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July 31, 2005
More reminiscing on the run
[oops! this was saved as a draft since Sunday.]
I'm not sure how much time I'll have to update this later, so I thought I'd do another quick entry for today. One of my first DC running friends recently finished law school in Michigan and just moved back to Maryland to take the bar and start a clerkship. Luckily she was around this weekend and came down to DC this morning to run with me! She's taken some time off lately to study for the bar, so she was moaning and groaning about how slow she was going to be. Of course she was able to keep up just fine, and we did one of our old favorite Rock Creek Park loops. It was great to see her and hear how well she's doing after making a total career change to go back to law school at age 34.
It was cool but pretty humid this morning. Surprisingly, my legs felt less tired from the long run yesterday than I thought they would. Having company--and not just company, good friends--during my runs these past few days has been great and I've definitely felt a little better than earlier in the week.
We're off to brunch/lunch and then hitting the road to get back to NY, so I think the run will be all the exercise I have time for today. Sleeping in the car will be much more relaxing!
Posted by becky at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
July 30, 2005
A better long run
Leilani and I met this morning (early!) to run a few miles before the "official" start of my old club's Saturday Long Run. Even though it wasn't too warm temperature-wise, we could both feel how heavy the air was and we knew we needed to be careful since we're both really sensitive to the humidity. After we did the pre-run, I said hi to lots of club people (including Jessie who I haven't seen in a really long time. Then Lei and I took off again on our own because the route the group was doing was one of our least favorites.
We headed out toward Rock Creek Park and pretty much did an out and back loop. I wasn't feeling too peppy, but I didn't have that sense of overwhelming fatigue that I've had in the past couple of long runs I've done. Lei was feeling less than stellar, most likely because she's been running and biking and swimming a whole lot! But she hung tough (as usual) and we ran for about 2:30. Both of us were thinking of doing more like 3 hours, but it just didn't happen today, and that's fine. I was just glad to finish feeling pretty good.
After the run, we treated ourselves to Jamba Juice smoothies (although I made a poor flavor choice) and muffins. It was really great to run with and hang out with Lei--she is such a positive and thoughtful person and I miss her a lot!
This afternoon I went to hang out with another DC running friend who had a baby last summer. I've seen E. since (on Boston Marathon weekend) but not her adorable son. We had a good time catching up and then we went to walk her dogs and the baby in his jogging stroller. I volunteered to push it and got a preview of what it will be like to run with that thing. I was pretty much drenched after our walk--now I know how she's gotten back into shape so quickly!
Tonight Matt and I have invited pretty much all of our DC-area friends to a bar in Arlington, so hopefully some people we haven't seen in a while will show up. I've had a long day, though, so I'm not sure how long I'm going to last!
Posted by becky at 8:09 PM | Comments (1)
July 29, 2005
Back in the 'hood
Well, my run today wasn't exactly in my old neighborhood, but it was with the people who used to all run with me in my neighborhood. Two of us lived within a block of one another in DC, so that was the designated meeting spot. Today, since both of us have moved (although J. has not moved out of state like I did!) we met up at a high school in Arlington--site of my old track club's workouts, in fact. (Just parking there made me feel like I was getting ready to do mile repeats with Leilani!)
It was nice to catch up with my old running buddies and run somewhere I haven't in awhile. Turns out I missed a lot of gossip--tons of engagements, weddings and that sort of thing. Now I feel at least a little back in the loop. We ran for about an hour, although I had to add on about 15 minutes at the end to get back to the car because everyone finished in different spots. It was only in the 70s this morning but very sticky. The Gatorade count was 1.5 bottles. Because I was concentrating more on conversation than how I was feeling every single step of the run, I had a better run than I've been used to lately.
When I was almost back to my car, I heard someone yell my name, and it was Audrey in her car on the way home from the pool! It was so weird and coincidental, but really fun to spend a little time catching up. I think I am going to see her for a bit tomorrow night as well.
During the rest of the day, I went back to the Red Cross to see some old co-workers and friends, then to a late lunch with a friend from my PH program, and then lifted very quickly. Tonight we went to our favorite DC sushi place with a couple of friends, Matt's sister and her boyfriend. Matt and his sister continued the celebratory mood by going dancing, but I am going straight to bed! Happy last weekend in July!
Posted by becky at 6:43 PM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2005
Quick update before we go
We're heading out the door to drive down to DC now, so hopefully I'll have time to update this entry later with more details. But the quick summary is that I ran about 10 miles this morning and much enjoyed the cooler weather. I didn't feel great after the first hour, but the lack of humidity made a huge difference. I also ran into a co-worker in Prospect Park and she agreed that I sweat more than anyone she's ever met, further vindicating my belief that I am unique in this way.
I usually lift on Thursdays but our travel schedule prohibited that today. I'll try to fit it in tomorrow but I'm going to try and chill out in case I don't get to it.
Hopefully the cool weather will continue this weekend! More to come.
Posted by becky at 6:33 PM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2005
I hate Splenda
Another hot-as-hell day, another bad run. I'm not even in the mood to get into the details. And it "stormed" tonight enough to blow my favorite pair of shorts right off the balcony (luckily I believe I can pick up another pair before we leave for DC) but not enough to cool things off as much as I would have liked. I should really look back at some entries from January to remind myself that my season will return.
Anyway, after having run a fair amount yesterday including some speed last night, I didn't anticipate that I would feel so hot today (no pun intended). The lowlight (is that a word?) was when I bought a cold bottle of something that sounded good to me, some sort of lemon-flavored water (after finishing my Gatorade as usual) that turned out to make me even more thirsty because it had Splenda. I didn't really notice that it had Splenda until I was throwing the bottle out and by then this horrible, dry sensation had taken over my mouth. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Everyone going the other way on the Brooklyn Bridge must have wondered why I was making such an awful face, but I couldn't help it! Once I got to a water fountain on the other side I washed my mouth out and that helped a little, but didn't get rid of the sensation completely.
At least my day at work was productive. I interviewed another one of the Foundation's charity runners, and he was a real hoot. Cute, too, I found out after he sent me a picture. He's only 24! I also treated myself to a delicious Jamba Juice smoothie with banana, peanut butter and soy milk, among other things. It was so good.
After work I met my sister at the gym for some biking and lifting and then we picked up Chinese. Now I've got to pack for our long weekend in DC, which for some people would not be a big deal. I don't travel lightly AND I have to carry whatever I need to work tomorrow. Much advance planning required!
