AHA Wall Street 3M Race Recap

It was ideal weather last Thursday when I left the office at the end of the day. The sun was shining, and my favorite race tank was the perfect choice for a warm evening race.

One of my co-workers was also signed up to do the race, so we headed down to Wall Street together while we gossiped (as most out of work conversations with co-workers often go). It was my first evening race – and I have mixed feelings about it.

Those are my squinting eyes
not my angry eyes

Even though the race was only three miles, I’m not used to putting in a full day of work before going all out on a race. It gave me plenty of time to carb up and hydrate (not sure how much you need to carb up for three miles but let’s pretend), but my legs felt tired for some reason.

I hadn’t done any speedwork or tempo runs since the Brooklyn Half, so I was just going to go as fast as my legs would take me.

I didn't realize I was kind of only taking
a picture of this guy

The first mile did not feel great. My legs felt heavy, and I was really thirsty.... but I clocked in my first mile at 7:14. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that going at a crazy 7:14 pace was the reason why I felt so bad.

I told myself it was OK to slow down… but part of me wondered how fast I could go, since I only had two miles left. I was able to keep up a similar pace for the second mile… and even though I felt terrible, I kept telling myself I only had one mile to go. And before I knew it, it was over.

Too fast.

It was really neat winding around the streets of Wall Street, but I kind of wished I had just chilled out so I could have enjoyed the race more. I felt bad ALL the way through, because I knew I was running faster than my body wanted me to. But aside from being competitive with myself, I had another reason for wanting to run as fast as I could...

After over a year of being open, I was planning on FINALLY taking the East River Ferry from Wall Street back to Greenpoint, which actually drops me off only 4 blocks from my apartment (perhaps the only quick route back to Greenpoint from anywhere in the world). I’ve heard amazing things about the ferry – but the last trip on weekdays leaves at 7:50PM. Considering the race started at 7:00PM, and the finish was on the opposite side of Wall Street from the Ferry, I mentally was running fast to make sure I made the last boat.

The moments between the end of the race and the ferry are kind of a blur. I was super sweaty, trying to navigate with my phone through Wall Street while holding a water bottle and a spare t-shirt with my headphones dangling this way and that. Not a pretty sight. But I was seriously determined not to miss the last ferry.

AND I MADE IT. And I can’t say enough how much I love the East River Ferry.

<3 Brooklyn Bridge

I saw so many great views of the bridges and the city. I sat on the upper deck and just breathed in how amazing New York City is. It really renewed my love for where I live.

So if you’re ever in need of a stress-reliever, or forget why you live in a crazy city like New York, take one tour of the Ferry and you’ll remember why.