between pavement and stars

Saturday was overcast and cold, with a lot of snow still on the ground. Wil and I had a fantastic day walking all over town, from Columbus Circle down to Battery Park, up to the 102rd floor of the Empire State Building, and nearly everywhere in between. (Okay, so we didn't walk up the ESB... and we took the subway a bit... but there was a lot of walking, regardless...)

On a whim last night we went to the TKTS booth and got half price tickets to see Xanadu. How is this relevant to a running blog? Well, let's just say that we'll be doing more roller skating when the weather turns nicer.

Today Wil and I went back down to Battery Park -- the weather was glorious today, and Wil really wanted to see the color of Lady Liberty... rather than just seeing her as a shadowy grey squiggle. Then the train back to Columbus Circle, and then a lovely walk in still snowy, sunshiny, Cenral Park. Wil had to leave around 2:30 for the airport, but we still had time to wander around the park, witness a ridiculous argument at the "Imagine" mosaic in Strawberry Fields, and have a tasty brunch at Cafe Frida. (And Wil was right, we probably didn't need the second mojito...)

Then Wil headed off to the airport, and I went back to the hotel to get dressed for my run. Even though the sun was out, it was still cold, so I layered up. Felt nervous and excited, clutching my little runner's map. Discovered early on that my sensor wasn't working (again...), but went on. The main road was clear and dry, full of runners and cyclists and families out for a walk. Really lovely time. Made the mistake of heading up to the reservoir... discovering that it was very, very snowy still -- and most of the path was either too slick or too slushy to comfortably run on. So I slowly moved around one side of the reservoir, waiting for another spot where I could get back to the main road.

I'd barely gotten back on the road, and back to running, when Wil called from the airport. I walked while we chatted, and then Wil went to negotiate the security lines at JFK. So back to running, slowly chugging up a hill. Once I'd hit the top of the hill, Wil rang again. We talked longer then -- all through the downhill and uphill stretch at the north end of the park. It was shady, I had gotten cold. Then my battery died. The only good part was that I could start running again to warm up a little.

I chugged the rest of the way around the 6.1-mile circuit. Not sure how long my sensor thought I ran today. But I've given up on Nike+... at least for now.