run, run, run

New York, NY 5:00 pm

I flew in to NYC this afternoon and took of on a long run after I checked into the hotel. I wondered if it was a bad idea since I'd gotten very little sleep and it was 90 degrees out. So, I planned a run with a few escape routes along the way -- shortcuts back to the hotel and subway stops if I got desperate. But I didn't need them.

I went from Lower Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge, up to Prospect Park and did a loop there, back down by the river and over to the Queenboro Bridge, crossed the bridge and down 2nd Street back to the hotel.

I wanted to keep the pace below 9 min/mile but that didn't happen. I kept it close and I might have actually made it, but the Garmin does weird things with all the tall buildings around.

New York, NY

Even though I went long last night, I wanted to get on a morning schedule for the week, so I got up and ran a few miles with Matt. We went down Broadway to Wall St. and over to the Hudson River and up to Houston. Stopped off at Au Bon Pain for some oatmeal on the way back. I figured that was the best way to avoid eating a bagel or a McMuffin for breakfast.

New York, NY 6:30 am

I felt like Monday night's long run must have caught up with me. I was really dragging the first mile or so. I never felt full of energy, but I kept up an 8:30 pace - or so, it's hard to tell in the city. Went down Canal St. (gross) to the Hudson River, down around the bottom of Manhattan and up the East River to Houston, picked up some oatmeal and back to the hotel.

New York, NY 6:30 am

This one didn't work out the way I'd hoped. Matt called at 6:15 saying he needed to sleep another hour, so I took off on my own. I had mapped out a route that seemed pretty simple. I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge and continued on to Union St. and followed it to Flushing where I was supposed to tur right. Or was it left? Left seems right. So I turned left. I should have turned right. Before long the buildings started getting smaller and scarier. I turned again in what felt like the right direction and luckily came upon a subway station, so I went down and looked at the map on the wall. I was nowhere near where I thought I was or where I wanted to be.

Now, the wise thing to do at that point would have been to get on the train and go back to Manhattan. But, since I'm not a wise person, I got my bearings and kept running. I went back to downtown Brooklyn, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and went back up Lafayette to the hotel. My 7-miler turned out to be 9.5 and I thought I was going to be late for work, but I got cleaned up and was able to walk into the office at 8:59.

New York, NY 6:30 am

I know I've said this before, but this should be my last run in NYC. I really hope I'm done with this project.

Matt and I ran across the Manhattan Bridge then back across the Brooklyn Bridge, down to Battery Park and up the Hudson River to Houston St. Kept up a pretty good pace. The Garmin had our avg. at 8.07, but in the city it could be off a bit.

As we were running down the street toward Battery Park a guy was walking down the street yelling "F-- George Bush and F-- George Bush's Mother!"

I got a blister on the back of my foot above the heel. I don't know if it's the new shoes or the new socks. Either way I'm bugged because I liked them both.

Boise, ID 7:30 am

Just a short run to start the weekend off. I got in late last night, but it is still nice get up and out on the road. I can sleep in tomorrow. After a slow first mile I picked it up and kept the pace well below 8 mpm. I wore my old shoes and couldn't feel the blister on the back of my foot at all. Not sure what to do about that.