Most people know me as a professional opera singer when not working at BDE, but I have also found another very unexpected love - running. Running has become a big part of my life recently as I am training for a Half-Marathon coming up at the end of April. I never thought I would enjoy training in New York as much as I do with the street noise and dirty sidewalks, but trekking to Central Park from my Morningside Heights apartment has become a Sunday afternoon ritual that is a great warm-up both physically and mentally.
My stomping, er, running ground.
Yesterday, during my 7 ½ mile run, I was amazed at all the different people out and about. It seems like the gorgeous weather brings out everyone in the city. The park had a utopia feel. So many smiling faces of parents walking with their kids. Cyclists and other runners smiling and laughing as they bike and run up very steep hills. Crowded playgrounds next to crowds watching break dancers and roller skaters. From the bag piper to the man dressed as a praying mantis carrying a praying mantis puppet (definitely the strangest thing I’ve seen in a while), Central Park makes me realize how amazingly diverse New York City is. I think New York City gets a bad rap that it is a city with a “GO, GO, GO” mentality – that we never stop to enjoy life and each other. From what I see when I am running, that idea is completely bogus!
Who says New Yorkers don't stop to smell the flowers?
My long training runs are much more enjoyable when surrounded by all the healthy smiling New Yorkers. With only 6 weeks left before my race, I want to thank all of you who visit Central Park on Sundays. You have been cheering me on just by being in the park and enjoying all it has to offer.
After my first 13.1 in 2008.
--Emily Levin
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