Race Repot: 2015 Scotland Run 10k

It's finally starting feel like spring here in NYC and yet somehow I managed to catch a cold late last week. By Thursday night I was popping zinc and vitamin c and downing orange juice in an attempt to stave off sickness. I was registered for NYRR's Scotland Run 10k on Saturday and I figured I would wait until that morning to see how I felt before deciding on a race plan. Nonetheless, on Friday evening things didn’t look promising. I took some Nyquil and hoped for the best.  

The race was at 8am on Saturday so I set my alarm for 5:45 a.m. to give me plenty of time to eat and digest my food. For shorter races I stick to a mini bagel with peanut butter since a regular bagel tends to be too much for my stomach at faster speeds. I washed the bagel down with a glass of Kona Cola Nuun since I like a little bit of caffeine but don’t do coffee before races.

I had all of my stuff ready to go, so I found myself with some time to kill (read: time to worry about my cold). I decided I would try racing and see what happened. After my success in the NYC Half a few weeks ago, I also decided to have a Red Ace Organic Beet Juice Shot a couple hours before the race, lest there be any unforeseen GI issues...

Because we're lucky enough to live close to the park, I left the house at 7:25 a.m. to jog to the start. I probably could've left later, but I wanted to check a bag with a change of shoes for after the race and I knew I would need to use the bathroom at least once. I felt pretty good on the jog over, so I my plan of trying to race still seemed like a good idea. I got in the corrals a few minutes before gun time and met up with some fellow Whippets, though I knew they would be running significantly faster than I would.  

The Race

The horn sounded and I followed a sea of humanity across the start line. I had forgotten just how crowded team points races can be--there was no hope of running tangents for the first few miles. I don't wear a Garmin so I was largely running by feel. The first mile, which travels up West Drive is relatively flat. Still, when I clocked it in 5:50 I was shocked. I knew I was running too fast since that's faster than my 5k PR pace.  

The Race Start. Photo Credit: NYRR

Mile 2 includes a minor climb towards the Reservoir (and the highest point anywhere on the drive) followed by a downhill. I slowed a little, but not too much, and settled in near a couple of Queens Distance Runners. My throat was extremely dry so at the second water stop I snagged a cup as I ran by.

Mile 3 covers the Harlem Hills and at this point I started to feel a bit lightheaded. I started to think that maybe I should back off a bit and treat the rest of the race as a tempo run. I slowed a lot, clocking a 6:28 mile. It would have been easy to slow down more, but I could tell by the clock that despite an extremely slow third mile, a PR was sill possible.

Mile 4 is one of the flatest miles on this course and I did my best to keep pushing and make up some time. My legs didn't feel tired nor did my lungs, but I was having trouble moving. I continued onto Mile 5, enjoying a stretch of downhill (Cat Hill is way more fun when you're not running up it) and was greeted by some cheering teammates just past 72nd Street.

With the final mile around the lower loop I concentrated on picking off runners in front of me. For some reason, this final mile seemed to stretch on forever, even though I knew how close I was to the finish. Finally, I hit Mile 6 and knew a PR was unlikely (though, to be honest, I couldn't remember exactly what my PR was). I tried to give it everything I had left and cross the finish in 38:16.

It turned out that I had tied my 10k PR, set last summer, and beaten my Scotland Run time from 2014 by 5 seconds. Considering my cold, I was thrilled with the time. Had I been feeling 100%, I'm sure I could have run faster so now I just need to worry about getting healthy again.

A Great Day in the Second City: My 2013 Chicago Marathon Race Report

Last fall, in my ninth marathon, I finally broke the elusive 3 hour mark. It was one of the happiest moments of my life, finally meeting a goal I had set for myself three years earlier. After the glow wore off, though, I found myself adrift, directionless. I decided to make sub-3 my goal for Boston in the spring just to see if I could do it again but then a hip injury took any chance of that away. After a struggling through the finish in April, all I wanted was some time off from training.

