I finished my 10th half marathon! Today I ran Grete’s Great Gallop in Central Park and man was it brutal.

I brilliantly threw my race strategy of 3-3-3 out of the door when I started running – first 1/3 as warm-up, second 2/3 at race pace, and last 1/3 as cool down – yeah right, who needs a strategy? I went out way too fast for the first half and I was paying for it by mile 8. My 10K split was only 8 seconds slower than my 10K race PR. I was actually thinking at that time I could PR today. There’s something wrong with that especially when I don’t remember the last time I did any sort of speed work.

Thank goodness for my friend, Julio found me around mile 8 and we ran into Amanda around the same time as well. Julio was out for his easy 10 in the park and fortunately didn’t mind pushing me for the last 5. He got me through Harlem Hill, all the rolling hills on the west side of the park, and waited for me through each water station. When we saw Josh cheering around mile 12, he was next to me shouting that I better use that as a boost. With 200 meters to go until the finish, I had everyone shouting at me – Julio to the right, Josh to the left, and Coach Brian and our teammate, Carol. With their cheers, I found whatever energy was left and “sprinted” into the finish. The last 0.25 miles were at 7:47 pace.

I finished the race in 1:59:40, barely sub-2 hours but happy to even be able to get that time given the lack of training. This was also a course PR from earlier this winter. Today’s race is a reminder of how awesome my teammates are and the great friendships we’ve formed along the way. While running is an individual sport, it’s the team that gives me the motivation and drive to continue.

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone rocked their races this weekend!