JUST ANOTHER SUNDAY RUN
While I waited for the downtown train, I looked around, I was not the only runner wearing a racing bib. Inside the subway car runners outnumbered shift workers 3 to 1, and with each additional stop our numbers swelled larger and larger.
It was Sunday, well before dawn, more than 11,500 runners showed up for the 2018 NYRR STATEN ISLAND HALF. The air felt crisp. There was absolutely no wind. It was the perfect day for a race.
For the first time this year I was starting a race completely healthy. No shingles. No broken bones. It was my 10th half marathon in 4 years! I was buoyant. I warmed up with a big grin on my face. I was alive. I found myself bouncing up and down on the tips of my toes anxious for the starting horn to blow.
This was a tricky race. I anticipated an unfriendly back-end so I settled on a strong but safe pace. The first hill arrived almost immediately at Mile 2, leaving me no room to lock in an early steady pace. It was a tedious, mile long incline. Quickly followed by a nasty, steep quarter-mile drop. Running down hill can be hard on your legs if you don’t train properly. I was prepared. I immediately leaned forward and sprinted down the hill. For a quarter of a mile my feet barely touched the ground!
Thankfully, the next 6 miles up and down the boulevard was flat as a pancake. I ran a steady, vigorous pace. Along the way I relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. The sun was beginning to bleed through the morning fog. In the distance I could see a soft mist drift slowly over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. It was a lovely scene.
Unfortunately at Mile 8 my concentration had to quickly shift back to the road. I was now climbing up the same steep hill I sprinted down an hour ago! It was a grueling task. It lasted only a few minutes but it felt like an hour.
When I reached the top, there was no time to celebrate, for the next couple of miles we zigzagged over underpasses and under overpasses. The jarring turns, dips and bumps made it difficult to run a steady pace. Eventually, at Mile 10, the road flatten again. To my right I could see the Manhattan skyline. I began to pick up my speed again, it hurt, but I continued to push myself as hard I could. It was the homestretch!
At Mile 12 I began preparing myself for one remaining insult this course had to offer. The race ends uphill! A half-mile long cruel joke right before the finish line. I shoved all negative thoughts out of my head and attacked the last mile.
Over the last hill!
Over the finish line!
13.1 miles!
I collected my metal, hugged my wife, took a few pictures, then jumped on the ferry. I left Staten Island contented. My actual numbers were far from my best run but I met my goals. And yes, my legs did hurt. And yes, I also knew in a few hours the real pain will arrive. My throbbing legs will probably keep me up all night long, but I won’t care. I’ll probably spend the extra hours awake planning my next race.
Statistics
Overall: 7,554 / 11,475
Age Division: 199 / 305
Gender: 4,992 / 6,482
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