Hurricane Irene? More Like Hurrican't (on the UES)

I've got a fair bit of running in during the last few days. On Saturday, I decided to go for a short run (probably around 3.5) in Central Park before Hurricane Irene hit. I wasn't alone. There were a lot of people running, biking, walking, or taking carriage rides around the park. It was gray and cool, with a sprinkle or rain for about five minutes but that was it. I should have gone longer, but I didn't.

On Monday, I did, but not by much.

I do a lot of running in Central Park, but I've never run around Central Park - until Monday morning, that is. I decided to try it. I kept the park to my left and just went around. It's a (much) flatter course that inside the park. But, the sidewalk is made up of these hexagon-shaped paving stones, that are actually not that fun to run on. I really had to watch my step. And when I hit the southeast corner of the park, my Garmin lost satellite, again. I'm really fearing for the health of my Garmin!

Today's run was a run around the Resevoir. When I lived in DC, my go-to run was running from home to the Washington Monument and back. I'm thinking the Resevoir is going to end up as my go-to run. I need one.

Run Around the Park

I got my lazy butt out of bed this morning and ran. I was going to keep it short: 3 miles. But I got into a groove. That's not to say that at mile 3 I hadn't wished I had gone with a shorter route. But it was a beautiful day: sunny and cool. There were a lot of people in the park and in my head I could see the run route that I wanted to do and I did it.

It also makes me feel less guilty about all the eating I have been doing as of late. There's a great sandwich shop near work called Alidoro's. I'm thinking of going through the entire menu. The sandwiches are huge - it can be lunch and dinner! I also found The Birdbath Bakery near work. The cookies are ssooooooo good. In fact, I think on my way into work today, I'm going to get a cookie!

Like Old Times

I was in Washington, DC this weekend for a wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and MLJ and PR seemed really happy! It was a quick trip down (arrived late Sat morning and left late Sunday afternoon). But I did manage a run with TK Sunday morning.

We were supposed to run our classic Run to Work run, stopping at the Dupont Circle Farmer's market. However, I made the mistake of checking with WMATA's trip planner, only to see that Medical Center was not showing up. So we made a last minute change and met at the Bethesda start of the Capitol Cresent Trail (7 miles). We've not had good luck with this trail in the past, but we were in luck and managed to meet, not get run over the cyclists or slowed down by slower runners/walkers. The beauty of this trail is that it's a slow, gradual incline.

It was fun to catch up and since I haven't found running buddies in NYC...yet (fingers crossed) and it was nice to have an excuse not to hit the snooze button. Although, I don't recommend scheduling an early morning run the night after a wedding. Lesson learned. But T and I discussed the lure of the snooze button, and one that we've both been using too much of late, especially since we both have a half marathon this weekend. I'm going to try and be better about it.

We ended the run at Baked and Wired (my favorite bakery/cafe in DC) and then walked to the farmer's market.

A wedding, a run, and catching up with friends. It made for a great weekend!

Who Knew? I Started My Run in the East River

I love my Garmin. I've raved about it. The fact that it automatically breaks down your run for you in miles (how much time it took you to run each mile), how it does elevation, and that it maps your run for you.

Since moving to NYC, I've found that my Garmin has been taking a lot of time to find the satellites. A lot. I did a run to the East River from my place and it took about 10 minutes to locate, and even then I stood on the pedestrian overpass for a couple of minutes in the rain. As you can see, that run had me starting in the East River and running through blocks.


I was hoping it was a one-time deal, but my run this morning, at least while I'm on city streets, has me running through some buildings, as well.


I'm trying to focus on the positive: it mapped my run well in the park.

Going Against the Flow

For today's run in Central Park, I thought I'd go in a clockwise direction. Apparently, I was only one of a handful that chose that route because everyone else seemed to be running or biking in the counterclockwise direction. But my choice did give me an opportunity to look at all the different race shirts out there. It's this little thing I do once in awhile. If I like the shirt, I'm usually tempted to run the race. However, in reality, if I sign up for race it means the shirt won't be nice. For example, this year's SF Marathon shirt. Cool design, orange color. I'm not a color orange fan.

There were a lot of NYRR race shirts out there. I saw two NYC Half Marathon shirts (but of which I own and love) from the first two years I ran it. I saw a shirt from Portugal, from DC (the Parkway Classic, which is a popular run in the DC area that I never ran, usually with a cool shirt), a few Ironman shirts, a Florida race shirt, a Colorado, and I added a Seattle running shirt into the mix. All in all, a great start to a Tuesday.

First Run as a New Yorker

This morning I had my first run as a resident of NYC! I walked to the park hoping my Garmin would located. It didn't. In fact, it was low on battery and turned off mid-way through my 3.2 mile run. I ran north to the Reservoir and then ran around and headed back to meet K and her husband M for brunch. It was a nice, easy run. I felt tired, though. No more excuses. NYC Marathon is right around the corner.

I Left My Running Sneaks in San Francisco

This past weekend I ran the 1st Half of the San Francisco Marathon. There was a lot to love about this race, starting with the fact that my hotel was across the street from the start (and also the finish of the full marathon/bus drop off location for the 1st half). I was able to roll out of bed about 30 minutes before I was due at the start. If only all races could be like that! They had these blue globe lanterns at the start that I thought were beautiful. It's what I'd love to put up if I were having a backyard BBQ. The race was in eight waves, and I was in wave six. I should have started later. Since the See Jane Run, I hadn't run at all. The weather in DC was in the triple digits and then I got sick. But the race course eased me into things. The start is fairly flat. It follows the Embarcadero through Fisherman's Wharf and the Marina. From there we ran through Crissy Field and slowly started to climb into the Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I loved running across the Golden Gate Bridge. Forget the fact that it was an out and back and crowded the entire way, it was still awe-inspiring! To see the towers rising up ahead and the Marin headlands to one side and the Bay to the other was breath-taking! The really great thing about the bridge was that when we were done, we were at mile nine!

Unfortunately for me, this is where hilly San Francisco kicked my in the butt. Up and down, up and down. My legs and lungs couldn't take it. Still, I managed to finish in under 2:30, with a time of 2:26:46.

I'm thinking about doing the 2nd Half of the SF Marathon next year. They've introduced something called the Half It All Challenge: If you run the 1st Half Marathon and the 2nd Half Marathon in two consecutive years, you pick up a special Half it All Challenge Medal at the finish line. The 2nd half goes through the Haight and the Mission. Hmmm, it's something to think about.