I put the race into my Mindy-K training plan with a sub-9:31 pace goal to PR the distance. I had attempted two tempo runs, but had only done 3 out of 4 miles and 2 out of 4 miles. Running on a treadmill at 6.5-6.6 pace was difficult and tiring. The day before the race, I ran 3 miles around the Bridle Path in Central Park with Joyce (trail running always makes me SO SORE! but some Sticking and compression sleeves cured me quickly), and I had walked a lot with Erin and Kesi, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to PR, so I told myself I'd see how I feel the day of the race.
Robyn slept over the night before the race because she knew she'd end up skipping it otherwise. We woke up at 7:05AM Sunday to get dressed and walk to the east side of Central Park at 72nd St. I had saved some bread from the dinner Tom and I ate the night before (gyro for me, chicken parm for him from Georgio's) but I ate so much for dinner I was still full when I woke up.
I started with Robyn in her corral. Even though I had to weave and dodge slower runners, I hate waiting alone for a race to start so if I'm with friends, I'd rather start in their corral. The race started at 8:00AM, but we crossed the start at 8:08AM. I told Tom to be at the finish line at 8:35AM if we ended up hitting 9:00-minute miles. Robyn and I stayed together the first mile, weaving around other runners/walkers/old people/kids. My legs felt great, but I wondered whether I'd be able to keep up the sub-9:00 pace over 4 miles.
I skipped the first water stop because I didn't feel thirsty. I kept running around slower runners, sometimes having to slow down significantly when people did not leave holes for passing. Kids would sprint past me and I would follow them. This run was better than the Healthy Kidney 10K, fewer people were walking (it seemed like everyone walked during that 10K, but it was really warm that day).
It was warm in the sunshine but luckily the Central Park loop is plenty shaded. Cat Hill used to destroy me on my runs with Tom, but he'd remarked how I've been getting stronger and faster when I run it. My slowest pace on the hill was 10:42 and my fastest was 6:40. As we made our way up the east side, I hoped that we'd take the 102nd St. Transverse rather than going the Harlem Hills route. Seeing the runners ahead of me turning left at 105th St. gave me a mental boost to keep my speed up and to keep passing others. It helped that I knew running downtown on the west side of Central Park was easier.
My legs never felt fatigued and my breathing was never difficult (though it did get loud). I stopped at the second water stop and tried to power up the second hill. By the time I got to mile 3, I slowed down and began to question whether I wanted to push for a PR. I didn't want to burn my legs out. But when I saw my Garmin flashing 10:xx pace at me, I panicked and sped up. The third hill was much more difficult to power through, but I cruised down after the peak and knew at 96th St. that the race would be over soon and that the rest was downhill. My familiarity with Central Park helped my mental game in not giving up when I knew the end was close. I stopped at another water stop because I was getting pretty thirsty and could use the walk break.
Finally, I was at the 72nd St. Transverse. I scanned the spectators for Tom and Shu, knowing they'd probably be on the right side. I spotted Shu, waved in her face to her and Tom, then sped up to the finish line. I ran a personal best of 36:56, a 9:14-minute/mile pace.
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