NYC Half Marathon 2010 Performance Report

First, while I'm blogging I just want to mention I had the opportunity to check out the new Run by Footlocker store on Union Square devoted to all things running. They decided to have their official grand opening festivities coincide with the NYC Half weekend. It was a convenient hop to the expo from there. The people working this location (14th Street & University) were all very knowledgeable and intent on pulling out all the stops to serve the NY running community.

I even got this cool T-shirt:

Now onto the race report. It seems like only 7 months ago since the last NYC Half Marathon, oh wait, that's because it was. Having the race in March was a breath of fresh air after last August's sweat fest. It was a crystal clear beautiful day.

I ran this race for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. This year it was my goal to play running rock for it. When I arrived at my little station I was downright giddy when I saw the big blue Lady Southpaw sign. I felt I had conquered the Everest of running organizations, I was playing a New York Road Runners event. It took me awhile to find the right contacts, but once I did I found the organization was very efficient and I really hope to get the opportunity to do more of their events soon.

I got there with plenty of time and leisurely setup all my gear. Last month I had the fiasco of forgetting my mic stand at an event in Brooklyn and I was forced to improvise with some creative use of duct tape (thanks Steve!) This time I had everything all packed up before I went to bed last night and a checklist to look over before I left in the morning. I still managed to forget my sunglasses, but they were optional.

My spot was on 15th Street and the West Side Highway. I was in the oasis for entertainment after Time Square and 42nd Street where there is nothing but stimulation and before the "wall of sound" into the finish. Right behind me was a water station, porta-potties and a "high five station." So in general it was a small point of relief for runners in one of the more difficult parts of the race. They had 11 miles behind them but they were still not done.

It is so interesting to watch a race in its entirety. You really see the bell curve of race paces. It was utterly mind-blowing when the first guy went sprinting by in under an hour from the start! I was star-struck when I saw Deena Kastor. Then the crowd gradually forms until the street is packed and tapers away again leaving you with those not as genetically gifted or facing a race that didn't go as planned and visibly fighting the pain of it. There is really the full gamut of human emotion from elation, to strong focus, to ease, to battle. It was exciting.

For about 45 minutes I was completely eating it up. I was having the time of my life, playing my songs and rocking out. I know people could only hear me for a few seconds as they whizzed past, but I really felt connections to many of them. I especially got a kick from the ones who waved or shouted, "I saw your page on Facebook!" I felt like everything I had been working on so hard was really coming together!

I got through all the "Songs For Running," playing "Engineering Masterpiece," more than once and a couple of covers. Then halfway through my cover of the Cranberries song "Zombie," the sound just cut out! I couldn't believe it. I had my power source charging the entire night. When I checked it, it still showed that it had power. I think maybe it was just shorting out or over heating or something? I turned everything off and turned it on again. It worked for a little bit but then the same thing happened again. That pretty much sums up the rest of my experience. I would turn it off, leave it for a couple minutes then turn it on again, with the sound on lower or playing a less intense song or something. Then, inevitably, it would cut out again after a couple minutes. Sometimes I could make it through a whole song, but most the time only half of one.

So far I have only used this power source for much shorter events. I don't think it had ever been on that long without a break. In the future I think I will break it up into shorter sets and see if that helps. I really don't want to have to buy another one at this point because those things are expensive and this one is so portable! I will probably do some research into and see if there is anything more I can do about it.

It was unfortunate that a large portion of the mid pack missed out on my playing anything. I joined the High Five Station briefly while I let the generator rest. That was super fun too. At some point I just figured f* it and played some of the more straight rhythmic songs without any amplification. Considering that the runners don't get to hear that much of the song anyway, not having sound didn't seem to make that much of a difference. It was a much better vibe when I was trying to sing then just standing there disappointed, looking like I was leaving them dry with the music. Of course I probably looked a little air-headed, as if I didn't realize there was no sound coming out of my amp. Oh well, you live you learn. I still really want to do this again and keep improving on the process!

Wave to Lady Southpaw on Mile 11 of the NYC Half Marathon

After much relentless spamming of the New York Road Runners Club I was invited to play at one of their races! I consider this a major achievement. All the details have been coming together in the past week, so I am blogging this with only 3 days until the big event.


This Sunday March 21st, 2010 will be the NYC Half Marathon. I ran this race last year when it was in August. In my race report I revelled in all the course musicians and fantasized (or should I say prophesied?) playing the event this year. Click here if you care to reminisce. I even mentioned my disappointment that there was a big gap in music on West Side Highway where you need it this most. So now I am very excited to report I will be playing mile 11 on the West Side Highway and 15th Street.

Here is my little section on the course map:





I'm excited to be playing across from the fluid station being operated by the Hudson Dusters, a team I have r*n with as part of HashNYC.com.

