Monday, August 24, 2009

Running in Manhattan Central Park



















We took a trip down to NYC this weekend for a little R&R (can you R&R in the city?). We had a great time checking out the latest in fall fashion and visiting all the local Manhattan specialty running stores. One of the (ahem) giant athletic companies is now selling polka dot skirts.....wow, while aggravating, it is also quite flattering to see this famous international athletic company following our design lead!

Unfortunately I could not find any running events in nyc this weekend, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they actually close park avenue from the Central Park all they way to the Brooklyn Bridge every other weekend in the summer for runners & cyclists to allow them a safe place to workout and with cleaner air. It's called NYC Summer Streets - and it's every Saturday in the month of August from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. - Very cool!

Sunday, I headed to Central park for my long run. They hubby rented a bike with a baby seat and kept me company on my double loop around the outside of the park (12 miles total). It was another warm and quite humid day - I think I probably sweated a few pounds in water. Central Park is such a great place for runners - nothing like doing your long run with thousands of others on any given weekend day with convenient refreshment vendors.....water, gatorade, popsicle, etc. a marathon runners oasis! (They would make a killing if they added Gu & sport beans and Ultima replenisher to their offerings!). We had to bribe the baby a bit by the second loop around the park - he was getting tired of his backseat view of daddy's rump.....a chocolate & vanilla Hagen daaz did the trick. However, I think more of it ended up on the hubby' running shorts than in baby's mouth. I decided not to tell hubby what was going on in the backseat with the ever-melting ice cream until after the run. Central park is a great place for training - there are some great rolling hills that would also work for hill repeats. The loop around the resevoir is my favorite - great cityscape views from one side of the loop. Saw lots of NYRR jerseys and some other training groups along the route. No doubt in the midst of New York Marathon Training which is now only a few months away.

We "heart" NY! See you in November!

4 comments:

Lizzie said...

I have done two races in CP this year and both were wake up calls that I needed to start incorporating hills into my runs! I love (well, when I'm not totally clueless as to where I am) getting lost running through Manhattan. There's plenty of sights to keep your thoughts occupied. Sounds like a fun weekend!!

IzzyBubbles said...

CP is one of my favorite places in the world to run...it's too bad I live in KS! Running in CP is always a highlight of a trip to NY for me.

Are you guys going to be out at the Disneyland half marathon in a few weeks? I'm in the mood to shop!

Zoƫ said...

Sounds like you had an excellent run! That is so awesome that the city shuts down a street for cyclists and runners...that's a great incentive! I wish more cities would follow. :)

Nicole said...

That sounds lovely! And I have to say: you look really great in your running skirt.

I like the idea of polkadot skirts!