Good Job! (If you can get it)

I once had a flat mate who said that if he were ever to have a child, he would name it 'Plus One'. Working in the music business, he claimed that such a moniker would get his kid on any guest list for any gig in town. I was only 50 % sure he was joking.

I was reminded of this yesterday as I attempted to earn my own plus one, although thankfully this had nothing to do with childbearing. Instead, I worked as a volunteer for the New York Road Runners (NYRR) in order to earn the '+1' I need to complete the 9+1 guaranteed entry program and qualify for the 2012 NYC marathon. If you're new to this blog, you can read about this program and my attempts to complete it here.

I'd chosen to volunteer as a course marshall at the Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run To Breathe 10K in Central Park, a race which supports life-saving research into Cystic Fibrosis. After a 4.15am start (ouch), I made it to Central Park for 6.30am to meet with the other volunteers and the NYRR volunteer coordinator. The meeting point was the NYRR kiosk, right behind the Fred Lebow statue at the East 90th St Entrance to the Park.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and while we milled about waiting for everyone to arrive, I watched jealously as runners made the most of the trails and running paths Central Park has to offer.

I mean, who wouldn't want to run through scenery like this?

By around 7am, everyone had arrived and we all got decked out in our dashing (geddit?) NYRR orange volunteer jackets. You like?

And then it was time for our orientation talk. Basically, as course marshalls, it was our job to make sure that the runners stayed on the right course and didn't veer into the part of the loop reserved for recreational walkers, runners and cyclists. In addition, we needed to keep members of the general public out of the racing lanes whilst the race was on. Lastly, we were expected to perform the most important task of all. Cheering. Easy, eh?

I was asked to work, with two other volunteers near the East 72 Street section of the course, which meant that the runners would pass us twice, once just after the start of the race, and again just before the finish.

Once the race started it was only a matter of a few minutes before the first runners came flying around the corner towards us. It was fantastic to see the front runners speeding past, running at a pace that most of us mortals could only sustain for a minute. When I've run in races before, I never get to see the front runners in action, so it was both exciting and jaw dropping to witness.

Within what seemed like seconds the course was teeming with runners, and we got on with the job in hand, which mostly involved making exaggerated waving motions and shouting 'STAY IN!' whenever someone looked like they were going to veer off in the wrong direction. It was pretty uneventful, except when a crazy woman insisted on crossing the course with her baby in a push chair, nearly tripping up multiple runners in the process. Oh, and there was the pink gorilla. He was cool.

The majority of runners passed us within the first 15 minutes of the race and then all was quiet until they made a full loop and broke for the finish. It was incredible to see the winning runners coming past, running full pelt after over 6 miles. The runners were much more spread out as they began to filter into the finishing lane. While those in the first wave looked confident to finish, as the runners started to look more and more fatigued, our cheering became more and more animated.

And this is where I had a little sticking point. I was half of a two-person cheering squad with a lovely volunteer I'd met called Jennifer. She was a great cheerer, and being American, everything she cheered sounded great.

'Good Job!'
'Nice Kick!'
'You've got it!'

All of this trickled off her tongue in an effortless and effort inspiring flow. Me, on the other hand, well I'm sorry but shouting 'Good Job!' just is not right when you've got an English accent. It just sounds plain stupid. In fact, quite a lot of things sound stupid when you come to think of it. That didn't stop me from shouting, very self consciously, the following heap of nonsense:

'You're almost there!'
'Nice run!'
'Nice socks!' (well, they were nice socks)
'Looking good!' (that's a really American one too, and I did sound pretty idiotic uttering it),
'You've got it!' (I know, all wrong, unless you pronounce got as 'gaat' rather than to rhyme with yacht).

Well I think you get the picture. I was the most self-conscious cheerer you could get, but frankly, most of the people running past us didn't look like they needed much encouragement. They all looked really strong, so you felt like a bit of a lemon yelling 'you can do it!' at them.

But then the crowd thinned out further, and we started to see the people that did need encouragement. The older runners (and I'm talking upwards of 70 here), the runners with oxygen tanks on their backs (amazing), the runners weighing in at upwards of 280lbs, the runner with a prosthetic leg, the runners who were really struggling to finish. It was when these runners came by that I started to cheer instinctively and stopped needing to search for the appropriate thing to say. I was no longer self-conscious but just plain excited for these men and women who were about to finish. You could see that for many of these runners, completing this race was a really. big. deal. And so it should be. Because when you see so many people making a 10K look like a walk in the park, you forget that 10K is a really long way to run. How many of you reading this have ever run a 10K? Was it easy?

The runners we saw in the back of the pack put their heart and soul into this race. When we cheered for them they made eye contact with us and we could see that they took strength from our encouragement. I found it incredibly moving to see them run and honoured to have helped them on their way to the finish line. I hope that every one of them is full of pride for what they achieved yesterday because they did an AMAZING thing.

Before long, the last runners were through to the finish and it was time to pack up. I made my way to the check out station, collected my free race t-shirt, said my goodbyes and headed for home.

Plus one in the bag, memories of a wonderful morning in my heart.

NYRR Mini 10K - Race Report

After a week of incredibly hot weather that saw temperatures in New York City reach the 100s (and saw me with my head stuck in the freezer), I have to admit, I'd been hoping for rain today. I'll take wet and cool over hot and sticky any day of the week (if we're talking running, that is). So, when I woke to pouring rain I thought my luck was in.

Unfortunately, my luck then decided to go out. By the time I'd reached Central Park the rain had cleared and left in its wake grey skies and humidity of 96%. 96 %! So just a tiny bit sticky then. Fortunately, it wasn't too hot, around 69 degrees (that's 20 centigrade to my metric friends), but the air was heavy and there was only the slightest breeze. Not the best running weather, but hey, at least I wasn't melting.

The race starts at Columbus Circle, at the south west corner of the park, so I made my way to join 4,750 other women in the starting corrals. After speeches from the race organisers and a rendition of the star spangled banner, we were off.

The first mile of the race is run down the middle of Central Park West, the roads having been closed to traffic. It's always difficult to get into a steady pace straight from the off, as you often find yourself caught up behind slower runners who have started closer to the front than their pace allows them. Within around half a mile the congestion eased off a bit and I was getting into a steady, although slowish pace. I've never raced a 10k before, and it's a tricky one for me to pace. You can't just go for it, as you can in a 5K or 4 miler, as you'll burn out too soon. And a half-marathon pace is too slow and considered, so finding a balance somewhere in between was the key, and I didn't want to go out too fast in the first mile.

The first mile marker appeared just after we passed the American Museum of Natural History, and a quick peek at my watch confirmed that I was as slow as I thought: a 9.47 mile. This was good though, the first mile needed to serve as a warm up, so I knew I could pick up some time later in the race. At this point I also had a quick look behind me to see Central Park West absolutely teeming with runners as far as the eye could see. It was an absolutely magnificent sight.

At 90th street we made a right into Central Park and continued in a clockwise direction around the loop. I started to get into my groove only to be met quite quickly by one hill and then just past the 2 mile mark, another, the infamous 'Harlem Hill' . I'd run Harlem Hill twice during the More/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon back in April, albeit from the other direction. It's a bugger of a climb, whichever way you take it on. The only good thing about running up it, is the downhill once you get to the top and with this in mind, I pushed on, trying to maintain my pace. As I reached its peak I was met with a rare, cool breeze on my face, a much welcome downhill stretch and a wicked Radiohead tune on my ipod. Cue me with a big, silly grin on my face as I came flying down the hill, attempting to make up a bit of time.

Unfortunately, my runner's high, was short lived. The course at Central Park is a series of 'rolling' hills, and you're never on the flat for very long. As I saw the next hill approach, my legs started to feel heavy and I toyed with the idea of taking a walk break. But before I had the chance, I was met at the foot of the hill by such a big, enthusiastic group of supporters, that their cheers gave me, and I'm sure many others, a bit of a second wind, and I managed to power up the last of the big hills without too much trouble.

