NYC Marathon - a whopping 26.2 miles - is one of my two favorite races. The amount of training, the excitement, the crowds, all of the craziness. Fast or slow doesn't matter - it's the overall experience. I was sucked into this race when I went about 4 years ago to cheer on a dear friend. Who knew the day would be so emotional and I would be so inspired that I would participate the following year.
In training, there is racing. A way to practice race day prep, a way to practice calming of the nerves (and poop), and a way to get accustomed to race day territory. My very first race I completed before I decided to participate in the marathon. My nerves were running on high but I wasn't alone that day. I was there with the crazy woman who brought me into this running lunacy.
At some point I came to the realization that I wouldn't always be attending races with someone and that I would have to figure out how to do this on my own. Hence, the NYRR Women's Mini 10k. What better race could there be for me to do on my own? This race is about women and running. 40 years ago, women didn't run because it was thought that they couldn't handle it. Fuck that. I may be slower than slow but I WILL get it done. So my first solo race was finished!
This year a whole bunch of people I know raced the 40th anniversary Mini 10k. That's 6.4 miles of women moving. 6,122 finishers! Pretty damn awesome. I ran well for the most part. The first mile I maintained 10:15 pace - WAY too fast but I felt good and it was nice and flat. After that, once we turned into Central Park, the hills started. I slowed it down and turned on my Galloway timer (it's an small clip on timer that I use to program my walk run intervals). For this race I opted for 2 minutes of running and 30 seconds of walking. Luckily I have a math friend who entertains me by completing all race time calculations for me. She figured a run of 11 min/miles and a walk of 15 min/miles would put me around 1hr 15 min - if I hit that I would PR but it also left me about 3 minutes of wiggle room.
At exactly mile 4.75 my hamstring felt like it was going to explode. It had been twinging since about mile 2 or so but I could manage the twinges. I had on the Newtons and I truly believe that they helped me. Had I started the race heel striking, the twinges would've started sooner. I also made a point of getting into Chi running posture (as much as I know how) as often as I could - I just don't know how to maintain this posture. At mile 4.75, me, Emme, my mom & her friend Paula had all come together and were moving together at a nice steady pace when things turned from twinge to pain. I slowed down to a walk. I shook out my legs, did some quick stretches, anything to just get me moving again. By this time, my group had disappeared. I started to feel deflated as I lurched myself along the course.
I tried to run but could only go about a minute before the discomfort was just too much. Quitting is not an option so I switched gears to a super slow 1 minute jog, 1 minute walk. I kept glancing at my watch and wrestling the conflicting thoughts: I'm never going to break my time and Shut up and just finish the damn thing.
At the 800 meter mark I picked up my jog pace, took a brisk walk break right before the 400 meter mark and then RAN my ass to that finish line. A new PR was born!!
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