Hi, this is two posts in a row with the word “running” in the title. This one, however, unlike the previous one, is actually about running. A couple of weeks ago, I was commenting on how much I would like to get back into a routine of running. I’m happy to report, that I have been doing pretty well (with the exception of a few days of monsoon). If you look at my track record, I have been pretty consistent since about the middle of March, even if it is just a quick 3 or 4 miles. I have been feeling better, too. Not so stiff, etc. Hopefully I will be able to continue the same way.

Our running club had its second club points race last Saturday (check out my hair, hahaha). Reagan was feeling sick, so she ended up sitting that race out. I had a pretty good race though. The weather was beautiful. It was actually a bit on the warm side. I was pretty happy with my time:

Last Name	First Name	Sex/ Age	Bib	Team	City	State	Overall Place	Gender Place	Age Place	Finish Time	Pace/ Mile
BREINHOLT	JACOB	M33	1053	NYRC	NEW YORK	NY	522	464	90	42:30	6:51

Other quick stats:

Distance: 6.2 Miles, 10.0 Kilometers
Date/Time: April 3, 2010, 10:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 52 Deg. 80% Hum. Clear.
Total Finishers: Men – 4072  Women – 3722  Total – 7794

Hopefully, I can make some progress this year.

Here is my disclaimer: Reagan tells me that sometimes when I talk/write about running, it seems like I’m bragging. So, just to be clear, I would like to say:  Although, I like to get a little bit competitive, I realize I am a very average runner. If anything, the competitive aspect is only to keep it interesting (for me), and to measure personal progress.

Our new running club had it’s first club points race, last weekend. Our friend Zach Tolbert came out and shot the race for us. It was perfect weather and a lot of fun. Becca was totally on the ball, with getting our jerseys made and delivered before the race.

It was a bit chilly, before the race, but the sun was out, and it was perfect temperature, for running. Our team did very well. Additionally, we had a mystery person sign up as an NYRC affiliate, who beat everyone else on the team, by almost a minute. Jessica (whoever you are) if that is your way of trying out, you passed. Hahaha.

Besides having to work all day, Saturday, this weekend was a lot of fun for me (despite how serious I look in the photo, above). We were able to get to know some friends a little bit better on Friday night, by having dinner with them. Saturday night, we attended a party hosted by one of Reagan’s clients (and good friend). Then it was time to do work. Our friend Mike came down from CT to spend the night at our place in anticipation of the Queens Half-Marathon today. We woke up at 4:30, in an attempt to get to Queens in time for the race (7:00 AM start time). Things just got crazy, from there.

We caught the A, around 5:15, or so. The starting line was at College Point, which is not a very easily accessible location by public transportation. But they were going to have all of the roads shut down super early, which is why we opted out of driving. I kind of forgot that the A is still running local, at that ungodly hour. But when we got to 42nd Street, and were waiting for the 7 train, there were still plenty of runners in the same boat as us. So, I thought that surely we would be ok. For the final leg of the journey to the starting line, NYRR had chartered a shuttle service to take runners from the last stop on the 7 train line and take them to the park. We arrived at the shuttle stop around 6:45. With a gun time of 7, we knew that things didn’t bode well, especially accounting for the fact that we still had to pick up our numbers, check bags, etc.

^–Watching the sun come up, from the 7 train

As soon as we came above ground, and saw that the line wrapped around the corner and then went on for roughly 2 blocks, Reagan was ready to throw in the towel, right then. I have to admit that I was considering giving up, myself. 45 minutes later, we were finally at the front of the line. We were just kind of hoping that maybe they had delayed the start a bit, because of the bus debacle. Much to our dismay, after a short bus ride, we arrived at an impasse. I’m sure you can guess what it was. Yes, a solid pack of runners, blocking the roadway. We were like, whoa, that is a pretty thick field, maybe they did delay the start. Nope. It was just because they were already 3 miles into the race. Hahahaha. So we started hoofing it to the starting line, since the bus could go no further. I was basically dragging Reagan, at this point. She was so mad, and just wanted to go home and take a nap. It was going to be Mike’s first half-marathon, so I said it should be his decision.

We had walked for about 1 mile, and weren’t really seeing anymore runners at that point. Mike said that he didn’t really feel like doing it anymore, especially since they had probably shut off the mats. So we started walking back towards the 7, stop. We even tried to get a cab. Then we had a sudden change of heart. We turned around again, and walked back to the start area. Once we had finished our 3+ mile warm up, we were at the registration tent, where everyone was being totally cool, and trying to get us all suited up and ready to go, as quickly as possible. They even took our bags right there, so that we didn’t have to check them. As we were walking to the starting line, we paused to cheer on the winner of the race, as he made his way back into the park! Hahaha. The icing on the cake: the mats were still on. NYRR had totally redeemed themselves (in my eyes) from botching the transportation situation so badly.

