This weekend’s run sucked and was awesome at the same time. I took the week off after the Queens Half (I figured I had the right to!) and Saturday was my first day back. I met up with my DetermiNation teammates for an injury prevention clinic, a fundraising clinic, and a run. But this wasn’t just any run. This was the first Summer Streets of the year. So what’s Summer Streets? It’s one of those things that only New Yorkers would think is an excellent idea. For 3 Saturdays in August, the city shuts down Park Ave from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge for runners, bikers, roller bladers, or anyone that wants to get out there and enjoy the traffic-free streets. It’s surprisingly pretty exciting to run down the middle of the street, so I started my run feeling pretty great. I got about 20 minutes into the run when my stomach started doing all sorts of flips. I would normally run through it, but this was almost unbearable, so I started to head back early. And I walked. Walking on my runs makes me feel like a failure. But walking gave me a chance to better check out what Summer Streets has to offer.
I knew most of my teammates would be running for another 40 minutes or so, so I took my time getting back to Hope Lodge and I’m glad I did. Summer Streets has more to offer than I thought. Free bike or skate repair, water and aid stations for anyone that needs it, free bike and skate rentals, and a ton of free food and coupons. I could have had a whole meal if I wanted. They had juices, smoothies, sorbet, fiber bars, cheeses, even a farmer that showed everyone how to milk a cow and make butter, something us New Yorkers rarely see. So I took my time and took in all there was to see and it was pretty fun. I did manage to squeeze in a little more running, but it still wasn’t pleasant. I’ve decided that next week I’m going to go back and rent a bike. My DetermiNation teammates are scheduled to run the Brooklyn Bridge next week, which is a much longer run than I want to do. So I think I might rent a bike and ride along with them. Who’s with me?
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