The Bronx Half Marathon

I just found this picture of the Bronx Half-Marathon on the New York Road Runners site. Perhaps they were trying to highlight the elite runners on the right, but I modified the picture to bring your attention back to where it should be!


I finished in 2:15:10. Not too shabby for my first half-marathon! I ran it pretty conservatively, because I'm still pushing through this calf strain. But I have to say, Advil is a wonderful thing. I would not have been happy without it.

Our coaches told us to treat this race as "just one more long-run, for you it is all about completing the distance and practice race day thingys, like pacing, patience, hydrating, running with a crowd, where to line up at the starting line, nutrition, behaving, etc..." We were supposed to treat the first mile as a warm up, and then break the other 12 miles into 3 4-mile runs. The first 4 miles should be most conservative, the second 4 miles at your comfortable pace, and the last 4 miles you should pick up the pace if you can. So that was our plan.

Getting there on the subway was a disaster. I left my apartment at about 6:20am, and I didn't get to the race until 7:50am! That is insane. It really should never take that long. I thought I would get there around 7:20! The train was running in 2 sections, so everyone had to get off at 125th Street and catch another train to the Bronx. Almost everybody waiting (forever...) on the subway platform was dressed in running clothes. It was a pretty funny sight to see. All the non-runners were staring. I did a little stretching waiting for the train, but it would have been nice to get in some more.

I called my friend Elizabeth just before I got there (when the subway was elevated above ground and I had a signal). It turns out she was running just as late as I was. We were both on the same train in different cars. We met as soon as we got off the train and hustled over to the start line. There was big line for the port-a-potties as usual. I thought about skipping it, but the race was too long to do that. As soon as we got our turn at the potties we headed to the bag check area, and heard the start horn. We weren't even at the start line when the race started!

We sprinted over to the start and began running right away. No stretch, no warm up, no nothing. It was not exactly a relaxing way to begin a race. I swear, sometime I will be early for a race if it kills me! At least your time is calculated by your shoe chip timer, and not the race clock.

About 2 miles into the race, I heard a woman in front of me say "Oh, oh no! Look out! Poor thing," just as I felt something squish under my foot. I was pretty sure I knew what it was, but I decided to just put it out of my mind. Many miles later when we passed by that same point I saw that it was a roadkill rat. Sorry fella. You were already squished, but I would have rather not have added to it.

Elizabeth has been having her own wacky leg issues while running recently, and they were acting up a lot during this race. Her foot gets a pins and needles sensation, and she can't feel it too well. She checked her shoes to make they weren't too tight, but that didn't help. For a while she was saying she was afraid she was going to have to stop or slow down, and I should just go on without her.

The Bronx is pretty hilly, so we had a lot of ups and downs in this race. My leg hurts me more going downhill, and Elizabeth's hurts more going uphill. We were laughing that one of us was always miserable on whatever kind of hill we were on. Both of us were saying that we actually felt great throughout the whole race if it weren't for our legs. Running this kind of distance doesn't exhaust me like it would have a few months ago.

At mile 6, it was time to eat. I tried the lemon-lime GU brand gel this time. I think the GUs are going to be my brand of choice. They are a little smaller than the Cliff Shots, so you can get your 100 calories in fast. I decided to just swallow them as fast as possible and not think about it. I grabbed a cup and just downed a water and GU in the same mouthful. Much better than letting it linger... We ate again around mile 11, and I tried the orange GU. Also, not too bad. The lemon-lime and orange flavors just taste like really thick gatorade.

Our coaches were out on the course cheering us on. We saw them a few times, and the encouragement really helps. You perk up and make sure you are running with proper form when you see them. The biggest challenge of the race was the wind. We were running up hills and into the wind for a lot of it. That is... not so fun. There were also a few times when I was being blown sideways. The weather forecast called for rain, but we lucked out and only got about 3 drops. In the last 3rd of the race the sun came out.

Around mile 8, Elizabeth's pins and needles sensation went away for good. It kept coming and going throughout the race before that, and she was getting pretty frustrated. Now we know she just needs an 8 mile warm up, and then she is fine - ha!

Rick came out to support me on this race. He said he was going to be on the course a little after mile 11, and that is exactly where he was. It's really nice seeing a familiar face. He looked like he was freezing out there! We weren't, but we were running... I saw him again at mile 12, and then I picked up the pace. I had some energy left, and I didn't want to leave it on the course. I loved that last mile. I passed so many people that had used up their energy earlier in the race. It's an exhilarating feeling. All the TNT coaches were lined up about 200 yards before the finish line, and I admit, I did some Hi-5's as I ran by. I also totally hammed it up running through the finish line with my arms in the air. They have a photographer there, so I have to look good and triumphant for the official pictures, right? I'll post those pictures in a week or so when they are ready.

Mile 1 - 10:14
Mile 2 - 10:40
Mile 3 - 10:35
Mile 4 - 10:31
Mile 5 - 10:33
Mile 6 - 10:54
Mile 7 - 11:47 (included a port-a-potty break)
Mile 8 - 10:09
Mile 9 - 10:29
Mile 10 &11 - 20:04
Mile 12 - 10:10
Mile 13 - 9:10

Here's Elizabeth and I around mile 11. We're smiling!


This is me at the beginning of mile 13 - picking up speed for the finish!


Here we are post race. Not feeling so much like Gumby today, which is pretty great. I must be getting used to this distance running.


Everybody was stretching on the subway platform while we waited for the train after the race.


Here's the crazy, hard to balance (but very effective when you get it right) stretch...


Here's the super-confusing course map:



Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: Feb. 10, 2008, 8:00 am
Location: Bronx, NYC
Weather: 41 deg., 67% hum.