Sunday Long Run

I only learned Saturday night that I had to move the clock forward an hour, so I wasn't excited about losing an hour this weekend. I thought that would carry over to my attitude about running Sunday morning, but I was surprised that I wasn't fazed at all. I was even eager to get out up and early so I could finish my run early.

I left the apartment at about 6:30, giving myself ample time to reach the GWB lighthouse by 7:30. I decided to run straight up Broadway since I'd never gone walking past the 80's. The neighborhoods looked the same up until Columbia. Past that, it felt a little more shady, so I took a left at 125th to the west side highway route. I didn't feel unsafe this morning, but I just didn't like the neighborhood.

I arrived at the lighthouse at about 7:25, a distance of just over 7 miles from home. I stretched out for a couple of minutes while I waited for Ansky, then continued on figuring I'd meet him. I did just a minute later, and we headed back south. He was in mile 2 and I was in mile 7.

When I go on my long runs, I don't like to carry anything with me. That includes liquids or gels. And at this time of year, public water fountains are still off. We stopped at Fairway Market at 130th St. around mile 9 for me, but they were still 8 mins from opening. I didn't want to wait. I figured I could just plug along until 42nd St, but I wasn't so sure since that was another 5 miles away.

I've been training without water on these long runs to get my body to adapt to slightly lesser hydration hoping to prevent cramping. Thankfully I didn't cramp up today. I was able to get a bottle of water at nearly 15 miles into the run, the longest I've ever gone without a drink. In the end, I didn't even treat myself to a smoothie as I usually do because I actually felt pretty decent. Instead, I had a couple of servings of Vita-coco, blueberry waffles topped with peanut butter and a banana. Yep, I'm trying to replenish with healthy foods and save the junk for later.

Today's long run was quick and pleasant. The GWB area was quite serene. I felt like I was in a painting as I ran along the water. And running back with Ansky was motivating. I sense he's gotten faster and I think he'll do pretty well in the NJ marathon. And that motivates me to want to train better.