!
The last time I ran it was in 2017 when my running friend Susan and I went down. We were both out of shape, but even for back-of-the-pack runners like ourselves it was an enjoyable weekend. We've always found cheap transportation (like the Bolt Bus) and cheap accommodations (like youth hostels) and reasonable restaurants (no such thing as cheap restaurants).
This year, quite by accident, long time running friend Tim posted on my running club's (NY Flyers) Facebook page the fact that the Cherry Blossom admitted seeded runners for the various age groups, so if you qualify you can skip the lottery and you get to start right after the elite runners. I figured that would be out of my league, but I looked anyway (here's the page with the qualifying times: ) and to my surprise, the time required for my age group (75 – 79) was 1:45:00 and I had bested that just last February in the by almost 5 minutes (1:40:35).
So I thought "Yipee! I’m in! I actually qualified as an age group seeded runner in the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler." And although I’ve run it 7 times, this is the first time I met any qualifying standards. In fact it was the first time I even knew there were seeded age group qualifying standards. And thanks to Tim for the tip-off.
But I was worried (I always worry) that my qualifying race, my 2018 Cherry Tree 10 Miler (in February 2018), although within the one year limit for qualifying, would be about 2 months beyond the limit measured from the date of the Cherry Blossom race (in April 2019). But this letter settled that concern and I'm now registered for the race.
Dear Richard:
Congratulations, you have qualified as a seeded runner for the 2019 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile on April 7 by bettering our seeded runner standards posted at this link .
... details omitted ...
We hope you will join us on the Washington Monument Grounds at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 7, 2019.
Sincerely,
Marlene Yencho
Seeded Runner Coordinator, Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile
So with that Christmas present I ended the 2018 blog.
That's two "hopefully"s in two bullet points, so let's see what we can do. With that in mind we commence
this blog ...
he last post I made to this blog was about having a fall in the subway (it was theATrain) and a few tentative runs I took after that and I figured it would be my last post of the year. But on last Saturday, almost a month later, my running partner Susan and I did a very nice run from the George Washington Bridge to Indian Road Café an old favorite of ours.
Susan had actually started in the Upper East Side and she had already logged about 6 miles and I helped her complete her "longish" run. And although I didn't set any speed records, it was no longer a tentative run for me. In short, it was a much more positive last run of the year than the previous runs. And I got to the GWB also via theATrain, so that subway line is not jinxed.
We followed Fort Washington Avenue up to Fort Tryon Park, arguably the most beautiful park in the city. It was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (son of the Frederick Law Olmsted, who along with Calvert Vaux, designed and laid out Central Park). Olmsted was hired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who not only bought the land from a number of wealthy land owners, but bought out similarly wealthy land owners who had built estates across the Hudson along the Palisades TO PRESERVE HIS VIEW! and then built The Cloisters (also here), and gave the whole thing, to New York City. Read the history on that link and you'll be astounded.
And By The Way, if you've never visited The Cloisters, do it. You won't be disappointed.
The first area of the park we passed through was the Heather Garden. We quickly visited the highest point in the park (at the the flag pole) which is one of two of the highest points in Manhattan with great views in all directions.
Then we went down and over a col and headed up to The Cloisters, shown in the the photo on the left. We were impressed by the colors of the flora along our entire route, particularly since this was in winter. We took some paved paths on the left of the Cloisters which circle around and down to the old Riverside Drive and thence via Payson Avenue to Dyckman Street.
There are a couple of ways to go from Dyckman Street: you could stay on Payson and you'll circle around Inwood Hill Park, or go right (east) one block on Dyckman to Seaman Avenue, which we took since I recalled it was easier since Payson had more elevation gain (and loss). In about a half mile we came to the Farmers Market on Isham Street which we skipped today. Instead, we moved onto an Inwood Hill Park walkway to avoid a little more elevation gain (and loss). What's with this elevation gain stuff? Are we wimps? It wasn't "we", it was "me" (forgive the case, but I couldn't resist the rhyme.)
Now, several hundred very pleasant yards later we reached the extreme north-east corner of Inwood Hill Park,
and we were right across from Indian Road Café aka "The Last Café on the Only Road in Manhattan"
which is true: it is the most northerly eating establishment in Manhattan, and to the best of my knowledge, Indian Road
is the only street, way, avenue, circle, slip, etc. or the like in Manhattan called a "Road". Of course there
were the old Kingsbridge Road and the old Bloomingdale Road, but they disappeared under the Manhattan street grid
and under Central Park long, long ago.
t was, I think in July of 2011 (see intro to the 2012 Run to the Tip of Manhattan) when we discovered Indian Road Café. At first I thought it was South Asian food and I said I wasn't in the mood for that. But Susan said, no, that's the name of the road. So we went in and loved the place and we try to return there whenever we do a run in that area.
Over the years the place has stayed mostly the same. Sometimes overflowing with customers with a long wait time to get a table. Sometime practically empty. The menu has always been special, maybe a little like a French bistro.
Today there were a few (minor) annoyances: the piano was a bit too loud, and I thought the beer selection was a little sparse. But I finally got a Fat Tire Amber Ale and that was just fine. Susan said they're brewed in Colorado and for a long time were not sold east of the Mississippi.
I had a satisfying Salmon Benedict and Susan had an equally fine Huevos Racheros. After brunch we ambled out and did a little walking around. We were in no hurry.
Once outside Susan checked her iPhone which said the best way home was to take the1Train at 215th Street, which seemed a little off (we usually take theATrain at 207th Street), but who cares.
Across 218th Street we noticed a ramp leading down to the water. There was a dock there (permit required) and beautiful views of the Henry Hudson Bridge (see photo above, left), the big Columbia "C" on the far shore and the marshland looked perfect for bird watching in spring.
As we walked up 218th Street we had a good look at Columbia University's Baker Field (technically called the "Wein Stadium at the Baker Athletics Complex"). We usually see it from Broadway but from this side it looked bigger and newer than we remembered. As we continued up towards Broadway I said "Shall we really take the1Train?" and she said "Sure, but let's walk over the Broadway Bridge and get it at 225th Street." We kidded a bit about how we would still technically be in Manhattan and then hit the stairs. Boy, this was the worst uphill we hit all day. Susan, of course soldiered on.
We got in the next train (above right) and both of us agreed it was one of most pleasant runs we'd taken all year.
And as Susan got out at 86th Street, with a parting "Happy New Year", I agreed.
uoting from the SeedPass class description:
"All speed workouts will be geared towards improving your running economy, aerobic power and endurance;
three key components to becoming a stronger runner. To do this effectively each member will have
individualized paces for every workout they do and a coach screaming like crazy to keep them motivated
at practice!"
Here's a complete overview of the program on the NY Flyers' web site:
.
My workouts were geared to the last race I ran in 2018 which was a 5K I ran in Riverside Park on December 2nd. I finished in 32:06 minutes which was a bit off my best pace for 2018, but it was a hilly course. This finishing time is used to compute a number called your V.O2 that characterizes your fitness, and from this number the speed and number of "repetitions" or "reps" make up the workout. Each week, the day before the workout, the coach emails the specifics:
Example: Workout #1 January 8th:
The group is divided into sub-groups who share a similar (though not identical) V.O2. For example in my group you might have runners running the 200M reps at between 1:00 and 1:30 minutes. This way there is a natural tendency to keep up with you colleagues which helps with your motivation.
Each week a certain combination
of running economy, speed and endurance is emphasized and after 3 or 4 weeks you should feel more
comfortable in the workouts. And the important thing is that every individual has a different V.O2s and
thus a different speed target for the reps which matches their fitness level. It works, last summer I improved my
5K times noticeably. The winter session lasts 16 weeks and we are about half way through.
rolewskie Jadlo (), is a Polish restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but not just a restaurant but the best Polish restaurant west of Szczecin (huh? Google it). And since my running partner Susan and I almost always run to an eating place (preferably one that serves beer), this venue has always been a favorite on our list of runs. We've run there from the north (usually crossing over the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge) or from the south (crossing over any one of the three lower Manhattan bridges).
Like most of the places we run to, we probably discovered it by accident — I honestly don't remember. And since we could never pronounce its name, we called it the "Rusty Knights" after the two statues of knights in armor that guarded the entrance. And I'm happy to announce that as of last year the knights were upgraded and they are now the "Shining Knights".
We decided to do a relatively short route in early February, but since Susan is nursing an ankle problem, she said "why not walk there?" I said "why not indeed", and so we met at the Manhattan end of the QBB (or I should say the EKQBB). It was chilly so we dressed in layers. The worst part was crossing the bridge due to winds. Normally we would take a 180° after getting off the bridge and get on Vernon Boulevard and then run through the LIC East River parks all the way to Newtown Creek and then up to the Pulaski Bridge and on to Greenpoint.
But today we decided to take a shortcut and go under the bridge at Crescent Street and then go down to 21st Street and head straight for the Pulaski Bridge. Well, we took a few extra turns here and there and got to see parts of LIC that we had not seen before. And as an extra surprise, we met Kristal M. who lives in Greenpoint, as we got off the Pulaski. We gave her a quick hello as she ran the other way. Then we made our way over to Manhattan Avenue and stayed on that all the way to KJ. But we made sure to look into Peter Pan Donuts about a block before KJ to see what hey had to sell, Guess what? Donuts!
We made it to KJ just at noon when they open. In fact the "Shining Knights" were still inside from their overnight stay, and were shortly put on duty outside (see photo above). It was lucky we arrived when we did, since they almost always serve a "lunch tourist" group, about 20 hungry (and a little overweight) tourists at noon on weekends. Shortly after we got seated (and most importantly, after ordering our food) they came in, sat down, got served several Polish specialties prepared in advance, ate, and then left, all in about 20 minutes. And boy does the place get quiet after they leave. What's their hurry? They have to pile into their bus and head off to their dessert stop somewhere in Brooklyn.
