I checked into the NY Hilton, near Central Park, and the largest hotel in NYC by rooms and visits, on Wed around 6PM. I looked around the huge lobby and saw a bunch of people in running gear.
Me Thinking: What the frig is going on here?
A half hour later as I came back down to go for a run around Central Park, I saw even more, and at least half were African-American, or so I thought.
Me Thinking: What IS GOING ON?
Then I looked around and saw orange signs with inspirational slogans like "Hit The Ground Running" and "Lead The Pack" and "Runner with a Sole" and realized the NY Marathon was on Sunday. DAMN IT, I should have known because I applied to get into the marathon but they didn't want me. For non-NY Runners Club members its a lottery when you apply, and they looked at my application and threw it in the garbage and just like that my hopes of running in the same boro I went to college in (and B school) were trashed. PUN INTENDED MO-FO.
Then I thought...
Me Thinking: Hmm, the race is on Sunday, why are they here on Wed?
Then I thought...
Me Thinking: Well, for me and others who live close by, we would get to town probably on Friday. But if I lived on the west coast, I would want to get here on Thursday.
Then I thought...
Me Thinking: And what if I lived very far away, like in AFRICA. Where there are Kenyan runners. And Ethiopian runners. ELITE marathon runners. Then what Dave? When would I come in? DAMN RIGHT I would come in on Wednesday.
So as I looked around, every black runner I saw I thought was a world class elite marathon runner from Africa. The best of the best since NY Marathon attracts the best field. Although, most of the African American runners I saw probably grew up in Murray Hill, attended Fordham and work on Wall Street. But in my world, I was walking around running superstars, and trust me, for me to say superstars and runners in the same sentence would get me beat up in a Patriots tail gate party or the bleachers at Fenway.
So it was pretty cool. Thursday morning as I was heading to the subway, I saw a bunch of runners. Thursday night as I went for another run, I saw a bunch of runners. Oh, that reminds me. The park is setting up for the marathon so I got to run through the finishers shoot, or whatever its called. I got to see the trucks with seats on the back that will hold the cameras, and all of the other fun stuff being assembled for this huge event. And then I got melancholy because my first choice this year was to run NY and it didn't happen. And I work there, I went to school there, I grew up about 30 miles east on Long Island, I feel like its my town. And they are getting ready for this huge event while I am getting ready to fly home. Oh well.
On another note, kind of related, I left my hotel room earlier tonight to go for a run and forgot my key. So I stopped at the desk in the lobby to ask for another one and I was told by the clerk that he would have security meet me outside the door, they would let me in.
Me: How do they know its my room.
Desk Clerk: You have to tell them something that is in the room and they will verify before letting you in.
Me: Like a pillow or a TV?
Clerk: (not really picking up on my humor) No, like a personal item that is specific to you.
Me: Like the dead body in the tub or knitting gear in my suitcase?
So I decided to wait until I got back from my run and went to the Diamond Desk. I told the guy my room and he said "Oh, Mr Dobrindt, I know you".
Hmm, interesting comment to make. Not sure how to take it. "I Know You" as in you are a preferred guest, or "I Know You" as in you are a huge pain in what a jerk. He said he sees my name all the time because I stay there. He graciously didn't mention that I always forget to cancel rooms after the cut off date and beg for a refund.
So thats my story for this week. Goodnight and be well.
