Boogie Down Half Marathon
On Sunday, August 15th, I ran the fourth half marathon in the New York Road Runner's 5-Borough Half Marathon Series, this time up in the Boogie Down Bronx. I have never really walked around in The Bronx, so I was looking forward to touring a bit of the borough. Wake-up call was at 5:20am, about 40 minutes later than most other of the past outer-borough races since it was just a short hop north on the 4/5/6 line. I munched on my bagel on the crowded train uptown, and felt ready for the 13.1 miles ahead of me.
I spotted a few fellow Vibram Five Fingers wearers as I walked to my corral, but didn't talk to anybody for the 20 minutes before the 7am start. However, there was a woman named Elizabeth who said a quick hello to the one and only Barefoot Benny right after we crossed the starting line, so that was pretty cool. Within the first mile, I was passed by a speedy barefoot runner who looked like he was moving slowly but was actually cruising at a 7 minute mile pace. My plan was to catch up with him and say hi, but he got way too far ahead too quickly.
The course started weaving through a bunch of side streets with parked cars on both sides, and then opened up in a 3-lane road for a bit. There was a turn around only a few miles in, so I got a glimpse of the leaders flying down the course. Those guys friggin' run so fast it's unreal! I don't even think I could sprint and keep up with them!
I felt great for the first few miles, but was worried about hitting a wall at mile 6, much like I did at last month's Queens Half Marathon. The weather today was only 70 degrees and cool, opposed to 90 degrees and humid for the Queens, so that was working to my advantage. Surprisingly, I felt great after mile 6, and before I knew it, I was nearly at mile 9! I like when 3 miles go by without even realizing it!
I decided to kick it up a bit after I passed mile ten, telling myself all I had to run was a 5k and I'd be done. At another turn around I passed a guy named Tait who I met at two previous half marathons, so I gave him a quick shout out as he flew by the other way. I bumped into him post-race on the way home, and he said the quick shout out gave him a boost of energy and an extra kick.
The last few miles I tried to keep pace with an older out of shape guy with a headband that said "JIM" on it, but he was just too fast for me, and all I could hope for was to keep him in my sights. I had to remind myself to run my race, and not get caught up in running faster than I wanted. The worst case would be to pace with someone 30 seconds faster per mile than me and run out of steam and end up walking.
I kicked it up a notch for the last mile, since I still felt great and nothing hurt or ached. I made sure to concentrate on my form since I felt my hips and core giving out a bit. It's very important to run with a straight back with the chest high, and I feared that I was bending forward at the waist. The barefoot runner who passed me in the first mile came into site, and I caught up with him after a couple of minutes. I asked him if he got his shoes at CitySports, and he laughed at my corny joke. He said the bottoms of his feet were fine, but that his legs were kind of sore. He then saw me wearing the Vibram Bikilas, and informed me about a barefoot runners group in NYC. I said I was aware, told him to keep it up, and proceeded to pass him for the last half mile. I straight up sprinted the last 200 meters or so, and crossed the finish line with a new personal record of 1:39:55 (7:38 minute pace)!
I was extremely happy with the whole run, and loved that I felt great and not really tired at all during the course. The weather was perfect, the course was well laid out and fun with some good hills mixed in, and I just had zero complaints (well, the train ride back too a ridiculously long time, but oh well.) The Staten Island Half Marathon is the last race in the series, and I should be rocking that in October. When I first set the goal to do all 5 half marathons this year, I didn't think my body would hold up, but with only one race left, I feel confident that I'll achieve it.
I spotted a few fellow Vibram Five Fingers wearers as I walked to my corral, but didn't talk to anybody for the 20 minutes before the 7am start. However, there was a woman named Elizabeth who said a quick hello to the one and only Barefoot Benny right after we crossed the starting line, so that was pretty cool. Within the first mile, I was passed by a speedy barefoot runner who looked like he was moving slowly but was actually cruising at a 7 minute mile pace. My plan was to catch up with him and say hi, but he got way too far ahead too quickly.
The course started weaving through a bunch of side streets with parked cars on both sides, and then opened up in a 3-lane road for a bit. There was a turn around only a few miles in, so I got a glimpse of the leaders flying down the course. Those guys friggin' run so fast it's unreal! I don't even think I could sprint and keep up with them!
I felt great for the first few miles, but was worried about hitting a wall at mile 6, much like I did at last month's Queens Half Marathon. The weather today was only 70 degrees and cool, opposed to 90 degrees and humid for the Queens, so that was working to my advantage. Surprisingly, I felt great after mile 6, and before I knew it, I was nearly at mile 9! I like when 3 miles go by without even realizing it!
I decided to kick it up a bit after I passed mile ten, telling myself all I had to run was a 5k and I'd be done. At another turn around I passed a guy named Tait who I met at two previous half marathons, so I gave him a quick shout out as he flew by the other way. I bumped into him post-race on the way home, and he said the quick shout out gave him a boost of energy and an extra kick.
The last few miles I tried to keep pace with an older out of shape guy with a headband that said "JIM" on it, but he was just too fast for me, and all I could hope for was to keep him in my sights. I had to remind myself to run my race, and not get caught up in running faster than I wanted. The worst case would be to pace with someone 30 seconds faster per mile than me and run out of steam and end up walking.
I kicked it up a notch for the last mile, since I still felt great and nothing hurt or ached. I made sure to concentrate on my form since I felt my hips and core giving out a bit. It's very important to run with a straight back with the chest high, and I feared that I was bending forward at the waist. The barefoot runner who passed me in the first mile came into site, and I caught up with him after a couple of minutes. I asked him if he got his shoes at CitySports, and he laughed at my corny joke. He said the bottoms of his feet were fine, but that his legs were kind of sore. He then saw me wearing the Vibram Bikilas, and informed me about a barefoot runners group in NYC. I said I was aware, told him to keep it up, and proceeded to pass him for the last half mile. I straight up sprinted the last 200 meters or so, and crossed the finish line with a new personal record of 1:39:55 (7:38 minute pace)!
I was extremely happy with the whole run, and loved that I felt great and not really tired at all during the course. The weather was perfect, the course was well laid out and fun with some good hills mixed in, and I just had zero complaints (well, the train ride back too a ridiculously long time, but oh well.) The Staten Island Half Marathon is the last race in the series, and I should be rocking that in October. When I first set the goal to do all 5 half marathons this year, I didn't think my body would hold up, but with only one race left, I feel confident that I'll achieve it.
Boy is this fun!
Breathe Benny, breathe
13.1 miles. Check.
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