Running in Luxury

So I've been away for a little bit because I went to NYC for few days and left my computer at home! My dad was attending some doctor conference at the Hilton in NY where he literally went to every session, like 5:30 am to 10 pm. Crazy. So my mom called me, and asked me to come and keep her company for a few days, and I jumped at the chance to go since my parents are Hilton Club members at some high level and get all sorts of perks that I am far far away from being able to afford myself. So I got the call around 10:30 on Sunday and was on a train by 11:45.

It's great "vacationing" in a place where you live or have lived. You can lounge around without feeling guilty about not taking in the sites or trying the food. I went to college in the city, was born in Brooklyn and have lived within 100 miles of the city my whole life. I feel no need to visit Times Square or see the Empire State Building. In fact, I prefer to steer clear of touristy places in Manhattan. My friend Kristin in college used to say that she hated going around Times Square because there are so many tourists walking around that you just want to push them out of the way and yell at them to go home. I completely agree.

Anyway, I LOVE staying in hotels. I just find it relaxing. My mom and I stayed in the hotel and played Scrabble most of the time and it was awesome. We were on the 38th floor and just had to pop down one floor to the Hilton Club Members Lounge to get something good to eat or drink, and if you are really lazy, someone checks in at your room around 4pm to see if you need a tea or coffee pick me up. My mom made fun of me because while we were in the room I put on the robe over my clothes to feel more luxurious. But seriously, there is not a lot of luxurious things in my life right now. I feel dumb for being so happy about staying at a nice hotel, but I have very rarely gone on vacation in my life because I've more or less been in school for my whole life and during my college spring breaks, I was practicing archery in the snow. I just always fill my free time with stuff other than vacations, or I go to East Hampton and just stay at my parent's house. So not a lot of luxurious hotel stays.

My mom and I did go out a little bit. We had a really yummy lunch in Ktown and went on a brief shopping trip. Mostly we played Scrabble though and ate free food. It was awesome! Seriously though, it makes so much more sense to stay in a nice hotel in a place you don't want to visit so you make the most of the hotel. If you're not going to be in your hotel except to sleep and take a quick shower, the big luxury suite with all the amenities will go to waste! I'm thinking at some point that I will ask my parents for some Hilton points and stay at the Doubletree in Philly. Maybe a birthday present...

Besides playing Scrabble and hanging out in the members lounge, I did have to fit in my long run that I skipped on Sunday. I run in the heat and rain and snow and cold, so it was a great feeling to be able to run inside on a treadmill with air conditioning, sort of. I had 5 miles to do, and of course I brought my VFFs. (That's another great benefit of the VFFs - they are small, light and easy to pack.) The fitness room was really nice and big, but I HATE running on treadmills. I don't know why, but I can't bear the thought of not going anywhere. From the second I click up the speed, all I can think about is getting off.  Usually on a long run, I zone out, listen to the music and just push through without a thought in my mind. But I can't deal with a treadmill. I constantly watch the time. If I try to cover the time, I constantly peek at the time. I fidget with the speed and incline constantly. Seriously, I don't know what my problem is. Actually, maybe it is because I have an idea of how far I've gone (and how far I have to go) while running outside, but on a treadmill, you don't know unless you look or have a great sense of time, which I don't. I'm also kind of uncoordinated sometimes, and I let my ipod fall, and it shot off the back of the treadmill, and this wasn't the first time I've made this embarrassing mistake.

There was a plus side though - it felt really good on my feet, and it is easier to land lightly on a treadmill than the ground because if you don't, you land really loudly. The landing felt nice and soft though, and I didn't really get tired, and my legs didn't hurt. AND, when I finished, I went upstairs, took a shower in the awesome shower and went down the the members lounge for happy hour. :-)