Brooklyn Half 2012

I couldn't have asked for a better race day yesterday. I'm not exactly sure how I was able to run as well as I did (meaning my pace per mile) as I didn't sleep well / enough the days leading up to the race. Still, God, Leon and our cheerer helped get us through it.

True to Jess form, I left the apartment late, had no gas, and no idea how to get to my destination. Moving forward, I will change those things prior to heading anywhere. The stress isn't worth it, although we worked it all out well & got to Coney Island without a problem. Once there, I met up with Kristi and Leon and together took the train to Prospect Park.

Being that we ALL ran a little behind schedule, we started late :: 22 minutes after the race actually began. Leon and I exerted more energy than we should have just getting to the start. But, we jumped in and got moving right away. The first half of the race was the most exhausting, I'd say. Maybe it was the stress of being late or the bobbing and weaving in and out of the other runners. When we met up with Kristi at mile 6, I was definitely out of it. I think Leon was, as well. Yet, something about knowing we were half way to the end jump started a second wind and off we went with a high five.

Miles 7-13.1 were the best, I'd say. Leon and I moved along at a nice pace, although a few times we slowed down, and maybe that was best. We met up with our friend, Angela, twice along the course, and she was doing well, too! We had a good flow of speed and relaxed running. We made smart choices regarding water breaks and such. By the end, I had some energy left to pick my pace up for the last mile. I decided to give what I had left and go for it. I felt badly leaving Leon behind, but he was going strong at his pace, as well. I was able to finish at a respectable time of 1:55, which is a personal best for me, and I'm very pleased. I wonder if I could have done better, but it really doesn't matter. That's the overachiever in me. Haha. I enjoyed running with Leon. I think we paced each other well, and got each other through some rough spots. I'm also thankful that Kristi was there to cheer us on. There's something about seeing people you know at a race that motivates you to keep going. It definitely helped.

Next up is the Fairfield Half! I've never run that race, and it is in 5 short training weeks. However, I'm not going to think about that till Tuesday morning. :)