Great running site for upper Manhattan area

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet (sorry, I'm on vacation and so is my brain). I found this site about a year ago, it was created by some lovely person from Columbia and includes a bunch of great routes and links and maps and photos of areas to run around our hood (and many closer to Columbia, but its only about 3 miles down to Columbia from the Heights!)He also includes bathroom locations and other helpful tips.
Upper Manhattan Running Zone by Frank da Cruz

Things to do this week in Northern Manhattan

From the parks dept weekly email...

Northern Manhattan Parks Programs & Events

For more information about the programs listed below, simply click on the program title.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Free Sunset Qi Gong Classes
6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events, Education
Cost: Free

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Join us for one hour of walking, stretching, strengthening, and body toning using only the…
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Tower Tours & Latin Music Concerts: Bachata Heightz & Watata
6:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
Location: Highbridge Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural, Must See Events, Tours
Cost: Free

Sidney Horenstein's The Trails of Fort Tryon Park
6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Free Tai Chi Lessons
6:30 a.m.–7:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events, Education
Cost: Free

Sunset Yoga
6:45 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Movie Night in J Hood Wright Park: Disney's Eight Below
8:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: J Hood Wright Park, Manhattan
Category: The Arts, Cultural, Kids
Cost: Free

Inwood Astronomy Programs
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Education, Kids, Nature
Cost: Free

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
7:30 a.m.–8:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Summer Yoga in Inwood Hill Park
6:15 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Cancelled - Mike Feller's Fort Tryon Park Nature Walk
Mike Feller's Nature Walks for August 22 and 29 in Inwood Hill Park and September 5 in Fort Tryon Park are cancelled. He will return for his regular Saturday Nature Walks on September 12. Please note the SAVE THE DATE for Mike first Inwood Night Walk of the season at the bottom of this message.

Fitness Walking Programs in Fort Tryon Park
8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events
Cost: Free

Adventures NYC: Advanced Hiking
1:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Athletic Events, Education, Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Inwood Astronomy Programs
8:30 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Education, Kids, Nature
Cost: Free

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Friends Committee Beautification & Cleanup Day
10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Volunteer Events
Cost: Free

Garden Walking Tours in Fort Tryon Park
1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

Save The Date: Tuesday, September 2

Night Nature Walk with Mike Feller
7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.
Location: Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan
Category: Nature, Tours
Cost: Free

181st 1 train station ceiling collapse

I'm a few days late on this one, I just spotted it on the cover of a.m. NY this afternoon... a ceiling collapse at the 181st St 1 train station on Sunday around 10:30pm left debris of bricks and rubble covering 35 ft of track. The collapse has left the 1 train tracks closed between 168th St and Dyckman Street, likely until this weekend. It seems as though this was a long time coming, according to Assemb.Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan)there have been complaints about the crumbling walls/ceiling and water leaking from the ceilings for 3 years with no repairs in sight.

Since the 181st St Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a consultant is on board to conduct a design for restoration of the facade which has to "be done with sensitivity to preservation requirements."

In the meantime, poor 1 train riders are stuck riding a shuttle bus (and waiting in the sweltering heat), riding the M3 for free up St Nicholas, switching to the A train, or taking the M100 or Bx7 buses to the Dyckman St station where they can resume the 1 train ride up to 242nd St in the Bronx. Whew. The delays at the 168th st elevators have been a problem in the past, I can't even imagine what they're like now! I read today that it takes 20 shuttle buses to carry one trains worth of people, wow!

Your best bet is to avoid the 1 train in our area if you can, I know for me its too hot to make the long journey over to the 1 anyway, but I will definitely stay away this week!

*photo taken from amny.com

Bennett Park Water Main Break UPDATE!

As I mentioned a few weeks ago the water fountains and bathrooms in Bennett Park on Fort Washington Ave between W183rd and 185th streets have been out of commission for months and the neighborhood families were getting fed up. The port-o-potties were smelly and kids were peeing in the park (so gross.) and so I wrote a letter to the parks commissioner who gave me this response which I thought was reasonable. Well it looks like things are finally underway!! Woo hoo.

Some other shots of the work being done:

ugh i have a few more but blogger is having some issues and I need to head out for a run so I'll try them again later.

Highbridge Park

I'm excited about the tower climbs, I've run by it a few times and think its sort of intriguing and now that we're moving up to a new apt on a higher floor in our building we're going to have a view of it!

Northern Manhattan Parks Programs & Events

Three Tuesdays, August 11, 18, & 25
Highbridge Park, Manhattan
(enter at 174 Street & Amsterdam Avenue)

Pack a picnic. Climb the tower. Enjoy great music under the stars in Highbridge Park.

For the next three Tuesdays, City Parks Foundation, Northern Manhattan Parks, the Urban Park Rangers, and the High Bridge Coalition invite you to enjoy evenings of FREE Latin music and history at one of Manhattan's highest points, overlooking the Harlem River.

TOWER TOURS

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
For one hour before each concert, the tower will be open to visitors who can climb to the top for spectacular views of three boroughs and beyond as the Rangers reveal how the High Bridge and its tower helped New York become the world-class city it is today.

