The 2014 Brooklyn Half Marathon

There's nothing like a hometown race. Every city/ town has one- that one race a year everyone runs. I think the Brooklyn Half is the best equivalent of that for New York City. Everyone who is any kind of runner or lack thereof, runs this race, hence why it sells out in hours. Now that I've experienced it for myself, I can definitely see why! Thanks to my guaranteed entry for volunteering at the race last year (that was NOT complimentary and NYRR failed to mention this pre- me getting up at 2AM. Thanks a lot!), I was able to score entry without worrying about the insanely fast sellout (although, it didn't sell out nearly as fast as it did in previous years, but I'm not bitter or anything).

I followed the warning of leaving extra early to get to the start and ended up sitting on the cement for a good hour before wave 2 was supposed to start. Opps. But it did give me a front row seat to the chaos of bag check for wave 1. Apparently, a TON of wave 1 runners did not heed the "get there EARLY" and missed their bag check (which to be honest, I thought they were bluffing to about the trucks leaving, too- but they did!). They did have 1 truck designated for late baggage for each wave, and I'm pretty sure the wave 1 last baggage truck had more bags in it than all the other trucks combined. I still have no idea how they got all those bags to fit into the ONE truck. The smarter thing for them to do would've been to push back closing bag check for 10 extra minutes- which is exactly what they did for wave 2. Good call.

Once it was getting close, I decided to find my way to a corral, and coincidentally enough, I ran into a friend of a friend, who I knew it was a her first half. I decided to stop and talk until the start of the race to pass the time and hopefully distract her from being nervous.

The sun came up and it was time for the race to start. The first half of the race was in and around Prospect Park, which I was very familiar with. I started thinking about my 1st 20 mile long run. Then I remembered I did all of my 20 mile long runs in and around Prospect Park. Almost like clockwork, my knee started hurting at the exact spot my 20 mile run ended. It was uncanny. I tried not to focus on it and it eventually went away. 

Then it was time for Ocean Parkway. Honestly, I was really concerned about the 2nd half of the race. 6 miles of straight highway- which means straight SUN on blacktop. Luckily, there WAS shade on the left side of the road and it was only straight sun for about .5 at the end of the race. I'm sure I would've died if it really was going to be 6 miles of sun. Do not forget your sunscreen and a hat for this race!

For some reason, NYRR decided it would be a good idea to put all the water stops on only ONE side of the road and that side also happened to be on the sunny side of the road. So, every mile the course of runners would start veering right to the water stop, then move back into the shade.

I absolutely LOVED the Brooklyn love and support we were getting. Something about the born and bred Brooklynite in that famous accent cheering us on was a huge energy boost. Hearing "Way to go! Brooklyn, Baby!" "You got this, Brooklyn!" "Looking good, Brooklyn!", I just felt incredibly Brooklyn Strong.

Have I mentioned I'm a huge fan of my borough? Brooklyn was the first place I lived when I moved to NYC and it was my saving grace after living in Manhattan for over 2 years. Without it, I would've peaced out from this city a long time ago. Brooklyn is my home and I have truly fallen in love with it through the years. I would even go so far as to say it might rank higher than NOLA and that's saying something. I thought about all that and I got pretty emotional.

The wind started to pick up and I new we were close to the boardwalk. I REALLY wanted to come in under 3 hours. I nearly ate boardwalk trying to accomplish it- seriously? Who put sand on the course?!- but I did it! 2:59. I'll take it!

At this rate, I'll PR in about 17 more half marathons :)

I went straight to the medical tent to tape my knees, per usual, but it seemed like everyone in the medical tent was running around with chickens with their heads cut off. All I needed was my knees wrapped, but it felt like I was asking for the moon. I know I couldn't have been the first person who only needed her knees wrapped. I wasn't interested in hanging out in the medical tent all afternoon, which they seemed very interested in keeping me there. I swear all I needed was ice for my old lady knees, but they REALLY wanted to find something wrong with me. Yes, I was not so very nice to some volunteers and I'm sorry for it, but seriously?! Luckily, I found the NYRR official medical director, who is in charge of all the NYRR races. He knew the drill and taped my knees perfectly and I was out. Thank goodness for him!

