2019 NYRR 9+1: The Gridiron 4 miler

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As we begin 2019 I start, for the third time, the process of qualifying for the NYC marathon. While I qualified in 2017, I didn’t run the race in 2018 as I wound up getting married the week before, and in 2018 I completed my nine races, but ultimately decided not to fulfill my volunteer obligation, as I knew that my cousin Jen would be getting married race weekend for the 2019 marathon, and in Georgia, so there was no way I would get to NY in time to run it. But so far, things are looking good for 2020!

If you’re not from New York, you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about - let me give you the run down. If you’re a runner, you have probably heard of the NYC marathon, which happens the first weekend of November every fall. It is a tough race to get into, as you can’t register for it unless you have time qualified, won a race lotto, raised a lot of money for charity, or participated in the 9+1 program. The New York Road Runners, the race company that hosts the NYC Marathon, gives runners an option to earn guaranteed entry by running in 9 events, and volunteering at one event. The spot you earn is non-complimentary, so you still have to pay registration fees, but you are guaranteed the opportunity to register.

This year both Sophie and Mike have agreed to my marathon madness, and will be running the weekly races with me throughout the course of the year - Kasey, just think of all the blog posts that you won’t be in if you don’t run with us, are you sure marathon FOMO isn’t a thing?

I picked up Sophie, and her first question was “Are we running up the hill in central park? Your dad warned me about it.” I had maybe neglected mentioning the hills of central park to Sophie, who had never before run there. But lucky for her, today’s race excluded Harlem hill, so she got to avoid the worst of the hills this time.

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For this week’s race, I linked up with Sami and Nicole from the tri team to carpool. I had offered to drive, but when Sophie and I got to Sami’s house Nicole was ready to take us as passengers, and I wasn’t about to complain about getting a ride into the city. It was an easy ride into Manhattan - you usually don’t hit too much traffic driving in from Long Island on Sunday mornings. We had to do a few laps of the area before we eventually found parking, but we prevailed in the battle against parking garages and found a spot on the street. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to race day central, where Sophie, Sami and I picked up our bibs, and then Sami and I checked bags before the race started.

We debated getting in some mileage before the run, but ultimately wound up getting in about a 1/4 mile before happening upon the football toss that they do for the superbowl, and Nicole to try a throw since the womens line was short. We then made our way to the corrals, which were set to collapse 10 minutes before the race started. It was only a 4 mile run, so we didn’t have to bother with gels today, so it was just a quick stretch and then we were on our way. Sophie and I stuck together, while Nicole and Sami zoomed off, as they had paces they wanted to hit during the run.

After a relatively flat start, we turned the second corner and faced the first of the three sisters - a hill formation consisting of three hills that are less than friendly, and which stayed with us as we ticked off the first and second mile. We did a drive by water stop in the second mile, and I had to peel off one of my layers - it was just too warm. As usual, I had seen a temperature in the 30s and panicked, putting on an underarmor cold gear shirt that I was regretting by the half way point.

This was a superbowl themed race, so during the second mile runners had to pick a lane - depending on which team they wanted to win. Sophie, being from New England, went for the patriots as the winner. I, not caring about football but lover of harry potter, went against the patriots, since Dan Radcliffe had spoken out as being against them in the week leading up to the race.

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We had a short hill reprieve as we made our way around the south side of the park, but soon enough the steepest hill we would face that day was upon us - Cat Hill. By the time we were over it, we had about a mile left in the race, and I was able to truthfully tell Sophie that the hills were over, aside from the slight uphill at the finish. With no hills left I was able to relax my breathing, and sail right to the finish line. We completed the race in 37:39, an average pace of 9:18 min/mi.

We collected our bagel and apple, grabbed our checked bags, and changed out of our running clothes that were wet with sweat. As we were doing this, my friend Carson found us, and we all chatted as we stopped to grab our race shirts and made our way out of central park and to the car.

All in all it was a good day for a race, that went by quickly thanks to good company. My next NYRR race? The United Airlines NYC Half Marathon.