Prospect Park Outside-Inside Run

It was a blustery morning today for a 10 mile run.  I went around the outside of Prospect Park, followed by an inside loop.

Distance: 10.33 miles Time: ~90 mins (8:50 pace) Terrain: Easy- Slight slopes, but mostly flat The outer loop of Prospect park is a nice, wide sidewalk that has a straightaway slope for the first few miles (after you do the climb up the slope to the park!). It would be a great way to end a very long distance run, except for me, it slopes down away from my house. On the eastern side of the park, it's a gradual climb back up towards Brooklyn Library, but there's so much vegetation, and you pass the Zoo and the Botanical Garden so it's not bad. Then you get to finish up with an inside loop, which goes much faster since you're basically on the home stretch by then. I did this run the other night, and I must say it wouldn't be a great one to do by oneself late (after 10), when the park is less populated. Though Prospect is generally a wonderful place, the outskirts can be a bit dodgy; there are definitely people roaming the "badlands" doing illicit activities. Suffice to say, it's still pleasant to have the park to yourself, as long as you remain in the well-lit areas and/or run with a partner. The water fountains are still on, the bathrooms open till dusk, and it's all downhill home.

West Side Motorcycle craziness

As we left home for our long Sunday run, we crossed paths with a pack of motorcycles jamming down Tillary Street in Brooklyn.  I lamented not running with a camera, but we were embarking on a 20 mile run, too long to carry accessories.  We crossed the Manhattan Bridge, braved our way through Chinatown & shot up the West Side Highway to 96th street, where we saw the motorcycles again, cruising up the highway.  It wasn't until Monday that we realized what we almost witnessed.

The motorcyclists, whether on purpose or by accident, initiated a 5 minute chase with an SUV after one of the motorcycles was tapped on its rear bumper.  This story proceeded to become national news, then scandal - all I can say about the incident is that we saw the gang revving and running red lights in downtown Brooklyn, giving all motorcyclists a bad name.

Our actual run was without incident- the West Side was crowded, usual for a lovely fall Sunday in NYC.  We crossed back to Brooklyn via the Brooklyn Bridge, which I have never seen so crowded.  It was like plowing through Times Square on New Years, with tourists all snapping the same pic while standing on the line in the center of the bridge.  A much more gradual climb than the Manhattan Bridge, and perhaps a fun distraction, playing Frogger at the end of a long run, but I was glad I didn't get clipped.

Running is gross

The other day, I shredded the backs of my heels while wearing some new shoes around Manhattan.  You'd think I'd learn, being a runner, that walking in Civilian Shoes is not the way I should be getting blisters at this point in marathon training.

Which pair of shoes would you think is made for walking?  You'd be wrong.

I bought some children's flipflops ($1.99) and some Band-Aid Blister Block Cushions ($4.99) at Duane Reade - well, guess which was more effective at remedying the blisters.  Yup, the flipflops.  It was slightly suspect to wear too-small shoes around this very grimy city, but the band-aids stuck to my skin and ripped off many more layers over the next few days as I tried to remove them.

Gross, I know.  Well, guess what?  Running is gross.

When I first started marathoning, I admired my older sister for her training rigor.  She would tell me about coming home from a run and her socks would be full of blood.  Yeah.  I've experienced this a few times but have since learned the value of puffy band-aids, and I safety pin them into my running shorts so I'll have them if I start to chafe.

V is for Very Sad & Hurty.

Speaking of chafing, I've been reading more about what female runners term "the marathon tattoo"- painful chafing marks that appear after an extremely long run.  For some reason, mine have gotten worse under my arms, but I think it's because I run in cotton tank tops instead of super athlete gear.  I've tried band-aids, vaseline, Glide & whatnot, but it all disintegrates by mile 14.  Leaving me to silently scream in the shower when the salt runs into my wounds.

The grossness doesn't end there- there's sunburn, sweat & spit- not to mention other unprintable topics of running ick, but it's totally worth it (as long as I don't have to smell your Ben-Gay after a race).

I guess for the time being, I need to be wary of my everyday clothes and shoes, and work on being comfortable between runs.  Save the pain for when I train.

Race for a Beer!

Our T-shirts are here!  These awesome, limited edition shirts, designed in cooperation with Lagunitas Brewery & Omprakash are available for purchase to support our fundraising efforts for Omprakash and the NYC ING marathon.

Seriously, this is something I do almost every weekend- run through my hangover...

Race for a Beer/Running for a cure

These American Apparel 100% cotton tees are available for a limited time (until Oct. 19th)!  The front says "Lagunitas: Race for a Beer" and the back reads: "Running for a cure... for my hangover.  but really, for a reason... omprakash- connecting volunteers, classrooms & communities".  Lagunitas Brewery is awesome for allowing us to use their logo & good name, and we hope sales of these shirts will help Omprakash do some more great work in supporting volunteers & international non-profits!  Free shipping if you want to pick up your shirt from me before the race- I'll give you a beer if you want to stop by!

Or, if you don't want a shirt- just give some money directly!

The Brooklyn Bridge Park & Squibb Bridge

This summer was fantastic for running the ever-evolving Brooklyn Bridge Park.  The double-bridge views stretch from 34th street to the Statue of Liberty, and it's a mecca for tour buses and wedding photographers.  They've slowly been opening sections of pathways along the waterfront, and the indigenous plant landscaping is filling in to create beautiful terrain.

You don't have to run through this, there are paths.

And it's bouncy!

And in May, the long-awaited Squibb Park pedestrian bridge opened (with little fanfare), connecting the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to the park below.

The suspension bridge that crosses the BQE was designed with "trail bridge technology", which makes it flexible and lightweight like the boardwalks in our national parks.  So there's a slight give as you run over it, zig-zagging down to the park.




Sadly, fall has come, and so they are closing down sections of the park to begin construction on the Pierhouses, a project that is sure to last deep into 2014, thus undoing the nice running sections in South BK Bridge Park.  Instead of traipsing next to the BQE byway traffic, we shoot back up to the promenade, then loop down the Squibb Bridge, around the best parts of the park and back up Columbia hill, giving us much of the nicest parts of the park without the traffic-y air quality along the roadway.

On weekends, the new restaurants- Fornino pizza, Ample Hills ice cream & Luke's Lobster (to name a few)- attract loads of tourists and it can be somewhat of a cluster*** by the water.  I suggest running earlier or expect an obstacle course of tripods & strollers.   Or, if you can't beat em, join em- and stretch out on the grassy hill with the sweetest view ever of downtown Manhattan.

Sometimes there are scandalous sunbathers!

For a pleasant additional quarter mile, I like to loop around the new Pier 5 soccer fields, where I can give my feet a rest on some soft fake-grass turf.  

Run-spiration

Yes, there's perspiration, but today I mean to tell you about running inspiration.  Specifically, my running inspiration.

When I began training for my first marathon, I didn't enjoy running.  Quite the opposite.  It was a way for me to get in my exercise in the most efficient way, to aim for a goal, and to participate in a fun group activity (but preparing on my own time!).  I have my ups and downs and days I don't want to run, but on crisp fall NYC days like today, I love it and love that I get to be outside, enjoying the day and the beautiful views.

But back to starting out- those first few miles weren't so easy.  Here are a few of the people who helped along the way:

Hal Higdon

Hal is the most influential marathon icon for me, in that I've utilized his training programs for every marathon.  They're free, simple 18 week schedules that I just copy into my phone or a simple paper calendar.  Finally a use for those free calendars that come with magazines!  I started on the Novice schedule, but have worked my way up to Intermediate II, which has 2 20 milers in there.  He offers guidance and tips for every week, if you need support or advice on those gnarly cramps or stretching.

Also he's just an awesome runner dude, who also makes some dope art.  Hal's the real deal.

Christopher McDougall

Born to Run made me think way more about running: my technique, the history & mechanics, and other runners and their stories.  If you haven't read it, you should.  It's "A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen"- the story of the Tarahumara Indians, who run naturally, expertly, and at great lengths through the Copper Canyons of Mexico.  McDougall explores their culture, and mixes in his own narrative most entertainingly.  He changed the way I run.  

Kathrine Switzer

Kathrine has run 39 marathons, won several and is an all around great spokesperson for running.  But the story that most impresses me is how she was the first female to run the Boston Marathon in 1967.  She just jumped on in there, challenging the race officials and changing the ethos of women's athletics at a time that dudes desperately needed a female kick in the butt.  She talks about how people thought that if women ran marathons, their uteruses would fall out.  Yes, she was a wakeup call.

Prospect Park on a Sunny Run-Day

I've officially switched to MapMyRun from gmaps-pedometer. I can actually embed my running routes on here now!

It was a beautiful day for an easy Prospect Park run, my standard 7 mile loop that I save for leisurely weekends when the traffic going up Park Slope is less of an issue.

James Stranahan believed that a park in Brooklyn, "Would become a favorite resort for all classes of our community, enabling thousands to enjoy pure air, with healthful exercise, at all seasons of the year..."

Prospect Park is Brooklyn's better-than-Central-Park.  Seriously, Fredrick Law-Olmstead developed it over 30 years, fixing all the mistakes he made in Manhattan's major park.  It's a pain when there's traffic rolling through on weekdays- or when people see fit to run or bike in reverse- putting everyone in peril- but it makes a sunny day feel so much sunnier.

As long as the water fountains stay on a few more months, I'll keep up my Prospect Park weekend loop.