A Hilly Northern Manhattan Long Run

On Saturday it was time for another long run. I usually let myself wake up without an alarm on the weekends (which means sleeping until around 8) and then leisurely prepare for my long run. This week, however, I had an important commitment--a visit to the famed L&B Spumoni Gardens! This meant I had to make sure to be done with my run by 11 but I still got to sleep in until 7:30 which was heaven! For the run, I set out going north along the Harlem River Drive bike path. I love this short stretch because even with all the cars, being sandwiched between Highbridge Park and the Harlem River makes you feel like you miles from the rest of Manhattan. Few other runners use this path so you also usually have it to yourself--a rarity in the city.

At Dyckman Street I headed west and did a bit of a loop through Inwood Park, another great spot for running that many people who live in the southern reaches of Manhattan never experience. Then, because I am training for the infamous hills of Boston, I decided to tackle some of the hills of Washington Heights. This entailed a nice run through Fort Tryon Park and a visit to Manhattan's highest natural point. Finally, I traveled back down to the Hudson River Greenway and followed it to 72nd Street. The run ended, like so many of my long runs, with a fresh bagel and cream cheese!

See the elevation profile after the jump:
Here's what the elevation profile looked like for the run:

As for that pizza I was talking about...you'll just have to wait for my next post to live vicariously through me.