Life After Marathons: A Running/barre3/Coffee/Life Journal

I'm at the RunCenter right now waiting for my medal to be engraved.
If anyone happened to be at the finish line and heard a girl in a skirt screaming "I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry!" ... that was me.
Spoiler alert: I cried.

Can't wait to share the full recap later.
 


I'm at the RunCenter right now waiting for my medal to be engraved.
If anyone happened to be at the finish line and heard a girl in a skirt screaming "I'm not gonna cry, I'm not gonna cry!" ... that was me.
Spoiler alert: I cried.

Can't wait to share the full recap later.

I’m not crying, you are!!! So happy for you!!
 


You got this! Looking forward to hearing all about your race!

Thank you! Your message was the only one I saw before the race, and it helped me start off strong!

And she's off! Expected finish of 11:04 to 11:15 am Eastern.

I think I finished at 11:11, so ... not bad. Within the range.

Go Sarah!!

Thank you!

Took a little peek at runner tracking.... WAY TO GO!!!!!!!
party:

Thank you!

Just saw your finishing time! Great job, girl!!!

Thank you!

:car: Nice strong finish!

Thank you! I'm glad I didn't crap out at the end. I still hate running in Central Park.

Great race!

Thank you!

Great job, Sarah!!! Can’t wait to hear all about it!

Thank you!

You rocked this run! Congrats!

Thank you!

Woohoo awesome racin' , way to go!

Thank you!

I’m not crying, you are!!! So happy for you!!

Could you possibly please be crying? I feel stupid being the only one crying...

Seriously, everyone, thank you so much for all the encouragement and congratulations! Knowing that I had such a great group of people cheering for me definitely helped me along the course!

I'm hoping to have the recap up later today ... we'll see. I still have a few other things to do before I can start recapping.

Oh, and for those of you who didn't see the official time ... 2:27:50. Considering everything (especially the wind and crowded course), I think that's even better than I could have possibly expected. I'm so happy right now that I could repel a million dementors (can you tell that I reread Prisoner of Azkaban yesterday?)
 
Prisoner of Azkaban is the BEST! And, I totally agree on Order of the Phoenix being the worst. I just think of it as the required transition novel to get you through a series like this. They all seem to have them.

Now, for that recap...

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Mine too!! I thought I was the only one :D

Prisoner of Azkaban is the BEST! And, I totally agree on Order of the Phoenix being the worst. I just think of it as the required transition novel to get you through a series like this. They all seem to have them.

I'm loving all the Prisoner of Azkaban love here! Yay!

Now, for that recap...

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(I just finished writing it ... will have it up here soon!)
 
In Which Sarah Runs NYC (Half)

Packet Pickup:
Thursday night after work I went to the United Airlines NYC Half Experience at the Metropolitan Pavilion (original plan was to walk, but since I had gone to Kmart looking for throwaway clothes, I was right outside the 6 train, so I just took the 6 to the L and walked from 14th & 6th).

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First stop was bib pickup, then t-shirt pickup. After t-shirt pickup I saw a line, and when I was told that it was for a picture … I got in line. I was asked if I wanted to put on my race shirt for the picture, but I don’t wear race shirts before the race, so that was a solid no.

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Next was the New Balance merch area. It was all race merchandise, which I wasn’t really sure I wanted to buy, so I kinda just walked through a bit before moving on.

Next up was the wall with the list of all the participants names on it. It took me a while, but I finally found what I was looking for …

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Once I found my name, I went to enter a sweepstakes to win 2 tickets to anywhere United flies (thankfully, I don’t have a puppy, so I don’t have to worry about them killing it), and I got a free Brandana (aka branded “sport” bandana), which I did not take a picture of. The next photo op was in front of a medal-ish background (which, spoiler alert, was at NYRR on Sunday)…

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I went to the Paragon Sports area, but they didn’t have anything I was interested in, so I didn’t stick around there. I wandered around a bit and found myself by the pace area, where I picked up two pace bands – 2:25 and 2:30 (spoiler alert: had both in my pockets, didn’t look at either one). I then had the race predictor predict my time (2:27-2:36 … the faster time based on my training, slower time based on past race times). My last photo op was the TCS “track me” picture, where I got myself a subway bowtie prop:

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(In case you can’t tell, I am not capable of looking at the camera in pictures)

Once I was done with my photo ops, rather than stick around for a course strategy session, I decided to head out.


Arriving at the Race:
My dad drove me. We left the house around 6ish and were there shortly after 6:30. We saw lots of runners along the way. Since I got there super early, I spent a few minutes by the side entrance to the Botanical Gardens saying my morning prayers before heading over to the pre-race area.

Pre-Race:
Organized my stuff and then dropped off my baggage. I thought there was a line, but it turns out … whatever I was waiting in line for, it wasn’t bag check. Thankfully, I thought something was off, so I went to investigate, and was able to drop off my bag with minimal line. Then it was off to security, where I put my phone and belt in a basket (ps – they didn’t check my belt. runDisney checks my belt) and then walked through a metal detector, which I did not set off. Go me!
I headed over to the corral area and sat down for a little bit. I chatted with some friendly runners, including one who was wearing storm trooper pajama pants. I chilled there for a bit, but eventually got up to head to the corral. People seemed more interested in porta poties than corralling, so I took off my throwaway sweatpants and then did a 5-minute warm up jog up and down the corral area. Didn’t help that much … I cooled right back down once I settled in my corral. I spoke to more fun runners in the corral … I think I spoke to more random strangers in this race than I ever had in any race before.
At 8:15 they started letting off wave 2, and a little less than 30 minutes later, corral J was headed to the starting line…

Race Course:
The course is the reason I signed up for this race. I saw that it was starting in Brooklyn for the first time this year and wanted to see what that was all about. We started by Grand Army Plaza, ran down Flatbush Ave to the Manhattan Bridge, ran over the bridge, and then through the Lower East Side before heading on to the FDR Drive. We got off the FDR drive at 42nd street, then ran up 42nd through Times Square before turning onto 7th Ave, which we took into Central Park. We then hit some of the Central Park “highlights” (thankfully not Harlem Hill this time) before finishing on the west side.

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The Race:

Brooklyn & the Manhattan Bridge (Miles 1-3): I think I went out a little fast, but it wasn’t terrible and I was feeling good. I tried to settle in behind people who seemed to be running a decent pace for me, but it didn’t always work. After hearing a lot about Brooklyn during the marathon, I was expecting some spectators, but there really weren’t many (the few who were out there were awesome, though). My spirits were high, I was having a good time, and I even took out my phone for some pictures.

Barclay Center:

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Approaching the Manhattan Bridge:

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My music got messed up at some point, but I was okay with it since there was stuff going on (lots of DJs and music and just general crowd energy). I also realized after the Manhattan Bridge picture that I was taking pictures because I felt obligated to, not because I wanted to, so I stopped.

The Manhattan Bridge is probably the first place that I struggled … not because of the uphill, but because it was so crowded and I just couldn’t get into a groove. A lot of people stopped for pictures, but I did not. I definitely lost a lot of time here because I couldn’t get into the pace I wanted … but it was fine.
Also, just fyi – this is the first time that the Manhattan Bridge has been closed for a running event. How cool is that???

Mile 1 Split (per Garmin): 10:59
Mile 2 Split (per Garmin): 11:13
Mile 3 Split (per Garmin): 12:06
Official 5K Split: 36:17 (11:42 pace)

Lower East Side & FDR Drive (Miles 3-7): Running through the LES was cool. There were some great spectators out and I actually kinda liked seeing a few signs here and there in Yiddish/Hebrew. The turns started in this segment, and while I tried to stick to the tangents, I think I failed. I liked running on the FDR more than I thought I would … there were a few spectators out on the side, but mostly it was just running straight with good people around me and some great views. I started to warm up a bit on the FDR and planned to take off my top layer once I got off the highway, but I never ended up doing it.

Also, I think the FDR was where I had a close call (it was that or the Manhattan Bridge, but I think it was the FDR). I tripped over a pothole, but thankfully caught myself before I went all the way down. It did take me a few seconds to get back into my running stride after that, though.

Mile 4 Split (per Garmin): 11:01
Mile 5 Split (per Garmin): 10:53
Mile 6 Split (per Garmin): 11:23
Official 10K Split: 1:11:03 (11:28 pace)
Mile 7 Split (per Garmin): 11:12

42nd St and 7th Ave (Miles 8 & 9): I struggled a bit on 42nd Street. The east side was rough, but I started to get better once we crossed 5th Ave. I even said something mean to the optometry school that my sister doesn’t go to. Once we turned on to 7th Ave I was back to having an awesome time, and when I ran past the Disney Store on 7th Ave, I said hi to Mickey Mouse. As we approached the park, there was a big screen showing the runners, so I waved when I saw myself on the camera. And then we were in Central Park…

Mile 8 Split (per Garmin): 10:24
Mile 9 Split (per Garmin): 10:35

Central Park (Miles 10-13.1): Historically, I’ve struggled in Central Park. My January half was especially bad. But I tried to keep my spirits high, and while I wasn’t feeling great, I did okay. My friend T (the one who ran a lap with me in January) was cheering at 67th & East Drive, so she came and ran with me for a few feet. She was really impressed with how I was doing, especially compared to January (I explained that I had a new training plan and a new coach). It was crowded so she couldn’t stay with me for long (plus, she had been out cheering for a while), but it was nice to see her for a little bit. Towards the end, I actually struggled more on my walk breaks than on my running, which was weird. I considered just switching over to continuous running, but decided not to mess with the plan that close to the end.

