Running in Central Park

Amy and I were in New York City this weekend. We went to see two Broadway shows yesterday, and by this morning I hadn't had a chance to do any exercise since Thursday night's trip to the climbing gym. I really wanted to get in a long run, and I thought that a few hours of shuffling around in Central Park would fit the bill perfectly. Leaving the hotel on 48th Street a bit before 7 AM, I made my way north the ten or so blocks between me and the southern end of the park.

I started my run on the main road that circles the entire park. After a few minutes I was surprised by the sound of whistles blown near an intersection. Apparently there was a small bike race going on this morning, and the whistles were a way of signaling all of us to watch out and get out of the way.

Halfway through the trip north I got off the road and onto one of the side paths. I never realized how many small paths cut through the Park. For a few minutes I was all alone, running past a small waterfall, with a quiet portion of New York City all to myself. Turning around and coming back south, I found myself on the "Bridle Path", a broad path covered mostly with crushed stone. The surface reminded me of the old-school tracks we used to run on in high school before the fancier new rubber surfaces became popular. Here and there I dodged small piles of manure left behind by horses which were nowhere to be seen this early in the morning.

Having returned to the southernmost end, I circled around and did it all over again before heading back onto the streets and back to the hotel. At just over 14 miles, it was an invigorating end to our weekend trip.

A view of the skyline from Central Park