The retired life

Yeah, I run my shoes down into the ground. They were probably due to be replaced, say, 150 miles ago. I know, stupid, I should know better.

Just back from my NYC trip with R. It was a blast. You can fit so much into five days. A sampling. Eating at Spotted Pig (Mario Batali anyone?), Magnolia's cupcakes several times, Chinese noodle shop, mac and cheese store in the East Village and of course, dim sum. Shopping in SoHo, Greenwich, Park and Madison, Midtown and Macy's. Walking a good 10K a day if not more. Visiting the Guggenheim, watching a  Il Trovatore with the rich and the riff raf (us) for amazing upper tier tickets for $28. And hanging out with R. through it.

Of course, I didn't mention the running. I ran four out of five days. A 25.5K run on Sunday, an 8K on Monday, a 5K on Tuesday and 13K today. All the runs included Central Park, which is a runner's paradise. We walked by Central Park on the way to the opera last night and were shocked by what must have been a good hundred or so runners in the short time we were there. There were fast ones going at a good tempo clip. Plenty of pairs of women running and chatting. More than a few solo runners getting in their miles.

I brought my Asics down to NYC so they could have that victory lap. I didn't intend to bring them back with me. A trip to DSW and a snazzy Cole Haan took its place in my bag. So I brought good ole GT 2130s for their final spin. They had lost their bounce a long time ago, but today, I gave them a run for the money. We ran down to Central Park and I turned up the tempo for the first time in a very long time. We banged out 4:15s and 4:28s, up and down hills and even up that monster of one at the north end of Central Park. Four miles of lactate threshold were difficult to get by. My legs were doing all the work and the old shoes had given it all. It was tonnes of fun. We ran through the streets of Midtown back to our hotel at Lexington and 51 St. where I retired them in my hotel room. Where are they now? Unfortunately, maybe in a trash bin but fingers crossed someone will find use for them. It was one good last ride.