Explore Central Park Run (with Photos!)

I've always wanted to explore Central Park. All of it. In one day. So I did.

So I went with Isa to work on Saturday (she's currently working at Columbus Circle for Zagat) and I thought it was a perfect opportunity (nice weather, time to kill, etc) to run. For those of you who have never been to Central Park, it starts at 59th Street and goes up to 110th Street, which is 2.5 miles. I thought if I zigzagged a little bit, I could turn it into a 4 or 5 mile run.

So I started running, and then I kept going. And when I got home and mapped it out, it turned out that I ran 8.25 miles! So enjoy my (not so) little exploration of Central Park on a nice Spring Saturday.

The mile markers are circled, the photos are numbered.

So without further ado, here is my Central Park run pic explosion (I whittled it down to just 15 out of the 51 I took). They're numbered so if you want to know where I took a particular shot, you can find it on the map above. You can find 41 of the 51 shots (I don't really like 10 of my pictures) on the Facebook album I'll create tomorrow.

Gapstow Bridge on the Pond, with the Plaza in the background. One of my favorite places in the Park.

Classic Central Park. Kid playing on Balto, horse-drawn carriage over an archway.

Some of the trees are starting to look pretty. :)

Isa and I tried to get an apartment in those towers.
Come to find out Madonna and Bono live in the building.

The boats are out already!

Isa and my favorite arch in the Rambles.

The obelisk behind the MET.

I think this is my favorite pic of the day.

If you weren't sure how big Central Park was, this should help.

Cool bridge by the Bridal Path.

Click this picture to enlarge it and look at her painting. It's amazing!

Hands down the prettiest place in the Park: the Conservatory Gardens.

Ahh, love is in the air. All over the park, the ducks are all paired off.

Pretty plaza by the Discovery Center.

Yeah, so 8.25 miles later, I got back on the B train and headed home. And I'm proud to say that my legs don't hurt at all. They needed a little stretching yesterday and today, but overall I think I fared pretty well.

Next up: Half Marathon.

Lunch in the City

There are so many things I like about this picture that I don't even know where to start.

They opened the lawn in Madison Square Park, so I took my $1/slice pizza from 2 Brothers and plopped down on the grass and enjoyed the fresh almost fresh air.

Almost...

Two more weeks. I do feel a little bit bad for the smokers. First, they banned smoking in restaurants and bars, then in the workplace, then in all public buildings, and now in all public parks and beaches. New York City is just a few years away from becoming an entirely smoke-free city. I feel a little like they're being bullied, but then again I really, REALLY like the smell of not-cigarette-smoky air. And with New York's big push to go green, and our already ridiculously high public transportation ridership, New York smells good. And with crime levels down, and new parks, beaches, and subway lines being built, New York is the best place to be.

But don't tell anybody. We don't want our population to go crazy when people figure out this is a perfect place to live. We like to keep the impression going that we're all really rude and obnoxious, and if you come here you'll be mugged.