I don't always travel, but when I do, I pack my desire to run. Thus we began our journey to New York City the long way - via Portland, Oregon and Rochester, NY. Why the circuitous route? Family stuff yo! What about the reference to the
1987 John Hughes movie? Ok yeah, let's start with that:
If I'm going to have a hideous carbon footprint I want it to be on my favorite craft beer serving airline -
+Alaska Airlines. So off we go on a Friday San Jose to Portland, Oregon flight on the nerd-bird. Between seeing family, friends and sucking down a few too many
Stumptown espressos there was time for a
6 mile Saturday morning run to some of my favorite places - Washington Park, the Rose Garden and Forest Park.
Trains? Yes, there was some of that thanks to Portland's extensive
light-rail and
streetcar network. Automobiles? Sure; here's a two-for.
So after less than 36 hours it was back on a plane for a red-eye to JFK airport outside New York City. I'm finally in NYC, right? No, just a place to hold up for 4 hours while we waited for our connecting flight to Rochester. Ugh, I'm too old for red-eyes - not even a poorly executed latte AND espresso could wipe the fog from my brain. No run today (Sunday). Just an afternoon nap and groggy dinner with dad.
Thank goodness for Monday and a good nights sleep. An
easy 7 mile morning run was just what I needed to get back into my training routine. It was also fun to check out Cobbs Hill Park - site of many of my high school cross country running races and a great place from which to view the Rochester skyline.
On Tuesday I rented a road bike from a former employer
Park Ave Bike Shop - an excellent LBS just around the corner from where I went to high school. The plan was to ride with my former cross country ski mentor
Roger Weston. Now retired, Roger spent over 30 years playing cheerleader-in-chief to local skiers including those who raced for competing schools like me. Since it was Roger who got me into bike racing (and it being Summer) a long easy bike ride seemed like a great way to catch-up.........until the old bastard put the hammer down!
50 miles, 13 segment top 10's and 1 KOM later Roger finally relented and let us soft pedal home........and I thought the "coach" in him was retired??
Not sure what compelled me to go for
a 3 mile run that afternoon.......but I did. Maybe it was because I'd be on an
+Amtrak train all day Wednesday to New York City. Wait what, why? Cause I like train travel; it's a great way to see scenic rural New York and we had time......and Internet......and the ability to make phone calls.......and my carbon footprint felt guilty.
Pro tip: try using the
+Field Trip app while taking the train. It's a cool way to explore while you roll along.......and you can't do that on a plane.
Finally - arrived at our New York City pied-à-terre (a.k.a. sister-in-laws apartment). It was said sister-in-law's 40th birthday so we took her to a fancy restaurant with a view. I'm glad she's not scared of heights.
Thursday morning and it's surprisingly NOT hot or humid. Awesome, I head North for a
9 mile out-n-back in Riverside Park to 125th Street.
On Friday I had the opportunity to finally see something I'd been reading about long before it finally got built in 2009 -
The High Line. This former elevated freight rail line has been turned into a mile long park - a rare piece of new green space in the Meatpacking District. Thanks to the pouring rain the High Line was nearly empty. Perfect for the tail end of my out-n-back
7 mile morning run.
As a runner you can't visit Manhattan and not run in Central Park...so I did that on Saturday.
7.5 mile run around the ye olde perimeter road. How was I to know the New York Road Runners were putting on a race that same morning - ooops. No worries, the race was just finishing but I sure did have a lot of company from fellow runners warming down or just wandering around the park.
How many times can I run out-n-back along the Hudson River? Plenty. If you're staying on the West side it's your best running option. Sunday morning was my chance to catch a view of the recently topped off Freedom Tower.
8 mile run down to Houston and back.
Since I'd recently recovered from a sacrum injury I didn't want to run every day. Hey, there's a gym in this building - sweet!
30 minutes on an elipse machine watch the Real Housewives of Orange County. Heck of a Monday.
What, more trains? Yup, we took a side trip on Metro-North to visit friends in New Canaan, CT. I dig Grand Central Terminal and it has a couple good coffee joints too -
Irving Farm Coffee and
Joe Coffee.
Tuesday? Yeah, you guessed it - I ran again.
5 rainy miles out-n-back on the Hudson River in my Christian Louboutin's.......errrr,
+Salomon Sense Ultra.
#WorkoutWednesday meant a long run since my sacrum was feeling awesome (a.k.a. not broke down).
12 miles out-n-back to the George Washington Bridge at 7:55 pace. Not fast but since this was my longest run since injuring my sacrum in January I'll take it.
The one thing I didn't do but would have liked to try was the new
citibike system. Unfortunately it was only available to yearly pass holders (for now). It's a pretty cool system and a lot like what I saw a few years ago in Paris (
Velib) and Brussels (
Villo). Welcome to the future New York!
Thursday - our last day in New York. How about one for the road? Yeah, another out-n-back along the Hudson River -
7.26 miles, average heart rate 124, 7:30 pace, PTE 2.3. Took the
Subway to
LIRR to
AirTrain to JFK for the flight home. Thank goodness it wasn't a red-eye.
