Brooklyn Half 2013

What can I say.  Regardless of how many people were running,  I knew I was going to enjoy it.  This Brooklyn girl loved running through her borough.  I went into the race having quite a bit of tightness in my left calf.  The start area was crazy with all the people.  The two wave start was key to keeping the race comfortable. The weather was good: cool and overcast.   I started off a little to fast.  I was pacing with two members of BGR! One ended up taking it easy due to some pain.  I ended up holding back and taking several walking breaks as well but my girl Annella kept with me even though I told her to go ahead.  The energy around the park was awesome!  Ocean Parkway was of course quieter.  It felt a little strange to have the Hasidic families out just staring at us.  Seeing the 800 m to go sign just made me angry but that 400 m was on the money.  Once again the BGR! cheer squad made the difference.  They were there for all the runners BGR! or not.  I capped the day off my cheesefries and a beer with my sole sistas.  I will be going on a half hiatus until RnR Philly.  Only 10 k or shorter races until then.

Excited!!

I have half marathon #6 and my fourth in as many months coming up on Saturday.  I am running the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon.  This is my first time running in this event. Last year I had just completed my first ever half marathon 3 weeks prior to the 2012 event.  I was out and about on the course as I cheerleader for my BGR! sole sisters.  I was so jealous I couldn't run it because it seem like so much fun.  Now it is just 4 days away and I  can't wait.  This year the event is "bigger" than ever.  With over 20,000 runners registered, the Brooklyn Half Marathon will now be the 2nd largest half marathon in the U.S.   Great news of course for Brooklyn but also a little intimidating for runners.  To accommodate the extra runners there will be two wave starts.  Additionally there are all the extra security measures that are now in place after the Boston bombing.  I am hoping to knock of my Rock and Roll New Orleans half marathon time.  It will be quite tight in the first half of the race, so I will have to run this smart.  If I do it correctly I should be able to kick up the pace and hit a negative split once we get onto Ocean Parkway.   Either way PR or not, I plan to enjoy it!

Photos of the BGR! Cheer Squad at the 2012 Brooklyn Half Marathon.  Three members of the cheer squad are running it this year!

Broad Street Run

This was my first time running the Broad St run.  Loved it!  I was concerned I would not like running admist nearly 40,000 people but I was wrong.  I got there pretty early and it was quite cold.  I wish I had brought my mylar sheet with me.  I met up with BGR! Philly and we set it off with a large group stretch and prayer.  I was in the corral and we didn't cross the start until after 9am.   The crowd support was amazing!!!  We when ran past Children's Hospital there were some pediatric patients with their nurses cheering us on.   Tons of signs including the usual "worst parade ever".  Two that made me chuckle were "run faster, that guy farted" and around the 9 mile mark "shut up legs".  That second one was so true because my legs were very angry with me.   Overall great race.  I finished in 1:49:48, a 10:59 pace which was good.   I would love to run this again next year.   13 days to Brooklyn!! I will be taking a break from long distances after that.