The Snow

is not so good for running.

Maybe it's for the best, though. I managed an out-and-back 11-mile bridge run before going to my parents' house.

Then, while I was there, I managed 2 more 10-mile runs and 3 1-hour biking sessions.

And now, just a lot of sitting on my butt.

I can feel it growing and the pains starting to come back.

If you run, things hurt. If you don't run, things hurt.

You can't win!

While doing my best at schmoozing at this conference (an art I have yet to master, unless a pained grimace and wildly shifting eyes count as aspects of successful schmoozing), I will try to run.

But, the half is looking better and better as I get more and more out-of-shape.

The icy sidewalks are curtailing any runs for today, or for the forseeable future. No 20-miler for me this week.

What to do?!

Worst Run in Memory

Just after mile 10, I cried.

A short, choking sobbing, it stopped quickly.

Then I started churning my legs again.

Not running because running implies a rhythm, something the whole excursion lacked.

Not enough food, bad sneakers, and a cold that had gotten into my sinuses overdetermined that I was going to have a bad run.

Sleeping well and hydrating is clearly not enough.

I don't want to talk much about this run, in fact. Every injury hurt, but not enough to stop. Every five minutes felt like fifteen.

I'm a whiner: when on a run with someone else, I'll often say "oh, I hurt" or "can't we stop?"

But I rarely mean it. Yesterday, I started seriously questioning why I put myself through these kind of runs.

"Why a marathon? Why not a half? Why have your back seizing, your nose spewing mucus, your foot aching and your quad growling menacingly?"

And then it got cold.


Isn't it supposed to be fun, at least in some sense?

Forcing myself not to turn off where I could have shortened the route, bullying myself into not calling a cab-seriously-I managed to finish off 20 or so horrible miles.

To wake up this morning to a requirement for antibiotics and a doctor mother doing the closest thing she gets to yelling. "I've told you, when you've been sick, that these long endurance runs will comprimise your immune system! What, you want to take MORE days off than you would have had to if you had just skipped yesterday?"

Right now, with the run fresh in my memory, that doesn't seem like the worst idea. Maybe I should rethink the marathon in February. A half sounds nice, doesn't it?

Red Hook!

Worthy of at least one exclamation point! If not two!!

Donning my underarmor core warmth shorts (thanks, Chestershire Cat!), my thick tights and a pair of warm-up pants, not to mention the long-sleeved shirt, thermal, two jackets, gloves and a hat, I was ready to go meet Gorges out in the snowy, icy weather.

Except I needed to use the bathroom. Which was harder than you might imagine, with that much spandex to contend with. Lesson learned: use the facilities BEFORE suiting up for a brisk winter run.

So suited up, I ran down Eastern Parkway to Union to Smith Street, where I met up with Gorgeous. Almost instantly, my jaw and chin went numb. This was the day I really missed the turtle neck cowl thingy I lost on my way to the cab for the marathon.

One of the things that's awesome about running in the icy snow is that you can claim that you are running slowly because of 'safety'.

Heh.

Gorgeous showed me some neat places in Red Hook, then I ran back to reality and students and exams.

But at least there was Red Hook!

I felt amazing during the entire 10+ mile run. Warm, cozy, happy, and relaxed.

Then the rest of the week arrived.....

Last Day of Classes!!!!!!!

"WHEEEEEE!!!!!!!" [sneeze] [sniffle] [sneeze] "WHEEEE!!!!!"

An interesting syncopation was going on in and around me. I was screaming in my head, interrupted by my nose. And the rain.

Because yes, Virginia, it was still raining.

But I couldn't let a little rain stop me! It being the last day of classes, I would have to bring comparatively little with me if I were to run to work: some clothes, a bit of lunch and some papers and my little computer.

So run to work I did.

This was the view from the bridge. There are benefits to being semi-crazy.

Due to the season, I can no longer enjoy the gaudy rainbow that is Manhattan over the bridge at sunrise: a lame (with an accent!) - lover's delight.

But watching New Jersey get illuminated isn't bad, either. No sunrise, as such, but some nice colors in the morning sky.

I know I was going pretty slowly: I kept having mucus issues and, let's face it, I was being a little bit lazy.

But it was a great way to start THE LAST DAY OF CLASSES, nonetheless!

Whee! [sneeze] [sniffle]

Was that Me Sneezing, or Was that the Sky?

"Seriously?!" The wind tunnel street on which I live was wind-tunneling away this morning, throwing the sheets of rain directly into the side of my face.

I shivered and sneezed, all at the same time. This was going to be fun!

The cold still hasn't gone away. But, Sunday is the first day of my running calendar. And it's bad form to miss the first run of the week! That would have you start the week already behind.

So I finished walking down the stairs. And sneeze again. And again. Booh.

"At least it's not super cold", I think to myself as I force myself to start running into the rain and wind on Eastern Parkway.

My absolute least favorite weather is cold rain. Blizzard on, as long as it doesn't turn to rain.

At least it wasn't super cold.

Amazingly, several people showed up to the run, despite the rain. Craft Beer, the Vivacious Redhead, Ivy League and Ponytail all braved the weather to come out. Craft Beer didn't surprise me because he does all those crazy mud runs.

Heck, I was surprised I was out!

The park was flooded. So we headed outside again, though we took the easier, counter-clockwise direction.

