My first half-marathon experience

The morning was windy and chilly.  I got there before 7 o'clock well in time to pick up my bib and race T-shirt.  It wasn't as crowded as I thought.  Stats show about 4394 finishers.  2266 men and 2128 women.  It is always nice to run in Central Park. Very nice crowd, great volunteers, and excellent race organization as usual by New York Road Runners.

The race started exactly at 8 AM.  As I had been planning, I wanted to take things easy and not get caught up with the crowd in the race.  As my corral was at a higher elevation than the front line I could see the elite and front runners take off as the start gun went off.  Quite soon, my corral was briskly walking and started running within a few moments.  Apparently, rest of the folks had different plans. Almost as soon as we crossed the start line people ahead of me were running away from me faster and faster, and people from behind me were passing me, first in dozens and then in hundreds. That was more like a 10K pace or even faster for the general fitness population.  This reminded me of a scene in the movie Hidalgo. There was this big desert race of a 1000 or 2000 miles. As the start gun went off and the crowds cheered, the horses took off on a gallop. Our rider Mr. Hopkins cautioned his horse Hidalgo, "Ease up brother. Let them go. Never beat them in the quarter-mile."

I decided to stick to my plans, but it was kind of hard to tell at what pace I was running. Moreover, since I had started hydrating well over an hour and half before the start, and the toilet stop was more than half an hour before, the thought of finding a port-a-john started occupying my mind.  At mile 2 I did see a couple of port-a-johns, but I felt like I could carry on for a little more, and didn't want to stop that early in the race.  The race is two full loops of Central Park, and then an extra mile and some more. I wanted to go on an easy pace for one full loop and a bit more, but I was feeling that I was running faster than I wanted to. Perhaps the crowd was pulling me along with it.  I kept a steady pace at a moderate intensity and tried to keep my mind off what other runners are doing.  After the initial few miles I didn't notice too many people passing me. It seemed like things were settling down for everybody. Soon after, I started noticing that I was passing some folks who had started puffing and panting. That wasn't surprising considering the fast pace at which a lot of people took off.  This is the part in the movie where Mr. Hopkins tells Hidalgo, "What did I tell you, little brother? Go back to work now."

One of the things that makes Central Park interesting is that you see a lot of different people. Different kinds of people.  Although the race doesn't allow it, I watched a lot of young mothers and some fathers running on the other side of the road pushing baby strollers.  They may be living in the neighborhood - probably upper east or upper west side. You can see some really fit and athletic types, both men and women. At least one face strongly reminded me of someone on TV or movies. Today there were a couple of guys on a strange thing which look like skiis on rollers.  Perhaps they are training for winter. They had these 'roller skiis' on and were pushing skii poles, weaving from left to right and right to left on and on. I'd never seen this before. I once saw a NY fireman running with us on a race. You might think what is so special about a fireman running. Nothing special, except that he had his entire gear on - long overall which I think is heavy and fire-resistant, helmet, thick boots and oxygen cylinders on his back!  That must be a lot of weight! However, the strangest thing I had ever seen on a run happened today.  There was one guy who was passing by. He was a registered runner with a bib number.  The bib was pinned to a small flap of cloth on the back which was sort of tied around his waist. The small piece of cloth with the bib number was flapping up and down his buttocks.  The strange thing is he wasn't wearing any other piece of cloth. He looked completely naked from the back!!  I was assuming, or rather hoping, that he probably had some sort of coverage in the front. This was an absolutely stunning, or shocking sight. No shirt, no shorts or trousers, and no underwear you can see. As he was running, his bib was flapping up and down on the back as a piece of paper would flap in wind, fully exposing his bare behind.  And guess what, this is really cool about the crowd, they didn't give a hoot!

Miles were passing by. NYRR volunteers kept cheering the runners. This is one of the very nice things about running in NYRR races. There are a lot of volunteers cheering the runners. Sometimes general public, or families of runners stand on the side with signs and placards.  I finally joined a toilet line between miles seven and eight. It seemed like a long time, but it looks like the toilet stop took about 2:15 to 3:15.  But I ended up running the next mile about 30 seconds faster, so the net effect of the toilet break was probably 1 min 45 sec to 2 min 45 sec.

I kept pushing the ground behind me at a steady pace.  Central Park has many twists and turns and climbs that come up just around a bend. Even after running there several times I do not fully remember what to expect after which bend. So to be safe, I assumed there is a hill beyond what is visible, and adjusted my pace and effort accordingly. I did know I was running faster than usual, but took care to not over do it.  After about 10 miles the ankle started feeling the strain but I kept the pace as it didn't feel too bad. Moreover, I was planning to not be too conservative after mile 10 as there is only 3.1 miles (5 K) to go.  I was, however, cautiously saving some energy for a steep climb I was expecting after mile 11 or 12.  Mile 11 passed and mile 12 marker also passed. I ran carefully expecting the climb at any moment behind the next bend on the course. Slowly, it started looking like there is no climb anywhere. I probably climbed it without realizing, or I was mistaken (I didn't think so). Around the last section sometimes they keep a sign, instead of saying mile x, or 1/2 mile or whatever to finish, they keep a sign "Run Like Hell".  I didn't see that sign today, but once I saw that spot I knew there was no more hill.  I sped up looking for the finish line. In this section there are ropes on either side of the course behind which families and friends stand cheering their loved ones who are on their last lap to the finish line.  I could see the finish line some distance ahead. Suddenly, as if from nowhere a young fellow in his 20's or early 30's got ahead of me, his elbow brushing against me as he got ahead from behind. He probably didn't realize that in the energy and excitement of seeing his family.   His family was cheering him and taking his pictures.  Well, that's all fine and dandy, I thought, but now that he got his photo opp overtaking me I'm not going to let him beat me to the finish line.  He may have heard as I uttered the words, "Let's do this," and surged ahead. I could feel he surged as well, but didn't feel his presence after a few moments. I did have the energy to keep my lead till crossing the finish line.. That bit of friendly competition added to the excitement in the end.

I finished with a time of 1:58:16.  I'm happy with the result.

Good day.

If I can run, you can run