Well, we didn't get a blizzard like last year.
Or icicle-mustache weather (14 degrees F) like 2011.
But this was a good Manhattan Half Marathon.
Start time was 8:00am. As always, NYRR was perfectly punctual with the start time. I mean perfectly. The singing of the National Anthem ended at 7:59:59 and the gun went off at 8:00:00. (And I keep an atomic clock in my pocket.)
But while NYRR was being all smooth, I was being a frantic mess. I forgot to pick up my bib on Friday or Saturday, so I had to get it before the race. This would normally be no problem, but NYRR makes you pick up your bib at their headquarters on race days that are frigid. So I had to go all the way up to 89th St (from 11th St.) before going back down to 72nd to enter the park. Naturally, I missed both of my subway rides by seconds and had to wait a half an hour to finally get moving uptown. At least I had time to ponder whether or not it was a good idea that I decided to wear my training shoes (Nike Lunareclipse 4) instead of my racing shoes (New Balance 860v2).
By the time I stepped into NYRR it was 7:30. I pinned on my bib and attached my timing chip to my shoe and then started off for 72nd. It was about 7:50 by the time I checked my bag, and about 7:58 by the time I had my ritual pre-race port-a-potty experience. I had to jump the gates to get into the corral and no one was amused as they looked at my bib and saw that I had jumped forward by one corral. Oops.
Needless to say, no time for pictures. I had jumped into the corral as they were pushing forward. All that hustle was my warm up! And we're off...
The course was two full, counter-clockwise loops of the park. We hit Harlem Hill at mile 3.5 and 9.5. That damn hill was the central focus of the whole race for me. I have been nervous about it ever since I ran a 10k on the same loop earlier this month, and I was bordering on mental illness about it all this last week.
Now, if you've never run up Harlem Hill before, you should know that this thing is a loooong climb. And it wraps around a couple of curves (first to the left and then to the right), so you can't even look up ahead and see the end. You have to just keep hoping against hope that it will eventually top out.
Well, since the course was taking me over this beast not once, but twice, I knew that my biggest struggle was going to be mental: I needed to put Harlem Hill behind me. I needed to trust in all those hill repeats and trail runs that put strength and endurance in my legs, and I needed to be confident that I am bigger than this; this is not bigger than me.
The first date with the Hill came quick. 3.5 miles into a run is just about when I hit my groove. So I had a good feeling as I started the ascent. It slowed me down, but I came out of it strong and picked up my pace very quickly after I reached the summit. One part of me wanted to slow down and let my legs recover; the other part kept saying "You can recover when you cross the finish line." I gave into the latter part and powered on. This became my mantra for the whole race.
Sailing back down to the south side of the park, I felt confident. Having survived the first of my two battles with the Hill, I gave myself a chance to shift focus and just enjoy the park and the other runners. NYRR races are a wonder to behold. Thousands of people come out for these things. They are fast and serious and you can't help but feel like you're part of something awesome when you're out there. The streets in the park become rivers flowing with brightly colored runners. And cowbells are heard ringing out every quarter mile. It's every endurance runner's dream. The day I run an NYRR race without taking some time to reflect on this awesomeness while I'm striding through the course is the day I hang up my running shoes for good. I think that's the day I will have fallen out of love with the sport.
Okay, okay, back to my painful detailing of the race:
As I passed the 5 mile marker, I realized that my total time so far was about 37:00. And I knew I would be able to PR if I finished the rest of the race in one hour. Pulling 7:30 miles would be hard, but I was already do it, so why not give it a shot? So that's what I tried to do. And let me tell you, I was doing great until mile 8. That's when my stomach went wonky. I knew it was hunger, so I ate a shotblok, but it was already too late. I was getting slightly crampy and felt fatigued. This did not bode well for my upcoming second climb of the Mountain o'Death at mile 9.5.
Sure enough, I slugged my way to the top of Harlem Hill and ended up pulling out an 8:50ish mile. It was brutal. But, you know what, I was so proud of myself for getting to the top of that hill. I knew I wouldn't PR, and I knew I was going to remain tired for the rest of the race, but I got past the mental hurdle. I conquered what was scaring me leading up to this race.
I've never raced on such a difficult course and in such cold weather. This race was hard, and I think I came out of it with flying colors.
Er, maybe a flying Mylar blanket.
Time: 1:41:33
Overall place: 767/4882
Gender place: 105/1935
Age place: 31/429
No medal for this race because NYRR is a little cheap thinks a half marathon is only a half and so doesn't merit a full medal spent so much money on these big girl shirts.
Can we say "donation bin"?! They only had XLs left when I picked up my bib before the race. It's a nice tech shirt, too! Bummer. It ended up saving my life anyway, though, because I was wet with sweat after the race and probably would have gotten frost by on my liver if I wasn't able to strip off all my clothes and pull on this shirt. Yeah, I changed clothes in the middle of Central Park in 20 degree F weather. No big deal. Kept me smiling.
By the way, I found out what NYRR does with all the old NYC Marathon specific Mylar blankets:
We are all finishers in the game of life. That sounds morbid.
Before getting on the train to come home, I went for the post-race tradition:
The Flat Iron burger and sweet potato fries from NY Burger Co. This was gone in about a minute flat. If only I could run as fast as I can eat.
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Start time was 8:00am. As always, NYRR was perfectly punctual with the start time. I mean perfectly. The singing of the National Anthem ended at 7:59:59 and the gun went off at 8:00:00. (And I keep an atomic clock in my pocket.)
