My weekend started off pretty low key with Nick out of town for a bachelor party. On Friday, I got someone to cover my night spin class so I would feel fresh on Saturday for my race, I continued to load up on carbs, but not as much as I would normally have done last year. I did this only because when I would carb load last year, I was left feeling extremely uncomfortable at the end of the night and my sleep usually suffered due to me waking up with stomach cramps and bloating. So I did my own modified version of carb loading. Then I got into bed with a movie around 8pm. I figured that would give me enough time to think through the race and then be passed out by 9. And it worked!
At 6am my alarm went off. I didn't have to leave the apartment until around 7:30, but since I wasn't allowed to have any coffee, due to the intestinal explosion it could have caused, I had to get up and get functional sans my lover, cafe con leche. At 6:45, I pounded my protein shake, 2.5 cups of apple sauce and a banana and got my bag together. Well I am not sure if it was due to the fact that I didn't eat as many carbs the day before but "super breakfast" didn't have its "usual" effect. Now for those of you out there that have eaten this type of breakfast you know what I am talking about, and those who have not, try it some time, then get back to me.
So with no reaction to breakfast I got in the car and headed to Queens. Now I have run in Queens before, but I wasn't the one driving. By the time I got there on Saturday I felt like I deserved to get my passport stamped. I parked right near Citi Field (the new Shea Stadium), and headed to the race start to meet my friend. By the time I got there I thought my bladder was going to explode and lucky the first thing I saw was my old friend port-o-john. So I camped out near there, going to the bathroom about every 10 minutes (the breakfast had kicked in by then, better late than never) and then headed to the bag drop.
The race seemed very well organized up until this point. We got to the bag drop 15 min before the start and there was a HUGE line. Thankfully my friend dropped my bag while I made my last pit stop and then it was off to the starting line. At that point I realized I did not know the course at all. I hadn't studied a map, and I definitely didn't know the area. I decided to use that to my advantage. The gun went off and here we go.
I wanted to try to stay as close to what Coach P had asked (8:35-8:38)as possible in the beginning but I just felt good. So I made it my goal to never go over what he asked. I also told myself that I would not let this be an "I told you so!" moment where I push myself too hard in the beginning and I can't finish where I need to be. So here is how it went:
Lap 1 8:18
Lap 2: 8:22
Lap 3 8:25
Lap 4 8:22
Lap 5 8:18
Lap 6 8:33
Lap 7 8:22
Lap 8 8:36
Lap 9 8:28
Lap 10 8:30
Lap 11 8:31
Lap 12 8:24
Lap 13 8:01
I came in at 1:50:32 (would have been below that by about 30 seconds but there was a sharp turn about .3 from the finish), that is a 6 minute PR for me. 6 whole minutes!!!! And honestly I never felt bad during the race. I actually felt like maybe next time I can go a little faster. And maybe I can, or maybe I can't, but Saturday was my day. Now let's hope I can have those kinds of Saturdays from here on out!
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