Those traveling by train:

Meet at Court and Atlantic at 5:25 am to get a 5:33 train to get to the SBRC staging area at DK’s apartment around 5:45 am.

Those watching:

Meet at the regular corner at 6:45 am to run over to the park.

Post race:

Meet at Peggy O’Neill’s after the race to enjoy some food, drinks, and fun.

See you Saturday!

For this race, we tried something new. Caitlin and Ben sat down with Graham and recorded a little conversation about that hot, hot day. Enjoy at home, at work, or during a run!

In m4a format                     In mp3 format

One day we’ll remember the camera, one day.

At least we have results.

*=PR

First, again sorry for the lack of photos. (unhappy face)

More importantly, so many PRs! It really speaks well to how hard everyone was working this winter that we can have so many great races this early in the year. It’s going to be a good one, SBRC! (except for the apocalypse, of course [but we are in great shape for running away!])

*=PR

Another fine race put on by PPTC, and with much improved weather over last year. Everyone had a great time. That’s the nice thing about a relay; you spend more time being social than actually running. And brunch afterwards. The times below in the chart are not super precise, as we have to guess on the distances.Since the official Cherry Tree race is three loops around Prospect Park, and the legs start/end in different places, these are out best guesses. But they are pretty close to checked watch times.

And thanks to Cara and Lindsay for their record-keeping efforts!

Lots of pictures 

Meet at the monument in Carroll Park at 7 am on Saturday. Some people will be running over, some will take the train. Either way, prepare to rock!

From Joe:

Each year in January I run the Manhattan half marathon in Central Park.  Last year it was all of 14 degrees at the start and it took me quite a few miles to warm up.  So when I had the opportunity to escape winter and run a race in tropical Miami I couldn’t resist.  We have friends in Miami that were doing the half marathon to raise money for their nephew with cancer, and they invited me to participate.

The full marathon and half marathon are run together and it’s a popular race, with 16,000 runners in the half marathon alone and lots of charity groups.  The course makes a big loop, starting in downtown Miami, traveling east across the bay to Miami Beach, heading north along the beachfront and then traveling west over a series of bridges back to Miami.

I felt pretty well prepared for the race because I’ve been building up my distance and have done a number of long runs of 15-17 miles and have felt good doing them.  I also felt like I was in shape from recent track workouts and races.  So I figured my goal would be 1:21 – slower than my PR of 1:20 but under my best half last year of 1:23, which was under less than ideal conditions.  My goal pace then would be 6:10.

The early start was at 6:15 am, downtown, adjacent to the American Airlines arena near the waterfront.  Access from roads and public transit seemed good.  We drove in from outside of the city and parked easily at a nearby parking garage.  Unlike the NYC marathon you don’t have to wait in a penned up area away from everything, so if we wanted to hang out in the car or walk to a coffee shop or something we could.  My wife Vicki was with us and we hung out with her until it was about 30 minutes to the start and then headed to the corrals.  The corrals, instead of being strung out in one direction, were in a big U-shape.  This was pretty smart because it meant that none of the corrals were far from the start and everyone could see and hear better what was going on at the start.  The start setup was quite dramatic with an enormous American flag held over the start, loud club music, introductions of past and future Olympians (Ryan Hall), remarks by dignitaries, singing of the star spangled banner, and then confetti cannons!

The Race:

Once we left the illuminated start area it was so dark and quiet!  We went up a ramp and onto the causeway heading over the dark water to Miami Beach.  Part of this was a pretty good-sized bridge and I paced myself going up.  We went over the top and I tried to take advantage of the downhill and make up for the slow start.  But my left leg started to feel weird and tingly and I thought for sure I was having some blockage in my artery or something.  I tried to relax a little and after another mile or two it felt more normal.  Meanwhile, I couldn’t always tell what pace I was running. It was so dark that I couldn’t read my watch most of the time.  After four miles at what turned out to be 6:04 pace I was feeling it and started to ease off a little.  At that pace there were some semi-elite women marathoners around me that were on pace to do a 2:40 marathon and it was neat to run with such good runners.

Going up through Miami Beach, predawn, there were a surprising number of spectators, including enthusiastic people (perhaps drunk) yelling from their hotel balconies.  There were stretches where the road surface was uneven and because I couldn’t see well, it threw off my balance.  While I slowed down some, I went through 8 miles at my goal 6:10 average pace.  After going north through South Beach and past the convention center we got into a quieter area and I really started feeling hot and very tired.  I dumped water over my head at the rest stops.  I slowed to 6:30 pace and was still breathing really hard.  I had to go into survival mode and just focus on what I needed to do to make it to the finish.

The Venetian Causeway that took us over a series of islands and waterways to Miami proper seemed to go on forever!  Once we got over the last bridge and into Miami again there were a lot of enthusiastic spectators on both sides of the course and this gave me a boost and I maintained a 6:30’s pace for the last miles.  Vicki was cheering for me along the last mile.  The course made a couple of turns splitting off from the marathoners and then the finish was in sight.  It was pretty impressive with a long chute, lots of flags, banners, bleachers, etc.  I finished in 1:23, two minutes off my goal, and I learned once again that I should pace myself better and respect the heat.  I guess I could say it was a “tactical” race since I did well against my peers and got second in my age group.

