NYC running: all is forgiven

This morning's workday started with a St. Patrick's Day run in Central Park organized by Adventure Girl as a kickoff to her Ragnar relay race in May. We gathered at Lululemon Athletica on 64th Street in Columbus Circle and after a brief review of our route we headed out for a 4K run. The weather was perfect for running and Lululemon provided a running trainer who guided us through the route and answered questions about technique. The course took us through Central Park where we encountered many other runners, bikers and some walkers. The run pace was about 9:00/mile but I got a little impatient and ran ahead for about a third of the run. I enjoyed running with other people, their pacing helped me regulate my stride and cadence and I discovered I can run and talk!

This wasn't a competitive run and considering that I had no shower option I fared pretty well. The combination of not wearing a running jacket and having moderately cool temperatures helped minimize the sweat level. AG and I considered a run back to the office but in the interest of time we hopped on the 1 train and made it in before many of our co-workers had arrived. It was one of the best running experiences I've had since returning to the sport and I hope to do more of this. I'm concerned about high temperatures as we move closer to summer. 90 degrees and no shower is bad combination for business...

My '90's running experience was not so good and I always blamed the inhospitality of the city for that. If I was exposed to conditions like this I might have viewed it much differently. What a great way to do a weekday run.