Surprising NYC Half

In my coverage of the Frozen Penguin Half, I discussed my abysmal 2014 training regimen. In the two weeks since then it's gotten, if anything, worse. I missed my interval class once because of a trip to the dentist and put in only 8 miles last weekend when I probably should have done at least 10. So I wasn't planning to do particularly well in the NYC Half this year.

The NYC Half is a really fun race. It's the one that really got me back into running in 2009 after a hiatus of several years. This would be my third time running it. The course is a lot of fun (around Central Park, through Times Square, then down the Westside Highway along the Hudson River - there's a link to the map on this page, in the textbox under the photo of all the runners dressed in ludicrously light clothing). Also awesome is that all of the hard stuff (e.g. hills) is out of the way in the first three miles. There are pretty good crowds, bands along the sides of the course, and an overall fun vibe. Ed had gotten in for the first time, and I was more excited for him than for me as we bundled up and headed out the door this morning.

Rubber-banded hand warmers. Best idea I've ever had.

It was about 30 degrees when we arrived at the park. We shed our outer layers near the baggage drop trucks and handed them to volunteers, but this was less painful than usual. For one thing, I held onto a cheap, throw-away sweatshirt I planned to drop somewhere along the course. (All this stuff is collected and donated, so I never feel too guilty.) It had a hood and pockets, and I'd stuffed hand warmers in the latter, which I occasionally took out and pressed to my nose and cheeks. I'd made use of more hand warmers to try to keep my toes from going numb; happily, my unorthodox set-up proved to be reasonably effective, though it drew some funny looks.

Ed and I were in different corrals, so I waited on my own in #6 through speeches and the national anthem, feeling grateful that I wasn't shivering as violently as some of my fellow runners. Then the gun sounded, and several minutes later we started to inch forward. Ed, in Corral 1, says he got to the starting line about forty seconds after the gun. I didn't cross it until the clock said something like 4:40. There were lots more corrals after me, housing a total of more than 20,000 runners.

The race went astoundingly well. I ended up in front of the pacer for a 1:45 finish time and inadvertently stayed there for the rest of the race. My legs felt good in the beginning, of course, but even as the miles passed I never really got to a point when I started to wish the race was over. I kept my pace consistent - I'd left my watch at home, but I'm pretty good about even keeping things even - and maintained a good clip all the way to the end. My stomach was a different story, however. Honey Stingers, the energy gels I swore by during marathon training, have not been sitting well with me lately, and my gut roiled and ached on and off throughout the race. This didn't slow me down much, but it was annoying. I picked at the second gel I'd brought for the course but ended up throwing it out in favor of a few cups of Gatorade from the hydration tables instead.

Once I got going, the temperature was perfect. It hovered around 31 just about the whole time, though I could feel it warming up more quickly near the end as the sun rose higher. I tossed my sweatshirt away around Mile 3 and felt quite comfortable for the rest of the race. As always I enjoyed seeing funny signs and outrageous costumes. My favorite runners were part of a trio dressed as leprechauns, complete with fake red beards. The bands and DJs along the sides of the course are always fun, too, and they kept my spirits up until I crossed the finish line in a very surprising 1:44. My PR for a half, set on this very course, is 1:42, and I had no idea I'd come so close to it.

My feeling of invincibility lasted until halfway through my shower, and by the time I was dressed I was feeling sleepy and achy. I barely made it through a plate of blueberry pancakes, then crawled home to sleep it off.

It was a really enjoyable race, and I'm looking forward to two more before too long. I'll run an all-women's half-marathon in two weeks on the same, ultra-flat course where the Frozen Penguin was held. Then I'll take on the Brooklyn Half in mid-May, when the spring weather will be conducive to training but the race has the potential to be a sweaty, sticky, uncomfortable affair. I look forward very much to revisiting familiar courses and pounding the pavement again soon!