NOT A MANHATTAN HALF

As declared in The Other Halves, I signed up for NYRR Grete's Great Gallop.  Since the length of the race course is set at 13.1 miles, it is a half-marathon even if the name does not mention it.  Two big loops within Central Park makes it technically a Manhattan Half.  Do not confuse the GGG with the NYRR Five-Borough Series' Manhattan Half, which also occurs entirely in CP, only counterclockwise.  Also not to be confused with is the NYRR NYC Half-Marathon, which runs through touristy Times Square and costs an arm and a leg.

The thing I like about the GGG is that it is relatively easy to get in.  It occurs in September so it is not hot.  Some people are so upset with NYRR's recent changes, like raising prices, that they really want a 5-boro half series to compete with NYRR's.  I compiled a list of non-NYRR half-marathons and called it The Other Halves.  I concluded then, and also now, that there is no non-NYRR half-mary for Manhattan.  But there is a unique half-marathon debuting at the end of May 2012.

Hosted by the Orchard Street Running Club, the inaugural Midnight Half is scheduled for May 31, 2012, midnight to perhaps 3 a.m.  The 13.1-mile course starts at 141 Chrystie Street, over the Manhattan Bridge, along the DUMBO waterfront to Red Hook for the first checkpoint, 70 Van Dyke.  Runners would then trace their way back toward the Manhattan Bridge, but not to get back on it.  Instead, they would head for the intersection of Kent Avenue and North 8th, checkpoint #2.  Finally, runners would take the Williamsburg Bridge to get back to 141 Chrystie.  All along there are no route marshals to tell you where to turn!  It is an unsanctioned race, for crying out loud!  Definitely not for the faint of heart.  A slow runner like me can easily find himself all alone, separated from the other runners.  Not that Red Hook or Williamsburg is particularly unsafe, the race spans from midnight to 3 a.m. or so.  It is unsafe anywhere in New York during those wee hours!

The idea of having a race late at night is not entirely new.  The NYRR has the Emerald Nut Midnight Run on New Year's Day.  I ran that race to usher in 2011.  Central Park was packed with runners during the wee hours of the New Year's Day.  The subway ride home was uneventful.  There was a drunk woman with a male companion.  She could hardly stay conscious and did not cause any troubles.  Not like some wolf pack of youngsters I had the misfortune of sharing a subway ride with one late night coming home from a concert.

I started writing this blog entry some weeks ago.  By now the inaugural Midnight Half is already sold out so officially you cannot sign up for it.  If you happen to be out on the street at that time, how about cheering the runners? More info about the unique event at http://midnighthalf.eventbrite.com/

INAUGURAL VERRAZANO HALF

Why should runners work on their upper body?  Especially the arms?  So that if and when their legs are too tired they can use their arms to push themselves off from chairs, floor, etc.  Seriously, I really did that occasionally the hours after I ran the Verrazano Half Marathon.

Pre-race bib and shirt pickup did not work for me.  The one day that I was in Manhattan the pickup location was in Brooklyn.  I had a car with me and it acted like a leash on me.  I could not go anywhere too far lest I find a free parking spot, which is a rare thing in Manhattan's Chinatown.  I actually entered the subway at the R train's Whitehall Street but had to get out because the wait was too long.

On race day I got up early to catch the B64 bus to get to Owls Head Pier.  I rarely take the bus but the alternatives include riding the subway in a roundabout loop or driving, which would mean putting up with looking for a parking spot AND burning gasoline, which I try to avoid at all cost.

I got there too early and there was only a beardless Steve Lastoe setting up the mat, perhaps other race officials nearby too, but there was hardly any runners yet.  It was cold and windy with no place to hide so I headed off the pier to the side of the nearby deli.  It was really the driveway for the parking lot of the adjacent building.  It was sunny and warm there, there was a place to seat, and the wind did not whip around the corner.  What a big difference!

Eventually I got my bib and singlet and got back to the warm spot to put them on.  I thought I saw my ex-DailyMile friend Heather.  Good thing I did not approach the person as the real Heather found me later on.

