A Real Good Day

Leave nothing on the track. That’s what I try to do when I run a race, when I really run a race. Yesterday was the first time I’ve done that since the Brooklyn Half Marathon last Spring, it was the first race I felt strong in, in a good long while. Seeing I was trying to break my PR of 1:43:09 and get some redemption for my embarrasing DNF at the NY Half last month, this was a welcome change. It started out really nice, unusual since getting through the pack at the beginning of an NYRR race is like walking past Rockefeller Center during the holidays. Usually this leaves you hopscotching through the pack or slogging through the first mile; neither of which is a great way to begin.

This time I was off and running and comfortable from the gun. My watch ate my split times, but my first mile went in about 8:15, and as I am a slow starter, this in itself was something good. More importantly, having wanted to expel my bagel and coffee from both ends for nearly an hour, I felt terrific. That’s pretty much the way it went the rest of the race as I more or less ran all my splits between 7:30 and 7:55, incredibly consistent for me. I felt a little bit tired around mile 8 or 9, and from there on my legs had that hollow feeling you get when you’re no longer working off glycogen, but at that point I wasn’t backing off the pace. I knew I could pull personal record time in this race, in fact if I had anyting special left in me and could throw out a 7 minute mile or two, I could even break 1:40, but I also knew that any slow down would mean I’d spend the last mile fighting for that PR, and I didn’t really want to be that close for comfort.

So, I ran it strong, but avoided the temptation to really let loose at any point in the final 3.1 miles. I ended up with a 1:41:16 half marathon taking nearly 2 minutes off my previous best. I pumped my fist, and then I had some gatorade. A few minutes later I vomited it up on the side of the road. Not a drop was left on the track.