Bridges!

So the weather isn't holding. Sigh. But once the weather turns once, I become an eternal optimist.

Which made for a chilly run this morning.

Albeit a beautiful one.

Baseball, Ivy League, Gorgeous and I had all planned to do some part or another of the East Side Bridges run - a run that would take us over the Brooklyn Bridge and back, then over the Manhattan, the Williamsburg and over to Queensboro.

Once I met up with Ivy League, with a surprise Oklahoma added in, that plan had already been scrapped. Baseball wasn't feeling well and Ivy League didn't want to run that far.

Racing down the hill on Union, I got a bit warm. So I took my jacket off.

It's not like we were about to go over a set of bridges, or anything.

And it's not windy in New York.

Optimism at work.

We kept up a nice pace until Court and Union, where I dropped back to run with Baseball and Gorgeous.

I pushed the pace a bit, but not too much, over the Brooklyn Bridge. On the way back, Ivy League and Oklahoma looped back to meet up with us, where Oklahoma and I picked it up the rest of the way back over the bridge.

There, we split, with Ivy League, Oklahoma and me journeying onward to the Manhattan Bridge, after a detour to the courthouse and back.

Surprisingly, I was able to keep up over Manhattan, even though I was feeling a bit off. Likely because Ivy League's foot was bothering him.

If only I weren't so wind-blown! Even my hands were cold, which almost never happens when I'm running.

I have a theory, though. Normally, I am so over-bundled that my hands are a good place to let off excess heat. When I'm dressed like a sane person would dress on a run in 40-degree weather, my hands don't get that extra heat and, so, they freeze.

Brr.

Oklahoma went back over the Manhattan. Ivy League decided to save his foot. I was feeling funny enough that I didn't want to go over the Williamsburg by myself, so I went with him. Did a jog over to the 4 at Brooklyn Bridge, then got off and walked the rest of the way home.

I miss the bridges! I must figure out ways to add them in, even if I have to do shorter runs.

Smiling!

And, perhaps, we will get a chance to do the full bridges run sometime soon, when the weather is even nicer! Suntan, anyone?

Oy Vey!

Life and the crossword collided today.

Friday's puzzle, 56a: Leaving Brooklyn: -----! Williamsburg Bridge sign

Oy Vey!

Meeting up with PPTC today, no one really had a strong sense of what route they wanted to take. We settled on a route we do frequently, but much less frequently in the direction we chose. Bedford to Williamsburg Bridge and then one of the other bridges back to GAP area.

Plus: the Williamsburg Bridge is MUCH easier going from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The last time I did the bridge was during that epic long run where it was right at the end and I was feeling pretty rough. It's always good to have a better run over it to erase part of the bad associations you can easily get with that bridge.

Minus: running the route this direction meant that I couldn't cut out early at the end, which I would have been able to to had we run Williamsburg last.

Quite a group today! I cheer the intrepid newbies who agreed to run this route with us, even though at least one just went over the Williamsburg and back. It's an urban run up until there, without much pretty scenery.

Interesting scenery though, in my opinion. I love running through Bed-Stuy. I had to make sure to put my long-sleeved shirt back on, though, during this part of the run until we were over the bridge. It was Saturday and I didn't want to totally offend people. That made it a bit warm but, in many parts, there was a nice breeze that cooled me off.

Ivy League, Superman and Tennis Ace ran ahead, while the Dancer, Gorgeous and I held back a bit. We were stopping to make sure that others knew how to get to the bridge on Bedford, looping back to meet them at a couple of key point on the run.

The hipsters were mostly asleep during our Williamsburg foray, so the streets were pretty quiet. Didn't see the sign on the bridge referenced by the crossword, as it is on the driving part, but thought about it and smiled.

Later, the Photographer ran with us most of the way, as well as one of Superman's friends.

Over the bridge, Tennis Ace remarked "It's amazing what a view the Williamsburg Bridge has. I guess I always forget because I don't want to have to run up it to enjoy it." That's why I was so excited we crossed it the easy way! Going from Manhattan to Brooklyn is much harder, as the hill is much, much longer and then the downhill is so steep that it's really hard on the knees. Yay for reverse loops!

Superman had to get home, so we threaded through some streets, braving traffic and inadvertently running through the moment of silence for the second plane that hit the towers. Eeek! But we had already run past it and didn't want to further ruin it by interrupting to say 'sorry'. So we ran on.

Over the Manhattan Bridge, Superman, Tennis Ace and Ivy League really took off, with the Photographer close on their heels. The Dancer, Gorgeous and I took it slower. All three of us had started to feel the speedwork we had all done earlier in the week - especially in the glutes! They were on fire!

After the bridge, we ran back up to Court, further foiling my attempts to get us to run more directly back to my area. Superman, his friend, and Ivy League all took off. The rest of us kept a good pace but didn't go crazy. My bad quad had been twinging this morning and I didn't want to further tweak it by going any faster.
Plus, my legs hurt!

Ivy League finished off the run with me down to Kingston. Walked it off by doing some errands. Now for more work and, hopefully, more tennis! I would imagine I ran about 13 today. Who knows what pace.