The Bronx is Burning...and so are me hips

One of these days I'll have the presence of mind to take a photo of Mike and I actually AT the race.


13.1....CHECK!!!!
You know you are up early when the cab driver tells you to have a good night when he drops you off. That is how we started our trip up to the BX. And so begins an epic tale of endurance, faith, hope, and celebration. Not really, but my legs hurt like hell.

I have officially crossed the finish line on a half marathon, and let me tell you, what an experience. It was a blur. The course map was a little ridiculous, see for yourself. New York Road Runners said this is "one of the country's most beautiful urban courses…From the start at the Jerome Park Reservoir to the out-and-back along the Grand Concourse, you'll be taken by the charms of the borough." Riiiight.

For the record, the Grand Concourse reminded me of Brighton in Boston. I kept waiting for Ana's Taqueria to appear. However, the Mosholu Parkway section was beautiful. The coaches talk about how "mentally tough" this multi-out-and-back course is because you see how many people are just immensely faster than you. What's worse though is seeing people practically dying after cresting a hill that you haven't hit yet.

I started out the race with a bunch of TNT people, self-titled The Purple Wave. We were all pacing each other and made the experience much less stressful. It was SO fun. As the race went on though, everyone began pushing themselves to the max so I was off on my own. The TNT coaches were stationed at various points of the race which made such a huge difference. THE COACHES ARE AMAZING. They really are. When I got to mile 10 I could feel the wheels start to fall off, but I kept pushing...and saw the head coach Christine at a critical time. Christine by the way is amazing and everyone wants to be her, as they should. She's an incredible head coach. So encouraging, so approachable, and just a really nice person. She also runs the About.com running page, so check it out. She's so great. Anyway, there she was at mile 12 when I needed her most. She said don't think about your legs (which were leaden at this point) just think about your arm swings and push it out. And that's what I did when this lovely camera man from NYRR saw me (around 3:40)


Nothing like a camera in your face when you are trying to push yourself to the finish line. But her advice was crucial and got me through. Even though I'm still hurting from it, the race was a rush. The weather couldn't have been better either; it was cool and overcast the whole time. And even though the race started at 7 am, the locals were out cheering us on, which was so nice. Mike did an AMAZING job as usual. He doesn't want me to say how well, but let's just say the coaches don't call him speedy for nothing!

In other news, here are the various fun things I saw on the streets of the Bronx: lots of used condoms, several dead/roadkill rats, and a dead chicken. They play on. (I wonder how many more obscure 90s musical references I can make?)

My hips were so enraged at me I decided to relieve them by taking my very first ice bath. For those who don't know, an ice bath is a great way to ice everything at once. So in the tub I sat, with two bags of ice and several ice packs. Mike kindly took video of it, which I did not upload, but if you've ever gone in the ocean with me when the water is really cold or gotten in a car with me when it's cold outside you know that I squeal and laugh maniacally, which is what happened this time, while yelling "no video, take a still picture, take a STILL PICTURE!"


After feeling so beat up after this run, I've been worried about how I'm going to get an additional 13.1 under my belt on November 7th. The coaches reassure us that we have plenty of time, strength building, and hill repeats to go. GO TEAM.