Run for Harold 2008

Last year, after the marathon, I was in great shape. I wasn't sure I was ready to race two weeks later, but it turned out I was. I had the best race ever, putting in 7:03 miles over 4 miles. Since that time the NYRR have instituted corrals for their races, and depending on your best historical time, you get put into a specific corral. It's because of last year's race that I continue to get put into one of the first corrals, even now that I don't really belong there anymore.


There were about 6,000 people at the race today, and there I was with #163. Ha! I actually got a lot of comments about it, but I started way in the back.

I've really been sick all week, and haven't run since last Sunday (and I was sick then too). I'd already signed up, and the rain had stopped, so I thought it would be good to at least run this as an easy run. Plus, it was the "Run for Harold" (see last year's post) and so I wanted to go for that as well.

So as I said, I started way in the back. And for today, that meant WAY in the back. The race was packed. I don't think the pictures give it justice, but it was more packed than I've ever seen it here.



It took about 7 minutes to get to the start. (People may have been distracted by Star Jones.) I took it slow, as I knew I wasn't feeling perfect. Over the course of the race, I kind of got caught up in the "race" aspect, though I never pushed as hard as I have in the past. I was running near one of the RFH guys for much of the race, and I had hoped to pass him in the last mile. Unfortunately (for me) he ran a great last mile, and I didn't have enough to keep up with him.


(This is actually before the race, but I think he already knew he'd beat me!)

I finished exactly 6 minutes slower than last year. But nonetheless, I was happy with some negative split action:
9:03
8:50
8:40
8:03

Plus, I was pretty sure I beat this guy:



Like last year, we gathered for a group shot. (Thankfully, not as freezing as last year.) Quite the crowd, which is really great. It's a great idea, and I was happy to see a big turnout.


After the race, the Running Skirt invited me back to her place, where her husband made us some post-race pancakes. I'm pretty sure I ate more calories than I burned - but they were worth it.



(And yes, I do love taking pictures of him in the kitchen!)

And tonight you ask? Another wedding....

I'm sick

Got sick over the weekend (throat, cold, etc.). Managed to run on Sunday, but now I just don't feel like it. Hopefully, I'll be back out there before the week is up.

I'm signed up for a 4M race on Sunday. Last year at this race, I ran my best race ever. Kind of depressing to realize how far I am from that this year...

That's pretty much it for this post. I have a whole rant that I wrote up about the rising costs of running these races, but I'm waiting for a response to an email. I'll publish it later.

Post Election Day Blah

I wish I could feel the same sense of elation that everyone else feels about the outcome of this election. I've long ago recognized that most of my blogger friends are liberal, and so I won't turn this into a long discussion. But suffice it to say I have a lot of concerns about the future of this country. I think the American Dream that I believe in, is in for a change. Sigh...

So what else....?

Let's talk about Marathon Sunday here in New York City. I still enjoyed all the build up to the marathon, even though it was tinged with sadness that I wasn't running. It's really amazing how the whole city gets geared up for the race. Also, a lot of people associate me with the race, and so I got emails from more than a few people wishing me good luck - if I was running it.

Instead, I woke up on the early side and went for a leisurely run. About 7.2 miles in the neighborhood. I was really struggling, and I couldn't imagine having to run a marathon that day.

Then I went to a wedding. Two good friends of mine here in the medical school, married each other. There was a really nice core group of friends there, and the dancing was therefore enthusiastic. (For those of you who have never been to an Orthodox Jewish wedding, think more along the lines of Hora, rather than So You Think You Can Dance.) In any case, I think I put in about 19 miles on the dance floor, and so at the end of the day I kind of did the whole marathon thing.

I didn't get a medal, but they did honor me with a blessing under the Chupah.

(Looks like I was the Rabbi. Believe me: I'm not and I wasn't!)

The next morning I felt worse than I felt last year after the Marathon. Maybe I should have worn sneakers...

Here's a series of shots that I just love:


Fun... wedding cake!


Yeahhhh!! (I admit: I was chanting "face, face, face...."!)


Don't even think about it....

Tuesday I went for a run before work. My plan was to run to the polls and check in there. If the lines were long, I had no intention of voting. Yeah, yeah, civic duty. But let's be honest: my vote in New York is completely worthless. The electoral college votes are pretty much decided already. And the people down the line? I don't even know who they are. I recognized the incumbent State Senator, but I had no idea if he's been doing a good job or not.

(And for the record I'm a political junkie who's wasted many hours reading about politics. I can't believe the other voters I saw there had any better idea. Certainly not the woman who walked into the voting booth before me. She had just walked straight in without registering, and started trying to pull the lever. I knew they hadn't activated the machine, so I was just watching with amusement. But when the poll watcher people figured it out, they went nuts. That alone was worth going.)

Anyway, as it turned out, the wait was less than 5 minutes. So I did my civic duty and went back out and ran. I put in 5.5 miles but struggled again. Part of it may have been heat. I was dressed for cold weather, but halfway through I had to take off a layer. Unfortunately I had a compression shirt on, and so it was the inner layer I had to take off. I ran back a little off from the side street, until I was basically next to the highway. Thankfully, nobody got into an accident.

Numbers wise, I finished October with 40 miles again, and I'm up 575 for the year. Not horrible, but a far cry from last year. As for the numbers on the scale, that's not going so well either. But I'm trying...