marathon
morningside dr / 122nd st / la salle st / st nicholas terrace / 141st st / edgecombe ave / harlem river dr greenway / 9th ave / 201st - 207th st / isham st / 211th -220th st / park terrace e / park terrace w / cooper st / cumming st / payson ave / staff st / henshaw st / post ave / dyckman st / vermilyea ave / sherman ave / ellwood st / 196th st / nagle ave / thayer st / arden st / sickles st / bogardus st / hillside ave / bennett ave / 182nd - 193rd st / laurel hill terrace / wadsworth terrace
26.21 miles
today was the day. sunny, no rain, but under 80 degrees fahrenheit. a miracle day. i set out with a goal to walk a marathon, and somehow, it happened. eight hours of walking, upwards along morningside, saint nicholas, and jackie robinson parks, then along the hudson river on the harlem river drive greenway, then zigzagging across the tippy top of this island.
twas the most diverse walk i have been on— or so it seemed (except for asians, perhaps, though the elderly all begin to look alike). i saw yarmulkes and kebabs and empanadas and chinese food, and i listened to various songs in español. it may have simply been the mileage, but this neighborhood felt like new york: small minority enclaves living in interminglance with each other.
it’s a whole new world up here at the top of manhattan. st nicholas terrace almost feels like the suburbs. the hudson river drive offers a clear view of the high bridge, as well as the alexander hamilton and washington bridges. the shift between inwood and what feels more like the heights and a more jewish neighborhood is abrupt yet still blurry.
the walk was good, and this list of sights (and sounds and smells and shouts) is a very long one: leaves bigger than my face; saturday morning exercisers; an orange skirt; an abundance of churches; a remark, ‘they probably think like how we would think if someone picked up our poop’; a woman phographing blush flowers; tess’s memorial; a couple both wearing masks, more noticeable these days somehow; a yellow vespa; a lone white bike; a blue door; ‘you’re finally off!” cheerfully shouted by a security guard; a double stroller with two babies; a wailing fire engine; a kind handshake; ‘you only get one life so you just keep livin’; cupid shuffle but no shuffling; an empty swing set; a swimming pool in jackie robinson part, joyful noises; an artist selling his wares; jet skiing on the hudson river; the bronx; canadian geese; peter jay sharp boathouse; car wash central; the place where the bodega drinks come from; the department of sanitation, a line of garbage trucks (the horrid stench); checkers.
the list isn’t over!: flavored ice; a green guitar; kebabs grilling; a black bodega kitty; the home of mta buses and spectrum trucks; a bird eating a bug; teenagers smoking; a crowd around a table covered by dominoes; ‘you are so beautiful’; firefighters sitting around doing nothing; a little girl in hot pink sunglasses on a hot pink scooter with a tiny sneeze; coin throwing and a crowd; plant lights; a fabric store; googly eyed babe; a man feeding rice to pigeons; korean acupuncture; half a comb; some pretty dang fluffy clouds; a woman sitting on a crate eating rice; a carefree cat in the middle of the road; dap up in the crosswalk; a tiny red tricycle; two ladies judging passerby; biker noise pollution; a conversation from sidewalk to first floor window; yeshiva university; ‘yo trabajo para ella’; taco truck being moved a lil child playing games on a phone on a stoop.
we shall revisit the topic of walking alone as a woman, for it is my only experience in this life. midway into my walk, i noticed four men sitting under an awning, street empty before and behind, the only reason for a heightened sense. i purposely did not make eye contact (i did not wear a sleeveless top this morning). they quieted their conversation as i approached. as i passed one man whistled and my stomach tightened. but he carried on a tune instead. and i walked on.
perhaps you wonder what i ate today, warm and trying to keep cool, moving and trying not to stop:
a tea latte
a dodie egg
a mentaiko onigiri
a chocolate chip cookie
an iced coffee
a coconut juice
a vanilla protein drink
a leftovers and
a fried egg.
the delis uptown give you a straw with your soda.
in the last six miles, the walking became more conscious. i extended my strides, then weirdly began to run on laurel hill terrace, and on 186th too. not a sentence i would have thought myself saying, but the change in pace and muscles was relieving.
two hazy thoughts at the end of this marathon:
it’s kinda crazy that sunlight can get through the glass to the plants.
what in the heck is with the spurting fire hydrants.