Finally, the rain died down a bit. I ran with Ponytail most of the time. It was good to see her: our schedules have not been overlapping at all. That seems to be the story with most peoples' schedules and mine, actually. I hope next semester will be better.

When you work most of the time and spend the rest doing crazy running stuff or reading, it's hard when you no longer see most of the people you used to do the running stuff with. There goes most of your social interaction for the year!

Turning onto Ocean, we pass this one man. I guess he didn't really like being passed. He started dogging us all down Ocean, just about 100 feet behind us. I could hear his heavy footfalls.

When we turned onto Flatbush, Ponytail said to go ahead. So I decide to catch Ivy League, who was way up ahead, dodging raindrops.

And here comes this same guy. Every time I speed up, he speeds up, too. But not to pass me: no, he just seems to want to run RIGHT NEXT TO ME. In fact, if I slow down a bit, which I tried as an experiment, he'd slow down, too.

And this kept up all the way up the hill. I supposed I could have gone faster and left him but I still had that cold, which I could feel in my lungs and legs. And I didn't want to race. So why in the heck was this guy trying to race me?

I met Ivy League near the top of the hill. Reaching him, I slowed down. And the heavy-footsteps dude slowed down, too. This was irritating me so much that, when we got to the top and around to GAP, I yelled "Let's do the second loop the other way around!"

Getting Ivy League's attention, Ivy League came to a halt and doubled back. Confident in his 'win', the heavy-footsteps dude continued on around to Prospect Park West. Whew! Finally rid of him.

Plus, by stopping, we got a chance to wish the Engineer good luck on his cross-country 15k! He stopped by GAP to say hi and to let us know that it wasn't some crazy stalker but, instead, him, that had been screaming at us from a car on Flatbush.

In fact, thankfully, we didn't do another loop of the park, at all. Craft Beer went home and the Vivacious Redhead and Ponytail did another half mile with us down Eastern Parkway before heading home.

Ivy League and I kept going, down Eastern Parkway, past the end of Lincoln, and a bit into East New York. With the wind in our faces and the miles we had already completed, I was really feeling the cold by now. I had that thickness and that tickling, back-of-the-throat feeling.

How do you describe how you feel when you are exercising with a cold? It's so unique, it's instantly recognizable but almost impossible to describe? Is it like pornography, where "you know it when you see it?"

Back up Eastern Parkway, to Lincoln, where we enjoyed a bit of a tailwind and some more driving rain. I left Ivy League to the rest of his run and raced home. About 10 miles.

Now to figure out how to get warm, so that I can start that grading!


Ah. The life of a rock star.

Stress Release

"I want to scream and jump up in the air and stretch all my muscles, all at once!" I shouted to myself walking down Eastern Parkway.

Then I started laughing at myself. Out loud. I had the semi-usual experience of people edging away from me on the greenway.

Nothing like seeming to be crazy for some mugging prevention!

Anyway, it was comparatively beautiful, comparatively warm and I was like a small child having been forced to sit still for too long.

So out the door I went.

The Vivacious Redhead was on fire yesterday! I know I was dehydrated because I wasn't able to drink water during much of the test I had taken that morning but she was really pushing it!

Around the park clockwise, including the Propect Park Southwest hill, we flew. I actually stopped talking up the hill, a feat that the Vivacious Redhead is sure to wish that she could accomplish more often! A bit under 7 but I'll take it.

Then back to run errands and to think, and discard the thought, about grading.

Finally, a birthday party. That was interesting and fun. Don't think I'll be elbow-rubbing with that crowd in the near future, so I had to take notes on clothes and make sure to eat a lot of food.

I want a disco chandelier. I saw one at the party mansion. It's been decided. That will be my goal in life.

At least for the near future.

Until I can elbow-rub with the well-to-do, or something.

Nothing Like some Bridges for some Brisk Running!

Ivy League persuaded me to go running with him in the afternoon yesterday. He did not persuade me to go all 16 miles with him but he did end up persuading me to go longer than I was planning.

Persuasive little bugger. He also persuaded me to take the subway in the freezing cold last night, insted of taking a car. I blame him for the continuance of my cold! The fact that I still have a cold today, on Important Test Day, is in NO WAY related to the fact that I walked around yesterday morning/afternoon in the cold, nor is it related to the fact that I was shivering in my apartment for most of the day, nor is it related to my run in freezing temperatures.

No. I've decided. It's all HIS fault. Otherwise, it would be my fault. And we can't have that, now can we?

Tense negotiations concerning route completed, Ivy League and I headed down New York Avenue. I go out pretty fast, trying to stretch my legs and warm up. Wisely, after a couple of miles, Ivy League mentions this and we slow down. I was happy about this later, as I didn't bring any water or gu and I didn't want to take any of his, as he was running much longer than I was supposed to.

Having more of a sugar crash on the Queensboro bridge would not have been pretty.

We jag onto Marcy, then follow it across Flushing, where it turns into Union. A left on 5th Street takes us down to the Williamsburg Bridge, the first of three bridges we'd cross. It's always psychologically harder to go across from Brooklyn first, when we are planning to come right back across. Going from Brooklyn is hard! Plus, the whole time, I am thinking about how much harder the bridge is on the way back from Manhattan.

But, we managit without too much pain. So off we go up north on Bedford. After a tiny kerfluffle in Williamsburg, we find where it intersects with Nassau and continue on Nassau until we reach McGuinness Avenue.

