The PR monster struck again this morning! I had the pleasure of running New York Road Runner's More Half Marathon. NYRR always runs a well organized race and today's was no exception.
First of all, can we talk about the expo? They made you feel like a superstar and made the event feel like a big-time marathon. There were dozens of booths with women centric products... like free manicures, the girly things we use once a month, clothing and sparkly headbands! You know that I just had to buy a brand new one, right? duh. The number pickup was flawless and we got a bag full of free goodies. It was also very cool to see a room filled with fit chicks!
I was actually pretty nervous for this race. BLT and I have done our long runs together and we were hitting some good times in training... so it was all about putting the training together and racing. I feel like I'm normally too scared to "race" half marathons. 13.1 miles is A LOT longer than a 10k (6.2 miles) and it could get pretty messy if you don't pace yourself right.
Speaking of messy... due to the nerves I had to visit this place not one, not two but three times. That's when you know you're realllly nervous for a race!
 |
| Why hello Mr. Porta Potty! |
BLT and I did our businass (hehe), dropped our bags off, warmed up with a little jog and got in our corral. We were lucky to be in the 3rd corral so we were able to cross the start line pretty quickly.
 |
| Good Morning Central Park! |
My whole strategy from the get-go was to push on the flats and downhills and take it a bit easier on the major hills. This course was 2+ hilly loops of Central Park, but this is my backyard so I know where every major & minor hill lie. Here's a quick breakdown....
mile 1: 8:49 - there was some race start congestion here
mile 2: 8:09 - not bad, considering we went up Cat Hill
mile 3: 7:59 - when BLT and I glanced down at our watches, there were no words spoken. We just went, whoops.
mile 4: 8:24 - perfect pace AND it was going up Harlem Hill - the steepest one of all
mile 5: 8:37 - slowed a bit here for the rolling hills on the west side
mile 6: 8:13 - one of the "free speed" miles where I pushed downhill
mile 7: 8:19 - this was another push around the bottom of the park
mile 8: 8:33 - Cat Hill, a bit slower this time around
mile 9: 8:11 - woohoo for flat & downhill!
mile 10 & 11: 8:42 & 8:46 - these 2 miles were the hardest miles for me. Mile 10 was heading up Harlem Hill and mile 11 was all those little rolling hills that take a toll on your legs the second time around. This was where I really started to hurt and I had to really focus on, well, focusing!!
Mile 12: 8:14 - push, baby, push!
mile 13: 8:19 - almost home, PUSH
.1 (or .24 on my garmin): 1:48 (7:32 pace) Of course this race ends on an uphill and that last hill nearly took me out! I was pumping my arms but my legs seemed like they were cemented to the ground.
But once I crossed and saw 1:50:54 I was super proud of myself!! That is just over a 4 minute PR!!!
 |
| Celebrating at brunch with our sparkly headbands! |
It's really great to see my run training pay off in a race like this! After brunch and showering, I took a long walk to the East River with Olliedawg. It was nice to stretch my legs and there were a ton of people out!
 |
| Hello Mr. East River Boat! |
Now, my next big goal is sub-6 at Quassy. Quassy is one tough course, so I'm getting a little nervous. I need to focus on my biking to prep!
But my very next race is the first weekend in May... a sprint tri! It'll be nice to dust off my open water swimming with a short sprint. It's up in Harryman Park, which is quite hilly, so it'll be good practice for my Roo!
Hope everyone had a great weekend of racing and training!!