There wers just 400 runners so when the time came there was just a short announcement about the course.  Four miles toward Ceasar's Bay, loop back before the baseball field, back to the pier and you have 8 miles down.  Out again toward the bridge and pass it just a little bit, 2.5 miles or so.  Turn around for the pier then about 2.5 miles.  The fast runners were told to start first and the rest began their run shortly afterward.  Thus began the inaugural Verrazano Half Marathon by NYCRUNS.  Not much of a corral to separate the runners according to their paces.  For a slow runner like me, that mean I did not have to walk some extra distance to get to my corral.  Small is beautiful and simple.

The course was advertised as "flattest and fastest" and I knew that was true.  At least the "flat" part.  I live not far from Caesar's Bay and use the Belt Parkway waterfront as one of my regular route.  For hill training, I usually include the few footbridges that go over the Belt.  In theory, I should P.R. easily.  Flat terrain and familiarity, what more can I ask?

I started out a few steps behind Heather but she soon disappeared from view.  I never join group runs so the only time I compete against others is during the races I registered for.  My first competitor for the Verrazano Half was a Woman in Bright Red.  I passed her somewhere during the first 4 miles but after Mile #8 she passed me.  Likewise there was a Woman in Light Brown, who I think also took over me after Mile 8.  I suspect I lost my lead of Light Brown and Bright Red because I had to drop the hoodie that I had on at the start of the race.  Apology goes to the person at Mile 8 who I handed the sweaty hoodie to.  I automatically thought it was a volunteer, who would gladly help out the runners.  I meant for her to throw it to the bag-check people but I found out afterward that she pretty much dropped it where she was standing.  I cannot blame her.

Without the sweat-drenched hoodie, I think I ran a little faster.  I managed to pass both women but soon found two other people who ran roughly at my pace.  I shall name them Neon Green and Neon Red.  They were walk-runners, i.e. they would run some distance then walk, then ran again, resumed walking.  In my book, during a race, you should walk only when you need to drink or take GU.  Much to my frustration, the two walk-runners would run past me, got overtaken when they walked, but then resumed the lead when they ran again.  At Mile 10.5, I had the lead and joked with the race official there about moving the cone closer to me to save me a few yards.  He moved the cone a few inches instead.  With just about 2.5 miles left to go, I took a short break and let out a loud whoop.  I do not how that work but it felt good whooping when tired.

Ms. Neon Red was probably a pacer for Ms. Neon Green.  Around the time of my whoop, Neon Red decided she had enough of me and ran ahead.  I told Neon Green that she and her pacer were killing me.  "Don't you ever give up?", I jokingly asked.  As I passed Neon Green, I told her that when I catch up to her friend, I would tell her that Neon Green said hello.  Wishful thinking.

With about 2 more miles to go, I started to feel something twitching or pulling in my left calf.  Soon the right calf had the same sensation, too.  Probably the onset of cramps.  I had to "go to work" after the race so I feared that if I pushed too hard, my legs will totally give out and I will have to work the 9 hours in extreme pain.  So I alternated between walking and running.  As she passed me, Ms. Light Brown was kind enough to nudge me with a "Come on" but I could not run at the time.  Neon Green passed me as well and I had zero chance of catching up to Neon Red.  I am sure Bright Red went past me as well.  It was just me against my uncooperative calves.  Maybe it was insufficient training, perhaps it was because I did not stretch enough before the race.  The pain eventually subsided and I was able to run over the finish mat, i.e. not limping to the finish.  Definitely not the usual sprint I enjoy so much, but at least I ran. At the finish line, to a person standing nearby I asked, in a conspiratorial tone, if there were anyone behind me.  I know I am slow but I would really hate to finish dead last.

I had a drink of water and took a bagel.  Congratulated the two Neon ladies.  Someone, perhaps Bright Red, told me that she liked my "roar".  It is fun to act silly sometimes.  I found my hoodie on the ground, near where I handed it off, a bit beyond the finish mat.  I totally forgot to stop my Garmin.  When I did, the time was 2:26.  I learned a few hours later that my time was 2:25. I did wonder, when I went over the mat to get my hoodie, then over the mat again to get back to the pier, did my time get recorded a second time then my finish time the average of the two?  I don’t think it would matter that much.  I am just glad that with cramps and all I still finished below 2:30. Next chance to P.R., NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon!

NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon

Some time today I shortly wished that the New York Road Runners is a powerful, maybe even evil, corporation that at a moment's notice makes the City of New York jump through hoops for treats.  That the City would ensure the runners of NYRR events get the best treatment they wish.

The day started early, up at 5 AM to try to catch whatever Staten Island ferry before the 7:30 AM one.  Or so I thought.  It did not help that the D train, a short distance from my house, did not run to Manhattan.  I had to jog over to the N line to catch the D!   Confusing enough?  On other weekends, the N would run on the D line into Brooklyn, for some distance, then resume running with D stations!!!

I got to the ferry terminal in Manhattan around 6:40 AM.  I just missed the 6:30 AM boat by about 10 minutes.  Who knows, maybe it actually left at 6:35 AM so I really missed it by just 5 minutes.  The next boat was scheduled for 7:30 AM!  Argh, so I would take the 7:30 boat after all.  Now that I work in New Jersey I no longer have the luxury of picking up my bib and T-shirt at NYRR office during lunch, so I was hoping to be in S.I. early to take care of registration etc.  I still managed to get everything done in time once in S.I. but the wait in the ferry terminal was unbearable.  Breaking my routine of totally fast prior to a race, I had a banana while waiting for the subway and then croissant and coffee while waiting for the ferry.  I lucked out and happened to sit near the gate for the ferry.  I heard some people could not get on the small boat that the City provided.  It would be so nice if the City brought a bigger boat, not for a bigger shark but just to quickly move people to S.I.  And more frequent schedules for such a big day!  Suspending subway re-route would be nice too, but I suppose that's impossible since NYRR races happen almost, if not, all weekends.

The nice thing about being a non-competitive runner is that I don't have to worry about being at a particular place in the corral.  I only have to race against my own records and always run from the end of the corral.  There are slower people than me and I would go around them when convenient.  I never really worry about when the race really starts.  As long as NYRR does not dismantle the starting line, I have some time to reach the mat - only then will my time kicks off.

Mile #1 appeared pretty quick and so were the subsequent miles.  The route was no Central Park, with its nice shade, and the hills are formidable.  Most of the route was along the waterfront but some parts went through industrial areas and there was no shade whatsoever.  I had a GU energy gel a short time before and do not follow the recommended 45-minute interval for subsequent gus.  Instead, I took another gu around Mile 4.  Between Miles 5 and 6 I noticed the fishing pier on the waterfront.  Or was it the Roosevelt Boardwalk?  I love to explore Staten Island some more so some day I will have to be back with the bike.  I hate driving so going over the Verrazano won't do.  Anyway, I was going to use the last gu at Mile 8, but the climb up the hill after Mile 7 was so strenuous I stopped for Gatorade.  The walk and the water kept me going until Mile 10, at which point I wolfed down the last gu.

I sweat so much the leather watchband stinks.  For today's race, and going forward, I plan not to wear a watch at all.  I already hold the cell phone in my hand anyway, its clock will do.  Actually, for the S.I. Half, I totally forgot to bring the cell phone.  I prepared for the race the night before, laid out all the clothes, packed the fanny bag, charged the phone... Except I didn't remove the phone and charger from the wall socket.  No loss, as the time is shown at each mile marker anyway.  I knew I started about 6 minutes after the race clock started ticking so I knew what my time was.  Mile #13 seemed to take forever to reach but I finally made it into the finishers chute.  It was really nice to hear a fellow DailyMiler called out my name.  I saw her and called her back.  She already finished some 20 minutes earlier and was just hanging out cheering the runners.

In the end, I finished the run at 2:25:14, my third best time for a Half Marathon.  It was a hot day but I think it really helped that I wore a tech shirt, to wick away most of the great volume of sweat I normally generate, plus the gus, otherwise it could easily be another 2:40+ finish time.  Overall, it was a great day to be outdoor.