I am overheated

Well, today's run did not go well. In addition to battling continuing tightness and pain in my legs, I also ran in this:



Needless to say, it was quite a surprise. It was nice being able to wear shorts instead of running pants for a change, but the 30 degree uptick in weather was just a little too much. I soaked through my tech t in about fifteen minutes and completed my run shirtless. I'm sure it contributed to how difficult I was finding the run, too.




You can see my pace was not very good. It got better in the second half of the run, but not great.

I am wondering if these graphs might be better to post or easier to read. They don't tell the whole story, but the second one, especially, is a good summary.




Well, it is what it is.

I did the uphill and back 3.4 mile route, so it was a good workout, if not of particularly high quality. Perhaps tomorrow's stationary bike will be better.

By the way, we've been getting some newer street furniture around here. The busstops I pass are now very chic - all glass and stainless steel. And then there's this street furniture, outside of PetCo at Union Square:



Cute little parking garage for bicycles. I approve of the city's support of man-powered bi-wheeled transportation devices. It is ironic, though, that such street furniture makes its first appearance in the very location where bicyclists have been arrested during the monthly Critical Mass rides. Sure, they didn't have parade permits, but really, who's the bigger problem? Bicyclists or SUVs? During those monhly events, the police proved themselves to be real Mass-holes.

So why doesn't the city do more to promote healthy ways of getting around? If they expanded the sidewalks and squeezed the streets down by a lane or two, more people would walk and there'd be a lot less traffic, because driving in the city would be intolerable.

The street furniture is part of a large campaign to replace all bus shelters with the new style, add 200 additional ones, add bike parking, replace all current newsstands with the new style (which does look pretty nice - NY Modern instead of NY Grunge), and install public toilets. You can read about it all here. (pops)

The Central Park Conservatory has also been doing its part and has been replacing benches, including my favorite ones across from the Boathouse:




The new dedication plate on that one above really cracks me up.

Still, people will use whatever they can as street furniture:



Though I do wish they'd also replace the got-dam domed hexagonal pavers on the walk around the park, these mittens wouldn't look near as artsy without them: