Thursday, June 19, 2008

June 15, 18, 19 Riverside Park

I have been doing my usual run in the Riverside Park. On Sunday afternoon, I ran along with Laukik. He runs too fast for me so I let him go ahead and tailgated him throughout. The afternoon heat was getting unbearable and annoying, I was showing clear signs of PMS viz, short-temper, irritation, lack of patience. I somehow chugged on for 2.5 miles and was glad to get done with it.

After a rest of 2 days, I got back into my running shoes and ran from 120th St to 66th St in the park. I had intended to run 4 miles but Google maps tells me that I ran about 5.5 miles. My legs aren't too tired. Running feels less of an effort now. Maybe its the weather (Cool 60s). Maybe its my shoes (I switched back to my old running shoes, the new ones are too cushiony and feel like lead weight, I am heading back to Jack Rabbit to get them changed). Maybe its the music (I was listening to the Kiss FM radio channel). Maybe its the strength-training in the gym (I did it twice this week, wonder if it has instant benefits). Maybe its my hormones. Maybe its all of the above. I hope this streak continues.

The Hudson River is my new best friend. I see him thrice a week and he is happy to run along with me :)

2.5, 5, 5 miles

June 14 Central Park Reservoir

We did our Asha group run on Saturday morning. Our entire group ran along with Coach Jane to the reservoir and then we set off for a round of the reservoir. We met again and ran back to the Asha tree. Coach Courtney got us to do the stretches and then we grabbed bagels and gatorade for breakfast.

Ran about 3.5-4 miles.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

June 10 and 11 - Riverside Park

I have been doing the same 4 mile route in the Riverside Park in the past 3 days. It is soon going to get really boring.

On Tuesday, Tejas and I walked/ran as far as the 79th St Boat Basin and the pier that juts into the river. In the evening, we went to the Jack Rabbit store on 14th St and bought running shoes. We both got ASIC Nimbus. The shoes have gel in the soles and give good cushioning. My knees are very grateful. The shoes are slightly heavier than my current ones and cost a small fortune (120 bucks). They look a bit ugly (white, silver, frost blue) but who cares.

On Wednesday, I was on my own. The riverside path near 96th st was blocked by police barriers. A car had skidded off the 96th St exit ramp and fallen into the Hudson river in the early morning hours. The NYPD divers were looking for the car and any people overboard. News article here, photos here.

Monday, June 9, 2008

June 9 Riverside Park

I did 4 miles in the Riverside Park in the morning on the usual route. There is a major heat wave this week with temperatures soaring to 100 deg F. It feels just like Mumbai in the month of April-May... hot and humid. I tried to avoid the heat by starting early but even 8 am isn't good enough. As the summer progresses and my runs become longer, I am going to have to change my schedule to sleep early, wake up early and start running by 6 am. I have started drinking protein shakes after my runs, need to start strength training soon.

June 7 - Asha group Saturday run

We ran 4 miles in Central Park on Saturday morning. Our pacer insisted that we run slowly and build up endurance. You should be able to run at a comfortable pace and be able to keep up a conversation with your buddies all along. My running buddies were Jyotsna and Shabnam. Thanks to them I ran most of the distance stopping only for a couple of water breaks.

The NYRR women's mini 10K was in progress at the same time on our route. The first of the runners reached the 4 mile mark in 20 minutes. That's 5 mpm. Compared to my measly 12 mpm, those women were literally sprinting all the way.

Post-run we did some stretches, abs, and planks with coach. The easy pace running and the stretches helped ease out the stiffness in my legs. We grabbed some bagels and gatorade and waited to cheer some of the Asha ladies who were passing through towards the 10K finish line.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

June 3-4 Lexington, MA

I am visiting my cousins in Boston this week. I did my regular run on a footpath near their place.
Running here isn't as much fun as in New York city, but I am thankful that this place atleast has a footpath along the road. My legs feel kinda sore and are crying for strength training and yoga. Need to take that up ASAP.

2 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles on Wednesday.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

May 31 Asha team

The plan for the day was to do a timed 1 mile run and then go for a 4 mile relaxed run in Central Park. We met at 8:30 in the morning at the Asha tree in the park. I was a bit worried that I might not be able to run at all as I had consumed a significant amount of alcohol and slept fitfully (if at all) the previous night. I guess running is more about will power than physical ability. I told myself, "You got to what you got to do", and set off.

I did the mile in 10:43 and then went ahead for the long run. I was feeling quite dehydrated and took several water breaks on the round trip from lamp post 6202 that marks the 62nd St to 02-something that marks 102nd St. Surprisingly, I had no aches and pains and felt good to go for the rest of the day.

May 28 Central Park and East River

Tejas and I set out for a fun run on Wednesday evening. That's usually our thing when we go out. I want to run the target distance and Tejas just wants to take it easy and have fun walking and looking around. We manage to strike a compromise that we finish up my target distance first and then just head downtown to reward ourselves with a sumptuous meal.

We set out to Central Park at about 6 pm and headed to the reservoir, my favorite place in the park. The reservoir is a huge manmade water body that lies between 86th and 96th St. There is an asphalt running track around it measuring about 1.6 miles. It is the perfect running track, very kind to the knees.

We did 2.5 miles around the reservoir and then got out on the east side of the park and headed towards the East river. As we walked by the Met, Tejas was in awe of the structure, it was his first sight of the museum. Made a mental note to visit the Met more often.

We crossed over to the east side and ran along the track upto the Queensboro bridge E59th St. The track ended abruptly. It was a bit disappointing as we had originally planned to go all the way to the Village. We got back on to the street and walked to Sarvanaas on 26th and Lex. Sarvanaas belongs to the famous chain of South Indian restaurants from Chennai. Their 14 mini idly and kaima idly appetizers are deadly. So is their buttermilk and filter coffee. We devoured the food in no time and hopped on the subway back home.

Ran 3.5 miles, walked another 3 miles.

May 27 Riverside Park

It started raining at 6 o'clock, my usual time to head out for a run. I was quite frustrated as I had skipped the run on Monday and skipping Tuesday would be really bad for my schedule. It was pouring like it rains in Mumbai but miraculously the rain stopped and by 7 pm the sky had cleared up and you could see the sun. This is one great thing about Daylight Savings Time. It is bright outside even at 8 in the night. I quickly changed into my running gear and took along a windbreaker and cap and set out to Riverside Park.

Riverside Park runs along the Hudson river on the west side of Manhattan from W79th St to W125th St. It houses tennis courts, skateboarding rinks, baseball fields and a narrow garden walkway. There is a bike trail cum running path right along the edge of the river. I love running on that path. The river is very serene and dotted with a few ships, sailing yachts and gulls. Geo Washington bridge makes for a great landscape. In the evening the sky and river are splashed with shades of pink, blue, lavender.

I ran from 116th St to 79th and then I turned back and ran all the way to 125th. That's about 5 miles. I need to get a running meter for this blog.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Minuteman bike trail

On Sunday June 1st, Laukik and I met his ex-colleague friends Rago and Jake for a bicycling trip on the Minuteman trail. We planned to meet at about 10 am, rent some bikes and helmets from a local shop and set off. It turned out that the bike rental shop wouldn't open until noon (what kind of arrogance is that? this shop belongs to the exquisite breed of Puneri shopkeepers. for more insight visit here)

We were faced with the prospect of twiddling our thumbs for atleast a couple of hours when Jake opened up his very own bike shop to us. The man has 4 bikes in his house. His brother Andy is into repairing and assembling bikes. He has hacked up and assembled a bike from spares. I was riding that one. Jake owns a LeMond racing bike. He also has an antique velodrome bike that was fitted with brakes for use on the road. Laukik got that one. Jake also conjured 2 helmets for us and himself went without. Rago showed up with his own bike and our foursome was all set to go biking by 11 am.

We did the Minuteman Bike Trail, a 11 mile rail-trail that passes through Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington and Bedford, Massachusetts. The trail is more or less flat because it is built upon a railroad track. It runs through residential areas and is dotted with woods and backyards of houses. There is also a picnic spot called Spy Pond, soccer and lacrosse game fields. It is frequented by bikers, skaters and runners. It was fun to see whole families, kids and babies in tow, on bikes with a variety of contraptions (kids car seats, trailers, trailer cycles). The trail is segmented where it crosses motorable streets and at one point it goes right over the interstate highway I95/Rt128.

We rode almost non-stop from Cambridge to Bedford taking a few Gatorade breaks. It was a perfect day for staying outdoors, not too warm, not too humid. On our way back we took a lunch break in Lexington and helped ourselves to some Italian pasta and paninis at Bertuccis. Towards the end of the trail we made a pit-stop at a bike accessories and repair shop and rewarded ourselves with icecreams. My male co-bikers were quite surprised that I managed to do the round trip without many cribs and complaints :)

5 miles of running in Central Park on Saturday, 22 miles of biking on Minuteman on Sunday... This has been one hell of a fun weekend.

Map of the trail
Photos (courtesy Rago) to be added