#central park loop

On Tuesday, Central Park Conservancy, NYC DOT, and the NYC Parks Department announced a slate of Parkwide safety enhancements to Central Park's very popular Drives. 

The Parkwide speed limit is being reduced to 20 mph (signs will be changed this weekend) for all modes of transportation. Substantial improvements will be made to four key crossings within the Park. These will include prominent new "Pedestrian Crossing" signs, 10 mph speed limit signs, enhanced roadway markings, and refurbished crosswalks.

Barricades will be installed to shorten pedestrian crossing distance in two locations--near Sheep Meadow and Heckscher Ballfields--on the southern portion of West Drive, and a different configuration of barricades will be used mid-Park near the Delacorte Theater. 

Lord knows I have run the Central Park Loop COUNTLESS times.  It's a part of New York that means so much to me, as it was such a huge part of my half marathon-ing experience.  Some of my greatest athletic moments have occurred on that loop. But while I had spent a lot of time on my two feet with Kanye and Fatboy Slim in my ears on this path, I had never experienced it on a bike.  I've never been a huge bike rider; while I enjoy doing it recreationally, I never feel like (at least in the gym) it is enough of a workout.  Still, I wanted to do it just to say I've done it.

I...was wrong.  It's a workout. There are a lot of inclines on the Central Park Loop, and going downhill--while a bit terrifying--is an amazing rush.  It feels like a gift for making it through the tougher parts.  Running downhill is a similar sensation, but it's still not a break in the same way it is on a bike.  Towards the beginning I was pretty terrified about taking people down, but I started to get a handle on it.  There is something to be said about the old adage "like riding a bike;" it really does come right back to you, and it didn't take long for me to feel like I was in control. One thing that I've never understood and that I still don't understand is the different speeds.  I kept playing with them the whole time until I ultimately just left it on a 2.  I was also paranoid, because when I rented the bike the guy warned me that it's pretty common for the chains to break if you shift gears in a certain way.  A smart person would have asked him about the gears at that point, but I was like "naaaaaah that doesn't apply to me."  This translated to me fiddling with the speeds in constant fear that I was ruining the bike; at a certain point I got off just to make sure I didn't break it.  (I didn't, but that's about the point that I decided to stop shifting altogether.) The north part of the park is my favorite to run in, because it's so gorgeous and so quiet.  However, the inclines feel almost worse on a bike than on foot.  This part of the path is a doozy...usually I make a rule to myself that I'll just walk this part when I'm out for a run.  But you can't just go into a walk when you're on a bike...you're still peddling.  This was the very point at which I had to just stop and walk with the bike for a second.  It was too much.

Another concern I've always had about riding a bike is that it's extremely uncomfortable on the ladyparts.  I really don't know how men do it.  Between that and my aching sit bones...I needed a stretch...

and a moment to breath.

I rented the bike for two hours, unsure of how long I'd really want to be on it.  (It was 15 bucks for one hour, and they charge 8 bucks if you're late, whereas two hours was only 20.)  The guys told me that if I was looking for a "Lance Armstrong-type experience" it'd take me about an hour.  In the back of my head, I laughed...it takes me a little over an hour to run the entire thing...there's no way it would take me that long.  Sure enough, I finished it in 36 minutes, and that's including my stopping to stretch.  Not too shabby! I decided to take a little break and then do another go-around to get my money's worth, even though if I was being honest with myself, I absolutely did not want to get back on.  I was all sorts of uncomfortable. Here's the helmet damage...the helmets were optional, but considering I can't recall the last time I was on a bike, I went ahead and did the right thing.  Safe D begins with me!  (Fun story that was already a Facebook status: I asked if that had different sizes of helmets because my head is really big, and the guy asked if I was bragging.  Ha!)

HOT. Anyway, it was a GORgeous day in the park, so I found a tree, picked up my book and took a load off.

I did another go-around, this time a bit shorter (there's a little road at around 103th street that you can cut through) and it took me about 30 minutes.  As I passed the pedicab dudes, I had a newfound respect for them.  I always had respect for their ability to lug people around, but considering what a workout I just had all by my lonesome, I cannot imagine what their crotches and sit bones must endure on a daily basis. 

RESPECT. I'm really glad I did it, and it was an amazing workout.  Plus, I got this killer blue Gatorade mustache.

Sara and I tackled the entire 6-mile Central Park loop! I'm very proud of us for getting out in the under 40-degree weather to complete the 6.35 miler at a sub-9 minute pace.

This is a challenging run and once you've finished, you will feel quite accomplished. The toughest part is uptown hitting Harlem Hills, a long and steady hill that feels like it is never going to end. We started our run at West 72nd street so those hills hit in the middle of mile 4. Once you pass that, there are only small hills and it's smooth sailing to the finish, back at West 72nd.