the 2011 season finale: ted corbitt 15k

So as you know, even though the marathon didn’t go my way, I was still determined to end 2011 on a good note, race-wise…obviously running another marathon would not be realistic, but I could tear it up in some shorter races.  One that really caught my eye as being the perfect end to the season, was the Ted Corbitt 15K.  Yeah, a 15K in Central Park, nothing special right?  That said, my 15K PR was way, way overdue for a falling.  Of course, that may have been due to the fact that I only ran the race distance twice in my race lifetime.  First time was back in 2006 and was my standing PR of 1:17:39, and the 2nd time in 2007 was more of a glorified training run.  Plus considering I’ve run faster 15K splits in marathons, and I’ve run half-marathons at a faster pace…yeah, I think you know where I was going with this one 🙂

Based on my recent short races, looked like a 7:45 pace, or around 1:12, should be doable.  There were others who were encouraging me to go for 7:30’s…and oh it would have been sweet to break 1:10…but I knew this wouldn’t be the day for it.  (Did I also mention that my longest run since the marathon was only 9 miles?)

So another nicely chilly morning.  Singlet, black long-sleeve…and after flip-flopping between shorts and capris, decided to go with capris.  (Combo worked pretty well, though I think I may have been better off with short-sleeve and arm warmers.  Lessons learned!)  No subway issues heading uptown, actually got off a stop or 2 early to jog to warm up and jog to baggage.  I headed to the red corral, hung with Flyers AG, JJ, EG and SC while waiting for the start.  AG was “stretching” me out, while JJ and I reminisced about RnR Philly when that was the last time we were in the same start corral, and I said I totally expected him to be ahead of me again.  And so the last “9th race” of the year began…

First loop:
Mile 1-7:55
Mile 2-7:28
Mile 3-7:53
Mile 4-7:39

So given that I really don’t race this distance (even a 10-miler, which is pretty close in terms of distance is a pretty scarce race…last time I raced that distance was early 2009) I was a little unsure how to pace it-is this a long 10K or a short half?  But I decided to employ the same strategy I do for halfs…pace most, race last 5K.  And in this case (as there was no 10K marker) the plan would be to pace the first 6 miles, pick it up a little for 7, race the last 2.3.  So if that meant letting people go in the beginning, so be it.  EG and I ran a good part of the 1st mile together but she pulled ahead and I let her go.  First mile was a little slow, but understandable given the hills, and sure enough I made up for it on the downhill mile 2.  Cat Hill did a little damage on mile 3 but again, made up for it with another net downhill mile…so I was at 30:55 through 4 miles and as far as I was concerned, I was executing the plan perfectly 🙂

2nd loop:
Mile 5-8:04
Mile 6-7:37
Mile 7-7:39
Mile 8-7:45
Mile 9-7:23
Mile 9.3-2:16 (7:04 pace)

The 2nd trip through the West Side Hills was tougher than the first, as this saw what would be my only mile over 8 minutes.  The downhill mile 6 was faster, but not as much as I would like…so time to put the plan into action and kick it up a little bit for the 7th mile.  And it helped I had some rabbits to pace off of in these last coupla miles to keep me strong…my friend JW from Urban Athletics and our own running seal (both would wind up having PR’s and great races too!)  Of course, mile 8, my first “racing” mile would include Cat Hill, but I think I held up pretty well, and was still passing people (and the cheers from Flyers NS and PD helped greatly!  In fact, the cheering support was pretty good during this race…)  Cat Hill done and 1.3 miles to go.  Run hard to Engineer’s Gate, then even harder to the end.  I wasn’t sure if I was still averaging 7:45’s at that point, but I knew I was on track for a BIG PR, so let’s see how big it can get.  (That’s what she said.)

Just past the 9-mile marker, I caught up to and passed EG, saying a breathless “stay with me, you got this”…but I know if I was able to finish around her, then I was definitely having a good day.  Not knowing how long that last .32056788 mile should take me, I tried to keep those 600-meter repeats I had done the previous week in mind and just imagine it was one of those…preferably the last one when I leave it all out there! 🙂  Made the turn onto 102nd to the finish, heard the announcer calling my name…and crossed the finish in 1:11:40, 7:42 pace.  A 5:59 PR…damn, had I known it was so close, could I have gotten another second to make it a PR of 6 minutes even? 🙂  Flyer women finished 3rd and I was the 4th Flyer female…so another bronze team medal for the collection (though to quote Kara Goucher after the NYC Half “I’m tired of third…I’m ready to win one!”  just kidding.  I’m happy to get any placing we can get! 🙂 )

So unlike 2010, this season finale was a success instead of being anticlimactic.  And considering my mileage wasn’t really high after NYC, I think this was a pretty good performance to bang out…which as long as I stay uninjured, I think bodes very well for the spring, and other seasons to come…?

overdue race report #2-join the voices 5-miler

Back with another overdue race report!!  (Oh yeah, hope everyone enjoyed their holidays.)

So the Join the Voices 5-miler was the 2nd race in my hopeful year-ending trifecta.  In addition, this was the last team points race of the year.  But not the same as in previous years, you see usually the Joe Kleinerman 10K would be the last points race of the year.  But that was switched with the Fred Lebow 5-miler which was usually held in January.  Little sad about the break from tradition…and additionally, I would have preferred to race a 10K than a 5-miler (my 10K PR is in definite need of updating.)  But it was what it was and maybe for all I know, this would have been better (no Harlem Hill throwing a wrench in things.)

So was a nicely cool morning, shorts, singlet, arm warmers and CEPs were the order of the day.  Warmed up by running to the park (gotta love race starts in the south end of the park) and quickly dropped off my bag and headed to the start, running into (well not literally) Lam and other teammates on the way.  Listened to the usuall announcements…blah blah blah.  Though did anyone notice that they goofed and said this was a double points race? 🙂

Anyway, in a nutshell, this was my race-sorta uneventful as far as races go.

Mile	Split	Comments
1	7:21	Around the bottom of the park…good first mile, but did I go out too fast?
2	7:41	Up Cat Hill…ugh definitely need to work on hills-this was weak compared to my summer races.
3	7:24	Engineer’s Gate to 102nd…and was hoping this would have been faster.
4	7:44	West Side Hills…slow but definitely could have been worse.
5	7:07	Downhills, flats, then the turn onto 72nd to the finish.  Tried to give it all I got!

Final time was 37:17, 7:27 pace.  Definitely way off where I was in the summer, but for less than a month after the marathon and minimal speedwork/mileage, I’ll take it.  Especially since again, still ahead of where I was at this time last year (when I couldn’t even break 50 for 10K.)

And can never complain about getting my pic in the NYRR local gallery once again…

Though gotta love that they made my race time 5 minutes faster…hehe.

So, that was this one.  The report like the race…short and sweet.

overdue race report #1: dick meighan 5k

Finally gonna get started on these way, way overdue race reports! 🙂

So even though I’ve been a serious runner/racer since 2004, I had only run one turkey trot (aka race on Thanksgiving morning) once, in 2004.  I ran a 5-miler on Long Island with my uncle and 2 cousins.  Sadly there will never be another race I’ll run again with my uncle 😦  Unfortunately, I don’t remember too much about the race that year except it was very hilly.  I wish I could remember more.

me, uncle and cousin after race with our finisher medals

And for whatever reason every year after, I hadn’t raced on Turkey Day…most of the time I preferred to get my own Central Park done in the AM and then train it to wherever I’m going, or sleep in 😛

But this time around, I was sorta itching to race.  And I had heard that the Dick Meighan 5K, which was around 15-20 minutes away from my parents in NJ, was a good-albeit hilly-race.  And oh yeah, based on previous race results there was a good chance I’d place in my AG.  Wasn’t expecting a PR, given I was only 2 1/2 weeks out from NYC and that it would be hilly.

How hilly?

So the nite before I stayed over at the parentals, then awoke to a nice and chilly morning, and drove over to where the race was…taking note of where certain uphills/downhills would be.  Got my bib and a nice tech shirt, and then went to warm up on the first mile of the course…which was good as you can see, I would know not to blow it in the first half-mile so to say 🙂  Finished my warmup, did some strides, took care of business and went over to the start.  Looked like it was gonna be another free-for-all, so I positioned myself a few rows back from the front and just waited for the starting horn.

the start

And knowing that the first half-mile contained a big-ass hill, I let people pass me, ran hard but did hold back just a little bit.  The downhill at the half-mile point was very welcome, but in a way felt like after the big hill at mile 8 of the Staten Island half…like I needed 100-200 meters to recover and of course in a short race like a 5K, you don’t have that 🙂  But was pleased with my first mile-7:24.  I then made the time goal of the day to get under 23 minutes…

…which I could get as long as I avoid my usual mile 2 collapse in 5K’s.  Mile 2 was rolling hills, but nothing really horrible.  And as this was 7:23, I was able to hold on.  This was less of a net uphill mile than the previous, so maybe effort-wise was a little slower, but I don’t think by much.  And I had enough in the tank to pick up the pace for the last 1.1 and pass people in the process.  However, in my drive over, I did note one more big hill that would be in the last mile and sure enough with about .5-.6 miles to go, there it was.  I just killed it best I could, knowing I didn’t have long to go.  One more turn…and more climbing…however thankfully the last .1 was downhill into the school’s parking lot, then flat to the finish.  I was neck and neck with this other woman, but she outkicked me to the finish…arrrgh!!  Last 1.1 in 7:52 (7:09 pace.)

chick in black next to me had just outkicked me to the line. damn.