Meanwhile we ordered our pierogies, and borsch, and beer and sat there relaxing while this gastronomic spectacle took place. When we finally finished up, the place was filling up with regular customers — we were (I think) the only English speaking customers in the place. Yes folks, this is the real deal. Not sure? Check the menu at the link at the start of this post.
We had thought about taking the East River ferry to get back home. But the chilly weather and the sparse weekend schedule of the ferry led us to
take the G train instead (yes, the G train!) which was only a block away.
We took it, changed to the 7 train at Court Square, and then arrived at Grand Central
where Susan and I parted ways. But run or walk, we'll be back, count on it.
he Cherry Tree 10 Miler is held in late February every year in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, often on one of the coldest days of the year. It's put on by the Prospect Park Track Club and they like to call it "The Race for the Hard Core". I've run it many times and occasionally won an age group award. Here are the Cherry Tree race reports I've put on this web site since I started Beyond Central Park about 10 years ago: , , , , , and . As mentioned in the introduction to this 2019 Blog, this year the Cherry Tree was special for me since I have set it as a milestone in my anticipation of the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Washington D.C. this April. These two "Cherry" races, at 10 miles, are now my longest races of the year since retiring from running marathons after my "Do Over" Boston Marathon in 2014 (see for that story).
The goal of using this race as a "milestone" can mean several things:
When Sunday the 17th came, I took the Q train and arrived at the "Parkside" station, just across the street from the park. I picked up my bib and organized my clothes and packed up my post race going home clothes in my pack. Basically, I had on two layers under my Flyer shirt, plus a neck warmer and my new Flyers Pom-Pom hat. I was dressed to be cold at the starting line (it was in the upper 20°s prior to the start) but would warm up by the first mile or so. Conditions were just about perfect, plenty of sun and no wind to speak of. I hung out mostly inside the Lakeside building till about 9:45 and then made my way to the starting line, meeting a few Flyers along the way and taking a few pictures.
At the start
I got in the pack towards the front, further up than where I belonged,
but I would stay aware of the chaos of the start where there is a bit of pushing and jockeying for position. I would be attentive to those passing me
but as any good competitor does, keep my elbows out. I had my camera in my little camera pouch but vowed to take no pictures during the race (it was
for after my finish) and I would make no effort to time my mile splits on my watch, which was comfortably sitting under two layers of clothes. My job
was to stick to my pace and watch my form, especially going up the long hill in the first mile of each loop, and then push the down hills and do it
for 3 full loops of the park.
Then the gun went off — there was no gun of course, the starter just yelled "GO, GO". I passed the actual starting line in about 7 or 8 seconds and got my turnover going fast and made my way for the first hundred yards or so on pure exhilaration while the pack thinned out. Then I got my legs and my breathing under control and focused on a strong, steady pace. I was about to start up the hill the first time and I concentrated on my form and my pace. The race had begun.
The First Loop
The first loop is vital to a well run 10 miler. You must get up the hill with strength and speed but not too much of either. Each time you do this hill it's the same task:
don't be afraid of this hill! I've done this race maybe 10 times and I've learned that I can conquer the hill as long as I don't let it conquer me. The key is
strength and pacing. Strength from the training I've done and pacing from my experience. In my first loop I held back just a bit and pushed along with a little
restraint. And remember, when you've got the hill, you've got the whole loop.
When I could see the Grand Army arch I knew I had this. Once I turned to the left at the top of the park I switched the governor off my engine and pushed every down hill, even the little hollows, and kept very steady on the flats. There are a few rises but you must dismiss them. Remember there is but one hill on this loop. The rest are minor inclines.
I think the hardest part of each loop is the last mile. It's flat and you can see the Lakeside buildings across the lake but it seems to take forever to get to the start/finish line. When I finally came within sight of the line I was thrilled to see the minutes still on 32 with the seconds counting on the clock. I passed the line with the clock about 32:4? and considering the starting lag of about 7 or 8 seconds, I was well below 33:20 (which would come out to a 1:40:00 finish). Keeping the same pace would be no small matter but I now had a new goal: breaking 1:40:00!
The Second Loop
The second loop (in fact every loop any time you do this race) uses the same strategy. The difference is the long 1st mile hill no longer needed a little restraint.
Just use your strength and keep the pace moving as before. This time I felt some resistance in my legs, particularly the quads. And after passing the arch I had to push
the downhills more willfully, i.e. I had to tell my legs do this, instead of letting them run on their own. And the last mile, the endless mile, required more
concentration. I had to tell my legs "keep the pace, don't slow down". Just before I got to the line where the finishers went to the left and the rest of us went to the right,
I took off my hat and gloves and handed them to Mike Ring (co-race director) who was standing there between the lanes. He knows me and would know what to do with them. I'm unsure
what I saw on the clock (one of the digits was not working) but it was 1:06:??. In the table below on the left I had to estimate what my second split was based on the known
starting lag, the first loop time and my finish time. The main take away was I was still under the pace to break 1:40:00.
| 2019 Cherry Tree 10 Miler | ||
| Split | Pace | |
| 1st loop | 32:43 | 9:49 |
| 2nd loop | 33:11 | 9:57 |
| 3rd loop | 33:07 | 9:56 |
| Finish | 1:39:01 | 9:54 |
| 2018 Cherry Tree 10 Miler | ||
| Split | Pace | |
| 1st loop | 33:13 | 9:57 |
| 2nd loop | 33:55 | 10:11 |
| 3rd loop | 33:16 | 9:59 |
| Finish | 1:40:25 | 10:02.5 |
The last Loop
As I started up the long hill for the third time, my quads were definitely complaining. And as the first time I used a little restraint and the second I was
at an unrestrained but steady pace, this time required the opposite of restraint, a call for more energy than the legs wanted to give. Then an
interesting thing happened. A little way up the hill I spotted a woman with a Flyers shirt on with another woman with a blonde pony tail and
they were walking. When I got to them I yelled "Hey Flyers, pace with me". And they did. As I moved up the hill I could hear them coming up behind me
and they were talking. So I yelled "Stop Talking!" They answered "Talking helps us run together", so I said "Talking slows you down". They gradually
passed me near the top of the hill (their average age was about half my age) I said "now pull me". They slowly moved away but I kept them in sight almost
to the end. As for my legs I had to make them move. I willfully made them go at a faster turnover. I really, really pushed the downhills and
just told my heart and lungs, "deal with it!" The last mile was even more endless than ever but I kept telling my legs "faster, keep the pace".
When I finally saw the finish line clock it was still on 1:38: and counting. I tried very hard but could not break 1:39. The clock said 1:39:08 but
my chip time turned out to be 1:39:01. Look at the top picture on this post which shows me just hitting the timing mat. Now click on the picture
which will bring up a full screen rendering. Then move the cursor, which should be a little "+" sign, and click on my face. Yes, that shows my effort.
And here's something I almost forgot to mention: part of the reason I retired from running marathons 5 years ago was pain and numbness in my right foot. It first started bothering me in 2011 around the 20 mile point in my training. By the time of my 2013 and 2014 Boston Marathons, it would start around mile 5 or 6 and I had to stop running at that point and massage my foot — which is not a way to have a strong finish. Ever since then I would feel it after about 6 miles in my training, but not yet at the level of pain. So I kept my racing mostly to 5Ks and only ran past my foot comfort level in my two "Cherry" races each year. And specifically in this race I would endure a lot of discomfort in the last loop around the park. But this year I FELT NOTHING! Either from adrenaline or maybe very slow healing of the peripheral nerves in my foot, I was pain free. That was a very pleasant surprise, but NO, I'm NOT going to start running marathons again!
After the Finish
I slowly made the transition out of racing mode and walked up and out of the finishing lane. The first recognized runners I met were none other than
the two woman I interacted with on the last loop going up the long hill. It turns out the one in the Flyer shirt was Jessica V. and the other was her cousin
Alexandra. They were happy with their race (they were a a little over a minute ahead of me) and they actually thanked me for pushing them on the last
ascent of the long hill. I got a nice picture of the three of us (on the right).
I picked up my finishers medal and slowly walked back to the Lakeside center. First I got my hat and gloves from Mike Ring and gradually met up with some of the many members of my team, the New York Flyers. The shot below on the left is a nice collection of Flyers that had finished around my time.
There were a few more photo ops and group pictures: the NY Flyers has put up both a complete photo album as well as the race results. Here are the links: , .
Finally the Flyers dispersed in various directions, some to the after-race party several train stops away, and me with my old friend David D. back to the Q train. At Union Square I said goodbye the David and walked home for the obligatory shower and nap. It had been one great day.
There was some confusion in getting the correct race timings from the timing company's web site () and it took a few days to straighten things out, but finally it was established that I was 1st in the 70+ age group. This, in addition to my unexpected 1:39:01 finish, put me in a great mood. Now all I can say is "Come April, Bring on the Cherry Blossom!"
y association with this race goes back a long ways. The catchy phrase in the title, "Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks", although strange to the non-cognoscente, celebrates the wide diversity yet inclusiveness of this neighborhood. But "Coogan's"; why Coogan's? Old timers like myself still call it that since , a venerable restaurant and bar at 169th and Broadway, was the original and long time sponsor of this race (for over 15 years: click on "5K Race" from the top menu of their web site) and more that any other venue, epitomized the diversiy and incluciveness of the title.
And in those days, after the race throngs of runners would congregate there and enjoy free food and beer. Our fastest runners would get there quickly to grab a table. Now, long after they dropped their sponsorship, the name still pops into my mind.