Posted by becky at 9:14 PM | Comments (29)
July 26, 2005
Tricking myself
First of all, I forgot to mention yesterday that when I was walking to the gym in the afternoon (I swear, I was just walking) I started to feel like I had bruised my (good) kneecap on something. I noticed it when I was at the gym, but it didn't bother me when I was biking or lifting (except doing some unweighted squats, so I didn't do too many.) I was worried about it all night and iced it and stuff. It feels better today but still sore. It's the weirdest thing, though--it's kind of in the spot where I had patellar tendonitis once before, but not exactly and this has been my uninjured leg thus far. It feels like a bruise, which, I guess it could be, but I won't hold my breath. I will, however, keep an eye on it.
When I set out for my run this morning, I wasn't sure what to do. Normally on Tues. I would do my 3-mile Brooklyn Bridge loop in preparation for the evening's workout. But the forecast was for brutally high temps and humidity, so I was undecided about the workout since last week was so awful. The emailed workout turned out to be pretty short--200s and a 600--so I decided to compromise and run longer than usual in the morning and just do my best tonight.
Except for my sore knee, things worked out pretty well. It wasn't that hot out yet in the morning, and I stayed in the shade as much as possible. Tonight, I didn't have very high expectations for myself and ended up feeling much better than last week (although that in itself is not such a feat.) I was able to stay with the leaders of our group on almost all 16 of the 200s, which were done at "3K" pace, and then keep up almost the same pace for the 600 we all did. Jogging back to the subway wasn't too pleasant, but I made it. I don't expect to feel so hot tomorrow morning, but I'll take it slow and run short if need be.
On a completely unrelated note, I feel like half of my friends are pregnant right now. Runners, non-runners, former co-workers, etc...I guess it's that time of life! I thought we just moved past the time when everyone was getting married. Hmmm!
Posted by becky at 9:05 PM | Comments (1)
July 25, 2005
Hooray for the rain
I kept hearing the wind rattling our blinds in the bathroom last night, so I was hopeful that it might be stormy when I woke up. It actually was raining a bit, and even thundering, when I was ready to leave. The forecast for this week is pretty brutal, so the thought of a non-sunny morning cheered me up a little! It actually wasn't too bad, weather-wise--a nice breeze even though the rain didn't last too long.
I felt decent--not back to normal yet--on my way to Prospect Park, and then not so great during the actual Park loop. But on the way back home, since I had finished my Gatorade (again), I stopped at a store and got an ice-cold bottle of water, which helped a lot. I still have yet to have one of those effortless run days, but I hope that one (or more) is in my not-so-distant future.
When I left to go to the Foundation office later in the morning, I noticed that as I got closer to the subway, there were tons of people on the streets milling about. I kept walking, but saw a lot of firetrucks and heard a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. Some people even started running. I took out my cell phone and saw that my sister had called, so I thought maybe something was going on that I was oblivious about. I called her back and she said she had heard from someone in her office that it was some sort of bomb scare. I wasn't freaked out, but there was no way I was getting on the subway just then, and I was pretty sure the station was closed. So I went back home and decided to work from there. Nothing much ever made the news, but NY1 finally put up something. The explosion I heard was the police basically blowing up a bag someone left chained to a fire hydrant!
After that excitement, the rest of my day was tame. I biked and lifted at the gym later and coordinated so I was there with my sister, so that was fun. Then we had dinner together (leftovers and store-prepared food) and now are watching a TV movie while Matt is upstairs watching wrestling. :)
Posted by becky at 8:46 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2005
Less is more (I hope)
We ended up getting home really late (by my standards) last night from the birthday BBQ we were at in the city. I felt really tired when we were waiting for the subway, and I mentioned how I was shocked that it wasn't after midnight yet. Matt gave me a funny look, glanced at my watch and told me that it was an hour slow! My (running/only) watch keeps two times on it, I guess, and sometimes I inadvertently change it to the wrong one. I was shocked! That meant it was almost 1 am! I had a mini-tantrum and we left the subway station and grabbed a cab. :)
Thus, my plan to start my run on the early side (between 7 and 8) never materialized this morning. Luckily it was fairly cool. I did a Brooklyn Bridge/Lower Manhattan loop, which I think is close to 8 miles, and felt a little better than previous days, but the last few minutes I felt much more tired than I should on a normal recovery run. I was still drinking more than usual, too, so I am still keeping an eye on my dehydration issues. Since I was in Battery Park/Hudson River Park late on a Sunday morning, I had to dodge a lot of runners, walkers and tourists.
This afternoon we had a nice time relaxing and reading on our balcony. I got really hot, and I went inside to sit in the air-conditioning for a little while. Next thing I know, it's 4pm. I hadn't eaten much for hours and thus my plan to go bike and lift was thwarted. Instead, we had an early dinner at a cheap (but good!) Thai place we've been wanting to try and then finally caught a show of The Wedding Crashers. Much more fun than working out! (OK, I felt guilty but I'll get over it.)
Congrats to all you tri-stud ladies!!!
Posted by becky at 10:21 PM | Comments (18)
July 23, 2005
Not quite what I was hoping for
Maybe I should become a Gallo-walker. I mean, it seems that every long run I do these days, I'm reduced to walking breaks. I was really grateful to have my co-worker Michelle there today to get me through it (we ran maybe 16 when I should be much further along in my long run mileage) but I also felt badly that she had to listen to my complaints. Today was especially maddening because I got a good night's sleep, my legs felt great but my head was telling me I couldn't do it.
It was not as humid today, but it certainly was (and still is) quite hot in the sun. Michelle lives many subway stops away in Brooklyn so we compromised on a later-than-I-usually-go starting time (we didn't get out there until almost 9am.) This was probably mistake #1. Because I have so much trouble with the heat, it makes sense for me to start as early as I can, before the temperature gets into the 80s and beyond. I actually felt okay for about 6 miles; we ran from Brooklyn Heights over to Prospect Park and did 2 loops of the Park. It was ridiculously crowded and we got a lot of obnoxious looks from bikers because our attempts to stay in the shade kept us perilously close to the bike lane. But the shade was nice.
We had to be in the sun for most of the rest of the run--we went over the Brooklyn Bridge, which was crowded with tourists, and then through Chinatown, which was crowded with people who live there, and then home over the Manhattan Bridge, which was blissfully shady and quiet. There were way too many instances today where I thought about just taking the subway back. Honestly, I cannot bear having horrible long runs every weekend--they are just too uncomfortable to make marathon training worth it. But I know that the heat has a lot to do with it, so we'll see.
I must mention here that I was drinking more than ever today. I started out with two Gatorade bottles. I drank almost all of one (the other was frozen so I could wait) and filled it with water. Then I finished the second Gatorade bottle and ended up buying another Gatorade to fill almost both my bottles. Finished those too, and bought a Poland Spring when we had a few miles to go. I was incredibly thirsty the whole time, yet never felt satisfied by what I was taking in. I also felt like my stomach was full of liquid, even though I was likely sweating it out. It was, in a word, unpleasant.
