NYC Marathon Article

Earlier this week a local journalist from Inwood asked if she could interview me for an article about the upcoming NYC marathon and I gladly agreed. Having followed Carla's blog, The Streets Where we Live, for years I knew I could count on her for a great article. She has also been writing for DNAInfo.com, a NYC-centric news site where you can get specific news for your neighborhood or the city in general. Since she began writing for DNA, I've been using it as a daily source of info for what's going on around the neighborhood. On Wednesday I met up with the lovely Carla (you can follow her on twitter @CarlaZanoni) and we talked and took some photos in nearby Fort Tryon Park where I do a lot of my training. I have to thank her because the article is really sweet and honest and it has already brought a ton of traffic to my little blog. Please check out her blog and DNAinfo as well, they're both great reads especially for those in our little community of Northern Manhattan.

Here's the link to the article: The Heights Proves Perfect Training Ground for Uptown Runner and Online Friends

Riverdale Ramble

Y the Ramble?

Ok, so I think it's a little late for an official Ramble 10K race report, but I can give a little overview and share some pictures!

The weather prediction for Sunday, May 2nd was not looking scary and for once, it came true. It was a muggy morning full of clouds and haze. Yuck, not the right weather for a hill race, but at least I wasn't running the NJ marathon!

I'd been sick the week before so I went into the Ramble with no real expectations. I knew the course really well and that meant I knew how tough it was going to be. I met my fellow Inwood Hill Runners for the ride uptown and we goofed off at the Riverdale Y while waiting for the race to start. We chatted briefly about a "goal time" but basically just took off with the intent of running a good, strong race. We did just that, and then some! I watched my HR climb to new heights as we started up Wave Hill on the way back through the course and I was mildly concerned, but kept on running. Since it was an out and back course, we were able to see where in the rankings we stood- at halfway we were 8th and 9th females! Score, I'll take that!

The race was really, really hard. At the finish we went straight uphill, turned on a short flat stretch and then right uphill again. Whew. My asthma reminded me that it is still in there at the finish with a little wheezing, but otherwise I felt really good.

The best part came when we realized that we were not just 8th and 9th females, but TE and I had also placed in our age groups!! Almost everyone from the Inwood Hill Runners crew placed!

We hung around for the awards ceremony and ended up all winning prizes in the raffle too!! I snagged a $25 gift card to The Running Company! Sweet. I'm just glad I won mine before the announcer lady started making people "earn" theirs with pushups, jumping jacks, etc. Of course, they won things like a free pair of shoes, so I guess it was worth the extra workout.

All in all, I felt like I ran a strong race. It wasn't an "all out" effort but I wanted to let myself heal from being sick and not go too crazy. (it didn't matter because I came down with Strep that night anyway...) I'm happy with my medal and my gift card as well. :) Next year... look out Ramble, I'm coming for you!

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.

Riverdale Run

Charming Castle-like houses in Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx

Every couple of weeks my neighborhood running group treks up to Riverdale on our weekly Saturday long run. I remember a few years ago when I made my first journey through the hills of Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale and I didn't think I was going to make it. The rolling hills of S.D. were followed by a whopper of a hill at 254th St that felt like going up a ski slope and I couldn't believe I was still moving forward. Now, years and many hills later I can bound up most of those hills without missing a beat. The killer hill on 254th still gives me a run for my money though, but I know I can make it so I just keep pushing. Yesterday was the first time in at least a month or two since I've done this run and it felt like I was doing it for the first time- not the pain and gasping of the hills, but in the way I was seeing things. I brought along a good friend, NM for the run who has run with the group just a few times and it was her first time doing this particular run, so I felt like a tour guide. She's really into beautiful real estate so I spent more time looking at all of the gorgeous, old houses than usual, pointing out fun details that I hadn't noticed before. Since it was a bit iffy on the trails we usually run, we had to take our winter detour which takes us up "Wave Hill" which is a doozy. Wave Hill is actually a Cultural Center and Garden perched atop a hefty hill with gorgeous views of the Hudson and Palisades. Along Independence Ave around Wave Hill are houses that look like they were transplanted from Tuscany with their archways and intricate details. It was such a sunny and crisp morning, I hardly felt the hills. We always finish our run by passing near the Riverdale Country School and then cruising around the lower parts of Van Cortlandt Park. We all commented on how good it felt to hit that dirt path after pounding the pavement for the last 7 miles or so. I needed to get in about 11 miles yesterday so my NM and I continued on after leaving the group at the 242nd 1 train station. We followed Broadway back down to the 225th St bridge which links The Bronx to Inwood, Manhattan and weaved our way through Inwood back towards home. I convinced NM that we didn't need to take the 187th St CRAZY STAIRS again (we did them Thurs) so we took the 181st St subway elevator :)

It was an easy pace run, with a total elevation gain of 3,260 ft!

