Throwback Thursday: Rite of Passage for NYC Runners

I found this draft from April 2012. I went running in Central Park with the Professor. We were running the east side of the loop up from Columbus Circle when someone's obnoxious and poorly behaved child ran out in the road and a horse carriage moved to get out of the way and then a cyclist cut into the running lane and another cyclist cut in around him. That cyclist proceeded to ride his bike right up my leg and over my body. He ended up crying, the Professor threatened him, the cyclist's friend tried to say something about peace, love, and happiness, and I was laughing on the ground saying that they all needed to shut the fuck up.

On Saturday I, as many NYC runners before me, was hit by a cyclist while running the Central Park loop. Straight up run over. Before you start crying, I'm fine.

I came home Saturday morning (I slept over the new boyfriend's place and went to bed at a very reasonable 11PM - I am so lame now) and ate a bagel while watching tv. The Professor asked to move our run up by a few hours, which was fine until I realized I hid my Garmin while I was drunkenly cleaning and I still don't know where it is. How I managed to lose something in my studio apartment is beyond me. Then I couldn't find my other Balega sock and was forced to wear regular socks for a long run. Eff.

I told myself that these were not bad omens and to suck it up. I ran to our meeting point and was super excited to see Mrs. Professor ready to run outside.

That boyfriend and I broke up soon after this when he started ignoring me. Then I woke up next to a coworker after the big gala and insisted that the sort of ex-boyfriend come and collect the things he left at my apartment. I found my Garmin in my gym bag. I still use it today.

Some Runs I've Done

This morning I met the Professor for a run in Central Park. Today might be the first time he and I have ever done a weekday morning run come to think of it. It was a casual combination of road and the reservoir and we cut out onto the pavement at Columbus Circle.

Since I haven't posted a lot of my recent running photos and I just upgraded my picmonkey account, I made you some collages.

Casual Post-Work Half

Thursday evening I decided to go for a long run. Yes, I know it was 98 degrees in NYC that day and the low was a whopping 81 degrees. I stocked up on margarita Shot Bloks, which have three times the salt to ward off muscle cramps, Body Glide, and water and headed off to Central Park. 

I went with my Reebok shorts, a Brooks tank, Balega socks, and my red Adrenaline 11s.

Looking skinny if I do say so myself.

I ran the big loop counterclockwise to start. I wanted to pay attention to when I ate my chews and decided that the first mile from my apartment to the park didn't "count" and I would have the first chew at mile 4, which was mile 3 of the park. This made a lot of sense to me at the time because the first mile was my warm up and then two loops are twelve miles and then this would equal a half marathon. In hindsight, I should've brought both packs of Shot Bloks and eaten both of them and screwed this rationing thing. It was hot, my legs felt crampy, and part of me was like, "WTF were you thinking?" The other part was thrilled to be out running.

I made it through the first loop without much ado. I was tired and extremely sweaty, but I felt solid. I turned around to run the second loop clockwise. When I stopped to refill my water bottle for the second time, an ambulance was parked near the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir. The guy inside looked very close in age to me and he was hooked up to all sorts of machines. The heat is no joke and you need to take care of yourself. I patted myself on the pack for taking precautions like drinking extra water and eating fancy salty sports chews.

I survived 13.1 miles and headed out of the park. By that time, I really had to go to the bathroom so I decided to walk home and not jiggle anything around. But then I also thought it would be a good idea to stop by 7-Eleven and get some cold water and a Green Machine juice. La-dee-da. Walked on home and things were great.

Looking super cute on my walk home.

But then things weren't so great. I started shivering and my stomach was in knots. I walked into my apartment and headed on into the shower. By the time I got out, I was dry heaving. And then there wasn't anything dry about it. Throwing up for 6 hours is not fun.

Staying up until 4 AM because you are throwing up in also not fun.

Leaving work the next day to take a nap and then throwing up your lunch at 8 PM at night is not fun either. This heat has to stop because NY is not intended to have Texas weather. We'd all have central air if it did.

In all seriousness, heat exhaustion is very dangerous and this whole experience was horribly uncomfortable. Make sure you stay hydrated and don't push yourself too hard.

National Running Day

National Running Day is June 5th this year. Since I haven't been so great about running on National Running Day in previous years, I was adamant about running on this very special day in 2013.

And then this happened.

Guess who dragged her still drunk ass out of bed to go running and was out pounding the pavement by 5:38 AM? The drunk girl below making (what she thinks are) sexy faces at herself in the mirror.

Please take a moment to acknowledge how a diet of
Adderall chased by Ritalin has been really paying off.

I also found it appropriate to photograph my bruise. I think it might be time to reconsider spanking now that it's bikini season.

So I'm having the time of my life running over to Central Park and I see an apartment building where I used to wake up a lot. At least I think it's the apartment building I used to wake up in. I thought you all needed to know this so I took a photo.

For the second time ever, I beat T to the park! So I sat on a bench, checked in on foursquare, and took awkward selfies.

It's a little under 1.5 miles from my place to the park and then T and I ran the smaller loop which Garmin tells me is 5.6 miles. I headed over to Juice Generation for a Peanut Butter Split on the way back so I didn't really run much as I was busy enjoying a delicious breakfast treat. The beauty of running 7 miles in the morning is that you can pretty much sweat out all the alcohol and then feel awesome for a full day of work.

And I hope you appreciate that I wrote this post EXACTLY the way my drunk self intended.

Morning Run with T

After more than a week of taking it easy, I was itchy to get out and run. Yesterday I asked T if she'd be up for a 6 AM run in the park and because she's awesome, she said she was game.

I stayed up a little later than I wanted to because I had to see the Rangers school the Caps in a 5-0 shutout in Game 7. I'm not sure if I've ever shared my love of hockey on this blog, but it's my favorite sport to watch. And like many women, I want to have Lundqvist's babies. When my alarm went off at 5:30, I was surprisingly well-rested and got out of bed at 5:35.

It was really cold this morning. I wore pants and a long-sleeved tech shirt and I was still pretty chilled on my way to the park. This man, however, didn't seem phased by the frigid temperatures.

Our run was casual but not easy for me. My left knee feels a bit wonky, my right ankle is acting up, and my right hip feels a little geriatric. I feel pretty good though and I'm glad I managed 8.62 miles without collapsing on Cat Hill. The being said, I skipped Cat Hill the second time around and exited the park at 72nd.

My average pace was 9:35 but only because of my speedy first mile. I left my running keys (a specific set that only has the two keys I really need and no fobs, chains, or extras) with my super recently and I was concerned that my other set was going to leave me locked out of my apartment. The 3 minutes I spent testing  my door over and over made me a little late so I picked up the pace to meet T. I wish I had given myself enough time to get there on the front end and used that energy for the hills.

Sunday Funday

Yesterday was an epically good Sunday. I didn't go out Saturday because my body has been possessed by good decision making aliens and watched Ted on the couch with Lauren instead. I was well rested and awake when I received a text message inviting me to get in bed across the street at 9 AM. If this is being a grown-up, I'll take it.

source

I had been looking forward to Sunday all week because I had plans to go see Jurassic Park 3D. Yes, one of the best movies from 90s, in all of its original glory, IN 3D! I laughed, I screamed, I buried my head in the shoulder of the person sitting next to me - it was glorious. Remember the scene where the velociraptor jumps on top of the kitchen table? It is so much better when the velociraptor pops out of the screen!

I felt like Tim one day in my office last summer.
source

We stopped by Juice Generation before the movies and sneaked in our own snacks. But I insisted on getting popcorn too because movie theater popcorn is the best. When I was little, my mom would take my sister and me to the movies and let us have "movie dinner", which is just another way of saying, "You can eat popcorn, candy, and soda instead of anything of nutritious value tonight." I had a wonderful childhood.

PB Açai™ bowl

The PB Açai™ bowl was pretty dang good, but I think the granola could have been replaced with Cap'n Crunch. Apparently not the point of Juice Generation but meh.

I caught up on some work and then Lauren and I went for a 5+ mile walk around Central Park and back.

I honestly just wanted an excuse to wear a shirt that said I've run a 50K

Lauren made a delicious dinner of spinach pasta and roast chicken and then we watched Chanel West Coast make an ass out of herself on Ridiculousness. I am living the dream.

Brooks Silver Bullet

I received a Brooks Silver Bullet running jacket for Christmas. It comes in five colors and costs $150. I had asked my mother to surprise me with either the black or the teal one, and I was really pleased to find the teal jacket under the tree because teal is my favorite color.

Last night I finally got to take the jacket for a test drive.

I saw on Twitter that runners were taking advantage of the mild weather and foregoing layers. I went with a pair of matty m leggings and a short-sleeved tech top under my jacket. When I got to the park, I realized runners were really foregoing layers. People were in shorts.

Just as a warning - these pictures are even more out of focus than usual. I was in a hurry to get out and run.

base layer

blurry photo of me in my jacket

cuff with thumbholes and flip-mitt

As I've mentioned, my Garmin is broken and I am working with Garmin Support to get it fixed or replaced. I purchased an iPhone app called GarminFit to get me through this trying time. I somehow turned it off after 2 miles. Fail.

This photo may be the culprit as it seems to be taken in the correct place on the map when the run stopped tracking.

When I run in New York City at night, I can really see how small I am compared to the grand scheme of things. Look at how many people can fit into just those buildings. I find comfort in this.

I ran the full loop clockwise, so my run should have been about 7 miles including the run from my apartment. I entered and exited by 84th Street. On my way home I stopped by Fairway for some eggs and also picked up some fresh cooked shrimp.

I saw this display at Fairway. God is mocking me.

I miss you rice!

After my shower, I ate some shrimp with leftover spinach, onions, and mushrooms. Then I decided I was still hungry and cooked up a sausage I had in my fridge. Less than half an hour later, I hurled up my entire dinner. I don't know if the sausage was bad, the shrimp didn't settle with me, or if I managed to bonk from a 7 mile run, but I felt like shit until 2 AM. And all I could think about was settling my stomach with rice. Eff.

Hurricane Sandy

We survived Hurricane Sandy. Actually, those of us on the Upper East Side had the best week ever during Hurricane Sandy (except for those folks who live in the mid-90s on 1st Avenue.)

On Sunday I came back into Manhattan because I refused to spend another storm on Long Island after Irene. Good thing I did because my parents lost power on Monday, October 29 and got it back today.

Hurricane outfit!

On Monday I worked from my bed and then hid under the covers during the storm, catching up on my DVR.

Tuesday I ventured down the street to Favorite Work Friend's apartment. I did some work from Lauren's apartment and watched tv. Our friend ventured uptown from Chelsea to visit and then I went to yoga. When I got back they were drunk so we searched for food in vain (every restaurant that was open was packed) and went to Dylan Murphy's instead.

On Wednesday Lauren and I went for a walk and ate Chinese food. Our friends from downtown had to leave their powerless apartments and came up to stay with her. The Internet went down (or someone stepped on the cord, still not sure) so we lounged. It was Halloween so we went out for dinner and then to some bars. Everyone was forced to move uptown because of the power outages and lack of water. It's the first time all of my friends were up here in years.

This is Martha. Turns out we're neighbors.
I hope you made it to Pennsylvania safely Martha!

On Thursday I ran to midtown to lunch with Kristen and her boyfriend. I had my doctor's appointment in Columbus Circle afterwards so I ran from my apartment to lunch and then from lunch to the doctor's office. I saw the crane up close. I also got a haircut.

