Happy New Year!

Yes, folks, it is now 2011. I spent the beginning of New Year's Eve ferrying people from the streets to our apartment. We live within the Times Square security zone and I had no idea how large that is. It extends from 42nd to 59th streets and 6th to 8th avenues. That's 34 blocks of absolute crapshow on New Year's Eve. If you want to enter that large area, you have to provide a piece of ID or mail that proves you live there. Had we known this, we probably would have done some extra party planning. Once our guests were safely in, though, it was an interesting vantage point. The crowd gathered to watch the ball extends up 7th ave from 42nd nearly all the way to 59th. It's insane. And they're all corralled by barricades and swarms of policemen. This is what it looked like from our apartment window.

After some time at the party, Jeremy and I left for the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run. I maintain that it's the city's most underrated NYE celebration. They have a full-blown dance party at the Bandshell, complete with music, DJ, and light show. There's a costume contest at around 11pm. We didn't make the contest, but that was fine because we also didn't have costumes. I'll say about that what I say every time: maybe next year.

The race itself was nice, if a little crowded. The weather was perfectly chilly, no precipitation (frozen or otherwise) in sight. Since it is such a relaxed, fun experience, we had to do a lot of darting and dodging to go anywhere quickly. Unlike nearly all other Road Runners races, this one is not timed. Jeremy, however, thought to time it using an iPhone app called MapMyRun. We apparently ran it in 39:40ish, which isn't too bad considering the crowd. Volunteers were serving sparkling cider (champagne) at the race's water stop and we got to see a bunch of runners in great costumes. These included a puffer fish, Cookie Monster, The Flash, Batgirl, and many others. I think the best costume was a group of about 11 runners, the first pushing a baby stroller and the following 10 strung together like sled dogs. They were wearing a sign that read "The Urban Iditarod." If I had been judging the costume contest, I know which costume I would've picked! Jeremy and I at the start of the race:

We had a fantastic experience and I can't wait to run it again next year! We even had time to get back to the apartment for a rousing game of Kings. I hope everyone else had an equally fun-filled New Year's Eve. Next up for the blog: a guest writer profiles her own New Year's Day race, some workout summaries as well as major evidence that I need new running shoes.