August 8, 2008

Path of Least Resistance

scheduled my long run for today so I could do a long ride this weekend. I'm following a very basic marathon schedule given my simultaneous triathlon training so my long run was a nice, short (in the world of long runs) 10 miles. I continue to struggle with lack of running motivation and today was no different, although it only took me 1.5 hours to get out the door vs. the 2-3 recently.

I decided to head up to Central Park to run on the bridle paths. I wanted to give my muscles and joints a break from the pounding of concrete and stone on my usual routes. This turned out to be a great choice. While I struggle to get going, I really do enjoy it once I'm out there, especially on a day like today. It was about 73 degrees, partly cloudy and most of the places I ran were fully shaded by trees. The air was semi-fresh (it's still New York after all) and I was genuinely happy to be outside experiencing the day. Once I'm running, I wonder why I resist it so much. Is it really so hard to remember what I love about it? Do I forget that quickly? I wish I could get past that mental barrier and look forward to doing it.

This was the perfect run in so many ways. I barely felt my legs for 5 miles, and even after that, it was minor aches and pains, some of which were caused by the path. While the softer surface feels great on my legs, the uneven terrain stresses my ankles and makes my ITB hurt a bit. I ran my last loop around the reservoir, which is harder packed cinder and a lot more level. It definitely helped and the pain was a distant memory. I maintained a relatively consistent pace between 8:35 and 8:45 and my iPod Shuffle actually picked good music. Seeing the horses on the path just added to the enjoyment. I love New York City. Where else can you be in the center of a major metropolitan city and see horses fitting in as naturally as can be?

I finished the run and immediately stretched. The weather was just perfect so it was nice to be outside. I grabbed a chocolate milk and water from Starbucks and hopped on the train headed downtown. When I got off, the ground was soaked and everyone was carrying umbrellas. It had rained, but I had missed it. I seemed to have captured the best part of the day for my run.

All week I've been attempting to get a good video together from the Niantic Bay Triathlon. The full video is on YouTube, but the quality is not so hot. But no matter how we slice it and dice it, it just doesn't work so I can't embed it here. To see the video, click here. I'm in a pink cap and sleeveless wetsuit at the beginning and end of the swim video, and in the gray top and black shorts in the rest. What a great race this was.

Running
Distance - 10.10 miles
Time - 1:28:17

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...