Not the nicest part of the run. We still have some miles to go but it is past the half-way point (for me, at least!) so I'm tired. And we are surrounded by fast-food joints and tire places. Plus, I can't look at Ivy League, as he is running in the traffic lane with the traffic flowing in his direction. There is a LOT of traffic on McGuinness!

Thankfully for my nerves, he takes to the sidewalk for at least part of this stretch.

Over the Pulaski Bridge we run. The temperature drops significantly. I wonder why this is: the Williamsburg Bridge is taller, and crosses the same body of water, yet the wind isn't nearly as bad as over the Pulaski or the Queensboro. And similarly for the Brooklyn or the Manhattan: they are all cold and windy but not to the same extent as their Queens kin. I had taken off my gloves and hat prior to the crossing. While we run over the bridge, my hands turn to icicles. Brrrrrr.

"If we were in the marathon, we'd be over half-way done!" I exclaimed near the end of the bridge. Ivy League says that there is still a marker up from the marathon, which I missed. Cool!

Up 11th we run, with the trucks and traffic. Here's where I've made a mis-calculation: I wanted to go 10 miles yesterday, or 12, max. Yet I thought, from the map, that we'd be able to get on the Queensboro from 11th.

Wrong. We end up running over 1/2 a mile to the east before being able to access the bridge. Oops! I need to remember this, as I am planning to use the Queensboro for hill practice in January.

Up onto the Queensboro. I'm ecstatic because of low blood sugar and the thought that I am almost done!

Ivy League is less ecstatic, knowing he still has to turn into the park while I trundle off to some nice hot tea at Starbucks.

Note: while I do not condone huge corporations in general, and do not like the quality of Starbucks coffee or its prices in particular, it is terribly convenient for meeting-up purposes to have this many Starbucks in the city. Knowing that I would have to wait for Ivy League at the end of the run and not wanting to schlep my office keys with me, I googled locations for Starbucks for each possible iteration of the proposed run. And, lo and behold, there were convenient meeting places for each!

Some fancy turning gets us onto 59th from the Queensboro and we get into the one really ugly part of the run. Other aspects might not have been asthetically pleasing but the route was great in that we had to stop very few times previously, considering we started running at about 3:00pm on a Friday. Our luck turns in Manhattan, however. 59th is miserable. Every light is a stop-and-shiver and the tourists with their packages and three-abreast and erratic walking is terrible in its awfulness. Their taxes might pay my salary but that doesn't stop me from complaining about them!

I leave Ivy League at the south-east corner of the park. I end up having to walk several times across the side of the park. The tourists are exacerbated by a fire on the other side of the street, causing the opposite sidewalk to be closed and gawkers to abound.

Finally make it to Starbucks and I settle in with Friday's crossword.

Yes, I said it. And no, I didn't buy it there. Knowing I'd be waiting for a bit, I stuffed the crossword into a pocket and my pen into my sportsbra before I left the house.

How's that for planning?

Nothing Like some Bridges for some Brisk Running!

Ivy League persuaded me to go running with him in the afternoon yesterday. He did not persuade me to go all 16 miles with him but he did end up persuading me to go longer than I was planning.

Persuasive little bugger. He also persuaded me to take the subway in the freezing cold last night, insted of taking a car. I blame him for the continuance of my cold! The fact that I still have a cold today, on Important Test Day, is in NO WAY related to the fact that I walked around yesterday morning/afternoon in the cold, nor is it related to the fact that I was shivering in my apartment for most of the day, nor is it related to my run in freezing temperatures.

No. I've decided. It's all HIS fault. Otherwise, it would be my fault. And we can't have that, now can we?

Tense negotiations concerning route completed, Ivy League and I headed down New York Avenue. I go out pretty fast, trying to stretch my legs and warm up. Wisely, after a couple of miles, Ivy League mentions this and we slow down. I was happy about this later, as I didn't bring any water or gu and I didn't want to take any of his, as he was running much longer than I was supposed to.

Having more of a sugar crash on the Queensboro bridge would not have been pretty.

We jag onto Marcy, then follow it across Flushing, where it turns into Union. A left on 5th Street takes us down to the Williamsburg Bridge, the first of three bridges we'd cross. It's always psychologically harder to go across from Brooklyn first, when we are planning to come right back across. Going from Brooklyn is hard! Plus, the whole time, I am thinking about how much harder the bridge is on the way back from Manhattan.

But, we managit without too much pain. So off we go up north on Bedford. After a tiny kerfluffle in Williamsburg, we find where it intersects with Nassau and continue on Nassau until we reach McGuinness Avenue.

Not the nicest part of the run. We still have some miles to go but it is past the half-way point (for me, at least!) so I'm tired. And we are surrounded by fast-food joints and tire places. Plus, I can't look at Ivy League, as he is running in the traffic lane with the traffic flowing in his direction. There is a LOT of traffic on McGuinness!

Thankfully for my nerves, he takes to the sidewalk for at least part of this stretch.

Over the Pulaski Bridge we run. The temperature drops significantly. I wonder why this is: the Williamsburg Bridge is taller, and crosses the same body of water, yet the wind isn't nearly as bad as over the Pulaski or the Queensboro. And similarly for the Brooklyn or the Manhattan: they are all cold and windy but not to the same extent as their Queens kin. I had taken off my gloves and hat prior to the crossing. While we run over the bridge, my hands turn to icicles. Brrrrrr.

