Staten Island Half-Marathon

I’m typing this report on my first-ever half-marathon at the start of the third game of the National League Champsionship Series.  The Mets fucked up so badly last night I can’t bear to keep more than one eye on them until they show me some competency and dominance of the Cards.

I ran the Staten Island Half-Marathon this morning!  A lot of my fellow TNT’ers ran it too — our coaches highly recommended that anyone who had run 10 miles by last week should run the half-marathon, so ther were a lot of TNT’ers.  The coaches were there, cheering us on, and it was very encouraging to see all the TNT shirts in the crowd of competitors.

So, after much stress getting to the marathon (a tractor trailer overturned on the BQE and husband and I had to find an alternate route to Staten Island. Much shouting ensued; and we ended up taking the Midtown Tunnel, crossing Manhattan, taking the Holland Tunnel, going south through Jersey and then taking the Bayone Bridge into Staten Island!  Insane, but we totally got there on time.), I ended up enjoying the run very much.  The day was perfect: crisp air, warm sun, a breeze that only turned into a headwind for two brief moments.  The route was surprisingly scenic, too.  We ran along the eastern side of the island, so we had fantastic vistas of downtown Manhattan and the Verranzano Bridge (which is one of my favorite NYC bridges).  The trees with their fall foliage were a nice, softening touch.  I must say I came away with a new repsect for Staten Island, that area, at least!

Miles 1 through 4 were the trickiest as I tried to settle into my pace, even out my breathing, and warm up my muscles.  Somewhere between mile 4 and mile 5 I spotted my parents cheering for me at the side of the road; that was a mood-booster for sure.  They shouted that they’d be there when I came back around, too, which gave me something to look forward to.  (Husband was at the race with Matilda, cheering me on at the start and taking my photo.)  By mile 7 I really had my pace, and felt great.  I spotted a few of my teammates, like DR, and KW, and V., which were nice chatty interludes along the way.  They all passed me.  I didn’t care because I felt great and didn’t want to lose that rhythm.  At mile 9 BS caught up to me, (everyone can spot me because I wear my hair in pigtails) and we ran together to mile 12.  It was great to have her to chat with.  Then at mile 13 I was feeling really strong, and zoomed.  I passed everyone who was between me and the finish line.  Of course, when I crossed a gave a little cry, my face crumpled with pride and surprise.

I was nervous about the race, excited but also feeling a little trepidation, afraid I was taking on too much.  But to finish feeling that strong was something else, and I really impressed myself.

Husband was at the finish line, which was so nice to have him there smiling & cheering me on.  I feel like a champ, even though it took me two hours and 22 minutes to finish! My hip is bothering me now, but I took an ice bath and I’m going to ice it while I go and watch the game.  The Mets so far closed their first inning by leaving two men on base, and the Cards now have two men on. Ugh.

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