Race Report: Joe Kleinerman 10K

DATE: January 8; 8:00 AM

DISTANCE: 10 KM

PLACE: CENTRAL PARK, MANHATTAN, NY

WEATHER:  22F; 10F with wind chill  

OFFICAL TIME / PACE: 59:07/ 9:31 MIN/MI

Finishers: 4,503

SWAG: Long-Sleeve shirt

Image courtesy of NYRR

This race is held in honor of Joe Kleinerman, who was one of the founders of New York Road Runners and worked for/with the organization until he died at 91 years old.

Woo Hoo! My first race (hopefully of many) of 2022, and boy was it a cold one. The night before, I was quite nervous because the forecast called for 22F temps. I HATE running in subfreezing weather. Actually, NYC had a small snowstorm a few days ago, and I was afraid that the course would be super snowy and/or frozen. That said, the city did a pretty good job of clearing the course prior to the race.

Since this was my first race of 2022, I did not have any real goals going into this one. Well, my main goal was to perform better than last year’s Joe K 10K. To be perfectly honest, I could not have done worse than last year. For 2021’s Joe K 10K, I was dealing with lower back and GI issues – I vomited while running last year’s race.

I think that I’m just doomed to arrive late to races. The plan was to wake up and walk to the start, which is about 20 blocks from my apt. The morning of the race, I was all set to walk to Central Park, but my bowels said otherwise because I had to take a huge dump right before leaving the apartment. Luckily for me, the M1 bus (which is never around when you actually need it) was arriving just as I was leaving the apartment.

By the time I arrived to Central Park, the race had already started. Fortunately for my slow running ass, I was placed in Corral I and managed to hop into the race once I saw some fellow Corral I runners pass. I guess having a high corral placement is good for my tardy ass because you have about 15 – 30 minutes after the gun before reaching the start line.

Random thought: I guess running is a popular New Year’s resolution because the field seemed VERY packed for this race.

Random rant: Why don’t people go into their correct corrals? Ok, if you are placed in Corral I, but know that you have an injury or doing the race as a fun run, why not move to a higher corral? What’s the point of starting with the faster runners, if you plan (or have) to walk within the 1st 400 meters?

The 10K course is fairly straightforward – one outer loop of Central Park, which has been named Ted Corbitt Loop.

Besides the proximity to my apartment, I love races that start near the 102nd Street Transverse because the biggest climb occurs within the first mile. I will admit that I struggled with the first climb because the field was really crowded, and it was hard to move around. This struggle probably was a good thing because it prevented me from going out too fast. Also, it took me a little bit of time to get used to running with so much clothing. Because of the cold weather, I wore: an undershirt, a thermal tech, a tech T, a long-sleeve tech shirt, regular undies, two pairs of tights, shorts, calf socks, gloves, a gaiter, and a skull cap.

Around Mile 2, I was feeling some tightness in my hip flexors. I’ll admit that I have not been the most faithful with my daily running workouts, stretching, and foam rolling. My screwups like this are good because they will remind me about the importance of my daily stretching and foam rolling. Other than the slight tightness, I felt pretty strong throughout the race.

It was cool seeing my running group’s second cheer section around Mile 4-5. Also, it was awfully nice of some group members to stay out in the cold and cheer for us.

This location was purrrrrrfect because they set up shop right at Cat Hill (another climb). See why I did the purrrrrfect thing? 😉 I think this gave me some momentum to start fartleking to finish up the race. However, I think that I went too hard during my fartleks because I ran out of juice for my final 400m sprint. Wait, that’s partially true. I could not sprint too hard because I was boxed in between a few runners that were pretty much over the race and a huge snowbank. It was either: 1) be rude and push my way through the runners or 2) slip on some ice and snow. I didn’t do #1 because I’m a nice person 😉 or #2 because I did not want to injure myself. I figured that I have plenty of races for a strong finish.

LOL, I took this selfie because a finisher (not the folks who boxed me in) next to me said that I was “glistening”, and I wanted to know what the hell she was talking about.

As a way to celebrate my first race of 2022, the hubby and I had some tacos and margaritas for dinner.

Next Race:

Fred Lebow Half Marathon – Jan. 23

Questions of the Day:

• Which running podcasts are you following?
• Reading any good running-related books?
• Are you planning to run any full or half marathons during the months of April, May, June, and/or July. If so, which ones? I need some inspiration for my race calendar.

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