As part of the deal to coax Reagan into not going home, I agreed to run the whole race with her and help pace her. It really turned out to be a lot of fun. For the first 8 miles, we were virtually alone, just chatting it up. Around that time, we started to pass some of the stragglers. It was really cool, the way that the course just wound through residential College Point and Whitestone. We saw all kinds of exotic birds that had become wild and nested under power transformers, on telephone poles. It was crazy! Reagan and I almost never get to run together, and I think that this is probably the longest that we ever have done it. I didn’t turn on my headphones once, during the whole race. I know that this story has become extremely long, so I’m wrapping it up.

^–Mike, making the victory call, after the race.

After the race, we picked up our bags and headed to the shuttle line. It was about as long as it was, before the race. You can see it in the background of the photo at the top of the post. I knew that our friend Greg was going to be working in the medical tent at the finish area. So, I had kind of been looking for him. But I didn’t see him. Then he and his friend came walking by as we were waiting in line. They offered us a ride back into Manhattan, which we accepted in a heartbeat. It turns out that Greg’s friend was actually headed back to CT, afterward too, so he offered to give Mike a lift. Holy crap. For a race that could not have started anymore chaotic for us, it certainly wrapped up nicely.

After eating lunch and taking a quick nap, we made a trip up to visit Piper, who was as cute as ever. The end.

This was a super fun race. Reagan and I both loved it. The finish line was right outside the entrance to my building. So it was super convenient for us. Our friend Jared came down and ran it with us too. He and Reagan actually finished together. Reagan’s goal was 23 minutes. Mine was 20 minutes. Reagan made her goal by 8 seconds. I was 22 seconds slower than I was hoping. I was happy about having a pace that was well under 7 minutes, though. I also was happy with my Nike Plus band. I re-calibrated it, using the 10K last Saturday. It recorded 2.93 miles today. Only .07 off. I can live with that. I always forget to stop recording after I finish the race though, which kills the pace stat. I guess that I can only blame myself for the human-error factor. Hahaha.

The problem with this race (and all races that are predominantly desk jockeys) is that like the JPM Corporate challenge, there are no assigned starting chutes. So you get speed walkers lining up in the 6 min/mile chute. So unless you are on the front row for the gun, you spend the first half of the race weaving traffic. This is especially difficult on a course that winds around the narrow canyons of the financial district and bottle necks in multiple locations. All things considered, it was a really cool race. The AHA raised over 2 million dollars. There were a bunch of sponsors handing out swag in the north cove marina afterwards, and the weather could not have been more ideal.

FYI, I did not take this photo. I borrowed it from the NYRR site.

The pictures came out a little blurry, which is how everything looked in real life, as well. It was a very wet and cold race. Despite the weather, there was a huge turnout. I was really surprised at the amount of runners that showed. We saw a lot of our friends there. When I finished, I ran into our friend Tushna, who had come out in the weather to watch us finish. She took this pictures of Mike, Reagan and myself. I was expecting to have a really crappy race, because of the weather, and because my ipod died while I was waiting in the starting grid. It ended up not being bad, at all. I was even pretty pleased with my time. As you can imagine, the kilt didn’t hold it’s pleats. Here are the rest of the photos.

Since the Scotland Homecoming 10k is this weekend, my friend Mike and I had been planning to make kilts for the event, beginning several weeks ago. Well, it finally materialized last night. I left work a little bit early to hit some of the fabric stores downtown. As luck would have it, EVERYTHING was closed for passover. So I hurried to the train, hoping that I could get uptown in time to hit a fabric store in my neighborhood before they closed for the evening. I lucked out and made it to a hole in the wall, on the east side of Washington Heights, a part of the neighborhood where they have never even heard of passover. Unfortunately they have never heard of plaid, either. So I had to settle for a semi-Scottish looking textile. The photo below is of me furiously sewing it together.

And… the finished product:  (feel free to answer the poll on the TV in the background. I was very pleased with the fortuitous timing of the photo. I’m voting “both”)

Reagan thinks that it looks nothing like a kilt. I told her it is a little bit different cut, than normal kilts, because it is a “running kilt.” I’m thinking about selling the pattern to these guys. Thanks for the tip, on the link, Jessie. Hahahah.

They are all reasons that I am super pumped for the upcoming weekend. First of all, I love Easter. In addition to being a mental marker that spring is actually here, and having heavy Christian religious significance, the best candy of the year is available for purchase. Reagan and I have been warming up for weeks, with the candy eating. We went through an entire bag of Cadbury mini-eggs and a bad of Reese’s Eggs last weekend. I’m hoping that we have been able to condition our GI tracts for the sugar beat-down they are about to receive this weekend.

Second: This weekend kicks off the 2009 MotoGP season. I can’t even freaking wait for this.

Third: NYRR Scotland Run 10k in Central Park, is this Saturday. We have a lot of friends who are also running it. I’m pretty excited about it. I am still trying to put together some kilts for the event. I think they may come together tomorrow night, if the stars are in alignment. Either way, I have created a sticker bearing the McNee family crest (Scottish version), that I will be proudly wearing during the race. Although the majority of my bloodline is of scandinavian origin, I also have ancestry in the McNee Clan through my mother’s grandmother Doris Nay (Nay being an American adaptation of McNee). Let’s hope for some good weather.

Somewhere in the middle of the Race

Finishing