The post-race party was in MCU Park, The Cyclone's Stadium, which made me very happy for a real bathroom to change in. Best idea ever: bringing clothes and flip-flops to change into. Much like the expo, the Brooklyn Half Marathon isn't just a race. It's an event and you will be very happy for clean dry clothes, even it's only for the subway ride home.

There was a band playing and lines for days for food and beer. Getting to walk around on the AstroTurf was positively heavenly, but I preferred the shady seats to enjoy the post-race moment. I hung out there for a bit, but I really wanted to get on the beach. 

 Feet in the Atlantic= perfect ice bath. 

The water felt amazing and the beach was pretty empty. It was a nice peaceful moment from the crowds and noise at the after party. I would've stayed longer but I knew if I stayed in the sun much longer without eating, I would get sick.

I walked around for a bit trying to decide if I was hungry/ what I wanted to eat, etc. Luna Park was in full swing, but there was no way I could stomach getting on rides. I also decided I couldn't stomach eating a Nathan's hotdog (I know! Sacreligious!), so I got on the train for the long trek home. I miscalculated how long it would take to get home vs. how hungry I was, so I stopped at Dig Inn Market on my way home.

SO delicious. 

The Brooklyn Half was definitely a full day event and it was one of my favorite races, thus far! I'm so glad I got to run it.

Nike Women's Half Marathon: DC 2014

Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory

Staying at The Marriott Metro Center was a really great idea- we were literally 2 blocks from the start/finish. It made the wake up call very nice. This was the first time on a racecation with so many people and the meeting place and time was not as painful as I thought it might be having 3 rooms of people. We walked over and said our goodbyes as everyone went to their respective corrals. My nerves were bad for some reason, even with going to the bathroom in the lobby, I still had to use the portapotties. Surprisingly, the lines were non-existent 10 minutes before start. Everyone was ready in their corrals, which is not something I normally see. 

It was also warmer than I was used to running in. As much as I tried with the body glide and sunscreen, it was not good enough. Ouch! But there was an amazing breeze that kept it perfectly chilly and great race weather. 

Having the start line facing the capitol was pretty awesome. Getting to run around DC and see all the monuments was pretty awesome as well. I brought my actual camera because I thought it would be nice to take pictures, but honestly, I only took photos within the first mile and then put it away. 

I loved all the Luna signs!

The course had a couple of inclines I was not expecting. Normally, I'm not a fan of out-and-back courses, but I loved this one because everyone was so encouraging! There were tons of high fives and lots of "You look awesome!"s. It was just the distraction I needed from the course. 

It's a women's race, so the course was crowded. Like, I was in a faster corral than I should've been in and I'm having trouble running faster than a 15 minute mile crowded. It took until about mile 7 for the crowd to thin out and for me to get my head in the game. By that time, my knees were giving me trouble and I was just done. For a race I wasn't trying to race, I regret not enjoying myself more, but it was extremely frustrating. I wish they would've had a better corralling system, that would've fixed a lot of it.

Luckily, the entertainment was really awesome- TONS of DJs and lots of drumming bands. There were many times along the course I turned off my ipod to enjoy, and I don't usually want to do that in a race.

Not gonna lie, the chocolate stop at this race was better than the one at the 15k. There were chocolate stations for about a half of a mile- no kidding. After my last disaster with eating chocolate, I passed. I didn't want to risk getting sick again and I didn't have anywhere to save it for later with it not melting. But I do love that you have the option of the sugar rush to the finish. 

Bathroom lines were insane. Thank goodness I don't usually go during a race. The lines were Mickey and Minnie in front of the castle during the Princess half marathon long. Seriously. And speaking of lines-

As soon as you finished the race, there was a line to get water. A line to get a heat sheet. A line to get a bag to put your post-race nutrition in. A line to get the nutrition. A line to get your necklace. A line to get your picture with a man in a suit. A line to get your hair done. A line for merchandise. A line to get your photo taken with a sign. A line to get your photo taken with a different sign. 

So. Many. Lines.

