Light rain and near freezing temperatures made their way to New York on Thursday, creating slick roads and less than ideal running conditions. However, 42 hearty runners (many of whom sported tights) decided to brave the wet pavement and get a hard workout in. All the pre-workout buzz centered on James Siegel, who attended his first workout in 3 years. And I thought I would be the only out of shape old-timer in attendance!! The workout was the classic down the ladder affair, where each interval gets progressively shorter, yet run at a faster pace. Due to the precipitation, Coach Tony limited his opening remarks, and decided to let the first quarter mile of the opening interval serve as the warm-up. By 7:14, the first group set out. Fortunately, the rain subsided by the end of the hour, allowing teammates to converse after the run in (somewhat) reasonable conditions. The big post-workout conversations centered around the variety of different workouts our club does. Runners are known to be complainers, but no one can complain about the diversity of our workouts. Tony truly uses every inch of Central Park in designing our routes. By 8:10, everyone left the statue, presumably heading home to watch the epic conclusion of the Real World Road Rules Challenge.
Note: next week is the unofficial CPTC Thursday Night at the Races. Everyone is strongly encouraged to head up north to the Armory and compete in 3000M, 800M and 1500M track races. If you go to the Armory just once this season, Thursday should be that day. Although a workout will take place at Daniel Webster on Thursday, this reporter will instead head up to the Armory to bring you first-hand coverage from the track.