Run 82

Another long run today.  This one was rough.  16 miles.  I was running with a group, but the group was not sticking together well and everyone was taking different routes.  It felt like I was running alone.   I run alone most of the time, so it should not have effected me as much as it did.  I guess I just got beat mentally today.  Running is very mental, it is very easy to talk your self out of having a good run.  Some times there are no real reasons to stop or slow down, but mentally you make things up.  That's where having a running buddy can come in handy.  When you want to stop or slow down they can keep you moving and vice versa.  I had a horrible time.  Didn't enjoy the run. Didn't feel good about it. But at least I finished it.  I did the milage, that part felt good. Oh, I was happy to cross both the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges, which I had never done before.   

Time: 9 am
Distance: 16 miles
Time: 2:17:10
Music: Shuffle

Run 81

I grew up in a small town, in middle of no where.  This isn't that much of an exaggeration.  The town population was 7,500 at the time and the nearest mall was in the next biggest town, a 2 hour drive away.  In high school the local kids would just "hang out".  We blamed this on the fact that it was a small town and there was nothing to do.  Some of the "hot spots" were the high school parking lot, the Safeway parking lot, or just out in the desert.  So here I am over a decade later and in NYC.  No one could ever try to use the argument that there is just "nothing to do here".  
I've mentioned recently, more than once, about seeing so many people hanging out on the streets.  I went on another prime time run.  It was 10 pm on a friday night.  Since it's NYC and there's an endless amount of activities to do here, you'd think that every one would be out doing those activities.  Wrong.  They are sitting in the Safeway parking lot, well in this case on their stoop, on a NYC street.  Street after street there would be huge groups of friends and families, with lawn chairs, just sitting and chatting.  There were people in parked cars, with all the doors and windows open playing music from their car stereos.  There were groups of guys playing cards or dominos.  
It just amazes me how similar life can be, whether you are in small town, USA or NYC on Friday night, the majority of people don't want to spend their hard earned money.  They just want to be in the company of the friends and family they enjoy.  
One of the many reasons I do this blog is to try and show what it's like to live in NYC.  Many times life is different than elsewhere, but more often than I originally expected it's also very similar.  

Time: 10 pm
Distance: 4.06 miles
Time: 35:30 minutes
Music: John Borrowman

Run 80 injuries

A very important piece of advice for running a marathon or any long distance is to never try anything new the day of the race.  Don't wear any new articles of clothing that you haven't run in before.  Don't eat an unusual meal right before your race.  Don't use goo (race energy supplement) that you haven't tried before, etc, etc, etc.  It all comes down to not knowing how your body will react to these new items.  Last you heard from me I had the "great" idea to wear an ankle brace.  The next morning I woke up bright and early to go on my weekly long run and my ankle was in bad shape.  Not the top of my foot, which was the purpose of the brace, but my ankle, in a new injury that I hadn't had before.  I stretched and was getting ready to go on the long run.  I even headed to the meeting location, I wasn't going to miss this run, I was going to push through it.  But some thing in my gut told me it wasn't a good idea.  
For the next few days my "lateral malleolus" (the ball on the outside of your ankle) hurt.  I had to miss not only my long run, but the next 2 as well.  Finally 4 days later I felt like I could give it another shot. So I started to put on my ankle brace and gear up to go on a run.  Just then a light bulb went off.  The seam of the ankle brace ran right across my lateral malleolus, with my shoe on, every step my shoe would push the seam of the brace into the back side of my lateral malleolus.  So I left the brace off and went for a good run.  
This is why training, experimenting and being prepared long before the actual race are a good idea.  Hopefully I can work out all the kinks before the marathon.  

Time: 1 am
Distance: 9.01 miles
Time: 1:09:02
Music: Sugarland

Run 79

Today's run had some minor struggles or disruptions.  First of all I was running out of time.  I needed to get a 7 mile run in today and the day was almost over, it was already 11 pm.  I had a long run scheduled in the morning, but didn't want to skip another run.  Second, my foot was slightly hurting me.  Luckily, I had recently bought an ankle brace that covered the top of my foot, the section that was hurting.  Third, once I got started my gps was acting up.  I had a "weak" signal and it wasn't tracking my route or time properly.  It was Saturday night again, while everyone else was headed out, I was hitting the street.  Once again I received funny stares and a few funny comments as well.  At one point I was racing a couple in a pedi-cab.  (a cart hooked to a bicycle).  It wasn't the easiest run, but I got it done.  

