The Brooklyn Marathon (or half)

Sunday was an idyllic November day. Perfect in every way and just ideal running conditions, especially for  the Inaugural Brooklyn Marathon in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Before I forget to mention it, congratulations to Steve and his entire crew at NYCruns on a really well done race.

The morning started early, I was up at 5:30 and out the door to meet Ari (from Run Ansky Run) who was driving me down to Brooklyn for the race. Neither of us were actually running the entire race, nor were we registered for it. We've both never run as bandits, but to be fair, Steve did offer us free race entry as fellow NY Running Show hosts, so we didn't skip out to avoid paying. Anyhow, Ari and I were on our way down to join our good friend, Joe, as he tackled his second marathon this month. Joe (from Run Big Joe run) ran NYC Marathon on Nov 6th and was on his way to becoming a full-blown Marathon Maniac (see criteria for this title here) and Ari and I offered to join him for part of his journey.
I only ran 13.25 miles of the course, but saw the entire course more than once. The first ever Brooklyn Marathon was held entirely inside Prospect Park due to permit regulations, red tape, etc. Let's not forget that the very first NYC Marathon was held entirely inside Central Park back in 1970 and now look at it!
The morning was sunny and the temps were comfortable in the low 50's when we arrived. It was a bit breezy so I'm glad I left my long sleeve shirt on for hanging out at the start. The starting area had a very, very different feel from most races I've done. There were people milling around, but not thousands of them, and I ran into a handful of folks that I knew and some that I knew of but had never met before. Emmy, a fellow NY Running Show member and friend of friends was there, despite having run the NYRR Knickerbocker 60K on Saturday. Oddly enough, she was one of MANY there who had done that. Wow. I felt like such a bum, I wasn't even running the full race!
Here are a few photos from the start area:

Cool race tee !

Cruising by the lake on one of our first loops

Joe and Ari

I think this is going up THE HILL for the first time (of many)

The guys chasing the chick in the sports bra. It wasn't THAT warm.

We had a really good time, running, chatting, joking and seeing the same cheering faces on each loop. Friends of ours, Claire and Majo, were out there cheering and volunteering and keeping us motivated. We saw Steve, the race director and a friend as he rode by and yelled out the window that I was a bandit in his race. :) Sam (Push Through Philly) was also out there cranking out the miles AND A PR! The first two loops of the race were "smaller" loops of ~2 miles each and then we began the 6 "full" loops which included the big hill on the north side (right?) of the park. Ari and I only did the hill 3x, Joe still had 3 more big loops when we left him. 

I reached a point sometime during mile 10 or 11 where I started to feel really hungry. I knew I had it in me to run another lap, but not without a snack. I peeled off at the SW corner of the park, ran into a bakery called Connecticut Muffins and snagged a bagel, a cup of water and a banana (for Joe or Ari in case they were hungry). I munched for a minute and then took off into the park with hopes of running a shortcut to meet up with Ari and Joe again for the last of our hills. As I sprinted by the finish area Steve insisted that I grab a race shirt so I snagged one for myself and Ari. Now I was carrying a bagel, a banana and two tee shirts, I was like a sweaty homeless person sprinting through the park. Luckily I met the guys just as they reached the bottom of the hill and I jumped back in with them for the final mile and change. It was SO much fun, but I knew I wasn't up for much more than 13 miles. In fact, the longest run I've done since before my injury in July was my 8 miler in Highland last weekend!

Here is my final photo of Joe as we peeled off and he continued on to his 4th big loop.

HUGE Congratulations to Joe, Sam, Emmy, Frank and everyone else out there on Sunday! I'm totally inspired to run another marathon ASAP (aka in the spring) because of you guys. 

Here's an official race photo from Todd Schweikert photography:

< -- I call this the sherpa runner look. Get your Bagels! Tshirts! Bananas! 

