Media Challenge: Summer 2010

Back in April, I signed up with the New York Times Company Running Club to enter the Media Challenge - a series of five* races in Central Park, with nine teams from the NYC media world competing for the glory. And because there is free pizza, and no one in the NYC media world will turn down free pizza. (There are also team drinks after the race - another surefire way to ensure turnout - but we pay for those.)

First of all, don't we have nice shirts? The back is even better - see our cute logo, above? But I digress.

Team NYT competes against NewsCorp, McGraw-Hill, HBO/Time Warner, ABC, CBS, NBC, Sony and Conde' Nast. The top five men and top three women finishers on each team score for that team. Their numeric places are added together and the team with the fewest points comes out on top. The course is two lower loops of Central Park, for a rough total of 3.5 miles.

For our first meet on May 19, the weather was perfect. Cool, in the high 60s, no humidity. My goal was to finish in under 30 minutes. Even though I'd run 5Ks that indicated I could achieve that easily, the extra .4 of a mile on this course was throwing me off.

I finished in 29:16. The course was just difficult enough to present a real challenge without being intimidating, and it's tough mentally to get around that loop a second time. But watching people's faces in the park as people rushed by with their team shirts was worth it. I also felt like I had a good handle on my pacing - my second loop was faster than my first.

And Team NYT finished in third place overall! Our organizers were thrilled, saying the team had never finished above fifth before. The two teams ahead of us in the standings, NewsCorp and McGraw-Hill, were both bigger and had overall faster runners. But we were psyched.

Our second meet on June 8 featured warmer, more humid weather. No matter. I was ready for it. I had just started my marathon training and was eager to be racing. I was on fire. My pacing was perfect. I finished in 28:12 - the third NYT woman across the finish line. I scored!

And then a crushing blow - HBO/Time Warner edged us out by A POINT, landing us in fourth place overall. Now, HBO has some very young interns, and those young interns are very, very fast - indeed, one of them set a Media Challenge course record. But one point?! Team NYT resolved to get stronger and faster by July and take down the young'uns.

July 7 rolled around - with a high of 103F and sticky, sticky humidity. The race organizers cancelled our match. I still think this was justified - it was seriously gross outside. The race was reschedule for August 25. We set our sights on July 20....

*Which also got cancelled for the heat, even though it turned out to be neither as hot nor as humid as the earlier date. And they did not reschedule the match, meaning the Media Challenge would be a series of four, not five, races. So disappointing!

So two months after our last rumble in the urban jungle, Team NYT prepared for our next-to-last race on August 4. Then we got The Email. The one from our organizers saying that, due to the heat and humidity, the Media Challenge race was being turned into a "fun run." The Email also went on to say that several teams had backed out entirely - but begged Team NYT to put on our team shirts and come out to the park to run the course. So we did (that's our turnout in the photo above - aren't we cute?).

And NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE, save for three guys in ABC shirts. And their studios are right next to the starting line. But Team NYT put on our game faces, and we ran that race for fun. It was hot. It was humid. We were all soaked with sweat when we crossed the finish line at the stoplight across from Tavern on the Green. Most of us stopped at least once at a water fountain or to catch an extra breath. But we did it.

I think we deserve a boost in the standings. What say you? I feel like if you organize a race series for the summer, you have to know that it's going to be hot and humid. You might have to give your runners some pointers on hydration and proper running attire for the weather. But the cancellations have been frustrating, especially since our team has a lot of energy and enthusiasm this year. I hear that in 2011, the series is going to be held from April to June - a change I can get behind.

In the meantime - August 25: see you there, media. It's going to be humid. Deal.

Update: Wednesday, August 25

It was indeed humid. But after two days of pouring rain in the city, it was also in the 70s and thus tolerable.

I ran my fastest Media Challenge time yet - 27:45! I axed 40 seconds off my time from June. My time earned me the honor of being the top female scorer for Team NYT - so cool.

And even better than that - at our reception at BBQ's (free cornbread! Even if it's sweet...but again, I digress), Team NYT reclaimed third place from HBO by a margin of 10 points for the season. Our organizers really did a crack job this season, and I'm looking forward to working with them again. And, of course, to seeing how fast I can get on our double-loop course.

