So this past Saturday I “participated” in the Newport 10K. Do you know this race? I didn’t. I actually had never been in Newport though it’s super close (and easier to get than Brooklyn apparently, though it’s in NEW JERSEY!). Wow that’s two races in a row in the Garden State! Newport is right by Hoboken (about a mile South) in Jersey City (that’s all I know and I am not even sure it’s 100% right) but it’s on the waterfront and there’s a Path station about 20 feet from the Finish and Race Central so I wasn’t scared.

It took me about an hour from the Upper East Side (the most unreachable place on earth, unless you’re going to Central Park or Gracie Mansion) on the 4, L, then the Path. It’s so fun to leave the city even mostly if it’s for just a few hours. Let’s do it. Juan and I met Francesca in the train and we got there super easily.

Well, we got to the race start, they had a few booths in super nice square, where we got bibbed and shirted in no time. I ended up with about half an hour to walk to the start, which took about 2 minutes, so I used to portapotties (all GENDER NEUTRAL, people!) twice cause I had nothing to do. But sweat, actually. I was hot, SO SO HOT, even before the race. This was going to hurt.

Soon enough we get moving, and given the race course map is almost like a big square with a few turnarounds I was going to see Juan 4 times in the course. Jackpot! I love it when it’s so easy for spectators!!

10 minutes before the start there was still street traffic. HA. Then we had some announcements, two girls sang the national anthem, and we were on our way. My heart rate skyrocketed to over 200 (oops) as soon as I started. CRAP.

I had been having a rough rough week with my heart rate, because of some medication I was just started taking. My easy run the Saturday before was at 180 bpms (bits per minute) and it was super hard to breathe and keep going. My easy runs are usually in the 130s. I got off the medication, went to the cardiologist on Monday, and just had to wait for it to get normal again. I was a bit scared of racing, I am not gonna lie. I had done a mile on Thursday, to see how my HR was and it was sorta back to normal. But that first mile was awfully scary with the high heart rate and the heat. I seriously contemplated walking back to meet Juan. Mile 1: 6:58

I decided to keep trying “don’t give up in your head because then your body gives up”.  This really does seem like a stooopid thing to do when your heart is involved. But I had to get that out of my head somehow. It’s so hard to run hard when you’re scared… Soon enough, I saw Juan again, phew.

Mile 2: 6:52. Somehow I am keeping pace… Or so I thought. That’s when I started  pouring water in my head… I was SO hot! My 10K PR was 44:32 which is about 7:11 pace. I should have been able to do that, given I just did two halfs in 7:20 pace… I really wanted to PR. That stooopid PR is 3 years old… Mile 2 is also when I climbed the only bump I saw in the race, it was like a 80 meters with a tiny grade which you gained back at the end of it. Seriously not even worth worrying about it.

I soon got myself in a pacing friendship with this woman in a white singlet that said Clifton runners. She was doing amazing and told myself to keep her ahead until 4.5 Of course, every time I decide to pace off someone, I pass them without even noticing. I HAVE NO IDEA why I always end up doing this. About a mile later she passed me again. And I told myself “STAY HERE”.

Mile 3: 7:19. Oh Oh. We were all falling apart left and right. I saw a few men that had passed me earlier on come back and fade off. It was awful. I wondered what was ahead… Would I fall apart too or would I be able to pick it up. By now, I had considered quitting about 44 times. Mile 4: 7:25. oops.

The course was super nice actually. It had amazing views of the city, quite wide streets, not crowded to run on. There were very few people cheering but whatever. It’s nice to see something so different. This area is so new in some streets and so quaint in others. I love the contrast. I really got myself distracted that I had no idea what was happening with my pace. Mile 5: 7:26. Well, that’s what’s happening. I am falling apart. I told myself there was still time to pick it up on the last mile. Didn’t know what I’d pick it up with (taxiiiii!!!) but at this point I was just going to keep going. We got close to the the water and run there for a while. It was a great view but it seemed like forever, like 4 miles, but that’s only because I was a HOT MESS. Mile 6: 8:03. Well, that escalated quickly. Bye Bye PR.

Luckily, there was Juan again to push me in the last quarter mile. AWWWWWW. A few more grrrrrrs and I was done. the last .02 was done in 9 pace. ooooooooppppps. Finish, dry heave, water cup, more water, more water and DONE. OMG that was brutal. I chatted with a few people who complained about the heat and the potholes. The heat sucked the life out of me so bad I didn’t notice the potholes. Now looking back at the pictures, I get it.

The post race spread was fantastic. they had these square bagels (are those really bagels????) and I NEVER touch a bagel but I ended up eating a whole one. They were delicious. Or I was ravenous. Or delirious. Who knows. I don’t even remember. I know I had a whole Gatorade (even though I also hate Gatorade) and a fruit bar. And a banana. They really had lots of delicious options.

We hung out at the race area for a bit because it was just so nice. Check out the view!

Ah, we also fed some wild life. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.

Stats Time:

Brooklyn Half is this weekend (don’t forget to guess my finish time or read the race strategy and tips here if you are running it) and I still haven’t decided what I want to do… My Enabler Cardiologist said to take it easy, but we’ll see. Juan will be jogging it as his new coach is meaner nicer than I was so he has to jog 10 miles then do 800 repeats… we’ll see. If it’s hottish it might not even be worth the effort to race, and I’d just jog it with him (obviously, his jogging pace is NOT my jogging pace…) but I am going to test myself out with 400s in the morning and take it from there. One day at a time.

Remember when I used to be sooooo much faster in the heat? Those days are gone. Getting older sucks.