Bonnie: "Now that would be a bummer."
Of course, it's not always this way. Sometimes, travelling along the Northern highways of Long Island can be quick and efficient. The last time that happened? March 17, 1967.
So here I was again. Stuck in miserable traffic, wondering to myself if I could even make it before the runners would finish, let alone the start of the race.
I was bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic, between the Northern State, the L.I.E., and the service road, and the G.C.P. That's when my car started overheating. And I thought to myself, "D.O.A."
Turning off the A/C did surely help. But it was a race against time. I got off the JRob (another NY traffic acronym), and onto "Not So Fertile" Myrtle Avenue, where my Volkswagon Jetta horses were doing all possible to get me to Bonnie's street to park, and run.
But the glut of cars from Woodhaven on back was so bad, that Bonnie's street was no longer an option. No sir, I had to go for broke and go for parking on Woodhaven Boulevard itself. A Boulevard where the appetite for getting run over by an overspeeding motorist is only surpassed with that of a hungry parking meter. It was already 7:02 pm though, so the meters were already a non-issue.
Wait. Did I say 7:02pm. And the race started at what, 7pm.
"7:02pm!!!!!!!"
Without hiding my valuables in the trunk. I locked and ran. Camera in one hand, cam corder in the order. No, I wasn't running to do the race. I was running to capture the race and put it on our website. (which by the way is http://www.forestparkrunners.org/- yet another shameless plug).
It was 7:04 and the light had just turned green for me to cross. Keeping in mind that I had long pants, a polo, and loafers on, I somehow managed to run at about a 6 minute pace to the starting line some 1/4 mile away.
Thanks heavens the race started ONE minute late (or was my watch ONE minute fast?). As a result, I was able to capture the finishers. And thank God too, that I had a waterproof camcorder. I was dripping sweat like Robert Hayes in the movie "Airplane!"
So, who says a cameraman can't get a workout after all?
The temperature was 90+ degrees, and it was muggy. Thick and disgusting. If I could've added sugar to the air, I could have wrapped it up and sold it at the Cheesecake Factory.
It was nice to see my fellow runners there like Mitch, Tom, Jack, Ellie, Frank, Maria, Ed, and the rest of the gang. They were all helping out.
What was most amazing about the race today was that a) no one stole my stuff (although after the finish, I gave my camera to Maria and ran to and from the car again) and b)a 3 year old girl ran an entire mile!! Most Impressive, Captain! Also, a mother and her two very young daughters finished together too. Again and in my book, a marvelous display of parenting gone right! :-)
This coming Thursday, the 28th, will be the last of the Summer Series Runs. I will be there for it....unless my wife delivers our twinkies, and I'm not talking about the ones in the Hostess aisle either. In which case, coverage may be somewhat slim.
A big thanks to Frank for providing me with pre-race photos that I would otherwise have missed capturing. Now that's teamwork! :-)