"If we were in the marathon, we'd be over half-way done!" I exclaimed near the end of the bridge. Ivy League says that there is still a marker up from the marathon, which I missed. Cool!

Up 11th we run, with the trucks and traffic. Here's where I've made a mis-calculation: I wanted to go 10 miles yesterday, or 12, max. Yet I thought, from the map, that we'd be able to get on the Queensboro from 11th.

Wrong. We end up running over 1/2 a mile to the east before being able to access the bridge. Oops! I need to remember this, as I am planning to use the Queensboro for hill practice in January.

Up onto the Queensboro. I'm ecstatic because of low blood sugar and the thought that I am almost done!

Ivy League is less ecstatic, knowing he still has to turn into the park while I trundle off to some nice hot tea at Starbucks.

Note: while I do not condone huge corporations in general, and do not like the quality of Starbucks coffee or its prices in particular, it is terribly convenient for meeting-up purposes to have this many Starbucks in the city. Knowing that I would have to wait for Ivy League at the end of the run and not wanting to schlep my office keys with me, I googled locations for Starbucks for each possible iteration of the proposed run. And, lo and behold, there were convenient meeting places for each!

Some fancy turning gets us onto 59th from the Queensboro and we get into the one really ugly part of the run. Other aspects might not have been asthetically pleasing but the route was great in that we had to stop very few times previously, considering we started running at about 3:00pm on a Friday. Our luck turns in Manhattan, however. 59th is miserable. Every light is a stop-and-shiver and the tourists with their packages and three-abreast and erratic walking is terrible in its awfulness. Their taxes might pay my salary but that doesn't stop me from complaining about them!

I leave Ivy League at the south-east corner of the park. I end up having to walk several times across the side of the park. The tourists are exacerbated by a fire on the other side of the street, causing the opposite sidewalk to be closed and gawkers to abound.

Finally make it to Starbucks and I settle in with Friday's crossword.

Yes, I said it. And no, I didn't buy it there. Knowing I'd be waiting for a bit, I stuffed the crossword into a pocket and my pen into my sportsbra before I left the house.

How's that for planning?

Forced out of my Cocoon

and into the bright, biting breeze. Booh.

How's that for alliteration?

Why am I so unmotivated?! I blame everything on the cold. My tiredness, my soreness, my cravings for candy and my general laze-a-bedness.

But I was meeting the Vivacious Redhead. So I perservered. Rushing a bit this morning, as I hid out under the covers until 7:00am, I managed to snag a bit of breakfast. Which was likely unnecessary, given the copious amounts of pistachios I ate last night while huddled in bed readding. But reassuring and reminding me of routine: the breakfast I always eat when I'm about to go on a training run.

Off to the cemetery for a look at the beautiful, crumbling limestone monuments and the not-so-beautiful, crumbling old subway cars parked in the subway graveyard across the way. Back around the rest of the park and then over to Milk Bar. Then, a trundle home: it was warmer than waiting for the subway. Between 10 1/2 and 11 miles.

My left foot started swelling. My back causing everything to tighten? So frustrating. I stretched a lot afterwards.

I must roll: my quad is feeling it, as well as my hamstrings, and today was an easy run. Though maybe its the coldness of my apartment making everything spasm.

I can't feel my feet.

When is winter over?

A Cold Constitutional

"Why go? You could always skip today, too......" The dreaded voice, often present but more strident in cold weather, cycled on repeat through my head yesterday as I taught classes.

I was tired. It was cold. And, really, it was supposed to be a lower-miles week.

All excuses.

"But I don't have gloves!" I thought as I was gearing up, despite a colleague warning me as to the chill. "Or a long-sleeved shirt!"

Squashing the dissent, I layered a couple of short-sleeved shirts under the jacket I left in my office and shivered out the door. At least I had a hat and thick socks.

Wanting to get the run in before another meeting and before I got too hungry - almost 4:00pm is a fair ways away from lunch, when you've left the house early enough for an 8:15am class.

First thing that happened, besides my hands and rear getting numb, was that I ran into the crowds at Columbus Circle. Stupid red-and-white shopping kiosks! Stupid tourists that likely pay my salary!

I can appreciate them without liking them, right?

A loop the hard way, then a resolute turning-around and going the other way, instead of running back at the turn-around conveniently located right at Columbus Circle. Sigh.

It got a lot warmer, actually. I didn't even need the gloves until the end, when the sun had been set for a while and the temperature dropped. The Time Warner sign said it was 31 degrees. I beg to differ!
Stopped to window-shop on the way back. Out of character and a mistake. Didn't find anything except crowds and what little I had sweated froze as the wind started blowing.

Don't know whether it's Central Park, or that my back has been bothering me and, likely, has tightened everything down the back of my legs, or both, but my butt and hamstrings really hurt by the end of this run. And I was going not-so-fast.

Hmmmmm.

Also an unwelcome twinge in my right quad. This weather causes everything to flare up!
A bit over 12 miles

A Quick Trip

through Red Hook! Like this post will be, the run was comparatively short.

It's the end of the semester, after all. Way too much stuff to catch up on or finish before those grades are due. Thus, too, my delay in posting!