I did not have the patience for all that. Not normally, and definitely not after 13.1 miles of an overcrowded course. I am a very big fan of keeping moving after a race. I'm also a slow runner, so most of this stuff is usually cleared out by the time I'm done. Luckily, I ordered my finisher stuff online (BEST part about this race IMO) and didn't need photos of all that. Although, I wish would've gotten a picture of my full outfit. I was representing NYCM :)

One of the only pictures of my official outfit from the day. 

Thanks, Nike!

Things that I did like about the finish line: The water bottle instead of paper cups to be more green. You should already know how happy this made me! The bag they gave you to put your stuff in was a great idea. As well as the Chocolate Milk and EmergenC (not mixed together!) being apart of the post-race nutrition. The Almond clusters were insanely delicious as well. 

Overall, I was impressed with the race. The things I did not like about the race, I should've known better and not let it bother me, but what are you going to do? Would I run it again? As long as they keep this AMAZING branding, I'm in! I'm hoping I can pull off San Fran in October. Hopefully, they will offer group registration for their lottery. 

Not a bad race to be the last in the teens. Half Marathon #19 in the books!

Finally.

The Hot Chocolate 15k: Philadelphia edition

I've been wanting to run a Hot Chocolate race for awhile, but none of the locations/ dates were that convenient. This year, the Philadelphia one worked out perfectly. Sarah, Pam and I could visit with Megan and Chloe (the cutest 18month old ever!) and get a race in. We drove down Saturday morning and went straight to pick up our bibs. Seeing that it was in a running store, I was expecting the worst. Yes, it was a tad crowded, but all in all, it went a lot smoother than I was expecting. 

The Race Marshall. . . Mallow

The next morning, we drove to Megan's and hung out at her apartment until the race started. Her apartment is ridiculously convenient to the start; it's about a 5 minute walk to the Philly's Museum of Art (which is where the majority of races start/ finish in Philly. How nice is that?!). We left around 7:45 for the 8AM start and had plenty of time for a last minute portapotty stop. Surprise, surprise- there were no lines! It was awesome.

After seeing the course, I was a little concerned. It happens to be the last part of the Rock-n-Roll Philly course and I'm not that big of a fan of that part of the course. I'm usually ready for the race to be over and the Museum looks closer than it is and that drives me insane. But it's also flat and along the water, so life could be worse. Plus, a major positive of it being an out and back was I got to see Sarah and Megan speed by, which was a great mid-race boost!

Originally, I thought it was a little weird that they had the 5k start 45 minutes before the 15k, but I think it was logistically perfect- the 5kers could enjoy their post-race party and probably be on their way home by the time the 15kers were finishing. Smart. I never felt the area was over crowded.

Surprisingly, my race went really well. I knew I didn't want to race it, but I did want to push myself a bit. I've been running races just to get through them since before marathon training (for fear of injury if I pushed too hard) and since I'm trying to get faster, why not see how my progress is going? I was a little perturbed that I was over dressed (I switched out of my costume because it was freezing at 6am when we were leaving the hotel. At 8:15 when I started running? Not so much.) but it turned out to be really beautiful race weather. I decided to run how I felt and apparently I was feeling good. At the 5k mark I noticed I was only a minute off of my PR, so I decided to see if I could hit my 10k PR (since the ultimate goal is to 10k PR).

Then there was chocolate. Sadly, I couldn't stomach it at the time, but saved it for later. The volunteer handed me a handful, so I started giving the volunteers some as I passed them. Did I mention the volunteers were awesome?! Because every one I passed was cheering like no one's business. It was great. There weren't that many spectators (I'm assuming because of where the course was), but the volunteers enthusiasm definitely made up for it.

Once I got to the 10k mark, I realized I was about a minute behind my PR then, too! (sidenote: I later discovered that my PR is actually 3 minutes slower than what I thought, so I was ahead of pace! SCORE!) I decided I would continue to push myself to see what I could do. I had just run the Ted Corbitt 15k in December, but I wasn't running for time (just to finish without being a popsicle!). Even though I had no clue what my time was (note to self: you should probably check that before you run a race!), I just continued to run harder than I normally would've.

