A Long, Cold Run in Central Park

What a whirlwind week it’s been! Last night I was able to get on the earlier flight back to New York from Las Vegas but still didn’t get home until 2am. Unfortunately, Marc, my co-worker, and I learned an important lesson last night. If you land in New York City after 11pm at anytime the taxi stand manager said that cabs only arrive every five to ten minutes. Therefore, we waited in the cold for over an hour.

After crawling into bed around 2:30, I slept like a rock until almost 1pm. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck, not refreshed at all. I guess that’s what happens after being crammed in a middle seat of a six hour flight.

I ate brunch while relaxing with Bo, catching up on our weeks. I knew that the only thing on my agenda today was to do a seven miler in Central Park. Therefore my brunch was toast, peanut butter, and a banana paired with a G Series Fit.

002 003 After checking the weather report a few times, hoping that it would miraculously go from 22 degrees to 43 degrees in the hour before my run. Unfortunately that didn’t happen so I bundled up and got stoked to log the miles.

010 Okay, maybe excited isn’t the right word to use. I was apprehensive of how my body would react to running seven miles after running three days in a row, traveling across the United States, and feeling very dehydrated. image

I ran up Lexington Avenue and then cut over to Central Park so that I could ensure that my miles included hills. The half marathon I’m training for has a number of large hills which means that I can’t be fully prepared unless I spend each long run in the park.

Luckily, I enjoyed this run more than I expected because it was my first chance to enjoy Central Park during the winter outside of a race. It was serene, quieter than normal, and the barren trees gave the entire park an eerie feel.

These flags, in front of The Plaza Hotel, show just how windy it was ruing the entire run.

011 012I waved goodbye to the statues and headed into Central Park with a goal of keeping 10:00 pace during these middle miles after my two slower warm-up miles towards the park. 014 015 016019 020 021Right before my first round of hills I had two Honey Stingers which I absolutely loved! I’ve never tried these before but am in love. The pink lemonade flavor wasn’t too sour or sweet and they didn’t irritate my stomach.

022024 Instead of doing one round of Cat Hill and Harlem Hills I switched my run up today and did Cat Hill once and Harlem Hills in both direction due to turning around at 110th and 7th Avenue. Through the cold wind and freezing temperatures, along with a few fun snow flurries, I kept my pace at 9:58 until my final mile where my legs were showing their exhaustion. Instead of pushing them too hard I did my last mile at 10:03.

These are the runs that make me a stronger runner. By doing my best to run each long training run in the park, my legs will slowly but surely become adjusted to the hills and I’ll be able to power up them, as Gia requests, versus dreading them.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to enjoy a long bath with a shake and some bath salts.

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Don’t forget to enter the Friday the 13th Gaiam giveaway!

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Friday the 13th Giveaway: Gaiam TV

I’m currently having very good Friday the 13th luck as I was able to get on a Delta flight that left five hours earlier than my original flight. No more red eye flight means that my long weekend won’t be ruined! I’m looking forward to spending some time with a special New York City visitor during two yoga classes at Strala Yoga, a triple date filled with lots of cooking, and a long run in Central Park!

You may remember the post I did a few weeks ago regarding gym free exercise options. I was able to supplement my running workouts in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City this week with their abdominal workouts which helped me stay on track with my core work.

After receiving so many comments, tweets, and emails regarding GaiamTV, I wanted to ensure that one of you could experience it for yourself, free of charge!

Gaiam TV

This Friday the 13th is bringing readers good luck because GaiamTV and I are partnering to give one reader a three month subscription so you can enjoy their yoga videos, high intensity workouts, and films in the comfort of your own home. 

Interested? There are two ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment answering one of these questions: Who is a runner you would like to see featured on the Marathon+Moderation series? What is a question you would like me to answer in an upcoming post?

2) Tweet about the giveaway: “@healthyhappier is giving away a 3 month subscription to @gaiamtv today http://p.ost.im/p/eaxTcu!  Please leave a comment letting me know that you tweeted in order to gain a second entry.

Good luck! A winner will be chosen Monday night at 11pm!

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