 

Spring turned into summer and still I resisted setting a schedule: it wasn't until the second week of August that I completely committed to a plan for Chicago. Although I did every workout on my calendar, I didn't feel the same level of motivation I had in previous training cycles and was unsure what my goal for October really was. I worried that the running bug had left me. Fast forward to this past weekend and even on race morning I was full of self-doubt. In spite of a full calendar of summer races, I hadn't PR'd at a single distance in 2013 and going into Chicago I wondered if my days of improvement were over.
 

A great sign at Niketown

Though I was unsure of my own prospects, there was plenty to look forward to in the Windy City. My girlfriend was also running, her fifth time doing Chicago and her tenth marathon, and hoping to BQ. Her parents were supposed to fly out to cheer and spend the weekend with us, but unfortunately on Thursday her dad had to be rushed to the hospital with what turned out to be a pulmonary embolism. It gave everyone quite a scare and though he was released over the weekend, her parents were obviously unable to join us.  This meant that as we prepared to leave our hotel room at 6 a.m. on race day, we knew that the only friends and relative who would be watching would be doing so via electronic updates.

 

Even with the enhanced security, navigating the starting area was relatively easy and by 7 a.m. we had check our bags and it was time to part ways and head to our respective corrals. I was in Corral A along with my friend Helen and her boyfriend Alex, both also from New York. They were running with a sub-3 goal which sounded good to me so we agreed to meet in the corral by the 3 hour pace group. Unfortunately, it was far more crowded than I had expected and as the clock ticked closer to the 7:30 a.m. start, I couldn’t find them. Finally, just when I’d given up hope, I spotted Helen and managed to make my way over to her and Alex before the gun went off.

 

A (Mini) 5th Avenue Mile Race Report

It's been a busy last few days both running and otherwise so I'm just now getting around to posting about my weekend. Oh well, better late than never!

This past Saturday was NYRR's 5th Avenue Mile, one of my favorite annual races. It's fun because you get to watch all of your friends race down one of the most iconic streets in the world, but I also usually dread it because speed isn't my strong suit and I usually finish with a case of dry-heaving.

Although marathon training means I haven't been able to do too much extra short speedwork this year, I did two Friday Night Miles with the Metro Milers in preparation. I also did the Montpelier Mile, a road mile, back in July. These various races got me mentally prepared so that when I toed the line on Saturday, I wasn't nearly as nervous as usual.

A mile is a little too short for me to have much to report but I'll say that I felt much stronger than in years past. My only goal was to break my time from  last year and my current PR, 5:20. I succeeded and managed a 5:18. Two seconds may not sound like a ton, but I was pretty happy. Even better, many of my teammates had awesome times and our men's team managed to place 5th overall!

Although some day I hope to be able to devote more time to this race, for now it's more of a test than a goal. It felt great to have run faster than last year considering I haven't set a single other PR in 2012. I know we all have ups and downs in our running life so I'm counting this as a nice up.  

Race Report: 2011 Chicago Marathon

On my way home from the Chicago Marathon I read race recaps in the Chicago Sun-Times. A woman who lost her iPod at mile 6 was quoted as saying, “I was inside my own head the rest of the way—it wasn’t a nice place to be.” Without judging this woman, I think she misunderstands the marathon. In a crowded corral one of the principal pre-race challenges is keeping other people out of your head—something you have to do it if you want to run your race. On Sunday morning, just before the gun went off, I was trying to do this in and really struggling. I don’t think I had really found that center when the race began.

Many people say if you don’t feel like you’re going too slow in the first miles of the marathon, you’re going too fast. Well, the first several miles of Chicago I felt like I was running way too fast. Nothing was clicking—my mind and body weren’t in sync (see above). Mile 1 went by in 7:13, a slow start, but while my brain was saying, it’s alright, you’ll make up that lost time, my body was saying, you need to slow down because I don’t want to do this.
 

As we circled south into the loop I got in a 7:00 mile 2 but my stride didn’t feel any more natural. I was already feeling hot, though more clammy than sweaty, and we were still in the shade of the city’s skyscrapers. I’ll give myself until the 10k, I said, but if things still don’t feel right, I’m going to back off. Mile 3, the first in our long march northward, went by in 6:46. I could see the 3:00 pace group ahead but didn’t feel up to catching them. Mile 4, also a straight line up LaSalle, passed much the same in 6:45.

In mile 5 we finally made the turn into Lincoln Park, one of the few geographic features of the course I knew I would recognize. For me this was one of the toughest parts of the race. When I had visualized myself running Chicago in the weeks before, I felt great in Lincoln Park but in reality I felt sluggish. Even so, miles 5 and 6 were both close to 3 hour pace. I hit the 10k mark and asked myself if I wanted to back off. I decided I would keep going for it and reassess later on.

The course went further north than I anticipated, with mile 7 passing me by well before the turn around. As soon as we curved back south along Broadway the course opened up in my mind—I could picture its component parts. I told myself, I just need to make it until we turn west. There were lots of people out on the course cheering us on and blasting music making these miles some of the most fun, but also the least individually memorable.

By now I was looking at my watch every mile and thinking, if I slowed to 7:03, could I still PR? How far off of a 3:00 pace am I? Shortly after mile 12 we crossed back over the Chicago River. Now I was thinking about mile 13, where the family of the friend I'd had pasta with the night before was watching. I’ve got to look strong for them, I told myself. I didn’t see her family but I passed mile 13 with the course clock reading just over 1:30.

As the half clock came into view a lot of the doubt I’d been feeling slipped away. Just after 13.1 I passed St. Patrick’s, a Catholic church with pipers playing out front and crossed myself for good measure—I never did make it to mass that day. I no longer had any recollection of what the course was going to do, but about this point I had a revelation. The reason I felt so weird, so uncomfortable and disconnected, was that I was actually racing. My mind and body were working together, just not in a way I had experienced before.

With the half behind me I broke the remainder down into increments and set a goal for each one. If I can get to mile x at y pace, I thought, then I deal with what comes next. With this attitude, the miles flew by. I had my mind focused on getting to mile 20. I need to get to mile 20 by 2:20, I decided, because no matter what happens, I can do that last 10k in under 45 minutes—at some point the plan had become PR, not sub-3. Sure enough, I got to mile 20 in 2:17:59.

The sun was beating down and the crowds were sparse but neither of those things mattered. As mile 21 went by bringing me into Chinatown, I thought, you’ve only got 5 miles to go and almost 40 minutes to do them in! I managed to keep a pretty even pace, not sacrificing speed the way I had in New York the previous fall. Mile 22 went by in 7:01 and mile 23 in 7:04.

Mile 24 was tough; I did it in 7:10. At some point a spectator yelled, “You’re almost there!” I turned to a woman running next to me and said, “I hate it when they say that.” “Me too,” she managed back. I knew I was close, but in the final miles with the speed slowly draining from your body, distance is an abstract, an almost meaningless concept.

I set mile 25 as my next goal, then the “One Mile to Go” sign as the one after that. 1600 meters from the finish I heard a voice saying, “Come on, let’s do this.” It was the woman I had made the comment to a little while back. We picked it up. It really hurt, but I kept saying things like, “We’ve got this,” and knowing I had someone running beside me pushed me.

We finally turned right onto “Mount Roosevelt,” a small on-ramp that would not so much as trigger an extra heartbeat at the start of an easy run. People had told me it would be a tough climb, but thanks to my new-found running companion, I barely noticed the incline. We passed the “400m to go” sign and rounded the corner. With the finish line in sight, I gave it everything I had and crossed it in 3:01:44, a nearly 3 minute PR.

Moments later my new friend crossed the finish line and I thanked her for pushing me. She said, “I could see you had it in you.” For all the mental games I had played with myself during the race, here was someone I had never met who was able to see something that I couldn’t and who got me to give that extra 10%. I owe at least 30 seconds of my PR to her.