Since the Miami marathon and Half Marathon are a combined race with the same start and finish lines, they can pool resources and there are probably more spectators than each would get individually.  But it does feel weird to get the same heroic treatment at the start and finish as the runners who have accomplished twice as much. Running this race was just like running a big marathon but only going half the distance!  That felt a little weird.

My only complaints about the race are two things that they probably can’t improve.  First, even on a day with average temperatures it was too hot there to run a fast race.  Second, starting so early and running half the race before dawn really puts a damper on things!  I’m sure they do this to avoid hotter weather in the late morning, so I guess it all makes sense.

Overall, it was a very well organized race and the course is nice and flat and was more scenic than I expected.  It’s a lot easier and cheaper to get into than NYC, so I’d recommend it for anyone who wants to do a winter marathon or half marathon.

Joe’s Theme

In time for the holidays, sightings of Jan, the traditional Dutch Christmas Gorilla.

From NYRR:

From SBRCers:

From the web:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/ehershey/6487743449/)

(http://nyportraits.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html)

Bad news is the F/G does not go to 15ht this weekend, but the 7th Avenue stop isn’t too too far. So let’s meet at the Carroll Street end of the Carroll Street stop, underground, and catch the 7:32 am train, and by the time we walk to pick-up numbers and to the park, we should get there about 8 am for the 9 am race.

From Caitlin:

Getting to the Start: A bunch of us met up at Ben’s corner in the darkness of 5:50am, looking pretty homeless. It was agreed by all present that the temperature was promising – 39 degrees before sun-up meant a comfortable waiting-around period at Fort Wadsworth. We made our way to Borough Hall, boarded a 5 train, got to the ferry in no time, and boarded that shortly after arriving. Ben and Graham even managed to snag seats for everyone! An auspicious start all around. I had never taken the ferry to the start before, but I’ll do it every time from here on out. The ride was so lovely. Watching the sun rise over Brooklyn and feeling kinship with all the other nervous runners from around the globe was a treat. Almost two hours after congregating on Court Street, we arrived at Ft. Wadsworth. Despite the length of the journey, it was totally pleasant, and so nice to be with teammates to calm the jitters.

The Start: As predicted, there was far less shivering and grumbling than usual. We disbanded briefly to ditch our bags (and, in the case of me and Dana, to ogle the hilarious neon get-ups donned by the internationals) and reconvened in time for a team photo and huddle before the first wave started. This was my third time at Ft. Wads, and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly every time. There is a buzz of excitement and conviviality that is unmatched by any other pre-race experience I’ve had. My only gripe is that the entrances to the corrals were poorly marked this year, which led to a mad dash just as they were putting up the ropes. Also, REALLY gross bathrooms, but what can you do?

The Race: I’m not sure how to say it without sounding like a jerk, but this was the best race of my relatively short running career. The weather was glorious, I went in with no/low expectations (and thus no/low anxiety), and the crowd was as energetic as ever. At the last minute I decided not to wear my watch, so I didn’t have a chance to obsess about the seconds ticking by between clocks. I went completely by feel. At each mile marker I asked myself, “Do you feel okay? Are you having fun?” and adjusted my pace accordingly.

I felt great all the way through Brooklyn and Queens due in no small part to the fact that I saw everyone I was hoping to see along the way. I was cruising, but was aware that my pace was conservative compared to last year’s first, hubristic half. Also, at around the 7.5 mile mark I grabbed my Gu Chomps from Male Lindsay and Live-Your-Life Laura and ate them constantly for the rest of the race – another good decision that I decided not to make last year when I was feeling so unstoppable.

In years past I’ve started to hate life at around mile 17, so when I got there and was still answering “yes” to both of my questions, I was psyched. I yessed all the way through the Bronx and realized at mile 22 that I wasn’t just feeling okay and having fun, but that I actually had something left. In an uncharacteristic move, I started to pick up my pace. That dang 5th Ave. hill gave me my only trouble of the race, the long, slow slog that it is, but when I hit the interior of the park, I was golden. Those rolling hills kept me going, and by the time I hit Central Park South, I was actually smiling. (Last year I was walking and contemplating suicide.) When you start seeing the signs that say “X meters to go,” it’s time to lay it all out, so I did. 800, 400, 300, 200, 100 – I could only think about how happy I was that Ben made us run all of those miserable repeats and intervals. When I crossed the finish line, the two guys who finished with me and I fell into a big group hug and high five party, and then it was over. I was happy! I had fun! Yes! I knew that I had bested my PR, but had no idea by how much since I had been paying very little attention to the clocks. 3:27?! Again, Yes!

Afterword: The single thing that I’ve been returning to over and over in the last week and a half is the insane amount of gratitude I feel toward this club. Running with SBRC has been such a joy, and any progress I’ve made this year I attribute to the companionship, support, and expertise provided by every single person I’ve met. I can’t thank y’all enough!