Without fail, I pushed through a very slow run yesterday and sadly came to realize that I hit the end. Some runners have been able to sustain longer - but I felt like it was truly time to hang up my sneakers after struggling through the 6 miles at a turtle pace and paying for it the rest of the day.
My runs are not easy - there is traffic, the uphill climb of the bridge, crossing Manhattan, then the breezy west side. It's just under 10k and is honestly the most enjoyable route I've ever run. It never gets boring. Getting onto the bridge is about 1.5 miles, and it's a good struggle. The uphill climb is a challenge, but I never found it that challenging. The descent is awesome. Then, I can either cross the city or take the long way around to make the distance 9 miles. Lately, I take the short cut.
The west side is my favorite portion, being flat, straight and along the water. I can finally zone out and not worry about tripping over potholes, being bumped into by pedestrians or hit by a maniac New York City driver. I have some people along the way that I've become buddies with - the cop who runs the bridge every morning, the awesome female construction worker that crosses me through the intersection, the stars on the WSH, the guy who runs 2 blond labs, the couple that wear really fancy running gear, the 3 women that struggle through what look like 12 minute miles but they're out there every morning, the big guy that cleans up the pier and finally, the security guard at the Google building that raises her eyebrow at me as if to say, "What are you doing running in the cold?".
I'll miss you all very much.
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