In Which I Discover that the Frozen Penguin Half-Marathon is Aptly Named

Although I like running in the cold, it can be hard to persuade myself to leave a warm apartment to jog around in Arctic temperatures. To combat this urge to stay indoors wolfing down barrels of comfort food, I decided to sign up for a few races in March. Looking forward to them, I figured, would be motivation enough to keep me training. This turned out to be only partly effective. Between weekend travel, icy sidewalks, and general bouts of malaise, my training was half-hearted at best. In fact, I was getting in two runs a week at most, and the longest I'd gone since my marathon in early November was 9.75 miles, a poor lead-up for the half-marathon I'd scheduled for Saturday. I was fairly confident that I'd be able to finish at least, but I didn't anticipate being very competitive. I decided to view the race as a training run, just with more people than usual.

View of Manhattan from the pier

The Frozen Penguin Half-Marathon was to take place in Brooklyn. It was organized by NYC Runs, not NYRR. NYRR is larger and better funded, but they don't have as many half-marathons in the earlier part of the year as NYC Runs, so I decided to branch out. The difference was clear even before the race started; there was only a trickle of runners headed with me from the subway to the racecourse instead of the usual NYRR flood. In anticipation of standing around in the cold for a while before the race, I'd worn my ankle-length, hooded down coat. Looking around, I realized I was far, far more bundled up than anyone else, even the spectators. But I was also the only one not shivering and jumping from foot to foot, so I didn't feel too self-conscious. Running in a smaller race, it turned out, had unforseen advantages: There was no corral closure time and few people to check bags, so I was able to wear my long coat until three minutes before the start, at which point I hurriedly stuffed it in my backpack and checked it. Running in the cold is great. Standing around in the cold waiting to run is not, so I was pleased to be able to stay bundled up until just about the last minute.

The start of the course and the Verazzano Bridge

The course was a long straight-away next to the water along which we ran back and forth several times. The wind, blessedly, wasn't too vigorous, because I was thoroughly miserable at first. My fingers were cold and my feet, chilly despite my long coat, had long since gone numb. Running on numb feet is terrible. It took four miles for my fingers to feel warm, and six for my toes to regain feeling.

Once I'd warmed up, though, I found I enjoyed the race very much. There were a little over 300 people running, and it felt mellow compared with the usual choked NYRR courses. There were few fans, but that didn't bother me. I wasn't really looking for motivation, and I enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. I kept my pace relaxed.

When I went around the final turn-around and headed back for the finish line, right around Mile 9, I found I had a fair amount of energy left. I picked up the pace a little and passed quite a few people over the next few miles. Just past Mile 11 I decided I may as well try to pass as many women as possible to improve my overall division place and hit my pace a little harder. I crossed the finish line at at good, solid run at 1:50, 12th place among women 30-39.

I enjoyed the post-run warmth I'd generated for a few minutes, but I knew it wouldn't last, so I quickly retrieved my backpack and wrapped up in my long coat again. Then I perused the refueling options. The race itself had few frills compared with NYRR productions, but the snack bar here was far superior. NYRR always hands out bagels, an apple or a pear, and water and Gatorade. NYC Runs had bagels with tubs of cream cheese, apples, strawberries, blackberries, water, Gatorade, and hot chocolate. It always takes my stomach a while to settle after a run, however, and I was eager to start my trek back to Manhattan. So instead of gorging myself, I filled a cup halfway with berries and headed to the subway station.

This was one of my slowest half-marathons, but considering how little I've trained, I'm actually rather pleased. I'll do another long run next weekend, then run the NYC Half the following Sunday. It's another NYRR race and this will be my third time running it and Ed's first. I'm not as prepared as I wish I were, but it's a great course and I know I'll enjoy it. Then I'll have another weekend of downtime before one more half the final weekend of March. Finally, I'm signed up to run the Brooklyn Half in mid-May. Perhaps I'll have worked my way into more decent shape by then.