HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY WITTENBERG!

Going with my tribute to big names in the road-running community, today we have Mary Wittenberg, head honcho at New York Road Runners (NYRR), which is synonymous with the New York City Marathon.  Like her or not, if you are a long-distance runner, you recognize the name.

New York City is caught in a heat wave and today is the third consecutive day with temperature over 95F, with other factors making it feel like 105.  I knew my run will have to be a morning run, as I plan to go help PPTC at the Al Goldstein 5K Summer Series race #5 this evening.  I didn't start out as early as I wanted and it was already hot by 8 AM.  I had a stop-over at Bath Playground to cool down with the half-broken water spray, the rest of the time I just tried to stay in the shade.  Luckily, while "Wittenberg" has many letters, most of them could be done within a block.  In other words, only "g", "b", "t", and "W" require going the extra block.  With the two "t"s next to each other, I even connected their horizontal strokes and avoid running back down the first "t" on the right.  (I live closer to the "g" so I spelled the name backward as I traced it out.)  Speaking of "g", its lower section is not as long as I would like, but over all the name is good.  No mistake on my part, none on the satellite as well.  It seems using Avenue U's area usually introduces bad lines by the GPS.  Weird.

Wittenberg, Mary Wittenberg.

http://connect.garmin.com/player/343953750 , over 10 km in about one hour twenty-two minutes, but the name itself took about 9 km and about one hour.

I {HEART} TO RUN MAY CHALLENGE COMPLETED

Social media is not all bad.  Sure there are people who misuse it and post all kinds of junk for their "friends" to see, but there are other good uses for it.  For example, the ilovetorun May Challenge, which is a month-long event hosted by ilovetorun.org.  The challenge was to run at least one mile a day for the entire month of May AND do some before sunrise.  Make it more interesting by taking photos of the places you run and share with all participants.  It's just a fun thing to do.  I know some people actually got up before sunrise to run but I myself never did that.  It's just too much of a rush to go run before sunrise then get back in time to drag my son out of bed.  I also didn't run every single day but I only missed two.  Those two days I was active anyway, not like I sat on the couch and caught some TV series marathon.  I did not always share photos of the places that I ran to, although I made some fancy phrases via gwriting, people's names mostly, and made some friends in the process.  I took too many photos to post here, but below are my favorites.

I finally got to visit the recently opened 103rd Street Bridge, which connects Manhattan's East River Esplanade to Wards Island.

Brooklyn Bridge as seen from a hill in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Canarsie Pier, near the Rockaway Parkway exit of the Belt Parkway.

Erasmus Hall High School, or rather the building that once hosted the school.  The building is now home for four smaller schools after Erasmus was closed down for poor performance.  Barbara Streissand and Neil Diamond attended Erasmus in their younger days.

Verrazano Bridge, with Staten Island on the far side.

Williamsburg Bridge as seen from East River Park.

FUN IN REFUND

There is a runner in Bath Beach
With no income, he ain't rich
Guaranteed entry?
No! With refund, you see
Each meal, for life, bánh mì sandwich!

Good news came from the New York Road Runners today.  After about two months of little news, NYRR finally announced that any runners who were scheduled to run the 2012 NYC Marathon, but couldn't because it was cancelled at the last minute, have the options to get a full refund, minus the $11 processing fee.  Other options are 

• not get a refund but get guaranteed entry for the 2013, 2014, or 2015 marathon, but pay all over again, albeit at 2012 price
• not get a refund but get guaranteed entry for the 2013 NYC Half Marathon and, again, pay for everything all over.

As the runner from Bath Beach with no income, I'll jump onto the refund option.  Road races always carry a no-refund policy, but NYRR made an exception for this unusual circumstance.  Maybe the deal struck with their insurer will cover everything, maybe 50% will be covered, who knows?  All I know is it's a good deal for people who can use the refund.  Good P.R. for NYRR! P.R., in this case, of course, means public relation, not Personal Record, Mr. and Ms. Runner.

