Saturday, March 17, 2007

Winter Wonderland


The NYRR 8000 was held this morning despite the snowy conditions. The race started half an hour late which was great because neither the 5 nor the 2 train wanted to run down the West Side this morning. I had to get off at 86th street and Lexington and hop in a cab to cross the other park where the race was being held. I got there with eight minutes left to spare, just enough time to get pins for my bib and a porta-potty stop.

As I reached the starting area I was surprised that there were only about a hundred people, two hundred max. Most runners bailed assuming the weather would be as bad as yesterday's sleet swarmed day. They were dead wrong. No precipitation or wind, lovely day for running.

I reached the starting line a couple of minutes before the start. While we waited for the start I met Mark, a runner from Seattle whose train back home was canceled. Cool guy, he woke up this morning, went online and found the race and decided to join. He asked me what my pace was and and if I wanted company. I said sure but I was concerned that he would throw me off my race or would want to talk the whole way, sure enough, that is exactly what happened.

Having Mark around was great. He helped me keep my planned 9:30 pace through the first two miles which I may not have done considering those hills and the chatting was very helpful.
The five miles went by very quickly. It turns out he was planning on proposing to his fiancé tonight at Niagara Falls but his train was postponed. As we ran I pointed out a few of the more romantic spots in the park; The Boathouse, Woldman Rink, etc. I promised him a more extensive list but I lost him after the race.

Overall, the running was great. We had fair traction considering we were running on snow. I missed the first mile marker so I didn't get that split but my split at the second marker was 18:29. The next three splits were 9:40, 8:50 and 8:47 for a finishing time of 45:48. The race wasn't scored and the ChampionChips weren't used so the times are off the gun but I think I could shave at least ten seconds since I didn't actually start at the starting line. Considering the poor turnout, snowy trails and lack of official time keeping the event was very enjoyable. It was a great morning in Central Park.

2 comments:

Danny said...

extra points for being hardcore and even showing up for this one! sounds like a great run.

KL said...

Nice to listen about your enthusiasm... sounds great running in a white-of-snow Central Park!