Tonight I drove Laur into Manhattan where she was babysitting on the Upper East Side. My plan was to hang out in the city while she babysat and use it as an opportunity to do a nice, leisurely long run, taking advantage of Central Park and surrounding areas. First I ran from the east to the west sides looking for a Citibank and a grocery store, which took me about 30 minutes and 3 miles, I figure. Then I took a little break and finally set off on my long run about 2130. I decided I would run to Central Park from my car, do a loop, head back to my car for refueling, and then run around the city a bit. That's just what I did, and to great success. I don't know EXACTLY how far I went total, but I mapped out my approximate route from memory afterwards so here's the damage:

14 miles in 2:05:30 (8:55 pace)

including:
Central Park lap: 54:24 (9:04 pace)

For the second half I ran back to the Park, clockwise around it attempting to follow the NYC marathon finish route, then over to the West Side and back to Columbus Circle. Then I headed downtown along 6th & 5th Avenues. Basically whenever I came to a red light, instead of stopping to wait I just crossed the street or ran up towards the next avenue so I could be in constant motion. I made it down to 42nd & Broadway, where I ran into a bajillion tourists and ran in the street for a bit. Then I got a call from Laur around 48th & 5th that she was done, so I booked it back to 72nd & 1st, coming in just over 2 hours for the entire run. Mid-run refueling consisted of a few handfuls of peanuts, some orange and cran-apple juices, and some milk chocolates. My legs felt good (I had both wrapped with pre-wrap) and while they were sore and tired afterwards, there are no lingering or nagging injuries or pre-injuries. They actually feel BETTER than they have been! Hope this continues for the next 5 and a half months :)

I drove into NYC today, Laur and I had tickets to see The Hush Sound, Phantom Planet, Motion City Soundtrack, and Panic! at the Disco there at 6. I was mostly excited to see her, to see The Hush Sound, and thirdly to run in Central Park. I got in early enough to go next door with her and watch her eat the most delish looking smac (mac& cheese) ever. Which is big for me to say, bc as a rule, I tend to hate mac & cheese and have only had it once in my life, a few weeks ago at her parents house. Maybe it was because I was hungry, or maybe because this was "gourmet-ish" mac& cheese. Afterwards, I got changed into running attire and headed to Central Park to do an easy outer loop of the park, very much like the first time I went there, only without being too shy to see Laur afterwards. Central Park running is always good for knocking you down a peg or two if you're getting a bit too full of yourself, because there is always people there that look like they've been at it for much longer and are much faster/talented. Instead of being discouraged by seeing this, it gives me something to aspire to now (new Mark outlook :]). The weather was bee-ee-ay-you-tiful, my only regret is not getting to share it with Laur. I got into a rhythm of heel striking the downhills as that seemed to put less stress on everything and midfoot striking everything else. I love that it's hilly, it helped change up things from the mostly flat running I've been doing, and gave me enough feeling of pushing myself, even on an easy run. Here's the damage:

6 gorgeous miles in 49:40 (8:13 pace)

and a ROCKIN' GREAT TIME with the darling girlfriend afterwards! :)