It is a New York truism that Central Park is at its most gorgeous in Autumn. While Spring definitely has it’s charm, Summer is all get out beautiful, and winter can be a postcard perfect wonderland, Fall is by far my favorite in the park. I can’t put my finger on a singular thing but maybe it’s a combination: the riot of colors, the abundant foliage, the breathtaking views, the almost-there foot traffic, the near-perfect running temps, and the musical cacophony of the park’s residents. Autumn is everywhere in Central Park and for the above reasons, so am I.
Last week I took off on an impromptu run – the best kind – and can I just say.. wow. Mind you, I’ve made this park my running home, and I’ve been living in NYC for about 10 years now, so I’m not some starry eyed newbie. Still, it never gets old and gets me every time. Self confessed New Yorker that I am with a penchant for running all over this charming and gritty city, I am biased to Central Park. It is the epitome of an oasis in the desert and have served myself, thousands of New Yorkers, and millions of visitors over the years bringing respite, sanctuary, seclusion, nature, adventure, beauty, art, culture, and a host of other things that are quintessential New York to the world. I am just so stoked to have this as part of my New York life experience but more importantly as the catalyst for my running in this city. The park is where I started my 19-marathon running streak, that seems like ages ago now, and God’s willing there are a few more runs yet to explore here.
Reminiscing aside, I must have been buoyed by that particular gorgeous Autumn day with its sights and sounds because I gleefully flew aka ran the 6-mile outer loop of the park, flitting in and out at various picturesque points to snap a quick shot or two of every which thing. It was a photo run, if there is such a thing, totally unorthodox in nature – pun intended – encompassing random yet popular, trivial yet wowing, basic yet catchy views. If Central Park was a person, it’s stealing shots of a person unbeknownst but really with that person knowing full well that people do it all the time. My run was littered with sudden stops, quickened pace, selfie poses, backtracking, off path jaunts, all the while happening in the early afternoon. I never run around midday unless it’s late Fall or winter as it’s the sunniest and least cold then and so it was the perfect running day. I wasn’t alone in this thinking as there were people everywhere. Seems there are many others that share my love for the park. It’s also the year of Covid-19, though you would never know it from inside this slice of heaven. In fact, you would be forgiven for forgetting, the only thing contagious there being the jovial and benevolent spirit of park goers. So for just about 2 hours, I ditched the mask, though I maintained social distance, and turned off the panic, noise, grit, and confusion of the outside world to just bask in the explosion of nature in the best place in my world right there and then.
Pictures sometimes can’t really do justice to the reality but oftentimes it’s the best reminder we have and captures a moment in time that we’ll never get back. No matter how many times I’ve seen these, I never get tired of the views. Central Park is really my favorite place to be.
July came with all the sunshine, heat, and yes, thunderstorms – with a jump into the hurricane season, that’s meant we’ve been sitting in 90°F+ for the past week or is it weeks, hard to keep track with everything else going on. America celebrated July 4th – independence day – the likes of which this generation had never seen before. I mean we had fireworks in our neighborhoods unlike anything, in terms of its aggressiveness and duration, it went on for weeks at all hours of the day and night, which initiated unprecedented complaints and reports and made national news that got the powers-that-be attention and eventually tempered the insanity. Could it be, like many were insisting, that it was an outlet for a people tired of Quarentine? Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter protests continued, though it has simmered down now, and in a final twist to highlight the issues of African Americans and the social unrest bubbling, John Lewis, a main figure in Congress and representative of the struggle for equality and justice for African Americans, died a few days ago. This is amidst the continued restrictions in American society aka social distancing, wearing masks in public, outside dining, many small businesses going belly up, and others, like gyms and health clubs, remaining closed.
source: lifekdesigns.com
The Mall It’s another favorite interval running spot for my run group and an overall favorite of many park goers; that day so green and uncrowded. From there I meandered my way through the East Drive, where the NYC Marathon exits out the park onto its final leg on West 59th Street. There I stood at Grand Army Plaza with 5th Avenue off to my left and the famous Time Plaza Hotel to my right. Straight up ahead on 5th Ave was the opportunity for a shopping experience the likes of which you’ve only seen in the movies, only not that day, they were all closed, well almost all. From my precarious perch, camera in hand, I could see the Apple store open while practicing social distancing with people lined up outside. Apparently, iPhones are “essential”. Still, there was more traffic in these parts and I was getting nervous so my hands went to the handle bars and my eyes to the roads as I made my way back over to 1st Ave and onto the bridge once more for my return to Queens. I didn’t feel so nostalgic then, where there was a will, there will be a way.
In the words of Beyonce, “Who run the world…” I don’t think it was a question as much as it was a rallying cry for women everywhere to stand up and take their place. I’m happy to say we are responding in ways, means, and numbers like never before. Pretty cool but we’re also having everyone along for the ride, it’s a wonderful thing to see. Of course I’m using the song as a metaphor of sorts to the movement for change that is sweeping across this nation and around the world. But the truth is we’ve left the song behind awhile back when the protesters became bigger than any one group, class, or segment of people, when people everywhere decided that injustice is a humanity problem and a call to be our brother’s keeper. The irony of ironies is that while we’re marching in our cities together, we’re still, for the most part, running and working out alone.
Francis Lewis Blvd @Sunset
Queens Moonlight
runningwithfaith 