I don’t travel by myself often. But, when I won an entry through the lottery late last year for the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, I knew that this was going to be a trip that I would be making by myself. NYC is among my favorite cities to race, particularly as this race affords the opportunity to run through Times Square on part of the point-to-point course from Brooklyn to Manhattan.
With Kurt sitting this one out, I was free to set my own itinerary for the trip. I opted to fly into LGA on Friday around midday, as I wanted the ease of getting into the city via public transport from the airport, even though it meant an early morning flight departure out of Austin and a flight connection in Atlanta. Kurt usually handles all of the navigation of getting from place to place on our travels, so I was proud of myself for getting to my hotel without any problems.
I stayed at The Blakely on W 55th St, also for the ease of walking back after finishing the race at Central Park on Sunday. I quickly dropped my bags off then went to get lunch at nearby PizzArte, the first of what would be three times that I would dine here during my brief trip (excellent GF pizza!). This was one of my first trips traveling since I started eating a gluten-free diet last November. I used the FindMeGF app/website to locate restaurant options. It worked well, but choosing where to eat definitely took some advance planning instead of just being able to pop into any place that looked good while walking by it.
After lunch, I walked to pick up my race materials from the Expo, stopping to take in some of the iconic buildings of the city along the way.
I made fairly quick work of the Expo, then walked over to the Whitney which featured Free Friday night admission. I had reserved admission in advance for a timed entry, but I got there a little early so I walked along the High Line nearby first then went through the gift shop before it was my time to enter the museum itself. The museum has great views of the city from the upper floor terraces. In terms of the art, the collection had a few pieces by Georgia O’Keefe that I really liked.
After a long day with early travel, I headed back uptown via the subway and grabbed a quick, light dinner at Souvlaki GR, a Greek restaurant near my hotel.
On Saturday, I met my friend Cynthia, who was also in town from Ohio to run the race, at Columbus Circle for a shake-out run at Central Park. We ran an out and back in the park and enjoyed catching up over a few easy miles.
Then, I quickly got ready and hustled over to the grandstand seating for the NYC St Patrick’s Day Parade. Having watched part of the parade the day before the race in 2018 as well, I knew that it wasn’t a great idea for me to be on my feet for hours with the race the next day. So, I was excited to receive a ticket for the grandstand seating area. Tickets are free, but a request must be submitted by mail in advance. I followed the instructions on the proper attire to wear, and I actually got upgraded to the VIP seating with actual seats (instead of just bleachers) where the parade dignitaries came to after they finished on the route.
Unfortunately, I needed to eat lunch so I didn’t stay too long at the parade. Pre-race meals are too important to skimp on! I grabbed a Turkey Avocado sandwich (GF) and Chicken Mango small side salad at Fresh&Co on my walk back to the hotel and later returned to PizzArte for gnocchi as my pre-race dinner.
Race day arrived early on Sunday with a subway ride to the race start in Brooklyn near Prospect Park. Fortunately for the pre-race wait (but, unfortunately for the race itself), the temperature was not as cold as it had been for the previous two times that I’ve done this race. I did a short warm-up, running back and forth for a mile in a coned area with others doing the same. Then, I waited for the call for my wave to enter the corral. It was very crowded and unclear where exactly each corral entry point was, but somehow Cynthia spotted me from behind just as I was about to enter my corral and I got to see a familiar face before it was time to run.
13.1 miles later I found myself back in Central Park where the race finished a few blocks north of my hotel. What I didn’t account for in the selection of my hotel though was the inability to cross the racecourse to get to where I needed to be on the other side of the street. After much trial and error, I finally found my way back via an underpass to cross the course.
After spending most of the afternoon napping, I decided to make the most of my evening by getting a last-minute theater ticket for the long-standing play, Perfect Crime, that evening (via the TodayTix app/website). Despite my front row seat where I could pay attention to all of the details, I found the play to be very confusing, so much so that the audience received a cheat sheet after the performance to explain all of the nuances.
I woke up on Monday morning eager to make the most of my last few hours here by logging some easy post-race miles with a loop of Central Park. And then, you guessed it, I went back to PizzArte for another gluten-free pizza for lunch! Yes, it was that good.
Now, it’s time to head back home to Kurt and to put my head down for the last few weeks of training leading up to the London Marathon next month!