I know it was only 3 miles, but it was really hot and I had to fight traffic HARD at the beginning, since it was a free for all (no pace chutes). 6’24″ pace is 5 seconds per mile, better than my previously recorded official NYRR time. Progress feels good. 3 girls still finished ahead of me. I’m ok with that.

Distance: 3.0 Miles, 4.9 Kilometers
Date/Time: June 24, 2010, 6:45 pm
Location: Financial District, NYC
Weather: 87 Degrees, 57% Humidity, Wind 15MPH, Clear.

Total Finishers: Men – 2555 Women – 2506 Total – 5061

I really really hope that Reagan blobs about how the race went for her. Because it is freaking hilarious.

Reagan:

There weren’t really any clear shots of Reag, this time. So, I did some crude editing to make it easier to spot her. The cuteness definitely still comes through, even though the images are so small.

Jake at the finish:

This was such a fun race. It was the first half-marathon that I have ever run without headphones. It was a lot different without them, but not nearly as bad as I expected. In fact, I was really pretty amazed at how quiet it was, especially in Prospect Park at 7 AM. I’m not really sure why I put my fingers up like that, crossing the finish line. I guess I was pretty excited about finishing (five hundred and) first! Hahahaha.

We had fantastic weather for the Brooklyn Half-Marathon today. Reagan and I traveled to the race with a bunch of our friends from the running club, which made it a lot of fun. We all had a pretty good race. I didn’t hit my 1:30 goal. But I wasn’t too bummed about it, since I didn’t really deserve it, the way that I have been slacking lately. The race was really fun for me though, and I was ok with my time.

Stats:
Distance: 13.1 Miles, 21.1 Kilometers
Date/Time: May 22, 2010, 7:00 am
Location: Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Weather: 58 Degrees, 86% Humidity, Wind 6MPH
Total Finishers: Men – 3421 Women – 3585 Total – 7006

I had an awesome view, while being stretched out, under the Parachute Drop on the boardwalk at Coney (above). Below: our group chilling out and stretching on the boardwalk after the race.

Reagan’s sister Jody, who is visiting for the weekend, met up with us after the race. Of course we couldn’t go to Coney Island without taking a lap on the Wonder Wheel.

Danger! Hahhaha

This week was another one full of bad weather and blisters. Ah, excuses. I only ran today (because it was a race), and Monday. Grade=D. The only reason that I didn’t earn an F, was because of my 5k split time in the the race this morning. Any 5k under 20 mins makes me feel pretty good. I am really really hoping that my blister situation is under control, by next weekend. 13 miles is a little bit harder to tough-it through with a painful situation going on in the shoes.

Our new running club had it’s first club points race, last weekend. Our friend Zach Tolbert came out and shot the race for us. It was perfect weather and a lot of fun. Becca was totally on the ball, with getting our jerseys made and delivered before the race.

It was a bit chilly, before the race, but the sun was out, and it was perfect temperature, for running. Our team did very well. Additionally, we had a mystery person sign up as an NYRC affiliate, who beat everyone else on the team, by almost a minute. Jessica (whoever you are) if that is your way of trying out, you passed. Hahaha.

Saturday was marathon #5 for me. It was a fun race, but I definitely did not do as well as I was hoping to. My time ended up being about three minutes slower than I did on this same course last year. So, maybe I should get some consistency points, hahahah. Anyway, I think that I really outpaced myself in the beginning, and it caught up to me a little over half way through the race. After that, I decided to just settle in and finish, because I was seriously hurting.

Our friends Carl and Becca came up with us. Carl ran the race too. Reagan and Becca sat this one out, but were pretty stellar cheerleaders. It was especially nice to have Reagan at the finish line on Saturday, because I was cramping up so bad, I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have her there to help me stretch out my hamstrings. It was kind of a bitter-sweet way to have my last race of the year. But I’m looking forward to next year.

Here are a few more shots that Reagan took:

I’m trying to build a playlist for the Hartford Marathon, coming up on Saturday, and I’m having severe playlist-maker’s block. I feel like I’m kind of burnt out, for the moment on a lot of the stuff that I would traditionally load into my running playlists. So, today instead of sharing a Musica Coolica track, I’m begging for some suggestions. What are some tracks that help motivate you and/or get you amped?

I am open to pretty much anything, at this point. It would be really great to get some stuff that is fresh to my ears. But it is also awesome to be reminded of some good stuff that has somehow slipped through the cracks over the years. So please, please, share with me some fresh new stuff to keep my legs moving fast during my last race of the year, next week. Many thanks in advance.

We had a really great weekend in Boston, with our homies. It was the first time that Reagan and I had ever gone up there, for the race. Our good friend Becca ran it yesterday, so we had an extra good excuse to go watch. Some of Becca’s friends have an office that sits about 200 yards from the finish line. So that is where we watched the race. The photo above is of the women leaders right before the final stretch. We were cheering for Kara Goucher, since she was born in Queens. She ended up finishing 3rd. Still super impressive. Watching the men finish wasn’t as exciting, since the winner had opened up such a large gap, by the end.

Surprisingly there wasn’t a lot blooming yet. In fact, Boston Commons still looked like a dead forest, except for the fact that the grass was getting green. The magnolia trees were the exception. There are several streets, like the one above that are completely lined with blooming magnolia trees.

We had a really good time palling around with our friends. The day before the race we wandered around, had brunch and enjoyed the sunny weather. We were also able to check out the Shepard Fairey exhibit at the Boston ICA. It was very cool. I fully recommend checking it out. Both Saturday and Sunday night, we were able to get in a little rock band-action with the Truscotts, as well as eat some delicious food. Sunday night our friend Mike came up from NY  to join in on the action, we barbecued at the Truscotts, then watched the re-enactment of Paul Revere’s ride.

Monday Morning was super exciting. We were staying in Cambridge, so we had to walk across the river to get to the finish line. We timed it perfectly to be able to the winners come through. As we were waiting to cheer Becca through, I randomly spotted my uncle! Hahahaha. It was really cool.

The shot below is of Becca (in the black jersey looking pensive) running the final stretch of the race. More of the photos from this weekend are posted here.

[after philly half marathon 2008]

Tomorrow, Reagan and I will be running an 8k in central park. It is our first race of 2009, and only our 2nd or third that we are ever running together (weird, I know). I’m pretty excited about it. Some of our friends are going to be running it with us. Races in the park are always so pretty, even in the ugly seasons. Depspite my eagerness to get this season of races underway, I’m am a little bit nervous for tomorrow. I can tell that Reagan is too. Last night I was talking to her on the phone and she asked, “Jake, what if I come in last, on Saturday.” Well, I can already say that Reagan won’t come in last, tomorrow. But I definitely am on the same page when it comes to the sentiments that she was expressing. We didn’t really run much at all, over the winter. So far, this year,  even the days that it has been warmer, our workouts have been less than stellar. In one episode, we became separated after going less than 1 mile out, and both ended up going home mad. Hahahaha. Either way, I’m glad to be getting out and getting back after it, tomorrow.