I’m able to get out in the morning now that I’ve moved my office to White Plains. I’ve long been an after-work runner, but with night falling earlier and earlier, and notwithstanding that I now have a treadmill, I’m relishing the chance to get out in the sometimes brisk morning air. Even better, I’ve been making regular runs to the Nature Study Trail (my page photo is where that trail meets the Twin Lakes trail).
I consider this “my” trail. I’m on it within ten minutes of leaving home, passing over and by bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Hutchinson River and Cross-County Parkways.
I ran into and briefly with CNR’s coach Adrienne Wald last week, not knowing she would cooking up a storm on the front-page of the Times a few days later, in “Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?” (She said, “It’s a joke to run a marathon by walking every other mile or by finishing in six, seven, eight hours,” And, “It used to be that running a marathon was worth something — there used to be a pride saying that you ran a marathon, but not anymore. Now it’s, ‘How low is the bar?’” I won’t address that issue at this point, but I will say that Adrienne, of WTC, does speak her mind.)
We ran past, as I’ve done on my own, someone I assume is a Kenyan running for Iona College. Talk about feeling old-and-slow.
So I’ve been mixing that type of run with my normal road run along the BRP path (on which I saw Jonathan S. loping along with enviable ease last week as well). There’s something peculiar about running there in the morning, see the cars heading up to White Plains, knowing I’ll be there in about an hour’s time.
I admit that it’s not been super easy to hop out of bed, and I’m not talking about pre-dawn. There are those — former teammates (and relay-mates) Jerri Lynn and Dave and Tavia come to mind — who seem to be able to (although I doubt it’s that easy for them), but I’ve found asking myself Charlie Spedding’s question — “How Much Do I Want It?” — has been doing the trick.
So home for a shower, dress, and out the door. I was a bit tired the first few times, but that seems to have passed as well. It is quite different, though, to have the run done with as I face the day. Quite nice.
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October 26, 2009 at 11:14 pm
NY Wolve
Every time I run before work, I feel great. But every time I wake up to do it, I am this close to not going out and blowing it off. Always. I still struggle with it, and haven’t made the transition really
October 28, 2009 at 5:23 am
Ewen
Charlie is doing it for you Joe. I’ve always been an afternoon runner and struggle on morning runs.
The plodding marathoner debate is an interesting one. There’s been discussion about that down here too. I run with a chap who raced marathons in the 60s. They were usually state or national championships where the majority of finishers were well under 3 hours and a straggler might finish in 3:15. So different now.
I don’t see a problem with the plodders as their entry fee helps fund the race, not to mention producing a mass participation spectacle worthy of television coverage.
October 28, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Mark Thompson
Until fairly recently I was strictly an evening runner, except during the summers, when I trained in the morning to escape the heat & humidity. Recently, I’ve been running mornings with Matt Patrick, & several other guys who show up. I find its a lot more enjoyable & easier to get motivated to get up in pitch darkness if I’m running with other people.