A run down Memory Lane

I'm nearing my 5 year NYC anniversary and my 2 year anniversary of graduation from my Doctorate program at Columbia. Perhaps it was the droves of graduates swathed in Columbia Blue that I saw on Monday, perhaps its the hints of summer in the air, but something has triggered memories of the last 5 yrs in NYC.

Last night's running route seemed like coincidence at the time, but now I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I headed out for a tempo run with the plan of running 5x8" intervals. My running hasn't been feeling spectacular lately, its tough to share my precious running time with swimming/biking.

I started out along Fort Washington Ave, heading south along the route that I walked twice a day in grad school to the CU medical center. Immediately I began to feel a sense of nostalgia as I passed the park and its rowdy teens at 174th, the hustle and bustle of the medical center engulfed me around 170th and spit me out on 165th where I noticed they finished the new Cardiac center (it's beautiful). As a trampled down the hill on 165th I smiled, even as I passed the smelly garbage garage. I've had so many fun runs along this route with so many different friends, at so many different points in my NY life. Sigh.

As I began my first interval, I smiled at a giant St Bernard in the dog park that was curled up with a tiny pug. My first interval was downhill for much of the first half, but I insisted to myself that I wouldn't go out at a pace I couldn't sustain, so I settled around 7:45. The second interval took me along the 125th st Viaduct bridge which has great views of the river, Grant's tomb and it overlooks fairway. Memories surfaced of winter morning runs with my friends Nancy and Jen where we all wimpered about one frozen side of our faces from the wind. Smile. It was perfect weather tonight. As I ran along past Grant's tomb I took a swig of water in Sakura Park which is very beautiful in the spring because of its cherry blossoms. I take my kid's team here for relays, lots of silly memories there. I took a turn up Broadway and made my way to 125th st. I love running in Harlem, its so diverse and exciting. I find that a lot of people don't run there because its "Harlem" and "sketchy" but I love it there and I'm happy to run there, even alone. I made my way back towards the river, this time underneath the Viaduct bridge which is truly spectacular from underneath. It is a pretty amazing piece of work with its swooping arches and massive, grey steel beams. They've really put a lot of work into the greenway path in Harlem, and it looks beautiful. I cruised (7:20's pace now!) past the wastewater treatment plant near Fairway and thought "Matt had better bring my Dump Runners Club headband to VT next month. If you're not familiar with DRC, check it out here, you get a DRC headband for sending Matt your photo near a dump or similar facility. I took my photo this past winter, brrrr it was a nasty day. I again relished in the soft, mid 60's breeze.

As I hit the stretch along the base of Riverbank State Park I remembered the time I was finishing a 16 miler and a good-looking guy on a bike rode past and gave me a big smile, it made me smile and helped me pick up my head for the rest of the run home. I headed up Riverside park at 145th St and began to worry about my stomach, it wasn't feeling too hot on my 2:00 recovery, but it felt better when I was running fast. The stretch of RSP from 145th to the GWB is so familiar to me that I could run it with my eyes closed. I cruised along, thinking about my many evening runs here during PT school that were lively and fun because of the thousands of families picnicing. We sure do love our parks in NYC. As I finished off my 4th interval, I began to really worry about my stomach... I stopped for a minute and then managed to walk a little and finally jog the rest of the way to the bathroom at 165th, whew- thank you Parks Dept. It was open, clean and well stocked- a rarity in NYC parks.

My final interval would take me home from the low-lying Riverside Park under the gorgeous GWB all the way up to home, the highest natural point in Manhattan. It was a series of 6 or 7 steep hills punctuated by short flats, but all so familiar that they felt like home. I was thrilled with the effort, 7.54 mi in 1:03 with intervals at 7:30 pace! I'm pumped for Saturday (though I have no plans to really race) at the Brooklyn Half Mary. Any thoughts of a previous running funk melted away on the streets of Harlem. Welcome back legs, welcome back.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Alright, well I'm not "old" but I am pretty set in my ways of running and swimming a lot with few diversions. Today was a day of "new things" for me and I'm happy to report that it turned out really, really well. In fact, I feel fantastic tonight.

