This week was a good one from a running standpoint – 19.1 miles, woohoo!

  • Monday: pre-work 5k with the boyfriend!
  • Thursday: 4.5 mile morning jog
  • Saturday: 7.2 cloudy miles
  • Sunday: 4.3 mile sunset run

As my family can most definitely attest, I am not a morning person. And it is really tough to drag myself out of bed to go running in the mornings… but it does feel good to walk into work already feeling like I’d already accomplished something. (And this was one of those weeks where I definitely needed some positive reinforcement – and it really didn’t matter if it came from myself.)

On Saturday  I did a nice long run further north along the Hudson River than I’ve gone before, doing my turnaround at West Harlem Piers Park. This was both necessary, as I had brunch plans with friends that I wasn’t going to miss, and brave. I say brave because, well, I have a semi-founded fear of Canadian geese. I am not joking. It started in college when my roommate convinced me to go on a run off campus along the canal towpath. It must’ve been springtime, and there were all of these Canadian geese along the water’s edge. Big normal-looking Canadian geese. And a bunch of small cute fuzzy-looking baby Canadian geese. While on this run I learned a fun fact* about Canadian geese: Mother Canadian geese are extremely protective of their young and, just like grizzly bears, heaven help the person who dare be so foolish as to come physically between a mother Canadian goose and her offspring. I made this mistake – how was I to know?! – and let me tell you… It. Was. Terrifying. They squawked, extended their wings and flapped them wildly, made jerking motions with their long necks… and goddamn are they fast! I know that geese are herbivores but I swear, on that day, I was pretty certain that they were out for blood. We got out of their unscathed but itwasacloseone. And that is how I remember it.

Anyway… on my way north, there was a small flock of Canadian geese – no babies though, so it was safe! Still though… it seems only prudent to keep my distance, ya know? I definitely picked up some speed as I quickly ran through the geese gauntlet 🙂

SO. MANY. GEESE.
West Harlem Pier… and the pigeons!

Wrapped up my weekend as the sun began to set… it’s a beautiful time to run, but I think I’ve watched a few too many episodes of Law & Order: SVU to feel entirely comfortable running solo at night. Especially in not super populated areas, which actually do exist in some areas of Manhattan, believe it or not – and the running path along Hudson River is one of them 🙂

Still, when it’s 41 degrees out in late January… you just gotta get that run in, even a quick one, because you honestly just don’t know when it’s next going to be bearable out. This coming week is going to be a doozy at work but there’s light at the end of the tunnel: the boyfriend and I are heading to New Orleans on Thursday!! Sure, we’re signed up to run a half marathon while we’re there… but I have a feeling we’ll manage to sneak in a little fun while we’re there too – fingers crossed!

 

 

 

 

* This is not an actual fact. It’s what a certain world leader might deem an “alternative” fact… because while I literally cannot find any corroborating support from any reputable source, it is what I actually and wholeheartedly believe with every fiber of my being. And thus it must be so.