I've gone on for far too long here, so I’ll wrap things up by thanking all of you who, like that mystery woman, have been able to see things in me that I haven’t seen in myself and have helped me to succeed in ways that I never could have without your support. Thank you, and it has been a pleasure running “with” you.

Race Report: 2011 Boston Marathon

I had no trouble falling asleep on Sunday night—but I did have trouble staying asleep. Sometime around 2:30 I woke up and never fully went back to sleep again, yet somehow there was no nervousness, no tossing and turning, just calm. Finally at 5:30 my alarm went off and it was time to get ready. I had everything laid out the night before so by 5:55 I was out the door. I hopped the T at Hynes and the station agent was letting all the runners ride for free! Soon I was at the Common to catch a bus. By around 6:15, thanks to the enormous efficiency of race volunteers, I was on my way to Hopkinton.

I rode next a really nice guy from Houston who had also done Boston in 2010 and while I ate my usual bagel with peanut butter we chatted away. It definitely makes it a more fun experience to talk to new people.

A little before 7:30 we arrived at the Athlete's Village. I found the folks from the Boston Forum and sat with them to pass the time away. What a great group and what a difference talking to people made during the long wait. At 9:15 they called my coral so I head towards the baggage buses with a runner friend. He’s run Boston more than 10 times so it was great to pick his brain a bit before I lost him in the final port-o-john line. Since my throwaway clothes include a Packers hoodie, I got plenty of comments on the way to the corrals.

By the time I was in my corral, there were only about 15 minutes until the start…I waited with anticipation as they announce the elite field and before I knew it the gun was off! 

The First Half

As with my past two marathons, I used Greg Maclin's customized pace band for the race. I set 3:03:49 as my goal, a conservative one because I really wanted to have a good time.

My main focus was not to go out too fast—the first mile drops about 130 feet and you will pay for it later if go all out. The crowds kept me honest and clocked Mile 1 at 7:10.  Things stayed crowded, but by Mile 2 they had opened up enough that I clocked 6:52. Mile 3 was nearly the same at 6:53. By this point I think it had finally settled in that I was actually running Boston! Even though I did it the year it doesn’t take away from how amazing this experience really is! Mile 4, with its downhill ended up being my fastest at 6:46. Mile 5 went by in 7:01 and I could tell that my average pace was were I wanted it to be. I’ve heard a lot of people say that when things flatten out around Mile 6 if you’re not feeling fresh, you’re done for. Thankfully, I was feeling good and Mile 6 in 6:51. Mile 7 went by in 6:54 and I took my first gel of the race. Thanks to my race-ready shorts, I hadn’t lost any gels yet. Last year by this point I only had one left!

By this point, my mind had shifted to Wellesley—not just to the screaming girls, but also to the halfway point. With my eyes on the prize I ran Miles 8, 9, and 10 in 6:57, 6:56, and 7:02. Mile 11 is loads of fun because you run through Natick’s town center and there are tons of cheering spectators. It went by in 6:59.

Mile 12 was downhill but pretty uneventful in 6:54. After that, it was on to the famous Wellesley Scream Tunnel! I swear it was a lot louder this year. Needless to say, Mile 13 was not a slow one in 6:57. The race then entered the heart of Wellesley where there were tons of fans. I went through the half in 1:31:04 (one second ahead of what my pace band said), knowing that my A, B, and C time goals were all still very doable.

