Saturday, August 11, 2007

Run to Home Plate, Saturday at Shea, Part 1

What is the Run to Home Plate (RTHP) you may ask?  The New York Road Runners and the Mets combined to give the average fan a chance to run to home plate at Shea like a Met.  What a thrill! 

This is my second year doing the RTHP.  It was rescheduled from a few weeks ago which was when I was battling a slight tear in my left calf.  Today is my first race back so I am a little nervous.

The 7 Train thankfully made good time out to Shea as there is hardly anyone on it is almost midway between the finish of Friday night's game and the start of Saturday night's game.  I looked up from writing and happened to see PS1 which Kathleen suggested as a group get together.  My idea was to
see Erasure and/or the Beastie Boys at McCarren Pool.  So many good ideas, so little time.

Time to get ready for the 5k (3.1 mile) race that begins in the Shea parking lot, goes to and around the Unisphere in Flushing Meadow Park, run back around Shea, and into Shea through center field, take a quick left, run along the warning track to the right field line, and then a quick right down the first baseline to finish at home plate.  The thousands of us didn't actually step on home plate because of possible damage to it and the field but you get the idea.
         
Back to the start in the Shea parking lot.  There isn't much of it left as cranes move metal and concrete around to build the new Citi Field.

I am grateful that the regular NYRR announcer isn't making his usual annoying announcements.  The regular announcer must be in Central Park at training run.  Steve and Kathleen and Linda are somewhere are in Denmark and Upstate, respectively, smiling.  :-)
                                           
The new announcer does double duty and a great job singing the National Anthem.  The starting horn is about to go off as I pray for a healthy race.

"Errrrr!" blasts off at the Start Line and I am off.  I have to stay within myself and run slow and steady.  I promised my roommate and other friends to take it easy.  It's hard to do as my juices get flowing as
the "Let's Go Mets" theme plays after the starting horn goes off.  My left calf tightens about a quarter mile in and I had to stop to stretch it out.  Back on the course.  I pass under the Grand Central Parkway
coaching myself to keep it slow and steady.  The pain diminishes slightly as I get to the first water stop which I walk through to rehydrate and rest my legs.  Time to move and I get to the Mile 1 marker in 8:45.  OK, slower than last year but I need to finish this year as my third of nine qualifying races for guaranteed entry in the 2008 NYC Marathon. 
                 
I see the Unisphere and know if I get around it that I am more than half home.  I start getting a good rhythm where I get good speed and can bear the pain in the left calf.  I run the second mile in 8:33 (17:18 total) because I didn't have to stop to stretch and the walk stop is on the other side of the Mile 2 marker.  I walk through the water stop to rehydrate and rest.
       
I can see Shea and know it's almost home.  Through the parking lot and by my normal gate, Gate B, and around Shea to the entrance.  I reach Mile 3 in 8:02 (25:20 total).  Only a tenth of a mile (0.1) left.  I
usually love running on a softer surface like along the reservoir in Central Park but I have to extend and pull the calves too much to get traction.  Therefore, slow and steady and I finish in 26:25.  Hey, a minute slower than last year but I'll take it.  "Put it in the books!" as Mets radio announcer Howie Rose would say after each Mets win.
                            
My fellow runners and I aren't allowed to hang out around home plate except for those with medical emergencies.  My left calf is tight but okay thank God.
                     
Posted by a grateful Tank live from the Run to Home Plate at Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens





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