I ran the marathon last week. This was going to just for fun. No pressure. See what happens. No clock.
They promised a lot of road closures and I was not sure what's going to happen on the course. Race is supposed to start at 9:40. Left the house at about 5:40. Take the Belt Pkwy to Verazonno bridge (lower level) to first exit. Well, the lowe level was closed (damn) and as soon as I crossed the bridge, I had to cross over about 8 lanes. Found the place and actually found a spot. I didn't want to get car locked in until 1 pm. As I was in the car after I parked, this woman who parked behind me, comes over to ask for directions to race start and instead tells me that she knows me. She is Arnie's assistance. We walk together to race start. Found the porta-potties. Not only no line but also clean. Little chilly in shade, nice in sun.
Talked for a while and you can see when the ferries came in because suddenly you see about 500 runners show up. Found Len, Arthur and Francois. Chilled with them for a while, hit the porta-bush and went to starting line. Soon as I got there, 5 minutes from start, I realized I gotta pee again. Too many people around and no bushes. Gotta hold it in.
Race starts with 2 hills with a turn in between. At about mile 1.5, I saw an Idiot standing in the middle of the road with runners swarming all around him and a cop yelling at him to move it. Dude just standing there.
The turn around was where the biek turn around for the Staten-Island triathlon was. Lots of hills but generally a nice enough run. Headed back and saw Arnie who started before me. Passed him, made the final turn and the last push to finish.
Ended up PR-ing for me in the half-marathon records by about 20-25 seconds. Ate and drank and hurried home. Showered and then went with family to the Queens farm for a playdate with Jessie's friend.