Coogan's 5K Recap

I never know what to expect the first weekend in March each year, the weather changes drastically from year to year and so does my fitness depending upon where I am in a training cycle. This year called for light rain, temps around 50 degrees and "in a lull" fitness-wise. I was okay with all of those things, though I could have done without the rain. You won't hear me complaining though, I've nearly frozen my toes off many years in a row at Coogan's so I'd take this cool drizzle ANY DAY.

I have no real reasons for why I didn't race today in my favorite race of the year, I could have told you 6 weeks ago that I wouldn't be racing, I just am not at a "race ready" point in training. That is OKAY too because I have a really big year ahead and I cannot get started this early and expect to last until October 2nd (see here my plans for that day). All that aside, here's how today went:

I love Coogan's for one reason: I can roll out of bed and trot down to the start on foot in less than 10 minutes. This morning I had company for the first time, EG spent the night at my apt (we're practically a B&B) and we trotted down together to pick up our race goodies. I knew that Coogan's was going to be a BIG race this year because it is the first race of the NYRR club points series, but I think I was in denial about how crowded it would be. In '06 when I started doing this race there were ~2700 people in the race but this year there were 5370. Wow, big change. I know if I'd wanted to race today I would have been fine by moving to the front of the red corral, but instead I just ducked in somewhere nearish to the start and hoped for the best. It was crowded but I was ready for that and had no intentions of weaving my way through the crowds so I settled into a comfortable pace and trotted along, waving to my husband and good friend SF along the way. I avoided big puddles as well as I could and stayed steady up the first round of hills. This was my turf, I know these hills like the back of my hand. The course runs by my apartment twice so it is fair to say I would have had "home field advantage" had I chosen to race.

Mile 1 flashed on my watch at 8:46 and I gently chided myself for slacking off as much as I was (My PR is at a sub-7 pace in the 5K) and I decided it might be fun to do a little progression run today. I entered the park and got distracted looking for Joe, Julie, Robert and anyone else I knew. I spotted my friend Kevin S-S from VCTC who looked really strong, as usual and I finally spotted Joe as well, shouting out some encouragement to them both. I scanned the crowd for Julie, but couldn't see her and gave up as the crowd of returning runners got thicker. I thought I saw a friend up ahead and picked up my pace to catch him, but as I pulled up next to him I realized that it was a doppelganger. Oh well, I figured I might as well keep up the quicker pace and I started to look for other friends as we finished the loop around the Cloisters. I spotted LW and her crew as well as a few other familiar faces, but I missed most of the people I was looking for. I continued my progression run as I hit 8:01 for mile 2. Perfect, nice and easy. I waved again to SF and hubby along Fort Washington as we headed back down to the finish and hubby snapped a few quick photos of me smiling and waving. I brought it home with a 7:46 final mile and would have kept on running right to baggage if it weren't for the crowds. I ran into a few friends that I went to grad school with at Columbia as well as Inwood Runner JS who was getting ready to cheer on his daughter in the 4-yr old race. In the end, it turned out to be a rather social day. Oh and I ran a 25:15 or so and while that's nowhere near a PR for me, it felt great and I had fun!

After the race EG and I ran back to my apartment (yep, back up the hills) which helped us stay warm and we went out for a nice little brunch with the Inwood Hill crew. What a great day in the Heights. The heavy rain held off until later the day when I was home, curled up on the couch with a few cats and my Kindle.

Be sure to catch the NY Running Show tonight live at 8pm where we'll definitely be chatting about Coogan's and other NYC running tidbits.

Cats make great handwarmers after a wet,cool race. They're thrilled about it too..

Inwood Hill Runners New Site!!

Well I've been waiting forever for the okay to release the link to our brand new website, created by fellow runner and team "captain" T.E. - I'm SO happy to announce the launch of Inwood Hill Runners OWN website. Check it out and explore here: http://inwoodhillrunners.org/ihr/Home.html

She did an amazing job with the routes, photos and history of the group! Thanks for all of your hard work T! Spread the word if you know any runners in the Northern Manhattan area looking for company!!

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.

