Race Recap: M-M-Manhattan Hot Chocolate 10K

This morning I ran the NYC Runs M-M-Manhattan Hot Chocolate 10K in Riverside Park.  I am completely exhausted from this past week, so I was happy the race started at 10am.  It took me about an hour to get from Astoria all the way over to Riverside Park for the start.  There were a lot of people in the park for both the 5k and 10k races.  

pre-race warm-ups!

It was about 40 degrees with a little wind in NYC this morning, aka PERFECT race weather!     I was a little worried about "racing" this, because my hip and feet have been hurting lately.  Although for me racing is not that fast.  So I set out to just finish the race at a comfortable pace.  The race director called for everyone to head to the start line, and announced that the 5K would be one loop inside the park, and that the "crazy" 10K runners would be doing 2 loops on the "hilly course".  What? Who knew Riverside Park was hilly? Not this girl.  

Sparkly & Smiling before I learned about these hills...

The course was a mix of rolling hills with a few bigger inclines and some flat stretches.  Each loop had 2 significant hills and 1 smaller one.  I guess my strength training/spinning is working, because I was able to power up those hills no problem despite the fact that most of my training is on flat roadways.  Although both the 5K and 10K races were started at the same time, the runner packs quickly thinned out and at a few points I was running on my own.  The entire course was clearly marked with volunteers directing along the way.  Water was available after one loop for 10K runners and at the end for both races.

Like I always do, around mile 2 I picked out someone who was a good distance ahead of me and decided that I would beat them to the finish line.  I know that I'm only racing myself and my watch, but "fishing" definitely motivates me through every race I do.  And I guess it worked! Because despite those hills, I crushed my first 10K race time (58:25) with a finishing time of 56:30 (9:06 pace).  I actually didn't stop my watch right away, so the time might even be less! :)  If the bib-tags worked, when I receive the final results, I will of course update my official time.  

New 10K PR :) 

After chugging down 2 cups of water, I headed over to the hot chocolate table!  I'm a big fan of hot chocolate and I wouldn't complain if it was offered at every fall/winter race! :)

chocolately & delicious.

Overall, I was really impressed with this race!  Kudos to the folks at NYCRUNS.COM for putting hosting a great race.  It had the feel of a small-town race, which is a welcome change in the "big city", but it was still very well organized.  And only a $20 registration fee! Oh, and I forgot to mention the sweet souvenir mug.

tea in my new hot chocolate mug=happiness.

The remainder of the day will be spent doing errands and work for my internship so I can enjoy the big Giants Superbowl win tomorrow! GO GMEN! 

Happy PR to me and happy weekend to you all! :)