After many self-induced delays, I hopped on the train and moseyed over to Toga Bike shop on West End Ave and 65th St to pick out some new bike shoes. Being a newb and all I had purchased road shoes and mountain pedals which are a slippery combination for a beginner. I felt like the guy showed me a really expensive shoe that looked pretty and a really ugly shoe for less, knowing that I'd have to choose the nicer one. I was determined to get out today so I sucked it up and shelled out the extra cash and got a nice lil pair of Specialized Motodivas. They feel nice, though I'm sad to say they aren't as shiny as the Diadoras I had originally. :) Yep, I care about the color.

I got back home and suited up in my most ridiculous outfit because thats what cyclists do, and I headed out to join some fellow neighborhood tweeters in Inwood Hill Park for some hula hooping! I walked the bike probably .25 mi to the greenway because I'm a scaredy cat and from my apt to the greenway is a really steep downhill! That was not a good place to test out the new shoes and clip in. Once I got to the greenway however, I clipped right in like a pro and just started riding! I practiced clipping out a few times along the greenway to make sure I had the hang of it, and I felt great! Wow, this was turning out to be kind of fun! As I hit Riverside at the far northern end of the greenway (yep, it just ends) I turned onto the actual NYC streets and repeated in my head "clip out or wipe out" so I didn't get too comfortable riding along and fall over upon stopping. I know the area there so well because I run there regularly and I think that eased some of my anxiety. I rode along Dyckman St and turned up hilly Seamann Ave but didn't have quite enough confidence or gusto to go from a dead stop to uphill so I walked the bike just a little way to the top of the hill. I rode Seamann Ave north past Cumming (Yep, intersection of Seamann and Cumming St) and probably had a big goofy grin on my face because I was having so much fun!

I joined the Inwood Hoopers for some fun and silly hooping in Inwood Hill Park which I haven't done in MANY years! I remembered being awful at hooping as a kid so I was expecting to be sucktastic, but I surprised myself and kept the hoop up for minutes at a time! Wow! It was a blast to see so many neighborhood tweeters brought together for an afternoon in the park for a good cause! Ryan, the son of a neighborhood blogger/tweeter ZG, is selling hoops to raise money for tuition to Berklee Music School camp this summer. You can purchase a personalized hoop on their website, I tried a few out today and they are SWEET!

Sadly, I couldn't hoop all night because life and work-week prep were calling, so I hopped back on my white stallion and made my way home. Since most of my ride there was downhill, the ride home included many uphill sections, right from the very start. I hopped out of the saddle and pumped my way up the hill before I even realized what I was doing! That was really exhilarating to be puffing my way up a hill that I can run without batting an eyelash. I felt even more confident on the ride home and was able to ride in the actual car lane for much of the ride because the streets were quiet and I felt safer because I'm petrified of being hit by a car door opening. I cruised my way back to Riverside and onto the greenway where I played with the gears to find what felt right and was able to pick up some speed without being scared of hitting a bump and dying. With the sun toying with the idea of setting to my right and the wind in my face, I cruised along my usual path with much more speed than ever before and all I could think was "this is so exciting!" I unclipped and walked my bike up and over the overpass that crosses the West Side highway at 181st St because it is quite windy and narrow. I snapped a photo of the GWB in its pre-sunset glory there before walking my bike for a while up the 181st hill (which I normally run so that was tough to swallow) and was heckled by a man leaving a kid's birthday party, he said, "you're not going to let this hill stop you, are ya?!"Argh! I smiled and told him I'm a newbie and don't care for the scary traffic on 181st (it's like Panama city on that street). I did however cruise on up the hills of Cabrini Blvd which was so fun that I decided to keep going and looped all of the way up to Fort Tryon Park before cruising on home. The only word I can use to describe it was FUN. I really enjoyed my new adventure, it was a really different way to see the city, totally different than running and walking or riding in a bus or car and totally different to be moving so fast in the open air.

So it was a successful day in the end... I rode without falling or getting run over by a bus or hit by a door, I kept a hula hoop up WAY longer than I expected, and I CANT WAIT to bike again soon. Goodnight all, thanks for being such a great community of runners, swimmers, bikers, hoopers and friends.

