up the rest of the way home!

It almost made me keep running. Then I remembered that I likely just wanted to keep running to avoid grading. So I meekly stayed the course and didn't stray. About 11 on a beautiful sunny day. Sigh.

Although, if the grading keeps going this well, I might go out for a repeat tour!

Bed Stuy!

Or, how I realized I really need to start concentrating if I want to even go as fast sometime this year as I did last year.

Beautiful weather. Neat course. Great competition. Except I couldn't bring it. I tried but I failed. And that failure is a direct result of not doing enough hard training. Again. New York is going to be rough.

Gorgeous passed me quite handily around mile four and held on for an amazing win at an amazing time: 39:11! That averages out to a 6:19.2 mile pace! Wow!!!!!

Me, not so much. I was leading for the first part of the race. Then, right around where Gorgeous was passing me, my lungs started to fail. This is not an excuse: Gorgeous is a much stronger runner than me right now and it showed. The first thing to go on me is my lungs and they really went. The bottom part of my lungs started tightening up and I couldn't force the air out. That's the worst part about having an asthma attack, I think: while you can't seem to get enough oxygen, you can't actually expel the air from your lungs, so they are full but constricted but oxygen-free all at the same time.

Anyway, I really wanted to quit, and slowed down for a bit while I tried to get myself a bit more under control.

That's when I got sneak-attacked! A woman who had been running behind Gorgeous came up behind me. During one turn around mile 5, she sprinted past me. Not for much: she was right ahead of me the whole time. In fact, she settled back into the pace that I was going. But there was no way that I could make up that distance, the way I was feeling.
I had gotten control of my lungs a bit again but I knew, if I pushed them at all any more than I was, I would be on the side, puking and having a real issue with breathing. So I let her finish in front of me. Grrrr.

I'm happy that I finished and I'm happy that PPTC had such a good showing for this race. And I'm happy that Suave was there cheering and that I finished around 40 - I don't know the exact time because I was too busy trying not to puke and trying to get my lungs in control enough to take my inhaler to stop my watch at the finish line.

Then, Gorgeous and I ran a nice cool-down on the course, getting more cheers as people thought we were finishing for the first time (oops!) and getting some more miles for the day. Boy, the course sure seemed easier at about an 8-minute mile! I finished with about 10 for the day.

I just need to re-evaluate my priorities. Becoming re-committed to running, to which I have become somewhat estranged, obviously, will mean becoming re-committed to a lot of things that I haven't been good at doing for a while: strength training, a healthy diet, speedwork and the like.

Maybe, just maybe, if I do become re-committed, my speedy teammates will let me run with them sometimes to help me get faster!!!!!!

The rest of the day was wonderful and a lot easier. Saturday's crossword was a bully: had to get some help on this one. But Sunday's was a pleasure, although not as funny as I'd like it to have been. But the weather was perfect for walking around Manhattan and avoiding grading!

Some Surprise Speedwork

On a Marathon Day.

My alarm is so loud, you can hear it across 4 rooms of my railroad apartment. Party Girl has been known to curse me because of this alarm.

Yesterday, it was just a suggestion. "Lord", I yawned when the suggestion took seed. "Ack! It's 4:45am!"

And so the day began, with free time parceled out in the number of minutes toddlers can count on their fingers.

Chewing shot blocks, I texted Story Finder to see if she had managed to finish up enough of her business to be able to meet me.

See, we were going on the 2nd Run Together.

This is, in a way, much scarier than the 1st run. You are running with each other for longer, the initial politeness has been buffered away.

Plus, I suggested the route. Pressure!

But then I remembered how it's always more fun to run with someone else when it is late in your day (check), you are tired (check) and hungry (check).

So I ran out to meet her. "I'll start running up the West side of the park. You can start running down. Then we'll meet and go off to Riverside."

I swear I said the outside. But I bet I didn't. To me, talking about the West side of the park means going along the outside.

But Story Finder never runs on the outside.

I'll bet you can already see where this story is going.....

I scramble into clothes and start running up MY west side of the park. I'm starting a bit earlier, so I know that I'll likely meet her in the higher-numbered streets. After my heavy backpack run the day before, my legs feel so light and free. I pick up the pace a bit, not sure of what pace we will finally settle on for the rest of the run. Story Finder is a great runner but she's increasing her miles.

I get to 110th. Ok. Now I'm worried. "What could be keeping her? Why don't I have my phone, Idiot?!" I squint as best I can at all the passersby. Several people give me a wide berth. I guess the intense squinting might be mistaken for the crazies.

Now I'm pacing back and forth between the edges of the circle, checking my watch and counting under my breath.

There is no way she would have taken this long. Lives too close and is too prompt. F****!

My mother always told me to stay in one place if I got lost. But my mother told me lots of things I never paid attention to.

I started off into the park, hoping I made the right decision.

But when Story Finder is running in the park, she likes to run pretty fast. And she's got a major head start on me. I start running faster. And faster. I imagine I'm at that last 10k I did in the park with the Speedy Blonde......

Wait. Scratch that. I felt awful that whole race and wheezed so badly the Speedy Blonde remarked on it afterwards.

Try number two. I imagine that I'm in some imaginary race where I am flying and everyone is cheering, amazed at my lightning pace. Plus, I imagine Story Teller thinking "This is it. No more running with her for me! She can't even get here on time!"

I don't have a lot of people to run with in Manhattan! I increase the speed even more. I am passing everybody now. Going up a hill, a guy says, "going to fast for me!" I shout the whole explanation at him as I run by. Because it's important to let complete strangers know that you messed up a meeting place for a run. Getting it out there.....

At the top of that same hill, a shirtless buff guy passes me like I'm in the walkers corral. I imagine briefly deputizing him to find Story FInder. But he passes too fast for me to get the words out.

I finally find her right at the turn-off for the 72nd street Transverse. She's kind of peeved. I'm kind of out of breath. Not expecting that tempo run!

Then I explain and help her with her new water bottles, and off we go. Out of the park and (finally!) onto Riverside.

We run up Riverside to past 165th. I've never been up that far on Riverside itself. It is absolutely beautiful. Interesting buildings on one side, the George Washington looming in front, crazy cloud-sky overtop and the river to your left. I'm thinking it's a bit windy in the winter. Brrrr!

So few pedestrians, too, which is great. A welcome change from the park. The lack of slant is also a welcome change. We see some other runners. They pass us but we keep a steady, comfortable pace. Maybe a bit too comfortable: Story Finder might have wanted us to go a bit faster, to slow the stream of gabber coming from my mouth. Everyone who's run with me knows that the only real way to shut me up if I've got mouth trots on a run is to speed up the pace.

Having been a biker, Story Finder knows all the good trails to and past the George Washington. I filed some of those away. I won't remember most of the details but will hopefully remember enough to at least attempt getting over the bridge one of these Manhattan runs.

My left knee and right quad hurt a bit. I chalk this up to the unexpected speedwork followed by a solid but not blazing pace. Both of us had lung problems during part of the run, likely due to the weird weather changes. But, all in all, a pretty good second run on my side.

When she had been running for two hours and I had been running for 2:15, I stopped and got on the subway at 110th. Later, Story Finder told me she completed the whole 2:15, for at least 15 miles. Yay!

Later, going down the stairs to the subway, a different part of my right quad was really kind of painful. I've tried to massage it out but we'll see how the run goes today. You are supposed to do tempo work the week of a race, right? To 'wake up' your muscles?

Well, Here Goes!

Took too much time off. Just wasn't feeling well. And wasn't feeling it. Then work got crazy.

But two days is a lot of time.

So I braved the grey, grey, grey and ran to work today. First run in long pants.

Sigh. The cold is coming back. The windows are closed and my apartment will be less welcoming.

But I went the whole way. And it was kind of nice. The pace was off because of the backpack but I like to pretend that I'm lifting weights as part of the workout when the backpack is on.

It was at least 20 pounds today. A bit over 10.

And some good thinking got done.

Smiling in the Sun

After yesterday, I couldn't wait to get out and meet up with people.


Yes, I did say that. After my 23 plus miles in the rain and wind yesterday, I couldn't wait to go run again.

Because, you see, it was sunny today. And I used the magic rolling pin last night.