Wound up with 22:39, 7:18 pace…which given the terrain and still recovering from NYC (and minimal speedwork!), I was definitely happy with.  I mean, I outperformed a flat 5K I did 3 weeks after Chicago last year 🙂

So I didn’t know yet how I did in terms of placing, so I went for a cooldown and then went back to the school’s gym (where the refreshments/awards were), grabbed some hot cider and checked out the results.  FOURTH in my AG.  Arrgh.  Missed by half a second-to the chick who just outkicked me at the finish!  And the kicker is that if I were still 34, I would have placed!  It is what it is, I guess.  And actually, I most likely would not have been able to stay for the awards anyway, they started with the older age groups and it would have taken a while to get down to mine, and I had to leave fairly early as my parents wanted to get an early start on our trek to Long Island for Thanksgiving festivities and beat the traffic.  Before I left, I saw and chatted with Ari briefly-he was there with his daughter for her first 5K, which they both enjoyed a lot.  (And I love how she noticed the Yankee charm on my shoe and said “Daddy, look she’s a Yankee fan too!” 🙂 )

So I went home, got cleaned up, headed to LI with la familia, ate and drank more than enough to counteract the morning’s run, and checked the final results online…and I was bumped up to THIRD in my AG.  Whoa.  Apparently the chick who was originally 1st in the 35-39 AG was now 10 years younger, moving us all up a spot.  Was definitely happy about that!!  Though actually claiming my trophy…well it’s taken more work than the race itself!!  First my trophy was actually in the hands of the 1st place woman.  Then when she returned the trophy it was actually the 2nd place one she had, and the one ahead of me had the 3rd place one had no info for anyone to get in touch with her.  So all in all, I will have to accept the 2nd place trophy (which my dad did on my behalf, and I’ll finally get it in my hands next weekend!) and Sharpie it up to show how the real chips fell.  And if 2nd place chick finally decides she wants it back, well that’ll show her to outkick me next time 😛

And next year?  I’ll just have to come back and win my AG outright 🙂

NYCM 2011: the good, the not-so-good, the ugly

Well I guess this will be the official New York City Marathon report.  Figure after a week or so of thinking things over, I might as well have stuff in writing, so maybe I won’t make the same mistakes again…

So I will start this off by the numbers:

Mile	Split Time	Mile	Split Time
1	8:47.24	15	8:43.63
2	7:30.04	16	8:31.88
3	8:14.00	17	8:27.13
4	8:15.08	18	8:25.93
5	7:57.00	19	8:42.48
6	8:03.23	20	9:08.05
7	8:07.63	21	10:37.85
8	8:23.78	22	9:43.07
9	8:18.85	23	10:11.45
10	7:58.28	24	10:25.60
11	8:25.70	25	15:25.37
12	8:13.28	26	10:01.75
13	8:21.43	26.2	2:02.81
14	8:28.04	Summary	3:55:30.58

And now, the words behind the numbers.

So again, even though daylight savings time gifted us with an extra hour of sleep, I still found myself awake way before my alarm.  Again, fine with me, more time to do the race day routine and not feel rushed.  Eat, have coffee, listen to music, stretch, get dressed, make sure I don’t forget anything.  And begin the 3-leg journey to get to Staten Island early enough to prevent any MTA or SI Ferry fails.  And within minutes of me getting to the Times Square station, there was a 1 train, which got to South Ferry with no problems.  Leg 1 complete.  Even though I was supposed to be on the 6:15 ferry and I knew I was a little early, I heard announcements that those of us who wanted to get on an earlier ferry could.  So why not.  Turned out to be the 5:45 ferry!  whoa.  Again, just listened to music and zoned out for this 2nd leg of the trip (except when someone pointed out the sunrise to me.)   Then onto leg 3-shuttle bus to Fort Wadsworth.  Then once there, walking into the Fort while showing our bibs to the security peeps, lest we get thrown out…

So inside, past security, in search of the Local Competitive area.  Actually not as tough to find as I thought it was, thanks to the nifty map NYRR gave us-just had to cross a little grassy area in the “open zone.”  And according to a couple of my friends, I actually got caught on camera by the news reporting live from Fort Wadsworth!  I apparently didn’t look like I knew I was on camera…annnnnd I was wearing my glamorous “throwaway” outfit.  Classy. 🙂

Anyway, I got past “security” and found a place in the local competitive area to just chill out.  I was the first Flyer there, but I was shortly joined by my teammate JD and one of my speedwork buddies, KL, where we all just chatted and chilled out til it was time to check our bags.  By then, the “Snuggie Posse” of AK, NPT and JS was there (their throwaway gear was Snuggies!) as well as other Flyers…Lam, DC, CM, EF, SJ and more!  To be honest-hanging with these people was the best thing about being in the LCS.  The food/drink/coffee offered was the same as it would have been elsewhere, the lines for the bathrooms eventually did get long, but having my friends and training partners around was actually a calming influence  (unfortunately it seemed like no one else would have really been in wave 2 if I wound up having to stay there.)  And I didn’t feel intimidated at all..I was owning it (my low bib #), I knew I belonged there.

So at around 8:50, we were given the green light to head out onto the bridge.  I could see the green start runners in their corrals, waiting to be unleashed…they were after we made our way onto the bridge and some of the people with 3xxx and 5xxx bibs got mixed in with us…which personally I was OK with.  I knew I still had a decent starting position (I could actually see the start line from where I was) and my intention was to line up at the back of the corral anyway.  I got separated from KL and the Snuggie Posse, but I found myself lined up with DC, DK, ML and MH (who scored points in my book for wearing Yankee temporary tattoos, in addition to running another great race!)  And again, they were good people to have around me while waiting for the start, especially DC who was taking pictures and giving me “run happy” (a la Brooks) vibes 🙂  We heard the introduction of the pro men and knew it wasn’t much longer.  The National Anthem.  Mary Wittenberg’s annual speech (“New York City awaits you…”)  The cannon.  New York, New York.  It was time.

Staten Island/Verrazano Bridge/first 5k

So the focus here-staying in control.  If others pass me on the bridge…let them go.  Tried to block everyone else out.  And as it turned out, the first 2 miles wound up averaging right on pace, so mission accomplished.  And actually, I didn’t mind being on the lower level of the bridge at all!  (And please let me be known..the supposed “golden showers”?  Total urban legend.)  However, the part of the green course I really didn’t like?  The part between the bridge and when we joined up with everyone else on 4th Ave…seemed like that part was lacking in crowd support, unlike that part of the orange and blue starts.

Brooklyn!

4th Ave and time to lock in.  Once again, I loved the support and cheering crowds here…sorry Manhattan, but I think this may have replaced you as my favorite borough in the race! 🙂  I was just along for the ride, having fun…and I guess some of my splits may have shown I was having a little too much fun?  But this part of the course felt sorta flat/downhill so that may be why.

By then, was still cool but very sunny and I kinda regretted keeping my arm warmers on.  I took my first gel right on schedule at the 10K point, but found myself having more water than Gatorade along the way…seemed more “refreshing.”

So then the mile 8 merge happened and slowed us up a little bit.  So much for the wave starts eliminating that congestion (thank you, “honor system”!)…anyways, just cruised along Lafayette Ave in Fort Greene.  Unlike previous years, I was actually looking forward to the Williamsburg portion of the course.  Why?  In a way, it sorta felt like “home” for me.  First was seeing Coach T cheering along with EK and KS in mile 10.  I realized that in previous marathons, the coach had never been out there on race day…so in a way, this meant a lot.  Afterwards, Coach T told me that I “looked like I was cruising…that I so had it, was right on pace.”  At the time, definitely true!  Then northern Williamsburg and Bedford Avenue, especially the part through McCarren Park was a “homecoming” of sorts…how many times have I walked along that street from the L train to the track?  Definitely familiar territory.  Turned onto the usually festive Manhattan Ave (oh the irony…Manhattan in Brooklyn…hehe)…a right turn, then a left on McGuinness…just like in the 3 bridges run.  And here was the Pulaski Bridge and the halfway point-1:47:34.  Hmmm a little slow for sub-3:35, but maybe I can run a more even 2nd half than in the past?  But at least you can’t say I went out too fast 🙂

Queens

Not to knock all you Queens bees (hey, I was born in Queens!) but in the past, Queens just felt like a “filler” borough…not really eventful (well except for the idiot knocking me down in 2006)  And I guess it was the same this time around.  I remembered seeing Celia somewhere in mile 14 waiting for her friend to run with but that was about it.  And as a matter of fact, I did start to feel a little bit of a fade.  I told myself to try and keep it together, knock out the bridge, Manhattan will make it all better.  So yeah, the bridge was actually a little bit of relief for me, knowing that once this was done, the worst would be behind me.  I knew I would lose some time on the incline, just wanted for once to get that mile under 9 minutes (which I did.)  Our Denver-ite Flyer TB passed me on the uphill…I knew his “taking it easy” would eventually catch up to my racing this thing (though he claimed otherwise beforehand…think there may have been beers at the after-party riding on it?)  Anyway, unlike the 3 Bridges run, the incline on the Queensboro didn’t feel like it increased in length and tried to pick it up on the downhill, but tried to be careful to not trash my quads in the process…still 10 miles to go!!

