Great day to be running a half marathon in Brooklyn. Loved the weather conditions in Prospect Park. Anh and I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich for breakfast which she prepared. Thanks baby! All our gear prep was done the night before. My hydration fluids were accelerade and water. Shoes – Nike Lunaracer+ which I bought specifically for Brooklyn. In training they worked and felt perfect. I took 2 gels which I didn’t use today. I have been using accelerade for the past month and haven’t felt the need to use my gels on runs. We left home to catch the N train at 4:30am. Transferred to the Q at 57th to Prospect Park at about 5:20am.
Arriving at a race early is priceless. There weren’t any lines at the potties. We took advantage. Twice :-).
We were seeded in the 3rd corral “yellow”. Runners were excited. I have been looking forward to Brooklyn for a few months now.
Borough President, Marty Makowitz, wished all of us good luck. Anthem. Then the sound of the horn started us off. NYRR delivered a very organized race today. Plenty of water and Gatorade this time around. Volunteers thumbs up as always.
My training coming in was superb. I stuck to a plan of quality not quantity mentality. Track, hill repeats, tempo and the weekend “long run”. It all paid off and I began ripping the benefits early on in the race (maybe too early at mile 3 I was flying at 7:29 pace per mile). Just had to slow down at that point. Crash and burn was not an option today.
My two rounds of Prospect Park felt like a breeze. It was all smooth sailing through the hills, flats and downhills.
On our exit to Ocean Parkway I felt fresh and knew I could keep a sub 8:00 minute pace to the finish.
As Anh says running down Ocean Parkway can be mental. At times it pretty much felt like a treadmill run. So I just focused on my rhythm and pacing.
Last 3 miles I stepped up on the acceleration a bit and got extra motivation with my passing of other runners. The cheering in Prospect Park was incredible.
Approaching the broadwalk at Coney Island only drew me into overdrive. I manuvered on the broadwalk in a trampoline fashion to finish off strong with a very satisfying PR. Great day of racing. Until next year.
P.S. I love my Fuel Belt!!!!!!
My official time: 1:42:20 (PR by about 9 minutes from last year)
Anh 1:43:02 (fantastic job babe!)
Brooklyn Half Marathon Map
Brooklyn Half Marathon Elevation
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