This has been a year of big running accomplishments for me - a sub-2 half marathon, winning my age group in a race, top scorer for Team NYT. But even though running is a fairly individual sport - for the most part, you compete only against yourself - I really enjoy being part of a team, whether it is the New York Times Running Club or Team in Training. I like having people to run with and I like having people to socialize with after we run. I like knowing people are expecting me, whether in Prospect Park at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning for a long, slow run or in Central Park at 7 p.m. for a fast, hard 5K+. With Team NYT, it has been great meeting people from different departments of the paper - I rarely get off the Editorial floor, but now I see people in the elevator or the cafeteria who say hello and strike up conversations, and it is so nice to have friendly faces to break up what can be the anonymous monotony of a big city office tower.

So congratulations again to Team New York Times! See you all in 2011. (But hopefully I'll see you at lunch before then.)



(Photo courtesy Till Wirth. Click on photo to expand and see the whole gang.)

NYC 2010 Qualifying Race #9: The Fifth Avenue Mile - September 26, 2009

So this was it. #9. The last chapter in my nearly yearlong effort to qualify for the 2010 New York City Marathon. And I did it. WOW did I do it.

Before setting out for this race, I was in a terrible mood. I went to meet Kelly on race morning and all I could think about was how cranky I was. I was also so tired that I walked past the Borough Hall subway station I needed to enter in order to get there. Once I actually made it in, I found out the 4 or 5 trains I wanted weren't running, and I needed to take the 2 to Fulton Street and transfer.

Fulton Street, if you haven't had the pleasure of its company, is a labyrinth. Every time I'm in there, I expect to see the Minotaur. To get to the 4/5 trains from the 2 requires a lengthy walk, but that walk is not in a straight line. It involves stairs and walking along other trains' platforms and just when you think that you will surely emerge in New Jersey, finally, you just have to turn one more corner and climb one more flight of stairs and then wait for 20 minutes, but eventually the 4/5 will come. This really helped my mood, by the way.

Kelly and I ran into Coach Jaz (on her birthday, coming to cheer us all on even though she had a leg injury - THAT is dedication!) on the 4/5 platform, which was nice as she gave us a pep talk while we waited (and waited). As I talked, I realized that this race I'd been joking about all summer was making me far more nervous than I'd realized. Hence at least part of my morning crankiness. Here's the deal: I'm a terrible sprinter. It also takes me about three miles to warm up during a run - for this reason, I hate running 5Ks because they are all warm-up to me. So the idea of running one mile as fast as I possibly could was getting me down.

The pace on my NYRR bibs says 8:52 min/mile. I ran that pace during a 5-mile race in January in Central Park, in the middle of my marathon training when I was in peak shape for that distance. I've never come close since - I ran 9:16 min/mile in a 10K over the summer, but I had no real concept of ever matching my 8:52.

Jaz reminded me that I'd been taking her strength training class for four months (save some time out for health issues) and that I had a lot more in me than I was giving myself credit for. She said she thought Kelly and I would both break 8 minutes in the mile. We laughed.

Once we arrived at 80th Street and 5th Avenue, we checked our bags at the starting line and got into the corral. Because this race was conducted in heats by gender and age, there was only one corral of women 30-39 running with us rather than the usual long line of gates and runners seeded by pace. We chatted with some friends. I took a look around and regretted by decision to wear a long-sleeve shirt since everyone else seemed to be in tank tops or sports bras. But it was cold! (Well, 60ish. But I'm from Tennessee.)

Then the gun went off. A real gun. A really loud gun. All of us looked around like, was that a gun? and then realized that we needed to run. And so we ran. I tripped over the starting line (awesome) because I wanted to make sure my D-tag registered on the start mat. Because everyone in the corral had different paces, I wasn't surrounded by people running the same speed. Some people shot out ahead while others settled into comfortable jogs. I decided I didn't want to be in the latter group, though I easily could have been. All I needed was to finish the Fifth Avenue Mile to be in the marathon, I said - I don't need to RACE it.

But I did. I passed about 10 people and thought, damn, I am running really fast. Then I passed a marker indicating I'd gone a quarter mile. My lungs started to hurt. Then I hit 72nd Street and the half-mile marker. My body was in serious pain. But I could still breathe. I decided not to push more. Hit the three-quarter-mile mark, felt like my lungs were going to burst, and found a little more energy. When I hit the finish mat, I doubled over in pain and exhaustion. Then I looked up at the clock, which still had not hit 8 minutes. I broke 8 minutes! Then suddenly people were everywhere. The finish was a mob scene of people wanting free bagels (um, you only ran a mile) and water bottles (WAY cool souvenir, by the way, NYRR - I will gladly take more of these!!!) and their bags, which the organizers helpfully threw all over the ground in the same line of people clamoring for bagels and water bottles.

