Battle of Brooklyn 10-Miler

This weekend I decided to run the Battle of Brooklyn 10-Miler as part of my long run. I love to incorporate races into long runs, mainly for the fact that doing a supported long run with water/gatorade can make it so much easier. You don't need to worry about how many water fountains you're going to hit and when you can refill. Running in a pack and with people cheering you on helps a lot too. I find I'm a lot more motivated and a lot less likely to take walk breaks if I'm in a race.

There's not a lot for me to say about this race. Okay, there is one thing I can say: How the hell did I run 6/8 loops of Prospect Park in 2011 for the Brooklyn Marathon?? I did 3 loops of the park on Sunday and by the time I was done I was tired of running in the stupid park. With its stupid hills. Adding in an additional two miles before and after the race, I was really tired of the stupid hills.

Though my overall pace for this race was nothing special (except for a 9:19 mile, and my overall pace being :15/mile faster than last weeks 12) this was a pretty solid run. I started to fatigue mentally and physically during the last loop, but I got a surprise. About a half mile from the finish, I saw about 8 teammates from Gotham City Runners, and they let out this huge cheer that I heard over whatever I was listening to in my headphones. It completely surprised me, took me off guard, and lit a fire under my ass. I took off down the hill and I know I passed a few people along the way.

I found a few friends post race and chatted for a few minutes while I had some lemon-lime ices. I debated running another two miles. I chatted some more. I looked at my watch to see what time it was, and said the heck with it. Go run those two more miles. It's funny how much two miles can mean to you. Those extra two miles gave me a total mileage of 14, which is the longest I've run since I finished the Brooklyn Half in May and then had to take some time off due to injury. It was a big deal for me to pass the 13.1 distance. No doubt I was sore, and still am sore from all those (stupid) hills. Although I will still work on stretching and strengthening, I think I can finally put all those thoughts and doubts about the injury resurfacing out of my head.

I'm not injured, anymore.