Humble brag: I’m so happy with my Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon results! Sorry, not sorry.  I went in with the hopes of 1) crossing the finish line on two feet and not on all fours and 2) if upright on two feet, beating my personal record of 1:59:24. I ended up succeeding in both, finishing at 1:51:51 (8,069th overall and 2,218th among the women) AND physically well enough to wait on line for an hour just for a hot dog and MASSIVE beer at Nathan’s immediately following. #Priorities. Here are my stats, and considering I started in the second wave running an estimated 9:30 mile, I’m really happy with how I made out:

I think starting off extra conservative at the start was the (major, major) key 🔑. At the start of the last half marathon I ran, I really took off to try give myself an edge. I remember that by mile 9, I was exhausted and couldn’t wait for the race to be over. This time around, I could feel the impact of the heavy mileage in my knees and ankles, which was slightly brutal, but my stamina held up! I guess all that pre-race pesto pasta and garlic bread paid off! That and the Gatorade sport get that I picked up from some fuel stations along the way! (Funny aside: I totally forgot to buy sport beans or Lara bars, so I picked up a Nuts Over Chocolate Luna Bar. It didn’t occur to me that the bottom of that bar is chocolate, so the bar got really mushy in my sports bra and the chocolate started melting. It was all over my face and hands. Sooo attractive. Sooo sorry to all of the people I high-fived soon after.)

Check out some pics from race day!

 

There are definitely a few really memorable moments that stick out to me Obviously, running up the Coney Island boardwalk ramp and on towards the finish line was awesome. I also loved running through Prospect Park. The entrance to the park (around mile 4) was lined with cheering spectators, which was so cool to see. Right as I turned into the park, “Gimmie Shelter” by The Rolling Stones started playing, which got me SO pumped up (it’s one of my favorite distance running songs). I was READY. BRING ON THOSE DAMN HILLS!

Another cool part of the race was the stretch we ran from the park exit to the parkway, which begins the straight shot to Coney Island. We had to run up and down a ramp to get onto the parkway, and as we were crossing the top of the ramp, all of the cars below were honking at us in support. Many thanks, people!

So my thoughts on the race itself… Overall, the Airbnb Brooklyn Half was such a great race and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try a half marathon. While the stretch from Prospect Park to Coney Island doesn’t have the most exciting views of Brooklyn, it was flat and the alphabetical streets made it easy to gauge where I was in the race. The Prospect Park leg of the race was awesome. Yes, there was that mild hill situation (they’re really not THAT bad), but the scenics are pretty and the fans mad it better.

The atmosphere of the race was amazing. There were spectators EVERYWHERE. A lot of them had signs for specific people they were cheering on, but there were so many random people out there with generic signs, megaphones, and cowbells. And everyone had their hands out hoping you’d slap them as you ran by. Cool right? And the crowds were audibly cheering, too! It’s just so awesome that so many random people came out to watch some 27,000 strangers run!

With more than 27,000 runners, it’s actually the biggest half marathon in the U.S. , and I’m really happy to have gotten the chance to be a part of such a huge event! I definitely have to extend a great big thank you to my family and friends who donated to Team for Kids on my behalf!! It was great to run on a team that strives to make a difference in kids’ lives by giving them the resources they need to be active and healthy! As I consider registering for the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon, I hope you’ll consider being generous once again ;). Another big thanks to Ben and Devin for trekking out to Coney Island to watch me finish the race and celebrate with me after!!! (It’s legit the last stop on the N, so it’s a pretty long trip!!)

See you next year, Brooklyn Half!!