Matt and I are headed out now to continue the eternal search for a wedding album, see a movie and go to a Sloan classmate's surprise barbeque. I'm hungry already.
Oh, and a shout-out to my triathlete buddies this weekend--Audrey, of course, and my Boston running partner Mary, who's doing IM Lake Placid tomorrow. KICK ASS, LADIES!!!
Posted by becky at 3:07 PM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2005
Easy day
Even though my running week didn't go quite the way I intended, I stuck with my long-intended plan of cross-training today. When I hurt my achilles in the spring, I promised myself I'd replace a day of running every couple of weeks or so with biking (or swimming, if I had better pool access.) I haven't been so great about sticking to that plan! So it was off to the gym I went today (there was a tiny bit of running involved to get there and back.)
Biking was uneventful; I was there in time to watch back-to-back episodes of my absolute favorite 80s show, Who's the Boss?. I also noticed that Billy-Bob Thornton was being interviewed on 3 morning shows at once! He must have a new movie coming out. The one thing about biking (at the gym, not for real) is that my sweat makes my shorts really uncomfortable (all my spandex were in the laundry so I had to wear baggy shorts) and I end up shifting around a lot. But all in all it wasn't bad and it was actually nice to have a running break.
I thought about lifting, but I've already done so 3 times this week and I have a sore ab muscle. I do a lot of situps every day, but this is from Tues. night's track horror story. I've had this before where I'm very dehydrated and get cramps (almost like side stitches) that end up lasting about a week (they only bother me when running though.) I first noticed this weirdness after my first marathon, another heat-related meltdown. When I went to run the next day (I have run the day after all my marathons except Boston which caused a knee injury, so I biked) I had these cramps. I'm so weird.
Tonight we were going to see Wedding Crashers but we will push it back to another day this weekend because we got invited to a "Dumpling Fundraiser" which apparently involves homemade Chinese dumplings. But because that would never satisfy me as a dinner (especially before a planned long run), I made reservations at Next Door Nobu, the Tribeca location of the well-known sushi place here in the city. I'm looking forward to seeing how inventive their rolls are!
Posted by becky at 3:36 PM | Comments (1)
July 21, 2005
Not too much improvement
I must admit that it wasn't quite as humid this morning as it's been the past few days. And I did feel marginally better than I did yesterday. Still, I had a lot of trouble on the hills and when I got to the entrance of Prospect Park, I began to do the loop, but then thought better of it. Why suffer for 3 extra miles when I clearly wasn't getting much out of the run? Instead, I looped back to the gym and biked for awhile. I happened to get there right as reports of explosions were coming out, so at least I had something to watch on TV! Then I ran the few minutes back home.
I was feeling sorry for myself for once again shortening a run, not getting a mid-week longish run in, etc. but then I was able to snap myself out of it because I realized that my dehydration symptoms (cramps, etc.) felt better during the day. Plus, I went to the gym after work and ran 3 very easy miles on the treadmill before lifting and felt just fine. So maybe there's hope for me yet. Even so, I think I am going to take a cross-training day tomorrow as I have not had a non-running day in a few weeks now.
That's the update from me--time to get ready for bed.
Posted by becky at 10:18 PM | Comments (1)
July 20, 2005
Confessions of a blog avoider
In the past (almost) year since I joined this blogging community, I've posted nearly every day about my own training. But, I admit, I don't always read everyone else's blogs. At first it was because I got busy with school and didn't have time to read them (and that was back when there were only a handful of us!), but I have to admit that reading about other people's workouts always makes me feel like I'm not training right or doing enough. I have always compared myself to others--whether in running, school or just random life stuff--and I realize that there will be always someone who does more. Depending on what kind of mood I'm in, I may or may not obsess about how far below I fall under this "standard." So, for the past six months or so, I've generally been avoiding reading blogs. (But during school, Audrey filled me in on everyone's life events, even before she had a blog herself.) But I've been looking for some support and motivation this summer, so I'm back in the loop--or at least partially!
Anyway--back to the subject at hand, today's run. As I predicted last night, I was still feeling the effects of the track workout and being dehydrated from that. Before I went to bed last night, I noticed that I was getting cramps in my leg muscles a lot--which was likely another symptom of being dehydrated. According to the weather gods, it wasn't quite as humid out today, but it felt pretty stifling this morning. I had wanted to do about 7 or 8 miles, knowing I would be slow. But after about 15 minutes, I knew it was stupid to keep pushing my body when I felt awful. Drinking Gatorade helped some, but every time I stopped at a light I wondered how I would get started again. I was already over one bridge when I made the decision to cut the run shorter, though, so it couldn't have been that short. I ended up at about 50 minutes--minus some walking on the Brooklyn Bridge coming back, I was totally dying--but it was so slow that I'm calling it 5.
I felt really bad when I came home, because I've been cutting my runs short and just generally feeling like crap, mostly because of the weather. During the day today I realized that I still felt funny--my vision wasn't quite right--and that happens when I'm really dehydrated. I was sick of drinking water though. I got a Jamba Juice with my lunch, and that seemed to hit the spot. I'm not a big smoothie person because I don't like any fruit with seeds and because I just get sick of drinking them. But the little baby JJ is a good size for me.
By the end of the day, I felt a little better but I was very sleepy. (I've had a few nights of too little sleep.) I considered skipping the gym to go home and nap, but since I had only run 5 painful miles in the morning I gave it a whirl. I was going to run on the treadmill, but I realized my body is telling me something for a reason. So I biked for awhile and watched the news. I was really sweaty when I finished (the gym is not too cool) but felt better, in a weird way. After that I was able to get some quality lifting in, which helped my mood.
And that's today's recap. I'm beat. Just gotta check the results of the Nike Run Hit Wonder tonight in Central Park...
Posted by becky at 8:39 PM | Comments (2)
July 19, 2005
Yuck
I was due for a bad workout, but tonight's was especially abysmal. I'm sure the fact that it was 96 degrees and (I didn't check but I'm guessing) close to 100% humidity when I left for the track had something to do with it, but I couldn't stay focused. In the morning, I noticed that my usual 30 minute run was slightly slower (1-2 minutes), but I was sort of glad because that meant I was listening to my body and taking it easy in the heat. It was definitely pretty swampy already in the morning and I was drenched after even that short of a run.
