Running Skirt

So apparently I have my post already written for me:

"Went to Central Park to run a 5-mile race. Ran it in about 48 minutes, then went out to breakfast."

And while this pretty much sums up the morning, I think I would like to share a few more thoughts about the run. It seems that many who are not from New York are under the impression that New Yorkers are rude and impatient folk. However, I noticed today that this does not include the New York runner. As Danny mentioned, there were over 6000 people in the Poland Springs 5 mile race this morning, and after the horn blew at 9am to start the race, it took a good few minutes before I got a chance to start running. There was no pushing or shoving or racing ahead. After the few thousand people ahead of me started running, I walked and got to the starting point and then the running commenced. I was quite shocked at the calmness that surrounded me as the race started. In the beginning I found it hard to move at the pace I wanted but eventually people spread out.

I finished the first mile at 8:50 pace but slowed down for the remaining four miles. I was happy that I kept my pace under 10 minute miles. At some points I felt like I was running quite slowly and at other times I was breezing past my fellow runners. I don't have a Garmin so it's hard to say what my exact pace was but I enjoyed the challenge of running and finding an empty space to move in to and move forward past the next runner--kinda like driving on the highway.

I enjoyed the many costumed runners in honor of Halloween. My favorite was a guy that was holding handle bars and ringing a bell while fellow runner friends surrounded him and said "Make room for Lance."

I want to congratulate my friend David on running the marathon in D.C. today. I look forward to hearing about his run. I also want to wish good luck to my friend Mimi who is a fellow "running skirt" and will be running the marathon next week.

I'm quite enjoying this new running hobby and am hoping that there will be many more runs in the future.

Well, only three miles. It's supposed to be an easy three this afternoon but it's cold and I am lazy. So to make sure I run, I decided to post now. On Wednesday I went with Akiva to the track. I think to have an effective tempo run one needs a watch. And yes, I said a few weeks ago I would get one but I didn't and so I'll have to put it as a priority on my to-do list. The highlight of the tempo run on Wednesday was the bright green parrots that I saw building a nest in the lighting above the track. There were about seven of them--beautiful and green--I don't think they could have been any other kind of bird but a parrot. Perhaps some escaped from someone's home and now live in the wild a.k.a. The Bronx.

In other news I now have my iTunes working again. I had made the mistake of downloading version 7. It didn't work and now I am back to version 6. It's wonderful to have my music again but eventually I will have to deal with this version seven problem because I will be buying an iPod in the near future and the new ones are only compatible with the new version. In the meantime I have my music blasting in the apartment and it's wonderful to listen to it.

A good weekend to all!

Going in to the run yesterday I was nervous. The goal was ten miles and it seemed somewhat unattainable. The last long run I had done was nine miles but the whole week of not feeling great on and off I felt had slowed me down. On Friday, Akiva and I ran five miles and those five miles were tough!! Thankfully I had a nice relaxing weekend and felt really ready for the run. We decided to go down the West Side highway. The weather was perfect--a little on the chilly side but once I started moving I quickly warmed up. I loved that this route was flat! After the five mile marker I knew that the route back would be the same and this propelled me onward. Akiva and Danny ran a few paces ahead of me for most of the run. I kind of enjoyed looking at all the people and the Manhattan scenery (all the huge buildings on my left and the water and boats on my right) but being in my own little world at the same time. I am always afraid when I run by myself that I will just give up at the moment I get the slightest bit tired. Seeing them in the near distance kept me moving. All in all it was a good run. It felt good to get to ten miles. I'm almost at my goal of thirteen. Phili here I come!

I haven't been feeling well this week so Monday's goal of 4.5 miles turned into Tuesday's goal of 4 miles. It was pouring rain yesterday so I decided to run on the indoor track in the gym. The whole setup is really kind of nice. There is a raised track above the basketball court that is nice and soft on the knees. Here's the problem with it: 20 laps = 1 mile. So of course I had to run each lap saying "one one one" to keep track of where I was. It's also disappointing when you get to twenty and have to start again at one. All in all it was a good run. I hadn't run since Friday so I felt ready to run and I was feeling better and had some energy.

