RACE REPORT: NYRR GRIDIRON CLASSIC (4 MILER)

RACE DAY:

Date: Sunday, February 3, 2008

Location: 68th Street & Central Park, NY, NY

Time: 9:00 AM

Temperature: 34 degrees Humidity: 73 % Winds: Calm

Performance:
Overall......1343 out of 4929
Gender......1081 out of 2662
Age Place....160 out of 355
Finish Time............32:19
Pace per mile...........8:04

In honor of the Super Bowl, the New York Road Runner's Club holds this race every year on Super Bowl Sunday. It's a great way to get your blood pumping and to burn some extra calories and make room for more food and beer later on.

There were a lot of people dressed up in Giants gear. I think I must have passed at least 4 Mannings, 3 Strahans, 2 Burresses, and wouldn't you know it, I even passed an Umenyiora (I can't believe I actually spelled it correct).

My Dad wants double or nothing. I wasn't born yesterday. I fully expect the Giants to lose. They have been the Cinderella story of the year, no doubt, but they are just no match for what might be one of the greatest teams ever to play in the 2007 Patriots. Nevertheless, I will be rooting for the Giants, and for New York, because this city hasn't won anything since 9/11. We are sorely overdue.

The race went well. What can I say? I didn't expect to do so well, and going was slow at the start. Bobbing and weaving, I only managed an 8:38.19 for the first mile. Going up "Cat Hill" is no cakewalk either, but I can finally say ..... I saw the Cat statue! It was a bronze statue on top of the hill near the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but on the lefthand side.

Mile 2 was mostly downhill, and I totally smoked it. 7:47.60 to be exact. As we were twisting off the 102nd Street Transverse and onto the west side of the park, I began taking notice of the fact that we had nearly the entire 2 lanes to run in, just like the race director said we'd have before the start of the race. I skipped the water station, and motored on.

Mile 3 was mostly uphill, and I tried real hard not to falter. 8:06.28 and truthfully, I thought I had done better. I was passing a lot of people.

Mile 4 was a mix. But there was a downhill area near 76th street, for which I ran all out hard. I was rewarded for my courage with a 7:32.23 split. Interestingly, and this was probably the result of 'bobbin' & weavin' I still was 18.37 seconds from the finish line. Goes to show you what a difference it makes to run a straight line. But if I had, my first mile would have taken me a lot longer.

Still, I was overall pleasantly surprised. Looking at my past "Gridiron's":
Feb 6, 2005 - 3.1 miles - Pace: 08:13
Feb 4, 2007 - 4.0 miles - Pace: 08:33
Wow! I really did well!! And that's after I got on the scale this morning and weighed 162 pounds!

This was the area where the hot chocolate, bagels and apples were. The Hot Choco was a bit
watery this time around, but I ransacked the apple orchard!!!!
Also someone was handing out leaflets promoting something. I say something, because when I took a look at what they handed me, it was completely blank! A blank piece of paper!!

A friendly runner (what other kind is there) agreed to take a picture of me with my camera. I look pretty happy. I love running!

A great view of Central Park. This is between the start on the east side and the finish on the west side. I don't know the name but I know its around 68th street.

Waiting at the train station of my old collegiate stomping grounds. The boy has grown up to be a man.....That's if you discount the raspberry I'm giving you. Notice how unclean I am. Now....

I went to the hair salon, and gave myself a much needed hair cut. I must say....."BOOOYAH!"

On another note: I am especially proud of Stephanie. She got straight A's this past quarter on 8 different subjects, including 2 A+'s. I figured out her grade average, and overall it is a 97. Matthew also improved in just about every category, and he is turning into a smart little math wizard too. Yesterday he asked me how long my race was, and when I told him 4 miles, he answered with, "Oh, then it should take you about 30 minutes." Too much.

Here's a brief clip of my two younglings dancing silly stuff:
(you may want to turn off the background music first though!)


And here's part two: