This was a busy week, I didn’t get much sleep, but it was all worth it. Here are are some pics I got Friday night:
And yesterday was the last day of Summer Streets, a city event that occurs three Saturdays in August… Basically, they block traffic on Park Avenue (that turns into Lafayette) from 72nd street in the Upper East Side all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge.
This is the third year they did this and it’s so much fun. Avoiding pavement has become my religion, but I really couldn’t miss it. Check out the osomness:
SmartCoach called for 16 miles yesterday (18M next Saturday, 20M the week after that) at 9:11 pace. Sixteen milers are usually a mess for me; as they’re not 18, 20, or 22 milers I didn’t use to take them seriously and I usually paid the price. So I made sure I was ready and loaded!
We started in the park, as they also make 72nd street pedestrian to link the park to Park Avenue; Blaise and I headed out at a really good pace, way below 9mm. By Mile 5 we went by the Dumpster Pools, heard of them?
It’s been so hot in NYC this summer that apparently, we’re willing to jump into anything refreshing. This is a more accurate version:
You have to get your “appointment” so it was a good time to be out there to get bracelets for later. We continued the run, through Midtown, Union Square, Noho, Soho, Nolita, Chinatown, all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge is usually too crowded to run through, but it was early so went for it, we run a bit through Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza and then back through the Manhattan Bridge.
I don’t care what people say about this city, this place is an oasis for a runner!!! The view from the Brooklyn Bridge of the city is ridiculous, and the views from the Manhattan bridge (of the Brooklyn Bridge) were just breathtaking. Running on Park Avenue: priceless… I’ve been living here for a while now and I still can’t get over how gorgeous this place is, and how amazing your runs can be. Ah, I am really hearting NYC this week!
Added to the whole city gloriousness, there was an extra factor to make this run osom. Once a year, I get a run with Blaise where I am NOT the one trying to keep up and b!tching to no end. You never know when it’ll happen, or how bad it’ll be for him, but he probably does something *not so smart* they day before (cough, cough, happy hour, too many beers, cough) and all of a sudden I am the pacer and he’s me! I feel bad for him, but it’s the only one run a year I feel super fast and strong. Happy non-birthday to me! Thanks B! You’re safe now until next year from a run like this!
I felt so good when I got home that (after my chocolate muffin) I did two hours of core/strenght/flexibility, just because. I credit the TOTALLY OSOMness of this run to the fantastic course and the three desserts (YES, THREE) I had Friday night. The pace was faster than required: 16.37 miles in 2:23; an 8:25 pace. Very very happy with it. Put your hands in the air and screamHORSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
runningandthecity 