Spending the day inside our apartment--I worked from home today--didn't cool me off much, either. When it's a day like today, the air conditioner just doesn't cut it. Even the one in the bedroom, which usually works better, wasn't doing the job. I was hoping that by the time I left for the track it would have miraculously cooled off (that's what happened last week) but no such divine intervention occurred.
I was pretty much dripping with sweat after walking from the subway to the track (it's a long walk.) I didn't technically have to "warm up" but I did so to get in a couple more miles. Actually, despite being really hot, I didn't feel so bad jogging about two miles around the track. But then we stood around for a looong time waiting for the club's coach to finish lauding praise on the tracksters who competed this weekend (garnering 4th and 6th place for the women and men, respectively) at the USATF Club Nationals. I was actually pretty stiff when we started and things just went downhill from there.
Coach Tony had purposely given us a short, quick workout because of the weather and the club champs, but for me it was neither short nor quick. It was only 3 sets of 600, 400, 300 but it was not pleasant. I kept up my usual "5K pace" for the first 600 and 400, but started feeling really awful after the 300. Every time we stopped, I drank some Gatorade and/or water, but it was like I couldn't get enough. I was obviously dehydrated and looked it--people kept asking me if I was okay. I slowed down A LOT and even skipped the last 400 when someone said it looked like I was going to pass out! (I wasn't.) My usual pace group was about 10-15 seconds ahead of me tonight, and many of them had competed in multiple track events over the weekend. Obviously it was not one of my best performances.
I was glad to finish but worried about being able to cool down without feeling lightheaded and nauseous again. I only did about 3/4 of a mile on the track and then slowwwwly jogged to the subway stop. I usually run back to the apartment from the subway too but I just could not. I noticed it was still 88 degrees at 8:45 when I walked by a bank coming home. And that's without the humidity factored in. Brutal.
I'm still drinking a lot tonight but I just realized I haven't had to pee since before the workout. This is not good. Tomorrow's run, if it doesn't turn into a gym session, is going to be all about survival. I am not made for this climate and I just want it to be a little more pleasant for the rest of the summer!
Posted by becky at 9:54 PM | Comments (1)
July 18, 2005
Lots of reasons for a bad run
Those of you who know me pretty well understand that I do not deal well with stomach ailments. Growing up, I did not have too many and somehow began to develop a phobia about being near people who are throwing up because I am scared of catching whatever it is they have. Long story short, Matt's sister had a bad stomach virus this weekend and this morning Matt woke up with some other form of it. As soon as I made sure he was okay, I was out the door. I didn't have much of an appetite for my usual pre-run snack (part of or a whole Pop-tart) so I didn't have very high expectations.
Once I got outside, the humidity hit me like a ton of bricks. I was sooo slow again and when I got into Prospect Park, I felt like everyone was passing me. And also like I couldn't pass a couple who were probably in their 70s, jogging and walking their dog. (I did, but it wasn't easy.) Basically, I melted after about 7 miles of running and ended up taking walking breaks to make it the rest of the way home. It was pretty brutal. I drained my frozen Gatorade (as you might imagine, it melted very quickly) and refilled in the Park, but I just couldn't get enough to drink. I hate feeling like I have to fight to get a good run in these days, but I'm hopeful that as the weather improves (later in the week, I think), I'll start to feel better.
I am sort of waiting to come down with this stomach virus, so I'm not counting on being able to go to the track tomorrow--we'll see what happens. It will be a hot afternoon and evening for sure.
I was busy at work today mostly with Web and e-mail related projects. Even though that's a little different than what I expected to be doing this summer, I don't really mind. Now I like going into the office more because I know the people there better. One of the high school volunteers is the daughter of a well-known New York-based Ethiopian runner and coach. She doesn't really run much herself but knows much about the sport from her travels to meets and races. She saw me looking at Fast-Women and came rushing over to point out her "friend", Meseret Defar, in one of the featured photo galleries. I was very impressed that she knows all these amazing, world record-setting runners! We looked through the pictures of the Reebok Grand Prix meet (both of us were there in the stands, she of course in the energetic Ethiopian cheering section) and she told me a little bit about each of the Ethiopian women her dad has introduced her to. It was really fun! She didn't know about Fast-Women before at all, so she now has that and Mensracing bookmarked. I love to share the wealth!
Posted by becky at 9:27 PM | Comments (2)
July 17, 2005
Not even the rain helped
I was surprised, for no good reason, to hear the pitter-patter of raindrops when I woke up. When it's this humid, I usually prefer running in the rain because it seems to cool me off at least a little. I put on my baseball cap and headed out the door, promising myself I would do only about 45 minutes of running. I promised T. when he left that I'd take a couple of easy days, and this was to be one of them. (I am already vowing to take a cross-training day late in the week, too. I am getting too streaky and I must remember that staying injury-free is the priority here.) So the rain helped keep me cool for about ten minutes, and then I realized just how thick and heavy the air was. Having Gatorade helped, but my legs were a little stiff from the combination of doing a long run and then dancing a lot at the wedding last night. I felt like I was going so slowly that even walkers were going to pass me. I swear, I can hardly breathe in this oppressive humidity. It seemed much worse today than it did yesterday.
So sticking to the short run plan wasn't too hard. I just ran over the Brooklyn Bridge, through Chinatown (humidity + raw fish=bad news) and then over the Manhattan Bridge. I had my iPod but it was kind of skipping a little, which I think was actually due to a headphones problem. Ever since I accidentally washed them last week, they just haven't been the same. I was glad to have music, but I wished I had a real person to complain to!
We spent the rest of the day with our families, so that was my only workout of the day (probably a good thing.) We went to New Rochelle first to hang out with Matt's dad and grandparents, then back to his grandparents' house in Bronxville, and then my parents picked us up and brought us back to their house in Ardsley for dinner. My sister and grandmother were there too, so it was very nice. We had an interesting discussion about golfer Michelle Wie and her preference for playing with the men, which ended up being a dicussion about Title IX. There is an interesting article about her that my sister pointed me to in today's New York Times, in fact.
Now we're back in Brooklyn and I'm catching up on race results from the weekend and emails. Enjoy the week!
Posted by becky at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2005
A long way for a long run
I was out the door at 6:30 am today to meet Alison and another NYRR staffer in Grand Central. We took the train up to Sleepy Hollow, where the NY Flyers were hosting a group run at Rockefeller. I've done this run before with them and really enjoyed it.
Today I started out the run feeling good, and then after about an hour and fifteen minutes didn't feel so great anymore. The weather was gross as it has been during the past week, so that didn't help, and I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I was aiming to run about 17 but we ended up probably about a mile short of that. The starting point of the run was about 2 miles away (NB: downhill) from where I usually park my car to start Rockefeller runs, but the rest of the course was on parts of the park I know well. This knowledge came in handy when the rest of the group, a bit in front of me at most points in the run, took wrong turns. I would just yell to them until they realized their mistake!
