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the true new yorker secretly believes that ppl living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding..

what an AMAZING weekend for running in nyc.  after friday nights' festivities of eating and drinking way too much, i decided that i needed to change my 6 mile run from sunday to saturday.  it was really great running weather yesterday morning when i woke up: mostly cloudy, low to mid 50s.  i was actually hoping that it'd be drizzling just a little but no such luck.  either way, pretty awesome conditions.  i walked myself over to central park and committed myself to a clockwise loop.

the 6 mile loop from the reservoir.

yesterday was definitely one of those runs where i continually kept thinking about how amazing it is that i live here.  i passed a group of tourists and overheard a girl say she's always "dreamed of coming to central park."  the comment made me think of my family over in sicily.. and what maria said the last time i spoke to her - "new york is my dream.  you are lucky to live there."  i mean, people dream about this city.  people travel from all over the world to step foot on this island, to stand in central park, walk around times square.. and i'm here every day.  new york isn't a dream to me, it's a reality.. and i most definitely don't appreciate that fact as often as i could.

early this afternoon, i took myself over to central park once again, this time to run around the reservoir.  i swear, i fell in love with this city all over again this weekend.  on my way to the reservoir, i passed a few baseball fields and some tennis courts.  i dont know why but seeing people on the fields and courts playing baseball, softball, and tennis really got to me.. and i couldn't shake this overwhelming feeling of love for this city and its' people.

stepping foot onto the reservoir had pretty much the same effect and it was hard to keep myself from smiling the whole time i ran around the res.  growing up right outside this city my whole life and then moving here last year, i've most definitely never felt like a tourist in this town.. but today, running around the water, looking up, i most definitely felt like i was seeing the city for the first time.  and just like a tourist would, i whipped out my cell phone and took some pictures, vowing to come back with my camera on another nice day because my cell phone camera does not do the view justice.. but i guess, what camera could?

"That particular sense of sacred rapture men say they experience in contemplating nature- I've never received it from nature, only from. Buildings, Skyscrapers. I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pest-hole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window - no, I don't feel how small I am - but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would like to throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body." (Ayn Rand)

RUNning AS ONE as a national champion.

4 miles. 38:52.  that's a 9:43 pace, people!  so yea, sunday was the JPMorganChase 4M Run as One in Central Park.  it was the 8th anniversary of the run which was started to help the fight against lung cancer after former Chase Manhattan Bank chairman Tom Labrecque died of the disease.  ironically enough, Tom Labrecque was a lifelong non-smoker. turns out about 20% of lung cancer patients have never smoked.  completely ridiculous.

saturday night BC Hockey won their 4th NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP so i was still working off the adrenaline from the night before when my alarm went off at 8:05 am.  i take full responsibility for that win and this is why:

start of the third period-
me: i think we should score one right away.. like right now would be okay.
(maybe 1 minute later, BC scores)

after 2nd goal:
seth: GOOOOALLL
me: i wanna score one more and then ill feel safer
(30 seconds later, BC scores)

after 3rd goal:
seth: ask for another goal please.
me: shall i start praying in spanish too?
(i ask for another goal and make the sign of the cross in spanish.. and BC scores almost immediately)

me: OMG I AM WINNING THIS GAME FOR BC!
seth: i can't explain it but you're doing something.

so yea, after my big win on saturday, i was feeling pretty pumped (albeit exhausted) for the race on sunday.  i swear it felt about 70 degrees and i found myself wishing i had worn the tfk singlet instead of a short sleeved running shirt.

once again, around mile 2 i developed a bit of a side cramp and my hip flexor started to hurt.  my allergies were pretty bad yesterday (especially in the park) and i couldnt really breathe out of my nose, hence my breathing was all off.. and most likely that's why i developed a slight cramp.  so luckily the cramp was gone by mile 3 which was nice, however, hip flexor pain and a bit of sciatic nerve pain remained throughout the last 2 miles.

big joe b is gonna hook me up with a sports medicine doc in the city so hopefully ill figure out what to do about all these little pains.  the hope is that ill be able to overcome them by the time marathon season picks up in late june.

on that note.. brian- MARATHON MARATHON MARATHON.

you know you wannnaaaaaaaa.