I went running in Central Park well before dawn this morning, which isn’t as impressive as it sounds with sunrise at 7:15 these days. Anyway, it was dark, pitch dark, but the roadways and the Reservoir path were packed. Some folks were plodding, but plenty were hammering. With the marathon just 12 days away, now’s the time to get in those final speed workouts, hill repeats, and tempo runs.
It was a great morning to run. Crisp but not nippy, breezy but not gusty, pretty sunrise (finally). I’m sure not everyone out there was a marathon entrant, but the energy was all about this great event coming up just a week from Sunday.
As my training partner and I jogged home after our mile repeats, I remarked that it was a shame that the week after the marathon, when Standard Time resumes, it’ll be glorious daylight an hour earlier—but the marathoners won’t enjoy it—they’ll be taking their downtime. But when I thought about it, I realized there was something very bonding about the energy of the park this morning, shrouded in darkness. Everything looked so calm, but beneath the surface…vroooooommmm!
-Gordon B.
