Hello!
I ate this last night in preparation for the Half today. Classic pre-race meal of fettuccine, tomato sauce and garlic bread, yum!
I come to you on a cold and snowy day here in NYC! I sort of ran the Manhattan Half Marathon this morning and it was quite the experience. I was kind of dreading this race over the last couple of weeks, but just these past few days I became excited and was ready to run!
I woke up this morning to this notice on the NYRR site:
Manhattan Half-Marathon Update
In the interest of safety, and in consultation with NYC Parks and Recreation, the Manhattan Half-Marathon on January 21 will be an unscored (non-competitive) event . All registered entrants who are members of NYRR will receive 9+1 qualifying credit toward their guaranteed entry requirements for the ING New York City Marathon 2013. You do not have to run the race to receive this credit. Runners should use caution in traveling to and from the event, and at all times before, during, and after your run, including dressing for the conditions. NYRR thanks you for your support of our events!
I was already awake and I WANTED to run. I texted Adriana to see if she was one board and she was also good to go. After all, it didn’t seem THAT bad outside from my window.
I made it to the park around 7:30 am and met up with Adriana inside La Pain Quotiden right near the baggage claim. We changed out of our boots and put our backpacks in garbage backs so ensure they would stay dry while we were running. This is what the park looked like when I arrived:
It was pretty freaking snowy and cold. I trudged along and before it we were huddled near the start and everyone was off. I was surprised by how many people actually showed up. If I wasn’t already training for something, I probably would’ve skipped it. I needed to get the miles in though.
It was a crowded start and it stayed that way for at least a mile and a half. It was hard to go any faster than 10 min/miles. Once the crowd thinned out, I was already hurting. I don’t usually run with Adriana because she is a lot faster than me, but we figured we would stick together during this race, but I was having a hard time at mile 2! Mile 2, that’s right. The snow was bad. It was like running on sand, but worse because of how cold it was. I was dressed properly, but my legs were just SO TIRED. Every mile took so much effort and energy out of me.
I knew right away that I wasn’t going to be able to make the 2 loops of the park. I couldn’t get all of the negative thoughts out of my head. Adriana was like my own personal cheerleader during the first 5 miles. She kept pushing me on and waiting for me and without her I don’t think I could’ve gotten as far as I did. Around mile 6, I told her to definitely go ahead, I needed to take it easy and to just run nice and slow because I was hurting.
I had a few moments where I thought I might actually be able to finish because I started to feel better, but those moments only lasted a few minutes. When we reached 72nd street there was a guy talking to through a megaphone announcing the finish line and for anyone wanted to just do 7 for the day to stay to the left and for the whole half to keep to the right. That was it, I HAD to stop right there.
As I crossed over to the left, there were 2 FINISHERS actually finishing the 13.1 miles as I was about to finish my measly 7.16 miles. At first it seemed like I was the only one who opted to cut the race short. I didn’t see anyone else ahead of me or behind me. I felt sort of ashamed or weak. I was feeling pretty miserable, I didn’t even want to cross the finish line so I walked around it.
A photographer grabbed my picture and said congratulations, I smiled and walked away muttering how I didn’t even finish the race.
I grabbed my bag and headed back to La Pain Quotidien for a coffee and for some recovery. I could already feel my body getting sore. I talked to a few others in the coffee shop and was glad to know that I wasn’t the only one who dropped at 7 miles. I even talked to a girl who stopped at 2 because she was having severe pain shooting up her leg. Ouch. She didn’t want to sacrifice her NYC Marathon, so it was a smart move.
I waited for over an hour for Adriana to get back. I knew she trekked on to complete the whole thing. She eventually came back and said she started dying around mile 11 and the last 2 miles were hell for her. We warmed up some more before finally taking off to head home.
I had plans and reservations for 1:30 today to go to Old Homestead to eat my very first Kobe Beef burger, but I didn’t get home until around noon, so we decided to cancel and head to 5 Napkin Burger instead where I enjoyed this delicious beauty as my reward.
Though my body felt like it had actually ran 13.1 miles, I unfortunately am a bit sad that I cannot call this my 5th half marathon.
Well, in case you care, I finished my 7.16 miles in 1:16:33. That’s a 10:41 average pace. Ugh, this was the toughest “race” I’ve ever run. I can’t believe I was barely running 11 minute miles.
Snow, you won this round! Until next time…
PS. My eyelashes and my eyebrows actually froze. This is the first time it has ever happened to me and it was kind of crazy. Ice crystals formed and I had to pick them off. Hardcore.