I had the most trouble with the run after the 1:45 mark. This is something I need to work on, and always do when building up during marathon training. Part of it is mental with me and part of it is physical, I think. I just need to get a few more 16-18 mile runs under my belt to feel more comfortable with the distance (I hope.)
By the time I got back to Brooklyn, it was already 2 pm. I've just been hanging out the rest of the day and now we have to go get dressed for a fancy-schmantzy Manhattan wedding!
Posted by becky at 3:58 PM | Comments (2)
July 15, 2005
Dragging today
Yes, today is another disgustingly humid day in the Northeast, and I'm feeling the effects. T. and I met up for our last run before he goes to teach in China for three weeks. We ran over the Brooklyn Bridge, over to the West Side, and around Manhattan through Battery Park and Water Street. Neither one of us felt too great--it was hard to breathe even just stretching before we started, and my bottle of frozen Gatorade melted in record time. We are both bummed that we'll can't run together during most of the rest of the summer because it's been great for both of us, and I only have a limited time during which I will be his neighbor! It's definitely nice to know that if we do end up in Brooklyn, anyway, I'll have a built-in running buddy. But we'll see about all that.
I'm at work now--I got here early (for me) today and got a lot done so I'm taking a break. I was going to go to this fancy happy hour with a bunch of Matt's classmates tonight but I just don't feel like traipsing around the city when it's so gross and humid. Lame, I know, but sometimes you have to do what you want.
I'm planning to run long with Alison and a co-worker of ours at Rockefeller tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for my complaints about the weather and the hills! :)
Posted by becky at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2005
Company again
It's amazing that I am able to get out of bed before 6am when I am meeting someone to run, but not when I am on my own. It makes such a difference to know that someone is waiting for you. And I was very glad to have T. back before he leaves again, for basically the rest of the summer, since the weather today was awful--super-humid. Today was one of those days where it is hard to breathe when you walk out the door, and obviously running doesn't make it any easier. T.'s heart rate was higher than normal the whole time, confirming my suspicions that this was one of the muggier days we've had in a while.
We ran over to meet B. near the park, but he hadn't confirmed that he was joining us and there was no sign of life outside his house. So the two of us headed into the park and did a loop. T. was tired after having just returned from London and my legs were still a little heavy from the track workout. Combined with the humidity, those conditions made for a nice, leisurely pace today--which was fine. I still feel like I might benefit from doing speed twice a week, but someday I'll try that. For now, I need to just continue doing what works reasonably well for me, both mentally and physically.
I was pretty wiped out from the heat and getting up so early, so I took a little snooze before going to work. Unfortunately I woke up with a huge headache, but an iced coffee and some Advil seemed to take care of it. Once I got to the office, there was a lot to do and I was busy straight through the rest of the day. I was supposed to meet my sister at the gym around 6, but she had a work picnic and ended up just hanging out with co-workers instead of working out (the horror! :) I of course did my biking and lifting, but was looking forward to returning back to the apartment for dinner.
Matt just got home, so I will go talk to him for a few minutes before I fall asleep!
Posted by becky at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
July 13, 2005
So that's what dead legs feel like
Whenever I run 5K pace or faster at the track, I have a really hard time recovering for the next morning's run. When I woke up today--or, more accurately, stopped pressing the snooze bar--my legs were heavy and sore but I thought I would try to get in 8 miles or so. Alas, it was not to be done. The first 10 minutes were actually the worst part of the run, but I decided then and there that running more than an hour wasn't happening today. I ran over the Brooklyn Bridge, then almost all the way to the West Side bike path and then through TriBeCa a bit before coming back through Chinatown and over the Manhattan Bridge. The Manhattan Bridge is usually one of my favorites, but today it just felt looooong. I couldn't wait to be done with it! And then I had to go up a steep (but thankfully short) hill to get back home. And so much for the nice weather last night, because it was back to humid stickiness this morning.
It was lucky I got to the office on the early side today, because the IT people had scheduled a shutdown between 1 and 3 in the afternoon. I used that window of opportunity to hit the gym for some lifting, but then I got back and the servers were still down. I ended up walking over to NYRR to meet a guy I was supposed to interview for something I'm writing, and then the two of us walked back to the NYRRF offices (don't ask.) He ended up being a really nice guy who is very supportive of the Foundation's programs, so it was a fortuitous meeting.
I took the bus over to the Upper West Side after work to meet a school friend for dinner and a book reading. We had some pretty good sushi and heard chick-lit queen Jennifer Weiner read from her forthcoming novel which seems both as fluffy and as addicting as her previous ones. Her book "In Her Shoes" is coming out as a movie starring Cameron Diaz and Shirley McLain next month. She was hilarious and confident, which is always refreshing.
Now it's late again and I am planning to meet T. for run early in the morning (yay!) so I better get to bed!
Posted by becky at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2005
Blah workout
When I left the building this morning to do my pre-workout run, the maintenance guy told me it was going to be 95 and dangerously humid. That put me in a great mood, knowing I'd be running again in the heat of the day! But there was a nice breeze and I didn't actually think it was that bad. The bridge was especially crowded today with people walking to work, or maybe they were tourists (I did see some cameras.) Besides dodging the people, I kept an easy, relaxed pace and felt pretty good. The bottoms of my feet and my arches are still sore though--especially when walking around in flip-flops as I tend to do most of the time--which I imagine is still from Sunday's numb feet thing.
I did some work from home today and spent some time cleaning the apartment as well, since we were reprimanded last night by Matt's mom for our messiness. I wouldn't normally care, but she has a point that this really isn't our apartment so we should probably treat it a little differently than we do our Boston place.
When I left to walk to the train and the workout tonight, I was shocked that it wasn't oppressively hot--in fact, it was cool and breezy. I'm still not sure how or when that happened, but I sure was happy about it. Everyone I usually run with at the track showed up right before we got started, so I did my warm-up alone tonight, which always drags. And then our coach divided us into even smaller groups because many people are racing in the USATF Club Championships this Friday and Saturday. (In fact, many of the women I run with are trying the steeple for the first time--very brave! I would NOT be a good candidate for that.)
Anyway, those people racing only did about 4x400, while the rest of us did 10, getting progressively faster. Although we did a similar workout a few weeks ago and did 12x400s, this one tonight felt harder. My times were pretty consistent, but I had no bounce in my step and couldn't really chase anyone down like I sometimes can. I'm attributing at least some of my lethargy to Sunday's race--although I didn't run it too hard, it was a good effort only two days ago. Either way, I'm going to be hurting tomorrow!
