NYC - a whirlwind runcation

It's hard to fathom that we were in NYC 8 days ago. November has been a surreal month already and it has just begun.

Upon arriving in NYC, Gabe and I went out to run some errands in the city. First stop was at one of my favorite restaurants in New York, David Burke Townhouse. I was so excited to show off this restaurant to Gabe. I ordered the Farm Egg Ravioli BLT, braised escarole, confit tomato and crunchy bacon. OMG. I could seriously take a plate of this down. For my course, I opted for Gin Spiced Salmon, sauerkraut, green apple, german style crushed potato, bacon crisp, mustard jus. It was as incredible as it looks. For dessert, we couldn't leave without a famous David Burke Cheesecake Lollipop tree. Gabe nearly devoured the entire thing on his own!

It was then time to head for packet pickup at the expo. I was so impressed with the level of coordination at the expo. With 50,000 runners, I didn't have to wait in line for more than 3 minutes. Perfection!!! The expo was huge and to be honest - a little overwhelming. We were quick to leave, but first we paid a visit to runDisney so I could see the 2014 medal lineup in person. More on that at a later post :)

After leaving the expo, we went to Ground Zero Memorial. Although I have been to this area multiple times since 911, I have yet to go to the memorial. It was a very touching moment but honestly it made me feel very weird. We did get to see the building of the 911 museum, slated to open in 2014.

We had to get back to my Uncle and Aunts for dinner. We dined at Bella Blu in the Upper East Side, a few blocks from where we were staying. I decided to eat a pizza but the lighting was too rough to get a great shot. BUT what makes for a great shot is the NY Knicks Head Coach Mike Woodson sitting behind us. We did a conspiracy photo to send to my stepdad who is the worlds largest Knicks fan.

The next morning, we visited Central Park. This was my first time in Central Park - although I have visited
 NYC 20+ times in my life. It was such a grand experience and I found myself so excited to run through this during the last 3 miles of the race on Sunday.We timed our visit perfectly on accident, being able to see the Zoo's clock strike and being able to witness the Central Park Zoo seal show from a distance.

We then headed out to find my friends Jessica and James. Jessica is a childhood friend of mine turned into one of my adult best friends. They live in DC and came with with their 1 1/2 year old daughter Amelia to cheer me on in NYC. We had a great short visit. A plan to visit them in DC is next on the agenda.

Then we headed off to the two parts of town Gabe wanted to visit - China Town and Little Italy. I had the best baked pork buns in our lives, for 80 cents each from Mei Li Wah Bakery!!!!! I hoarded up on theses gems.

Then it was time to venture into Little Italy. I had a miniature red velvet canoli. Swoon.... I wished I could have stayed here longer, drinking a bottle of wine and eating amazing food.

The next morning was the day of the ING NYC Marathon and my nerves were at a record low. To this day, I have no idea why I was so calm. I got to the Marathon start line by way of Staten Island Ferry. I was so excited when we passed the Statue of Liberty.

The following day, I woke up sore and exhausted but we had more tourist stops to make. I also wanted to get a few photos of my medal in the city. Our first stop was at Rockefeller Center. You can see everyone behind us in the photos giving the ice skating a try. I also showed Gabe NBC Studios, where the Today Show was filmed. This was the morning that New York City Marathon's Oldest Female Finisher, Joy Johnson passed away after going to the Today Show. I knew of Joy's story prior to this visit and was honored to be in NYC Marathon with her. Such a tragedy that she passed away but she ended her journey doing something that she truly loved. "I always say I'm going to run until I drop," Johnson said the day before the marathon. "I'm going to die in my tennis shoes. I just don't know when I'm going to quit."

Although I despise Time Square, this was Gabes first visit to the City and felt he needed to see it.  Gabe said he was happy that we went there but didn't want to spend more than 5 minutes in the madness. We took an opportunity to get a typical tourist photo.

We ended at Magnolia Bakery, where I got my celebratory vanilla bean cupcake. I do not understand what it is about Magnolia Bakery cupcakes but they are the best in the world.

We were sad to leave NYC but it was time to head home. Gabe wants to go back to NYC. Prior to the trip, I asked him 20+ times if there were places he wanted to visit or restaurants he wanted to eat at. He left all the planning up to me. Gabe watches Seinfeld reruns daily and upon returning home, he realized there was a huge list of places from the show he wanted to try out. Silly boys.....I guess there is always next time :)