At the peak of the hill we passed the 5k mark. Up until this point, I'd not been taking much notice of my time, and had resigned myself to a 'slow but fun' race, as the humidity was making it all so much more of an effort. However, as I ran past the marker, I realised that my time was around 29 minutes (which isn't bad for me), and I wasn't running as slow as i thought. Having run the park before, I knew that the east side of the course was generally flatter, so, what the hell, I pushed on and decided to go for a decent time.

As I reached the 4 mile mark, I suddenly hit a bit of a wall and my arms and legs felt like they had turned to lead. I just felt like all my energy had gone. I wondered what to do and quickly made an absolutely counter-intuitive decision: I decided that I had to go for it and shock my body back to life, so I picked up the pace and promised my legs a quick break at the 5 mile water station.

I made the 5 mile marker 9 minutes later, so had definitely increased my pace. I had a few gulps of water, dropped my head forward and threw the rest of the cup over the back of my neck. It was just so flippin' humid. At this point the Chemical Brothers had kicked in on my ipod and i ran on, trying to maintain my 9 minute mile pace.

The last mile of a race is always tough and this one was no exception. I was tired, hot and sticky and desperate to finish. I managed to keep my pace steady, but at around .2 of a mile from the finish line, I had to pull back a little, just to get a handle on my breathing. Whilst I was pretty happy with my overall pace, and had managed a negative split, I'd started my push for home too early and was in danger of crashing before I got there. At the '800 meters to go' mark, I'd recovered enough to dig deep one last time and push to the end. I managed to sprint the last 50 meters and it was all I could do not to fall over once I crossed the finish line.

I finished in 58.34 - a good time for me and as it was the first time I'd raced the distance, an automatic personal best! My overall pace was 9.26 per mile, which felt about right considering the distance (and the bloody humidity).

Once I had got my breath (and control of my legs) back, I walked through the throng of finshers to collect my runner's booty - food in the shape of bagels and pears, water, a pink carnation (bless) and a finisher's medal. And then it hit me, the combination of exhaustion, emotion, pride and adrenaline and suddenly I'm quietly crying big, stupid, happy tears (I did tell you I'm a bit of a cryer, right?). But you know what? It really was crying of the very best kind.

Check out the NYRR website for the full race report, winners, results, videos and photos plus more about the great Grete Waitz to whom today's race was dedicated.

Pre-Race Ritual

It's the NYRR Mini 10K race tomorrow morning, so today I made my usual pilgrimage to the New York Road Runner's (NYRR) building on the Upper East Side to pick up my race number.

NYRR opens its doors to the racing public for the two afternoons preceeding the race so that runners can pick up their number in good time, rather than on the morning of the race.

The NYRR building, complete with Mini 10K hopefuls

I've never fancied the last minute, race morning number pick up. As it is, you have to get up at the crack of dawn to eat, drink a ton of water to rehydrate yourself after a night's sleep and give yourself time to pee it all out again. Charming, I know, but rather that than run round the course dying for the toilet. After 2 kids, my pelvic floor isn't up to that, I can tell you. Then there's the small matter of actually getting to the race (the New York subway system has an uncanny ability to disrupt service over the weekend, so that always adds an extra little challenge). You have to drop off your baggage, go to the toilet (again), warm up and get to your starting corral before the race kicks off. The Mini 10K is an all female race too, so god knows what the toilet situation will be like. Imagine thousands of women, all desperate for the loo (as, yes, they too have gulped down their own bodyweight in water), sharing around 30 portable loos. It wasn't pretty at the More/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon back in April, and I'm sure it won't be pretty tomorrow. So stuff trying to pick up my race number in the morning, I was getting it sorted today.

