Another one bites the dust

I've been suffering severe blog withdrawal. I was in NYC for work and was too cheap to pay for internet at my hotel (at $499 per night*, you think that kind of stuff would come gratis), so instead I spent my evenings getting a good night's sleep so I could do this:

Not pictured: me.
Running in Central Park is one of my favorite things about being in New York. It's a green oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the city that doesn't sleep. It's peaceful and quiet - just me and other runners alone with our thoughts, cyclists whizzing by, oh, and a few cabs lest we find it too quiet

It's shaded, there's plenty of room for a good run, and it's well-populated. (I'm sure my mom is reading this and breathing a sigh of relief knowing that there are other people around in Central Park when I run, so I don't get mugged.) But that population of other people is actually sort of a bad thing, I'm finding.

I'm down with safety and all, but running when there are a lot of people around brings out one of my least endearing characteristics. I'm competitive. Really competitive. See that woman in the red jacket in the first picture? I hunted her like prey. I let her escape from me for a few seconds while I snapped the photo of the peaceful setting of Central Park and then I went back to making it my goal to pass her. Once I take that final step, I choose another "victim," I size them up, figure out how many paces behind I am and do everything in my power to close the gap. And so it goes... I don't know why I do it, but I cannot help it, and I'm not certain it's good for me. Two days of it - fine, but thank goodness I don't live near Central Park (or even too close to the Lakefront Path in Chicago) or I would definitely injure myself or do something even less graceful (like fall on my face) while pushing myself to hunt another one down. Also, I get "Another One Bites the Dust" stuck in my head.

Which is not cool.

* Yes, $499. Wowwowweewah! I stayed in a perfectly fine hotel, but certainly not the nicest. I easily could have spent $800 or $1000 per night. But you know, I try to economize where I can. Maybe the economy isn't doing so bad afterall...