Oh Deer!

Before reporting today, I recommend this post by NYFlyGirl. I'd seen it before and it still makes me laugh.

Today I met a group of four Flyers and some folks from the Van Cortlandt Park Track Club for a carpool trip up to Hastings, NY to run along the aquaduct. After rolling out of bed at 5:10 so I could hit the train by 6:00, I arrived at VC Park at 7:15, 30 minutes early. So, I decided to hit the bathroom. I was actually really surprised because under the stands at the VC track is a full locker-room that looks like it hasn't been modified since around 1960. After walking down a long hallway, I entered a bare room with about eight rows of wooden benches -- nothing else. The showers were minimalist, just a tiled-floor, cement block room with a line of shower holes. That's really all they were, holes for water to come out. It was a far cry from the self-enclosed showers with curtains (and provided shampoo, etc) at the New York Sports Club Do we really need to be that modest in the locker-room? It's silly. The doors to the toilet stalls were actually made of wood and had draw bolts. If I could see in grainy black-and-white, this would have been just like a historical documentary.

After I met the group, we carpooled up to trail. In a totally unplanned segregation, the VC Track people went out for a 10mm pace beginning with the short loop, while the Flyers went out for a 9 mm pace beginning with the long loop. OK, no offense, but beginning with the short loop's really dumb because you've then run 7.5 miles and get to look forward to 9.5. If you start with the long loop, when you finish you've only got a little more than a 10K to go. Wut-ever. Running such a mental sport already that you don't need to give yourself any psychological hurdles. Anyway, despite a bathroom stop, we met the other group back at the start where we switched loops.

The highlight of the run was when we came up on two deer standing in the trail. That would have been cool enough, but then they charged us before turning off into the trees. The charge induced a little nervousness in the group and I definitely heard a "Please don't have rabies" from someone behind me. But any nervousness was well worth it since these animals turned off the trail less than 10 feet away. Fantastic. Also, we were treated to outstanding views of the majestic red rock cliffs overlooking the Hudson and the river itself.

---

This shot of the cliffs was taken from the George Washington Bridge, which we didn't drive over today. The photographer's site is here. Unfortunately, the view from the GW doesn't really do justice to just how impressive the Hudson cliffs actually are.

---

On the way back, we were driving through the City and treated to a view of a different sort of wildlife. A biker passed us as we were waiting at a light to change so we could turn onto First Avenue. I'm not really sure what the guy looked like, because I was too fixated on his finger's being jammed up his nose to the second digit. And, when we caught up to him a block and a half later, it was still there! Where's the manners these days? If you think about it, it really takes a lot of effort to pick your nose for almost two blocks while biking through Manhattan. I was just thinking, "Don't crash, dude. You'll kill yourself!"

Well, on to the training summary. Trails rock for several reasons. First, it's almost always cooler in the trees than out in the sun. Second, the roads and sidewalks that we normally run on are horrendously bad for the legs. Although I ran 17 miles today in 2:16 (8:00 pace), I feel about the same in my legs as if I'd run 8-10 on the pavement in the City. Don't get me wrong, I'm more tired overall. But a lot of that is due to the early start. And my legs still feel fresh enough that I can go short tomorrow.