Thursday, August 02, 2012

After the rain

So, last night it was drizzling rain when I left work in Queens. I decided to go home instead of running four miles in Central Park. Maybe it wouldn't be raining by the time I got home though I don't mind running in the rain. Besides......(TMI information ALERT) I felt like I needed to use the bathroom.
Not that I mind finding a facility in the Park, I know where all of them are. Given the right um, motivation, I could probably tell you, from any point in the Park, how far in actual distance/tenths of miles a particular restroom is.
And their condition:
The ones at the old Tavern on the Green site, wonderful.
The ones by the tennis courts? You could let your baby-child play on the floor.
The ones by the Belvedere Theatre any time after 10AM, toxic waste site.

I took the train(s) home. I had been wrong on both counts; I didn't have to 'go' and it was still raining, but just a drizzle. Not even enough to wet my glasses.
So, I set up the Podrunner music, I set up the CharityMiles (Nature Conservancy, Michael J. Fox Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Global Fund~~one mile each) started my watch and headed off. I just trotted, down the hill on Bennett through the bottom of Ft. Tryon Park, noting that I was at the top of the hill before I noticed I was on a hill, across Riverside and down Payson to Dykeman then West to the Hudson River. Raining, raining, raining.....but that wasn't stopping the crowd at the new place on the river~ The Marina~ they were doing valet parking and business, it seemed to me, was good.
I ran out to the end of Manhattan. There's a tree encircled by the path there. There was a couple fishing, they had tackle boxes, four rods and, I haven't a clue why, a radial tire standing up next to where they were sitting.  It's .75 of mile from the Marina to this spot.
Did they take the wheel off the car and roll it all the way over here so that no one could steal their car?
Did they just spot it floating in the river?
Will a radial tire float if it's mounted to the rim?
~~These are the types of question which become distractions which is why I was running so slow.
Right.
I headed back South, up the steps to the River Trail and on towards the George Washington Bridge. Suddenly I realized it wasn't raining anymore and over to the West, the sky began to brighten. Just short of four miles, the sunset burst through and gave the world this:


This is why I don't mind running in the rain.

Joe(going for 100 miles this month)Nation

No comments: