Bar Hopping - Bryant Park

Its the unofficial start to Autumn today and many are saddened that the evenings spent outside are now a thing of the past or at least until next summer. Let me tell you it isn't so! Autumn is the best time of year! I love it. The weather is cool and crisp yet warm enough where you can still spend time outdoors comfortably. The weather will be glorious until at least the end of October. Be sure to not hibernate too soon.

A great place to go is Bryant Park. Last week I met up with some co-workers at the Bryant Park Cafe for an afterwork drink. We were having a great time as we had prime real-estate by the bar but one of my colleague's insisted that if we went to the Bryant Park Grill it would be more fun because it was a rooftop. Reluctantly, we left for greener pastures. The Bryant Park Grill rooftop is very nice and it does have a nice over head view of the park but we didn't have great real-estate by the bar and could not get a table. We stayed for one drink and were once again on the move to for the Bryant Park - Southwest Porch. Which happens to be my favorite spot in Bryant Park. It feels like going out to a friend's backyard. There are swings, rockers, adirondack chairs, and power outlets just incase you need to charge your phone. The good part is you do not have to buy anything from the bar to hang out there but you will need skill in scoring a comfortable spot.

Live instagram feed of Bryant Park

NikeTown Run Club NYC

Me running with the Nike manequins 

I went running with the NikeTown Run Club (57th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues) for the second time and I really like this club! Everyone is there to run and have a good time doing it. The club meets three times a week Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30pm and Saturdays at 9am.

I will advise anyone and everyone to try it, its free! The best part is you can go straight after work and check your bags securely at the store. You can also change there; just walk into any empty fitting room or you can go to the restroom on the third floor. You can even borrow a pair of Nike running shoes. So if not having a proper pair of running shoes is one of your excuses for not running then you are out of luck. I wish I had known that as I probably would have started running sooner.

One thing to know is to arrive at least 10 minutes early otherwise you will walk into a chaotic NikeTown lobby. There will be like 50 people standing around, signing in, checking bags, getting a drink of water, or catching up with run buddies and you will have no clue what is going on and get left behind. If you do get left behind do not fear, just rush over to "the statue." Huh? Statue? What statue? Where? That would be the statue of W T Sherman at Grand Army Plaza on 5th Avenue and 59th Street.

"Meet at the Statue" for stretching and getting into groups

Once everyone is at the statue the stretching begins! A series of stretches for about five to ten minutes. Once that is all over announcements are made (Run Club is canceled this Thursday due to Nike getting ready to outfit all of the NFL teams on Friday). Then you are broken up into groups: Run/Walk, 3 miles, 5 miles and 7 miles. It looks like every run with the club is a little different by taking different routes and or doing "Indian runs" like I did the first time I was there. Each group is lead by Nike pacers who are very encouraging and keep your spirits up and running.

I went with the 3 mile run today and boy was it tough! I could barely walk when I was done but I'm glad I did the run and not the run/walk. Hopefully I'll be in better shape just in time for summer.

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Happy Running!