Lat year I ran the NJRR Midnight Run on New Year's Eve
and had much the same feeling. It was 4 miles on the
board walk in Long Branch, starting at midnight with
fireworks on the beach as we ran. It was very quiet
on the drive down there and outside on the boardwalk
prior to the run. Then, minutes after midnight,
revelers emerged from the restaurants along the beach
and cheered us on. Definitely an awesome experience
and a great start to the New Year!
Adele

--- ironpete@... wrote:

> The Midnight Run
>
> Two minutes before midnight I am already dressed in
> my running clothes and
> setting the watch in anticipation of my first
> objective of the year, a 4
> mile run through my neighborhood in Staten Island. I
> synchronize the
> official time from the Dick Clark program to my
> watch, then shut off the
> TV and head out the door.
>
> As I wait outside in anticipation of midnight, some
> folks have already
> started celebrating with fireworks. I begin to
> think, what will 2008 have
> in store? There's this long swim that I will be
> doing in August from Santa
> Catalina Island to the mainland (21 miles). There is
> Ironman Louisville at
> the end of that same month. There are other things
> that I hope to do as
> well. The theme for 2008 is to go long. Very long.
>
> At the stroke of midnight the bells in the church
> nearby start to chime
> and I hear cheers coming from houses everywhere as I
> start my run.
> Fireworks explode everywhere within the first 2
> minutes of the run. I feel
> very positive. I come across a mother with her 2
> year old child. The
> mother was instructing the child to bang a can
> against her step in
> celebrating the new year. I shout out to her "Happy
> New Year!". They
> reciprocate with a laugh as they were fascinated by
> my midnight running.
>
> During the first 10 minutes of the run, there were
> no cars on the road.
> Not one. For a busy place Staten Island, I find this
> incredible. I run on,
> feeling really good about what I am doing. I'm not
> one for symbolism, but
> I genuinely felt that doing this run at midnight was
> the right thing to
> do. I turn around at the 2 mile point and start
> coming back. At this point
> all of the cars come out of the woodwork. Careful of
> a higher frequency of
> drunk drivers om the road this night, I chose a very
> safe course with wide
> shoulders so that I can give cars a wide berth. Upon
> coming back, there
> were still some people shooting off fireworks (a
> good half-hour after
> midnight). I felt real strong and kept a good pace
> all the way back.
>
> Not a bad way to start the year. Heck, it's crazy
> enough that I might do
> this again next year!
>
> I wish everyone a Happy New Year.
>
> ******************
> Coach Pete Priolo
> Tri-State Endurance Coaching
> For Running, Triathlon, and Ultramarathons
> Phone: 908-229-9687
> E-mail: ironpete@...
> Web: www.ironpete.com
>


Adele

"Well-behaved women rarely make history"




________________________________________________________________________________\
____
Looking for last minute shopping deals?
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping