I had only about 2.5 hours of sleep. I got there an hour early and was ready to go. We were delayed slightly. Since I didn't know the course, I wanted to get out in front of as many people as possible. I was hoping to run a sub 5 hour race, but I was unsure with the expected conditions.
The weather was what made things tough. It rained overnight and was supposed to rain, but not much during the race. I wore compression shorts and a short sleeve shirt. I was chilly, but comfortable at the start. The race director thought I was kind of crazy. Some woman was really bundled up.I started off near the front. I was probably about 10th or so. That was good positioning. It wasn't too big of a field. I ran a lot early. There were plenty of short hills early, but nothing too tough. First, we did a 10k loop. Then, we'd run two big loops to finish up.
This was a nice singletrack. However, too much of the course was almost the same for the first half or so of the race. That kind of bored me and the early miles seemed to go by slowly. It is definitely a nice trail system within New York City. It's just not wild, like some of the places I run. Of course, I knew that going into the race.
This first loop was very tough on me. Since I was trying to run the whole thing or most of it, I wore my hydration pack. I also packed my jacket in there, in case of rain. That was a mistake and my lower back was killing me early. Every hill was painful.
Thankfully, this loop was only 10K. I took out my jacket when we got back to the start. That gave me new life. My back felt a little better, for now.
I didn't enjoy running the same route again in the beginning of this loop. I was still running a lot, but slowing down. My first three miles were all under 9 minutes. These were now over 10 minutes each.
The miles just seemed to be going by so slowly. I had people running around me a lot of the time. Quite a few of them were passing me. I couldn't ever relax. It seemed like someone was always on my tail. There was a 25K and 10K, so some of those other runners might've mixed in.
There was one section that became quite muddy early on. All the traffic made things worse. There were a bunch of road crossings. It was nice to get to the first one and be on to a different section. This part was only slightly different.
I came through 8 miles, about the quarter way point, still on pace for a sub 5 hour finish. However, I was getting sore again. I couldn't believe how long I had to go just to get back to the start.
I didn't drink enough and wasn't eating much either. I certainly need to get better at that. It was hard with few chances to rest/recover. I let people pass me when they came up from behind.
There was a stretch that was pretty flat for some time. However, it was sloppy too. We then crossed another road and went around a golf course. This ended up being my least favorite section. It was a ridge that was muddy and went up a bit. I basically just hiked it, rather than trying to run there. I was so frustrated. I hit a low point and it was early.
Not long after the ridge, we came to a stone trail section. This was terrible. It was like a mile of rail trail, which I hate. That said, I am good on that terrain. I ran a decent mile here.
Next up was an aid station. I was bonking, so I grabbed some crackers. That helped, but only briefly. I had to hike a lot as I headed back to the start area. There was a lot of hilly terrain near that too. I tried to focus on getting back there, but it was hard.
I faced a tough decision too. My back was killing me. However, if I dropped my pack, I didn't have a handheld and would've had to run the final 12 miles without water. I went back and forth with that.
I passed some guy near the finish area in wild colors. He was doing the 10K, along with several slow women. It was hard to believe I was only at mile 19 at this point.
What made things very tough was that it began pouring rain. It was kind of good timing though, in that I could grab my jacket and put it on. I had nearly been cramping and was struggling, so I stayed at the aid station for awhile to refuel. It was kind of tough to go back out there for so long in a downpour.
I knew I had to just keep moving. I hit a high point, I'm sure thanks to refueling. The Coke I drank probably helped. I was able to run for a mile or two without hiking. I even ran some of the short uphills.
It didn't last. Soon, I was passed by two women. They weren't moving that fast, so I thought they might be in a shorter race. However, I'd come to find out that they weren't. Every now and then someone else would come passing me by.
The thing that was tough now was not only the rain, but the rain making it cold. I was starting to freeze. My nuts were chafing too and getting cold. I did have to put my hands down my pants to keep them warm every now and then when I wasn't near anyone.
I hit a low point for awhile, but then I got a boost when I passed this Asian guy. He was moving slowly and stretching often. I put some distance between us. However, that didn't last long.
