Last Saturday I completed qualifier 2 of 9 for guaranteed entry into the 2015 NYC Marathon. It’s always great when you can do a race that benefits a cause and this one was for Autism. While I trucked along at my leisurely pace, it was great to see so many children persevering and getting their 4 miles done; many of whom zoomed by me along the way! It goes to show you that if you put your heart and soul into something, anything is possible. It was truly an inspiration to see.
This was my first 4 miler in a very long time, and while it wasn’t necessarily hard, it wasn’t a walk in the park either (no pun intended).
The race started around 68th and 5th avenue on the east side. If you are a New Yorker, then you know parking in the city is hell especially on Saturday. There is virtually no street parking on Saturday, and parking in a garage can start at $30 and this is basically the only option available. I use the site http://nyc.bestparking.com/ to find reasonable priced parking anytime I drive into the city and it never lets me down. I was fortunate enough to find a garage that cost only $13. The only downside is it was on 67th between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, so I had about a half a mile walk to get to the race start….we’ll just call that my warm up! Oh check out my new hair do! I’ll be rocking my natural hair for a bit…..we’ll see how this goes!
Anywho, I started off the race at a ok pace for me at 12:30 a mile. Of course it’s way slower than my pre-baby mile pace, but it is good for now. As each mile progressed I could feel how out of shape I was, and in turn the miles got longer and longer. Mile 2 was a 13:17 pace, mile 3 13:45, and mile 4 14.21. Needless to say I need to get my but back out there and clock some mileage! The race finished at about 68th and West Drive which is a doosey because I parked way on the east side, so I had to walk through the park and back to my car. That added another mile to my daily take, so all in all I’d say I did between 5.5-6 miles that day.
I purchased some new wheels with the help of Corey at Brands Cycle & Fitness and was able to take her for a spin. Say hello to my new Specialized Allez….I think she is gorgeous!! I got in a 10 mile bike ride on Sunday and it felt great! Gonna slowly add more mileage weekly as I prepare for my first Duathalon in October.
…Next race coming soon!