First Avenue

Always the part I look forward to most…but today it didn’t seem the same.  Compared to 4th Ave in Brooklyn, the crowds here seemed kind of…subdued?  I dunno.  I couldn’t seem to pick up my pace…looks like 3:35 may be out, but keep it around 8:30s and I can still get a sub-3:40 BQ.  8:30s…I can do that.  And I was able to for a coupla miles.  Oh was it great to see the Flyers at the PowerGel station at mile 18.  And my parents around 103rd with their signs (one sign said “Next stop…Boston!”, the other one along with the lettering had paw prints on it for my dog brother…that made me smile at least 🙂 ) 

But after that, upper 1st Ave had more fading…not sure what was going on.  On top of that, my stomach was bugging me a little.  I had taken all my gels on schedule, and these were gels I have used many, many times in training (tangerine PowerGel) that I knew it shouldn’t give me any issues so needless to say it was a little puzzling.  I saw LG right before the Willis Ave Bridge, he had a bottle of water for me which was much needed.  “Keep it up.  You look strong,” he said to me.  Oh if only you knew how I was really feeling…looks are deceiving…

The Bronx

And as always, PD was making his appearance in a kilt and bagpipes on the Willis Avenue Bridge.  That was the bright spot of this borough for me.  (and I didn’t even spot Yankee Stadium this time…damn.)

During Mile 21, I had to do the unthinkable and make a port-a-potty stop.  I’ve never had to do this in a marathon before, but I just hoped that taking care of “business” then and there would just help me gut out the last 5 or so miles.  Well losing a minute or so in that mile lost the BQ for me…down but not out.  Maybe if I can pull it together I can still PR.  I force-fed myself my last gel-just to hopefully give myself some energy-as we left the Bronx and hoped for the best…

Manhattan-5th Ave to the finish line

I had really lucked out in my first marathon.  If there was a wall, I never felt it.  But here today, in the marathon I was best trained for, I was experiencing the wall.  The gel I force-fed myself did absolutely nothing.  I was afraid to take anymore of the too-sweet Gatorade as I didn’t want it upsetting my stomach any more.  I just took water where I could and just kept moving forward.  NPT passed me around Marcus Garvey Park and said “come on, hang in there, you got this”…oh how I wish I could have stuck with her.  But it wasn’t happening.  So the “just PR” turned into “maybe get under 3:50?”  The 5th ave hill slayed me as always.  My parents were just past the mile 23 marker and as they said later, knew something wasn’t right because I wasn’t smiling like I usually would be at that point.  I just wanted to get to the park and finish this thing.

But I began to feel sick again after I entered the park.  I had to ask a couple of times where a porta-potty was, as I had to go AGAIN. :-\  As there was nothing, I was forced to make an emergency stop at the Boathouse, and thank god there was an empty stall.  But even after getting that done, it disrupted my rhythm, as I found it hard to start running again…I’d start up then slow to a walk.  And I was still feeling somewhat nauseous.  All the spectators yelling my name did nothing…and those yelling “almost there”…oh you know how I felt about that.  A mile and a half to the finish still felt like an eternity.

Anyway, with a million sets of goals out the window, I wanted to still salvage one-finish under 4 hours.  I looked at my watch and did some quick math, and made a deal with myself.  Run/walk it to 25, then run it in to the end.  Making the right turn onto Central Park South was a huge relief.  Even though the mile split was slow, the crowds did make it feel like it went by faster…and I heard a certain Katy Perry song that I really liked, but honestly I didn’t feel like a firework right then and there 😛  The half-mile to go sign was in sight and that brought relief, that I was gonna make it under 4.  I saw Flyer CN around there…she had passed me while I was walking but she was struggling here too…we tried to get each other through this last bit and it helped me to see a friendly face.

Milke 26 came and went, and then there was the evil Tavern hill and then the finish line was in sight…but for the first time, I sorta felt numb while finishing this one.  I mean yeah, I had a smile on my face, arms up in celebration for the cameras, but this just seemed…anticlimactic.  Anyway, another one was in the books and thankfully kept up my perfect record of sub-4’s with a 3:55:30.

After the finish line

Got my medal…and I will admit, I love the quote that is on the back of the medal-a quote from Grete Waitz “In New York, everyone wins.”  I had seen that at the expo and that was part of what kept me going in the late, painful miles…I wanted that medal!!  Got the heat sheet, food and drink bag, finisher photo…I immediately tore into the Gatorade recovery beverage but I still felt awful.  Everything was cramping, I still felt nauseous…and I was just being told to keep moving.  I saw a med tent, with a sign saying “last med tent before 77th street exit” (which was where I had to go to get my bag.)  I was supposed to meet my parents and grab a bite with them but I knew I needed some kind of help…I was in bad shape.  So I hit the med tent-where I got the cramps in my legs and one of my shoulders massaged out.  They also gave me chicken soup, a salt packet, and some regular Gatorade (not the sickly-sweet stuff that was on the course)…I was definitely dehydrated and in need of electrolytes. 

Finally I was feeling well enough to get up and go (and according to the medics, had some color back…I looked pale and sick before they treated me.)  Unfortunately, by the time I got to my bag and was able to get in touch with the ‘rents, they had already left…kinda sucked but understandable considering I couldn’t get in touch and explain the delay.  So was just me, replenishing with a Shake Shack burger and fries and cleaning up to head out to the Flyers’ post-party at The Parlour.  (oh and while showering, I noticed a “don’t do anything new on race day” mistake.  The HRM that came with the new Mr. Garmin?  I hadn’t used it on a long enough run and it chafed the hell out of me.  Plus it was giving me wacky readings all day…max HR of 233?  I don’t think so!)

As for the post-party, was a good time.  Hey, misery loves company, right? 🙂  It did help seeing my teammates and friends…unlike the MCM disaster where I had to drown my sorrows by myself afterwards!  Anyway, the emotions amongst my teammates about their races were varied…happiness, disappointment, indifference, acceptance, looking to get revenge in the next race…just to name a few.  But nothing Blue Moons can’t fix I guess 😛

As for my race?  I think the word that sums it up is “inconclusive.”  Meaning I’m not sure what was the cause-or causes-of it going wrong.  Maybe the 3:35 goal was too ambitious, should have just gone for 3:40?  (As I did not go out too fast for a 3:35 goal.)  Something nutrition-related?  Was the Gatorade on the course mixed in a way that was making me feel sick?  And I had been feeling a hint of a cold the day before and even that morning, maybe that affected me?

Well whatever it is, got 5 months to figure it out.  Hoping for redemption on April 16th…

NYCM 2011: a disaster

Well obviously I didn’t get my goal, or anywhere close to it.  3:55:30.  Thankfully still got under 4 and didn’t get a personal worst, but definitely was not the race I trained for or wanted by a long shot.

Short story-after running the first half right on pace, it all went to hell in the 2nd half.  Maybe my 3:35 goal was too ambitious.  In addition, dealt with nutritional issues that caused 2 unplanned pit stops, lotsa cramping and nausea and even a med tent visit post finish.

Not sure if I am gonna post a full report…still trying to process it all.  Admittedly, it’s quite disappointing for me.  Even dealing with 80 degrees in Chicago last year was better than this…

I’ll let the splits tell the story for now, as ugly as they are. (FYI-the “pace/mile” column is cumulative time, not per mile.  I only wish I was still hitting sub-9’s late in the going…)

my first F35-39 race (staten island half report)

So even though I mentioned the possiblity of racing the Staten Island Half previously, I was sorta quiet about it since I wasn’t sure what my strategy was gonna be.  I had signed up just to have the opportunity to use it as a long run, or marathon-pace run if need be, as it falls on the weekend between my two 20-milers.  But after missing my goal in Philly, Coach T and I talked about the possiblity of racing this one, and he did give me the blessing to go for it.  I ran this race only once before-5 years ago, but just as a training run.  I distinctly remembered 1 hill in the beginning, and a biggie at mile 8, but was described by many as a PR course.  The weather forecast was a bit warmer than ideal, but considering I ran great races in the summer heat, I didn’t let that psych me out one bit.

So that Sunday (4 weeks out from the big day, to be exact), I did the routine that most likely would happen on marathon day too.  Woke up way too early.  Breakfast and coffee (Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice coffee FTW!  Perfect since I ran out of Peppermint and almost out of Gingerbread and those won’t be back in the stores for while.)  Put the race outfit on…went with the Adioses again for the shoes, and actually tried out a different racing outfit-Flyers singlet (I usually wear the fitted top) and my Lululemon Speed shorts (instead of my short fitted Nike shorts.)  As the shorts have gel pockets, I wouldn’t need a pocket in my top…so I wanted to try out racing in this combo.  (is it me, or do I use this half to try out new shorts?  Last time it was the infamous “naked shorts”…)

And I left my place around 5:30ish, and barely caught the 1 train at Times Square.  Yep, even though NYRR suggested we take the 7:30 ferry at the latest, I felt that would be cutting it too close.  I took the ferry to a Staten island Yankee game this past summer, and it was almost a half hour late.  If the 7:30 was that late, I’d be missing the start.  So I decided to take the 6:30 ferry…I’d rather get to Staten Island early and zone out rather than be in the terminal on the Manhattan side and stress out.  And given that the ferry terminal had plenty of runners, I wasn’t alone in that assessment (of course, some may have been frontloading with a few extra miles.)  I strategically positioned myself near the ferry entrance, and when the doors opened, was able to get a seat near where the exit would be on the SI side and a window seat too.  I think this ferry left maybe 5 minutes late…not too bad, I just listened to my race morning playlist and enjoyed the views during the trip.  And even after getting to SI, the time seemed to go by quickly…found a place to sit and chill out (beautiful morning to sit outside by the water!)…chatted with Flyer and non-Flyer friends, before I knew it, was time to head to the corrals.

just out of the starting gate-i'm to the right of purple chick

So I don’t know who was on announcing duty today, but I actually missed Mary Wittenberg.  This guy was going on and on about the weather and how it was so hot…oh yeah and the comment about how the ChampionChip is “as useful as a rotary phone” (if thats the case, can I get my $35 back that I paid for it way back when?)  I even heard the guy was making fun of people who were late because they were delayed by the ferry…yeah there was some drama there.  Not only was the 7:30 ferry late, but it couldn’t hold everyone waiting.  There was an additional one added around 8-ish, I believe?  But still there were definitely a lot of people who were going to miss the start.  (wow-am I glad I decided to go on the early ferry!)  Even though they did say they were going to delay the start, Mr. Garmin said I started at 8:32 (original start time was 8:30) so they couldn’t have waited that long…

So we headed out of the stadium and onto the streets…mile 1 was uphill but I felt in control.  When I saw my first mile was 7:23 I was pleased…but there was the possibility I may have gone out too fast.  Oh yeah, we were running on unshaded roads on a warm and sunny day, and remember that supposed “flat and fast” course?

