I woke up this morning and started to prepare for my first race in exactly 364 days (the last race being the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon 5K Run/Walk which I completed in a tidy 20:00). I’d like to say I planned it that way…you know, for dramatic effect and to keep up my two race/year average.

Nevertheless, the old pre-race habits came back right away: lace up shoes, attach timing chip, crumple up race number and put in mouth, eat a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese (OK, I threw that one in for fun).

Then, Anna and I took off from our apartment to jog a couple miles to the start of the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile at 80th Street. The race was broken into various start times based on your age and sex, so it seemed like a good idea for me to run in the 15-29 men’s division. That seemed like a natural fit (although I could’ve killed in the women’s 65+ race).

Off I went at 9:45 a.m. EDT, starting near the back of the pack. Having never seen or run the course (a straight shot down 5th Avenue to 60th Street), I decided to start conservatively and ran relaxed for the first 800 meters (until 70th Street). At that point you hit a slight downhill, so I lengthened my stride and started my sprint to the finish.

My chip time came out at 5:30, but I swear the clock at the finish said 5:25 (not to mention the five seconds I waited to reach the starting line at the beginning of the race).

Next year I vow to break five minutes (over my knee).

After the race, Anna and I went looking for some coffee nearby and wandered by FAO Schwartz. Her eyes lit up so we detoured our campaign for caffeine and headed into the store (past a man in a soldier outfit who saluted all who entered the front door).

You might remember this particular FAO Schwarz from a famous scene featuring Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia.

They still have a giant piano that’s located on the second floor, complete with “professional piano dancers” who put on a professional piano-playing show. In between sets, you get the chance to take off your socks and stumble your way through Chopsticks.

Apparently, you can take home the over-sized keyboard for a mere $250,000. But, they must not be selling a lot of pianos.

After our toy-store trek, we headed back toward the finish area where we watched the professional runners (who were slightly more entertaining than the professional piano dancers). Alan Webb, American record holder in the mile, ran another smart race and surged ahead with about 100 meters left in the race to take the win.

After the races finished, Anna and I walked through Central Park to Columbus Circle and hopped a train back home. Maybe next year, I’ll find myself a Zoltar machine and dominate the 12-14 year-old division (what’s that? …a 14-year old ran a 4:57? ah crap).

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 4:06 pm and is filed under Manhattan, NYC Places, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.