What could possibly stand in your way during a road race? hmm.. not much. Roads are closed, marked off -- ya know virtually car/object free so theres nothing but the wide open road...
yeh.. well virtually right? The Brooklyn half marathon was a great spring day! race #2 in the Grand Prix series. I cant even begin to tell you how great this run was. Mentally, going into it I was miserable... I woke up feeling not ready to run, walking into Prospect Park I was hating the massive crowds of people. I hadn't ran more than 7 miles prior to the race since the NYC half marathon in March so I had such negative thoughts until I realized I stood in line for a Port-A-Pottie for almost a half hr and had to run to my corral which was already closed... Squeezing through the crowd as the horn goes off, hopping the makeshift fence into my corral in enough time for the crowd of runners start moving up to the Start I dont have time to think. So, basically all those negative thoughts came flooding into paranoia that I was going to get stuck in the back of the pack and have to bob and weave through the crowds. The paranoia subsided and the adrenaline kicked in and I started kicking some serious B-U-T-T Butt! Being out of the city, I took in the sights of Brooklyn's finest landscape and made my around the loop.
On my second loop, I took a steady comfortable pace behind 2 girls. About 2 miles a
fter following them, I lost them... How? Well... steadily coming down a hill behind them, the 2 girls diverge around a giant traffic cone marking off the the lane for the race, and with no time to react, I go flying right into it! (hahaaaaa.. Im cracking up flashing back!) the cone doesnt move, and I yell, and roll around the cone (not falling, surprisingly) and stumble to gain my composure. Honestly, I cant even explain in writing how ridiculous it looked or I sounded. Obviously, I crack up at myself for a good 5 min afterward as everyone is staring at me and asking if I was okay.
fter following them, I lost them... How? Well... steadily coming down a hill behind them, the 2 girls diverge around a giant traffic cone marking off the the lane for the race, and with no time to react, I go flying right into it! (hahaaaaa.. Im cracking up flashing back!) the cone doesnt move, and I yell, and roll around the cone (not falling, surprisingly) and stumble to gain my composure. Honestly, I cant even explain in writing how ridiculous it looked or I sounded. Obviously, I crack up at myself for a good 5 min afterward as everyone is staring at me and asking if I was okay. BUT THE RACE MUST GO ON!! And it did... after my embarrassing moment, a little adrenaline kick comes into play and my mood gets even better! Onto Ocean Parkway and down the flat course with the sun shining and the wiiide open road... nothing to get in my way now!! Coming to the finish, I see Kelsy and Ren cheering me on and cross the finish in a new PR time of 1:42.
On another note, my roommate had a personal best that day too! Jackie beat her best 1/2 time by about 20 minutes, now thats impressive! you go girl!
Nothing beats a good Half Marathon with out drinking and eating all them burnt calories away! Brunch in Prospect Park, a little shopping... great little sunday!
