THIS motley running "pink" crew: Me, Ruth Custodio, Jessica Mieles, Nelly Baez (not pictured)
Got the absolute worst attack of allergies on Saturday morning ... spent Saturday walking around in a fog ... not good, since I was recovering from a cold and now being attacked with allergies the day before the Half Marathon ... could only mean disaster for me. But it's my FIRST qualifying marathon run ... how do I skip that?
But I had decided that if I continued to feel as terribly as I did earlier on in the day on Saturday that there stood a great chance that I would opt out of running the half.
Good thing for me, on Sunday when I arose (despite my lack or proper sleep, I was anxious and got very spotty sleep at best) I felt better. So I suited up and headed out.
I was supposed to meet up with Jessica, Ruth and Nelly ... unfortunately, I did not find any of these girls until the run had started which upset me greatly.
So I found Jessica and Ruth running together in the beginning and apparently Nelly was just a little ahead but as I surged forward to find her ... I never ended up seeing her and so I just settled into my run, as it were.
Passing mile 6 ... I was feeling good in my run (including the giant 110th St hill) and going in Mile 9, I was OK ... but mile 9 to mile 10 is where the 110th St hill is for the SECOND time and of course, the second climb was entirely draining ... it probably didn't help that I had a tremendous amount of difficulty accessing my supplements (endurolytes, antifatigues, etc ...) I had no problem getting a hold of my gels (I discovered the spibelt wrist band! Best thing ever for those who can't wear fanny belts!).
Passing Mile 10 ... my energy levels were suddenly, utterly depleted. I could feel my pace slowing tremendously and I knew that there were atleast 2 more significant hills after the 110th St hill. I was dreading it and I tried desperately on the downhill to recover my energy, of course to absolutely no avail. By the time I was passing mile 11.5 where my friend was waiting and cheering for me, I was giving the THUMBS DOWN sign and every fiber in my person wanted to QUIT. At that point, I felt that there was no way I would be able to complete this half in my goal of under 2:03:05 (my pace had slowed so dramatically), I was certain that 2:05:00 would be my finishing time. But when I saw the 12 mile marker, I said to myself ... you can't have come this far to quit NOW?????
So, true to form despite my inability to breathe properly (I had stopped during this run on a couple of occasions to BREATHE because I couldn't catch my breath from my allergies), I picked up the pace for the last 1.1 miles ... had to make my split right? I picked a girl that I saw towards the last half of that mile and she was running my pace roughly, maybe just a little faster but I kept her pace and towards the end, when we passed the 13 mile marker I usurped the last amount of energy I had remaining and made an all out effort for the finish line. When I passed the finish line and pressed the stop on my ipod .... I heard it say "2:01:47". In my head, my only response was, "NO WAY!!!"
I was so tired ... I didn't have the energy to think about the details of my run and where I might have picked up the pace. When I finally got back to my apartment though, I made sure to look up my time on the NYRR official results website and my official finish time was 2:01:41!!!! Super awesome! Despite how tired, how sick, how difficult it was to breathe, and the amount of times I had to stop in order to breathe, I managed to complete the half under my goal time by 1:24.
I think this is a testament to the strength and will of the human body. Despite what ailed me, I could overcome all these factors that I thought would be the ruin for my run. But one foot in front of the other and I managed to complete the run in not only my goal time but well under. =) Of course, for the booklyn half marathon coming up on May 17, I expect to finish in under 2:01:41 ... so goes the rule for my race running! LOL!
Official Time: 2:01:41
Pace: 9:18
Place: Top 24.6%
Take away?
This time I ran with my brand new 2XU elite compression tights, Hammer Race Caps and Hammer Antifatigue Caps .... I think all of these things while one or the other may not have been the ultimate determining factor as my body and training are probably the greatest factors in my success, they certainly helped. Ladies and gentleman, training works wonders .... I know some people aren't sure if training works but it really does, it teaches your body how to handle stress and more stresss when you're under stress. Technical gear can help you and a STRONG SUPPORT system is one of the most important pieces of your running and training. I realized how important and motivating a strong support system can be. Seeing George cheering me on at miles 5.5 and 11.5 made it easy to keep going and not to quit. Knowing that he would be there at the finish line to greet and congratulate me made me run faster towards the end. =)
Next: Run as One 4Mile Run (April 27)
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