Autumn in New York

It is one of my favorite Sinatra songs and although I try to resist, it is one of my favorite times of year. I love the summer with it's fresh fruits and sunny, warm days that make people just a little friendlier. I don't even mind running in the heat and humidity, I'm a sweaty girl, but the heat simply doesn't crush me like it does to many others. My asthma enjoys the warm, moist air and I barely use my inhaler all season. Even though it is really hard to let go of summer, I told myself that this year I won't mourn the loss of summer like I usually do, there just is no point. I love the fall, so I've opened my arms and was getting ready for it to slowly creep in.

Yesterday and last night the weather surprised me a little, when I got off of the subway at 5:30 I ran into a running friend and mentioned that I felt almost "cold" in the breezy street. I wore long pants yesterday for the first time in I don't know how long, since June maybe? As I headed out for my evening run with the Inwood Hill crew, the wind was strong and cool and a man outside my building said "wow, great day for a run!" I knew he was right, fall is the best time for running. As I snaked through Fort Tryon park, the wind was strong off of the river and I nearly lost my hat a few times, but I smiled at the cool breeze whisking away the sweat. We had a nice group run along the Greenway and along Inwood Hill park as the sunset gave us quite a show with it's puffy glowing pink clouds and firey horizon. Since it was very cloudy, my run home got dark quicker than normal, but I know that the time is coming when I'll have to wear my light for the run home and carry my mace because the amount of foot traffic will dwindle in the park.

I trotted home at a quicker pace because I was hungry and because the lingering sunset over the George Washington Bridge was pulling me along. It was beautiful, as many fall sunsets are. The fall offers an opportunity to enjoy my neighborhood in a new way, like starting with a fresh slate. The city transforms with the changing of the seasons, this time I won't resist because to do so would make me miss the best part of the season- the in-between.

First Fall Thursday night run: 6.63 miles, 58:08 (some stopping and chatting included)

avg Page 9:13

Fastest: 7:57 (mi 1)

Slowest: 10:59 (mi 5) walking/chatting

Good stuff. Now I'm off to swim again today, I can't wait. Wednesday's swim was tough after being out of the pool for a while, but I'm ready for more today!

Around the hood

Big weekend ahead for Hudson Heights! In case you missed the flyers plastered all over town:

mmmm I remember the gorgeous looking pies sitting out there teasing me last year but we were there too early and the pies hadn't been judged yet so I couldn't have a slice... so sad. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Anyway, its a great, fun-filled day for those with kids and those of us without. Head over to Bennett Park (Ft Washington between 183rd and 185th Sts) between 1-4pm to join the fun.

Autumn Running in New York

Well, I can't believe it but my wedding is a mere 19 days away! Hence the lack of posts lately. sorry about that, if people would send in their damn RSVP cards on time I'd have a lot more time to myself... I hate to vent here but seriously people, I've already addressed it and stamped it, how hard can it be to pop it in your mailbox? Ok, I'm done. Sorry.

So in more interesting news, Autumn is in full force, at least this week. Hopefully warm weather rolls back around for Halloween (our wedding day!) before settling into the 50's and below. I spotted tons of pumpkins on my trek over to Broadway to pick up some Mums today and they all made me smile. Fall is such a pretty season, I can't wait for the leaves to change. I'm convinced that the best running takes place in the fall because of the crunch of leaves beneath our feet.

Speaking of running, the ING NYC Marathon is fast approaching! I'm not doing it this year because its the day after the wedding (I wanted to, but no one thought it was a good idea) but you can get out and cheer for the 40,000 runners out there giving it their all on this 40th anniversary of the marathon. It's such an amazing experience for both the runners and the spectators. My mom came into the city to cheer for me last year and was BLOWN away by what a good time she had cheering for all of the crazy and amazing runners out there. For more info about volunteering or simply getting out there to cheer everyone on, check out the website: Volunteering for the ING NYC Marathon

These are just a few photos from last years race, what a gorgeous day. I am on my way to securing a spot for next year and I can't wait to do it again.