A Marathon? No way! Never! A January 2013 Race Review

In October 2012 those were the exact words out of my mouth to my good friend Chris from work.  I had just run my first half marathon and gotten bitten by the running bug or that so called runner's high.   I ended up signing up for a half marathon in Central Park, in JANUARY and of course I dragged along Jamie because she is always a willing participant in my crazy schemes as I am in hers.

January 2013 Half Marathon- Central Park
It was 19 degrees out and we set out in MANY layers to do two loops of central park with our ever loyal Sherpa Mike carrying extra layers.  It was FREEZING cold yet that didn't phase some of the people running with no shirts on or in only sports bras.  I am pretty sure that I couldn't feel my toes until mile 3.  I was running in a pair of Nikes that were the same style as my first half marathon but not the same shoes.  About mile 8 I started getting pain in my left IT band.  Coming up to mile nine was HARLEM hill, the devil.  I was struggling but I looked to the side and saw a person out in the freezing cold cheering for us.  It turned out to be my friend Shawna who even ran up Harlem  hill with us in her uggs while holding coffee, have I mentioned how awesome she is. 

I had just started actual strength training instead of just running training and it felt pretty obvious to me in my recovery post race if it was not shown in my time.  Our times were not great due to a bathroom break in the middle.  I learned the importance of foam rolling and then graduated to some sweet Asics for running.

We will be doing this race again in 2014 to beat our times.