UNITED AIRLINES NEW YORK CITY HALF 2015 RACE REPORT
The Stakes Were HighTwo years ago, I pinned a bib onto my shirt for the first time and I ran my first (official) race ever at the 2013 NYC Half. I had run a Half Marathon once before, my first ever, in the heat of the Bahamian sun, a culmination of a morning exercise routine at The Island School, back in Spring 2011. That day, I experienced a challenge like never before--and barely endured to finish in just a little over 1:45. After crossing the finish line, I folded down onto the sand, belly up, in love. I wanted to do this again.
And two years ago, I did. I ran the 2013 NYC Half, my first race and organized Half Marathon, in 1:38:48, a big but expected improvement after the year of training I had for the ill-fated NYC Marathon 2012. Two months later, at the Brooklyn Half 2013, I improved my time by about a minute, and I set my sights on a great goal: to break 1:35:00, which would effectively be 10 minutes faster than my Island School time. In January 2014, at the Manhattan Half, I came so very close, finishing in 1:35:35. And a few months later at my next race, the Brooklyn Half, I finally did it. I had to dig deep, hauling and kicking as fast as I could to finish in 1:34:36.
That's when I thought, man, wouldn't it just be incredible, if one day I could break 1:30:00? Little did I know that I would come within seconds at my very next Half, at the start of this year, continuing a string of PR's and coming within
seconds of my ultimate goal. And suddenly, the possibility of reaching that goal became very real. 6 seconds was all I needed to shave off. Was it just a good day? Or could I do even better? I laid my trust in the treadmill for the next two months. And now, at the 10th edition of the NYC Half, the most electrifying race of the year other than the Marathon, with a course and conditions in my favor, could I continue my streak
and break the 1:30:00 milestone? Or was I finally due for a 'bad day'? An end to my luck? I didn't feel very trained for a major attempt like this.
Pre-race MeltdownNo, I didn't have a meltdown...but this winter sure did! For once, I got to the race an hour early (6:30am in the pitch dark), already having eaten slightly less than half a bagel, drank a few gulps of water here and there, and it wasn't bone-chillingly cold! I still needed to bring a hoodie, as is usually the case, but it wasn't miserable by any stretch. My bib number was 2195, putting me closer to the front of a major race than ever before. Interestingly in this race, you've got a lot of control over your starting position. You can tell NYRR your own projected finishing time--which can be much higher or lower than what you actually believe you will do, and they will place you accordingly. In races with multiple starting waves, some people take advantage of this in order to place themselves in the first wave so they can start and get out earlier. I chalked myself in at 1:30:00 exactly and Wave 1 Corral 2 was where I was placed.
In this race, there were actually pacers--people who will run even splits all-througout to lead a group of goal-oriented runners like myself to break different time goals. Usually, as long as you keep up with them, you
will meet your goal. These pacers are usually guys who have run a Half at least 10 minutes faster than the pace group they represent. I've never run with one before, but I did make a point of asking the pace leader in my corral, Matt, what his strategy was for the race. He said he was going to be running even-effort, taking it a little easier on the hills (about 10-15 seconds slower than 6:52 pace) and making up for it on the downhills), and then running even splits for the rest of the race starting at Mile 6. Sounded great to me!
Ready...Set...GO! (Miles 1-6: Central Park)The race began at 7:30am, and WOW, the front of the pack sped off like animals. $20,000 was on the line for the winner, and $10,000 for the runner up--that's what I call a run for their money! Somehow I got a little buried behind most of my corral and the pace leader and a HUGE group of runners following him got a few seconds head-start. Right away, there was an urge to speed up to catch up to them, but I worried that I might fall victim to starting too fast, so I opted for a more conservative pace. WHAM. First hill not even a quarter mile into the race, and a big one. I slowed down to climb it as I always do. I watched the pace group disappear before my eyes. My first mile was 7:26, which a year ago would have been excellent, but today was over 30-seconds behind. This was going to be tricky.
As I came to the first serious downhill, I remembered that
this was Central Park!
This is where I made my goal a possibility. And I knew that Mile 2 had not one but
two major downhill sections for me to take advantage of, so I did what I think I do best as a runner: let my body loose and let gravity carry me down those hills. I put in a 6:24 mile, putting me a bit closer, but the pacer was still out of sight. I think my GPS may have screwed up here, because if I really had done such a good mile, then I would have been able to see him.
That's when I realized I forgot to put on my pacing wristband with all the splits I should be targeting! It had all of the times I should be looking for at each mile marker so I could keep track of my progress during the race...so yeah, I had to resort to
addition and
subtraction, good old math. Well, there's not much to think about while you're running for an hour and a half anyway, so doing multiples of 6:52 in my head was a nice little distraction I guess.
At Mile 3, we actually exited the park for a new little detour they added. It was actually an out and back, the only of this race, which is really sweet because you can see who's leading the race and how far ahead they are. For me, it was another chance to find my pacer...which I still couldn't find!!! But I did see some really tall, skinny guys running like their lives depended on it WAY out front. It was something to behold. I can't imagine how they can keep that up for over an hour. A lot of this mile was uphill one way and downhill the other. I used the downhill to my advantage.
Mile 4 was the dreaded Harlem Hill. Every time I come across this in the race I feel like some random guy yells "here it coooomes!!" and laughs sadistically. I hate this hill. You know I hate this hill. But I love the downhill that comes right after it. And I chewed that up!
