Not so easy

I have to admit I was a little over-confident about this past weekend's NYC Half Marathon. I had been training consistently but probably not targeted enough - as in training for a distance or pace or hills or whatever - I have just been running, sort of as it feels good. I am not willing to change that but I have to realize that races I feel prepared for will still be incredibly difficult. Like the half was...

It didn't help that it was already warm and humid at 7am when the race started and it only got much worse as we neared the finish line. We ran a loop and a little bit in Central Park, which was the usual, but mentally, it's so different to be running a lap in the park or a half marathon. So the whole time we were in CP, I was looking forward to the second half of the race that would be on city streets. Then we finally exited the park on to 7th Ave to run down to Times Square - definitely the coolest part of the race - where music was playing and people were cheering and the atmosphere was awesome, then out to the Hudson on 42nd street. This part was almost easy: I became rather emotional seeing the wide, empty avenue with all the people lining up on the sides, and seeing the big screens of Times Square and feeling like I was a part of this big thing that people were there to watch. The exhilaration of a competition, I guess.

Then on the West Side Highway, things started getting really painful: hot, sunny, flat (I think I prefer hills where I can rest on the downhill even if it's hard up the hill) and the miles just seemed to be getting longer and longer. I heard someone yell "Dig deep!" on the side, I suppose, in response to the many tortured faces running by, and I started reflecting on that and saying to myself that I had to take this one step at a time and not think so much about the finish line or the next mile marker, which seemed forever away. In the end I finished just under 2 hours, which was my goal, I didn't pass out as some people along the course, I was very happy to change into dry clothes and flip-flops and head out to a huge brunch with a bunch of people who ran the race.

Today, I am in pain. The combination of the heat and dehydration and torturous last few miles resulted in lots of blisters and sore muscles. I guess it means I tried pretty hard, which I feel great about, although I am having issues walking today. Oh well, the rest of the weekend was really fun, spending time with friends, walking around the city, going out to Governor's Island... even found an interesting-looking palm tree with the best view of the city.