Hi all,
Race number 26 was the Staten Island Half Marathon. This was the final half marathon in the Grand Prix. I missed Queens, but still ran 4 out of 5, so I completed the 2008 Grand Prix and have earned my patch.
Goals: to run between water stations and to run at marathon goal pace (somewhere between 2:15 and 2:20)
The day before the race, I wandered around the Lower East Side with my friends, Brady and Andrea and their daughter, Charlotte (who, for some reason, calls me Cacao). We went to Economy Candy, babycakes (a vegan bakery), and Doughnut Plant, where we had the most amazing doughnuts! We shared three: pumpkin spice, apple cinnamon, and blackout, and we each took home a Valrhona chocolate doughnut. I was supposed to save mine for my post-race treat, but I ate it before I went to bed. Probably not the best idea, but I couldn’t wait!
The MTA has screwed up my train-line again, so I had to take a bus, 3 trains and a ferry to the race. I missed my ferry by 15 minutes and had to wait 45 minutes for the next one. Luckily, I had worried about that in advance, so I was still on time for the last ferry that would get me to the race on time. I heard later that not everyone made that ferry and a lot of people started over 20 minutes late, after the start mat had been picked up. Fingers crossed that this won’t happen on Marathon Sunday!!
I was a little better at holding off the pace this time, but it was about 10 degrees warmer than I thought it would be. I trudged through the first four miles before needing to take an extra walk break. In the second mile, we passed some construction workers taking a break from construction on the train overpass. An old train was there and as I came up towards the area, the train sounded his horn for us. The construction workers didn’t even wave back. The rest of the spectators were much better! I was on the verge of crashing and burning in the fifth mile when I thought I recognized someone’s voice. I looked around and there was Roxy! She looked great – you’d never have known she had run the Hartford Marathon the day before! She gave me a hug and cheered me on my way. At this point, the lead runners were coming back towards us, so I applauded and cheered. I love when that happens! It’s much more inspiring to actually see them than to look at my watch and calculate when the winner is probably finishing. When I hit the long out and back I started looking for my friend, LK. He likes to start at the back of the race and pass runners, rather than start in his corral with other runners of similar pace. During half marathons, he usually passes me in the sixth or seventh mile. With the long turnaround, I was sure that I’d see him, but I didn’t. On the way back, I looked for Bonnie, but didn’t see her, either. She had run 7 miles before the race (her last long run before the marathon) and had started way at the back of the pack, so I think I had already made the 8th-mile hill turn before she got to that point. The first year that I ran this race, I chugged my way to the top, thinking I knew when the hill ended. This year, my 4th running of this half, I knew that the turn just leads to another uphill, so I took it easy and walked when I felt like it. The top of that hill takes us into the Naval base and under the bridge. Coming down that road, I knew I’d be seeing Roxy again soon, so I kept my eyes open for her. She was waiting right after a water station with her camera, so I had to start running again. I passed her and had to go back for another picture and I’m glad I did – hers is my favorite picture from the race! Thanks, Roxy!!
Just a few more miles to go and I was flagging. I heard some guys running together talking about their pace and wanted to keep up with them, but they passed me at a water station and I couldn’t catch them. I recognized another voice when I was in the 10th mile and it turned out to belong to one of the trainers from my gym. My plan was to get to the hill in the 12th mile, walk up that hill to the bridge, then run the rest of the way to the finish. As I came to the top of the hill, a car came along the road forcing the runners to the sides. I’m still a little nervous about cars, so I walked until the car had cleared the bridge. Not one of the cops did a thing to stop the car. I thought that’s why the cops were there, but maybe they were on some other assignment, somehow involving leaning up against walls and chatting to each other. I hit the 12-mile marker running and didn’t stop until I finished the race. I tried to keep the pace nice and steady and still managed to run it too fast again. I was just glad to be finished!
I stuck around the finish area looking for Bonnie, LK, Roxy and anyone else running the race and I ran into Fabian. We chatted a bit and took pictures, then I headed off to catch the ferry, but ran into Bonnie. She’d done a great job with her 20 miles, finishing just a few seconds faster per mile than she’d planned. I had to sprint to catch the ferry, but I made it, and turned into a tourist for the trip home. It’s a fantastic ride – everyone should take the Staten Island Ferry at least once!!
Official stats: my official time was 2:16:23, for an average pace of 10:24. My splits were 9:55, 10:23, 9:59, 10:03, 10:56, 10:18, 10:18, 11:27, 10:56, 10:02, 10:33, 11:15, 9:24 and :59 for the last tenth of a mile (sub 10:00 pace). I was 2879 out of 3632 total runners, putting me in the 21st percentile. It was 60°F with 65% humidity.
Consolation treats: I had my treats the day before, as you’ll see if you look in the second album of pictures, but I did stop at Taco Bell for a CrunchWrap to eat on the way home. I had a slushy British Dr Pepper at home and some chocolates from the LES wander.
Next up: Tower of Terror 13k (10/25), NYC Marathon (11/2)
Race pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157607973044603/
Pictures from the Lower East Side wander are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157607969357344/
Showing posts with label half marathon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label half marathon. Show all posts
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Brooklyn Half Marathon 5.3.08
Hi all,
Race number 11 (9th 2009 marathon-qualifying race – I just need to “volunteer” at a race to have guaranteed entry) was the Brooklyn Half Marathon.
Goals: to run between water stations and three time goals: i) to set a course PR (sub 2:06:56); ii) to set a distance PR (sub 2:02:42); and iii) to run a sub-2. I have a very specific strategy for running a sub-2. My plan is to run the first 3 miles at 9:30 pace, the next 3 miles at 9:15 pace and then finish the race at 9:00 pace.
My friend, Laura, let me stay at her place again, so, before the race, I only had to deal with the messed up trains in Brooklyn (getting home was a nightmare!). After a night of weird dreams about Alton Brown (don’t ask me - Laura doesn’t have a tv, so it wasn’t from watching one of his shows), I met Bonnie and we headed to the subway. We had to change trains, because the train was not running straight through to Coney Island. We ran into Lana, then Steve passed by, and then LK joined us. We hung out until it was time for me to head off to my corral.
I went out easy and tried to keep my footing on the boardwalk. As I’ve mentioned in previous recaps, the boardwalk frightens me because the boards are uneven and the bolts aren’t all flush with the surface. I’ve seen bloody gashes on fallen runners and do not want to be one of them. I only saw one person fall this time, but Bonnie saw three and heard another person talking about having fallen. At one point, there was a huge dog standing on a bench barking away and I’m sure he was cheering us on. I skipped the first water station and moved to the inside to watch the front-runners coming at me from the turn-around. As always, John Henwood* was in the lead. I kept an eye out for Sue and saw her (about 11 minutes in front of me), but she was on the other side of the boardwalk, so I don’t know if she heard me call out to her. After I hit the turnaround, I stayed on the inside to keep an eye out for LK, Lana, Mark, and Bonnie, but only saw Lana. I called to her, but don’t know if she heard me. At some point, I realized that the zipper on my tights was cutting into my heel, so at the next water station, I unzipped it a bit. There was a small bloody hole in my heel, but it wasn’t too bad. It felt weird having the tights flap around my ankle, but, after a while, I forgot about it.
Miles 4 through 9 are straight up Ocean Parkway, which is mostly flat, and very stressful on the muscles. I was so happy to get to the slight uphill and downhill in the 8th mile! Not to mention, I was still going too fast, even with the water stops, which weren’t as numerous as I’d expected and Gatorade was served at only 2 of the stations. In the 9th mile, as I was entering Prospect Park, I was struggling to breathe (there was a lot of humidity) and the camber on the road was killing me. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to hold on for a sub-2. My knee was beginning to ache, so I decided to move towards the center of the road and glanced to my right to see if I could get around the person running next to me. I don’t know how long he’d been there, but it was LK! I was happily surprised and he looked great! He was running along nice and easy. We went along a little ways together and then he moved on ahead, still looking as if he were just out for a long, slow run. I was sure he’d finish in under 2 hours. At the next water station, I made sure to use my inhaler and wished I hadn’t waited for the water station. The 10th mile is almost entirely uphill and it’s a killer. I knew, though, that if I stopped to walk at all, I wouldn’t make my PR, much less the sub-2, so I just kept going and hoped I wouldn’t lose too much time. After the crest of the big hill at Grand Army Plaza, I had to get down the rolling downhills in the 11th mile. There was some relief in the 12th mile, which is mostly downhill and which I tried to use to get back on track a little, then I had to push myself through almost every step of the last 1.1 miles. I was so close to a PR, but I had no spare time and needed to run as fast as I could (at that point) if I was going to set a PR. The turn into the park to the finish area started another slight uphill and the spectators were great, telling us that 13 was just around the corner and we were almost there. I had no finishing kick, but held on to cross in 2:02:24. I wandered around the finish area, but didn’t see LK, who had finished about 6 minutes ahead of me. I got my chip clipped and grabbed my bag, then headed to the start to wait for Bonnie, but I missed her. I was standing in line for my post-race picture when Mark found me. My cell phone doesn’t work on that road, but Bonnie found me, just as I was asking for directions back to Laura’s neighborhood. Bonnie lives just around the corner, so we walked partway back, because I stopped at CocoaBar for treats.
On my way home, I was plagued by train issues, but stopped off at Lumenhouse (www.lumenhouse.com) to see my friend’s work. Thanks to the MTA, I was later than I’d said I would be, so I must have missed Aurora (http://www.aurorarobson.com/), but saw her exhibit. Very interesting! The exhibit (Lather, Rinse, Repeat) is on until May 18th, if art is your thing.
Official stats: my official time was 2:02:24 for an average pace of 9:20. My splits were 9:04, 9:24, 9:53, 9:16, 8:56, 9:34, 9:08, 9:29, 9:16, 9:59, 9:18, 9:04, 9:10, and :57 (pace) for the last tenth of a mile. I was 3707 out of 5832 runners, putting me in the 46th percentile. It was 48°F, 93% humidity, and 10 mph winds.
Celebratory treats: I stopped at the CocoaBar for a cinnamon hot chocolate and a piece of Peanut Butter Explosion Cake (for Sunday). CocoaBar used to have the best red velvet cake with a cinnamon buttercream frosting, but they no longer carry it, so I probably won’t bother going there anymore. When I got home, I had a slushy British Dr Pepper (which I’ve been saving for this occasion), some Baskin-Robbins York Peppermint Patty ice-cream (okay, but not great), and part of a Thornton’s Cocoa Nibs bar (thank you, Jillian!).
Next up: Wall Street Run 5k (5/20) – I’m waiting for some non-running events to be finalized, before I sign up for any races.
Race pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157604866347670/
“Cirque du Soleil” performed at MSG this week and pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157604871015171/
On my way to and from NYRR to pick up my race gear, I took these pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157604866147818/
*John Henwood is a New Zealand Olympian and I’ve seen him run (and usually win) many NYRR races. When the Queens Half was a double-loop course, I tracked my progress each year by how far I got before he lapped me.
Race number 11 (9th 2009 marathon-qualifying race – I just need to “volunteer” at a race to have guaranteed entry) was the Brooklyn Half Marathon.
Goals: to run between water stations and three time goals: i) to set a course PR (sub 2:06:56); ii) to set a distance PR (sub 2:02:42); and iii) to run a sub-2. I have a very specific strategy for running a sub-2. My plan is to run the first 3 miles at 9:30 pace, the next 3 miles at 9:15 pace and then finish the race at 9:00 pace.
My friend, Laura, let me stay at her place again, so, before the race, I only had to deal with the messed up trains in Brooklyn (getting home was a nightmare!). After a night of weird dreams about Alton Brown (don’t ask me - Laura doesn’t have a tv, so it wasn’t from watching one of his shows), I met Bonnie and we headed to the subway. We had to change trains, because the train was not running straight through to Coney Island. We ran into Lana, then Steve passed by, and then LK joined us. We hung out until it was time for me to head off to my corral.
I went out easy and tried to keep my footing on the boardwalk. As I’ve mentioned in previous recaps, the boardwalk frightens me because the boards are uneven and the bolts aren’t all flush with the surface. I’ve seen bloody gashes on fallen runners and do not want to be one of them. I only saw one person fall this time, but Bonnie saw three and heard another person talking about having fallen. At one point, there was a huge dog standing on a bench barking away and I’m sure he was cheering us on. I skipped the first water station and moved to the inside to watch the front-runners coming at me from the turn-around. As always, John Henwood* was in the lead. I kept an eye out for Sue and saw her (about 11 minutes in front of me), but she was on the other side of the boardwalk, so I don’t know if she heard me call out to her. After I hit the turnaround, I stayed on the inside to keep an eye out for LK, Lana, Mark, and Bonnie, but only saw Lana. I called to her, but don’t know if she heard me. At some point, I realized that the zipper on my tights was cutting into my heel, so at the next water station, I unzipped it a bit. There was a small bloody hole in my heel, but it wasn’t too bad. It felt weird having the tights flap around my ankle, but, after a while, I forgot about it.
Miles 4 through 9 are straight up Ocean Parkway, which is mostly flat, and very stressful on the muscles. I was so happy to get to the slight uphill and downhill in the 8th mile! Not to mention, I was still going too fast, even with the water stops, which weren’t as numerous as I’d expected and Gatorade was served at only 2 of the stations. In the 9th mile, as I was entering Prospect Park, I was struggling to breathe (there was a lot of humidity) and the camber on the road was killing me. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to hold on for a sub-2. My knee was beginning to ache, so I decided to move towards the center of the road and glanced to my right to see if I could get around the person running next to me. I don’t know how long he’d been there, but it was LK! I was happily surprised and he looked great! He was running along nice and easy. We went along a little ways together and then he moved on ahead, still looking as if he were just out for a long, slow run. I was sure he’d finish in under 2 hours. At the next water station, I made sure to use my inhaler and wished I hadn’t waited for the water station. The 10th mile is almost entirely uphill and it’s a killer. I knew, though, that if I stopped to walk at all, I wouldn’t make my PR, much less the sub-2, so I just kept going and hoped I wouldn’t lose too much time. After the crest of the big hill at Grand Army Plaza, I had to get down the rolling downhills in the 11th mile. There was some relief in the 12th mile, which is mostly downhill and which I tried to use to get back on track a little, then I had to push myself through almost every step of the last 1.1 miles. I was so close to a PR, but I had no spare time and needed to run as fast as I could (at that point) if I was going to set a PR. The turn into the park to the finish area started another slight uphill and the spectators were great, telling us that 13 was just around the corner and we were almost there. I had no finishing kick, but held on to cross in 2:02:24. I wandered around the finish area, but didn’t see LK, who had finished about 6 minutes ahead of me. I got my chip clipped and grabbed my bag, then headed to the start to wait for Bonnie, but I missed her. I was standing in line for my post-race picture when Mark found me. My cell phone doesn’t work on that road, but Bonnie found me, just as I was asking for directions back to Laura’s neighborhood. Bonnie lives just around the corner, so we walked partway back, because I stopped at CocoaBar for treats.
On my way home, I was plagued by train issues, but stopped off at Lumenhouse (www.lumenhouse.com) to see my friend’s work. Thanks to the MTA, I was later than I’d said I would be, so I must have missed Aurora (http://www.aurorarobson.com/), but saw her exhibit. Very interesting! The exhibit (Lather, Rinse, Repeat) is on until May 18th, if art is your thing.
Official stats: my official time was 2:02:24 for an average pace of 9:20. My splits were 9:04, 9:24, 9:53, 9:16, 8:56, 9:34, 9:08, 9:29, 9:16, 9:59, 9:18, 9:04, 9:10, and :57 (pace) for the last tenth of a mile. I was 3707 out of 5832 runners, putting me in the 46th percentile. It was 48°F, 93% humidity, and 10 mph winds.
Celebratory treats: I stopped at the CocoaBar for a cinnamon hot chocolate and a piece of Peanut Butter Explosion Cake (for Sunday). CocoaBar used to have the best red velvet cake with a cinnamon buttercream frosting, but they no longer carry it, so I probably won’t bother going there anymore. When I got home, I had a slushy British Dr Pepper (which I’ve been saving for this occasion), some Baskin-Robbins York Peppermint Patty ice-cream (okay, but not great), and part of a Thornton’s Cocoa Nibs bar (thank you, Jillian!).
Next up: Wall Street Run 5k (5/20) – I’m waiting for some non-running events to be finalized, before I sign up for any races.
