looooong run today. we met as a group at the bottom of the George Washington Bridge. I was really excited about this run for a few reasons.. first off it's great for me because i live do damn close. i got to sleep til 7, and the only reason i had to be up that early was so i had time to eat breakfast. the other reason was because i've missed this run twice in the past seasons due to injury, so this was a real milestone for me.
the run takes us across the bridge into jersey where we run in the Palisades Park north along the Hudson river. we were running according to time since there is really no way to track our mileage. our coach told us to start our watches when we enter the park at which point we should plan on running the same time as our longest run. since we weren't counting the distance across the bridge and back it would essentially make this 2-3 miles longer than our longest run. last week's half marathon was my longest run this season, and that was 2 hours.. i figured i'd be running at a slower pace this week so i decided to run 1:10 out, which would give me about 2:20 run plus the bridge. but according to how i felt i'd cut this short if needed.
as i mentioned in my last blog we were told NO HEADPHONES. i brought mine but started the run without it. once the entire group was running across the bridge i realized why we had this rule. it was a large group, and narrow walkways with bikes and other runners trying to get by.. it was actually a bit annoying. we were going at such a slow pace that at one point i stopped and walked. once into the park the group spread out and the run was pretty amazing. palisades park is wooded and hilly, with views of the river, waterfalls etc. there was no car traffic, so it was really pretty quiet. a beautiful sunny crisp (which is a nice way of saying COLD) morning. even the voices in my head were quiet this morning. i thought about putting my headphones on, but decided against it because i was really enjoying the quiet. jsut the sound of my breath and footsteps.
i was feeling good, so i pushed the run to 1:15 before i turned around. at this point i decided i really needed some music to bring me home. i had the ipod loaded up with a live Pearl Jam show from Madison Square Garden.. so it felt like i had a whole crowd cheering me on!
The run took us so far north that i really think i saw yonkers across the river.. i have to check the map, but i think yonkers is just north of the bronx. crazy to think i ran that far!!!
now to top off the experience, when i began my run back i realized i had to pee. i debated just holding it, but looked around and decided what the heck... so i peed in the woods! you gotta do what you gotta do to get through the run! i did feel better and set back to running with a sly grin on my face.
i finished the run strong and proud of myself once again. my body feels like it got run over by a honda civic.. not enough damage to put me out, just enough to be annoying. i think next week will be a bit of an easy week then the following week will most likely put me up to 20 miles.. eeek!
time run: 2:55
miles run: 17ish
song that got me up that big ass hill: given to fly
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