2011 Rock 'n' Roll New York 10k

Pushing myself at the end!

          To say that Saturday was an adventure is an understatement, but let's start at the beginning. Friday night I headed into the city to pick up my race packet. Unfortunately, the expo this time was not well organized, nor well prepared. I got my bib, but couldn't get a swag bag or t-shirt until after the race. I turned right around and got back on the train to hopefully meet M at home and carb load.
         We went to bed around 11pm and had a 4:45am wake up to make the train, however we missed the train. (That was my fault for not remembering the correct train time.) So, in order to make sure I got there for the start time, I would have to drive. In all my 23 years, I have never driven into Manhattan, nor do I plan on doing so. But, with the help of GPS, we made our way through Queens into Brooklyn, where the parking garages were full. We thought we were in an okay zone to park and were off to find a bathroom and the race start. (We came back to find a parking ticket on my pretty little car.)
        7am came and went. We should have been filed into our corrals by then, but nope. The disorganization continued. Finally, we were allowed in, and about 15 minutes after we were supposed to start, the gun went off.
         Luckily, based on my previous race time, I was in corral 2! So off I went. And I was doing pretty darn well. My first mile was 7:54, so I slowed down a bit. My second mile I hit 8:18, a little slower than I wanted, but I knew I could pick it up later. The third mile involved a very steep hill, so I ran at 8:28. Then, I pressed stop...on my watch. I didn't realize until about 3 minutes later, so I was off the rest of the race.
         The course was approximately two loops around the park. I kept trying to push through, but couldn't gauge when to pick up my pace. I wanted to walk at a couple points because my knee and hip started to hurt, but I didn't. I pushed myself, and I smiled a lot.

Almost to the finish and looking rough

         When I finally hit the 6 mile mark, I started to sprint, but it was too soon. And I almost puked. I slowed down to look for M. And I saw him!! This was the first time I passed by and made eye contact. I blew him a kiss and ran as fast as I could to the end. I watched the clock tick up to 53 minutes and pushed even harder. As soon as I crossed, I almost puked, but didn't. I stood up, grabbed water, and found M. 

           He gave me a kiss and helped me find the medical tent to get a little ice and Tylenol. I could tell he was tired and wasn't happy without his coffee.

Waiting in line for my t-shirt!

          Despite the ridiculous line for t-shirts and swag bags, he waited with me. (I paid enough money for this race, so I wanted my t-shirt.) I was also really excited because I knew I beat my last time already, I just wasn't sure if I had hit my goal. Per usual, M and I laughed our way through the line, and somehow managed to laugh on the 2 mile walk back to the car.

Under the sign on our long walk to the car

          After we got home, we napped and looked up my race time. Ready for it? 50:57! I PRed! My goal was to break 50 minutes, but I was super happy that I beat my previous time, by a significant amount.
          Would I run this race again? Maybe. Will I keep running 10ks? Yes! I'm already looking into one that's in November in my hometown. I mean, why not? As Christy said, it's too soon for my race season to be over this year.
         And thank you all to my fantastic blog friends for all the well wishes, good luck, and congratulations via Twitter, email, etc. I appreciate you all more than you know!