But while NYRR was being all smooth, I was being a frantic mess. I forgot to pick up my bib on Friday or Saturday, so I had to get it before the race. This would normally be no problem, but NYRR makes you pick up your bib at their headquarters on race days that are frigid. So I had to go all the way up to 89th St (from 11th St.) before going back down to 72nd to enter the park. Naturally, I missed both of my subway rides by seconds and had to wait a half an hour to finally get moving uptown. At least I had time to ponder whether or not it was a good idea that I decided to wear my training shoes (Nike Lunareclipse 4) instead of my racing shoes (New Balance 860v2).
By the time I stepped into NYRR it was 7:30. I pinned on my bib and attached my timing chip to my shoe and then started off for 72nd. It was about 7:50 by the time I checked my bag, and about 7:58 by the time I had my ritual pre-race port-a-potty experience. I had to jump the gates to get into the corral and no one was amused as they looked at my bib and saw that I had jumped forward by one corral. Oops.
Needless to say, no time for pictures. I had jumped into the corral as they were pushing forward. All that hustle was my warm up! And we're off...
The course was two full, counter-clockwise loops of the park. We hit Harlem Hill at mile 3.5 and 9.5. That damn hill was the central focus of the whole race for me. I have been nervous about it ever since I ran a 10k on the same loop earlier this month, and I was bordering on mental illness about it all this last week.
Now, if you've never run up Harlem Hill before, you should know that this thing is a loooong climb. And it wraps around a couple of curves (first to the left and then to the right), so you can't even look up ahead and see the end. You have to just keep hoping against hope that it will eventually top out.
The first date with the Hill came quick. 3.5 miles into a run is just about when I hit my groove. So I had a good feeling as I started the ascent. It slowed me down, but I came out of it strong and picked up my pace very quickly after I reached the summit. One part of me wanted to slow down and let my legs recover; the other part kept saying "You can recover when you cross the finish line." I gave into the latter part and powered on. This became my mantra for the whole race.
Sailing back down to the south side of the park, I felt confident. Having survived the first of my two battles with the Hill, I gave myself a chance to shift focus and just enjoy the park and the other runners. NYRR races are a wonder to behold. Thousands of people come out for these things. They are fast and serious and you can't help but feel like you're part of something awesome when you're out there. The streets in the park become rivers flowing with brightly colored runners. And cowbells are heard ringing out every quarter mile. It's every endurance runner's dream. The day I run an NYRR race without taking some time to reflect on this awesomeness while I'm striding through the course is the day I hang up my running shoes for good. I think that's the day I will have fallen out of love with the sport.
Okay, okay, back to my painful detailing of the race:
As I passed the 5 mile marker, I realized that my total time so far was about 37:00. And I knew I would be able to PR if I finished the rest of the race in one hour. Pulling 7:30 miles would be hard, but I was already do it, so why not give it a shot? So that's what I tried to do. And let me tell you, I was doing great until mile 8. That's when my stomach went wonky. I knew it was hunger, so I ate a shotblok, but it was already too late. I was getting slightly crampy and felt fatigued. This did not bode well for my upcoming second climb of the Mountain o'Death at mile 9.5.
Sure enough, I slugged my way to the top of Harlem Hill and ended up pulling out an 8:50ish mile. It was brutal. But, you know what, I was so proud of myself for getting to the top of that hill. I knew I wouldn't PR, and I knew I was going to remain tired for the rest of the race, but I got past the mental hurdle. I conquered what was scaring me leading up to this race.
I've never raced on such a difficult course and in such cold weather. This race was hard, and I think I came out of it with flying colors.
Time: 1:41:33
Overall place: 767/4882
Gender place: 105/1935
Age place: 31/429
No medal for this race because NYRR i
By the way, I found out what NYRR does with all the old NYC Marathon specific Mylar blankets:
Before getting on the train to come home, I went for the post-race tradition:
Congrats on a good race. I'm glad that you went for it pace wise (even if you had stomach issues and had to slow down the second time on the hill)... now you know how to train for the next one. Congrats again!
ReplyDeleteThat a baby. Mark @marathoner
ReplyDeleteUghhh that looks like a tunic! Sleep shirt ;) You did awesome though, for being EVERYWHERE right before the race. And I know you'll get that PR next half!
ReplyDeleteGreat job in the race, that's a really good time for that course!
ReplyDeleteGreat Race! Harlem hills are a beast! Oh-and there is no better way to start a race than by booking it to the start line with just minutes to spare!
ReplyDeleteGreat race, hills are a B!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the race this weekend! Too bad the shirt was huge on you. Seems like you had a lot of fun despite the chilly weather.
ReplyDeleteHills freak me out in races, and I train on them for every single long run because I can't avoid them around here. But I noticed that my heart rate actually slows down on hills, even though I feel like I'm dying. When I kept seeing those stats again and again, I knew I shouldn't be afraid of hills. Totally mental. You had a great race time! And everything in that last picture is calling to me. Loudly.
ReplyDeleteThat cat sums up how I feel on just about every hill I run!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat shirt looks awesome on you haha!! GREAT JOB!! Amazing time you speedy girl!! Go check my latest post..you've got a shirt to claim!
ReplyDeleteI love the challenge of hills - this race sounds awesome! What is with ill-fitting tech shirts? of all the races i have done, i feel like only 2 i really wear...geez! Congrats on a great race!
ReplyDelete