Um yeah.  I remembered there was gonna be a hill at mile 8, but I definitely did not remember some of the others!

I just kept going…at around mile 3 I saw Lam speed past me…apparently he got caught on one of the late ferries and had to weave his way through the field (but no worries, since he still PR’ed!  yay!)  I said to him to “go get it.”  As for me, it’s possible my fast start worked against me, as the next 3 miles were 7:34, 7:44, 7:42.  Uh oh…could I be in trouble?  Somewhere in mile 4 I heard someone cheering for me…I looked quickly and saw AP, our Master Blaster…since he’s our resident Staten Islander, I figured he’d either be running or spectating. 🙂

Mile 5 dropped to 7:55…yeah that was up another hill.  But still.  I could have very easily thrown in the towel but just make the rest of the race a marathon-pace run but I chose to fight.  Being that this was an out-and-back, what goes up must come down, right?  And we were nearing the part of the course that I really liked, as the turnaround as around a mile away I saw people coming back on the other side…then it was my turn to hit the turnaround…I heard people cheering for me and if I couldn’t acknowledge you, I’m sorry-was too focused on the task at hand but know it was appreciated! 

just passed my teammate with a mile or 2 to go...

Then mile 8 brought the hill.  The one that 5 years ago I said was “a bigger bitch than I am.”  Seemed like it lasted almost the entire mile!  “Come on, Flyer!” said a guy wearing a NYC Triathlon top who was trying to encourage me to stick with him.  Relief when we hit the top.  At 8:04, this was by far the slowest mile of the race, and my only mile over 8 minutes.  Even the downhill right afterwards…didn’t feel like a reward right then and there, took about 100-200 meters to recover from the hill.  Mile 9 went through Fort Wadsworth…boy it’s gonna look quite different in 4 weeks, just crawling with runners 🙂  Come to think of it-I’m sure there was a view of the Verrazano Bridge somewhere in these last coupla miles but I didn’t even notice!  Exited the Fort and went back into town…saw AP again with his son, and he was taking pictures…I’m sure I didn’t look too happy at that point though 😛

So up til mile 10 or 11, was just trying to maintain pace.  By this point there were people to pace off of…NYC Tri guy, and a couple of Dashing Whippets (I just hoped I wasn’t being too annoying, my breathing was getting loud by that point…working hard!)  In the beginning, everyone who had started late and weaving their way through the field…didn’t know who was running what pace!  By now everyone had pretty much settled in.  Memories from the backstretch…me saying “Shut up!” to those saying “Almost there!” and having other runners say “thank you!”…the very welcome sprinklers at the water stations and elsewhere…the DJ playing “Rain Over Me” and me thinking “ooh rain would be nice right now” 

finishing stretch!

After the bridge at the beginning of mile 12, I thought the hills were over…ugh I guess I forgot about one more!  But then I really think it’s downhill from here?  And passing by the mile 12 marker, I could hear the announcer for the finishers but I forced myself to not look in that direction, just crank it for the last mile.  Headed down the ramp into the stadium with about a half-mile to go and I knew it was just a straight shot to the finish.  And the clock was saying 1:40:xx…which was just alright by me!! 🙂

Final time-1:40:27, 7:40 pace.  My 3rd fastest half ever (only 2 faster were in Philly) and a soft “hilly course” PR, i guess 🙂 

The deets:

Split	Time	Elevation Gain	Elevation Loss
1	7:23.8	17	10
2	7:34.7	32	51
3	7:44.3	14	14
4	7:42.1	45	14
5	7:55.2	68	12
6	7:26.2	0	94
7	7:42.6	13	22
8	8:04.8	105	0
9	7:30.6	0	70
10	7:32.5	13	32
11	7:44.0	0	5
12	7:57.3	61	43
13	7:25.0	39	43
13.1	0:43.6 (6:38 pace)	0	0

As you can see, the elevation changes tell the story of the splits!

And I was 12th in my new age group…my highest age-group placing ever in a NYRR race!!  Maybe there is something to this whole 35-39 age group 🙂  The Flyer women took 3rd and I was the 3rd Flyer female so I got one of these:

And yeah, I know the high placing and finishing 3rd among the Flyer women was only because a lot of the fasties did Grete’s the previous weekend…so a little bittersweet.  I’ll take it though!  Hadn’t gotten one of those team medals in a long time (few years?)…we have so many fast women on the team now, the times I finish top 5 are few and far between!

So even though I would have loved to have run 1:38-1:39…or better if that was where the day took me, I’m still happy with this race.  I could have easily thrown in the towel and “tempoed” it but I fought to the finish.  Unlike Brooklyn, I wasn’t roadkill in the last 5 miles 🙂 And besides, I do remember that it was only a few years ago when I was frustrated at being stuck at a 1:47-1:48 plateau for the half, I was trying to break 1:45 but coming up short…now I can knock on the door of 1:40 in non-ideal conditions on a hilly course?  And of course, eye on the prize and I like that this race predicts a 3:31 marathon…

Next?  Now it’s time to get in that last big week and the last 20 miler, then taper down and stay uninjured before the big day in 4 weeks!

third time not a charm (rock ‘n’ roll philly half report)

Before the longer story, I’ll cut to the chase now…wasn’t my best (2nd best, actually), but thankfully not my worst.

So even though I hadn’t really tapered for this thing, I was trying to stay hopeful that I could bust out a good one.  The room number in the hotel I was staying at was a sign…room number 724-and isn’t a 1:37 half 7:24 pace? (1:37 is the open standard for a qualifying time for NYCM/NYC Half…the latter being a little more important to me as I’d like to run that one again and the only way I will get in is to qualify on time!)  So did the usuals the day before the race…hit up the expo (spotted Kara Goucher at the Nutrilite booth-we passed on getting an autograph as the line was too long) and dinner at Buca di Beppo (almost a reservation snafu, but got it sorted out!)  Then time to put out the clothes for the next morning (including folding over my bib so the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Philly Half” wasn’t showing, that bib was way too damn big!)  And had to decide on shoes…was debating between the Launches and the Adioses, but decided to take a chance with the latter, paired with my black CEP compression socks (the hot pink ones would have clashed 🙂 )

Got up, had my usual bagel w/ white chocolate PB and coffee, got dressed, hydrated, and everything, walked over to the start (a mile from our hotel)…and when I stepped outside, was greeted by some very nice racing weather…great, guess I have no excuses 😛  After checking bags, Flyer GW (my traveling companion) went to do a warmup, I had to take care of other business and stretch a little bit more before heading to the corrals.  Headed to corral 2 this year…moving on up in the world!!   Was joined shortly by GW and JJ, another Flyer.  JJ said he was just gonna run this at marathon pace so I thought “OK guess I need to stay ahead of him.”  National Anthem, then the first corral and elites were off.  Then time to move us up…and I didn’t go anywhere near the timing mats until we were allowed to go-learned from my mistakes at the Corporate Challenge 😉

So another clean start, this staggered start system that Philly has used the last coupla years has worked well.  Settled in right away.  GW pulled ahead, as did JJ…now I didn’t know if this meant that I was going slower than hoped, or that just like last year’s Scotland 10K, he wasn’t really gonna stick to marathon pace 😛  Anyway, the mile 1 split sort of put the concerns to rest.

And the next 3 miles wove through Center City.  I was keeping consistent, and actually wasn’t too far off from my opening mile splits last time I ran this race…but today, was feeling more like work than it did 2 years ago.  Not that I went out too fast, but just that I was gonna have to fight for this one.  There was a guy who was pacing with me through this part…unfortunately lost him a little after mile 4.  Not surprising, he said he wanted to run 1:30-1:35…

So after passing by the start/finish was a little bit of new territory for me.  The last 2 times I ran this race, we ran out on MLK Drive and back on Kelly Drive to the finish.  Starting last year, the course was reversed.  OK, may not be a bad thing, means that hill at mile 13 will actually be a downhill this time? 🙂  But dammit, a sidestitch crept up in mile 5.  It went away after I grabbed water, but resurfaced during mile 7.  After that, I knew I was gonna have to take fluids more than I normally have in a half.  And I was feeling sort of under-fueled too…my gel boost in mile 8 could not have come soon enough.

And mile 8 was my first (and thankfully only) mile in the 7:40s…I thought “oh no you don’t.”  I’m not sure what I could salvage with this race, but at least I want to avoid feeling like roadkill like I had in Brooklyn.  Where’s the Falls Bridge, and the turn to the finish?  Ah there it is, mile 9.  One more mile, and I can try and pick it up to the finish.  Which I did for mile 11, but 12 and 13 were struggles-though I was still passing people!  And there was something with the camber of the road that was aggrevating my right side.  Finally, I could see the mile 13 marker but not the finish!  Oh wait…they got rid of one hill and swap it for something shorter and steeper.  But once I crested that, the finish was in sight and gave it all I had…oh damn won’t be getting under 1:40 on the clock…haul ass and you can finish under 1:39…finished…1:38:58.  Glad that’s over!

