Whenever I can secured an overnight away from home, I maximize the hell out of it. Last fall a bunch of Running Mamas put their names in the lottery for the NYC Half Marathon, only Robin and I were selected. Which was a bummer, but also, I'm never one to look a gift solo-weekend-in-the-city in the mouth, so I quickly tried to cram as much fun into the weekend as I possibly could. Not that a weekend spent running kids to dance and soccer and birthday parties and dragging them through the grocery store whining isn't fun. But, well, you know.
The amazingly patient Rob and the kids dropped me off at the Mega Bus Stop at 7am, and it was a blissful and quick 2 hours and 30 minutes of pod casts until I hit midtown Manhattan, where my amazingly game for anything friend Liza picked me up. We hit up a diner for breakfast, picked up Robin from the train station and then hit the NYC Half Marathon Expo.
The biggest Expo I've ever attended was the Marine Corp Marathon, which had 20k runners, and was simply enormous. Double the size of Albany's Freihofer - which is still a pretty big expo! So, with 15k runners expected, I was ready to be dazzled by the NYC Half Expo. We made it through the hustle and bustle of packet pick up, in which the Grave Importance of the Orange Wristband was imparted upon us. Put on the wristband now! You cannot get into the race without the Wristband! If you are caught running without the wristband, you will be dragged off the course and prosecuted to the fullest extent! Ok - that last part about prosecution, may or may not be slightly exaggerated. Anyway, we get through packet pick up, and then walk out through about a dozen vendors, decide we need to grab lunch, and that we'll come back and hit up the rest of the expo afterward.
Except, after a delicious lunch, when we returned, there WAS no rest of the expo! Literally - 12 vendors! While we were really surprised, and a bit disappointed, it didn't last for long, because we had a whole city to explore before us. So we headed out.
Eventually, Robin headed out to find a bookstore to browse, and Liza and I headed off to our favorite sketchy massage parlor for dirt cheap massages. My masseuse, however, practiced a form of massage that my friend Colleen suggested was "thai", whereas, I felt like I should have at least gotten a nice dinner before, and flowers after.
 |
| Really though, what should I expect from an establishment that thinks "Rub -a-Dub" deserves real estate on their sign? |
That night, Liza and I met up with a big group of friends from college for dinner and drinks and had an amazing time.
The next morning, I took a cab up to the east side of Central Park. I arrived just a bit ahead of Robin, and scouted the lay of the chilly land. I really hadn't packed well, and the starting temps were in the high 30s. I nearly froze my toukkas off, in my running skirt, but fortunately, I'm well insulated with my winter weight.
 |
| Robin and I, huddling for warmth |
The baggage drop was incredibly well organized, with a truck for every 1,000 runners. I met Robin, and we wandered around for a while, grabbed a cup of coffee, and then meandered over to the starting line. It was really well organized, and it was really cool to hear Mary Wittenburg - the NY Road Runner's Club president, Galen Rupp and Kara Goucher speak over the PA system - all people that here to fore I'd read about in my beloved Runners World Magazines.
At 7:30 sharp, the gun went off. It took about 6 minutes to even get to the starting line, but it just felt good to move, after standing in the cold for so long. I'd brought my headphones, but really didn't feel the need to use them, just because there was so much to look at around us. Robin and I hung together through the first mile, which is when my heart rate was edging a little too high, and I urged her to go ahead. She's such a fastie. So I settled in to cruising speed, and enjoyed the sights in that first loop and a half around Central Park.
 |
| The view in Central Park |
Just after mile 7, we headed out of the park, south, headed towards Times Square. And none too soon - I was starting to get kind of sick of the park - the crowds had thinned out - the winners had already won by this point, and I was ready for some street action! I was not disappointed.
Even though the crowds had thinned a bit, there were still a lot of spectators. And the music acts were now coming along every few blocks or so, which was a lot of fun. And running through Times Square was, as it always is, thrilling.
 |
| Running to Times Square |
 |
| One of the bands |
After that though, once we started heading down 42nd street, and away from Times Square, it started to get tough. For one, the wind was whipping down the street from the Hudson River, and by this point, I'd run further than I had since, well, the last half marathon the year before.
 |
| The big buildings clearly screwed with my GPS |
And let's face it, the West Side Highway is not known for being a scenic route. It was warehouses and the Jersey Shore. Insert your own Snooki joke here.
 |
| Down the Westside Highway |
I was able to muster a tiny kick for the finish line, but I was pretty much out of gas. The wind was vicious and cold, and I was grateful when someone handed me a solar blanket, and the finisher's medal was really nice. Approximately 1500 people didn't finish the race! I was handed a bag with snacks and water, and drifted down the finisher's corral with thousands of other finishers/zombies. I wish I had the presence of mind to take a picture, but I was pretty cold and tired. and cold.
Liza was able to find me about 20 minutes later, huddling on a bench, shoving pretzels into my mouth. We were able to snatch a cab soon after that, and Liza whisked me off for a lumberjack breakfast, which was possibly the most delicious breakfast I've ever eaten. I was able to get Robin on the phone, who was making her way north to meet her family at the Central Park Zoo.
All in all, I'm so glad I did the race. I don't feel like I need to do it again (the way I feel about the Marine Corp Marathon), but it was a great and satisfying experience.
 |
The full race route
Over all -
| Last Name |
First Name |
Sex/
Age |
Bib |
Team |
City |
State |
Country |
Overall
Place |
Gender
Place |
Age
Place |
Net
Time |
5K
Split |
10K
Split |
15K
Split |
20K
Split |
Pace/
Mile |
AG
Time | AG
Gender
Place |
AG % |
| Mateja | Kelly | F35 | 7495 | | Colonie | NY | USA | 8829 | 4408 | 668 | 2:26:02 | 0:32:11 | 1:07:05 | 1:41:13 | 2:18:34 | 11:09 | 2:24:38 | 4562 |
|
