Sunday, March 21, 2010

Days 29-31: Unexpected accomplishment

Ouch. I went to a Pilates class on Friday to help re-limber my stiff legs, and that did help, but there were still a couple of deeply sore spots that made me aware of every step I took. I was not looking forward to Saturday morning's Central Park group run. Luckily, I didn't make it!

Let me explain. A friend of mine is moving to London in a week, and Friday night was the last chance to see him for a while, and perhaps ever. I thought I could still manage both - go out early, refrain from drinking, come home early, wake up early. After all, early birds catch the train in time. Or something. I forgot I was dealing with chronically late people, though, and didn't make it out until after midnight. I still thought I'd be able to make the run, so I managed to resist peer pressure and not drink all night, but the only person my 6:30 alarm effectively woke up was Stacey. (Sorry, Stace!)

It worked out reasonably well, though. When I eventually woke up to temps in the high 70s, I brought a vase of flowers out onto a ledge of my balcony, pulled out a yoga mat, and stretched to the soothing sounds of "Funky Town," Billy Idol, and the glass vase being blown over the ledge and shattering. I jumped up and stared over the edge in shock. My dead from neglect artfully dried roses, now trapped in a small, strange, empty, walled-in rectangle! A previously unnoticed, be-Speedo'd man tanning in his backyard asked me if I was OK. I was so startled that I jumped, looked at him, looked at his Speedo, looked back at him, gave a thumbs-up, and scurried back out of his sight-line.

After that, I felt a change of scenery was in order, so I headed down to Brooklyn, which I know is the site of some of Stacey's running routes. I couldn't find my pedometer, so I wasn't able to track my distance, but I did bring my stopwatch. All in all, I was out there for an hour and a half, plus a couple of minutes to 1) drink from the public bathroom sink in McCarren Park and 2) buy a Gatorade, because public tap water is not the most refreshing and satisfying possibility. (Jeez, I feel like I should be getting paid for this endorsement.)

I was still trying for length and endurance over speed, so I spent most of my time walking at a tourist's pace. Granted, it was the pace of a tourist from New York who can't wait to get to the other side of some podunk town with one stop sign and who occasionally runs in terror after spotting some Children of the Corn, but a tourist nonetheless. I'm not sure what that last sentence was. What I mean is that I walked fast, and sometimes I would run for a block or two. My only pains this time were a dry throat, chapped lips, and developing jello legs with leaden feet after about an hour. I was draaaaagging, and my form was starting to resemble Phoebe's, except with a level of enthusiasm closer to "zombie" than her "manic squirrel."

After a few sips of Gatorade, I actually did perk up a bit. Whether or not that was from a placebo effect, I don't know. But I did, near the end of my march, run up a set of stairs that takes you up to the Pulaski Bridge. It was only about 2-3 flights, so it's not like I was Rocky, but it's something. When I got home, Stacey told me about the site Map My Run, where you can put in your route and get the mileage, elevation, etc. I meandered down a lot of side streets, so this is only an approximation, but I apparently completed a little over seven miles. That's an average of under 13 mph. I'm honestly a little shocked and disbelieving. It's not exactly fast, but at that pace, I'd finish the half in well under three hours, and I didn't even think I was putting much effort into speed.

Lessons learned: 1) Next time, bring Chapstick and a small bottle of a sports drink, if possible. 2) Get music. I have a mini mp3 player that can clip onto my shirt, but I lost the cord that charges it. Do you know how boring it is to run for ninety minutes and have nothing to listen to? (It's extremely boring.)

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Hey, I'm not going this for my health! Well, I sort of am, but I'm also doing it to help find a cure for Crohn's and colitis. Please donate and help me get to Boston to complete my journey!

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