So last week I did okay with my pre Boston marathon training running. I ran 4 days last week. This week, I am shooting for five days and I started things off right on Monday. Well…right and wrong.
I decided to try something new: running halfway home from work. I work way downtown by “The Bull” and live way up on the UES. It’s getting dark so early these days, that I thought running right at 5 pm would be awesome. I decided to run from my office, up the West Side Highway bike path to about 29th street and then cut over to the east side and take the subway the rest of the way up.
A couple of things made this run sort of tougher than expected:
1. I brought shorts to wear (obviously not accepting the fall weather) and so my legs were a bit chilly on the run.
2. There weren’t as many runners as I thought there would be, so things felt a little lonely.
3. Cutting over at 29th street was not the best choice. The area felt a kind of unsafe and sketchy. I also didn’t like some of the neighborhoods I ran through to get to the east side.
All in all, I got in a pretty speedy 5.5 mile run, but I wasn’t a big fan of that route. I think there is a bike path on the east side starting downtown, so maybe I’ll give that one a shot next week. Here are my stats from the run:
Mile 1 – 8:35
Mile 2 – 8:27
Mile 3 – 8:26
Mile 4 – 8:18
Mile 5 – 10:23
.49 – 5:12
Total mileage – 5.49 in 49:24. Average pace – 8:59 minute miles.
After mile 4, as I moved into the city streets, there was a lot of stopping and starting. Here’s the map of my run.
Then just when I thought the awfulness of the run was over, I had to get on the subway filled with people staring at me. Like they’d never seen someone in running clothes before. And because I hopped on almost immediately after I stopped, my knees and legs got tight very quickly. Once I made it home, I was so eager to hop in the shower, I totally forgot about stretching.
And that leads me to this morning and the residual tightness I felt as I set off for a run with Kelly. She is nearing the end of her taper for the NYC Marathon and thank goodness I was running with her on a lower mileage day because my legs were beat. We ran a 4.5 mile loop in Central Park and with the mileage from my apt to hers, it ended up being a little over 5 miles for me. Here are the run stats:
Mile 1 – 9:34
Mile 2 – 9:22
Mile 3 – 8:39
Mile 4 – 8:46
Mile 5 – 9:39
.23 – 2:02
Total mileage – 5.23 miles in 46:35 (moving time). Average pace – 8:54 min miles (moving time). There was some definitely some stopping and waiting for traffic.
So far, my focus on running has been very good this week. I also started tracking my pre-training mileage. Writing it down helps me stay motivated. Plus, the NYC Marathon buzz could have something to do with my increased motivation as well. I’m feeding off the energy. 🙂 Soo exciting!
The best news – now that my run is out of the way, I can meet up with a friend for dinner! Hurray! Yet another reason that I’m desperate to become that early-morning runner. Baby steps. 🙂
I also have a great restaurant review coming your way tomorrow. I found a healthy hidden gem on the UES that might just become my regular hangout. It’s affordable, offers tons of vegetarian dishes, some meat and an AMAZING brunch. Check back tomorrow – and have a great Tuesday!
Eat, Read, Run 
Great job on the runs! Sometimes you have to be creative with scheduling your runs, today I’m running during lunch. I’m running home to walk the dog and then running back to work…. about 6 miles round trip. My current goald is running 3 times per week, should up it to 4 but like you said baby steps! Also need to work on getting up for morning runs too…. so hard with it being dark till after 7 right now.
I cannot believe it was a year ago now that I did NYC So hard not to get pumped with a marathon like that in your city. Enjoy dinner tonight!
Thanks! Yes – I’m finding that switching things up is helping me stay on track. Slow build. I totally forgot that you ran NYC last year and ROCKED it!! I loved your recap. It is such a great race – I can’t wait to run it next year.
I love that run! I work down buy the “Bull” too so I either run on the Eastside Highway or Westside Highway home. Try cutting in at 23rd street on the west side than 29th street. Its a little less “sketchy”!
Oh and I think the Eastside as more people running after work…and some softball games going on so you might not be as lonely!
I think I’m going to try running on the East Side up next week – thanks!
I’m a huge fan of running home from work. It saves time, money and is an awesome stress reliever at the end of the work day! Don’t be too discouraged that your first attempt at a wardrobe/route wasn’t spot-on, I’ve revised how I do mine over and over. And yay for pre-boston marathon training! I’m STILL waiting on my confirmation, how is that possible!?
Still?! Well – there were a TON of people who registered. My qualifying race was in May 2010 – maybe they are checking by race date?
Hooray for morning running! If you’re up for an easy 6-ish tomorrow morning, let me know! Woohoo, I’m glad the NYC excitement is getting you going 🙂
Also, I am uber intrigued about this restaurant…I will stay tuned!
I’m not sure what time I’ll be home tonight – so I don’t want to commit to an early morning run and then flake out on you. But how about a nice recovery run one morning next week after the marathon? I understand if you need a break though.
You will LOVE the restaurant!
Way to get the miles in! I HATE running through sketchy areas. I get creeped out so easily! Looking forward to the review 🙂
I’ve done a run or two like that…you just want it over b/c you know you are not running in the best locale! Good for you for starting to ramp up some mileage already!
Great job on Early morning runs.
Keep revising your route until you feel safe!!
Definitely try the east side path, start at Battery Park and go straight up! It ends around 34th.