Race pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157604866347670/
“Cirque du Soleil” performed at MSG this week and pictures are available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157604871015171/
On my way to and from NYRR to pick up my race gear, I took these pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7411850@N04/sets/72157604866147818/
*John Henwood is a New Zealand Olympian and I’ve seen him run (and usually win) many NYRR races. When the Queens Half was a double-loop course, I tracked my progress each year by how far I got before he lapped me.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Disneyland Half Marathon 9.03.07
Hi all,
Race 26* was Disneyland Half Marathon. We started in Downtown Disney, ran around the back of California Adventure, then entered and ran through California Adventure, crossed the esplanade and entered Disneyland, ran through Disneyland, came back out onto the streets of Anaheim, ran back and over to Arrowhead Pond (home of the Mighty Ducks), ran along the Santa Ana Trail towards Angels’ Stadium, entered the stadium and circled the bases (not on the field itself, though), came back out onto the streets, and finished up at Downtown Disney.
Expo day: The best thing about the expo this year was Yamaha’s BodiBeat booth. http://www.yamaha.com/bodibeat/consumer.asp I am definitely getting one of these when they come out. The expo wasn’t as good as last year, even though it was bigger. I spent a lot of time trying to find a visor to wear during the race, but no-one had any that were designed for runners. There were a bunch of cotton twill visors and caps, but one of the necessary features for a visor, to me, at least, is a sweat band to keep sweat out of my eyes and contacts! I ended up buying a cap from Race Ready. I went back to the expo on Sunday, because my parents wanted to check it out. I met up with RunJoeRun and Shayna K (who had very kindly taken family photos for us at Alice’s the day before). I stayed at the Radisson Main Gate again this year (thanks, again, Mike and Dan!!), so I could either take a shuttle or walk about a half mile to the start.
Goals: I had a seriously ambitious time goal for this one. I wanted to go sub-2. My half marathon PR was 2:02:49 and beating that would have been good, too. Plus my usual goal of running between water stations.
I took the shuttle to the race (it pulled up right as I was leaving the hotel) and walked through Downtown Disney (DD) to the start. BodiBeat was giving out flashing buttons under Merlin’s Hat, but it fell off about halfway through the race. I was trying to figure out how I was going to find Shayna in the crowds and there she was. With Vanessa, who I’d missed at the expo and hadn’t reached by phone yet! What luck! We hung out a while, then I dropped off my bag and found them again. One of the Toy Story soldiers got on stage and told everyone that it was going to be hot and that everyone should drop any extra gear (wings, tutus, etc., though he did say we could carry our wands). We eventually made our way to the start. I was in Corral B, in the first wave. I stretched and waited and finally the opening ceremony started. With a confirmation of Shayna’s news – there was a 3-flag system: yellow, which meant that we should be careful and not run too hard; red, which meant that it was getting dangerous and we should take it easy and anyone with heat issues should drop out; and black, at which point they were turning off the clocks and it would be a fun run instead. There is nothing fun about a half marathon, even if it is run partly through Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure (DCA)! Then, he told us that we were already in a red flag situation. Yikes! I started reconsidering my goals at that point. The dignitaries were paraded out (including Mickey and Minnie in track suits), the monorail arrived with the special guests (including Goofy and other characters), and then the countdown started. It was really cool – soundless firework stars arced upwards from either side as the countdown hit 3, 2, 1 and then the big bang and the full fireworks display started as the gun sounded (presumably – I couldn’t hear it).
We took off running down and then up under an overpass, heading out of DD, passing the Convention Center and then coming back into DCA. I love running through the Parks!! The surface is great to run on and the characters were out to cheer for us. I remember passing Flik, Koda (or was it Kenai?), Stitch (I flashed the Surf’s Up sign at him as I passed), Lightning McQueen, and Mater. And, like last year, in addition to staff cheering us on along the way, there were wranglers there to take pictures of runners and characters with the runners’ cameras – a very nice touch and one of these years I’m going to take advantage of it! We left DCA and headed across to Disneyland, running behind Main Street, passing Chip (or was it Dale) and Pluto, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Buzz Lightyear, running through Cinderella’s castle, then past Woody and Jessie, Captain Jack Sparrow and the other pirates (he fired a cannon at us, but the ball fell short, splashing into the water instead), we passed the Genie and Jazmin on our way back to Main Street, which we ran down on our way out of the park and onto the streets of Anaheim. I knew that this was where it was going to get tough, because it was blazing hot and there is no shade in Anaheim! I should say, too, that I don’t usually start sweating until the 3rd mile, but I was soaked by the end of the first mile and already knew I wasn’t going to get a PR, much less a sub-2. So, I spent the first couple of miles out of the park trying to figure out what my revised goal should be. I would have been happy with anything under 2:10, but knew from my Bronx Half Marathons in July that 2:15 was more likely, given my recent running times (my fastest July Bronx Half was 2:23:26).
In the 5th mile, the palpitations started and so did my walking. My heart-rate generally stays fairly low when I run, so when it started going crazy, I paid attention and started walking whenever it got a little crazy. There were lots of cheerleaders and high school bands along the way, as well as a Mexican band with dancers (who had just finished a number when I passed, so I didn’t get to see them) and what looked like a Polynesian dance troupe (again, they’d just finished performing when I got there, so I missed them, too). Finally, I saw the hockey stadium coming up and knew that the end was in sight. Well, not in sight, literally, but I knew I was going to make it. I just had to hope that the clocks weren’t turned off until I got to the finish! Outside of the stadium (we don’t get to run inside that one), there were cheerleaders and youth hockey players giving us high fives as we passed. We hit the Santa Ana trail, which was a nice break from the asphalt, and then came up to the Clif gel mile for yet another walk break. Next up is Angels Stadium and on the way there, we passed Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Eagle Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts, and more cheerleaders, along with parents and spectators cheering for us. At the end of the gauntlet, we headed into the stadium and ran along the warning track around home plate. This year, the camera was lined up along the 3rd base line, so that the runners could see themselves on the Jumbotron. I waved frantically, hoping my family back at the finish area would be able to see me.** I headed out of the stadium, walked through another water station, then headed, gratefully, back towards the parks.
When I got to mile 12, my heart sank. The clock was off. Twelve miles in and all for nothing. I slowed to a jog and headed over to the clock. As I passed, I asked someone standing there about the clock, but he just told me what time it was. I had already run 12 miles, so I just decided to run it in. About a half mile later, just inside DCA again, there was another water station and a medical tent, which had a red flag! I told someone about the clock being off at the 12-mile marker and that people would think we’d gone to Black Flag and stop racing. She said “Oh Shit” and immediately ran off to get the situation resolved. I was very happy to see her immediate response and that she took it so seriously. I was completely done in by this point and just decided that I was going to enjoy the rest of my run. My favorite modern Disney movie is Monsters, Inc., and, last year, Sully was cheering us on as we headed through DCA in the last mile of the race. He was there again this year and, even though there was a line and I didn’t have a camera, I stopped, waited and gave him a hug, telling him I loved him. ‘Cuz I do! Rejuvenated, I took off running again, zoomed through DD and headed for the finish line. I heard my name called as I ran towards Mickey and Minnie (still in their track suits, but not sweating at all) and turned to wave to my parents and brother. I crossed the finish line in under 2:15 on the official clock, so I made my revised goal – the only goal I hit!
As soon as I crossed, I headed over to someone and reported the 12-mile clock situation and, again, was happy to see him run off to find someone to take care of it. Last year’s race was fairly well organized, but getting the official photo was a nightmare. This year, we passed through another gauntlet, getting our medal, mylar blanket, water, PowerAde, bananas, oranges, bagels, fruitcups and then found the photographers. There was an official photograph station set up outside each baggage tent, so that the lines moved smoothly. After the photograph, I grabbed my bag and passed through the tent into the family reunion area, where I found my family waiting for me (sort of). This year, for the first time in my racing career, I was able to get a post-race massage! My brother waited in that line for me while I got my medal engraved with my name and time and the rest of the group went to the Disneyland Hotel to wait. I was very impressed with Disney’s handling of the post-race crowds, but they’re so used to crowd control that it would have been surprising if they hadn’t improved the situation from last year. I love Disney!
Official stats: I finished in 2:13:00 for an average pace of 10:29 over the 13.1 miles. I was 2163 out of 8763 total finishers, putting me in the 78th percentile!! I was 821 out of 5779 female finishers, putting me in the 86th percentile. I was 143 out of 826 finishers in my age/gender group, putting me in the 83rd percentile. My official splits from my watch were: 9:29, 9:49, 9:24; 9:51; 10:06; 9:36; 10:25; 10:20; 10:20; 11:19; 11:21; 10:21; 9:46; and :57 for the last tenth of a mile. It was 84° by the time we finished with approximately 70% humidity.
