Running in New York City

Recently, I was lucky enough to spend an entire week in New York City while taking a training course for work. My hotel was in the Financial District just a block off Wall Street. While not the best part of Manhattan for sight-seeing or nightlife, it provided easy access to many symbols of the city while everything else was just a subway or boat ride away. 

Because of my class schedule, other activities and social engagements, I had limited time to run while I was there. Factor in several days of temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and several days of severe thunderstorms, it was a challenge to find time to run. Nevertheless, over a 24 hour period midweek, I was able to step out for three separate runs in the city.

My first evening run ended as an 8 miler out and back along the Hudson River Greenway. Starting in Battery Park and finishing along the Esplanade. It was definitely a nice, flat route along the river which for me, followed a heavy rainstorm so it was very humid. I finished my run with a walk back to the hotel, stopping for a beer at a bar on Stone Street, a cool little cobblestone area that is closed off to cars where people sit outside to eat and drink after work. During my run, the new 1 World Trade Center building was constantly in view. To be the tallest building in America, 1 WTC is the anchor building of the complex that is replacing the old World Trade Center towers. 

 

The next morning, I headed out before class on an out and back four miler from Wall Street to Brooklyn and back. I wanted to run over the Brooklyn Bridge while in town, being a famous part of the New York City marathon I plan to run in 2013. Sadly for me, the bridge is under renovation so a lot of the views of Manhattan were blocked by temporary construction barriers however the run itself went well and I did get some nice views from the Brooklyn side coming back across. 

That evening, after class, I took the subway up to Central Park to run the outer loop which is just over 6 miles. After another afternoon rain shower, it was hot and muggy but there still hundreds of people out running, walking and biking the loop and smaller trails within the park. I just loved this route. It's a challenging, scenic course great for people watching and really getting a good New York City experience. 

Despite the hills of Central Park North, I maintained an overall 7:52 pace for my 6.2 mile run before heading home on the subway. As I strolled out of the park, I asked a stranger to take my photo. I was wearing my Big Boss Run Club shirt and now I have a new social media profile pic.

My total mileage running in NYC for the week was 18 miles but I did it all in less than 24 hours! Next time I'm in town, I hope to rock out 26.2 miles in less than 4 hours.