I "tapered" the week leading up to the race, which meant I was too lazy to actually run the tempo run I had scheduled this week and only did a slow 3 miles on the treadmill. I also went whitewater rafting the day before the race, which must have exhausted me more than I realized.
I started the race around 9:14-paced runners, which meant absolutely no weaving and dodging in the first mile. But it also meant that the runners I started with were much faster than my legs were capable of running that day. I held on for the first mile, but immediately, my calf began cramping on the outer sides. I skipped the first water station but went to all but the last after that. I hung onto goal pace (sub-9:34) for the second mile, but with my leg hurting, I decided to ease off of goal pace and run comfortably because I didn't want to risk an injury and felt my training hadn't adequately prepared me to meet my goal.
The course was described as fast and flat, but it turns out that with all my hill training in Central Park, fast and flat may have contributed to my calves cramping, as I was using only certain muscles in my legs that I didn't always use for extended periods of time. For miles 3-5, I just kept running and told myself not to walk at the very least. I also hated the course, because we ran next to the highway and I felt like I was inhaling car exhaust. It was rather disheartening to see so many people pass me, but I kept running, even if it was slow. It also felt very humid and outside of the shade, it was getting HOT! I definitely perked up once we entered Corona Park again, because I was looking forward to seeing the giant globe and finishing.
Before we got to the globe, there was an out-and-back section, which was motivating to see the other runners coming back. But it was also difficult to wonder when the turnaround point would come! One girl kept huffing as she ran and she was annoying so I sped up so I wouldn't have to listen to her. Once we turned into the park, I sped up more, excited at the prospect of finishing (and that globe!). Once we hit the globe, I knew we were so close to the finish, so I sped up to probably a 9-minute mile (my Garmin only shows average pace and not instantaneous pace, so I only saw that my average pace dropped to about 9:24).
When I got to the finisher's chute, I began sprinting and passing up other runners. I spotted Tom near the finish line, so I kicked it up into top speed and finished (too) strong. I think I had way too much gas in the tank at the finish, and I should have run faster in miles 4-5.
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| Where did my neck go? Tom said I look like Kim Jong Il. |
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| Flyin! |
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| See yaaaa! |
Tom got some great action shots!
I'm disappointed that I gave up so easily mentally. I blame going out too fast and maybe rafting the day before. I'm not sure I'll try the 10K distance again, and I definitely won't be running the Queens 10K again. I just really did not like the course.
My official time was 1:02:54, but I did overrun the course, and my Garmin said I ran 6.28 miles. Even though I didn't meet my A goal, I met my B goal of PRing, which isn't a bad thing!
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