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Posts tagged as “New York City”

The Coldest Mile….er, The Coldest FOUR Miles: Race to Deliver 4M

Published December 1, 2013
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[caption id="attachment_283" align="aligncenter" width="576"]Cold Runners Cold Runners and I, in my subtle neon orange hat- courtesy of the mister.[/caption]

Sunday before Thanksgiving, 4,689 poor souls gathered in  Central Park to be tortured to run 4 miles. I, for better or worse, was one of them. All week I had my eye on the weather and all week I knew it was going to be a cold one.

[caption id="attachment_288" align="alignleft" width="246"]Wind Chill Factor: feels like 11 degrees. Wind Chill Factor: feels like 11 degrees.[/caption]

23 degrees cold. As we stood in the corral, the announcer then added: with the wind chill, it really felt more like 11 degrees. 11 degrees. And I was still sick.

The race began, and from the first step to the last my calves were so cold I felt like from the knee down I was running on glass vases. It was so cold, that at the first water station, the runner immediately in front of me picked up a cup, only to throw it away in disgust. As I discovered a moment later, there was about a half inch of ice on the cup, sealing the water beneath it. Nothing a good crack couldn’t clear up, but still! Come ‘on!

The finish line, in fact, featured a volunteer proclaiming like a circus barker: “Ice cold, hot water up ahead! Get your ice cold, hot water up ahead.”

The finish line also featured a cheer squad! And they were awesome, cheering for every single runner as we came across the finish line. And as brutal as this race was, it was a for a great charity called God’s Love We Deliver which provides and delivers meals to New Yorkers living wither serious illness.

I finished in 00:32:25. Not a race for the record books, but an interesting experience nonetheless. Even last winter when I was running outside, I always curtailed my outdoor running in sub 30 degree weather.

This past year I’ve run on Mountains, all over my hometown, in torrential downpours, in 98 degree heat, in 80% humidity, at the first hint of daybreak, and in the dying glow of twilight… And now I can add “in eskimo weather” to that list. And even though these were-by far- the most painful 4 miles I’ve run all year, it’s fun to face new environmental challenges and figure out how to adapt accordingly.

Dash to the Finish!

Published November 5, 2013
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While most runners in New York this weekend were eating their final bowl of pasta before the BIG race on Sunday, a few (thousand) of us were warming up the roads Saturday morning.

That's right- the New York Road Runner's Dash to the Finish!

Staging for the race began just around the corner from the United Nations, on 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave. I found my corral early and it looked like they were set up for about 10,000 runners.

IMG-20131102-00134

I saw costumes and flags, mostly worn as capes, that represented countries from, well, everywhere. Bavaria (about six people in a lederhosen/milkmaid like costumes) and Japan (traditional samurai-like robe) stand out in my mind as particularly enthusiastic.

47th Street filled up quickly until it was packed curb to curb with runners. We had to wait a short bit here, until we were ushered out onto 1st Avenue, just in front of the United Nations building for the anthem and start.

And then we were off!

Notes on the course:

Stoplights: The first time I saw a yellow light, my thought was "-gotta beat that light-" and then I realized, I don't gotta beat that light because the streets are closed. Obvious, but still a pretty cool surprise due to my apparent short term memory loss.

Enthusiasm: Off the charts. I can't even imagine how crazy people must feel marathon morning because this was the day before and I could still feel the excitement about race weekend.

Enthusiasm: Also dangerous. A lot of runners were stopping cold in the middle of the road, running backwards, or not looking where they were going at all in order to take selfies. I get it, this is awesome, we're all excited to be here, but there are literally thousands of people moving like an ocean wave so maybe we should step to the side to take that picture of the Chrysler building, no?

[caption id="attachment_232" align="aligncenter" width="480"] I love watching people at the finish line because that last stretch is always a mixture of elation of knowing you are almost done, and scraping together your final push.[/caption]

I was a little bit nervous because I had my heart set on beating my fastest 5K time to date (since high school anyway.) However that was over 2 months ago, and since then about 95% of my runs have focused on distance and endurance, at the cost of at least 1 weekly speed work session. Part of this was because I had been training for a 1/2 marathon and wanted to be comfortable with the distance, and part of this was because I hate speed work. And love long runs. *Sigh*

So I was concerned.

And I managed to mess up my split display last time I used my watch, but didn't realize until I was running. And I managed to mess up my last split marker- so that last mile was a real mystery.

So when I finished, by the time on my watch I was pretty sure I didn't make my goal. Which I was okay with. OK, honestly disappointed, but deep down I know it is time to get more serious and set up a more structured training schedule- one that includes regular speed work.

And then I checked my official results: 0:24:00! Which makes it my 5K PR with a pace of 7:45 per mile. And I am stoked. And ready to start some genuine speed training from this point on.