Getting There
From where I live, I would normally take the L train across to Eighth Avenue, then take
the A train up to 168th Street. But the L train doesn't
run on weekends so I had to get a cab over to 14th and Eighth. $12 later, I got on an A
train but
it was running as a local. It was crowded with runners and I chatted with a few of them on the way up. When we
all got out at 168th Street it was about 8:10 and I had never seen such a huge crowd trying to get out one
small exit to the street. Once I got to the Armory, I saw that the NYRR had organized things rather well so the lines
for bib pickup, baggage, and toilets were all moving along smoothly. I met up with Ed A. and we made our way
into our respective corrals by about 8:50. It was cold, but I was purposely under-dressed for the low 30°s
weather. But there was some sun and no wind so weather-wise it looked like a great running day.
The Start
The start consists of waves which helps to thin out the pack of runners (more that 5,000). When it was our
turn I got a good start but I had to work to get into my pace. There was always someone in front of me
right where I wanted to go and I had to fight the tendency to get in synch with the rhythen of those around me.
Hills
There is a pretty big hill near the start and another one when we got into Fort Tryon Park plus a modest hill
in between. Interestingly, the two big hills go close to the two highest points in Manhattan. Like most
hills (so I think) they look worse than they are because we see them out in front of us filled with
struggling runners. My strategy of keeping a strong pace on the up hills and pushing hard on
the down hills was not quite as effective as in the Cherry Tree 10 miler I had run 2 weeks ago (see the last post, below)
mainly because on this course it was more crowded, the pace was faster, and the hills were steeper.
The finish
The course is slightly down hill from about the GWB to the finish line. I tried to push hard from
the top of the first (now the last) hill to this section but I didn't get a large response from my legs. It was
difficult to judge what my finishing time would be since there was a large start lag for my wave since the clocks
started going when the first wave went off, minutes before my wave. After I finished, my watch (which I had started
at my actual start) said 30:28. Not bad for a hilly course but then I would have liked to break 30 minutes.
Later when I got home, I found I was 3rd in the 75-79 age group, a "Podium" finish as we like to call it. Yes,
that felt good.
Brunch
The folks from my running club had been invited to a brunch served by Rachel D., one of our members who lived
about a mile away. I was with a couple of Flyers and I managed to get us lost in taking a wrong turn after
taking the subway one stop to her place. But we shortly found the way and enjoyed a delightful spread of
breakfast type foods. Within an hour I was back on the A train heading south with
Kristel M. from the Flyers and when we got to mid town, we went off to our respective homes. It had been a busy
and rewarding day. I'll be back next year, depend on it!
My running friend Susan was also bushed but we both wanted to visit the New York Botanical Garden where the 2019 Orchid Show had recently opened, but we weren't up for a run there. So, like we did 5 weeks ago (see post: A Walk to Krolewskie Jadlo below) we decided to walk there.
We planned out a route, mostly on Walton Avenue in the Bronx, and we would meet at the Lorelei Statue in Joyce Kilmer Park, near Yankee Stadium at 11:00. From there it would be a bit over 4 miles and take us about an hour and a half. As we started off Susan said, "Let's try an new route and go up along Sheridan Avenue instead of Walton". So we did. But Sheridan only goes north 4 blocks and we found ourselves back on the Grand Concourse. This is one route we've avoided over the years for who knows what reason, but it looked so wide open and relaxing today (no noisy trucks or busses) so we just stayed on it practically the whole way,
The only side trip was to visit Poe Park, but half of that was under construction so we moved on. We took a right on Kingsbridge Road, and a left on Bainbridge and voila! we got onto Bedford Park Boulevard which goes directly down the hill to the NYBG. This was a very nice route indeed. And the Grand Concourse might well be a candidate for a full run, all the way from where it starts near the Madison Avenue Bridge and hey! why stop at Kingsbridge Road, we could take it all the way to the Mosholu Parkway and either swing left to Van Cortland Park or swing right to the NYBG.
But we did not go directly to the NYBG, we made a stop at the Webster Cafe, just across the tracks from the Botanical Garden and had a delicious brunch for a very modest price.
The Garden
We got in on my corporate membership, a retiree benefit from the bank I worked for, and after showing the clerk my business
card he looked things up we had a scare: the clerk said it's just good for one, but then he said he meant good for one plus
the member, so we were in and headed for the Orchid Show.
Now Susan and I together with Melissa and various other friends have visited the Orchid Show umpteen times over the years, and it's always the same and it's always different. Huh? It's the same because it's always beautiful and it's different because the themes vary and the arrangements of the flowers change and it is just exciting to see it fresh every year. I tell everyone, you have to see it to believe how beautiful it is.
But this year, we had a glimpse of something unexpected, which was as beautiful as the flowers, it was a small bird in spring plumage flitting from barnch to branch high up in the foliage. I'm pretty sure it was an early spring warbler, but with the poor lighting and with the bird flitting around it was hard to identify. I was lucky to get a photo at all. If I took a wild guess, I'd say a Pine Warbler. Click on the photo and it will alternate between the original photo, and an enlarged version with that area made lighter. If you're a bird expert, mail me what kind of warbler you think it is.
After the Orchids
If you make the trip to the Botanical Garden and make the rounds of the Orchid Show, don't leave! There is a huge landscape
of wonders in this place. Being foot sore and with tired legs, we decided to take the tour on the tour bus. Except
for some whiney toddlers in the seat behind us, we had a wonderful tour of places in the Garden that would be too
far to easily walk to. There was a tape recording of all the sights along the way and even for cognoscenti like ourselves
you'll learn a lot and see places you probably have never seen.
At last it was time to go home so we got the Metro North train just across the road from the entrance ($4.50 for seniors, 20 minutes to Grand Central) back to Manhattan and barely managed to stay awake on the ride. Will we visit again? Damn sure! You come too!
Here's an album of the whole thing: .
ou might wonder why there are several posts about walking to some place in my running blog. There are at least two reasons. First, walking is one of the best cross training exercises for running that there is. Walking uses the same muscles as running, but without the pounding. It's one of the best things you can do after a tough workout or race. It stretches the muscles and helps the blood carry away the toxins that accumulate from the race or workout. I always walked several miles after a marathon and maybe five miles the next day. It was probably a week after a marathon before I would start running again, and that, very gradually. Although I gave up running marathons about 5 years ago, it's the same for any really tough workout or race.
The second reason is that it is possible to be much more sociable if you're walking with a friend. That's something that may be hard during all but a slow run or a run where you feel free to stop and look a flowers or something else that the obsessive runner (not me) is not likely to do. I walked this route with my friend Susan, who is recovering from a tough ankle problem. So we managed to combine her fitness walk (in lieu of running) with my recovery walk after several tough races and workouts.
In this instance we were not just walking anywhere, but walking through a beautiful area and running to an attractive destination.
In this case we headed out from the Queensboro Bridge on the Manhattan side to the in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (about 6½ miles), one of our favorite destinations.
Yes, you may have figured out that if we're not running for beer, we're walking for beer !
The conditions were not too good for sight seeing — it was chilly and quite windy. So although we took the route along the East River parks in Long Island City, we had to stay back from the waters edge. We did do some exploring of the recently opened Hunters Point South Park which goes right up to where Newtown Creek empties into the East River. We gave this new section an A+ for making the most of this land.
When we crossed the Pulaski Bridge to Brooklyn, the wind seemed to pick up: I could hardly take a photo of the boats in Newtown Creek.
Around this time we started to get hungry so when we got off the bridge we checked out all the eating places along Franklin Avenue but they all seemed too crowded or too expensive. I jokingly said we could always go to Juliette's, which is about 3 blocks before Radegast, and I said at least that would not be crowded — we had been there many times at it was never crowded. But we have always kept Juliette's for special occasions such as birthdays and it was a bit more pricy that most of the other spots.
But finally, as we passed from Greenpoint into Williamsburg, the alternatives dwindled away so we agreed well, let's go to Juliette's and splurge. Susan told me later that when I said it is never crowded, she cringed, convinced that saying that would jinx us. Well when we got there, jinx us it did. There was a line almost out the door and the place was packed as we had never seen before. We did manage to get a table right away but things were pretty loud and pretty close so we knew what the folks on either side were doing and what they were eating. It was hard not to hear their conversations. But the food was good and since we skipped the usual Mimosa or Bloody Mary (after all, we had beer coming up soon) the price didn't bankrupt us.
When we finally finished and got out into the fresh air and sun it was such a relief. It was off to Radegast and as I was about to say there was always plenty of room there, Susan rightfully shushed me. One jinx today was enough. We got there after a short walk and the spacious lower room was bright and had plenty of room. Of course this is a diffenrent sort of place, where crowds of mostly young folks would gather around tables standing up and drinking lots of beer. In this situation the noise of the crowd havng a good time in such a large room was not annoying. A waitress once told us that by mid afternoon it's standing room only.
But we were happy to be here and the beer was just marvelous. It was a perfect chaser to Juliette's salmon benedict.
All in all we had a good walk and a good brunch. And by some miracle the L train was running! We were home in Manhattan in a jiffy.
've run the VCTC Urban Elvironmental Challenge 10K trail race (UEC) many times. If my records are correct, I've run it in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, , , , , and now in 2019 (links are for reports on this blog). What is it and why do I keep coming back to it, now 9 times in 12 years? It a true trail race featuring steep ups and downs, rocks and roots, streams to cross and an occasional downed tree to climb over, around or through, and it goes through some of the wildest forest land in the park, an area little little known or experiened by the general park-going public. It's run by the Van Cortland Track Club (VCTC), a running club consisting of entirely of non-paid runners (much like my club: The New York Flyers) which does an excellent job of putting on this race year after year since 1999. Nothing fancy here: it's a truly small town race, scored by hand (no electronic timing) and run by volunrteers, largely from the VCTC, and it's cheap: around 20 dollars.
And like the ups and downs of the race course through the wild woodlands of VanCortlandt Park, I've also had my own ups and downs over the years in this race. This year, I hate to admit, was a down. My time was over 5 minutes slower than last year and I can't remember being so beat after a race than I did this time. And for a 10K (about 6.2 miles) 5 minutes is a long time.
