Holiday 4-Mile - 35:58 - Hooray!

This morning I participated in the NY Road Runners Holiday 4 Mile Race. So far the longest race I have done is a 5K (3.1 miles). I'm used to running this distance though, so I wasn't too worried about it. Last night I picked up my timing chip (attaches to your shoe), race number, and T-Shirt from the NY Road Runners office on 89th street.

The T-Shirt is actually kind of cute! There is a chance I might actually wear this one, unlike all the other race T-Shirts. I usually don't even take one, because I know I will never wear it. I live in NYC, and I don't have the space for things I don't want.

I got to the race a little later than I expected, so I didn't get a chance to meet my friend Elizabeth before the start. I was glad I found her a few minutes into the race so I could say hi. Her jacket is bright yellow, so that makes her easy to spot. My goal for this one was a time under 38:00. That means a pace of 9:30 miles. After the first mile, I was right on pace. I skipped the first water station. The race isn't that long, and too much water while running can make me nauseous. At mile 2, I was at 18:32 according to my watch. That is a little faster pace that I was going for, but I felt good so I stayed with it.

There were TONS of people in this race. Close to 5,000! All those people around really keeps you moving. The temperature was cold, but I was dressed well. I think I am really getting a hang of how to deal with cold weather running. I so far always end up taking off the gloves and unzipping my fleece or base layer. Today: all of the above. The sun makes a big difference, and a big chunk of this race was in the sun.

I tried to pick up the pace a little bit for the last half a mile. The second 2 miles took me a full minute less than the first 2. I'm glad I started off conservatively so that I could save a little energy for the end. My final time was 35:58! 2 minutes faster that my goal.

Distance: 4.0 Miles, 6.4 Kilometers
Date/Time: Dec. 15, 2007, 9:30 am
Location: Central Park, NYC
Weather: 29 deg., 36% humidity, wind 6 mph.

Overall Place: 2424 (out of 4951 participants)
Gender Place: 890 (out of 2606 women of all ages)
Age Place: 360 (out of 960 in my group of 20-29 year-olds)
Pace/Mile: 8:59



Now we are off to Atlantic City for Rick's mom's 77th birthday celebration...