Dash to the Finish 5K and Marathon Sunday!

My first race back! 1st thought: I love running! 2nd thought: Where is my endurance?

The Dash to the Finish 5K was a great first race back-- as a kickoff to marathon weekend, it lessened the sting of not being able to run this year while still making me feel like I was a part of the marathon. The timing and weather couldn't have been more perfect-- I left my apartment at 7:40, was at the start by 8:10, found a coworker who was also running 5 minutes later, and then jumped into my corral right before the start. NYRR runs races like a well-oiled machine, and the race was perfectly executed. The only downside was that it was PACKED.

See you next year, marathon.

The course started on 45th and 1st avenue, and we turned right pretty immediately onto 42nd street. We stayed on 42nd street until 6th avenue, and from there we headed to Central Park. It was pretty cool to run past my old office building (hi Nat Geo!) and 30 Rock, but it got more and more congested as we neared 59th street. There was a pretty tight turn on 59th street, and then another tight turn into the park at the 59th/5th avenue intersection. Once we were into the park, it was nearly impossible to run without veering around people... but it was pretty incredible to round the bottom of the lower loop and meet up with the marathon finish line. And as I finished the announcer yelled, 'Look at this girl! She loves sweat! Great shirt!'

An amazing feeling

I told myself I would run based on how I felt, because the worst thing that could happen would be to be overzealous and injure myself... again. I positive-split the hell out of the race, which I blame 80% on my lack of endurance and my enthusiasm at the start, and 20% on the congestion in the last 1/2 of the race. Overall, though, I was thrilled with my time-- according to NYRR, my official time was 25:19, which averages to a 8:10 pace for 3.1 miles. Since I overran my course, my pace for 3.18 miles was actually a 7:58.

I'll take it! :) 

The best feeling was after the race-- nothing more than feeling out of shape (which I expected) and feeling tight in my hip and glutes, which has been a constant since my injury. I'm taking two days off of running (Sunday and Monday) to focus on stretching and cross-training. And plus, I had a marathon to watch on Sunday!

Our 'cheerzone' with the best sign on the course

... and I was too busy watching the marathon to take any other pictures. I did snap a video of the elite women and men, but I decided to just soak in the marathon rather than try to take a million pictures. In as few words as possible, marathon Sunday is the best day in NYC. The energy is incredible, and the entire city is buzzing. I cannot WAIT to FINALLY be on the other side, RUNNING, next year.

Double Stuff Tuesday

I wish it was of the Oreo version. And no, I didn't take up gymnastics, but Oreo sadly didn't have a runner daily twist. I skipped yoga on Sunday so I pulled double duty today... and I'm pooped. I know people do double workouts on a daily basis, but I learned I'm a little weakling. My arms were shaking like jello by the end of my yoga class, something I really need to work on!

Good thing my run was much more enjoyable- I met up with a friend and ran about a mile of my 4 miles with her, which made the run go by really fast :)

I looked at the results from the Race For Recovery virtual race today-- out of the 112 runners who completed the 5K, I placed 40th; out of the 61 runners who completed the 10K, I placed 20th, and out of the 16 people who completed both the 5K and 10K, I placed 5th.  Looking at the other times for people who ran both, my 5K time is relatively slow, but I made up for it in the 10K. Something to work on!

Run stats: East river run, 4.17 miles, 37:51 min/9:05 min/mile

Race For Recovery

When I saw NYC Running Mama had organized a virtual race to support Sandy victims, I knew I wanted to participate. I felt so villainized the week of the NYC Marathon, and I still can't think about the experience without crying. Runners in general were (unfairly) painted in such a negative light, and I was even personally attacked by an Internet troll. It was such an awful time, but it's been so inspiring to see how the running community has banded together to help in a multitude of ways. 

The virtual race raised money for the Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers Foundation- Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund, and the race has so far raised $10,795! It was really simple- a $20 donation paid your 'entry' fee, and then you were encouraged to give more if you could. Unlike a traditional race, winners weren't determined based off time, but from how much money they gave. You could either run a 5K or a 10K, or both-- whenever you wanted, as long as it was before midnight on the 8th to be counted in the 'race.'

I decided to run both the 5K and 10K, and even though I was hurting a bit from staying out until 2:30 the night before, it felt great to get out there and be a part of something. Even though I had a terrible headache the entire time, I couldn't help but smile and think about how great runners are :)

I'm still having a few issues with my little Garmy-- it works great in the park, but from 59th street to my apartment, it's a literal dead zone and it can't hold a signal worth shooting. I actually ran close to 10.5 miles counting the run up to the park, but the watch completely lost signal while running up so I decided to just restart it in the park and go until I reached 9.3 miles. Here are my splits:

See how in mile 8 and 9 the time and moving time are so far apart? Major issues with keeping a signal with the Garmin; I came out of the park around mile 7.4, and when I map out the distance on mapmyrun from the edge of the park to my house, it's more like a total of 9.6, not 9.3. 

Does anyone else have this issue in Manhattan? Regardless, so happy to have been a part of this experience!

My 5K split: 28:01

Then, my 10K after: 57:39

Not too bad! :)

Runs from earlier in the week:

Wednesday: Central Park Run, 6.01 miles, 57:49 min/9:37 pace

Friday: East River Run, 4.04 miles, 36:35 min/9:04 pace