Tra la, tra la, the lusty month of May...so the song goes. I guess it applies to me in terms of lust for racing: I ran two half marathons in May.*
(*But wait, you say, I think you're missing a race! So I am going to mention quickly that I ran the JFK Runway Run 5K on April 18, which does not merit its own entry because it could not even live up to its very name. A race that is supposed to be run on the runway at JFK Airport, which requires a lot of time and energy to get to, should actually incorporate the runway. So, grrr, JFK Rotary Club.)
Back to those half marathons. Which I ran. Both of them. In the same month. Lustily. Same distance, same metro area, very different outcomes. You can see it in the photos above: in the first, I resemble a dying animal; in the second, I'm beaming.
The Long Branch Half Marathon, part of the New Jersey Marathon Festival, was...hot. Very hot. Ninety degrees in the shade, humid, dehydrating hot. Suck the life out of your race hot. Photo #1 hot.
I ran this race with Team in Training, and had ostensibly been preparing for it since November. The truth was that the TNT season was so long (our first practice was the week before Thanksgiving!) that I kind of forgot about this race until just before it happened. I had a big project at work that required my attention. And I also was invited to audition for Jeopardy! (The invitation arrived in January, but the actual audition was held three days before my race.) That was one very cool experience - they asked a question about my birthday ("The holiday that has been celebrated on June 14 each year since 1885. What is FLAG DAY!")! It's a sign! - but again, loss of focus. See? I can't even write this post.
So in between all the editing (and apologizing for the wedding I missed on its account) and answering trivia questions, I was lucky I found any time at all to focus on 13.1. For my last pre-race TNT practice that week, I packed two left sneakers. My mind - and subsequently, my heart - just wasn't in it.
On Saturday, May 1, I met my road-trip mates at the 7th Avenue Diner & Donut Shop for brunch before we hit the road. Five girls, lots of laughs, even more carbs. Then we hit the road. I think you won't blame me if I say that the car trips down and back to Jersey were the highlight of my weekend. I've met some awesome people through Team in Training, and our little road trip gang was no exception. Love you Kelly, Christy, Michele and Mary!
Once we got down to Long Branch, we checked into the Holiday Inn, hit a craft store for supplies to make gifts for our mentees, dashed into the race expo to get our bibs/chips/shirts, and went to the TNT NYC team meeting and the pasta dinner. Then back to the room to get race-ready - clothes laid out, shirts decorated, D-tags on shoes. The girls came by to get their gifts prepared. Then finally we got ready to get a little sleep, only to discover that there was a car bomb in Times Square being covered relentlessly on TV. One more thing to lose focus over!
Race morning was hot. No doubt about it - even by the water, on the boardwalk where we lined up at the start, it was already in the 70s. This race should have started at 8 or even 7 a.m. - NOT at 9 a.m. Even if they'd made a last-minute change, no one would have blamed them. But they didn't, and so it was hot.
Less than a mile into the race, we turned off the boardwalk and the full force of the heat hit like an oven. Suddenly, there was no more breeze off the water - but all of the humidity stayed behind. I passed the two-mile marker and knew it was going to be a very long day. I said as much, and Kelly rightfully told me to shut it.
I will give huge props to the people of Long Branch who stood out in their yards with garden hoses to spray down us runners. (Fewer props to the runner dude who filled his water bottle with one of said hoses while a line formed behind him to get sprayed. Loser.)
Six miles in, I knew I had to slow down. I knew when I started that I wouldn't PR. I now knew I just needed to finish without collapsing from heatstroke. I dumped water over my head, refilled my bottle with water and Gatorade, and settled in to a drastically slower pace.
Eight miles in, I finally saw a coach I knew (I saw a couple of the Manhattan coaches earlier on the course and they ignored us - NICE). Amy kept pace with me for a mile while I complained bitterly about the heat and lack of water between miles 7 and 10. I saw Coach Jim at mile 10 and he ran with me for a bit - at this point, I knew I would finish and told him not to waste energy.
When the boardwalk - and the final mile - came into view at the end of the race, I overheard a woman say she now knew what heaven looked like. I still maintain that it looks more like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but she wasn't totally off the mark. The last mile felt so much better. I ran into Mary at the end and we crossed the finish line together. My final time: 2:13, an extra minute for each mile off my PR. That's how freaking hot it was.
We collected our medals and hats and checked in with TNT.
I think I can safely say I won't do this race again. Just too much pain for not enough gain.
Now, the Brooklyn Half Marathon on Saturday, May 22 was a completely different story. See Photo #2!
This race, I love. I had a good run last year despite some serious organizational issues on the part of New York Road Runners. It's in my backyard (aka Prospect Park), it finishes at one of the happiest places on earth (Coney Island) and you get discounted roller coaster rides at the end. Really, what's not to love?
Maybe that 7 a.m. start time...but after my experience in Long Branch, I didn't mind this at all. Even getting up at 5 to eat - not a problem.
Maybe that they put bagwatch in the center of the park...but I know my way around, so no big deal.
Maybe Marty Markowitz...fuhgeddaboutit!
The Brooklyn Half this year started with two laps of Prospect Park. I like to think of this like a Cherry Tree race without the third loop - in other words, a piece of cake. Mostly, I wanted to save energy here by not trying to push ahead of people and by taking the hills efficiently. Kelly and I saw lots of friends here and it was just nice. It is NICE to run a race in your backyard.
On our way downhill on our first loop, finishing our third mile, we heard sirens. Already, I thought? Someone is hurt? And then I realized...no, it's just the LEADER of the entire race, lapping me fully - and that's his pace car.
When we finished the second loop and exited the park at Mile 7, my right hip started to hurt. I've been having lots of IT-related hip issues lately. But I was proud of myself - I took stock of the pain, decided it wouldn't cripple me, decided it wasn't really worth slowing down over, and kept going. I am not so good at the mental game of running yet, and this took a lot of willpower on my part - but I did it.
By Mile 9,I was ready for a water stop, and I poured a bit over my head as well. I stopped at Mile 10 as well, more for a mental boost then than for any actual hydration.
For the last two miles on Ocean Parkway, I sang "Break My Stride" to myself, over and over. I find that if I do this, my pace stays steady and it's easier to push through pain at the end of a race where I'm really exerting myself.
Bon Jovi's "Livin on a Prayer" was playing when I hit the Coney Island boardwalk, and I sang that too. Out loud, this time!
And then finally I finished, in pain, sweaty, salty and exhilarated. I did it! And I'm at Coney Island! (For the record, I finished in 2:05, which I'm quite pleased with although I would have liked to get closer to my PR.) Kelly and I got the cute photo at the top of this post taken before picking up our bags.
Postrun activities included a run into the ocean, an Egg McMuffin, a ride on the Cyclone (that I loved and Kelly hated, and we have another awesome photo to prove it) and a Coney Island Lager - all before noon! Then there were more Coney Island Lagers as we met up with friends at Coney Island's premier outdoor bar, Beer Island - my new favorite spot in what is already a favorite spot.
Brooklyn: same time, next year? OK.
No comments:
Post a Comment