Doing a race in its inaugural year can be a bit of a gamble. Since it makes total sense to run a half marathon less than three weeks after your first marathon, that is what I did.
Okay, it didn’t quite happen like that. I registered for this race before I knew for certain that I was going to do the marathon. And then I wasn’t going to DNS, because I just don’t like to do that, so… I trekked way up to Queens this morning to run a race for which I was in no shape at all. I am nowhere near fully recovered from the marathon yet, and of course my blasted knee still hurts.
This is a point that bears mentioning: a couple of years ago, I never could have run a half marathon “just because.” The fact that I now can, and do, always gives me a bit of a thrill… even when the race itself proves to be less than stellar for me.
Way back when I first registered for this, the course map hadn’t been released yet. Since I didn’t know I’d be running a marathon three weeks prior, I was considering this as a sub-1:40 attempt, since I knew it was a relatively flat area. I am mighty glad this didn’t wind up being a goal race for me, because I am still dizzy from it.
I guess this is what happens when you combine course design with happy hour! All those turns! (To be fair, I’ve run a longer half by my Garmin in Central Park. But still.)
My splits look pretty nice, if I do say so myself — with the exceptions of miles 10 and 11, they’re incredibly consistent.
What these numbers don’t show you is how terribly painful it was. The first three or four miles weren’t too bad, but after that — my knee was really, really bugging me, so much so that I considered taking a DNF when we passed the finish line the first time (because as if that crazy looping course isn’t bad enough — we did it twice). But I figured that if I was able to run a marathon on this stupid knee, I could run a half; and it’s not like it doesn’t hurt if I don’t run, it just hurts a little less. Which is not a good enough incentive for me to not run. So. Onward.
It was pretty decent running weather, actually; clear and in the mid-50s. But there were some rather strong headwinds during the second half, which I could have done without. And I’m sad that summer is over, because I certainly did not miss the whole “freezing my ass off while waiting for the race to start” thing.
Anyway, my Garmin says I ran 13.24 miles in 1:52:13, 8:28/mi… which means I ran a faster half with ITBS. (That was my 1:51:05 in Atlantic City last October, though I actually kept stopping to try and loosen up my knee then, and here I ran straight through… but I hadn’t just run a marathon in October, so maybe it all evens out.)
Official results: 13.1 miles in 1:52:10, 8:34/mi. 260/978 OA, 69/472 F, 28/172 F 30-39. First race in my new AG, sniff sniff. Though if I were still 29, I would have placed 32/208… but I don’t really care about my AG placement if it’s not in the top three!
And this is incredibly odd, given my slower miles 10 and 11 — but I think I ran a negative split. When I crossed the mats after the first loop, the clock read 56:11; math is not exactly my strong point, but I’m pretty sure that’s exactly half of 1:52:22. And my clock time was 1:52:17. So… yay?
The real “yay” would be if my stupid freaking knee would just get over itself already… because right now it is killing me. And I am tired of this crap.
Photo courtesy of Patty. I appear to be laughing. I cannot imagine why.
Running Break 