My feet hurt but its ok cuz the sun's out!!!

Not only am I getting a run in everyday, but I have yet to use my MetroCard since I got here; even in the pouring rain, I can't help but walk. My feet hurt. Fo'reals. Not going to stop me from walking everywhere, though... too much to gawk at!

Today, I took it easy on the run (only about 2.5 miles) - up the Central Park side of 5th, and a slow meander back. Stopped by the Frick Museum, and realized I should make a "to-do" list of fun. Haven't visited the Frick since an art field trip in high school.

The short run was followed by a manic shower and dash out to meet a friend for lunch 20 blocks away, then back to the apartment to finish up on some freelance work before heading back down to Union Square this afternoon. I love it here. My feet will forgive me.

Fire in the Sky!

This photo was taken around midnight... the glow between those buildings is the lit top of the Empire State Building, hidden in dense fog. Cool, right? A few blocks later, I got a clearer picture, but the top of the building is still just a giant glowy cloud.

Even when its pouring rain, New York is gorgeous.

Lexington

I love Lexington Ave. Mostly because its easy to pretend I own every café, bodega and deli on it. I've decided that someday, if all my little Lex businesses make me so filthy rich the only thing left to do would be to become a self-made techie super-villan or vigilante, I'd change my name to Lex Lexington.

Also, its still raining. And is going to rain all day tomorrow, too. Bleh. The tulips seem to enjoy it, though.

Maybe this is about more than running.

The rain finally stopped, I was craving coffee and I knew hunger was just around the corner... So, I went for a walk. Today, I managed to clock 4 miles at a crowd maneuvering run and another 4 miles at a caffeinated walk.

It was beautiful - dusky and crisp. Walked up 3rd Ave until I realized I had walked over 30 blocks (coffee induced fog) and was now somewhere in the high 80's. So, I headed over to 5th to walk back down along Central Park and get a glimpse of the Metropolitan Museum of Art lit up for the evening. The Upper East Side is much quieter than everywhere else around here - more doormen than chinese restaurants. I enjoyed not having to play Frogger with the sidewalk, and just take pleasure in the walk. Also, I noticed there are different cements used in the sidewalk; one of the cements is glittery and super cool! It looks like someone spilled glitter all over it, and then the glitter settled into all the cement's grooves. Tried to take a picture of it, but the photo didn't catch the sparkle. Keep an eye out for bedazzled walkways.

43°F and raining...

... but still found spring!

Ran about 4 miles mid-town from 1st Ave to the West Side Highway and back. Dreary and rainy, but the streets still packed with people. Running hazards: umbrellas to the eye and dog poo in the sneaker (missed the former by a millimeter, but nailed the latter square in the treads). Cool stuff: running faster (for some reason, I run waaaay faster while weaving in and out of tourists and dodging sausage carts - its like I'm Mario holding down B), MoMa, Letterman, and concrete jungle animals.

Bryant Park and the NYC Public Library

Ran 4.5 lovely miles, today... Lovely mostly because of my trusty iPhone, the Cross Process app, and, of course, Manhattan. The route was basically down 2nd Ave into Gramercy, eventually made my way over to 5th, and made my way back up after poking, jogging, and snapping photos around Bryant Park and the NYC Public Library.



Unfortunately, I did not spot Tim Gunn in or around Bryant Park (mental note, stalk Parson's and Liz Claiborne)... Nor did I find a pretty park. Right now, its all dug up as the city uninstalls the ice skating rink to make way for spring (yesss)!


And, just because, styrofoam heads are spooky cool.

Running is not my bag.

Just having moved to NYC a couple of days ago, I decided a great way to explore the city and be able to eat as many handmade gnocchis, soup dumplings and Central Park hot dogs as I want without turning into a total meatball, would be to run, everywhere, a different route everyday.

My first run was from the mid-town east apartment, where I'm staying, through Central Park via the 65th St Transverse, and back down via Central Park South. Never run the 65th St Transverse. Super scary. (Unless you like exhaust fumes and being waaay to close to the cabs whizzing past through tunnels.) Running east down Central Park South gave me the photo idea - inspired by the handsome carriage horses, I realized my side stitches and burning lungs wouldn't seem as dire if I was distracted by a project to document the coolness of everything around me. Zooey Deschanel's character in "Yes Man" was totally on to something with her photography running class.

Hopefully, I keep this up, and end up with a cool online photo album of my time here and the highly coveted runner butt (the kind that looks awesome in jeans, not the kind you need lotion for).