Join me for a run?

Zach and I have been preparing for the Ocean City Half Marathon in Ocean City, Maryland. Our race date is just around the corner, on April 28.

This is coming from the girl who decided last year that some people are cut out for running and others aren't and I'm one of those people who is not. 3.5 miles. That was the most I could possibly run last summer. Coincidentally, that was all I had to do for my tri. The stakes weren't high enough.

Then I read Born To Run, by Chris McDougall. I was not interested in running, but a friend recommended to to me while discussing great reads. In the context of "you should read this, it is a great book," I was totally open to it. Had the conversation been, "you should read this, it will help your running," I probably would have passed. Bottom line, the book turns the pages for you. Story, Science, Adventure Travel. It's all in there.

So now I'm training for a half marathon and having fun with it. Every time I go out for a long run, it ends up being the longest run I've done in my entire life, which is a really exciting place to be. A month ago it was 7 miles. Woo hoo! 7 miles! I've never run 7 miles before in my whole life! Then it was 8.5. And last Monday, I ran home from school, which was 10 miles. Mind you, I bitched and moaned silently in my head for quite a bit of it, but my options were limited. Keep running and get home. Walk and get home slower. Plus, it was a BE-YOUUUU-TEE-FUL day, so I kept running.

While running in NYC, the neighborhoods change at about the same pace as it would take you to read a guide book. Little Italy becomes Chinatown becomes the Lower East Side, then up onto the bridge for sweeping views of the city, and down into Hasidic South Williamsburg, along the colorful bike path into Downtown Brooklyn, up and over and back into Chinatown, round the corner into the South Street Seaport, dodge some tourists, past the Staten Island Ferry, into ritzy Battery Park, and on they go just as long as you keep running.

And there is ALWAYS something to look at. Often, while running, I wish I could snap a picture, but the best camera I ever have is my camera phone and I hate to break my stride. I recently biked two of my favorite runs, with camera in hand, to snatch up some of those images that I pass by while running so that I could share them with you all.

Eastbound on the Williamsburg bridge

Great Lichtenstein-esque mural in South Williamsburg

Bike vending machine. Genius. Need more of these. 

Possibly my favorite picture of the bunch. The side of a city vehicle repair shop.

In between Williamsburg and Downtown BK, the Jersey walls are painted
with murals. It completely changes the landscape. 

Creepy federal owned property by the BK Navy Yard

When is the last time you saw a yin yang in a mural?

Sci-fi nerd mural

View of BK Bridge Park and downtown Manhattan from the
Manhattan bridge

Love this. Elegant grunge.

Thanks for the pep talk :)
This is my favorite tag in the city

Chinatown is shady. So much I'll never know about it. 

Beautiful

There's always a party in the projects 

Seaport vendors under the FDR 

Funky seats south of the Seaport

These two buildings may be the definition of juxtaposition.
Located directly across from the SI Ferry

Battery Park

Badass WWII Memorial. 

That omnipresent 'Cuse spirit has not forgotten Staten Island!

One of my favorite memorials in the City.
Don't miss the guy coming out of the water. 

Lady Liberty

This picture is a timestamp.
It's that week when the daffodils die. 

Thanks for coming on my run with me :)