Got my medal and a picture and gathered up whatever goodies they have after the finish.  Found GW and JJ afterwards…both had PRed.  In fact, seemed like everyone I knew who ran that day (lotsa local NYC team peeps made the trip out) had PRed…ugh, what could have been.  Thank god for the MGD 64 beer tent to numb things a little.

So I have mixed emotions about my race.  On one hand, I’m definitely glad to get under 1:40 again, shows that 2009’s race was not a fluke.  And hey, if I was still able to run under 1:40 on tired legs, what could I have done had I been tapered?  Yeah…definitely wonder what could have been if I was able to race it.  But have to take it for what it is-a tuneup for NYCM.  (And good learning with regards to hydration and fueling and how much I need.)  Maybe I’ll give it a 2nd go in Staten Island, maybe I’ll just use that as a pace run-we’ll see how I’m feeling in 3 weeks.  In terms of race predictions, McMillan sez 3:28:43…and I usually add 10 minutes for the NYCM hills…so 3:38.  Not quite where I want to be…guess I have my work cut out for me in the next 7 weeks! 🙂

the club (champs) can’t handle me

Thankfully this year’s NYRR Club Team Championships was a complete 180 from last year.  Was a good day for me, for the Flyers, for lotsa peeps.

Chill nite Friday nite…carbo-loading (and yes I did have another Blue Moon…lol) and watching the Yanks vs. Sox game…hey didn’t the Yanks win 2 years ago the night before this race?  Saturday I did all my usual pre-race preps and headed to the subway…just in time to see the door of a C train close just as I got there.  Doh!!  My hope was to get to da park in time to see the guys in their first mile, but it was in the hands of the MTA now.

Luckily, another C train came shortly…and I got off the train uptown and headed to 90th street to watch the guys pass by before I warmed up a little bit.  Perfect timing-the lead bikes/truck came by just as I got to 90th.  As it was early, everyone pretty much passed by in a matter of minutes, but I was able to spot some Flyers here and there and cheer.  I then continued warming up, headed to the spot that the Flyers staked out on the east side near the finish for our post-race festivities.  A few minutes later, the leaders approached…the usual suspects were in front (WSX, NYAC, etc) all running ridiculous times.  And of course we were anxiously awaiting our first male and BK said that we should just all cheer like crazy when he runs by.  Sure enough, Lam runs by and the (Flyer female) crowd goes insane.  Strong finish to what was apparently a great race for him!  he was followed shortly by JD, and then Crazy Bandanahead who looked like he was passing lotsa guyz in the final stretch.  But man, the looks on these guys faces…they did not look happy at all.  And I couldn’t tell if it was because of the conditions (it was in the mid-70s and quite humid…probably the toughest conditions we’ve had for this particular race in awhile) or if it’s just the normal “pushing hard at the end” discomfort…

At around 8:35ish, I headed over towards the transverse and the corrals for the women’s start.  So Flyer LH says to me that he “expects me to finish top 10 for the team”-as this time around, the open women’s scoring for this race went 10 deep (like the men’s usually is.)  And of course that expectation is based on my performance on the 4-miler last month…and honestly, this wasn’t what I wanted to hear before the race!  One of the good things about the 4-miler was the fact that there was no pressure beforehand…just ran.  And also this time, there were quite a few fast Flyer ladies who would most definitely finish ahead of me.  Our “master blaster” CM, who always leads the team whenever she toes the line.  Our ultra-chick DC, this would be just a sprint for her.  JR, another quick chick who consistently runs sub-7 pace for these races.  EG, who’s been on a PR-setting tear this year.  And of course EA, AK and NPT, the ladies I do speedwork with…I’ve never beaten them in a workout or a race before.  So there I counted 7 Flyer women that would most likely finish ahead of me and I’m sure there were others I hadn’t seen yet.  Thankfully my Flyer friend JW put her hands over my ears as a sort of sign to tell me to block it out.  Thanks JW-I needed that 🙂  And soon enough it was time to start…took some deep breaths to calm myself further before the starting horn.

Mile 1 (7:18)-so despite the whole “bibgate”, my starting position was actually fine (and in fact, supposedly I missed a pile-up that happened in the first corral!)  Me and EG stuck together for a good part of this mile, weaving our way through the West Side Hills.  And I was pretty pleased with this mile split, showed that last month definitely was not a fluke!  That said, given the warmer and more humid conditions, did I go out too hard?

Mile 2 (7:08)-Down the hill, still running at a good clip.  I felt that I was still keeping it together, in the heat and humidity, and the mile split did reflect that.  I knew that this race was definitely legit and was just gonna go for it from here…

Mile 3 (7:17)-what is usually the most mentally tough mile of the race with the least crowd support.  I had several women to pace off of…a Harrier, a fast woman from Moving Comfort or Running Divas or whatever they are called now, a coupla PPTC women, and I had NPT in my sights up ahead-in fact I have had her in my sights the entire way.  But I really tried to not worry about what they were doing, or where I was place-wise…I said to myself just the fact that I was sticking with these women means I was having a good day.  I was here to run for time, not place.  But the fact I was running with them may have helped a little-I usually lose a little bit of time in this mile and this time, I didn’t.

Mile 4 (7:32)-Cat Hill time.  Just a hill repeat and you’re done with the tough part.  I’ve seen peeps actually climb up onto the cat statue to cheer, today was no exception.  This time it was Flyer TD, encouraging me up that last part of the hill, and it definitely was a relief to be done.  Cat Hill does its usual damage to this mile, though possibly a tiny bit less than before?  Quick check of the watch says I’m at 29:1x though 4 miles (my 2nd best 4-mile time ever!), so all I need to do is kill it on the last mile.

Mile 5 (6:45)-So after keeping NPT in my sights throughout the race, I caught up to her.  “Come on, N,” I said to her as I pulled alongside.  “Let’s work together.”  We did run side by side for a little bit until I edged ahead for good around Engineer’s Gate.  And here was time to crank it up a gear.  And give it everything.  I passed by several other women in the stretch from Engineer’s Gate to the top of the reservoir…and then the real fun part begins, with all the guys from all the teams cheering.  And of course I gotta look good and fast for them 🙂  I wasn’t letting up, no smiles, total game face.  Even when I passed the Flyers’ contingent with around a quarter-mile to go…I heard the cheering, but I couldn’t even tell you exactly who was there, I was so focused.  I saw the orange tape lining the finishing chute and I felt it calling me home.  Rounded the corner…and surprisingly, the woman in front of me stopped after crossing the mat a little before the finish (which I believe gives name/bib numbers to the announcers at the finish)…but I wasn’t falling for that!!  No stopping for me til I hit both mats at the finish!!  And I did hear the announcers call my name as I finished!  And finished up with my fastest mile split ever in a race…like whoa!!

Final time was 36:00, 7:12 pace. Wow-had I known I was so close, could I have given that little something extra to get that second to get me under 36?  But still-cannot complain at all about a 49-second PR, an 8th-place finish for the open women (who finished 8th overall) AND redemption from last year’s underwhelming race!

So afterwards was the usual mingling, picnic, photo-taking, catching up with Flyers old and new…and oh yes, a certain baby Flyer girl made her Flyer event debut 🙂

So this race, I think, was a huge weight off my shoulders.  For several reasons.  1-the 4-miler definitely was not a fluke, and in fact even surpassed that one.  2-finally able to pull out a good race time in non-ideal conditions.  Though I think partially that was due to getting through that 5K last month in 90-degree weather and my long run during Heatpocalypse 2011…I mean if I could get through those…I could get through this.  3-McMillan predicts a 3:31 marathon from this race, and I wasn’t really tapered for this one.  Therefore, training appears to be on track so far.  Which is why for the next 6 weeks, I’m putting the racing shoes away and just concentrating on continuing the NYCM buildup, and STAYING UNINJURED.

Some pictures from the day, thanks to our fabulous team photographers 🙂

the Flyer gurls in the yellow corral

right after the start on 102nd

in the home stretch with the game face on!

me with the Flyer men after the finish

she’s fire burning, fire burning on the race course (run for central park 4m report)

This post title has been brought to you by one of quite a few songs that rocked the summer of 2009…

So…originally the Central Park Conservancy Run for Central Park 4-miler wasn’t really on my radar.  Yep, it’s a club points race and being a good little Flyer, I should run it, but I had Hoboken on my agenda earlier in the week and felt my chances were better with a flat 5K than a hilly 4-miler.  But with Tuesday being an inferno, I thought this race could be a good backup in case I have to dial back the effort, or if the organizers made Tuesday a fun run.  But you know how Tuesday went-seconds from a PR in non-ideal conditions with me not feeling like it was an all-out effort.  So I took a coupla days to decide if my legs felt OK enough to give it another go on Saturday…and by Thursday I decided they did and I was gonna go for it.  (Oh and I did have a coupla Blue Moons the night before…I may have to have one the night before all my short races!)

So Saturday’s conditions-low 70s, low humidity were like a dream compared to Tuesday…good sign #1.  Another good sign was that I got a red bib for this race!  When I am normally yellow for points races.  Red hot baby…i’m on FIRE!  🙂  Warmed up for a mile or so to the park, felt good to go.  Headed to my corral and of course found other teammates to chat and pass the time to the start with.  (And a blog reader was lined up next to me too-hi, H!) Until the pre-race announcements came on.  And I had to laugh…when Mary Wittenberg sounded disappointed that we weren’t sounding “more excited” to be out there that morning…OMG, she sounded like one of my bosses this past week!  Then the usual…national anthem, final pre-race announcements, starting horn!

