I used to be a sensible traveler – “used to be” being the operative words! I’ve traveled across Canada, been to several places in the States, embraced my French side in Paris, and hit up the fashion runways of Italy and Spain. And every time, I packed sensible shoes: sneakers, trainers, hikers. But for some reason, in preparation of my second trip to the NYC, I got it in my sweet, naive, little head that I couldn’t possibly walk the streets of New York in hiking shoes, oh no, that just would not do. I mean New York is home to Carrie Bradshaw and Anna Wintour after all – fashion was a must!
So my comfortable hiking shoes stayed in the closet and out came my so-called “good for walking” Hush Puppies. Lies, lies, lies! By day 2 of the trip, my right foot was cut up to pieces from the leather rubbing against my skin (oh how I longed for my Body Glide, which was stored in the bike room closet at home, not in my suitcase. Lot of good it did me there :(). By day 3, I was starting to feel a bruise forming on the top of my left foot, right where the Mary Jane strap sat. By day 4, there was a full on bruise. We were walking through Brooklyn (fell in LOVE with Brooklyn) and maybe 10 steps off the subway I was looking around for a shoe store. My foot was in excruciating pain, it didn’t matter if I loosened the strap, or if I walked with a limp, the pain was not going away. So, we stopped in a shoe store to see if I could find something a little more comfortable … by this time my feet were so bandaged up, I was pretty embarrassed taking the shoes off to try on another pair. But my feet wouldn’t allow much wallowing, they wanted a new pair of shoes, and they found a pair. We walked out of the store and after just a few steps, I looked over at Mario with the biggest smile on my face. “Freedom,” I sighed. “My feet have been liberated!”
The liberation lasted all of two hours. We walked through Brooklyn Heights, down the Brooklyn Promenade, had lunch at the Heights Cafe (which was to die for) and just as we were about to head over to the bridge, I felt those familiar twangs of pain … it wasn’t a bruise this time though, just rubbing – a lot of rubbing. Off to the pharmacy I went for yet another box of Band-Aids – never have I used so many Band-Aids in my life as I did on this trip!
By the time we got to the bridge, my feet were covered in blisters, skin torn off, and cramping, and yet, I was still smiling. I was, after all, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, an act I’ve dreamed of doing since I was a young, impressionable teenager.
But seriously, if I ever get it in my head to choose fashion over comfort again, please just shoot me … or, at least, remind me of this posting!
And that concludes my New York recap. It was an amazing trip that I wouldn’t trade for anything … well, maybe I’d trade the blisters, but other than that, nothing. I saw amazing sights, ran through an amazing park, visited with amazing friends, and left with an amazing smile 😀
TODAY’S EXERCISE:
- 4:30 p.m. BG before: 11.1
- 20 minutes elliptical trainer
- *10 minutes stairmaster
- 5:30 p.m. BG after: 9.4
* Because I have a school board meeting to cover tonight, I figured I’d hit up the gym near my office to do some strength training. I’m not overly familiar with this gym, but from what I hear, it’s a pretty good one. So I got there and warmed up on the elliptical trainer before moving over to the weights … only thing was there were tons of machines, none of which looked like my trusty familiar machines. I walked up and down the aisle of machines, looking for the ones I know what to do on, and then I stood blankly staring for a good couple of minutes, before the intimidation took over, and I ran to find comfort on the stairmaster … well, as much comfort as you can on those machines.
What weight machines do you use to offset your running?
It sounds like you had a fabulous trip…blisters and all! I can’t wait to see more pictures.
I had the exact same experience at the gym today. I tried to figure out the fancy new weight training equipment but sat there forever and couldn’t figure it out. Nobody was available to help so I jumped back on the elliptical and had a cardio day 🙂 Better than nothing I say!
I agree! Stupid manufacturers of weight machines making them all complicated and such! I see that you haven’t yet convinced Jason of getting an elliptical of your own 😉
Some memorable things in this life will be: blisters, band-aids, Brooklyn and babes like you 🙂
A finely-wrought blog 🙂