Post-run bliss

Oh what a beautiful, rewarding day to be a runner in NYC. All around the neighborhood you can feel the buzz of people getting out and about with smiles on their sun-warmed faces. Its been a hard, cold winter for all of us, but especially for us runners. Everyone has been struggling with windburn on their cheeks (both sets) and frozen hair and just general "brrr" that comes with winter training. But today... today was a different feeling altogether. From the moment I stepped out the door into the blinding sun in my shorts I felt a change in the air. I think we MADE IT THROUGH!! The winter is a trying time for many people around here, bad weather sucks when you live in the city. As NM and I made our way up to Isham St to meet the group we pranced through Fort Tryon park which was closed to pedestrians last Saturday because of the heavy snow covered tree limbs, but this week it was full of chirping birds and sunshine.

It was another big day for the Inwood Hill Runners - two new members today! Wahoo. We had 10 people this morning and decided it was a good day for the "East-West" run that we did a few weeks ago in the bitter, bitter wind. In reality we did a "West-East" run though. We looped through Inwood Hill park and made our way to the Greenway at Dyckman St and followed it down to 155th St. The sun was out, the view was clear and beautiful and I was feelin good! We saw some tankers and cruise ships in the distance which is always kind of fun, those cruise ships are so enormous that they dwarf the buildings along the river. When we turned onto 155th coming off of the greenway, I felt like a million bucks! Last time we did that hill (its a good one!) it was about 25 degrees with 25mph winds coming at us and there were snow flurries pelting us in the face. It was craptastic. Not today though, the sun was in my face and I bounded to the top of the hill thinking about tomorrow's Coogans 5K.

I continued to play the contrast game in my head for another few miles, "last time there were near 40mph icy gusts as we headed up the Harlem River drive", "last time I wanted to die here" before I finally let it go and enjoyed the sun on my face and the breeze in my hair. I enjoyed watching the Columbia men's crew team out on the water, it brought back memories from my rowing days in college in icy NH. I don't miss rowing, it was a brutal sport on my body, but I miss being on the water sometimes. Knowing that they were rowing into a headwind made me happy to be on dry land running alongside. We took a little pride in ourselves for beating them up the river, since there were 8 of them and we were in a little cluster of 4 at the time.

As we finished back at Isham St, the farmers market underway we all stood and chatted in the warm sun and for the first time in months- no one was in a rush to get home or to keep moving because WE WEREN'T COLD! I browsed the Farmers Market, picking the best whole wheat sourdough I could find and leisurely strolled toward the subway.

With my runner's high in full effect and toasted sourdough in my belly, I am content, refreshed and all of the stress and grumpiness of the week is a distant memory. I really love my running group. Rock on Inwood Hill Runners and thanks for another great start to the weekend.

The numbers-

9.55 mi

1:24:34

Avg pace 8:51

Elevation gained: 1,135 ft

Elevation lost: 1,512 ft

Endorphins: Off the charts

:) Have a great weekend fellow runners. Its a perfect weekend to be a runner- live it up.

and the aftermath of a storm...

Tonight's run was going to be dicey no matter how you looked at it, the snow that blanketed the city showed no signs of budging in today's chilly temps and I always find that snow is most slippery after being shoveled/plowed.

Well the Greenway did not disappoint! I checked the Greenway on my way up through Fort Tryon Park to see if it had been cleared and it looked like it had (I peered over the promenade wall to see) so the group ventured down to see what we could see. Well I'll tell you what, I'd avoid the Greenway north of 181st for a few more days if I were you! We slipped and shrieked our way along that 1.5mi or so stretch, giggling each time one of us yelped or "woooooah"ed. We somehow survived the ice skating rink formerly known as the Greenway and made it out without anyone taking a digger. I predicted mild soreness for tomorrow from the tense running and many slips, so we'll see. It wasn't a fast run because of the conditions, but I picked up some speed on my way home through the park (I wanted to check on our snowmen) and cruised up the hill at the north end of the park and felt amazing! The cold, crisp air filling my lungs was so refreshing, wow. I decided to loop around the park before heading home to get in my full 6 miles and as I turned to loop around the Cloisters, I saw a man a ways ahead of me running along looking like he needed to be passed. I saw what I thought was an old Boston jacket on his back and I went for it, I pranced up that hill and caught him at the top without skipping a beat. I gave him a breathy "hey" as I passed by and kept that surge for the rest of the way home. Thanks dude, I needed a little something to rev me up and you did the trick. I sped home with my breath frosty in front of my face and my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I had to stay alert and not take any risks with the snow, but I felt so GOOD when I got home tonight. I'm zonked now and need to rest up for a good swim tomorrow. Tomorrow starts 8 days of vacation for me (mostly, I still have to coach) and I can't wait for some sunny, daytime runs!