Mile 1-little crowded in the beginning, but opened up by the time we got to…yep, Cat Hill.  Flyer JS and I were running together for this first part (she said beforehand that she was gonna try and stick with me this time!)…then GW passed by right before the hill…I don’t know why, but I thought I could latch onto him…which lasted all of 5-10 seconds.  But it did sorta help me power up the hill a little more.  Was expecting this mile to be somewhere in the 7:20’s-7:30’s, based on the effort I felt I was putting in.  But that was not to be-this mile was 7:17.  I actually said out loud “holy shit” when I saw that.  That’s a time I expect more to see near the end of a race, or on a flat/downhill.  But going up Cat Hill?  No way.  Was it legit, or is this gonna come back and bite me in a mile or 2?

Mile 2-nice flat/sorta downhill section…like the last mile of the Club Champs 5-miler.  BC passed by me and we sorta paced off each other for the remainder of this mile.  Definitely helped, and was still feeling good (or as good as you can feel while running a race!)  This mile split was another shock-7:02.  I’ve run this course several times, so I knew the mile markers were right…maybe it was just my day to be on fire!  Fire burning, fire burning on the dance floor race course… 🙂 A PR was not just a possiblity, but could be a reality at this point as long as I don’t screw up the next 2 miles.  But still, I felt in a way, I was in a whole other world today….whole different level than where I normally am…

Mile 3-the West Side Hills.  Always my weakest mile in these 4-mile races.  I kept saying to myself “attack, attack, attack.  maintain, maintain, maintain.”  This was definitely not the time to make my move…just take one hill at a time to get through this mile.  With about one hill to go, I passed BC but he stayed right behind me til around the end of this mile when I went on ahead for good…he said something like “you don’t have to wait for me” and I said to him “dude, this mile is a bitch for me too!”  Relieved to see the water station near west 86th in the distance and the mile marker…this mile was 7:32-the fastest I have ever done this mile, I think, but still a little weaker than ideal…

Mile 4-definitely still on PR pace through 3, with one fast mile to go, one I know I can push it on.  However there was another number in mind that I never thought could be a possibility…could I go under 29 minutes?  I didn’t feel like doing the math in my head, but just give this mile everything and whatever happens, happens.  Flyer SH was cheering just past 86th…”great job!! you’re doing this, girl!”  Flew down the hill and time to take on the last half-mile.  A guy in a Front Runners singlet who was running near me was really trying to encourage me through this stretch (ahhh…why are all the good men taken or…)  I could see the turn for home and knew it wasn’t that much longer.  KG was cheering and yelling out form tips to me just as I turned onto 72nd…from there, I gave it everything I had til I hit the finish line!!  (if Mr. Garmin was to be believed, that last bit on 72nd was at a sub-6 pace!)  And I ran my fastest mile in a Central Park race-6:52!  (wow, how do you sub-3 marathon peeps do that for 26.2 miles?  that took so much out of me for 1 mile… 🙂 )

Final time-28:43, 7:10 pace…PR by 52 seconds!!  (And new best pace for NYRR races…yayyyy!!)  And if that wasn’t enough, I was the 4th Flyer female…always such an honor to score for the team in points races!  Yeah, I know some of our faster women were either injured or away or perhaps having an “off” day, but I’m still taking it!! 🙂  Another tidbit-if I were actually 35 already…I would have been in the coveted top 10 in my age group!  One thing to look forward to about “aging up” in 2 months?

So caught up with Flyers and other friends afterwards…seemingly everyone I talked to was in good spirits, lotsa Flyer PRs up in there…including but not limited to GW, Lam, EF, DB, BC (guessed pacing off each other helped us both!), AK, CK, CO, HM (and hers was right after preps for a Flyer event!)  Needless to say, I was definitely walking on air after this one, and the good vibes followed me to a fun scavenger hunt that the Flyers had…I teamed up with CK and BC (and being dubbed the most competitive team of all!) and we had a great time running around the park in search of clues (yes we were still running, good thing none of us took off our racing shoes!)  We placed third with a good effort, and enjoyed a picnic after that.  Following the picnic, a couple of us toasted our PRs with beer…and me and another one did even later with margaritas!!  Fun day!

So-was Saturday a fluke or a breakthrough?  I don’t know, but given the the frustrations I had racing last year during my training for Chicago, it makes me appreciate days like this even more…as you never know if the next one will be amazing or heartbreaking.  And this was the first race that had any similarity to my glory days of 2009.  Next race for me will be Club Champs and I’ll see if I can repeat the magic from Saturday there…but in the meantime, keepin’ on keepin’ on towards NYCM…

sibling rivalry (party with purpose 5k 2011 report)

OK, so despite the heat wave that hit the tri-state area earlier this week, my 5K race on Tuesday actually went better than expected.  How good?  Well I came within seconds of a PR in non-ideal conditions…and I beat my brother by over a minute!  Oh yeah, there’s a secondary plot line going on there…

So as I mentioned before, my brother was the more athletic one growing up, etc…and then as adults, those roles were reversed.  We did face off at the Corporate Challenge…I think about 7 years ago?  I remember it being ridiculously hot that day and I was relatively new to racing…plus my first mile sucked because I got a crap start (the days before chip times and corrals!)  Anyway, he beat me and gloated about it quite a bit the day after.  (though you could sorta say I beat him on an age/gender graded basis…)  We both toed the same line at a NYRR 10K (can’t remember which one offhand) a year later and I got him there…of course you can use the same argument that always seems to be used with me “i’m stronger in the longer distances.”

So today, game on.  The organizers thankfully didn’t make this a fun run…guess they figure everyone knows how to take care of themselves during a 5K 🙂  Escaped work by 5:30, got to Hoboken in plenty of time to do the pre-race routine…oh and they actually had tech shirts this year!!  Nice touch!  Only downside was by the time I got there, the smallest size they had was a woman’s large…maybe it will shrink in the wash or something?  Warmed up for a coupla miles…yeah I know it was really hot out but the legs needed to warm up!  I ran along the race course for about a mile and back…was still about 90 degrees but being along the water just may help a little bit.  Got back to the start area, met up with the brother and we hung around til it was time to line up…and as usual, no rhyme or reason.  You don’t put out the pace signs AFTER people start lining up!  Anyway, they told us to move back but you know not everyone obliges…but I did move back to the 7 minute pace sign to be fair (which actually wasnt too far back…and there was net timing anyways.)  So it was 7 PM and everyone was dying to get going…waited for the pre-race speeches and the national anthem…finally at 7:10 we were off.

So Mile 1…run it hard but be conservative if need be.  The usual, let the faster runners go, don’t get sucked in…and one of those runners who went by me was my brother, around a half-mile in.  My heart said “Stay with him!”  My head said “Run your own race…maybe you’ll catch him later!”  Make the turn to go along the water…oh wait we’re running along a pier…this is new.  Mile 1 and that’s at 7:16…and maybe I can maintain this…

Again, Mile 2 was a mental battle.  Hit the pace…don’t let things slide.  Oh hi leaders coming back the other way.  Quite a few turns amongst more unfamiliar streets…but they got rid of the hairpin turn on 15th St!!  I was strategically preparing for that one (since it always seems to mess with your speed unless you are on the outside) and thought this was a change for the better 🙂  Mile 2 was 7:23…hmmm still pretty good!!  The thought crept into my mind, that maybe, just maybe, I could actually PR?  Obviously I’d have to burn rubber on the last 1.1 miles, but I wasn’t falling apart just yet, so maybe I had a shot…

So I cranked it up a notch and was passing people who went out too fast…oh and who was one of those peeps that I passed early in this mile?  Yes, everyone, I chicked my baby brother.  I think I did say something encouraging as I passed but there became the new goal-stay ahead of him til I hit the finish!!  I did make the mistake of looking at my watch during this mile…but guesstimated that I had around 5 minutes and change of running left…OK think of running a 1200 on the track…hung in there, kept repeating “fighter, fighter” to myself.  I saw the turn to the finish up ahead and people who already made the turn finishing…as I approached the turn I could hear the announcer cheering for those “to get under 22 minutes”…so maybe by the time I got there it would be low 22’s (chip time)…oh boy this was gonna be CLOSE!

And in the end?  5 seconds short!!  Wound up with 22:30, 7:15 pace…missing a PR by 5 seconds!!  Last 1.1 miles done in 7:52 (7:09 pace)…so it definitely wasn’t due to lack of trying!  But still…to be just off my PR by seconds in 90 degree heat…like whoa!!  And to give you an idea of how competitive this race has gotten…this time got my 12th in my age groups (damn those 10-year groupings!) whereas 2-3 years ago, I would have been top 10, easily.

