Queens Half Marathon Race Report (7-30-2011)

It’s been a year since I ran my worst half marathon at a very personal and embarrassing 1:53.

Today was redemption!

Conditions could not have been more ideal to set a PR:
- THE THUNDERSTORM had cooled the air
- The course omitted College Point Blvd!
- And it wasn’t ridiculously HOT! (Like Chicago)

The Whippets gathered into the corrals together and the start of the race led us towards and around the unisphere. As we funneled through the first mile, I couldn’t help but feel really relaxed! Maybe it was the company of Mwangi by my side, as he helped pace me for the next 13 miles!!! And who am I to turn down a friendly challenge from Rob? I loved the chase!!


Without having to navigate through the potholes or inhale the poisonous exhaust of the factories along College Point Blvd., I super stoked to run this half! The first 6 to 7 miles took us around the muddy lake, followed by an out-and-back to City Field. The rest of the race was pretty much a repeat of the lake and a few twists and turns throughout the park. There was no serious elevation since my Garmin only detected a total of 40 feet of elevation!

The most difficult areas of the course were during miles 11 & 12. Thank goodness I had a fellow Whippet by my side to help me really DIG DEEP!!

And so, my PR streak this year continues at 1:27:44 (breaking 1:29:28 at the Brooklyn Half)

Consider this race report completed.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO CAME TO CHEER!
&
CONGRATS TO THE FINISHERS!

ON TO THE NEXT ONE!

P.S. – Triathlon training only allowed me to run about 12-20 miles a week for the past 2 months. Viva track workouts!

NYRR Sprint Triathlon Race Report (July 23, 2011) : The Beginning

First of all, thanks to all those who woke up before dawn and cheered me on during the race.
Second, special thanks to emotionphoto for amazing race day pictures! You can find more of his work here!

The past couple of days prior to the race were plagued with record breaking temperatures - NYRR sent out numerous emails and warnings about training/racing in the heat. But on early Saturday morning, the heat and humidity that our trusty weathermen had earlier promised was not there!!

All the triathletes got their bodies marked when entering the transition area. I bumped into Keri just before entering. I set up my little area and hung out for a bit.

At 6:45am, all the athletes were briefed by the regular NYRR crew.
Since the swim was an 8 lap zig-zag of 50 meters, all of the swimmers self seeded themselves from fastest to slowest.
The swim part of the race was tough. I no longer had the luxury of pushing off the wall every 25 meters. Fanny (our ex-Whippet) started her swim right behind me and passed me after 150meters! Woah!

After the 400 meter swim, I managed to jog down the steps (without whipping out) that led back into the transition area. I clocked in at just over 9 minutes. The transition took me a while...a whole 3 minutes (I need to work on this for the next Tri).

The bike course was simple; two circuits of the outer loop inside the park. This was my best opportunity to pass other cyclists. And after 36 or 37 minutes, the 13 mile bike course was completed.

Transition 2 was much simpler than Transition 1. I placed the bike on the rack, took off my helmet and bike shoes, slipped into the racers and ran out as fast as I could. This was the part of the race that really hit me. I could feel the pain rip through the upper parts of my leg - the pain went away after three quarters of a mile.

About 2.5 miles into the run, 3 others and I made a wrong turn on the run course. Instead of making a right, we all went straight (with no sign of volunteers). Once I had realized the situation, I immediately pulled a sharp right turn. This is where the race resembled cross country as I ran through dirt, grass and gravel to get back onto the course. I had wasted about 1-2 minutes, but hey, it could've been worse.

The rest of the run was simple; run around the unisphere and finish at the fountain. I gave all that I had left in the tank and finished!

Here's a snapshot of my results! (is it blurry?)

And of course,

DASHING WHIPPETS!!!

Official Results:
Overall Place - 28
Race Number - 5
Swim - 9:03 (91st)
T1 - 3:01 (198th)
Bike - 36:57 (14th!)
T2 - 1:48 (146th)
Run - 20:50 (28th)

Total Time - 1:11:38