Back in September, I discovered this big beautiful hill that starts along the Harlem River and peaks at 155th Street. It’s the biggest hill I’ve ever found in the city and also one of the most secluded. Immediately, it became one of my favorites. In fact, more than a favorite, it became a routine. 4 out of the last 5 Wednesdays, I’ve run it. (Last week was the only one I missed because of being sick.) Today was the best trip up there yet.
After some forced rest over the weekend and a light run yesterday, I was jonesin’ for a tough workout this morning. Good thing. When I met up with Antonio here in East Harlem at 5:45, the rain was coming down steady, a brisk wind was blowing in, and the temp was around 50. I was happier than a pig in shit; I love this weather.
Turned on the headlamp and we’re off. Across the Madison Avenue Bridge into the Bronx, up River Avenue to Yankee Stadium. Baseball fans were out, lined up for tickets, not seeming to mind the rain. Crossed back into Manhattan and headed up the backside of the hill easy, and then down the “main” side. At the bottom, heading up along the Harlem River, we had almost no light except what was coming from my headlamp, and were in the midst of a patchwork of deep puddles. To make things even more interesting, a truck drove passed and soaked us with a giant wave. Between that and the river and the rain, there seemed to be very little separation between air and water.
Eventually, we hit the mile six turnaround point and started back towards the big hill. Each of the first 6, we had accelerated a little bit. Mile 7 was another slight increase and led us to the bottom of the hill. Antonio paced us up it because I knew I couldn’t. Not sure if it was the lingering illness or what, but I was really having to work out there today. Anyway, Antonio started quick and kept accelerating. Near the top, it was all I could do to keep up. Literally. I was putting out a 100% effort and somehow managed to keep only a step behind. When we hit the top, I couldn’t even talk. But, I was just so damn happy about conquering that monster hill that I was certainly able to smile.
After slowing a bit to catch our breaths, we sped up again and finished the run with miles almost a minute per mile faster than the first few. It’s such a great feeling to finally be running these things with a strong finish. Makes me feel like I’m progressing as a runner.
Of course, I’m super happy that my knee held up for the 12 miles today too. It was sore, but not nearly as bad as last week. I’ve kept up the whole recovery routine which seems to be working… Knock on wood.