Half Marathon... done AND done.

4:45 AM- Wake up in my East Village Apartment.
4:50 AM- 1st cup of coffee (essential to any pre-race strategy)
4:55 AM- 2nd cup of coffee (in order to open my other eye)
5:00 AM- Gatorade and PB & Banana Sandwich
5:15 AM- Out the door in my sweet new glow-in-the dark TFK singlet. I look SO good in neon green!
5:16 AM- See people stumbling home from the night before... awesome.
5:19 AM- Huge rat crosses my path (I hope that's not a bad sign)
5:30 AM- Catch the Uptown 4 Train from Astor Place. I am joined one other runner and a few shady characters.
5:50 AM- Exit 4 train at 86th Street with a hoarde of other runners. I'm pretty The early morning ticket attendant had never seen so much action.

6:00 AM- Bag drop off. Really not exciting at all. I'm probably going into too much detail.
6:05 AM- Port-a-potty surprisingly clean. Really too much detail.
6:15 AM- Meet up with TFK at 102nd Street for our pre-half-marathon 3 miles. 'Cause we're just that good.
6:20 AM- 3 mile run which includes Harlem Hill twice, thanks so much to the coaches for picking that course. (Still dark out, by the way)
6:50 AM- Approach the back of the pack for the start of the race. (sun has risen)


7:00 AM- Start of the race.
7:08 AM- I cross the starting line.
7:08 AM-9:09 AM- I Run 13.1 miles.







Top 10 moments of the run:
10. Trying to keep our whole pace group together through water stations and while dodging other runners
9. POURING rain around mile 7, just as we're about to leave the park.
8. Approaching Harlem Hill just as we're about to start to our fast five minute interval, LOVE the timing.
7. Caramel flavored goo at mile 8... once it hits your lips... so good..
6. The guy walking his bicycle across the race course directly in front of us.
5. The delicious popsicle at the end of the race, whoever made that call, it was an excellent one.

4. The bands playing in the pouring rain all along the course.






3. The final stretch down the Westside Highway, my old stomping grounds.

2. Exiting the park, crossing over 59th street, and seeing the straight shot down 7th Avenue to Times Square filled with runners, all in the pouring rain.





And the #1 moment: the sprint to the finsh of 13.1 miles (in 2:01:07), plus 3, to make my longest run to date... a sweet 16, if you will. (Unfortunately there's no photo of me from the finish... apparently you have to WIN it for that to happen)