NYRR BRONX 10-MILE RACE REPORT 2014

Good morning all.  Ready for a race report of the Bronx 10 Miler?  Here we go...

For the last few weeks, Tom was fretting over this race.  Past race reports said parking was a major issue.  It is da Bronx ya know!

We left our house early (4:30 am) and arrived in the Bronx within an hour and 15 minutes.  Not too shabby.  Tom heard there was a covered parking garage directly behind Yankees stadium so that's exactly where we parked.  When we arrived at the garage (5:45 am) we were the second car there.  By 6:00 am cars streamed in continuously. By 6:30 am a long line had formed to get into the parking garage.  I've said it once and I'll say it again:

GET THERE EARLY PEOPLE!!!

Greetings from Da Bronx!!!

Race Day Central (i.e. packet pickup) was located at Joyce Kilmer Park and opened at 6:30 am. Since the park was a mere 5 minute walk from the garage, we were able to collect our race bibs and tee shirts and head back to the car.  I like races where I don't have to use baggage claim.

After dropping everything off at the car we went back to Race Central to use the porta-potties before the line got too long.  They had a decent number of restrooms but before we knew it, there was a long line for the potty. Get there early people!

We wandered around with the other runners, waiting for the 8:00 am start of the race.  Since we were there so early, a worker snapped a quick photo of Tom and I at the start/finish line. 

We got into our assigned corrals along with a few thousand of our closest running friends and patiently waited for horn to go off.  After the National Anthem was sung, the race was on. We took off running up the Grand Concourse heading towards the Bedford Park section of the Bronx.  The course is an out and back.

Thousands of our closest running friends

Man it's a hot one. Like seven inches from the midday sun.

By the time I reached the one mile marker I thought "OMG, seriously! This is only ONE mile"? That was when I knew it was going to be one of "those" races. It was unseasonably hot and from my perspective, everyone around me looked just as miserable. I hate running in heat.

The road (especially the Grand Concourse) was ridden with potholes and very uneven, making the run more difficult.  I stepped on a small pothole and felt my ankle almost give out. I knew I would have to pay attention to the road surface and where I was stepping.  

Rumor had it that it was a relatively flat course.  Flat my ass! I swear people don't know the meaning of flat.  I'm not saying it was hilly, but it most certainly wasn't pancake flat.  The course had several areas where the road graded up and down.  More grades than I expected for the Bronx.  We approached an overpass and ran down then back up again. All I could think was "I'll be revisiting this on the way back when I'm really tired. Yay".

It was at the 4 mile marker where I started to struggle.  My breathing felt totally off and labored. I looked at my watch to see I was running a 7:30 pace.  I tried to slow down and looked at my watch a minute later...7:30 again.  Ugh, what's wrong with me? After all this time I still don't know how to pace myself properly.   I knew that running a 7:30 pace was going to be disastrous for me.  And disastrous it was!

I was at top of the Grand Concourse and heading around a small park when I had to stop for a moment.  I took a quick breather, grabbed water, drank it, dumped some on my head and started running again. I managed another 1/2 mile before my brain screamed "STOP"!!! So I stopped and stood on the side of the road for 10 seconds.  

After catching my breath, I started running.  I managed another 1/2 mile before I had to stop again.  Miles 4.5 to 7 felt like a miserable slog.  I grabbed water at every station, drank some, dumped some over my head hoping to stay cool. Luckily, NYRR had a lot of water stations set up. My struggle with the heat was getting the best of me both physically and mentally.

The mental aspect of falling apart on the run was what frustrated me the most.  All I kept thinking was "I have a half-marathon in 2 weeks. I don't want to run that far.  I have a full marathon in 18 weeks.  I can't and don't want to run that far".  I've always felt confident in my running ability, but this race shook my confidence to the core. What's happening to me?

So here I am, standing on the side of the road at around mile 7 looking for Tom.  I just wanted someone to run with, someone to take my mind off this race.  A homeless man approaches me and says  "girl, you've got this.  You look like you can do this. Lets go, start running".  I wanted to ignore him, but how do you ignore a homeless person who took a moment to motivate you?  You simply can't!!!

I smiled and thanked him for his kind motivation. I told him I wouldn't stop until I reached the finish line.  "It is all in your head" he shouted as he walked away "because you look like you can do this". 

In his honor, I kept my promise and started running without stopping. I slowed down a bit and ran at a doable pace.  I tried to entertain myself mentally by 'people watching' and that seemed to help.  There was a nice crowd of spectators motivating us through the finish chute.  I collected my medal and grabbed the juiciest apple I have ever tasted. I'm not sure which I appreciated more at that moment, the apple or the swag.


A little swag never hurt no one

Before the race began I asked Tom how long this race should take me. He said at my average race pace of about 8:20 per mile I should come in somewhere between 1:23:00 to 1:25:00.  My finish time was 1:24:23. Right in the wheelhouse of Tom's calculation.  He's so smart!

 

Even with all of my stopping, I still completed the race in my estimated time.  Tom crossed a minute behind me and said he wasn't feeling this race either. Mostly because of the heat. He mentioned our upcoming Staten Island Half-Marathon in 2 weeks as well as his upcoming Marine Corps Marathon in 4 weeks.  Neither of which he felt comfortable thinking about after running the Bronx 10 Mile.

It was tough running in the heat and the course was a bit challenging between the potholes and grades.  I'm hoping to have a better experience at the Staten Island Half and I'm going to pace myself better right from the very start.  In 2 weeks, all shall be revealed.