So, I’m back from New York, with a slightly heavier case after plenty of shopping, swollen ankles after walking around Manhattan lots, as in Central Park to Soho and back, running the park and taking well over 1000 photos between my phone and SLR camera.
Splitting these blogs into 4 posts, fitness, cake, food, sightseeing.
Now let’s start with some of my favourite bits, the fitness!
Central Park Run
So you can’t go to New York without going into Central Park, as a runner you can’t go without doing that loop. Admittedly, I was like, will I find it, will I manage. Basically, enter the park and it’s the big loop round, walkers/runners on the left with lanes depending on which way you want to go, cyclists, cars.
On the Saturday morning at 7am, yes 7am, I was met with well over 300 cyclists who start their morning at 6am, to do 6 laps of the loop, or 36 miles. With friendly volunteers to whistle at you when they were about to hurtle on passed.
There are maps throughout the park and you can clearly see the big old loop.
Picturesque views and crisp 10 degree weather with no clouds made for perfect running conditions.
Run 1 finished.
It makes for the coolest GPS image!
The second time I ran, I was met by 7500 runners when I was 5 miles into the loop. I opted to stop running at that point! It’s crazy to think one park, can accommodate that many people, with the race finishing by 10:30/11, the park would be back to normal by midday!
Run 3 had equally great views and weather, this time with the advantage of my partner in crime.
Thankful for the water fountains throughout the park as I was definitely thirsty!
The vibe whilst running at any time is crazy, the shear number of people about makes it seem like a constant race. You have all types, from army veterans running in their boots, to mothers pushing prams to kids on bikes and people rollerblading. It’s an amazing way to see the park, people watch and earn an excuse for bagels.
Barry’s Bootcamp Chelsea
When I first booked New York I knew I wanted to do one of those fitness classes of sorts. Plenty of my friends down in London, rave about Barry’s. After a bit of a faf, getting the American website to accept my UK details, I was booked into the 8:20am Chelsea class on Day 1 of my holiday. Scared, nervous and anxious I rocked up to the studio to find friendly staff and great facilities, my gym in Glasgow does not give free-towels and toiletries.
The class was intense. I started with 15 minutes on the treadmill, then 15 on the floor and repeat. The treadmill was scary, they all faced the mirrors, so it was you against the treadmill and I found staring at myself quite intimidating, but I can see the thought behind it. I did push myself that bit more. Equally I found the floor workout intense, a mix of burpees, squats, ab workouts some just body weight some with dumbbells.
It was a great way to start my holiday, thanks to the lady next to me for taking some of the photos! I was well and truly a sweaty mess.
My hair is not wet hair, that’s just the pure amount of sweat!
I wore my GPS watch and heart rate monitor, pretty impressive stats!
A well deserved protein shake.