After working all day in my freezing apartment, I was eager to accompany Ivy League on a quick jaunt through Red Hook before returning to my toils on Sunday.

Left from my apartment, braved the intense headwind all the way down Lincoln, then all the way down the rest of Eastern Parkway, then all the way down 9th street.

The temperature actually wasn't so bad when we weren't in the wind. I mean, I wouldn't have been sunbathing in a bikini but, if you were excersizing and dressed sensibly (i.e., dressed in as many layers of clothing as you could possibly force on yourself), it was merely cold. When the wind blew, however, it was breathtakingly cold. And, while we weren't running fast, we were running fast enough for me to realize that eating pizza for breakfast lunch and dinner the two previous days was not the best idea for my running capabilities.

No matter. We got down to Red Hook, where we got to run through that eery landscape. So neat. Seeing the huge cranes idly gleaming in the sun as the clouds turn a golden pink behind them was a major highlight. That, and this one weird corridor where you can see Manhattan in front of you through a long tunnel of buildings, with one slightly creepy, cloth-covered one to your left.

Back up the hill to Grand Army, where we stopped for a chat, some ice cream and some tea.

Yes, ice cream! Today is not a good diet week! I haven't had ice cream in about a year. It was good, though. Then my stomach remembered that it is kinda lactose intolerant.

Ah, well.

After being beseiged by end-of-year commitments, I hope my now-sturdy self will be able to get motivated to trundle out for two loops of the park before NOODLES! It is cold but I will think warm thoughts all day in preparation. Plus, I can eat more noodles if I run beforehand.

Oh, and I'm training. Right.

Back on a Roll

Sunday's theme was actually quite clever. Not funny but clever, with several levels to it.

Best clues:

It's between green and black.......oolong

Pea observer.......Mendel after trying to think of synonyms for 'princess', I reached back to undergraduate genetics for this one. His papers are actually quite interesting. I highly recommend them for a good read.

Raise a big stink?.......reek

The paper the puzzle is printed on is too thin to successfully make the shape you are supposed to be able to make. Perhaps if I had some cardboard to glue to the backside.....But, I've got class in about 5 minutes so I will have to wait to roll again.....Hah.

Will Run for Bagels

I slightly miscalculated my miles this week. Having to miss last Sunday for my knee put me in a bit of a panic. Having only 7 1/4 miles on Tuesday put me in a bit more of a panic.

I am supposed to be training for Birmingham, after all! Which is way too close for comfort. Why did I think it was a good idea to do this turnaround to another marathon thing again?!

At least I gave myself an additional month this time! Last year, Phoenix was in January and Birmingham is in February, at least. Here's to learning curves, however slight the incline!

I still don't know how I overshot my miles. Maybe I miscalculated. I'll do it again, here.

Sunday: 0 miles (I always start on Sunday because, otherwise, I'd be tempted to slack. It is Sunday, after all! But I feel bad starting out the week by slacking. I still do it but I feel worse.)

Monday: 12.5 miles (that's approximate. I ran two loops of Central Park and back and forth from my office.)

Tuesday: 7.25 (Again, this is approximate. I ran 5 miles in fartleks and ran home.)

Wednesday: 10.3

Thursday: 11.75

Friday: 17.25 (Stupid missing a turn, me! I was trying for 18! I really hate it when I make my long run too short!)

Saturday: 12.5

12.5 + 7.25 + 10.3 + 11.75 + 17.25 +12.5 = 71.55

Oops. I was only supposed to do 61 this past week! And I've been trying to stick to the mileage, doing just the mileage or a bit less, during the beginning of the training because New York was just a month ago this weekend! I'm not going to get faster if I am overtired or if I am injured.

Speaking of that.....I just took time to go get my ice pack and put it on my foot. Brrrrrr!

"Ok. I can still poke it and I don't leap back, screaming. I'm fine." Laced up my shoe extra loosely on the right side. Put on extra layers because of the chill. Stepped outside.

My rear was numb before I stepped off the stairs. And stayed that way until 4th Avenue. Lord, do I hate this weather! But I had promised Gorgeous that I'd be there. So away I went.

Lacking any motivated route-suggester, we ended up running over the Brooklyn Bridge. Others wanted to go further, around Battery Park and the like.

By the time I got over the bridge, my right foot had swelled into the space my loose laces had created, causing it to squeal yet again.

"I'd better turn back." The dreaded words, admitting weakness.

But Gorgeous wasn't feeling 100%, either, so I got her company on the way back, as well as the company of several people new to me, though two are, apparently, not new to the group runs.

When will I get my treasured Saturday runs back on a regular basis?! I so hate feeling like an outsider in my own group!

On the way back, I must have had running brain because, near Cadman Plaza, the rest of the group went around one side of it. I thought they were planning on running further into Cobble Hill. My foot protested and I bid adieu.

But, then, as I was running on Jay Street, I saw them crossing Atlantic! Well, given my eyesight, I didn't actually see them. But Gorgeous's new jacket is unmistakable in color. Wonder who she's been getting fashion tips from? Heh.

So I race up Pacific and did a tempo run to meet them. Interestingly, my foot did not hurt at all on that part of the run. The instant I slowed down, however, it started to squeal again.

Having talked up the Bagel Hole, Gorgeous and I had no problem getting two of the new girls to accompany us up to that hallowed place. Salt bagel with butter! Mmmmmm. Best bagel combo ever.

