OMG, the race was just AMAZING!!! My calf was not an issue at all, and I did better than I thought I was going to do. My goal was to beat a 10minute mile, and I DID!!!!!!!!!!! crossed the finish line at 39:14; a 9:48 mile! YEAHHHHH I was soooo excited I forgot to turn off/end my nike+ so that info isn't quite accurate. Though the extra mileage can't hurt for the Tinkoff 200 Challenge:) LOL

My splits were as follows:

Mile 1 = 10:08 AVG HR 156 MAX HR 171

Mile 2 = 9:35 AVG HR 161 MAX HR 167

Mile 3 = 10:09 (only because I stopped, briefly, for water) AVG HR 166 MAX HR 174

Mile 4 = 9:22 AVG HR 169 MAX HR 180

I'm rushing to get to the St. Patrick's Day parade in my town, as my little one is a Brownie and is marching. But I wanted to get this posted quickly, will come back on later and write about the awesome experience!! I can not explain how HAPPY I am!!!

Well, parade was great. Rebecca walked with her Brownie troop about 3 miles. Not too shabby for a 7 year old!! Maybe she'll be running a race with me some day!!

Well, back to my race. I met John at 6:45, we drove into NYC, got there by 7:30, hung out in the car cause it was COOOOLLLLLDDDDD!! Got our bibs, used the porto potty, and I have to tell you, it was nice. I was the first one in there and it was CLEAN!!! LOL Then we went back to the car to hang and warm up until about 8:30ish and then made our way to meet another John B., and make our way to the start. We lined up at the 10 minute marker (corral), and waited for the gun to go. Probably took about 5 minutes to cross the start. Then we were off. The first mile went up a hill (called cat hill), I was joking with John B. when he told me this was the hill. I said you have to be kidding. You should train with me in Centerport. THOSE ARE HILLS. So it was nice to know that the hills in Central Park were like nothing:)

We paced ourselves for a 10min mile as not to go out too fast. At the one mile John B. (who runs faster than me and my brother John) went on ahead, and Johnny and I stayed together till the end. It was great. I ended up over dressing a little because waiting for the race to begin was SOOO cold. But it wasn't that bad. I didn't get overly hot, but I was warm. But it didn't seem to affect my running. I was still able to push it. It was fun, pretty much the whole way were were passing people.

And thankfully my right calf didn't bother me. I could feel it, but it never was an issue. We passed the first water station at Mile 2 and continued on. Then at Mile 3 (next water station), I said want to get a drink and John said sure, and we stopped (briefly) for water. I was concerned that if I stopped my calf would tighten up, so I jogged slowly while trying to drink. LOL thankfully I didn't choke. LOL Then we were back on stride and I really felt great, so I pushed it for a bit. I then could feel my calf, so I slowed it down, cause we still have about a half mile to go. With probably 300 meters to go, I gunned it and sprinted in to the finish. It was awesome. I was passing people. Felt good.

So, eventhough I gunned it at the end, the highest I saw my HR was 180. I wasn't completely spent. Felt like I could have gone further, so I doubt 180 is my max. Too bad there wasn't a hill at the end. LOL

All in all it was a wonderful experience and race. I can not wait for the next one on April 20th!!! I am hooked. I will definitely run a few more races, then my original planned 9 races. That is, once the weather gets warmer. LOL

So, I set a goal to beat the 10 minute per mile mark, and I did it!! One race down, many more to go!!!

the official report on the race from nyrr.org http://web2.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/htmlos.exe/6031.1.625142368800012997