traipsing about in nyc

I’m writing this to you while sipping my first ever cup of Tim Horton’s coffee. Miss Lana is visiting NYC from Toronto and brought gifts! Including a sparkly purple Christmas tree.

My Canadian twin and I started our day at Grey Dog Cafe (where all good things happen) and followed it up by the best/most expensive cup of hot chocolate ever. Ever! It was worth it though because while waiting for our table at Max Brenner’s, we witnessed a lady wearing a tiara, white lacy dress, white socks, sparkly shoes, and a unicorn stuffed animal. She seemed…normal, it was boggling yet exciting. Unfortunately I missed the photo opportunity. BTW, it was very cold and windy last night.

It was such a pleasant and adventurous evening. We talked about EVERYTHING and it’s so amusing to see how much we have in common, even random events. After checking out all the holiday decorations we came back to my place and downed two bottles of wine, watched a Fresh Prince marathon, and called an infomercial.

Pics from my iPhone below, I’ll post some of Lana’s later… Thumbnails link to larger.

123 Reasons to Love New York Right Now – 123 – Gawker

2005s 123 Reasons to Love New York Right Now – 123 – Gawker.

NYC Marathon recap

Sunday marked the 40th anniversary of the NYC Marathon and this girl got to be a part of the medical staff, yay.

Notes from the day:
- I worked Mile 16 at the base of the 59th St. Bridge, then I was moved to the top of the bridge since they needed extra help up there. I liked this position better since I got to see true emotion as runners painfully plodded up the bridge after 15 miles through three boroughs.

- A chick who was near the front of the race dropped out at our station. Seriously, she could have plodded along, but she was simply tired. I know after training for months, my ass will crawl to the finish line if I’m too tired to run.

- A guy pulled down his pants because his glutes were sore. I was taping someone’s knee so my partner in crime had to massage the runner’s butt. he h heh.

- Though 51% of the field were foreign, I didn’t anticipate the language barrier. It took some sign language to realize that the 3 French guys in stuffed Borat onuses need vaseline for their chafing.

- When not trying to fix any ails or injuries, I stood on the course to hand out salt and vaseline (which is a course no no, but that was a majority of what people needed so this tactic helped keep our medical area clear of people). One guy took a stick of vaseline (I had tongue depressors dipped in the tub and handed out the sticks so hands didn’t dip in and runners didn’t waste time dipping said hands) AND PUT IT IN HIS MOUTH. He must have thought it was gel or food. I nearly hurled off the bridge, poor guy.

- I saw Sam, Traci, Grace, and Dave fly by me .

- Three things most asked for at the top of the bridge: tylenol, ben gay, salt… One guy asked for a new set of legs.

- Many guys peed near me off the bridge.

- If I wasn’t planning on running every NYC Marathon that I can starting next year (yay for NYRR auto entry!), I would definitely work the medic station again. Though I only had to deal with mostly minor things: fixing blisters, wrapping, massaging, stretching, bandaging, salting…it was so rewarding to talk to the other runners about what they’ve seen so far – their goals, where they’re from, what they thought of NYC, their experience, it was so humbling. And everyone was so gracious, despite language barriers and weakness and pain, I tried to help them as best as I could and only two people had to be carted off and didn’t finish.

- It was also awesome to witness so many various types of people in terms of age, weight, nationality, experience, etc endure the same 26.2 miles. I only saw one person cry, which is far less than I expected!! With 1/3 of American children considered obese, it’s nice to see that older generations are pushing their bodies and keeping fit. NYC is now the world’s largest marathon, let’s keep it up.

- The race has definitely motivated me to keep training for Philly and reaffirmed me that no matter what my time is, I will finish and that it is an experience to enjoy and to not be upset with my first marathon time.

Some photos below:

champagne tuesdays

OH YES. Unlimited champagne. Served by A PIRATE MIDGET. Yes, please.

Champagne Tuesdays | Champagne Tuesdays at Superdive | New York City | NYC | East Village.

Fifth Avenue Mile results…

6:53!!  :) (see post below this if you are confused…)

And check it out! I’m quoted in the latest issue of New York Runner… They took a photo of Traci and I and talked to us for about 10 minutes after we ran in the scorching heat very early in the morning. I don’t remember saying that, but I also could have been delusional… (i think if you click it, it gets bigger, the next size up cut off :-/)

Fifth Avenue Mile

I cannot stop coughing! People are staring at me on the subway… I’m annoying.

