Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2005 14:03:56 -0500 (EST) From: Shouri Chatterjee Subject: Today! Hi All, I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon today!! Finished in 1:51:07. After the marathon last November, I had hardly done any serious running for a long time. With the onset of the cold winter, my muscles had also frozen... I was longing to run for a long time. So when I saw the date for the Brooklyn Half Marathon on the NYRR calendar two weeks back, I told myself that I should take this as an opportunity to get myself back into shape. I also convinced Gargi to run the race. The training for the race was pathetic. I braced myself for the cold and did a couple of short runs. Soon I found that I was overdressing. I did two 6 mile runs after that. And then, when I went to run on Tuesday, I felt awful - my ankles were hurting, I was feeling thirsty, my shins were hurting - I felt terrible and almost walked back home. I didn't practice any more after that. Yesterday evening, I went to NYRR to pick up my race packet. It had my race number, a nice t-shirt, the scoring chip - and some miscellaneous goodies. After a hearty dinner at Subinoy's place downstairs, I was about to sleep at 10pm. I was arranging my things when I realized that my running shoes were in the lab! So I trudged back to the lab, brought back my shoes, and also bought some bananas on the way back. Slept at 11pm, with an alarm for 4:45am. The race-day excitement woke me up five minutes before the alarm went off. After some ablutions, I took a taxi to East 89th Street. The driver was Bangladeshi - so had a nice early morning chat with him and he wished me luck! It was pretty cold - I was wearing jeans trousers over my shorts, a t-shirt, a sweat-shirt over it, gloves and a cap. I waited for Gargi outside the buses for a little while, and then I realized that it was too cold, so I got in. The buses moved at 6:10am. I had a short nap in the bus and soon we reached the start point. Coney Island Beach. I had never been there before. It was quite pretty. At the staging area, I continued shivering. I saw Aquin (and her husband?) - shouted at her, but I guess she didn't hear me. I shed my jeans and got ready for the run. The wait in front of the loos was quite long. I managed to relieve myself just in time for the start of the race. It was a pleasant 44F (7C). We started along the Coney Island Boardwalk. It was very beautiful running along the Atlantic beach. I never knew New York has such sandy beaches. At around mile 2, I saw Gargi coming from the opposite direction - she was at mile ~1.5. After the boardwalk, we started running along Ocean Parkway. The avenues crossing the parkway went from Z all the way backwards to A. The road was straight - no ups or downs at all. I was managing a 8:30 a mile. At first the legs were hurting like they did on Tuesday, but soon after the pain disappeared. So I continued pushing myself. Soon after, at around mile 9, the ups and downs started and we entered Prospect Park. The Park was beautiful - I had never been there either, but the hills made it a little difficult. Four miles of running around in Prospect Park - and I was dying to see the end! When at the bend on mile 13, I finally saw the finish line - I pumped a fresh rush of blood into the legs and dashed for it. Finished when the clock said 1:53:29. As I crossed the finish line and stopped at the chip-removal station, my legs were trembling so much that the guy removing my chip took three minutes or so just to remove the chip! Met Gargi after that. She finished in 2:10. Also met Sharada's brother, Rajesh. He finished in ~2:05. Somehow lost everyone in the crowd soon after that. Saw Aquin after that as I crossed the course - she was at ~mile 11/12. Took the subway back home, and here I am writing this email... Overall, it felt great! I didn't perform as well as I did in previous half marathons (1:47), but I am satisfied. Especially with the bad training ahead of the race. After all, the goal was to get the rhythm back, and I am sure I managed to achieve that! :) Hope all of you are doing well and having fun wherever you are. Love and regards, Tuku / Shouri ________________ It is impossible to travel faster than light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off. -- Woody Allen