The day was really nice. Temperature was in about 50 F or so when the race started and the sky was and bright and sunny. Mild cool breeze really felt very nice. The crowd really felt much larger than the 1250 or so. This time again women vastly outnumbered men who were just above 500. Parking wasn't that easy for most people, but luckily for me, despite arriving after most of the crowd had assembled I got a spot practically right next to the start line. My buddy Pratap had already arrived. The first thing I noticed was the very long line for the porta-johns. Obviously, the bathroom facilities at the start line was woefully inadequate. I decided to skip the lines and look for a pit stop somewhere along the course. Of course, that would mean I will add extra time into my finish time, but that was okay. Since I hadn't run this distance in several months I wanted to use the run just to extend my long run to this level. So I was taking it relaxed and easy. There were no marked corrals but there were pacers. Pratap and I waded through the runners toward the back. When we found the 9 min/mile pacer we both nodded this is our position.
The crowd was very friendly. Lots of chatter and laughs. The start siren went off a couple of minutes after the scheduled start time of 8:30, but that may be because there is always a few pro runners who receive an earlier start from the crowd. We got off soon enough. One thing you will definitely notice is the numerous twists and turns you make when running through Morristown. This should surely increase the actual distance the runners cover. Pratap had taken off and was not in sight. I saw him at some point a few hundred feet ahead but he soon went out of sight as we ran from one street corner to another. There were several ups and downs in the first four miles or so. I was amazed at the ease with which many runners were chatting with their friends and partners while running uphill at good speeds. I wish I could find that kind of breathing rhythm. However, I was doing pretty well also, in fact a bit too well for comfort. I saw that I had passed the first mile in 9:01, the second mile 8:33, the third mile again well under 9:00 and the fourth mile in 8:26. What the @#$% This made me really worried. I really wanted to run more conservatively especially so early on. So I deliberately tried to slow down and control my pace.
There were lots of spectators all around the city streets and residential areas. Small kids dressed up in spiderman and batman costumes. Many runners also wore costumes.. So the whole scene was very colorful. After about 4 or 5 miles we were on a long downhill. A young woman on my left, she seemed to be running at a good clip with very controlled breathing. I may have been inching ahead of her on the downhill and she asked "Is there an uphill at the end of this?" "I want to psyche myself up before that." I recalled while running in Central Park I always found it safe to assume there is another uphill hiding around the next corner and save some energy for that. But I didn't think there was any more uphills here. "I am not familiar with this area, but I don't recall any uphills after the first 3 or 4 miles.. so we should be clear." I told her. She still seemed to think there is one more. After this brief conversation a few more minutes and the long downhill ended, the course took a right turn and looking back I think we were then entering the beautiful Loantaka Park. The uphill never came and I'm sure she must've found it relieving. Somewhere before that point I had also found a couple porta johns with no lines and had taken advantage of it. Although it took about two minutes the stop was well worth it. You run much more relaxed and easy when your bladder is empty.
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| Lighter moments with volunteers on the side |
Loantaka park was lush green and the tree shades made the park really cool. I think we ran about six miles in the park. At some point I caught up with this girl who was walking really strong, with long strides, and then after a while she got ahead of me running fairly fast. She did look strong and athletic. She wasn't tired and didn't look like she needed the walk breaks. It was obvious that she was following a plan. She would run a certain distance and then start walking with long strides. She was clearly following a run/walk program, perhaps the famous Hal Higdon's program or something similar, I thought. May be she is recovering from an injury.. well good luck to her, whatever she is up to. As we ran winding through the park I was feeling my sunglasses, now on my hat as I didn't need them in the shaded park, in fact they were making the course a bit too dark, were a little unsecured. So I decided to take them off my hat and tuck them on the neck of my t-shirt in the front. That turned out to be a bad idea. Next two steps and the glasses bounced and fell to the ground. I looked back, slowed down for a fraction of a second, and then thought I need to stop and go back to pick them up.. I would certainly inconvenience other runners who are behind me and they may even bump into me. Ah, well, these glasses are many years old - perhaps 10 years or more now. They are getting a little battle scarred, if not maimed.. they had already lost one of the nose pads and the rubber lining around the glasses while still holding but is showing gaps. Moreover, Geeta had been asking me to replace these probably for a couple of years now.. I've had a long relationship with them. They have been my trusted companion in many adventures - camping trips, hikes, paddling trips, a Chesapeak Bay kayaking trip, a circumnavigation paddling trip around Manhattan, all my long runs and races, and not to mention my everyday driving glasses as well. Well, if my trusted outdoor glasses from LL Bean have to go out what better way than in the middle of a half-marathon? With these thoughts I was mentally bidding farewell to them when I got a tap on my shoulder from behind. A young fellow in red t-shirt and black shorts with a big smile and my beloved glasses in his outstretched hand! I thanked the young runner for reuniting me with my long time companion. It would seem we are destined to spend many more years together.
We got out the park a mile or so after that, crossed a railroad track with some local crowd to cheer. We were on our 12th mile or so. Just around the corner there was a family with a father and two young kids cheering "Go Alison, Go!" They had a nice signage also. The mom was somewhere around us and gave a shout out back to her family. By this time I was working harder than before. I didn't think I was necessarily moving fast, but decided not to check my Garmin watch. It must be just the miles. In about half a mile or so I saw Pratap again and we ran the rest of the distance together.
There was a huge crowd cheering the runners at the finish line. I took about 1:58:18 which is not great time for me, but not the worst time either. I was happy that I hadn't lost too much in terms of endurance since December which is when I cut down my mileage. Feels good to be back!
If I can run, u can run
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