Long time, no see. I haven't touched this blog in many years, but after today's race I really want to put down how it went so I can remember the glorious details.
The morning began with some rain and very moody, rainy
skies over the George Washington Bridge. It's a very quick trip from my home in upper Manhattan over to Ross Dock on the NJ side of the river, so I arrived early. I was feeling lucky from the start- my race # was 7! 🍀 I peed a handful of times, snacked a bit and nervously puttered around. I did a warm up along the flat part of the course by the start line and eyed up the competition. I never feel particularly confident at the start line of races, there's a touch of self doubt and a random thought of "but what if" that usually melts away once I start moving. The start was self-seeded which means everyone starts in a clump and if you're a nice person you only start up front if you are genuinely fast. I can tell you from watching the finish that not everyone at the very front was honest, which means we had to weave around them a bit. The race starts out with a brief flat stretch, maybe 0.2 mi before a sharp left led us up a very long, steep hill away from the river's edge and into the cliffside. I know the hills on the course well, I ride there pretty often so I knew to just take it easy and not try to weave or push ahead. Once we got onto the roadway, I settled into a pretty easy pace as planned. Mile 1 was 8:42 with 122ft elevation gain.
Hitting mile 2 I settled into what Coach Baker called "swift" pace, a term I repeated often in my head today. It invokes a really good feeling...running swiftly. The goal was to run swiftly at about 85% effort miles 2-9, which meant I'd need to take advantage of the downhills to keep the effort level up. No problem, I love downhills. I stayed strong and comfortable for many miles, focusing on running the tangents while many of the runners around me made this big, wide, sweeping turns. I found myself near a few guys frequently during the first half of the race. Loud breathing guy was about my pace, luckily podcast-on-speaker guy was not. There weren't any women around me for most of the first 6.5 miles and I had no clue where I stood, but I assumed there were a bunch ahead of me. I grabbed some water at mile 4 or so and decided that if there wasn't going to be water at mile 7 (it was an out and back course) I should have my Gu whenever there was water, which ended up being the turnaround point at 6.6 mi.
As I was nearing mile 6 I realized we hadn't seen any of the race leaders yet and was surprised because we were getting close to the turnaround at 6.6. Finally I saw the lead man, a few others and the lead woman. She was really moving. I thought to myself- "ok, keep count of the women ahead of you" and there was only ONE MORE before I made my turn. Wait, was I in 3rd place?! I'd been cheering on the people who were heading back and continued to do so as I made my way back, cheering on those making their way toward the turnaround. It was really exciting and fun and helped pass the time. I heard several groups say "there's #3" as I ran by. I knew that there were a few women not far behind me now, I'd seen them at the turnaround and if they think anything like me- I had a target on my back. The good news for me - I was feeling great. That mile including the turnaround was 7:55/mi with 70ft of elevation gain, but it had been a roller of a mile.
The run to the turnaround had been a steady effort, hard but controlled and relaxed but the second half was a very different experience. I kept on running steadily, following the "swift" plan and ticking off the miles. It was beginning to really burn, especially my quads from blazing downhill on the dozen or so hills we'd already run, but I felt good. Somewhere around mile 9 or so I turned a corner and said "oh shit!" because I spotted the 2nd place woman ahead of me. I had not at all considered the possibility of catching her, but as soon as I saw her I realized that I was picking up speed and she was not. The race plan was to let loose after mile 10 as I tend to enjoy a strong finish. I slowly, steadily made up the ground between us but my plan was to wait until we were through the really gnarly Dyckman hill before any type of move. The plan changed when I heard the unmistakable footsteps and breathing of a woman behind me. Don't ask me how, but we sound different than men when we run and I just knew. She was back there and as we neared the Dyckman hill, we reeled in 2nd place woman and I had no choice but to pull up next to her and make a move. Damn, that hill is HARD both directions, but I got next to her, kept close because we were in a slight turn and set my eyes on a big rock in the distance that was the most direct route forward. Now I had two very fast women on my heels as we crested the hill and hit the mile 11 marker. 2 to go.
*Sidenote- Dyckman hill and the hill leading up the PIP there are totally destroyed after Hurricane Ida, it's a terrible mess with the blacktop in piles on the side of the roadway with exposed bricks underneath.
So as I passed over the top of Dyckman hill I did what I usually do on my bike in that spot- no coasting, I switched gears and turned on the fire. I flew down the hill, knowing that once hitting the bottom of it we'd go immediately back up and climb almost the rest of the race. We climbed. I could tell that at least one of the women had dropped off, somehow I knew it was the previous 2nd place woman and I could still hear the chaser behind me. She finally pulled up next to me at one point and my first thought was that she was going to pass me, my second thought was "you do not have to LET her pass you." I dug deep because everything hurt but I was counting on her feeling the same. I finally saw her at that point and we ran side by side for a bit, climbing still. I let off the gas just the tiniest bit to let her think she was passing, I don't know how I had the brain power to do that, but I am very competitive and really enjoyed Molly Seidel's account of the trash talk and head games that happen during pro races so I guess that stuck with me. As soon as she started to think she was pulling ahead I turned the gas back on and really floored it. We had a mile to go and I had nothing to lose. I had just run a 7:44 mile for mile 12. I did not expect her to come to a stop and make a sound of agony, which is how I was also feeling, but she did. I glanced back to make sure she was okay and yelled "NO! You've got this" because I couldn't bear to see her walk, even if it was partially my fault. She seemed fine so I gleefully (grinning like a jerk) steamed ahead, knowing I needed to widen the gap for the final mile. I had also kept my sights on this guy ahead for much of the race, noticing in mile 2 or so that he was running strong and then suddenly he was walking, too! I was grateful to be still running and feeling terrible but also still strong while the only other people around me were walking! I kept the jets on and knew that I was close to the last bit of uphill leading to the traffic circle at the top of the very last hill, making the turn onto the steep downhill from the start of the race. I was so close and I was flying downhill. The race director came by on his bike and told me I was second and told me to kick. I gasped "I know and I AM!" Ha! I knew no one was close behind me but I kept on the fire and stayed in the center of the small lane marked by cones so no one could pass. I came around the corner to the finish and heard my name on the speakers. I'd taken 2nd place overall female and run a 1:45, basically my A-goal time. I couldn't stop smiling. I finished the race with a 7:39 last mile, the second fastest of the whole race.
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| They told us to finish like this. 😂 |
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| How I really felt. |
The most fun part was cheering in and congratulating all of the folks I'd run with or by on the quiet road out there. The guys I'd run near in the first half and passed in the second half all came over for a high-5 and "great race" exchange. I found the guy who won and congratulated him as well. As I sat chatting with a woman from the Palisades Park Conservancy we spotted a bald eagle flying overhead. Honestly, it was a perfect race day. The rain picked up again, we'd had a dry race sandwiched between rainstorms and I was just glowing with happiness.
Several times during the race I caught myself smiling, I was having such a good time. I haven't raced with other people since before Covid-19 hit in March of 2020 and it was really, really exciting to be back. I also reminded myself about half a dozen times that I was running MY race, I was looking out for the speedy woman in the red tank, black shorts, yellow hat and orange shoes and no one else. It really helped center me when I got too caught up on those around me.
To give the 3rd place woman some serious props, I saw on Strava that she went on to run 6 more miles after the race so I assume she's running a marathon soon. I hope this training run gives you a super boost and you have a killer race, Elizabeth R. Thanks for the race, it was a real blast.
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| My time and the 3rd place female |
Now imagine if that course had been flat...
