marathon weekend

the first sunday in november is the new york city marathon.  the route goes through all five boroughs, and runs about a block from our apartment.  we made a trip to gorilla coffee and then down to fourth avenue to watch the runners.  the first people to go are the disabled athletes.  they were incredibly inspiring.  i know that there were more than a few tears of admiration shed as these determined individuals passed us. 

 the elite runners come next- first the women and then the men.  it is always incredible to watch these athletes.  we were standing at about mile 7, i think.  the time clock was in front of the athletes- and was at about 35 minutes- they were still running about 5 minute miles!  wow.  then following is everyone else.  the people just kept coming and coming.  i love when people write their names on their shirts so that the crowd can cheer them on by name.  the runners were so enthusiastic- but the prize goes to the french as a whole.  somehow every person i saw wearing a french flag was super excited - often giving the crowd high fives as they ran.  it was just a fantastic experience to watch all of these people- just think of the committment all of them have made to this achievement.

spaceship? in central park

three weekends ago we went to central park on sunday to visit the chanel mobile pavilion- an art installation in a "building" designed by zaha hadid.  zach had gotten passes weeks ago, which was fantastic.  i would not have wanted to wait in the standby line- it was extremly long, and slow moving.  the leaves were just starting to change in the park, and we walked to the pavilion through the mall.  this is my favorite part of the park- the one you always see in movies with the benches along the side and the promenade through the middle.  it was especially beautiful with the leaves.  i miss the mountains in the fall- but between the parks and the street trees in brooklyn, the fall is still beautiful in the city.  the pavilion was interesting- you were led through slowly- first by the staff and then by the audio track.  i didn't love the art- but it was overall an interesting exhibit.