Run for the Parks 4M Recap

I spent Saturday drinking wine at my cousin’s bridal shower and carousing with my gregarious family. As most of my cousins are nearing marrying age, I learned all about what “black-tie optional” means and why it’s a real no-no to have a yellow gold engagement ring.

Kelly and my cuz' Ravan won three "party favors"
Magraths know their wine.

Last night, Keith and I carbo-loaded on yummy Chinese food and beers at our favorite local bar. Beer has carbs, right? Who’s with me?

I was dreading going to sleep in preparation of a super early wake-up time. Rain was on the forecast starting at 4AM, which resulted in a bit of crankiness. So I procrastinated going to bed by doing smart things like pinning my bib on my shirt and making nachos.

5:50 AM came, and there wasn’t a raindrop in sight. Hooray! Admittedly, I was a bit nervous for the run, because I woke up with a rumbly tummy. But I popped a tums, shoveled my favorite pre-run breakfast in my mouth, and hit the road at 6:30AM.

I had a plan to run 6 miles before the race as I had 10 miles on the agenda for the weekend. So I mapped out a nice little route through the BK, Queens, and into Manhattan. I decided to save my iPod for the race, and was surprised to find that at 6:30AM in the city that never sleeps, it was eerily quiet. It was really refreshing to start the day without any noise and be left to my thoughts.

Little photo break at Columbus Circle.

I made my way to Central Park with some time to spare, so I hit up the porta potties and made my way to the green corral. Apparently I wasn’t the only crazy person waking up early on a Sunday to support the Parks.

So many people.
Now leave me alone while I turn on Taylor Swift.

I have never tacked on miles before a race before, let alone 6. I was curious to see how my legs would hold up, and intentionally didn’t race this prestigious 4-miler with any crazy time goal.

I clocked in the first mile at around 8:07, and my legs felt great. Just after the first mile marker, I noticed an aggressive woman in pink passing me. I started to pick up the pace and passed her… and then she passed me… and we repeated this cycle a few times. I have to give her some credit, because I clocked in the second mile at 7:33. And then I began to feel mega tired.

Since I was keeping a pretty good pace for the first two miles, I wondered if it was possible to PR.... The third mile seemed to have all of the hills, so I kept up a moderately fast pace, but I wanted to save my last stores for mile 4.

Mile 3 came in at 8:05, and I knew it was possible to try and get under a sub-8:00 pace. Cue some nice downhills and huffing and puffing, and I beat my previous record by a whopping 11 seconds.

I really felt the fast pace in my lungs, but it wasn’t anything a little post-race bagel and water couldn’t fix. I was proud of myself for finishing a ten-mile run so strong, and now I know I can beast this Brooklyn Half-Marathon that so horribly beasted me last year.

I found Jillian, Lauren, Audra and Brad at the end of the race, but the cold and misty weather made us chilly and ready to go home. But not before we got this scenic shot of Central Park.

All I wanted at this point was a hot shower and my warm bed. I got home just as the first raindrop fell, picked up some coffee, and collapsed in my bed. Looking forward to doing it all again next Sunday for the NYRR Run as One Race...

Happy Sunday!!!