Thursday, April 27, 2006

New York, New York

Two weeks ago I stayed in Chelsea for a change, at 23rd and 6th. I only managed one run, but as you all know, you see so much more when you're running at ground level. From my hotel, I zig-zagged west until I hit the water, then turned north along the Hudson River. If not for this run, I probably would never have come this close to the USS Intrepid, now a floating museum at 46th street. Running past this old aircraft carrier, you can't help but feel the history and imagine the scenes that it must have gone through. I stopped for a brief moment, then pushed on, missing a few details, if you can call the Concorde parked on the port side of this ship a "detail"! I made it north to 59th street, turned east and ran to the corner of Central Park, then back south again to Chelsea, finishing about a 6 mile rectangular route.

Back in my hotel, it took me a couple of nights to figure out what this was outside my window. I know it's not the clearest pic ever, but the bright light is the top of the Empire State Building, and the reddish glow is street level 6th Ave. I didn't recognize it at first because it appeared to be not that tall, but maybe that was because of the angle from my room - I was on the 16th floor, which isn't that high really. I wasn't in a fancy hotel by a long shot, but I think view turned out pretty good, don't you?

Last week, back in Midtown, I thought it might be nice to run along the East River for a change, so I headed out east. I was somewhere around the low 50's streets, and when I got to the East River, there wasn't a path to run on! Bummer. Ended up just running around town, down to Rockerfeller Center and the NBC Today Show, but didn't wait around for Katie to come outside. Later that week, I thought it might be nice to run across the Queensboro Bridge, since it's on the NYC Marathon course. I like this shot of the grand old bridge - credit Rachelleb - she always seems to get nice pics of ordinary things from great angles. Anyway, when I got there, I found out it's closed to foot traffic! Bummer again.

This week, I was hoping for a good consistent non-stop run, uninterrupted by closed bridges, missing sidewalks, stoplights, morning talk-shows, and old warships. I got my chance last night, getting back to my hotel at 7:00 to change, out again by 7:10, warmed up and at Central Park by 7:15 or so. I started running a counter clockwise loop, and soon fell into a comfortable rhythm. I've never run around the entire park before, and felt this might be the time to do it. It was cool, I was in shorts and short sleeves, and it felt perfect. I've only previously run to the northern edge and back, and when I passed that point and kept going, everything was new to me ... including the hills! They were actually a nice break from the routine pace, and there were a bunch of people training on them. I finally made it past the hills, down the homestretch, and back to Columbus Circle in 54:20 for 6 miles. It felt really really good.

5 comments:

Black Knight said...

A run through Central Park, the dream of every runner

Rae said...

Great job!!! I think NYC would be so fun to run in, and like everyone else I've always wanted to run through Central Park.

Great view from your room, too! I love stuff like that, we always ask for upper views.

Unknown said...

Running in Central Park is great particularly in the springtime… Sounds like you had a great run. If you are ever in New York over a weekend, you should stop by the New York Road Runners Club (9 East 89th St) and sign up for a race. There is a race almost every weekend and they normally attract a couple thousand runners and are lots of fun.

By the way, the foot path on the Queensborough Bridge is on the North side (enter on 60th St just off of 1st Ave.) so the views aren’t that great.

Anne said...

I've been wanting to run along the East River during one of my NYC stays, but I always end up in Central Park instead. Not that that's a bad spot, by any means. I too was running loops a few weeks ago. Went from 59th street to 110th before I realized it might be time to turn around. And then I ended up taking the circuitous route back to Midtown. But still a great run.

Beardfxuw said...

Running in Central Park is great particularly in the springtime… Sounds like you had a great run. If you are ever in New York over a weekend, you should stop by the New York Road Runners Club (9 East 89th St) and sign up for a race. There is a race almost every weekend and they normally attract a couple thousand runners and are lots of fun. By the way, the foot path on the Queensborough Bridge is on the North side (enter on 60th St just off of 1st Ave.) so the views aren’t that great.