Posted by becky at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2005
A case of sore feet
Fortunately, my foot numbness didn't plague me this morning, but my knees were sore (probably from the downhills in the race) and I was pretty tired overall. I could tell my feet were sore too, especially in the arches, probably from the pounding of my numb feet yesterday. But it wasn't as bad as it could have been, especially considering that it was very humid and I was alone for a morning run for the first time in a while. (T.'s in London and soon to be in China.) Even though it's a boring run over to Prospect Park, I was craving the shade so I headed over there and did a loop. I was later than usual (I can't just wake up at 6am without knowing someone is waiting for me) and there were even more runners in the Park than I'm used to (doesn't anyone go to work?)
The rest of my day was fairly uneventful--I went to the office, got some work done and helped my sister edit a personal statement during the times that I didn't have pressing work to do. Then I met her (my sis) at the gym in Brooklyn, where we biked and lifted (I am showing her my routine and she does a little of it.) Tonight we had dinner together (Matt had an MIT event so was home on the late side) and continued work on her personal statement. And as I write this, I am realizing how tired I am! Goodnight!
Posted by becky at 10:46 PM | Comments (1)
July 10, 2005
It's always something
I was very grateful that B., who we sometimes run with in the mornings, was going to the Bronx Half and offered me a ride. Also in the car was his neighbor, who incidentally is a Team for Kids member! Funny. Anyway, we got up to the start in the Bronx pretty quickly but had some trouble parking. I jogged from the car to the port-a-potties and realized that if I wanted to use one, I'd have to forget about getting in a good warmup. It was hot anyway, so I was already sweating. The start was delayed by ten minutes because of some road closure problems, so at least I got a spot close to the front and was able to stretch while I waited.
When we started, I felt like everyone around me was sprinting. I knew I didn't want to race it like a normal HM, because it was hot (but thankfully not too humid) and because I'm experimenting with marathon paces, but of course I got a little caught up in it for the first mile. I want my "natural" marathon pace to be closer to 7:30 rather than 8:00, so I thought this was a good time to prove to myself that the pace didn't feel as hard as I thought. (I would also like to prove to myself that I can race a HM at close to 7:00 pace, but today wasn't the day for that.)
After about two miles, my body felt just fine except I could sense my calves tightening up, something that I've been having a problem with recently and that I struggled with in college. First they tighten up and then my feel fall asleep. It hasn't been as bad in recent memory as it was today, unfortunately. I did stop for maybe 20 seconds to try and stretch, but it didn't help--the only thing that helps is taking my shoes off and wiggling my toes a lot. So I figured, I'll just try to forget about the feeling. But it was like having two big ice blocks on my feet--I couldn't feel anything and I was worried that I was going to hurt something and not notice it. Still, I pressed on because I know that after about 30 minutes, the feeling goes away. Miraculously it did subside and I breathed a big sigh of relief. Except for one woman who I should have tried to catch at mile 10, I ended up pleased with my 1:39 time for today. It was way off my PR, but I didn't feel particularly pressed or that I was breathing hard until the last half-mile when I attempted to sprint to the finish (bad idea.) After the whole foot thing, I was just glad to feel better. I cooled down a couple of miles when I was done and noticed that my feet and lower calves were very sore, but I didn't have any re-occurence of the pins and needles feeling.
The course today was pretty hilly. There were two steep uphills and two (I think) steep downhills and the rest was more gradual. It definitely wasn't too scenic or shady, which made a few of the miles drag on, but it was interesting to run in the Bronx not that far from where my dad grew up. Apparently the neighborhood has changed a lot since then! I wish we were going to still be in NYC for the next HM, which is Manhattan. I don't know if they do this at all the longer races, but they gave out popsicles at the end and it was AWESOME on a day like today!!
This afternoon, I took a nap and hung out here and then Matt and I went for a walk in the new, trendy DUMBO neighborhood between the Brooklyn and Manhattan neighborhoods. We quickly realized how hot of a day it was for walking around and came home and took care of some errands. I considered going to the gym, but even we obsessives have to admit sometimes when we're tired. I just couldn't face leaving the a/c again!
If anyone has ever had this foot numbness problem and has any ideas, please let me know!
Posted by becky at 6:04 PM | Comments (6)
July 9, 2005
A day at the beach
This morning was the first group run for the Team for Kids, a group of runners who will raise money for the Foundation as they train for the ING NYCM. (Wow, I'm brainwashed already! I just included ING without thinking.) About 60 of them (maybe more?) showed up today for a 5-mile "timed run" in Central Park on which their training paces would be determined. Since I was planning to run about that distance today anyway (pre-long run/"race" tomorrow), I went up there this morning to run too. I haven't run in Central Park in about 6 years, actually. I did most of the loop with a co-worker from the Foundation at a very nice, VERY relaxed pace. My ankles were stiff for the first couple of miles but loosened up. It was nice to meet some of the people who I will be writing newsletter articles about this summer!
After the run, I went to a nearby NYSC and did situps, etc. (my usual post-run routine) and showered. Then I met my sister at Grand Central and we took the train to Bronxville. Our parents picked us up there and we went to a small, but public, beach in New Rochelle. It's kind of a hidden gem because not so many people know about it, actually. I sat in the shade, mostly, but waded a bit into the water (it was cold!) and just hung out with the fam. At about 3:30, this huge cloud rolled in and there was lightning in the distance so the lifeguards closed the beach. We just made it to the car before the skies opened up and it poured! Of course, it got nice out again right after the storm passed, but the day was almost over at that point.
Now I'm back in Brooklyn and just relaxing/watching TV with Matt. I plan to treat tomorrow's half-marathon as a long run at a slightly faster pace than usual and with more people. No pressure because it's not a real race!
Posted by becky at 9:47 PM | Comments (0)
July 8, 2005
Nearly deja vu part deux
It's been a long time since I did a morning run in the rain. I don't really mind it; in fact, I've had some of my best runs on rainy days. And today was positively chilly when we got started--I felt like it was the end of the summer instead of just the beginning, which for me is a positive, weather-wise. T. leaves tomorrow for a few days in London, then goes to China for the rest of the month next weekend, so this was one of our last runs together, at least for awhile. (Sniff, sniff.) We cut our pre-run stretching routine short today because we didn't want to stand around in the rain and headed off to meet B. at his place near the Park. T. was all riled up about some co-op politics in his building so we got there a minute or so earlier than usual! But even after a few minutes, we realized that B.'s newspaper was still outside his door, meaning that he hadn't come out yet to see if we had arrived. We waited around for 5 more minutes, trying to dodge the raindrops, and then finally decided that he had slept in.
