Family On The Run

Does that make sense? Family on the run?

I’m not good at clever titles.

I thought about calling this post “That Time My Family Came To NYC & We Enjoyed Some Binge Eating” but that didn’t have the same ring to it.

Most weekends the highlight is dominating some sort of long run. Yesterday I ran 12 miles — but that wasn’t the best part of the weekend.

My family came to NYC yesterday!

It’s rare that my family comes to visit and even more rare that we’re all in the same place at the same time.

But yesterday my parents, brother (Ryan) and sister-in-law (Michaela) all spent a few hours with me on their way from New Hampshire to Philadelphia.

And it was perfect.

We hung out at my apartment for a while (and watched my DVR’d Run For The Rabbit commercial on TV, since they don’t get to see it in New Hampshire and Boston, where Ryan and Michaela live) and then our stomachs started growling.

My mom’s first request: “good, New York pizza.”

Done.

I took them to Luigi’s, which is my favorite pizza these days. We demolished two pies, no problem. They have the best veggie pizza ever.

My mom’s second request: “16 Handles.”

She’s a smart lady.

I taught the crew everything they would need to know to avoid rookie mistakes while fro-yo-ing:

• Don’t get too excited about all the different flavors. They’ll mix together in the cup and you won’t taste the difference. Try to stick to two flavors that will go well together.
• Don’t fill your cup too high with frozen yogurt. You need to save room for toppings.
• Feel free to go totally crazy with the toppings. They’re the best part.

Mom didn’t really listen. She got over-excited and couldn’t finish her cup. That’s OK, Mom. You can try again sometime.

Everyone did pretty well with their combinations. I was proud.

Thanks for looking at the camera, Ry Guy. Appreciate it.

We wanted to walk off the gluttony of the afternoon so the next stop was Central Park.

Ryan — my most loyal blog reader — wanted to see the Bridle Path. He was oddly fascinated by it.

He even went for a little jog on the path. I’m a proud runner sister.

I also took them up by the Reservoir.

We saw a turtle.

Cool.

We walked around the Great Lawn, where we people watched, puppy watched and took some more pictures.

Let’s try that again, shall we?

Good job.

Your turn, Ryan and Michaela.

We all had a great day and I’m so glad that we were able to spend a few hours together.

By the time we got back to my apartment and said our goodbyes it was 6:30 pm. I decided to “lay down for a little while” — and was a little shocked when I woke up and saw that it was 8:30 and dark outside.

Oops.

Guess I needed a little nap.

Last night I went to Sojourn for dinner, which I definitely recommend. The food is small plates-style and ideal for sharing. My handsome friend and I split four dishes: bok choy (my favorite), fried rice, scallops and hanger steak. Everything was perfectly cooked and the amount of food was perfect.

We also got chocolate cake for dessert. I love food.

We hung out for a while. I drank a decent amount of wine. Then we went to a bar. I drank some more wine.

Then it was 3:30 am. Time for bed.

Ouch.

I was not thrilled to wake up at 8:30 this morning, but I did it anyway.

Coach Cane wanted me to bang out four recovery miles. So that’s exactly what I did.

It was already ridiculously hot out by the time I started running at 9:30. I kept my pace slow and I sweat like a nasty beast.

Yum.

After a shower it was back to Central Park for brunch on the Great Lawn!

I joined Jess, Sam, Sofia, Melissa and Leslie for some good food, margaritas (good call, Jess) and stellar people watching in the park.

Everyone made something delicious except me. I contributed something sweet and store-bought:

As always it was great catching up with fellow NYC bloggers “in real life,” and it was a perfect day to be in the park.

Now I’m back home watching the USA women kick butt (and balls) in the World Cup finals.

I’m tired. Is it bedtime yet?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!