Getting There
The UEC starts at 10:00, relatively late as races go. This is probably to allow more time to get to
Van Cortlandt Park which depends on the 1 train. I would usually go over to Seventh Avenue on the
L and then take the 1 all the way to 242nd Street. This can take a fair
amount of time since there ares 28 stops and takes well over an hour just on the 1. So this time I took
the Lex up to Grand Central and then took the Metro North RR up to Marble Hill (about 22 minutes from GCT) and then hopped on the
1 for the last 3 stops (I know, I could have jogged up to the park). This is not as big a time
saving as you might think, since you're changing trains twice with the usual issue of synching three different lines. But that's
what I did and I got there by 9:00 and had plenty of time to warm up.
Susan, my running partner, was volunteering at the race instead of running. But I didn't see her when I got there — she was given the job of a course marshal and although I ran by her twice during the race, I did not see her till the race was over.
I met my old friend David P. who is in my age group (70+) and he would be my major competition for the 70+ carrot cake (1st place: cake; 2nd place: muffin).
The Race
The 10K starts at the extreme north-east corner of the Parade Grounds and then does 2 slightly different loops of trails starting
with a steep rocky climb up Cemetery Hill. The first loop had more steep ups and downs but the second loop had
(if I counted right) 5 downed trees to get through or around. Both loops went through about a half mile of very boggy ground
and included a stream crossing which you could either leap over or cross over a shaky plank bridge which was longer and
slower. I managed to stay ahead of David for much of the first loop
but he passed me at the stream crossing (he leapt) and although he was within sight most of the rest of the race, I couldn't catch him. He finished a bit over a minute ahead
of me and to tell the truth we both were having a not-so-good day. He doesn't generally do this race, but he had a really bad day
at the Cherry Tree 10 Miler 6 weeks prior to this race (see 4 posts below) where I had a very good day and he finished well behind me. Today our roles were
reversed. For me I was about 5 minutes slower that last year.
Susan and I found each other after the race and yes, I did have a "podium" finish with my 2nd place which brought me a carrot muffin, always a treat. My wife and I shared it for breakfast the next day.
Susan and I had a refreshing brunch up the hill (yes, another hill to climb) to
,
a favorite of ours when we're in the west Bronx.
trip to Washington D.C. for the (which is part of the ) is primarily to run the race and hopefully to do well in it. But taking a long bus ride there and back and staying over two nights at this beautiful time of year means the runners also become tourists and we try to see all the museums, monuments, memorials, cherry trees in full bloom as well as partaking in some good meals. The result, of course, is exhaustion.
I've divided this report into two parts: first the race, and after that the places we visited and things we saw when we were not running. The album covers both activities and is probably complete unless some pictures come my way that I missed
Here's the photo album for the entire weekend in D.C. The 2019 Cherry Blossom Album.
A word of explanation: with so many runners in the race (there were 17,656 finishers) the runners are separated into "waves" according to their expected finishing times. So the fast runners start first, then after several minutes, the next wave is started and so forth until the slowest wave starts nearly 30 minutes after the first. This is not punishment for the slower runners, but to give them a less crowded course than if every one started together. And the timing of their race takes the start delay, as it's called, into consideration and adjusts their finishing time accordingly. This is called the "chip" time, since each runner has an electronic chip attached to their bib and the time of their start and finish are recorded. Big races have been doing this for over 20 years.
Susan and I did not stay very long at the expo since we had to get rid of our bags, so we left the expo and continued walking and checked in to the , our home away from home. These places used to be called "Youth Hostels" but since they are popular with adults, they dropped the "Youth" from their name. HI Washington DC is very well run, inexpensive, and is located a short walk away from the most popular tourist spots such as the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the Tidal Basin, the Mall, the Capitol and many Museums.
I left the Hostel at 6:30. The kitchen was empty except for John, the staff member who takes care of the kitchen. We've known him from previous years. I just had on my running clothes with a couple of extra "throw away" shirts (they're actually picked up and given to charities). I had given Susan my aprčs race stuff (my camera and my hoodie) the previous night. She would bring it down and give it to me after the race. I went down the block and a half to New York Avenue which angles down towards the race site (on 15th Street near the Washington Monument). The streets were rather empty — it was early even for the runners.
| Cherry Blossom 10 Miler | |
| Mile | Split |
| 1 | 9:44 |
| 2 | 9:51 |
| 3 | 10:08 |
| 4 | 9:13 |
| 5 | 9:52 |
| 6 | 9:56 |
| 7 | 9:58 |
| 8 | 10:19 |
| 9 | 10:20 |
| 10 | 10:24 |
| Finish | 1:39:45 |
| Pace | 9:59 |
I got to the corrals for the waves about 7:00 and got to the front corral for the yellow wave and found the corral practically empty. There was no filling up near the front or jostling for position. I guess everyone knew exactly where to line up. The super fast professional runners, largely Kenyans in their bright red Superfly 4% running shoes, were in the front. Look at the starting photo at the top of this post and look at all the red running shoes.
I positioned my self about ⅔ of the way back in the yellow wave corral and just tried to stay out of the way of the wheelchairs, of which there were a few. After the starting horn went off and we all started moving, I ended up with a start delay of only about 30 seconds, a rather easy start. In fact I would say being in the yellow wave gave me much more open space to run my own race. I was seldom blocked, and never jostled. Yes, many runners from the waves behind the yellow wave eventually passed me but never crowded me out. One of the results tables said I passed 36 runners and 4273 passed me by mile 6 and in the last 4 miles I passed 11 and 1236 passed me. I have no idea how they figured that out, probably they used the timing information from the 10K point, but it's a neat metric. Here's the link: . The course was beautiful, almost entirely in park land both to the north and south of the Tidal Basin. Check the course map above on the left. And yes, there were plenty of cherry trees in full bloom — we probably had a better view of them than the tourists.
I paid no attention whatsoever to runners passing me, but rather concentrated on maintaining a pace at just under 10 mm. My mile splits show I was falling off that pace in the last 3 miles, but luckily I had enough "in the bank" from the earlier miles to manage a sub 10 mm overall pace. Breaking 1:40 was my goal and given the problems of the last 3 or 4 miles, I was very relieved to see that I finished with a 1:39:45 chip time.
So what happened? two things, 1) my right foot was hurting (see the finish picture below where I'm leaning to the right), and 2) it
was harder to maintain a constant pace on this flat course as compared with the ups and downs of the Cherry Tree 10 Miler in
February (see the below for that report)
where I pushed the up hills and went flat out on the down hills. Even so I was only 5 seconds per mile slower in this
race than the 1:39:01 I did in the February 17th race.
After crossing the finish line I followed the crowd of runners slowly moving across the field just north of the Washington Monument, first to get some food and drink, and lastly my medal. I usually skip the medals (which cost a bit extra) since I have too many medals already in the back of my running drawer. But this time I was hoping for a good finish time, which I got, and to "justify", if-you-will, my "Seeded Age Group Runner" status. And I found out later I was 3rd in the 75-79 age group. A "podium" finish in this nationally respected race was an honor indeed.
Finally I crossed Constitution Avenue at 15th Street and met Susan, my ever loyal friend, and shortly thereafter a group from the NY Flyers for the obligatory group picture you see below. But that shot was the result of a fair amount of floundering around — see the set of pictures (taken by Susan) of that in the album (here), and you'll get a chuckle.
About a month later a package arrived and inside was a verry attractive age group award. So I dug up my shirt and my bib and put them all together and here you have it:
On April 12th, The Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run organization issued a press release:
.
The race course was short by 240 ft. due to a misplaced turnaround point between miles 3 and 4. Although the
nullification of records affected several of the elite runners, the 240 ft. discrepancy would amount to only
12 to 13 seconds in their finishing times. For myself at my speed (for mile 4) it would amount to about 25
seconds. This would explain my unusually low split time on mile 4 (see above table opposite the map) and it
would put my finishing time over my 1:40 minute goal. It would not affect the finishing order in any of the
age groups. Alas, Like Roger Maris, I will now have to put an asterisk ("*") on my personal results records
for this race .
should mention that both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, when our non-running "Tourist" activities took place, the weather was better than the forecast. Saturday was in the 70°s and sunny and I started to worry about the race the next day. Sunday afternoon was a bit cooler with some clouds (and the race on Sunday morning was great: 50°s and cloudy) but altogether pleasant. A gift from the weather gods, indeed.
The picture on the left was taken from the World War II Memorial which is at the east end of the pool, looking back to the Washington Monument with the Lincoln Memorial at the other end of the pool behind us. Susan wanted to keep going and try to see some of the Cherry Trees along the Tidal Basin. But my legs were starting to get tired and especially since I would be running a race in the morning I decided to opt out. So we split up: she would do her walk and I would head up slowly to the on 11th Street (2 blocks from the Hostel) and we would meet there sometime after 5:00 and keep in touch by cell phone, (What did we do before cell phones?) It sounded like a good plan.
I got there about 5:15 and the maître d' said the wait would be about 25-30 minutes so I made a reservation for 2 of us. In
a few minutes Susan called and said she got totally boxed in by tourists on the Tidal Basin and just managed to break free and
was rushing up to meet me. She showed up about 10 minutes later but we still had a bit of waiting to do. We finally got seated
and had some reasonable food (reasonable for bar food) and some Cherry Blossom Ale (which was so-so). We took it easy and
called it a day. We got back to the Hostel by 7:00 — too early to turn in — so we each caught up with our reading.
Fortunately the Wi-Fi in the Hostel worked well so I could read the New Yorker on my iPad. It was a tiring day but we
did what we came to do and that felt good — and my legs weren't too bad. I gave my stuff to Susan for tomorrow's meet-up
after the race and it was off to bed. Of course it was only 9:something o'clock and for the next two hours or so one after
another of my
room mates showed up, each one waking up all the preceding arrivees in the process. Such is life in a hostel !