After seeing Gorges off to the train station, my foot was twinging with more regularity. It was swollen but, occasionally, I'd have stronger pulses. I started contemplating the train, myself. But I also wanted coffee.

Ran slowly with the new girls over to Flatbush, where they were planning to pick up the Bergen Street 2/3. Decided to turn right, towards Grand Army. On a whim, I turned, instead, back onto Park Place.

I need to run more off of Eastern Parkway. That's gotten to be a habit, especially because of the group runs. I realized yesterday, trundling down Park and eyeing the parks and houses I haven't seen in ages, that I really miss running through my neighborhood, proper.

Even if that's not actually my neighborhood. But it leads to my neighborhood!

Stopped on Franklin at the new coffee shop there. Stumptown coffee! Not bad but they need to fix their coffee-to-water ratio. It's definitely off. And they need to serve more interesting food. Luckily, I still had my bagel, tucked into my jacket pocket!

Out came the bagel. Down went the bagel. Bagel consumption led to other food thoughts. Passing Dutch Boy Burgers, I wondered "Why in the sam hill did they change their bun from brioche to a cheap sesame? It makes me never want to eat there, anymore."

My foot still twinged walking but settled down after a few blocks. I miss walking in my neighborhood, too.

Trying to lose miles by going to the Bagel Hole, I actually ran about 1 1/2 miles more than if I had gone straight home! But the bagel was worth it.

Iced my foot and rolled my calf yesterday. My foot often swells if my calf is too tight. Keeping my fingers crossed!

......And, Boy, Are My Arms Tired!

Uh oh. From the first steps yesterday, the top of my right foot squealed.

My penance for not doing enough rolling, this foot increases its size and squealing when my calf is too tight. Which it, apparently, is.

I knew from there that this run would be a test, a challenge for my body but, more importantly, for my mind. Why not just turn back now? It's going to hurt so why prolong the pain?

But, the massive amounts of food I had eaten the night before 'carbo-loading' and the fact that I was supposed to meet Ivy League spurred me on. Ouch. Downhill was worse.

I had poked my foot, hard. I didn't pass out. So I knew I hadn't fractured anything. My main goal was to just try to forget about it. Otherwise, I might start to favor it and injure something else.

Luckily, other stuff started to hurt fairly soon into the run. Whew.

I ran a semi-frustrating 3.86 before meeting Ivy League for the main event. Try running down Eastern Parkway at 8 something in the morning when you have somehow magically callibrated your stride to hit every single light as it cycles to red!

A likely ill-advised sprint through some cars on Schenectady solved this problem. The way back to GAP, I was back on the green cycle. Eastern Parkway's traffic is nothing if not predictable. Thank you, city planners!

A big part of getting out the door in these intemperate times involves me being not-horribly-freezing when I step out the door. Too little clothing and this little bunny hops right back inside, all the way up to bed with the covers over her head.

Of course, being the temperature weenie that I am, not-horribly-freezing in 34 degree weather requires gloves, a hat, a long-sleeved shirt, a long-sleeved thermal, a winter running jacket and thick tights. And a debate about whether another pair of pants is warranted. I really hate it when my butt goes numb.

So, of course, by the time I reach Ivy League, I have stripped myself of the hat and am wishing I didn't have one of the top layers. There was little wind yesterday and the sun was shining. But my Gus were in the jacket, so I didn't want to leave it somewhere. I tied it around my waist, loosened my shoe in the vain hope that my foot would hurt less, picked up my water bottles and we shoved off.

Yes, I did bring the water bottles. The run we had planned involved little water fountain possibilities. Plus, due to the inclement weather recently, any errant fountain was likely to be a false oasis: appearing to offer aid but coming up dry.

I hadn't run with water bottles since my last long run before New York. And I'd been slacking on my push-ups, bigtime. This will be important. But it seemed pretty innocent at the time. After all, water bottles don't weigh very much, do they?

From GAP, we headed down to Rogers. Our ultimate goal was Bedford but the Vivacious Redhead and I have learned that it is highly advisable to skip the top part of Bedford, near Eastern Parkway, during the time of day at which Ivy League and I were running.

Down the hill, my foot aching, we ran. Down, down, down. We had scheduled this run when a plan to go to Manhattan and run rolling hills fell through. "Sorry! Maybe I should have planned the run so that we would have had to run up this hill!"

Later, I remembered that long, slightly rising runs have their own challenges. Like no downhills where you can catch your breath.

Legs tired from fartleks and our respective runs the day prior, Ivy League and I decided it would be better to finish the whole run than to really push it going down to the water. So off we went, at a respectable but not even semi-fast pace. It was faster than walking, anyway.

Fun fact: if you really need to use the bathroom on a run, go to the nearest laundromat. They almost always have bathrooms and they don't have the attendant peering suspiciously and dissaprovingly at you as you race past the merchandise they are trying to sell in other possible bathroom venues.

At Empire, we crossed back over to Bedford. All the way down Bedford we ran, just above a trundle. Down, down, down. Down past Avenue Z, we started looking for Emmons. It was hard to miss: were we to try to continue straight, we would have found ourselves in a (likely-freezing) body of water. Here's where the directions got a bit whacky.

