Central Park Craziness!

Central Park is the shit. It's great! Great to run in, great to wander around in, and with the Gates project, great to see.

I got to NYRR at 89th street at 12:20 and was really in a hurry to stash my stuff and hit the pavement. I've already done 9.3 miles in 1 hour 38 minutes, so I figured twelve miles would take about two hours, maybe a little more. Well, it turned out to take 2 and a half hours and I barely got back to NYRR in time to retrieve my stuff.

The first six, seven miles were golden. Not easy, but definately solid. None of that 3-miles-to-warm-up stuff. My morning routine had been nearly perfect and I was feeling powerful and confident setting out. I barely even slowed down on Hearbreak Hill. As I started my seventh mile, I passed a Gates project volunteer who was handing out the last of his fabric samples, and I managed to snag one.

Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. Even though I had Gatorade and Goo with me, my energy levels kept going down. I had to walk part of Hearbreak Hill and later, especially in the last three miles, I walked quite a bit. This, however, may be more attributable to the enormous crowds of people we runners were dodging. I swear to God, if somebody had on a fur coat or was carrying one of the small, pocket-sized digital cameras, then they were an absolute IDIOT. A rude idiot, since many of them were simply standing around in the running lanes. Of course, I chose to go to Central Park today, on what will probably be officially the busiest day of the year! So. By the time I was tackling the afternoon mass in the southern end of Central Park, I was annoyed, tired, and forced to slow to a walk at times, even when I wouldn't otherwise have slowed down. If it had been a normal weekend, my time today would probably have been closer to 2:15 or even 2:10.

It was altogether a positive run, even with the fatigue and annoyances. My feet and legs held up fine. My lungs cooperated for a good eight miles before they started to close up again. I've got to ask the doctors about this and if there's something that will keep my lungs open longer.

After the run, I retrieved my stuff and spent two hours wandering Central Park taking pictures of the Gates. Got a couple good ones, including (with some help) a fine one of me. Once I was no longer dodging these people, I was feeling very comradely. Bonus: I got some hot chocolate just before the food stand at Sheep Meadow closed. :)

So. B+; A-. Given less people and warmer weather, this kind of run is going to be fantastic! 14 miles next week, then I have an official half-marathon the following weekend.