Never Too Cold To Run

Six miles in Central Park. 33 degrees. Finished in well under an hour.

Followed by brunch, naturally, at the Boat House, our branch office.

That is how you Saturday.

There Is A Free Roaming Chicken In Central Park Today

Over by West 74th street, right on the border of the Ramble and the pond where you can row a boat.

So many questions.

Fall Fete

This is why I run Central Park in the middle of the day.

Running, The Smith And Daniel Radcliffe

It's important to have friends in low places. While enjoying the gorgeous weather on Friday, the phone buzzed thanks to an email from a friend who works for a Broadway producer. Was I busy that night? Would I like to go to the invited dress rehearsal for the new play that Daniel Radcliffe is in?

It's not often that I get invited to dress rehearsals for major productions and even if I was busy, plans would be canceled. So yes, I went. The Cripple of Inishmaan is a wonderful, funny play. Radcliffe plays the cripple, which is quite a feat to watch since he can only use one hand and one leg, and he gets into some pretty physical stuff.

Saturday, of course, means running with the ladies. I have been waiting months for a run like today's. It was a fast four miles, since no one felt like dealing with the Harlem Hills, and in gorgeous sunshine.

We always take a photo before each run, in case someone gets lost and we have to send out a search party.

And then we bon vivant it up at brunch, because we are all accounted for. This week we hit The Smith over in Lincoln Center.

On the way home from all this merriment, I had an age-old question answered for me: Where's Waldo? He is, apparently, waiting for someone by the clock in Grand Central.

The Unexpected Bonus Of Running In The Rain

As the days grow shorter, getting in a decent run during the week is difficult. Especially if you have a job. So I have to take advantage of the weekends. When I got up to Central Park this morning around 11:00, which is late for me, it was pouring rain. (That didn't stop all the people waiting in line to see the Vermeer at The Frick, though. That line was wrapped around the block all the way to 71st Street for hours.)

Since I was already up there, I figured I would at least try the four mile loop in the rain. As I started running, I noticed something -- I was practically the only one there. Drizzle has the incredible ability of keeping all the fool tourists on rented bikes out of the park, where they cause collisions, and into the Arms and Armour room at the Met. Yahtzee!**

It was the polar opposite of Saturday morning when on three different occasions I had to tell someone on a bike to get out of the runners' lane. It's confounding that it even has to be mentioned. Riding a bike near people who can't see you from behind and likely can't hear you due to headphones is a bad idea. But we can't all be geniuses.

Eventually the rain stopped and I ended up doing the whole six mile loop (in well under an hour, thanks for asking) without having to deal with a single tourist. My iPod, however, seems to be obsessed with Christmas carols. 'Tis the season.

**It is often said that you know you are a true New Yorker when you realize you can't deal with tourists. If that is the case then I have been a New Yorker since the summer of 1998, when I was an intern at Elle magazine. The Wednesday afternoon Broadway matinee goers used to clog up my local lunch spots, which was maddening. It was then that I realized I could never live anywhere else.

I Ran Six Miles, But I Don't Feel Like I Ran Six Miles

There are few of these idyllic fall days left in Central Park. I'm trying to take advantage of them. Today was pretty much perfect.

(And for my next act, I will cut you with my cheekbones.)

A few cliche, Central Park in fall photos. Humor me.

First Mister Softee Of The Season

At 79th Street and Fifth Avenue. A fancee softee!

When Central Park Is Idyllic

I've lived in Manhattan since 1999 and I have never seen Central Park so crowded and full of happy life as it was today. Since New Yorkers don't have driveways to shovel and seldom lose power, snow is a welcome guest.

Every hill I walked by today has sledders on them. It is rare to have a day in the park where there is so much fluffy snow and the air is cold, but not too cold to enjoy it. Today was a real gem.

On top of a sledding hill at 72nd Street.


Andre and I


West drive


Everyone was making snowmen.


Snowman with an agenda


Facing south towards 59th Street, extra bright.


Hat head

A 10K On A Beautiful Day

Finished a 10K yesterday in 59:56. The time is okay, but it was a such a gorgeous day that I can live with being about 30 seconds slower than the last 10K I did. Maybe I don't need to stop for water. This is the last race I'll be doing for a while, since most of the May and June races are filled up. I've done six since February, and two of those were half marathons. In terms of physical fitness, I'd day that's pretty respectable.

I don't usually stay for the awards, but there was a raffle with tons of prizes. I didn't win anything, although I was gunning for two free plane tickets to Abu Dhabi.

There were lots of pro runners at the 10K, but the most inspiring was the second place winner, Leonard Korir, from Kenya. He finished just two seconds shy of the first placer, who was an Olympian, and, at age 25, it was his first professional race ever. He couldn't dally on the stage, though, because at 11:00 a.m. he had to get to the Javits Center in order to graduate from Iona College. Talk about the best day ever: winning $12,000 in your first professional race, nearly beating an Olympian for the top slot and earning a college degree.

