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Went for a long run down the river on Friday. I went North around Ft. Tryon Park and then down the hill by the GW Bridge.
A short, flat, quiet stretch of running/bike trail, (quiet, unless the Amtrak train is rattling by, the tracks are just to the right), turns into a winding path right next to the river.
There was only one problem. No water. The only drinking fountain on the ground level was at the Eleven Mile Park. (That's Eleven Miles from the South tip of Manhattan) which was about five miles into my run. Temperatures were climbing into the seventies and I was very happy to see that the water was turned on. I had a nice big drink and headed South again. I knew where the next water was. There was only one problem.
It's at the top of these stairs.
I ran up the stairs.
Okay. I ran up the first four flights of the stairs.
At the top is one of the nicest sport facilities in the city. I ran one lap around the track just to see if my watch was calibrated correctly. (It was cheating me .01 of a mile. I fixed that.) and then headed for the nearest fountain to fill up.
The George Washington Bridge suddenly looked very far away, but I knew it just two and half miles to the little Lighthouse at the bottom of a very serious hill and then to home.
More color along the way but no water. I've decided that I have to break out the water bottle belt before attempting anything this long again. Total run was just over twelve miles. The Little Lighthouse appeared and I chugged up the hill, finding first a little baby shoe lying on the path, and a minute later, a woman coming down the hill who was very glad to see me holding the shoe.
The Starbucks at the top of the hill at Ft. Washington Ave supplied me with a cup of ice water and a Venti Iced Coffee. The first I gulped down, the second I sipped as I ran down the hill to Bennett and the finish.
There are big fights going on now around the country over whether or not clotheslines are eyesores. Everyone agrees that the method of drying clothes on a line is much more environmentally friendly, uses little or no energy - unless you ask the person hanging the wet clothes on the line - and the fabrics smell better after spending some time in the sunshine.
- god, have these people so little wrong with their lives that they have to spend time and effort over this?? - 
