Brooklyn Half Marathon Recap

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I ran the Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon on Saturday. It was my second time running this race and despite cursing myself the days leading up to it for signing for up something so close to the London Marathon and all the way in Brooklyn so early in the morning, I think this may be a race I will continue to run for as long as I can.

My alarm went off at 3:28AM on Saturday morning (yes, I like to set my alarm for odd times). I jumped out of bed. I don’t sleep well when I know I have somewhere to be. I had my clothes and race necessities all laid out the night before so all I needed to do was do my morning yoga routine, pack breakfast, and get dressed. By 4:15AM, I woke Josh up to drive me to the train. I have an amazing husband, poor guy couldn’t go back to bed after he got home. He should have just met me in Coney Island!

IMG_3144 I arrived in Brooklyn around 5:40AM and the subway station was right by Wave 1 start, so it was incredibly easy. There weren’t as many runners out yet when I got there, but you can tell off the bat that the organization of bag drop, security, and the corrals (at least in Wave 1) was so much better than last year. I had time to spare before bag drop closed at 6:10AM, so I took my time stretching and taking off my long sleeves. The UPS trucks were clearly labeled with corral numbers. As soon as I dropped off my bag, security was also a piece of cake. I made it through bag drop, security, and into my corral in less than 5 minutes. The porta-potties were located next to the corrals this year, so while waiting I was able to go to the bathroom two times (too much information, sorry). I love it when porta-potties are in the corrals because it really helps manage crowd flow and you can also squeeze in another trip once the corrals start moving.

IMG_3145Right before the start, Peter Ciaccia made a nice tribute to Mary Wittenberg, then the national anthem, and we were off. Well, I didn’t start until 17 minutes later, but you get the idea. I had absolutely no plan or strategy for this race. I ran the London Marathon less than three weeks before and I was unsure of how recovered I was. Also, between tapering and the recovery, there was very little speed work done. Last week, I woke up with upper back pain which led to not a lot of running but also a trip to the chiropractor. As of Wednesday night, I was in so much pain I was unsure of whether I could even run the race. All of this combined made it very easy not to formulate a race strategy.

IMG_3150When I crossed the start line, my goal was to run. I was going to run on feeling and while it is always ideal to negative split a race, I was trying to positive split it. I knew that the first half of the course through Prospect Park would be hillier than the second half, which is essentially flat all the way on Ocean Parkway to Coney Island. I was pushing for a stronger first half so that way when I got tired, which I suspected I would be, it would be on the easier segment of the course. I did exactly that and it worked out well because while the weather was humid the whole time, the rain started in the second half of the race. Also, I was expecting water stations on both sides of the street on Ocean Parkway (I think it was like that last year), so when there wasn’t I had to dash to the other side of the street and adjust for running closer to the side with water. My splits (according to my Garmin) were: 8:58, 8:40, 8:18, 8:29, 9:10, 9:02, 8:27, 8:46, 9:08, 8:51, 9:04, 9:17, 9:01, and 8:09 (for the last 0.23 miles, I didn’t run a perfect tangent). My official time was 1:57:09, which is four seconds faster than last year’s race and less than a minute off my PR.

IMG_3147While the second half of the race was hard and there were times I knew I could have pushed harder but didn’t, I was extremely pleased with the outcome. I know with the mental struggles I’ve gone through recently, and coming from a marathon, plus back pain, and the weather being less than ideal, I ran a really good and somewhat consistent race. I also know that on a different day, I would have had a really good chance at setting a new PR, so for now I will be happy with just a course PR. This was the race I needed to get my running mojo back and it did just that. I also played with a different fueling strategy (more to come on that) this time and it seemed to work better.

IMG_3158After the race, I met up with some of my teammates at MCU Park for the after party and had a great time. Thank you NYRR for a great race and setting the stage for the largest half marathon to date in the United States.

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What were your weekend running activities?

 

Thank you Mary Wittenberg (amateur runner’s two cents)

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Mary Wittenberg, President and CEO of New York Road Runners announced this week that she was going to join the newly formed organization, Virgin Sport. For an amateur-local-to-NYC-runner, this was big news.

I am the “average-Joe” NYRR member that typically runs 9-10 races a year including the marathon at the average pace, volunteers at an event each year, and earns entry to the following year’s marathon. I know a lot of runners that also run the NYRR races for fun without the intention of qualifying for the marathon, I used to be one of those runners. While most people I know at one point or another have a love-hate relationship with NYRR, especially Hurricane Sandy year (myself included), I really admire the organization and Mary Wittenberg.

There has been a lot of positive press about Mary Wittenberg’s departure especially how she was an advocate for women’s running and professionals. As the “average-Joe”, I think she was a big advocate for amateur runners of all ages and kinds. In addition to hosting over 50 races across the five boroughs each year, NYRR (a non-profit) also promotes and organizes events for youth running and has a charity arm (Team for Kids) that fundraises for youth and community programs.

Mary and NYRR has helped fuel the growing interest in distance running. With the organization of so many races, in addition to the 9+1 program to allow many more amateur runners to run in the prestigious NYC Marathon, NYRR has provided an outlet for runners.

#FBF to post-race at 2013 Bronx 10-miler with Mary Wittenberg and Peter Ciaccia

#FBF to post-race at 2013 Bronx 10-miler with Mary Wittenberg and Peter Ciaccia

While there are many local running organizations and other non-NYRR races in the NYC-area, they rarely compete up to the level of that of NYRR’s races. I understand the criticism about the club becoming too corporate, but I see it as a benefit to the runners. NYRR’s races are by the far the most organized I have ever run. While the field of one of the non-marquee events are larger than that of typical local races, you don’t feel overwhelmed. Registration (though you usually need to sign up early for the more popular events), reminder emails the week of, course maps, bag check, bib pick-up (day of is usually easier than trekking to the Upper East Side, at least for me), and all pre-race events are always well-organized with a lot of volunteers everywhere. There is always more than enough water and Gatorade stations and the mile markers and time clocks are well-positioned throughout the course. The staff and volunteers take post-race flow very seriously. I have been “yelled” at many times for chit-chatting by the post-race area and causing a traffic jam. Everyone is very efficient about making sure you make it through the finish area quickly to pick up water, bagels, and other post-race essentials. The finish times for all the runs are very quick to be posted to the website. And at most races, Mary Wittenberg is at the finish cheering you on or even running the course encouraging all the runners. Every time I run a NYRR race, I realize even more why they are, in my opinion, so great. I am a spoiled runner.

I just came from the Brooklyn Half Marathon pre-race party last night and I am reminded again how great NYRR is. There were volunteers and signs as soon as I got off the subway to help direct me and others to Brooklyn Bridge Park, which was still over a 10-minute walk away. The signage at the pre-race party is coherent and clear. The bib and t-shirt pickup is painless and the entertainment, booths, and activities were great. I even had the chance to congratulate Mary Wittenberg in person. I realize the Brooklyn Half Marathon is a marquee event and I paid pretty good money for the race entry, but NYRR puts on a darn good show and I know the race will be just as good.

You don’t need to be a professional runner to appreciate Mary Wittenberg and NYRR. She has made big strides in the NYC running scene and it will not go unnoticed by the amateurs. I look forward to seeing all the great things she will do at Virgin Sport and hopefully participating in some of their events. I know I speak for many others, thank you Mary for your support of the sport.