Anyone who has run the NYC Half knows that this stretch of the course is one of the most difficult. As I recall, the loop around Central Park is challenging for it's hills and generally establishing your pace. Then there is a thrilling downhill romp through Times Square where you are so excited to be out of the park and there is so much going on it fills you with energy and excitement. This is all well and good until you hit the West Side Highway. The last leg. You feel like you are almost done, but don't be fooled there are still miles to go before you can sleep. I remember assuming I had less than a mile left when I hit the 11 mile mark only to realize I still had 2.1 miles to go. Perhaps I was delirious from the heat, which will not be an issue in March, but that long straight shot to the finish seemed endless.

That's where I come in (well for the fraction of a minute you'll be able to hear me as you pass...) playing my electric guitar and singing to get you pumped up! I will play through all of my "Songs For Running," the E.P. that can be streamed or purchased through Reverbnation and also available on iTunes. I will also be playing some of my favorite covers sped up to 180 bpm. Selections include songs by artists such as: Blondie, P.J. Harvey, Green Day, Ben Kweller, and maybe others I can't think of right now. There will be nothing under 160 bpm.

So if you see me make sure to wave! Or at least smile and nod a little. That won't drain to much energy, in fact it might help.

Check out the full entertainment line-up on the NYRR official page:

http://nyrr.org/races/2010/nychalf/entertainment.asp

Staten Island Half Marathon Race Report

Yesterday we had the perfect weather for a half marathon. It was sunny, clear and a little crisp but not too cold. Since the NYC Half I had not done a ton of extra training; I did a few speed and hill intervals and ran a 10 and 12 miler in addition to my regular running to maintain my fitness. My general goal was the same as usual: to run in a way that felt strong from beginning to end. As far as time I wanted to break an average 10 minute mile after my last average of a 10:01 mile.

I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend Chris drive me to the start line. In Brooklyn we live so close to the Verrazano bridge into Staten Island that it seemed ridiculous to get up early enough to take the train into Manhattan for the SI Ferry. Also, the tolls on the bridge are high enough that it would double the cost of a car service and if I took the bus I would have had to change 3 times. How can something so close be so far? Anyway Chris was a trooper about getting up and drive in. He even wore his Lady Southpaw t-shirt which earned him an extra gold star.

My first stop once I found start was the the port-a-potty line. I naively thought that being 20-30 minutes early would give me enough time to get through the line and to the start. The lines were long but there were so many of them and these people were all racers trying to get to the same race, so no problem right? Well, I was still about a dozen people away when the start gun fired. From that point to john I was hopping from foot to foot in pure agony for what felt like an eternity. After peeing a liter bottle worth of pure spring water I applied my hand sanitizer and took off for the start. In all of my little adjustments (taking my GU, putting on my Fuel Belt) I completely blocked out the start line clock. This was a very annoying omission for the next couple of hours because I wasn't wearing a watch and had no idea how long I was standing in that line.

I crossed the start line after the pack in the corrals had cleared. At first I thought this would be a bad thing because I would be stuck behind all the slowest people. Actually it was great because by then pack had already spread out so it was easy to weave through people and I felt like I was more with the port-a-potty crowd so there were a lot of varying speeds to work off of as I made my way to a comfortable race pace.

The route was basically an out and back from the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to a bit past the Verrazano Bridge and back. It was along the northern edge of the island so we didn't get a many of the vicious hills in the middle. One of the nice things about being an out and back was that you could assess the terrain on the way out to strategize for the way back. Also, I have to admit, most of what I'd seen of Staten Island was the view from the highway passing through so it was nice to see some actual residential and commercial areas. There was also a lot of running through industrial areas too which would not have been so nice except that it's on the opposite side of the Upper New York Bay where I usually do my running in Brooklyn. It was cool to get a new perspective on it.

When I was about five miles from the end I felt great. I thought to my recent five mile race in Brooklyn and thought I could run that right now. I had a surge of speed for the next couple miles. I was prepared for the fact that there would be a big long hill about 3 miles from the end and then it was more or less downhill to the finish. I stayed conservative up the hill and prepared to speed to the finish. When I got to the top I found I wasn't ready to speed up. Then as I ran downhill a horrible thing started happening. At first it just felt like a little spasm in my calf. Then I realized I was dangerously close to having a full on cramp. I get these cramps sometimes after I've been working out really hard. I pretty sure it's a sign my electrolyte levels are off but I'm never sure if It's dehydration or low sodium, or both. I was drinking all along the route. I had my Fuel Belt and I was stopping at water stops. I had my GU, but I had it really late (I almost forgot about it) I had a packet of salt on the long hill, but again, maybe it was too late? Maybe it was the transition from uphill to downhill? Whatever it was, it was really annoying because I was running a really good race up until that point. I was pacing a sub 10 minute mile, I had no joint pain and my energy was still up. I just tried to stay calm and kept running. I knew if I stopped I would feel the cramps and whenever I sped up I felt the cramps. I was so glad I had my fuel belt because drinking made me feel like I was at least doing something to help. The cramps spread into my feet as well as my calves but the finish was so close. When I saw the time on the clock was 2:11 something I almost cried with joy because that was my net time for my last half. Whatever the time I still managed a Personal Record! Of course at that point I had no idea how much because I didn't see my start time.

