I want to be a part of it

I was hoping to surprise myself  this weekend and I did by running 62:42 in the New York City Half Marathon.  Luckily the weather was perfect and we had a nice tailwind for the last 3 miles!  It should also be noted that this AWESOME course is net downhill by about 30 meters.  The first 10km loop in Central Park is rolling and by no means fast, it’s actually quite tough but once you’ve run the first complete loop you have 2.5km of mostly downhill running to finish off the park.  After that you run down 7th Avenue through Times Square, which is absolutely amazing as the runners have the whole street to themselves.  Then you take W 42nd St to the West Side Highway and run South towards Ground Zero.

I was near the lead for the first mile and I was getting a little nervous that I was going out too fast but when we passed the first mile in 5:00 I knew why it felt so easy and I couldn’t believe the race was going out that slow.  Before the race I pictured myself splitting 5km around 15:00 and having a little pack to run in and being 20 seconds down of the leaders, however I passed the 5km mark in 15:05 and I was pretty much in the lead.  And then a bunch of guys picked up the pace dramatically and I settled into a pack with Abdi, Ryan Hall, Jason Lehmkuhle and Patrick Smyth.  Dylan Wykes was 5-6 seconds up on us and running alone so I figured we’d catch him in a few miles.  Upon exiting the park the tables were turned, I found myself alone whereas Dylan had caught up to Meb, Alejandro Saurez and Girma Tolla.  His 6 second lead at 10km grew to 28 seconds by 20km (I split 59:34) where it would stay for the remaining 1.1km of the race.  I ended up catching Meb and Girma Tolla in the last 800m and 400m respectively to place 13th overall. Results.  You can watch the whole race HERE (the race starts about 15 minutes into the broadcast).

Overall it was a great race and a fun course which really showcases Manhattan.  My body felt good through 10 miles although the last 3 miles beat me up a bit and I have sore quads and calfs this morning.  My foot and shin felt fine and I’m really hungry for the Montreal 1/2 on April 17th.  By then my training will feel more complete and I’ll really be ready to run a good 1/2 marathon.

Early on in the race. 

Running through Times Square.

Finish.