Brooklyn Half recap: a PR (despite a pee stop!)

this morning, i woke up at 4:30am. (i also woke up about 5 other times between 9:30pm and 4:30am, so it wasn’t my best pre-race night sleep).

i had coffee, i wore a brand new running outfit, and i caught a 5:30am train to Brooklyn.

i ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon for the second year in a row, and PRd for the second year in a row. 🙂 needless to say, i’m a happy girl today. what can i say — Brooklyn seems to love me. i should probably pay it homage one day by naming a dog Brooklyn or something. yeahhh, maybe i’ll do that.

anyway — so, the best race ever. the weather was picture perfect (55-60 degrees and bright blue skies, entirely cloudless); the crowds were energetic and encouraging; the course was awesome (and mostly flat, save a few small inclines in Prospect Park). and the best part of was that it was the best i’ve ever felt during a race, physically and mentally.

don’t you just love it when everything seems to line up in your world, for a moment in time that you won’t soon forget? that’s how i felt today:

• picture-perfect day
• race i had a wonderful experience running last year
• strongest and overall best/happiest i’ve ever been running a race
• not a single second of pain or even mild discomfort

i honestly felt, from the very start to crossing the finish line on the famed boardwalk at Coney Island, that i was running the best race of my life to date. every.single.second.

there was only one minor blip in my race: i had to stop to pee for the first time ever in a race! so weird. that never happens to me, but i guess there’s a first time for everything.

and for that, i’m taking a minute off my time. 🙂

official time: 1:51
my unofficial bathroom-adjusted time: 1:50

who knows what factors line up for the perfect race. i didn’t train as much for this one, yet i felt great. maybe it was partly that, that my legs were better rested. i like to think that it was also the prayers and “good luck” night-before phone calls from my parents and Ry; the well-wishes from my wonderful girlfriends; the 6:30 am text message from a boy clear across the country on Pacific Coast Time (middle of the night for him!). maybe it was partly the new shorts; partly that i didn’t eat a thing before this race, so my stomach was nice and empty and didn’t bother me; partly that i had zero nerves; partly the beautiful weather.

or maybe it was all of these things, and God just lined it all up for me so that i’d have a rockin’ race.

whatever it was, i’m a happy girl today.

thanks to all of you for your well-wishes, too! appreciate you cheering me on and encouraging me, from wherever you are. 🙂 hope you’re enjoying your weekends!

Advertisement