Race Report: NYRR Manhattan Half Marathon

I can’t believe I can be saying things like this now, but the 2012 Manhattan Half was my fourth. This particular race is interesting because the weather can vary quite a bit. In the four times I’ve run it, it’s been 13, 35ish, 13, and this year somewhere in the high twenties or low thirties. The biggest difference, though, between this time and any of the previous three years is that was snowing something fierce the entire time. Plus four or five hours beforehand. The weather got so bad that NYRR decided to turn it into a fun run and not time or score it. NYRR president Mary Wittenberg tweeted that the NYRR crew had been attempting to shovel for four hours before they decided to call it. I guess I could have seen this as a bad thing but I really didn’t. There were a few inches of snow on the ground for the whole race so I wouldn’t have PRed or even come close whether it was timed or not.


When all was said and done, it was a tough race but a pretty cool experience. Even though inclement weather never helps me accomplish any goals, it does create a unique running experience. The 2009 marathon tune-up, for example. It was raining all three and a half hours I was out there running. Chafing aside, it was kind of exhilarating. That’s sort of how I felt during this half marathon, though I would say I felt more badass than exhilarated. I found myself scraping snow/ice crust off my eyelashes every two miles or so. In my opinion, that’s a cool story no matter how you slice it.

I’d approximate my finishing time at 2:10-2:11. The mile markers didn’t have clocks nearby like they normally do, so it was quite difficult to gauge what was happening during the race. What I know is that the clock read 2:12 and change when I crossed the finish line and it did take a minute or two for me to cross the start. So I can only estimate from there.

Before knowing anything about what the weather conditions would look like, I’d hoped to run it right around 2 hours. Not under, but not more than a few minutes over, either. Did I accomplish this? No, no I did not. But all things considered, I’m happy with the result. If there’s anything to be learned from my history with this race, it is that I’ll be back for the 2013 Manhattan Half Marathon.

Six Days!

We're down to six days. Before I get into a few marathon-rated topics, a couple of orders of business. 1. There's a new poll up. Answer it! 2. I now have a Facebook page! Look up The Cheap Triathlete and, if you like it in real life, like it on Facebook! Alright, I think I've used up my quota of exclamation points. I'll try to refrain for the rest of this post.

And now, to the fun stuff. International runners are already arriving and taking in the city. Also, many stores and brands are running promotional events that sound awesome. Today Asics held an event in Columbus Circle with a virtual Ryan Hall in case you ever wondered how long you could keep up pace with an elite runner. Additionally, NYRR is running a promotion with Nissan in which they drive a Nissan LEAF to a different location every day and people can show up for swag and a chance to win an actual Nissan LEAF.

Bad news is that the park is in really bad shape after the storm. Earlier reports from today say that the park could lose up to 1000 trees. I didn't realize how serious it was until going to the park yesterday and today for this morning's quidditch workout. There were tree branches everywhere. I even saw an entire tree ripped up from the roots. And it was under pavement. Hopefully the cleanup will be fast and efficient.

Stay tuned for more marathon coverage. If you're in the area, enjoy the atmosphere and check out some marathon events!

Lovely Saturday

Well it's been an interesting week and I haven't spent nearly enough time training. Especially if I want to make the indoor tri championships on March 23rd! In order to achieve this, I need to improve my swim performance as much as possible. I'm not great at planning and executing swim workouts. Normally I just set myself a number of laps to complete and complete them, though I'm sure there's a more effective way to train. This will require some research. I'd also like to be able to do at least 2.5 miles in the given 20 minutes next time. That works out to an 8 minute mile and will be a challenge, but I don't think .15 miles more than last time is an unreasonable goal.

I would go into how to improve my bike, but focusing on the swim and run this time around will be plenty to do for this week, as the next tri is a week from today (and the day after a half marathon). In fact, I might really only have time to improve one of those.

Wednesday's snow run was glorious. The NYC snowstorm that took place on Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning was billed as "Snowmageddon 2" but it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. We met at 6am at the 72nd street entrance to the park and began the run by jogging up to the reservoir. Most of the snow around the loop had either been cleared or at least mostly packed down so there was minimal slogging. Running around the reservoir, however, was a completely different story. Snow around the path came to about mid-calf for me and it was not easy. Yet challenging though it was, there's something very satisfying about running through fresh snow.

Today we had quidditch practice, which was a challenge itself. I had no idea how much of the snow lingered from Wednesday. It was a good time, though, and a solid workout was had by all.