Taking the Easy Way Out

I am normally an all-kinds-of-weather runner. Running in a freak October blizzard? Check. Running in a hurricane tropical storm? Check. Triple-digit heat? Check. Freak lunchtime downpour? Not so much.

Today on my lunch break I went for what was supposed to be a nice easy run over the Manhattan Bridge and back. My office doesn't have windows (hey, at least I have a door that shuts) so I never know exactly what the weather will be doing when I get outside (yes, I've heard of weather.com, but half the time it's wrong and the other half the time I'm too lazy to check it). Anyway, when I went outside it was drizzling slightly. Okay, I said to myself, you got this. It's better than extreme humidity.

Unfortunately, just as I was running under the Brooklyn Bridge, mother nature decided to go crazy on me. Niagara Falls was literally transported 400 miles to New York City where its force was unleashed over lower Manhattan.

Maybe that was an exaggeration. Maybe.

Anyway, I gave up and did 4 miles on the dreadmill at the gym down the street from my office. Yes, I may have finished my run soaked in sweat, but at least I didn't get rained on.

Dumb Ideas: Running the Brooklyn Bridge at Lunchtime

Yesterday I decided to go for a lunchtime run. Things aren't super busy this week at work and the extra hour or more of sleep that I get when I don't run in the morning sounded nice. All would have gone well but I overlooked one crucial fact--as soon as the weather turns nice, the Brooklyn Bridge walkway turns into a clusterf***.

Photo credit: Streetsblog.org

While the iconic bridge offers some of the best views in the city and is tantalizingly close to my office, it is no place to run at lunchtime on a nice day. Early morning? Okay. Raining outside? Should be fine. Warm and sunny? You'd have better luck traversing the seventh circle of hell. Of the three East River bridges that connect Brooklyn to Manhattan none draw tourists like the Brooklyn Bridge which unfortunately happens to have the narrowest walkway. It's divided by a white line between bikers and walkers, but few tourists manage to stay inside the line. I'm hardly the first person to document this phenomena (check out Vincent Mounier's post from last year for some great photos on the subject).

I have nothing against these tourists but the moral of the story is clear: if you want to quickly traverse the East River during peak hours, you are better off going north to the unloved Manhattan Bridge. The extra distance is more than made up by the time you save dodging oblivious tourists and the occasional angry biker. I think I'll save the Brooklyn Bridge for my crack of dawn commute runs from now on.
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Yesterday's Run: 5.2 miles at 7:48 pace.

Running for Lunch

In case you can't tell, I'm still getting used to being part of the working world, at least the 9 to 5 working world. I finished grad school back in May and spent the summer working at a bakery in Seattle so this is my first foray into the "real word" of the 9 to 5 office job.

Photo credit: thelowdownny.com

Lunch time is kind of weird. Some days I have so much work to do that I feel guilty leaving my desk (so I don't). Other days, I may not be as busy, but I feel too tired to go anywhere other than our cafeteria. The point is, lunch doesn't tend to be that exciting. Well, inspired by my first running commute, I decided to try something new today: the lunch-time run!

Instead of heading to the cafeteria today I headed to the locker room and suited up--or suited down? Anyway, I managed to get in a decent 5 mile run along the East River. It was a little windy but the temps were good and best of all I got to do the whole run in sunlight! (It's funny how much I appreciate that now, but it really makes a world of difference). There were plenty of other folks out enjoying the weather on their lunch hour (and one jerk smoking a cheap cigar in the middle of the bike path).

When I got back from the run I ate at my desk while working to make up for lost time but I felt a lot more focused the rest of the day. I'm not sure I'll have time to do any sort of regular lunch run regime, but I will definitely be adding this to my occasional running repertoire.