Running in the New Year
PrologueAs I took a look into my rear view mirror on 2008, it was a year much like all the others I have lived – filled with highs and lows. It’s the highs that keep me plugging along as happily as I can each day, but I‘m just as grateful for the lows. It’s those dark moments that force introspection and usually result in new doors opened and opportunities and without them, there would be no highs. Let’s face it though, I’m human and, oh the highs, they’re so much, much more fun. Rest assured, my friends and family can vouch, they like me better too when life seems rosy as they’ve been on the phone or out to coffee with me when I’ve been at both ends of the spectrum. (God bless ‘em all!)
Well, going back to the basics of my blog – it’s supposed to be about my running and anecdotes along the way. I’m happy to report that I was able to kiss 2008 farewell with a little bit of running and a lot of fun. We’ll see what 2009 and blogging brings…we’ll see what new turn it may take…stay tuned.
I Think I Need to Get My Head Examined
When most people think about a New Year’s Eve in New York City, they probably conjure up images of the large glittery ball dropping amongst millions crammed into the organized chaos in Times Square. In fact, I would bet that very few New Yorker’s have actually have subjected themselves to this surreal insanity. I did something even more insane this past New Year’s Eve in New York City.
It was about two weeks ago and one of my Best Damn Running Partners That Live Nowhere Near Me (BDRPTLNNM), Kerry sent an e-mail that went something like this:
Annie,
I’ve always wanted to do the Midnight Run in Central Park – you in?
Clearly I had to check my social calendar as who knows what I could have planned on that evening. (Read: my schedule was clear.)
My response:
Kerry,
Sure, sounds like fun. I just hope it’s not ridiculously cold – like 16 degrees or something.
Annie
NYE – Coldest NYE on Record
Fast Forward to NYE and I thought the media was exaggerating when I heard the same report over and over by my meteorologist friends and CBS, NBC, ABC and the weather channel: “Should be the coldest NYE on record with temperatures in the teens, but will feel like 10 below.” “No, No, No!” I yelled at the TV thinking that would help. It didn’t. Defeated, I stared at my closet for which layers would work best under my long black coat.
Laughing ‘Til You Cry Incident #1: Stick It Up Your Ass
Kerry was Bolting up to NYC on the 2:30. Ok, those of you unfamiliar with Bolting – it’s one of the best ways, we
ll cheapest ways, to travel between New York and D.C. The Bolt Bus Line includes a fleet of brand new buses equipped with wireless and outlets at each seat to keep whatever you needed all charged up and ready to go.When Kerry started bolting, texting ensued and with each blinking red light on my Blackberry, there was comic relief. Then an e-mail, yippee I thought! And, I saw that it was an ad from Match.com. Match was promising me that there were some great singles in the area just waiting for me. Ah, the marketing experts at Match tapping into the vulnerability of us singles on New Year’s Eve. I’m a savvy marketing gal and refused to fall prey to this, so on behalf unsuspecting singles everywhere with the same message in their “In Box”, I simply replied with:
“Stick it up your ass.”
Yeah, I sure told them! Right? I immediately texted Kerry with this and naturally, regardless that she was on a bus full of strangers, laughed out loud, grateful she didn’t have a beverage in her mouth at the time.
Stop #1 NYE: Meeting Up With Some Gals Crazier Than Me!
After I dressed in my 17 layers, grabbed a great book I was finishing up by John Grog
an, Marley and Me (BTW, excellent and amazingly poignant movie) to read on the 1.5 mile ride into the city that on NYE would take no less than an hour through the Lincoln Tunnel. Then I was off to the bus stop fighting the wind and wondering if I really was certifiable.
First stop for me before Kerry arrived would be a beer and a burger with a friend I hadn’t seen in about 5 years, Susan L and her good friend Amy. I was so psyched when she Facebooked (that’s a verb, right?) me on the 30th telling me that last minute, she and Amy decided to cross and item off their Bucket List – NYE Times Square. I mean, who’s crazier, them or me? When I hopped off the bus at Port Authority, I was pleasantly surprised at how organized everything was in the Times Square area and we hunkered down at Smiths, a great little dive bar at 45th and 8th where the drinks were cold and we had a place to sit.