Four Miles Cleared in 36:48!!

...totally a personal best. I bet it would have been even quicker if I could have gotten around the slow, fat guys in front of me who didn't get the memo that you sprint the stretch before the finish line. Nevertheless, an awesome time. Last year I did this same race and finished in 39:13. What a difference a year makes.

I am slated for one more race, a 10K, in two weeks, and that may be it for a while, since many of the May and June races are already full. Boo.

Another Weekend, Another Half Marathon

You'd think I'd be thinner. Ready for two loops of Central Park first thing Sunday morning.

The expo on 18th Street where I picked up the number was awesome. Seriously great swag.



I think I do these races for the goody bags. I could live off all the energy bars I picked up.

Scotland Run 10K! Finished in 59:38

It's better than my time from 2008 (1:00; 31) and 2007 (1:02:33) and also a personal best for a 10K. Nevertheless, I need to get the lead out. There's no reason I can't be in the 55:00 -57:00 range.

I've been getting some craptastic numbers for races, and I think if I were further up in the corrals I wouldn't get held back by all the slowpokes. And trust me, there are a lot of them. For the half marathon on April 15th I'm going to sneak up a bit and see how that affects my time.

NYC Half Marathon Finisher! 2:16!

Afterward, I had lunch with my oldest friends -- the Crupis!


Jen et moi. We date back to 1983

Idyllic Fall Day In Manhattan

Andre and I hit the Central Park Zoo today as well as a little playground on 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

It was a perfect autumn day in Manhattan. He slept all the way home.

TR, and others, often make jokes about how I photograph everything. When I'm 80, though, I'll have plenty of photo evidence of what a bon vivant I was in my hey day.

It's the end of August and Manhattan is a bit of a ghost town. I don't want the blog to turn into one as well, so for the next week or so there may be some random content up here. I figure it's as good a time as any to indulge in some of my more esoteric interests, like early 90s hip hop and economics.

First thing first: the ladies and I are doing a few races come the fall. If anyone is interested in joining us, the dates are as follows:

Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, Central Park, September 18th. (5K)

Rock N Roll New York 10K, Saturday, October 22nd. Prospect Park, Brooklyn

Poland Spring Marathon Kick Off. Central Park. Sunday, October 30th (5 miles)

Post Race Sweaty Photo = Total Hotness

Some people sleep in on Sunday morning. I prefer to get up for an 8:00 a.m. race around Central Park. Today was just a short four mile hop. There's another one on Saturday.

Since the weather is decent today, I started strolling down Madison Avenue in search of coffee and ended up walking all the way down to Murray Hill, an extra two and half miles. This is what happens when I start listening to show tunes on my iPod.

This photo was taken literally less than five minutes after finishing in 39: 13. Decent time, but need to get the lead out. Also: a hairbrush.


The post-race, post-shower, clearly I found a hairbrush photo. It's a wonderful day in Murray Hill.

It's Memorial Day Weekend!

Memorial Day weekend is coming to a close. TR and I spent the weekend in town. I had one open house on Saturday, went on one run and washed every article of clothing in the house. Now it's just me, the Dixieland channel on Pandora and a bottle of white Bordeaux that has to finished before sun down. Life's all about meeting objectives.

Last Tuesday: At the B5 Media party where Erin C. runs the much-esteemed Crushable.com. Best cocktail party I've been to in a while.


It was a very lively crowd.


Sunday in the park with Andre.


Papa bear and his cub.


A mated pair.


Attack of the giant, ginger baby!


Looking wholesome and clean. For once.


Bodega cat sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk. Those cats are hardcore. We could all learn from bodega cats.

Finally Out Of The House!

Since the sun came out I've finally been able to leave the 21st floor. TR and I headed up to Central Park with the boy to get some sun. I have so much melanin that I'm not using!

First stop: Baccarat! TR wanted to pick up a little push present for me, since I managed to produce a large boy and all. At first I thought I wanted earrings to match the Psydelic necklace that I wear almost daily, but believe it or not, they looked dopey! Too matchy- matchy, too matronly. Instead, TR spied this number from across the room and it's just so much more La Pauline. I really love it -- especially because it's red.


Finally, into the park. Saw this young kid juggling while riding a unicycle and listening to an iPod. Apparently he does this all day long, and almost everyone who stopped gave him a dollar. That bucket in front of him was full of dollar bills. Guess that's one way to pay for college.


Oh, and there was a Dixieland band, which was awesome.


Proud (and tired!) Papa. He changed two diapers while sitting on park benches. That's skill. I supervised/stared off into space.


This photo is the perfect metaphor for our relationship. I'm always shoving my way to the forefront while TR smiles politely.


Speaking of, how does it feel to be Mr. Pauline Millard, Tom? At least in the eyes of Beth Israel Hospital and our insurance company?


Andre, after a long day in the park.


Me, covered in creatures.