I was getting really exhausted. In the stretch between miles 22-24, I was slowing considerably and hiking a lot. This is always a difficult stretch. You are so far along and so beat up, but still have so far to go to the finish. The 5 hour time goal was long gone and it was looking more like a sub 6 hour run was the new goal.
At least most of this trail was runnable. However, I was hiking a lot of that. Even the flat sections. The Asian guy caught back up to me and that was another low moment when he passed me.
Things would only get worse, as I hit ridge section past the golf course. I hiked it and bitched most of the way. I ran sporadically in this part.
At this point, I was actually looking forward to the flat, stone trail, even though I didn't like it. I knew at least I could run and it would be a decent mile or so. Once I got to that, I got a huge boost, as I saw the Asian guy and another guy up ahead. I think I had just taken in some calories too.
I was by no means flying, at least by my road standards. However, when compared to the rest of the people, who were often walking this part, I was cruising. I passed those guys pretty quickly. I put some huge distance between me and them.
I was now on a high. I saw another guy who had passed me earlier. I caught him on this part too. I was so pumped up by now. I was around mile 27 and moving.
Then, we got to the trail section. I was happy that the stone was over, but at the same time, sad because I thought my glory was over too. That wasn't the case at all though.
In fact, I passed another guy early on on the trail section. This part was mostly downhill, so I ran it. I moved as well as I had since the beginning of the race. I was booking it and just focusing on the upcoming mile.
At the last aid station, I caught up to the two women. They walked a little and I passed them by. We said encouraging stuff to each other. I was in a groove.
I wasn't sure how long this would last, but I was thrilled. I just decided to go with it as long as I could. I blew by another guy on the one downhill. Then, I began to slow when I hit some hills. Still, I put in probably around 3-4 really productive miles. I had come back from the dead.
After some more road crossings, it was back to the main area. This part was much more hilly and I had to hike. Once I had slowed down, I began to realize that I was close to cramping up. Since I was close to the finish, I kept running as much as I could, but slowly.
I passed one of the volunteers and thought I was near the finish. However, I kept forgetting parts and that was getting frustrating. Still, I pressed on.
At one point, I looked behind me and saw the two women. I thought I was a sitting duck, as they closed in. However, they must've hiked some of the hills because I seemed to pull away. I really didn't want to get re-passed so late in the race.
That factor was motivating me to the finish line. I kept looking for the steps section near the finish, but it seemed to never come. Finally, it arrived and there was still longer to go than I expected. I kept running now though, no matter how slow.
I saw one guy up ahead struggling to reach the finish. I could've caught him, but once he started willing himself to run, I let him go. It was weird because I think he might've only been done with one loop and was just going back out. If so, I don't know why he was pushing so much.
I finished a few minutes under 6 hours. It wasn't what I hoped for, but it was still about a 40 minute PR. I knew I'd PR today, unless it was just awful. In the end, I was thrilled, not with the race overall, but my awesome finish. I passed 7 runs in the last few miles. That is amazing. I was nearly crying at the finish and I was so fired up. I don't think I've ever run that well before, especially considering how down I was. I also battled through a lot of rain and mud. Who knows how well I could've run without that.
There was some good and some bad. I learned quite a few things. I need to run without a pack. I also need to eat and drink more, especially early. I need to run slower in the first 10 miles too. I'll go back to the drawing board and hopefully improve. I also found that I like more challenging courses much more than courses that are completely runnable like this one.
I will say it was a well run event. It was easy to follow the course, even though I got off track a few times. I just wasn't paying attention. We got a nice finisher's sweatshirt too. I like to do different races, so I'm not sure if I'll do this again any time soon. However, I would certainly recommend it.
Tomorrow, I'd definitely resting up. I was nearly cramping afterward, but feel pretty good now. I probably should've rested more before the race. My legs had felt it early in this race. Maybe I'll get back to running on Monday. It'll likely be more climbing.
31 miles - 5:48:42 (11:13 pace)
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