NYRR Manhattan 7 Mile Race Report

Yesterday, I ran the NYRR Manhattan 7 Mile race. I haven't run over six miles in a while (hahahlol), and based on how I felt last week, I wasn't sure if I could run the whole thing without walking. Then I ran my three mile shake out run earlier than usual on Saturday, and realized I run much better if I get out before 9:30, so perhaps I'd be okay, after all.

Nevertheless, I opted to run it as a longer run rather than a race, as reflected in my splits, which I managed to take correctly this time!

Hair report: Low pony

Nail report:

Garmin time: 1:06:21 -- a few second longer than the official time
Garmin distance: 7.13 miles, longer than the official time
Official pace for 7 miles: 9:28

Warm up run: 1 mile

Lap one - 1.03 miles, 9:41: Since the course included all the hills, I ran the first mile extra conservatively. This was an uneventful mile.

Lap two - 1.01 miles, 9:31: Up Cat Hill. Kept it easy, since Harlem Hill was coming up. I had thought thought about bringing my hand held water bottle, but I didn't want to, so I took water from the stops to drink and pour over my head. Pouring water over my head seems to be a winning strategy to keep me from overheating.

After the water stop, a man kept making hacking noises, and this continued for the duration of the mile. I was even listening to music, and I could still hear him. Good grief. 

Lap three - 1.01 miles, 8:53: The downhill before Harlem Hill. I didn't purposely speed up, and I didn't purposely reign myself in. I was focusing more on perceived effort and that kind of thing.

Lap four - 1.04 miles, 10:16: There is quite the disparity between this split and mile three's split. I didn't even try to power up the hill like in the last race, and I came to a full stop in the cluster fuck that is the water station to drink a full cup of Gatorade and to grab a water. One day, I'll be stronger on this hill.

Lap five - 1.01 miles, 9:27: After Harlem Hill, the course continues on in a gently rolling fashion, and as long as you aren't depleted after the last mile and manage the remaining hills well, the rest of the course is pretty easy. That's what I think about when I'm actually racing, and not running super slowly.

Lap six - 1.01 miles, 9:15: I think the last few miles are usually the fastest of my previous races, but I didn't check to confirm that. Just by the nature of the course, there are more downhill parts that make it easy to speed up.

Lap seven - 1.02 miles, 9:14: I was surprised I didn't slow down here, since my legs were feeling kinda tired. I remember talking myself into not slowing down, since this was the last mile.

So that's that. I actually like the longer distances, and hope that if I do a seven mile race again, I'll be prepared to race it.

With this race, I have four down, and five plus one to go. I'm registered for two more races in August, and my volunteer race is in September. After that, I'll have three left, and I'll finally be able to take my picture next to the 9+1 display set up at each qualifying race!