The Second Half

After the half, my thoughts shifted to the Newton Hills that start at Mile 16. My thought process went something like this: If you can make it to 16 feeling strong, then you can make it through the hills. They will suck, but they will take up 5 miles and by the time you are done you will be in the home stretch. As Mile 14 took me out of “downtown” Wellesley in 6:54 I passed cheering spectators and quaint cafes, almost wishing I had time to stop for a bite!  Mile 15 is mostly gentle uphill so I did it in 7:00. Mile 16 has one of the steepest downhills in the whole race and since it’s followed by the Newton Hills I tried not to kill my quads in 6:51. Finally I entered Newton and part way through Mile 17, the first climb began with the I-95 overpass (probably the least scenic part of the course). At this point, I could feel the heat and had started dumping water on myself at almost every stop. Through the rolling hills of Miles 17, 18, 19, and 20 7:08, 7:17, 7:00, and 7:15. Now it was time for Heartbreak Hill! I’ll be honest, last year I didn’t think Heartbreak Hill was that bad—this year, as I ran Mile 21 in 7:31, I though it may in fact lead to my own heartbreak. Thankfully there were tons of screaming BC students who helped pull me through. Mile 22 is a nice downhill break and I did in 6:48. Now I knew I just had to hold on through the final, relatively flat, miles. I forgot to hit the lap button so Miles 23 and 24 were 13:59 together. I could see the Citgo sign, taunting me! Finally after a short but steep-feeling uphill I past the Citgo sign and ran Mile 25 in 7:22. At this point it was clear that there was no gas left in the tank and the only way I was going to cross the finish line was through sheer willpower. As I passed the 1 Mile to Go sign, I told myself I wasn’t going to stop. I saw a couple other runners start to walk, or alternate between a walk and a shuffle and I knew that no matter what, I was going to keep running (if you can call what I doing running). I dipped under Mass Ave and made the “Right on Hereford” where there were hundreds of screaming onlookers. This was a slight uphill, but since I was staying a block away I knew to expect it. I turned “Left on Boylston” and could see the finish. If I’d had anything left this would have been time for a kick, but I settled for a slower pace down this final downhill stretch. I gave it a little extra umph when I heard people calling my name and crossed the finish in 3:04:37, a new PR by 77 seconds!

What I Learned

I definitely ran a much smarter race in Boston than in New York. I had some fast miles in there, but they were intentional and well thought-out. Ultimately I think it was more the downhills than anything else that got me in the end. Still, I was able to stay roughly on pace through Mile 24, much later than in NYC so I feel like I’m really growing as a runner. Hopefully by Chicago I’ll be ready for my sub-3!!!

Race Report: 2011 St. Patty's Day Dash

This was my second year in a row running Seattle's annual St. Patrick's Day Dash with my uncle. This is probably the city's biggest (non-marathon) race with around 10,000 people overall (many opt for the non-competitive, non-timed, beer-filled waves). It's a blast with so many people out in green gear.

The course is basically an out and back, though it starts by the opera house and ends by the EMP. The first two miles are pretty much up-hill which makes the second half a lot faster. 

My uncle and I lined up together. He asked what pace I was aiming for and I said nothing too fast since I was still recovering from last weekend. We decided to aim for beating our time from last year and otherwise to just have fun.

The horn sounds and we took off. The race does a bit of a loop under the highway before turning onto the highway for most of the run. You get to see everyone running behind you as you loop back over. We hit the first mile in 6:11, last year's pace. Although I said I wanted to take the first half (the uphill) easy, I pushed us both, though I kept chatting away. We hit mile 2 at 6:28 and I knew the marker was off.

Just after mile 2, at the Aurora Bridge, is the turn around. This marks a long stretch of downhill so we started to really push it. We saw people dressed like Guinness cans, guys running in green briefs and nothing else, and folks in leprechaun gear going uphill as we flew down.

We hit mile 3 in 5:17 (I think this marker was correct, but mile 2 had been really off, throwing our splits out of wack). Since the race is 3.8 miles I knew we were almost done, but my legs were starting to tire out. I told my uncle he could go ahead if he wanted. He said, "You can't be that tired, you're still talking." I told him that was only because my legs weren't the ones making conversation.

He pulled ahead but I managed to keep close enough by surging with a runner who was trying to pass me. We made the final uphill turn to the start. This is where I would usually rely on my kick to pull me through, but it wasn't there. No complaints though, since I crossed the finish in 22:38, almost a minute faster than my time from last year. Better still, I averaged a 5:58 pace--my current 5k PR is a 6:02 pace!!!

