13.1 in 14.. degrees. ughh.

I'd just like to point out that while thermometers read "14," weather.com and ny1 weather said it felt like "4."  that's right... FOUR DEGREES.

I knew it was going to be chilly so i layered myself in the morning, hoping that it would be enough to keep me warm but not too hot.  One thing i've learned over the past 2 years of running is that i warm up really quickly.  The worst thing is going out there, being cold, and then .25 miles in, i want to rip off layers, and then i end up wrapping something around my waist or having nowhere to put my gloves, etc.

I ended up wearing two long-sleeve running shirts with my running jacket over, black gloves, long running pants, a baseball hat with my headband to cover my ears, and a hat with the top cut off as a makeshift scarf/neck guard.  This proved to be an absolutely brilliant idea because when my neck got hot, i was able to just lift it off and tie it on my arm.  When i got cold again, it was easy enough to just put it back over my head.  Good idea, ang, job well done.

myself with lisa and meg.

At the start, meghan shared that she kept checking her e-mail the night before in hopes that one of us would back out so that she could back out as well.  This is the perfect way to describe how i (and probably most of the people who ran on saturday) felt on friday night.  I kept checking my e-mail to see if NYRR cancelled the race or moved it to another day.  The thought of doing 13.1 miles in below freezing weather just did not sound like something i wanted to do on a saturday morning.. and now, looking back, i can't believe i actually showed up.  like meghan said at about mile 6, "we've already succeeded by getting out of bed."

Hands down, it was one of the most challenging races i've ever run.  First off, twice around Central Park is a nightmare.  I swear, those hills get worse every time.  At the base of the Harlem Hills, i actually started chanting "i love this hill, i love this hill," just to get me through it.  I definitely needed another layer underneath my pants as my thighs and butt were absolutely frozen just a few miles in.  Literally, they were completely numb.  By the end, I couldn't believe my legs were actually moving because everything just felt so tight and numb.

pretending to be having fun for the camera.

It was so ridiculously cold.  Looking in front of me, every runner had smoke coming from their mouths.  The sweat on guys' heads was freezing so that men were running with icicles in their hair. Some even had icicles on the tips of their eyelashes.  At the water stations, water was frozen in the cups so that you had to literally squeeze the cup so that the ice would break and you could get to the water underneath.  Drinking the gatorade at the end was like drinking a gatorade flavored slushee.  Ridonkulous.

Thank goodness for Meghan and Lisa, both of whom carried me through that race.  If it weren't for them, I would've backed out probably the first loop around the park.  I knew i was mentally losing it when at about mile 12.5, i would've been okay leaving and not finishing.  When you're that close to the finish line, giving up should be the last thing on your mind.. instead, i would've been absolutely okay just walking off and going home.

When we crossed that finish line, it felt so good for many reasons.  We braved the elements, we stuck together, we kept our pace steady, we finished in the same amount of time it usually takes us to run a half-marathon around central park, even in great weather.. oh yea, and we were DONE and could go home. 

crossing the finish with lisa :-)

It took me about a half-hour of defrosting in my bed before i was able to get in the shower and really warm up.  What a way to start off this years' grand-prix.

thanks lisa and meghan for being my running angels! and thank you, tfk, i love you.

until next time folks, keep it moving.