Was able to get out for a 4 mile run last night, and in the daylight too! Ran to the end of East River Park and back. Finished in 35:09, a very strong time for this course. The big question is, how far can I get it down when all out in race conditions – can I get it down to 32:00? We’ll find out in 10 days…
It was nice having a bunch of other runners out in the park today, to help pull me along. Twice I came upon another runner at about the same pace as me and was able to pass the other running and keep the pace up. You never want to get passed by someone you’ve just passed yourself. In both cases I was able to stay ahead. That is also fun because most of the times, runners are blowing by me and I can only pass the walkers or very slow runners.
While the weather was still a tad too hot for my taste, it was still nice for August – 78 degrees with low humidity. The best part was actually feeling a cool breeze off the East River towards the end of the run.
One other note about East River Park. It can be an annoying place to run. The promenade has been closed and under construction since summer 2001, so runners must use the main road, which is in horrible condition- very bad footing. It also generates massively large puddles after it rains. As a rule, I can’t run the park within 24 hours of moderate rain due to the puddles. Right now, there are no puddles because it hasn’t rained in over a week. However… there is one spot where they have a water fountain/sprinkler for the kids. They obviously never shut the thing off, and something is very wrong with the drainage. Even now, with no rain in over a week, there are huge puddles in that spot, and runners/walkers have to squeeze through one narrow path that has managed to stay above water. Hate to see what that looks like after it rains!
At least the lack of recent rain has muted the smell near the Williamsburg Bridge!