Whilst I don't really appreciate the schlep from Brooklyn to the Upper East Side, I do quite enjoy the whole number pick up ritual. It's always a really buzzy atmosphere, as hundreds of people stream in and out of the building to pick up their race gubbins. It's a people watcher's paradise, and I love checking out the competition, who range in age from teenagers to octogenarians and come from all walks of life.

T-shirt pick up

Number pick up

Plus, picking up my number makes me feel like a real runner and it's at this point that I start to get pretty excited about the race.

Thank you, nice smiley man, for presenting me with my race number.

The free t-shirt is always a bonus too, and this one, although predictably and gender-stereotypically pink, is kind of nice, don't you think?

But it was the slogan on the charity t-shirt that had me welling up (I am known to be a bit of a cryer, but managed to rein it in).

This year's Mini 10K is dedicated to the memory of Grete Waitz, five time winner of the Mini 10K and nine time winner of the NYC Marathon. Tomorrow's race is also the 40th anniversary of the race, so it's a really special year to run it.

So while thousands of women go through their own pre-race rituals tonight, wish us all luck and think of us tomorrow morning as we run for Grete, for ourselves and for the sheer bloody thrill of it.

From Zero to 9 + 1

So the next thing I know I've signed up for a 4 mile race. Then a few weeks later a half-marathon. And then I found out something REALLY interesting. One way to guarantee entry to the 2012 New York City Marathon is to do the following 3 things:

1. Join New York Road Runners (NYRR) before 31st Jan 2011.

2. Run 9 qualifying NYRR races during 2011.

3. Volunteer to work 1 NYRR race during 2011.

Simple, eh? It's called the NYRR 9+1 guaranteed entry program.

So, I thought, how hard can it be? Or rather I thought, I bet it's bloody exhausting, but what a challenge! What a great way to get fit, push myself, and potentially completely change my perception of myself and what I'm capable of. If I do this, if I finish the races, and qualify just doing that would be AMAZING. I mean, I've never run a race in my life (except for school sports day), I've never been really fit and up until I made the decision to do this, I'd never run more than 5K. I wanted this. I wanted to show myself that I could set my mind to something and achieve it.

At this point I wasn't even considering what would happen if I actually registered for the 2012 marathon. Because then I'd actually have to consider running that too.

So why blog about it? Well, I'm under no illusion that I'm going to gain thousands of followers and achieve blog super stardom. But I figured that there might be other lunatics like me out there, who have set themselves this challenge, and that they might find it interesting. Plus, the more I let it all out there, the more it motivates me to keep going and not to give up. Because I don't want to give up. I don't want this to be another 'exercise phase', that I drop when it gets too boring. I want to run these races and I want to qualify for the marathon. And ok, let's go there: I want to run the marathon too. I'm a total cliche. I'll turn 40 in December 2012. If I can complete a marathon before I hit the big 4-0, well that would be bleedin' amazeballs.

I decided on a training plan, which I hoped would get me around the first half marathon (oh did I mention that I signed up for two? No?). I figured that the half marathon training would get me more than ready for the first race, the 4 miler a few weeks later. And let me tell you, if you want to stick to a training plan, there's nothing like the a looming half-marathon to motivate you to get out there and run. Snow, rain, sleet, cold you name it, I ran it, because frankly, I thought that if I didn't, I had no chance of finishing the half-marathon.

So did I finish?

Oh yes I bloody well did.

As I write this I've completed 4 of the 9 races. The next is the NYRR New York Mini 10K this Saturday morning, which I'm pretty excited about. There's proper job elite runners running it and it's a special one too, as it's the 40th anniversary of the race. I'll let you know how it goes. If you want to follow my progress through the 9 races (plus any others I'm crazy enough to sign up for) you can do that by checking out my Races page, where I'll post race dates, finishing times etc.

Finally, if you're a novice runner like me and thinking of signing up for your first race, my advice would be this: go for it. It's a fantastic motivator for your training, and the experience of running in a big race is just electric. Plus, I guarantee you, however slow you think you are...

you. will. not. finish. last.