Run, Sketch, Juggle

"Run, sketch, juggle" is not the title of my next book nor a catchy name for a new triathlon race. Simply a list of my recent activities: my first 5k run, a sketching session, and my experience at the juggling festival. Replace "run" with another activity "fold" (referring to origami) and I may just be closer to my bio.

Run (Central Park)

June 5, 2014. Central Park. 3.3 miles. 44 min. Official Site.

Notes:

• Gorgeous Weather
• Team
• Shuttle
• Inspiration
• Charity benefits Central Park Conservancy (website)
• Practice runs / apps used
• T-shirt contest and various t-shirts 
• T shirt tag and times (see how this technology works)
• Midway high five from a child
• Mile markers
• Water stations
• Participant vs observer - feels better to be a runner, not a bystander
• Finishing line and cheer
• Meeting people
• Running and walking with landmarks (downhill, lamp posts, signs, etc)
• The lake
• Free finisher t-shirt
• Celebration afterwards
• Bar with top floor
• Beer and bites
• Goals for next year - run more, walk less, and improve time. Ask more colleagues to join

Resources:

• NY Road Runners NYRR (race schedules, classes, training tips, etc)
• Central Park running routes map
• Running Routes from Forbes and Time Out
• Kinetic App (info) used for my practice runs
• "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Haruki Murakami 

Sketch (Brooklyn Promenade / Brooklyn Bridge Park)

The Brooklyn Promanade offers breathtaking views of downtown skyline and tons of benches available for reading, relaxing, and of course... sketching! I have to give a shout out to the central park sketching & art meetup group for introducing me to this gem. Event photos are also posted on their site if you are curious. If you are in the NYC area, look up their event, RSVP, then bring a pad and pencil and start sketching! I enjoy looking at different people's renditions and composition of the skyline and Brooklyn Bridge.

Hello Downtown!

Brooklyn Bridge

Governor's Island via Brooklyn

If you are in Brooklyn and heading to Governor's Island, look for the ferry from Pier 6 (west end of Atlantic Ave). I saw this mural along the way. 

Mural called "Moving Along"

When I arrived on Governor's Island, I found out that Figment Art was happening the same weekend. Very creative and interactive art. Their mini-golf every year is also superb. 

Chalk art giraffe on Governor's Island

Plastic cup sculpture

More info about the sculpture 'City of Dreams Pavilion'.  

Juggle with JuggleThisNYC

I managed to convince two friends to come with me to the juggling festival this past weekend and we all learned basic diabolo from a workshop taught by Robin Hu. Got some tips on passing balls from Jeff (shout out to Bryant Park Jugglers) but we still have a long way to go. Need to get more practice and mark calendar for next year!

Diabolo notes

1. get started, roll diabolo on ground to pick up energy. direction is horizontal line from dominant hand side towards non-dominant hand
2. keep diabolo stable by pointing stick in dominant hand forward or backwards. also keep one side of diabolo in front of body at all times. can walk to adjust position in addition to moving the sticks
3. to launch diabolo, quickly straighten the line by opening up distance between arms/sticks
4. to catch diabolo, raise dominant hand, catch it on the way down. diabolo should slide from near top of string
5. one hand trick involves putting both sticks in one hand, and using one hand to launch the diabolo and then catching it with strings doubled.

Juggling resources

• Check this first http://jugglenyc.com/
• Bryant Park juggling calendar (free lessons and equipment)
• Juggling Festival NYC "JuggleThisNYC"
• Diabolo videos by Robin Hu 
• Diabolo brands as recommended by Robin: Sundia and Taibolo