2010 nyrr 8000: race report

It was very tough to get out of bed Saturday morning, with the wind howling and the drumbeat of incessant rain against the window. But the NYRR 8000 and final World Lung Foundation group training run for the NYC Half Marathon immediately after the race motivated me to get up and out the door. Emmy met me at seven for the drive down to Central Park - and while the rain had let up, it was still very windy (and rough driving). On the ride in, she and Yvette wisely decided to cancel the group run (a sane choice under the circumstances).

Amazingly, we got a parking spot right on Central Park East and the 102nd Street entrance to the Park! Directly across the street, runners were huddled under apartment building scaffolding in an effort to stay dry for just a few more pre-race minutes. As luck had it, the rain tapered down to a drizzle by the time we reached the corrals. I saw Bob, ready to race, as soon as I got there. It was almost comical that most runners hung back, not wanting to be at the very front because of the wind and ran.

Thankfully, this race was just under 5 miles. I really had no intention to run it fast because the next morning was the Celebrate Life Half Marathon. As it turned out, the storm increased in ferocity during the day and knocked out our power - along with dozens of trees in our neighborhood. I never made it to the half marathon on Sunday. Had I known this (wishfully thinking), I would have run the 8000 with more effort.

Here are the splits:

7:07
6:46 13:53
7:01 20:55
7:19 28:14
7:02 35:17

7:05 pace

I was very pleased with result (and slightly annoyed that it may have been too fast, given the next race on Sunday). I'm positive that a sense of "let's get this thing over with" had a lot to do with the faster pace. Tom, wearing just his racing singlet caught and passed me just before mile four. Emmy caught up to me with just a quarter mile to go. Except for Bob and Tom, I didn’t see any other familiar faces on the course. The nasty weather reduced turnout to just over 2,600 finishers - relatively low for a NYRR event.

Here are some race photos.

Next up: the NYC Half Marathon! As always, if you’re there - say hello!