Mile 5 was...ugh...more hills. I actually think
this is the most difficult part of the course, and the most difficult part of any Central Park loop. Harlem Hill is just one hill, and there were a ton of people cheering us on there. Once it's over, it's
over, and you get that nice downhill I mentioned. But these three rolling hills after it SUCK. You're tired out from the Harlem Hill, and none of these hills have the relief of major downhills to recover from. None of them are super steep, but they're just steep enough to take the oomph out of your legs, make your breathing harder, and slow you down. THREE FREAKING TIMES. I fell a little bit behind pace here. It's hard not to! I used this time to eat my one gel, my favorite, Montana Huckleberry flavor from Hammer.
Mile 6 was the end of the Central Park segment, and, after all of those hills, despite
still not being able to see the 1:30 pacer, I didn't feel bad, and according to my on-the-run mathematics, I was still in the running to beat my time goal. Putting 'time in the bank' is never a great idea in a long-distance race, but I was afraid of falling too far behind. I still had some catching up to do, but with Times Square ahead of me, I felt ready to give it a shot.
Ocean of Screens, Seas of Screams (Miles 7+8: Times Square)As we exited the park onto 7th Avenue, the atmosphere erupted and I was overwhelmed by the electricity of the crowds. I noticed that the entire east side of the avenue wasn't getting much love from the runners, so I ran over to give every person on the sidelines a high five. People went bananas, shouting my name and cheering me on. And with every high-five, it was like I was gaining some kind of vital energy, batteries recharging, hype building. I sped up like a madman, feeding off of their energy, and wouldn't you know it--the whole mile was downhill! I never felt so motivated in the middle of a race. It was like I was
somebody. And then I passed my mom and brother who were out on 43rd street to cheer me on. I hot-dogged as I looked down at my watch after a few minutes--I had run my fastest in-race mile ever: 5:58.
As I turned the corner on 42nd street toward the West Side Highway, I continued to ride off the momentum of the last mile, clocking in another great mile at 6:06. I can't confirm that these were accurate splits (GPS goes crazy in Times Square), but it sure felt fast. There's definitely something magical about being able to run through Times Square like this. It's like the world has stopped for you. And even as the music faded away and the crowds died down I felt like nothing could stop me.
Yet, I still couldn't see the pacer.
The Lonely Pacer on the Long Highway (Miles 9-12: West Side Highway)Finally, as we made the turn onto the West Side highway, I could see the 1:30 sign bobbing up and down--the elusive pacer! By now, only a few people surrounded him. Most of the group appeared to have sped up or dropped off (probably the latter unfortunately). It took one more 6:29 mile at Mile 9 to finally catch up to him, and by the time I reached him, there was nobody left in the group. It was just me and him, and a few others who were on their own, keeping him in their line of sight. Don't get me wrong, there were still DOZENS, maybe hundreds of runners around us, but the people that I became friendly with at the start line were no longer around.
From here on, the race was exactly as I remembered two years ago, a straight path to the Freedom Tower, only this time I had someone to chase. There was also a pretty nice tailwind, which was definitely helpful. I asked Matt, the pacer, what happened to the rest of the group. He kind of chuckled, shrugged, not sure what to say. He told me that he was on pace for a finish at exactly 1:29:15, which is what he had promised at the start, and that if I was close enough to see him crossing the finish, I would still definitely make it in time. To his credit, I think he was an excellent pacer, despite whatever happened to the group. For the next three or so miles, I kept right by his side, and he really held down a solid 6:50 pace. I don't know how people can run holding a sign in the wind like that for an hour and a half.
Keeping up with him was tough, but having someone with me took a lot of the pressure off--I didn't really have to do the math in my head anymore. I just had to keep up. And as we passed Miles 10, 11, 12, I really and truly felt like I could hang in there. I was actually quite comfortable. I ran past my mom and brother again before heading into the Battery underpass--they knew I was on pace to finally break 1:30 and they were flipping out! I actually pulled away from the pacer at this point and began my own surge to the finish.
Light At The End (Miles 12+13: Tunnel and East River)Near the end of the race is the Battery Park Underpass. Its basically a 3/4 Mile long tunnel, hated by many runner for its darkness and dankness. It's dramatic, it's different, and I think it's pretty cool. The world falls silent inside the tunnel. It's warm in there. Your GPS becomes worthless. And there's no wind or crowds. It's just you, your will to stay in the race and hang onto your pace for dear life. This year, because of the huge rain that came the day before, it was admittedly pretty wet in there. I was a little light-headed from the darkness, but I got out alive and still ahead of the pacer.
As we came out and climbed the final hill of the race, I clenched my teeth and hoped that this little hill wouldn't be my undoing. You never know when your legs will seize up and troll you from your best race. But they didn't. And I immediately recognized where I was (which I didn't two years ago): THE EAST RIVER! My home turf, my daily running path, just short of the Staten Island Ferry where I do my long runs. I hadn't been going this far down the river in 2013 when I was really just beginning, but now I had my bearings. And knowing just how close I was to the finish, I sped up with all my might, barreling past the 800m, 400m, and 200m marks. The finish line was in sight. I was welling up with emotion and excitement, knowing that this time, the mighty clock was on my side.
I threw my fists into the air, yelled a resounding battle cry and leapt into the air. FINALLY! I HAD DONE IT!!!!
And not only did I go sub-1:30... I went one step further, finishing in 1:28:41.
Splits:
1 7:25.6
2 6:23.6
3 6:35.1
4 6:49.2
5 6:49.2
6 6:35.0
7 5:58.2
8 6:06.7
9 6:29.7
10 6:47.2
11 6:41.4
12 6:29.6
13 7:22.9 (Tunnel GPS lol)
14 2:09.5 0.3 (not sure what happened here)
Bib Number: 2195
Overall Place: 657th Place out of 19,454 finishers
Overall Finishing Time: 1:28:41 (6:47/mile average)
More reflection coming soon when I can process what happened and where to go from here.