Returning To The Scene Of The Crime
Had a nice run this morning after thinking I wouldn't run at all. I did a double yesterday - a fast 7-mile run in the morning followed by an evening run. I guess evening run is a bit of a misnomer since it was actually the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, where I joined 20,000 or so fellow New Yorkers in a 3.5 mile journey through Central Park. With all the miles logged yesterday followed by a late dinner out with a friend, I figured I would take this morning off. That said, since Thursday is typically a training day and since it was another beautiful morning with temps in the high 50's, I figured running with tired legs would ultimately be good for me. I returned to the Reservoir in the park for the first time in a while and did two loops - one fast and one slow.
The race last night was quite an experience. I'd not run in the Corporate Challenge for many years, and for the first 1.5 miles last night, I was pretty sure I'd never run in one again. Having grown accustomed to New York Road Runners Club's top-notch management of their races, I was a bit put out by the chaos of this event (though I should not have been surprised: every person who heard I was doing the Challenge said something like - ooh, I hear that's a madhouse), and the weather didn't help. It started sprinkling a few minutes before the start and rained heavily the entire race - until about 2 minutes after my finish! Here are a couple of pictures that will give you a sense of the sheer number of people doing the race:
For another runner/blogger's (funny/snarky) take on the experience, check out: Run. Rinse. Repeat. over at Pigtails Flying.
What redeemed the whole thing for me was running the race with my friend Kirk (who is off to get married this weekend - congratulations Kirk!). Kirk is one of my running inspirations, having taught me some of the ins and outs of running in Central Park and being a source of marathon training advice given that he has several marathons under his belt. We had a nice time running together. Here are some pictures of me and Kirk before the race and then during the race (by my nemesis in the park).
It was also fun seeing other colleagues from work outside the office and checking out the custom t-shirts from all the other participating companies.
I walked (squished) home after the race and was rewarded with an unusual New York City sunset view:
The race last night was quite an experience. I'd not run in the Corporate Challenge for many years, and for the first 1.5 miles last night, I was pretty sure I'd never run in one again. Having grown accustomed to New York Road Runners Club's top-notch management of their races, I was a bit put out by the chaos of this event (though I should not have been surprised: every person who heard I was doing the Challenge said something like - ooh, I hear that's a madhouse), and the weather didn't help. It started sprinkling a few minutes before the start and rained heavily the entire race - until about 2 minutes after my finish! Here are a couple of pictures that will give you a sense of the sheer number of people doing the race:
For another runner/blogger's (funny/snarky) take on the experience, check out: Run. Rinse. Repeat. over at Pigtails Flying.
What redeemed the whole thing for me was running the race with my friend Kirk (who is off to get married this weekend - congratulations Kirk!). Kirk is one of my running inspirations, having taught me some of the ins and outs of running in Central Park and being a source of marathon training advice given that he has several marathons under his belt. We had a nice time running together. Here are some pictures of me and Kirk before the race and then during the race (by my nemesis in the park).
It was also fun seeing other colleagues from work outside the office and checking out the custom t-shirts from all the other participating companies.
I walked (squished) home after the race and was rewarded with an unusual New York City sunset view:
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