Cowboy Hazel

This morning was just about as good as it gets. I ended up with another 19.4 miles in my training log, a new 8K P.R., and a pair of very wet shoes. I had no intention of running the NYRR 8000 until earlier this week when my old running partner Sarah emailed me and said she'd be back in town for the weekend, did I want to run it with her? Of course I said yes.

The day started at 5:30 for Helen and me. That gave us plenty of time to leisurely wake up, drink some coffee, and eat some waffles before leaving the house at 6:35. We ran down 1st Ave through Harlem and into the Upper East, enjoying the quiet that the early morning brings. We met Sarah down at 72nd on the east side of the park and introductions were made. The three of us took off heading south and looped back up to the 102nd transverse. We got to the starting line about twenty minutes before 8 with 6.6 miles already in the books. Helen headed off in search of Gatorade while Sarah and I lined up in the front of the corral, hopping up and down to try to keep warm. The rain was light, but the wind was intense. At 38 degrees, each gust made me let out an almost involuntary Woo-eee!

Finally, the start was signaled and we were off. My calves felt like bricks the first hundred yards or so, but then I eased into a efficient, quick stride. The wind was at our backs and I was running strong. Just before reaching the mile 1 marker, I saw Helen who had crossed the park and was cheering over there. Hey babe. The clock read 6 and change, and I was feeling great.

Mile 2 was even faster. According to the clock on the course, it was about 5:50. According to my Garmin, it was 5:57. Either way, that was the easiest sub-6 I've ever done in my life. It felt almost effortless. The first half of mile 3 was just as quick, but then we turned at the bottom of the park and were greeted with a wall of wind. I wasn't getting passed at all even though the I slowed to 6:16. The fourth was even slower. Charging up Cat Hill straight into the wind almost made me lose my breakfast and slowed me to a 6:33. I got passed a couple times that mile, but I passed a few others so I feel like it was par for the course. Right around the mile 4 marker I saw Helen again and she snapped a photo of me running past while yelling Go Robert! That helped. I ran the last .98 in 5:59, a 6:06 pace.

After finishing up (in 41st place overall, 30:54, 6:13/mile I'd later learn), I hung right by the line to see Sarah finish in 3rd place, 1st in her age group. We met up with Helen, struggled to fill my new handheld with Gatorade using our severely frozen hands and then headed off again. Helen back to Harlem and me and Sarah on another loop of the park. We ran easy, around 7:40's, catching up on all the news that old running buddies have to catch up on when they haven't run in a while. Before we knew it, we had finished the loop already and were getting ready to say our goodbyes. You know, I think we had more fun out there than anyone else today, she said. I agreed. The 7.9 miles took just a touch over an hour.

After the extended warmup and cooldown, not to mention the race itself, I was destroyed. But, it was good destroyed. My long hot shower, my cup of coffee with a bit of Baileys, my nap followed by an afternoon of lounging around watching movies with Helen couldn't have been as good as they were without those miles. Those magical runs like today's, where everything seems to be going right, are the reason I run, the reason I call myself a runner. All I can hope is that I get a few more of those before it's all said and done.