I saw the 2:30 pacers at one point, and I think they had started before me, so I knew that if I passed them, I would be below 2:30 for sure. So I gave myself that extra push and passed them (I saw them again after the race and thanked them and told them what had happened).

The best part was … even though I was struggling, I was still having an awesome time. Even the rough parts of this race were so much fun.

In the last 400 meters or so, I knew I was about to get sub-2:30, and I just started getting really emotional. I started screaming “I’m not gonna cry” … but I ended up crying as I approached and crossed the finish line (thankfully, nobody could see because I wear giant sunglasses). I got a high five from Peter Ciaccia (president of events or something like that for NYRR) right before the finish, and I wanted to tell him that I was about to get my first sub-2:30 … but then I thought it would be weird, so I didn’t.

Official 15K Split: 1:46:02 (11:24 pace)
Mile 10 Split (per Garmin): 10:41
Mile 11 Split (per Garmin): 11:14
Mile 12 Split (per Garmin): 10:43
Official 20K Split: 2:20:48 (11:21 pace)
Mile 13 Split (per Garmin): 11:23

Overall Stats:
Gun Time: 3:40:56 (I started at around 1:13 gun time ... doing the math on the mile clocks was actually not bad at all)
Garmin Time: 2:27:56 (for 13.42 miles)
Chip Time: 2:27:50 (11:17/mile)
Overall Place: 17,496 of 21,945
Gender Place: 8,011 of 11,070
Age Group (F 30-34) Place: 1,643 of 2,142

Overall Thoughts:
  • Manhattan Bridge was probably the worst part of the race ... but I can fix that. For next year, I just need to find a way to keep myself on course mentally despite the big crowds.
  • Central Park was not as bad as I thought it would be. I definitely struggled, but I was also having fun, which made it much better.
  • One of the instructions I got from Coach Billy for this race was to minimize weaving. I did not do that at all. I was weaving way too much, but I didn't want to get stuck behind slow people. That’s something I need to work on for future crowded races – balancing running at the right pace and not adding unnecessary extra distance.
  • I had so much fun during this race. I ended up not really taking pictures, which was fine. My music wasn’t playing half the time (my headphones got unplugged), and it didn’t bother me. The people were great, I was just letting loose, and it was just so much fun. To do it all against the backdrop of the city where I was born and raised … it really was an incredible experience. If my #1 goal was to have fun, then I more than met that goal.
  • When I finished the race, I certainly didn't feel like I could run another half marathon ... but I also didn't feel terrible. So I definitely count that as a win.
  • New NYRR Best (10K) Pace: 10:42
  • Guaranteed Entry Status: 9+1 (for 2019 marathon) - 30% (2 races + 1 volunteer), 5-Boro (for 2019 United NYC Half) - 50% (2/4 races)

Post-Race: Got my medal and heat blanket, then had a photo taken. I got my recovery bag (which I did not open until later) and then stopped at the HSS Recovery Zone, where I stretched and (gasp) used the dreaded foam roller. I still hate that thing.

Once I got out of the park, I headed over to the NYRR RunCenter for medal engraving. I stopped at Starbucks next door to pee and change my shirt, then dropped off my medal at the desk at the RunCenter before heading to the bathroom line, where I once again peed (and also changed the rest of my outfit). I had to sit around a while waiting for my medal, so I ate my breakfast and watched the random host guy interview some people, including the winners. I also got a chance to take a picture with the winners …

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I also got a polaroid picture and button from the New Balance Run Hub, but more importantly … I got the release date for the new version of the 880s. It comes out April 1st, so I’ll just wait until April to get my new long run shoes and get the v8.

Once my medal was finally engraved, I went home … got home around 3:45ish. Left the house at 6. So I was out of the house for about 10 hours.

Goals Accomplished:
#1 - Have Fun
(SO MUCH FUN!!!!)
#2 - Finish Feeling Strong (Didn't feel perfect, but I didn't feel terrible either)
I was a little off my time goal, but with the cold, the wind, and the crowds, I'm not super surprised. I'm really happy with how I did. Really looking forward to doing this one again next year.
 

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LOVE the recap. What an amazing race and sounds like you had such a great time and when you couple that with a new PR, well, you can't ask for much more than that. So proud of you. Congratulations!
 

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