Running into Pierre

One of my favorite running bloggers, Harlem 26.2, decided to stop posting recently. He used to title a lot of his posts "Running into ...". In some cases, the reference was literal, such as "Running into a Train", and sometimes less so, as in "Running into a Double Latte". It was a great blog, and I'll miss it. When I decided to post about an unexpected sighting of a runner that I had met once before, it just seemed natural to title the post "Running into Pierre" in honor of Harlem 26.2.

A few hundred yard into the the 2007 NYC Marathon, a runner approached me and asked what pace I was targeting. It turned out that we had similar goals, and we ran together for a while. In the next few miles, I learned that Pierre lived in my neighborhood, was also running his first marathon, and had trained entirely on his own. I found this last bit very impressive, as I had relied heavily on my running club for support -- especially in completely the long 18 and 20 mile training runs that one needs to do before running a marathon. Pierre had gone out and run 20 miles in Central Park on his own. That's a long way.

I really enjoyed meeting him, and I was disappointed when we got separated in the crowds after three miles or so. I've often wondered how the rest of the day went for him. I didn't know his last name, so I couldn't even look up his results.

This morning, as I was heading down 96th Street to the park, a runner coming the other way called out asking if I was John. Sure enough, it was Pierre. I was amazed that he was able to recognize me -- it's been 5 months since we briefly meet. I was really happy to hear that he ran a really good time -- a lot better than I had done. We chatted a bit -- we're both signed up for this year's marathon but not yet committed, etc.

We ran on our separate ways, and I realized that once again, I hadn't gotten his last name or even suggested that we run together some time. I could have at least suggested that he look into joining the Flyers. Hopefully, it will continue to be a small world and I'll see him out there again.

Target Race

Had a great run yesterday with PL and TH. We had talked about going back to Rockefeller State Park, but with all the rain we were having we decided it might be a muddy mess. Instead we got together in Central Park for a couple of loops. PL wanted to get a feel for a race pace he was targeting, so in the middle of the first loop, we did a half mile pick at 10k pace or so. Then at the top of the Great Hill, we veered off to the cinder track that's hidden a few hundred yards off the road, and ran a few fast laps there. At the end of the second loop, we also picked up a bit to finish strong. The weather turned out to be beautiful, and I had a great time running with my two good friends.

I'm looking ahead at targeting the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 3rd. Brooklyn is a great course, and I haven't run a half since October. I'm hoping to be up for a PR. Either way, it should be fun.

This morning, TH and I went out early, as we each had family obligations for most of the day. Runners were just starting to gather for the More Marathon in the park. The More Marathon is an amazing event that is only for women over 40. You can run the full marathon, or get a partner, and each of you run half (the partner doesn't have to be over 40). There were 146 marathon finishers, and close to 6000 folks who ran the half.

We passed by the Flyers water station, where a large group of Flyers were setting up. It felt bad to wave and say hi to the folks that were volunteering as we ran by, but there was no way I could have helped out today. Note to self: get out and do more Flyers volunteer activities!