Plus, street pizza has mysterious healing powers-maybe not on the waistline but on the psyche.

My legs felt great today. Of course, It helped that we were running pretty slowly. But that's ok. It fed my illusion of invincibility.

And I got to talk to the Engineer and the Vivacious Redhead, two people who I have missed recently. Add a nice, new, super fast (1:28 half) girl and a cute new boy and lots of gabbing. Heaven!

Plus, I guilted the Vivacious Redhead to run back Brooklyn Bridge with me when everyone else was going up the West Side for a long run. Roll Call came with us because he has a race tomorrow.

Long sleeves and a bit chilly but not so bad. I shivered some after the subway ride from the farmers market but I was in such a good state of mind.

Much needed outdoor-loading before the Law School fair today. Lord, I hate business casual. Didn't I spend most of my life in school, ingesting, and then narrowly got a job that 400 other people applied for so I could make very little money, just to avoid business casual?

That's why I wore my knee-high lace up boots with my business casual. Heh. That'll show 'em.

Oh, plus got to get produce from the garden and win the crossword with Suave. Pat. Pat. Someday you'll beat me, young tadpole.

Friday Night's Alright for Solving

French father's affairs? bushels of Boscs? Edit? Two charts? What on Earth could these have in common?

Ah. The beauty of the crossword.

Pereamour. Pearamount. Pareaphrase. Pairagraphs.


Hah.

There haven't been great themes recently, nor have there been particularly good clues or cute trick spellings. I'm glad you are back, Will Shortz.

Oh, and whoever the author is. The type is too small for me to read that name.

Bringing Slickers Back

I have to agree with an op/ed article in the NYT fairly recently. Golf umbrellas?! In NYC?! Especially Manhattan? Come on. That's just beyond the pale.

I had a lot of time to think about this today, as Gorgeous and I encountered a lot of umbrellas on our run. I could rant about umbrellas for a long time.

I noticed that everybody who we passed had wet legs. I'll bet that, if they had worn a rain slicker, their legs would have been less wet. And they would have had better visibility. And they wouldn't have been swinging their stupid umbrellas around in the wind and rain, forcing me to fend off multiple sticks to the eye. Hmmmph.

Besides the umbrellas, however, the run wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. That was, in large part, because of the company.

In fact, the two worst parts of the run were waiting for Gorgeous on Smith and Union and walking to the subway at the end. Brrrrrr.

I, of course, was paranoid I was going to be late to meet her. So I hoofed it up to Smith and Union, to get there about 10 minutes early. Did I mention the rain? And the wind? And the fact I was wearing a tank top? Yeah.

I got there early enough, in fact, to realize that, in my usual space cadet manner, I had crosswired Smith with Carroll and had told her to meet me on the corner of Carroll and Union. Which don't cross each other. Brilliant. Visions of waiting for hours flitted through my head as I alternated between poking my head out into the street and huddling next to the closed grocery to keep out of the wind.

Luckily, Gorgeous is much more level-headed than me and, so, she was able to find me despite my gaff. Off we went.

I had run down Eastern past Grand Army and down Union to meet her. We then ran up to Court, dodging the puddles and umbrellas as best we could, and headed up over the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Wow. I've never seen it so deserted!" exclaimed Gorgeous. In fact, the only times I had seen it so barren of tourists were other crazy times to run, like in snowstorms and in torrential rain. We didn't have truly torrential rain just then but, I can assure you, there is a brisk wind over that bridge!

Off to find the East Side Greenway. Neither of us could remember quite how to get on but, after a few stops to scratch our heads, we stumbled upon it - not too far from its terminus by the bridge. Good. Smooth sailing now.

Except for the huge puddles! Much of the path was flooded. We got creative, making paths and loops that were never intended to be a part of the running path. Oh, and the rain. During this part of the run - when we were right by the water with the wind - something broke up above. And dumped water all over. Almost in sheets. Gorgeous was wringing out her shirt and the water was streaming out of it. My skirt was so soaked it was sticking to the front of my legs. I took advantage of the scarcity of people to pull up the skirt part so that I was basically running in Spankies. Drastic times and all.

