The Wall Street 3 Miler is not a ‘runner’s race.’ This is not the race to PR. You will be elbowed, crowded, tripped, and generally annoyed unless you take it as it is, a fun run.

I met Ed pre-race (after saying hi to Melissa and Erica) and we headed over to the start. There are no corrals, just approximate pace flags. We had done this race a few times and knew the protocol, just go as far forward as you can regardless of what the flags say. Like I said earlier, this is not a ‘runner’s race’ and therefore a few of the rules of competition were skewed.

The gun went off and it took me a good 30 seconds to cross the Start. I was wearing my Newton MV2 racing flats (Thanks Kompetitive Edge!) and was anxious to really test them out.

I was moving at a steady pace passing people, but other gung ho runners were blasting past me like crazy men. These people were not regular runners and I would see lots of these fellas at mile 2 1/2 fading.

As we twisted and turned through Wall Street and the canyons of the Financial District I really started enjoying the course. It was somewhere around Mile 2 and although still thick with runners, it was manageable. I just held to the outside and kept my pace up as high as I could. There were lots of good crowds out cheering people on, mostly people who had coworkers running out supporting them.

Turning onto the final long stretch we were running directly into the sun. It’s very surreal because you can only make out these dark silhouettes of runners ahead. My pace was at its peak on this last mile and I felt good and was very excited to meet up with my friends after. Making the last turn on a quiet neighborhood street I heard, “Goooooo Baker!” It was Claire and Abbe causing a cheering ruckus!

Blasting down the homestretch I could no longer catch anyone. I finished in 18:21 and am happy with that time. I had no goals for this race aside from just enjoying myself, which I did. I didn’t even wear a Garmin!

After the race we (Ed, Jim, Abbe, Erica, Melissa, Chelsea, Maura, Elyssa, Joe, Allen) went to Eamonn’s of Brooklyn which is not in Brooklyn at all. We celebrated with a few pints and some food. Yes, it was awesome!

Saturday I am off to Rev3 Quassy followed by the Great South Bay triathlon on Sunday! Weekend doubler headers rule!