A Mother's Day to Remember

May 13, 2007: New York Junior League Mothers Day Run

Racers: Mel, Kathy, Mary, Lyle, Alka, and Shirley at Tom's Diner after the race

I wasn’t sure if I could get a good size group to join me on a trip to New York on Mothers Day weekend, however there were 6 of us for this trip. It was a beautiful weekend. I drove down, my SUV packed to the gills with people and luggage. We drove down the usual way, coming in to the city via I-87, taking the Sawmill Parkway to Henry Hudson Parkway, 79th street exit down to Broadway and then to (where else?) the Beacon Hotel. We’ve got this down to a science. We did a few laps around the block before deciding that no on-street parking places were to be had, and then went into a parking garage. We checked into the Beacon and were walking to lunch by 1 pm. Our lunch destination this day would be Isabella’s near the Museum of Natural History. What a great spot that was! We got a table outside, had wonderful food, drink, and conversation. The free hats they passed out to us were a big hit. The next item on the itinerary was to pick up our race packets. After losing one of our members in an Arts and Crafts fair for 30 minutes, we finally made our way to the packet pickup.

On to the Metropolitan Museum of Art! Not for the art, but for the Rooftop Café for drinks. Mary found this spot in her New York travel guide. What a great spot this was. Up on the roof. The New York skyline! A gorgeous spring day! Who could ask for more? When we finally got back to the hotel that evening, I was exhausted. The group was talking about going out for a burger, and all I could think about was crawling into bed. I went to bed, and they went for burgers.

The next morning I felt pretty good. It was sunny, but relatively cool (in the 50’s). Mary and Shirley ran the 4 mile race and the rest of us went for the 10 mile race an hour later. I decided (for the first time) to race with my Ipod. I sometimes use it when I’m just out running and I’m definitely not dependent on it. I thought the music might motivate me to run stronger, especially given the length of the race. I did find that I enjoyed having it.

I ran a good race (for me). I’m not a fast runner. Ten miles is not a common race distance, so the only thing that comes close for comparison is the Utica Boilermaker (15K) which I did in 2004 and 2006. Of course the Boilermaker is hilly and hot, and a little shorter, but I took a whole minute off of my Boilermaker pace. I was very encouraged by this, feeling like my training was starting to pay off. Mary and Shirley hung out after their race, and I was really surprised to see them cheering me on as I passed the Boathouse on one of the loops around the park.
I love picking out all of the landmarks as I circle through the park. This time, I noticed for the first time the Marionette Theater, which looked like something from a German fairly tale. As I crested one hill, there was a man who looked like an old running coach, who was giving each of us pointers on our running form. And then I saw again a tall nice-looking African American man I had seen during the More Half Marathon (doing the same thing), who ran the course in reverse facing us, clapping and encouraging all of us. It was nice running the course counterclockwise this time. It was also a nice change to do those northern hills from the other direction.


After showers at the hotel, drove up near Columbia University with a plan to have lunch at the Seinfeld spot, Tom’s Diner. We saw lots of Columbia grads in their caps and gowns. We circled around the block a few times, looking for a spot to park. We had just given up when we came upon one. You would have thought we had just won the lottery. My parallel parking skills have atrophied over the years since I rarely need to do it anymore. And I’ll tell you, these Manhattan parking spots are tight. Kathy suddenly shouts out, I’ll park it for you! So I stop, jump out and she jumps out and gets in the driver’s seat. I thought for sure the driver behind us was going to start honking, but I didn’t care (they didn’t honk…they must have been from out of town). I’m sure I could have parked it, but why put myself through that anxiety if someone else is willing to take it on? Kathy did a great job. We had a great diner lunch, and then walked through St. John the Divine Cathedral which was just a block away. That place was awesome. I was so glad we stopped in. It was definitely worth the time.

Then we headed home. Another great weekend and another race under our belts.