Last 10 - what a great experience

Today Brian and I met early for the last ten. Hats off to the Park Slope Track Club for organizing the event. We met under the Queensboro bridge at 59th and 1st. And ran up 1st Avenue and into the last 10.28 (mileage off on watch?) of the race.

What an experience. Not that it's important, but I ran a progressive run.

1 9:40
2 8:01
3 8:01
4 10:22 (water stop)
5 9:06
6 8:15
7 7:59
8 7:58
9 7:24
10 7:28

For an average of just under 8:30 (including the water stop!)

the best part was getting familiar with the intricacies of the last miles of the race. Particularly important was little things like learning the REASON that 5th boxes out around a small square park in Harlem. Also in getting a sense of the topography of the course (it's really flat for these miles, minus the hill late on 5th and the rolling hills in the Park).

I'm very familiar with the Park portion of the race, and that literally flew by. I'm hoping that I'll be just slightly slower and that I'll be in a position to enjoy it. I was also very pleased to learn about the split in the road by the zoo - and the nasty little raised median that would catch you underfoot and might send someone tumbling - less likely to be me after the run.

Speaking of tumbling - one of our brave colleagues started off and within 4 blocks found herself sprawled out on all fours after hitting the plastic remains of the bundling of a news paper - bad news for her. She managed to get up (with Brian's help, took her sunglasses from me, and seemed to get back in the rhythm...I might not have been so game, especially knowing that 10 miles awaited).

All told it's STILL amazing to have the feeling that I 'only' ran 10 miles. Brian and I dropped these miles into our account as easily as we would a fresh twenty from the ATM - it's truly amazing what 6 months of hard training will do to you.

And, what an amazingly beautiful day - let's hope that we feel similar when we next pass these streets and that the calls for rain are in error and we have a day like today!