Race Recap: NYRR Staten Island Half Marathon

Staten Island, Sunday October 7th, 2012 at 8:30am.  50 degrees, overcast and breezy.  This was the scene at the NYRR Staten Island Half-Marathon this weekend. 

 This race was scheduled to be my second half marathon and my training was pretty solid up until 2-3 weeks ago.  I've since been battling some quad/hip pain (Don't worry, I have an MD appointment scheduled), so I wasn't sure how or if I was going to be able to run this Sunday. I ultimately decided to give it a shot.  After all, I had paid for this race and more importantly, Dad was coming down to run too! 

On Saturday, after Dad and I went out for a pre-race dinner, I got my gear together for race day: C9 by Champion running shorts, Nike Dri-fit top, Asics, RRS Dryroad socks, Sparkly Soul headband, SpiBelt, Blueberry Pomegranate Gu Chomps and Jet Blackberry Gu.

We arrived to the Island of Staten around 7:30am and quickly found parking.  Race Central was right next to Richmond County Bank Ballpark (home of the SI Yankees) with amazing views of lower Manhattan and an incredible September 11th Memorial.

There was a ridiculous line for the porta-pottys right before the start, so we didn't have much any time to warm up.  NYRR had their usual color-coded corrals and we lined up to wait for the start.  While listening to race announcements and the National Anthem, we snapped a few pre-race photos.

One of the best parts of the race came right as the starting gun went off...A FDNY Marine Unit in the harbor put on an awesome show for us:

The course was an out-and-back with a few hills and one long hill around mile 8-9.  Most of the course was along the waterfront, with awesome views like the one below of the Verrazano Bridge.  

I started this race with no expectations of pace or time, especially because I didn't want to worsen my injury.  Since I mentally break the half-marathon distance into two 5-milers and a 5k, I told myself I would get to the 5-mile marker and assess how I felt.  Although the out-and-back course wouldn't have made it easy for me to stop and turn around if my leg acted up, that was my plan.

The race started out fabulously.  Miles 1-4 absolutely flew by.  I was loving the cool weather, I wasn't paying any attention to my splits and my body felt happy to be running.  My quad pain was noticeable but I didn't feel hindered by it.  As I came across Mile Marker 5, I took some Gu Chomps and decided I would push through.  A few minutes later, I started seeing the race leaders speeding by me.  I was expecting the turnaround to be around the 10K marker, but it ended up being further along around 7.5 miles.  Mile 6 through the turnaround flew by as I was so distracted by all the runners on their way back to the finish.  It was super motivating and I picked up my pace, realizing I had some potential to PR.

Mile 8-8.5ish was the one serious hill of the course, but I had gone down it during the first half so I was mentally prepared to go back up it.  My only complaint with this race comes in here.  There was a water station placed right BEFORE the peak of this hill.  Maybe it's just me, but I like to power through all the way to the top of the hill! 

At Mile 9, I could definitely feel the impact of my sub-par training over the last 2 weeks.  My feet were tired and my lower back started hurting.  The next two miles were mentally challenging, but I was motivated by the fact that I was still on target to PR.  

Mile 12 was a slight uphill back toward St. George terminal and the finish line.  This was tough because I hadn't realized it was a downhill during the first half and I wasn't ready for it.  I was so close to the finish but this mile seemed to go on forever.  There were tons of spectators at this point and they were great! Cowbells, funny signs, high-fives, motivational cheers...I love it all.  And then finally there was a right turn back down to the waterfront and a quick sprint to the finish line.  

Smiling at the finish! 

Apparently in previous years, the course had one of those finishes where you can see the finish line but have to do a wrap-around or little loop to finish off the 13.1.  No one likes that.  So this year the course was modified in response to runner feedback and I have to say, this finish was awesome!  I flew down that last hill and finished super strong.  My official time was 2:10:46.  That's a 4 minute 6 second PR! With an injured leg. Boom.  

And Dad? 2:01:21, which would have been sub-2 hours if he didn't have to make a pit stop! As usual, I'm in awe of this guy...