Here's the photos in the album for Saturday afternoon:
here.
Sorry but there are only 7 photos, then you run into the Sunday morning race photos.
I had about 2 hours of R&R after my race, which was enough to go up to our hostel, take a shower, get dressed, eat some food, and them walk down to the Mall (again) to do our Sunday afternoon agenda. You'll note there was no nap in that R&R, so it was more like an R&R without the R. Fortunately the weather cooperated all day. In the it was 50°s and cloudy, great for the race, and now in the , we got some warmer temperature and some sun. We crosssed the Mall right by the steps to the Capitol to go to the US Botanic Garden and just before gettting to the main building we passed Bartholdi Park which has the "Bartholdi Fountain" as the center piece. It has an interesting history. See the Wikipedia entry for details: . Unfortunately neither the fountains nor the lights were turned on so we'll have to come back later in the season for a better look.
We spent a good hour at the Botanic Garden both outside and inside. It's an impressive space and it emphasizes the vertical height of some of the trees. There are lots of photos of the Botanic Garden in our album, starting: here at the fountain, and then moving inside. If you're tired of the New York Botanical Garden try this place — only joking! They're both great places. It's right across the Mall from the National Gallery, which was our next stop.
Although the National Gallery was our last stop of the day, there were a number of places around the museums we wanted to visit: a little alley on the east end with some pretty flowers, a small park at the other end with some interesting sculptures and of course both the east and west wing of the museum. The original objective, which I voiced, was a new exhibit of Tintoretto paintings based on a New Yorker review: .
We made our way back across The Mall and made our way into the East Wing which is mostly more modern, less traditional works. There was an interesting roof top area we had never visited before (which took a million stairs to get to — god help my tired legs) with a giant metal rooster the star exhibit. Then it was down to the tunnel to the West Wing which we always love to go through and then the West Wing with it's put-the-Metropolitan-to-shame interior but I took no photos of the Tintoretto exhibit. However, Heather M., one of the group of runners from the NY Flyers took a few and I've added them to the album. But I was too tired to appreciate the art work which was actually quite amazing.
At the end of the afternoon we walked over to a favorite of ours and enjoyed the best meal we had all weekend.
It was a long day, from running a race, enjoying the Botanic Garden, visiting the National Gallery and finally eating at Busboys and Poets and the photos were sparse (except for the Botanic Garden). Here is the last batch.
Then it was back to the Hostel, to bed and back to NYC the next morning. Next year you come too!
had a very good start in 2019 with my running. If you look over the posts on this blog, you'll see that I rejoined the speed workout weekly sessions given by my running club. I had to work to make up for about two months of scheduled downtime I took in November and December. The idea espoused by our coaches is that the mind and body need to have seasons of hard work followed by seasons of recovery in order to make year by year progress. It works for me and I have indeed made progress over the last several years, not by getting faster and faster — when you're in your 70s that just doesn't happen — but by staying fitter with respect to one's age. So it's a matter of slowing down the process of getting slower.
Over the three plus months of 2019 I ran four major races: The Cherry Tree 10 miler (I was 1st in the 70+ group), The Coogan's 5K (3rd 75-79). The UEC Trail 10K (2nd 70+) and the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (3rd 75-79). The UEC 10K was a disappointment since I was about 5 minutes slower than last year but the Cherry Blossom was a strong performance given that it's a National class race.
You'll also notice three walks to various places. These were "easy days" in my schedule which I took especially to accompany my running partner Susan who is recovering from several problems; so she is on the disabled list.
Then on April 18th while doing an easy 4 mile run, I suddenly developed a muscle strain in my right calf. I saw Joe, my massage guy and coach, the next day and he found some damage to several muscles in the calf and I would have to stop running for at least three weeks while doing various stretches and self massages. He also said once the soreness diminished in 2 or 3 days it would be OK to walk but not run. I had joined Susan on the disabled list!
Joe pointed out that my load of races, particularly the 10 milers, required more "base mileage". The Speed workouts were fine, but I needed more of the 5 or 6 mile easy runs with longer runs on weekends. In other words I did too much hard running (the weekly speed workouts and all those races) but too little easy running. I was out of balance — a ready made prescription for injury.
So in addition to daily physical therapy stuff I added even more walks, and I always try to walk to and, of course, through beautiful places. And boy, spring time in greater New York has a plethora of those! So my recovery and rehab was very enjoyable. And ironically I was walking more miles per week on the disabled list than any of my weekly running miles in all 2019.
he first of my post-injury walks was on April 22nd, 4 days after the injury and 3 days after my session with Joe. Susan invited me to a walk from Carl Schurz, a few blocks from her apartment, and then to cross over to Randalls Island, crossing the bridge at 103rd Street, about a mile up along the East River. Then we would do our usual route around the Island.
Even though the walk through Carl Schurz Park was just a walk through, all but one of the photos were taken there — I just took one shot of a lonely tulip on Randalls Island. But we spent the bulk of our time there.
I had trouble keeping up with Susan and I also had to be back home to help my wife get to a meeting, so things were not conducive to taking pictures. But we managed to circle around on the west side and crossed the small pedestrian bridge over the wetland. Normally we would then walk back under the railroad trestle, but that was undergoing an upgrade to the bike path and I got yelled at by the workers to stay off, so we walked along the road.
But we managed to get back to the bridge at 103rd Street and then up to the Q train station at 96th Street and home just in time. This first of my walks was the only one we really had to rush through, rather than enjoying the spring flowers, Nevertheless, the photos taken in CS Park were stunning.
And here's the album:
April 22nd: Carl Schurz Park to Randalls Island.
he next day Susan was unavailable so I decided to go up to Central Park by myself to see the Cherry Blossoms around the reservoir which I had heard were in full bloom. I ended up doing an amazing tour first around the reservoir, then down the east side of the park to the Boathouse Cafe and thence through a bit of the ramble, over the Bow Bridge and ultimately down the Mall.
Although I've walked, run, bird watched, and biked through the park (and found 200 year old artifacts) for over 50 years, I never cease to be amazed at the wonders, nay treasures, that you'll find in the park that you'll find literally no where else in the world. As I look through these photos I took about two weeks ago, I almost weep at the pure beauty.
And here's the album:
April 23rd: Central Park.
usan and I have run to the NY Botanical Garden (aka the NYBG) many times, but today we would walk. We decided to do a modest walk from the 4 train station at Bedford Park Boulevard up and over the hill and down to the NYBG, stopping at the Webster Cafe & Diner, just on the other side of the tracks for brunch before going into the NYBG. Fate and the MTA sabotaged that idea. I got on the 4 at 14th Street and it moved along smoothly but it suddenly skipped a bunch of stations before and after Bedford Park. Susan got on her train at 86th Street but it stopped completely, well before Bedford Park. We both got to our (wrong) subway destinations at either end of the track work at about the same time — thanks to cell phones we knew that. So we both walked towards our common goal over new territory and by some miracle we both arrived at the Cafe at the same time. So MTA, hah! How do you like that!
After a scrumptious brunch, we crossed the Metro North tracks and entered the NYBG. The first thing we decided was we would skip the Orchid Show (we had already seen it back on March 9th, see post below). Instead, we visited less well known (and less crowded) places: the Rock Garden; The Cherry Tree and Lilac orchids east of the Bronx River, the old "Snuff Mill Falls" on the Bronx River and lastly the Apple and Cherry Trees near the Azalea garden. It was all thoroughly beautiful. The pictures tell the story better than my words. Here's the album: April 24th: NY Botanical Garden Album.
Tired but happy we took the Metro North train which went non stop to 125th Street and GCT. What a great day!
his trek was probably the toughest to do. Both Susan and I ended up sore and tired. It sounds easy — going from Fort Tryon Park to Wave hill (via the Henry Hudson Bridge) is about 4 miles and we've run it multiple times. But this time we walked; on the way we stopped at the Isham Street Green Market, crossed the Broadway Bridge, circled through Marble Hill and Kingsbridge and finally climbed Riverdale Avenue, crossed over the highway, and thence walked to 249th Street and down the hill to Wave Hill. It was at least a mile longer, but we made it by 12:00 noon (by almost ½ hour) and thus got in free (and saved $4 – big deal).
At Wave Hill, we discovered some trails through the down slope of Wave Hill towards the river which were a great addition to the Wave Hill experience. Yes, we checked out both mansions, the gift shop and the green house. All told, we spent a good hour and a half there and enjoyed it. But we were not done.
We left Wave Hill and headed to , but because of a wrong turn I made, we went via Fieldston, definitely the long way. Meanwhile Susan's knee was bothering her. We nevertheless enjoyed our brunch and stumbled down the steep stairs of 238th Street only to find that the 1 train was not running. So we had to take a local bus over to Kingsbridge Road to get the 4 train to Manhattan. Yes, that 4 train (see above). Well, this time it was behaving, and we got off at our respective stations, and limped over to our respective homes. But let's face it: the aches and pains were but a memory a few days later but the beauty we found in both parks — and the photos — is forever.
And here's the album:
April 27th: Inwood Hill Park to Wave Hill.
his was a morning walk through Central Park, starting from the 60th Street entrance on Fifth Avenue, walking through the lower section of the park to the west side and keeping on the west side past the reservoir — no Cherry Blossoms today. Finally I crossed the park just shy of the 97th Street transverse, and exitited at 97th and Fifth and had a brunch at on 97th and Park just across from the tracks. A perfect place to rehydrate and replenish calories.
Joe Comes for a Session
That afternoon Joe, the massage guy, came for a session to see what progress I had made in my recovery. He said things in my right calf were
much better but I still had a little ways to go. He thought I could resume running (not too far or too hard) in about another week. He also
said walking is much safer with this type of injury than running, even at a very easy pace.