I found Kelly and we knew we had both broken 8 miles. We headed for a subway, went back to Brooklyn, and were on the Brooklyn Heights promenade eating not-free-but-much-better bagels an hour after we started our race. Not bad!

NYRR didn't post results for the Mile until later Saturday afternoon, by which time I was at my father-in-law's house on Long Island. I looked up the results on my iPhone and blinked once, twice, three times: 7:02.

THAT'S RIGHT EVERYONE. 7:02. SEVEN OH TWO. SEVEN MINUTES AND TWO SECONDS.

I only started running in May 2008. At that point I couldn't conceive of finishing the half marathon I'd signed up to do. Now I've done three half marathons and one full marathon, and I've qualified for my second full marathon. And somewhere along the way I got strong enough both to overcome my own self-doubt and to run a 7:02 mile. Thanks, running.

NYC 2010 Qualifying Race #8: The Race for Central Park (4M), July 18, 2009

This race was not a race for me at all - more of a prelude to a fine breakfast of French toast - but I enjoyed it.



The course went counterclockwise from E. 68th Street up to the 102nd St. transverse, then down to the 72nd St. transverse - a hilly, but pleasant-enough route, with the biggest hill coming in the first mile. I finished in a cool 40 minutes flat, a solid conversational pace. It was hot and humid and I'd been having some health issues so I didn't feel like pushing it.

I also got a really nice dri-fit t-shirt for doing the Race for Central Park. Not enough of those in the world. It made up for the fugly tank top I received at the Dash (no Splash) 10K last month.

Coming up in September: race #9, the final race in my odyssey to NYC 2010. And I'll be running...a mile. Yup, I signed up for the Fifth Avenue Mile. It even starts at 10 a.m. for optimal sleeping in beforehand. I have to find a more decadent breakfast than French toast for that one.

NYC 2010 Qualifying Race #1: The Fred Lebow Classic, January 10, 2009

On January 10, I completed the first of nine qualifying races (and one stint as a volunteer) to qualify for the New York City Marathon in 2010. I've always dreamed about running NYC, even before I knew I could actually run. I watch the marathon every year, cheering for friends and family and occasional really hot Italian men who respond well to my cries of "Forza!"

The race was the five-mile Fred Lebow Classic, named for the man who founded the NYC Marathon. A good way to kick off the process.

Team in Training Brooklyn ran this marathon qualifier as part of our training, so I met my group in Central Park around 7:30 for the 8 a.m. race. Riding the subway to Manhattan on race mornings is always fun. I'm always the only runner for several stops on the Q train through Brooklyn. When I get to downtown Brooklyn I start seeing people with numbers filter on to the train, and we exchange knowing looks at each other's running tights. By the time we hit the transfer point for the uptown 4/5/6 trains, the platform is full of runners, and more and more pack on as the train gets closer to Central Park.

This race started on 99th Street and the East Drive in Central Park. Bagwatch was on the road leading up from 102nd Street, so I checked my stuff. For the first time I realized that NYRR's bagwatch system is according to the LAST number on your bib, not the first. Oops.

I met my teammates and we took a few photos and commiserated about the cold -- at the start line they said it was 24F out. Brrr. Then we headed to the start. I had a pink bib, putting me in the starting corral for the 9-10-minute/milers, reflecting my 9:22/mile pace -- a personal best for myself that I set in a NYRR race in December.

The gun went off and we were off! Thanks to judicious layering I wasn't as cold in this race as I was in December, and I felt good. The first mile was packed with people and I was frustrated because I couldn't get a good rhythm established. Once the pack cleared out, I was on my way and feeling good. According to my watch, I was hitting nine-minute miles (at least until I hit the wrong button on my watch and lost my time at mile 3).

I yelled at a woman in a giant fur coat walking three tiny hairless dogs and a husband who crossed the street in front of me by the reservoir. Hello, there are signs all over the park announcing a road race. Don't mess up my pace!

By this time I was broiling hot and had unzipped my jacket and stripped off both pairs of gloves as I headed for the end. I crossed the finish line feeling great -- I did the math and figured that I had come in under 45 minutes, setting another personal record. I had figured I would run a 47-minute race.

Here's a photo of me crossing the finish line. I had my number on the back of my jacket so they didn't get identifiable shots of me running, but I'm glad to have this one. And yes Mom, I put my gloves back on right after that.

Here are my official results. Check out that 8:52/mile pace! This weekend for qualifying race #2, I'll get a different color bib and a new starting corral for my efforts.