This morning however was terrible. Apparently I am still not feeling as well as I could be, I haven't eaten that much in the past few days and apparently all my energy went to to the run yesterday because after 1.5 miles I had to walk the rest of the way. I was exhausted. So my next run will be on Fridady and I will just rest and make sure I am in good shape for the weekend.

Friday I did nine miles. Danny had done eight the week before while I had stayed at seven so I knew the jump from seven to nine was going to be challenging. It was hard!! The first half was hard, the second half was hard. It didn't get any easier. I'm not sure if I believe in this runners' high. Or perhaps one has to run for longer than two months to experience it. In any case, I survived. I was really sore on Saturday. But Sunday was better and today I'm ready to run.

The Jewish holidays are over now so I am looking forward to getting back to the routine of long runs on Sundays and not Fridays.

Today's goal: 4.5 miles.

Yesterday: a typical run in the Bronx--running with the cowboys



This morning Danny and I changed it up a bit and worked on some speed training. I had never been to this track before or any track for that matter in a long time. It was a lot softer than I expected. I ran a loop and walked a loop for a total of about four miles-sixteen times around the track. I didn't have a watch with me so I am not sure of my times but my calves were tired at the end and the loops that I ran I tried to run pretty hard. It was a lot of fun and a nice change of pace. Looking forward to doing it next week-with a watch.

In other news, my Ravens lost this week to the Denver Broncos 13-3. Coming into the game we were 4-0 so it was difficult to watch them lose. Hopefully they are resting this week and planning a good game for Sunday!!

This past weekend I went home to Baltimore for the Jewish holiday of Succot. Being that I am Sabbath observant, I don't drive cars during Sabbath or most of the holidays. Yet I've never let that stop me from getting around. I live about a mile from the closet shul so walking to services always took about twenty minutes. From there I would go and visit friends and walk back home. It was never a big deal to me but this time I wondered how far I actually walked throughtout the day. So I used my favoriate Gmaps Pedometer and learned that I walked a fair amount yestserday! While it wasn't all at once, I felt that if I wasn't running, at least I got some good walking in in addition to seeing my family and friends.

The week flew by and tomorrow will be a busy day. I am off to Baltimore for the weekend and will leave tomrorow at 12. So this afternoon I borrowed by roommates's iPod and off I went to City Island. Seven miles. I took a break yesterday from running so today I felt really refreshed as I ran--no knee pain even at the finish line.

I know that I need to purchase an iPod of my own. I'll get there. In the meantime my favorite song of the day from Yael's collection was Christina Aguilera's "Ain't no Man". Can't get it out of my head.

Danny, have a great trip to Cleveland.

Akiva, have a wonderful time in Israel.

So far this week I ran on Monday and Tuesday night. I have always been under the impression that exercising at night is not the best thing to do. Some people have told me this is a myth. However, I am starting to believe the myth has some truth. The Monday night run was done following a 25 hour fast--Yom Kippor. While the day was quite exhausting-it was more of a mental exhaustion and after a light break-fast I was ready for a run. We ran about 4 miles. It felt good to move around after praying all day. Then some of my upstairs neighbors decided they were making pancakes at midnight. I can't turn down pancakes and after leaving their apartment at about 1:30 I still wasn't ready for bed. That night I didn't go to sleep until about 3:30am. At the time I attributed my lack of sleepiness to the fact that it felt more like a Saturday night than a Monday night.

Last night I ran at about 10:00pm. Akiva and I decided that since it was going to be a short run we would pick up the pace. We did about 9:30 miles which for me was quite tiring--but it felt good. I think for the shorter runs I will try and keep this pace but for the longer runs I will slow it down a bit. Coming back from the run I felt energized and didn't go to sleep until after 2:30am.

I don't think these two nighttime runs can tell me if this myth is true or not. Perhaps I will investigate the matter more...