And here's the album:
May 2nd: Central Park.
he logistics for this trek were simple: take the A to the GWB bus depot; take a bus across the Hudson; walk a few blocks and you're there. It had rained the night before and Susan and I worried that this hike might get rained out. But the rain had stopped and we made our way along the Long Path on the top of the cliffs for nearly 5 miles where we turned around and returned the same way. For those so inclined, of the entire Palisades Park.
I would call it a hike rather than a walk given the terrain. Along the way we passed through , a lovely little gem, around St. Peters college with it's collection of affiliated institutes, crossed Dyckman Hill Road on its way down to the , stopped at High Tom's lookout and took a rest and a bite to eat at the Rockefeller Lookout. Warning: there be cars and tourists. Then we made it to another lookout called Clinton Point, just shy of the for a brief rest before turning around and heading back. We agreed that next time we'd go further.
According to Susan's Garmin, it was 4¾ miles from the trailhead so we did a 9½ hike; add a mile getting to and from the bus stop and you've got a 10½ trek, not bad for two recovering Disabled-Listers. Naturally we stopped at Coogan's for the ususal rehydration before heading home.
And here's the album:
May 4th: A 9˝ Mile Hike in the Palisades.
n Monday the 6th of May, I had a dental appointment in the morning. That finished up rather quickly and, since the dentist's office is on 59th Street facing the park, I figured I'd do a quick walk through the lower part of the park and hit a few of the areas I had not covered in the previous week.
I entered the park at the 6th Avenue entrance amidst all the equestrian statutes and went down the steps and worked my way around The Pond, crossed the Gapstow Bridge and this time I went into the Hallett Nature Preserve and took a look around. There are lots of paths and you can get lost in there, but there are some beautiful Azaleas and many views of The Pond which practically surrounds the Preserve.
After leaving the preserve, I went west through the Driprock Arch under Center Drive but unlike last week, turned to the right and found myself at the Carousel. I was going to go up to the Center Drive but I saw the Dairy over the road to the right. So I went went down under the Playmates Arch to check it out. I had a good look, but I did not go in but rather turned left and went up over the 65th Street Transverse and ended up at the foot of the Mall.
The Mall was full of morning action but I didn't tarry and made my way up to the north end, went under the Terrace Bridge and was face to face with the Bethesda Fountain. But I wanted to get to the Ramble so I rambled over to the Bow Bridge (easily one of the most beautiful structures in the park) and crossed it. Now here in the Ramble you can really get lost. But I made my way up to Bethesda Castle, but alas, I was stopped by a construction fence. So I just headed down the stairs heading east, crossed the East Drive and was shortly at the Fifth Avenue Miners Gate at 79th Street. You can read these 4 paragraphs in about a minute but the walk took about an hour and a half and the photos tell the story much better than I could.
Here's the album:
May 6th: Hallett Nature Sanctuary to the Ramble.
n Saturday May 11th, I took my first run after my injury, 4 miles: 2 miles out and 2 miles back. I took long walk breaks after every mile. But on the way back I started getting a slight twinge in the right calf – oh No! So I walked slowly for about 5 minutes and then started running again but after about 1 minute of easy running it came again. So I walked all the way back, about a mile and a half and it was slightly twinging while I walked. It was on the right calf on the outside in the upper-middle of the Gastroc.
I tried to get in touch with Joe but he was tied up at work till the following Saturday. So I did the best I could: ice and Advil and self massage twice a day for the first few days, then once a day.
I also cancelled the whole 8 week session of my speed workouts on Tuesday nights and also decided I would walk, not run, the first of the six VCTC cross country 5Ks for which I had already signed up. I'll try to get someone to walk with me so I don't get lonely behind the pack of runners.
So till the next time,
Gotta Run. Oops, Gotta Walk!
s I wrote in the previous post, after about 3 weeks of rehab and plenty of walking, I sustained another injury in my right calf, very similar to the first. One was on the outside of the calf concentrated in one of the deep muscles that control the foot. The other injury was also deep but was on the inside of the calf.
Joe decided that rather than just rest for a week or two and trying again, I should follow a very methodical week by week workout consisting of walking about a mile, running a short distance (initially just 1/4 mile), then walk back and immediately do a session with the stick including working on the deep muscles on either side of the calf. This was done by the thumb or knucle digging down to where the muscle was hidden beneath the gastroc. The idea was to decouple the deep muscles from the major running muscles. The running section was slowly increased little by little to almost 2 miles.
Look at this Time Chart of my injuries and recoveries (click on the "_" on the upper right of the window to minimize it). The first test was to walk the whole 5K of the first Cross Country race at Van Cortlandt Park. Well, that wasn't much fun since I was dead last and actually lost the course at one point. Meanwhile I was slowly increasing my running miles on the East River Park from one lap, eventually to 4 laps and then running on the roads of East River Park for a mile or more. Here's a video taken by my son on one of those track runs on the track: Running at the East River Track. You can see I'm not about to break any world records.
Finally Joe said I could run one of the Cross Country races at Vanny, but I had to walk all the hills (which many of us do anyway). I actually had a "podium" finish, but it was pretty slow compared to recent times I had done on that course.
Finally on August 10th, I got to run a road 5K, this one organized by NYCRUNS, the , held on a venue I have always liked. But the caveat set by Joe was that I must walk for one minute in the middle of the race. And so I did, and of course a stream of runners ran past me. But I picked up my pace again (and passed a few of them back) and had a good 2nd half.
Now this race and a 10K start together but the 10K runners run two loops whereas we run one loop. Of course the top runners in the 10K are running at least twice as fast as me so my cohort can get lapped near our finish line. The lead runner ran the 10K in 33:08 whereas my gun time was 33:28, so he passed me 20 seconds before my finish and there was a bit of a commotion at the finish line where they had to put up a tape for him to break and then get that out of the way of all the 5K runners (like me) coming in. The finish line picture shows my effort and to tell the truth I didn't even see Steve the race director (whom I know very well) hold his hand out for me to hit. He gave me a tongue lashing for that omission.
But I was second in the 70+ age group and I was very proud that I had done that with aone minute walk in the middle of my race. And surely I would not have not been lapped but for that one minute walk (well, maybe). The first in my AG was about a minute 20 seconds ahead of me so he was beyond my reach. But hey, he was a mere 72 compared to my 76. Anyway it was the high point of my otherwise pretty disappointing summer.
The last race of the summer was the Fifth Avenue Mile. Now, I have run many miles over my career but seldom have I raced a mile — I think this was my third one ever and the strategy differs from just about any longer race: you have to go out fast but not too fast. Besides that, the route has a slight hill in the second mile and a slight hill can make a big difference when you are running at a faster pace than just about any time, save maybe 200 or 400 repeats in a speed workout (which I hate).
The logistics were pretty good since our age group started way behind most of the other groups, but before the professionals, so the spectator crowds are growing while the younger runners who had finished were heading home. My long time friend and running partner Susan was there and took care of my bag and met me at the finish. Thank you Susan. Before our start I chatted with numerous older runners I had met and raced over the years and there was good camaraderie between all of us. The race went by in a blur and you feel so beat by about the 3rd quarter. I managed an 8:46 for 4th place in the 75-79 age group. Not bad for me but I look back at my younger years and recall that I ran an entire marathon (26.2 miles) at a faster pace than this back in 1992 when I was 49 (see ). Thank god for Age Groups!
After some confusion I found Susan in the crowds at the finish (or she found me). We walked back up along the course. Some waves of little kids, and some fast professionals ran their heats and I think we checked out the Met for some reason and then had some lunch. I really don't remember — Do you remember Susan? This race, I would say, marked my last real effort over the summer.
But look at the time chart (you should have saved it in another window). It says "Cataract" at two places just after the 5K and just after the 5th Avenue Mile. What's with that? Well, like many older folks I had what my Eye Doctor said were a couple of cataracts, one in each eye, so I opted to have them removed. I had always thought a cataract was some growth in the eye somewhere and the doctor would just go in and take it out. But I learned it's actually in the lens of the eye, and the procedure carefully removes the lens and replaces it with another lens, basically made of some synthetic material that is shaped so as to focus the light as the natural lens would. Sounds complicated and not a little scary, but my doctor was quite good and my eyes are now noticeably better than they had been.
But you will also notice on the chart that my running stopped for about a week and a half after each surgery. Since the first cataract came out right after the Governor's Island 5K and the second was right after the Fifth Avenue Mile, it threw my slow but steady improvement strategy out of whack, and the summer came to an end with a slight strain of my left calf on September 30th. My summer ended as it started: with a calf injury.
he last post ended with what I wrote in my September 30th log as a "leg problem" in my morning run down along the East River. I blamed it on a haphazard period over the prior weeks involving a couple of races, two cataract surgeries and gaps in my running consistency. The log said: "This morning while I was doing my easy run I had a pain in my left calf after about 1 mile. pain is perhaps the wrong word, it was more like the calf said Hey stop".
Being a creature of habit, I emailed and tried to call Joe to see if he could check it out to see if it was serious. I couldn't get in touch with him so after about a week I went to the speed workout where he coaches on Tuesday nights (on October 8th) to try reach him. It turns out he was suffering from what New Yorkers always suffer from: "Too much to do; too little time; and too expensive". Just about all New Yorkers have suffered at one time or and another from too many toos. I'm sure you could add your own toos to the list: apartment too small, streets too noisy, subway too crowded, too much spam ... He said he had to give up his massage practice, and noted it wasn't the money, it was the time.
Joe has been helping me for close to ten years and I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. In 2011 he took me from a state where I could hardly walk and had to skip the Cherry Tree 10 Miler in February, to my qualifying for Boston as a 70 year old in the St. George Marathon on October 1st, 2011.
So thank you Joe, and I sincerely hope you can get through this and find a way around your too many toos.
