Run Like a Diva Half Marathon Long Island – Part 2

Race morning came bright and early, as always. Meg, Krista, Julie and I decided ahead of time we would diva it up and wear pink. I even got my first running skirt (on clearance at Target!) for the occassion. And yes, I tested it out on my final long run to see if it was a go–it was comfy!

We took the shuttle to the starting line ($7 a person!) and got there at about 6:45ish. The race started at 8:00. Luckily we had enough time to walk to the the bag check, a half a mile away to the finish line. That was a tad bit annoying.

We checked our bags and then waited around for the race to start! the 5K started first at 7:45 am.

My sister Julie was getting excited for her first real 5K!

Don’t you just love Megan’s tutu?

Time for the 5K start.

And they are off!

Fifteen minutes later, it was time to line up for the half. I said goodbye to Krista and Megan since we were lining up with our pace groups. I sticked to the 9:00-10:00 minute per mile section. My goal for this race was to try to come close to my half marathon PR of 2:04:35. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up because I didn’t think I could beat that time, I just wanted to get close!

Time to run!

There was SO much pink! A lot of the women were dressed up, and I even saw some girls running in actual dresses! It was so much fun to see!

The course itself was not too amazing. The beginning was nice because we ran through Eisenhower Park, but after that it was on the highway. I just zoned out and didn’t pay much attention to the view.

Oh, and did I mention it was a gorgeous morning. The temperature was in the 50s at the start and the sun warmed it right up. It was awesome.

The first five miles went by really quick. I kept it under a 9:30 average pace for the first few miles and had a feeling I started out too quickly, but for some reason I just couldn’t slow myself down. It felt like it was my natural pace.

Before I knew it mile 10 was upon us. My legs started to feel like lead but I knew if I pushed it I could possibly come close to my goal.

At Mile 12 they handed us our pink boas and tiaras, it was amazing! It was so weird running with a feather boa!

And then I was done, in 2:05:11. SO CLOSE! But I’ll take it! 🙂

My garmin stats:

I was a bit disoriented at the finish line because we stopped so abrublty. Oh, there were shirtless firefighters handing out our medals and we even got a small glass of champagne and a rose. It was quite amazing. Finally I found the girls. They finished in 2:08, right behind me the whole time! Krista and Megan did incredible!

I drank a bottle of water before I drank the champagne, by the way. 😉

Time to be divas.

We found my sister and she said she finished the 5K in under 40 minutes. She was a rock star!

After refueling with a cookie (I dropped my bagel on the ground and couldn’t get back into the section with the food) and some tart cherry juice, we hobbled back to shuttle for a ride back to the hotel.

We showered, packed and took a cab to the train station to get a train back to the city. We ended up stopping for some real food since restaurants were limited in Long Island where we were staying. I found Stout on google maps when looking up directions and decided to try it out.

House made veggie burger and a beer, please. I ordered a blue point toasted lager since they were all out of their Oktoberfest. Sad.

The burger was delicious. Not too dry with real chucks of vegetables! It was great! Everyone enjoyed their food here, too!

We dropped Krista off since she was staying in the city (she works down there) and headed back to Grand Central to get our train to Poughkeepsie.

I was sad our weekend of fun was coming to a close. I had such an amazing time with my sister, Megan and Krista. We all live far away from each other (except Julie and I) so I rarely get to see them. But when we’re together we have such a fun time. I love it! I’m so proud of my girls and I can’t wait to run another race with them!