2013: OFF TO A RUNNING START

Happy New Year!  2013 is here, out with 2012.  In past years, on December 31 I would normally just watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV, if I remember to.  For 2012, after watching the Chinese sitcom "72 Tenants" ("七十二家房客"), I stumbled upon a showing of "The Fifth Element" movie on AMC, which led me to a marathon showing of "The Walking Dead".  I rarely watch TV but thought it would be something different to do on the last day of the year.  I hadn't watched any episodes of "The Walking Dead" until yesterday.  It was interesting and entertaining, except that during all that TV-watching time I had to squeeze in dinner and washing the dishes, then my cough/sore-throat seemed to turn into a fever/headache/nausea.  I think it's a good thing that TV shows have commercial breaks.  I don't get sick easily but perhaps running in the cold finally had its effect.  Or walking in the cold Saturday night in the hours before catching "Circus Oz" at the New Victory Theater in Times Square.  I constantly thought "How can people find the time to keep up with shows and movies on TV?"  While it sure is enjoyable, especially if you don't have a headache or fever, but it takes so much time.  I like the Roku commercial, the one that urges all good Americans to do their part and watch a lot of TV because other, wonderful U.S. citizens will be solving everyday problems with inventions and such.  I just hope that's true.

The Dead marathon went until 3 AM, but by 11 PM I had enough and went to sleep.  I was briefly awakened by fireworks, just the unofficial type my neighbors conducted.  Luckily by the next morning I was all good again.  The sore throat remained but that's all.  Time for PPTC Harry's Handicap!

In a typical race, everyone starts mostly together.  Surely the faster runners are placed in the front so that the slower runners don't get in their way.  In a handicap race, the slower runners get to start earlier, with delayed start for the relatively faster ones, based on the pace runners indicate when they register for the race.  Sure it is not fair to the faster runners but that's why it's called a handicap race.  I think of it as a fun run.  As a slow runner, I got to start earlier.  I even passed a runner or two then in turn got overtaken by others behind me.  One fellow was panting heavily behind me and eventually left me behind, still panting his way to the finish line.  I sprinted for the finish but couldn't overtake him.  I didn't look at my time on the official clock and my Garmin wasn't started right at the time when I started.  Without looking up the official time, I'll just go with my Garmin time of 32 minutes for a 5.3K distance.  It's a fun run, that's all, something to kickstart the new year.

Thanks go to my new, good friend Patty C for taking photos at the event.

I picked up a bunch of PPTC clothes after the event, at discounted prices, I will be all red at the next race.

Medals for all finishers, which technically means everyone, the course is only a little over 3 miles.

Ted Corbitt 15K

This morning I ran in the New York Road Runners' Ted Corbitt 15K Race. It was a cold morning, somewhat like the morning I ran from my home to Manhattan's Chinatown, about 16K away. I did the 16K without stopping for water, not that I had any with me and most stores were not open yet at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday anyway. I only paused here and there to not get in the way of the typical NYC drivers, who turn whenever they want and more often than not don't yield to pedestrians.  The experience prompted me to try a new strategy to improve my time in today's race.  I stopped for water only once, which was also the time when I slowed to a walk.  It would not help to get choked by water going down the wrong pipe because I run and drink.  I still had to sprint near the end, at the 9-mile marker.  (I know, it was a 15K race but all the markers are in miles.  I suppose the NYRR hasn't upgraded their signage to go with the metric system.)  My best time, up to today, was at the Bronx Half Marathon in August of this year - 11:54 minute/mile.  Today's time is 10:57, almost a whopping minute, which is a lot in racing circles.  Of course, the Bronx Half's distance was 13.1 miles while today's race was 9.3, so who knows, another 3 miles more and I may not have a better pace.  On the other hand, maybe because it was my first race in Central Park, there appeared to be too many hills on the course, so it may not be as long as a half-marathon but definitely more challenging.

Running without taking in fluid along the way is probably not the best way to run, but we all have different capabilities so find your limit and try to exceed it.

Oh, no photos this time either.  What would be the point of trying to shave a minute off your pace only to spend some time pausing and taking photos?  I will just have to wait for Bright Room to make their offerings.