Media Challenge, Race 1

Yesterday was the AHA Wall Street Run, which is one of my favorite races of the year, as we get to tear pell mell through the streets of the Financial District, like marauding invaders. Every time I run that race I feel like I should be wielding a club, or at least let my hair flow wild about me and give a hearty “Ggrr!” every half-mile or so. Last year, I ran it in a very average (for me) 29:28, and was hoping to break 26 minutes this year. Much to my regret, I made a last-minute decision not to run it, even though I’d ponied up my entry fee weeks ago, and needed it towards my nine qualifying races for entry to the 2009 NYC Marathon. I was still feeling kind of crummy, that on-the-cusp crummy, where my cold could go either way, and my chest congestion was starting to break up but I still couldn’t really breathe well.  It all sounds like a load of woos-ass excuses to me now, but at the time I was concerned I’d get soaked and chilled waiting for the race to start (it was rainy and about 50 degrees), and would get sick all over again. Stupidly, I only had shorts & a tee-shirt — no garbage bag, no warm-up clothes, no hat, no umbrella, nothing. I spent night on my couch, sulking. I feel kind of sulky now, just remembering that I opted for the easy way out.

That’s my long preamble to tonight’s race, the first in the Media Challenge series of 3.5 mile races, which pit various media corporations against each other throughout the summer, with the winners declared after the points are tallied at the end of the series. Competing companies include the New York Times, HBO, and NewsCorp. I enjoy these races because most of us wear team singlets for the races, so it’s highly motivational to try and pick off the enemy throughout the race. Plus, there is the pride factor of putting in a good performance in front of your officemates.

After missing last night’s race, I was determined to gut it out tonight on the course. I was excited, ready to run, since my last run was on Monday. The course is two laps around the lower loop of the park, which was surprisingly uncrowded tonight (I think because the weather looked threatening). Because of my excitement, I went out a little too fast, which made me slow down (it felt) significantly somewhere around 2.5 miles. I passed a two runners on my first lap, but then on the second lap two different folks passed me.  As we came up on the finish line, some blond sprite with perfectly unfrizzy hair tried to pass me, and I was having none of it. I didn’t care what I looked like, galumphing past my colleagues who were cheering on the finishers (have I mentioned before I am not a graceful runner?).  I opened it up and left that chicky in the dust, finishing 21st among females (not sure how many we were total) in 28:12, for an 8:03 pace. Leapin’ Lizards, Daddy Warbucks, that’s my fastest race pace ev-er. By 46 seconds per mile, people.

I assure you, I am not bragging. Nope. Because I realize my pace still resembles mole-asses, when you compare me to the rest of the females running in New York City. What I am doing, though, is sharing my incredulity, and astonishment, with you, my privileged readers. Seriously, 8:04’s today–tomorrow, what?

I haven’t ever run the entire series of Media Challenge races before, since I’ve always had obligations, conflicting plans, and fear of humidity (hate running in it). But, this summer, I think I’ll use them as regular benchmarks of my fitness, since the course and distance will be the same each time. And that blond sprite? Well, hopefully she won’t return to give me a taste of her exhaust.