On Saturday I completed my eleventh half marathon, running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon. I took the train into NYC on Friday morning. Packet pick-up was held at the Penn Pavilion which is directly across the street from Penn Station, so grabbing my bib and race shirt was super easy. The space for the expo itself was small and awkwardly configured so after a very quick peak I headed out. It was great to be back in NYC after such a long time and I enjoyed a leisurely walk before grabbing lunch and heading to my hotel to wait for J and the kids, who were driving down after school. Dinner was some very yummy pizza and I did my best to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Sleep was erratic at best, and before I knew it my alarm was going off. I had very little appetite but did my best to force down some food {cue the foreboding music}. J and I walked the little over a mile to the start. The security lines were long, but moving. The same could not be said about the porta potty lines. Finally made my way to the corrals and slipped in where I could. We shuffled along and soon we were off.

The first 5 K felt great! I spotted J on the first out and back and was right on pace. That good feeling was short-lived, cause by mile 5 I started to feel off  – a headache was brewing.

As it morphed into a full-blown killer headache, I continued to fuel, and tried to press on, focusing on the bands, high-fiving kids, whatever I could do to distract myself…but I was slowing down. When the 2:30 pacer passed me, I was deflated. Now a new mental battle began, and I’ll tell you the internal dialog was not pretty. I could not believe that my race was being derailed by a  f$^&# headache!

The universe sent me just what I needed around mile 8 in the form of Roz and Carla. Roz, a Half Marathon Maniac in the middle of a half marathon double-header, had been encouraging Carla, who was taking on her very first half. Soon we were a threesome – chatting, sharing fueling tips, and most of all supporting and encouraging each other. It was the pick me up I desperately needed.

As we entered Prospect Park and the final hills, I was really hurting – I told Roz and Carla not to wait for me and that I would do what could to keep up with them. They pushed ahead and I just tried to keep them in my sights. I spotted J and he came out to run with me until I had just about a half mile left. I willed myself to the finish and was finally done.

I quickly found Carla and Roz and there were lots of hugs all around. (I truly love how running bonds people!)

Race swag included a black hoodie for         completing both Philly & Brooklyn!

It was just not my day – this race was not a reflection of my training. So, back to the drawing board I go…

Some final thoughts on the race itself:

• Overall this was a well organized race, as I’ve come to expect from Rock ‘n’ Roll
• Bands along the course seemed a little sparse
• Nice course, especially ending in Prospect Park
• Post-race food was plentiful
• Expo was definitely lacking in both layout and vendors
• Fun medal & race shirt

(Disclosure: As a member of the Rock’n’Blog team, I received a free race entry. As always, all opinions are mine!)