Law of Inertia

I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out why I was going through with the queens half. Given the forecasted 100 degree heat it was clear there would be no PR for this race, much less anything near a time I would feel good about. Days before the race I already decided it would be a 13 mile tempo run. Worst case, it would be good preparation for the Bronx in august.

The night before I didn’t have any pre race anxiety since I wasn’t holding myself to any expectations. In fact, I polished off 2 bottles of wine and half a pie of pizza with Tony while reminiscing about badwater. Waking up on race morning I still felt the wine and considered skipping this all together. The only problem was I had plans to carpool with Mark and I still had to give him his bib and D-tag. I considered driving out to him just to drop it off, but realized how silly it would be to not at least do a training run along the race course

Driving out to Queens was quick and easy, and the parking situation was absolutely fantastic. Many spots right under the Van Wyck. I can’t think of any other nyrr race where there was so much available parking near the start. For those travelling by subway, that was also close by.

Getting out of the car I noticed it was already 88F. I was secretly hoping the time spent during Badwater and Las Vegas would help me manage the heat. For all I know, it might have. I might have had a tougher time otherwise, but I certainly wasn’t immune to the conditions as you’ll see in my race result.

At the start the announcements were being drilled into our heads as to how we should take it easy and not go for a personal best. Seek medical attention if necessary and drink plenty of fluids. Yadda yadda, etc etc.

Finally we’re off, and starting out things didn’t feel so bad. Without the sun shining on us I thought this race just might be manageable. I was pacing along side Mark and saw a 6:36 pace on my garmin at the half mile. I mentioned this and stated I would slow it down. First mile marker hit in 6:45

By the time we hit the second mile marker we were out of the park in mostly direct sunlight. Things were still bearable while I was able to keep in the shade when there was some. The smells at this point were absolutely sickening though. I began to wonder if this was in fact the Staten Island half based on the odors. The first smell we hit was a cross between fried chicken and fried doughnuts and it was so strong I was gagging. Hitting Mile 2 nauseas in 6:52, I began to secretly hoping for sub a 90.

To mile 3 we pass through quite an industrial area. On the left side came huge billows of black smoke right into the course from some construction site. All runners gagged. Mark joked about this part of the race as improving is CO max. Even before this I noticed the air quality was pretty crappy. I don’t usually huff and puff during a half marathon but today I was breathing harder than usual. Mile 3 in 6:54

Before mile 4 we turned around and headed back. In fact, the mile marker for 4 might have been right where the aforementioned black smoke was. Luckily none of it seemed to be there as we passed by a second time. Although, at this point the sun was out full force, less shade was available, and I was beginning to lose motivation. Why push hard for a sub par time? My split for Mile 4 shows it too. 7:08

Mile 5 was without incident but completely in the sun and I was baking at this point. Mile 5 split was 7:09

The water stops for this race seemed to be between mile markers. And at the one that was on the way to mile 6 I stopped to grab 3 or 4 cups of water and walked a bit while slowly pouring them over my head. In past races, especially my last half in brooklyn, I’ve felt guilty when stopping and walking. Today I had no bones about it and I was glad to do it. I wasn’t the only one either. Picking it back up afterwards things felt easier, and although the stops slow my overall pace, my actual moving pace became faster. Mile 6 was 7:28 with the water stop.

Most of the rest of the race in the middle miles are a bit blurry. I remember thinking this was thee hardest race I ever ran. I continued stopping at every water stop to dump water on my head. There weren’t many areas along the course e where we weren’t in direct sunlight, but I noticed the one or two areas where we did have shade I was able to run much stronger. I was glad because it validated I would have been capable of more on a better day. I also noticed there weren’t many people passing and most who did I later passed before the end.

Mile 7: 7:32
Mile 8: 7:34
Mile 9: 7:47
Mile 10: 7:48
Mile 11: 7:52
Mile 12: 7:52

Right after 12 we got some shade along the course and things felt best. Ironic since the last couple of miles are always the hardest for me in a half.

Just before getting to 13, I started pushing hard as we ran around the big metal globe. All of a sudden I began to feel faint and dizzy, but not from the effort or heat. But rather from the turpentine fumes coming from the guys painting the pool that the thing sits in. I held my breath as I finished making my way around the bend.

Mile 13: 7:15

Just as I passed 13 and as I was passing other runners, some guy came past me like a bullet. I decided I should do the same and stuck with him. As we approach the finish line we got cheers for kicking and the announcer shouted both our names to my surprise.

Mile 13.1: 0:39
Finish : 1:36:40

Overall, my splits look slow but my moving pace was actually faster if you consider the fact I stopped for every mile to pour water on my head and cool down. Several times throughout, I thought to myself it was a shame to have this race during the hottest time of July. Despite the first crappy 4 miles and the wet noodle look of the course on the map, the new course had potential to be a favorite, and may even surpass brooklyn in popularity.

In the end I was pretty happy with my performance despite this being an absolute personal worst.
I’ve seen debate about whether equivalent efforts in the heat have as much benefits as faster runs in better conditions. I’m convinced the benefits are not the same simply based on how my legs feel. Nonetheless, there are a lot of good tempo paced miles in there and I feel satisfied with a good workout.