Rear View Mirror - Mahattan Half-Marathon

The 2008 season kicked off with the Manhattan Half Marathon at Central Park. Even though I ran the Midnight Run on New Yea’s Eve, it wasn’t really a race so the wait was way too long. Thankfully I was able to see the movie "Spirit of the Marathon" on January 24 to fill the gap. This is my movie review on Facebook:

"It was worth it to trek all the way to Astoria to see this "limited edition" movie since I couldn't get any tickets in Manhattan. Spirits was inspirational, and it was interesting to see the common thread between professional marathoners such as Deena Kastor and regular runners who wanted to finish the Chicago Marathon. As a runner myself I got goose bumps at times because I could relate to the characters in the movie. Overall it was a very special night at the theater."

And my personal comment: "I run. Don’t ask me why and I’ll never tell you why."

Why I had to go to Astoria for a movie? There was only one showtime with only two theaters showing in al of Manhattan. Naturally I couldn’t get any tickets and I ended up going to Astoria to see it, thank you so much for putting in the effort. Anyhow, it was a good movie, four and a half stars.

And I managed to pick up a cold as I was stuck in the 1 train for more than 20 minutes because of the constructions at Columbus Circle. It was 1 in the morning, I had to work the next day and I had a race 2 1/2 days later! I was really sick after work and my teeth were all screwed up, I just set myself up for a disastrous outing.

Then came race day. I felt reasonable good and on the way to drop of my bag I bumped into my ex-colleague Jim from SM. Small world.

Under the circumstances I fell back at the starting line and started with the 8 minute pace runners. Oddly enough, I finished the race exactly at 8:00/mi. I started well and I was passing runners at the Fred Lebow Straight, but after Harlem Hill something went really wrong. I realized that I was stuck in gears I had absolutely no extra energy to push forward. I was able to run but I just didn’t have the extra kick, and I ended up following the crowd to the finish line. The run was beyond flat and the bagel at the finish line was hard as a rock. What happened to the hot chocolate and a warm shelter at P.S. something?

Like my life in general, I sucked it up again and finished the race. I was able to use the lesson I learned from the NYC Marathon back in November, anything could happen and sometimes you just need to learn to accept the results.

Though, I was happy for my running partner Stacy, who set a new PR in a half marathon.

The race was only thing, but my health was the other. My cold went from bad to worse following the half marathon, and I had to take a sick day the day after. Honestly I hadn’t been this sick since 1995 when I was a sophomore in college. I remember the trip to High Street (in Columbus Ohio) where I looked for a bottle of NyQuil in the drug store. I still remember the scene vividly, the way I took that little bottle off the shelf in the store.

Despite my illness, I determined to get better before the Bronx Half, which took place two weeks after Manhattan. I had very limited training due to my sickness and the cold weather, but I was able to rely on the cross ramp machines at NYSC. I’m not a treadmill person I ran 5k on it a week prior to the Bronx Half and I sweated like a hog. I just couldn’t deal with the heat, that’s all.

Next: Bronx Half

Stats
Overall Place: 1285/4997
Finish Time: 1:44:49
Pace/Mile: 8:00

Rear View Mirror - Winter Races Part 1

After back-to-back marathons (NYC and PHI) in November, I managed to run four races in the wintertime. The Hot Chocolate 15k wasn't on my schedule initially, but my NYC Marathon was so bad (thanks to the cramps) that I signed up immediately after the marathon. The 15k took place two weeks after the Philly Marathon on December 1, and the race went very well as I finished at 1:09:54 (7:30/mile).

Despite a disastrous NYC Marathon, I rebounded quite well in Philly and I completed my mission to pace SC. It was a special race for many reasons, and I'm going to remember this race for the rest of my life. And I probably carried the momentum into Hot Choc... As always, the NYRR served up hot chocolate and bagels at P.S. whatever on 103rd Street, and I was lucky enough to get some marshmallows in my hot chocolate thanks to a nice donor. It was a cold day I kinda needed a hot drink.

Then it was the Holiday 4-Mile two weeks after. I wanted to run that race to detune but I ended up going for it on race day. If you know me well it's just my competitive nature, and since I was running by myself I had absolutely no excuse. My finish time was 27:41 (6:55/mile) and I was able to beat my PR easily (30:07 at Niketown Run for the Parks 2 1/2 years earlier.) Santa didn't run the race this year though.

I didn’t have plans on New Year's Eve so I trekked down to Central Park to have my annual illegal run at the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run. I heard Matt Dillon was in that race, but I didn't see him... I didn't care anyway. It wasn't a timed race and I didn’t register, but I still wanted to do well under the fireworks because you know what. I loved running in the dark and the crowd thinned out as we approached North Meadow. After a bad experience drinking non-alcoholic champagne a year ago on the 102nd Transverse, I skipped this time around. According to my watch I finished under 7 min. pace, and it was a nice way to close out my busy if not crazy 2007 schedule.

Next: Manhattan Half