Coogan's 5K Wrap Up

Every year there is one race I really look forward to- the Coogan's Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K in Washington Heights. I love it because its on my home turf which means I get to sleep in a little and the journey home is nice and quick! In the past few years Coogan's has been FREEZING and the quick jog home was appreciated. 2010 was a whole new experience however, with 37 degrees at the start, very little wind and bright, glorious sunshine! There was definitely excitement in the air at the prospect of spring being just around the proverbial corner.

I had a goal time of 21:00 for this year, which would have been a 30 sec PR from last June and the whole goal time got me a bit frazzled and nervous both SAt night and Sun morning. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to race hard, and I was excited but still jittery. I had a few kids from my running team meeting me at the start so I headed down early, warming up with a nice 3/4mi jog which helped calm the nerves. An encouraging morning text from EG helped as well. :) Once the first of my 5 kids arrived, the rest of my jitters melted away and her bubbly chatter made me smile. All of the kids arrived on time, I pinned on their bibs, clipped on the D-tags and wished them all a great race (they run with parents or other coaches, etc).

Once in my corral I hardly had time to get nervous again before the horn went off. In my head I had worked out what I needed my pace to be for each mile in order to hit my goal, but as usual I forgot about the 0.1 and ...well, I've never been that good at math and I goofed.

I had a really strong race, I cruised up those hills like they weren't even there and felt powerful and free. Was it the sunshine, the bands along the way, the knowledge that my hubby was waiting near the top of the first hill and the last hill? It was all of the above.

Here are the numbers:

Mi 1: 7:08 (i held back thinking I'd make it up. This was the weak point in my plan.)

Mi 2: 6:56 (felt awesome)

Mi 3: 6:41 (ran hard!)

0.1: 6:22 pace

3.1 mi, 21:39, 6:59 avg pace. (My bib pace will change now! used to be 7:10)

me!

NYRR says I was 101st female, 40th in my age group and 765 overall out of 5631. Oddly, I just double checked and now it says I was #102 female, 41 in my age group. Weird. Anyway, as bummed as I was for a whole 10 mins that I didn't PR, I felt like I raced smart, strong and felt great.

What came after my race was the truly awesome part of the day... as I stood shivering at the finish line waiting for my kids to cross, I was expecting to see 2 of my 3rd graders come in first until out of nowhere, one of my 2nd graders (7 yrs old!) came FLYING across at 31:53 with a HUGE grin on his face! He clocked a 10:17 pace after doing his last two races at a 14:40 pace!! Wow. I had to catch up to him after the finish because he'd run too fast for his mom to keep up. He was chattering uncontrollably about how awesome that was and how he flew past his mom and his teammates in mile 2! Man, that kid made everything I do so worth it. What a kid. His mom told me he's SO proud of himself and that he can't wait for the next race. He came to practice today with that smile still all over his face and pride beaming off of him like sunrays. I think I hooked one. Awesome. I'm the proudest coach in town today.

After the kids were finished, I headed back uptown to meet my hubby, MJ and SCL for a little brunch in our hood. We had a nice meal (pancakes, yum) and then took a stroll over to see the GWB in all of its glory. What a beautiful day on the Hudson.

Subway Elevator Art Installation

I noticed a postcard sized advertisement today at the Hilltop Pharmacy tucked in among the stuff at the pharmacy counter and realized it was an advertisement for an art show going on right nearby!

It seems that the "Artists Unite" organization is collaborating with NYC public transit to bring us the story of the subway elevator posters that can be seen in our very own 184th St A train elevators. Here is the info I found on the Artists Unite website about the installation. I hope to check it out this week and have more info for you....

Artists Unite

MTA Subway Elevator Poster Project

El Proyecto de los Posters de los Trenes Subterraneos

GOING UP!

Hacia Arriba!

An Installation: By Rosa Naparstek

Documents & Photos

November 29-December 6, 2009

Hebrew Tabernacle: 551 Fort Washington Ave @ 185th St.

(Entrance on Fort Washington Ave. Please Ring Bell. For More Info: 212-568-8304)

The Art In Your Subway Elevator And The Story Of How It Got There

La Historia del Arte del Ascensor de Tren y Como Llego Ahi.

This is the story of the Artists Unite-MTA Poster Project, an eight year collective effort to bring art into our subway elevators.

