This was a nice break from the qualifying races in Central Park as it was held in Prospect Park -- home turf! I was a little worried about this race because my knee's been hurting so much lately, but it held up well. This was a good, easy qualifier to get in and I'm glad I did it.
My major complaint was that NYRR put the bagwatch in a field in the middle of the park. That resulted in a long-ass walk from Grand Army Plaza. The map of the race was somewhat deceptive about where, exactly, on Center Drive this was. I know Prospect Park pretty well and if someone set me there and told me to find the bagwatch location again, I don't know that I could.
That said, I liked the course of the Snowflake Run a lot -- it started at the base of the North Hill, so we got that little bit of torture out of the way quickly, then circled the west end of the park, down the South Hill, across Wellhouse Drive and then back to Center Drive. I was running what I thought was pretty slowly, trying not to stress the knee (which only hurt once, going downhill), but according to my results I was clocking 9:49 miles - about what I ran in the Bronx Half a couple of weeks ago. I don't feel I was pushing it, so I guess I really have improved!
We ran into a ton of TNT'ers, including lots of friends from last season, and Coach Jim, always recognizable in the Orange Hat.
After the race we hit Purity Diner for brunch. The best hot chocolate in Brooklyn (no kidding, if you haven't had it there go now) and a waffle made the day worthwhile. I came home, took an epic nap and am now chilling in preparation for tomorrow's Cherry Tree 10-miler.
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