Date: 2008-05-03 20:56 Subject: Central Park skating Security: Public Tags: outdoor skating

Ouch!  Very sore today!

I skated about an hour forty-five minutes in Central Park this afternoon.  The cherry trees are in bloom, along with redbud and Idunnowhat, but there were big clouds of pink and white blossoms everywhere.   Most of the trees are in the process of leafing.  Lots of people, most of them on the west side of the park, were out enjoying the day; kids, dogs, skaters, bikes, joggers, the whole boiling.  Sightings:

A svelte beauty in big swirly turquoise-blue  palazzo pants with huge "butterfly wings" that she could open by lifting her arms...on skates.  She was being photographed.  Very wow.

At the same location, but under me in the archway of the underpass, someone singing opera.  Haunting and lovely.

Before me, viewed off the same bridge, the tree-overhung lagoons, with people messing about in boats.  Cherry trees in bloom.  Music.

A group of people harnessing their tacked-and-blinkered partners up to little one- and two-person sulkies, then driving them off down the bridle path.  This was the Pony Rompers In The Park, a pony-play group.  I took pix but have no way of uploading them until I get home.  You simply can't imagine.  They were having such fun.  As I told their PR gal, I myself am in roller derby so I don't feel like pointing a finger one way or another.

I skated around the southwest corner of the park about four times, then took off across the park to go about 40 blocks north along the east side, then cut across again and return to the southwest corner.  May I say right now that this is the hilliest park I've skated so far?  I was either zooming downhill way too fast, slaloming and doing all the tricks I know to slow down, or toiling uphill with quick baby steps and feeling warning twinges from my groinal muscles the while.  Ow ow ow.  Back to the hotel, a loooong sleep in the steam room, then a slow swim in a very warm pool.  I'm still not put back together.   Hoping to skate tomorrow in the early evening, when, I'm told, they do R&B "dance" skating at around 72d in the center of the park somewhere.

I've no idea how far that is, distancewise.  Assuming it's roughly the same speed I usually skate outside, i.e. about six miles an hour, I figure I did ten miles, very conservatively speaking.  This is good.  Grant Park, where our Walk&Roll For Cancer takes place May 18 (www.walkroll.com --sign up to sponsor me!) is flat flat flat.  On the other hand, The Central Park skating surfaces are all lovely, and beautifully kept.  Wish I could say that for  Grant Park.  Plus the wind off the lake, if there is one, will add to our fun.

All things considered this was a good training day.  Let's see if I am physically capable of skating tomorrow--or even walking.