Heres the breakdown:

8:36 pace, elev+ 431ft

9:59 pace, elev+ 375ft

9:45 pace, elev+237ft

10:08 pace, elev+ 224ft

10:24 pace, elev+ 181 (so slow?)

9:59 pace, elev+ 49ft

10:01 pace, elev+158ft

9:03 pace, elev+21 (Broadway is flat!)

8:54 pace, elev+ 219

9:14 pace, elev+ 181ft

9:34pace, elev+ 1,058 (WOAH)

last .32 mi 9:30 pace, elev+126ft

We were a bit all over the place, but thats the reality of running with a group of people with similar but not exact abilities. I love my running group! I never would have found this route without them and I never would have pushed myself to get better on those hills without them either. <3

Photo courtesy of NYtimes.com

Swindler Cove Park

After the LRL Festival, we decided it was much to beautiful out to go inside so we hopped on the 1 train up to Dyckman St and walked the few blocks to the new and beautiful Swindler Cove Park on the East end of Dyckman St at Harlem River Dr (10th Ave). As part of the NY Restoration project headed by Bette Midler, the once illegal dumping ground has transformed into something wonderful and serene on the Harlem River. I highly recommend you hop on a bike, a train or your own two feet and check it out. The children's garden featured herbs (the basil smell was intoxicatingly yummy) and tomatoes and huge sunflowers. There was a nice clean bathroom with a kitten sitting outside and picnic tables to sit and rest our feet. After some resting we strolled a little further south to catch a few shots of the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse, a new and yet vintage looking community boathouse. There were even a few shells out on the river.

Sunflower in the children's garden

Yum!! My mouth was watering at the prospect of a fresh tomato, basil, mozzarella salad

Walkway over a little pond

Entrance to the Children's Garden

He looks just like my kitty Picasso did 4 yrs ago!

Awesome gate at the entrance to the boathouse

A quad out for a row. I wonder if they're training for the Head of the Charles?

Spanish Talk Show on Riverside/Broadway

What were they filming this afternoon at the corner of Broadway, Dyckman and Riverside??? I couldn't quite figure out what the heck was actually going on. There was what looked like a TV talk show set right by the subway station entrance at the corner of Riverside and Dyckman and Broadway. It was hard to hear what they were discussing but it was definitely in Spanish. There was a very odd looking "waitress" waiting on the side with a tray of espresso. She was more than likely a man at an earlier point in her life and had a very striking appearance. We didn't wait around too long, but it was definitely an odd sight to see the chairs and coffee table all set up on a little mat of turf on the sidewalk with the cars going by right next to them.

Donuts in the 'hood?!

Could it be?? The long awaited opening of the Twin Donut Plus in Inwood on 218th and Broadway, which has been teasing me for years has finally opened its doors and its patio!! There was chatter last week about the "now hiring" sign in the window at The Streets Where We Live and BAM! today it opened its doors! I ran by tonight on my way up to Van Cortlandt Park for a speed workout. Too bad I didn't pass it on my way home....yum! It looked like the place was pretty busy considering its quiet opening. There were people out on the little fenced off patio area chatting and drinking coffee and nibbling on goodies.

I'm excited to try it out and give a review ASAP. The neon sign glows "OPEN 24 HRS" which is intriguing and tempting. Perhaps I'll make a morning run up that way and end with a delicious treat before hopping the train down a few stops to home. I've run with a number of things in my bag, but not a donut and/or coffee!

So it's official- Twin Donuts Plus is open for business! Review coming soon!

*Photo taken from the official, but not entirely functioning website of Twin Donut.

ZogSports Soccer in Inwood

image from primapaving.com

Registration ends soon for ZogSports outdoor soccer summer league at Baker Field (218th St Columbia Complex)!

http://www.zogsports.org/activity_list/outdoor%20soccer to sign up, register with a team or as an individual to be placed on a team. There are a variety of levels of play from "Players" to "Extremely Casual" - fun for everyone.

Yay for summer sports in the 'hood! It was tough finding a team that wouldn't require travel WAY downtown, this was a great little surprise when I found out that they play in Inwood.

See you on the field!