Allstate NY 13.1 race review

I ran or shall I say ran/walked the Allstate NY 13.1 Half marathon on Saturday 3/23/13.   I was not looking to PR on this race given that I had just PR'd for both the half marathon and 5K distances in the last 4 weeks.  I, however, did not expect this to be my slowest half marathon.  Going into Saturday, I thought the predictions for 40 degree range temperature would fare well for race day, wrong!  Saturday was very windy and cold to start.  I also was dealing with mild upper respiratory issues (stuffy, runny nose, scratchy throat) that were not serious enough for me to skip the race.

I have not  been inside Flushing-Meadows Park since I was in elementary school, so I had no idea of what I would be dealing with.  I was dressed in layers so that I could remove if deemed necessary. I immediately ran into a photographer who saw my Black Girls Run! shirt and wanted to take a picture and I obliged.   I met up with some of the BGR! ladies and which took a couple of pics with the photographers.  

I am a little spoiled by how NYRR does their corrals at races.   The only set up was signs along the side for different projected finish times.  There were pace groups and I had planned to run with the 2:30 group for the most part and break off in the last 3 miles.  I never saw the pace leader for that group.  I saw the 1:20 to 2:00 pace groups, which of course are out of my league.   The 2200 or so runners haphazardly lined up and we started at 9:05am.   Within the 1st mile I started feeling the headwinds which would lead to my undoing.   I started off in the 10:45 min/mile range in the first two miles but then dropped off.   My track jacket also ended up around my waist very early on.   The combination of strong wind sending cold air into my airway and some discomfort in my left hip led me to start a run/walk strategy.  I used the songs playing in my one ear to pace my run/walk.  

The course was awful.  Lots of turn, roundabouts, mud, and having to go across 3 foot bridges twice.   There were puddles to avoid and an area where we had to run over swap land because the paved area was flooded.  I kept in range of a few people who would pass me when I took walk breaks and then I would pass them once I started to run again.  I kept this up until around mile 11 when I knew I could just run for the last bit of the race.  I was so happy to see the finish line.  It was nice to hear the announcer say "and another member of Black Girls Run! one of our biggest group.  I had a little energy in me to doing a little flying move at the end.   I finished in 2:32:16 nearly 3 minutes slower than my very first half.   It hurt my pride a little; but I finished and finished upright (so that is all that really matters).  I even had one guy tell me he was chasing me the whole race!

The best part of the race was the medal.  It is awesome!   Also the pictures Marathonfoto took are pretty cool. There is a really cool one of me with the unisphere in the background.  I don't know if I can convince myself to spend more $ on a race that I didn't really enjoy.   It is $65 for all images and $29.95 for just one!  I managed through the soreness to have brunch with my running buddy Shalena and her friend at a nice spot in Forest Hills.   Allstate is a one and done for me; I will not be running this one again. 

                                                                   The Unisphere and I

                                                           My run buddy Shalena and I

                                                         The best thing about the race!