It's 7:15am, and I just returned from the NYRR 50th Anniversary Run in Central Park.
I woke up at 4:20am to heavy rain. I decided to ignore my mandate about not running in the rain until training begins and headed over to the race start. I wore a water-resistant hat and rain jacket. Water-resistant means, basically, nothing. I was soaked to the skin by the time I walked the seven blocks to the race start. I had my iPod in a plastic bag and Saran Wrap around the battery. The race was capped at 3,000 and a lot of people did come out, unlike the Wall Street Run. Runners are crazy!
The race started at 5:30am, and just as the race was starting the rain let up a little. It drizzled the whole time afterwards, but nothing too bad. It was cold, which of course I love. But there were a lot of puddles and as we all know, running sneakers aren't very waterproof. I didn't want to get blisters, not when I've got two races coming up this weekend. My secret weapon? A&D ointment! Yes, diaper rash cream. Better than Body Glide for feet because it is waterproof. Although it does have what I will kindly call an unusual smell. But it works -- my feet are blister (and diaper rash) free. The course -- counter-clockwise from Tavern on the Green, with the cut-off at the 102nd Street transverse. Five miles.
The stats: Mile 1 -- 8:25. Still a little crowded and I like to start slow. Mile 2 has Cat Hill, but still -- 8:14. Mile 3 is a little rolly, but nothing too severe and takes us to the transverse -- 8:11. A cup of much-needed water at the water station. Mile 4 is mostly uphill and I knew I wouldn't keep the negative splits, but 8:17 made me happy. And the last mile -- 7:47! For a grand total of somewhere between 40:37 (what the Nike+ said) and 40:55 (what my watch said.) or approximately an 8:08/minute mile. That's normally my four-mile pace, so to do that for five miles, well, I'm chuffed. The soggy bagels and bananas tasted extra good, even if I did mistakenly take a chocolate-chip bagel, thinking it was cinnamon-raisin.
Okay, off to school, I've got a test today. Wish me luck!!
MG
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4 comments:
Squish squash was my mantra towards the end. Nice run.
I took a chocolate chip bagel, too, thinking it was cinnamon raisin! Thanks for the diaper rash cream tip.
The worst is when you mistakenly take a French Toast bagel, thinking that it's a plain one. Throw it in the freezer for a week or so. Defrost it. And then try to make an egg sandwich with it.
Great race!
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