This run was pretty interesting no thanks to the MTA (see below for my rant), because the NYRR rarely has evening TCS NYC Marathon qualifying races. Plus, the humidity was not 10000% during this event.
PRE-RACE PHOTOS:
I really did not have a chance to have any pre-race feelings of excitement, because I arrived to Central Park way later than planned. The result? I had to line up at the very back of the pack, the L corral (I'm usually in the D corral). This delay meant a very quick and half-assed stretch session. Plus, my back was feeling kind of weird, so I was already in a somewhat defeatist zone. Also, I was so freaking thirsty, because I did not have time to pick up a bottle of water before the race. Basically, I was at three strikes, and really considered walking the race. However, I managed to power through and actually run the race. I figured that it would only be about 30 minute of annoyance and pain.
PRE-RACE PHOTOS II:
Plus, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Interestingly, I think that I ran faster because I was so far back, and I felt that I needed to play catch up - my first mile was 7'11". Or, maybe I ran faster in order to get a cup of water from the first fluid station.
Mile two was a struggle because I had to fix my right shoe twice. First, it was too loose. Then, it was too tight. I felt a bit like Goldilocks when she was picking which porridge, chair, and bed to steal. My time for the second mile reflected my shoe issues. Let's just say that it took me longer than 8'45'' to run the second mile and leave it at that.
The third mile was pretty normal, in terms of pace. Overall, I did run this race a little faster than last week's race - 8:26 min/mi versus 8:13 min/mi pace. Although I ran a bit faster for the Central Park race, my faster time could be attributed to the flatter course (compared to that of Prospect Park) and the lower humidity.
My Fitbit was a little off with regards to my time and the distance. My NYRR official time for this race was 25:31, not 25:40 (I know that it is only a nine second difference).
For the post race festivities, I think Brooklyn won. The location for the post race festivities was in an open space in Prospect Park, but Central Park's post race festivities was on the 102nd Street Transverse. I think that the 102nd Street Transverse is far too narrow for post race activities. I wonder if NYRR is not permitted to use any of the open fields after a race. I can imagine that the clean up would be a pain.
POST-RACE PHOTOS:
So, I have another race in the books. Two races down, seven more to go for guaranteed entry into 2018 TCS NYC Marathon.
NEXT RACE:
NYRR Team Championships (5M) - Saturday, August 5th at 7:30 AM. Man, I will have to wake up and leave Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn super early for this one.
RACE JAMS:
MTA RANT:
According to Google Maps, the commute from my job to Central Park was supposed to be 1 hour and 6 minutes. I left work at 5:25 PM, so I would have ample time to check my bag, warm up, and stretch. Yeah that did not happen, because I arrived to the park around 6:50 PM - TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. I do not understand why MTA's subway service has gotten so bad, not that it was that great. Maybe the subway service seems worse, because I do not have to take the subway to work any longer and I do not have to deal with subway struggle.