I guess getting older=getting faster?! Maybe one of these days I'll be able to keep up with him (and maybe beat him??).

It almost doesn't need to be said that NYRR put together fantastic races.  They're always very well organized with plenty of water, post-race refreshments, volunteers, etc. and Staten Island was no different.    

All in all, a great day, a great race and a shiny new PR.  Next up...a visit to the MD to figure out what's going on with my leg.  Hopefully followed by the Disney World Half Marathon in January! :)

Thankful Thursday: Birthday Boy, Baseball & Burgers!

Ahh! I almost forgot it was Thursday!!! Time to get thankful! 

This week I'm thankful...

...for my baby boy (who turned 6 years old today!)

...that Rocky's Halloween costume is on it's way! He's been a pirate, rock star, cow...what will he be this year?

...that the Yankees pulled through to win the AL East. Boom.  Gotta love October baseball!

...that I'm running the Staten Island Half this weekend.  I have some kind of quad/hip injury, so this race will not be pretty...but I'm doing it.  I'm not going to bother setting a goal time because I don't want to push this injury and make things worse.  I'm going to just try my best to enjoy this run and cheer on my speedy dad! :) [Anyone else running SI this Sunday??]

...for a spontaneous roomie date tonight.  We had some beers & burgers at Bareburger (portabella mushroom burger for me...) followed by manicures! (I tried to take a pic of my fab manicure for you, but turns out I'm not much of a hand model.)

As usual, I have a lot to be thankful for this week...how about YOU?!

September Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

So this month I participated in a fantastic program hosted by Linsday (a soon-to-be RD!) over at The Lean Green Bean.  She created Foodie Pen Pals, which allows people from all over to get a taste of new, interesting, sometimes healthy, sometimes indulgent foods! This was my first time participating and I can't believe I haven't signed up before!  It's an awesome way to try new products, share recipes and get inspired in your own kitchen.

Here's what the program is all about...

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 

-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

To get more info on Foodie Pen Pals or to join for October, visit The Lean Green Bean or click the icon below. 

So...since this was my first time participating in FPP, who better to get matched up with than the mastermind herself? A big thank you to Lindsay for sending me a fabulous package!!!

Inside the package, Lindsay included her super cute business card and a letter explaining the contents of the box.  She also included a Cooking Light magazine, which I think is a really smart foodie-friendly way to recycle! :)  In terms of preferences, I told Lindsay that I love both sweet & spicy things...and that's exactly what I got! 

First up: Lindsay included a sampling of her own vegan cookies! Of course I snacked on one of those as soon as I opened my package. As much as I love to bake, I've never tried a vegan recipe and after trying these I think I'll have to give it a shot!

A few items I really want to highlight...

Key Lime Avocado Salsa. I love avocados, so I was very excited to give this a try! The key lime flavor is really strong and I kept saying I felt like I was drinking a margarita! Unfortunately the avocado flavor didn't come through for me.  I also wish it had been a little chunkier like traditional salsa.  It's pretty thin but I bet it will be great to use on enchiladas or tacos!

Raspberry Habanero Preserves. Wow.  As I said, I'm a big fan of both sweet & hot and this stuff is just that.  The sweetness of the raspberry is immediate and the habanero gives a lasting spicy kick.  I put this on a piece of whole wheat toast and it was definitely a wake-up call to my tastebuds!

TJ's Almond Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds!  One of my favorite things to do at breakfast is to mix a 1-2 Tbsp nut butter and 2 Tbsp of Roasted Flaxseeds into my oatmeal, so this product is perfect for that! :)  Unfortunately, this is one of many products on the FDA Recall List...but once I know it's Salmonella-free, I'll be snatching this up from Trader Joe's!

Also in my package: Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (yum!), Sweet & Spicy Pecans, Red Lentils, and TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute, and Chia Seeds.

Thanks again, Lindsay! :)

I'm really looking forward to using all of this stuff in all sorts of ways over the next month! Now it's time for you to head over to The Lean Green Bean to check out what other Foodie Pen Pals got this month and to sign yourself up!