Apartment Hunting

Even though the weather is frightfully cold, and it’s dark at 5 PM these days, I really do enjoy this Wednesday night routine of running in Central Park. I head up there from the office, usually with a  friend but I’d still do it alone, and run whatever mileage is dictated by my Higdon Intermediate Marathon Training Plan. This Wednesday it was 7 miles, and lucky me EN was up for the auspicious number. He met me at work, we locked our stuff in my office, then set out. I’d forgotten my running jacket so I was running in just a tank top layered under a long-sleeved tee, plus my tights. I couldn’t wait to get moving but Little G took the entire walk up to Central Park (10 blocks) to find a satellite. Just as we were about to take off running, we bumped into JD and RJR from our 2009 Green mountain relay team, also meeting up for a run. Since they are about 2 minutes per mile faster than we are, we chatted for a few minutes and left them to it. 

The plan was to run the 6-mile loop, then back down to my company’s building at 53rd and 5th. It was excellent to talk to EN, who I haven’t seen since the Ted Corbitt 9k nearly a month ago. He’s in early training for a triathlon, which he’ll do this Summer. I’d been a bit freaked out & stressed out on Wednesday, so EN gamely tried to distract me and make me laugh the entire workout (which included querying every woman who ran towards us if her name was “X”–“X” being my most recent nemesis). Somewhere between Cat Hill and Harlem Hill, I heard some yips and snarls and said, Whoa dog fight! I assumed that a couple of canines out for their evening walk were having a doggie moment, until we saw two gigantic racoons claw their way down one of the trees between the reservoir and the road. They were hissing and growling at each other. I had some irrational fear that one of them (or both!!) was going to launch itself onto my head. I uttered a big yellowbellied shout and practically jumped into EN’s arms. Ohmigod ohmigod. He laughed at me (natch!).

Once we’d put enough distance between ourselves and the racoons, EN suggested that we pop out at the NorthWest corner of the park and jog down to see the building where he’s considering buying a co-op apartment.  We ran down to 97th Street–the building is literally right across the street from an entrance to Central Park. Hello, bag watch! On the way there, we passed this gorgeous castle-like building. It sits on the park between 105th and 106th Streets, and has only been renovated for habitation in the past several years. When I was in grad school (September ’96 to January ’98), I used to live at Columbus Avenue and Central Park West, and would walk by the building nearly every day on the way to the subway. It was crumbling, boarded up & inhabited only by wild animals, but even so its beauty and grace was obvious. I would fantasize about living in one of those gorgeous turrets, looking out over the park like a princess. I’d line my walls with floor to ceiling bookcases, and get thick carpets, leather and velvet furniture, elegant table lamps that cast yellow pools, and leave the blinds up and the lights on so that everyone could look in and see my fabulous room when they came by at night. Running by that building with EN brought all those memories and dreams back. I had a bit of melancholy, remembering the girl I was then (certainly not a runner), and what sort of life I thought I would have.

EN’s building looked good to me, too, and I hope that he eventually gets settled into the right apartment for him. At 97th Street we went back into the park, and completed a great run. Despite running through stress, fright and melancholy (I was so distracted), we wrapped it up strong. 7 miles in 1:04:26. Average pace 9:12, fastest mile 8:51, slowest mile 9:27.