I Thought Summer Was Over?

I arranged to meet the same group that I met up with last week. The original plan was to once again run loops of Central Park. I recommended we change the plan becuase of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure was scheduled today on CPW and in CP. We decided to start on the NJ side of the GWB then go over the bridge and down the West Side. Since I ran 20 last week I was going to run 15 this week.

A light mist was falling as we started over the bridge. I prayed that the rain would not get harder because me running and the rain do no agree. Anytime I run in the rain, I get sick. Fortunately, that mist stopped and the skies remained overcast (at least for now). There were some steep hills between the bridge and the Hudson River Greenway. I tried not think about having to run up those same hills at the end of my run.

At the 7.5 mile mark (around 79th St.) I turned around and started to head back to the bridge. That's when the sun came out and made the rest of the run very uncomfortable. After a brief pit stop at 145th st., I began my final approach to the bridge. At one point after a tough climb up one of those dreaded hills, I noticed a runner sitting down on the ground and in some discomfort. Someone on a bike had stopped as well. We both offered her water and asked if she needed help. For reasons I don't know, she didn't answer until we asked if we should leave her alone. To that question she nodded her head. The cyclist and I shrugged our shoulders and went on our way.

I crossed the ramp to 181st St and began the climb from Plaza Lafayette to Fort Washington Ave. When I got to the top, I seriously considered throwing in the towel and hopping on one of the Jitneys back to my house. I pushed on, down 178 St. and began the climb up to the bridge. By the time I got to the top, my legs felt like jello and I didn't have much left in me. Somehow I made it to the end and drained the remainder of my Gatorade.

The heat was a real factor in today's run. It was hot as hell out there! I thought the temps were supposed to get cooler not warmer. Here are the mile splits from today's run:
Mile 1: 9:47
Mile 2: 11:02 (we got a little lost finding our way to the greenway)
Mile 3: 9:21
Mile 4: 9:00
Mile 5: 9:01
Mile 6: 8:41
Mile 7: 8:57
Mile 8: 9:20
Mile 9: 8:18 (what the hell happend here?)
Mile 10: 8:35
Mile 11: 8:56
Mile 12: 8:52
Mile 13: 9:92
Mile 14: 10:21 (this is where I stopped to help the fellow runner)
Mile 15: 9:07 (this last mile felt a lot longer)
Avg. Pace: 9:14/per mile