Central Park - 1, Me - 1

Brady doesn't like seeing me pack my bag to go running.  This was after I chased him out of it twice already.

This weekend, Central Park did not win, I won!  I ran the entire loop without stopping!  I strategized it better this time and ran so that the Northern Hills would be at the last leg of my run, not in the beginning.  I also slowed myself down so I had the energy required to make it up the biggest hill. 

It was hard.  I wanted to run faster.  I didn't want to accept all of the people zipping by me, but I swallowed my pride and paced myself.  The only time I sped up was the last mile or so when I realised I was trailing a little old lady.  No, I'm not exaggerating.  There was a little old lady runner running in front of me.  I felt too pathetic running behind her so I pulled on ahead.  (Let me tell you, I felt just as pathetic feeling happy about passing her as I did when I was running behind her.  She was the only person I passed all day...)

Running in the Park is a lot of fun but it's also incredibly humbling.  The lower you go, the more crowded it is and the more runners you see.  A lot of them are doing smaller loops so even the runners who are about at my level are running faster because they aren't running as far.  Then when you get up north, you start to see a lot less people, and all the runners that you do see are much more hard core.  They tend to be doing hill repeats and look really good doing it.  I almost feel in the way when I'm up there and it makes me feel a certain kinship with the very few runners who you see walking up to the top of the hill.  ("Kinship" as in "I feel your pain, but look at me I'm still running!  Nannynannypoopoo")  Then there are the really hard core runners that you see a few times along the path, the ones who are all sweat and muscle, who don't even take notice of you as they pass you by with the grace of a gazelle.  After the second or third time you see them running towards you, you realize that they are running the same long path you are, they are just doing it multiple times and at many times your speed.  (They are probably thinking "Nannynannypoopoo," at me, so it all evens out.)  Then you come down out of the hills again and you're exhausted and sweaty and tired and you're surrounded by all the people who didn't go running in the hills.  You try to feel smug about how you survived the hills without walking, then you realize that you've been trailing a 70 year old woman for the last quarter mile and everything comes into perspective.

So yeah.  The park is fun but it makes you realize just how far you have to go...

This weekend coming up, my goal will be to do the same loop but to add another half mile in somewhere.