My, How the Park Has Changed!

There's a great article in tomorrow's Times (no I can't see into the future--it's already posted online) entitled "When Walkers Were Weird and Runners Few." The subject matter you ask? The Central Park Reservoir, a topic I've written about a few times.

As Christopher Gray begins:

Almost everyone calls the dirt path undulating around the Central Park reservoir the “runners’ track.” But ever since the ugly chain-link fence from the 1920s was replaced with a reproduction of the original in 2003, the path has often been crowded with walkers, dog owners and even cyclists jockeying for position. Runners resent the new arrivals on their course — but is it theirs?

He goes on to talk about the reservoir's long history. Construction began in 1858 and by 1862 it was actively supplying water to Manhattan. Apparently in 1926 the original wrought iron fence was replaced with an ugly utilitarian chain link fence. In 2003, after scuba divers found a remnant of the old fence at the bottom of the 40 foot deep reservoir, the Central Park Conservancy commissioned a replica, finally replacing the nearly 70-year-old eyesore.

The article does a nice job of saying that the runners weren't here first (although they arguably kept the track alive during the 1970s and 1980s when many folks thought it too dangerous for a leisurely stroll). At the end of the day we need to remember it's shared space.

I really encourage you to real the whole article--it has some nice historical vignettes.

On Track

Today was my last "hard workout" before Boston. I've used Pete Pfitzinger's training schedule for several marathon cycles now (although this was my first time using the 12-week plan instead of the 18-week one) so I know what to expect. That said, his final track workout always gets me a little nervous--it's mile repeats. 

I dread mile repeats. Last night I lay in bed thinking, Do I really need to do these? I know what a mile feels like... Couldn't I just run 800s instead? Or better yet, skip the speed work altogether? Well, I conquered that inner voice, though not until this morning when my alarm finally went off. (I'd probably been awake for at least an hour wondering when the misery would start.)

As with a lot of my speed work, I do mile repeats around the Central Park Reservoir. Because it has markings every 20 yards and is clearly labeled 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and so on, it works pretty well. You don't get the same hamster feel that a track can sometimes give you and it's easier for me to get to than the nearest track.

As much as I was dreading today's run, it went pretty well. It was definitely brisk out this morning, but I got to enjoy the sunrise over Central Park about halfway through my run. Even before the sun comes up, the pre-dawn reservoir is a nice sight to behold:

Photo from Central Park.com (You think I do speed work with my camera?)

The repeats went pretty well. I started out aiming for 10k pace, but probably ended up closer to 8k. They were 6:07, 6:04, and 6:02. Those are better than I did last cycle and my legs felt pretty fresh. Hopefully after a week of easy running they'll feel even better.
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Today's Run: 8.3 miles at 7:28 pace (that includes the mile repeats and recovery jogs).

WRONG WAY Runners

I read the NY Times daily but somehow I missed this awesome post from the City Room Complaint Box feature. It's from last week and the author zeros in on one of my running-related pet peeves: people who go the wrong way around the Central Park reservoir.

For those who don't run regularly in Central Park, the reservoir is ringed by a 1.58 mile dirt running path. The path is relatively narrow--wide enough for about three people to stand side-by-side--so users are restricted to running in one direction, counter clockwise. Strollers, dogs, and bikes are also prohibited. There are bright green signs every few hundred yards with instructions, arrows and pictures for the newcomers. Unfortunately, plenty of folks seem to ignore the signs.

During peak hours, especially in the evenings or on weekends, the path gets so packed that it can be tough to navigate when everyone is moving counterclockwise. Throw in a few folks who feel entitled to go clockwise and it's gets downright frustrating. Unlike the post's author, I've also seen the occasional bike, stroller, and dog on the path too. The people with bikes are usually tourists with their Bike N Roll rentals and I'm sure some of them don't speak English and/or are genuinely confused. I've have a harder time believing that everyone else is. As the Complaint Box author says:

Is it really so difficult to heed the signs? It may be possible to miss sighting one of them. It takes some effort, or sheer indifference to the world and other people around you, to miss all of them.

