Half Fanatic #4095

I have completed 3 half marathons in 64 days and that makes me a Half Fanatic-Neptune Level.   This is the first entry level of the club.  I am looking forward to climbing levels in the future!. 

Today is a special day.

Today is the one year anniversary of my race/first half marathon.  I ran the Verrazano Half on 4/28/12.  I was amazed that I completed it in just under 2:30.  Since that time I have gone on to complete 5 half marathons in total.  Today was number 5, and also my third in the last 3 months.  I ran the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington D.C.   Of course I was excited about the Tiffany bling.  I did not set a time goal but I wanted to at least doing better than Allstate.  I knew it would be crowded and knew there would be walkers in the mix ahead of runners and decided I would not spend energy going around people.  I started off decently in 10:30 range but dropped back into 11-11:30 later before picking it back up.  Tunnels were a part of the route which made Nike+ shut off and drove my garmin crazy.  I ran without music again.  There were sections of entertainment along the route.  The best were the 2 Go Go bands in the tunnel.  They set it off.   I was so happy to see that finish line.  I got very hot during race.  My arm sleeves came off quickly and then my dri-fit tee I had over a ventilated tank.  I finished in 2:24:44 for my second fastest half marathon finish.  I want to chase my pr for the Brooklyn half in 3 weeks.  Of course the sweetest part of the race was getting my little blue box from the man, ( more  like boy) in  tuxedo.  The guys were ROTC from Howard U; so they were basically babies.  Lol.  Worw my cw-x under my jeans for the train ride back home. 

NYRR Run for the Parks AKA Run for Boston

Yesterday I participated in my first race since the Boston Marathon bombing.  I had no qualms or hesitations going into the race.  I was happy that NYRR planned to honor Boston with "I run for Boston" back pins, a black ribbon, t-shirts, and a moment of silence before hand.  I  and countless other runners will not fear stop us from doing what we love.   NYRR made changes of course in how the race would be set up.  No longer can we check any kind of bag.  We had to pack our belongings in a clear plastic bag with a label affixed with our bib numbers.   There were new security check points through which your bags were searched.  I made sure to arrive early on race day so that I would not encounter any delays.  While waiting in front of baggage check a reporter from 1010 Wins came up to us and asked our opinions about the added security measures.  I told her I welcomed them, and that I had no apprehensions coming into the race.

 Baggage check was in Rumsey play field and was painless.  The woman for sung the National Anthem was a Bostonian, she broke down crying near the end which broke tears to my eyes.  The race began to "Sweet Caroline" playing on the speakers.  There were tons of runners present for the race "Grey and brown bibs" were used.   Knowing this I planned to run according to flow of the runners. I was in the purple corral and was not going go dodging in and out of people.  Surprisingly things flowed well.   I only went around people who slowed down directly in front of me.  Thankfully I didn't get any elbows like at Coogan's.   I felt good and kept a nice sub 10:00 pace.   I was just under my personal best 5 K pace.  I finished in 38:20 for overall pace of 9:35.   I had originally planned to run an additional 4 miles after to keep with my long run total for day of 8 miles but it was cold so I went straight home.  I planned to do 4 miles later on in Prospect Park at an easy pace (which I did do).    One week to the Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington D.C.   I am excited and hoping that the weather will be great.  A lot of the course is the same as the Cherry Blossom so I will enjoy this again. 

Thoughts on Boston

The last few days have been overwhelming.  The bombing at the Boston has had a profound effect.  One in that it was an act of terrorism.  Secondly, it marred the premiere event in running.  I may be a relatively new runner but even I was excited about Boston. I couldn't aatch but I had full attention to track online a few runners who I knew (as well as some elites).  I was absolutely stunned when I heard the news. 

The majority of those injured and three who lost their lives were spectators who were out there cheering.  Whoever is responsible may have stunned us but they will not stop us from running.  Runners across the world banded together to show our support.  I was especially touched by the phone calls, texts and fb posts I got from family and friends who wanted to make sure I was okay.  They all recognize how important running is to me. 
We are all Boston Marthoners at heart. 

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

My first 10 mile race!   It was crisp and chilly this morning.   I decided I was going to run in a singlet with arm sleeves and 3/4 tights.   While I did eventually warm up on the course, it was down right cold waiting for the start.   I stood by the bag check wearing my jacket for as long as I could before bag check closed.  I was in the green corral.  It took around 14 minutes to cross the start line.   The course was pretty crowded but I think it worked to my benefit as I did not go out too fast.  Since I accidentally left my phone at home in NYC, I had to run without music.   This turned out to be a blessing as I focused on breathing and form and ran strong throughout the race.  I ran RnR NOLA without music too (by choice) and also had a great run.  This is going to be my thing for now on.  

I finally warmed up around the second mile.   I  didn't get too many elbows (thankfully) but someone was running so close on my tail that they stepped on the back of my foot but luckily my shoe was secured.  That could have been ugly in more ways than one.  ;)    I actually enjoyed the course.  They were some nice Cherry Blossom in bloom but more are still to come.  Hopefully there will be a nice showing when I am back in D.C. in 3 weeks for the Nike Women's Half marathon.   It was so pretty running along Rock Creek and through the various parks.   I was brave and actually took Gatorade and water at 3 of the 5 water stations.   I used only 3 shot blocks around the half way point and was good to go.   

I am very happy with my time 1:42:16  (10:14 min/mile pace and I was able to push to 9 something miles in the last 2 miles),  considering I had such a different run at the Allstate a mere two weeks ago.  I loved the seeing the D.C. BGR ladies along the course cheering us along.   I didn't get to meet up with my fellow NYC BGRers due to not have my phone on me.  Oh well.   Another race down, and a bunch more to go!