6 miles in 58 mins, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Sometimes the numbers are meaningless.

zzz.

Snowy Day Run

The Arches of Fort Tryon Park along the WSH

I wasn't the only one excited to get out for a snowy run yesterday, twitter was a flurry of excitement (no pun intended) about running in the snow! We lucky NY'ers were able to sleep in a bit and get out for a run after the parks dept and neighborhood supers were done cleaning the sidewalks and plowing the paths. What a bright and sunny and beautifully crisp day it was along the Hudson River! I took a run from the GWB down to 145th St at Riverbank State Park and then turned around heading north to Dyckman St along the greenway. On the way down to 145th I was flying along at an easy 7:35 pace thinking to myself "why does this feel so easy?" Once I turned around I realized why it felt easy...the crazy wind was at my back the whole way and was going to give me a run for my money on the way back north!! Whew!! Luckily it was sunny and the path was mostly cleared. I saw lots of people out walking, sledding, and even XC skiing! So much fun, I felt like I was back in NH. The trek home through Fort Tryon park was a bit tough because the giant hill at the north end of the park wasn't cleared and neither were most of the paths! Whew, tough going.

Well here are the pictures I managed to get along the way.

Ol' George standing tall against the Palisades

The little red lighthouse and the great grey bridge

So pretty in the snow..

View of downtown and the sparkling Hudson

New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tryon Park

The Greenway north of 181st...clear here

Suddenly not so clear!

The Pumpkin house smiling out over the Hudson

Sparkling Fort Tryon Park

The Little Red Lighthouse Festival

Saturday was the annual Little Red Lighthouse Festival in Fort Washington Park (also known as Riverside park under the GWB). We wandered down around 2pm and enjoyed a delicious Belgian waffle, visited the many tents and sat in the grass to enjoy the musical stylings of John Oliver and the Distinguished. There was a book reading of the children's book "The little red lighthouse and the great grey bridge" as well as tons of other stuff for the kiddies to do. I thought it was a lot of fun and saw plenty of familiar faces. If you have kids it was definitely THE place to be.

The festival was set up near the "165th St" ramp to Riverside park and was jamming up the greenway which definitely ticked off a number of cyclists out for a ride. We saw one collision on the big hill leading up to 181st by a less than courteous cyclist who thought it was better to try to fight her way up the hill and through the crowds ON the bike. I found that I had no sympathy for her when she fell over (she was fine)... its just common sense to get off and walk the bike up a steep hill like that when there are crowds of families. But I digress.... here are the pictures!

Inwood Hill Park gets rave reviews!

It looks like the word is out about our beloved Inwood Hill Park! I got an email from YELP! today with reviews of parks around the city. I was happy to see IHP mentioned in the first few paragraphs of the email... of course I'm torn because I'm afraid the word will get around and EVERYONE will be up visiting our sanctuary :)

Also receiving rave reviews, Fort Tryon Park and Riverside Park, though no one really mentions areas in Riverside this far north...they're probably scared of the hills.

Super busy start to the week after being away all weekend soakin up the NJ sun. I'm in the midst of becoming a certified SCUBA open water diver, and the late night classes are taking a toll. I'm not a late night kind of girl and class doesn't end until 11:30pm down at 43rd St. Needless to say with the shuttle bus crap I'm taking cabs home... there goes the discount on the class I got for being a member at the pool where we practice!

Weary

Note to self: Carry camera more often when wandering the hood. I always have my blackberry which has an okay camera (the pictures of the talk show filming were with the 'berry), but I see fun stuff all of the time that I need my real camera in order to fully capture. The problem is that most of my adventures in the hood are while running and I definitely don't carry it then! I'll try to get better at it when I'm wandering around at slower speeds.

The cats are snoring and I'm zonked from a run down the greenway to 145th to use the track at Riverbank State Park for a workout and then running home back along the greenway to my cozy abode. I don't have the mental capacity to figure out how far I ran, but any run that ends with me scrambling up those hills from the GWB to home is a tough one. Definitely time for bed!

Just a little picture from the hood from a day that I actually remembered my camera. It was taken along Fort Washington Ave around 190th St.