Which is of course when my knee started acting up (note to self: strength train. Seriously). I stopped to stretch a couple of times but not for very long. I started to do some math (note to self: mid-race math is never a good plan) and I figured I could try for a sub-2 hour finish. That sounded fun, right? Not to my knee! I laid off of it as much as I could, but pushed to the finish (who puts a hill at the finish, seriously?!) I finished in 2:01 on the dot. I'll take it! The plus side of being the slowest runner of the group? Having your own private cheer section as you cross the finish line!

Finally got my own finisher's mug!

One suggestion: More things to dip in the chocolate! One marshmallow was not cutting it for me and the airline sized pretzels didn't work very well with dipping either. I ended up eating the rest of the chocolate with a spoon (no shame!) which was DELISH, but turned out to be a terrible plan. I can't eat a lot of chocolate at one time because it actually makes me sick. Add that to warmer weather running plus a sensitivity to getting car sick and you have the perfect equation for a not so pleasant unscheduled stop on the side of the road on way back to the city.

With that aside, I really loved this race! From the easy packet pickup to the no line portapotties to the after race celebration, it was a great way to spend a Sunday- or weekend visiting with friends in my case. It was extremely kid-friendly, I saw a bunch of space walks and families hanging out. It was a tad pricey, but for everything you got, it was well worth the price. The hooded fleece lined jacket was enough! On top of that, I got a 9 minute PR- and who doesn't love PRs?! Hopefully I'll get another chance to run one of their races and I would definitely recommend the same to you!

The 2014 NYC Half Marathon

Thanks to volunteering at the finish line last year, I got non-complimentary automatic entry this year's NYC Half Marathon. Even though I'm not where I'd like to be speed-wise, it is the 3rd anniversary of my first half marathon. I'm really glad I got to run the course again. I've decided having a local half marathon is a blessing and a curse. It's great not having to travel and having a home court advantage, but it also makes you lazy about preparing. 

After New York Road Runners opened a second lottery (making it the race's largest to date with over 20,000 runners!) I wasn't sure how this 3 different wave starts were going to work out. The only major snafu I noticed was baggage- they had the baggage trucks lined up numerically. Which would've been fine, but having wave 2's trucks by the wave 1/3 entrance and having wave 3's trucks past the wave 2 entrance on the other end of the park, caused for a lot of unnecessary traffic and congestion on Central Park South. Luckily, I was there super early for my wave start, but I could only imagine the frustration it caused for wave 1 and 2. 

I was so glad I got to meet up with one of my Princess partners in crime, Emily before the race- it was a long wait. Wave 1 hadn't even gone yet, which meant we couldn't get into the corrals. But it went by quick- it always helps to have a friend to chat with! 

It was COLD. Can you tell?

Something new this year was a metal detector before entering the corrals. I get that there needs to be safety, but letting the runners know beforehand might've been nice. And letting them know they didn't have to take off their running watches, etc. (even though we were being barked orders to put everything in the plastic bin) would've been nice as well, so I didn't have to take everything off in the freezing cold and try to figure out how to put it back on. Also, having bathrooms after security would've been nice- if you had to use the portapotty, you would've had to go through security again. 

Once the race started, we decided to take it easy, but Emily was too quick for me. So, we said our good-byes and I set out to figure out how I was going to finish the race. I just started taking new medication that had my muscles tense. Do you know how hard it is to function as a normal human, much less run a half marathon, when your muscles won't let you do anything? Yea. It was an interesting race to say the least. 

Just in case you didn't know, Central Park is hilly- making the first half of this race a beast. You climb Cat Hill within the first mile and then you hit Harlem around the 5k- 2 of the biggest hills in the park, not to mention the 3 sisters bitches and a couple of others scattered. It's pretty brutal. They changed up the course this year, so you actually exit the park right before Harlem Hill. There is an out and back on, which adds another hill to the mix. Awesome. BUT I will say it was a really cool addition; getting to see all the runners going so many different directions was fun. 

Times Square. Finally!

Once I got out the park (thank goodness!), the fact that I was running down 7th ave. hit me and I just tried to soak it all in. That feeling never gets old. It was a really great moment and I slowed down a bit to enjoy it. I realized how lucky I was to get to run this race for the 3rd time and for it to be in my own backyard. How often do you get to be in the middle of Times Square car- free? The only other time is New Years Eve and being the New Yorker that I am, I'd never be caught there.

