2nd Annual 5k Run Benefiting the Icla Da Silva Foundation Race Recap

Progress. That’s how I’ll sum up this race.

Packet Pick-Up:

How come no one ever recaps the packet pick-up in their race reports?  I’ll do it! The pick-up went pretty smooth and I got a t-shirt.  Well, that’ss why no one ever talks about the pick-up…booor-ing.

The Runners:

Me, The Husband, and the Brother-in-law.  You may remember the Brother-in-law from such races as the Prospect Park Relay.

Race Day:

The race was held on Roosevelt Island.  Despite the island being so accessible to Queens and Manhattan, I haven’t spent much time on the Island at all.  It’s a small island, very residential and has amazing views of Manhattan. The Island felt like a college campus and it was so quiet.   It was a small race, which I LOVED.  Approximately 400 runners give or take.  The race started promptly at 9 am and I thought it was pretty well organized.  Not that I have a lot of races to compare it with, but everything went smoothly. My only teeny tiny complaint was the mile markers. The markers were arrow shaped signs so I couldn’t tell if it meant that’s were the mile was or that the mile marker was up ahead.  Stuff like that annoys the crap out of me when I’m running.  I must learn to go with the flow more, but I like knowing where I am. I took my Garmin on the race with me, but it wouldn’t cooperate.  Translation: I couldn’t get it to do what I wanted.  Translation: I stoooopid.

Here’s a map of the course:

I loved the course! The views, when I remembered to take it all in, were gorgeous. Some highlights: a light house, a view of the hospital where my son was born, bridges, and the Manhattan skyline.  There were lots of times on the course that there was very little  shade and the beating sun made me feel a tad crappy.  Not to self, wear a sun visor on sunny days.  Derp.  I ran my first mile in about 10 mins which is not like me.  I’m usually a lot slower than that. I couldn’t keep that pace much longer after mile 1 and slowed down considerably after that.  There were a few walk breaks, which I am ok with.  I just didn’t get the training in that I wanted to for this race. I choked on the water at the water stop, again.  Seriously, any volunteers to help me train for water intake during races?  Double derp.

Spectators:

My Dad, his wife, and my son came out to cheer us on! They waited for us around Mile 1 – they were easy to spot as there were not too many other spectators.  I got high fives all around and my Dad sang the Rocky Theme Song.  Bonus points, Dad! My son was busy looking at his feet when I passed by.  We saw them again at the finish line where my son was still looking at his feet.

The End:

I pushed it hard for the last .25 mile and flew to the finish line (that’s how it felt).  I got some cheers from the spectators and the look of pride on my Dad’s face was priceless.  Oh, and someone handed me water at the finish line.  That was freaking awesome.  The volunteers were so on their game.

The time:

36:21.  Total meh, but I think it’s better than my last race — so progress! I’m getting somewhere slowly.  That’s all I can really ask for when my runs have been so sporadic.

Things to remember for next time:

Wear a visor on sunny days.

Learn to be in the moment more and focus less on the finish line.  I realized after the race when I was talking to my fellow racers that I missed a lot of interesting sights. Like the young skateboarders stopping their skateboarding to gawk at the runners.  Like the Starbucks we passed.   I did notice a runner at Mile 2 throw up her hands airplane style as we took the turn.  I want to be more like that girl.  She was having fun.  I’m not going to win trophies at these events so I might was well have fun with it.  I want to be like the girl wearing the purple knee highs and purple plaid kilt.  Oh wait, that was a guy wearing that stuff.  I just want to be able to have more fun while running. I want to be like this girl.

I so want to go back and run around Roosevelt Island again.  Doesn’t have to be for a race.  I just want to go back and check it all out again.  I think it’s a nice sign of progress when a race leaves you wanting more.

Nice job, Roosevelt Island 5K.