Consolation treats: Forget slushy Dr Peppers – I had a Dr Pepper Slurpee!! Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven!! And my brother who found it for me!! After that, we went to Chuao Chocolate Café at the Spectrum and, after a little difficulty explaining that I wanted a drink without coffee, I had the Chuao 73% (I think that’s what it’s called). MMM A few days later, I had some very special treats – the pictures are in the album.
Next up: The Queens Half Marathon (9/23), the Fifth Avenue Mile (9/29) and the 18-mile Tune-up (9/30).
Thank you for all your support!
*What a difference the accident made. Last year, this was my 32nd race of the year. The accident cut me back by 6 races and I added 3 races this year that I didn’t run last year, so I should have been at 33, not 26, given that the race was moved up two weeks this year.
**My parents and brother were waiting right at the finish line, so they couldn’t see the Jumbotron. My sister and brother-in-law were in the finishing area, but only my brother-in-law saw me.
Yahoo photos is closing down, so I had to switch to another service. I’m on snapfish now. Hopefully, you’ll be able to see the pictures here: http://www2.snapfish.com/groupview/groupname=disneylandhalfmarathon07/groupid=1947802/groupownerid=106844724/t_=106844724. You’ll need a password to get in. It’s 90307. Let me know if you have trouble and I’ll see what else I can do.
Race 26* was Disneyland Half Marathon. We started in Downtown Disney, ran around the back of California Adventure, then entered and ran through California Adventure, crossed the esplanade and entered Disneyland, ran through Disneyland, came back out onto the streets of Anaheim, ran back and over to Arrowhead Pond (home of the Mighty Ducks), ran along the Santa Ana Trail towards Angels’ Stadium, entered the stadium and circled the bases (not on the field itself, though), came back out onto the streets, and finished up at Downtown Disney.
Expo day: The best thing about the expo this year was Yamaha’s BodiBeat booth. http://www.yamaha.com/bodibeat/consumer.asp I am definitely getting one of these when they come out. The expo wasn’t as good as last year, even though it was bigger. I spent a lot of time trying to find a visor to wear during the race, but no-one had any that were designed for runners. There were a bunch of cotton twill visors and caps, but one of the necessary features for a visor, to me, at least, is a sweat band to keep sweat out of my eyes and contacts! I ended up buying a cap from Race Ready. I went back to the expo on Sunday, because my parents wanted to check it out. I met up with RunJoeRun and Shayna K (who had very kindly taken family photos for us at Alice’s the day before). I stayed at the Radisson Main Gate again this year (thanks, again, Mike and Dan!!), so I could either take a shuttle or walk about a half mile to the start.
Goals: I had a seriously ambitious time goal for this one. I wanted to go sub-2. My half marathon PR was 2:02:49 and beating that would have been good, too. Plus my usual goal of running between water stations.
I took the shuttle to the race (it pulled up right as I was leaving the hotel) and walked through Downtown Disney (DD) to the start. BodiBeat was giving out flashing buttons under Merlin’s Hat, but it fell off about halfway through the race. I was trying to figure out how I was going to find Shayna in the crowds and there she was. With Vanessa, who I’d missed at the expo and hadn’t reached by phone yet! What luck! We hung out a while, then I dropped off my bag and found them again. One of the Toy Story soldiers got on stage and told everyone that it was going to be hot and that everyone should drop any extra gear (wings, tutus, etc., though he did say we could carry our wands). We eventually made our way to the start. I was in Corral B, in the first wave. I stretched and waited and finally the opening ceremony started. With a confirmation of Shayna’s news – there was a 3-flag system: yellow, which meant that we should be careful and not run too hard; red, which meant that it was getting dangerous and we should take it easy and anyone with heat issues should drop out; and black, at which point they were turning off the clocks and it would be a fun run instead. There is nothing fun about a half marathon, even if it is run partly through Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure (DCA)! Then, he told us that we were already in a red flag situation. Yikes! I started reconsidering my goals at that point. The dignitaries were paraded out (including Mickey and Minnie in track suits), the monorail arrived with the special guests (including Goofy and other characters), and then the countdown started. It was really cool – soundless firework stars arced upwards from either side as the countdown hit 3, 2, 1 and then the big bang and the full fireworks display started as the gun sounded (presumably – I couldn’t hear it).
We took off running down and then up under an overpass, heading out of DD, passing the Convention Center and then coming back into DCA. I love running through the Parks!! The surface is great to run on and the characters were out to cheer for us. I remember passing Flik, Koda (or was it Kenai?), Stitch (I flashed the Surf’s Up sign at him as I passed), Lightning McQueen, and Mater. And, like last year, in addition to staff cheering us on along the way, there were wranglers there to take pictures of runners and characters with the runners’ cameras – a very nice touch and one of these years I’m going to take advantage of it! We left DCA and headed across to Disneyland, running behind Main Street, passing Chip (or was it Dale) and Pluto, Alice, the Mad Hatter, Buzz Lightyear, running through Cinderella’s castle, then past Woody and Jessie, Captain Jack Sparrow and the other pirates (he fired a cannon at us, but the ball fell short, splashing into the water instead), we passed the Genie and Jazmin on our way back to Main Street, which we ran down on our way out of the park and onto the streets of Anaheim. I knew that this was where it was going to get tough, because it was blazing hot and there is no shade in Anaheim! I should say, too, that I don’t usually start sweating until the 3rd mile, but I was soaked by the end of the first mile and already knew I wasn’t going to get a PR, much less a sub-2. So, I spent the first couple of miles out of the park trying to figure out what my revised goal should be. I would have been happy with anything under 2:10, but knew from my Bronx Half Marathons in July that 2:15 was more likely, given my recent running times (my fastest July Bronx Half was 2:23:26).
In the 5th mile, the palpitations started and so did my walking. My heart-rate generally stays fairly low when I run, so when it started going crazy, I paid attention and started walking whenever it got a little crazy. There were lots of cheerleaders and high school bands along the way, as well as a Mexican band with dancers (who had just finished a number when I passed, so I didn’t get to see them) and what looked like a Polynesian dance troupe (again, they’d just finished performing when I got there, so I missed them, too). Finally, I saw the hockey stadium coming up and knew that the end was in sight. Well, not in sight, literally, but I knew I was going to make it. I just had to hope that the clocks weren’t turned off until I got to the finish! Outside of the stadium (we don’t get to run inside that one), there were cheerleaders and youth hockey players giving us high fives as we passed. We hit the Santa Ana trail, which was a nice break from the asphalt, and then came up to the Clif gel mile for yet another walk break. Next up is Angels Stadium and on the way there, we passed Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Eagle Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts, and more cheerleaders, along with parents and spectators cheering for us. At the end of the gauntlet, we headed into the stadium and ran along the warning track around home plate. This year, the camera was lined up along the 3rd base line, so that the runners could see themselves on the Jumbotron. I waved frantically, hoping my family back at the finish area would be able to see me.** I headed out of the stadium, walked through another water station, then headed, gratefully, back towards the parks.
When I got to mile 12, my heart sank. The clock was off. Twelve miles in and all for nothing. I slowed to a jog and headed over to the clock. As I passed, I asked someone standing there about the clock, but he just told me what time it was. I had already run 12 miles, so I just decided to run it in. About a half mile later, just inside DCA again, there was another water station and a medical tent, which had a red flag! I told someone about the clock being off at the 12-mile marker and that people would think we’d gone to Black Flag and stop racing. She said “Oh Shit” and immediately ran off to get the situation resolved. I was very happy to see her immediate response and that she took it so seriously. I was completely done in by this point and just decided that I was going to enjoy the rest of my run. My favorite modern Disney movie is Monsters, Inc., and, last year, Sully was cheering us on as we headed through DCA in the last mile of the race. He was there again this year and, even though there was a line and I didn’t have a camera, I stopped, waited and gave him a hug, telling him I loved him. ‘Cuz I do! Rejuvenated, I took off running again, zoomed through DD and headed for the finish line. I heard my name called as I ran towards Mickey and Minnie (still in their track suits, but not sweating at all) and turned to wave to my parents and brother. I crossed the finish line in under 2:15 on the official clock, so I made my revised goal – the only goal I hit!
