Date: March 07; 8:30 am
Distance: 13.1 mi / 21.2 km
Place: Hudson River Park, Pier 45, Manhattan, NYBeach 116th street, Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY
Weather: 36 F
Finishers: ???
Official time / pace: ???
Still going strong with my 2020's resolution to run a half marathon every month. We'll see how long this lasts with the spread of the coronavirus.
This half marathon was pretty chill. From The Lantern Run's website:
We’ve stripped the excess of larger races to focus on just the run itself for participants looking to receive a recorded time while improving their run.
For these races, entry is capped at 25 participants. I think there were only seven folks who ran the half in my wave. For the March 07 half, I believe there were four waves - 8:30 am, 10 am, 11:30 am, and 2 pm. Of course, all the later ones were full, so I went with the 8:30 am "wave". Since the races (they also have a 5K and 10K) are super small, the organizers send your race crap to you before the race, which was super convenient.
I really loved the shirt's message, especially in light of all of this coronavirus stuff. It did feel a bit weird receiving my finisher's medal before running the race.
The race itself was very low key; it felt more like a long run with a running group than an actual race. We met the 'folks in neon shirts' on the pier, the guys explained the route, and we were off. After starting, I do not think that I saw anyone else again until the finish.
Since no one was wearing bibs or the finisher shirts, everyone (at least to me) just blended into the normal weekend runners. The "course" was pretty simple - 4 loops of running from Pier 45 to Pier 26, then north to W12 Street, then south to Piers 46 and 45.
Since this was supposed to be a long run Saturday, I ran another 4 miles after the half-marathon.
I pretty much ran this "race" just to finish. I did not go into it having a real goal, probably because I knew that I was going to add additional miles to this one. Although the temperatures were in the mid 30s, which is not too bad, it was SO windy . . . especially on the piers. At a few points, I felt like the gusts of wind were going to blow me into the Hudson River. Seriously, those headwinds were no joke.
I think that I'm becoming a fan of these half marathon courses with multiple loops. They allow me to compartmentalize the run better - a half marathon feels shorter when you think of it as a bit more than four 5Ks. Honestly, I hadn't realized that I completed two of the four loops until I looked at my watch. I was like oh wow, I've already run 6.97 miles. Sh*t, I'm almost done. For me, anything past the halfway mark is 'almost done'. For this race, I really wasn't focusing on time and pretty much told myself that I would run to the music. I played Shakia's Donde Estan Los Ladrones album and Laura Pausini's Hazte Sentir and Primavera Anticipada albums.
After listening to those 2.5 albums (I only listened to three or four songs of the Primavera Anticipada album), I was pretty much done and did not feel too fatigued. Then, I was like my half-a**ed marathon training is paying off. I guess training during the winter for a spring marathon has a lot to do with this feeling because I do not train very well in 85F+ weather. Although I ran four extra miles after the half, I felt like I could have gone another 2 miles. I pretty much stopped because I was getting a bit hungry and was about to pass one of my favorite dive diners in Hell's Kitchen.
What’s a running post without a poop story? After finishing the half and embarking on my 4 four additional miles. At mile 15, I really felt like I needed to poop, and it felt like a 'juicy' poop. I randomly found a restroom somewhere in Chelsa Piers. Like most folks, I cannot stand public restrooms. I get into the restroom, sanitized the seat with plenty of soap and water, put a stack of toilet paper on the seat, and went to business. The huge dump that I thought I was going to take was nothing more than a loud fart. All that work sanitizing for nothing. But then again, one should not trust a fart after 5K, right?
Next Half Marathon (subject to this damn coronavirus): NYCRUNS Queens Half Marathon, Saturday, April 4.