Laughing ‘Til you Cry Incident #2: You’ve Created a Monster
After a I carbed up wi
th a couple of beers at Smiths, off I was to pick up numbers and race T-shirts at New York Road Runners at East 89th Street followed by meeting up with Kerry at 34th and 8th. On a night like this, God Bless the NYC Subways, iPods and a good book to make my trek all the more easier and entertaining. Just as I was about to reach Kerry, Jessica ever the supporter and my other BDRPTLNNM (see her at left finishing up the Vegas Marathon in less than 4 hours!), sent an e-mail wishing us luck. Kerry responded with:
Did you have any idea when you introduced Annie and I to each other what kind of monster you would create? It’s mother freakin’ cold here and we are completely crazy.
Now I laughed out loud, found Kerry at the very warm Roy Rogers/Nathan’s across from Penn Station and off we were to Barrow Street.
Stop #1 NYE: Meeting Up With Some Gals Crazier Than Me!
After I dressed in my 17 layers, grabbed a great book I was finishing up by John Grog
an, Marley and Me (BTW, excellent and amazingly poignant movie) to read on the 1.5 mile ride into the city that on NYE would take no less than an hour through the Lincoln Tunnel. Then I was off to the bus stop fighting the wind and wondering if I really was certifiable.First stop for me before Kerry arrived would be a beer and a burger with a friend I hadn’t seen in about 5 years, Susan L and her good friend Amy. I was so psyched when she Facebooked (that’s a verb, right?) me on the 30th telling me that last minute, she and Amy decided to cross and item off their Bucket List – NYE Times Square. I mean, who’s crazier, them or me? When I hopped off the bus at Port Authority, I was pleasantly surprised at how organized everything was in the Times Square area and we hunkered down at Smiths, a great little dive bar at 45th and 8th where the drinks were cold and we had a place to sit.
Laughing ‘Til you Cry Incident #2: You’ve Created a Monster
After a I carbed up wi
th a couple of beers at Smiths, off I was to pick up numbers and race T-shirts at New York Road Runners at East 89th Street followed by meeting up with Kerry at 34th and 8th. On a night like this, God Bless the NYC Subways, iPods and a good book to make my trek all the more easier and entertaining. Just as I was about to reach Kerry, Jessica ever the supporter and my other BDRPTLNNM (see her at left finishing up the Vegas Marathon in less than 4 hours!), sent an e-mail wishing us luck. Kerry responded with:Did you have any idea when you introduced Annie and I to each other what kind of monster you would create? It’s mother freakin’ cold here and we are completely crazy.
Now I laughed out loud, found Kerry at the very warm Roy Rogers/Nathan’s across from Penn Station and off we were to Barrow Street.
Stop #2 NYE: Party Time (not!)
A friend of mine Heidi R. was hosting a small gathering downtown and once out of the Subw
ay, I scoured for a Starbucks. Nothing like a nice frothy caffeine laden chai tea before a race! We were in NYC so all had to do was turn around and there it was. Just the lift I needed before we reached Barrow Street. We kept kidding ourselves with comments like, "It’s really not that cold when you have the right clothes on.” Yeah right! Upon arrival, it took US about 5 minutes to strip down to about two layers. I looked at the clock. It was 9:37 pm, which meant we had about an hour until departure, which meant I had an hour to resist the amazing food and drink spread. There we were, standing amongst some very nicely dressed people and we had bad hat head and running tights clutching our water and tea. We told them what we were up to and comments of concern were spouted out like “You should just stay warm here and have some drinks.” And, “Are you guys crazy?” Yes. Yes. I was beginning top think yes, we were insane.
Stop # 3 NYE: Run
ners, Take Your Mark
We could not have planned it better. We left the party, hit the West 4th Street Subway Station; hopped out at 72nd Street and Central Park West; dropped our bags off at the “bag check” where I bravely removed the long coat layer, but changed out my regular gloves for my snowboarding mittens. (Yeah, I looked sizzling hot!); hit the john, meaning the port-o-potty – ew!; and took our places on the start line. We waited no less than 2 minutes and then the countdown, " - 5,4,3,2,1. Happy New Year”! The fireworks blasted above us and we were o
ff and running!
