Give me such shows — give me the streets of Manhattan! — Walt Whitman, “Give me the Splendid, Silent Sun”
This weekend we headed to New York City so that Mr. P could test his road speed in the New York City Half Marathon. He originally entered in hopes of running a 1:28, which would allow him to bypass the lottery for the New York City Marathon in 2017. But just a few weeks ago, he gained entry to the 2016 NYC Marathon via the lottery, relieving him of the pressures of attaining a time that he was not entirely confident he could attain in order to run a marathon he will have already had done.
We cashed in some Hilton loyalty points to stay at the Doubletree in Times Square. It was mile 7 of the half marathon, but right at the starting line for the 1-mile kids race that Mr. P had signed Little Boy up for. It was also right across the street from M&M’s World, which is Little Boy’s new favorite place on Earth.
While spectating, we caught a glimpse of American Molly Huddle battling it out with a Kenyan Joyce Chepkirui in the Elite women’s race. Apparently the battle came down to a controversial photo finish in which Huddle appeared to elbow Chepkirui. Funny enough, in my picture it looks like Chepkirui is making contact with Huddle.
Many minutes later, Mr. P finally came into view. I was tracking his progress via an app and knew he was hovering right below his goal pace. He finished in 1:29:09, a teensy yet torturous bit under his goal.
I yelled and he waved. He hates this picture, but since the official race photos cost $29.95 for one, this one might have to do.
Little Boy’s race was a bit unfair, as he was in the 7-10 year old boy’s division. I was shocked at how many kids had real track uniforms and running shoes. These kids were serious. I reminded Little Boy to go out slow and finish strong, and was very pleased that he did just that. He started in the back of the pack and worked his way up to finish firmly in the middle.
Running Strong near the finish
I was so proud of him. He paced himself perfectly and told me he didn’t walk at all. they gave all the kids heat wraps though it wasn’t that cold and they all walked around proudly with them.
Another memorable part of our weekend was the view from our hotel room. Here are the runners making their way through Times Square as the Green M&M lords over them.
