A Sunny Run in the Park + Foodie Fuel at Flex Mussels

Yesterday morning, I went for a sunny, shorter weekday run in the park to shake it out after my long run on Tuesday and stay loose for the Oakley Mini 10K tomorrow. It was the perfect June morning…except for the heat. I was meeting my friend Maggie at our usual spot to do 4 miles together before she headed to work and I went to study. The one mile jog up Park Avenue to left me sweating while I waited for her at the corner! We ended up mixing up the run due to the need for shade, and also because the Central Park Conservancy keeps shutting off parts of the reservoir loop for construction at odd intervals. It was the usual trails, but a zig-zag route. 

 

Cleopatra’s Needle

 

The view from North Field

 

Off the beaten path

 

I was glad we ran together, because otherwise I would not have gotten out of my apartment as early as I did to beat the height of the heat. It’s also nice to have the company of a friend to chat with, especially now that my usual running companion is a Barbri lecturer (and believe me, their voices are not exactly cheery). I love running for many reasons, but one of the unexpected ones is the way I’ve made new acquaintances through it who become good friends.

 

With Kaitlin and Maggie after a March race

 

Since I haven’t been in the city much, I’ve missed out on some of the activities I really enjoy in summertime with friends, like Summer Stage at Central Park – free concerts at both dawn (we’re talking 6am!) and dusk by the bandshell. I also love the evening concert series, and always try to make it to the performance by the New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn. I prefer being in Connecticut in the summer overall, especially while I’m studying now, but I’m going try to balance the best of both worlds by making it to a couple of shows.

 

SummerStage

 

In the evening, I headed up to one of my favorite seafood restaurants in my neighborhood, Flex Mussels. The name gives it away – it’s a restaurant devoted not solely, but very heavily, to celebrating the delicious mollusk. There are 22 different preparations of mussel pots on the menu, and a 23rd that changes daily. They also serve other seafood, veggie sides, and one chicken entree if you somehow wind up there without liking seafood, which is probably rare. I tend always to go for mussels – my favorites are the Classic, Dijon, Parma, and Bisque. I was meeting Kaitlin for dinner, and it was her first time here, so I was excited to see if she would enjoy the premise. Happily, she did!

 

Mussels Menu

 

Classic white wine and garlic mussels with octopus

 

Later in the evening, I dug into a bowl of Edy’s Neapolitan ice cream. I only really like the strawberry and vanilla, but happily there are always other takers for the chocolate. I’m sure I’ll be doing it again this evening to fuel up for tomorrow’s race. I know ice cream is not exactly the greatest running fuel, and honestly I’ve been eating so much ice cream lately it would be a good idea to take a night off, but there are worse things you can treat yourself to… Until tomorrow, happy trails!

 

Triple threat

 

Strawberry Vanilla Heart Sundae with Sprinkles

 

What are you up to this Friday? Any new restaurants on your radar lately?

 

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