ay, I scoured for a Starbucks. Nothing like a nice frothy caffeine laden chai tea before a race! We were in NYC so all had to do was turn around and there it was. Just the lift I needed before we reached Barrow Street. We kept kidding ourselves with comments like, "It’s really not that cold when you have the right clothes on.” Yeah right! Upon arrival, it took US about 5 minutes to strip down to about two layers. I looked at the clock. It was 9:37 pm, which meant we had about an hour until departure, which meant I had an hour to resist the amazing food and drink spread. There we were, standing amongst some very nicely dressed people and we had bad hat head and running tights clutching our water and tea. We told them what we were up to and comments of concern were spouted out like “You should just stay warm here and have some drinks.” And, “Are you guys crazy?” Yes. Yes. I was beginning top think yes, we were insane.Stop # 3 NYE: Run
ners, Take Your MarkWe could not have planned it better. We left the party, hit the West 4th Street Subway Station; hopped out at 72nd Street and Central Park West; dropped our bags off at the “bag check” where I bravely removed the long coat layer, but changed out my regular gloves for my snowboarding mittens. (Yeah, I looked sizzling hot!); hit the john, meaning the port-o-potty – ew!; and took our places on the start line. We waited no less than 2 minutes and then the countdown, " - 5,4,3,2,1. Happy New Year”! The fireworks blasted above us and we were o
ff and running! We ran the race at a nice steady pace and soaked in the gorgeous cold winter NYC night and were grateful for the lack of wind. The water stops were more like ice in a cup stop and the “sparkling” beverage promised was sparkling cider, not the champagne I’d been dreaming of, so we just kept running, trying to get to the Finish Line as quickly as possible! As we approached the final turn, there it was, part of NYC’s amazing skyline peaking through the stripped down tree branches. It really was beautiful and reminded me why I love this city so much.
Cooling Down
Ok, so even when you run in 17 degree weather, you do sweat and there is a cool down p
eriod. This meant that within about 5 minutes of finishing, we were freezing as our bodies were cooling down. There were no hot beverages in sight so we tried our luck for some water – frozen. Then a bagel – we saw people walking around with what looked like scrumptious NY bagels. I went bounding over to the table, grabbed my bagel, umm I mean hockey puck – it was just about frozen solid. I took a few bites and after nearly cracking a tooth and not wanting to waste my calories on something unenjoyable, tossed it before we went to pick up our bags. Kerry was in shock they were still there and untouched!
Cooling Down
Ok, so even when you run in 17 degree weather, you do sweat and there is a cool down p
eriod. This meant that within about 5 minutes of finishing, we were freezing as our bodies were cooling down. There were no hot beverages in sight so we tried our luck for some water – frozen. Then a bagel – we saw people walking around with what looked like scrumptious NY bagels. I went bounding over to the table, grabbed my bagel, umm I mean hockey puck – it was just about frozen solid. I took a few bites and after nearly cracking a tooth and not wanting to waste my calories on something unenjoyable, tossed it before we went to pick up our bags. Kerry was in shock they were still there and untouched!Final Stop NYE: C'Mon, Can't We All Just Get Along?
Feeling my r
unner's high, I insisted that before we board the short bus (no joke intended here - there really are white, short buses that operate 24/7) back to Weehawken we make a return trip to Smith's. In a nutshell, I ordered my one Coors Light and within a span of 20 minutes Kerry met a bunch of Marines; (she always does - without fail when I'm with her!); three fights broke out at Smiths; and after a quick stop for a slice (hey, we had ready started the year negative in calories!) there was a bonus fight on the bus. It was a girl flailing her arms and yelling. It reminded us that it was amateur night and people were just out to drink themselves silly...not that we totally minded - it was pure entertainment! We laughed our way back to NJ and called it a night.
unner's high, I insisted that before we board the short bus (no joke intended here - there really are white, short buses that operate 24/7) back to Weehawken we make a return trip to Smith's. In a nutshell, I ordered my one Coors Light and within a span of 20 minutes Kerry met a bunch of Marines; (she always does - without fail when I'm with her!); three fights broke out at Smiths; and after a quick stop for a slice (hey, we had ready started the year negative in calories!) there was a bonus fight on the bus. It was a girl flailing her arms and yelling. It reminded us that it was amateur night and people were just out to drink themselves silly...not that we totally minded - it was pure entertainment! We laughed our way back to NJ and called it a night.A great start to 2009 and only the best to come...
Comments
Happy 2009!!!