(10am) Who doesn't love the fallback hour? It makes this Sunday my favorite day of the year.
The NYC Marathon is today! This bruiser of a race comes right by my house and I get an up close look at the runners. The pros are pretty darn impressive --- NO WAIT. All the runners are impressive, actually.
But the pros are just like....wow. Machines. Zero body fat. They don't jog, they sprint. And with every movement (especially since they wear so little) you can see muscles and tendons pulling and releasing under their skin. It's so clear, it's like looking at a moving anatomy drawing.
It's not unattractive, per se. It's just not something one often sees. Most of us -- even high-level athletes -- have some degree of fatty tissue between our skin and muscle layers. Some more than others, of course!
These runners have nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. And I've realized that it's not a bad thing to have a little adipose material on the ol' frame. It really is much more pleasant to behold when you can't see every vein twitching!
I'll probably post some pics later when they run by. I'll try to time my visit to the gym to the runners approaching Central Park. Then I can see them zipping toward the finish line as I slog on the elliptical.
6pm UPDATE:
Pictures! It is so amazing to watch the humanity flow down Fifth Ave that I stayed on my elliptical machine for 90 minutes. Yes, I felt kinda like I was out there too -- but with much, much, much less pain and stress. That race is no joke, and although everyone laughs and has fun, every once in a while you see a face of real suffering in the crowd of runners. The heart bleeds for those poor souls! Usually they're limping ... probably had a fall somewhere between Queens and The Bronx.
Here's the view from the east side of Fifth Ave.
That's a view up Fifth Ave. These are the "regular folks." The pros go out early.
And the view down Fifth Ave.
Now the challenge for me was to somehow get across that street to my gym -- it's the building with the purple awning and the words NY Sports Club. That was not easy, believe me. The runners do not appreciate pedestrians ambling into their path.
The runners fed me amazing eye candy during my extra long elliptical session. Then I walked about 1.5 miles to have coffee with a friend, then a pit stop at a grocery store.It was a bit too cold to bike, but I walked home through Central Park. My soy sauce was uncomfortably pressing into the small of my back, but other than that I was able to carry the groceries in my backpack fairly easily.
The park was gorgeous, of course. Two bonus pics for you all tonight: sunset at Harlem Meer.
That big building in the back is a new luxury condo that went up a few months ago. Ick. The view was much better without it.
And so, adios October, hello November. Did a gym weigh-in today. Two more pounds gone, never to return. Good riddance!
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How cool that you have a front row seat to the NY Marathon. I have not witnessed one of these before, but I am sure it is fascinating to see these machines do their thing.
ReplyDeleteBTW, you'll have to let us know if you feel like you are running with them on the elliptical.
Thanks for the pics Ish! I bet that was fascinating watching this from the elliptical. Of course, you probably got your exercise getting across that street. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhile it isn't the marathon, the pics of the park are great too. I bet there are some neat sunrises and sunsets there. I'll show my ignorance -- do they have curfews that prevent you from seeing the sunrise and sunsets from the park?
BTW, thanks for the shout out!
Neat pictures! I always thought distance runners looked like beef jerky. All sinew LOL!
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Ish! I love that they inspired you to push yourself even further! Again, I have to say that I love your style--it's so fun.
ReplyDelete72 pounds down, too! WhaHoo!!
I saw the last of the runners in the London Marathon earlier this year - they were not far into the race and yet were barely able to walk. These were clearly people who had done no training and had not given any thought to just how hard it is to run 26 miles (or even walk it). I had little sympathy as they had used a place that someone who was prepared to put the effort in might have had.
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