I had mapped the run and had written down the instructions. But some parts of Brooklyn are resistant to such technological innovations. Especially places like Sheepshead Bay, where we now found ourselves. In typical resistance fashion, the streets did not do what the map said they did. First, we overshot West End, turning around only when we realized that we were almost in Brighton Beach, where we didn't want to go.

Then, we kept looking for a cross street that never materialized. Ah, well. At least we saw the ocean.

We scrapped the mysterious loop scheduled for us down there and headed back towards Emmons Avenue. The resistance had won, this time. Next time, we might come armed with GPS.

This is where our run might have been cut a bit short, as our times were too fast for how slowly we were running. Although we did overshoot several streets, I don't think it completely made up for our lack of loop.

Ivy League made up for it later, flying solo, as we will see.

So, we get back to Bedford. Ivy League is in full auto-zone mode: he is running lights like he's the Chestershire Cat or Story Finder. I, however, value my toes. Plus, I am a bit behind him, so the light has been green longer by the time I get there.

Three such lights at major thoroughfares happen. I am further and further behind. "Too bad for him. I'm the one with the water!" I decide to stop and try to find a Gu in the voluminous back pocket of my jacket that is now twisted in very strange ways. It takes several minutes. I'd tell Ivy League but he is too far ahead to hear my scream, strident as my voice is.

After eating my last half Gu, I slip on my headphones. A nice solitary run is in the cards for the way back. I count the streets down backwards.

I really have no idea how state troopers can ask, in all seriousness, for someone to recite the alphabet backwards as a sobriety test. I was trying to anticipate the street coming up, as my arms were so tired that my poor shoulders ached.

To do so, I had to recite the alphabet forwards first. And there really was just water in those water bottles, folks!

Note to self: you know you've been slacking on your pushups when, on your first 18-miler in almost a month, your arms are what is aching the most. I could barely feel the ache in my foot, though!

Getting stopped at Kings Highway iced it. I knew that Ivy League was too far ahead of me now for me to even attempt to look for him. "I'll just meet him at the corner of H and Nostrand, where the 2 comes in."

Hah. Someone didn't listen to directions!

I got to I and gratefully turned right to make my first left on Nostrand. I didn't see Ivy League anywhere. Panic rose up in my throat.

I've always had an isue with being lost or not being able to find people. Just ask my ex, who used to wander around the grocery store without telling me where he was going. "Stop paging me over the intercom!" was a common theme in our post-grocery conversations.

"Don't panic. I'm sure he's not hurt." I search everywhere: subway,streets, Applebee's. I contemplated asking the police officers on the corner if they had seen a weirdly dressed man with a navy and orange hat go by.
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"Hello!" Arms waving. Thank goodness! I found him! Or, he found me, to be more precise. Having forgotten the directions (which, let's face it, most of us have at some point), he had continued on I. Having long-run brain, it took him until he was almost at Utica to realize that he had missed a turn.

At least he got in the extra mile or so we must have missed by losing the loop at the bottom! Knowing he wasn't injured in a ditch, I instantly felt better.

Though, had he be injured in a ditch, how would I have found him? What could I have done, had I found him? Threw him over my shoulder and carried him? More evidence as to how irrational fears are, in fact, irrational. Why fear something if you can't do anything about it, were it to happen?

We made a plan for next time: loop back earlier and, were this situation to happen again, wait 10 minutes and then just get on the subway home.

Makes good sense to me. I like me a plan.

Great subway ride home, after scarfing some food. Hungry!

So tired at my meeting, later, that I actually bought caffeinated tea in the middle of the afternoon.

My shoulders and forearms ached all evening. This morning, my right forearm still aches.

It pulses nicely with the top of my right foot. An off-tempo rhythm to start my day off right!

Now, to go meet Gorgeous, if I can make it out the door. Sigh.

In a Time of Stress and Changes, A Reassuring Regularity

The weather changed today. Here I was, hoping it would be like Alabama forever. Alas, this was not to be.

I am currently wearing a scarf in my own apartment and am having trouble feeling my toes. Winter is here, even if the official start isn't until later. It likes to be that pesky early guest, who shows up before you've cleaned the house or finished putting out the hors d'oeuvres.

Wait. I do that.......

As usual, on Thursdays when I am in NY, I worked until near when I was supposed to meet the Vivacious Redhead, then underestimated the time it would take for me to get dressed in all those layers.

Plus, it really bothers me to leave the house without all the dishes being washed. Only in an emergency or possible lateness to work......

As usual, I was rushing down Eastern Parkway, trying to make lights. As usual, they were against me. Evil lights! I was also testing out my knee. It did not like the cold weather and started out in protestation but quieted down except for the occasional twinge on a sharp turn.

As usual, to get out of the house in cold weather, I was a mite overdressed. Thick tights. Long-sleeved shirt. Lined jacket. Hat and mitten/gloves. My neck missed my long hair.

At first, my rear went numb. "Drat! I knew I should have worn an extra pair of pants!"

But by the school, its circulation had returned. Whew!

As usual, we headed out towards the cemetary along 6th Avenue.

As usual, we had a delightful conversation and planned stuff that we needed to plan for PPTC.

Unusually for the cemetary run, we went around part of the park and then ran down to Brooklyn College, along the route of one of our other usual runs: Bedford Avenue.

As usual, we got coffee and argued about who would pay.

I loved all of it. The weather warmed up, the sun was out, the campus was beautiful and the subway ride back from the end of the 2 line dropped me off near my house in short order.

