NYC Half Marathon 2009 Race Recap

Last night I just couldn’t sleep! I think before EVERY race, I have a case of the night before jitters! I attempted to go to bed around 9:00 and couldn’t actually fall asleep until 12:00! Man DOWN! I was totally sleepy and struggling when I woke up this morning bright and early at 5:00 am. Luckily, I packed some fabulous goodies to wake me up and help be get bright eyed and bushy tailed before the race!

Obviously I am talking about Amazing Grass! I sipped on a glass of green goodness while I got myself ready and made myself some eats. I also recently received some samples of Justin’s Nut Butter and I packed some with me for the trip. I haven’t really met a peanut butter I didn’t like, but this stuff was FABULOUS! I loved the touch of honey in it. Have you ever had honey in your pb?

Amazing Grass pre and post water/shake

 

My breakfast of champions! Amazing Grass + sesame bagel + Justin’s Nut Butter + half a banana + strawberries = Champion Half Marathon Runner! I also packed up my race goodies. I mixed in some clif shot blocks (black cherry) with some luna moons (pomegranate) for my race bribery. When I start to get tired, I allow myself 1 per mile. I am a candy freak so anything chewy and gummy is worth running for in my world!

Here is Kate Monster and me before we headed out the door. This was a big day for me because I have never run in a sports bra before. I knew it was going to be crazy hot and my Gracie’s Gear bra matched my running skirt perfectly. I figured it was a sign to go for it. I also sort of did it in honor of Operation Breaking Glass. Challenge yourself everyday people!

   

Here I am in my corral, all smiles and ready to run!

KM and I waiting to start our first Half Marathon together!

   

And they are off! It’s pretty cool to think that Paula Radcliffe and some other elite runners were running this race today too! What an honor! Check out the elite runners story here.

I was feeling pretty good throughout most of the race. I shall break it down by miles for you. Check out the course map here.

Miles 1-3: Feeling fabulous. Chatting it up with KM. Enjoying the scenery and the spectators, pretty much just loving life. Why don’t I get up EVERY morning and run a half marathon? This is easy peasy!

Here is KM and me whizzing by our fans ( aka her parents!)

Miles 3-6: Also known as Harlem Hills! <insert scary music here> I would have been freaking out at this point, but KM and ran these hills together in preparation on Friday, so I knew what to expect. Thank GOODNESS for that. Still feeling good at this point.

Mile 7:  Finished up the Central Park loop and passed KM’s parents again. They were holding my electrolyte drink, so I swapped water bottles with them. KM’s mom yelled to me “You are out of the woods, it’s all downhill from here!” This is my face to that comment! We still had 6 more miles to go! Ahh!

Mile 7.5: Said goodbye to Central Park and started my way down 7th Avenue. This was pretty cool because the streets were all shut down and there were spectators on each side.

Miles 8-9: I feel like I ran my fastest here, the energy was just crazy! There were musicians every half mile, rocking out, and we were heading into Times Square. Life was good, and I was still feeling good.

 

Passing through Times Square was insane. There was so much room on the street. This is where I felt people started to fan out and there was some space to work with for the runners. This was my favorite part of the race! Weeeheee! Runner’s high!

Also when we passed through Times Square there were Broadway singers on one side and then cheerleaders on the other side. I didn’t pay too much attention because it was all behind me before I even knew it, but it was pretty cool. 

Mile 9.5 – 10: From 7th Street, the route crossed over on the 42nd Street down to the West Side Highway. This is where I hit a wall. I was like, “Man down! I do NOT want to run 3 more miles, are you people kidding me??” Seriously, 10 miles is my happy place. It’s a challenge, but its nice and not to crazy. A half marathon is border-line crazy and a full is just plain nuts ( I am sure I will be signing up for one shortly!) I totally struggled here. It was a rough patch for me.

Miles 11-13.1: Are somewhat of a blur. I was seriously struggling to hold on. Luckily I picked up a pacing buddy along the way! This dude was running where I wanted to be running and I kept him in my sights and then eventually caught up to him. He saw me struggling and kept telling me to hold on and that we were almost there. He totally saved me, and we finished strong together. We high fived at the end. Runners are such cool people!

 

My goal was (and always is) to get under 2 hours. I finished in 2:00:08 which is pretty much all right in my book. It was super hot in the city, and it was a challenging course, so I was happy with my results. It wasn’t as good of time as my first time, but its still a fabulous accomplishment as far as I am concerned!

Here is KM and I with our well-deserved medals

  

Here we are again after a little change of clothes action went on! Much less sweaty!

And we had to take one in front of the “official” sign!

  

Here is the medal. I was a little disappointed with it to be honest with you. It was kind of plain, I was expecting something way cooler. I saw what they got last year, and I was an AWESOME medal. Last year Nike sponsored it, so it was much different. This year NIKE backed out because of financial reasons. Sucks!

 

At least it has the date. This is the back of the medal. I shall add it to my collection. Its a nice one, just not my favorite.

 

Here is KM and I heading back home on the subway. I think her parents snuck a picture of us catching some shut-eye. How sneaky of them! Maybe I was checking my phone?! That sounds way cooler.

I was still rocking my Zensah leg sleeves post the race for recovery purposes. They are so light, it doesn’t feel like I am wearing anything. I heart them!

It was sad I had to go back to KMs apartment, shower, grab some food, and pack up to head back down to Philly. I got on a NJ transit train back and put my legs up in my Recovery Socks and relaxed for a hot minute.

 

It was a fabulous weekend with my fabulous friend KM. I am so happy we did this race together. It’s WAY more motivating to do something like this with a friend! I am SUPER tired/worn out from my crazy weekend. Sleep now. More blog later. Goodnight folks!

Congrats and Happy Birthday to Lacey! She ran the race today too! Even though I didn’t get to meet her, I am SURE she did amazing! Congrats and Happy Birthday girl!