NYC Half

This is what it feels like to run through Times Square:



Today I ran the NYC Half, my 56th New York Road Runners race, as a training run for my April 15 Marathon de Paris. My net time was 2:27:45, a minute off my 2008 event PR (because I lost 3 minutes taking pictures in Times Square!), which is great because I was in peak condition then. Most importantly, I felt strong and powerful, clearly benefiting from 11 P.T. sessions so far on the IT Band syndrome that presented itself in January's Miami Marathon. I feel good!

As you can see in that video above, it is a rush. Doing a Big Apple takeover is a one-of-a-kind experience, and with apologies to all yellow cabs, Times Square belonged to me and 15,335 other finishers (7,456 men, 7,880 women). I have run it twice before but I got giddy as I went from lane to lane, looking up like I was new here. You have not run a race until you run the NYC Half, trust me on that.

It is something my friends at NYRR know full well, too. The entry fee is now the same as an expensive marathon just about anywhere else in the world. Demand is heavy, for a reason.

The Race:

My corral was at Strawberry Fields in Central Park, near 72nd Street on West Drive. Ethiopia's Firehiwot Dado, the 2011 NYC Marathon winner, would win the women's race, and Kenya's Paul Kirui would top all men. I mention them here because the starting ceremony featured the introduction of elite runners, Meb, Kara, an impressive crew. It was about 48 degrees consistently, just chilly enough to force long sleeves for most.

This time it ran counter-clockwise around Central Park, which for me is trickier because you have to go straight up Cat Hill and even bigger Harlem Hill. I shredded both hills. My pace was 10:00 each of the first two miles, and I knew around mile 4 that I needed to chill a bit as the park can sap your strength later. After a full loop, we proceed to the 7th Ave. exit on South Drive and then comes the real thrill.

Seeing Times Square alit in front of you, totally yours, is a sight to behold. Fans lined up behind the barricades on each side. To the left, Carnegie Hall (getting a facelift). To the right, the giant Lorax sign, Broadway theaters, the giant "Mama Mia" sign. Three times I removed my iPhone from my spibelt so I could shoot videos or pics, and that would wind up costing me my PR but it's worth it! It is fun and you find yourself giggling as you dominate where hustle and bustle normally rules.

[Updated 10 pm ET Sunday: We went to see The Lorax tonight. Felt like the picture must have been an omen. It is a great message, highly recommend the movie to anyone!]

Then we turned right on 42nd Street, and there I saw my Big Cats running friend Roxygen, speaking of Mama Mia (expecting!). She took this picture:

Musical performers are all along the course after Central Park, and they are a nice pick-me-up. We turned left on West Side Highway, and from there is a straight and flat shot all the way through the Financial District. There was one weird moment, and that was when we went past our MLBAM HQ at Chelsea Market: Up ahead you saw the new Freedom Tower, only the top was obscured and seemingly missing in thick fog, a smoky look that was an eery reminder of 10+ years ago.

Then suddenly we were alongside Ground Zero, and I could look at the comeback construction and then focusing again on my form, doing whatever it took not to walk. I saw one sign that said: "DRUNK BY NOON SOON" -- a reference to the finish at South Street Seaport. It was a runnerup to my favorite sign of the day, though, seen at Central Park: "DON'T STOP: PEOPLE ARE WATCHING YOU!"

I had a surprise next, not having examined the new course layout closely enough. Expecting to go straight to Battery Park and then circle the bottom of Lower Manhattan on the streets, we went straight down into the Battery tunnel, which you would normally take to Brooklyn. It was all of Mile 13, just us runners all packed in there literally waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel. I was among those who yelled in the echo chamber, keeping ourselves amused as we marched on toward South Street Seaport.

That is where we finished the NYC Half. We received a medal and even a heatsheet, a sign of how big this half marathon has become. We also marched forever past baggage pickup stations (I didn't need it, thanks to Lisa dropping me off). Check out the medal:



Here is where it wound up:



I met up with Lisa, and while others celebrated at South Street Seaport, I was fine with heading home and walking my English Bulldog King Bingley. He had a great outing, too!

