Halfway There

I shlepped out to Bay Ridge to hang with the Brooklynites and run my longest distance yet. I've gone from a Nigel on Tuesday to lucky 13 today. 13 big ones. I've basically run a half marathon.

I'm tickled and tired. Exhilaration has given way to exhaustion, so I'll keep this brief. The Brooklynites were excellent company on the road and at brunch later. I got a snap of some of the crew--and an errant lightening bolt. From left to right: Anne, Malek, Jim, Tamara, me, Amanda and our hostess Colleen.

We were running along the path by the Belt Parkway in air so dense and grey it looked like a black and white movie. The Verrazano-Narrows bridge was cloaked in fog, so much so that by the time we saw a small part of the bridge, we were practically underneath it. If you've ever seen this bridge--the longest suspension bridge in the U.S. with two massive towers--you will understand how thick the air must have been. It was bizarre.

I had a few moments of despair out there. I doubted why I ever took this on and wondered whether or not I could somehow get a ride back to Colleen's apartment. I was sure I was running slower than I ever have, and I stopped at least a half a dozen times to massage my foot. My running mate Lisa was terrific. She was cool about stopping, but I don't like to interrupt my shuffling. I just couldn't figure out a way around it. I was preoccupied with bathrooms for a significant period of time when we had at least 5 miles yet to run, but managed to get by. I had to convince myself a few times to just keep going. I reasoned that if I just kept going, eventually I would get there. Stopping wasn't an option, but I really lost steam at the end. I can see that the mental challenge is greater than the physical at times.

Want to see where I ran? Click on the title of this post (Halfway There) and follow the blue line to Neptune Avenue (halfway between the 6 and 7 mile marker). That's where we turned around.

All told, an honest day's running. I'm pleased to have lived through it. Tomorrow I'm doing my first timed run--a 4 miler in Central Park for the cause of the week. Lung cancer. It's an optional run, but a lot of teammates will be there and I'm told it's a TNT alumni run. Even though I had to fork it over to the road runners to participate, I think it's worth it. I want to practice running in a crowd and grabbing water before I tackle the official Brooklyn half marathon next month. I hope I can knock 4 miles off without too much trouble. I hope I feel as good tomorrow morning as I do right now.

Today: 13 miles
Miles to date: 134.6