I Like To Move It, Move It...

This morning Drew and I walked through the Park up to where he was supposed to be meeting his trainer, Billy, for Billy's Saturday morning Park class. While we were walking, we were watching the 10K that was going on in the Park. There were some little kids with their dad (it was a women's only 10K) and the kids were doing some cheering. And some singing! They kept singing, "I like to move it, move it..." It was really cute and sort-of got that song stuck in my head for the rest of the morning. I dropped Drew off and went off for a run.

I wasn't really sure what my plan was, but I knew I just needed to get out and run. The race was mostly over by the time we got to the Park, but I was dropping Drew off at 86th Street, so I figured I'd just run north and see what happened. When I got near Lasker Pool, I decided to get off the road and run through the North Woods.

So, it was ridiculously nice there. Actually, the whole experience was a little bit ridiculous because as soon as I started running there, it's all these paths and I didn't really know where I was going, but I figured it didn't really matter. At one point I was in the woods running and then came out onto this meadow area, which was filled with flowers and plants. It was just really beautiful. I couldn't figure out if this whole experience was enhanced by the rap music playing on someone's boom box or not?

Eventually, I got out of the woods and ended up on the upper loop of the Bridle Path. The one I almost never ever take. So, I figured, why not? I'll just do that loop too. When I finished that loop, I had been running for 30 minutes. I wasn't quite sure what to do at that point. I was on the Bridle Path, in between the Reservoir Loop and the tennis courts. There is a lot of grassy area there and I figured that it seemed like a decent place to try out this barefoot running stuff everyone keeps talking about.

So, I took off my shoes and started running. I didn't run very far in any one direction. I just kept running back and forth over the same patch of mostly flat ground. I actually couldn't really notice any real difference in how I was running (my foot hitting the ground), but it didn't take very long before I noticed that my left calf was bothering me. I decided that about 5 minutes of that barefoot running stuff was enough for me, so I put my socks and shoes back on and figured out what to do next.

I figured that I was still feeling good, so I might as well just keep on running! Since I was at the top of the Reservoir path, I figured that I'd just run around that Path until I got to the 90th Street exit. From there, I could run South until it was time to meet Drew. I ended up running South, then running around the Great Lawn to see if I could spy Drew and his group. I didn't see them, so I circled back to the meeting spot and they weren't there. I still had some time to kill, so I figured I'd do a couple of 200 meter sprints while I was waiting. I think I got two of those in before I saw his group heading back to where we were supposed to meet each other.

So, I have no idea how far I ran today. I pedometered out the parts I know for sure and I have no doubt that I ran at least 5 miles. Maybe more. But, whatever the distance was, I felt great while I was running. My calf seems to still be a little bit sore after that barefoot business, but it was tolerable. I guess that's why they suggest that you start out small!

After going home and showering, we headed out to run some errands. Both Drew and I got new running shoes! Mine aren't quite ready for use yet. I'm waiting until I really figure out what I'm doing with my summer training wise before I start tracking the miles on these new ones. Here they are:


If you think they look identical to my old ones, that's because they're indeed the same shoes. Except this time I went with navy laces instead of white. Drew ended up getting some Mizuno's as well. I hope that he likes them! We'll have to test out our new shoes soon!

Running
Time: 55:07
Distance: 5.00 - 5.50 miles?
Calories: 563
Maximum HR: 193
Average HR: 177