Brooklyn Half 2015

It's been a few days since the Brooklyn half, and I still have my runner's high! It was such a fun day to spend with my team!

The fun started Thursday when I went to the Brooklyn Half pre-party to pick up my race bib! I got to see my friends volunteering and ran into a few friends also getting bibs that day! Seeing them always makes the next few days before the race exciting! I went with my fiancé and we enjoyed a couple of beers, some tacos from the food trucks, and of course the beautiful view of the city from the Brooklyn Bridge!

Race day comes so quick for Brooklyn, since it's on a Saturday morning! On Friday I had gone to get my bib for the stair climb, and then had tickets to the Mets game at night, so there was hardly any rest for me leading to race day! I was pretty nervous too actually, because I knew I'd be pacing Amy, and I didn't want to fail her!

Before I knew it, it was 3:45am and I was awake and getting ready to head to Brooklyn! It's a long commute and I did not want to take my chances, so I made sure to head there early enough to give myself time to find Amy, use the porta potty, and take pictures of course! :) 

My stomach was giving me issues since I had woke up but I just told myself it was just pre race jitters! The weather was ok at the start, it was cloudy with a chance of rain but the air felt good with a promising run ahead of us! 

There were 5 of us running together at the start! Amy, Cari, Helena, Melissa, and I all started out strong with the crowd! We had planned on running with Heather but with 26,000 runners we never caught up to her, but she had had a great run with her husband! It was super crowded at the beginning but we had a good pace going and we were all smiles! Along the way Melissa paced ahead of us, and then it was us 4 til the end! We were running ahead of pace I was feeling great about it, and then....it rained! It started off slow, but then the sky opened up and it was a crazy downpour!! I love running in the rain when I am prepared to do so, but on Saturday I was in a tank and capris, with no hat to keep the water out of my face, and at times I felt like I was drowning lol! I mean really trying to run, and breathe, and see in crazy rain is hard to do! It slowed us down a bit, but we were still having a blast, and by the time we exited Prospect Park it was finally over!

I was so ready for Ocean Parkway, because it's flat and downhill to Coney Island!! It was so much fun, we were laughing, taking pictures, and our pace was ok till about 10 miles in, then exhaustion started to hit us but we were still all up beat and having a great run! Along the way we made friends with Team RWB, they were so bad ass, doing push ups, burpees, or mountain climbers at every mile marker! I was feeling super proud of my girl Amy because she just kept pushing along with us, and I never heard a complaint from her, she was so awesome! Cari and I kept ahead of Helena and Amy, so they could chase us down, and keep up the pace and it was working! Cari and I had a ton of girl talk along the way, and it was even fun for a few minutes when one of the fellas from Team RWB got a little flirty with me! I was flattered and he was sweet and harmless and gave all of us a good laugh!

Before we knew it we were at mile 12!! I could smell the beach! I love that smell so much, you have no idea! At that point we knew we missed our goal of under 3 hours, but with the rain, came the heat & humidity, and really we still did a pretty amazing job! Our next goal was to beat Amy's PR, and we were so close! That last mile I just kept pushing and I was annoying with my "let's go!"'s and " we got this!" I also almost made Amy cry when I mentioned her BFF sole sista Michelle! She was waiting for us handing out medals at the finish! The last mile was a breeze I was so happy to see our friends cheering on the sidelines, and next thing you know we were passing the infamous Cyclone roller coaster, and feet from the finish!

The beach was there, and all of us were cheering Amy on! When we crossed the finish I was so proud of her I wanted to cry! And then she saw Michelle and they hugged and cried for all of us! While we missed Amy's PR by a few seconds, she did PR the course! We also hope to beat her goal in October at the RnR Brooklyn Half! After the run we went for some grub, and feasted on beer and sliders!

The best part of this years Brooklyn Half was that I was able to run with my friends! It was so much fun, I love when I run with them, it made those 13 miles feel like we breezed right through them! I don't know if I'll do this race again next year, but I'm definetly looking forward to more runs with my running family! 

Race Week!

It's race week! I'm actually nervous too, it's a double header weekend for me! The Brooklyn Half will be first up on Saturday morning, and then on Sunday morning the Tunnels 2 Towers Stair Climb!! My legs will be dead by Sunday afternoon!

It will be my 13th half marathon Saturday! And yes I still get nervous before each one! I always know I can finish, but I always get nervous of what could go wrong along the way. My main fear is usually my plantar fasciitis  pain, in the past I could run through it, but after marathon training, the pain has gotten more intense. I do my best to stretch, ice, and roll it, but some runs are totally fine, and then there are others where it rears its ugly  head, and leaves me feeling weak and challenged. As of late its been ok, I did run 11 miles two weeks ago, and managed to survive so I'm hopeful it will be ok in Brooklyn! I'm also pacing with my friends for this half, with the goal of finishing in under 3 hours, so that Amy (@theawesomemom on IG) will get her PR. Finishing in under 3 is easy for me, but I'm nervous because I hope and pray I can help Amy get that PR, I don't want to let her down, so I hope everything is on our side race morning, and that we can push to the finish she deserves!

Now the stair climb Sunday isn't my first, but it will be the most steps I've taken on, and the first time I'll be doing an event like this the day after a half marathon! I honestly did not realize that both events were in the same weekend til after I was registered! So I know usually how sore my body is the day after a half, and that stairs are the most difficult to maneuver the days after! 1,970 steps and 90 floors is definitely going to be a challenge come Sunday morning! But all I'm telling myself is that the finish time doesn't matter its the finish line that's the main goal and priority! Plus I raised money for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which will use the funds towards improved homes for disabled vets and first responder families, so when my legs feel like giving up, I have to tell myself that I can do it!

I always try to prep right before race week, with tapering, and carb loading, but as usual that never happens! This week is so jammed packed for me I'll be lucky if I get enough sleep by Saturday night! So with 3 days away, my goals are to carb up at dinner today and tomorrow, get as much water in as I can, and sleep when I can!!

Tomorrow I will be heading to the Brooklyn Half pre party, by New Balance, so I will try to post before Saturday about it! I hope I get to see my running family, and take some fun pictures by the Brooklyn Bridge! I was supposed to volunteer too tomorrow at the pre party, but unexpectedly some work stuff came up so I can't do it, maybe next year! And on Friday I'll be getting my bib for the stair climb too! Lots of exciting stuff this weekend, so look out for some posts early next week about them!! Til then..xoxo!!