From what I saw on Facebook, it seems many people don't mind foregoing the refund to secure a guaranteed entry.  And paying all over again, even if it'll be 2012 price.  Hmm, the mention of "2012 price" makes me think price will go up in 2013 and so on.  Price increase or not, that's still one stiff price to pay for a guaranteed spot.  I suppose if people don't have the time to do 9+1 then it's comparatively less costly to just "buy" a spot with the money already spent on the ill-fated 2012 race.  At the wild number of $30 a race, doing 9 races can set you back $270, as opposed to the $200+ already spent on the 2012 NYCM.  Personally, I'd rather do the 9 races and get something more out of it, including a way to gage my training.

The NYC Half option is even less attractive, in my opinion.  From what I read, last year the NYC Half ran through Times Square and ended with a party in the South Street Seaport, all for a mere $100+ fee etc.  Again, you sorta buy a guaranteed entry for the NYC Half.  Quite a popular race, the NYC Half also has a lottery system and its own system for guaranteed entry.  One way to get into the NYC Half is to participate in four out of the five five-borough race series.  I did all five in 2012, including the Manhattan Half Marathon that became a fun run because of snow, for which I got race credit even though I was home shoveling snow.  I had guaranteed entry for the NYC Half but I passed the chance to spend $100+.

One common confusion is that the Manhattan Half and NYC Half are the same.  They are not, even though both takes place entirely in Manhattan.  NYC Half is touristy and happens in Central Park, Times Square, West Side Highway, then South Street Seaport, in March when the weather is usually nice.  Manhattan Half happens entirely in Central Park and is scheduled for the cold month of January.  It also costs less and anyone can sign up provided it is not already sold out.

With the end of the year approaching, nothing will actually happen yet with the refund etc.  Some email will be sent out January 10 of the new year and the runners will have some window of time to make the selection.  It would be real bummer if the world will really end tomorrow, December 21, 2012.  Wonder if I should ping some Australian or Asian people I know.  It's already December 21 there, right?

Farewell, cruel world!

For the exact wordings from ING, the sponsor of the NYCM, visit http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/resolution.htm

Cross-town in the 20s

For about two years, I worked in an office building around 28th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.  From time to time, I would visit Madison Square Park and nearby areas.  It has been years since I visited the area.  I probably drove through the area but driving is the worst way to experience a place, especially in a city like New York, with the many reckless pedestrians, careless cyclists, and other lawless drivers.    Today, I had swimming exercise within walking distance of the area and had a nice walk across town, mostly along 25th Street and 23rd Street.

   

A noticeable change is the pedestrian mall at the intersection of 23rd Street, Fifth Avenue, and Broadway.  The motorists probably hate them but as someone who prefers walking, I love them.  In this photo, we are looking north along Fifth Avenue at the famous Empire State Building.

Looking south at the Flatiron Building.  Notice again the pedestrian mall.  There used to be just a small traffic island in the middle to separate Broadway and Fifth Avenue.  

I did something potentially dangerous today!  I visited the Garage Antique Flea Market!!!  No pack rat should ever step inside these types of places.  Luckily, I controlled myself and left empty-handed.  I did look around at booths that have books in hope of finding yearbooks for my high school (Newtown High School in Elmhurst, Queens, NY).  At a different flea market nearby, I did see a yearbook for some high school in Stamford, something about the 49ers on the cover.

I love vanity plates, especially those that are not too obvious, like spelling out a word exactly as you would find it in the dictionary.  Give me a chance to figure out the message, will ya?  At first I thought this plate is to be pronounced as "ee-balon", rhymes with "baloney", but the URL says it all.  Probably a dating or match-making service.

My membership with NYC Parks and Recreations grants me access to many recreation centers but so far I only use the Flushing Meadows Aquatic Center and Chelsea Pool.  At the end of my cross-town trek, I discovered the Asser Levy Rec Center.  Seeing its outdoor pool, I thought that was the only pool it has, but it does have one indoor pool.  My plan was to run south along the East River waterfront, cross the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn, then onward to the "new" running trail near Brooklyn Park.  Alas, while stretching for the run, I realized I left my swimming cap and trunk back in Chelsea Pool's locker.  I ran back and was able to find it, whew!