While some people quickly get tired of running multiple races during the NYRR 9+1 NYC Marathon qualification program, I’ve found that each race can truly teach you something different if you allow it.

• The Gridiron 4 miler back in February proved to me that speed training works. It was the first time my legs had felt a pace faster than a 9:30 in a 4 mile race.
• The Wall Street 3 miler was the first race where I felt what so many people feel at the end of a race, complete and total exhaustion. It felt amazing to give the race everything I had and feel a sub 9 pace!
• The NYRR Mini 10k helped me realize that while a 10k is shorter than a half marathon, it’s still too far to treat as a sprint.

I woke up for yesterday’s race mentally prepared for another PR.

I enjoyed a simple pre-race dinner of whole wheat penne pasta and spicy red sauce at Serafina with fellow bloggers. The food and service weren’t wonderful but the company was classic.

There was laughter, a few awkward boob pictures like the one below, and lots of race discussions.

                                 (Left to right: Me, Theodora, Ali, Emily, Lizzie, and Becca)

Eight hours of sleep later and one serving of pre-race breakfast, I was ready to run my first NYRR Mini 10k!

Luckily I organized all my race gear the night before, complete with a white plastic trash bag since the forecast called for lots of rain and humidity.

I took a quick cab ride up to Central Park and was immediately surprised and amazed at the crowds that had already gathered 30 minutes before the race.

Glad I didn’t need to use the bathroom because the above picture shows the line that had already organized at 7:30.

I took Lauren, my personal trainer’s advice and spent 15 minutes warming up with a few strides, dynamic warm-up, and some stretching. There was so much humidity that I was already dripping before the race started. Even though it was only 70 degrees the humidity made things almost unbearable. But, luckily the rain held off for the race and the cloud cover kept the temperature down. I can’t imagine if it had been hot AND humid!

The starting corrals were smaller and closer together than normal, never before have I been able to see the infamous blue corral from my starting location.

There was lots of excitement around the start as the emcee announced all the special guests running the 40th Mini 10k in honor of Grete Waitz! The Mini 10k was the first-ever all female road race including Playboy bunnies. There were women from all over excited to race, including a few readers who I was able to meet before the race! Hi Marlene and Shannon!!

This race, unlike most of the NYRR races, started outside of the park versus inside. This meant that I was able to enjoy running through the lights of Central Park West. The ladies took over the road!

I started the race excited, and therefore way too quickly. Lizzie and I have talked about it multiple times but for the past few races I’ve started out fast and been able to hold my pace.

The first mile was flat and fast, straight up Central Park West. I didn’t want to worry about weaving so I just stayed in the center and just focused on my music and enjoying the run. I felt great and was amazed to see that my pace was an 8:41. I did my best to slow down because I knew that I couldn’t maintain this pace for five more miles. We entered the park at 90th and then spent the next 1.5 miles battling the Harlem Hills. My goals for Harlem Hills were to keep my speed constant, stay positive, and power over the hills.

Well, I achieved that since I finished the first 5k in 29:41 which is a 9:33, a pace faster than I thought I could keep. In addition, I had kept this pace over the Harlem Hill which meant that by mile 3.5 my legs felt like lead. Even on the down hills there was nothing left in my tank to pick up pace.

I spent the next 2.5 miles chugging water, focusing on putting one leg in front of the other, and promising myself I wouldn’t walk. Around mile 4 my wrist accidentally reset my Garmin which was a blessing in disguise. Instead of panicking over my pace I did my best to find a pace I could maintain for the next couple of miles and continue breathing.

I have never been happier than when I saw the 800 meter mark.

I finished the race, exhausted and frustrated, in 1:01:36, a 1 minute PR but still not as fast a pace as I had hoped to keep. My goal for this race was a 9:45 and I kept a 9:56 instead. In fact, this isn’t a PR I really feel I deserve. Instead of starting out slow, around a 9:50, which had been my initial plan, I enjoyed the feeling of speed when I started and let this get the best of me. Instead of helping me, it kept me from achieving my goal of a 9:45 pace.

A 10K is a distance that is far too long to sprint. It is a difficult distance for someone who is accustomed to half marathon training but is just enjoying the first taste of speed. The only way I’ll be able to mix half marathon, marathon, and speed training together over the next few months is if I focus on negative splits.

So while I surprise medal was earned and a new PR is in the record books, my next goal, for all my races is going to be negative splits. Hopefully I can achieve this in two weeks during the NYRR 5 miler on June 25th!

Question: What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from a race?