NYCHalf '12: recap

I woke up exhausted and not in the mood for running, much less running faster than I had in weeks. That 3 hour time limit freaked me out almost as much as it did last year. I knew it was going to be really hard; My poor body doesn't seem like it's ever going to get better. My outfit cheered me up, but not enough to make me that excited to leave a perfectly warm bed. I did anyway. $128 is far too much money to have spent on a race just to sleep in.

The park wasn't as much of a mad house as I thought it was going to be. As I waited for friends to come from bag check, the flow of runners was relatively smooth. The majority of them were coming from the east side (which is the way you had to go if you were checking a bag) and it only started to get congested as it got closer to start time. Once I spotted my friends, we jumped in the corral. It was amazing to see the port-a-potties were literally IN the corrals. I remembered them saying this happens, but this was the first time I have ever seen it. The problem? The lines were OUTSIDE the corrals, so even though you were in the corral, like you were supposed to be, people who weren't in your corral were in line for your potties. SUPER frustrating. So we jumped out of the corral and went a few corrals ahead bc their line was shorter.

The race started in Central Park (which I didn't take any pictures of because 1. I take pictures in there all the time and 2. I was psyching myself up for Harlem Hill and making sure I ran fast enough to get out of the park without being swept.) This is also where I was clocking some really good time, which I knew would screw me later on, but I couldn't help it. You run counter-clockwise from 72nd-ish, back to the start and then down Broadway into Time Square, which is where our picture tour will start.

 Looping back around to the start. 

True story: The elite men had already gotten to this point and I hadn't crossed the start line yet.

 Coming out of the park onto Broadway.

 Not every day to you see a water stop in the middle of Midtown.

 Course entertainment.

Me! Running in Times Square. Courtesy of: Ms. Banana!! 

Which matches the one she took last year.

 LOVED getting to see my running partner. 

Even though, she should've been running it with me (damn you, lottery system!) it was awesome to have my own personal spectator. It really helps having people along the course.

 Who gets to do this? 

This event and NYE are the only times the streets of Times Square shut down.

 See that Police Dept? 

When I first moved here, I went in there to ask for directions.

They weren't amused. but how the hell was I supposed to know?

The very spot where I was when Obama was elected President.

 Turning down 42nd towards The Westside highway.

 Dallas BBQ.

Favorite Happy Hour Spot when I'm in Midtown. 

And one of my favorite TNT coaches as it would turn out! It was so awesome getting to see Coach Erin again. She ran a second with me to catch up a little and see how I was doing (once a coach, always a coach!). That was super awesome, too! 

 Sorry about the traffic, people!

On-course Entertainment: Lady Southpaw! She's a runner, too.

 The Intrepid. I was just there!

And The Westside Highway hell begins.

Pier 54: I saw Dropkick Murphys on that Pier. Love Summerstages!

 Chelsea Piers! Getting closer.

 The New Freedom Tower looked freaky in the foggy overcast; especially 

because it's still not finished being built yet.

 The Underpass. Finally. 

I had made it and I hadn't gotten pulled off the course!

 No one said it was going to be forever in this tunnel. 

My garmin lost signal and it was super annoying.

 Even more annoying? An incline at mile 12.5.

Nice view of the BK Bridge; Shitty area to run in.

I was so ready to be done with this race before it even started, and the few course quirks pissed me off more than they should have. Even worse? There was a clusterf*ck to get out of the finisher's area. Some genius decided it would be an awesome plan to have a restaurant set up a table of coffee and pancakes sandwiched between a gate and where runners had to funnel through to get out. Then, after I had walked around the block, in pain with the slowest moving humans ever, they decided to open the gate. Thanks a lot, NYRR. Did you have a brainfart in planning this event? Seriously. 

We had decided to take a cab back into civilization (because what the hell is that far south in Manhattan on a Sunday?) and I wanted to get far away from people, but surprise surprise. No cabs. Plan B: Walk to the closest subway. That was another clusterf*ck I was not sure I was getting out of without a criminal record; so we continued onward and stumbled upon a nearly empty Five Guys. What?! Score. I refueled quicker than I thought I was going to be able to (word to the wise: it's in everyone's best interest if you feed me ASAP after a race). Even better? By the time we were ready to tackle the subway, the crowd had subsided. I was in a much better mood. 

The End.

Even though, it was very cool to get to run my runniversary race (especially because it was a lottery system and I live in NYC), I need to get faster in order to even consider entering the lottery again. Worrying whether I'm physically going to be able to finish a race is one thing, but the added stress of making sure it's within a time limit is a recipe for some serious self inflicted mental terrorism I don't need. But we will see. Who knows what proper rest and training can do for a girl?

What's your runniversary race?