Last night ended up being one of those wonderful random nights with friends where it gets better as the night continues. What started as drinks with the girls at Monkey Bar progressed to beers and laughs at Rudy’s Bar and ended with Korean BBQ at Wonjo, mustaches, and more alcohol. Needless to say, this wasn’t exactly the perfect preparation for the NYRR Scotland 10K. But, sometimes you just have to focus on the present and deal with the morning later. That’s what last night was all about as you can see from the pictures below.
This morning’s thoughts about the NYRR Scotland 10K went a bit like this (Thanks Fit Chick for the recap inspiration)
Midnight: I finally decided that I had to go to bed if I was in fact going to run the 10K in the morning.
7:45: Wow, I haven’t slept this late in ages! But then I stood up and felt it. Parched mouth, sore legs, and a headache. I guess the 2 beers, Monkey Bar pina colada, and Korean sake equivalent caught up with me. In addition, last night’s food didn’t sit with me very well. The first order of business was lots of water. Then I enjoyed my normal pre-race breakfast but decreased the banana and peanut butter portion since it was only a 10K.
8:15am: Time to get dressed! I decided to go with crop pants and a t-shirt since it was supposed to be at least 60 degrees. I’m absolutely loving my new Lululemon spring running gear! The week of the NYC Half I purchased new crop pants and a t-shirt from Lululemon. I highly recommend their Swiftly Tech tee if you want something to keep you cool and comfortable.
8:40am: Finally got Bo out of bed and moving for the race. Needless to say he was moving EVEN slower than me. We grabbed our toast to go and headed for the subway.
9:15am: Wow, picking up our bibs the morning of the race is easier than I thought! This was the first race where we haven’t picked up our packets ahead of time. This race was organized very well at the beginning and it was easy to pick up our registration, laugh at all the Scottish paraphernalia, and store our bags at Equinox. We always store our bags at the Columbus Circle Equinox before Central Park runs so we can easily shower there afterwards.
9:45 Parted ways with Bo as he headed for the orange corral for those sub 8 people as I headed back towards the sub 10 corral. Well, after passing THREE corrals I finally hopped in the gray corral because I didn’t have time to walk back three more corrals. There were more corrals for this race than any other race I’ve participated in thus far. After crouching under and starting to stretch someone actually told me I was in the wrong corral. *sigh* I wasn’t about to leave that corral because I knew it was too late for me to get in another one. NYRR close corrals 10 minutes before the race start. If you’re not in by then you have to go to the very back.
10:00: The bagpipes and anthem signal the start of the race. I’m able to watch the elite sprint up the hill and can only watch in amazement. Their running form and style really is beautiful. I continue stretching since I know it’ll be at least 5-10 minutes before we start moving since the race is so crowded.
10:09: I finally cross the start and am annoyed to see that they only have 1/2 the path marked off for the race. This means that the first few miles are going to be tight until everyone spreads out. The dogwoods and flowers near the start are absolutely gorgeous! It’s incredible how quickly Spring has sprung in Central Park.
10:15: When will the people start to thin out? I realize that there is most likely no chance for a PR in this race even though I’m feeling a bit better than expected. I’m constantly dodging around people. How is it that even though I was in a faster pace group there are still people WALKING? We’re not even a mile in yet! It took a great deal of effort to sprint ahead of them.
10:35: I had the great pleasure to see Megan for the SECOND time and gained some great positive energy from her cheering and high fives! I love the positive energy that comes from friends along the sidelines. Thanks Megan for cheering!
10:40: I pass the 3 mile marker and know that I have a huge switch back coming up and then the rest is mostly downhill or flat. If I can hit negative splits for the remaining three miles I have a chance to beat last year’s time (1:04). I switch my music over to Girl Talk to give me a bit of energy. I also decide that thanks to the Vitamin Water Zero I chugged before the race I can save time by skipping the water stops.
10:52: After doing my best to speed through the hill everything slams into me like a brick wall. Last night’s food and drink, the Vitamin Water, and the heat. I suddenly feel weak and my legs are like lead. I do the math in my head and realize that I only have 15 more minutes of this and if I can push through i’ll be done. I start to practice deep yoga like breathing as I run. I also realize at this point that I should stop and enjoy the spring flowers in Central Park. I vowed to spend the rest of the time focusing on the beautiful scenery around me versus the agony that is my legs and side stitch.
11:07: I can see the 6 mile sign in front of me and know the finish is close. My goal is to sprint to the finish in hopes of beating last year’s time. Well, unfortunately 1/2 the people forgot that this was a 6.2 mile race and not a 6 mile race. As I was finishing half the people started walking or slow jogging. Therefore, the last quarter mile felt like de ja vu.
11:10: DONE! Even though I finished 32 seconds short of a PR I decide to focus on the positive. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, Bo and I both ran the race even though we felt less than stellar, and we had a wonderful Friday night with friends.
Lessons learned: Don’t chug an entire bottle of Vitamin Water before a race, when the running gets tough focus on the scenery, and a rough morning can only get better!
After the race I quickly texted Bo to see how he’d done. Evidently the second round of Korean Sake and late night Seinfield watching caught up with him. He averaged a 9:44 pace which is a full minute and half more per mile than normal. Guess I did better than I thought 🙂 I hurried over to Equinox to shower and head downtown because I had big lunch plans! I was meeting Kath and some local readers and bloggers for lunch at Chelsea Market!
That story and the rest of my wonderful Saturday (reading on the High Line, mani/pedi, and date night with Bo) will have to come tomorrow as now I have to hit the sack because we have wonderful Easter plans with our friends. We’re going to Easter service at Forefront Church with Lauren and Casey and then joining them and eight others for brunch at Pete’s.
GALAXY GRANOLA WINNER GOES TO: Heather (Heather’s Dish) said…
oh, easy…cranberry orange! i love that combo and think it would be amazing on yogurt 🙂
Please email me your mailing address so we can ship the granola! Thanks and congratulations
