Monday 8/29: Off day.

Tuesday 8/30: Queensboro Bridge repeat then getting a little lost around Long Island City to meet my friends for delicious desserts for 4.3 miles total. The bridge was an interesting experience. I was worried about the climb initially but it was fine (it’s a long one). The only issue was all the cyclists pedaling away in the pedestrian lane. I ran the way back on the side closer to the bikes and the fear made me run a full minute per mile faster. I met my friends at Sugarcube after and enjoyed their $10 special for a pastry (lemon choux for me, raspberry mousse for my friends) and gelato (strawberry Greek yogurt and rosewater flavors for me).

Wednesday 8/31: 7.2 miles total, which includes a warmup mile to the meeting spot, a loop of Prospect Park, 0.7 miles to the bar, then 1.5 miles home after 2 beers and a pimiento grilled cheese. One of the beers was free from a Pacifico bar rep, in my defense. The 1.5 mile shuffle home was shockingly quick and not queasy.
Thursday 9/1: Off day for running, but I did some top rope climbing (and failed bouldering) before work at Brooklyn Boulders. It was good to try another spot and some new routes. I’m still thinking about getting a harness and climbing shoes so I don’t have to keep renting equipment.

Friday 9/2: Fireworks group run to Coney Island. It was a little over 2.5 miles to the meeting spot, then a straight shot down Ocean Parkway to the boardwalk, then down a ways to the main spot near Ruby’s and Nathan’s Famous. 8.7 miles total, most of it with 2 other PPTC members at a conversational pace. We then stood in line for Nathan’s, watched the fireworks, and finally got our food close to 40 minutes after getting there. My chili cheese dog was amazing but the lemonade stole the show. We took the Q back and I did some foam rolling before bed.

Saturday 9/3: Off day from running. I drove a minivan full of friends up to Newburgh to our favorite Lawrence Farms Orchards for early season apple picking and produce shopping. Obviously I was most excited about apple cider donuts, but all of the other goodies were fun, too. I bought a fair amount of Honeycrisps and some eggplants. We went to a British pie shop for lunch, then I had Chinese delivery for dinner for carbing up.

 

 

 

 

Sunday 9/4: Long run day (or as Carla says, Church of the Sunday Long Run). My NYRR Virtual Trainer called for 13 miles but most other training plans would have me at 14 and I knew I would feel a lot more confident going longer. I left at 8am and did a warmup mile and loop around the park before meeting up with the group at 9am. Fortunately, the group was willing to go around 9-10 miles at my pace, so I kind of led the way across the Brooklyn Bridge, through lower Manhattan, back across the Manhattan Bridge, then a quick pit stop for water before ending at the new Park Slope Juice Press. I went just over 14 miles, so figured 14.1 would be better for inputting into my virtual trainer. Strava ended up giving me 14.5 miles total, but I assure everyone this was “just” 14.1 miles. Which makes it my longest run EVER. I’ve done 13.1 (really 13.3 because of not running tangents) in half marathons in 2015 but never further. These numbers made it feel real for me. I thanked everyone profusely for joining me on this momentous occasion (yes, really) and excitedly drank my free watermelon juice while strolling downhill.

I ate a Honeycrisp immediately, then downed some duck poutine and roast pork sandwich at Smorgasburg plus some apple cider donuts. Then I made good use of the Japanese and regular eggplants I bought with this miso roasted eggplant recipe I’ve been meaning to try forever.
Total: 34.3 miles out of recommended 30-34 miles. Yeah, that’s right, I achieved more than the minimum.