As soon as I crossed, I headed over to someone and reported the 12-mile clock situation and, again, was happy to see him run off to find someone to take care of it. Last year’s race was fairly well organized, but getting the official photo was a nightmare. This year, we passed through another gauntlet, getting our medal, mylar blanket, water, PowerAde, bananas, oranges, bagels, fruitcups and then found the photographers. There was an official photograph station set up outside each baggage tent, so that the lines moved smoothly. After the photograph, I grabbed my bag and passed through the tent into the family reunion area, where I found my family waiting for me (sort of). This year, for the first time in my racing career, I was able to get a post-race massage! My brother waited in that line for me while I got my medal engraved with my name and time and the rest of the group went to the Disneyland Hotel to wait. I was very impressed with Disney’s handling of the post-race crowds, but they’re so used to crowd control that it would have been surprising if they hadn’t improved the situation from last year. I love Disney!
Official stats: I finished in 2:13:00 for an average pace of 10:29 over the 13.1 miles. I was 2163 out of 8763 total finishers, putting me in the 78th percentile!! I was 821 out of 5779 female finishers, putting me in the 86th percentile. I was 143 out of 826 finishers in my age/gender group, putting me in the 83rd percentile. My official splits from my watch were: 9:29, 9:49, 9:24; 9:51; 10:06; 9:36; 10:25; 10:20; 10:20; 11:19; 11:21; 10:21; 9:46; and :57 for the last tenth of a mile. It was 84° by the time we finished with approximately 70% humidity.
Consolation treats: Forget slushy Dr Peppers – I had a Dr Pepper Slurpee!! Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven!! And my brother who found it for me!! After that, we went to Chuao Chocolate Café at the Spectrum and, after a little difficulty explaining that I wanted a drink without coffee, I had the Chuao 73% (I think that’s what it’s called). MMM A few days later, I had some very special treats – the pictures are in the album.
Next up: The Queens Half Marathon (9/23), the Fifth Avenue Mile (9/29) and the 18-mile Tune-up (9/30).
Thank you for all your support!
*What a difference the accident made. Last year, this was my 32nd race of the year. The accident cut me back by 6 races and I added 3 races this year that I didn’t run last year, so I should have been at 33, not 26, given that the race was moved up two weeks this year.
**My parents and brother were waiting right at the finish line, so they couldn’t see the Jumbotron. My sister and brother-in-law were in the finishing area, but only my brother-in-law saw me.
Yahoo photos is closing down, so I had to switch to another service. I’m on snapfish now. Hopefully, you’ll be able to see the pictures here: http://www2.snapfish.com/groupview/groupname=disneylandhalfmarathon07/groupid=1947802/groupownerid=106844724/t_=106844724. You’ll need a password to get in. It’s 90307. Let me know if you have trouble and I’ll see what else I can do.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
NYC Half Marathon 8.5.07
Hi all,
Race 23 was the NYC Half Marathon. We ran a loop and then some clockwise around Central Park, down 7th Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street and down the West Side Highway to Battery Park.
Goals: to run between water stations, to set a course PR (sub 2:08:49) and to set a distance PR (sub 2:02:49).
The event started at the expo on Friday afternoon. I timed my visit to coincide with the appearance of Haile Gebrselassie and Catherine Ndereba, who answered questions from the crowd and then gave autographs and took pictures (except with me, whose camera broke the day before). I had them autograph my bib (picture in the album). I wandered around, had a badge made, got a pace bracelet, picked up some freebies (Vaseline, hair bands, sunblock), then went home for a nice restful evening. Saturday was expo day again. Hendrick Ramaala and Abdi Abdirahman did the appearance and signed my bib. In the general questions session, I asked them about cross-training. Hendrick said he doesn’t do any and Abdi said he does abs after his long runs. The moderator was quick to point out that they’re professional athletes and that running is their job and that it’s good to be physically fit in a variety of ways. I was first in line for the autographs (I learned where to stand at the Friday night appearance) and when I told them my goal, they kidded each other that I was going to be right behind them. They wished me luck and signed my bib. This bib is going to be framed!! I went to work to wait for Elizabeth, who was arriving later. We met back at the expo at around 3. Well, by the time I got there, she and Jenna had finished with the expo (which I know now is tiny and nothing special, expo-wise) and were shopping at Niketown. It was so nice to finally meet Elizabeth in person after getting to know her through her blog. We chatted while Jenna finished shopping, then I went to mass. I can barely kneel before running a half marathon, so I was certainly not going to attempt it after one!
Race day – I had to be in my corral by 6:15, so I was up at 4:30 and out the door by 5. I missed the bus at 86th Street, so I walked across the Park to the starting area (that counts as a warm-up, right?). I got myself ready (inhaler, sunblock, etc.), dropped my bag and headed to the 7000 corral. Elizabeth was already there and while we were chatting, my friend, Paul, with his friend, Mitch, showed up. They are both training for a triathlon and were using this race as a training run. Elizabeth and Paul both decided to use me as a pacer (no pressure there!), because they wanted to run slowly and not race. As we started moving forward, compacting the corrals (we were about a half mile from the start), another friend, LK, found us. He’s on a new training regimen and was supposed to keep his heart rate at or below 145, so he was going slowly, too. We continued to move forward until we started hearing snatches of the national anthem and then the horn. We finally crossed the start line at 4:55. I’m not very good at talking while running, so I limited myself to pointing out landmarks to Elizabeth. I’m apparently not very good at thinking while I’m running, either, because I missed out on some pretty big ones, including the finish of the NYC Marathon. Sorry, Elizabeth!! As always, I stopped at every water station, drinking water and Gatorade and taking a short walk break at each one. There were plenty of spectators and I even saw someone I know in the crowds: Brenn, who is also a member of our corporate running team. We hit the 5k marker at 31:25. The first few miles were a bit of a struggle, especially getting up the hills on the upper west side of the Park. Elizabeth and I ran together for about 5 miles at which point we separated, though Paul and I continued on together. In the 7th mile, my first goal went by the wayside. I had meant to use my inhaler at the last water station, but forgot. My chest was getting tighter and tighter and when I started feeling light-headed and seeing stars, I stopped, puffed, and walked until I felt calmer. It didn’t take long and Paul hung with me until I was running again. We crossed the 10k mats at 1:01:17 (I learned later that the winner had already finished by that time). My total time for the 7th mile was 9:35, so I was clearly running too fast for this kind of humidity. And then, after a short sweeping uphill, we turned left and headed out of the Park onto 7th Avenue. Not only was this an environmental change, from a beautiful green park with trees rising on either side to city streets with skyscrapers rising on either side, but the crowds swelled and the music started (there was no music in the Park). From the brass band at Carnegie Hall to the DJs and dancers along the West Side Highway, you could still hear the band you’d passed fading away as you started hearing the band you approached. The buildings of Times Square are visible as soon as you hit 7th Avenue and I tried to keep my eyes on them to pull me forward. As with last year, I completely forgot about being broadcast on the jumbotron in Times Square until it was too late. I hope someone saw me and recognized me, but I didn’t recognize anyone on the screen when I looked up. As I turned onto 42nd Street, I was gasping for a water station – I needed the walk break and the fluids! Three times, we had to run 2 miles (more or less) between water stations. I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to have one of those long breaks 8 ½ miles into a half marathon in August in NYC! We passed several bands and DJs and then 7-Eleven (no more Kwik-E-Mart) and finally arrived at the water station. There were boxes of Carb-Boom gel for us to take, but I used my own (plain PowerGel). I probably should have taken the Carbo-Boom – it took nearly 2 minutes for me to get the stupid packet open!! Oh well, at least I had a nice long walk break. Paul couldn’t wait and took off, but I caught him before the turn onto the West Side Highway. In contrast to the glorious transition from Park to city streets back at mile 7+, the turn-off onto the West Side Highway was a transition to the most difficult section of the course. As hilly as Central Park is, the trees provide plenty of shade, as do the buildings in midtown. No such feature on the West Side Highway. Not only were we completely exposed to the blazing sun, but we moved from asphalt to concrete! The crowds were still good, though, and there were water stations in every mile. There were also supposed to be misting stations, but I didn’t see any. I crossed the 15k marker at 1:32:04. By the last four miles, I was getting grumpier and grumpier. On a walk break to drink water, I got irritated by a spectator standing in the road and waved him out of my way. Coming into the last water station, someone decided that it didn’t matter that people were running down the Highway; he was going to walk across it by way of my left foot. I called him a not-very-nice name, throwing in a glare for good measure. Bad me – we were all tired by that point and I’m sure he just wasn’t thinking straight. Hopefully, he didn’t hear me. I had gotten separated from Paul by this point and saw him go flying past in the last mile. I was beginning to chase after him when I remembered that his plan called for him to run the last mile fast, so I let him go. I had long ago realized that I couldn’t make my time goals, but thought I’d try to see how close I could get to a course PR. I crossed the 20k marker at 2:02:22. In that last half mile, I passed a downed runner, surrounded by cops, and a little farther along, the EMTS were moving a stretcher onto the course to retrieve him. I didn’t hear anything more about it, so I assume it was dehydration. I hope he’s okay. I also passed Brenn again and he cheered for me a couple of times, which helped push me along to the finish. I missed my revised goal of finishing in under 2:13 on the official clock, but it was close.
Paul was waiting for me at the finish and we picked up our medals, then got our picture taken together. We found Mitch, then Paul and Mitch took off while I headed over to grab my bag. I ran into Fabian, Roberto, Lou and LK (whose heart-rate average was exactly 145 – way to go, LK!) on my way out. I got a little confused and ended up back in the finishing chute, but eventually made it to Andrea and Brady’s place, where I took a quick shower and then we headed back out for dim sum and Divalicious!
Official stats: I finished in 2:08:23 for an average pace of 9:48 over the 13.1 miles – a course PR, by just 26 seconds. According to the Nike+ results, I was 6099 out of 9920 total finishers, putting me in the 39th percentile - the NYRR website has me listed as the 6362nd finisher, which would put me in the 36th percentile. It was 71°F with 61% humidity. My splits from my watch were: 9:59, 10:49, 9:46, 9:49, 9:40, 9:35, 9:38, 9:25, 10:44, 10:03, 9:41, 9:03 and :59 for the final .1 mile (9:50 pace).
Celebration treats: Andrea and Brady are fellow chocophiles, so they provided me immediately with some Valrhona chocolate (Manjari and Araguani), then we walked up to Chinatown for dim sum and then stopped at Divalicious for chocolate-fountain-dipped treats (I had the ice-cream-filled cream puffs – yum!). When I got home, I had my last Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper (don’t worry, Nathalie, I still have yours) – slushed, of course, and (again, provided by Andrea and Brady – thanks, guys!!)*
Next up: Media Challenge #5 (8/8) and the Run for Home Plate (8/11).
Thank you for all your support!
*This may seem like a lot of treats for someone who only hit one goal, I did set a course PR and it's my 3rd fastest half marathon time. Not too bad for someone who ran a marathon a month ago and is still recovering from some pretty painful injuries, not to mention it's a half marathon in NYC in August!
Race day pictures here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762405076910&pid=&wtok=I5jP.Q1OY04w20jDDxU.tQ--&ts=1186450092&.src=ph
For those of you who missed it, the Anheuser-Busch Libation Loft album is here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762405067110&pid=&wtok=f6RXDnpfTQuZd9CrAD6qvQ--&ts=1186193758&.src=ph (if you want to see the videos, let me know and I’ll send the links).
Race 23 was the NYC Half Marathon. We ran a loop and then some clockwise around Central Park, down 7th Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street and down the West Side Highway to Battery Park.
Goals: to run between water stations, to set a course PR (sub 2:08:49) and to set a distance PR (sub 2:02:49).
The event started at the expo on Friday afternoon. I timed my visit to coincide with the appearance of Haile Gebrselassie and Catherine Ndereba, who answered questions from the crowd and then gave autographs and took pictures (except with me, whose camera broke the day before). I had them autograph my bib (picture in the album). I wandered around, had a badge made, got a pace bracelet, picked up some freebies (Vaseline, hair bands, sunblock), then went home for a nice restful evening. Saturday was expo day again. Hendrick Ramaala and Abdi Abdirahman did the appearance and signed my bib. In the general questions session, I asked them about cross-training. Hendrick said he doesn’t do any and Abdi said he does abs after his long runs. The moderator was quick to point out that they’re professional athletes and that running is their job and that it’s good to be physically fit in a variety of ways. I was first in line for the autographs (I learned where to stand at the Friday night appearance) and when I told them my goal, they kidded each other that I was going to be right behind them. They wished me luck and signed my bib. This bib is going to be framed!! I went to work to wait for Elizabeth, who was arriving later. We met back at the expo at around 3. Well, by the time I got there, she and Jenna had finished with the expo (which I know now is tiny and nothing special, expo-wise) and were shopping at Niketown. It was so nice to finally meet Elizabeth in person after getting to know her through her blog. We chatted while Jenna finished shopping, then I went to mass. I can barely kneel before running a half marathon, so I was certainly not going to attempt it after one!
Race day – I had to be in my corral by 6:15, so I was up at 4:30 and out the door by 5. I missed the bus at 86th Street, so I walked across the Park to the starting area (that counts as a warm-up, right?). I got myself ready (inhaler, sunblock, etc.), dropped my bag and headed to the 7000 corral. Elizabeth was already there and while we were chatting, my friend, Paul, with his friend, Mitch, showed up. They are both training for a triathlon and were using this race as a training run. Elizabeth and Paul both decided to use me as a pacer (no pressure there!), because they wanted to run slowly and not race. As we started moving forward, compacting the corrals (we were about a half mile from the start), another friend, LK, found us. He’s on a new training regimen and was supposed to keep his heart rate at or below 145, so he was going slowly, too. We continued to move forward until we started hearing snatches of the national anthem and then the horn. We finally crossed the start line at 4:55. I’m not very good at talking while running, so I limited myself to pointing out landmarks to Elizabeth. I’m apparently not very good at thinking while I’m running, either, because I missed out on some pretty big ones, including the finish of the NYC Marathon. Sorry, Elizabeth!! As always, I stopped at every water station, drinking water and Gatorade and taking a short walk break at each one. There were plenty of spectators and I even saw someone I know in the crowds: Brenn, who is also a member of our corporate running team. We hit the 5k marker at 31:25. The first few miles were a bit of a struggle, especially getting up the hills on the upper west side of the Park. Elizabeth and I ran together for about 5 miles at which point we separated, though Paul and I continued on together. In the 7th mile, my first goal went by the wayside. I had meant to use my inhaler at the last water station, but forgot. My chest was getting tighter and tighter and when I started feeling light-headed and seeing stars, I stopped, puffed, and walked until I felt calmer. It didn’t take long and Paul hung with me until I was running again. We crossed the 10k mats at 1:01:17 (I learned later that the winner had already finished by that time). My total time for the 7th mile was 9:35, so I was clearly running too fast for this kind of humidity. And then, after a short sweeping uphill, we turned left and headed out of the Park onto 7th Avenue. Not only was this an environmental change, from a beautiful green park with trees rising on either side to city streets with skyscrapers rising on either side, but the crowds swelled and the music started (there was no music in the Park). From the brass band at Carnegie Hall to the DJs and dancers along the West Side Highway, you could still hear the band you’d passed fading away as you started hearing the band you approached. The buildings of Times Square are visible as soon as you hit 7th Avenue and I tried to keep my eyes on them to pull me forward. As with last year, I completely forgot about being broadcast on the jumbotron in Times Square until it was too late. I hope someone saw me and recognized me, but I didn’t recognize anyone on the screen when I looked up. As I turned onto 42nd Street, I was gasping for a water station – I needed the walk break and the fluids! Three times, we had to run 2 miles (more or less) between water stations. I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to have one of those long breaks 8 ½ miles into a half marathon in August in NYC! We passed several bands and DJs and then 7-Eleven (no more Kwik-E-Mart) and finally arrived at the water station. There were boxes of Carb-Boom gel for us to take, but I used my own (plain PowerGel). I probably should have taken the Carbo-Boom – it took nearly 2 minutes for me to get the stupid packet open!! Oh well, at least I had a nice long walk break. Paul couldn’t wait and took off, but I caught him before the turn onto the West Side Highway. In contrast to the glorious transition from Park to city streets back at mile 7+, the turn-off onto the West Side Highway was a transition to the most difficult section of the course. As hilly as Central Park is, the trees provide plenty of shade, as do the buildings in midtown. No such feature on the West Side Highway. Not only were we completely exposed to the blazing sun, but we moved from asphalt to concrete! The crowds were still good, though, and there were water stations in every mile. There were also supposed to be misting stations, but I didn’t see any. I crossed the 15k marker at 1:32:04. By the last four miles, I was getting grumpier and grumpier. On a walk break to drink water, I got irritated by a spectator standing in the road and waved him out of my way. Coming into the last water station, someone decided that it didn’t matter that people were running down the Highway; he was going to walk across it by way of my left foot. I called him a not-very-nice name, throwing in a glare for good measure. Bad me – we were all tired by that point and I’m sure he just wasn’t thinking straight. Hopefully, he didn’t hear me. I had gotten separated from Paul by this point and saw him go flying past in the last mile. I was beginning to chase after him when I remembered that his plan called for him to run the last mile fast, so I let him go. I had long ago realized that I couldn’t make my time goals, but thought I’d try to see how close I could get to a course PR. I crossed the 20k marker at 2:02:22. In that last half mile, I passed a downed runner, surrounded by cops, and a little farther along, the EMTS were moving a stretcher onto the course to retrieve him. I didn’t hear anything more about it, so I assume it was dehydration. I hope he’s okay. I also passed Brenn again and he cheered for me a couple of times, which helped push me along to the finish. I missed my revised goal of finishing in under 2:13 on the official clock, but it was close.
Paul was waiting for me at the finish and we picked up our medals, then got our picture taken together. We found Mitch, then Paul and Mitch took off while I headed over to grab my bag. I ran into Fabian, Roberto, Lou and LK (whose heart-rate average was exactly 145 – way to go, LK!) on my way out. I got a little confused and ended up back in the finishing chute, but eventually made it to Andrea and Brady’s place, where I took a quick shower and then we headed back out for dim sum and Divalicious!
Official stats: I finished in 2:08:23 for an average pace of 9:48 over the 13.1 miles – a course PR, by just 26 seconds. According to the Nike+ results, I was 6099 out of 9920 total finishers, putting me in the 39th percentile - the NYRR website has me listed as the 6362nd finisher, which would put me in the 36th percentile. It was 71°F with 61% humidity. My splits from my watch were: 9:59, 10:49, 9:46, 9:49, 9:40, 9:35, 9:38, 9:25, 10:44, 10:03, 9:41, 9:03 and :59 for the final .1 mile (9:50 pace).
Celebration treats: Andrea and Brady are fellow chocophiles, so they provided me immediately with some Valrhona chocolate (Manjari and Araguani), then we walked up to Chinatown for dim sum and then stopped at Divalicious for chocolate-fountain-dipped treats (I had the ice-cream-filled cream puffs – yum!). When I got home, I had my last Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper (don’t worry, Nathalie, I still have yours) – slushed, of course, and (again, provided by Andrea and Brady – thanks, guys!!)*
Next up: Media Challenge #5 (8/8) and the Run for Home Plate (8/11).
Thank you for all your support!
*This may seem like a lot of treats for someone who only hit one goal, I did set a course PR and it's my 3rd fastest half marathon time. Not too bad for someone who ran a marathon a month ago and is still recovering from some pretty painful injuries, not to mention it's a half marathon in NYC in August!
Race day pictures here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762405076910&pid=&wtok=I5jP.Q1OY04w20jDDxU.tQ--&ts=1186450092&.src=ph
For those of you who missed it, the Anheuser-Busch Libation Loft album is here: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762405067110&pid=&wtok=f6RXDnpfTQuZd9CrAD6qvQ--&ts=1186193758&.src=ph (if you want to see the videos, let me know and I’ll send the links).
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Brooklyn Half Marathon 4.14.07
Hi all,
Race 12 was the Brooklyn Half Marathon. The course starts on the boardwalk at Coney Island near Ocean Parkway, heading west to the end of the boardwalk, where we turn around, run back along the boardwalk, turn off onto the street, just before the 3-mile marker, head east to Ocean Parkway, run north along Ocean Parkway to Prospect Park, which we loop before heading into the middle to finish on Center Drive. Along the boardwalk and up Ocean Parkway, the course is relatively flat, but Prospect Park is hilly, somehow, mostly uphill – especially the finish. This was my fourth running of the Brooklyn Half Marathon and my 21st half marathon, just shy of my 3rd anniversary of racing (I missed noting my 3rd anniversary of running, which was back in February).
Goals: As you know, my knees have been a bit cranky. I took a lot of time off to give them some rest, running fewer than 12 miles in the week before the race and none at all the prior weekend. I wanted to run between all water stations, not blow out my knees, and possibly set a course PR. A distance PR and a sub-2 half marathon were distant goals, but I didn’t think I could manage either without further damage to my knees.
My friend, Laura, was kind enough to let me stay at her apartment in Park Slope Friday night, so I was able to get sleep a little longer than if I’d stayed at home. In fact, I was so tired that I went to bed at 9 and stayed in bed until 6. I met up with Bonnie (who also lives in Park Slope) and we took the train to Coney Island together. We got there a little early, so I took some pictures on the boardwalk and showed Bonnie the treacherousness of the boardwalk (in the forms of broken boards, bolts sticking up, uneven planking . . .). We lined up at the 9-minute marker, where I was supposed to meet up with Fabian, but I didn’t see him anywhere. I knew that if I didn’t see him before the race, I wouldn’t see him at all. He finished much faster than I did! Bonnie and I ran together for the first 5 miles. We both rolled our ankles on the boardwalk while cheering on the front runners as they sped past us. That’s why I always try to pay attention to the boardwalk – it’s scary! We managed to keep from falling, but I heard later about a woman who completely wiped out – I hope she’s okay. We looped around the end of the boardwalk and on our way to the turn-off onto the road (yay!), we saw a guy completely wipe out because he ran into a garbage can. He must have really been in the zone, because this was not a little desk garbage can. It was an oil-barrel-sized garbage can! I saw him later on the course and then after the race and he seemed to be fine. We continued on, running a little too fast, but I wasn’t feeling uncomfortable and knew that if I ran with Bonnie, I could keep myself from trying to go all out. At a certain point, though, I kept finding myself several feet ahead of her and knew I would have to focus a lot more to pull back than to just let my legs go, so we agreed to meet up at the finish, wished each other luck, and I gave control over to my legs. I was moving pretty well, but the longer I ran, the more I felt my knees. It started at about mile 4.5 (which is about where it started in my two training runs this week) – nothing too bad, but a definite sensation of pressure. Coming up Ocean Parkway, we were running straight into the Nor’easter, which was blowing pretty fiercely at times. I stopped for Gatorade and water at most of the stations, but I did skip a couple in the beginning. I also took a PowerGel at the water station in the 8th mile. I also did a lot of stretching to see if I could get my knees to calm down a bit. I wanted to get into the park in under 1:30 and I managed it in 1:27:20. With all the calculations I was doing in my head, I knew that I couldn’t set a distance PR at this point, but I thought I might manage a course PR. The difficulty would be the hills, but, at least, we weren’t facing the wind anymore. There is a long curving hill up the East side of the park that leads to rolling hills along the north. There are several more hills as we circle the park and the finish is almost entirely uphill. When I got to the water station at the 10-mile marker, my left knee hurt so badly that I could barely walk. I drank as much as I could, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to stop again until the finish. I didn’t think my knees could manage another walk break. My hips were aching by this point, too, and, when I did get to the next water station, I couldn’t not stop, because my hips needed the break. My knees were both screaming as I walked through that station, but I kept it short and got myself running again as quickly as I could. I don’t know why, but my knees didn’t really hurt while I was running. As I rounded the turn onto Center Drive, I couldn’t see the 13-mile marker and wasn’t sure that I could keep running. It felt like the mile was going on forever and I would still have another tenth of a mile when I got there. All of a sudden, I hear people screaming my name and it’s my friend, Emily, who had come to cheer on her boyfriend. They were already leaving (I think he probably finished in 1:30 or so), but their cheers gave me the final push I needed. There was no finishing sprint, but I did run to the finish (I have a personal rule that I do not walk in the final mile of a race). I don’t know why, but my knees did not hurt after I finished, except when I had to walk uphill to get out of the park.+ I tried to cheer Bonnie at her finish, but I got cold and had to get my coat. I missed her by about 2 minutes. She did a great job on her first half marathon in years!!
Official stats: I finished in 2:06:56 for a 9:41 pace over the 13.1 miles, setting a course PR by almost 4 minutes! I was 3358 out of 4847 finishers, putting me in the 31st percentile. It was 41°F (5°C) with 49% humidity and 17 mph winds for a wind chill of 31°F (-1°C). My mile splits from my watch were: 9:47, 9:48, 10:33, 9:42, 9:55, 9:42, 8:54, 9:59, 9:00, 10:02, 9:34, 9:44, 9:18, and :59 for the final tenth of a mile (9:50 pace).
Celebratory treats: I stopped at the Cocoa Bar (www.cocoabarnyc.com) on my way to the subway and picked up a slice of red velvet cake (a particular favorite – theirs is made with a cinnamon buttercream frosting mmm). It was a bit squashed and stuck to the paper by the time I got it home, so I don’t have a picture, but you can see their cakes at www.cocoabarnyc.com/menupopupcakes.htm. I’m glad they had the red velvet cake, because the rest of their cakes look delicious, too, and I would have had a tough time picking an alternate.* I also had a Cassia from DeBrand (www.debrand.com) and a slushy Dr Pepper.
