Cowboy Hazel

This will be a quick recap because I'm not really in the writing mood. Still, I like looking back on these race notes, so I feel obligated to put something down.

This morning's NYRR Team Championships went just about exactly as planned for me. In an email volley earlier in the week, I told Antonio that I planned on running just under 31 minutes. I ended up running 30:46, a 6:09/mile average.

I started right on track with a 6:10 mile. 2 and 3 were quicker. Cat Hill slowed me down a bunch, making mile 4 my slowest at 6:19. I actually had the legs and lungs to push harder, but my stomach was giving me hell. I was right on the verge of throwing up and didn't want to so I had to reign it in.

After cresting the hill and finding some shade, I began picking it up again and started passing a fair number of runners. I saw Helen cheering for me and ran a little too fast past her – the nausea came back bad and I had to slow again. Still, mile 5 was 5:57, my fastest of the day.

It felt good to run a smart race. I wish I knew what the stomach issue was, but besides that, I really didn't feel too bad out there today.

I saw tons of familiar faces out there this morning. That was cool. It still seems crazy to me how there can be such a sense of community in a place as giant as NYC. After the race, I chatted with several of my new Warren Street teammates and I planned on making it to the team barbeque this afternoon, but when I got home and laid down for a quick nap in the air conditioning, I ended up sleeping for several hours. Guess I needed the sleep...

Our team came in eighth and, because they were taking the top ten times from each team, my time actually helped out the team a bit (I was ninth). That was unexpected and felt good.