My uncle beat me by 6 seconds, but next year I'll make sure he's not so lucky.

Race Report: 2010 New York City Marathon

Thank God (and the government) for Daylight Savings Time! My alarm went off at 4:30 which felt like 5:30. I had everything packed so really all I needed to do was get my usual bagel and PB ready and put on my race-day outfit. I was assigned to a 5:30 bus from Bryant Park so rather than hassle with the subway I opted for a cab—amazingly there was one right in front of my building!*

I got to Bryant Park where the buses were being load like a well-oiled machine and by 5:30 I was off towards Staten Island. We got there sometime around 6:15 and then it was time to play the waiting game. I claimed a spot along the fence so I had something to lean against.

It was freezing even though I was bundled up. I passed the time talking with a woman from Scotland, a guy from Boston, another from NoVa, and one from Florida (he really enjoyed the chilly weather).

At 8:10 it was time to check my bag and bid farewell to my coat and phone. I made my way to the corral (which had port-a-potties too, score!) where there was more waiting and fence leaning. At 8:55 they shut the corral and gradually over the next 30 minutes they move us onto the bridge just past the tollbooths (I’m omitting a lot of the peeing that was going around me during this wait). I was in the blue group which was great because that’s the same group as the elites which means I could see all the speakers, TV cameras, etc. As the time approached, Mary Wittenberg, Mayor Bloomberg, Meb, Deena, and and the Chilean miner all spoke within a stone’s throw of where I was standing. Finally, it was time.

And They're Off!

A cannon shot off and the sounds of Sinatra’s “New York, New York filled the air.” We started slowly up the Verrazano Bridge—the biggest hill of the whole course. I was shooting for a sub-3:05 and my Greg Maclin Pace band had my first mile at 7:44. I was so excited that I did it in 7:24. There were helicopters overhead and beautiful views of the harbor off either side of the bridge. Good-bye Staten Island!

Mile 2 was all downhill to Brooklyn and trying to take advantage of the incline I ran a 6:20 mile, a lot faster than my goal 6:54 time. A nice runner alerted me to a sharp left-then-right so I took advantage of my first tangent as we turned onto 4th Avenue where miles 3 through 8 happen. Brooklyn was out in full force to cheer us on with music, signs, and lots of noise. Thus I did what should have been a 7:00 mile 3 in 6:46! Green runners merged with us around this point, but it didn’t seem to be much of a problem.

Mile 4 I did in 6:48, closer to my goal of 6:54. I was now in familiar territory from my long runs, but it was completely different running with thousands of other people and screaming spectators. I swear I almost had tears of joy.  Mile 5 was practically dead on in 6:51.  And right by mile 6 I saw some of friends from Georgetown which was awesome. They cheered me onto a 6:46 mile (should have been 6:55). I deliberately slowed down as we got closer to downtown Brooklyn. Here the crowds were slightly reduced and I did mile 7 in 6:58 (instead of my paceband 6:51). I knew my mom, stepsister, and aunt were waiting near mile 8 so even with a very sharp turn onto Lafayette, I did a 6:55 for mile 8.

At his point we were in Clinton Hill which has lovely brownstones and is quite different from the 4 to 6 lanes of 4th Ave. The crowds were still out in force which is good because there was a noticeable uphill for a half mile or so. I did this mile 9 in 6:52, 4 seconds ahead of my goal. I was still feeling awesome. We continued generally downhill as we turned onto Bedford and headed towards Williamsburg. There was some good hip hop along this stretch and I did mile 10 fast in 6:50. Once we passed into the Hassidic section, the atmosphere changed noticeable. The Hassidim weren’t happy to see us. There was no cheering, just sober faces and blurs as they rushed across the street between runners. I’d been warned about this, but it was still quite startling. Perhaps this is why I did mile 11 in 7:05, 9 seconds slow.

