Check out the post by fellow running blogger Captain Qwerty about his experience at Sunday's Central Park Marathon!
Congratulations, Captain!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Volunteering at the Central Park Marathon
Last year, I ran the first Central Park Marathon sponsored by NYC Runs. It was a fantastic race and an excellent experience. (Read my post about it!)
I was so impressed with it that this year I decided to be a volunteer because it is close to home, it is filled with wonderful people (staff and runners), and it was about time to give something back after 10 marathons and dozens of other races.
Before showing up for my 10 a.m. shift, I did my own 13-mile run, covering five more NYC bridges (see my previous post). I started near Central Park then ping-ponged between Manhattan and the Bronx via the Willis Avenue, Third Avenue, Madison Avenue, 145th Street, and Macomb's Dam bridges, with a lap around the perimeter of Yankee Stadium, just for the heck of it.
Back in Central Park, I started my volunteering shift by keeping the half-marathon finishers moving along the path from the finishing chute to the food tents and ensuring it was clear of spectators. Not much fun, but worthwhile work.
But at 11:30, as the marathon runners started coming in, they moved me to the course, a few yards in front of the finish line, in order to direct finishers toward the chute and those with more laps to go around it.
Now that was fun! Cheering on the runners as I directed them, seeing their faces as they approached their 26.2-mile goal was everything I had wanted from the experience. And I stayed there until the very last person came to the finish at around 3 p.m.
That person, named Lauren, was so filled with joy, even though it took her six hours to finish and the staff had broken down the tents and equipment and the clock had long been turned off (it was a 5:15 cap). It was an inspiring reminder that those of us who finish in 3:19 and those that take six hours are exactly the same - we put in the same amount of work, cover the same distance, and feel the same pride in our accomplishment of hitting that finish line.
I was so impressed with it that this year I decided to be a volunteer because it is close to home, it is filled with wonderful people (staff and runners), and it was about time to give something back after 10 marathons and dozens of other races.
Before showing up for my 10 a.m. shift, I did my own 13-mile run, covering five more NYC bridges (see my previous post). I started near Central Park then ping-ponged between Manhattan and the Bronx via the Willis Avenue, Third Avenue, Madison Avenue, 145th Street, and Macomb's Dam bridges, with a lap around the perimeter of Yankee Stadium, just for the heck of it.
Back in Central Park, I started my volunteering shift by keeping the half-marathon finishers moving along the path from the finishing chute to the food tents and ensuring it was clear of spectators. Not much fun, but worthwhile work.
But at 11:30, as the marathon runners started coming in, they moved me to the course, a few yards in front of the finish line, in order to direct finishers toward the chute and those with more laps to go around it.
Now that was fun! Cheering on the runners as I directed them, seeing their faces as they approached their 26.2-mile goal was everything I had wanted from the experience. And I stayed there until the very last person came to the finish at around 3 p.m.
That person, named Lauren, was so filled with joy, even though it took her six hours to finish and the staff had broken down the tents and equipment and the clock had long been turned off (it was a 5:15 cap). It was an inspiring reminder that those of us who finish in 3:19 and those that take six hours are exactly the same - we put in the same amount of work, cover the same distance, and feel the same pride in our accomplishment of hitting that finish line.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Five bridges, three NYC boroughs, 20 miles
The Garmin GPS watch is proving to be quite the liberator. No longer do I need to spend hours mapping out precise routes to meet my mileage requirements. All I need is a general idea of the distance before firing up the Garmin to take care of the exact numbers.
I put this approach to good use when I decided to run in New York City on Sunday.
Running over bridges is great fun and NYC has dozens of them, but my targets were four East River bridges that I have traversed by car, but never before on foot. So I started in the Financial District and within less than a mile, I was at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Crossing this iconic bridge was a little slow-going with the walkway partially snow-covered and fully occupied by tourists, but it was still a thrill to cross its mile-long span (from base to base) on foot, with the Statue of Liberty to my right and the bridges I would be crossing soon enough on my left.
I was not in Brooklyn for long before approaching the nearby Manhattan Bridge. This bridge was much less populated than the Brooklyn Bridge and it was smooth sailing back into Manhattan.
Because of the angles of the bridges, it once again took barely any time to get to the Williamsburg Bridge, the base of which is right near the Manhattan, but extends much farther north into Brooklyn. This worked well because I wanted to head north into Queens. In doing so, I had to cross another bridge - the Pulaski Bridge over Newtown Creek.
I must commend the City of New York for providing excellent signage leading from the Williamsburg to the Pulaski. I only knew to head north and was unfamiliar with any of the roads. But all I had to do was follow the bike path signs to stay on course. Unfortunately, some of the side streets were not plowed and almost all of the sidewalks were thick sheets of ice. This slowed my pace down considerably (mid-8s), but I was not worried about that. If my 22-miler from two weeks ago taught me anything, it was to embrace those slow miles and use the stored energy later on.
Once in Queens, it was a straight shot up 11th Street to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge back into Manhattan. This bridge was also mostly free of foot traffic and was nicely cleared of ice, so I pushed the pace up a bit.
Then it was a tricky dance of making my way to the West Side (following the green lights to go south and west while dodging folks walking on the sidewalks) where I picked up the Hudson River Greenway for a straight shot downtown, back to my starting point. Using that stored up energy, my last few miles got progressively faster, culminating in a final sub-7 mile. Awesome run!
Total mileage - 20
Total time - 2:36:14
Average pace - 7:48
Below is an approximation of the route that I ran. I do not recall which exact local roads I took in Brooklyn or crosstown through Manhattan, but you get the idea.
I put this approach to good use when I decided to run in New York City on Sunday.
Running over bridges is great fun and NYC has dozens of them, but my targets were four East River bridges that I have traversed by car, but never before on foot. So I started in the Financial District and within less than a mile, I was at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Crossing this iconic bridge was a little slow-going with the walkway partially snow-covered and fully occupied by tourists, but it was still a thrill to cross its mile-long span (from base to base) on foot, with the Statue of Liberty to my right and the bridges I would be crossing soon enough on my left.
I was not in Brooklyn for long before approaching the nearby Manhattan Bridge. This bridge was much less populated than the Brooklyn Bridge and it was smooth sailing back into Manhattan.
Because of the angles of the bridges, it once again took barely any time to get to the Williamsburg Bridge, the base of which is right near the Manhattan, but extends much farther north into Brooklyn. This worked well because I wanted to head north into Queens. In doing so, I had to cross another bridge - the Pulaski Bridge over Newtown Creek.
I must commend the City of New York for providing excellent signage leading from the Williamsburg to the Pulaski. I only knew to head north and was unfamiliar with any of the roads. But all I had to do was follow the bike path signs to stay on course. Unfortunately, some of the side streets were not plowed and almost all of the sidewalks were thick sheets of ice. This slowed my pace down considerably (mid-8s), but I was not worried about that. If my 22-miler from two weeks ago taught me anything, it was to embrace those slow miles and use the stored energy later on.
Once in Queens, it was a straight shot up 11th Street to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge back into Manhattan. This bridge was also mostly free of foot traffic and was nicely cleared of ice, so I pushed the pace up a bit.
Then it was a tricky dance of making my way to the West Side (following the green lights to go south and west while dodging folks walking on the sidewalks) where I picked up the Hudson River Greenway for a straight shot downtown, back to my starting point. Using that stored up energy, my last few miles got progressively faster, culminating in a final sub-7 mile. Awesome run!
Total mileage - 20
Total time - 2:36:14
Average pace - 7:48
Below is an approximation of the route that I ran. I do not recall which exact local roads I took in Brooklyn or crosstown through Manhattan, but you get the idea.
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