More/Fitness/Shape Half Marathon Weekend Recap

After a hellish 2.5 weeks, it was nice to be able to do things I loved this weekend- run and yoga. 

On Saturday morning I headed to Bloomingdale's for some pre-race yoga. A Jivamukti Yoga instructor led the half hour class. We received yoga mats and a little goodie bag and of course, Fitness, Shape and More magazines! Unrelated to the event, I was testing out a pair of Liquido Active leggings. Holy comfortableness! While the size I received was a small (I think the person who sent got my top and bottom size confused), they still fit pretty well, just a little tight on my chunky belly. They were SO easy to move around in and I never felt like I had to adjust them like with some other pants I own. They also offer 50+ UV protection. Can this brand get any better? 

After yoga I headed uptown to get my bib which turned into a little bit of a nightmare. I'm not sure why there wasn't an expo this year but they definitely need to bring that back. That's all I want to say about that. 

Now, onto the race! If you didn't know, I've been out for the past 3 weeks with a knee injury. I've been seeing a PT and was hoping it would be better. After the weeks I had been having, I thought 13 miles would be the perfect cure. I was half right (haha- sorry I couldn't help myself). I woke up not really wanting to run but obviously did it anyway. Albeit I was under-trained and not prepared- I didn't realize I didn't have fuel to grabbed some trail mix on my way to the race. 

Miles 1-3: Much better than last year! Last year I decided at mile 1 I I did not want to do this race anymore and didn't feel strong at all. This year, I felt OK and just ran with the people in front of me. Again, I didn't wear a watch for this race and thank god I didn't. There weren't that many spectators yet but it was early and everyone was cruising and in a good mood (including myself!). I climbed cat hill and embraced the downhills. 

Miles 4-7: I haven't run Harlem hill and a long time and I definitely need to incorporate that into Brooklyn and Staten Island training. Woof that was a rough one. I drank at every aid station and ate and miles 3 and 6. Just before the 10K mark my wonderful knee starting hurting. I had to make the painful decision to screw my already not-so-hot time and save my knee so I stopped, walked and stretched a little before continuing to run. In the middle of mile 7 Deena Kastor decided to show us all up and lap us to win the race. Definitely one of the coolest things ever!

Miles 8-11: Ooof. Hi knee. I walked up cat hill and took a few more walk breaks. Not only was my inner knee bothering me but so was the front. #winning. I also walked up Harlem Hill because #savetheknee. From then on, everytime my knee bothered me I stopped. It sucked. That's not the race I envisioned but if I want to run NYC in 2016, I need to make positive choices.There were also NO medical tents on the course. I wanted to stop and get ice so badly but I couldn't. 

Miles 12-13.1: IS IT OVER YET?!?! Thankfully the last mile flew by and I headed straight to the med tent. My time was nothing to be proud of. It was actually a little embarrassing given my current PR. But unlike at Michelob, my knee pain didn't linger so I made the right decision. 

A big big big thank you to the Fitness PR team for again providing me with the opportunity to run this race. It's always a challenge- physically and mentally- and that's what I love about it. Can't wait for next year!

Xo,
Lynette