These are long overdue, but I figured that they were worth getting down.
GS Tech Cup: This Spring I competed in the "Goldman Tech Cup" for the second time--this race was formerly the "GS Unofficial Corporate Challenge" but we wanted to add a little bit of prestige to it this time round. The race is organized by managing directors in Technology who basically all want to vie for having the fittest employees. Each of the six teams had five runners, one of whom had to be a woman and one of whom had to be the MD. The race course was a 4.2 mi loop of Central Park.
We had won the race last year--a good thing since our MD is extremely competitive and made it clear that it was going to be a bad time if we didn't clean up. This year, we were aiming to take a second win. Oh, and beyond bragging rights, winners get the chance to drink for free!
The teams were definitely much more stacked this year. When we rolled into the Park the evening of the race, we were shocked by how strong the competition looked.
My boss, John, and I had decided that this year we were going to try for 1st and 2nd. We had taken 2nd and 3rd the year before and were looking to improve. Our strategy was simple: run as fast as possible and try not to blow up.
When the gun went off, the front runners bolted. I was wearing my SBR team kit and figured that I needed to stick out front for a bit to at least justify the way I was dressed. (Note: most people we wearing standard t-shirts and shorts.) I took the lead around 300 yards in and lead the front pack through the 1st mile marker. By the end of mile 1.5, the pack had narrowed to 4 runners. Although sticking in 2nd or 3rd place for the first half of a run is probably a better place to be than out front, I figured my best bet was to lead the group and try to control pacing. This worked pretty well and by 2.5 miles in, there were just three of us left out front. At the 3rd mile marker, I started to break down. The two guys I had been leading pulled ahead by about 100 yards over the course of the next minute. At this point, I didn't have any real kick left and I was forced to resign myself to sticking in 3rd (with the hope that one of them would blow up before the end).
I crossed the finish line pretty torn up. The humidity had been awful and I was decently happy with my 6:06 / mile pace. John came 5th with a solid finish considering how little training he's been able to do this year.
Once everyone finished, we all migrated to the bar. After an hour of drinks / suspense, it was announced that we had won again. Nothing could trump the smirk on my MD's face as he walked around and (sort of) congratulated the competition. The night concluded with many more beers than it should have and my boss playing wingman. All in all, a good race!
Some pictures:
My MD, Damian, stretching alongside the competition.
The startline. I'm obscured in the second row in my yellow and black SBR singlet.
The announcement that we won. Damian's immediately pumps his fist into the air!
The winner's circle.
And the second annual champagne Tech cup chug!
JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge: This was a race that should not have mattered. Only 3.5 miles and awfully big crowds. But, I had gone in March and made a bet with a friend that a) he could not break 24:30 on the course and b) he couldn't beat me. There was a significant amount of money riding on this run and so, when I showed up feverish and sick from some bad training-related heatstroke, I was reluctantly forced to take things seriously.
I got to the race really early so I could queue up in the elite coral. This was a good decision since there were some 17,000 runners in the race. The humidity was awful and storms were brewing. As I stood around waiting for the start, all I could think about was how sick I felt and how little I wanted to run. Oh well!
When the gun went off, I kicked out of the start as fast as possible. I was across the startline in 3 seconds and proceeded to gun it through the first three hills of the course. The rain had started and slippery conditions made it difficult to really light up on the downhills.
All my training has been for long-course so I'm not really used to the pain of a "short" run. This caused some issues around mile 2 when I started to feel the lactic acid build up and my legs slow down. I tried to pace myself but really couldn't and just ended up throwing as much as I could into the run without blowing up.
I ended up finishing in 22:36, about 1.5 minutes off of my desired time. I crossed the finish right next to another guy from Goldman and we both agreed that conditions had really slowed us up.
The silver lining was that my fever subsided that night, I came 3rd in all of Goldman Sachs and my buddy (failing to break 24:30) owes me some drinks at the bar.