I stuck around near the finish to see my brother finish…he was over a minute back…went out too fast (he thinks his first mile was sub-7…really, really glad I didn’t stick with him!) and died in the last mile…ah rookie errors.  Not that I’ve never done anything like that before 😛  Once he could speak full sentences again, we met up with a coupla of my friends and enjoyed some well-earned beers while sitting outside one of the local bars…yep, perfect nite for sitting outside and drinking.  Running?  Not so much 🙂

So I’m actually happy with my time, if anything I really didn’t feel like I gave it my all (well maybe except for the end) as I really don’t feel like I raced at all.  But still, to put up a decent time in the heat (and MUCH better than last year’s fiasco!) and come so close to a PR…of course makes me wonder what could have been if it were 20 degrees (or so) cooler.  Maybe I’ll find that out sooner than I think… 😉

And as for the sibling rivalry of sorts?  No gloating from me.  I’m satisfied just knowing how things played out. 🙂

black and yellow (2011 corporate challenge report)

“black and yellow…black and yellow…black and yellow…black and yellow…”

OK, maybe the song isn’t necessarily a favorite, but I felt it went with my race bib for the Corporate Challenge 🙂

So.  Compared to last year’s race, there were some logistical improvements.  The biggie?  Everyone got asked for predicted times when they signed up, so…we all got assigned to start corrals based on our pace.  WIN.  This was a huge relief for me, as my yellow bib meant I would be in one of the “seeded” starts and I didn’t have to stress about getting there mad early.  And I could actually leave with my colleagues to go to the race and be in the team picture this year (as I had to miss it last year)

Oh and I have to say, I loved how our shirts came out…cute idea for a market research company, right?  This was the back of the shirt:

before I took a scissors to the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt

So 5 PM rolls around and we’re all getting into our race gear, pinning on our bibs, etc…and as my coworkers had either blue or white bibs (those were the 2 corrals behind yellow) I definitely got a lot of comments on my yellow bib.  Ahhh, the pressure of being the company ringer…though actually, I had to reclaim my title of being first overall for the company 🙂  We leave and hit the subway around 5:30…and of course the train is filled with other Corporate Challengers.  And I guess there was some chick giving our crew the stinkeye, though Dr. Insensitive said something to the effect of “yeah show off your bib, we have the power”…until the chick pulled out a red bib with a 3-digit number-meaning first corral.  Ummm yeah.

So we got to the park in plenty of time and found a place to drop our bags-one very nice coworker volunteered to watch our stuff while we were racing…though truth be told, he was rewarded with some, uh, refreshment while he was waiting 🙂  Anyway, we took a few pictures, then most of the crew went to get their T-shirts so I said I was going to the start and that I’d see them at the finish line (or after!)  Since there was nothing in the race day instructions that said what time we had to be in the corrals by, I didn’t want to take any chances…

And I got to my yellow corral in plenty of time and found a spot near the front of it.  Looks like red was in front, with green right behind, then us.  And the announcements stated that it was gonna be staggered starts-red and green go at the horn, we go 2 minutes later.  Good idea as well-they do that at the Philly Distance Run and I found it helped the congestion in the beginning.  So we just had to wait for the start…sit through (or actually stand through) the pre-run “aerobics” which a lot of us did not partake in 😛

And the horn sounded and the red and green corrals left.  And we waited a minute or 2 before we were allowed to move up.  And move up I did…and here was where I made a little mistake.  As I was in the front of the corral, I stepped over the first timing mat (the 2nd was at the actual start line), but the officials wouldn’t release us yet.  And I thought to myself “oh sh*t!!  this is gonna add to my race time”  But eventually they did let us go…

So the beginning of the first mile was pretty clean.  But wouldn’t you know it, not even 5 minutes in, I’m passing red and green bibs…that should NOT be happening if they have a 2 minute head start on me.  Guess some peeps were, uh, a little optimistic with their “predicted times?”  First mile was 7:31…hmmm maybe a little slow?  I knew I had to break a 7:30 pace to beat last year’s time…and I think to go under 26 minutes I would have had to run 7:25’s?

During mile 2 was the right turn onto 102nd…and I used some learning from last year.  Last year I had stayed to the inside on this turn, resulting in being quite boxed in and having to slow dramatically on the turn.  This time I stayed to the outside…tangents be damned, but it didn’t break my stride at least.  But damn, why did I feel like we were climbing this entire mile?  2nd mile was 7:38.

Mile 3 was pretty much like mile 4 from the Mini 10k…”The Climb” (apologies for the Miley Cyrus reference)  And I think my legs were still feeling the 10K race, as I took that one pretty hard.  This mile was 7:47 and  was glad it was over.  Last half-mile started with Cat Hill downhill but then we turn onto 72nd to the finish…uphill!!  How the hell did this course feel like we were constantly going uphill (with the exception of Cat Hill)?  I wasn’t looking at my watch and I didn’t know how close I was to a PR…did the best I could at the finish but my legs were spent…last half-mile was 3:40…not my best closing half-mile, not my worst.  Final time 26:36, 7:36 pace according to Mr. Garmin-though the actual results said 26:53…remember my starting mat mishap?  That’s where those 17 seconds went…not that it made much of a difference at the end of the day…

So as always, followed the masses to get water, once again skipped the nasty shit known as coconut water, got my t-shirt, and cooled down around the lower loop.  And even with sneaking in a cooldown, I was the first to make it back to our meeting spot 🙂  But soon enough the others started to arrive, all seeming very happy with themselves and they should be…we all brought it! 🙂  (and oh yeah, I reclaimed my title of finishing first for the company…yay 🙂 )  After everyone was present and accounted for, we all trekked up and down Amsterdam Avenue in search of someplace, anyplace what wasn’t mobbed with Corporate Challengers, so we could get some definitely-needed eats and “recovery beverages” 🙂  Took us a while, but we did find a place, so we all sat, ate, drank, chatted and had fun (and I didnt even get charged for my 2nd drink, cool!)

As for my race…I honestly didn’t have much expectations, but I thought sub-26 could have been doable.  I guess I underestimated how much a hard 10K can take out of you and that this isn’t the easiest double.  I don’t know how those elites who double in the 10K/5K do it! (then again, they are creatures unlike any other…)  All in all, I just chalked it up as my tempo workout for the week.  But on a positive note, I have to say having the seeded corrals was a HUGE improvement over previous years.  I just need to remember to stay away from the starting mats til they let us go…oh crap, I have to do this again next year? 🙂

obviously i'm smiling because this is post-race

maybe i should mentally write off races more often (2011 mini 10k report)

Hi again!!  Yep, I know this race report is 2 weeks delinquent.  Ya think life has gotten in the way or something? 🙂

Soooo…the Mini 10K.  It’s a race that, for me, was a “must run” for several reasons.

1. It was my first race as a New York Flyer…way back in 2004!!
2. It’s the only NYRR race that I have run every single year, without fail…so this year would be #8!
3. Club points race for the ladies.  Even if I don’t score, I still wanted to be out there in some shape or form…
4. Ladies-only race=blue race bib (yay for first corral!)
5. Ladies-only race=lotsa men on the sidelines cheering 🙂
6. Plus this year’s race had a coupla special aspects-the 40th anniversary of the race and was dedicated to Grete Waitz.

As for how I was gonna run…I seriously did not know.  I was having a conversation with Coach T a week or so beforehand and he asked me if I had any time goal in mind…I said “you know, I’m honestly afraid to make any goals.”  Between last year’s Mini, and the disaster that was the Brooklyn Half, may have been better for the psyche to not have any numbers pre-define my race day.

So what does the post title have to do with things?  Glad you asked…

So the nite before the race, I had gone out with some coworkers to celebrate a a birthday of someone in our group.  Original plan was to have 1 glass of wine, maybe 2 tops, and then go home early and rest.  Said original plan did not happen.  With the conditions for the race supposed to be crappy (either almost 100% humidity or raining), I thought “f*ck it, whatever happens tomorrow happens, I’m gonna have fun tonite.”  Hence me tipping back a few pints of Blue Moon and staying out later than planned (though I did carbo-load properly at home.)

So the next morning…no rain, but the humidity was indeed close to 100%-thank god it was cooler than normal.  Did feel it though during my warmup (boy did it feel different, warming up for this race by running up 8th Ave instead of down CPW!)  I headed to the blue corral and lined up with Flyers JS, EG and CK…within striking distance of the elites too!  cool!  Though when we are all supposed to move forward, me (and CK too) made sure we stayed behind the mats…for reason that we both forgot a few days later 🙂  but also I knew there were others who deserved to be in front of me, and I didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught up in a too-fast first mile.  Anyway, after a few speeches, some tributes to Grete, and one of the Harriers singing the National Anthem (and doing a great job too!) it was go time…

Mile 1 (7:28)-Similar to 2 years ago, I tried to hold back just a little…being a little cautious with both the conditions and knowing the hills were up ahead but also just knowing that a 10K is more of an endurance race than some give it credit for.  Others were flying past and I’d let them go…I sorta tried to keep JS in my sights, who was a strong runner making her first comeback race after injury.  I figured if I could stick with her I’d have a good day.  One treat for today was some of the men (and women not racing) from the local clubs cheering at the mile markers.  Looks like mile 1 was CPTC’s, as I saw a coupla familiar faces 😉  Thanks for cheering, guys!  And I was pretty happy with this mile split (and I think it may have actually been a second or 2 faster-was a little distracted at the mile marker 🙂 )

Mile 2 (7:41)-just kept going up CPW…smiled to myself as I passed my old block on the UWS, and all the buildings I used to walk or run by every day.  Entered the park at 90th and got to work on the hills.  Not time to make my move yet…maintain, maintain, maintain.  Even though this split was a little slow, I wasn’t really getting passed, and I had something left for the 2 biggest climbs of the race ahead.  (And thanks to North Brooklyn Runners for their great cheering at the mile 2 marker! 🙂 )

Mile 3 (7:37)-first climb.  Attack the hill, don’t look at the watch.  If I get passed here, catch ’em on the downhill.  And that was exactly what I did.  While running downhill, I actually heard JS chatting with Mary Wittenberg…and Mary passed me on the second uphill-she was running the race with Grete’s husband 🙂  I said something about how great the race was, the cheering stations were a fun touch…or something like that because seriously, who’s mind works well while running a 10K race in conditions resembling a swimming pool?  And speaking of cheering stations, Front Runners sure brought it at the mile 3 marker!!  Fun!!

