NYRR Joe Kleinerman 10k 2012

Hey, remember that time I ran a 10k last Saturday and didn't tell you guys? Oh yeah, I ran it. I guess I didn't share with you all that I was going to run because 1. I'm in terrible running shape; and 2. I wasn't running this race to race. Anyways, here's a little recap of an early Saturday run with one of my favorite spectators in the crowd: my dad.
          We got up early and took a 5AM train into Manhattan before hopping on the Subway to pick up my race number. It was unseasonably warm, so we walked from NYRR to the Central Park start. Unfortunately, I have no pictures for this recap because none of the Brightroom photographers got any of me. Yes, I'm bummed about this. I purposely didn't take off my second layer despite sweating profusely because I wanted some photos... Oh well!
           We started on time and off we went. I started running at a pace that felt comfortable to me, and shockingly, my first mile was a little over 8:30. What? How was I running this fast? The most I've ran is 4 miles since Thanksgiving day. I let go of the questioning and kept chugging along. The next mile bumped up to 8:46 then down to 8:30 again. But when mile 4 hit, I slowed way down. There was a hill that felt never ending, and all I kept thinking was "don't walk! don't walk!"
            We passed mile five and I picked up the pace again a little bit. I was so excited when I saw mile 6 that I thought maybe I'll sprint, but as I continued on, I couldn't see the finish! We finally turned the corner, and I finished strong. I felt great!
             Even though this was my slowest time yet, I am really proud of myself. Normally, my paces jump around a lot! So to run more consistently (minus the mile 4 blip) was a huge accomplishment for me. Overall, I'm glad I did the race, and that checks off race one of nine for the year.