Keeping it interesting...

Good run today....

Planned on doing five miles and ended closer to six. Believe it or not, it's getting easier. And more fun. There is so much joy in movement! When everything's working and your feet feel light, everything is right with the world.

I suppose the runner's high is real.

I'm pleased with my increased pace. There's a gadget at the right side of the page that shows the details of my last five runs. It may seem overly self-conscious to track these things, but keeping an eye on your pace per mile, as well as time and distance, is a marvelous motivator.

And by the way, New York City is stunning in the summertime. This evening is as perfect for running as you can imagine; temperature in the low 60's, clear sunshine and a steady breeze from the northwest. I ran along the East River, past the old guys with their fishing rods and the kids on skateboards. If you've never been to NYC, it's difficult to imagine the diversity of scenery we enjoy in such a small area.

The route that I've come to think of as the "East River South" can be run as a 4, 5 or 6 mile loop. It begins at my apartment and goes directly east (past the projects, the police station and a series of not-so-scenic autobody shops) to the East River. Crossing over the FDR Drive, I turn south and run along the recreation area... which is really just a few synthetic turf baseball fields and a lot of construction equipment. But we're getting there. Someday this will be a fantastic park.... maybe one day we'll even rival the West Side. ("When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way...") Eventually, I end up running past the massive tourist trap that is South Street Seaport. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I like South Street. The boats are cool.

But this brings me to a running challenge I wasn't expecting - finding good routes and keeping it interesting! In preparation for my 16 week training program, I've been setting down a base of between 19 and 31 miles per week. Nothing too crazy. But it does require four or five days per week in running shoes, logging between 4 and 10 miles per outing. I've quickly learned that mustering that extra motivation required to get out the door for my daily run (especially in poor weather) can be difficult. But having an interesting route helps.

Fortunately, NYC is not short of good scenery or interesting loops that keep the runner's brain engaged. In addition to my old standby (detailed above), I've been exploring to find runs that don't require dodging cars or ingesting too much exhaust. I've come up with a few favorites, some of which I'll share with you in subsequent posts. The best (the VERY best) runs I've found are in Central Park, the Crown Jewel of New York City! The map above is the one I originally used to figure out my earliest four, five and six mile routes. (Thanks to the NYC Flyers for the map.)

More details to come....