An Electric Morning in Central Park

NYC is buzzing. The energy is incredible as everyone is arriving in town for the NYC Marathon. People travel from all over the world to run this race and it warms my heart (cheesy, I know) that people can come together through something as simple as running. I can’t wait to be cheering on the runners (and probably screaming so hard I lose my voice) all day tomorrow.

Let’s backtrack, shall we?

Despite a rough morning, yesterday ended up being a great day.

Everything went well at work, then I got in two classes at the gym: Rebounding, which is a trampoline class, and BodyWeb with TRX, a suspension-based strength training class, which is a favorite of mine. Terrell, the teacher, is so motivating. He smiles throughout the entire class, which I love, and yells hilarious things like “These girls be gettin’ it!” So funny.

After that, I came home and showered with hot water. Yay! Then ABS and I went to Tony’s, a fabulous family-style Italian restaurant near our apartment. It’s one of our favorite spots and we came home with lots o’ leftovers.

Then it was home (with a full belly) to watch “30 Rock.” Gotta love Netflix for getting us both addicted to the show. Sadly I only stayed awake for an episode and a half before passing out.

It was so nice to sleep in a bit this morning. I got up around 8:30 am and leisurely got ready, eating a MultiGrain granola bar and letting my stomach settle before heading out on what became a rather exciting morning run.

All the mile markers are up in the park!

Because I love lists, here are the fun things that happened on my run today in Central Park:

• I reunited with my Team Challenge friends! They were finishing up a 10-mile training run in preparation for the Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon. It was so wonderful catching up with them at their “usual spot.” I miss them all dearly and hopefully I can find a way to get involved with the organization again during the summer season.
• My friend Alex let me borrow her Garmin Forerunner 405! It worked out so well that I saw her since I’ve been debating asking for the watch for Christmas. I put it on way too tight at first, but once I got comfortable, I really liked it. I wasn’t obsessed with constantly checking my pace, but I liked that I could check it when I wanted to.
• I saw Al Roker! It appeared that he was getting his last pre-marathon run in before the big day tomorrow. I thought about wishing him luck but didn’t want to bother him. Can’t wait to see how he does in the marathon.
• I saw a friend. That’s not necessarily anything crazy, but it was fun seeing him in the park. It’s wonderful that, as huge as NYC feels at times, it can also feel so small. We chatted the first time we saw each other, then waved the second time (we were running opposite ways).
• I got a serious case of Marathon Fever. I’m thinking 2011 is my year. I want to put my name into the NYC Marathon lottery and see what happens.
• I ran 12 miles and felt great the whole time. Despite some minor chafing toward the end of the run, I was happy with my distance, my pace and how my body felt.

That’s one good looking finish line, don’t you think?

I got back to the apartment, did my 200 crunches then took another wonderfully warm shower. Post-run showers are the best. It’s so nice to let your muscles feel warm and wash the salt off your face (I get really bad salt face, it’s gross).

Now it’s off for an afternoon of errand-running with ABS. Hitting up a running store to finally invest in Body Glide, looking for shoes for a gala I’m going to for work on Monday and making a major trip to Bed Bath & Beyond. The apartment is really coming together!

Happy Marathon Weekend to all the runners and fans out there!