Gorgeous was smart in telling me to wear a light shirt, though, because, as soon as the rain would lighten, my shirt would start to dry out. And by 'dry out', I mean it would stop sticking to me.

Due to the flooding, we decided to cross at 23rd over to 1st Avenue. Dodging people up the hill was fun and took our minds off of the weather. "What, we're here? Already? That's a good sign!"

I had a slightly different opinion. I still felt great but my quad was a bit tired and I had definitely been on the lookout for the 58th Street turn off. That involved a lot of squinting.

Here's where it got a bit annoying. Rush hour and crossing Midtown are not two things that mix well. We stopped a lot. So we took advantage by having some more water and Gu. Thankfully, I had brought the trusty water bottles.

"I should really carry one!" "No. I need to make sure that I keep these huge biceps even. Wouldn't want one arm to get even more ripped than the other." "Oh." Awkward silence.

Wended through to 7th and then moved over to 57th. Then down 10th to 55th and over to 11th and 54th. Last time we'd need to stop for a light for a while. My legs were starting to be at the point where no stopping is better, so I was happy.

West Side path. Deserted. We were queens for the morning. The sort that you might see at 7:00am in Chinatown, with last night's dress drooping around them, trudging for the subway and for forgetfulness. I started singing to myself in my head and counting down the streets.

Right near our turn-off, we stopped for some more water - almost none of the fountains work now, so we were glad for the water bottles - and gu/shot blocks. I took my inhaler: stupid excess humidity and cold!

Over to Houston. We were really excited now: we just had to get to the bridge.

The bridge that had been looming on the landscape and in our minds for most of the run.

The Williamsburg. Going from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The worst direction.

Dodging people and golf umbrellas (grr!), we got to Bowery. "This is one of my favorite parts of Manhattan! I love looking at all the commercial kitchen equipment!" This was a pleasant surprise. It's one of my favorite parts of Manhattan, too, but I don't get much corroboration on that. Most people can't see past the industrialness of this area.

Over to Kenmare/Delancey. Managed to stay on the better side (the left) for bridge access. Then. Gulp. Up the bridge.

They've resurfaced recently. The first thing both of us noticed was the squeaking. In the rain, we sounded like a bad dj, going off on the record scratching. First part of the bridge down. Second thing we noticed. There's a lot of graffitti, considering it just got resurfaced. "Maybe it's the whole new thing." Hmmmmmm.

Carefully, carefully down the tricky descent to Bedford. Now I was really excited. I felt pretty good and....We....Were....Almost....Done!

Relatively speaking, of course.

Next part eerily quite as we ran down the bike lane. A nice downhill until we crossed Flatbush. About two lights after, we had to stop. I realized that we hadn't had to stop for a light since turning onto Delancy. Wow. Gorgeous was stretching her hamstring out now whenever we had to stop. Every time I had to start up again, the left side of my back gave a sharp warning pain.

But otherwise, Cake and Ice Cream!

Got some love at the gas station we stopped at for some PowerAde. Kept running up the hill. And up the hill. Crossed Myrtle. A bit of a breather there: the hill flattens out. Then back to climbing until Fulton. Got some more love.

"Mm. Mm. You sure are sexy." Gorgeous and I looked at each other and started cracking up. We had been in the wind and rain for who knows how long. An eye check for the gentleman would be in order.

Got stopped by the light on Atlantic. A bummer, given stopping wasn't as awesome as it could have been at that point in time. Then, the final climb up to Eastern Parkway. We managed to avoid the swimming hole on Franklin and got ourselves to Grand Army. I decided to run to the Tea Lounge for some hot coffee and Gorgeous decided to run home, to make sure she hit 22. Plus, walking wasn't a really pleasant idea in this weather.

Despite it being Tea Lounge coffee, it tasted great. Plus the bar of goodness that I likely ought not have eaten. Then the walk to the subway.

In the rain. In soaked sneakers, socks, tank top and skirt. It wasn't pretty. But I got home!

No ice bath for me. Gorgeous managed one but I'm too much of a wimp. Maybe when it's not raining.......

23. Not bad! The pace felt slow but at least I got out today. And we already know I'm not going to tear up this next marathon.....Maybe the next one.