Feelin' Groovy

Slow down you move too fast
You got to make the moment last
Just kickin’ down the cobble stones
Lookin’ for fun and feelin’ groovy - "The 59th Street Bridge Song" (Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel)

Those lyrics were our marching orders today, a 10 mile "fun" run at "commute" pace, nice and easy as our recovery week continued. We ran 10 miles, 6 in the park and then a trip to Queens over the 59th Street Bridge and back into Manhattan. Our workouts on Tuesday and Thursday were also lighter than usual to give us a chance to recuperate following the half marathon plus 2.9 on Sunday (just the half for me, see photo of me on left).

On marathon Sunday we will again run over the Queensboro Bridge, as it is also known. It comes at the 15 mile mark and is uphill the first half and downhill the second. The bridge is eerily quiet due to the complete lack of spectators. All you can hear is the sound of footsteps of you and all the other runners, with the echo bouncing off the upper roadway above your head. When you run down the exit ramp at the end of the bridge you enter Manhattan for the first time during the race. That is when you experience one of the greatest thrills of your life. As you round the corner onto First Avenue, after 1 1/2 miles (10 to 18 minutes) of relative silence, you are suddenly greeted by the cheers of thousands of spectators. If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be a rock star, this is a great way to find out without having to grow your hair long or take a bunch of guitar lessons.

The 59th Street Bridge is a treacherous place that can ruin your race in 3 ways:
1. You can run too fast up the hill on the first 1/2 of the bridge;
2. You can run too fast going down the hill on the second 1/2 of the bridge; and/or
3. You can start running too fast once you make the turn onto First Avenue, spurred on by the screaming fans.

All of these outcomes are to be avoided, as mile 15 - 16 is too early to be ramping things up, and doing so will come back to haunt you at the end of the race.

All week I had felt pretty tired and sore, a consequence of racing too hard on Sunday. Today I was not feeling it either, kind of plodding along while we were in the park, but that was the game plan anyway, to take it easy. Once I got on the bridge however I had gotten loose and was able to run pretty well. I zipped into Queens and back, whereupon I met back up with a girl I was running with, who had been ailing a bit and was now feeling well again. The rest of the run went smoothly, and after some stretching I'm feeling much better than I did all week.

I may do a Labor Day race on Monday, I'll keep you posted.