ShoreTurtle – Running in and around New Jersey

NYC Half Marathon

The 2008 NYC Half Marathon was a unique experience. I’m glad for the opportunity to participate. My previous post has some photos.

My day started at 5am. I left the hotel at 5:30am. I was surprised to see that it was raining with thunder and lightning. I walked a couple of blocks to the subway and headed up to 90th street. The rain stopped around the time that we were locked into the corrals at 6:30. Race time temperature 70 degrees, humidity 90%.

My plan was to run the miles in the park conservatively and then evaluate things for the second half. The run to the starting line was obviously congested, but after a mile or two the pack thinned out enough that I could run my own pace. I caught myself several times going too fast and I made a sincere effort to save something for the hills beyond. I was happy when the course looped back through the starting corrals. We crossed over the starting line again and I knew that I would soon be out of the park. I was ever so glad to be done with Central Park.

As we left the park, the crowds were bigger. Running along 7th avenue into Times Square was really cool. The experience was one of the main reasons that I signed up. This was the best part of the race. There were several bands and cheering sections. Spectators yelled and clapped and made a lot of noise. I counted down the streets until I saw Redhead fangirl at our prearranged meeting place on the corner of 46th street. She was the sole member of Team ShoreTurtle and she was awesome. Seeing her lifted my spirits. She gave me a Gatorade, snapped my photo and I was off again.

As I ran towards 42nd street, I encountered more crowds and music. Broadway performers were on a stage singing karaoke tunes next to a giant television screen with the words. They were singing Cake’s “The Distance” when I ran by. The sponge station was terrific. I wish that there were more of them. I didn’t see the misting stations but it is entirely possible that I missed them.

The 4 miles the Westside Highway took most of my remaining energy. The course was flat at this point but the hills of Central Park were on my mind. My legs were definitely tired. The spectators along this point were much appreciated. It reminded me of the lonely miles along Kelly Drive during the Philly marathon. I counted down the miles and soon the finish was in sight. Several people called my name and I finished with a strong burst.

I crossed the finish line, got my medal and a wet towel which felt heavenly. I got my photo snapped by a photographer and I walked to Battery Park to meet up with the redhead.

My splits for the race were:

Mile 1 9:02
Mile 2 8:44
Mile 3 8:40
Mile 4 8:28
Mile 5 8:27
Mile 6 8:27
Mile 7 8:19 finally leaving Central Park, yay!
Mile 8 8:10 7th Avenue, awesome
Mile 9 8:52 stopped to see RHFG
Mile 10 8:10
Mile 11 8:20 stopped to take a photo of NJ skyline
Mile 12 8:13
Mile 13 8:01
.1 45 seconds

1:52:51 gun time
1:50:37 chip time

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