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Central Park in the Fall

While the rest of the city was hunkering down, trying to prepare for what Hurricane Sandy may or may not deliver over the next 48 hours, Bo and I spent our morning up in Central Park.

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After a relaxing evening and 10 hours of sleep, we both woke up refreshed and ready to conquer our Sunday.  Our to do list was shorter than normal thanks to keeping up with house work during the week.

  • Buy Epsom salts for a few baths this week to relax the muscles.
  • Take a long walk to loosen out the muscles while Bo runs his 8 miles in Central Park.
  • Hit the bodega or grocery store for some last minute supplies (water, crackers, soup, tea, meat, fruit, and lots of vegetables)
  • Laundry
  • Start working on marathon playlist
  • Work on New York City marathon tips post
  • stretch
  • Post the rest of my too large Lululemon gear on eBay

Everything on this list has been done except my marathon tips post. It’s weird, every time I start typing I wish that I could just start talking to someone. When people ask me questions about the marathon in person I light up and feel as if I could go on for hours. I love helping them and putting them at ease. But, when I start to type my mind goes to the fact that I’m not necessarily a “fast” runner or anyone who will Boston Qualify anytime soon. What makes me think I’m qualified to give other people tips and suggestions about the marathon that I’ve now run two times and have yet to break 5 hours?

Thanks to an inspirational running friend, Leticia, she helped me realize that this is still an amazing accomplishment.

.01% of the population ran a marathon last year. You are among an elite group of individuals regardless of your pace.

So now that I’ve finished everything else on my to do list for today, I’m going to curl up on the couch next to Bo and Meg for the rest of the evening, sipping tea, enjoying my compression socks, and write my heart out so that my New York City Marathon experiences can help others.

Until tomorrow morning, when my post will go live, enjoy the scenes from today’s hour long walk through Central Park. I really hope that Sandy doesn’t rob marathon runners of enjoying the vibrant colors as they run the last 3 miles of the marathon through Central Park.

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A Sunday at the Zoo

Today I woke up with legs that were far more sore than I expected. While the 20 miler went wonderfully, spending most of Sunday on my feet in comfortable but poorly padded boots wasn’t the smartest idea! While Bo was spending the day under water for a technical scuba diving certification, I I spent the day uptown with Meg and Spencer exploring Central Park. But, before we could explore we needed to enjoy brunch, a New York City tradition that I rarely enjoy. I donned a new dress that my brother and I found at the outlets in Vermont and headed uptown for a day of fun.

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Meg and Spencer had plans to go to church on the Upper West Side as they’ve wanted to hear Tim Keller preach forever. Therefore, I did my best to find a brunch spot that was not only relatively close to  Redeemer Presbyterian, but also took reservations. After sending them a list from which to choose we settled on Elizabeth’s Neighborhood Table.

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I kid you not. This picket fence and sweet yellow house complete with gables truly exists at the corner of 93rd and Columbus Avenue. The menu looked like it’d offer something for everyone without breaking the bank and the location was perfect.  The egg white omelet was fluffy and it was filled with vegetables and delicious cheese. I was surprised to find cauliflower was one of the vegetables inside the omelet but it was a fun addition. I’m not sure why this place gets a bad wrap on Yelp because for the price we paid it delivered upon expectations. I paid $11.50 for the entrée, not $20-$25 and therefore didn’t expect complex flavors or fancy plating.

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We were greeted with sunshine and warmer temperatures when we left the restaurant, therefore choosing to meander down to Central Park. We proceeded to spend the next 3 hours wandering through the park and Central Park Zoo. It is so different to walk through the park versus run. I love sharing the nooks of Central Park with friends without worrying that I’ll get lost. I’ve learned so much about the park during this marathon training. Spencer, Meg’s husband, asked that I never take Central Park for granted as even in Atlanta there is nothing like it that is as beautiful and accessible.

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Trust me Spencer, enjoying scenery like this multiple times a week will never get old!

After 3 years living in the city Bo and I have walked through the Central Park Zoo many times but never have we stopped to buy tickets and go through the zoo in its entirety! For $12 it was a great deal and the perfect way to enjoy the afternoon together. We all loved checking out the exhibits and feeling like a child again. The afternoon feeding worked in our favor and allowed us to see most of the animals active, enjoying their lunches.  We could have sat watching the penguins play for hours! They were so full of energy and such characters!

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By the time exited the zoo at 3:00 I was absolutely exhausted. My legs were screaming and my swollen feet wanted nothing other than an Epsom salt bath and the couch.

How about you? Are you a fan of the zoo? What is your favorite animal to check out?

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US Open Fun

Due to work and travel I’m a bit behind on blog posts but don’t you worry, I will catch up while we’re on vacation in Seattle. This trip is all about fun with our dear friends Ryan and Amy, while also enjoying some fresh air and R&R.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend the US Open for the third time! The first time, back in 2010 I went with Bo to an evening men’s match with the NYC UGA Alumni Association.  Going to a night game had it’s benefits: normally bigger matches, cooler temperatures, and allow you to not miss work to attend. But, most matches don’t end until 10:30 or 11pm which means a midnight train ride back to the city.

Due to our partnership with Lacoste, we’re able to take our client, Macy’s, to the US Open each year for a day of fun in the Lacoste box. Getting to the stadium is just a quick ride out to the stadium on the 7 train right from Grand Central. Therefore, we met as a group around 10 yesterday so we could head out together. I forget how beautiful Grand Central Station is since I don’t spend much time there.

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We arrived at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center right at 11 and were in the box by 11:15! It’s right near the Queens Half Marathon course which brought back quite a few memories, especially when I saw this site.

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I will say that unfortunately, this year they aren’t allowing bags larger than 12 inches by 12 inches. Therefore, we had to deal with checking our bags since they had laptops (not allowed either) and were too large. It cost $5 for a locker and took about 15 minutes. Not too bad but it was a pain since we didn’t know.

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We caught the women’s match, which was a quick one and not nearly as exciting as the men’s match since there were only 2 sets in the match. As you can see below, it wasn’t exactly an even match.

Victoria Azarenka (1) defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-2

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In between the matches I enjoyed lunch and some delicious crunchy munchies. These honey mustard pretzels were almost the death of me until I decided to just move away from the bowl. Two handfuls were plenty! On the right is a salty sweet popcorn mix that includes caramel corn and white cheddar popcorn.

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At 1pm the fun really began for me when I realized that one of my fellow University of Georgia alums was about to take the court! John Isner went to UGA from 2004-2007, during which time he played tennis all four years and lead UGA to the NCAA team title in 2007 on the home court in Athens, GA! Another random fact about this cutie who is 6’9 is that he holds the record for the longest match ever played in tennis history! His battle at Wimbledon against Nicolas Mahut lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes, and ended with John’s 70-68 victory in the fifth set. HOLY cow! Can you imagine sitting through that?

Yesterday’s nail biter lasted just under four hours and was a close one that quickly filled the stadium and kept everyone screaming.

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John Isner (9) defeated Xavier Malisse 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (11-9)

It was a hot day but we all had a blast relaxing and enjoying the US Open action!Macys PG US Open 2012IMG_4268

Who knew that they still update the scoreboard manually? Such a classic touch!\

If you live in the NY metro area, I can’t recommend a day at the US Open enough. Tickets can be found for reasonable prices, there are tons of fun restaurants, bars, and shops to keep even the least interested person entertained and it’s a great way to get some Vitamin D if you go during the day!

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