On the road again

Today was my first run post Sandy.

My last run was the Freaky 5K on Sunday so it's been just about a week. The majority of this time was spent sitting on my butt in my tiny apartment (being very thankful I had that option), checking in on friends and family, checking the latest news, trying to figure out when (and how) to return to work, willing the power to go back on, eating starchy pre-packaged foods, and drinking chardonnay.

There probably have been better fitness routines.

By Wednesday I had gotten pretty antsy but I had no idea of the condition of the local roads so I went on a walk with my boyfriend to check things out. We took a brisk walk through my normal running route to get some air, watch trick-or-treaters, and stop occasionally for pictures.

There was only one really hazardous spot on my normal path but it was a doozy. Even on the clear streets the roads were COVERED in shattered branches and other debris, there were many spots where I would probably have to run down the middle of the road to avoid breaking an ankle. Probably the most concerning thing was how many compromised trees and branches were clearly being held up entirely by power lines.

I would have loved to run Thursday or Friday but by then I was back at work and the traffic generated by the gas shortage meant I was leaving too early and getting home too late to run (especially given much of my neighborhood had no power) so Saturday it was.

I ended up going out in the late afternoon and since the street from the pic above was still blocked off I had to make one major detour, but otherwise my path was open. The ground was shockingly clear and there were very few areas with bad footing. I was also pretty thankful at the relative emptiness of the streets given I was in head to toe dark grey, but I feel bad that that is pretty much directly due to the gas shortages.

At 48° and windy (my clear streets came at a price) it was officially too cold for my tropical genetics. I was EXCEEDINGLY glad for my long sleeve Freaky5K swag shirt, leggings, and fleece vest, and I noticed that I'm no longer particularly bothered by being covered in sweaty clothing, so that's a plus... I guess?

The aim was to take an easy run but I did find myself pushing 10:00 a bit more often than I had wanted. It's getting harder to go as slow as I need to to maintain stamina, anything slower than 10:30 feels a little awkward, like I'm running through molasses. I guess it's more fun to focus on the burning in my lungs than whatever is going on in the rest of my body? The cold was a bit hard on my lungs and I was unexpectedly winded for most of my run, otherwise it felt great to be back out on the road. I was however VERY dizzy during cool-down and for a bit afterward, and it took a long time to warm up.

My Saturday run: a 5K run plus 5 minute warmup and cooldown walks and negative splits
3.11 miles at an average of 11:01 per mile -  total time of 34:18, max pace of 5:25 (???)

My Nike+Running app has completely lost it's little mind and somehow added an extra mile in to the first mile of my run.

Click image for the runNYC page

I saw this posted via DailyMile on FB a little while ago and as soon as they get their donation page working I'm signing up for the 5k

Per their page:

What is it?

It's a virtual race for those hit hardest by the hurricane. Choose your distance, decide on a donation amount, and lace up to race Nov 4 through Nov 11! Run loops around your neighborhood, through your city… anywhere you please. 100% of all money collected goes to the American National Red Cross relief fund. We'll have a leaderboard and printable certificates for all finishers!