Race Report: Run for Central Park

Almost not worth discussing, it was just a 4-mile loop of the park. Thus spake the cranky, seasoned veteran. But it sure was drier than the Jurassic weather we had earlier in the week. Jesus strikes again with happy race-day humidity, amen. Just to fill you in, following is a list of sights along the course:

-Not seeing people dropping along the course due to high temperatures and humidity. Dead people can be such a bummer!

-Seen: a team of junior high kids in basketball outfits who decided to clump themselves at the start line, at the 6-minute mile pace. Also seen: me kicking their collective asses during mile one and turning to give them a heavy-lidded glare as I passed. 'See ya in study hall!'

-And the usual ‘older’ suspects lining up way too far up in the pacing order, and later, me seeing them cross the finish line ten or fifteen minutes after me.

-Mr. Gel Belt, with SUV-size headphones on, blasting ‘Eye of the Tiger’.

-Karate Chop Woman, running with her hands pointing upwards in a permanent homage to Tura Satana in ‘Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill’.

-Tourists stopping you to ask how far the course is, and explaining that the reason they’re asking is because they’re… tourists. Really?

-Race officials along the course wanting to say ‘you’re almost there’ (and composing impromptu variations on that theme), though not quite true if you’re ready to throw up and you still have a mile to go.

-SWM Wall Street types who must sprint the last 50 feet, or else.

-Some runners grabbing several post-race bagels instead of just one, so slower runners arriving later don’t get any. Folks, the Great Depression ended around 1939, and if you spent the $15-25 it cost to enter the race, you can afford to go out and buy your own damn extra bagels. Plus New York City is practically the bagel headquarters of the world, so decent ones are not hard to find, either.

Well, there was probably more going on, but the course was too short and fast to notice much else. I don’t enter many races below five miles anyway, so it was over before my legs could really complain. Didn’t even bring the camera! I did manage to run about 4 miles before the race with Crankmistress S., who knows bad running behavior when she sees it, too. The pre-race warm-up seemed to help, because the first mile included Cat Hill, a 40-degree incline that is one of the less pleasant hills in the park. Survived that pretty well, since getting by the slow runners who had to get way up front (only to get mowed down later) took my mind off the hill. Once again, I held back a little overall, and found myself left with enough energy to finish without whining about it. And once again, missed my PR for the distance by seconds, but not by far enough to regret running the race. Came in under 26 minutes; nice to be in the top ten (#9) of my age group again, and #148 out of 4000+ runners. Next stop is the damned NYC Half Marathon on the 5th, with 10,000 runners jamming the streets, my 12th race this year. Let’s hope THAT one works out…