NYC Half Marathon presented by United Nations

Today was an historic occasion because I invented yet another major distance race in New York City. Yes, that's right. Following on the heels of the acclaimed Statues on Parade Marathon, today I invented the NYC Half Marathon presented by United Nations. "What is this?" you ask. "It sounds really international and big!" Truth be known, I was aced out of the field for tomorrow's NYC Half Marathon presented by Nike, the one I ran a year ago that goes from Central Park to Times Square down to Battery Park along the West Side, because I was busy working our Major League Baseball Draft in Orlando at the start of June and everyone was slamming the NYRR.org site to enter the Nike so I was too late to register and three begging attempts failed.

SO TAKE THAT! I made my own NYC Half today. Here's how it happened.

I left my Upper West Side apartment at 8:30 and ran Central Park. I was going to make it two loops (each 6.1 miles), making this long training run "my" Half for the weekend. At the end of one mile, as I ran counter-clockwise alongside The Boathouse, a familiar face with a humongous smile came running toward me on the outside, and it was Hoda from NBC's Today show. Almost exactly where I saw my friend nyflyergirl pass me a week earlier. (It's always someone!) Then while I was on the East side of the park at 90th Street, I decided to jog over to the NYRR offices in case they were open so I could beg a FOURTH time to get into the Nike field. It was closed. I decided that they might be dealing with registrations over at the Runner Experience at Niketown in the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, so I proceeded to run 30 blocks from 89th Street to 59th Street, and then went to Niketown. They were closed, not open for another half hour. I decided to run all the way to the East River, another mile-plus, and then maybe I would circle back to Niketown when they opened.

I got to the riverfront -- Sutton Place -- and at that point I was





So I decided to just run South along the East River and make this my "east" equivalent of the next day's Nike Half. I stopped for an occasional water along the way, twice for Gatorade. I had only one GU with me. I bobbed and weaved through traffic to get back to First Avenue, and that's what I took South. Then suddenly I remembered that I never have seen the United Nations building since I moved to NYC in 2005 from St. Louis, and I began looking for it. First I saw the Trump World Tower, and looking up from the base it seemed like it went right into heaven, its glass structure blending in with the blue sky on a gleaming sunny Saturday. Then I looked ahead of me and there was the skinny, domino-shaped structure where the entire world -- at least that which plays along with the rules -- is diplomatically centered. I loved seeing the U.N. building. All of the brass flagpoles that line the front were without flags on this day, but it still was breathtaking. The sign at the driveway gate said "Delegates Only." I began to think of how people see a negative connotation to having things "delegated" to them at work, but really what an honor it would be to have that responsibility delegated to you, representing your nation. Think about that the next time someone delegates something to you.

Back to my run...I continued on and grabbed a fast Poland Spring water bottle at a streetside deli, and then ratcheted up my time. I was doing 10-minute miles at that point. I cut over at 34th Street to the river again, and on my way South I came upon the track and field before the Manhattan Bridge. The perfect grass called me like a siren, and I stopped running and went to it and lay on it and I did 50 crunches, a couple of planks, was sweating buckets and loving it. It was great to be around so many runners and soccer players there. I went back out to the running path and made a beeline for South Street Seaport.

And that is where my NYC Half Marathon presented by United Nations reached its finish line.

I would like to thank everyone who made it possible. Kenya. England. France. Germany. South Africa. Japan. Turkey. United States. Canada. Mexico. Australia. Israel. Norway. Iceland. Italy. All of them. In 10 days I will be flying from NYC to Beijing non-stop to spend nearly three weeks on the other side of the world for the first time, and that international flavor is just what I needed right now. I am about to be totally immersed in the Summer Olympics. I will be with our U.S. Baseball Team most of the time, at all of their games at Wukesong Stadium, and I am especially looking forward to seeing the Men's Marathon on the morning of Closing Ceremonies. I am trying to learn some Mandarin. Whatever other events I see will depend on what the baseball players do -- I'll be going wherever they go, basically. It will be work for me every day, and I also will take advantage of it and I will run 30 miles a week there despite the smog.

After this NYC Half Marathon presented by United Nations was complete, I got two slices of Uno Pizza and two Budweisers at the South Street Seaport. Then I ventured through all of the knockoff-purse sellers, and then I went into Abercrombie & Fitch and bought a kickass muscle shirt that I will wear in Beijing. I also sprayed a little Fitch on myself because I knew I would smell bad on the 2 train from there back to the Upper West Side. Overall, I was really happy with my awesome day. I left home at 8:30 and I returned home at 1:30. Most of that time was running, a little corework, a little sightseeing, a little traffic-dodging, a very satisfying run.

I love inventing new races!