The original display of pictures and posters in the elevators at the 181st and 190th Street

A-train stations played a vital role in bringing our neighborhood together.

When they were removed in 2001, it was a profound loss to the community.

Residents of Washington Heights worked hard to express their dismay to the MTA

and collected more than 3,000 signatures in a few days advocating to maintain a

community presence in the elevators.

Installation: Photos and Documents,November 29-December 6, 2009

Opening Reception:Sunday, Nov.29, 2-6 PM

Installation Hours:Mon & Wed:Nov.30, Dec.2 9AM-6:30PMSat:Dec.5, 7-9PM Sun: Dec. 6, 10-1PM

And Creative Venues:

Outdoor Projection Slide Show: Exhibit of Poster Contest Entries

Saturday, Nov 28, 7-9 PM

(Fort Washington Ave &184th St. Nr. Subway Entrance.)

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!

181st 1 train station ceiling collapse

I'm a few days late on this one, I just spotted it on the cover of a.m. NY this afternoon... a ceiling collapse at the 181st St 1 train station on Sunday around 10:30pm left debris of bricks and rubble covering 35 ft of track. The collapse has left the 1 train tracks closed between 168th St and Dyckman Street, likely until this weekend. It seems as though this was a long time coming, according to Assemb.Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan)there have been complaints about the crumbling walls/ceiling and water leaking from the ceilings for 3 years with no repairs in sight.

Since the 181st St Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a consultant is on board to conduct a design for restoration of the facade which has to "be done with sensitivity to preservation requirements."

In the meantime, poor 1 train riders are stuck riding a shuttle bus (and waiting in the sweltering heat), riding the M3 for free up St Nicholas, switching to the A train, or taking the M100 or Bx7 buses to the Dyckman St station where they can resume the 1 train ride up to 242nd St in the Bronx. Whew. The delays at the 168th st elevators have been a problem in the past, I can't even imagine what they're like now! I read today that it takes 20 shuttle buses to carry one trains worth of people, wow!

Your best bet is to avoid the 1 train in our area if you can, I know for me its too hot to make the long journey over to the 1 anyway, but I will definitely stay away this week!

*photo taken from amny.com

Bennett Park Facilities

A month or two ago I stopped in Bennett Park (located between 183rd and 185th streets along Fort Washington Ave) for a quick drink while out for a run and I was disappointed to find that the water fountains were off. It was especially surprising because it was during one of the really warm days last month and the park was full of kids. I thought "hmm they must be doing some work or something" and it slipped my mind until I made another stop yesterday and found that they were STILL off. Not only are the fountains in this busy park off, but I noticed a sign that the bathrooms have been closed since November! The sign (see the picture below) mentions that kids are using the park as their bathroom instead (oh parents, why?) which is of course unacceptable and unsanitary. The sign on the bathroom door mentions something about maintenance, but offers no end point or contact person. I didn't take a picture because its creepy when an adult enters a playground with a camera and no child of her own. :0)

Anyhow, I noticed that there were port-o-potties placed on the other side of the park and snapped a picture from across the sidewalk, but didn't dare get any closer because of the stench and the flies. Wow, this is a serious problem.

The parks dept last inspection was April 30th and it was deemed "Acceptable" but nowhere is there mention of the lack of facilities, fountains and handwashing sinks!

If you live and play in the area, please call 311 and report this issue ASAP. I submitted a

complaint to the parks commissioner and 311 and will keep on this! Til then... pack some water and plan on a trip to Starbucks to pee if you don't live close enough to run home.

yuck.

Sunset on the Hudson

After a quick trip to the grocery store I came out and noticed that the sun was heading down so I wandered over to Chittenden Ave at 187th and WOW! What a great sunset. I also took a shot of a charming little building with the greatest of old windows. These must have been all over the hood in the old days. They are the same type of windows found in Hudson View Gardenswhere all of the people have to put their AC's sideways to fit the skinny windows.

As I strolled around tonight in the cool, gorgeous evening I was reminded once again how much I love this area. And then I remembered I bought ice cream and it was still in my bag so I had to scurry home. Enjoy!

What a great view from this place! Chittenden Ave is really full of little gems.