CONCERT SCHEDULES

August 11: ANDY ANDY
Merenguero-turned-bachatero Andy Andy made his debut with Aqui Conmigo in 2002 and was nominated for a Latin Grammy a year later. In 2005 and 2006, his record Ironía reached number one on Billboard's Top Tropical Albums charts. As an advocate for Latino youth issues, New York State recognized his efforts for his work with young people. On stage, Andy Andy’s music persuades you to get up and dance. You won’t be sitting still for this performance.

August 18: XTREME
Xtreme was formed in 2003 when the label 2 Strong Entertainment came across the 17 year old Danny Mejia, and after many auditions, Steven Tejada joined the bachata group. With their music, the two young men speak to Dominican Americans by combining tipico sounds of the DR with the R&B that plays in the streets of New York neighborhoods. Any performance is sure to include sultry vocals backed by the flowing bachata beats.

August 25: BACHATA HEIGHTZ / WATATA
Born and raised in Washington Heights, the five members of Bachata Heightz got together to stay off the streets and experiment with their musical passions. They have become one of most influential groups in their genre, and are considered to be one of the first pioneers of urban bachata, with influences coming from rock, hip-hop and R&B music. You can expect straight mambo and a little playfulness of the singers on the stage to get you going.

Salsero Chris Alfinez has toured with Marc Anthony as his lead background singer. Born in Washington Heights, he combines the traditional rhythm of the Caribbean with a distinct modern flavor.

A busy week of soccer, soccer and more soccer.

Have you ever been out to Randall's Island?? You know, that chunk of land below the mess of Triboro bridge loops and between East Harlem, Queens and The Bronx? I find that most people have a vague idea of where it is or they think it's Roosevelt Island ("thats the one in the east river?" is what I usually hear). I've been there once before to Icahn Stadium where my team that I coach had a track meet, but we took a bus from their school and went right to the stadium, missing all of the "good stuff".

I had a soccer game out there this week to help out a friend whose team was short players, and wow that was an experience. I found it to be a very bizarre bus ride out there with the bus full of adult soccer players and mostly ragged people looking either homeless or on the verge. I figured out why once I got there, Randall's Island houses a HUGE number of homeless men at a shelter there and is also home to Manhattan Psychiatric Center and Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center (which serves the criminally insane). There were actually a ton of homeless men sitting on the porch of the shelter watching and cheering for our game. A friend who is a social worker in the city said that the shelter there is often a first-stop for homeless men and has a reputation as a pretty gruesome place.

The funny thing is, while riding the M35 around the island I felt like it was a pretty unsafe place for a girl my size to be (the island, not the bus) because of what appeared to be homeless men everywhere and yet if you do a google search for Randall's Island you're likely to come to the conclusion that it's a lovely greenspace where you'd like to run and play sports. It took some searching to even find the name of the psychiatric facility there. I guess my point is, don't be fooled by the Parks Dept. website and head there for a scenic run, but if you do want to explore, I'd personally go as a group and during the daytime.

Well we didn't win our game that night, but it was an eye opening experience.

Sadly the zogsports soccer league that plays at Baker Field ended last night with my team taking 2nd place overall. Bummer. We rocked the first game of the playoffs at 7pm and had a rest while the next 2 games battled it out. Our second game at 9pm was not so pretty and we lost in the final round. :( It was brutal though because on Co-ed Zog teams you have to have at least 3 females on the field and we only had 3 females last night so the 3 of us played both games with no breaks! Whew. Anyhow, now you know why I haven't updated lately.

It's time to stop typing, the cat is walking on the keyboard and I can't take it any more!

*image from mbpo.org

A weekend getaway

Time has slipped away pretty quickly this week! I took a nice restful trip up to the Adirondacks last weekend for some long distance swimming, hiking and really good food. I have a swimming friend who spends her summers up there and I finally made it up to visit. We took long, lovely 2 mile swims each morning in gorgeous Paradox Lake and did some hiking in the area. A picture of the view from the top doesn't do that place justice. It was silent up there, having lived in NYC for the last 4 years I forgot it could ever be that quiet. The air was so fresh and clean and clear and we had a delicious picnic and then picked about 12 cups of wild blueberries for pies. Yum.

It was definitely one of the best weekends I've had in a while! Now having lived in NH for a few years I learned to appreciate the clean mountain air and quiet nights, but I was biased toward wanting a lake house in NH, VT or Maine... I usually never considered New York as a place to keep a vacation home, but my opinion has changed entirely now. What a gorgeous state we live in! It's hard to remember that in the urine-scented days of summer here in the city, but I encourage everyone to get out and explore our gorgeous (and huge) state.

Here's a good starting point if you think hiking is too far away for a day trip- it's definitely not!

Tera Moody Can't Sleep at Runner's World

I am never taking my ability to zonk out for granted ever again. A great story from Runner's World about almost-olympian distance runner Tera Moody and her battle with insomnia.

Tera Moody Can't Sleep at Runner's World

Shared via AddThis

Photo courtesy of Washington Running Report@ runwashington.com