Climbed a little more to the 5K point…which was 23:39.  Hmmm, pretty good!!  I know I’d have to run a major negative split to PR (and mile 4 always makes it hard to negative split), but maybe I could get close to my course PR from 2009 of 47:27.  That said, 2009’s race had much better conditions…and briefly, 2008’s race flashed into my mind.  Where I kept it together through the first 5K in bad conditions, only to lose it during the second 5K.

Mile 4 (8:06)-So I just kept climbing.  Up to 102nd, and up the sneaky incline to Engineer’s Gate and the mile 4 marker, where I saw Flyer SC and a coupla other clubs cheering.  I sorta breathed a sigh of relief here.  I’d still love to be able to get this mile under 8 minutes, but the fact that I was still keeping it together said a lot.

Mile 5 (7:32)-the same thought as every year…worst is over, all downhill from here.  And maybe not killing myself on the hills was a good thing, as I was able to pick up the pace more than usual this time around.  CPTC was back at mile 5 cheering, along with some others…I passed by CK at the end of this mile and was hoping she’d stick with me for the final stretch…

Mile 6 (7:28)-just keep on working hard…think of all those intervals at the track.  I’m still passing people, guess my strategy of holding back on mile 1 pays off again.  Hit the 800m to go sign and I think of running 800’s at the track, and Coach T telling me to “hit the pace”, and indeedy, hitting the pace.  Don’t think I’m gonna be throwing down any 3:20 half-miles as I have been doing during track workouts, considering I had 5.5 hard miles already on my legs, but it could help me close strong.  Finally, I see my team at a cheering station-yayyyyy!!!

Last .2 mile (1:32)-again, not looking at my watch, even though I hit the split button.  No idea if I’m near a real PR or a course PR or way off.  400m to go sign-I think “just a lap of the track”…though of course the track doesn’t include an annoying uphill to Tavern on the Green 🙂  I see Flyer DM up ahead and try and finish as close to her as possible…passed by just before the finish…gave it everything I had!!  (and gave it so much, I almost ran into someone who stopped short just after the finish line…)

Final time-47:24, 7:38 pace. 5K splits of 23:39/23:45-most evenly I have run this race in a very long time (with the exception of 2004, where I negative split by 1 second)…and 3 second course PR…not too shabby!  Not bad for a race I had mentally written off the night before…lol.

Got our medals (really nice ones this year!) and pink carnations, and did the usual posing for pics and mingling…thankfully everything was before the rains came 🙂

And I do not endorse getting wasted the night before a race…but maybe, occasionally, some Blue Moons won’t hurt…LOL.

Some piccys from the day!

Me and JS cruising up CPW in mile 1

mile 6-i totally look i'm walking but i swear i'm running

finish line!

near collision past the finish!

cute runner guy, will you accept this carnation?

running shoes, medals and flowers. guess which shoe is mine?

more flowers! with flyers in the background

hot mess on ocean parkway (brooklyn half 2011 report)

Damn.  Gotta face the music I guess.

Well, as I mentioned previously-the Brooklyn Half definitely did not go well.  Even though I was not expecting a PR (thanks to my actual half-marathon PR being a complete and total outlier) I thought maybe I can salvage a halfway decent race.  Not sure if last year’s 1:42 would be in reach, but did feel that 1:45 was a reasonable goal.  And I was ready to take the race on.

So I don’t know, even the morning of felt “off” in a way.  Thankfully, I didn’t have too much trouble waking up (before 4 AM!) since I did go to sleep reasonably early the night before.  Even though I’m in midtown now instead of the UWS, I still elected to take the Flyers‘ bus from the UWS, as we all know how unpredictible the MTA is on weekends, especially early mornings on weekends, especially in Brooklyn.  And that also meant I would be cabbin’ it uptown.  But it didn’t help that seemingly every cab was off-duty and of course I got nervous.  One off-duty cab stopped but after I told him my destination, said he couldn’t go to the UWS.  Eventually there was one who figured it wouldn’t kill him to drive 30 blocks!  So I did get to the bus in time.  However, once the bus was en route to Brooklyn…more nerves and unsettledness.  Instead of taking the West Side Highway to the tunnel as has been done in the past, the bus decided to trek through the city streets to the Manhattan Bridge, just adding more travel time.  As we were advised to check our bags by 6:20 and be in our corrals by 6:40 (race start was 7), we were really cutting it close.  Finally we got to Prospect Park, but it seemed like the driver had no clue where to let us off…I think everyone wanted off the bus by that time.  Figured it out, and once we we got off the bus I made a mad dash for the baggage area.  Seemed like I barely had enough time to check my bag and get to my corral (thank god I didn’t have to take care of other business…may have been no time for that!)  So yeah, waitin’ for the start…

And it began.  Knowing mile 1 would be a little downhill, I tried to keep it cool, and not get caught up with what others were doing, given there were quite a few miles worth of hills for me to deal with.  And as my mile 1 split was only 1 second off from last year’s race, I felt it was off to a good start.  And then mile 2 and evil hill, part 1 happened.  Looks like my long run of 4 trips up that hill didn’t work this time, as this mile was about 15 seconds slower than last year, and I had a feeling that it was going to be a tough day.  Just figured I could make up the time on the downhills…and bide my time til Ocean Parkway.  And once again, I decided it was gonna be a 2-gel day, as the humdity was deadly (close to 100%?  not sure if i quite believe that though…)  So all in all, I was through 7 miles in 56:06…7 seconds behind goal, but I could make that up in the remaining 6.1 miles right?

Ocean Parkway. shoot me now.

Or…not.  Mile 8 included the on-ramp to Ocean Parkway (which definitely felt more uphill this year) and that was 8:15…OK, now 22 seconds behind schedule.  I’d have to do 7:55’s or better for the remainder in order to get 1:45.  Given that I negative split this race last year, I thought it could have been doable, but not today.  I don’t know why or how, but my legs just went dead.  Nothing I could say or do could wake them up.  No water, Gatorade or PowerGel.  They were just stuck in that one slow gear and couldn’t seem to shift gears and go faster.  I was roadkill on Ocean Parkway with everyone and their mother passing me and I just wanted this to be over…but it couldn’t be over fast enough, as every single mile split was getting slower.

evil on-ramp to the boardwalk. and not smiling.

Thankfully, somewhere in mile 12, Flyer JA caught up to me and as I kinda had signs I wasn’t doing too well, he kept me company for a mile, was encouraging while just letting me run (though I was somewhat amused when he told me at mile 12 that it was just “4 1/2 laps of the track to go” 🙂  OK, maybe that may make the last 1.1 go by faster!)  It did help, as I was able to speed up a little bit for miles 12 and 13, though sub-8’s were definitely out by that point.  Finally, Ocean Parkway came to an end and we were able to turn right onto Surf Avenue, then up an evil on-ramp to the boardwalk (which again, definitely felt steeper this year…or maybe my legs were just shot by that point!)  Dr. Evil was taking pictures and had to comment afterwards that I wasn’t smiling whereas others would…um if you were feeling as crappy as I was, you wouldn’t be smiling. 

on the boardwalk...so close, yet so far away...

So, on the boardwalk I did remember one thing I learned from last year, and stayed on the straight boards as long as possible, as they were much, much more stable than the slanted ones.  I looked down at Mr. Garmin at the mile 13 marker and saw that I may possibly be able to get under 1:47, but I’d have to hustle…so I did the best I could given the boardwalk surface…but missed by 2 seconds.  1:47:01, 8:10 pace.  So glad this was over.   But I guess there’s nothing like a Coney Island beach party to drown my sorrows…which may or may not have included dipping my legs in the ocean several times, eating Nathan’s hot dogs, hanging out at Beer Island (which didn’t open til 11 AM this year!), riding the Cyclone (which was scary but less torturous than running the race, lol!), chilling out on the beach, not getting back to Manhattan until it was about time for the much-rumored Rapture….

…and given it was a long day, I crashed mad early for a Saturday night and slept like a baby.  But Sunday, and the day after, and the day after that, the disappointment of the day just came back to me.  If I had to have a bad race, I would have liked for there to be a fixable reason.  But this time?  There was no excuse for my legs to have just gone dead as they did.  And even though it was humid, it wasn’t brutally hot, therefore I most likely can’t blame the weather.  Plus, I was hearing stories of people who PR’ed without really training, or not putting in any double-digit runs…dammit, I put in the work.  Compared to last March/April/May, my mileage was higher this year.  Long runs?  All there-10 miles, 11, 12, 13-even 14 and 15 miles.  And since March, I had been doing speedwork twice a week.  Torrential storms with lightning?  Hit the dreadmill for intervals (and I never do speedwork on the dreadmill!)  Can’t make the workout for whatever reason?   Get the plan B to do in the morning (thankfully this time around it’s not quite pulling teeth to get that info!)  Despite the struggles this winter, once I got over the hump I wasn’t slacking off-little discouraging to be “rewarded” with my slowest half-marathon time in a few years (not counting the ones that were strictly training/MP runs)

But I really wanted a race that would have shown that I’m not kidding myself thinking I can BQ this fall…to BQ means I would have to run the pace for this half-marathon for a full (I really don’t think 3:40 is going to cut it for me, i’m gonna need 3:35 or better)  So not exactly a confidence booster…