A Successful Staten Island Recon Mission

Two weeks after the Cow Harbor 10k, I did the Staten Island 1/2 marathon. The race itself wasn't as important to me as taking a test trip downtown, to the ferry, across the river and to where the NYC Marathon will begin just weeks later. It was a reconnaissance mission of sorts. Of course, I wanted to get a good last-minute gauge of my fitness level as well.

Running through the closed Staten Island streets, not everyone was giving us a warm welcome. At the first turn, a woman who looked to be about 40 but was probably only 28 stood outside her car shouting, "you gotta be f-ing kidding me. You f-ing runners!" Awesome.

I started out at what I thought was a pace I wouldn't be able to hold for 13.1 miles, but as the miles ticked by, I felt good! My knee has been an issue for weeks, and I still felt it a little, but it wasn't terrible and the more I ran, the less it hurt. I think I did a really great job pacing myself, listening to my body and having fun while I was at it. I made sure I thanked the volunteers and even chatted a bit with a few fellow runners.

With three miles to go, I spotted a woman ahead and knew I could overtake her. I made my move as we cut around the inside of a turn and with that, she spit at me! Well, in my general direction making sure I heard her. Okay, maybe I cut her off. Whatever. She got her revenge. She ended up passing me, giving me a bit of a run for my money while she was at it, and went on to finish about 30 seconds before me. I thanked her after the race. I learned something from that experience. Well, a couple of things!

I finished 25th woman overall and 3rd in my division. I didn't stick around to find this out because I really just wanted to get back home, so I had to go to the New York Roadrunner headquarters to pick up my award later in the week. I should have looked at the award, but instead I just stuck it in my bag and walked home. I get home, take it out of my bag. Oh, that's nice. Wait. "Men - 35-39 - 3rd Place." Oh shit.