Because B. wasn't with us, we decided to just do a little bit of Prospect Park and then do a tour of Park Slope, a neighborhood that we usually skirt around but don't really explore. "The Slope," as it's called, is very popular with the young families, so if we do end up here in NYC next year, it would be an obvious fit. Anyway, it's cute and has a lot of things for T. to point out to me, which is always fun. So we ran through there on our way home, making it about a mile and a half shorter than if we has gone all the way around the Park.
When I got home, I showered and ate and quickly got ready to go to Westchester for a dentist appointment. I took Metro-North since the dentist is right near one of the stations. Of course he was running late, and my appointment took longer than I anticipated, so my poor mom was waiting outside to pick me up for way too long. At least she was staying dry in the car. After the dentist, we had lunch at Bloomingdale's (the one in White Plains, not the one in NYC) and browsed/shopped for a while. Then we capped off the girls' day by getting our nails done. It was a fun and relaxing day. My parents were coming into the city to see a show tonight, so they even dropped me off at the subway in Times Square so I didn't have to take Metro-North back. Nice!
Now we are going to rent a movie, but I will most likely fall asleep!
Posted by becky at 8:39 PM | Comments (0)
July 7, 2005
Propect Park deja vu
This morning's run was much like yesterday's, but thankfully I felt much better being another day removed from track. I met T. again at his place and we went to meet B. and do a loop of the Park. It was still humid, but considerably cooler, which I liked. Before I left, I checked the news and saw a small AP article about some "explosions in London." When I got back, the media was fixated on what appeared to be a terror attack. It was very unsettling.
I actually put in nearly a full day of work today at the office. However, I was working on the Foundation's Web site when the server crashed, leaving me wondering if somehow I was responsible. I certainly hope not! But it definitely cut into my productivity. I intended to go over to the main NYRR headquarters to pick up my chip for the Bronx Half Marathon on Sunday, which I am mainly doing as a way to get part of a long run in with other people (and water) around, but I lifted beforehand and the number pickup was closed by the time I was about to head there. Kind of a pain since I'm going to Westchester tomorrow for a dentist appointment and won't have a chance then.
Tonight we had dinner (good sushi!) with a friend of Matt's from high school and her fiance. It was a later night than I had hoped for, but a fun one. My pillow calls!
Posted by becky at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 6, 2005
Sweating 'like a guy'
Yuck, yuck, yuck. Not only was I dragging this morning being less than 12 hours removed from my track workout, but the humidity was stifling. I stupidly decided to wear baggy shorts that don't absorb sweat very well, prompting a comment from T. midway through the run to the effect of "We like running with you because you sweat like a guy!" Ah, it's what every girl wants to hear. I mean, it's true, so I wasn't offended--I thought it was funny! As for the run, we ran over to meet B. near Prospect Park and then did a loop of the Park. (I think we are doing the same run tomorrow as well, but I hope that I feel a little more energetic.) Having people to talk to helped some, but I was really feeling the workout in my legs and I had to refill my water bottle because I was so thirsty. But, we made it back without incident.
I had a hectic start to the morning because I put a glass into the dishwasher and it must not have been secured because it shattered into hundreds of pieces. So I had to dig into the dishwasher and try to fish them all out. I don't think I could have possibly gotten them all, but I did my best. Then I took a short nap because it was still early and hey, those are the perks of making your own hours! I went up to the office a bit after that and was glad I did because there was actually a lot web-related tasks that I was able to help with. So I'm not exactly using my public health knowledge; as long as I'm helping, I'm happy.
I narrowly missed a downpour this afternoon while I was in the gym doing my usual biking and lifting routine. While I was on the bike, I watched the recap of the whole Olympic Bid announcement. I was sad that NYC didn't get it, because it would be very cool to have the Olympics in my own backyard, but I didn't have high hopes since the rumor was that Paris would get it. I also wouldn't have liked having all those people around when the Games did actually occur. But still, it was fun to dream. Hopefully those 2012 people have other jobs to fall back on!
Tonight I plan to veg out, watch TV (if anything is on, which is unlikely) and (with Matt) pick out some wedding presents for our upcoming affairs. Our own days of registering seem so far away!
Posted by becky at 8:55 PM | Comments (1)
July 5, 2005
Doesn't take much to impress me
I got to the track workout tonight on the early side, as I always do, but tonight there was another girl there to warm up with. She ran with us for part of the workout a couple of weeks ago, but we never introduced ourselves. As we were jogging around the track, Lisa told me that she runs (steeplechase) for Cal but is here doing an internship for the summer. Knowing that Cal is in the Pac-10 and has a pretty good team, I was already impressed. I asked her about her training, etc. and then she said, "Well, my dad--Tony Sandoval--is my coach," and I said, "Oh! I know who he is! Cool!" He's been a successful (college) coach for a long time and I know that he has had a lot of success with marathoners like Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, so I was very impressed! But Lisa, in turn, was impressed with my mental cache of track/xc/running knowledge, so we had fun getting to know each other. In the back of my mind, though, I kept thinking, "I am almost a decade older than this girl!"
Going back in time, this morning I did my usual ~3 mile morning run over the Brooklyn Bridge and back. My ankles and calves were really tight, but stretching seemed to loosen them up a bit. Notable about this morning's run was the amount of garbage along the Promenade in Brooklyn and on the Bridge, presumably from all the 4th of July revelers last night. That's the un-beautiful part of the Macy's fireworks.
I spent much of the day cleaning up from our own festivities last night. The floor was covered in dirt from people walking in and out from the balcony. It's a little better now but honestly even scrubbing and Swiffer-ing it didn't seem to make that much of a difference. Oh, well.
And back to the workout tonight: it started to drizzle right when we started and then the heavy rain lasted until we were almost done--perfect! Actually, it wasn't that bad because it was pretty humid, so the rain cooled things off a bit. We did a 1200 and then an 800 at 5K pace, then 2x400 at 3K pace, and then another 800 and 1200 at 5K pace. The point was to simulate a surge in the middle of a race. I felt much better on the longer intervals, and not just because they were at a slower pace. I was able to finish the last two intervals very strongly, so that made me happy. The combination of sweat and rain made me feel really disgusting when I was finished, so I jogged back to the subway as quickly as possible (it's all relative after the track.) Now I'm watching silly MTV shows and getting ready for bed...my life is so exciting!