This morning I ran the Fifth Avenue Mile, an annual run from 80th street to 60th street. I mostly did this run to see how fast I can run the mile, but also because it brings a field of elite runners and Olympians.

My PR in the mile is 6:21 which I set in high school my junior year, whoa that’s fast. I’m in the middle of marathon training and I haven’t raced the mile since high school (which seemed so long then, now it’s a warm up) so I would be content with anything under 7:15. I haven’t received my time yet because I’m grabbing breakfast with friends before heading back to watch the elite runners break sone records.

My legs simply couldn’t move any faster. I felt slow, but seriously couldn’t lift my legs up or gain more distance. I also couldn’t breathe, though I was dressed appropriately, the air was so cold breathing in. And I’m still having a coughing fit. At least I gave it my all and hopefully I’ll have a decent time.

The real beast will be the NYRR 18 Mile Marathon Tune Up tomorow. I hope it doesn’t rain…

Queens Half Marathon recap

Four out of the five borough half marathons complete! Yay.

A recap of today’s race…

* I woke up at 3:45 am…after a few hours of barely sleep, sigh. Let me repeat: 3:45 am.
* On the way to the NYRR busses, I passed many people still out from the night before.
* It is very cold at 4:30 am.
* I was a bit warmer after I spilled my HOT COFFEE all down my shirt and shorts. Fail.

* We got to the park around 5:20 am, race started at 7:00 am. So I took a nap on the slide.
* Oh yeah, I forgot my phone at home, whoops. I felt completely naked. Thankfully there were lots of landmarks in the playground near the start and finish so finding everyone wasn’t as problematic as it could have been.

* I felt good despite sleeping for 3 hours and not having my coffee.
* The course was sucky. It was through Queens neighborhoods, narrow roads, lots of ups and downs.
* Aside from the first 3 miles of running shoulder to shoulder with people, they were quick. For most of the race, I was hitting 8ish minute miles, I felt fast but it felt ok.
*Then hills happened at mile 7. And I was sad.
* Saw some hookers probably still on the prowl from Saturday night.
* And my right knee started hurting, but nothing I couldn’t run on.
* Had a slow 10th mile, I was tired.
* AND MILE 13 WAS UPHILL. AND STEEP.
* I said “oh fuck” out loud and the people around me laughed.

* Finished in 1:58:50

Not a GREAT race, but I’ll take it. The weather was PERFECT aside from freezing my butt off at 5 am. Though my struggle with the steep inclinations in the last few miles really proves that I need to up my mileage on my long runs. It’s boot camp time, especially if I want to run a sub 4 hour marathon in Philly in two months…

And this is me after the race to prove that I really was a goon and spilled my coffee all over me. I’m a winner!

rearranging small spaces

I’m contemplating a minor change in my dwelling…

Since I’ve been at my apartment for over a year and I’m used to moving into a new apartment every year, I may need a change of inside scenery. Though I love my cozy little upper east side apartment, there’s not much I can do with the furniture or decorations. It’s small – and surprisingly a coveted one bedroom(!) – so I don’t have many options left… hmmmmm…..

BUT! I barely have done anything with my bedroom. It’s tiny, but at least it’s a bedroom. No, it’s really tiny. Like, my dresser IS IN MY CLOSET. And it just fits my bed. Just enough so I can open my door all the way (I can never sleep with a closed door, I need an escape route in case the bogey man comes through the window) and that’s about it. Nothing on the walls, a curtain finally hung, and some necessities (alarm clock, lamp, etc…) on the protective heater thingy.

So I think a slight bedroom upheaval is in order, perhaps this weekend. No idea what I’ll do with it, but I’m sure I’ll get some inspiration during my jaunt throughout the city this weekend.

And below, a two of my favorite apartmentish websites. (R.I.P. Domino)

Apartment Therapy
Apartment Therapy NYC
Habitually Chic

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck – Gothamist

Doug Quint, Big Gay Ice Cream Truck – Gothamist.

holy crap, i would so eat the “choinkwich”. i can’t wait to go to the truck on saturday!

I also like this :
What’s the best thing about living in New York? There’s a certain sense of accomplishment in living here. You feel like you’re doing it. Even if you’re failing at it, you’re doing it. That’s what I like about it. Even if you’re a miserable failure in the gutter, you’re in the gutter of New York.

09.11.09