August 27th, 2006 The New York City Half Marathon presented by NIKE

Jim Finishes Strong!
2 hours, 28 minutes*
(ok I wasn't burning up the pavement, but I had the courage to start and the stamina to finish)

Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: August 27, 2006, 7:00 am
Location: Central Park to Battery Park, NYC
Weather: 67 deg., 76% hum., wind E 8 mph.

*8/28/05 - I got an e-mail from race organizers saying my 'official time' was 2:35. Obviously one of is off, and I'm sure it's not me. ;^P

Yes, my arms are two different colors. I have to rember to wear this singlet on a sunny day and even out my tan.

The morning started at 3:45 am!!!! I was truly wondering if I had gone around the bend. What am I thinking, I know people who were still out partying at that time (and you know who you are)?

I pushed those thoughts out of my head and got on with getting ready. Coffee, a light bite and water. Lots of water. More than one trip to the rest room.

We made it to the Park at 6:00am and it was a mad house. You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a runner. It was great! I was pumped and ready to go. Have you ever seen 10,000 people all in one place? I have. This morning when I lined up to run this Half marathon. That's a lot of feet.

Everyone was so excited it was electric. Just like this:
Ok, no one was busting any sweet dance moves like they did in Electric Boogaloo. Mostly, people were stretching and getting ready to run.

Team In Training received final instructions from our Coach, the one and only Ramon. The sum and total of his instructions:

1. Have fun!
2. Behave! (that means don't bolt out of the gate)
3. Now go line up!

I'M KING OF THE HILLS!

I've never run a complete loop of Central Park, but I've run every mile of the loop in part, so I knew what to expect and how to run. I knew the hills, up and down (remember I had whole series of hill trainings earlier) so they were no problem.


The course went down Seventh Avenue through Times Square then across 42nd Street. The streets belonged to the runners this morning. Tourists were agog at the mass of humanity jogging past. I'd wave and they'd wave back with a blank stare on their face.

You want to know the neat thing about these events? All the free stuff you get (it's not really all that free, there are entrance fees). But check out all this stuff I came home with:

Four towels

Towels? They handed these out at the end of the race. It did rain a little bit and I was just a little sweaty by the end. They were kind of scratchy and not very pleasant to put against your skin. But soaked with water they felt kind of good on the back of my neck.

Two Bottles of Poland Spring Water

There was enough bottled water to fill a Volkswagen. I drank a few of these and I ended up with these two extra bottles.
Mmm...Volkswagens.

Two bottles of Gatorade Extreme
Gatorade with extra salt....
Mmm ...SALT

Five Dark Chocolate Bars

This was random but there were a bunch of people handing out chocolate bars. I don't know if it's any good, but I'll let you know. (8/29/04 - The chocolate is not bad. It tastes kind of like Nestle Chocolate Chips)
Mmm....Chocolate.

BandAids and Surgi-lube!

BandAids and Surgi-lube for your blisters. I have a little on my little toe, so this came in handy.
Mmm....bandages & slicky-doo stuff.

Sunscreen
It came in a cute little bottle on a little carabiner clip. It was cloudy today, so I didn't need this stuff.

Mmm....Sunscreen on a Carabiner!

Balance Bar

Balance Bar with 100 Calories.
Mmm...Calories!

Newman's Own Microwave Popcorn
This was almost as random as the chocolate bars, but you know what, I ain't complaining. I love microwave popcorn. It's quick, easy and delicious.
Mmm...Corn kernels subjected to micro-waves until puffed.

The official clear plastic bag of the New York City Half Marathon presented by NIKE

I had to stuff all my semi-valuable stuff (cell phone, a few bucks, a metro card, a dry shirt, and safety pins) in this bag and hand it over to the volunteers who took good care of my stuff while I trotted around Manhattan.
Mmm.... Semi-Valuable Stuff.

An Official New York City Half Marathon shirt made of 100% polyester. It's baby blue with purple lettering, this picture is not so good.
Mmm....Soft Spun Polyester!

A Medal on a blue and yellow Ribbon

I wore this to lunch after the race. Mind you, I had come home and dropped off my gear and left the house, so I had plenty of opportunity to take this off. But I didn't cause I was pretty proud of myself and I wanted to let everyone know I ran 13.1 miles this morning. I got a lot of looks from the Hipsters of Park Slope and smiles from the Park Slope Young Parents' brigade.
Mmm...Ribbon with Medal

Tub full of Ice Water

What the heck? A tub of ice water? Ok, NIKE didn't give this to me, I had to furnish this on my own. And yes, I sat in this tub for a good 15 mins reading the New Yorker. Very refreshing. Brrr!

Hot rocking band at the end of the race

These folks were at the end of the race. The two women playing the drums were rocking out and knocking out some hot dance moves while banging the drums.

Interesting people

A pirate, a zaftig woman in a bathing suit holding a beach ball, a mermaid, a bug lady and a man wearing swim fins. These guys were just hanging out at the end of the race. You meet the nicest people while running. I don't think these folks ran in the race.

A last comment and a wish for you:

As I was heading towards the finish line there were at least 30 of my teammates and coaches yelling my name and cheering me on.

If I could wish everyone one of you reading this blog, one thing. I would wish that you would know what it is like to cross a finish line with dozens of people cheering you on. It's an amazing feeling.

JP