Turns out the port-a-potty line only set me back about 8 minutes, which surprised me because in took me over ten minutes to get to the start in Brooklyn and Manhattan without the delay. Still, I seem to be improving and I'm doing it gradually, consistently and without injury so there you go. This will probably be my last half marathon for 2009. Ideally, I'd like to run a sub 2 hour half next. Until then I'll try to improve my speed with 5Ks, 5 milers, and 10Ks.

Here's the final half marathon stats for 2009:

Brooklyn Half Marathon - 2:17:28 - pace: 10:29/mile

NYC Half Marathon - 2:11:26 - pace: 10:01/mile

Staten Island Half Marathon - 2:03:31 - pace: 9:25/mile

NYC Half Marathon Report

Yesterday I ran the New York Road Runners NYC Half-Marathon. Despite the high temperatures and humidity it was a pretty good race for me. I had a personal record, but more importantly I made strides toward my personal goals.

I was feeling a bit frustrated with my running after the Brooklyn Half Marathon because I finished slower than I wanted and did it feeling generally miserable. Ideally you want to finish a race with a little burst of speed and not feeling like your turtle paced hobble is the fastest you can go. So my main goal for Manhattan was to finish feeling strong and like I could speed up for the last mile. I didn't have a very specific time goal, although I couldn't help but want to go as fast as possible in the given situation. I decided at the very least I would be satisfied with something faster than my previous time of 2:17:28.

My strategy was to run Central Park as conservatively as possible, so not too slow but also careful not to blow everything on those hills. Then if I felt comfortable I would try to speed up going through Times Square and again in the last couple miles to the finish. Basically, when I got to Time Square I wanted to visualize I was starting a 10K race and the last three miles I visualized it was a 5K race.

In practice, it did not work out that way exactly. Although, I think the visualizing did help me maintain my momentum because I never felt like my engine dropped out completely the way it did in Brooklyn. I ran exactly the way I wanted in Central Park. I took those hills without dropping my inner tempo like they were just part of the course. I was fortunate to get in some killer altitude/hill training last month while vacationing in the dolomites. Also, I think the Bikram yoga helped for acclimating to the New York humidity.

My only big surge of speed came through Time Square. Holy crap was that AWESOME! There were musicians playing on almost every block. The musicians each had their own banners with their names on them flying high. I was in Heaven. Just the sounds coming from the guitars and drums and voices as I passed filled me with ecstasy. Performing is such a high, musicians are always pushing energy out to their audience and as a runner it's like you can take that energy and do something with it. It was fantastic. Of course I had the added motivation that maybe next year or in another similar situation I could get "Lady Southpaw" up on one of those banners and I could be performing and giving boosts of energy to runners. I started hauling it down Seventh Ave with a huge burst of adrenaline. Of course I had to try to participate in the "Mama Mia" sing-a-long as I rounded the corner onto 42nd Street. I couldn't help but get a little choked up thinking about my younger self back in high school in the Midwest who was so in love with Broadway theatre and the young woman fresh out of college first moving to the city and this journey I've been on since. Yes, this is what I want a big running event to bring out of me. I want that sense of awe that I can accomplish things that I work for and that I am part of this big celebration with others achieving their goals. Not everyone around me was having a great time, at this point I had to weave around a girl who looked like she was about to spew gatorade and GU without breaking her stride. It can't be wonderful every time but at that moment I was having the time of my life.

The last leg of the race went down West Side Highway to Battery Park. This was probably the most disappointing part of the race for me. The website made it sound like the party was going to continue with Capoeira (which I adore and was really looking forward to) and Samba dancers and DJ's all the way to the end. Unfortunately I think the dancers had packed up or were on a break and though there were some hard working DJ's and a couple of bands they were a bit too few and far between. There were long lulls of nothingness and because it was the last leg I kept thinking I was closer to the end then I actually was. As a result my energy started to wain for the first time. Also, my achilles started to hurt which was a completely new phenomenon for me and made me worry. Ironically, the achilles thing also made me realize other things that were going well. My IT bands and knees were not hurting which made me very pleased. Also, typically by the end of these races my stomach usually starts clamming up and afterwards I feel like I can't eat for hours. This time my stomach was not tied in a knot! This was the first race I used my fuel belt. In the past I use it for training but thought it looked too dorky to wear in a race with all the fluid stations. So, I think it was the Gatorade that was causing the aches. This race seemed to prove it because I brought my own electrolyte drink, which by the way was Propel so it's not like I have anything against the Gatorade brand it was just all the sugar and stuff in the regular formula.

I did manage to power through the last 800 meters and crossed the finish line with a net time of 2:11:26 a full 6 minutes faster than Brooklyn! Mission accomplished. Now, I wonder if I could cut that down even further next time? The journey continues...