I've talked to other runners who sometimes [knowingly] go the wrong way around the reservoir and they don't see it as a big deal and plenty of commenters who posted on the Times website seem to think the Complaint Box author is loopy for suggesting they follow the signs (actually something of them seem to think she's a whole lot worse than loopy...). Clearly this issue isn't as black and white as I had thought! 

 

Track Woes

I know President's Day was last week, but allow me to invoke our founding fathers for a moment (God knows the presidential candidates have been invoking them on an hourly basis). Our founding fathers recognized that we have certain unalienable rights--the right to due process of law, the right to just compensation in cases of governmental takings, the right to religious freedom--but it's obvious none of our founding fathers was a runner.

If there had been runners in that first Congress at Federal Hall in New York, surely one of them would have included the right to a track!

What am I talking about? It can be really difficult to find a good all-weather 400 meter or 440 yard track. In New York City, there are a handful of tracks, but most of them fall into one of four categories:

(1) Weird distance - It's hard to run 800 m repeats on an unmarked 330m track!

(2) Weird shape - It's tricky to maintain speed on a track with 90 degree angles (plus, these tracks usually also fall into category (1))

(3) Limited Hours - Some of the nicest tracks are only open certain times of day, times that don't really allow people with jobs good options for getting in a workout.

(4) Pay-per-use tracks - There are a handful of indoor tracks in the city, but these require you to pay each time you want to use them and they usually fall into category (3) and sometimes categories (1) and (2) as well.

There's also a fifth category for tracks that are just too far away for me to get to on a weekday. There are great tracks at McCarren Park, the Redhook Recreation Area, Van Cortlandt Park, and Forest Park, but there is no way I can get to those places before work. There are two tracks close to me, one that's approximately 320 meters with 90 degree angles and one that doesn't open until 6am. I guess when you have Manhattan real estate prices to deal with, tracks just aren't a winning proposition.

For now, I'll continue to make due with the Central Park reservoir loop but I'm not going to stop dreaming about a day where I can live across the street from a pristine all-weather track!

A Tuesday Night in the Park

I knew I was going to be sore yesterday after my Monday long run--in a three day period I managed to run over 45 miles! Given this inevitable fact, I decided to take yesterday easy. I skipped my morning run and told myself that if I needed to, I could take a rest day.

Midtown from the Reservoir at Night--I wish this photo could do it justice.

 Well, by the time work was over, I was itching to get outside. The run I was supposed to do, 8 miles with 10x100 at the end sounded doable so as soon as I got home I laced up and headed out the door. My quads felt exhausted so I was a little worried about the strides, but I figured I just go by feel.

Tuesday night is a big night for team practices in the park so there were a fair number of people out on Park Drive. When I passed the Road Runners Kiosk there must have been 30 people milling around!

After a circuitous route by the Great Lawn, I made my way to the reservoir for some strides, all the while praying: Please don't be too crowded! Thankfully, the reservoir was pretty empty (though as usual, about half the folks using it were going the wrong way!).

My strides ended up feeling great with each one faster than my set last week. It just goes to show you that sometimes even tired legs can still get in a good workout. I'm glad I didn't blow yesterday off because now I still have an earned rest day that I use another day this week...or not.

An early 8, or why I love the Reservoir

Today my schedule called for an 8 miler with 10 x 100m strides (actually, the schedule called for this run yesterday, but I figured I would take advantage of the wamer temps–hello mid-40s!–for my 11).

In an ideal world, I would do strides barefoot on the grass, but in NYC in the middle of winter trying to find an open stretch of flat green space is like trying to find a nude beach in Dubai. I’ve found that the next best option is the Centeral Park Reservoir loop. It’s a dirt/gravel path with markers every 20 yds, so computing distance is easy, and it’s flat! The only downside is that for a day or two after any big rain, there are giant puddles everywhere (thankfully, it hasn’t rained since Monday).

The run itself wasn’t too eventful. My strides were pretty consistent, with the final 5 being about 1 second faster each than the first 5. The only weird thing was a pain I noticed in my right hamstring during my cool-down. Hopefully this is just one of those random aches that’ll go away after some quality time with the foam roller tonight!

Note: This entry was originally posted January 25, 2012.