Day 56 100th Mile! Yahoo!

Monday, April 26, Day 56. Ran 4 miles/ Total so far 100/ Miles to go 900!



I have done it. I am one tenth of the way through the challenge. I will need to increase my weekly mileage to reach 1000 in a year but I am sure I can do it. Just knowing that I am on tenth of the way is a milestone. It is raining and cold here in New York so I ran the miles in the Mid City Gym on a treadmill. It took slightly more than 40 minutes. Felt great! Tomorrow I return to Dallas and law school life, but today is all about food and friends.

Mid City Gym (www.midcitygym.com) is the oldest gym in Manhattan. It is at 49th and 8th Avenue. You have to go downstairs past a sign that is always out front advertising gym memberships for only $39 a month. The inside is very utilitarian with weird drawings on burnt orange walls. The place is small and basic. There are some free weighs and some machines and a few cardio machines. The floor is uneven with rubber mats laid on top of each other then connected with yellow and black hazard tape warning members that they need to step up or down depending upon which direction they are going.

There is not a lot of talking going on at Mid City. Hard Core no nonsense body builders grunt and grown as they lift. This is where Arnold the Terminator once trained and there are pictures of him in the gym on the walls. There are not whirlpools or saunas or Pilate's rooms and no-one teaches aerobic dance. If you belong to Mid City you are there to lift weights and go. I like the spartan atmosphere. Such a contrast to the LA Fitness in Richardson that I wrote about in earlier posts. If you are in Manhattan check them out. The sale day memberships for $10 I believe but if you are nice they may give you a free pass to try them out...they did for me.

After the 4 mile run on the treadmill I went home and took a nap. We have four friends staying for the film festival in the two bedroom apartment we call home in New York. It was a bit crowded in the living room and I was tired from the night before. The nap was wonderful, enhanced by the fact that it was cold and rainy outside, perfect sleeping weather for me.

Monday night 8 of us went to a Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood, Yaki Tori, which specializes in what I call for lack of a better name, Japanese Tapas....little plates of lots of stuff, especially chicken. Most of the food comes out on little wooden skewers as you discover you are eating chicken heats, and liver and gizzards, etc. When asking what we are eating Taka just tells everyone to "Shut up and eat!" There are also wonderful fried baby octopus...tastes like calamari and a minced chicken breast that you dip in a quail egg that you have stirred in a little bowl they brought for you. Wonderful salads and special rice are all part of the fare. We also drank this Japanese vodka which is mixed with grapefruit juice that you squeeze at your plate on an individual juicer. Very fresh and tasty.

We were celebrating Israel's birthday (which was actually the next day, Tuesday). What a wonderful time to celebrate your birthday with a successful movie at a major film festival. Very proud of him and friend and co-producer, Tony.

I went to be right after dinner....To return to Dallas and work on Tuesday meant getting up at 4 and catching a 6 o'clock flight. All in all the New York trip was a nice break from a hectic time at work and reaching my 100th mile was a milestone I was glad I could accomplish there. Life is Good!