At 9am today (well, 9:07am if you want to be precise) I ran in my first NY Road Runner’s 5k. Thanks to the incredible sluggishness of the A Train (”express”), I arrived moments after the herd began its slow attack on 3.1 miles, and spent the next 24 minutes and 51 seconds dodging through hundreds of slow moving Sunday joggers. For the data-visualization inclined, you can see a spiffy graph provided by Nike thanks to my Nike+iPod geek kit.
While I found the lurching pace of some of my fellow runners a bit annoying, it was really cool to see the professional runners charge by with their police and firetruck escorts. Taking into account that I was at the tail end for the first kilometer, the top three runners finished the entire race in the first 12 minutes, and dealt a killer blow to my morale. Maybe they got to start a little early, but seeing them finish just as I began was like saying “yea, we rock. just go home.” I would love to get my average pace (currently at 4.5km/h) fast enough that I could “sprint” for the better part of a 5k. I was pretty much in awe as they blazed past me, minus the nut-hugger shorts and annoying police sirens “escorting” you to the completion.
I had a classic number tag safety-pinned to my shirt, but I was also equipped with some cool technology called “ChampionChip” (get it? championship? haar.) that functioned like an RFID chip, marking my start and finish times within 60 milliseconds of crossing the magnetic field-enhanced mats. Given that the NYRR site is reasonably current, I half expected to have the results ready for viewing by the time I got home. Not so. I’m not sure if they’ll publish names, but my race number was 960.
All in all, it was a fun experience. I had no idea that running was such a social event. Every couple blocks, a group of supporters equipped with musical instruments, or pats and pans clanged away in hopes of inspiring a fatigued runner to keep going. I wish the route was treated more like a highway and that slow movers were forced over to the right side while the left lane could be used for passing, but that’s just the competitive jerk in me. I’m signed up for the next 5 races (as part of my path to the NY Marathon), so as the weather gets nicer, hopefully my times will improve.
Pray for my toenails.
yo, Li: was the 5K in Central Park? did your toenails break off? or did they merely turn black and start to draw flies? Speaking of which: losers in last night’s 2K (for Killer Kat) competition: one large rat and a more demure fieldmouse. The rat, clearly more succulent, (except for the tail, the ears and the kidneys) was consumed on the porch in an act of unaccustomed sharing. (One cat at each end, munching toward the offending kidneys). The fieldmouse, far smaler, was left n the dirt, uneaten. Newflash: Nietzsche ha found her way up onto the roof, by way of the arbor. The return trip involves shredding the jasmine and grape vinesas she loops bak to erth, Tarzan-style. The increasingly hefty Clem knows better than to subject 2X6 rafters, marine plywood and two layers of shingling to anything so seismic as the tread of her feet. greetings from the bondocks - BD
Hey Dad -
Actually, this race was in Washington Heights, although the previous race and the next 2 will be in Central Park. Toenails so far are intact, but I can already feel the wear on my feet of the constant running.
Hilarious about the cats, if not somewhat disgusting. I think you could set up some infrared cameras and run your own shock rodent-snuff-film website, catering to the blood thirsty but otherwise indoor cats around the world. Just a thought.
showing indoor cats the joys of life in rat- and lizard-ridden Agony Acres would be too cruel.
but the amazing thing is how quickly these gals turn predatory. with routine access to their bowl of food, they would merely yawn if a sparrow alit and started pecking at mites between their claws. But take away the kibble and the porch is slick with gore in a matter of hours.