I was trying to complete this post all morning but was glued to the real-time televised unfolding of the capture of the bomb suspect here in NYC/NJ. I’ve been struggling to focus and feeling awkward about sharing my “silly running” stories. So let me start by saying that I’m impressed by the swift work of law enforcement and that the bomb suspect was caught but I’m not relieved. I’ll never be relieved. The world is a different place now….especially since 9/11. I will continue to live my life but will always be alert and aware that anything can happen right here in my neighborhood. I AM “potentially” in harm’s way every day.

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OK, now onto my “silly running” post…

It had been WAY too long since I traveled into Brooklyn (or Manhattan) to run with my running friends. But yesterday I finally had both a free schedule and the same mileage (12 miles) on my training “plan” so it worked out.

I traveled over the Verrazano Bridge and into Brooklyn around 9am.

We started at 10am. Starting late morning already made things easier for me. I hate running before I’ve had the chance to really wake up. So this was great. I brought a handheld water bottle and drank it all and also refilled it about 6 miles in but clearly I wasn’t hydrated enough because somewhere around mile 9 or 10 I stopped sweating and got cold. It was 80 degrees and the humidity was super high. The dew point was at 70 which can be interpreted as “super uncomfortable”. Anyway, the last couple of miles we sort of walked a block, ran a block, crawled, shuffled etc. And as soon as my Runkeeper app said 12 we stopped. I forgot to wear my Garmin GPS watch. But really, with Runkeeper and an iPhone with a decent battery who needs the watch.

Halfway through view of Manhattan from Long Island City (Queens)

halfway through view of Long Island City (Queens)

Exactly 12 miles and not a tenth of a mile more. We stopped a lot waiting for street lights…the only drawback to running in a busy city neighborhood vs a path with no cars.

After the run I got a drink and a cherry freeze pop which was heaven….

So refreshing!

until I tried to pour the melted cherry liquid down by tipping my head all the way back. The liquid came too fast and choked me and I ended up laughing and choking simultaneously for a good minute—losing some of the deliciousness to the sidewalk. And Lisa, once she knew I wasn’t in danger anymore, snapped this pic.

I’m holding two water bottles and a phone leaving me with just 2 fingers to keep hold of the attack freeze pop.

The good news is that the first 6 miles were very comfortable so at least I’m “10K-ready”…and in 3 weeks I’m hoping I’ll be half marathon ready :). I enjoyed chatting away with Lisa and Mike. Our friend Liz joined us in Long Island City and then we ran back toward Brooklyn together. Major blog photo fail because I didn’t take a group running selfie of us.

What is your favorite post run refresher? I love a good 7-eleven slurpee but the freeze pop was a good runner up.

Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi? I always go for Coke Zero. I’m slightly addicted.

Have you ever choked?

How do you handle seeing grave current events on TV or online? Are you calm or do you freak out?

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