The crane on 57th Street

By Friday I was a little sick of perpetual Saturday. Although the office opened on Wednesday, there was limited public transportation to get there. I continued to work from home but I was getting seriously sick of working, going out, sleeping off the hangover, working, going out, watching tv, working, going out, sleeping off the hangover...

Please let me go back to the office!

I couldn't even handle going out on Friday. I met up with Trin folks for a drink at GoBurger, took a look around Club D's, and headed over to Lauren's for a Twilight marathon. I also ran into this guy I used to know outside of Lauren's apartment. That was neat. Not really but at least my hair looked good and I was wearing real clothes.

I heart Edward Cullen.

On Saturday the weather was gorgeous and I was about to go insane. Sabrina and I met for a run in the park, which finally reopened (although it is again closed today because of the Nor'easter.) We entered the park at 79th, ran the Harlem Hills, cut across the 72nd Traverse, and then walked home. I am apparently super slow and dying of lung failure. In my defense, Sabrina had trained for the NYC Marathon while I am still recovering from running Yonkers straight up drunk. (More on that another day.)

After the run (sorry no pictures), I went to write my FY13 priorities at Dylan Murphy's. I get a surprising amount of work done there. Maybe I should ask for a home office there...

Then I went to yoga.

Mariko Hirakawa teaches Hatha Yoga & Meditation from 5 to 6:30 PM on Saturday evenings. This is the same instructor who teaches vinyasa yoga on Tuesdays at 50th & Broadway.

Multi-purpose Matty M leggings

The official outfit of Hurricane Sandy was black leggings. Everyone was wearing them. I own enough pairs that I hung out in them, slept in them, ran in them, did yoga in them, went out in them, and am still wearing them (no joke, wearing a pair at work right now). I only sent out my laundry once. Never wearing pants again.

Oh yes. We went out on Saturday (a little bit against my will) and I broke my phone again. Hello iPhone #13.

Marathon Training?

Last Monday I finally went for a long run. It occurred to me that I have a few marathons this fall and that I should I probably train for them.

Knowing that I had an important job interview the next day (still waiting to see if I made the second round), I took off for Central Park. I even gave my Garmin enough time to locate its satellites before leaving.

It was really hot out and I haven't been for a run in a long time. I brought a bottle of water but also realized I hadn't really eaten all day. I just don't feel that hungry anymore and then I eat a bunch of junk at night. I decided to focus less on my performance and use the run to get outside of my head for a while.

the hill

My face after getting up the first Harlem Hill and seeing this piece of work.

You've got to be kidding me...

Yeah, I scored these Zog Sports shades at Governors Ball.

It didn't really work that way. Instead I was entirely in my head, planning the many different ways I might one day run into the most recent ex. I've put a lot of thought into this (hello 9 miles!) and I still can't decide if I actually miss him, or if I'm struggling to comprehend how someone could dump me and then not drunk dial me for an entire month. Yes. An entire month. This guy either has the greatest restraint of all time, or he hates me. As more time passes, I think it's the latter. And that's what bothers me so much. What did I do to him? For years I have been able to take responsibility for the failure of my relationships. I'd have broken up with myself to be honest. But this is eating at me. I've never believed it when people claim, "It's not you, it's me," but maybe this time it was him?

The benefit of obsessively plotting out future encounters (which will never happen because I can't imagine ever having a reason to visit the areas he frequents) is that I added distance to my run. I had entered the park at 84th near the Met and made a counterclockwise loop. When I got to the east side of the 79th traverse, I made a left for an additional Columbus Circle loop. I hit 9 miles after exiting the park and running back down 5th towards 82nd Street.

9 miles.

It was a good run, made better by my newer pair of Adrenaline 11s. Long runs suck in shoes with no cushioning. I'm over the barefoot running movement. I just wish I had remembered to get dinner before leaving for the run because I definitely bonked while figuring out what to eat.

Just a little delirious.