The Run Report: Running Bucket List for NYC

When we made the decision to move to Vermont next month (that is officially a weird thing to write, by the way – I don’t think it’s sunk in completely!), we talked about stuff we’d miss in New York and Brooklyn, as well as what we were looking forward to in our new home. My list was pretty people and food oriented – my friends, my clients, bagels, pizza, all the awesome people in our neighborhood whom we’ve gotten to know through chatting with them, or them watching the boys grow. Then yesterday, it occurred to me that I hadn’t even thought about all my favorite places to run in NYC!

And now I’m literally running out of time to revisit some old favorites.

So I scrapped my scheduled post for today and decided it was time for another Run Report, stat.

I needed to make a list, first because I love lists, but also so I don’t find myself in the car on our way to new adventures in Burlington, realizing, dammit, I didn’t get one last run over the Brooklyn Bridge before we left!

My Running Bucket List for NYC

Prospect Park. This one will be easy because it’s right outside my door, practically. I know this park so well for running and I know that every run I have left there will be bittersweet. I have so many memories of the park. Chipmunk sightings (still a thrill for this Aussie girl), accidental races and surprise running partners; hill repeats on the way up to Grand Army Plaza; stopping at the Farmer’s Market for produce after stroller runs when Roman was little; running with Fran before we even had kids; races in which I felt like I almost had an unfair advantage because I knew the course so well…it will be missed.

The West Side Highway. I worked for a few years at the Equinox on Greenwich Ave in the West Village (and loved it there – beautiful gym, wonderful members and staff!) and it was just a couple of blocks from the lovely running path of the Hudson River. I have so many fond memories of great solo runs between clients (because when you have showers with Kiehls products as part of your work benefits, it makes you WANT to get sweaty!), as well as running with friends like Jenny, Ed, Tiffany, Dave, Alex, Kirk and Leo. Hi guys!

Brooklyn Bridge. I would love to make this one happen. The problem is it’s far enough away from me to make it part of an out-and-back is a little out of my mileage comfort zone since I had to put my postpartum running on hold when I was injured. I’m thinking that instead, I will subway it there one morning, do a couple of laps over the bridge and then meet Fran and the boys at Brooklyn Bridge park for some family time.

Central Park. So beautiful, so iconic, it really is a runner’s paradise. I have run so many NYRR races in this park! I’ve cursed the Harlem Hills; I’ve enjoyed Cat Hill when the race runs down it, not up; I’ve given a silent nod to the statue of Fred Lebow at 90th Street. I’ve had the overwhelming honor of crossing the NYC Marathon finish line in Central Park not once, but twice. This is one I’m sad to say I may not make it back to before we leave.

What’s Stopping Me?

In a word, breastfeeding. I mean, you’ve seen the glorious chunk of Baby T, right? That is a LOT of nursing right there. I can pump to cover when I’m training clients and can sneak out for a run or to go swimming or the gym as a quick workout, but I don’t have so much stored up that I can travel too far for a run. Given that it would take 40 minutes by subway just to get to Central Park, that’s a long time for Baby T to be away from “the source”. For reference, one day this week I was out of the house from 8am until 1pm training clients and in that 5 hour window, Fran fed Tanner 16 ounces of breastmilk. When I got back, he was rocking him incessantly, trying to stay ahead of the meltdown about to happen because Tanner wanted boobie NOW!

I’m okay with it, though, because although we’re leaving NYC as our home behind us, we have so many friends here –  some who are really like family by now – and I know we’ll be back. That’s when I can squeeze in time for just one more run here and there and anywhere I miss from my bucket list.

And now I’m getting excited about the prospect of trail running! I’ve already been researching trails in Red Rocks and around the Burlington area. The beauty of being up there will be that we actually will have a car, so I can just drive to a new spot to run when I want to, even take Baby T on a little mama-baby running date by Lake Champlain, perhaps!

What places are on your running bucket list? 

Any running recommendations for my new home??