For my self, about a week later I found another massage guy named Matt (after getting, at Joe's suggestion,
a tip from Betty) and in about another week I was running again, and I'm slowly getting back to where I was.
And I know There is no hurry: that 5K or Cross Country race will be there when I'm ready.
or many years, my running partner Susan, when she was not actually running in the NYC Marathon, would run part of the course the day before, She would usually start on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn sometimes way down where where the course goes onto that long avenue near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and often times further up at 59th Street where There is a subway stop, and would follow the course along 4th to Atlantic Avenue, then through South Williamsburg finally getting onto Bedford avenue and sometimes she would even even across the Pullaski Bridge into Queens and head for the Queensboro Bridge.
Often times Melissa and I would meet her partway, like at the Dunkin Donuts at 4th and 25th Street — and once even when she went over to 5th Avenue and met us at the entrance to Greenwood Cemetery at 35th Street — and we would run with her through Williamsburg and end up at Radegast or another of our favorite spots.
This year Melissa was not around and my mileage had been reduced due to injuries, so I planned to meet her under the Williamsburg Bridge where the course follows Bedford Avenue and we would continue together about another mile to (aka "KJ"), our favorite Polish Restaurant. She agreed to meet me there after running 10 miles and would end up with 11 miles, which suited her training schedule.
My plan was to get myself down to the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan and walk over the bridge to meet her at 10. Unfortunately, I underestimated how long that bridge is to walk over and I ended up about 20 minutes late. But she was nonplussed and actually started up over the bridge to intercept me.
I quickly stripped of a few layers and we started together on Bedford Avenue, The photo on the above right shows that this was no mean feat since the crowds sidewalk crowds were substantial (that's her in the yellow shirt).
Once through central Williamsburg the going got easier and when we got to McCarran Park (left) it was a breeze. At the far end of the park near where Bedford Avenue meets Manhattan Avenue, I stopped and changed back into walking clothes but Susan did another loop of the park to register her target mileage on her Garmin.
We then walked to Krowlewskie Jadlo on Manhattan Avenue in about 5 minutes and you can see what the day's reward was below. That beer she is holding is not really as huge as it seems, it was just the angle of the photo that makes it seem so (yeah!)
We both ordered the Chef's Special, pirogues with mushroom sauce, and agreed that There is nothing like good food and drink to refresh oneself after a good run (translation: we run for beer!).
When we were done we decided that rather than walk back to Williamsburg to get the LTrain (running on a reduced weekend schedule) we would continue to follow the marathon route along Manhattan Avenue, go right on Greenpoint to McGuinness Blvd and cross over the Pulaski Bridge. We much enjoyed the View towards Manhattan from the Pulaski Bridge on this crisp and sunny day and checked out That New Bridge you've read about.
Then we got on the 7Train at the Vernon-Jackson subway station and it was another great day. Tomorrow would be the NYC Marathon and we were ready for a good night's rest with another long day before us.
n marathon day, Susan and I both volunteer every year at the gel station at mile 18 of the Marathon (First Avenue and 93rd Street). We meet up with our old friends Kathy and Victor Soohoo. But before our shift starts, we would head to Central Park where we attend the annual Marathon Breakfast put on by the Central Park Conservancy. Since Susan lives on the East Side, she generally goes by the gel station at around 9:30, before it opens, and picks up our credentials. This time however, due to a screw up by the gel vendor, There were no credentials to pick up. And the police, keeping folks with no credentials off the course, would not be amused if we said "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!". But somehow by carefully evading the police we managed to cross over and back across Fifth Avenue for our breakfast, and later sneak onto the course on First Avenue to do our job. So there, "we don't need no stinkin' ceredentials!"
The gel station is basically a group of 15 - 20 Volunteers who stand on either side of First Avenue and the runers can grab a "Gel" as they run by. A "Gel" is a packet of surgery syrup with various flavors. This year they were labeled organic.
On the west side of the avenue there was a music station where a DJ continuously blasted out music with a strong beat to motivate the runners. Towards the end he put on that old Sinatra favorite "New York, New York" and we really danced and swayed to that. Lee R., one of the volunteers, took a video of that scene and it shows the pack of runners late in the day (around 3:30) with a few walking and not many going for a gel. I think we were as tired from standing hours on end as were the runners. It shows a good vew of the race from the volnteer's perspective and has an unexpected and dramatic ending when one of the runners recognizes some of the volunteers. We were on the other side of the avenue so for the most part we were out of the picture. Here's the video: Marathon Gel Station Video. When it comes up, use the controls to start it going. If you really have sharp eyes, you can spot Susan with her blue coat on the far side of the road in the video.
After our shift is over, sometime between 4:00 and 4:30, Susan and I and Kathy and Victor pick up a supply of the gels and walk back along the course where a string of cold and tired particpants are slowly walking or limping along. It's sad when you realize they have over 8 more miles to go.
But when we get to 77th Street we arrive at the true reason why we do this every year — : `
The gang enjoying the best Tex/Mex food and the biggest Margaritas on the East side. We'll be back again next year, you can bet on it!
y the 2nd week in November, I had been running for about 3 weeks since my left calf problem. I was ready to do some real running, but not too far. Susan had an idea to run about 8 miles to the NY Botanical Garden, mostly following the route of the we had run last year. The NYBG was featuring The Kiku (Chrysanthemum) Exhibit, a special exhibit of the the Chrysanthemum as celebrated in Japan. For the Japanese the flower is almost sacred and they have bred hundreds of variants. But unlike the orchid exhibits held in the Haupt Conservatory, this was held in the Greenhouse on the East side of the Bronx River which is normally used for growing and breeding flowers but seldom for exhibits. So this would be a very special one time event and we were both eager to see it.
But I was running in the one to two mile range so I couldn't run with Susan for her 8 miles. So we agreed I would take the Metro North train from Grand Central to the Fordham Station and run via East Fordham Road to the NYBG going by the SW Corner of the NY Botanic Garden and continuing along Southern Blvd and meet Susan at the main gate.
But as we are often wont to do, we had different assumptions of where we would get brunch. I had thought we would eat at the NYBG Cafe located near the main gate, but she assumed we would meet there and then we would walk through the garden and eat at the Webster Cafe, just across the tracks from the Mosholu Gate (about a half mile walk).
Well, I messed up that plan and I resolved that in the future we would agree on a plan with all details spelled out.
We decided that we would take the tram over to the Greenhouse which is way over on the East side of the Bronx River and we would make our way back on foot, exploring along the river, across the pedestrian bridge and make our way back through the old growth forest land. But we had to walk a bit before getting on the tram and we passed a bunch of Christmas trees being decorated. All through the garden preparations for the holidays were under way.
We got On the Tram. And it circled around by the Library then headed down towards the river.
The tram crosses the River and goes by a multitude of places that most folks don't see such as the Magnolia collections and the Cherry Trees. We had seen these in our spring visit but this was late fall, on the verge of winter, and the beauty was mostly inside.
We purposely got out near the top of a hill, slightly down from the cherry trees where the lilacs are in full bloom in spring. Then came the Rose Garden. The roses were all gone but workers were busy Getting the garden ready for spring.
Then we saw the The Green House.
We got inside and showed our tickets to the guard but I suddenly discovered I did not have my pack on. I said I must have left it in the tram and the guard said "there's the tram over there".
It turned out we had taken the direct route on the path down the hill by the lilacs and rose garden but the tram went the long way around on the road. So I rushed out and the tram guide handed me my pack. The folks sitting near us had noticed and they were ready to bring it to the tram base station where I could have gotten it back.
Now that the pack was safe on my back, we got to look at the flowers. Never in my life had I seen such a variety of "Mums" before. In most places where you buy them for your garden they are common flowers with no special distinction. For cut flowers they are often attractive with several colors arranged in the bouquet. But these were over the top with dozens of sizes, colors and arrangements. The two sections of the greenhouse were arrayed with columns, bushes, pyramids and even as Bonsai Trees. It was almost like you were at the orchid show in the Conservatory with the mums in place of the orchids.
Check out the album – I've set it to start at the exhibit and the mums go on for some 42 photos: The Kiku (Chrysanthemum) Exhibit at the NYBG. (Move the cursor to the far right and click on the ">" to go from photo to photo).
After exhausting the beauties of the exhibit (if you didn't see the album, click on this link and see it now!!) we made our way over towards the river and found lots of late fall beauties along the way.
First we went by a small grove of Dawn Redwoods. This tree was thought to be extinct but a large stand of them was discovered in China in 1948 and it is now used as an ornamental tree in many places. Although a conifer, it is deciduous and one of the NYBG specimen was prolifically shedding it's leaves.
Next we passed by the historic Old Mill on the Bronx River, which served to process tobacco in the 19th century, and under the The Hester Pedestrian Bridge as we walked north along the river. At the dam north of the bridge we were treated to a Red Tail Hawk perched on a stump midway across the dam (picture left).
We then climbed up the stairs and passed Over the Hester Bridge. and entered the Old Growth Forest. This is said to be the largest uncut stand of hardwoods in New York, with many very old stumps plus new growth. The signage explained how the NBG tries to keep the many current day intrusions (such as invasive species) out of this forest.
We were running out of energy so we cut through the (cultivated) Native Plants Area and finally ended up back by the Christmas Trees which had started our trek.
As we made our way out of the Garden and to the train station, we stopped in at a Pastry Shop on Webster Avenue across from the station and Susan got a cup of coffee to make up (if only a little bit) for her missing brunch at her favorite venue.
Here's an album of the entire trek: A Run to the NY Botanical Garden. Enjoy!
Dear Richard Garland:
Congratulations, you have qualified as a seeded runner for the 2020 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile on April 5 by bettering our seeded runner standards posted at this link .
I am pleased to include below a guaranteed entry code which exempts you from entering the lottery and places you in the Yellow Seeded Runner Corral immediately behind the elite athletes. If you decide to use this entry, please do not go through the lottery process. General race details are available at the event website .
