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.