Character stops in front of M&M World!

Construction on the Marquis.

There was even karaoke. No kidding.

Then it was time for the 42nd St. wind tunnel. I still had not taken off my throwaways- and thank goodness! That wind was insane. If that was going to continue, I was not looking forward to the rest of the race down the Westside Highway, even if it was the flat part of the course. Luckily, that wasn't the case. It is a little daunting to just keep going in a straight line for what looks like forever. I just keep focusing on the Freedom Tower and it getting bigger as I got closer.

It was great seeing friends on the course as well- running and cheering! I got to say hello to all my old TNT coaches, my new running friends at a water stop and then running friends as we passed each other on the course. All of those were definitely great factors and made the race even more enjoyable for me. Another plus to a local race.

After mile 8, I was stopping to stretch every mile or so. My left ITB/Hip was starting to act up. That seams to be the pattern- whichever leg doesn't bother me during training, will inevitably hurt on race day. I did the calculations and didn't think I had a chance to come in sub-3hours, so I just continued to enjoy myself.

If it was 2011, this would be the finish line.

I don't know what happened to me in the tunnel, but I just started running FAST. Once we got to the other side, there was .6 left and I was really close to the 3 hour mark. I tried my best to go as fast as I could and ended up with 3:01:29. What?! That's crazy talk. Who knew I had that in me? And who knew I am apparently really bad at math? (well, we should all know that already, haha) Even with all the stops through Times Square and the stretching.

As soon as I crossed the finish line, I ran into this lady!

When I read about the Recovery Zone, I was excited that it was indoors. I really needed to get out of my wet clothes and get warm. Sadly, it was only mats and foam rollers. As cool as that was, I wish they would've had an area for changing. But no worries, I found a corner and stealthily changed shirts for the long subway ride home. And speaking of the subway, I liked that the finish line was right by The Staten Island Ferry Subway stop- it was easy to hop on the train back to Brooklyn. The last time I ran the race, the finish line was closer to the South street seaport, which is super cool, but for someone who doesn't go that far downtown often, finding a subway station was kind of a pain.

I totally love that this is my anniversary race. This race holds my second fastest half and since I know I'm no where near that time, I'm really happy just being able to enjoy the course and coming close to a sub-3 finish. With all the stops and lollygagging during the race, I know that I could easily accomplish a sub-3 next time.

Since I ran The Manhattan Half and this one, I just need 2 more borough series races (which I'm already signed up for the Brooklyn Half and the Queens 10k) and I'll qualify for the 2015 NYC Half! Fingers crossed I'll be able to run this race for many years to come.

What's was your 1st half marathon race?

The Princess Half Marathon (Glass Slipper Challenge COMPLETE!)

I woke up half marathon morning to find my anxiety had skyrocketed. Honestly, thinking about running a half marathon wasn't high on my list of priorities for the past 2 weeks, so when 13.1 miles are on the agenda for the day, it's pretty scary. Luckily, I met up with Jaime pretty quickly and having her there helped a ton.

I finally met the fabulous couple behind The Running Happily Ever After Blog. Monica was also my inspiration for my Eve costume the day before; she went as Eve for the WDW 10k and it was adorable! I won their X race wear contest (ps- they always have the best giveaways!) and ever since, I  picked her brain about all kinds of stuff and every time she is always so sweet! Walt has family in my part of the country, so it was fun comparing notes. Hopefully next time, we'll have more time to hang out! 

While we waited for Pam to get to the start, (sidenote: Transportation from Port Orleans seems to take forever considering it's one of the closer hotels. I noticed that last year as well), we ran into Emily! My favorite thing awesome thing about runDisney races is running into friends and that definitely what made the difference for me.

Once we got to the corrals, Emily and Jaime parted ways with Pam and I as we set out to finish. I had pretty much given up on this race at about .02 in. Neither one of us were really in the mood to be running. I knew it was going to take me a couple of miles to get into the groove after my extended taper, so I didn't worry too much. I conveniently forgot how narrow the course gets on the road to the Magic Kingdom. The fact that the course was SUPER crowded, which was SUPER frustrating, which made me SUPER not in the mood to deal didn't help matters . . . so we walked a lot because even if we wanted to run, we couldn't. 

