Alpine Road

Today I met fellow blogger and Pulitzer Prize winner to be Derek Rose – www.derekrose.com. We arranged to run the Alpine Road trail in New Jersey, which begins just south of the GW Bridge and ends up a steep hill 10 miles later. You run over the bridge, make a left on River Road and head south to the Alpine Road Entrance which is located where a snack truck appears to be permanently installed. The road then winds around to the left and proceeds back under the GW Bridge.

We agreed to meet at 178th Street and Fort Washington Avenue at 7am this morning. We easily recognized each other, as we were the only two people heading out for a run over the bridge at 7am in the morning. The day was wonderfully overcast and cool, making it the perfect conditions for running along the tranquil settings of Alpine Road.

Fortunately, we appeared to have compatible running paces and neither of us seemed to feel we were running too fast or too slow. We simply held a comfortable pace and talked about various things, just as all runners do when they run. Along the way we passed water flowing through the rocks from the cliff sides above, pine forests and the ever present Hudson River.

In my mind I was a little worried about this run. I had a relatively hard workout yesterday and I was afraid of bonking out and getting stuck 10 miles from home, with no way other than walking to return. Even worse, I was afraid of bonking and having Derek feel compelled to deal with my feebleness, especially on a “first date” so to speak.

The first 10 miles went smoothly enough and I felt great while climbing the final 400 foot ascent to the end of the road. We both touched the sign marking the entrance onto 9W and then took a quick break in Ranger Station to get some water and then snap a photo.

Derek is definitely a great downhill runner. I had trouble keeping up with him and I was letting my legs carry me down the hills about as fast as I ever have. I am not timid about flying downhill, but his longer stride length carried him at a pace I could not match. To balance things out though, I was able to take him on the climbs.

At around 2 hours into the run, I started to feel the first real signs of fatigue in my body. My HR started to drop a bit and I had to concentrate to keep my form good and pace up. I settled in behind Derek to let him set the pace and to catch his draft. He pulled me along at a strong steady pace and I was glad not to be doing this run alone. The word “Tenacity” stuck in my mind, because this is what it took to continue at our pace in the face of the discomfit I was starting to feel. These are the moments I’ve come to relish however, knowing that I can dig deeper to keep myself moving. I am also sure that several points from the 2+ hour mark we were challenging ourselves and each other to keep moving and to move faster.

Finally during the return we gained sight of the GW Bridge and we knew the end was approaching. I pointed out to Derek the cliff side to our right and that we needed to climb it in order to get back home. His response was perfect. It was something to the effect that the climb was nothing and that we were tougher than the climb.

After we ran back under the bridge, we challenged ourselves to run a negative split. We distinctly picked up the pace and started to head up the final hills to the bridge. Once we made it to the bridge, the grade leveled out and we started to sprint for home. I am sure it was not 100 meter Olympian effort, but it sure felt fast. We made it off the bridge and back to our start in 1:24:21, almost two minutes faster than the way out.

We caught our breaths and Derek asked if I wanted to go someplace to get a Gatorade or something else to drink. I wish I could have stayed a while, but I had to get back home to take my son to a birthday party. I also don’t drink Gatorade and instead use Recoverite and HEED for my recovery and fueling drinks which I had back in my car.

I drove home and made it back with just enough time to take my son to the Peddle Boat party in Prospect Park. I then got to spend the next two hours peddling (that is moving the boat, not selling them) five rambunctious 6 year old boys around the lake playing Pirate. Needless to say, our peddle boat was the fastest around and inflicted the most damage upon the other boaters; some of which weren't even in our birthday party group.

Run Stats –
Time: 2:50:33
Distance: 21 Miles
HR: 139/155
Calories Expended: 2089
Calories Consumed: 500
Total Ascent: 1360

Beast and Derek after a hard climb up Alpine Road


Alpine Road Elevations