Posted by becky at 9:53 PM | Comments (2)
July 4, 2005
Friends and fireworks
Even a summer weather cynic like me had to admit that today’s weather in NYC was nearly perfect. Most 4th of Julys are hot and humid, but this morning started out sunny and clear with a nice breeze. T. and I quickly decided to do the Lower Manhattan/Battery Park loop that has become one of my new favorites, since it has such nice views of the Statue of Liberty and other Independence Day-type landmarks. My legs felt good for the first few miles and then my quads were kind of crampy, probably from doing some lunges yesterday. (I know lunges are good for me but I hate doing them because they leave me so sore!) Fortunately I started feeling better again pretty quickly. But we’ll see what happens at the track tomorrow since I think that my legs are still recovering from Friday’s Tuxedo Park run!
Matt’s sister and her boyfriend arrived in Brooklyn (they live in DC but had spent the weekend on the Jersey Shore) shortly after Matt and I finished a leisurely brunch. The four of us went to buy beer and food for our party tonight—it was very helpful to have a couple of extra sets of hands and arms! The two tourists then went for a walk and to grab lunch while Matt and I hung out and read (and napped, in my case.) Later in the afternoon I went to the gym to bike and lift and was glad that it was so quiet due to the holiday.
Tonight we ended up having about 40 people standing on our balcony watching the Macy’s fireworks display. The main barges were right on the water outside our apartment building—it was amazing! I’ve never been that close and the show was great—it lasted almost a half-hour. It was awesome to see the fireworks with a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline, although I did think a little bit about where the World Trade Center would have been (directly across the river.) It was a fun night and some of our guests are still figuring out how to get back to Manhattan as I write this…so I’m going to go join Matt in helping them find a taxi or car service!
Posted by becky at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)
July 3, 2005
Running and lounging
So the low humidity forecast finally came through today! I managed to get out fairly early for my run so it felt more "refreshing" out than it has in a week or so. I took a planned easy day today and ran only about 50 minutes around Matt's mom's neighborhood. I brought my iPod shuffle with me and the time seemed to go by quickly, which was nice. My knee felt a little sore, probably from doing too many longish runs in a row, but no other major aches and pains. I managed to get on a little trail for part of the run, which was nice.
I spent the next few hours enjoying the sun and reading by the pool at Matt's mom's house. Matt was off playing tennis with a friend for a couple of hours, and when he came back we put some veggie (and regular) burgers on the grill. Then I did the elliptical and lifted for a little while while watching Wimbeldon highlights and some other mindless stuff on TV, and went back in the pool after that. We had some pizza at a place close to the train station and came back to Brooklyn tonight. We're having a bunch of people over to watch the fireworks from our balcony tomorrow night, so I need the day to get ready!
Posted by becky at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
July 2, 2005
Less humid?
All day yesterday, I kept hearing on the weather report that Saturday was going to be a beautiful day with low humidity. So when I woke up today, that's what I expected! It was definitely better weather (less hazy and humid) than it was yesterday, but not the refreshing day I had been hoping for. Oh, well.
Even though I had done my long run yesterday, I met T. and accompanied him for part of his. We ran towards Prospect Park to meet the other guy we sometimes run with and did a lap of the Park, taking a few detours on the way home. They went on to do another 5 or 6 miles (I ran 1:20 with them) and I happily turned for home when they continued on to the Brooklyn Bridge. My legs actually didn't feel as bad as I had expected, meaning I'll probably feel the effects of yesterday's hills tomorrow instead. We were all very chatty so it made the time pass quickly.
I was glad to have gotten an early start to the day, but any time I might have saved from getting out at 7:15 was negated when I fell asleep on the couch watching the women's Wimbeldon final. I kept waking up to see who had won and it still wasn't over. Eventually I just let myself take a little cat nap.
We spent the next few hours doing errands and trying to set up a wireless network in my sister's apartment in the hopes that the signal would reach our apartment three floors up. We were successful at setting up the network but we can't get it upstairs. That sucks. I had wanted to get to the gym to lift but didn't have time before we left to go to Westchester. (We are spending the night and most of the day tomorrow here at Matt's mom's house to enjoy the supposedly good weather by the pool.) I ended up lifting a little when I got here (in the small gym they have in the house) but I really have not been sticking to my lifting schedule as much as I would like.
Matt and another friend who is staying here with us went to see the new Batman movie tonight but I declined. I plan to start a new book instead--maybe less exciting but I hate all those loud action movies.
Posted by becky at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)
July 1, 2005
A run in the 'Park'
Today's forecast for "steamy" weather sure held true. I stayed at Mary's sister's house with her last night in Upper Saddle River (NJ) and as we grilled up some steaks, we discussed potential routes for today's long run. We decided against going to Rockefeller since it would have meant going over the Tappan Zee Bridge during rush hour. Instead, we went to Mary's hometown, about a 20-minute drive from where we were in NJ. She warned me that it was hilly, but it was almost Ithaca-like!
Mary grew up in a very unique place--Tuxedo Park, a gated community just outside of Bergen County, NJ and Rockland County, NY. (It's in Orange County, NY.) Even though I grew up just across the river, I really didn't know anything about it. Basically, it's an enclosed little village--you have to live there to be able to drive in, and you have to leave if you want to buy groceries, get gas, etc.--all that is inside the gates are houses, a beautiful church and a country club. Oh yes, and a private K-9 school. None of the houses are alike like in some "planned communities," instead, all have their own unique, and usually old-fashioned, style. Mary lived in two different houses there during her childhood and adolescence, both of which she pointed out to me as we went up an endless hill to get to the school, which would be the starting point of the run.
There are two little lakes and one big lake within the Park. Our run started out downhill as we headed to the little lakes (about 3-4 miles around) but I knew that would not last. We then took a quick stretch and bathroom break in the Clubhouse (they even had plush towels to mop away some of my sweat!) and did two loops around the big lake (about 10 miles total) and then added on some more HILLS to get back to the car. All in all it was a teeny bit over two hours and one of the hardest runs I've ever done, because of the combination of the hills and humidity. Mary pretends to hate hills but she has been biking a lot in preparation for her upcoming Ironman triathlon, and she was really kicking my butt up every hill over the last 4 miles of the run. On the very last hill, I started feeling nauseous and took a little breather and finally made it to the car to meet her. Not my type of day for a long run, but you do what you have to and we survived. I was really glad to be able to see Tuxedo Park, too! Mary talks about it very sentimentally, so it was good to be able to connect some of her stories to the scenery around me.
We took a dip in the pool when we got back to Mary's sister's house, and then it was almost time for her to drive me to the train. When I was back in Brooklyn, I met my sister for a much-needed manicure. Tonight, Matt and I went to a really nice dinner at a well-known, tiny place in a nearby neighborhood. It was delicious. And now I'm tired from my long day and ready for bed!
Posted by becky at 10:51 PM | Comments (1)