Manhattan Half

I was not an official race entrant for the Manhattan Half. I was out there to help pace a friend, CK, and to log some miles since I haven't been running much. I could not have picked a colder morning - 12F when I stepped out the door. Luckily I anticipated it so I made a stop at Sports Authority last night to pick up some new warm socks and gloves with a gift card. The socks actually worked really well. The gloves didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

The race itself I consider a success. Although CK didn't hit her goal time, she did great considering the morning conditions. The sunshine provided token warmth, but for the most part, it was the coldest race I've ever done to date. And yet, there was a guy out there with shorts and a sleeveless shirt. My face went numb. Probably had snot lines on my face and I couldn't feel it. My fingers get a burning freezing sensation in these temperatures. And about eight miles in, my feet felt like ice blocks attached to my ankles. I think I crossed the finish around 1:51:xx, just behind CK, but I don't know the official time since I stepped out of the race path and jogged to the finish in the pedestrian area.

Besides the cold, one outstanding thought I have about this run is this: it hurt just as much as when I ran a PR in Philly. I'll attribute it to the cold conditions and that I ran Disney 2 weeks ago.

All in all, it was a great new cold experience today to pace CK, log a few miles, and get my last long run done for the rest of this winter. To finish off the morning, I headed to Sullivan Street Bakery and treated myself to a chocolate almond croissant and a couple of bombolinis which I enjoyed with milk and finally some hot tea.

First time I've seen plastic bags over shoes for warmth...



Vibram's in these conditions



This guy's head isn't generating enough heat to keep the sweat from freezing, or it's just plain cold.



First loop, sun still coming up.



Snowy sheep's meadow morning