I can’t believe it’s been eight weeks! In fact, I’m sure it hasn’t. But I’ve done all I can with not running so there goes nothing in my report on the benefit of rest to my sciatic nerve. Nothing yet that is. I have hope to getting to the bottom of this but it will take some time and apparently I’m overdue a bout of patience so I’m practicing. As you can see the struggle is real as I couldn’t wait to get back in the running game – restrictions welcomed.
Blame it on Spring and the warmer (for the most part) weather. I mean I wasn’t really expected to go cold turkey like that for more than a few weeks right? Yes, that’s what I thought too. Lol. Whenever you’ve arrived at the point where you’re having conversations with yourself about running it’s time to go. And so I did.
Newbie brooklynite goes running in her comfort zone – that was me last Friday evening doing a loop of this slice of heaven right here in New York City. Listen, I rave about Central Park all the time. But the park in Spring, in full bloom, is something special. And while it wasn’t quite “full bloom” time, maybe a week or so to go, it was special enough that I had to stop every 800 feet to snap a pic. It was busy, beautiful, and best weather special. That means runners, strollers, cyclists, picnics, ball games, you name it..it was all happening under the blooming and flowering trees. That’s the New York I love my friends; city grit and grime and crowded subways and smell of pot notwithstanding. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, so sang Alicia Keys. Local legend that she is, she may be on to something.
An oasis in the desert (tho more of a concrete jungle, again, Alicia called it) is Central Park in New York City. Six miles all the way around on the outer loop, I started at the south side of the park and touched on all the major points that had been common to me only two years ago only to realize it hadn’t gotten any flatter with time. It still rolled and will give you a good workout any day of the week. Those hills tho, they hit different this time around and it was with a sense of deja vu that I found myself going through my paces on both Cat hill and Harlem hill. Phew, no shame in my game, I’m getting older. No matter, I didn’t quit and stopped only to grab some photos. Running can be therapeutic in a lot of ways and I’m guessing many others were benefitting out there that evening.
Additionally, it was nice to see past the crowd and connect with fellow runners just out for a run in a gorgeous part of the city on a beautiful spring evening. These days running can’t get much better than that so I’ll take the wins where I can get them and remain thankful for health, Central Park, and these legs o’mine. After all, we still have a lot of ground left to cover.
To each his own, but I’m akin to a dog with a bone when I’m on a mission, and there was no way I was leaving the park without accomplishing what I set out to do – all 20 miles of it. I soon figured that with the crowds, the police, and the barricades, I would be better off sticking to the bridal path which was the only place left to run that wasn’t teeming with people, for the most part anyway. Turned out nowhere was sacred and it was being used as a parking lot, which provided me and – surprise – other runners with minimal running space. Seemed I wasn’t the only one clueless or maybe the others just didn’t care, their pace certainly not indicating any kind of urgency or purpose really. In any event, what saved the day and ensured some pluses for me was the fact that though I had gotten a late start – at the height of noonday, which is only possible during Fall, though I was still testing it as we were only into the second day of it – there was a slight coolness and breeze that ensured it wasn’t a humid eighty degrees. So while it was still hot and I perspired profusely, I was running on the inside trail and not the roadway and was therefore able to benefit from the shade from overhead trees and less impact to my knees. At certain points it was even possible to tune out the people factor and enjoy the music, which was certainly loud enough. Another plus was that the water fountains were still on to which I religiously succumbed, albeit unwisely.
If you’ve ever run in Central Park on a Saturday then you know it’s better suited to early am short runs. In spite of this, I was able to tolerate the tourists with their bikes and entourages – most New Yorker’s have little patience with their slow and wandering gait – and take in the beautiful spectacle that is Fall with its colorful trees and dropping leaves. In the strangest way that Autumn is wont to do, it was able to calm me, give me focus, inspire my thanks and appreciation and encourage my finish.
runningwithfaith 