This online seeded runner registration must be completed by February 29, 2020. However, we encourage you to enter as soon as you know you are planning on running the event. Remember please do not enter the lottery for the general running community (lottery being held December 1-12).
... details omitted ...
Sincerely,
Marlene Yencho
Seeded Runner Coordinator, Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile
This was unexpected since I didn't apply for this as I did last year (See my opening discussion on that) but it was based on my performance of this year's Cherry Blossom (see my April 7th post) where I was under the required standard.
But alas, given my training and injury situation, I'll have to take a pass on this. But There is always the 2021
Cherry Blossom!
n Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I decided to go over to the Jack Rabbit (aka The New York Running Company) store at Columbus Circle to buy a new pair of Running shoes. I hoped for a good price but it was impossible to get through to them on the phone and their web site was no help.
So I took theLTrain over to Eighth Avenue and then took theATrain up to the 59th Street Station. TheATrain was crowded and I wove my way through the folks standing in hopes of finding a seat. After making my way about a third of the way up towards the next door. I lost my balance and hit the floor of the car hard. I must have hit my right knee on the way down and landed on my left side. Luckily I did not hit my head. Everyone asked "are you OK? are you OK?" and I said "I'm OK! I'm OK!". A seat opened up and I sat down and I asked the guy next to me if there was any blood on my face and was relieved that he said no. I told him my right knee hurts and maybe something on my left side in the back.
When we got to 59th Street I carefully got out of the car (holding on to something at each step) and made my way up to the store. They were noticeably void of many customers which was a bad sign Black Friday-wise. I found a salesman who was free (they were all just standing around) and told him I wanted to replace the HOKA Stinsons I had on. He determined I was size 11½ and he went back to look for a new pair my size. And no, he said, there was no price markdown for HOKAs today (and Stinsons were priced at $159).
Finally he came out and said there were no 11½ Stinsons in stock but he brought out a pair of HOKA Challengers, a lighter weight shoe (and only $130). I Tried them on and felt they were noticeably lighter but they they had less cushioning. He said they would soften up after you broke them in. So I bought them and took them home. But I didn't put them on and the next Monday I went back and exchanged them for a new pair of Stinsons and paid for the difference, I have run on them a number of times and I am quite happy I had got these and not the Challengers. And that is the end of the story of the shoes.
But that was only the beginning of the story of my fall and my bruised knee and hurt left ribs. I didn't sleep well Friday night and Saturday morning I was due to meet my running partner Susan by taking the Ferry across to Hunters Point Queens and we would run to Greenpoint Brooklyn for lunch (about a 2 mile run). All I had to do was walk up to 34th Street and get the ferry. But it was hard to walk fast, mostly because of my knee, but my ribs were bothering me more than the previous day.
I met Susan (who had run down and over the Queensboro Bridge, about 4 miles) on time and explained my situation and said I would take some short cuts and she should just run her own run. So I took off, half jogging and half walking and met her at the Pulaski Bridge, Meanwhile she had run around the Hunts Point South new park so her route was about a half mile longer. By this point I realized I was not going to be able to run more that half the way and had to take numerous walk breaks. Susan would go ahead and then run back to me and turn around and go ahead again. So this continual leap-frogging gave her more mileage and gave me more rest. The ultimate goal was to check out a new pirogues restaurant in Greenpoint.
We made our way along McGuinness Blvd after crossing the bridge and eventuall zig-zagged eastward till we got to Manhattan and Nassau Avenues. Our favorite Polish restaurant, (aka KJ), was but a block away to the right (north) but today we went to the left looking for the new shop. We almost missed it but soon we found it and got a table in a sparkling new modern looking place. Even the kitchen and bathrooms seemed to have all new appliances. There was a very favorable review in the Times, .
They had a larger beer menu than KJ and I had a "Greenport Black Duck Porter",
a beer I had never hear of. Their website ,
looked as new as the rest of the place but it covered the essentials such as where it is and what the menu looked like.
I recall that I had pierogies and a beer and Susan had pieroies and Borsx`cht soup. We were both quite satisfied and
I told the woman in charge that they compared well with KJ, and when I said we had nick-named that place "The Rusty Knights"
she had a real chuckle.
The night after this run was very painful for me but later in the day Sunday it got somewhat better. I saw my doctor on Tuesday and made a quick look at the knee and he said "that's just a bruise. Nothing broken there", them he poked and prodded my ribs and determined that nothing was out of place and that you'll just have to let it heal. He said the worst pain would be on day 3 or 4 so that was behind me. He said an X-ray would not be of any value, since whatever it showed (like a stress fracture) would not change the treatment, which is to do nothing and let it heal, and yes I could run if I so chose and it would not affect the healing process.
And one week later I ran my usual route on the East River and the ribs did not hurt. It seemed that the worst discomfort was sitting down.
On Sunday morning on December 8th I had scheduled a run with Susan. She would do a loop of Central Park and we would meet at the Boathouse Cafe. We were both on time and we set off for Earl's, about two miles away to have lunch. We took at least 3 walk breaks. I had a nice IPA and we both shared a "Beer Cheese", a specialty of the place.
So my running year ended with a beer in my hand on a point of improvement and hope for a more injury free new year.
And now we turn these posts around to you can read them in time order.
he last post I made to this blog was about having a fall in the subway (it was theATrain) and a few tentative runs I took after that and I figured it would be my last post of the year. But on last Saturday, almost a month later, my running partner Susan and I did a very nice run from the George Washington Bridge to Indian Road Café an old favorite of ours.
Susan had actually started in the Upper East Side and she had already logged about 6 miles and I helped her complete her "longish" run. And although I didn't set any speed records, it was no longer a tentative run for me. In short, it was a much more positive last run of the year than the previous runs. And I got to the GWB also via theATrain, so that subway line is not jinxed.
We followed Fort Washington Avenue up to Fort Tryon Park, arguably the most beautiful park in the city. It was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (son of the Frederick Law Olmsted, who along with Calvert Vaux, designed and laid out Central Park). Olmsted was hired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who not only bought the land from a number of wealthy land owners, but bought out similarly wealthy land owners who had built estates across the Hudson along the Palisades TO PRESERVE HIS VIEW! and then built The Cloisters (also here), and gave the whole thing, to New York City. Read the history on that link and you'll be astounded.
And By The Way, if you've never visited The Cloisters, do it. You won't be disappointed.
The first area of the park we passed through was the Heather Garden. We quickly visited the highest point in the park (at the the flag pole) which is one of two of the highest points in Manhattan with great views in all directions.
Then we went down and over a col and headed up to The Cloisters, shown in the the photo on the left. We were impressed by the colors of the flora along our entire route, particularly since this was in winter. We took some paved paths on the left of the Cloisters which circle around and down to the old Riverside Drive and thence via Payson Avenue to Dyckman Street.
There are a couple of ways to go from Dyckman Street: you could stay on Payson and you'll circle around Inwood Hill Park, or go right (east) one block on Dyckman to Seaman Avenue, which we took since I recalled it was easier since Payson had more elevation gain (and loss). In about a half mile we came to the Farmers Market on Isham Street which we skipped today. Instead, we moved onto an Inwood Hill Park walkway to avoid a little more elevation gain (and loss). What's with this elevation gain stuff? Are we wimps? It wasn't "we", it was "me" (forgive the case, but I couldn't resist the rhyme.)
Now, several hundred very pleasant yards later we reached the extreme north-east corner of Inwood Hill Park,
and we were right across from Indian Road Café aka "The Last Café on the Only Road in Manhattan"
which is true: it is the most northerly eating establishment in Manhattan, and to the best of my knowledge, Indian Road
is the only street, way, avenue, circle, slip, etc. or the like in Manhattan called a "Road". Of course there
were the old Kingsbridge Road and the old Bloomingdale Road, but they disappeared under the Manhattan street grid
and under Central Park long, long ago.
t was, I think in July of 2011 (see intro to the 2012 Run to the Tip of Manhattan) when we discovered Indian Road Café. At first I thought it was South Asian food and I said I wasn't in the mood for that. But Susan said, no, that's the name of the road. So we went in and loved the place and we try to return there whenever we do a run in that area.
Over the years the place has stayed mostly the same. Sometimes overflowing with customers with a long wait time to get a table. Sometime practically empty. The menu has always been special, maybe a little like a French bistro.
Today there were a few (minor) annoyances: the piano was a bit too loud, and I thought the beer selection was a little sparse. But I finally got a Fat Tire Amber Ale and that was just fine. Susan said they're brewed in Colorado and for a long time were not sold east of the Mississippi.
I had a satisfying Salmon Benedict and Susan had an equally fine Huevos Racheros. After brunch we ambled out and did a little walking around. We were in no hurry.
Once outside Susan checked her iPhone which said the best way home was to take the1Train at 215th Street, which seemed a little off (we usually take theATrain at 207th Street), but who cares.
Across 218th Street we noticed a ramp leading down to the water. There was a dock there (permit required) and beautiful views of the Henry Hudson Bridge (see photo above, left), the big Columbia "C" on the far shore and the marshland looked perfect for bird watching in spring.
As we walked up 218th Street we had a good look at Columbia University's Baker Field (technically called the "Wein Stadium at the Baker Athletics Complex"). We usually see it from Broadway but from this side it looked bigger and newer than we remembered. As we continued up towards Broadway I said "Shall we really take the1Train?" and she said "Sure, but let's walk over the Broadway Bridge and get it at 225th Street." We kidded a bit about how we would still technically be in Manhattan and then hit the stairs. Boy, this was the worst uphill we hit all day. Susan, of course soldiered on.
We got in the next train (above right) and both of us agreed it was one of most pleasant runs we'd taken all year.
And as Susan got out at 86th Street, with a parting "Happy New Year", I agreed.