Run for the Parks 4M

I have two words PERSONAL BEST. 10:24! The last time I was near this was for a 5K, my last 4M race I got 11:02. Next goal is to crack 10!

Waking up this morning I knew it was going to be a good day. I got to bed around 1am and yes, like my last few races, I had a couple beers last night. It was a friend’s birthday and all of my good intentions to drink soda water faded when I realized a can of beer came with a kozzie. Don’t tempt me with free things because I will give in quite quickly.

I did, however, get up at 6am for the 8am race, had a cup of black coffee, two glasses of water as well as half a banana. For future races this worked great today. It was seriously cold when I took out the puppy but there was a feeling in the air that it was going to warm up quickly. Ladies and gentlemen it finally is SPRING!

This race was for the Parks Foundation so there was a band and some free samples at a little fair in the park. I had jogged to the start since I have been told this is key to get your speed up on short runs. I had Clive’s race number which I always pick up for him and waited for him at the “super awesome runner” corral (the 1-1,999).

Clive evidently had train problems because at 7:55, no Clive. Nervous and facing a long trek back to my corral I see Clive finally run up. Number passed I jumped into a corral I had no business being in.

At the start of the race I feel really good and heading into the hill on the east side I feel really solid. I kept my pace which really is a first for me with these hills. I’ve been working on hill training doing sprints on the treadmill and I could really feel like my hard work was paying off.

Hitting the straight I glanced at the runners around me and realized how cool these races are. It is amazing people watching to see every size, shape and color just running away early on a Sunday morning. Today the race wasn’t capped so there were 5,379 finishers! It is amazing to see t-shirts and racing shirts showing marathons, 5k’s, ect… that everyone has set out to to and conquered.

At the 102 Transverse I knew I was having a good race. Usually going over on the West Side I slow down a bit going up the incline but thankfully I had some oomph to keep going. Hitting the downhill on the West Side was the best feeling today. At this point it was a sunny bright day and so many people were in the park cheering us on. I want to personally thank the Jackrabbit Running Store person with the bell who mentioned to me I had a 1/4 mile to go.

I sprinted that last 1/4 mile. LOVED also that the finish line was on a left hand turn so you were going downhill. Downhill finish lines are seriously the best. There is nothing more painful than sprinting uphill to finish a race.

So I’m still slow in the grand scheme of NYRR but for Tiffany today I was a SPEED RACER! Even after a night of celebrating Amy’s birthday I was able to get up, run, then rehash and have a coffee with Clive. Perfect start to a great day!

Next Race: Seventh Annual Run as One (4M)

Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: April 5, 2009, 8:00 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: (not supplied but about 45 degrees)