If you're not a fast runner, you need to be prepared for the crowds at this race. I have never experienced course crowds like this. That can definitely make or break your experience. Knowing ahead of time what you're getting into is always a good thing. You can mentally prepare for it and not let the frustration ruin your time. Anyone who is willing to train and register for a race should have a magical time. Shame on me for not remembering all this.

Princess Half Sign Winner, hands down.

This sign really lifted my spirits and I felt better for awhile.

Hey, everyone waiting in that long line to take your photo by the castle: 

There's no line on the other side! 

Early on, I decided I wanted to stop for Woody because I don't think I've ever stopped for him before. He would be our only character in Magic Kingdom. One day I'm going to brave the 30 minute stop for Royal Mickey and Minnie (who they moved to the other side by new Fantasyland), but this race was not it.

At this point, I got a text from Jaime that she was at the medical tent outside of Magic Kingdom (nothing serious, but enough to make her willing to join the slowpokes), so we picked her up along the way. Running through the park was a perfect boost and I was starting to enjoy running. . . then the course got narrow again. 

RANT ALERT:

Not sure if you remember the story about the runner who got HIT BY A CAR running outside of the cones last year, but I do. Apparently, the extremely ACTIVE ROADWAY was not a concern for a LOT of Princesses. Why should I care what they're doing? Well, because jumping back on course RIGHT in front of me started to become the trend. After about the 6th time, I said something. Why? Because it's rude, inconsiderate and just terrible running etiquette (which I was following, hence walking on the right side of the road). This particular "princess" had the nerve to tell me "Chill out, it's a race"- ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! EXACTLY, ASSHAT and you just nearly tripped me! At about this point, this story was about to become a lot less Disney and a lot more season finale of Orange is the New Black. SERIOUSLY?! Seriously. Dude, I get it. I called you out for bad behavior and it embarrassed you, but to have the nerve to get pissed at me because you're the entitled jerk?

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why The Princess Half Marathon gets a bad rap. 

Moral of the story: Don't be an impatient D-Bag. It's bad karma.

THE END.

Sadly, it was not the end for me because I let that imbecile bother me more than I should have. No one likes bad energy, but I just could not shake it. This is about when we decided to entertain ourselves with being snarky. Not gonna lie, it helped. Don't have anything nice to say, come run a half marathon with us!

Luckily, it was time to stop for the heroes photo. 

and we caught up with Emily! 

Oh hey, Sarge. I'd LOVE to run up that hill, but. . .

We hung out and walked some more, because honestly it wasn't worth the fight anymore. Once we got on top of the overpass, the crowd of people behind us was shockingly large, even for a Disney race and especially because we were walking a ton and stopping for photos. 

Hey Sophia the first.

Hey Fairy Godmother wannabe. 

Indiana Jones and the bolder ran past us and I decided to run after them paparazzi style to try to get a pic. 

I should not give up my day job.

I noticed runDisney moved a lot of the characters away from the end of the course. Those were the best character spots because there was no lines! Last year, everyone was either too tired or focused on finishing at that point. It's where I ended up stopping a lot, hence why I forgot about how miserable the overcrowded course was and only remember enjoying it. That's exactly where the Disney magic happened for me last year and I was bummed it didn't happen again. 
 

Once I saw the finish line, I saw Jester Goofy and Donald and I got excited! Maybe the magic wasn't gone! But the handlers weren't letting people stop for photos. Granted, logically I get it, but getting a photo with Donald at the finish line might have completely changed my view on this race. Just saying. I crossed the finish line and saw B, which made life a lot better. I proceeded to tell her where they could stick this race and then went to medical to get ice. This "Princess" was over it. 

I REALLY wanted to enjoy this race again. It had the potential to be a really great life distraction. Sadly, neither my head nor my heart were in it, which didn't help matters when there are way too many outside negative factors going on as well. Thank goodness for running friends! I don't know what I would've done without them. Next time we all end up running a race together, let's make it a GREAT one!

Win all the medals!

This race does fall on a convenient weekend for us to travel to Florida, so I can't say that it's completely out for next year. Maybe just the 10k and spend the rest of the time with family? Sounds like a good plan to me!