Boomer's Cystic Fibrosis Run to Breathe (10K)

Last Saturday, I ran the Boomer's 10K in Central Park. This was the first 10K that I participated in that went counter-clockwise, which is my direction of choice. I had no expectations of a PR, but I at least wanted to get below my worst time at the Healthy Kidney race. My manager picked up my bib for me, and I was pleased to see that I was once again in the 3000 corral.

I left a bit later than I wanted to after eating a few shot bloks, so I took the train down to 68th street and then jogged to Central Park from there. I headed over to meet Nicole and Abbey at baggage check, and the three of us headed to the starting corrals. I was going to start with Abbey, but since she decided to warm up a bit more, we missed each other in the corrals, especially since they broke down so quickly. After Boomer Esiason spoke about his son's struggles with Cystic Fibrosis (and called us all crazy for running in this heat), the National Anthem was sung, and we were off!

Mile 1, which included Cat Hill as usual went pretty well, and I felt good, but as I finished, I knew after 8:53 or so that it would not be a PR day. I would only get slower when confronted with Harlem and the west side hills. Nonetheless, I kept going, and during the course of mile 2, I saw Abbey and caught up with her for a brief second before she got ahead of me once more. I was pleasantly surprised to see a misting station up ahead of me, and as I ran through it, I felt a burst of energy which helped me to complete my fastest mile of the race at 8:44.

By the time I approached Harlem Hill, the heat and humidity started to get to me, but I at least stayed at the same pace throughout the hills of mile 3 and 4. Unfortunately, both miles were at 9:25 so any chance at a PR was long gone. There was a misting station, but it was a smaller one and did not have the same effect.

I picked up the pace over the last two miles though, and completed mile 5 in 9:03. After I crossed that mile marker, I went all out and completed mile 6 as fast as possible on my tired legs. I completed mile 6 in 9:00 minutes flat, and then proceeded to completed the remaining .24 in 2:03. My total unofficial time was 56:36, and my official time was 56:33. Although I was over 2 minutes slower than my 10K PR at the Mini, I felt that I ran a smart race. I stayed consistent on the hills, and I pushed my pace, but not to the point of injury or illness.

After a fun race, I found Abbey and Nicole at baggage. I met up with a coworker at the festivities. My manager was unfortunately under the weather and could not participate. Nicole and I went to get some post-race coffee and hung out by the 68th street train station before we went our separate ways. Although I didn't PR, I had a great time doing the race and would consider doing it next year if it works with my marathon training schedule

Next up: LTR #1 - my first attempt to run 15 miles. I will have better pictures since my hair is now straight, and hopefully my bib will have arrived in the mail by then!