Running bummers, restaurant hopping & a bike.

This past weekend here in NYC was absolutely glorious. Both days were flawless blue skies, sunny and warm and not humid, and picture-perfect days to spend entirely outside. Which is what I did, from morning til night.

early Saturday am run along Riverside Park, 125th St.

Unfortunately, my anticipated long run on such a beautiful Saturday morning was cut short — and I was not happy about this. The reason: super annoying pain in my right calf, concentrated mostly in the lower section near my ankle and Achilles. Such. a. bummer. I managed to make it just over 10 miles before forcing myself begrudingly to stop, as I was afraid to injure it even worse. I felt really good otherwise, and it frustrates me that I could run 17 miles of hills last weekend and feel amazing, and then get hurt running 10 miles on completely flat paths. Non-sensical.

Aside from this annoyingness, the rest of the weekend was fabulous, and spent alternating between jaunting around the city streets and popping into various restaurants. Not a bad way to spend a gorgeous weekend.

 I swung by a friend’s birthday party on Friday at this adorable little spot next to Irving Plaza called Ichabod’s. It’s small and charming and very elemental (think lots of exposed brick and wooden decor and wildflowers), and offers great happy hour specials. I didn’t have the chance to check out the food, but hopefully in the near future. Supposedly it’s great. And the bar next door? The Headless Horseman. Always appreciate a good literary reference dropped right into the midst of ordinary life (said every nerd ever).

Digging the floating wine wall and the fruit in glass jars — lovely little touches.

My BFF came to visit this weekend for the first time in agessss, so we obviously had a lot of catching up — and traipsing around — to do. This started with brunch at Elmo, a spacious, colorful, funky Chelsea restaurant with a fun vibe and an extensive brunch menu. I had the homemade veggie burger, which was deee-lish. Definitely a good place for a fun brunch with friends, and it’s a pretty roomy restaurant, which is a plus considering how long you can be forced to wait for brunch at a lot of the smaller places in this city.

We also stumbled upon another fun spot in the Meatpacking District on Sunday and were drawn in by the adorable name: Sugar Factory.

I’m not a big sweets person but I love a cute little fun restaurant, and I was with two pastry chefs, soooo this was an easy sell. A new NY addition since April, and it’s part novelty candy store/ice cream parlor, part charming little restaurant with a novel of a menu. It’s the sweetest little place for a brunch date or a quick pop of sugar.

It was perfect for a girls’ brunch, and I also think it’d be a fun place for a first date or a birthday party. Or to bring a kid, if I ever find a way to borrow one for a day without snatching him off the street.

We finished Sunday off by renting Citibikes for the first time, which was an absolutely hilarious adventure. This is NYC’s new 24/7 rent-a-bike commuter alternative, totally designed for commuting purposes and not for a lazy afternoon of sightseeing and relearning how to ride a bike. Not that that stopped us.

Apparently you can’t ride on sidewalks here, or in the middle of the streets, or manage to make it three feet in the Central Park South area. And those baskets on the front? Purses don’t stay in them. They end up flying out into the street over and over again. 

Guaranteed laughter-inducer, right there. I kinda loved it and am maybe considering getting the year pass and cycling down to work and back along the river. Sure beats the 780 degree subway platforms.

And here’s a shot at the South Street Seaport this weekend, just because it makes me happy. And because I sorta harbor dreams of sailing away to worlds unknown and finding my center amidst sea and sky and sails.

Question: What was a highlight of your weekend?

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