As we crossed under the Williamsburg Bridge, things livened up—we were now in the hipster part of Williamsburg. The road was extremely narrow, but there were tons of people out and many of them cheered my name as I went by! I did mile 12 in 6:55 as we passed through McCarren Park into Greenpoint. I still felt solid and knew that Queens wasn’t far off. I ran the tangents just as I’d practiced as we turned towards the Pulaski Bridge and mile 13 in 6:53. The bridge was noticeable but not awful and I passed the half in  1:30:23. I really thought I had a chance of breaking 3 (or at least coming close to it).

Queens, Where You Make It or Break It

Hunter’s Point in Long Island City was almost a total blur because all I could think of was the fact that the Queensboro Bridge was coming up. I’ve run this bridge many times before, but in the marathon, it has a reputation for being the make-or-break-you point. Mile 14 I did in 7:00, just 3 seconds slow. I could see the Citibank building ahead (it dominates the LIC skyline) and knew that it marked the turn to the bridge. Just before mile 15, which I did in a slow 7:14, we started onto the bridge. The incline looked as though it stretched on forever and everyone slowed noticeable. There were maybe 8 spectators on the whole bridge and the subways continued to rumble by on the right. Somehow I still did mile 16 in 7:10, 2 seconds fast.

The Island at the Center of the World...and Center of the Race

I stayed to the left as we began the descent into Manhattan and the incline became steeper. Well before we got to 1st Ave you could hear the crowds roaring in excitement. A quick loop and a hairpin turn dumped us onto 1st where the crowds were 6 deep on each side. Although I got a nice boost when I saw Footloose from the Boston forum with his HTFU sign, I did mile 17 in 7:03, which was slow for what should have been the fastest mile of the race according to Maclin. 1st Ave was full of energy but I was not. This is where the race started to become more mental than physical.

I knew my family was waiting at near Mile 19 so that kept me going strong, 14:08 for miles 18 and 19 (I forgot to hit the lap button) which was slow, but still put on pace for a sub-3:05. Seeing my family gave me some extra juice as we headed into the Bronx. I knew if I could hold on until we turned back into Manhattan, I’d be okay.

The Bronx and Harlem

There was far more energy in the Bronx than I expected, but all I could muster was a 7:20 mile 20 and a 7:15 Mile 21. As I entered Harlem, I just kept telling myself that as long as I kept upright, a PR was still a possibility. It helped that none of the spectators wanted to see anyone quit. As I headed down 5th and around Mt Morris Park, the thought of my family up ahead gave me a 7:17 mile 22.

The Final Miles

Now Central Park was in sight. I’ve run this portion of the course so many times that every dip was ingrained in my head; that didn’t matter. There was very little left in my legs. My breathing was fine. My upper body felt great, but there was only lead down below. The infamous 5th Avenue hill (which goes on for nearly a mile) was a case of mind-over-matter. I did mile 23 in 7:23, but was spent. As we entered the park, it was like coming home after a long journey. My law school friends cheered me on just before Mile 24, but all I could give was a 7:43. I managed to take a little advantage on the downhill on the rolling hills of the next mile and did a 7:23, but I barely remember anything about this part except that I took a Gatorade at two waters. We passed Mile 25 into the home stretch. There’s a nice downhill at this point, but I couldn’t appreciate it anymore. I turned onto Central Park South, which looks flat on a normal day, but is actually uphill. Thank God for spectators because I really felt like walking. I counted the Avenues as we approached Columbus Circle and the turn into the park. I passed mile 26 in 7:43 and could hear the finish area. I stayed left (the shortest distance) and felt like I was crawling until I saw I had fewer than 200 meters. Then I gave it all I had, which wasn’t much, and heard the announcer say “DAVID” as I crossed, the final .2 in 1:39, an 8:15 pace! I didn’t care, I had finished, PR’d with a 3:06:14 and had the time of my life. Too bad I had 20+ minutes of walking to the baggage truck.

