BUZZ. BUZZ. FU*K!
The light from the alarm clock stung my eyes. I felt a throbbing pain deep behind my eyeballs. Not today, I told myself. It was race day! I literally had no time for a migraine so I shoved it out of my way, jumped out of bed, grabbed my racing bib, got dressed in the dark and took off for Brooklyn.
The 2019 Brooklyn Half was the largest half marathon in the country, more than 27,000 runners were ready to crush it, 13.1 miles from the Brooklyn Museum to the Coney Island boardwalk. The air all around me felt electric. Adrenaline began to shoot through my veins softening the pain from my migraine. I looked at the road ahead of me and repeated my mantra: Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!
BANG!
I charged out of the starting gate running a pace that was demanding and (I hoped) sustainable. I haven’t run this fast in over 3 years, it felt liberating. Around Mile 2 the endorphins kicked-in and wiped away my migraine permanently. At Mile 4 I attacked Battle Pass Hill with a new found determination. This was a super-long hill. I concentrated on my rhythm, not the hill. Up and over, I exited the park with no residual damage and jumped onto Ocean Parkway. The rest of the race was flat. I quickly found my groove.
Running 6 miles of straight highway can play tricks on your head, in past races the endless road drained me mentally and physically, this time I tackled the highway differently. I focused only on reaching the next traffic light (without slowing down). I ignored everything behind me and everything ahead of me. I didn’t count traffic lights. I didn’t count miles. I repeated this routine for the next 6 miles.
The last mile was difficult. I felt hollow inside. The hot sun has been beating down on me for a long time now. I crossed the finish line with nothing left to give, I spent it all on the road behind me. I checked my official time, compared to my last race I chopped 7 minutes off my time! (I am still 8 minutes short of my personal best, but I am sure that day will come.) My official time was a respectable 2 hours and 6 minutes. Knocking off those 6 minutes will be my next goal.
Statistics:
Place overall: 14,790 of 26,8015
Place age-group: 267 of 522
Place age-graded: 5,195 of 13,685
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