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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 July 1, 2005 10:51 PM
Comments
Wow, cool, I know exactly where you ran, I've run there too! I hope you have a great 4th (and 3rd)!
Posted by: Alison at July 2, 2005 10:55 PM