Race Report: 2010 Jersey Shore Half-Marathon

Let me start off by saying that I now realize how spoiled I am! Most of the time I race in Central Park and can get away with leaving the house 45 minutes before starting time. No so today. such luck today!!! I woke up this morning at 4:45, went over my checklist for the millionth time, did my usual race morning routine, grabbed my bagel with pb and out the door to Penn Station by 5:30. I was on the 6:07 Jersey Coastline and let me tell you, there were some fun faces--tons of kids who had clearly spent the night partying in the City and were still going strong. After a scenic ride of about an hour, I got off the train and found Betina--very easy to spot in her red MCM jacket, with her fire engine red car!

It always great to go to race with someone. We chatted it up on our way to the race after we picked up Bet’s friend who was a half-marathon neophyte. On the way we scoped out the Dunkin’ Donuts situation for the way back--it pays to think ahead. We got to the race about an hour early which was great because we all had to use the bathroom and the lines were long. It was windy too, so we stayed in our warm clothes as long as possible, but when 8:45 rolled around, it was time to strip. I wasn’t sure a singlet and split shorts had been the best idea, but there was no going back.

The starting area had no corrals or anything, it was just a mass of people sorting themselves out. The three of us split up at this point and I head towards the front. There were some speedy looking people, but it was way less intimidating than the average NYRR race where I know on any given day there are at least a dozen sub-elites racing. After the national anthem, performed by a trumpet and drum--crowd sing-a-long encouraged, we were off.

I tried to start our conservative--the race was a double out-and-back (with the first out-and-back being 7.1 and the second being 6)--and I wanted to save myself for the second half. I was a ways from the leaders and for a while was running behind a couple people, and the first mile went by in 6:22. Mile 2 was about the same at 6:23, but then I started to edge up. I realized I was just following the pace of the people around me instead of setting my own pace. Mile 3 went by in 6:15 and I was running by myself, the leaders were far ahead, but there was no one right behind me. I knew the first turn around was coming and that definitely helped my speed. At this point we went by some barracks (there’s an army base on Sandy Hook) which were pretty cool to look at.

At the turn around the 15 mile-an-hour wind that had been in my face was not at my back which meant I stopped noticing it as I cruised through Mile 4 in 6:10 (I think this is where I first saw Bettina and we yelled to each other) and Mile 5 in 6:03 where I met up with a couple guys who were running together. They seemed to be going at the perfect pace so I stuck with them. We had a nice chat and they told me they ran together a lot because only one of them had a Garmin. The best was when the younger one said to me, “Your breathing too easy, the least you could do is fake it.” Ha!

At this point, either there were some mile markers missing, or I just got sloppy because I have no more splits on my watch. We got to the turn-around for the second mile and I was still feeling great but my two new friends started going a little faster and with 6 miles to go I stayed back a little. The second half seemed to go by in a blur though around Mile 10 I caught with a guy in a red beanie who’d been out ahead for quite a while. We each complemented the other but he was starting to slow so I didn’t talk to him for too long. As mile 11 passed I knew I was in the home stretch and that a PR was possible and more importantly that a guaranteed entry into next year’s NYCM was possible (sub-1:23 for my age group). Around this point a guy passed me who had been behind me the whole race. I was ready to go all out yet but I complemented him on his kick and kept at it. At Mile 12 I started counting down the minutes. Once I realized that I was within 800 yards of the finish I started to pick it up and when someone yelled 400 I started my kick. I felt great as I crossed the finish line--the guy who passed me between 11 and 12? He threw up right in front of me!!! Oops. I’m still smiling from ear to ear with my 1:22:12.28 (13th place, no vomit).

After some water, and I bagel I head back to wait for Betina. When I saw her approaching I let out my loudest “GO BET!” and scared the people around me. She had a really strong finish. I would not want to mess with Bet on the race course--super tough! I’m just grateful she let me cross the finish line ahead of her. Next time she might not be so courteous! We then got to watch her friend finish her first half! She did a phenomenal job too, though she said there were definitely no marathons in her future. All in all, it was a wonderful day at the Jersey Shore.