With everything else tilted askew recently, having a good regular is essential for a gal like me. Since I don't have a regular bar, I'll settle for what I've got. Seems like a pretty good compromise.

There She Blows!

Almost literally!

I had my fair share of being blown about this morning.

Though, I almost didn't. "WHHHHHHHHOOOOOO" whined the leaking skylights. "Ping, Ping, Ping" went the rain on the windows. "Noooooo!" went my brain at 4:30 in the morning.

But I knew I'd have meetings all day today. So I steeled myself and went out.

Thank goodness I decided, last minute, to try out the specialized rain jacket that I noticed my backpack has in an outside pocket!

Some observations: running in windy, rainy weather gives me the excuse I need to go slower than I should. Need to work on that.

Very few people are on the Brooklyn Bridge in December at 6:something in the morning when it's that rainy. The only time I've seen fewer was the day that I ran in the almost-freezing and blinding rain a couple of years ago and the day that I ran home in the almost-blizzard last year.

Short hair is a pain in the rear when it is blowing and rainy. My hair was plastered in weird ways to my face and I couldn't get it off.

Rainjackets for backpacks are awesome! my stuff was completely dry, including my papers and my computer!

You have your pick of places to run on the West Side during a rainstorm. There are basically no bikes.

The West Side is still beautiful when the sun is rising over the water, even when the water is choppy and the skyline is a bit foggy.

Rewarding yourself with a 2-egg sandwich right before class is a bad idea. Even if you are hungry, 2 eggs are just too much! Bleah. I threw out a lot of it.

While not nearly as bad as I feared, I'd like to see less rather than more of those days. It is hard enough for the sun just to be rising as I am nearing work. Don't add dreariness and whipping winds!

Hot and Cold

"Ok. This is really enough." I peel off layers of blanket and wipe my forehead of sweat.

The heat has temporarily turned on again in my bedroom. My spacious, airy bedroom with nicely filtered light and no insulation. Thus, the layers of blanket.

Of course, doing so has disturbed the mountainous creature who had also previously been cold and, therefore, had decided to sleep on my leg. Or so I ascertained by the weighty feeling when I tried to move. My leg had gone numb.

All week, I've been waking up every 45 minutes to an hour and staying awake, either shivering or sweating. The culprit, I have surmised, is the nature of my bedroom.

That and the clanking, bubbling, hissing of the radiator, when it grudgingly gives its much-needed heat. Which then causes the blankets to be too much. Which then makes me sweat.

Which coating makes the cooling after the radiator turns off even more effective. That and the blankets have been turned down.

Ah. Winter.

You think you sleep better in the winter? I invite you over to try out these accomodations. At least you will revel in the size of the bedroom every time you wake up.

Anyone have suggestions as to how to make it so I can actually sleep?! Besides enough money for a new apartment?

On the plus side, I have had a lot of time to plan lessons and worry about the future, given my total time of wakefulness......

The Weakness and the Pain

I almost didn't go.

Wandering around a bodega on 16th, squinting at the merchandise with my no-glasses eyes and pretending to be very interested that they sold 'guarana plus' sports drinks and a huge amount of Red Bull, I thought, "You are freezing and really stressed. Pressure seems to be coming from everywhere. Plus, it's raining. And cold. Go home!"

I might have, except I was nowhere near a subway that would take me there. Plus, it was almost time to start. And I had raced out of work to be there on time. So I trudged over to Bartell-Pritchard Square, glad that I had put on that extra long-sleeved shirt I keep in my office, as rank as it smelled.

Leaving my backpack with the Coach, I huddled around myself while milling about. Thre were some familiar faces but, I realized, with my schedule interfering with my social running, there were also a lot of people greeting each other whom I didn't recognize.

I miss group runs. "That's why you are here, in part!" I admonished myself.

It being rainy, Coach had us do fartleks, something I still don't really understand. As far as I can tell, you run some random amount of time, then someone decides you are going to run really, really fast and then you keep doing that until someone decides you stop. It seems pretty stupid, if you ask me. Why not have some standard? That way, when you are running in between groups, as I seemed to be doing, and you are also blind, which I was, you could still figure out when you were supposed to go or not go.

Sure, I could and did sort of figure out how to do this myself but that kind of defeats the purpose of group speed work. I guess it helped me get out there.

Too slow. That's what I am. Too slow for the fast group. Too slow for several other people, as well, who passed me and kept going. I ended up running with Chiseled, who kindly waited at the Coney Island turn-around for a second until she was sure that my asthma attack wasn't bad enough that I was going to keel over.

Did I mention I hate doing speedwork in rainy, cold weather? Does wonders for the asthma.

But, I need my lungs to get stronger. They are weak. And group speedwork is the only way that I can see that this will happen. Pushing myself to an asthma attack on my own is highly unlikely to happen, it being a rather unpleasant experience. But, I'm hoping, each time I do it will cause the next time to be a little bit later, when I am going a little bit faster.

Now, if only I could get a kick!

After 5 miles of this wonderfulness, I collected my backpack, listened to some last words, and trundled off home with Ivy League and my backpack. Met two new, cute, nice people who were also doing speedwork and who were running back in the direction I came.

Maybe that's why it's good I'm doing speedwork, too. Got in likely about 7 and 1/4. Felt like more.

Today's run to school is going to be fun!