Next up: I’m taking next weekend off to give my knees more time to heal, but I’m seriously considering the Giants Stadium Draft Day 5k on April 28th.
Thank you for all your support!
Here is a link to some random pictures, including pictures from the race: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762398089332&pid=&wtok=IrwIT2nrJdPXVeKImIJOhg--&ts=1176683712&.src=ph (as always, there’s commentary in the slideshow).
*I also bought myself a mint hot chocolate to drink on the way home, a chocolate cloud cookie, a homemade marshmallow, a chocolate caramel, a chocolate mint caramel, and a Tall, Dark & Nutty bar (dark chocolate with almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios). I haven’t tried the chocolate bar yet, but everything else was delicious.
+Post-race update – I crashed as soon as I got home. I’ve been fighting something all week (I think that’s why I was so tired Friday night). I felt fine during the race, but gave in when I got home. My hips ached the rest of the day, but were fine when I got up this morning (Sunday). My knees were okay, too, but they kneeling in church was a bit painful. My quads, however, are very sore. I’m feeling a little better today, but my throat is still sore and I’ve got a slight fever. I think a wisdom tooth might be coming in. No inflammation in my knees, as far as I can tell.
Race 12 was the Brooklyn Half Marathon. The course starts on the boardwalk at Coney Island near Ocean Parkway, heading west to the end of the boardwalk, where we turn around, run back along the boardwalk, turn off onto the street, just before the 3-mile marker, head east to Ocean Parkway, run north along Ocean Parkway to Prospect Park, which we loop before heading into the middle to finish on Center Drive. Along the boardwalk and up Ocean Parkway, the course is relatively flat, but Prospect Park is hilly, somehow, mostly uphill – especially the finish. This was my fourth running of the Brooklyn Half Marathon and my 21st half marathon, just shy of my 3rd anniversary of racing (I missed noting my 3rd anniversary of running, which was back in February).
Goals: As you know, my knees have been a bit cranky. I took a lot of time off to give them some rest, running fewer than 12 miles in the week before the race and none at all the prior weekend. I wanted to run between all water stations, not blow out my knees, and possibly set a course PR. A distance PR and a sub-2 half marathon were distant goals, but I didn’t think I could manage either without further damage to my knees.
My friend, Laura, was kind enough to let me stay at her apartment in Park Slope Friday night, so I was able to get sleep a little longer than if I’d stayed at home. In fact, I was so tired that I went to bed at 9 and stayed in bed until 6. I met up with Bonnie (who also lives in Park Slope) and we took the train to Coney Island together. We got there a little early, so I took some pictures on the boardwalk and showed Bonnie the treacherousness of the boardwalk (in the forms of broken boards, bolts sticking up, uneven planking . . .). We lined up at the 9-minute marker, where I was supposed to meet up with Fabian, but I didn’t see him anywhere. I knew that if I didn’t see him before the race, I wouldn’t see him at all. He finished much faster than I did! Bonnie and I ran together for the first 5 miles. We both rolled our ankles on the boardwalk while cheering on the front runners as they sped past us. That’s why I always try to pay attention to the boardwalk – it’s scary! We managed to keep from falling, but I heard later about a woman who completely wiped out – I hope she’s okay. We looped around the end of the boardwalk and on our way to the turn-off onto the road (yay!), we saw a guy completely wipe out because he ran into a garbage can. He must have really been in the zone, because this was not a little desk garbage can. It was an oil-barrel-sized garbage can! I saw him later on the course and then after the race and he seemed to be fine. We continued on, running a little too fast, but I wasn’t feeling uncomfortable and knew that if I ran with Bonnie, I could keep myself from trying to go all out. At a certain point, though, I kept finding myself several feet ahead of her and knew I would have to focus a lot more to pull back than to just let my legs go, so we agreed to meet up at the finish, wished each other luck, and I gave control over to my legs. I was moving pretty well, but the longer I ran, the more I felt my knees. It started at about mile 4.5 (which is about where it started in my two training runs this week) – nothing too bad, but a definite sensation of pressure. Coming up Ocean Parkway, we were running straight into the Nor’easter, which was blowing pretty fiercely at times. I stopped for Gatorade and water at most of the stations, but I did skip a couple in the beginning. I also took a PowerGel at the water station in the 8th mile. I also did a lot of stretching to see if I could get my knees to calm down a bit. I wanted to get into the park in under 1:30 and I managed it in 1:27:20. With all the calculations I was doing in my head, I knew that I couldn’t set a distance PR at this point, but I thought I might manage a course PR. The difficulty would be the hills, but, at least, we weren’t facing the wind anymore. There is a long curving hill up the East side of the park that leads to rolling hills along the north. There are several more hills as we circle the park and the finish is almost entirely uphill. When I got to the water station at the 10-mile marker, my left knee hurt so badly that I could barely walk. I drank as much as I could, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to stop again until the finish. I didn’t think my knees could manage another walk break. My hips were aching by this point, too, and, when I did get to the next water station, I couldn’t not stop, because my hips needed the break. My knees were both screaming as I walked through that station, but I kept it short and got myself running again as quickly as I could. I don’t know why, but my knees didn’t really hurt while I was running. As I rounded the turn onto Center Drive, I couldn’t see the 13-mile marker and wasn’t sure that I could keep running. It felt like the mile was going on forever and I would still have another tenth of a mile when I got there. All of a sudden, I hear people screaming my name and it’s my friend, Emily, who had come to cheer on her boyfriend. They were already leaving (I think he probably finished in 1:30 or so), but their cheers gave me the final push I needed. There was no finishing sprint, but I did run to the finish (I have a personal rule that I do not walk in the final mile of a race). I don’t know why, but my knees did not hurt after I finished, except when I had to walk uphill to get out of the park.+ I tried to cheer Bonnie at her finish, but I got cold and had to get my coat. I missed her by about 2 minutes. She did a great job on her first half marathon in years!!
Official stats: I finished in 2:06:56 for a 9:41 pace over the 13.1 miles, setting a course PR by almost 4 minutes! I was 3358 out of 4847 finishers, putting me in the 31st percentile. It was 41°F (5°C) with 49% humidity and 17 mph winds for a wind chill of 31°F (-1°C). My mile splits from my watch were: 9:47, 9:48, 10:33, 9:42, 9:55, 9:42, 8:54, 9:59, 9:00, 10:02, 9:34, 9:44, 9:18, and :59 for the final tenth of a mile (9:50 pace).
Celebratory treats: I stopped at the Cocoa Bar (www.cocoabarnyc.com) on my way to the subway and picked up a slice of red velvet cake (a particular favorite – theirs is made with a cinnamon buttercream frosting mmm). It was a bit squashed and stuck to the paper by the time I got it home, so I don’t have a picture, but you can see their cakes at www.cocoabarnyc.com/menupopupcakes.htm. I’m glad they had the red velvet cake, because the rest of their cakes look delicious, too, and I would have had a tough time picking an alternate.* I also had a Cassia from DeBrand (www.debrand.com) and a slushy Dr Pepper.
Next up: I’m taking next weekend off to give my knees more time to heal, but I’m seriously considering the Giants Stadium Draft Day 5k on April 28th.
Thank you for all your support!
Here is a link to some random pictures, including pictures from the race: http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=mytripsandraces&aid=576460762398089332&pid=&wtok=IrwIT2nrJdPXVeKImIJOhg--&ts=1176683712&.src=ph (as always, there’s commentary in the slideshow).
*I also bought myself a mint hot chocolate to drink on the way home, a chocolate cloud cookie, a homemade marshmallow, a chocolate caramel, a chocolate mint caramel, and a Tall, Dark & Nutty bar (dark chocolate with almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios). I haven’t tried the chocolate bar yet, but everything else was delicious.
+Post-race update – I crashed as soon as I got home. I’ve been fighting something all week (I think that’s why I was so tired Friday night). I felt fine during the race, but gave in when I got home. My hips ached the rest of the day, but were fine when I got up this morning (Sunday). My knees were okay, too, but they kneeling in church was a bit painful. My quads, however, are very sore. I’m feeling a little better today, but my throat is still sore and I’ve got a slight fever. I think a wisdom tooth might be coming in. No inflammation in my knees, as far as I can tell.
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