NYC Half, at last!

I ran the New York City Half Marathon last, last Sunday (July 27th), and it turned out to be a slow, "moist", but fun day all-in-all.

Things started off on a sour note, when I went to Niketown to pick up my number and shirt, and all they had left were large's. It might not seem like a big deal, but we all payed $75 to get into this race, it's not for charity, the race is sponsored by a huge, loaded company - Nike, we indicated our shirt size when we registered, and I was pretty much disgusted that they couldn't even provide enough shirts in each size. I snatched my tent of a shirt and number and booked out of Niketown so fast I got a free transfer on my metrocard. The whole thing really made me want to shun New York Road Runners. They're lucky they do such a damn good job on race day. I know the shirt doesn't look that big in this picture, but I swear it's useless for running.

I tried to be in a good mood the next morning when the skies opened up right before the start of the race. The weather cleared and so did my outlook. The air was still saturated, really tropical feeling, and I knew it was not going to be a day for me to "race." So I took it very easy for the first half of the race, and mainly focused on breathing - because that was not coming easily in the crowdedness and stifling humidity of Central Park. See? The camera fogged up!

Once we left the park and turned onto 7th Ave, I felt one of the most refreshing breezes I'd ever felt in my life. The whole Times Square section of the race was awesome - like a big ol' party in the middle of the street. The West Side Highway pretty much flew by. I'd run so slow early on that I had tons of energy at the end. A TNT coach saw me bookin' it to the finish and thought I might have PR'd. Not even close. But it made for a good long run.

I stole this pic from Melanie G. This time it's blurry because she was running while photographing.

The End.