Time: 11 pm
Distance: 6.72 miles
Time: 50:49 minutes
Music: Avril Lavigne 

Run 78

It's TGIF, I should be out on the town, instead I'm running and blogging.  I get some really weird looks from people who are dressed to the 9's heading to or from the latest hot spot.  Don't get me wrong I love to go out and have a good time, just my idea of going out and having a good time, doesn't usually involve a bar.  I'd much rather go to the theatre, or a movie, concert, or stay home with family/friends. 
Just needed to get a quick run in today.  Covered a little area of the map that was left out.  


Time: 1 am
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 23:17 minutes
Music: The Wild Party

Run 77 NYC Subway

A big part of NYC is taking the subway.  Most people here do NOT own a car and rely on public transportation.  Every now and then I miss the convince of my own car, like when I'm grocery shopping or need to move large objects, but most of the time I'm extremely happy not to pay insurance, car maintenance or buy gas.  The subway has many perks.  Getting to and from places can be quicker than dealing with traffic on the streets.  Parking in NYC is a fortune.  Not driving, gives you time to read, or play games, think, listen to music, write, etc.  One of my favorite things about the subway is the entertainment.  There are musicians, singers, and dancers both in the stations and the subway cars as well.  Not to mention the people watching.  You can see a lot of interesting things on the subway. It's rarely a boring ride.
There are a few down sides to the subway as well.  Rodents, lots of rats live in the subway.  Flooding, litter, crowds, homeless graffiti, etc.  Travel north and south is easy, but traveling cross town (east/west) is not as convenient.  The subway runs 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year, BUT late at night the frequency of trains dropped dramatically.   There are some lines that only come once an hour, if you just miss a train that is a long time to wait for the next one.  
After going out one night, I found myself way up town, late at night.  I knew that I might have to wait a long time for the next train, luckily I was in shorts and running shoes.  Instead of waiting, I ran home.    
45 minutes later I was home.  Not sure if I beat the next train or not, but I'm sure it would have been a close call.      

Time: 3am
Distance: 5.81 miles
Time: 43:06 minutes
Music: Carrie Underwood

Run 76 NYC Parks

NYC has many nicknames, one of them is "The Concrete Jungle".  Although, that is an accurate name.  It is amazing how many parks and green spaces there are.  
"Parks & Recreation is the steward of approximately 29,000 acres of land (14% of NYC) including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds, 550 tennis courts, 66 public pools.  We care for 1,200 Monuments.  We look after 650,000 street trees and two million more in parks." -NYC Parks & Recreation (click for info video)
Nature has always been a huge part of my life and very important too me.  So many people find an oasis away from the concrete jungle right near their home.  Everyone is familiar with Central Park and most know Bryant and Battery Park, etc.  But everywhere you turn there are hidden pockets of nature.  It maybe a garden on your building's roof top, or a planter box in your window sill.  It could be a few small plants on the stoop of your building, a community garden, a tree line street, a river view from a pier, the possibilities are endless and "concrete jungle" is become less accurate the more I write.  
This blog was conceived in Riverside park.  I have my own rooftop garden.  One of my favorite parks is the Highline, which is an abandoned elevated railway turned into a park. I have volunteered a few times for a new park in the planning stages called, the Lowline, which hopes to build the world's first underground park in an unused trolley station. 

Tonight I ran Riverside Drive.  The entire 6 miles was in a park.  It was hard to believe I was running in NYC.  I leave you with a slide show of photos I have taken in NYC parks.  I will continue to add photos to the album (and the others) as time goes by.  

Parks

Time: 1 am
Distance: 6.13 miles
Time: 50:02 minutes
Music: Chely Wright