Definitely for the Girls

The first thing that struck me about the Nike Women's Marathon was the overwhelming smell of nail polish. The second thing that struck me was the long line, not for packet pickup, but foot massages. The third thing, standing in Union Square at 7am, was that us few guys out there were outnumbered 20 to 1, even if officially the ratio was 19 to 1. Some women were running bandit, but I'm not naming names.

I wanted to run slow. I got my fast time and needed a slow run in prep for the full marathon next month. So I estimated a 9-9:59 pace, which is really sandbagging it. Now, in a normal race I can pass pretty aggressively, but in this case my chivalrous side took over and I spent the whole time going no, please, after you, I insist. While any day spent surrounded by 20,000 beautiful women is a good day, I know this is their race, not mine. Besides, I explained to any passing female, why would I want to rush this?

My goal was a slow race, but in the end I couldn't help running at a faster, more comfortable stride. I wanted a 2:05 time, but fell short, getting only a 2:04.