NYC Half Marathon 8-16-09 At Least I Made It This Far.
The song by Eminem – Till I Collapse was going through my mind.
Sometimes you just feel tired.You feel weak. And when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up. But you gotta search within you,gotta find that inner strength and just pull that shit out of you, and get that motivation to not give up, and not be a quiter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.
Ok, it wasn’t quite that dramatic but I am a bit disappointed in myself. I did not quit but I did not reach my goal. It was not for lack of trying, but it was hot and I guess it just wasn’t my day.
I even tried for the first time Power Bar Gel Blasts. Even better then GU although GU is like eating chocolate pudding. :O)
My garmin really screwed up on the splits because it says I ran mile 9 in 7.14. Hmmm, maybe I did?
She is bobbin’ her head, but in a good way. Who gets bored watching running? Not me and apparently, not my mom. So when Paula Radcliffe won the NYC Marathon in 1.09.45, I was still running in Central Park. She was only 1 hour and 36 minutes ahead of me.
Photo courtesy of Cris. There are lots more awesome photos click to his blog.
Don’t get me wrong, I have zero regrets with the way I handled myself at the Half Marathon, In fact, quite the contrary. It would have been very easy to say FUCK THIS and walk out of the park into Starbucks and sip on an iced coffee, while watching the rest of the race go by!! But, not once did that cross my mind. All I thought about was getting through the park and out onto Times Square where there was a nice downhill and lots of shade. I was happy when we finally left Central Park and was able to run up 7th Ave Times Square. Lots of spectators and music to keep my mind distracted. Then I thought, if I can just get through mile without thinking about the next mile, everything would fall into place!
I am not one to write a mile by mile race report. Not my style and honestly I don’t remember each mile and how I felt. If I can sum up my feelings I would have to say I really thought I had a shot at sub 2.30 but it quickly became apparent, due to the heat, my goal wasn’t going to be met. So, then I switched my mind set to beating my Brooklyn Half Marathon time of 2.40.18. That too, kinda faded and as that reality hit me, so did my speed or what was left of it.
I trained for this race. I really do not think I could have done much more than I did. Admittedly, I truly believe if this race was run 2 months from now, I would be writing a very different race report. But, then again – who knows really.
I feel good. I am not injured except for a nagging and not new knee/thigh pain – left foot. Each and every race run is a learning experience. There were lots of folks walking and many had slower finishing times due to the heat. I was proud to be running with the best of the best. Running is the only sport where us amateurs can run with the elites. We get the same medals as they do!! SWEET!
All in all a great race that I would love to run again next year. Well organized and fun. But, no massages at the end and no dancing either.
13.1 miles 2.44.47 12.34 min/mile.
I 100% have the desire to get out there and run tomorrow. And, I will. I have lots of miles to cover and more memories to make.
Let’s all get out there and just have fun. Go for a nice walk or do some push ups. Whatever you love to do, just grab it and love it.
The man/woman who can drive himself/herself further once the effort gets painful is the man/woman who will win.
Sir Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Bannister, first man to break the four minute mile
I think it’s awesome that you finished! Way to go. I probably would have crawled under a tree and layed there until next Tuesday. So you fall under the ‘hero’ chapter in my book!
Way to go Michelle!!!
Like I said before, you did an AWESOME job, Michelle. Way to keep going!
GREAT JOB! You may not be happy with how you did, but you had the courage to start and thats most important! Way to go! 🙂 Keep makin the memories girl!!! 🙂
Michelle,
Congrats on finishing a brutally hot race! Your outlook is truly inspiring to me and it’s something that I aspire to often. You went out and did it! Even when goal times, PR’s and Starbuck’s passed, you kept going. It’s rarely about the destination, and even when it is, the journey is what changes your life. Congratulations, my friend! I hope to see you at the Queens half on 9/20! It’s only seven days after my Ironman so I may need some help!
BW
well done!!! hey, i had to walk off the course of a HM a year ago – crossing the finish line is SWEET!
I hope that you’ll be able to look back on this race as a character-building race. A friend of mine said that to me last year after my bad experience in heat at a half marathon and now, looking back, he was so true. Congrats on finishing and don’t beat yourself up too much. It’s a rare battle to actually beat the heat. If you’re up for it, find another half that’s soon and run it … or just keep up your training and do a full marathon this fall.
You got to run in the same race as Paula Radcliff and Ryan Hall – that’s not something that many of us can say. Pick an October Half-Marathon and I guarantee that the sub-2:30 will be yours – the heat wreaks havoc on distance running times. Way to stick it out!
I really do believe it’s how we handle ourselves in the races that are terrible — slow, painful and not even a little bit ego-boosting — that truly defines us. You have defined yourself as a runner who doesn’t give up, which is more important than any finishing time. For that, congratulations!
First off – GREAT shot of Paula!!
You did a great job on Sunday. Sometimes there are races where external factors (such as the crazy humidity we raced in this wknd), make PR’s and goal times out of the question, but that doesn’t negate your effort or change the fact that you still ran 13.1 miles. I’m glad that you’re still positive about the experience and had a good time – be proud of yourself for not stopping at that Starbucks or just chilling in the shade of some tree in Central Park 🙂
it’s not easy to finish a brutal race like that. glad you stuck it out!
Awesome race!! It was amazon hot and the lack of water in the park was a bit of a pain! You did really well, a sub 2:30 is so in your future!! Are you running Queens?
You did it girl, that’s all that matters. Your 13.1 miles was the same distance all the elites ran! Congrats on another HM!
Well done! Never let the time on the clock take away from the distance traveled. The thought of running through the park and on the streets of NYC without fear of being run over is worth so much more than a PR. Also – REMEMBER that it was not too long ago that you questioned if you would ever run again.
I look at it this way, Paula screwed up. She only got to enjoy the course for and hour (or so).
Congrats!
Ron
Good job Michelle for earning another bling!
GREAT JOB! Sometimes sticking it out is even better than hitting a good time. I agree with Peter. Paula Radcliffe ran the exact same race you did – no more.
Keep chugging away – you’re doing great!!!
I love it. If it was all about the time and our schwag, we would get bored rather quickly. Well done!!!
nice wrap up michelle. i like that you are staying positive, true to form! 🙂 i can only imagine trying to race in the heat and humidity and i know i am proud of you for gutting it out.
Nice job getting through it in that heat!! Congrats!! Now rest up before hitting it TOO hard again!! 😉
Great job!!! And congrats on making it through the heat and humidity!